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Chapter Text

Prologue:

"Shit...I've come this far...!"

"Barusu!"

Subaru ran towards Rem and Louis in an attempt to save the two only to be consumed by the shadows covering the area. As things were not going well for the boy, he started to say,

"I want to overdo it..."

"-I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that...Now that word is a landmine to me. I just missed the hand of the person who said that."

"-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."

"... Is it like each other who don't have ears to hear? Then, just drink it up."

There was no hope that could come to this empty space and live from here. Natsuki Subaru would die mercilessly in this darkness.

"Once back, the worst may be waiting for you. Louis, who has a clean head, may now try to take away return by death."

"-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."

"But I won't lose. I won't lose. I will fight again and again. I will fight again and again. This time, I will keep my promise."

"-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 will fight many times tomorrow."

'If you love me, you won't be crushed by the words that are repeated so many times. I'm sorry, but if my heart was hurt by that word, it was completely hurt just before.'

With such love, Natsuki Subaru cannot be tied up however the repeated words of love do not even care about Subaru's refusal.

Indeed, blind words of love rushed to fill the world itself, and Natsuki Subaru's existence was swallowed into the darkness.

"-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. I love you"

Just as all seems lost, a voice speaks out,

"-I, Volcanica. By the old pact, the aspirations of those who reach the summit are questioned."

The next moment, the tremendous blue light shining down from directly above hit the darkness surrounding the world.

And the fierce light eats up the darkness, and the world changes color at once.

As Subaru's mind was in a dark place, all the boy could think was how he was going to stop Louis and save everyone from the problems of the Pleiades Watchtower.

Eventually he was able to wake up, with his mind a bit disoriented due to having been consumed by Satella's shadow alongside a sleeping Rem and a sleeping Louis.

The boy looked around and was a bit confused on where he was since the last place he thought he would be was in the Pleiades Watchtower yet he was in some dark place.

"Satella?"

The boy looked around as he called the witch's name yet he heard nothing but an empty void. This caused him to worry that he might have died permanently. He got up and took a moment to think about his situation.

"Where am I?"

He walked around for a bit, wanting to see if he could find something only to realize that he wasn't going anywhere. This caused him to just sit down and rest for a bit, getting his thoughts together.

'Okay. Okay. Let's see what happened. Shaula is gone. Louis didn't die, but why was she in the real world? That's a question for later...shit! Rem!'

Subaru jumped back up once he recalled that Rem was also covered in shadows, causing him to run around the dark void in search of her.

As he was running around, his mind was also thinking about Emilia, Beatrice, Ram, Julius, Anastasia, and Meili.

He doesn't know what happened to them or to anyone for that matter but he is extremely worried for them.

'Emilia-tan...Beako...Ram...Julius...Anastasia...Meili...Rem...I hope you are all okay.'

He ran and ran for a while yet all he saw was a dark road ahead.

"Where the hell am I?"

Subaru says this with an annoyed tone of voice, not sure where he is at or where he is even heading towards.

He stopped running and just decided to sit down for a bit, trying to think of the situation he has landed himself in.

He looked up at the dark void with his mind thinking about all the failed loops he had watched in the second trial.

Not only those but also the other deaths and how that might have impacted the worlds he left behind.

"Am I...in hell?"

"Not quite."

"What?!"

Subaru jumped back up on his feet and looked behind to see who was the second voice speaking to him.

As he looked behind him, he noticed that nobody was there except the dark empty void that he has been seeing for a while now.

"Great, I guess I'm going insane now, just like the guy from Cast Away now. All I'm missing now is a ball."

"You are not going insane."

As the voice finished speaking, a dark figure of a human started to form. Subaru got himself ready to either fight or run, unsure on whether this thing is even a friend or a foe.

He waited for a moment before finally the dark figure had a human form. Once in human form, the two could have a casual conversation.

"Who are you?"

"Let's just say I'm a watcher and I've been watching you, Natsuki Subaru."

"For what reason?"

"It's just my job."

"What a lame job."

"Says the one that has died multiple times."

"...wait what?"

Subaru's face went pale the moment his mind managed to process whatever the person in front of him said. He touched his chest for a moment with fear yet nothing happened.

The witch's shadow hand didn't come for him like usual. The dark human approached Subaru and patted his shoulder while saying,

"No need to worry, Natsuki Subaru, The Witch of Envy or better known as Satella can't reach you here...nor does she know you are here."

"What do you mean?"

Subaru said this as he took a step back, wanting to be away from the dark person right in front of him. As he does this, the dark figure of a human tries to calm the situation down.

"Now Now, no need to be hostile-"

"Just stop, tell me who you really are? What do you know?"

"Okay Okay, no need to be hostile. My name is not of importance for now but you can call me the watcher."

"The watcher? What kind of name is that?"

"Anyway, I have been watching all potential timelines and you are the one I was hoping to speak with."

"Why? Also timelines? Wait...does this mean that-"

"Don't ask, I won't be giving you answers regarding that but there is a reason why I brought you here."

"Why?"

Subaru crossed his arms as he looked at the watcher with a serious and curious facial expression, a bit curious to know what exactly he was doing here.

The watcher turned towards the empty void and with just a snap of his fingers, he managed to bring light to the place they were at.

As the dark void became a light room, Subaru was completely surprised by this.

The watcher noticed this and smiled before forming himself into an actual person.

The form he took was an older Subaru, catching the real Natsuki Subaru off guard.

"What the hell?!"

"I'm just taking the form you can be accustomed to."

"Why not just be yourself? Why do you have to look like...an older me?"

"I mean, I would show you my real form but I would rather not."

"Why?"

"Not important, I'm just here to ask for your assistance."

"In what?"

Subaru was very skeptical when he heard this, not trusting the person looking like an older him.

Before he could say anything, the watcher snapped his fingers once again to change the room into Lugnica yet the kingdom was on fire.

Subaru's eyes turned from one of skepticism to one of despair as he saw Lugnica in flames.

"Wh-What's going on?!"

"A world where a boy goes mad, takes the wrong path and goes to great lengths to save someone who doesn't even know who he is...well, sees him as a villain."

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

As Subaru said this, the room changed into a castle, one that Subaru isn't familiar with.

As he was thinking how unfamiliar the place is, the watcher continued to speak.

"A world where he doesn't trust anybody and ends up creating a dark reputation for himself."

"What...?"

Subaru looked with uncertainty since he doesn't know what he is looking at.

While he was confused, the watcher snapped his fingers once again to change the scenery to one of a japan looking place.

"Where are we?"

"You are looking at a world where a boy abandoned everyone with someone he cares about, making a life for himself."

"..."

Subaru just stood silent as he heard what the watcher was saying to him, beginning to think that all of these events he is seeing are from the failed loops.

Considering that most of the loops involved Emilia dying in some way, which would cause Puck to do some damage before Reinhard takes him down. As Subaru was thinking this, the world shifted to one of familiarity.

"The mansion?"

"A world where somehow the boy was able to get all the girls...don't know how but he did."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"Don't think about it as much, just a stupid world."

"...Okay."

Subaru was just left confused by the statement the watcher said to which the watcher quickly snapped his fingers to change the world again.

As he switched the world, Subaru recognized the place as it was the mansion of the Miload family.

"What are we doing here?"

"This may look familiar to you, Natsuki Subaru, but this world tells a different story, one of a boy who had good intentions and is trying his best to save everyone but chose the wrong person to help him. Making him live a never ending nightmare."

"How...?"

Subaru was left confused by this since he doesn't know how the current Emilia camp's mansion could be in a different world.

As he was thinking on the words of the watcher, the room changed again to the Auguria Sand Dunes, surprising Subaru.

"The Pleiades Watchtower? What are we doing here?"

"Well, you see, this is a world where the boy is trying to collect the pieces of the person he once was, not realizing the damage he really is causing."

"Wait, the boy trying to...is that boy me?"

Subaru said this with worry in his eyes, starting to see that this could be the case. The watcher looked at the boy yet he didn't answer the question.

All the watcher did was snap his fingers to return the room back to the white room it once was.

As they returned back there, Subaru grabbed the watcher's shoulder as he prepared to punch him.

"Answer the damn question!"

"Hm. Violence is not going to get you shit, Natsuki Subaru."

"Then why do you keep avoiding the topic?!"

"It's not something you need to know, kid! Just trust me on this!"

Subaru looked skeptical and slightly angry towards the watcher yet he managed to calm down after taking a deep breath.

Once he was calmed down, he looked at the watcher with a serious facial expression before saying,

"Okay, why am I here?"

"Well I need your help to follow these fallen worlds and at the very least set them straight...well the best you can anyway."

"Okay...you do realize I have no strength or powers, unless you give me some."

"Hm. No. But there is a way to make sure you don't end up dying on me."

"Okay, how? Also I can't die, as you can tell."

"That is true, you can't die in your world but in these worlds, you die and that's it."

"Are you serious?"

"Well...if the person with Return by Death dies in that world, you'll also experience that without dying but if the world completes and you are dead, then well...you will permanently die."

"What?"

Subaru was dumbfounded by this since on the bright side, he doesn't have to experience death per say though on the bad side of things, he would have to avoid dying.

He crossed his arms and thought about this for a moment before he looked at the watcher.

"Why me?"

"Hm?"

"Why not Reinhard? Emilia-tan? Beako? Ram? Garfiel? Maybe Otto? Hell, even Roswaal the prick would be able to do more than me."

"But I choose you. Once you go and see these worlds for yourself, you'll understand why I chose you."

The boy stood silent since he doesn't know how to respond to this, knowing that the only good thing he could probably do is use Invisible Providence.

Though Invisible Providence would only work once, making him useless once he uses it.

'Damn, I wish I could still use Shamak.'

"Alright, well is there anything else I should know, Watcher?"

"Nothing really, that's all you need to-"

"I refuse."

"What?"

"You heard me, I refuse."

Subaru crossed his arms and started to walk away, catching the watcher off guard.

"Hold on, where the hell are you going?"

"I'm going to find my friends. There is no need to stay here."

"What?!"

Subaru continues to walk away, not wanting to deal with someone that could get him permanently killed or in Satella's bad side.

As he was walking away from the watcher, the watcher just looked at the boy with an annoyed facial expression.

He took a moment to think of a way to get Subaru back on board with his plan until it hit him.

He quickly snapped his fingers to appear in front of Subaru. As he was in front of the boy, he began to say,

"Fine Fine, what do you want?"

"A chance to survive. I'm not going in there and getting myself killed for some cause I don't know of."

"Okay, fine. Considering that you are weak and probably would die very quickly in some of the worlds I would be sending you, I'll make you a deal. For certain worlds that require some muscle or strength, you'll have some backup."

"Backup?"

"You'll see when you enter the world."

"Will they be actual allies? Cause otherwise-"

"Yes! It will be people who will fight by your side! I'm not going to have someone like Petelguese fighting by your side or Sirius."

"Petelguese and I would not get anything done and Sirius...I rather not. And you better not put Regulus' or else-"

"I get it, Natsuki Subaru!"

"Okay...wait why can't I choose my allies?"

"Because I have a gut feeling that Reinhard would be the obvious choice for almost any situation you would be put in."

"I mean you aren't wrong..."

"Anyway, let's just get this going. The more time we waste, the less time you'll have in saving these worlds."

The Watcher snapping his fingers again to make a door appear near the two. Subaru turned towards the door and recognized that it was one of the symbols of sin.

'What could this mean?'

Subaru was trying to understand the meaning of this yet he ignored it and just opened the door.

Before he went through the door, he looked at the watcher and had one last thing he had to ask,

"I doubt you would be honest in this but are you a threat to me?"

"...no, I'm not. I am aware that you've asked this to Roswaal L. Mathers in a failed loop and he wasn't 100 percent honest about the question but I really am not a threat to you, Natsuki Subaru."

"Then what is your purpose in sending me to these fallen worlds?"

"To get them back on track. A few have not fallen but you need to make the person with your ability to find some peace."

"...are the people with Return By Death...me?"

"...You'll just have to find out for yourself, Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru looked at the watcher with a serious facial expression before going into the door, a bit curious yet nervous to see how things would go for him.

As Subaru left the white room, the watcher had a smile on his face before changing from his form of an older Natsuki Subaru into his true form.

He wore normal human attire, had short dark hair, and was around the same height as Subaru. Before snapping his fingers, he closed his eyes and started to say with a confident tone of voice,

"Oh Natsuki Subaru, you will have quite the time on this journey. Let's just see how things unfold from here on out."

As the watcher said this, he snapped his fingers to see how Natsuki Subaru handles things.

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 1: Into the fire

Natsuki Subaru was trying to stay focused on the new task he found himself, worried that he would deal with people he never made amends to in the loops he failed badly but first he was dealing with the headache he was having. Leaving the odd place he was in, it left his mind slightly disoriented yet he managed to find a way to get himself back on his feet. He hit his face with both his hands a few times, preparing himself for the worst to come. As his mind was ready, he all of a sudden started to get flashes of memories that are not his own.

("I'm...going to save you...")

("I mean I've done some trial and error on this one... but it's not going to work like with Tom, Dick, and Larry.")

("It's been the longest three days of my life. Though from your perspective we didn't know each other very long at all...")

("Throw him into a weaker part of the fire. We'll watch him burn.")

Subaru fell to the ground with tears in his eyes, having seen such darkness yet he doesn't understand what this all means.

'What...the fuck did I just saw? What was all of that about?!'

Subaru was not only disoriented once again but filled with regret and hatred. The flashes of memories he got were one of a madman, making him believe that the memories he is looking through is the person with Return By Death, considering that he witnessed a few of the gruesome deaths this person had dealt with.

'Whoever this person is...they are a horrible person...worse than a Sin Archbishop...'

Now realizing that he has to deal with a new and deadly opponent that can use Return by Death, he will need to be smart here. If this person dies, he along with the person would rewind back to a checkpoint, meaning that his opponent will know that he will be coming yet he also has the advantage.

'Compared to the others in my world, I won't be at a disadvantage since I can change my strategy...oh great, now I'm basically Roswaal here since he was also facing me, a Return by Death user. Whatever, as long as I'm not paired with him, I'll be fine.'

As Subaru was able to get his mind back in order, he got up and looked around to see that he was in the slums, reminding him of his first day in Lugnica. This caused him to smile since he recalls the first Emilia he met and the exact moment he truly fell in love with her. As he had flashes of this fond memory, the incident with Elsa Grainhart started to appear. This caused him to hit his head, wishing that he didn't recall his first two original deaths to the sadistic woman. Subaru walked around a bit before he turned towards two glowing lights approaching him.

"What in the world is that?"

As Subaru asked the question, the two lights brightened up to reveal two familiar people. One was wearing long black pants and a torn up loincloth that is heliotrope-purple on the outside and red-violet on the inside and a short black vest with red-violet accents. The other one was wearing the iconic knight attire of Lugnica, being the Royal guard coat and long white pants. The only thing that separates this person from the other knights was his purple hair.

"Julius. Garfiel."

"Oi Cap'n, what's goin' on? Why am I here? Where's Otto?"

"I could ask the same thing, what are we doing here? We were supposed to be in the Pleiades Watchtower."

"Yes, I know Julius but it seems the gods of this universe...or some prick wanting to be god but this person had sent us to fix something in this world."

"Oi, n'what might th't be?"

As Garfiel says this, the three notice the kingdom all of a sudden get set into flames. Julius and Subaru were completely shocked by this while Garfiel was only surprised. The three only stood watching for a good three seconds before Julius led the trio towards the path to the kingdom. As they were running, Subaru started to say,

"What the hell is even going on here? Who would do such a thing?"

"I'm unsure Subaru but we will get to the bottom of this. First, we need to get the citizens to safety. If Reinhard is there, he will handle the threat."

"Right, assuming he is in this version of our world."

"What are you-?"

"Oi! What's my amazin' self gonna do?"

"You'll basically beat up any bad person we come across."

"Aight! It'll be easy with my amazin' self here with ya, Cap'n."

"Right."

Subaru gave a thumbs up to Garfiel before the two alongside Julius entered the kingdom, all three of them preparing themselves for whatever threat comes their way. As they enter, they look around to see the city in panic with many of the knights attempting to help escort the citizens to safety from the fire. Before they could do anything, a horde of Mabeast entered the kingdom and started attacking everyone, causing a large amount of chaos to be formed. Julius took out his sword and summoned his six spirits before turning to both Garfiel and Subaru.

"We need to help the knights. Garfiel-san, assist me in taking on the Mabeast. Subaru, assist the people."

"I ain't listenin' t'ya! Cap'n, what shall I do?"

"Listen to Julius, this is his territory of expertise."

"Understood Cap'n."

Garfiel nodded at this and quickly followed Julius towards the Mabeast entering the kingdom, both of them ready for their fight ahead. Garfiel jumped towards the closest Mabeast and with one attack he took out three Wolgarms. As Garfiel and Julius take on the Wolgarms and other Mabeasts, Subaru goes and tries to get the people out of there only for them to start running away from him.

'What is going on? Why are people afraid of me?'

As Subaru was trying to think this, he looked around to see a young familiar girl in danger of being killed by the fire.

"Help!"

'Wait a minute, I recognize that voice.'

"Someone please help!"

'That voice is...'

"...Felt!"

Subaru having recognized Felt's voice, he quickly ran towards her direction. Once he was at her location, he noticed that she was trapped underneath some rubber. Subaru quickly looked around before starting to move the broken rubble from Felt's legs.

"Th-Thank you, mister."

"No problem Felt."

Once Subaru was able to get the broken rubble off of Felt, he picked her up and got out of there just in the nick of time, having noticed the fire not only increased but pretty much burned the entire area they were just at. As they got away, Felt looked at Subaru as she started to recognize the boy yet she wasn't sure due to only being able to see his backside.

"Wh-Who are you?"

"Oh, right...you don't know me. My name is-"

"Subaru!"

"Huh?"

Both Subaru and Felt both heard Julius yell at Subaru. The two looked at the knight to see him struggling against the Guiltylowe while Garfiel was taking on two Banassi. Subaru set Felt down before telling her,

"Get out of the kingdom, Felt. Head back to the slums, it should be safer there."

"No! Old Man Rom is somewhere in the kingdom!"

"...then stay here and wait for us before looking for Old Man Rom."

"...okay..."

Felt wasn't sure who this boy was but had a feeling that he could be trusted. She sat there and watched as Subaru went to assist Julius in facing the Guiltylowe. As Subaru was approaching the Mabeast, Subaru observed the way things were going and quickly knew that he needs Garfiel's assistance in order to help Julius. He ran towards Garfiel once he managed to kill one of the two Banassi. Just as he approached the demi human boy, he quickly got out his whip and with one lucky attack, he landed a hit on the Banassi's eye. This caused the Mabeast to scream in anger and in pain before turning his attention to Subaru, ready to kill the boy. Once it looked at Subaru, all it did was stand there, completely confused before just leaving the area for some odd reason.

"What...?"

Subaru was unsure of this yet he couldn't think on it for now, knowing that his attention should be on helping Garfiel and Julius. He quickly approached Garfiel to help distract the large Mabeast, allowing the demi human boy to land the finishing blow. Once the two managed to succeed in taking down the Banassi, Subaru quickly pulled Garfiel towards the direction where Julius is at, making the demi human see that the knights need their assistance.

"We better hurry, Julius and the others need out-"

Before Subaru could finish his sentence, he was suddenly punched in the face by some unknown person. Garfiel noticed this and quickly pinned the man down.

"Who da fuck r'ya? Why did ya attack cap'n?!"

"Y-You are stupid to call him captain!"

"Wait, ya smell familiar."

"Wait what?"

The man was confused by this comment before noticing the demi human boy was sniffing him, making him uncomfortable. Garfiel sniffed and sniffed until finally he recognized the smell, causing him to jump back while saying,

"Otto! Brother!"

"What?! I don't have a demi human brother!"

"Wait...Otto?"

"Damn it, the last thing I needed was you finding out my name."

"Wait why? What's going on, Otto?"

"Oh you should know, Natsuki Subaru."

"What do you-?"

"Subaru!"

Garfiel, Otto, and Subaru all turned towards Julius as they heard him shouting for some assistance. Garfiel and Subaru nod at each other before going off to help Julius against a few tough Mabeasts while Otto looks with complete shock.

"What...but Julius-san is...dead...none of this is making any sense!"

Otto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking again, unsure on whether or not he was imagining things until he sees Julius alive and well. This confused Otto since he knows for a fact that the finest knight was dead.

'He died...he has been dead for a while...I saw it with my eyes! How is this even possible?!'

Otto had so many questions but the one that made him question everything was looking at this Natsuki Subaru. The one he met a while back had the eyes of a witch cultist but this one had a different set of eyes. The Natsuki Subaru he just met up had the eyes of someone who wants to save everyone rather than harm everyone in his path. He got up and decided to watch as things unfolded with Subaru getting the people from Lugnica to safety while the one called Garfiel helped Julius and the knights fend off the Mabeast entering the kingdom while the kingdom itself was in flames.

'This can't be right, the Natsuki Subaru I am aware of wouldn't do this...he is a selfish bastard! So who is he? Another person bearing the name Subaru?'

While Otto tried to figure this out, he noticed a Mabeast making their way towards Felt's direction. As he gets to her, he gets himself ready to die in order to protect a little girl only for Garfiel to jump in front of him and with one attack the demi human killed the Mabeast. As he succeeded in this aspect, Subaru joined the three with his weapon in hand before saying,

"Otto! Can you take Felt out of the kingdom? I need her to be safe!"

"W-Why should I-?"

"Otto! She is a little girl and needs to get out of here!"

"I-I ain't leaving! I need to get to Old Man Rom!"

"Shit! That's right...Felt, where was the last place you saw Old Man Rom?"

"H-He was in prison, I can't leave him there!"

Subaru took a moment to think, wanting to help Felt since he doesn't want Felt to be sad or Old Man Rom to die. The only problem he knows is that he probably has only one chance to get this right since he doesn't have Return By Death and may permanently die if he gets things wrong. As he thought carefully, he turned towards both Otto and Garfiel to say,

"Think you two can help her find Old Man Rom?"

"I-I..."

"Don't ya worry Cap'n, my amazin' self'll help th's girl. Come on, Otto, we gotta job t'do."

"W-Wait, I never agreed to this!"

"Too bad, orders from cap'n r'orders!"

"Wait!"

Otto tried to run yet he was dragged by Garfiel to accompany Felt and himself to find Old Man Rom. While they left towards the burning kingdom, Julius looked with concern facial expression before telling Subaru about his concerns with this.

"Are you sure about this? The Kingdom is in flames and we can use Garfiel-san's assistance."

"I know but...I can't let Old Man Rom die, Julius. He is important just like you are, Garfiel, Otto, Felt, everyone."

"...I understand, Subaru. You truly have a good heart."

"Yeah...though Otto seemed to look at me with hatred as if someone with my name made worse choices."

Julius looked at Subaru and could see that he was unsure of things. Having had time to establish a strong friendship with the boy in the tower, he patted him in the shoulder before he said to him,

"Don't worry, Subaru. No matter what happens, I'll have your back."

"...thanks, let's just get back to focus on the problem at hand."

"Right."

Julius nodded and quickly the two went over to the nearest group of knights to understand what was going on. As the two approached a group of knights, Julius looked at his fellow allies and quickly he asked,

"How did this fire start? Who is responsible for this?"

"Well you see...wait a minute, Julius Juukulius? I thought you were dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were reported dead a while back."

"What...?"

Julius stepped back for a moment to process everything he was hearing. Subaru stood there also trying to process everything he was hearing, seeing that something must've gone wrong in order for his name to be associated with hate and for Julius to be dead in this loop.

'What the fuck did you do, Natsuki Subaru?'

While Subaru wanted to blame the version of this loop for the hell that was going on, he wasn't sure where the change in this version of the world. He looked at Julius to see that he began to question everything that had happened in this world.

"Who reported my death?"

"One of the citizens who witnessed you be killed but we are not sure who killed you."

"Hm. That is very disturbing but I'm here now and ready to help. Where is Reinhard-san?"

"The Sword Saint is dealing with the situation but we know that it is some witch cultist that caused this disturbing and destructive act."

"Witch cultist...? Are the witch cult a problem?"

"No citizen, the witch cult and their Sin Archbishops had been taken care of by the Emilia camp."

"The Emilia Camp..." Subaru was stunned by this, starting to think that maybe if he wasn't involved with Emilia, she could've done a lot more considering how much it took to beat Petelguese, Sirius, Regulus, Lye Batenkaitos, Roy Alphard, and Louis Arneb. As he was thinking about this, he noticed the knights looking at him as if they recognized him.

"What is your name, kid?"

"My name is-"

"This is not important, we need to return to helping the people."

"Y-Yes Julius-san!"

The knights returned their focus to Julius and listened to their orders from the finest knight, seeing that they would need to keep the Mabeast back by working together. Once they understood their roles in helping the kingdom, the knights didn't hesitate to start running around in pairs. As this happened, Julius turned towards Subaru to check on him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why you ask?"

"Those knights looked at you with the same look they had when...you did your thing at the beginning of the royal selection..."

"...hm. Okay...we should probably find Reinhard."

"Agreed but what about Garfiel-san?"

"If he needs help, I will know."

"Okay."

Julius nods at Subaru before turning towards the fire, ready to deal with the person that caused the fire. Subaru closed his eyes and smiled since he is able to detect where Garfiel is with the Greed witch factor, also known as Cor Leonis. He could see Garfiel's white light moving around with his condition being good. This gave Subaru some confidence that things will be alright. The two eventually start running in the center of the kingdom where the fire is more active, seeing that many civilians are dying by the fire. The two quickly did their best to help out until more Mabeasts appeared.

"Great, we have more problems."

"Allow me to handle this, Subaru. Get the people out of here."

"Are you sure? I can try to get Garfiel to-"

"Subaru, we don't have time!"

"Alright but you better not die."

"I won't. I'm fighting for Anastasia-sama's sake and for the kingdom I've sworn to protect."

Subaru nodded and quickly started getting as many people away from the fire. During this, he noticed a familiar little girl screaming for help. The boy quickly ran towards the child with everything he had, managing to pick her up and get her out of danger just before the fire had consumed her. As he manages to do this, something causes him to have a nose bleed and to start having horrible headaches.

"Wh-what is going on?!"

"M-Mister! Are you okay?"

"I-I'll be fine...let's get you to safet-"

Subaru was interrupted when a swarm of memories started to fill his mind once again, causing him to fall to his knees as he held his head in pain.

("Cut it out with the false accusations, Bete-san. I'm just obeying the gospel's instructions. Gospel's telling me to spend my time here.")

("This time, I'll definitely figure out how to keep you from killing yourself.")

("But, if you were thinking more about your position, you would've best paid to be a little more mindful of others. You're the Knight of a Royal Selection candidate who's sitting at peak popularity. You gotta factor in that it's not just your master, you're gonna be targeted too. Though...")

'This son of a bitch...!'

Subaru was still hurting from his headache and the rush of memories entering his mind yet he was able to get a hold of himself fast enough to get the little girl out of danger once again. The fire spread quickly and was about to reach them had he not snapped out of the state he was in. As he was able to get the little girl and himself out of harm's way, he took a close look at the girl and recognized her as the appa dude's daughter. Just as he noticed this, he could hear a familiar voice of a man yell out,

"Plum! Plum! Where are you?"

Subaru turned towards the voice to see that the man was appa dude, making him slightly happy to see him once again. He quickly ran towards the man and quickly set his daughter down. The man and his daughter hugged before the appa dude looked at Subaru and quickly started to say,

"Thank you for keeping my daughter safe!"

"No problem, now get out of here before the fire gets to us."

The appa dude nodded at what Subaru said and quickly went to carry his daughter to get her out of the kingdom. As Appa dude left with his daughter, Subaru quickly used Cor Leonis to check on both Julius and Garfiel. He first took a look at Julius to see that although he was a bit injured, he was still in good condition to fight. He then turned to check on Garfiel to see that he was closing in on his position.

'Huh? Why is Garfiel approaching me?'

Subaru was confused by this yet he couldn't dwell on it as he saw a few more people in danger of the fire. He ran towards the people to help them only to all of a sudden be tackled to the ground by some unknown person.

"D-Darn it...get off!"

"Hmph. I will not. You ruined everything and now, you will die with the fire you created."

"Wait, that voice...are you..."

"Ram?"

Subaru felt the grip on him loosen as he also heard Garfiel's voice. He turned his head towards his right side to see Garfiel with Felt, Otto, and an injured Old Man Rom.

"G-Garf?"

Subaru felt the grip being loosen once again, allowing him to push off Ram from his back, allowing him to get up and gain some distance from her. As he gained his distance, he looked at Ram only to find out how broken she looked.

"Ram, what happened t'ya?"

"Wh-What are you doing here, Garf? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Sanctuary?"

"My amazin' self got over my issues. You should know th's. Ya helped me with that."

"How? We haven't seen each other since...since Rem..."

'What happened to Rem in this world?! Is she dead?!'

Subaru's face turned pale as he was more worried for Rem's sake. Garfiel looked at Ram and was unsure what she was trying to say yet he can tell that she was suffering. He went to approach her yet she pointed her wand directly towards him.

"I...need you to move aside. He needs to die."

"Wait, who? Cap'n?"

"Captain?"

"Yea, Cap'n. He helped my amazin' self get over the trial."

"You took the trial?"

"Come on Ram, ya know th's already."

"What are you talking about, Garf?"

Ram stepped a few feet back, looking at Garfiel with uncertainty on whether her childhood friend is being delusional with memories she is unaware of. As she was confused by the way Garfiel was talking, she was preparing to attack until Subaru shouted,

"Ram! We have no time to fight, we need to get all these people out of here!"

"Shut it, you fool."

"Hey! Don't call Cap'n a fool!"

"Shut it Garf! He isn't a good person."

"What are you-?"

"I said shut it!"

Ram quickly used her wand to attack Subaru by sending a powerful wind attack only for Felt to quickly save the boy by shoving him out of the way. As both Subaru and Felt were on the ground, he looked at the little girl and was about to thank her until she said,

"This should make us even, now."

"...still, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Felt and Subaru got up while Garfiel prepared himself to fight Ram, not sure what is wrong with her yet knowing that he needs to protect his captain.

"Ram, I like ya but I won't let ya hurt Cap'n."

"Then we are on opposing sides, Garf. I hope you understand the mistake you are making by siding with that monster."

"Cap'n, get the girl, Otto, and the girl's grandpa out t'here."

Subaru nodded and quickly with Otto's assistance, the four started to make their way towards the nearest exit of the kingdom while Garfiel began his fight with Ram. Ram threw everything she had yet she did not expect Garfiel to be fighting strategically. The demi human boy was using his brain in the fight, seeing what attack Ram was going to use and taking the opportunity to find a counter to it while he was closing in on her. While the two were fighting, Subaru and his group was getting close to the exit. As this was happening, Otto looked at Subaru with a curious look since something was different with him. He knows that he had met Subaru back when Julius was killed by another knight yet this Natsuki Subaru was different. One is a killer while the other is working hard to be a hero despite being weak.

"Who are you really? You can't be Natsuki Subaru."

"...what do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say that the Natsuki Subaru I know is not worth the company."

'What could this mean...? Did the me of this world went...evil...?'

Subaru was worried to know this answer yet he pushed this idea and thought away to focus on the task at hand. He continued to run alongside Otto, Felt, and Old Man Rom until they finally got to the exit. Once there he turned to both Felt and Old Man Rom to say,

"Stay in the slums, it is a safe place there and away from the chaos here."

"Thank you, I owe you a big debt for this."

"No problem, just keep Felt safe."

"I will, don't you worry."

"I'm not a little kid! I can take care of myself!"

"Just stay out of trouble, Felt."

"...Okay, I will just don't get yourself killed, mister."

Subaru smiled at Felt before going into the kingdom, leaving Otto on his own while he notices Felt and Old Man Rom run away from the kingdom. The grey haired boy looked at the exit and was tempted to leave yet something compelled him to stay and help out, seeing someone who looks like the monster he knows fighting to save everyone.

'Otto, come on, you have a chance of freedom...but then you would be a selfish bastard...'

Otto stomped the ground before he ran to catch up with Subaru, wanting to help the boy. As he catches up, Subaru looked to see Otto.

"You know you can escape as well, right?"

"Y-Yes, I know but I won't be a selfish person and let others die!"

Subaru heard this and smiled at Otto, always happy to see his friend's good-hearted nature coming into play. As the two ran deep into the fire, they were able to assist some people around until a familiar female voice spoke to them,

"Stop there, villain."

"Huh?"

Subaru and Otto were both confused by this statement and turned to see someone Subaru was happy to see, Emilia. Before any sudden movements could be made, the two noticed that Emilia was looking at Subaru with a serious facial expression.

"Emilia-tan, what is-?"

"You seem a little too familiar with my daughter, witch cultist."

"Wait what are you-?"

"This isn't a witch cultist."

"Huh?"

Both Puck and Emilia turned towards Otto, having taken note what he said to them. Emilia was a bit confused while Puck looked at both Subaru and Otto with a serious facial expression, trying to read their emotions.

"If what you say is true, then who is-?"

Puck was interrupted when a loud explosion happened suddenly, causing the four of them to turn towards the center of the kingdom, realizing that something is wrong.

"That must be Reinhard."

"Then I better get to him."

"Wait you, we are still not done."

"I'm sorry Puck but I need to make sure of one important thing. Otto, make sure nothing bad happens to Emilia-tan."

"Alright but try not getting yourself killed..."

Subaru waved as he heard this while going deep into the fire of the kingdom where they heard the loud explosion, reminding him of his last loop in the Sanctuary incident. Although this situation is much tougher than the mansion due to the higher stakes of dying, he is still confident that he can survive this all-in-one loop. Subaru ran and ran until finally he saw the man himself, Reinhard Van Astrea. This allowed Subaru to feel joy since now he has a powerful ally by his side but before doing anything, he checked on Garfiel and Julius once again. He checked on Garfiel and was surprised by how he was doing relatively well with only minor injuries. Before he checked on Julius, someone grabbed his shoulder which startled him.

"What?!"

"Sorry Subaru, I did not mean to scare you."

"I-I wasn't scared! I was just surprised."

"Sure you were."

"A-Anyway, are you alright? You look like you had some fun."

"Those Mabeast sure did a number on me but as the finest knight of Lugnica, I bested them."

"Right...let's just go talk to Reinhard."

"Right."

Both Julius and Subaru went to approach Reinhard but as they were doing this, they noticed that he was looking at someone and speaking to them.

"Go no further."

"Reinhard Van Aaaaastrea."

"W-Wait, that voice...that's..."

"Natsuki Subaru."

Julius said this with a sad tone in his voice while Subaru looked with despair, having figured that he really is a villain in this version of the world considering how others have been treating him.

"It seems that I don't need to introduce myself. I don't have much to say to you, either."

"So you were capable of hating people after all, Sword Saint!"

"It surprises me as well. I didn't think these feelings were in me."

"You fucking prick!"

"Huh?"

Both the Natsuki Subaru from this world and Reinhard from this world both turned to see a new Natsuki Subaru standing alongside Julius.

"Wait...Julius-san?"

"Reinhard-san, it is good to see you once again."

"B-But you are dead...this makes no sense."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm you! I'm Natsuki Subaru! Emilia-tan's one and only knight!"

"What?!"

The Subaru of this world looked at his counter part with a shocked expression at first when he heard those words.

'Emilia-tan's knight? The hell he think he is!'

The Natsuki Subaru of this world started to charge towards his counter part only for Reinhard to destroy him in one hit, shocking both Subaru and Julius.

"He died...wait does that mean-"

Subaru eventually had the entire world pause, his spirit managing to look around before he ended up back to the moment Julius, Garfiel, and him all three had witness the fire from Lugnica start. This made Subaru realize two things, the first being that he does Return By Death though the dying part is no longer needed and the second being the person who can return by death, his evil counterpart.

'This...is literally hell...'

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 2: Burning passion

Natsuki Subaru just got killed by Reinhard Van Astrea once again, leading with another failed loop but this one was different than his previous loops. In the latest deaths leading to the destruction of Lugnica like he planned, Reinhard Van Astrea would always find him and kill him right on the spot. This time there was something different since there was a new threat that was clearly not in the previous loops.

"What the hell?! Why is another Natsuki Subaru here?! Could it be Capella? That bitch was hard to kill, maybe she didn't die permanently...but then it doesn't explain that knight blue killed."

"...I love you."

"Ah yes, I'm back here, in the dark dungeon."

"I love you. I love you."

"You can keep saying that to me, but nothing will change."

"I love you."

"Did you bring another Natsuki Subaru here, to this world?"

"...what?"

"Huh? You can actually speak?"

Subaru looked surprised by hearing the woman saying another word that isn't "I love you". He was able to move around the shadow garden for some reason and quickly went towards her in hopes of getting answers of his counter part's existence. The woman looked at Subaru with a confused facial expression, trying to process everything she heard from Subaru.

"Come on witch, you should know this! Why is there another Natsuki Subaru?!"

"What...are...you...talking...about...?"

"Wait, you don't know? Well, maybe you don't if that isn't another Natsuki Subaru...no, wait, he knew about Emilia and called himself Emilia's knight...that damn bastard!"

Subaru kicked the empty air with anger, hating how his counter part spoke so highly of himself in being Emilia's knight. This angered him for a bit until the woman all of a sudden hugged him, managing to calm the boy down.

"Man, I'm starting to act like Regulus. Well, I guess this hug is helping me, thanks."

"I love you."

"Yeah Yeah, I know. I just need to come up with a new plan to account this counter part of mine and that purple haired knight. How the hell did he even survive what blue did to him?"

Subaru crossed his arms and started to think of the many possibilities of how Julius could've been brought back to live or even survive the encounter with him and Ferris. As he was trying to figure this out, he started to feel nuisances.

"Shit...seems like I have to go back to the real world once again, crazy woman...though can I ask something?"

"I love you."

"...I'll just assume that is a yes. What if there is another Natsuki Subaru running around? Can I speak to him about the forbidden Return By Death taboo?"

"..."

"...come on, say something before you send me back to my checkpoint."

"...I love you."

"Darn, I was hoping that you would give me some advice with this because there might be another me running around...well, I'll just make do with what I got."

"I love you."

"Yeah Yeah, I know."

Subaru returned to the moment he started the large fire that would set Lugnica into flames. As he returns to this checkpoint, he takes a moment to process everything that happened in the shadow garden and in the previous loop. He knows that there is some other Natsuki Subaru running around yet he is not sure whether or not he really is his counter part or someone like Capella. As he was processing the new information, he turns towards Elsa and Meili, seeing that the two are still alive.

'Hm. I need to get information but I also need to complete my goal here...'

Subaru took a moment to think of a plan before looking at the assassins once again to say,

"Meili, Elsa, I'm going to need you two to do something else."

"What is it?"

"Meili, let your demon beasts know that there is another person who looks exactly like me. If any of your demon beast friends find him, make sure they capture him. I want him alive."

"Okey dokie!"

Meili goes off with the Guiltylowe into the kingdom to look for the other Subaru. As she leaves off, Subaru turns towards Elsa to give her orders.

"I also want you to look for the other Natsuki Subaru but with you it's different."

"How so?"

"Capture him and get as much information from the fake as you can. Once you got every inch of information from him, you are allowed to kill him however you want."

"My My, that's quite the order."

"Yes...oh also make sure to kill the knight with purple hair. That bastard somehow survived what blue did to him."

"My My, you are making this so much fun, contractor."

"Yeah...I guess."

Elsa nodded at Subaru before leaving the area in search of the knight with purple hair and for another Natsuki Subaru. As the Bowel hunter left him, he turned towards the fire and quickly made sure it spread exactly like in the previous loop before following the exact footsteps he had done last time. As he was running around the kingdom, assuring that the fire spread like before which caused the citizens to start running in a panic. As the chaos began, he noticed a few knights approaching him with their swords out.

'Ha! These fools think that...no wait, that psychopathic woman isn't here to cover me! Shit!'

Not having thought the plan thoroughly, he quickly started to run into the fire, wanting to bring the knights towards the fire to trap them.

'Although I may be weaker than these asshats, I still have the advantage.'

Subaru went into one of the burning buildings and waited until the four knights entered the place, looking for him and any survivors. As the knights were on their guard, Subaru pulled out a knife he kept after having killed the three thugs from the hallway a long while back.

'Okay Tom, Dick, and Larry, hopefully this damn knife I took from you all pays off!'

Subaru slowly moved towards one of the knights before stabbing him in the back of the neck, getting the attention of the other three knights. One of the three went to check on the knight Subaru attacked while the other two attempted to attack the boy yet they weren't able to due to how Subaru was able to easily escape them with the assistance of the fire itself. As he was able to hide once again, he waited until one of the two knights chasing him got close before managing to shove him into the fire. The knight was caught off guard by this and was starting to be burned to death while Subaru said,

"Burn like the rest, pathetic knight!"

"AHHH!"

Subaru watched as the knight was burning to death, happy and satisfied that a weakling like him could take down a knight though he wished it was Reinhard rather than some random knight he doesn't even know of. He turned towards his left side and looked in a threatening way to the second knight chasing him.

"I would suggest that you run away while you can unless you want to die like your friend here."

"You fucking witch cultist...you killed my best friend...I'm going to kill you!"

The knight charged at Subaru, getting ready to kill him until the boy smiled, having anticipated this. Due to the fire, the walls were breaking apart to which Subaru was aware of this in one of his many loops in trying to create a successful trap to kill Reinhard. Subaru waited until the ceiling fell to the ground, hitting the knight and causing him to be trapped under rubble and to be burned alive as well.

"Hahaha, did you think that you would be the one to kill me? Nice try, prick. Now die in the fire."

Subaru turned around and quickly left the building, knowing that he left one knight unharmed but wasn't concerned by it.

"Considering that he is too busy trying to help his ally, he won't be messing with me or my plans."

Subaru ran out of the area and continued to spread the fire, keeping things the same as the previous loop up. Once he reached the center of the kingdom, he managed to encounter blue once again.

"Subaru-sama! What can nyai do for you, Subaru-sama?"

"Blue, good to see that your alive. I need a favor from you."

"Anything to help Subaru-sama and his highness!"

"Good. I need you look for that friend of yours, the one you killed...what was his name?"

"Who? Reinhard-kyun?"

"No, not him. Hell he isn't even dead. I'm referring to the one with the purple hair."

"Oh, Julius-kyun?"

"Yeah, him I guess. We have a situation and that is go looking for him and kill him once again."

"Wait but Subaru-sama, he is dead?"

"I know I know but I have come to learn that he is still walking around this world for some reason."

"That's...not right..."

Blue was confused by this yet he knew that Subaru is never wrong. All the catboy did was have a smile on his face before saying,

"Don't nya worry Subaru-sama, Ferris'll take care of this!"

"I know you will. Now go."

Blue nodded at Subaru before going off while Subaru himself turned around as he noticed his "co-conspirator" standing behind him with his pink haired maid standing by his side. Subaru has never trusted the man in his life and feels that the maid is wasting her time serving under the clown himself.

"Hmph. I was wondering when you were going to show up, clown."

"Now that isn't niiiiiice, my cooooo-conspirator."

"Please show respect to Roswaal-sama, scum."

"Okay, now that is mean."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, whaaaat would you like me to do?"

Subaru stood silent while he crossed his arms, trying to think on what the man could do. He would normally send him to his death along with the maid but after learning of the counterpart and Julius roaming around, he knows what he and his maid can do.

"Roswaal, I want to warn you that there is another me out there or a fake me roaming around. See if you can figure out who he is."

"Alright my co-conspirator, try noooooot dying."

"Hmph. Just go do your part. I'll make sure Emilia becomes King of Lugnica."

Roswaal just smiled at the boy before him alongside his maid go off to look for the other Subaru with the maid having a more hatred facial expression in just hearing that there is another monster. As Roswaal and his maid left, Subaru started to run deeper into the kingdom to continue to see the fire spread, trying to replicate the events of the previous loop. While he did this, he smiled to himself since he was confident that he will succeed.

'With the kingdom in flames and my associates working hard to get that bastard that looks like me, everything will go my way. Let's you see you handle this, "Emilia's one and only knight"...fucking prick. After you, Reinhard is next.'

Subaru felt his anger increasing which caused him to pull out his knife and stab the closest person near him, being some random civilian. As he stabs the civilian in the head, he looks at his knife with dead eyes before returning to his job, burning the kingdom to the ground to destroy Reinhard.

Subaru looked at the burning kingdom from the slums exactly like the previous loop only this time it is much worse. He was still trying to process everything that happened in the previous loop.

("So you were capable of hating people after all, Sword Saint!")

'B-But why? Why the hell am I evil in this loop...no, not this loop...in this alternative world...'

After a few seconds of processing, he now knows that this world is not a failed loop of his but instead an alternative world where he went evil at some point. Before being able to reach to anything that happened, he fell to his knees with his head hurting once again. Julius and Garfiel both noticed this and quickly went to check on him.

"Cap'n! What's wrong?!"

"Subaru, what happened?"

Subaru was having another set of memories flashing to his mind yet this time they were more clearer to him since he now knows the point of view he had been looking through was his counter part.

("Mind if I come along, then? I don't exactly know the details though, Cardinal.")

("So you are kindly accompanying! Aaah! AaAaAa! How so very so very so very so very veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery... JOYOUS!")

("That's getting way too enthused when I'm just saying I'm going with.")

'What the hell is he…? Wait, that crazy ass voice sounds like—'

("I couldn't see Unseen Hand at first, was panicked about what the heck was going on. Dealing with your fingers was posing a bunch of trouble too... right now, I really feel like I accomplished something.")

("Ghh, auhhh...")

("Which makes you the person I've spoken to most in the world. I know how crazy lopsided this is, but I feel like you're kinda a friend. Watching how you do everything you can to reach your goals, playing all the cards you have, I mean I have to say I was touched.")

'You fucking psychopath! You got to know that crazy bastard Petelguese! Are you fucking insane?!'

As Subaru learned another thing from his counter part, he got to be brought back to reality when Garfiel was shaking him.

"Cap'n?! What's goin' on with ya?! Talk t'us!"

Subaru looked at Garfiel with eyes of despair but before he could say anything, he felt everything stop for a moment. At first he thought the witch was coming after him but he didn't feel Satella's presence. He waited for a moment before he could hear a voice, one he has never heard but the tone was familiar.

"So, Natsuki Subaru, what do you think?"

"Wait, you're the one I met in that void, aren't you?"

"Correct, though this is my real voice, I still won't appear in front of you."

"Why not?!"

"Woah, calm down—"

"I won't calm down! After the shit I saw, what is this?! Is this hell?!"

"It's not hell—"

"Then what is this world?! Why am I even here?!"

Subaru shouted through his mind with anger, managing to get the attention of the watcher. There was a moment of silence before he got a response to his question.

"This world was created because the you of this world was too prideful and choose to not call for help back in your first day."

"What?"

"I have watched you struggle but in the end you still make the right choice...though seeing the worlds where you made the wrong choice or the choice that haunts you for life...I can't just watch those worlds suffer anymore. That is why I summoned you here, to help me get these worlds back on track to a brighter future."

"What brighter future?! This world is fucked! Everyone is going to die and my name...my name is destroyed here...because of him!"

"I know that, Natsuki Subaru, but this world doesn't have to end with all of those people dying! So long as Natsuki Subaru of this world continues on this path, Emilia will get hurt and many people will die. Otto Suwen, Felt, Old Man Rom, Ferris, Ram, and many more but this is your chance to make things right. Not for you but for the world your counter part created."

"..."

Subaru just stood silent since he knew that arguing was going to lead him nowhere. All he knows for sure is that there is an evil Subaru, one who made a bad choice and now he has to witness the hell he created. This was worse than the second trial back in the Sanctuary since the worlds he left behind had a better chance than this world. What's even worse was seeing how the monster that a version of him had done. Although he killed the Sin Archbishops for Emilia, his intentions were not good. They were selfish, prideful, stupid. The Watcher made one final comment before allowing the world to move once again.

"Look, I know this sucks seeing that you are technically the cause of this mess but there is still a way for all of this to be fixed. You just have to be smart about it. Just don't forget that dying isn't an option and losing your allies will cost you dearly."

As soon as the watcher finished speaking, Garfiel started to move again, moving Subaru around a bit. The boy continued to stay silent with tears filling up his eyes before finally he was able to respond to the worried Garfiel Tinsel.

"I-I...I know what happened to this world...it's my fault..."

"What are you talking about, Subaru?"

"Julius...there is a version of me...an evil me, who literally got you killed...destroyed so many lives...and all for what? To make Emilia-tan king of Lugnica!"

"What...?"

Garfiel and Julius were both confused by this, unsure on what Subaru is saying yet they understand that it's nothing good. Both warriors patted Subaru in the back in hopes of cheering him up. As they pat him, Julius kneels down to be on the same level as his friend before saying,

"I can't say I know what is going on but there is one thing I know is that you are too stubborn to give up. As your friend, I won't allow you to give. And as a fellow knight to another, I will not allow you to abandon your job to protect the kingdom."

"Yeah Cap'n, yer not a quitter! Yer Emilia's knight!"

"I-I don't know...I became a villain..."

"Come on, Natsuki Subaru!"

Julius grabbed Subaru's collar with a serious facial expression, hating what he was seeing from Subaru. He pulled him his friend to be on his feet before saying in a serious tone,

"You are Natsuki Subaru, my friend, the knight of Emilia-sama! You are way too stubborn to allow something to put you down!"

"...you are right...but we need to be ready because the me of this world is extremely dangerous."

"How dangerous?" Julius asks as he lets Subaru go, curious to know more of this world. Subaru stood silent for a brief moment before looking at the kingdom, seeing that the fire is spreading fast.

"The Natsuki Subaru of this world wants to make Emilia-tan the king of Lugnica similar to me but the road he took...he went the witch cult way and now he is very dangerous. He will know what move we do before we do it if we are not careful."

"So we're facin' an evil cap'n? That's shitty but ya got us to protect ya."

"Yes, we can help you face the evil version of you."

Subaru looked at Garfiel and Julius as he is still trying to process on how he can handle someone like an evil version of himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he nodded at his two friends with confidence.

"Alright then, let's get going. There are some people in there we need to recruit."

Julius and Garfiel nodded before following Subaru's lead as he is leading them into the burning kingdom. While they were heading towards the entrance, Subaru turned towards his two allies for a moment before looking forward while saying,

"One last thing, don't kill my counter part."

"What?"

"May I ask why?"

"Let's just say that his death doesn't do us any favors. We have to capture him and prevent him from dying. That is the objective."

"Well, whatever ya say Cap'n."

"Alright then, Natsuki Subaru. I will trust your judgement."

"...Thank you, guys."

Subaru had a smile on his face since he was happy to have trustworthy allies like Garfiel and Julius before changing into a serious facial expression. Once the three enter the kingdom, Subaru looks around and realizes that he needs to move fast since the knights are barely able to hold their own against the Mabeasts with some of the knights having been killed in the chaos. Subaru turned to Garfiel and said,

"Go help the knights! Julius and I will look for survivors!"

"You got it, Cap'n!"

Garfiel turned towards the Mabeast and quickly charged at them while Subaru and Julius went deeper into the kingdom to look for survivors while also searching for the evil Natsuki Subaru. As they were looking around, Subaru quickly went to the location where Felt had been trapped in the previous loop, knowing that she is in great danger. As the two were arriving at the location, Subaru looked at the place he saw her previously and knew that he was too late this time. He notices more rubble on top of where she should have been with blood on the ground. This causes him to make a tight fist, one with extreme furry since he knows who he needs to blame for all of this.

'I swear that you will pay for all of this, Natsuki Subaru of this world!'

Subaru with fire in his eyes turned towards Julius only to notice something approaching them.

"Julius, watch out!"

Julius gets his sword ready and turns around to see someone charging at them with two blades in their hands. Seeing that this is a threat, he gets himself ready and blocks off any attacks thrown towards him. As he ends up in a blade lock with an unknown opponent, the two warriors looked eye to eye with Julius recognizing his new opponent.

"You are the bowel hunter, Elsa Grainhart."

"My My, you must be the finest knight. How are you alive?"

"I...I'm not saying anything to you."

"I was being nice but then again the hard way is much more fun."

The two gain some distance from each other to properly prepare for their fight against each other. Julius and Elsa both looked at each other for a moment before getting their weapons ready for a fight.

"Julius Juukulius, a member of the Royal Guard."

"Elsa Grainhart, The Bowel Hunter."

Julius quickly summoned his spirits to assist him in his fight, knowing that the Bowel Hunter is not one to be underestimated. Once his six spirits were summoned, he charged at the woman and began their fight by being on the offense. As the two were fighting, Subaru stood silent as he was on high alert, seeing that this loop is greatly different. He looked at the fight between Julius and Elsa for a bit until he noticed Garfiel approaching them. Once the demi human boy was with his captain, he looked at the fight and was surprised to see Elsa.

"Bitch in black!"

"Yup, seems like we are going to have some trouble now."

"Want my amazin' self to fight her again?"

"No, we need to find Ram. She is somewhere in this burning kingdom."

"Ah, I see. Aight Cap'n, I'll follow yer lead."

"Alright."

Subaru nodded at Garfiel before turning towards Julius to alert him that Garfiel will help him in helping the kingdom. Julius understood this and told the two to be safe while continuing to fight against Elsa. Subaru wished Julius luck before he took Garfiel deep into the burning kingdom. As the two were running deep into the kingdom, the same events happened with Otto, having been punched and shoved to the ground before Garfiel pushed Otto and pinned him to the ground. As the events played the same, there was a slight change which allowed him to fix things with Otto of this world.

"Oh you should know, Natsuki Subaru."

"I know you hate me but I'm not Natsuki Subaru."

"You are not?" Otto says with a skeptical tone.

"I'm not the Natsuki Subaru of this world but I am Natsuki Subaru."

"You are insane!"

"Treat Cap'n with respect!"

"Respect?! After all he—!"

"I know what my counter part did! He ruined many lives and used you to clean up his messes but I ain't him!"

"...how can I trust you?"

"Because your name is Otto Suwen, the best person I have ever met and the best merchant I know."

"Ha! If I were the best, I wouldn't be a debt slave!"

"Regardless, I need your help!"

"In what?!"

"Helping me stop the witch cultist known as Natsuki Subaru. I was able to help you with your oil problem in my world so let me help you get free of your debt."

"And how you would do that?"

Subaru and Garfiel both looked at each other for a moment before nodding simultaneously. As they do this, Subaru turns towards Otto to respond with,

"We will pay for what you are owed."

"Really? Why would you?"

"Because idiot, yer our friend. Our brother."

"I-I don't remember being brothers with a demi human!"

"Otto, it was a metaphor. We are friends and we will get through this together but please...we need your help."

Otto crossed his arms has he had a serious facial expression towards the two boys. He knows that Natsuki Subaru is not to be trusted but when he looked at the boy's eyes, he can see that they are filled with life and determination compared to the witch cultist known as Natsuki Subaru. This was enough to slightly influence his choice in whether he helps the two out. He begins to speak in a serious tone,

"Okay but you better help me out of this debt! I really owe Russell-san a lot."

"Ah, ya should be fine. Cap'n will help ya out."

"Yeah, but for now we should focus on the now."

"Okay, what do you need from me?"

"There are two objectives I see. One is finding the witch cultist Natsuki Subaru and finding Reinhard. We can't allow the two to encounter each other or the witch cultist Natsuki Subaru to be killed."

"And why not?" Otto says this while crossing his arms.

"Because if he dies...let's just say that his death will only cause more destruction."

"Hm. Then let us find the Sword Saint first, he will be able to protect us from all the danger that is here."

"Fair. Then let us look for Reinhard then."

"Thaaaat won't be needed."

"Ah shit."

Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel all turned to see Roswaal floating in mid air before landing near the three. Garfiel hated seeing him yet he stood silent with both his fists tight until he noticed Ram arriving to the scene.

"Ram..."

"Garf..."

Both of them were happy to see each other but sad since they are on opposing sides. Subaru looked at Ram and was sad to see her siding with Roswaal yet he expected this since his counter part was pathetic. He crossed his arms and started to say,

"What the hell do you want, Ros-chi?"

"Ros-chi? Now thaaaaat is quite the nickname, Subaru-kuuuun."

"I see that you know me already. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you, Subaru-kuuun."

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 3: Hellish fire

"What exactly do you want with me, Ros-chi?"

"Information."

Subaru noticed what Roswaal said without his accent, making him aware that this version of Roswaal was working with this world's Natsuki Subaru.

"What the hell do you need—?"

"Ram, could you take care of Garfiel-kun and their friend."

"Of course, Roswaal-sama."

"Now just you wait! Ram, don't listen to th's bastard!"

"Garf, I would like you to respect Roswaal-sama." Ram spoke with a threatening manner.

"No! He doesn't deserve respect!"

Garfiel prepares to charge at Roswaal only for Subaru to grab his arm. Garfiel was thrown off by this for a moment yet he was able to calm down thanks to this. As he was calmed down, Subaru looked at Ram before asking:

"What happened to Rem?"

"..."

Ram serious facial expression turned into one of rage because of the boy's question. She got her wand out and quickly was about to attack Subaru until Garfiel got in front of his captain.

"Move out of the way, Garf."

"No! Yer not hurtin' Cap'n."

Ram and Garfiel both looked at each other with a serious facial expression until Subaru managed to calm the situation. He got in between the two while saying,

"Come on, let's not fight." As he says this, he turns his attention to Roswaal. "What do you want, Ros-chi? Did the me of this world send you?"

"Well, we want you to tell us hoooow are you heeeere?"

"I don't know but is it wise having a conversation in the middle of a crisis?"

"Are you questioning Roswaal-sama, you monster?"

Subaru took note of Ram's extreme hatred for him, reminding him of the loop where Rem was killed by the curse and how angry Ram was towards him. This made him realize something.

'Wait, if I joined the Witch cult in this world to deal with Petelguese, then that means...'

"...Rem died by the curse."

"Wh-What did you just say?!"

Ram without warning approached Subaru and started to choke him. Garfiel saw this and quickly grabbed Ram to stop her from trying to kill his captain. As he succeeded in doing this, Ram started shouting at Subaru:

"What do you know?! What do you know about my sister's death?! Who did it?!"

Ram continued to shout, wanting to know who killed Rem since she never got the answer from this. Subaru looked at Ram's eyes looking at him with complete and utter hatred but also from a broken girl who lost the one thing that was most important to her next to Roswaal. This made the boy understand the truth, something he needed in order to get Ram to listen.

"I know you are not going to believe me when I say this but I know who killed Rem, I know exactly who did it and how to get him but first, I need to know one thing."

"And what is that?!"

"Where is the Natsuki Subaru you all know?"

"Natsuki-san, is this really a good idea? I thought we were going to find the Sword Saint first?"

"Yes, I know but there isn't much we can do right now."

"F-Fair..."

Otto seeing that it is the Margrave and a very scary maid they are dealing with, they do need to play this smart. Subaru looks at Roswaal and asks his question again, wanting to know where is his counter part located. Roswaal gives him his usual facial expression before saying,

"Now Now, Subaru-kuuun, I'm the one asking the queeeestions. Are you really Natsuki Subaru?"

"Yes, my name is Natsuki Subaru, Emilia-tan's one and only knight!"

"Is that sooooo?"

Subaru was on edge when he heard Roswaal speak in a slightly threatening manner. Garfiel and Otto both looked at Roswaal with a cautious look, both of them having also notice the threat in Roswaal's voice.

Garfiel got himself ready for a fight while Otto prepared to get Subaru out of there, realizing how dangerous the situation as gotten. The demi human boy pointed his finger towards Roswaal while saying:

"Hoshin was Banan's sunset!"

Roswaal was actually taken aback by this along with Otto and Subaru while Ram just looked at Garfiel with anger in her eyes. She got in between her master and childhood friend before she said,

"Garf, are you stupid?!"

"I'm not th'dumb one! Yer the moron fer trustin' th's bastard!"

"You will respect Roswaal-sama!"

"No I won't!"

Garfiel charged at Ram which initiated their fight. Roswaal flew up and watched as Ram took on against Garfiel meanwhile Otto pulled Subaru away to safety. The slave merchant knows that staying there would only lead to Subaru's death and the last thing he needs is to lose the one person who might be worth being friends with.

As they were running, Roswaal noticed this and started to follow the two. Otto and Subaru both looked up to see that Roswaal is following the two, frightening Otto while Subaru view this as an annoyance.

"Of course he's following us."

"Wh-What do we do?!"

"We keep running, he needs me alive to get information so I doubt he will kill us."

Otto and Subaru continued to run with Roswaal just following the pair. While they were running, Julius and Elsa's fight dragged on to the point that they ended up crossing paths with Subaru and Otto.

Elsa was escaping Julius which caused her to cross paths with Otto and Subaru. She stopped on her tracks and looked at Subaru to see what is different between this Subaru and the Subaru she knows and loves.

"My My, I didn't expect to see another person who looks like my contractor. You are different from him."

"How so?" Subaru questioned with a curious tone.

"Both your eyes tell two different stories. Your eyes give off a determination, wanting to save life while my contractor's eyes are one of a burning passion. One to see the whole world burn just to help one half-elf."

"Is that right?"

Subaru prepared to act, knowing that his best course of action is to use his Invisible Providence only for Julius to finally catch up and get in between Elsa and Subaru. As the finest knight had arrived to the scene, he pointed his sword at the Bowel Hunter while saying:

"I won't let you escape our fight."

"Pardon me for that, I just have a job to accomplish. Killing you would be fun but my first objective is getting information from Natsuki Subaru."

'Well...shit!'

Both Subaru and Otto realized that they were in more trouble than originally. With Roswaal still in the air awaiting for his chance to strike while now having to deal with Elsa, the tweo felt a great amount of pressure. As their guards were up, the two notice that someone was approaching.

The pair turn towards their backs to see that it was Ferris. At first Subaru was relieved since he knows that Ferris is on the side of good until all of a sudden he was hit with a few harsh memories. This caused him to fall to his knees which caught Otto's attention, causing him to get worried.

"What's going on, Natsuki-san?!"

"J-Just one hell of a...f-freaking headache!"

Subaru started to see some of his counter part's memories.

("...Someone, tell me. Tell me. Why am I... where's His Highness? What was I for? There was somebody. There had to be somebody. Everything's strange if there wasn't. But...")

("Man, I'm stuck. Gonna take some time for this one.")

("Someone, please... tell me. I, why am I...")

("This time, I'll definitely figure out how to keep you from killing yourself.")

'You...You son of a bitch!'

Subaru looked up to see Ferris approaching them but with a sinister face. Otto assisted Subaru in getting up with the boy getting his whip weapon out, knowing that he is going to need it. As he got himself ready for a fight, he called out to Ferris.

"Ferris, what do you think you are doing?"

"Nya! I'm just following Subaru-sama's orders. Nyow, stand still Subaru-kyun."

Ferris tried to attack his target yet Otto got in between the two and manage to land a punch on the catboy knight. As Ferris was pushed back by this, Otto turned towards Subaru to tell him:

"Get out of here! Find the Sword Saint and fast! I can take care of this fake knight."

"Are you sure, Otto? We can take Ferris on together!"

"As much as I want that, getting you out of here is important."

"Okay but don't get yourself killed."

"Ha! I'm not planning on it."

Subaru and Otto gave each other a thumbs up before Subaru ran deeper into the kingdom with Roswaal following behind while Otto took on Ferris.

Subaru turned for a moment to check on Otto, seeing that he is putting up a good fight against Ferris, making him confident that things will be okay for this very hellish loop.

As he was running with everything he had, he could feel that Roswaal's presence following him, making the boy aware that he has to figure out how to deal with the Margrave on his own since his allies are all too busy dealing with their own opponents.

'Come on, who can help me out? Reinhard? No, he would think I'm the evil version of myself. Old Man Rom? I don't know where to find him. Priscilla? Hell no, though I could ask her assistant or knight, whatever he is but are they even alive in this world? Who knows considering how dangerous this Natsuki Subaru is.'

Subaru continued to run around until finally Roswaal landed in front of him with six fireballs with different colors preparing to attack the boy. Subaru stopped in his place and quickly got his whip weapon out to prepare himself for the fight ahead.

"I suggest you staaaand down and tell me what I want to know, Subaru-kuuun."

"No, the last thing I want to tell you is how we are looping. That is what you are more curious about since your little book won't tell you anything except how to reach the goal of reviving Echidna."

"I see that you already know about my plaaaans. What else can you tell me?"

Subaru backed up for a bit with his whip ready while trying to think on what he can say.

He knows that saying anything useful would only help Roswaal and from the looks of things, this Roswaal was more threatening than his version of the Margrave.

The boy thought for a bit until finally he knew how to buy himself some time.

"What is the purpose of helping this version of Natsuki Subaru? He doesn't have your best interest."

"Now, do you think I will alloooooow you to distract me from my objeeeective?"

"I can't loop Roswaal and I know exactly how this Natsuki Subaru loops."

"Is that soooo?"

Roswaal lowered his guard since he found this information more useful for him than his co-conspirator.

He took a moment to think before he asked the Subaru that is in front of him,

"And hooooow does he do it?"

"Think carefully, why do you think he doesn't care if he dies?"

"...Hm."

Roswaal took the moment to think carefully into what Subaru had asked him, allowing the Margrave to come up with the answer himself.

'Isn't that an interesting method to loop.'

"And whaaaaat about you? How do you loop yourself, Subaru-kuuuun?"

"Like I would tell you, it's not like I can loop anyway. Besides that, this Natsuki Subaru doesn't have your best interest. He will destroy everything and make sure you are also destroyed with him, meaning you can't revive Echidna like you want."

"If that is what is destineeeed to happen, then so be it."

Roswaal created his six-fold magic to be shown to Subaru, showing that the Margrave is going to kill him now.

This caused the boy to look around for a moment at his surroundings in hopes of finding something to help him out.

As he looked, Roswaal started to speak in a threating tone:

"Thank you for the infooooormation, Natsuki Subaru-kuuuun. This will help me with my plaaaans."

"R-Really? Cause this Natsuki Subaru isn't stupid! Look at all the damage he has done! Do you think he doesn't have a plan to deal with you should you even look like a threat?!"

"Now Now, what maaaakes you think that I would be a threat to my Subaru-kuuun?"

"..."

Subaru stood silent with Roswaal preparing to kill the boy until suddenly someone handsome with red hair and knight's clothing jumping in between the two, catching both Subaru and Roswaal off guard.

"Reinhard!"

"Sword Saint Reinhard Vaaaan Astrea! What briiiiings you here?"

"Margrave Roswaal L Mathers, I'm here to deal with the threat himself."

"Of course you are here for that."

"You will pay for what you've done, villain."

"Okay, Reinhard, please wait before killing me. Is there any way you can tell if I'm lying?"

"Why are you asking?" Reinhard questioned.

"Because what I'm going to say will sound like I'm lying. All I ask is if you use some ability to see if I'm lying or not."

"Hm. If you are just stalling, you will pay dearly."

Reinhard closed his eyes to get one of his divine protections to see if Subaru is lying.

As he gets that divine protection, he looks at the boy and says:

"Okay, what was the purpose of this, villain?"

"Well I'm not the villain you are speaking of. My name is Natsuki Subaru but I'm not of this world. The Natsuki Subaru of this world is the villain you are looking for."

"Hold on."

Reinhard was caught off guard when he saw that Subaru wasn't lying to him, causing him to approached Subaru to grab his arm while having his divine protection of empathy, wanting to see if the boy in front of him wasn't insane when saying this.

"Okay, now answer my question, who are you? What are you doing here? Did you caused all of this destruction?"

"My name is Natsuki Subaru. I'm here to stop the villain that looks like me and no, I didn't caused this destruction."

"Is that so...?"

Reinhard was caught off guard by this but before anything can be done, he noticed that someone was going to attack him, causing him to turn towards Roswaal's direction to see a couple of fireballs heading towards him.

Reinhard with just a swift of his hand stopped the attack while looking at the Margrave with a confused facial expression.

"Margrave Roswaal L Mathers, what are you doing?"

"My baaaad, I was trying to get rid of Subaru-kuuun."

"No need, he isn't the one we are looking for."

"Sorry Reinhard-kyun, but he is the one we are looking for, nya!"

Reinhard, Subaru, and Roswaal all three turned towards the voice to see Ferris standing on top of a large Mabeast with Meili sitting next to him.

Roswaal smiled since this is his chance to get Reinhard distracted in order to kill Natsuki Subaru while the Sword Saint was completely shocked seeing one of his allies standing on a Mabeast.

Subaru worried for Otto's safety since he was suppose to be taking on Ferris. He stepped up to look at Ferris to say:

"What did you do to Otto?"

"He put up a gyood fight but thanks to Meili-san, he didn't stand a chance."

"Wait...so Otto is..."

Subaru wanted to puke, feeling guilty that he gave his friend hope only to have him be killed for his sake in the most hellish world.

This caused him to fall to his knees with his anger growing towards the Natsuki Subaru of this world, blaming him for having caused all of this.

As Subaru was on his knees, Reinhard looked at his ally with a sad look before changing that look into a serious one.

"Felix, please stand down or I will be forced to put you down."

"Sorry Reinhard-kyun but nyai only serve Subaru-sama, my Subaru-sama."

"That's..."

Reinhard and Subaru both looked at Ferris to see how far the knight and the best healer had fallen. As Ferris smiled at the two in a fake innocent style, Meili got up and commanded her mabeast to attack the pair from all directions.

Reinhard did not worry since he could easily take down the Mabeast within seconds yet Subaru knew that this was a coordinated attack since Roswaal is waiting for the right moment before killing him.

'Damn it! I need to get out of this situation and fast!'

A little prior to the events of the other worldly Natsuki Subaru, the Natsuki Subaru of this world ran around for a bit before finally he can say that his goal is done.

The kingdom of Lugnica was on flames with many people dying all around him. He could hear their screams of pain, agony, and death. He looked around for a bit to smile at his handy work, knowing that this is all part of his original end goal.

'Now that I have established myself as the big villain, I will now look for my counter part since I know he will be a nuisance to my plans.'

Seeing that this should be taken care of first before allowing Emilia to kill him, he quickly made his way towards the middle of the burning city in hopes of finding one of his allies with the news that they had dealt with them or that he encounters his counter part himself.

As he was running around, all he can hear is the screams of people dying a horrible death. Had he been around his first 30 ish deaths, he would have felt extreme guilt but at this point he doesn't care anymore. He just looks at everyone dying around him and could even see children dying yet he didn't care.

'Your deaths will serve a purpose to help Emilia. I'll make sure of that!'

Subaru ran and ran until he noticed a fight between two groups, one being with a familiar boy with grey hair and blue while the other was the knight with purple hair facing off against Elsa.

'You have got to be fucking kidding me.'

Subaru was annoyed that his two associates are having trouble with some random boy with grey hair and a knight that was taken care of by blue. Subaru was going to interfere and do something yet he heard someone say,

"Weeeell hello there mister."

"Well if it isn't Meili Portroute. Have you found the other Natsuki Subaru?"

"Not yet! Buut I will find him for you, mister."

"Okay but before you do, be a little dear and assist your sister and blue. I need them for other things."

"I'm not little! I'm the appropriate size!"

"Okay Okay, my bad. Can my favorite assassin help the others?"

"Yes!"

Meili nodded and quickly got her mabeast to quickly charge into the area to assist Ferris and Elsa.

While that happened, Subaru crossed his arms in hopes of figuring out where his counter part is located.

While he was thinking that, he did felt someone approaching him. He turned towards his right side to see a boy with blonde hair walking towards him, all bloodied up.

'Hm. I don't recognize this boy. I wonder what happened to him.'

Subaru looked at the boy with a blank facial expression for a moment before turning into a fake worried facial expression, wanting to know what happened to the boy. He moved his hand in concern while saying,

"Are you...okay? You look like someone kicked your ass."

"Ha!...Th's...S'nothin' t'my amazin' self...! You should see...the other one..."

The boy tried to act all prideful yet he was badly injured. Subaru continued to act like an ally, trying to see who this person is and whether he's someone he needs to deal with.

He approached the boy in a concerned way yet the boy suddenly punched him in the face, catching him off guard and pissing him off.

"What the hell?!"

"Ya think ye can fool my amazin' self? I know how cap'n looks like and yer not him! Yer th'evil one he mentioned."

"Hm. I guess it would've been too easy if I could fool you."

"Ha...Ya bastard!"

"Well, you are not a threat to me so I'm going to get back to what I was doing earlier."

Subaru turned around and prepared to leave yet his senses were right to leave himself open, wanting to bait the demi human boy into attacking him. He manages to dodge the attack before using his handy knife to stab the demi human boy in the gut.

He was caught off guard by this yet the demi human boy still had enough strength to land another hit on Subaru's face. As Natsuki Subaru was sent flying away, the boy fell on his knees. He looked at Subaru with anger in his eyes before pulling off the knife from his gut.

"Ah! Yer a fucking prick!"

"Hahahaha, I know but at least I'm honest about who I am." As Subaru is saying this, he is getting up while looking at his opponent with little to no pity. He continued to speak in a disrespectful tone, "You act all tough yet you are a scared child. A pathetic one at that. Did mommy and daddy abandoned you?"

"Shut...up...!"

"Aw, seems like I hit a nerve. What are you going to do? Cry to mommy dearest?"

"Y-You fucking...bastard!"

The demi human boy despite his injuries got up and put up his fists, ready to give it his all against the evil Natsuki Subaru. The cultist boy saw this and smiled as he also got his fists up, ready to fight against the weak demi human boy.

'Whoever left him in such a state did a pretty good job. Just by the two punches alone where powerful enough to cause some damage to me. And that was with him extremely weakened.'

As Subaru thought this, the fist fight between the two began with his opponent being the first to swing his fist towards him. Not wanting to take a risk in getting hit, he dodges the attack just barely.

As he was able to move out of the way, his opponent left themselves open to be attacked with a right hook. Subaru managed to land a hit on his opponent's face, only doing minimal damage but enough to get the demi human's balance to be off.

As the demi human boy was off balance from Subaru's punch to his face, Subaru took this opportunity to land another face punch with more force on this one.

This was strong enough to push back the demi human boy back, leaving him open to be attacked once again.

As Subaru was about to connect his fist to the boy's face, the boy smiled as he quickly grabbed Subaru's hand.

"Well...shit."

"Got ya!"

The boy pulled Subaru close to him in order to land a powerful kick to Subaru's gut, bruising Subaru's ribs while also being send a couple of feet away from him. With Subaru holding his chest area in slight pain, he looked at his opponent with an impressed facial expression.

'This fucker is actually pretty strong. I wonder if there is some way to manipulate him into helping me dealing with Reinhard, the fucking sword saint prick!'

Subaru managed to gain the strength to stand up tall and quickly got himself ready for whatever his opponent is going to throw at him. As he was ready, he began to say to his opponent,

"You are pretty strong, I'll give you that but I'll make sure to enjoy killing you."

"My amazin' self'll be th'one killin' ya!"

The demi human boy and Subaru look at each other for a moment before the two charge at each other, both intending to kill the other. As they were closing in, they swing their fists at each other only for the two to land a hit at the same time. This caused both Subaru and his opponent to be pushed back.

As the two were recovering from the punch, Subaru was able to recover fast enough to go and grab his knife. As Subaru gets his knife, the demi human boy looked at him with anger before starting to transform despite being extremely weakened.

"I'm gonna kill ya, Natsuki Subaru!"

"This isn't good..."

Subaru knew that he needs to act before his opponent transforms completely, knowing that he would die if he doesn't do anything. He charges at his opponent and with a bit of luck he manages to stop the transformation when he forces his opponent to block his attack as he attempts to stab the boy's eye.

As the boy blocked the attack, he left himself open to be punched once again which left him vulnerable for Subaru to tackle him to the ground. Just as Subaru managed to gain the advantage, he looked at the boy and started to ask him,

"Okay, who the hell are you? I doubt you are from here with the way you are dressed or by the way you talk. Also is this so called "Cap'n" happen to be my counter part?"

"...F-Fuck you...!"

"Wrong answer!"

Subaru started to punch the boy in the face with excessive force, knowing that his opponent is too injured at this point to fight back. Subaru attacked his opponent with a barrage of punches, he looked at him with disgust and disappointment before saying:

"Okay, now answer the question with the right answers this time."

"...F-Fuck...you...f-fake cap'n...!"

"Wrong answer again...though that those confirm that your so called captain is my counter part. I guess in the end you did answer one of my questions but I sort of figured that out, so..."

Subaru started to grab the boy's neck in an attempt to choke him, knowing that he has the strength to do it. He starts choking the boy, he looks with satisfaction at how weak the demi human is only for something to all of a sudden hear a familiar voice shout out:

"Garf!"

Subaru turned towards the voice to see a familiar maid yet she looked very beaten up and seemed to be at death's door.

The witch cultist took a moment to process what is going on before coming to the conclusion that Roswaal's maid knows the boy in front of him and that they had some kind of fight.

Before he could say anything, a wind attack was thrown towards him which sliced off Subaru's left arm. This caused Subaru to fall on his back with a bit of pain being registered in where his left arm once was.

"Fucking hell!"

As Subaru was recovering from the attack, he looked at the maid as she was approaching the demi human boy with all of her strength. This made him aware of some new information, his counter part as someone that is dearest to Roswaal's maid, making it possible for her to turn on him.

'Noted for the next loop, keep these two away from each other or have the maid be killed should she betray me again.'

Having this in his mind, he got up despite being in pain and just looked at the maid with a death stare. Ram knew that she was in trouble yet she didn't care at this point, having lost her sister was bad enough but she refused to watch Garfiel be killed by the monster that is Natsuki Subaru. She got her wand out but it was too late, Subaru had plunged his knife deep into her neck. Ram looked at Subaru with anger yet she allowed death to take her, wanting to be with her sister in the afterlife.

"Good riddance to a useless maid."

As Subaru dropped Ram's corpse to the ground, he could feel something was happening behind him. He turned around to see Garfiel looking at him with anger in his eyes, causing the witch cultist to smile.

"I see. So maybe you do have a fire in your eyes. I'll have to remember this for next time."

"There won't be a next time...I'll fucking kill you!"

Garfiel started to transform with Subaru tempting to kill him mid-transformation yet he saw this as an opportunity.

'My plans won't work without my left arm, so I'll let this boy transform to see what I will be dealing with on my next loop. All this information will help me create the perfect loop for Emilia to win the royal selections.'

Once Garfiel transformed, Subaru was amazed to see the large creature that was Garfiel. Although knowing that this alone can't beat Reinhard, this form could provide some uses to him if he can manipulate the boy.

Before he was able to say anything, he saw Garfiel's hand move swiftly which resulted in the witch cultist boy being sliced in half. As he felt himself dying while managing to ignore the pain, Subaru had a thought in mind.

'Seeing this amount of strength, I think I'll have that clown handle him...or maybe Elsa...nah, she would get too distracted with wanting to see his intestines. All I know is the other Natsuki Subaru sure does have a powerful ally, so let's fix that on the next go around.'

Subaru smiled as he looked up to see Garfiel crush him to death, knowing that the next loop he has the advantage now.

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 4: Surrounded by flames

Natsuki Subaru's mind returned back to the moment where the fire was starting, causing him to cross his arms and analyze all the information he had just learned from the previous loop. He took a moment to think before looking at both Elsa and Meili with a serious facial expression.

"Contractor, are you not satisfied with this fire?"

"No, I mean the fire is fine and it'll spread without any influence of mine but that isn't what's bothering me."

"What is bothering you?"

Subaru looked at Meili and for a moment he saw her as an innocent girl asking her big brother something only for him to remember that she is an assassin with a twisted way of looking at things. He stood silent for a couple of seconds before responding to the question by saying,

"There is another Natsuki Subaru running around, one that can ruin my plans. It would be easy to deal with him if he didn't had a knight and some demi human fighting by his side."

"Weeeeell isn't that quite the information, co-conspiratoooooor."

Subaru turned to see Roswaal approaching him with Ram walking by his side. At first the witch cultist boy was tempted to have the maid executed for her defiance in the latest loop yet he knew that this would cause trouble with the Margrave. Subaru just stared at Roswaal and Ram for a moment before looking at the fire he created. Seeing the flames spread helped calm him down, allowing him to focus on the goal that is in front of him.

'I need to deal with that knight and the demi human but I also need to deal with my counter part. I don't know if he is looping with me as well...note to self, need to know if other me is looping. Okay the objective is still be the ultimate villain for Emilia to beat. To accomplish this objectives I need to deal with Natsuki Subaru, that purple hair knight, that "Garf" guy, and avoid being killed by Reinhard...well that and piss him off cause why not.'

Knowing his objectives, he thought how everyone would make this plan effective with himself being in the shadows in the case he needs to assist.

'I can't have the maid assist Roswaal or be near the others since seeing that boy she called "Garf" might turn her against me. I need her to do something else for me but as for the others.'

Subaru turned towards the group and asked them to individually approach him while he tells them their specific roles of a new plan he came up with. Ferris joined in after Subaru was done talking to Roswaal, allowing him to tell his slave how exactly he can help. Ferris was happy to hear that his services were needed and listened in on what his part of the plan was.

"Don't worry Subaru-sama, Ferris won't fail nyow!"

"I know you won't blue. Okay everyone, head to your places!"

The group nodded and quickly split up with Ram being the only one to stay there, confused since Roswaal ordered her to stay up. As she watched the group dispatched, Subaru turned towards her and started conversation.

"I take it my co-conspirator told you to stay."

"Yes, Roswaal-sama said you wanted me here."

"Yes."

"Okay, then what for?"

"No need to look at me with anger, I just need you for an important part of the plan."

'Assuming all falls how I want it to be, she will help make sure that my main objective can be successful.'

Subaru approached her as he continued to speak.

"You are actually the key to this plan going successfully."

Prior to these events, another Natsuki Subaru had also looped back in time, his mind having been focused on escaping Roswaal's attacks until he realized that he wasn't running anymore.

'What just happened?'

Subaru was caught off guard when he ended up looping back to the checkpoint, seeing that his counter part of this world had died. Since this happened, he knows now that he needs to move fast if he wants to save Felt from her fate. He turns towards Garfiel and Julius to tell them,

"We need to move and fast."

"Agreed."

Julius says this and quickly with Garfiel and Subaru, the three of them start running with everything they got towards the kingdom. Julius being worried for Anastasia's sake, Subaru wanting to save Felt, and Garfiel wanting to help the people of Lugnica. As the three sprinted towards the entrance, Subaru remembers how he should have the events play out in order to reach Felt in time. He turns towards Julius to ask him if he can help the knights while Garfiel takes care of the Mabeast. Garfiel and Julius nodded at this and quickly went to do their parts while Subaru redid his footsteps from the first loop until he heard Felt's voice screaming out for help. This prompted Subaru to quickly go to the girl, knowing that she needs his help.

"Don't worry Felt, I'm here to help you."

Subaru got to Felt's location and managed to move the broken rubble from Felt's legs before getting her out of the area before the broken building crushed her. As he does this, Felt looks at Subaru and starts to say,

"Th-Thank you, mister."

"Anything for you, Felt."

As Subaru got Felt away from any possible dangers, he set her down and made sure that she was alright. While checking on her, Felt looked at Subaru's face and somehow felt that she knew who he was yet she wasn't sure. This prompted her to ask him for his name, something Subaru was unsure if he wanted to give since he knows in this world, his name is associated with evil. He paused for a moment but before he could give an answer, something grabbed his collar and started lifting him into the air.

"What the—?!"

"Mister!"

Subaru looked around and can see that he is being taken away by someone who is strong and can fly since he can see the entire kingdom just by looking down. This causes him to panic for a moment since he doesn't know what is going on until a familiar voice speaks to him.

"I wouldn't mooooove like that if I were you, Subaru-kuuun."

'You have got to be kidding me!'

Subaru looked up to see that Roswaal is the one responsible for this, causing the boy to be annoyed and scared since he has no way out of this and death won't be able to get him out of this situation. He turned towards Roswaal to say,

"Ros-chi, what the hell is the meaning of this?"

"Ros-chi? Thaaaat is quite the nickname, Subaru-kuuun."

"Yeah Yeah, I know you from my timeline but what are you up to?"

"Juuuust following orders."

"Let me guess, my evil self told you to get me away from the kingdom?"

"Something like that but also to gaaaaather information out of you."

'Well this isn't going to end well.'

Subaru made this realization and quickly tried to think of something he can do to get Garfiel and Julius to help him in this problem. His only idea was to throw his shoe towards Garfiel's location, knowing that he could probably find him should Roswaal take him far away where he can't do anything. He quickly grabs his left side shoe and tries to take a good guess on where Garfiel could be located before throwing his shoe, hoping that this would save him. As he does this, Garfiel was taking on a familiar mabeast he had taken out during his fight against Elsa and Meili. As he was keeping his distance to come up with a strategy to beat the Banassi, something hit him on his head, causing him to be confused and angry.

"What the?!"

Garfiel looked down and was at first confused on why a random shoe fell on his head before looking up to see something off. He could see two people flying away yet he couldn't tell who they were until he looked closely at the shoe that fell on his head. Upon close examination, he realized that it was Subaru's shoe, making him now aware of his captain being in danger.

"Shit! I need t'get t'Cap'n!"

Garfiel was about to leave yet the Mabeast he was fighting started to charge towards him, forcing him to return his focus on the fight against the Banassi.

'Th's fuckin' thin'! I need't beat ya before going to cap'n!'
Garfiel quickly semi-transformed with both his arms being in their beast form before going off to attack the Banassi, knowing that he is going to have to use everything he has if he wants to end the fight early. Julius and his group managed to push back the Mabeast and get a lot of people to safety yet he noticed Felt approaching him. At first the finest knight didn't recognize her since she was all dirty and a mess but after hearing her speak, he recognized who she was.

"Knight! Knight! I need your help!"

"Felt-sama, what are you doing here? Where is Reinhard-san?"

"T-The sword saint?! I don't know! I just need your help! A boy who saved me had suddenly been kidnapped."

"Who was this boy?"

"I don't know him! He looked scary with those scary eyes but he was a good person! He wore weird clothings."

'Subaru.'

Julius could tell that it was Subaru with just the description of his eyes but hearing that someone captured him made him realize that he needs to act now. He kneeled down to be on the same level as Felt while asking her for information.

"Were you able to see who took him?"

"N-No. He was just grabbed while having been taken away through the air."

"Hm. That is unnerving. Did you saw where they were heading?"

"Out of the kingdom from the looks of it."

"Hm. Alright then."

Julius turned towards his fellow knights nearby and told them to protect Felt while he went to tell Garfiel that Subaru is in trouble. As he approached the boy, he could see that someone is trying to attack him while he is finishing off the Banassi. Julius quickly summoned his spirits to assist him in stopping this threat. As he got in between Garfiel and the person trying to attack him, Julius clashed blades with a familiar threat.

"The Bowel Hunter."

"My My, you are quite strong, knight."

Julius with his strength managed to shove Elsa back while still having his guard up.

"What are you doing here?"

"My My, wouldn't you like to know."

"It's alright Elsa, you can tell him."

"Are you sure?"

Julius noticed the voice and it sounded familiar while Elsa turned to see her boss approaching the scene. Julius and Garfiel both looked and were in complete shocked when they saw Natsuki Subaru right in front of them but in witch cultist attire and looking much evil than the Natsuki Subaru they know.

"Yer...Yer not cap'n!"

"I know I'm not that weakling you call as your captain. I'm Natsuki Subaru! Sin Archbishop of the witch's cult, representing Pride!"

"What...?"

Julius and Garfiel were stunned at this, not believing that even another version of their friend could have fallen so far to become a sin archbishop. This caused the two to feel anger, with Garfiel seeing this Subaru as an imposter and a weakling for joining the witch cult while Julius viewed this as a possible fake who took his friend's name and body. Julius pointed his sword at the Sin Archbishop of Pride while saying to him,

"You are a phoney, using the name of Natsuki Subaru for evil. I, Julius Juukulius, the finest knight of Lugnica, will be the one to strike you down."

"Oh really? That would be interesting but you would have to get through my associates here, the Bowel Hunter also known as Elsa Grainhart, my slave friend blue, and the little mabeast user Meili Portroute."

As Natsuki Subaru says this, Ferris and Meili both come out of hiding with a couple of Mabeast standing behind them. Garfiel looked at the three threats and the Mabeast with confident, having beaten Elsa and Meili before while Julius was in shock.

'Ferris...why are you siding with a witch cultist?'

"Julius-kyun, soo gyowd to see noyw again. How are nyow still alive?"

"What are you...?"

"That's right, I never mentioned this, but blue had killed you once. I have faith that he can do it again."

"..."

Julius was unsure on how to handle this new threat and was tempted to reason with Ferris until Garfiel patted him in the back.

"Oi! Let my amazin' self handle them, go find Cap'n."

"...are you sure about this?"

"Trust me, the shield of sanctuary won't fall here!"

Garfiel says this as he smacks his fists together, happy that he gets his rematch against Elsa and Meili. Julius was not sure whether he wants to let Garfiel fight on his own yet he knows that someone has to go and help their Subaru. Just as he was going to leave, he looks at the demi human boy and tells him,

"Good luck, Shield of Sanctuarry."

"Thanks, knight."

The two nod at each other before Julius went off to the exit of the kingdom to look for Subaru while Garfiel got himself ready for the match of his life. Elsa and Blue both turned towards their Subaru, both having the same thought on whether Subaru wants someone to stop the knight. The Sin Archbishop of Pride noticed this and just brushed at the two while saying,

"Don't worry about him, I have someone dealing with him. I do, however, want to see how this boy handles all of you."

"Would you like us to keep the boy alive?"

"Do whatever you want Elsa."

"With pleasure."

Elsa had a smile in her face when she heard this, enjoying how her contractor allows her to do whatever she wants. Elsa turns towards Garfiel with both her blades ready to see the boy's bowels while Garfiel himself got ready for his rematch. He pointed towards Elsa while saying,

"Guess my amazin' self'll have to kick yer ass once again!"

"Once again?"

"Yes, bitch in black. I've faced ya before and was able t'beat ya!"

"Wait Elsa, everyone, stand down for a moment."

Subaru having heard this caught his curiosity, causing him to want at least some information. He looked at Garfiel and began to ask,

"You say that you fought Elsa before. Explain how is this possible."

"Like hell I'm talkin'!"

"Okay, at least answer me this, what events lead to you fighting Elsa?"

"Hmph. Th't bastard, Roswaal, hired th's bitch t'attack my big sis and a lil' girl on his mansion."

"Wait, Roswaal hired Elsa to kill his own people...that doesn't sound right."

"Well my contractor, he did hire me to kill the half elf for some odd reason despite her being in his care."

"Oh really?"

Subaru crossed his arms with a bit of hatred increasing in his mind, having now realized that Roswaal was the person responsible for his first many deaths at the hands of the bowel hunter. Keeping this in mind, he turned towards Elsa to tell her that they can start fighting before looking at Garfiel to thank him, happy to gain some new information that he wasn't aware of before. He snapped his fingers and left, allowing Elsa and her crew to officially start their fight with Garfiel. The boy first clashed with Elsa, being able to tell that this Elsa is slightly weaker than the one she fought though the one from his world wasn't fighting him at full strength since he was still recovering from his fight against the Emilia camp.

The two clashed for a bit with Elsa intrigued in finding an opponent that she is on pair with until Ferris joined in and tried to use her water magic to do some damage to the demi human boy only for that said boy to dodge the attack and force it to hit Elsa's right arm. Although it did inflict damage on the bowel hunter, it did not faze her and she kept on attacking Garfiel. The boy knew this would happen yet he was still confident that he can beat Elsa even with her allies helping her against him.

"Aight, let's see the black bitch and her friends take on the shield of Sanctuary, Garfiel Tinsel!"

Garfiel with confidence charged at Elsa and continued with their battle while Julius ran away towards the exit, lost and confused on how everything doesn't make sense. He knows that Felix wouldn't just turn to the witch's cult's side or allow himself to be in slaved or the fact that there is a Sin Archbishop of Pride with Subaru's body and name.

'This world...is a nightmare.'

As he was thinking this, he noticed that someone familiar was blocking his pathway to leave the kingdom. He pulled out both his sword and his six spirits in the case it was someone threatening only to see that it was Ram in her maid uniform.

"Ram, what are you doing here?"

"..."

"Ram?"

The maid stood silent with anger shown all over her face. The two stayed looking at each other for a moment before a fight broke out with Ram started it against a reluctant Julius.

"Al Fura!"

Subaru was still in danger with Roswaal dragging him a few feet away from the kingdom and into the forest. As they were near the ground, the margrave threw Subaru into a tree and caused him to get bruises in his back. This annoyed Subaru which caused him to shout,

"What the hell was that for?!"

"My baaaad, I accidently dropped you onto that treeee."

"Oh shut up, you did that on purpose, Ros-chi!"

"Weeell, mind telling me something then."

As Roswaal says this, he closes in on Subaru. The boy was trying to get up yet his back was still injured.

"What exactly do you want to know?"

"Caaan you loop in this world? What is the method of your looping?"

"Look, I can in a sense loop but it is different here. This Natsuki Subaru loops because of his..."

Subaru paused for a moment, worried that saying how his counter part loops would cause him to die by this world's Satella. Roswaal noticed the boy pausing, making him wonder if the boy is under a contract of sorts regarding the looping ability.

"The nature of both you and my co-coooooonspirator's ability is quite unnatural. I would assume someone gaaaaave it to you both."

"S-Something like that."

Roswaal smiled as he heard this before preceding to beat the boy up once he closed the gap, catching Subaru off guard while also being reminded of a time where he wanted his world's Roswaal's assistance only to learn he was the cause of all the hell he went through in the Sanctuary. Seeing his beatdown be the exact way he received the same beatdown from the same clown is unnerving for the boy. After Roswaal punched him a couple more times, he starts to say,

"Soooorry for the harsh treatment, I just waaaant to show you the consequences should you try hiding any information."

"G-Great...you prick..."

"Noooow, who are you?"

"...I-I'm Natsuki Subaru...E-Emilia-tan's k-knight...!"

"Emilia-saaaama's knight?"

"Y-Yes! I'm a part of her camp!"

"Why shooould I believe your word?"

Subaru looked at Roswaal and took note on what he said, knowing that the clown was trying to gain some information for himself as well besides his counter part. Having this in mind, Subaru thought carefully on his words before responding to Roswaal's question by saying,

"Whether you trust me or not is irrelevant, killing me will only leave you out on many things I know, especially the other Natsuki Subaru you follow."

Roswaal's looked at Subaru with an interesting facial expression, curious on what the boy had said. He took a moment to think carefully on what information he wants to attain from the boy before looking at his direction once again, only this time having a fire ball pointed at him. As he does this, he starts to say in a rather sinister tone,

"Weeeell then, what is the true method of my Subaru-kuuuuun's looping ability?"

"Why should I tell you that?"

"Hmmmmm."

Roswaal approached Subaru once again to beat him up, reminding Subaru that he is in no position to avoid answering the questions. Subaru looked up and spitted blood at Roswaal's face, looking at the margrave with anger which resulted in him having his nose broken with a simple punch by Roswaal.

'Fuck...! Worth it...!'

Subaru was in pain yet he didn't care since he knows that Roswaal can't kill him, not with the information he had. The Margrave grabbed Subaru's neck and started to speak without his usual accent,

"I won't be saying this again, how does Natsuki Subaru-kun loop?"

"Hehe...I don't...know if the same rules apply...asshole but if I do that...I'll probably end up dead..."

"Is thaaaat so? Then at least answer this, whaaaat is the limited amount of times one caaaaan loop?"

"That...I'm not sure myself...but from what Echidna had told me...it could be endless."

"Echidna...?"

Roswaal let Subaru go, having been caught off guard that Subaru met his teacher. This caused him to question what exactly happened in this Subaru's world.

"Did my coooounterpart accomplished his goal?"

"I will answer that if—"

"You shoooould remember that you are nooooot in a position to ask questions."

"Yeah Yeah."

Subaru slowly got up despite how much his body hurts from the beatdown he has received by Roswaal once again. As he got himself back on his feet, he looked at Roswaal and was about to speak until the two heard a voice say,

"Roswaal-sama."

"Hm?"

Both Subaru and Roswaal turned towards the voice to be surprised that it is an injured Ram standing with a battle damage Julius standing side by side. Subaru smiled at this since he knew he would get help while Roswaal was shocked that his maid would be standing side by side with the knight his co-conspirator wanted dead.

"Whaaaat is the meaning of this, Raaaaam?"

"Pardon me, Roswaal-sama but that book of yours needs to be destroyed."

"I seeeee, what a shame."

Roswaal says this in a calm and collected manner before starting his fight with Ram and Julius while Subaru tried to think of a way to get out of this situation. He knows that this Roswaal is much dangerous since he has his book with him and that this Ram is nowhere near as strong as his world's Ram. He looked around for a moment in hopes that he could find something he can use yet the only thing he really can rely on is Invisible providence.

'The only thing this Roswaal knows is that I worked for the Emilia camp, but he is unaware of my witch factors. This might be a good thing.'

Subaru seeing that this is the only advantage he has left, he slowly approaches Roswaal while he is distracted by Ram and Julius. The pair were dodging all of Roswaal's attacks with Julius assisting Ram considering how injured she is compared to him. As the two were doing their best, Subaru continued to approach Roswaal until the Margrave himself spoke to the boy while still on the offense in his fight against his maid and the finest knight,

"I woooould stand back if I were you, Subaru-kuuuun."

"Don't...underestimate me, you prick!"

Subaru with all the strength he could muster managed to summon the unseen hand, landing a punch on Roswaal who was completely caught off guard by this attack. As he took a hit, Ram and Julius noticed this and were confused for a second before realizing that this is an opening for the two to do something. Ram used the last of her true oni strength to charge at Roswaal, looking like she is going to kill him only to all of a sudden spare him. Subaru had an idea of what Ram did while Julius and Roswaal were dumbfounded by this. Roswaal and Julius turned to see Ram standing next to Subaru, coughing up some blood due to the amount of strength she was using. Subaru noticed this and knew that he needed to use Cor Leonis on Ram to keep her from dying. He turned towards her and wanted to accept her burden yet she considered him a threat. Seeing that this is the case, he managed to gain the will power to move towards Ram and grab the book from her while looking at Roswaal with a determinate voice,

"Are you looking for this?"

"What...you!"

Roswaal was prepared to attack Subaru, wanting to get back his gospel but before anything can be done, Subaru starts saying,

"If you get close or even try to get your precious book back, I'll destroy it!"

"You are bluffiiiiing."

"Are you sure about that?"

Roswaal looked at Subaru and realized that something like this must have happened in this Subaru's world, where his counterpart lost the gospel. Considering that Garfiel is fighting for Natsuki Subaru, that made him slowly realize that something happened in Sanctuary.

"Hm. My, you seeeeeeem to be acting like this as happened before. I suppooooooose you defeated me in your world."

"You could say that...but in reality we made a bet that made him bound to work by my side."

"A bet?"

"Yes, a bet."

"Of course you won, wiiiiith your ability to redo everything."

"Redo everything? What does he mean, Subaru?"

"Nothing by that, Julius. As for you, Ros-chi, I didn't use my ability. We had made a bet in one loop and I beat your little gospel."

"What?"

Roswaal was again dumbfounded, seeing that this Natsuki Subaru is much different to his co-conspirator. The two do share the intelligence to overcome their situations yet his co-conspirator does things more for self-interest although he says it is for Emilia's sake while this Natsuki Subaru is more so fighting for everyone's sake. This made Roswaal to close his eyes and to think carefully on the next thing he was going to ask.

"So, whaaaaat is the overall goal here?"

"Well...I want to thank Ram and Julius for saving me from you."

"I...didn't...do it for you...you monster look-alike..."

Ram says this as she is slowly losing conscience, prompting Subaru to turn towards her and to ask a simple question.

"Ram, can you let me take your burden?"

"...what...?"

"My world's Ram was harsh like you but she was still my friend. I know that the Natsuki Subaru is dangerous and a pathetic loser for having accepted the witch cult. I mean I know why he did it but I hate that he chose this path, which is why I'm asking you to trust me. I'm not like him, I do care for Emilia-tan but I also care for everyone, including your very stubborn master. Yeah, I dislike him but I wouldn't let him die, nor will I let you die so I ask again, can I take your burden?"

Ram looked at Subaru with hatred at first but as she processed what he said and looked deep into the boy's eyes, she felt something different about this Subaru. She sees a completely different person than the one she had met around the time her sister had died. That Natsuki Subaru she hates, especially how he keeps pushing Roswaal to use the gospel she hates. This thinking allowed her to nod at Subaru, considering him as an ally for now. Because of this, she felt all the pain she was feeling to suddenly leave while Subaru was holding his stomach as if he is in pain.

With only a few seconds she realized what Subaru was doing, getting her to slightly trust him yet she still couldn't look at the boy's face without being reminded of the monster that is the Sin Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru. She looked at Roswaal while Subaru regained his composure, managing to find a way to get through the pain before Julius joined his side. Subaru gave the book to Julius while Roswaal was keeping his calm, knowing that this Subaru probably has some kind of method to destroy the book should he do something wrong. Seeing that he is backed into a corner, he started to ask,

"What are yoooou going to do to me, Subaru-kuuuuun?"

"Well, I'm going to need some answers. Tell me, what exactly as my counterpart done from the moment you met him all the way until this day."

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 5: A Struggle Not Too Late

Subaru and Julius were both silent after hearing everything Roswaal had said from what he knows of this worlds Subaru. Julius was completely shocked yet understanding just how dangerous and intelligent this Natsuki Subaru is, not knowing that both his version and this world's version of Natsuki Subaru are only intelligent because of their ability to loop back in time while Subaru himself started to understand what he was seeing.

'So this bastard and insane version of me uses Return By Death...no, he abuses it. If he wants to know the maximum amount of information, he will die as many times as it takes until he gets it right. That's just...wrong in so many levels.'

Subaru says this in a disgusted way, seeing his counterpart has the opposite of him. This made him think back on the second trial of the sanctuary he took a little over a year ago, how he witnessed how he had to witness the worlds after he died and how they continued. Had his counterpart tried to take that trial, he knows that he wouldn't pass due to the amount of worlds he in theory would've left behind thought he knows one crucial detail.

'Even if he did took the trial and saw how much pain he left behind, he wouldn't care. He is what Roswaal wanted me to be, a person who can only save one and no other.'

Being reminded of the events of Sanctuary only made Subaru want to move on to something else. He crossed his arms and with a serious facial expression he said to the Roswaal of this world,

"Take me to Natsuki Subaru, I want to deal with him myself."

"And why shoooould I do that, Subaru-kuuuun?"

"I mean I can always have your book destroyed, right Julius?"

Julius nodded and had his fire spirit, Ia, standing by as the spirit prepared to burn the book, causing Roswaal to quickly responded to this.

"No need to do that, Subaru-kuuun. I'll take you to my co-conspirator."

Roswaal was closing in on Subaru, ready to take him only to do something different by grabbing Subaru's neck and creating a fireball on his free hand, holding it next to Subaru. As this happened, Julius and Ram both got ready for a fight only for Roswaal to say,

"Noooooot so fast, I have your friend hostage. Do any suuuuudden moves and Subaru-kuuun dies."

"Of course you would do something like this, Roswaal-sama."

"You know me, Raaaaam. Always playing my caaaards right."

"Julius, don't listen to this clown."

"Thaaaat is quite hurtful, Subaru-kuuun."

"Oh shut it you wannabe clown. Even if you do anything to me, I can still get out of this situation."

"Is thaaaat right?"

Roswaal looked at Subaru and could see that he is smiling with confidence, not afraid of dying there. This tipped Roswaal off that something is off since his version of Natsuki Subaru was also the same, not afraid of dying, as if death is only the beginning. While Roswaal did this, Subaru was bluffing since he doesn't have Return by Death and can only loop when his counterpart dies. There was a silence in the room with everyone on edge until all of a sudden Roswaal let Subaru go, confusing both Ram and Julius.

"What are you—?"

"Pardon me buuuut I must take care of something first. Pleeeease excuse me."

Roswaal begins to fly before leaving, causing Subaru, Ram, and Julius to all three be left confused by this altercation. Subaru approached Julius to get Roswaal's gospel in hopes of being able to read his book to find out what he is up to. Once he opened the book, he tried to read through the pages yet like Petelguese's book, he couldn't read anything.

"Hm. I guess this is protected. Damn. That would've helped."

"What is Roswaal-sama up to?"

"I think that he might be going to find my other counterpart, why else would he leave?"

"Hm. Then we better move quickly."

"Agreed."

Subaru nodded at what Julius said before the three of them started to leave the forest to go after Roswaal.

Natsuki Subaru was running around to look for Reinhard, wanting to figure out where is he located. While he was looking for the sword saint, he started to think about what he had just learned from Garfiel.

'So, Roswaal was behind my struggle against Elsa. I'm not surprised considering that he was so eager to be partners with me, someone who was a part of the witch cult.'

Subaru at first had a smile on his face since he knows that he can send Roswaal to his death or even change the events to be different from the clown's book. As he thought about this, his smile turned into anger since he realized that their goals align with Emilia winning the royal selection. This made Subaru approach a burned body to start kicking it, wanting to let out his rage.

"This motherfucker! He knew that she was in danger and made me suffer on my first goddamn day in this fucking world!"

Subaru kicked and kicked before starting to stab the body, wanting to let out more steam before he was able to regain his calmness. As his mind came back to him, he just look up at the sky with his mind processing all the things he had just learned.

'Okay, I'm going to brag to Reinhard and get him to kill me. That way on the next turn of events, I get information from the clown before killing him and his maid, the two traitorous bastards. After that, I will—'

"Stop there, villain."

"..."

'No, this is too early. I can't confront her yet.'

Subaru couldn't turn around due to the fact that he wasn't ready to see her. He wasn't ready to end it all until every loose end is done for. He thinks and thinks for a way out of this situation, knowing that he can't face her just yet.

"I'm sorry but we can't meet, not in this loop anyway."

Subaru made a run for it, managing to enter a burning building to avoid Emilia's attacks but just barely. As he is in the same burning building he was in a previous loop when he faced the knights on his own, he knew where was a good place to escape Emilia, knowing that she would follow behind him or have Puck go in to find him. As he escaped, he looked back for a moment before making a run for it, leaving behind his witch cultist attire and started running around in his original attire he came to Lugnica in. As he was in this attire, he was able to blend in for a bit with the people trying to escape the fire, giving him time to make a plan for the next loop. While he was blending in with the civilians, he was eventually pulled into a alleyway. This caused him to pull out his knife, having felt threatened until he noticed that it was Roswaal.

"What do you want?"

"Well Subaru-kuuuun, I want you to loop nooooow."

"Why is that?" Subaru says this as he prepares to kill Roswaal.

"Your counterpart knooooows more than expected."

"How so?"

"He is awaaaare of your history here and can loooop with you."

"Of course he can, that bastard."

Roswaal points a fireball directly at Subaru with the intent to threaten the boy yet the witch cultist wasn't afraid of this. This made Roswaal finally figure out what is the cause of the looping ability. Before the margrave could force his co-conspirator to loop by killing him yet he was caught off guard by him saying,

"You were the one that hired that crazy woman, the bowel hunter, back a year ago to kill Emilia."

"Hm. Now why wooooould you say that?"

"You know why, jackass. Some guy your maid called Garf told me about what your counterpart did."

"Is thaaaaat so?"

Roswaal stood holding his attack towards Subaru while contemplating on his counterpart, seeing that there is a lot that is different.

'If Subaru-kun is not a witch cultist in my counterpart's world, then what was the change?'

Roswaal knew that this was a problem since not knowing this one crucial information could cause his co-conspirator to kill him in the next loop. He lowered his guard while beginning to say in a calm manner,

"Shall I teeeeell you what the other Natsuki Subaru-kuuuun told me?"

"Hm. Well, that is your job, clown."

"Weeeell, he knows about your hiiiiistory here. He is aaaaaalso a part of the Emilia camp on his woooorld."

"Is that right? Fucking prick has been close to the beautiful Emilia."

"Yes, noooow what is the plan?"

"Hm. If this prick can loop then I need him to be stuck in place long enough for me to pull off my plan. Once I accomplish in getting Emilia the king of Lugnica, my counterpart won't be able to do anything about it."

Subaru crossed his arms for a moment before he told Roswaal to follow him, both of them heading away from the area since they need to work on some plan for the next loop. As the two were walking towards a safe location from the fire, Subaru thought to himself,

'I want to burn you Roswaal L Mathers, for being the reason I joined the witch cult to save Emilia from the sin archbishops and from Elsa herself. I'll make sure of that but first...my counterpart will suffer.'

Subaru, Julius, and Ram all three re-entered the kingdom to see that a horde of Mabeast were starting to take control. Seeing this made the group aware that they need to act fast if they want to get to the Sin Archbishop of Pride while also both Subaru and Julius wanted to check on Garfiel.

"Do you think Garfiel-san will be alright?"

"He is pretty strong. He has defeated that crazy woman before, he could do it once again."

"Yes but...Ferris-san and Meili are helping the Bowel hunter."

"I know it looks tough but Garfiel is strong on his own right. He will make it through."

Julius was still unsure about this but considering that he learned of Garfiel being able to take down their world's bowel hunter, he trusted Subaru's world. He turned towards the burning kingdom, seeing that the fire has gotten worse. Before anything can be done, they notice a knight with red hair and a handsome face approaching them.

"That's far enough."

"Huh?"

Subaru, Ram, and Julius all turn towards the voice to see that it is Reinhard standing in front of them. Reinhard looked at Subaru with anger but that anger itself would be calmed when he notices Julius.

"Reinhard-san."

"Julius. How is this possible?"

"I'm not of this world but I'm still the Julius you know. You seem to be much different my friend."

"Yes, with that monster being next to you, I have to stop him."

Reinhard was preparing to kill Subaru until both Ram and Julius got in front of them boy. Reinhard noticed this and looked at both his friend and the maid he recognized, confused on why they would defend someone like Subaru.

"What are you doing?"

"This isn't Sin Archbishop of Pride, this here is Natsuki Subaru, Emilia-sama's knight and a fellow friend of ours."

"Friend?"

The Sword Saint stood still as he used the divine protection of wind to read Julius, making sure the once dead knight wasn't lying. Seeing that he was telling the truth, Reinhard had a moment to contemplate on the situation. Considering that Julius was telling the truth, then the Subaru in front of him is probably from that different world but then that would mean that this is a Subaru before he went mad. Not wanting to take that chance, he pointed his finger at Subaru's direction while addressing to both Ram and Julius,

"Stand back. I can't allow him to become anything like this world's Sin Archbishop of Pride in your world."

"Wait a minute Reinhard-san, this isn't—"

"Julius, please stand back or I won't have any choice but attack. You too, maid."

Reinhard was trying to be polite yet both Ram and Julius did not move. This caused the red haired knight to look sad for a moment, seeing that he will need to fight innocent people to get to Subaru. He pulled out a sword from the ground before looking at Julius, seeing that the two will be fighting.

"I'm sorry my friend but I can't allow you to."

"I'm sad to hear about this, Julius. Reinhard Van Astrea, the Sword Saint."

"Julius Juukulius, a member of the Royal Guard."

The two knights looked at each other for a few seconds but before their fight began, Julius turned towards Subaru to say,

"Find Garfiel-san before confronting your counterpart. Ram, make sure Subaru-san doesn't get himself killed."

"Understood knight-sama."

Ram nodded at the knight before turning back to Reinhard, commencing his fight with his friend as the two charged at each other. As both their swords clashed, they both had a smile on their faces since Julius has always wanted to fight against the sword saint while Reinhard somehow felt satisfied that he is facing against a former friend, having been a while since the two clashed swords. Ram and Subaru ran around the kingdom for a bit with her mind having now been on Garfiel, surprised that her childhood friend from the Sanctuary left the place since he is scared of the outside world. This made her curious to know this different Natsuki Subaru. She looked at Subaru for a few seconds before looking forward while saying,

"How did someone as stupid as you get through Garf?"

"Okay, I see the insults are still there."

"Hmph. They are criticisms. You still have ugly eyes like the monster and you are short like him."

"My eyes and my height I can't do anything about but about Garfiel, you'd be surprised but it took the combined efforts of your counterpart, Emilia-tan, Otto, and myself. When Emilia-tan had disappeared because of reasons, you and Otto both held back Garfiel while I helped Emilia-tan pass the trials. Before she could start taking the trials, you prompted Garfiel to take the trials first which he did and passed."

"Hm."

Ram kept a blank facial expression but deep down she felt happy that her counterpart managed to help Garfiel.

'Garf...I'm so proud of you.'

Subaru looked at Ram for a few seconds before looking forward, having noticed the small smile on her face even if it was a little hard to see. As the two ran around the burning kingdom, Ram started to use her clairvoyance to find Garfiel, starting to worry about him. Subaru noticed this and quickly used Cor Leonis to see how his friend's status is. As he looked, he noticed that he was still alive but not in very good shape.

"Ram, I know where Garfiel is located. Follow me."

Ram looked at Subaru for a moment before nodding, trusting the boy's instincts to find her childhood friend. They ran into a couple of destroyed buildings before they approached near the area Garfiel was at. Once they arrived, they noticed Garfiel was keeping up with Elsa's attacks yet he was badly wounded.

"Garf!"

"Huh? Ram?"

Garfiel was distracted for a second before returning focus on the fight, knowing that he now as more motivation to beat the bowel hunter and the fallen knight. Ferris would wait before attacking Garfiel, assuring that Elsa doesn't get beaten. Meili was in the distance, hiding due to the fact that all her Mabeast had been killed by the demi human, making her useless. Subaru noticed this and stood thinking for a moment before turning to Ram while saying,

"Think you can help Garfiel?"

"Yes. What will you be doing?"

"I have to find my counterpart and put an end to this."

"Hmph. Just try not getting youself killed...Barusu."

Ram goes into the fight while Subaru was stunned for a moment, a bit surprised that this version of Ram had called him by his nickname yet it did bring a smile to his face.

'Seems like this world's Ram is still not yet gone...despite Rem being...gone...'

Subaru felt his heart breaking when thinking this, feeling sad since he wished to see Rem again. He stood standing for a few seconds before returning his focus on the situation at hand. He ran towards Meili to check on her only to see her run away from him.

"Hold on there."

"No, you are not onii-s~an."

"I know but at least hear me out. I'm still Natsuki Subaru! But unlike my counterpart, I know about your life, how you met Elsa, and how you had to deal with Capella."

"...you got one minute."

Meili crossed her arms as she was curious to know what this fake Subaru knew about her, still not trusting the boy. Subaru closed his eyes for a moment before speaking on the things Louis had saw in Meili's book of the dead when she possessed his body.

"You were in the forest, you lived with the Mabeast until one day Elsa had appeared and took you to where the assassin organization were located. From there, you were trained to be an assassin and mostly were teamed up with Elsa for most of your assignments. Eventually you were assigned to cause trouble to Arlem village where Petra and the other children live...well more like used to since you succeeded in this world."

"Wait, what do you mean succeeded in this world?"

"In my version of this world, you tried to harm Petra and the others but Rem and I stopped you. You escaped and I didn't see you for a little bit before you and Elsa were assigned to attack the mansion."

"Then what happened?"

"Well...Elsa was killed by the fire that was set to the mansion, you survived and stayed with us to avoid Capella and even helped us in the Pleiades tower."

"...okay, but what is the point of all of this?"

"Because I'm here to tell you that siding with that crazy version of me will lead you towards death. You'll only be remembered as a bad person."

"And? It's not like I care what others think."

"Okay but is this really what you want to do? Is this seriously the life you wanted?"

Meili paused for a moment, seeing that this Subaru is different than the one she knew. This one had determination like her Subaru but at the same time, he was very gentle and caring while the other did cared but left it unsure to her. She looked at the boy with a serious facial expression before a voice interrupted their conversation and her thought process.

"Are you seriously trying that? Man, you are really pathetic, other me."

Subaru and Meili both turned to see that it was Natsuki Subaru, the witch cultist. Subaru and Subaru both looked at each other to see truly just how different they are. Natsuki Subaru, Emilia's knight, was the one to see his counterpart to be more than insane. Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of Pride, saw his counterpart not only as weak and pathetic but someone who doesn't deserve to stand next to Emilia, the girl he loves, the girl he had done all the horrible things to make her happy.

"You don't deserve to be near Emilia!"

Both Natsuki Subarus spoke in unison as they both said this, surprising the two at first before the two were angry towards one another. They start fighting each other by the two swinging their fist towards the other's face. As the two attacks connect, they were both set back for a moment before continuing to throw punches, both of them being able to counter each other with the Sin Archbishop of Pride being the more aggressive fighter while Natsuki Subaru was fighting strategically.

"I don't know how someone has pathetic as you could even claim yourself to be Emilia's knight!"

"I don't know how someone like you can even be considered a threat!"

"Because I am Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of Pride! The one who killed every sin archbishop! What the hell have you done?!"

"I defeated the White Whale, the Great Rabbit, the Sin Archbishops of Sloth and Greed! I'm Emilia-tan's one and only knight, meaning I am closer to her than you will ever be in a billion loops."

"You fucking prick!"

Natsuki Subaru of the world pulled out a knife after he heard this, having been pissed on how close his counterpart has gotten with Emilia. Natsuki Subaru that is not from the world noticed this and quickly had his whip ready to be used.

"What are you planning on doing with that? Whipping me? I can stab you and be done with it!"

"That is true, but I have some experience with this unique weapon."

Subaru moved his whip towards his opponent's hand holding the knife, managing to knock it off from the Sin Archbishop of Pride's hand. This surprised the boy of this world for a brief second before turning towards Emilia's knight, seeing that this fight is pointless in a pointless loop. Before he was able to act, the two Natsuki Subarus heard a familiar voice speak to them,

"You will not move any further."

"Hm."

The two Subarus looked to see Reinhard standing there alongside Emilia, causing Natsuki Subaru of another world to worry for the sake of Julius while the Natsuki Subaru of this world looked away, not being able to see Emilia's beautiful face. The Natsuki Subaru of another world noticed this and quickly went to criticize his counterpart,

"You really are a coward, aren't you, you so called witch cultist."

"What did you just say? What makes you think you aren't a damn coward?! You are a weak version of me! One who refuses to do what it takes for Emilia's sake!"

"Emilia-tan's sake? You are a psychopath!"

"Oh yeah?!"

The cultist Subaru was about to act until Reinhard all of a sudden stepped in between the two, seeing that something is off about this scenario.

"Enough you two."

"Reinhard, what happened to Julius?"

"He is alright, I just knocked him out and made sure he was safe with the other knights."

"Okay...that's good to hear..."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Natsuki Subaru but nothing like that insane man there. I'm not from this world either. In my world, you and I are friends despite being from different camps."

"Is that so?"

Reinhard had tapped Subaru's arm to see if he was insane when speaking since he could see with the divine protection of wind that the boy wasn't lying. Seeing that this Natsuki Subaru wasn't lying, he turned towards the other one to see him attempting to attack him. Without any effort, he shoved Subaru into the wall hard enough to damage the witch cultist boy's back to the point where his injury was fatal.

"Urgh! You...fucking prick...is this what a knight...does...fucking prick...!"

"You tried to attack me from behind, I defended myself appropriately."

"...right, you fucking annoying perfect asshole..."

Emilia looked at the witch cultist and his counterpart, confused on how this is possible yet she felt sympathy for the one standing since he has someone that looks like him and is a villain. The witch cultist Natsuki Subaru looked at Emilia for a moment before looking away, knowing that this won't be the last loop for him yet also knowing that what he does when he reaches the last loop won't make the girl he loves happy. The Natsuki Subaru from another world looked at his witch cultist counterpart and knew that the two would loop back once he dies, making him tap Reinhard in the shoulder to get his friend's attention. Reinhard looked at Subaru and asked him,

"How can I help you, Subaru?"

"Mind if you can take Emilia-tan away? I promise I won't do anything sketchy."

"Don't you worry my friend, I know you are not a threat. I just feel bad that the witch cultist here shares your face. I'll make sure to let others know of this imposter to keep your name from being associated to the witch cult."

"I appreciate it Reinhard. Thank you."

The knight nodded at Subaru before taking Emilia away from the area, knowing that a candidate for the throne shouldn't be around a dangerous person like the Sin Archbishop of Pride. As Reinhard was taking Emilia away, she wanted to know who was the name of the boy who was being framed by the witch cult. She ran towards the boy with Puck by her side and quickly asked,

"Who are you? What is your name?"

"E-Emilia-tan..."

Subaru was caught off guard by this for a moment before taking a moment to calm himself down, seeing that no matter what version of the world he is in, Emilia still looks beautiful. He got himself ready before doing his iconic pose, the same one he did when he first met Emilia and introduce himself. He pointed his finger up and started to say,

"My name is Natsuki Subaru, your one and only knight!"

Emilia looked at Subaru for a moment before giggling, finding this Subaru funny but someone she wants to know. She smiled at Subaru and before she left with Reinhard, she said to the boy,

"I don't know about being my knight...but I hope we can talk soon."

"Hopefully we can."

Emilia smiled and quickly went with Reinhard away from the area while Subaru made sure she was away before looking at his counterpart. The two looked at each other with the two having hatred towards each other. The sin Archbishop of Pride hating how he easily won the girl he love's attention while she ignored him while Emilia's knight hated what the boy has done with their shared name and the amount of damage he had done.

"What do you want?"

"I know you'll just end up looping back soon but let me ask, why are you really doing this? And don't give me the bullshit that it's for Emilia-tan's sake."

"Hmph. I'm the goddamn Sin Archbishop of Pride, the sin archbishops are twisted people so just like Pete-san, my love for Emilia is twisted to hell."

"Pete-san? Ah right, Petelguese...still can't believe you managed to see him as a friend considering how crazy he is. Then again, you are crazy yourself."

"You see, nothing you do will change that and now I have the perfect plan to taking you down."

"You think I'm going to let you win? No, I'm going to defeat you. I have been through hell dealing with shitty situations but I managed to get through it because I had my friends by my side. So next loop we face will be the last one for you."

"Ha!..You think that?...well, I'll agree on one thing...the next loop will be the last...one...no more...looping around..."

"Then it's settled."

Both Natsuki Subarus looked at each other with confidence before speaking in unison.

"Let the next loop be our last battle."

"The knight of Emilia-tan—"

"—and the Sin Archbishop of Pride's final battle!"

The two agreed to this with the witch cultist Subaru managing to grab the broken glass near him to stab himself in the neck, wanting to loop now to start his final battle with his counterpart. Just as the loop was about to commence, the Natsuki Subaru looked at the burning kingdom and knew that this is going to be his last chance to stop his counterpart.

'I promise Emilia-tan, I'll make sure to stop him. With Julius and Garfiel by my side, we will put a stop to this monster.'

Natsuki Subaru closed his eyes and waited for the next loop to begin.

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 6: Plans in motion

Natsuki Subaru once again was sent back to the moment the fire began to spread across the kingdom, with his mind managing to ignore the pain he suffered in the last loop. The only thing in his mind wasn't how to end it all, it wasn't how he wanted to mock the sword saint, and it wasn't on how to survive the encounter, it was in defeating his counterpart, Natsuki Subaru, the self proclaimed knight of Emilia.

In his previous loops, he didn't put too much focus on his counterpart but his interactions with him and his two allies allowed him to know how to easily deal with the threat that is his counterpart, someone who could destroy all the hard work he had made in order to make himself the bad guy and to make Emilia the king of Lugnica. He turned towards the group with a serious facial expression, looking that he has Elsa, Meili, Roswaal, Ram, and Blue to work with. He knows that Elsa, Meili, and Blue can take care of the demi human known as Garfiel. He knows that using Roswaal's status could help him out while having the clown keep an eye on the maid since he can tell that she didn't help at all.

'Okay, I need to beat that bastard calling himself Emilia's knight. Let's start off with the problems I will be dealing with in this loop. The first being that demi human known as Garf. The return of the knight blue had killed. Natsuki Subaru himself using that whip as a weapon...mental note, learn to use a whip. Let's see, Elsa and Meili will work together to keep the Demi human busy while I ask blue to try to trick that Julius guy. Blue will do the same thing in killing the purple haired knight. Roswaal will have the maid keep an eye on Emilia until I want her to confront me. The last thing I need is for Natsuki Subaru to get to her first. Lastly Roswaal will keep the sword saint bastard busy and away from Natsuki Subaru and myself. The last thing is that I will deal with my counterpart myself, he is mine to take down.'

Knowing what he is going to do, he turned towards his group and started to say with a serious facial expression,

"We are not done here yet."

"What do you mean, oni-s~an?"

"We have one last thing to deal with before I finally end this. Elsa, you and Meili will look for a blonde demi human boy. He will be fighting some of Meili's Mabeast near the entrance."

"Do you want me to keep the boy alive or kill him?"

"Distract him as long as possible but if you want to see his bowels, then go for it. I don't care either way."

"As you wish, contractor."

Elsa smiles as her and Meili start leaving towards the entrance of Lugnica, the bowel hunter excited to see who her opponent is while Meili was interested to see who is attacking her mabeast. As the two were leaving, blue approached Subaru, curious to know what he will be doing.

"Subaru-sama, what would nyow like me to do?"

"Blue, I have an important task for you."

"Yes Subaru-sama?"

"I need you to go find your purple haired knight, Julius. He is still alive somehow and I need you to find him, trick him into going with you somewhere and killing him. Make sure he is alone and doesn't suspect a thing or you will be killed."

"Understood Subaru-sama, I will not fail, nya!"

Ferris bowed to Subaru before going into the kingdom in search of Julius, knowing that this is his top priority now. As Ferris leaves, Roswaal and Ram both approach the witch cultist boy with Ram not caring for him while Roswaal was interested to know what happened in the previous loops.

"Whaaaaat are we dealing with, co-conspiraaaaator?"

"Well we are dealing with a number of factors, I just need you and your maid to take care of two factors for me."

"Whaaaat might that be?"

"I need your maid to find Emilia and keep her away from me until I give the signal."

"Signal?"

"You'll know it, maid."

"Okay. What about meeeee?"

"Margrave Roswaal L Mathers, you have a lot of influence in this kingdom. I want you to keep the sword saint distracted and away from everyone. The last thing I need is for that prick to help the other me or to kill me."

"Weeeell, I will do my best co-conspiraaaaator."

"You better because this is the last loop I have to pull this off."

Roswaal was a bit concerned when hearing this but brushed it off since he knew that his co-conspirator knows what he is doing. Natsuki Subaru knew that he could kill himself as many times as needed but due to how his counterpart could also loop, he knew that each loop would play out different, making it unpredictable if he kept looping to achieve a future he wanted. Roswaal and Ram nodded at Subaru before leaving off, both of them knowing their objectives. As they left, Subaru looked at the fire once again, finding joy and calmness when looking at it for a few seconds.

"I don't care who gets hurt, I don't care how many times I die, I will beat you Natsuki Subaru, the so-called knight of Emilia. I will achieve the ending I want, with Emilia winning the royal selection with our name becoming the ultimate villain."

Natsuki Subaru smiled as the fire made him prepared for the ultimate confrontation with his counterpart.

Natsuki Subaru returned to the checkpoint where he was with Julius and Garfiel. Knowing that he needs to move quickly, he pulled Julius and Garfiel's arms to get them to start running towards the kingdom. As the three were sprinting towards the kingdom, Garfiel looked at Subaru for a moment before looking forward.

"What's the plan, Cap'n?"

"We have a few things to take care of. First things first, Julius, there is something you should know."

"What is it?"

Subaru paused himself for a moment, knowing that this information he is going to give is big and could effect Julius in a negative way but it is something he needs to know. He looked at Julius' direction and started to speak with a serious tone of voice,

"Felix is on the side of the witch cult in this world."

"Wait what?"

Julius stopped on his tracks, trying to process what his friend just said. Subaru knew that there is no time to stand around and chat but also that they need to be informed of what's to come. He looked at the two with a serious face before speaking on the things he learned.

"This world is like ours but with a few differences. A lot of people really hate me because the version of me here is a witch cultist."

"What?"

"But Cap'n! You would never do somethin' like th't!"

"I know but this version did and now he is apparently the Sin Archbishop of Pride."

"That's..."

"...unbelievable."

Both Julius and Garfiel were taken aback from this information, seeing that this world is hell. Before they could even think on the possibilities that lead this world's Natsuki Subaru to go into the witch cult, Subaru snapped his fingers to get their attention back. As he does this, he quickly says to them,

"We have no time. Felt is in danger, Old Man Rom is in danger, my evil counterpart will be sending Roswaal, Elsa, Meili, and Ram after us."

"Of course th't bastard would send Ram...fucking Roswaal."

"You should be respectful to the one helping your camp, Garfiel-san."

"Not the point here, we need to think quickly if we want to save everyone and beat Natsuki Subaru."

"We can kill yer evil self."

"No, killing him wouldn't work."

"And why not?"

"You'll just have to trust me on this."

Julius and Garfiel were hesitant by this but knowing that Subaru wouldn't say things without a reason, they trusted they boy's judgement and word.

"So Cap'n, how do we handle that clown and yer evil self?"

"Garfiel, we need you to find Ram. You can convince her to join our side but you also need to be careful for Elsa and Meili. Those two will be around to cause you trouble."

"Hm. Don't ya worry Cap'n, my amazin' self can handle the bitch in black."

"I know. Julius, we need to find Felt and get her to lead us to Old Man Rom. He might be the key to beating my evil counterpart."

"Okay but what if we encounter Felix."

"Should that happen, you will be the one to deal with him. You two are friends and allies, I know you could get through to Felix."

"Alright Subaru, if you say so."

Julius nodded before Subaru asked the two if there was anything they needed to ask. The only question they had was if he was alright. Both of them were shocked to hear about Subaru's counterpart being a witch cult but they don't know how their friend feels and wanted to know. As the two wanted to make sure he was alright, Subaru thought for a moment before being able to answer in a calm and honest manner,

"I don't know. It is just...surreal seeing myself as a witch cultist, especially when he calls himself the Sin Archbishop of Pride but even so, I have to stay strong. I am Emilia's knight! I have to keep moving forward."

"Ya know ya can talk about it if it bothers ya."

"I know, thanks Garfiel. As much as I want to talk about this, we should hurry back inside."

"Right!"

Julius and Garfiel nodded before following Subaru into the kingdom, knowing that they have to hurry if they want to save Felt. As the three enter the building, the three stick together with Subaru leading them to Felt's location first, knowing that she should be their priority before helping the knights push back the Mabeast. As they were arriving to the location, Garfiel quickly used his strength to move the boulder quickly, allowing Felt to escape. As she did this, Subaru quickly picked her up and turned towards the group.

"Alright, let's go help out the knights."

Julius and Garfiel nodded, all three quickly running towards the entrance to assist the knights. While this was going on, Felt was a bit confused on what was going on yet she did felt grateful to still be alive. Felt looked around to see a knight and a demi human running side to side with the boy who was carrying her.

"Wh-Who are you three?"

"My amazin' self's Garfiel Tinsel, The Shield of Sanctuary. Th'knight there's Julius. Th'one carrying ya is Cap'n, also known as Natsuki Subaru."

"Natsuki...Subaru..."

Felt thought for a moment before realizing what the name stands for. Before being able to react, Subaru anticipated this and quickly he said,

"If you are thinking of a witch cultist, I ain't him. He is a bastard that made the wrong choice in life. I'm the one who fights for my friends."

The little girl heard this and took a moment before deciding to trust the boy, hearing from his voice that he is determined. Although she has heard the witch cultist Natsuki subaru speak only once in her life, she knows the difference between that Natsuki Subaru and the one that is carrying her is how the witch cultist sounds insane while the one here has a voice of someone that is full of life. This helped the girl trust the boy carrying her, knowing that she also owes him for saving her life, him and the other two. Once the three boys made it to the entrance, Subaru set Felt down before turning towards the Mabeast with Garfiel and Julius charging towards the threat. Subaru stood back with his whip out and ready to be used. Before the boy did anything, he looked at Felt and started to ask,

"Do you know where Old Man Rom is located?"

"Wait, you know Old Man Rom?"

"Yes...it's a little hard to explain but I do know him. He is...a friend."

"Well I know where he is but we better hurry then, the fire might get to where he is hold up."

"Don't worry, we will get there in time, just be a little patient."

"But—"

"Please trust me, Felt. We will save Old Man Rom, I promise."

"...you better keep that promise."

"I will."

Felt nodded before looking at Julius and Garfiel manage to change the tides of battle for the knights, allowing them to get many citizens of Lugnica out of the burning kingdom and towards safety. After a bit of fighting, Julius and Garfiel both returned to Subaru, knowing that their plan requires perfect timing. Once the group reunite, Subaru turns towards Felt to alert her that they are going to help her save Old Man Rom now. She smiles at them before quickly leading the trio towards the location of where Old Man Rom is located. As the three were following Felt, Garfiel noticed that something was wrong. He quickly jumped in front of Felt and managed to stop a random attack thrown towards the little girl. As he did this, the group realized that it was the bowel hunter.

"Bitch in black."

"That's not how to treat a woman."

"Shut up!"

Garfiel pushed Elsa back but before he could react to attack Elsa, Subaru noticed a large Mabeast trying to sneak attack his friend.

"Garfiel! Watch out!"

Garfiel noticed what his captain had said, causing him to look at his left side to notice the Mabeast he had killed by in the mansion charging towards him. He quickly jumped out of the way while Subaru and Julius pulled Felt away from the danger. The knight was tempted to help Garfiel out but Subaru touched his arm to get his attention.

"Trust Garfiel, he knows what he's doing."

Julius was hesitant at first but he nodded at his friend before turning towards Garfiel's fight, seeing him managing to push back the Mabeast by having half his transformations. The demi human boy waited for a moment before managing to go under the Mabeast to slice it's stomach. Once Garfiel succeeded in defeated the Mabeast, he turned towards Elsa with a confident smile on his face.

"Yer sure ya wanna face me? My amazin' self beat ya previously in my world, bitch in black."

"My My, that is quite interesting to hear. Show me how you beat my counterpart."

"Will do!"

Garfiel and Elsa both charged at each other, managing to clash weapons with intense strength. Julius wanted to join and help Garfiel yet Subaru stopped him.

"I know it looks like Garfiel needs help but give him a moment, he will win this fight."

"Are you sure? The bowel hunter is quite persistent from what Reinhard told."

"She is but Garfiel has beaten her before. Just trust him."

Julius took a moment before looking at Garfiel's fight, seeing just how equal the two sides were at first until Garfiel immediately started to take the advantage. Having recalled the way Elsa fought back in the mansion battle gave Garfiel a massive advantage since Elsa doesn't know the exact way Garfiel fights. This allowed the demi human boy to dodge the Bowel Hunter's attacks with ease before managing to land fatal blows on the woman's body, knowing that he as to give it his all in this fight.

He lands a few more devestating blows before finishing it off by having his right hand go into its beast transformation to cause the most damage as possible. Once achieving this, he send Elsa flying into a burning house while also leaving her with a partial of her head torn off. Julius and Felt were caught off guard by this while Subaru just looked proud at Garfiel. Before any of them could say or do something, they all hear a little girl shout out,

"Onee-san!"

This alerted the three boys that the voice was from Meili herself. She came out of hiding and went to check on Elsa while sending a horde of Mabeast towards Garfiel, wanting him dead. Subaru and Julius both ran towards Garfiel's side, both prepared to assist the demi human boy. As the three prepared to fight, Felt quickly approached the trio and warned them that they don't have time.

"Old Man Rom is in danger! We have to go!"

"Right. Garfiel, Julius, let's get going."

"But what about—"

"Don't worry about them, we can deal with it later."

Julius nodded at this and quickly with the group followed Felt. As the four of them left the area, Meili approached the burning building and with the help of the Mabeast were able to get Elsa's body out of the house before it collapsed. As they get her body out, Elsa looked around as her head managed to heal from Garfiel's attack. Meili looked with worry which was something the bowel hunter had noticed. She patted the young girl's head while saying,

"No need to worry about me."

"I-I wasn't worried!"

"Of course."

Elsa smiled before getting up, knowing that her objective is to still look for and take out the demi human she fought yet she realized that it won't be that easy.

"That boy was amazing! Though a little unfair, he knows how I fight."

"That shouldn't be a problem, you'll still beat him regardless onee-san."

"Of course. I must see the boy's bowels."

Meili nodded when she heard what Elsa said, knowing that she will see the demi human's bowels one way or another. The assassin sisters turn towards the group's direction and proceed to follow them.

'Why do I have such bad luck?!'

A young man thinks to himself has he is running, wishing that he still had his faithful ground dragon with him. The young man continued to run away from the burning kingdom, knowing who was the one that cause of this problem.

"Natsuki Subaru...the witch cultist."

The young man knows the name of the person his owner had sent him to help, after being forced to clean the messes the witch cultist boy leaves. The previous mess being the death of a knight, the finest knight of Lugnica. This made him aware of just how dangerous the witch cultist boy is since he isn't just some simple witch cultist.

'He is too smart to be a simple follower...maybe a sin archbishop? Who knows but I hope he dies a painful death.'

As the young man thinks this, he notices the boy he fears and hates running alongside a little girl, an odd looking boy with blonde hair, and a knight. This at first caused the young man to close his eyes and opened them, thinking that he is seeing things due to the stress he is in from wanting to live until he paid close attention. As he looked closely, he realized that what he is seeing is the truth, he is watching Natsuki Subaru walking alongside a knight. A familiar knight that made him question if the witch cultist boy has witch cultist within the knights of Lugnica but he knew that he has to stop him before he does any more damage.

'I'm going to stop you, Natsuki Subaru! I, Otto Suwen, will stop you!'

Otto thought this before following the group, wanting to make sure the most dangerous witch cultist is taken care of. He follows the group for a bit, seeing them being attacked by a couple of Mabeast which did caused Otto to question why the Mabeast would attack their leader. As the group reaches a building that as yet to be caught by the flames. He follows the group inside the building to see that they are trying to free someone.

'What is this witch cultist up to?'

As he stays in place, he could hear that there is some chatting in the room with Subaru being the one to ask,

"Are you sure that Old Man Rom is here?"

"Y-Yes! I remember where they took him!"

"Okay Okay, no need to get hostile towards me."

"Subaru, do you think that we need the giant's help?"

"Yes Julius, we need his assistance. My evil self knows about you and Garfiel, so we need one last person to help us take down that crazy ass witch cultist."

'His evil self? What in the world is he speaking off? Is he really that delusional?'

Otto thought to himself since the conversation made no sense. What's even more confusing to him is the fact that someone called Julius sounds just like the Julius he had to clean up a while back. This curiosity caused him to want to make sure that he isn't going insane himself, making him try to take a peek only to accidentally make noise by bumping a chair. Julius, Garfiel, and Felt all three got on guard while Subaru looked at the direction of the noise, having a sense that there is another ally there. He looked at Garfiel and nodded, allowing the demi human boy to investigate. Once he goes to investigate, he notices that someone is trying to run away.

"Oi! Get back here!"

Garfiel quickly chases Otto and manages to pin the young man down. As Garfiel had Otto pinned to the ground, the demi human boy started to say,

"Who'r ya?!"

"..."

"...wait."

Garfiel sniffed the boy until it finally clicked to him, having recognize the scent of a friend.

"Otto!"

"...Y-You know me?"

"Yea! Sorry 'bout th't."

Garfiel helped Otto get back on his feet while Julius, Subaru, and Felt all three joined the two boys. As the three catch up, Otto looks at the three and at first he was hostile until he realized that the knight in front of him is the same knight he had to clean up.

"H-How? How are you alive? I saw you die!"

"Seems like...this world's Subaru is too far gone to help."

"Yeah, he is. Anyway Otto, we are not from this world. My name is Natsuki Subaru but not the Sin Archbishop of Pride Natsuki Subaru. I'm just a boy who wants to fix the wrongs my counterpart had created."

Otto looked at the boy with a serious facial expression, trying to see if he is lying or not. After careful examination, he crossed his arms and thought to himself for a moment, contemplating on what he should do. He does want to stop the Sin Archbishop of Pride but he knows that he can't do much compared to Julius and Garfiel. Subaru could see a bit of doubt from his friend's counterpart, causing him to pat Otto's should while saying,

"We could use your help. We need everyone we can to beat the Sin Archbishop of Pride."

"I-I don't know..."

Subaru thought and thought for a moment before recalling something Otto said in a previous loop.

"Otto, what if we can get you out of your debt?"

"Huh? Wait wait wait wait, will you do that?"

"Yea! We're brothers! Cap'n can help ya out!"

Garfiel pats Otto's back which slightly bothers Otto for a brief moment before returning his attention to what Subaru said.

"Can you actually help me with my debt?"

"Yes, I can Otto."

Otto stood silent for a moment before ending up breaking down right in front of them, having finally found some good luck after having to deal with so much bad luck. After having lost his freedom by becoming a debt slave to Russell. Seeing that there is a chance to be a free merchant once again caused Otto to agree in assisting the trio in whatever they needed. Subaru nodded and smiled when he heard this before they returned to looking for Old Man Rom. They searched around the building until finally they arrived at the cell where someone was trying to break their way out. Felt recognized the voice as they were shouting,

"Let me out!"

"That's...Old Man Rom!"

The little girl used her divine protection to quickly make her way towards the cell Old Man Rom was located in. Subaru, Otto, Garfiel, and Julius all four quickly ran towards Felt's position, seeing how both her and Old Man Rom were happy to see each other again.

"Garfiel."

"I got it, Cap'n."

Garfiel understood what he needed to do and quickly asked Felt and Old Man Rom to stand back. The two nodded and listened before stepping back, allowing Garfiel to do his job to destroy the cell. Once he does this, Felt and Old Man Rom both hugged since they reunited after a while of not seeing each other. After hugging for a bit, Old Man Rom turned towards the boys to thank them until he noticed Subaru.

"Okay Old Man Rom, I know I look familiar but I'm not him."

"Of course not, I presume that you share the same face to the witch cultist boy."

Subaru was surprised to hear this yet he was happy that Old Man Rom was able to tell that he isn't his evil counterpart. Before they could continue the plan, there was one thing he wanted to confirm with Felt and Old Man Rom.

"I know this has probably been a long while since it's happen for you two but what happened with the insignia incident?"

"Yeah...the Sword Saint arrested us because of that incident."

"Wait, you all didn't meet my counterpart?"

"No, why?"

"Because I know where the change is of this world. Anyway, I probably should give you all your roles in order to beat the Sin Archbishop of Pride."

The group nodded and each received their specific roles, knowing that they will all tie in together to finally take down the Sin Archbishop of Pride. Once everyone got their roles, Julius turned towards Subaru in a concerned facial expression.

"Are you sure you should be the one to face your counterpart?"

"I know you are worried Julius but I should be fine."

"Just know th't we got yer back, Cap'n."

"Thanks Garfiel."

The two nodded at each other before they all separate with Subaru and Garfiel going in one direction while Old Man Rom, Felt, and Ott going in another path, and lastly Julius going on his own in one pathway. As the three groups separate, Julius walks on his own for a bit before he was greeted by a familiar figure.

"Julius-kyun!"

"Felix."

The two looked at each other for a moment before Ferris smiled at Julius, having a facial expression of kindness and happiness. At first Julius was happy to see Ferris once again yet having spend time with him in his own world, he could tell that this Ferris was different than his. Just as what Subaru had said, Ferris was not to be trusted. Julius pointed his sword directly at his friend's counterpart.

"Stand back, Felix."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"Tell me this, why are you siding with Natsuki Subaru?" Julius knew that he needed to word his question carefully.

"Subaru-sama? He is myai master. He takes good care of Ferris-chan. Nyow, please go back to dead."

"Hm. This time you won't beat me, Felix."

While Julius and Felix were about to face each other, Subaru and Garfiel both walked for a bit while they planned their part to beat the Natsuki Subaru of this world.

"Do ya think th't he'll fall for th's plan?"

"Knowing my counterpart, he would take the opportunity to take me down if I left myself in the open."

"Yea, but can ya hold him off long enough for Otto and his group that do their part?"

"Yes. My counterpart and I are physically the same strength but I got some tricks up my sleeves."

"Well no matter what, ya got th's Cap'n!"

Subaru nodded at this and the two continued to walk for a bit until suddenly the two boys realize that they were surrounded by Mabeast.

"Seems like we got some company, Cap'n."

"Yup, all going according to plan."

Garfiel nodded with confidence before preparing himself for a fight against the Mabeast until a familiar figure approached the two boys. The two were not surprised by this since they are aware of how this woman is hard to kill.

"My My, normally people would be shocked but you two are not even fazed to see me."

"We already know how you are, Bowel Hunter. Besides, we have the advantage here."

"Is that so? Then let us have some fun."

As Elsa was going to attack Subaru, Garfiel goes in between the two and begins the rematch between The Bowel Hunter of this world and the Shield of Sanctuary from another world. As the two went all out, the Mabeast tried to attack Subaru with Meili being in charge yet Emilia's knight was able to escape the attacks. He ran around for a bit until he was confronted by his counterpart. The two stared at each other for a brief moment before the witch cultist boy began to speak,

"Well, if it isn't the knight."

"If it isn't the Sin Archbishop of Pride himself."

"Let's finish this farce."

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 7: Fight fire with fire

"Emilia-sama, we should get out of here while we can."

"No, we need to help the people of the kingdom and we need to stop that monster."

"I am aware Emilia-sama but Roswaal-sama's orders were clear, to get you out of the kingdom safely."

"I don't care, we have to help the innocent people."

"That won't be needed, Emilia-sama."

Ram and Emilia both noticed this and quickly get themselves ready for a fight until they noticed that it is a little girl, a giant, and a young man. Puck appeared to check on what is going on for a bit and could sense that the three people approaching them are not a threat.

"Lia, maid, don't feel threatened. They are not a threat."

"Okay, then who are you three...no wait..."

Emilia looked at both Felt and Old Man Rom for a moment before recognizing the two from a long back. Felt knew who was Emilia and realized that she needs to apologize to her since she did stole the insignia from the silver haired half elf, causing all of the events to transpire the way they did. She slowly approached Emilia who had her hands crossed as she recognized Felt. The little girl looked down as she said in a shy tone of voice,

"I-I'm sorry...about the whole insignia thing...I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence which made Felt nervous for a moment until she heard Emilia finally speak.

"Well as long as you are sorry, then we are okay."

Emilia pats Felt in the head which caught the little girl off guard for a moment and even surprised Ram. Otto smiled when he saw this and quickly approached Emilia and Ram with Puck being on guard of his daughter. After petting Felt for a few seconds, she turned towards Otto, wanting to know who the young boy is.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Otto Suwen, a once proud merchant...well now a debt slave."

"You poor thing."

"Ram, no need to be mean."

"Pardon me, Emilia-sama. Just feeling pity for the young man."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes."

"Anyway, Emilia-sama we need to talk."

"What about?" Emilia asked with a curious voice. Ram did not like this and was about to do something to the young man until he heard the boy say,

"We need to stop the witch cultist."

This words caught Ram's attention since she does hate the witch cultist known has Natsuki Subaru. She lowered her guard while keeping a close eye on Otto. Emilia was silent for a moment before asking Otto in a serious tone of voice,

"What are you talking about, Otto?"

"We have an ally who knows how to beat the witch cultist monster. He just...um needs you all to meet him up in a specific point while he deals with that monster."

Emilia wanted to help yet both Puck and Ram were uncertain about this with Puck thinking for his daughter's safety while Ram knows that doing this would mean betraying Roswaal. Wanting some confirmation, she approached Otto in a slightly aggressive manner and spoke in a defensive tone,

"How can we know that this ally of yours will beat that monster?"

"He has a plan and he has the determination to beat the witch cultist."

"How much faith are you willing to put into that ally of yours?"

Otto paused when he heard this, knowing that he is taking quite the gamble by trusting someone who looks and has the exact name of the person he both hates and fears. Although it is a gamble that he might lose, he knows that he rather take a chance with the other world Natsuki Subaru than be forever a debt slave. He looked at the pink haired maid with a confident look before responding with,

"I trust my ally with my life."

Ram looked at the young man's face and could see the determination and confidence in his eyes, seeing that Otto has faith in his ally. Although she respected this, she still didn't trust the boy.

"This is too risky for Emilia-sama. Whether your ally could take down that monster is one thing but Emilia-sama's safety is another."

"Well Garfiel-san and Julius-san will be there to make sure that—"

"What did you just say?"

Ram looked at Otto with a serious facial expression, having noticed on what the young man said. She got close to Otto which made him a little uncomfortable before she continued to speak to him,

"Who will be joining us again?"

"Garfiel-san and Julius-san."

"Garfiel Tinsel?"

"Y-Yes..."

She took a moment to think on how this could be possible, making her curious since Garfiel would never leave the Sanctuary for almost any reason, let alone join some people from the outside world. This caused her to think of a way to help the group out without betraying the orders given to Roswaal, knowing that their contract wouldn't permit her to do whatever she needed to destroy the thing that is keeping him bound to his goal. Eventually she came up with a plan that would benefit all parties involved.

"Roswaal-sama told me to make sure to keep Emilia-sama out of the kingdom...though there is a path way that leads away from the kingdom, it just so happens to be through the burning kingdom itself."

Emilia was surprised when she heard this, seeing Ram allowing her to help Otto and his group in stopping the villain that caused all of the destruction they see before them. She thanked Ram before turning towards Puck, hoping that he would allow her to help Otto's ally stop the villain. Puck could see what Ram is doing and although he isn't thrilled to have Emilia running around where there is constant danger, he knows that he can't stop her from wanting to help others. He sighs before saying to his daughter,

"Alright but summon me the moment things get too dangerous for you, Lia."

"I will, Puck."

Emilia smiled at her adopted father which made Puck happy before he disappeared, allowing both Emilia and Ram to follow Otto and his group into the kingdom, causing Otto to smile since everything is going according to Natsuki Subaru's plan.

'Don't worry Natsuki-san, we will stop that monster now. We got Emilia-sama on our side now.'

Julius continued his battle with Ferris, seeing that this world's Ferris is much dangerous since he learned how to use water magic for offensive. This did put Julius on the defense for a bit until he summoned his six spirits to assist him in pushing his friend back. As Julius with his spirits were able to slightly push the catboy back, Ferris smiled before saying,

"Nyow!"

"Huh?!"

Julius was able to react to the Mabeast charging at him just in the nick of time, jumping out of the way and using his fire spirit to do some damage to the Mabeast. As Julius gained his distance, he could hear Ferris speaking to him in a calm and collected manner,

"Subaru-sama and his highness would like to have you eliminated, Julius-kyun."

"And why is that Felix?! You are a knight! Why would you side with a witch cultist?!"

"Subaru-sama and his highness saved me."

"Saved you?...wait, what happened to Crusch-sama?!"

"Crusch...sama...?"

Hearing that name caused something in Felix's mind to move since it sounded familiar yet nothing came to mind except a mild headache. Julius noticed this and started to ponder on what happened to this version of events regarding the white whale. He knew that it was thanks to his friend, Natsuki Subaru, that they were able to take down the great mabeast yet this version of events...he feared the worst.

"Felix! What happened to Crusch-sama?! To Wilhelm-sama?!"

"Who...are nyow talking about, Julius-kyun?"

"Oh no..."

Julius made a realization that this world's Crusch and Wilhelm didn't make it out alive on the battle against the White Whale. Without Subaru's help, they likely couldn't beat it and got erased which would have mean that the Natsuki Subaru of this world got to Felix.

'Forgetting someone as important like Crusch-sama must have caused some kind of mental damage to Felix. That explains why the Sin Archbishop of Pride got to him. That bastard!'

Julius was filled with anger, hating just how much this world's Natsuki Subaru is a corrupt bastard that harmed his friend, brainwashed him and even got his world's counterpart killed though he didn't know the full details of this. He pointed his sword towards Felix, wanting answers from the catboy.

"How did you killed me?"

"Huh?"

"This world's Julius, how did you or your master killed him?"

"Huh? What are nyow talking about nyaw?"

"Hm. Let's just say I'm a different Julius from another world. Now how did you killed the Julius of this world? Answer me!"

"Okay Okay! Yesh. He was my friend but he was getting in the way of Subaru-sama and his highness. So nyai set him up and attacked him before nyai killed him."

"I see."

Julius was shaken by this yet he didn't let this information get to him, knowing that his friend was relying on him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pointing his sword towards his friend's counterpart.

"Julius Juukulius, a member of the Royal Guard."

"Nya! Ferris Argyle, Subaru-sama and his highness' servant."

The two knights took a moment before Julius charged at Ferris while Ferris himself send the Mabeast to attack his former friend's counterpart. The mabeast attempted to take out the finest knight with one hit yet with the assistance of his spirits, he was able to dodge the attack in the nick of time. As he does that, he was able to use his spirits to take down the mabeast with a couple of powerful blows.

Once he managed to do that, he turned towards Ferris to see the knight using his water magic near him. Just as it seemed like he was going to get hit by Ferris, Julius' water spirit named Kua helped stop the attack. As this happened, Julius dropped his sword while managing to land a punch to Ferris' face. This caused the catboy to be taken aback before receiving another punch to the face which was the one that knocked him out. As Julius knocked Ferris out, he looked at him for a moment before picking his friend up.

"We will get you some help. I won't allow you to stay like that, my friend."

Julius turned towards the direction Garfiel and Subaru had gone and quickly went that direction.

Garfiel and Elsa both went all out once again, this time Elsa was more cautious in her fighting style while Garfiel used his knowledge of his previous two fights with the bowel hunter to make sure he doesn't get caught off guard. As the two were on equal grounds, Meili sends in the Guiltylowe to help out Elsa, knowing that she will need some assistance. Garfiel noticed this yet he wasn't afraid of this, if anything he was more excited since he hasn't had a good fight since his battle against Kurgan in Priestella. Since this was a life or death battle, Garfiel smiled at the Gultylowe before showing his trump card.

"Let my amazin' self show you the true strength of the shield of sanctuary!"

Garfiel set his twin shields down before starting his transformation into his beast form, wanting to show the bowel hunter and the Mabeast user that he isn't playing around anymore. Once his transformation was complete, he roared loudly before charging towards the Guiltylowe, surprising the Mabeast. Although it did notice Garfiel as a threat, it wasn't afraid to fight the demi human in its beast form. Garfiel with all of his mental strength to stay in control, waited until the Mabeast was close enough for him to easily take down. Garfiel with everything he got managed to destroy the mabeast with one hit. As he does this, he quickly reverse backs to his human form since he doesn't want to lose control but he also wants to keep the fight in his human form. As he does this, he pucks up his twin shields and puts them back on while looking a bit fatigue. Elsa and Meili were both shocked to see this with Meili being in complete fear of Garfiel while Elsa was just simply amazed to see such a strong warrior. She turned towards Meili and asked her,

"Step back Meili, allow me to fight this amazing boy on my own."

"A-Are you sure about this, onee-san?"

"I'm sure."

Elsa had her sharpest weapons pulled out, prepared to go all out against this boy while Garfiel got his mindset ready to defeat the Bowel hunter once again, knowing that he has the strength to do it. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before continuing their fight from before with Garfiel managing to be on the offense. He moved in a quick pace, forcing Elsa to defend herself all while paying attention to her opponent's movements and the way he fights. Since Garfiel knew how the bowel hunter fought and even had more battle experience thanks to the chaos caused in Pristella, he was a lot more stronger in this fight than in his first fight with the bowel hunter in the mansion. Despite this, the demi human boy did notice that the bowel hunter of this world was also a bit stronger than his world's version of the bowel hunter. Showing the two being around the same strength, the two were able to keep up with Elsa gaining the advantage in some points while Garfiel managing to take back the advantage in other points. Eventually the two were on a stalemate with the other not being able to land the finishing blow until an unknown attack hit Elsa's arm, causing her to be distracted for a moment. This moment was enough for Garfiel to use his full strength to land a destructive blow to the bowel hunter's stomach, giving her a fatal blow before using a bit more strength to send her flying a few feet away with a powerful punch to the face. As Elsa was sent flying with blood spewing out from the places Garfiel hit, the boy turned towards the direction the unknown attack came from and was both surprised and happy to see a familiar face.

"Ram."

"Garf."

Garfiel was happy to see Ram again, even if it isn't his world's Ram. Ram was at first surprised to see Garfiel since she knows for a fact that he is still in Sanctuary, refusing to leave. This made her think on whether this was the ally Otto was referring to yet she knew that Garfiel isn't that smart to take down someone has dangerous as the Sin Archbishop of Pride. Regardless, she was still very happy to see a friend. She approached Garfiel and nodded at him before the two turned towards Elsa, seeing that she somehow recovered from her fatal wounds.

"My My, isn't this interesting. A maid helping you out."

"Seems like yer goin' down now, bitch in black."

Elsa smiled off Garfiel's comment before preparing herself for a more fun fight, seeing that this won't be any easy now. The two groups stared each other down for a moment before the battle continued with Garfiel and Elsa clashing weapons while Ram used her mana sparingly, not wanting to use too much of her strength due to how limited she can use her mana. As the battle was getting tense, Garfiel had a feeling that he needs to use the approaching fire to his advantage, knowing that his world's Elsa had died by the fire created in Roswaal's mansion. Garfiel jumped back to gain his distance for a moment, allowing Ram to use a powerful El Fura towards the bowel hunter to push her back. Elsa was able to notice this and quickly dodged the attack, leaving herself open on purpose to lure Garfiel. The demi human boy noticed this trick yet he used it to his advantage, wanting Elsa to think that he is going to take the bait all the while he planned to send Elsa into the burning building nearby and trap her there.

'Th's'll take care of the bitch in black!'

Once Garfiel got close to Elsa, she tried to stab the boy on his gut until he managed to block the attack off.

"Gotcha now, bitch!"

Garfiel surprised attack Elsa with a powerful kick to the face, causing her to be sent into the burning building. Before anything can be done, the demi human boy turned towards the pink haired maid to shout,

"Finish it, Ram!"

"Al Fura!"

Ram sends her most powerful wind magic attack towards the building. Meili tried to send her Mabeast into the building to help Elsa yet Garfiel was able to stop any of the demon beasts from getting close to the building. As this was happening, Otto quickly used the mana he could gather from the animals left in the kingdom to create a strong barrier, blocking Elsa's ability to escape the fire. As the trio do this, Meili begins to shout for Elsa as she grows more and more worried for the bowel hunter. Before she could do anything, she was knocked out by a gentle hit to the neck from Ram. As she does this, Garfiel and Otto both approach her to make sure that she didn't hurt Meili too badly. As they checked up on her, Garfiel and Ram both faced each other for a moment before they spoke briefly.

"How are you here, Garf?"

"Cap'n. It's all thanks t'th'Cap'n I was able t'leave th'Sanctuary."

"Captain? Who is this Captain?"

"If I told ya, ya wouldn't be happy."

"Hmph. Fine, don't tell me."

"He is right, the ally that brought us together is not someone you would expect." Otto said this to help back up Garfiel. Ram just looked at Otto for a brief moment before asking on the "ally's" whereabouts. Garfiel wanted to answer yet Otto was the one to speak.

"Our ally is facing the Sin Archbishop of Pride as we speak. He will have a little help in a moment."

"Help?"

"Come, we should be able to watch the fight from a safe distance."

"Yes, I wanna see th'Cap'n kick th't witch cultist's ass!"

Otto and Ram both had a smile when they heard Garfiel speak in excitement beforethe three went to check on the ally Otto and Garfiel had been mentioning. As they were going off, Garfiel goes to pick up Meili while Otto notices Julius approaching them with Ferris on his arms. The three noticed this with Otto being the one to ask,

"Sir knight, who is that on your arms?"

"A...friend, a friend who has lost his way. Once this is all done, I will take him to Reinhard-san in hopes that he can help our friend here."

Otto took a moment to look carefully at the person that Julius was carrying to see that it was Ferris, the one that killed this world's Julius.

'How the tides have turned here.'

Otto had a smile on his face briefly, seeing that there is still a chance that things will be better not only for him but for everyone.

"What are you three up to? Were you able to deal with the Bowel Hunter?"

"Don't worry, we took care of th'bitch in black."

"Yes, Garfiel-san and the maid here—"

"That is Ram-sama to you."

"Okay Okay, Ram-sama and Garfiel-san's efforts to defeat the bowel hunter seemed to have worked. She hasn't escaped nor could she escape."

"That's good to hear. We better check on Su—"

"—yes, let's check on our ally."

Otto interrupted since he doesn't want Ram to know the identity of their ally due to the fact that it is the same person as the Sin Archbishop of Pride. The last thing they want to do is cause Ram to turn on them. Julius was caught off guard by this but allowed it, wanting to keep things peaceful for now.

"This time you will fail and I will succeed in my plan to make Emilia the king of Lugnica, Natsuki Subaru!"

"I won't let you hurt Emilia-tan, Sin Archbishop of Pride!"

The two Natsuki Subarus charged at each other with everything they got, both of them confident in their strength and pure fighting techniques. The Natsuki Subaru of another world confident in the things he had learned from Clind, Garfiel, Otto, and Wilhlem while the Natsuki Subaru of this world was confident that in all of his millions of deaths, he has the perfect fighting technique to deal with people like his counterpart, who is relatively the same strength and speed as him. With the two attacking at the same time, their fists clashed which caused them to try kicking each other, both moving their left leg for a kick only for the other to counter.

'Well...this is going to be annoying.'

Both Natsuki Subarus thought this as they realized that they literally are fighting the same exact way. This made it hard since in a sense, they have to beat themselves up, both figuratively and literally. As the two were countering and attacking in unison, they sparked a conversation with the Nasuki Subaru of the other world saying,

"What the hell do you have to gain by doing this?! Killing millions of people! Leaving Emilia-tan all sad and confused!"

"You wouldn't know anything! I had to go through literally hell! Having died so many goddamn times! My mind breaking into a million pieces by that bitch Capella! Dealing with that fucktard Regulus! That crazy bitch Sirius! Those Gluttony boys! All of the stupid Sin Archbishops with only just my ability of dying to rely on!"

"That's...that's just wrong!"

"What the hell would you even fucking know! I had nobody but myself to rely on!"

"That's just the problem! You should have relied on other! Emilia-tan herself, Rem, Ram, Reinhard—"

"Don't bring that prick into this conversation!"

Just hearing the name of the Sword Saint was enough to piss of the Sin Archbishop of Pride, causing him to pull out his handy knife which forced Subaru to pull out his whip.

"Shows how pathetic you are, having to rely on a whip."

"I was able to beat you in the last loop with it."

"You got lucky!"

Subaru tried to knock off the knife from his counterpart's hand yet due to how aware Pride is this time, he was able to dodge the attack.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to get duped by the same fucking attack?!"

"You do look stupid."

Witch cultist Subaru looked angrily towards his counterpart before charging towards him, wanting to do some harm to himself. As the witch cultist Subaru was closing in, Subaru knew that he needed to use his trump card. He lowered his guard which confused his evil counterpart for a second before making him smile, thinking that he can end this farce until he heard the Natsuki Subaru of another world shout,

"Invincible Providence!"

"Wha—?!"

Before the Witch Cutlist Subaru was able to react, he saw the unseen hand pop out of his counterpart's chest and received a strong punch to the face. This ended up sending Natsuki Subaru towards a wall with intense force though not has bad as his previous loop when Reinhard send him flying into a building wall. The witch cultist boy looked at his counterpart with anger in his eyes yet he was more curious than anything.

"Why...do you have Pete-san's unseen hand ability?"

"You mean my invincible providence?"

"Okay fucking asshole, you know what I meant."

"Well I'm surprised you can't do it since you did killed Petelguese."

"What...?"

The witch cultist boy was stemming with complete anger, seeing that he could've done such an ability and how handy that would've been yet he hasn't been able to do anything. He got up and looked angrily at his counterpart to attack him until—

"Stop there, villain."

"...n-no way..."

Subaru slowly looked towards the voice to see Emilia standing tall with Felt, Puck, and Old Man Rom standing behind her. The witch cultist had a tear stream down his left cheek, not wanting to see Emilia just yet, especially after what happened in the latest loop yet he is forced to see the girl he loves once again. Subaru tried to commit suicide yet his counterpart's whip was able to knock the knife out of his hand, leaving him even more desperate to end this loop, seeing it has another failure. He attempts to charge at Emilia only to get tackled to the ground by his counterpart.

"G-Get off me!"

"No, you are not going to kill yourself!"

"Let me go, you fucking prick!"

"No!"

The two Subarus continue to fight amongst each other which confused Emilia since she wasn't aware of the existence of two Subarus. She turned towards her adopted father to confirm what she is seeing was correct. Puck looked at the two boys fighting and quickly looked into their outside thoughts, seeing the two determined to beat the other.

'Hm. This is quite the situation. One is trying to kill the other or kill himself for selfish reasons but the other...he has more of a good heart compared to the other one since he just wants to stop his counterpart.'

Being able to understand a portion of the situation, Puck approached his daughter to inform her of what was going on.

"Puck, what is going on? Why are there two of that villain?"

"I don't know Lia, but I can say that one is evil and the other is actually not evil."

"Reeaally?"

"Yes."

"Hm."

Emilia was confused by this still yet the only thing she understood was that one was the villain and the other is not a villain. As the two Subarus continue fighting, Emilia broke the fight by simply saying,

"Stop."

Both Subarus in that instant stopped with Felt giggling a little since she did found it amusing how the two Subarus are so different and yet when it comes down to Emilia, they immediately stop what they are doing to put the focus on her. Old Man Rom looked at the entire situation with uncertainty yet if anything, he is confident that the Natsuki Subaru of another world will come out on top. Emilia and Puck both approached the two with Subaru pinning his witch cultist self, making sure that he doesn't do anything stupid. Emilia looked at the two Subarus and was able to tell who was the villain and who was just happened to look like the villain himself.

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"Please answer the question, what is your name?"

"My name is Natsuki Subaru."

"And so am I!"

"Shut up, evil me."

"No, you shut up!"

The two Subarus started to fight with each other once again until Emilia caused the two to be frozen in place, stopping the two from fighting all the while they could still move their heads. The two were in an intense cold yet they were more focused on Emilia.

"E-Emilia-tan, what is the meaning of this?"

"I want to get things straight and you two fighting isn't helping anyone. Now tell me, why do you look exactly like the villain and even share his face?"

"Emilia-tan...you see, I'm from another world like this Subaru but we both are different."

"...Puck."

"He is telling the truth from what I can tell...though it is hard to tell if he is insane like the other one."

"Fair, I wish there was someway to figure this out."

"Allow me, Emilia-sama."

"Huh?"

The two Subarus, Emilia, and everyone else in the area all looked around towards the voice to see a handsome red haired knight with a margrave standing next to him. The witch cultist Subaru was annoyed to see that Roswaal since he failed his objective somehow but what really angered him the most was seeing the sword saint.

"You..."

"Hm."

Reinhard and the witch cultist Subaru met eyes with the two instantly seeing the other as a threat yet the knight was more interested in the other Subaru, a bit curious to know why there are two Sin Archbishops of Pride.

"Emilia-sama, I would suggest you stand back."

"But—"

"Please Emilia-sama, I want to make sure you are safe, away from those two."

"There is no need for that, Reinhard."

Reinhard turned around swiftly when he heard a familiar voice. As he turned towards the direction of the voice, he had a smile on his face since he sees a friendly face.

"Julius."

"Reinhard."

Chapter Text

Pride Chapter 8: Putting out the flame

Reinhard was happy to see Julius yet he was unsure at first since it was confirmed by a couple of knights that his friend had been killed. This caused him to look at him for a moment before approaching him, wanting to verify by using his divine protections on him. As he grabbed his arm gently, the sword saint asked the finest knight,

"Are you really Julius?"

"Yes Reinhard. I am Julius Juukulius. Though not of this world's version, I am still Julius."

Reinhard used his divine protection of empathy to read Julius' mind to see if he is telling the truth. Once he saw that he was telling the truth while having a normal state of mind, he was a bit sad since this wasn't the Julius from his world yet he was still with a version of his friend. Reinhard took a good look and noticed that Julius was carrying Felix, something that greatly confused him and worried him.

"Is Felix alright?"

"Yes...well sort of. I will explain later but know that our friend is safe."

"Understood."

Reinhard turned towards the two Subarus and approached them. He first approach the one from his world, the two having the same hatred for each other.

"Ha! Seems like the Sword Saint is capable of hating."

"I'm even surprised myself."

"Well then, Happy Birthday Reinhard! It is the new you."

"Unfortunately it is not my birthday."

"Figure of speech, dumbass."

"Leave Reinhard alone."

"Stay out of this other me!"

"Enough!"

Reinhard spoke with a serious tone, causing both Subarus to be silent. The Sword Saint and Pride looked at each other again with the same mutual hatred before he turned his attention to the other Subaru. At first he wanted to have the same hatred look towards this other Subaru since he shares the same face and name to the monster that caused everything yet when he looked at the boy, it was different. The boy did had the eyes of a villain from a surface level but when seeing past that, one can tell that he is a boy who has fought through hell because he cares for life.

"What is your name?"

"Natsuki Subaru."

"Are you from another world like Julius?"

"Yes."

"I presume the same world that Julius is from."

"Yes."

"What did you do in your world? Did you do anything evil like the other Natsuki Subaru?"

Reinhard says this while grabbing the boy's arm to use his divine protection of empathy. Subaru noticed this yet he wasn't worried since he knows that he isn't in trouble.

"I'm not like him, I have never joined the witch cult or done anything like that. I'm Emilia-tan's one and only knight. I helped defeat the White Whale, defeat the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, and the Great Rabbit."

"Okay. What brought you here then?"

"...I don't know. Garfiel, Julius, and I were sent for unknown reasons but we want to help out."

"Hm. Okay then."

Reinhard nodded at Subaru before freeing him by just simply tapping the ice, causing the ice to break. Subaru got on his feet before nodding at the sword saint, both sharing mutual respect. The group all turned towards the Sin Archbishop of Pride, seeing that he is attempting to commit suicide via biting his tongue yet Subaru and Reinhard were both able to stop Pride from trying that. Subaru with the remaining strength he had used his unseen hand to stop his counterpart while Reinhard knocked him out. As the Sin Archbishop of Pride was out, Subaru turned towards Roswaal for a moment, seeing that he still has his gospel in his hand though very hard to see. There was a silence for a moment before Subaru quickly shouted,

"Reinhard!"

"Hm?"

Reinhard turned towards Subaru for a second before looking at the direction the boy was pointing, seeing Roswaal attempting to kill them all except himself. This failed due to the fact that Reinhard was fast enough to knock Roswaal out. As this happened, both Subaru and Ram's instincts were to grab the gospel of his, knowing that it needs to be destroyed. As the two go to grab the gospel, the two notice that they are both holding the gospel. Subaru and Ram looked at each other for a moment before the boy let go of the gospel, knowing that this is something Ram needs to do. She looks at Subaru with a disgusted look for a moment before just nodding at the boy, knowing that although he shares the face of the monster that is knocked out, he isn't like him. She turns towards the nearest fire before throwing the gospel there, to be burned and destroyed.

"It's done. The root of all evil...is finally gone."

Subaru smiled when he heard this from Ram, seeing the relief she has. That smile only lasted for a moment before he turned towards Reinhard, who wanted to know one thing.

"Shall we end this monster once and for all, Natsuki Subaru?"

Subaru paused himself for a moment, knowing that the answer is no but he needs to find a way to explain this without revealing return by death, worried that this could also exposes his own ability of Return by Death to Julius and Garfiel, something he doesn't want at all. He took a few seconds before responding with,

"No, unlike me, he is bounded by the witch and if he proclaims that he is the Sin Archbishop of Pride, then that would mean he has an authority like the other Sin Archbishops. He was so eager to die for the sake of Emilia-tan...so no, death would be too easy for a scumbag like him. Not only that but he is not getting away from his punishment that easily."

"Understood."

Reinhard broke the ice trapping Pride before picking him up, seeing that he needs to be locked up. Before he leaves with Pride, he looked at Subaru to tell him,

"You should stay with Emilia-sama for now until I can clear your name."

"Alright."

Subaru nodded at Reinhard before watching the red haired knight leave with Julius following behind him, wanting the sword saint's help in helping Felix. As they left, Emilia turned towards Subaru to ask if the two can speak in private with Puck overseeing the conversation. Subaru was okay with this before turning to Otto.

"Think you can keep an eye on Garfiel and Meili?"

"Um...sure thing, Natsuki-san."

Otto nodded and watched as Subaru, Emilia, and Puck all three went towards another direction. While they left off, Garfiel and Ram got the chance to speak with Ram wanting to know something.

"How did you manage to leave the Sanctuary, Garf?"

"Well ya see Ram...you and Cap'n helped me out in conquerin' me past. I took the trial and passed."

"Really?"

Ram was a bit surprised when he heard this, seeing just how much her childhood friend had grown since the last time they spoke. She smiled for a moment before a tear streamed from her eye which caught Garfiel's attention,

"What's wrong?"

"Rem..."

Ram was still broken since she had lost her sister. Despite it having been a year, she is still all alone. Garfiel could see this and decided to hug her, wanting to comfort a friend that he deeply cares for. As he hugged Ram, she was caught off guard by this, yet she smiled while letting all the pain she held to herself go.

"It's okay Ram, I'm here for ya."

Subaru and Emilia walked a bit around, seeing that the fire was slowly fading away due to Reinhard managing to now have time to deal with it. Subaru was slightly annoyed at how Reinhard was able to accomplish everything and anything yet he was glad the two are friends in his world. He thought of this, another thing came to his mind. He looked at the street they were walking and could tell that this was the same one he walked with Emilia and the Appa dude's daughter on his very first loop. This feeling and memory of the very first time he was in Lugnica made him both happy and sad since this feels like forever since those events happened to him. They walked for a bit before Emilia stopped, having wanted some space from the group and them to talk privately with the other Natsuki Subaru. Subaru stopped as well while starting the conversation by saying,

"What is the reason we are here, Emilia-tan?"

"To talk...why are there two of you?"

"Ah well...how do I explain this...um, I'm from a different world that is the same like this one but...different."

"How?"

"Well...let's see, we have a different history like how we first met. You and I met in the loot house when I was getting your insignia back from Felt and Old Man Rom. Elsa had attacked us yet we managed to pull through long enough for Reinhard to arrive. Then I passed out after receiving an injury and ended up waking up in Roswaal's mansion. I met Rem and Ram there and was able to help save the village children from the Mabeast."

"Wait, so Rem is alive in your world?"

"...yes."

Subaru was hesitant for a brief second since technically Rem is alive though what really hurts was a confirmation that Rem truly is dead in this world, knowing just how much pain Ram must be in.

"Well...what was the change then?"

"Huh?"

"What was the change from you and...well the villain you."

"..."

Subaru was pondering that a bit too. He knows from the flashes of memories he got from the beginning of his journey in this hellish world was that the two Subarus had the same start but that's about it. He can tell from the memories he has and what his evil counterpart had said, he never interacted with Reinhard in the hallway, causing him to think about something.

'Had I been in my counterpart's shoes and had to deal with Elsa all on my own, knowing that there was probably no Reinhard to come and save us...I don't know how I would have handled it. Maybe I would have been in the same position has him...'

Subaru started to have doubts in himself, seeing that maybe he would've also gone evil had he really been stuck on the first day for a long time. Emilia noticed that Subaru was feeling off, making her question him in a concern voice,

"What's wrong?"

"It's just...I do feel bad for my evil asshole counterpart. I had you, Reinhard, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Otto, and even Roswaal to help me out. I had people I could rely on while the Natsuki Subaru you know...he had nobody."

Emilia stood silent with Puck also listening in, both hearing how painful the other Natsuki Subaru had compared to this one. Despite all the things he had done, they do see what the Subaru in front of them is trying to say.

"So the two of you have a shared history?"

"We share the same life, the same choices we made before we were send to Lugnica. What change was how things went for the two of us. I had you all to save me from being alone. I had people I could rely on while he...he really had only himself. That doesn't justify anything he did but...it does make me worry if I would've become like him had I been alone that first day."

"No you wouldn't."

Subaru looked up to see Puck speaking to him, sounding serious yet friendly.

"Everyone makes their own choice, Natsuki Subaru. The witch cultist version of you made his choice to join the witch cult. He made the choice to cause harm. You on the other hand made a better choice. Just because things could've gone wrong for you, doesn't mean you would've ended up like him. I sense your heart is in the right place. If anything, you would've made a better choice, Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru was silent by this, a bit off hearing this from Puck since it has been a long time since he had interacted with Emilia's guardian yet he did find comfort in that. He nodded while thanking the great spirit before looking at Emilia, seeing that she still has one more thing to ask.

"Are you okay, Emilia-tan?"

"Y-Yes, I just wanted to know...how is the Emilia from your world doing?"

"She is alright. She beat the trials of both the Sanctuary and of the watchtower. She also showed herself to be incredibly strong."

"That's good..."

Subaru looked at the Emilia to see that she had doubt in herself. This caused him to quickly say in a confident tone of voice,

"No need to look down, Emilia-tan. You will win the royal selection and be able to help the people of Lugnica. They are going to need a leader and you are qualified to be that leader."

"B-But I haven't done anything to be this leader!"

"Regardless of that, you have Puck, you have Otto, Ram, Reinhard, and even Roswaal to help you out. To guide you in the case you need help. It never hurts to rely on others, Emilia-tan."

Emilia looked at Subaru and could tell that the boy was saying this out of experience, considering how this Subaru and the Subaru of her world both are different because of the choices they had made. She was still unsure if she could rely on others due to how she looks like the witch of envy.

"Will people be willing to help me...?"

"Trust me Emilia-tan, they will."

The two looked at each other's eyes with Subaru being full of hope while Emilia wanting to have some hope. Seeing the boy's eyes and how he knows her because of her counterpart, she smiled as she was willing to trust the boy. Subaru gives a thumbs up to Emilia before the two along with Puck return to the group, knowing that what comes next will be long.

Two days go by with Emilia being crowned the new King of Lugnica due to the credit of defeating all of the Sin Archbishops was given to her. Subaru's name was able to be clear with Reinhard using his status to explain that the Sin Archbishop of Pride used Natsuki Subaru's face to hide his real identity but died in the fire. Subaru was not sure if it was alright to clear his own name since his counterpart is still alive, but this was better than nothing since he did wish to return to this world to check on his friends. Subaru convinced Otto to be an advisor for Emilia, knowing that she needs someone to trust. Otto agrees to this and with the help of Reinhard, he was a free man once again. Lastly, Subaru and Ram both managed to have a talk with Subaru explaining who was responsible for killing Rem, causing Ram to have a high desire to kill Meili until Subaru explained,

"Meili was taught to be a killer by Capella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust. If anybody deserves to die, it's Lust."

"But she is dead!"

"I know, which is why I ask you to not kill Meili. She is a child, one who was twisted by the bowel hunter, the sin archbishop of lust, and my evil self. This is a chance to make things right and help a child that has lost their way...maybe even give you closure."

"..."

Ram stood silent to this, angry at the fact that she can't just simply kill Meili but since it is thanks to the Subaru she is talking to that she was able to destroy Roswaal's tome of wisdom and keep him from giving up on life, she will listen.

"You are lucky that I owe you, Barusu."

"I promise you won't regret it."

"Hmph."

Ram just turned away and started to walk for a moment before stopping on her tracks for a few seconds. She looked at Subaru before looking forward again while saying,

"Make sure to protect Rem, please."

"I will."

Ram just stood silent for a moment before walking away, trusting the boy's judgement and that he will protect the version of Rem from his world. As she walked away, Reinhard approached him after having spoke to the kingdom to check on the boy.

"How are you doing, Subaru? Is everything going well?"

"Well, a bit surreal but alright."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah...how is Felix?"

"He is resting but we are doing our best to help him with what your counterpart had done to him."

"I'm sorry about that."

"You did nothing wrong, Subaru. Don't feel like it is your fault what the Sin Archbishop of Pride had done."

"True but it just feels like I'm to blame for this."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Subaru."

Subaru looked at Reinhard and just gave a simple nod before changing the subject from him to his counterpart.

"Speaking of Pride, where is he?"

"He is locked up and from what you've told us, we are going to seal him away using yin magic."

"Mind if I speak to him before that happens?"

"Sure thing."

Reinhard took Subaru to the dungeon in order to have the boy encounter his counterpart for one last time before he, along with Marcos and Julius, seal the Sin Archbishop of Pride away. Once they arrived to Pride's cell, Reinhard looked at Subaru for a moment to say,

"Just be careful with him, Subaru. Should something bad happen, just shout my name and I'll come here swiftly."

"Understood."

Subaru nodded as he said this to show that he understands before Reinhard left him to speak with himself. The two Subarus looked at each other for a moment, both reflecting on what just happened.

"You have been trying to loop, haven't you?"

"Fucking asshole...thanks to you, I'm stuck here now!"

"I know but I'm here to chat before you are sealed for good."

"What? Here to gloat? Here to say that the hero finally defeated the villain?!"

"No, I'm here to ask if it was all worth it."

"What do you think?"

Pride got up to get closer to the cell bars, wishing they weren't there so he could strangle his counterpart. Subaru looked at Pride with hatred at first before looking at him with a bit of pity, seeing that he is just like all the other Sin Archbishops he had faced with his friends.

"You really are unredeemable, how shameful you put the Natsuki household name. Father and Mother would be disappointed in you."

"...fuck you! The fuck would they know what I had to go through! The fuck you know what I've been through! You can go to fucking hell, you stupid self righteous piece of shit!"

"But I'm not wrong, our parents would be disappointed in you."

"Fuck you! I hope you suffer!"

Pride said this with intense anger before banging his cell bars, having so much anger boiling towards his counterpart, hating how he is being viewed in such a way. As Pride was walking away, Subaru had one last question.

"Did you even call out for help?"

"..."

"On our first day, I want to say the fourth loop, did you even call out for help in the alleyway?"

"Why? Was that supposed to do something?"

'I see, so that's the change that set you on this path, my fallen self.'

Subaru now finally understood the change in their history. Since his counterpart stayed prideful, he never met Reinhard which meant that he never received the help he needed to beat Elsa. Now that he knows this, he turned around and ended the conversation by saying,

"Your name is cleared, it is assumed that you, the Sin Archbishop of Pride, is dead while Natsuki Subaru is alive and innocent. Not like it matters since you will be gone for a long time but appreciate life next time. Treasure those who care about you because if you do, then people can grieve when you die."

"What are you—?"

Subaru walked away from the dungeon, leaving Pride all to himself, uncertain on how he should spend his remaining time. He could try to loop a million of times to escape yet his counterpart would also know that he is looping, meaning that he would be trapped in a dead end stalemate. Once Natsuki Subaru left, the Sin Archbishop of Pride looked around to see that he is all alone in his little cell.

"...what a fitting end."

As Subaru left the dungeon, he met up with Garfiel to talk on what had happened the past two days. He was aware that Garfiel immediately left to the Sanctuary to help his counterpart free it. "How was it?"

"Eh...my other amazin' self's stubborn as hell but I was able to help him with Ram's help. Now he is off to find big sis from th's world."

"That's good to hear. Did he took the trials?"

"My other amazin' self took them all and beat them with my help. He makes me proud."

"He is you."

"I know."

Subaru and Garfiel laugh a bit, both finding the situation funny yet Subaru truly is proud of Garfiel, helping his own counterpart in breaking free from what keeps him imprisoned in the Sanctuary.

"You have grown quite a bit, Garfiel. I am proud of you, my friend."

"I couldn't have done it without ya, Cap'n."

Garfiel patted his captain on the back, having been proud to be following Natsuki Subaru since he not only cares for him but also looks out for him and everyone else. Despite being probably the weakest of the group, Subaru still manages to come out on top. For Garfiel's point of view, he saw his Cap'n has intelligence since he was able to keep calm despite the situation that was happening when they first arrived at this world. That's what made him appreciate Subaru even more, how he is a guy with good timing. The two waited for a bit before seeing that Julius is nowhere to be found despite the trio agreeing to met where Subaru and Garfiel were located at the moment prior to splitting up.

"I wonder where's Julius."

"Probably preparin' t'imprison yer evil self."

"Fair."

Since that was going to be the case, the two sat down and just relaxed for a bit, waiting on the finest knight. Both Garfiel and Subaru waited and waited until an hour had past before Julius finally approached the two, having noticed the pair waiting for him. He tapped the two on the head to wake them up before saying,

"Pardon me for making you two wait so long. I was clearing things up."

"Clearing what up? I thought you all were sealing away my evil self."

"We did with him cursing Reinhard for the most part. As for clearing things up...considering that my counterpart had been missing and some saying that I was dead, it caused confusion when I arrived here with Reinhard and Felix."

"That makes sense. So what did you say?"

"Basically, I told them that I was the twin to Julius."

"What?!"

Both Subaru and Garfiel were surprised when they heard this, confused on why Julius would say this.

"But why?"

"Well, telling people we are from a similar world to this would make us sound insane, even with Reinhard backing our claims. So I went with the name Juli Juukulius, the secret twin brother to Julius Juukulius."

"Hm. Understanding. Weird but understanding."

"Well, now what Cap'n? We can't stay here."

"I know. We have to return back home but I don't know—"

Before they could continue to question how they could return to their world, a bright light shined on the three with the last thing they hear before losing consciousness,

"World saved. Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of Pride, beaten and sealed away."

'What is—'

Everything went dark with his mind having blanked out for a brief moment before he woke up in a familiar place. He looked around and noticed that the door he had entered was sealed with the name of pride having change to humility. Once he realized where he was, he could hear someone ask him,

"Did you enjoy your time in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world?"

"You."

Subaru got up and attempted to attack the watcher, angry with him since he was sent completely unprepared. As he was going to punch the watcher in the face, the watcher change to Emilia while saying,

"I am curious, will you punch me if I look like Emilia, Natsuki Subaru?"

Subaru stopped has he was inches away from punching the watcher in the face, seeing Emilia's face. Despite knowing that it is the watcher himself, he can't punch Emilia. All he did was look at the watcher with an angry facial expression before saying,

"You are truly disgusting!"

"No, I'm just curious to know if you would actually do it despite seeing the woman you love's face."

Subaru turned towards the door that was once known as pride and kicked it a few times, wanting to let out his frustration for a bit while the watcher returned to his regular form. As the watcher does this, he asks his question once again,

"Did you enjoy your time in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world?"

"No! That world...that world was a fucking mess! What? Is all these doors leading me to face other Natsuki Subarus that are Sin Archbishops?!"

"No, that is not the case though that would be a little bit ironic, wouldn't you say."

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Subaru shouted has his frustration came back with a vengeance.

"All I'm saying is that each door does lead into a world that is represented has a sin though not like Pride's. Pride's door is special because that Natsuki Subaru was prideful which lead him down the dark path to a witch cultist. Though funny since he made himself into the Sin Archbishop of Pride."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing of importance. The only thing you should know is that each world won't be like that one...did you not paid attention when I showed you all of the fallen worlds?"

"It's not like you explained yourself...wait, where is Garfiel and Julius?!"

"They are safe. Back to their usual times with no recollection of the events that passed here. This will only be special to you, Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru was silent about this, a little annoyed since his friends deserve to know about the other worlds but on the other hand, this is a burden that he is probably capable of handling. As he thinks this, he asks a question that came to mind.

"Can I tell people about Return By Death?"

"No! Don't do that."

The watcher instantly answered Subaru's question in a way that did caught Subaru's attention, knowing that something bad could happen if he did that. Wanting to confirm this, he asked them,

"What would happen—?"

"If you are going to ask about telling others of Return by Death, I will just say that the Witch of Envy will end up killing you. The one from your world that is and since in different worlds you don't have that ability, you will permanently die...not to mention that I would end up facing her."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"If I had enough power, not really but I don't want to push my luck."

"Hm. Okay."

Subaru looked at the watcher for a moment before looking at the door that was once known has pride. As he looked at it, he looked back at the watcher to ask,

"So what happens to that world now?"

The watcher closes his eyes and glows for a brief moment before answering Subaru's question.

"After sealing Subaru, Emilia with Puck, Otto, and Ram's help was able to eventually rebuild the kingdom from zero. The Garfiel of that world managed to reunite with his sister and the two together with Roswaal and Emilia's aid, create a place for the demi humans of that world."

"What about my counterpart?"

"He will be sealed for an eternity since he wiped out all of the witch cult, meaning nobody is going to try to save him."

Subaru didn't felt anything when he heard this since this was something he expected, especially with Emilia having Reinhard, Otto, Ram, and even Garfiel to help her keep Lugnica in peace. As he heard this, the watcher pointed towards the other doors to say,

"It's time for you to continue on, Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru heard this and looked at the door that is next to the one that is pride, seeing that the next one is wrath. Subaru looks at the watcher and quickly asks,

"Will Garfiel and Julius return to be my allies?"

"No, you'll only have them once per world."

"Why?"

"That's...not needed for you to know."

"Hmm, fine...Are you sure this me from this world is not another Sin Archbishop, this time being Wrath?"

"Yes! I'm sure of it."

"Okay Okay but at least tell me who is my allies this time."

"You'll see."

Subaru just gave the watcher a stare before he opened the door and entered the world of wrath, knowing now what he is in for. As Subaru left, the watcher closed his eyes as he spoke to himself.

"It seems like my choice was correct, the Natsuki Subaru of that timeline would perform just like I wanted...though I do wonder, how will he fair against someone like the purge king."

This pondering question was only brief since he opened a panel to see the process of Natsuki Subaru, Emilia's knight.

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 1: Blindsight

Natsuki Subaru opened his eyes to find himself in a forest, a bit confused on the location he is in since he is unfamiliar with it. As this happened, he started to get flashes of memories similar to what he received when he was in the Pride world. Although the memories weren't too intense, he could still feel this world's Subaru and what struggles he had to deal with.

("I'll kill you!")

'R-Ram?'

Subaru had recognized the voice from a loop that he deemed his fault since he stayed and did nothing, which resulted in Rem dying and Ram blaming him. As this was happening, a small light approached Subaru. He stayed silent has he started to wonder who the watcher was going to bring him now. He had Julius and Garfiel already though he thought about other allies he would want to have by his side.

'Emilia-tan would be great, Beako would be fun, Otto would be quite interesting, maybe even Reinhard...though I feel like having him would make things overkill, especially if I encounter and befriend this world's Reinhard. Man, imagine having two Reinhards by my side.'

Subaru imagined just how broken he would be if he had two Reinhards fighting by his side. The Natsuki Subaru of this world or any world of that matter that was evil would literally stand no chance if that were the case.

"Man, now I really want that."

As Subaru hoped it was Reinhard, the light brightened the area which blinded him for a brief moment before he heard a familiar voice, one that was an older voice.

"Subaru-dono."

"Wilhelm!"

As the light cleared, Subaru saw that this was someone the boy trusted with everything he had in him, the demon sword known has Wilhelm van Astrea. This made him happy since he gets to spend time with Wilhelm.

"How are you doing?"

"Pretty well...where are we?"

"We are...actually, I don't even know where we are."

"Then we should be on our guard. I was with Crusch-sama until all of a sudden I appeared here. I presume you were with Emilia-sama as you were teleported as well."

"Yeah, something like that, you see—"

Before Subaru could explain anything to Wilhelm, two balls of light started to approach the two. Wilhelm pulled out his sword has he thought of them as possible threats until Subaru stopped him by saying,

"Wait Wilhelm, they are probably more allies."

"Allies?"

"Yes, just give it a moment."

'Two more? What? Is this world that hard that I need two more allies? If the pride me wasn't hard enough, I don't want to know how hard wrath me is.'

As the lights were near the two men, they began to glow the area for a brief moment before revealing two maids, one bigger with blonde hair while the other being a child with short orange hair and a red ribbon.

"Subaru-sama!"

"P-Petra?"

Subaru was stunned as he saw that it was both Frederica and Petra that were summoned to be his other allies. He understands Frederica but Petra is something that dumbfounded him since he doesn't know what the watcher was thinking.

'Why the fuck did he bring a little girl into this mess?!'

"Because, she will serve a purpose."

"What—?"

"Don't speak, they can't hear me, only you. If you think of something in your mind, I can hear you."

'Is that so? Could've said that in the last world...fucking prick.'

"Seems like someone is angry."

'You send a child to a very dangerous world!'

"Yes and?"

'Are you fucking seriously asking that?!'

"The people I send has your allies can and will be helpful on their own right. Wilhelm van Astrea being the skilled swords, Frederica Baumann being the muscle like Garfiel, and Petra Leyte being the emotional support...in a sense."

'In a sense?!'

"Look, we can continue arguing about this or you could start the journey through the world of wrath."

Subaru bit his lip with anger before looking at Petra with a smile, seeing her charge towards him to hug the boy. Subaru patted her head since he knows how much she cares for him. As Petra is hugging him, he looks at Frederica to say,

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing very well, Subaru-sama...though where are we?"

"We do not know but we have Wilhelm with us, so we should be fine."

Frederica noticed what Subaru said and quickly turned towards Wilhelm, seeing and recognizing who he is. She bowed in respect to which he dismissed since he didn't deemed it necessary. After Petra hugged Subaru's leg for a bit, she looked at Subaru to ask if everything went alright at the watchtower.

"We were able to learn of a few things but first, you all should know about where we are."

Petra, Wilhelm, and Frederica all three noticed what Subaru said and paid close attention, seeing that this might be extremely important. Petra returned to Frederica's side has thing started to get serious with Subaru explaining what he knows.

"We are not in our world. We are in a...parallel world of our own."

"Parallel?" Asked Petra.

"It's basically the same world as ours with the same people living in it but the course of history is altered here. I was just in one with Julius and Garfiel...we dealt with something devastating but for now, we should just look around to see where we are at."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan, Subaru-dono. You should lead the way."

Frederica and Petra both agreed to Wilhelm's comment. Subaru nodded at this and turned towards a direction of the forest that his soul seems to be attracted towards, having a gut feeling that this should be the path they should head towards. Before they left the forest area they were in, Subaru gave them one final warning.

"I don't know the changes to this world's history to our own so if you see someone that is like you or someone that we know, they are from this world, not our own."

"Understood."

The three nodded their heads, still a little confused on the situation they are in but understanding the basics of things. As the group started their walk, Subaru crossed his arms and pondered on the memories he received, having a suspicion that the memories of that loop might come in handy for what he is going to deal with.

'I swear, if this Natsuki Subaru of this world is the Sin Archbishop of Wrath, I'm going to punch that prick in the face.'

"You say that now but you won't when the time comes."

'Hey! Screw off!'

Subaru looked at the sky with anger, not liking how the watcher can interfere with his thoughts. He looked up for a moment before returning focus on the objective in front of them, finding out where they are at. As they walked for a while, Subaru turned to see that Petra was getting tired out, causing him to quickly approach the little maid to pick her up so she can relax from walking. She was caught off guard by this but thanked Subaru before ending up falling asleep. As this happened, both Frederica and Wilhelm smiled since they are seeing this kind side of Subaru, both having high respects for the boy.

As they walked a little more, they found a road with a few wagons and ground dragons approaching them. Subaru woke up Petra gently to alert her that people are approaching them. She notices this and is set back on her feet for her to go stand next to Frederica. As she does this, Wilhelm and Subaru stand in front of the two maids in the case the people approaching them are a threat. They waited until the wagons stopped with someone familiar saying to them,

"Are you all lost?"

'Huh? Why does that sound familiar?'

Subaru looked closely at the person approaching them, not being able to recognize the voice at first until he asked the question again, this time close by to them.

"Are you all lost?"

"Wait...are you Otto Suwen?"

"Huh?"

The person was confused since he was surprised someone knew of his name.

"Have we met before?"

"N-No, I just heard the name, Otto Suwen the merchant, and well wanted to meet you."

"What?!"

Otto was completely at a lost here since he didn't think his name would spread around in the past few years. As he was confused, another man approached them having a completely friendly and familiar face.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Reinhard."

Subaru was happy to see that at the very least he is meeting up with allies. Frederica and Petra were both happy to see Otto while Wilhelm was a bit unhappy to see Reinhard. Having remembered the events of Priestella, he has and will never forgive the boy for what he had done. As he was going to turn around, Reinhard had spotted him and was unsure at first, feeling like he is familiar yet he is not sure. He stood silent for a moment before saying,

"Who are you?"

Wilhelm paused for a moment, hearing confusion in Reinhard's voice. He thought for a moment Reinhard was joking, causing him to get slightly angry at this for a brief second before recalling something Subaru had said.

("I don't know the changes to this world's history to our own so if you see someone that is like you or someone that we know, they are from this world, not our own.")

Because of this, he was curious on something.

"My name is Wilhelm Trias."

"Ah, pleasure to meet you."

"Um...do you know someone by the name of Crusch-sama?"

"Crusch-sama? Who is that?"

Wilhelm was lost for words, not sure what happened in this world but easily puzzling it together that the fight with the White Whale must've been a failure since that would be the most reasonable explanation next to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. Seeing this caused him to ponder on what he should do now, Reinhard doesn't even know who is he and he views the Sword Saint has someone that is no longer a part of his family after having killed Theresia. He looks at Reinhard but before anything can be said, Subaru chimes in and takes the conversation somewhere else.

"Hey Reinhard, how have you been?"

"Natsuki Subaru, it is good to see you once again. It has been quite a long time since we have interacted back at the loot house with Felt-sama."

"How long has it been?"

"I suppose you have been quite busy that you lost track of time, Subaru. It has been two years."

'Two years?! Wait, so he is being kind and mention that we haven't seen each other since the loot house...then where the hell was the change?'

Subaru stood silent for a moment, trying to puzzle everything together but before he could, he was curious to know what Reinhard and Otto were up to.

"What exactly are you two doing...wherever we are at?"

"We are on our way to deal with the Purge king?"

"The Purge king, haven't you heard of him, Natsuki-san?"

"No..."

"Well, I guess you have been away from society for a long while, Subaru."

"Yeah...well how can we help?"

"Hm. Before that, mind if I ask, have you seen Emilia-sama? She did take you to the Margrave's mansion."

Subaru paused for a moment, seeing that he needs to answer this in a truthful manner while also not looking suspicious. He thought of his many previous loops until he recalled on the one where he left the mansion before going back to wait for the attacker only for it to be revealed to be Rem. Using this loop prior to the discovery, he said,

"I had left to do things on my own. The last thing she told me was that I was always welcomed to go back to the mansion. Why you ask?"

Reinhard was using his divine protection of wind reading to make sure the boy was being honest to him. To his relief, the boy was speaking the truth and just sigh since this next information was going to be tough to tell.

"Subaru, you might want to hear this in private. Otto, could you give Subaru's companions a ride while Subaru rides in my wagon."

"Are you sure about this, Sword saint?"

"Yes."

Otto nodded before guiding Wilhelm, Petra, and Frederica to his wagon while Subaru and Reinhard both walked towards the wagon the sword saint was in. As the two entered and sat down, Subaru wanted to confirm one thing.

"Did the royal selections ever happened?"

"No, sadly we haven't found a replacement for the fourth candidate since...well this is going to be hard to tell you my friend but...Emilia-sama had gone missing."

"What?"

Subaru jumped out of his seat when he heard this, resulting in his head receiving an injury. Reinhard asked if he was alright to which Subaru played it off like it was nothing while he tried to calm down.

'Come on Subaru, don't let your emotions get the best of you...even if this world is Emilia-tan, I have to find out what the hell did my counterpart of this world has done. Could he be the Purge king?'

"Well Subaru, I know this must be tough since it has been years since you two must have interacted. What did you do after you left the Margrave's mansion?"

"I had...gone on some adventures and even dealt with the Witch cult from time to time."

"Oh, well glad you are still alive."

"Yeah...are you okay, Reinhard?"

"Yes, why do you ask? Do I seem off?"

"No it's just...it's probably none of my business but do you know who your grandfather is?"

"My grandfather? Hm. There isn't much told to me about him, he was unknown to my father and I."

"...okay, let's change subjects. Where are we anyway?"

"You haven't realized Subaru? You are at the edge of the Kararagi border, also known as Pandemonium."

"Pandemonium..."

Subaru was completely thrown off that he is near Kararagi though he understands that there is a reason he is here.

'The purge king.'

Understanding this, he looked at Reinhard and with a serious face he said,

"Let me help you, Rein."

"I do not know, Subaru. It wouldn't sit well with me to put you in harm's way."

"I know but let me do this, I can't live with myself if I let you handle everything. Plus...this is my chance to repay you for the loot house incident."

"There is no need for that, Subaru."

"Yes it is, allow me to help you. Please."

Reinhard stood silent for a moment, seeing just how persistent his friend is being. Although he wouldn't want to bring him along, he knows that they are going to need help if they want to take down the purge king.

"I probably should inform you of what has happened that lead the council to send me to take down the Purge king. His organization, known has the Pleiades, took out Roswaal and from what you've said, possibly took Emilia-sama hostage."

"Hm. Then it is a high priority to stop this monster."

"Agreed. The plan is to have the merchant, Otto Suwen, enter with a couple of knights disguised has merchants. They will be the distraction before launching our surprise attack."

"Understood. Maybe Wilhelm can help, he is a pretty amazing warrior despite the age."

"What about the two maids? I wouldn't want a little girl be involved in this kind of situation."

"Let's have them stay back for now. Frederica is capable of holding her own, so she can stay here and guard the wagons alongside Petra."

"Alright Subaru, if you say so."

"Now, what role can I play?"

"Well you could stay with me and attack alongside me or you could join Otto Suwen and his infiltration group."

"Hm."

Subaru had to think this critically since he can't rely on his Return by Death since it doesn't exist in this world for him. This made him tempted to be with Reinhard yet he knows that he can help Otto alongside seeing what he is dealing with. He closed his eyes and thought real carefully before responding with,

"Allow me and Wilhelm to join Otto in infiltration. Otto and I will have a bodyguard should things go south."

"Are you sure about this, Subaru? I still don't want to put you in a dangerous position."

"Don't worry Rein, I've handled worse...recently even..."

Subaru says this since facing his other self that was known has the Sin Archbishop of Pride was already quite the challenge for him. Reinhard was unsure on what to think but he trusted his friend's judgement. The two waited until they arrived at the location with Otto going to check on Reinhard, making sure that he is ready for the plan. As he opens the wagon, he looks to see both Reinhard and Subaru for a moment before asking,

"Sword Saint, are you ready for this?"

"Yes...though you should know that Subaru will accompany you."

Otto takes a note on this and quickly looks at Subaru, seeing that he is determined and ready.

"Natsuki-san, are you sure you want to help us with this? It will be dangerous."

"I know but I can hold my own."

"Okay."

Otto was still uncertain that Subaru should join them yet he understands that he wants to help them stop the purge king. He along with Subaru left Reinhard's wagon to head towards Otto's wagon where Wilhelm, Frederica, and Petra are located. While they were walking, the two had a chat with Otto starting things off,

"Where did you hear me?"

"Here and there in Lugnica. You are looked upon has a good merchant."

"Hm. Is that so...?"

Otto was uncertain of this since he didn't view himself that worthy to have his name spread though that wasn't something that he was curious on.

"Why do you want to fight the purge king?"

"It's more for the sake of Emilia-tan. If he did anything to her, even kidnap her, then it is my obligation to stop him."

"That's understandable."

Otto had paid attention to the way Subaru spoke, seeing that he was telling the truth. This made him relief since the last thing they need is the Purge king to have some assistant within their ranks. The two had arrived to the merchant's wagon with Wilhelm, Frederica, and Petra waiting for the two boys.

"Subaru-sama, what are we going to do?"

"Well Petra, I want you and Frederica-san to stay here and guard the wagons."

"Huh?"

"Hold on, Subaru-sama, are you sure about that?"

"It is dangerous Frederica-san and I don't want you and especially Petra to be in harm's way."

"Hold on, Subaru-sama! I can take care of myself!"

"Petra, manners."

"S-Sorry, Frederica-neesama."

Petra looked down with sadness which caused Subaru to pat her in the head to comfort the little girl for a bit while also turning his attention to Wilhelm.

"Wilhelm, I want to ask if you can join us. This Purge King might be a big threat and we will need your help should things go wrong."

"Are you sure about that, Subaru-dono?"

"Yeah, you are pretty skilled with the sword and next to Rein, you are the strongest here."

Wilhelm was silent about this since he isn't sure if he should go with them, considering that he doesn't want to be near the Sword Saint yet he knows that they need to stop the Purge King. Thanks to Otto Suwen, himself along with the two maids are aware of what the Purge King has done which makes him burn with anger that his counterpart is no longer around to do something about this.

'Had Crusch-sama and myself had been here, we could've done something about this.'

Wilhelm had a tight fist before looking at Subaru with a determined facial expression. He nodded at the boy, showing that he is ready to help. Subaru was hoping for this and smiled before nodding back. He then turned towards Otto before asking,

"Okay, I think I should get a disguise of my own."

"Agreed, your current attire...is not suited for the undercover task we are going in. Let me see what I got."

Otto goes back onto the wagon to look for some clothing only to find his original green attire from back when he began as a merchant. This brought the young man some good memories along with some scary ones since he had to deal with many unfortunate situations over the few years. He turned towards Subaru and showed him the only clothing he had to make it seem like he was a merchant.

"Though this is special to me, it is the only thing I have."

"Well...I have always wondered how I would look in your clothing, Otto."

"D-Don't phrase it like that! It sounds weird."

"Alright Alright, let me get change them."

Subaru went into the wagon to put on the clothing, surprised that it even fit him though just barely. He got out of the wagon with Petra and Frederica both giggling, seeing this quite funny knowing how close their version of Otto and Subaru are. The Otto Suwen of this world looked at Subaru with a bit of an impressed facial expression.

"Those make you look like a beginner merchant."

"It does, doesn't it? What do you think, Wilhelm?"

"You look good, Subaru-dono."

"Hehe, thanks."

Subaru nodded at them before the group prepared to head out with Petra and Frederica staying behind. As they were leaving, Subaru was once again overwhelmed with a couple of flashes of memories from the other Subaru of this world.

("── What's, so funny?")

("Huu, heh, hee-hee.")

'What the hell?!'

Subaru was just confused by the scene playing earlier, seeing that his counterpart of this world was in some snow place with what appeared to be Ram trying to choke him. This made him come up with a few possibilities of how things turned out the way they did. He knows a few loops where this could happen, mostly in the Sanctuary should Ram survive and see him abandon everyone yet there was one loop that makes more sense.

'The loop Beatrice promised to protect me. My very first suicide loop.'

This is the only loop that makes the most sense since Ram hated him with a furious passion and even wanted to kill him. This was thanks to the Sin Archbishop of Pride Natsuki Subaru, giving him a hint on how he will find the changes and the reasons for these Subarus to have went on different paths than the one he did.

'I know this is wishful thinking but...please don't be evil, counterpart of this world.'

Subaru, Wilhelm, and Otto all three enter what appears to be the main throne room of the purge king with Otto informing the other knights in disguise to wait outside. They all obeyed Otto before the young man led the old butler and the "new" merchant into the throne room. As they were entering, Otto smiled with confidence but at the same time with pride, knowing that everything will go according to plan.

'Don't worry Reinhard-san, we will take down this monster once and for all.'

As they got closer, Otto's smile went away for a brief few seconds before returning it, knowing that he has to keep his composure for the plan to work, despite the discovery that he just made. Wilhelm and Subaru had approach close enough to see what Otto had seen.

'Subaru-dono...no...'

'Hm...why? Why am I not surprise by this? Why?!'

Wilhelm and Subaru both did their best to keep their composure with Subaru being the one to struggle, understanding that this would be the case, with the hopes he had dying. Knowing that his counterpart is the purge king is disturbing though he isn't sure just how bad he is compared to the Pride version of Natsuki Subaru.

'Well...at least have some reason for being this that isn't joining the witch cult!'

Subaru stood silent has he watched the purge king and Otto both have a bit of a chat.

"Being able to meet you today, it is surely a great honor."

"――――"

Slaying much, erasing many lives, trying to grasp many weaknesses was this person. The two Subarus were surprised and impressed by what Otto had said in such a way.

"―――Somehow, your confidence is remarkable, though you do not seem much different from me in age."

"―――. So suddenly, are those words of praise sent."

Otto bowed his head before looking at the Purge king with a smile, a fake one at that. There was a mild look on his face, but in his eyes somehow a wicked darkness could be seen.

"Saying that, you definitely..."

"In truth, not far off from now, we intend to do much large-scale business here. Because of that, we had been looking for a chance to first meet the head of the organization and present gifts."

"Though, whatever happens with that doesn't matter to me...but, who are those two?"

"They are my companions. The old butler known has Wilhelm Trias and the young man—"

"My name is not important, I'm just...someone who wants to know something."

"Oh, what would—wait, something is wrong."

Otto's confident smile faded away since he wasn't sure what was going on with Wilhelm slowly moving his hand towards his sword in case a fight breaks out. The Purge King had an interesting look towards Subaru before pointing towards him in a serious yet curious voice,

"Remove your hat, I need to your face. It'll answer what I'm seeing."

"...well, it was bound to happen at some point."

"What are you...?"

The purge king was interrupted when he saw that he was face to face with someone that looks literally like him. The Purge King's two guards were also surprised when they saw this, caught completely off guard. Before anything can be said, Subaru took the opportunity speak with a confident tone of voice,

"You asked for who I was, well you should know that I'm Natsuki Subaru! I'm here to confront you, my counterpart, to set things right."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 2: Colors

Natsuki Subaru of the Wrath world had looked very pale, skinny boned and looking exhausted and yet still menacingly. He looked at his counterpart and heard what he had to say to him, leaving him confused at first since this has never happened nor has this kind of situation ever occurred to him. He looked at himself wearing some odd attire and yet he only had one word to say,

"Colors."

"Huh?" Subaru was confused at what the Purge King had said.

"Colors...those different variant of colors...but why?"

The two Natsuki Subarus were confused with the Purge king confused on his counterpart while Subaru was confused on what the Purge King meant by colors. The two stayed silent for a moment which didn't help since Otto was beginning to worry that things will go wrong if something isn't done.

He crossed his arms for a bit to think quickly, trying to find a way to keep the Purge King distracted while also not getting himself, Subaru, and Wilhelm killed prior to Reinhard arriving. He took a few seconds before finally coming up with an idea, one that might save their lives.

"Liege, why don't you discuss things with Natsuki Subaru. I think you two chatting without any of us here would allow you to get the answers you seek."

"Hm. You are right, merchant. Go along then, everyone in this room please leave. Well except you, Natsuki Subaru. I would like to have a chat with you."

Otto bowed before he and Wilhelm walked out of the room with The Purge King's servants also leaving. As everyone was heading out, Wilhelm whispered to Subaru's ear,

"Don't worry Subaru-dono, should trouble arise, I will be there to protect you."

"Thank you, Wilhelm."

Subaru nodded has he watched the old butler leave with his merchant friend. The Purge King looked at his furry friend and whispered to him,

"Stay in the shadows. Should something happen, you are responsible in protecting me."

"You got it, boss."

The Purge king's ally nodded at him before he saw him disappear in the shadows. As the room appeared to be empty, the two Subarus just looked at each other with the pair having many thoughts running in their mind. The Purge King looked at his counterpart's eyes for a moment, seeing that they are the same as his yet the big difference is the stress.

This Natsuki Subaru is not has stressed like me, not to mention how he looks a lot more healthy compared to him. Subaru looks at his counterpart and can tell that this one suffered a lot just by the look of his face. He looks guilt ridded and worn out, probably from the stress he is showing all over his face yet there is something else that he is not able to tell.

'That look he had towards me when he first saw me, it's as if there was hope...what is the deal with this version of me? For sure he isn't pure evil or a prick like Pride but he sure isn't good. Not after all the hell he had caused.'

Subaru was trying to figure it out, the only clue being the word "Colors" since the Purge King mentioned this. As the two were trying to figure their other self out, the silence was broken by Natsuki Subaru from a different world.

"We should probably start talking, otherwise we will both just be standing in a room all silently."

"Fair. Who are you really?"

"The name is Natsuki Subaru, I'm just...from a different world."

"Yeah, so am I but I'm asking who are you really? Deep down inside, what do you view yourself?"

"I view myself has someone who will do anything to protect Emilia-tan."

"Hm. Okay then, so you are familiar with Emilia-tan...but for how long?"

"Over a year to say the least."

"Hm."

Subaru wanted to remain friendly yet guarded just in case provoking the Purge King could lead to his death, knowing that he doesn't have Return By Death to rely on. The purge king looked at Subaru with a questionable look before concluding that his counterpart is telling him the truth and being truthful.

'If that is the case, then is this Natsuki Subaru is me but from where? He looks determined and healthy. If it was a year, I was winning over Cecilus...or more accurate, the emperor himself send him as a double agent. No, I was looking a bit dead compared to the me here. This doesn't make sense...wait.'

"Natsuki Subaru, can you...you know."

"Loop?"

"Okay, so you do know about that."

The two Subarus were silent for a moment before the room started to shake all of a sudden which caused the Purge King to snap his fingers. As he does this, his two guards come out of the shadows which causes Natsuki Subaru to be on his guard. The Purge King notices this and was going to comment on something until he saw his counterpart holding a whip.

"Hold on...is a whip your primary weapon?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"...ptft!"

The Purge King for the first time in a long time had laughed. Not in any usual way that would be perceived as fake but a genuine happy laugh.

"Man, you are pathetic. Using a whip as a weapon."

"Yeah Yeah, let it all out."

The Purge King laughed for a bit before finally he regained his composure. Just as his composure had returned, he looked to see that behind Natsuki Subaru was a bright light. Wilhelm had managed to break through the door to get his world's Natsuki Subaru to safety.

As he manages this, Reinhard arrives once he manages to destroy his way into the throne room. The Purge king looked up with a bit of a none surprised look as he watched the Sword Saint looking at him. At first he had a serious facial expression before it change of one of genuine surprise.

"What is going on here, Subaru?"

"Which one?"

"He is speaking to me, Purge King. Reinhard, it is a little hard to tell you but let's just say that...this is the Subaru that you last saw at the loot house. I'm Natsuki Subaru from another world."

"Hm."

Reinhard was silent about this since this was information he wished to have known but since it isn't the time to dwell on it, he turned towards The Purge King.

"Purge King, I, Reinhard van Astrea, will stop you."

"Is that so? I have been preparing for this moment, Reinhard. Cecilus, you know what to do."

"Understood."

The one with known has Cecilus with a subdued peach-pink kimono with a purple mist-like pattern along its bottom, a bright-blue haori that rests over his kimono approached Reinhard. The two looked at each other for a moment before the Subaru from Reinhard's side looked at his counterpart.

"You know Reinhard is going to win, right?"

"...Halibel, come with me."

"Yes boss."

The Purge King and Halibel both started to leave the throne room. Seeing this caused Subaru and Wilhelm to both go after them. Before leaving, Wilhelm turned towards Reinhard and was going to give him a bit of advice but then he remembered what happened in Priestella. This prompted him to say nothing before leaving the Sword Saint to face one of the divine generals of Vollachia. As Wilhelm and Subaru chased after the Purge King and his ally, Otto was going to assist them yet he heard the Sword Saint tell him,

"Don't. Let them handle the Purge King. Go and see if you can find Emilia-sama."

"If you say so, Reinhard-san."

The merchant boy nodded before going off on his own, having a knife in the case he needs to defend himself.

While chasing the two, Subaru and Wilhelm both manage to speak about what they just learned regarding this world's Natsuki Subaru and the path he took.
"I do not wish to sound rude, Subaru-dono, but what happened? Why did the Subaru-dono of this world turned into a tyrant?"

"I...I do not know Wilhelm but I will get to the bottom of this. Can you tell me anything about the two people we just encountered?"

"One of them I recognize because of Crusch-sama and Felix. He is one of the divine generals of the kingdom of Vollachia. As for the other one, if what I heard was correct then he is the admirer of Kararagi. Halibel."

"Huh...how strong are they?"

"It is believed that the three people; the admirer, Blue Lightning, and the Mad Prince, are believe to be on par with the Sword Saint."

"Really...? Wow, I still have a lot to learn."

Subaru was surprised to hear this since that implies his counterpart has two people that can stand up against Reinhard. This made him understand how dire this situation is.

'This is much worse than the Sin Archbishop of Pride. At least with him, I knew what I was dealing with but here...I'm really out of my element.'

As Subaru was looking down, he snapped out of this when Wilhelm stopped himself and him from running as Wilhelm looks at their opponent. As the two looked forward, they see that Halibel is blocking their path. Wilhelm pulled out his sword and prepared for a fight while the wolf man just looked at them in a calm manner before saying,

"Now calm down. We don't have to fight, old gentleman. Look alike boss."

"Why are you here?"

"Boss told me to make sure you both don't get far. I don't want to fight ya both, especially an old gentleman since that would be completely unfair but I will if ya both don't turn back."

"Let me rephrase my question, why are you working for the Purge King?"

"Cause he is my boss."

"Okay, you are messing with me at this point."

"Man, can't take a joke. I have my reasons but all I will say is that I owe him...mind if I call ya Su-san?"

"Um...sure, I guess?" Subaru was confused by this yet Halibel was happy to hear.

"Thanks, boss won't let me call him by a nickname so as his counterpart, I shall call you Su-san."

"Okay but you do realize that we have to go through. I have to stop him."

"Ah so that's the issue Su-san, my boss would kill me if I let ya go through."

"That's...unfortunate, you seem like a fun guy to talk to and maybe have a drink with."

"Why thank you, Su-san. You are too kind."

"Yes...well, we will fight you."

"No Subaru-dono, I will."

"Wait, are you sure about that Wilhelm?"

"Yes."

Subaru wanted to argue with Wilhelm yet he knew that he would not be able to do anything against Halibel, especially if the claim that he is one of three that could stand up to Reinhard is true. He looked at Wilhelm for a moment before telling him,

"Please make it out safe."

"I will, Subaru-dono. You as well."

Subaru nodded and was prepared to make a run for it yet Halibel allowed him to pass. Subaru was thrown off by this, especially the friendly smile he gave yet he took his opportunity to run. As Subaru continued to chase his counterpart, Wilhelm lowered his guard since he wasn't expecting Halibel to be this kind.

"Pardon me good sir, but mind if I ask why did you let Subaru-dono pass by? Wouldn't the Purge King be mad about this?"

"Ah boss would assume that I'm facing someone. Besides, Su-san is actually quite nice. Maybe if all this blows away, I might even ask him for a drink if we all make it alive."

"Hm. That is rather kind of you."

"Yup. What's your name?"

"...my name is Wilhelm Trias, servant of Crusch-sama."

"Understood. I'll go easy on ya."

"Hm. Don't underestimate me, admirer."

Wilhelm started the fight just as he finished speaking, charging at Halibel before clashing with the wolf human's claws. As the two were in somewhat of a blade lock, Halibel continued to stay calm along with Wilhelm yet the old butler was a bit more tense, seeing that he is going to have to go all out if he wants to at the very least buy Subaru some time.

He continues to go on the offense while Halibel continues to deflect each attack without any problem using his claws and his fur while remaining in his calm gesture. Wilhelm noticed this, making him realize that he needs to really come up with a strategy if he wants a chance to win.

'This will not be easy but I will win, for Subaru-dono's sake.'

Subaru runs and runs all around the halls of the pleiades organization while also feeling the entire place shaking, knowing that this is because of Reinhard. Ignoring the violent shakes of the building, all he can think of is how far has his counterpart had fallen. Although he still seemed to have a little if not barely anything of sanity compared to the Sin Archbishop of Pride, he is still evil in his own right.

'What is the overall goal here? At least with the Sin Archbishop of Pride, it was all for Emilia-tan's sake to win the royal selections but here...what is the goal?'

As he was running, another set of memories started to pour into the boy, causing him to fall to the ground since the headache that comes with this was a bit more than he can resist.

("...Sorry. I didn't mean to threaten you. It's just that, these two people here. And these others present are all hired by me and follow me, but you're not like that are you? So then, how should I say it...I acted in a manner I was used to, sorry.")

("Let us have a nice partnership, Sigram-san. The details will be discussed with the person in charge later on...This was the best and wisest choice for you.")

("From now on, regarding this association, I will be in your care.")

("Tails.")

Subaru was on the ground, viewing an execution being made to someone with the name Sigrum. This damage caused Subaru to look angrily as he saw just how corrupt his counterpart is, similar to the Sin Archbishop of Pride Natsuki Subaru. He continued to receive a few more memories of the Purge King.

("The corpse, make it neat and bury it. And, an envoy is to be sent to their shop. Everything is to be confiscated, but if they follow along do not treat them poorly. If they refuse, then purge the family and burn the store. When the takeover ends, have them greet the next one in charge and follow their plan. With that, it will be decided whether to destroy them or not.")

("...Halibel-san, I do not want to kill you.")

'Because you can't, jackass.'

Subaru was slowly getting up, managing to resist the headaches and the memories being poured into him. Learning more on what the Purge King has done made him see that his counterpart is like the Sin Archbishop of Pride, an unredeemable bastard.

"I...I have to stop you...Purge King...and I have to get to...Emilia-tan!"

Subaru managed to break free before starting to run once again, having his whip in hand. As he was running for a bit, he manage to hear someone say,

"Natsuki-san! Wait up."

"Huh? Otto?"

Otto approached Subaru as he was slightly out of breath. The boy looked at the merchant for a bit before patting him on the back.

"What brings you here, Otto? I thought you were with Reinhard."

"Reinhard-san is fighting one of the Purge King's bodyguards...who are you really?"

"Huh? What are you—?"

"Why does the Purge King look like you?! Are you working for him?!"

"Hell no! I would never betray Emilia-tan!"

"Then why do you two look alike?!"

"Because I'm from another world, Otto!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hey!"

Both Otto and Subaru turned towards the voice that spoke to them, causing the two to turn from their conversation to one of the Purge King's mercenaries. Both Otto and Subaru knew that they were in trouble since more mercenaries were starting to appear. Subaru would normally be okay since he could rely on Return By Death as his last option but since he doesn't have that ability, he needs to fight for his life.

"Otto, mind if I ask what you are doing here?"

"Reinhard-san told me to look for Emilia-sama."

"Then shall we survive this together and look for Emilia-tan, together."

Otto paused himself to look at Subaru, seeing the confidence and friendly nature he has in him. This gave Otto some determination to fight. He pulled out his knife with Subaru having his whip ready for a fight, both of them determined to get out of this alive.

As the mercenaries charge at the pair, the two charge towards them with Subaru starting the fight by using his whip to do some damage to the closest mercenaries' face. This distracted the mercenary long enough for Otto to stab him in the chest before punching him in the jaw hard enough to knocked him out. As he succeeded in this, two mercenaries started to swing their blades towards the merchant, forcing him to dodge the attacks while Subaru waited for the perfect moment to attack.

As he was going to attack, he felt something sharp about to pierce his head, causing him to quickly duck which coincidentally caused him to dodge the attack. As both Otto and Subaru were starting to get overwhelmed, the two accepted that they were going to die due to how outmatched and outnumbered the two were. Subaru looked at the mercenary close to him for a moment before he smiled, knowing that his only option was to use Invisible Providence.

Just as this was going to happen, something caused the mercenary to be send flying towards another mercenary that was going to kill Otto. The two boys looked to see that a couple of knights still in their merchant disguises. The one leading this was Frederica with Petra standing behind her.

"Frederica?"

"You should be more careful, Subaru-sama."

"Why are you here?"

"Frederica-neesama wanted to check on you...also I wanted to check on you."

"Yes, we worried that something wrong had happened."

"W-Well, it is good to see you two once again...I assume that you are keeping Petra safe."

"Yes, you do not need to worry, Subaru-sama."

Subaru was not thrilled that Petra was there with them, in the Purge King's stronghold, but he was still happy to see her. The knights went to take on the mercenaries, causing a large battle to be created. Otto was able to keep his distance to recover his strength while Subaru was able to get back on his feet thanks to the help of Frederica and Petra. As he was back on his feet, Frederica asked the boy,

"What happened here? Where is the Purge King?"

"...about that, we bumped into the Natsuki Subaru of this world."

"Wait, another Subaru?" Petra said with a surprised voice. Subaru and Frederica both looked at her for a moment, both smiling at Petra before Subaru's smile faded away.

"The Natsuki Subaru of this world...he is the purge king..."

"What?"

"No way! That can't be possible! Subaru-sama is a good person. Why would Subaru-sama of this world be a bad person? There is no way!"

"Petra-chan, please calm down."

"...I'm sorry, Frederica-neesama."

"It's okay little one."

Frederica patted the little maid's head for a moment before turning her attention back to Subaru.

"Are you sure that this world's Natsuki Subaru is the Purge King?"

"Yes, he...is far gone at this point. If you just saw him, you could tell that he isn't right both physically and mentally."

"That is...I'm sorry Subaru-sama."

"It's alright...right now I need you to protect Petra and to help Otto in finding Emilia-tan from this world."

"Wh-what will you be doing, Subaru-sama?" Petra said in a nervous and concerned tone.

"Don't worry Petra, I'll be alright. I'm going to stop the Purge King."

"Are you sure that you should go on your own to face...yourself?"

"Hm. I probably should have a few knights with me but other than that, I'll be alright."

"Just try to be safe, Subaru-sama."

"I will!"

Subaru says this as he gives a thumbs up to Frederica and Petra. The two maids smile at this before they watch as Emilia's knight goes to recruit a few knights to join him in going after the Purge King. As Subaru and three knights followed him to go after the Purge King, Frederica and Petra approach Otto to check up on him.

"Is Otto-san okay?"

"Y-Yes, I'm alright Frederica-san. Thank you for saving Natsuki-san and me."

"Yes, now shall we go and find Emilia-sama?"

"...I don't mean to sound disrespectful but is it wise for you two to join me? It could be dangerous."

"Oh Otto, always looking out for us."

"Don't worry about us, I'll keep Petra-chan safe and I'll make sure you don't get yourself into anymore trouble."

"A-Alright."

Otto says this since he could feel that trying to go on his own isn't an option. Otto, Frederica, and Petra go off on a separate hallway from the one Subaru went, in hopes of finding Emilia.

Subaru and the three knights that he recruited run down the hallway that is presumed the location where the Purge King is. While the four of them were running, they had a little chat with one of the knights saying,

"How did the Purge King got away? Wasn't Reinhard there?"

"Yeah but that bastard had someone called the Blue Lightning and the Admirer."

"Huh? So Vollachia is behind this!"

One of the knights spoke out, with rage in his voice. Although Subaru is not sure if what he claims is true, all he knows is that the threats he will be dealing with are much tougher.

"I don't know about that but one thing is for sure, we are taking down the Purge King!"

The knights cheer to this, agreeing that this is the end for the Purge King. They run a couple more minutes before a couple of mercenaries stopped them on their tracks by getting in their way.

"This is your only warning, get out of our way."

"Like hell we are. You are outnumbered here. Surrender and we might make your deaths less painful."

"That's not going to happen."

Subaru got out his whip while the three knights got their swords. The two groups looked at each other for a moment before attacking each other. While the fight was in favor of the knights, one of them knew that these mercenaries are only there to give the Purge King enough time to escape.

"Hey kid! Continue on without us, we will take care of the rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about us."

"...okay."

Subaru nodded at the knight and continued to go after the Purge King, wanting to stop this in the first loop while also wanting to get answers on what truly happened in this world. As he ran for a little bit longer on his own, he was eventually tackled down.

"So, you are the only one standing in my way...other me."

"hk!"

The Purge King had managed to pin Subaru to the ground while having a knife on his neck.

'Shit! He's got me cornered!'

"Is there any last words, other me?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you became the Purge King?"

"It's not like it matters now, I'll—"

"You do realize that I can still loop, right?"

The Purge King paused to himself and observed the boy closely, seeing that his counterpart still had colors.

"So, you aren't lying. Hm. That does pose a problem for the two of—"

Before The Purge King could finish his sentence, he felt something powerful piercing his heart with Natsuki Subaru feeling blood dripping to him.

"Subaru?"

"Ugh...what is..."

The two Subarus try to see who it was that had fatally injured the Purge King yet it was too late. The Purge King's lifeless body had fallen on top of his counterpart. With little time remaining he knew that the loop is about to reset. He tried to get up to see who killed him yet the only glimpse he was able to see was a long blonde hair. As the world had reset, Subaru thought to himself,

'Now that I'm aware of what I'm up against, I'll do better in the next loop.'

With this thought in mind, he was sent back alongside his counterpart. As the two Natsuki Subarus reset, the Purge King noticed that his surroundings were in the throne room of his once again. He looked at Cecilus and at Halibel, both of them having their usual chat. He looked at his chest for a moment before looking at his two henchmen.

'Other Natsuki Subaru, you have been honest with me so far. I wonder how long it will take before you also have your colors fade away.'

This was a thought in his mind, knowing that his counterpart is not only different than him regarding in looks but from the way he acted.

'If you and I are one in the same then...what was your change? Did you actually committed suicide to save that maid's life?'

This was a thought since prior to those horrible loops of betrayal, he was determined and carefree while now he is a bit harsh and stressed out. This definitely was something that he not only needed to confirm but also learn of another path he probably could've taken.

'Had I died back then...could I have fixed everything?'

There was a bit of hesitation in the boy's thoughts but he pushed them away. He needed to focus, to prepare for the attack that is to come. He got up his seat which caused the conversation between Halibel and Cecilus to stop. The two turned towards him and waited for his orders. He noticed this, causing him to tilt his head a little while asking the two,

"Answer me this, are you two ready for a fight with the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea?"

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 3: Action

Subaru was sent back to when he was chatting with Reinhard, having noticed that the place he is in was the Sword Saint's wagon. This caused him to think for a few seconds before looking at Reinhard, having noticed him say,

"There is no need for that, Subaru." Reinhard said as he looked as his friend with concern etched on his brows.

"...hm." Muttered Subaru as he looked around and orientated himself quickly.

'So this is where the checkpoint is.' Thought the looper, as he processed the information and planned his next options with the new variables of data.

"I hope that you can understand Subaru." Asked Reinhard as he was growing increasingly concerned at his old friend's erratic behavior.

"What if I can give you information on what you guys will be dealing with? Can I help out if I give you this information?" Proclaimed the boy with a resolute gaze at wronging the evils of this world.

"What do you mean, Subaru?" Inquired the sword saint as he tilted his head and tried to use his divine protection of empathy. Yet, all he read was determination from his friend which perplexed him, since this was never his fight to begin with.

Reinhard looked at his friend with a puzzled look, unsure on what Subaru is trying to say. Subaru himself realized that this probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. He let out a sigh before saying to Reinhard,

"Rein, I sort of know what devious machinations the Purge King has at his disposal. I also know who is working for him." Confessed Subaru as he didn't see the point of keeping this information to himself.

"Hm? How so?" Questioned the flame haired knight as he was starting to realize that his old friend hadn't merely been squandering his life away in sloth.

"I just...got the chance to figure things out, let's just leave it at that but first, do you know some guy name Cecilus or someone named Halibel?" Hesitantly asked Subaru as he tried to appear nonchalant, yet also worried that Reinhard would be able to see him distressed.

Reinhard took a pause at the question, wanting to answer Subaru's question to the best of his ability. After some time of thinking, he looked at his friend and responded in a calm manner:

"I'm aware of someone by the name Halibal, he is the Admirer of Kararagi if that is who you are referring to. As for Cecilus, I know him. We fought once. He was worthy of the Dragon Sword Reid to be unsheathed."

'So that's why those two are there. From what Wilhelm said and now Reinhard, this Natsuki Subaru recruited people that are capable of facing Reinhard. Hm. I got to hand it to you, bastard, you are pretty smart.'

Subaru thought this since he is puzzling things better in this loop, now having a slight advantage until he realized something, and continued his train of thought to one realization:

'You fucking prick. Hey Watcher asshole, I know you are listening.'

"Yes?" Breezily responded the anathema to all of Natsuki Subarus current problems.

'Why didn't you gave me Reinhard as my ally?! I can't do much with Frederica and Petra! No offense to them.'

Complained the half elf knight as his gaze took on a menacing expression.

"Do you really think that I can do something like that? I mean I can but..."

The watcher hesitated. He did not wish to reveal too much information, yet felt that the need to share certain tidbits was a necessary endeavor.

'Why the hell didn't you?!'

Angrily shouted Subaru in their two way telepathic communication, hoping to cause the bastard a headache.

"Look, don't keep this Reinhard waiting. He wants to know why you ask this troublesome question, so answer that but I'll say this. Anybody who is close to the power of the Witch of Envy is beyond my strength to bring into the other world's without causing the balance of power to break. Not to mention how dangerous that is for all of us."

Warned the watcher with a stern and slightly troubled tone. Subaru was angry at the watcher since he isn't explaining himself well yet he knew that he had to focus on the Reinhard of this world. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before looking at his friend, knowing that he needs to reveal what he knows:

"The Purge King has those two working for him." Remarked a frustrated black haired youth, as he ran his hands through his hair and started thinking of solutions to his problems.

"...Are you sure about that, Subaru? I don't know much about Halibel the Admirer but I know Cecilus the Blue Lightning wouldn't work with someone like the Purge King. Especially when he is working under the ruler of Vollachia." Said Reinhard as he stopped to think about the oddities of both of these legends working or collaborating with the Purge King.

"I...I don't know, then why is he working for the Purge King but trust me, he is." Exclaimed Subaru as he tried to get his point across to his dear friend.

"I know you aren't lying to me, Subaru. There is no need to worry about that. I'm just concerned about something."

Pondered Reinhard as he held a closed fist to his chin, while a myriad of ideas and scenarios crossed the esteemed sword saint's mind.

"What is it, Rein?" Hesitantly asked Subaru, as he felt dread pool up in his stomach.

"If Cecilus is here working under the Purge King, it makes me question what Vincent is up to." Explained Reinhard as his mind raced through myriad possibilities.

"Vincent?" Gasped the ignorant boy, as he hasn't ever heard that name before.

"The ruler of Vollachia." Affirmed Reinhard with a resolute expression.

"Ah. Yeah, I don't know either but for now we should come up with a new plan to beat the Purge King. He already knows you are coming."

The fierce eyed youth admitted while trying to find a possibility of a different good end.

"Are you sure, Subaru?"

Reinhard asked since this news was worrisome. Subaru had to think carefully on whether he should reveal to Reinhard at the very least that the Purge King is this world's Natsuki Subaru.

He closed his eyes with a lot of thoughts rushing to his mind:

'Reinhard and Otto still trusted me...though that could be due to the fact that the Purge King was getting away. Who knows but if I tell him...how will he react?'

Subaru had these thoughts in his mind, eventually coming to the conclusion that he should be honest considering that Reinhard will find out sooner or later. Before anything though, he answered with:

"Because Reinhard...the Purge King is Natsuki Subaru."

"Wait, I don't understand..." A befuddled expression crossed the sword saint for the first time as the contradiction truly threw him off balance.

"I know you don't know Rein, but it is true. Let me explain this without sounding crazy. I'm Natsuki Subaru, the same one that you met in the alleyway and in the loot house but I'm also from another timeline, one where Emilia-tan didn't go missing. One where there are five candidates instead of four and...one where I met your grandfather."

"..."

Reinhard did not know what to say to this, for the first time in his life, he was truly speechless. The information that was given to him was a little more than he thought, scratch that, a lot more than even he could have predicted.

He closed his eyes and processed all of the information Subaru gave him one by one. The first being that this Natsuki Subaru he is speaking with is from another world similar to this one.

Whether that is true is something he would need to determine for himself since if this particular information is true, then that leaves the fact that the Natsuki Subaru he had befriended and saved on two occasions had somehow become a villain.

Not only that but if what he is saying is true then this Natsuki Subaru in front of him knows about his grandfather, something that he alongside his father don't know anything about. Wanting to make sure that everything he heard is correct, he grabbed Subaru's shoulder to use his Divine Protection of Empathy while also having his Divine Protection of wind reading.

"Natsuki Subaru, I will ask this question, are you telling me the truth here?"

"Yes."

"Hm."

Reinhard could see that Subaru was not only telling the truth but was also honest, seeing that he isn't insane or anything of the sort. This made him sad since that would mean that he would be facing the Natsuki Subaru he had befriended 2 years ago. Reinhard was a little sad about that yet he kept his composure.

"Subaru, what is the new plan? I have faith that you know how to navigate against...yourself." Remarked Reinhard, yet the confusion of two different Natsuki Subaru's was still leaving him slightly puzzled

"Well Rein, we will need to inform Otto about this too. He is going to be the main leader of this new operation."

Confidently stated the youth with a game plan in his head. Reinhard nodded at Subaru before the two waited to arrive near the Purge King's base of operations. As the two leave their wagon, they encounter Otto. Similar to the last loop with the merchant asking Reinhard:

"Sword Saint, are you ready for this?"

"Otto...we might need to change the plan." Stated the reluctant sword saint as the new plan shared between Subaru and himself started unfolding.

"Huh? How come, Reinhard-san?" Asked the merchant with a perplexed expression, since this was not something discussed previously.

"Well..." Reinhard started yet hesitated since all of this new information threw him for a loop.

Reinhard had a tough time since he didn't know where to start. He looked at Subaru for a moment, hoping that he could tell Otto what was going on. The sword saint himself knows that he isn't the best conversationalist.

Subaru caught his friend's meaning and took a moment to think on what he could say. After a brief moment where he composed his thoughts, he finally spoke:

"Otto, there is some new information we have come to learn."

"What is it, Natsuki-san?" Curiosity won against the shrewd business acumen of the merchant.

"There is some information that is going to be hard to explain, such as the fact that the Purge King is another me." Exhaled a tired Subsru, as he felt the beginnings of another headache slowly forming.

"Another you?" Gasped Otto in an incredulous manner.

"I-It's tough to explain without confusing you but me and the Purge King are similar people yet different. Look, I just need you to trust me on this." Implored Natuski Subaru as he really didn't want the Otto of this works to be as taciturn as the one from his last trip.

"I don't know what you are trying to say, Natsuki-san but if the Sword Saint trusts you then I trust you."Boldy stated Otto with clear eyes, ready to do what's necessary for the mission.

"Yes Otto, I trust Natsuki Subaru." Interjected Reinhard hurriedlyz since he didn't want to leave any bad impressions.

"Then I trust you, Natsuki-san." Sighed the merchant as he absolved himself to his fate.

"Thanks Otto. I promise you won't regret this." Winked Subaru as he clapped his friend from another world on the shoulder, just like old times.

"I better not. Anyway, is there more information that we need to know?" Inquired Otto as he wanted to have a clear plan in his head.

"Yes, there are two powerful opponents that are supposed to be as strong as Rein himself. Cecilus the blue lighting and Halibel the admirer." Said Subaru with a grim expression.

"The Admirer of Kararagi and the Blue Lighting of Vollachia? What are they doing here?" Squeaked out Otto, as he was unprepared for the living myths to be at their destination.

"They are the guards of the Purge King. As for how he got them to follow him is unknown for now. We may find out along the way but first we have to come up with a new plan. The Purge King knows that we are coming. He knows the plan." Explained Subaru with a morose smile, as if he already knew the deck of cards was stacked against him

"What?! But how?" Questioned Otto as he started feeling as if things won't be going swimmingly today.

"He has his ways. I can't confirm anything but he is always a few steps ahead." Replied Subaru as he began explaining.

"Well then Natsuki-san, what can we do?"

"Well, we just change the strategy a bit." Stated Subaru as he begin doing rotating his neck and releasing built up gases in his muscles.

"How so?"

Reinhard asked with a curious voice, also wanting to know what Subaru could be planning. The boy smiled before telling them a plan, confident that he can beat The Purge King in this loop.

Reinhard and Otto took a moment to think on the plan Subaru gave them, questioning whether it was a good plan yet they didn't have any other plans to use. Otto wanted to confirm one thing, causing him to look at Subaru with a curious facial expression while asking,

"Are you sure that the Purge King will be fooled by this trap?" Asked Otto with a dubious expression on his face, as he saw it wasn't likely that someone wanted by all 4 kingdoms wouldn't have back up plans.

"Considering that he knows Rein is on his way, we might has well catch him off guard. Besides, we need someone to keep him distracted." Said Subaru as he waggled his finger at Otto, as if not to doubt him.

"Fair. Alright then, this is probably the only plan we have to replace the original."

"Yeah." Sighed Subaru, as he knew the slightest deviation could throw a wrench into his whole plan, and end it before it began.

Both Otto and Reinhard accepted Subaru's plan with Reinhard going to the knights to tell them of the new plan while Otto stayed with Subaru, having a few questions in his mind.

He looked at him with a serious facial expression before asking:

"Why are you willing to help us, Natsuki-san?"

"What do you mean, Otto?" Asked Subaru with a frown etched on his face. As if the question is absurd.

"Why are you going against yourself? If what you say is right that the Purge King is another version of you, then why are you fighting against yourself?" Otto explained hurriedly, not wanting to offend his new ally, but genuinely confused as to his intentions.

"Because...this world needs to be helped. If that means beating my evil selves, then that is something that needs to be done."Stated the grinning black haired knight, already looking forward to the confrontation he will have to endure.

"Hm. I think I understand, Natsuki-san. I just have one last question. What is the Otto Suwen of your world doing now?"

"Well you are the internal affairs minister of the Emilia Camp."

"Internal affairs?! How did I get myself into that?" Grunted Otto as he face palmed, while cursing his other self for breaking his free merchant spirit.

"Well...you were sorta put into that position. Hehe." Smirked Subaru as his lips were sealed. Yes sir, no way is going to tell this Otto how he cajoled his own Otto and bullied him to become their internal affairs minister.

Otto was caught off guard by this yet he was just silent for a moment before turning away, knowing that he needs some time to prepare himself for the new plan.

As Subaru was on his own for a moment, Wilhelm with the two maids approach him to see what is going on. Subaru looked up to see the three allies approaching him, all three a bit curious on what is happening.

"Subaru-dono, have we arrived to our location?" Wilhelm asked as this world seemed so familiar, yet different at the same time for the sword demon.

"Yes, though there is a slight change in plans." Winced Subaru as he knew he had to relay the new plan again.

Subaru began to explain the new changes to the original plans Reinhard and Otto had. The three were a bit hesitant with this since they don't know if Subaru's plan would even work.

"Without any disrespect, Subaru-sama, but this plan of yours requires great risk. Do you think that the Purge King would be distracted long enough for us to find and rescue Emilia-sama?"

Inquired a concerned Wilhelm, while he may seem a man how's lived rich experiences and has the vicissitudes of a hard earned life present. He be genuinely cares for the boy.

"I still think that Ferederica-neesama and I can help!" Complained a short maid as she pouted.

"We need someone here to take Emilia-tan to safety, Petra. That is why you and Frederica have an important role by staying here and protecting the escape ride." Smiled Subaru as he hoped that she would stay out of trouble.

"Are... you sure?" Petra looked with both a concern yet annoyed look, wishing to be by the boy's side. Subaru caught this and smiled before saying confidently,

"Trust me Petra, it is super important."

"Okay!"

Petra smiled as she along with Frederica went towards the wagons with Otto, Reinhard, and the knights all approaching the boy. Before they got close enough, Wilhelm looked at Subaru for a moment before looking at Reinhard and his group.

"Subaru-dono, do you feel well?"

"Why do you ask, Wilhelm?"

"I can tell in your eyes that you do not wish to face the Purge King. Something about this situation is causing you to have self doubt."

"I-I guess Wilhelm but I have to help them stop this threat. I don't want...the other me to be causing this amount of trouble for these good people."

"Hm. You have a good heart, Subaru-dono."

Wilhelm smiled as he patted Subaru in the back, showing how proud he is. Subaru was not sure on how to take this but he had to focus since the crew was all together now.

"Shall we get started, Natsuki-san?"

"Let's."

"What do you want us to do, boss?"

"Just be patient, Halibel. We just have to wait and see what my counterpart does. I doubt he is stupid enough to try the same trick as before."

"Before?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about, Cecilus. Just be prepared for your long awaited battle with Reinhard van Astrea."

"Yes my liege."

Cecilus bowed his head before going back to his post, mentally preparing himself for the rematch he has been longing for.

As this happened, the Purge King looked at the door to the hallway, reflecting on what happened in the last loop.

'Someone killed me for sure. I need to find out who but aside from that, why is there two Natsuki Subarus in this world? What is his overall goal? Why does he have colors on him? I need to get all the information on this loop.'

The Purge King closed his eyes as he remembered seeing his counterpart, watching how serious he looked yet not stressed at all. This alerted him that if he really can loop, then he needs to have him subdued rather than killed.

'Well then other me, let this little battle between us begin.'

As he thought about this, he watched both his guards preparing their weapons for battle. He observed the two for a bit while he waited for his counterpart to take some sort of action.

He waited for a few long tedious minutes, prompting him to close his eyes and rest for a few seconds before hearing the doors open to his throne room.

This caused him to open his eyes to see who was entering. As he looked, he could see that it is a merchant, yet this one looked weird.

'He isn't the merchant from before and he isn't Natsuki Subaru due to no colors. Who is this one?' Pondered The Purge King as he began running calculations and possibilities in his head.

The Purge King gave a serious look before feeling a powerful aura all around the room, causing his two bodyguards to quickly get in front of him, knowing that this person is a big threat.

As the merchant was glowing for a moment, The Purge King just looked at the threat unamused, knowing from the aura that it had to be Reinhard van Astrea.

'Seriously? This is his plan? Send Rein. I mean, I guess it isn't a bad plan since he is the strongest card he has in his deck but why this early? It's like bringing your Queen out during an opening session of chess, however this is my counterpart. I must remain vigilant and aware.'

The Purge King tried to think of a number of possibilities on what his counterpart was planning. While distracted by this, Reinhard began to speak in a calm yet disappointed voice:

"Natsuki Subaru, it is a shame that you have become the Purge King." Reinhard stared at his old friend and tried to reconcile the image with the youth he met in the alley, however all he saw was a stranger looking at him.

"Is this my fault as well, I am so sorry Subaru, I've let you down. I should have paid more attention to the one I considered a true friend. Yet, I allowed you to lose your way. Truly, this… is all my fault."

Thought the conflicted sword saint as he felt the burden weigh even heavier in his shoulders than the

"And why is that, Rein?"Curiously asked The Purge King, as he calculated everything about the biggest obstacle in his path.

"Pity, I expected the legendary sword saint Reinhard Van Astrea to have color, yet he is as grey as the Cumulonimbus clouds when rain threatens to encroach. Truly, a pity." Thought The Purge King as another of his expectations was dashed.

"I would expect you to be with Emilia-sama, protecting her. Instead, I see my friend hurting and killing thousands of innocent people." Argued the frustrated and melancholic sword saint.

"First off, they deserve it. They are not to be trusted and are more likely to betray me just like you. I'm a bit surprised that you lack any color. Considering how you are supposed to represent justice and the "right way" but it seems you are a fraud like the others. Second, we are not friends. We only met two times and in those two times, you saved me. Just because we were friendly doesn't mean that we are friends." Spits out The Purge King as he cannot conceive of the concepts of friendships anymore, the idea lost track 14 months ago. There are only useful tools, or useless garbage.

"That does hurt that you think like that, Subaru." Sorrowfully said Reinhard, as another invisible weight doubled on his shoulders, to truly see someone he cherished and cared for be past redemption.

"Call me the Purge King. I have to keep a reputation. Besides, it makes it better to address me like that since you have a Natsuki Subaru with you as well." Confidently stated the Ruler of the domain they where situated.

"...Very well, Purge King." Muttered Reinhard as he cut away the endearing memories of the Natsuki Subaru he knew, and then concluded that there is only the Purge King in his way.

And he was granted special permission by all 4 nations to travel to Pandemonium. He had a flash of memory of the plan that the other Natsuki Subaru told him about:

("Remember Rein, you have to buy us time for Otto, Wilhelm, and I to free Emilia-tan. We are counting on you.")

'Don't you worry Subaru, I will not fail you.'

Reinhard had a smile on his face when he recalled this, feeling happy that he still has a friend that believes in him, even if this friend is from a different version of what he assumed was his friend from his world.

He looked at the Purge King for a moment before turning towards Cecilus, seeing the divine general preparing to face him. He stood staring at him for a moment before looking at Halibel, seeing the wolf man just chilling as if he is a spectator.

'Hm. I think I know how to distract the Purge King.' Thought Rein as flashes of inspiration occurred in the cacophony of his mind.

"Natsuki Subaru." Proclaimed The sword saint with a resolute expression and domineering aura.

"I told you to call me—" Before The Purge King could finish speaking, In an unusual move Rein interrupted him:

"Let me show you the power of the Sword Saint. If I lose here, I will join your cause. If I win, you must stop this senseless violence and prepare yourself for the trial that awaits you in Lugnica."

"Hmph. What do you have to gain by this? What do I gain here?" The Purge King mocked the offer, but the gleam in his eyes betrayed his tone. He was curious, to the outcome. Even with no colors and RBD, somehow the sword saint continued to impress.

"A powerful ally but I want to face both your guards." Spoke Rein with a tone that brokered no argument nor counteroffer.

"Halibel and Cecilus. Didn't think you'd be the type of person who would recklessly want to face two powerful foes at the same time." Chuckled The Purge King, as his interest grew even more.

"I'm full of surprises, Natsuki Subaru." Smirked Reinhard as he stood tall and with his full armor regalia.

"As if I'll buy this bullshit." Snorted The Purge King, as he had yet to see his doppelganger.

"I'm not lying. What reason would I have to be lying?" Asked Reinhard and with a voice filled with confidence, yet he had never been the best liar. And the small nuances on his face The Purge King picked up and rebuked:

"What is my counterpart up to?"

"He is awaiting the news of your defeat."

"Do you think of me as a fool?" Said The Purge King in an offended manner, as if everything he has done for the last year's was wasted on a happy to lucky knight and his reflection.

"A fool wouldn't have become this powerful and dangerous." Said the sword saint as he began braving himself for battle.

"Fair but still, I don't trust you." Exclaimed The Purge King as he had never trusted anyone for years now, last time he did he had hands wrapped around his neck.

Breathe, breathe, oxygen, isn't coming. "STOP RAM!. "

"You killed my sissy, so die as a forsaken bastard, even if it's the last thing I do, I will end you with my bare hands." Angrily yelled Ram.

The brief memory was interrupted by Reinhard's next words:

"I'm telling you the truth, I wish to take on this challenge and stop you through this."

The Purge King paused himself for a moment.

'If he is telling the truth and he does lose somehow then...I'd literally become the most powerful king in all the four kingdoms. I'd be able to keep Emilia-tan safe and...keep her looked up...hm.'

The Purge King took a moment to think before finally coming up with an idea. And he explained it to his flame haired adversary:

"Okay then, no divine protections."

"Pardon me?"

"None of that bullshit. If you mean what you say, then fight without those damn hacks. Otherwise I'll just be on my way." The Purge King says this, knowing that regardless of what the Sword Saint does, he will still not be able to use his Divine Protections.

"Alright then, Natsuki Subaru."

"I told you that...wait, what did you say?"

"That I will fight without any of my divine protections."

"How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"As I told you before, what do I gain in lying?"

"Hm..."

There was a silence in the room, The Purge King being extremely warry of the Sword Saint while the Sword Saint himself turned off every single divine protection he has at his disposal.

As he does this, he waits for a moment until the Purge King finally allows the fight to happen. Seeing that Reinhard is too honest to lie, the Purge King looked at his fellow guards and gave them a nod, signaling that he is fine with it.

Cecilus was happy by this since he can get his rematch with Reinhard while Halibel was a bit worried of this, feeling that something ain't right. The two approached Reinhard with their weapons ready. As this happened, Reinhard could see that his Dragon Sword Reid had unsheathed, meaning that the fight ahead is going to require the sword's strength.

As he holds the handle and points the weapon towards the two mythical guards of the Purge King, he asks in a curious yet serious tone of voice:

"Why are you doing this? Both of you."

"Boss helped me out with an issue in Kararagi, so I owe him for that."

"..."

"What?"

"Nothing, just a bit surprised by your response. I did not mean any disrespect with my silence."

"You are good, Sword Saint."

"Why are you fighting for the Purge King, Cecilus?"

"He promised me a fight with you. He delivered." Replied Cecilius as he brushed his long hair out of the way. While his eyes sparked with anticipation for the Legendary battle he would take part of.

"Why? Why are you working for someone like him? He has killed thousands of people." Uttered the sword saint, not understanding the motivations of people as strong as him following a dark path with no redemption.

"And? All I want is your sword but the only way to get it is by taking you down." Cecilius finalized the inquiries from his opponent as he gazed at him and got in his stance ready to attack, when given the signal.

Seeing Cecilus' reason, Reinhard knew that he will have to give it his all if he wants to beat both the Blue Lightning and the Admirer. He points his sword towards the two for a brief moment before getting into his fighting stance.

"From the line of Master swordsman, Reinhard van Astrea."

"The Blue Lightning of Vollachia, Cecilus Segmunt."

"The Admirer of Kararagi, Halibel."

The three stood silent for a moment before a fight broke out with Cecilus and Reinhard clashing weapons while Halibel stayed in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Reinhard was still a bit more skilled than Cecilus yet he kept in mind that Halibel was still around, waiting for the right moment to strike.

'I must be careful, Cecilus is really going all out and Halibel is waiting for me to let my guard down. Despite how threatening this situation looks, I must carry out the plan.'

Reinhard smiled as he was confident that he can hold his two opponents off without the need of his divine protections.

Subaru, Otto, Wilhelm, and the knights all slowly move their way into the Purge King's fortress, having had Reinhard take out the guards. As they slowly moved their way inside, Otto looked at Subaru for a moment before looking forward.

"Natsuki-san, mind if I ask why you are in my merchant attire?"

"If people recognize me, it'll alert the Purge King."

"Why can't we use that to get us through?"

"He...he looks so different to me. That and I don't think they are that stupid."

"Fair."

"Come, let's go."

Subaru lead the group inside with Wilhelm standing next to him, being his bodyguard. The group moved in slowly to avoid causing a scene. As they were slowly moving up towards the second floor, the group noticed a couple of guards patrolling the floor.

"Wilhelm, Otto, we need to knock them out."

"We are on it, Subaru-dono." Remarked Wilhelm as his instincts honed themselves to mastery.

"Yes." Sighed Otto.

Both Wilhelm and Otto together sneaked towards the three Purge King mercenaries. As they were closing in, Otto grabbed one by the neck while Wilhelm without hesitation began beating on the two mercenaries.

Wilhelm caught the two mercenaries off guard by this and easily knocked them down with a few punches to the gut and to the face while Otto choked the mercenary out after a bit, assuring that he didn't kill him nor that he was getting up.

As the two stood while the three knocked out Mercenaries were on the ground, the others joined in with Subaru looking at the two impressed.

"Wilhelm, that was amazing." Said Subaru with an admiring tone, while he suppressed his jealousy at not being as strong.

"Thank you, Subaru-dono."

"You also did pretty good, Otto."

"That is kind of you, Natsuki-san."

"Hm. We should get moving, Emilia-tan is here somewhere."

"We will find her Subaru-dono."

Subaru nodded at Wilhelm before the group continued to move forward, all the knights eager to fight the mercenaries. As the group continued around the second floor, they could feel a slight shaking for a brief moment.

This caused them to get themselves prepared for a fight before the shaking stopped.

"What was that?" One of the knights with green hair said. Wilhelm looked at him for a moment before looking forward to the empty hallway.

"That was the Sword Saint. He must be using his power against the two guards of the Purge King."

"Seems like he is being pushed back."

"Then we best be moving and fast, right Natsuki-san?"

"Right."

The boy nodded at Otto before they continued to move, this time with more haste since they know that they are running out of time. As they start running down the long hallway, the group eventually came across a couple of Mercenaries.

"This is bad. What do we do now, Natsuki-san?"

"Let's get out of here, now. We can't afford fighting them."

"Okay."

The knights, Wilhelm, and Otto nod at Subaru and quickly get out of sight before the mercenaries could spot them. As they all went into random rooms, Otto and Subaru both entered one that seemed to look like it belong to someone's room. Due to the state of the room, it felt lived in.

"Um...Natsuki-san, where did we just enter?"

"Seems like it is someone's room...but who's?" Puzzled Subaru over this bizarre situation.

As the two boys were questioning this, they could hear someone trying to enter the room. This prompted the two boys to quickly go and hide. Otto hid under the bed while Subaru hid in the closet, the two with their weapons ready in case things go crazy.

As the two were hiding, the door opens with Otto having a hard time seeing who it could be while Subaru was able to see a glimpse of the person that entered the room.

'Why does she look so familiar?'

Subaru thought for a moment before he recalled something from the previous loop. Before the Purge King and himself looped, he saw a glimpse of long blonde hair which he is seeing right now.

'Who could this person be—?'

As Subaru had this question in his mind, he could sense that the person was approaching the closet, causing him to realize that this probably wasn't a good idea.

'Crap! Crap! Crap! What the hell do I do?'

As he was thinking this, he held his whip tightly in his right hand, mentally prepared for what was going to happen. As the door to the closet opens, the boy tries to make a run for it, startling the person that was in front of him.

As Subaru was about to escape the room, he felt his arm get grabbed. Before he could react, the person had immense strength to throw him to the wall. As he ended up hitting the wall, he could hear the person's voice say to him,

"What are you doing here?!"

"...w-wait a minute...I recognize that voice..."

Subaru looked up to see in horror that he was right, it was someone familiar to him.

"F-Frederica!"

The person in front of him had a maid outfit, similar to Petra and the Frederica of his world. She had sharp teeth, long blonde hair, green eyes, and an angry expression on her face, as tears came rushing out, it did not diminish the hostile aura she unleashed.

'What did my version of this world do to you, Frederica?'

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 4: Trust

"Now hold on Frederica, there is no need—" Subaru tried to defuse the situation he found himself in yet the maid standing in front of him cut him off halfway and began to speak in an aggressive tone.

"What are you doing in my...wait."

Frederica paused herself for a moment before realizing the similarities the boy had to the person she hated and feared. This caused her to grab him by the throat, scared that he could do something to her.

"Who are you?! Why do you have his face?! Tell me!"

"Ugh...Fr—Frederica...pl-please...I'm not...a threat..."

"Why are you here with his face?! Here to keep me in check?! Make me cower in fear?! Tell me!"

"I'm not...with the Purge King..."

"Liar."

Frederica punched the boy in the stomach before tossing him into the closet, causing him to have an injured back. Subaru slowly looked up as he was completely caught off guard by how violent this world's Frederica is. Just as he was going to get back on his feet, Frederica grabbed his hair with intense force.

"Who the hell are you?! Why do you share his face?!"

"I...I-I'm Natsuki Subaru...I'm not with the Purge King at all!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Frederica let go of Subaru's hair, allowing the boy to stand on his two feet for only a few seconds before giving him a powerful right hook to the jaw, sending him back into the already broken closet door. As this happened, Otto saw everything which caused him to be cautious since he knows that if he reveals himself now, he will get himself killed.

'I have to help Natsuki-san, but how?'

Otto thought of a couple of ideas he could use to save his ally, yet he knew that he would need to be patient. Subaru continued to receive a couple of punches from Frederica, each one worse than the last.

"Frederica...I'm not your..."

"Shut up! You won't hurt my family!"

"I...wouldn't hurt...Garfiel...or...Ryuzu..."

"Don't talk about them!"

"hk!"

As Subaru was receiving more punches, Otto took his opportunity to attack in order to save Subaru. He approaches the woman and without hesitation he stabs her arm, causing her to be caught off guard by this. As she was pulling out the knight, Otto managed to pick up Subaru and quickly leave the room, just barely escaping Frederica's wrath. As they left the room, they notice Wilhelm and a few knights standing outside.

"Subaru-dono!"

Wilhelm approached Subaru to check up on the boy, seeing that his injuries are sever yet not too fatal. The knights looked around to make sure that nobody while the old butler checked up on his friend.

"Otto, what happened?"

"I-I don't know who but someone attacked Natsuki-san. They are still—"

Before Otto could finish explaining, Frederica broke the door to her room to see the knights all turning towards him and both Otto and Wilhelm guarding Subaru. As her rage was towards Subaru, she was able to calm herself down when she noticed the knight of Lugnica right in front of her.

"What are you all doing here?"

"What did you do to Subaru-dono?!"

Wilhelm pulled out his sword and pointed it directly towards the maid, trying his best to control his anger towards her. She was unsure what to say since she doesn't want to fight unless it's Subaru himself. She looked at the old butler's eyes for a moment before looking at Subaru once again, realizing that this boy is not the Purge King.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought he was that bastard...the purge king...the one who..."

Frederica looked at the ground with tears in her eyes, completely overwhelmed with fear since she knew what the Purge King said to her. Subaru noticed this and wanted to comfort Frederica, knowing that she is in pain yet the second he tried, his mind was once again filled with pain and agony due to the memories being rushed into him.

("――Heads.")

("It was heads, Frederica.――Your little brother and grandmother are safe.")

("Get out, and don't come back until I say you may enter.")

'Natsuki Subaru...no, Purge King, you fucker. How dare you threaten her?'

Subaru smashed his head on the ground which caused everyone to be alarmed. Subaru's forehead hurt for a bit but it helped stop anymore memories from entering for now. As he felt his forehead, he looked at Frederica, noticing how afraid she is towards him due to how he looks like the Purge King. He slowly approach her with Wilhelm and Otto wanting to stop him, afraid that he would do something rash.

"Don't worry guys, everything is fine. She is just scared of that bastard."

"Are you sure, Natsuki-san?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"...okay."

Otto and Wilhelm both let go of Subaru, allowing the boy to approach Frederica. The maid was unsure about this as she didn't know what this Natsuki Subaru would do until she received a hug from him.

"I...I know what that bastard did...threatening Garfiel and Ryuzu...I would never do something like that to a friend."

"...h-how can I...trust..."

"You don't have to but...I know that right now Garfiel needs help. He fears the outside world and blames himself for both your mother's death."

"Wha—?"

"It sounds insane, but it is the truth. He needs you."

"I..."

Frederica hated the Purge King so much, she hated how her life went to shit and how she serves under a horrible man but when she sees this boy, the same boy with the same face as the monster that hurt those she cared about and threaten to kill her family, she could see how the two are different. This Natsuki Subaru is kind, caring, and forgiving despite how brutal she beat him. She wanted to trust the boy but she didn't know what to say.

"I...I..."

"Wilhelm, can you take Frederica-san to safety? Petra and...um, the other maid can help her."

Wilhelm nodded at Subaru, understanding what he is trying to say and why he isn't mentioning the Frederica from their world. He looked at the maid and quickly told her to follow him to which she nods. Just as they were going to leave, she looks back at Subaru and says to him,

"S-Sorry...for hurting you."

"It's fine, just make sure to help Garfiel. He is going to need you."

"Okay."

Frederica nodded at the boy before moving with Wilhelm towards the exist, causing Subaru to smile for a moment. He was happy that this world's Frederica is now safe, yet he realized that now the plan had to change.

'Without Wilhelm, we are shorthanded a skilled warrior. I guess we have to wing it.'

Subaru looked at Otto and nodded, indicating that they must continue. Otto looked at Subaru and said to him:

"Are you sure that you can even move?"

"Hehe...I might need a little help."

"*sigh*, alright Natsuki-san but you know that it means we will be moving slowly."

"I know...it sucks but I need to get to Emilia-tan."

"We will, just...don't overdo it."

"I'll try."

Subaru said with a confident voice, causing Otto to be concerned for his ally's health. The group continued to walk with Otto assisting Subaru, all of them determined to find Emilia.

While Subaru's group continued their part of the plan, Reinhard continued his fight with Cecilus and Halibel, attempting to make the fight last as long as possible while he also avoided being killed. Cecilus and Halibel separately would have a tough time dealing with Reinhard, especially if he had his divine protections but together were putting up a fight, one that is even putting Reinhard in quite the disadvantage.

Cecilus would take the more offensive approach and throw a barrage of attacks while Halibel attempted to use the shadows to sneak attack the Sword Saint. Reinhard could sense this and waited for the right moment before dodging Cecilus' attacks all the while blocking Halibel's sneak attack. Both warriors were a bit surprised that Reinhard is still able to keep up with them despite not having his divine protections.

"You are pretty impressive, Sword Saint." Halibel says in a genuine voice, showing some good spirit despite the two being on opposing sides.

"That is kind of you to say, Halibel the admirer."

"No need for formalities. Call me just Halibel."

"Okay."

"Can we continue on with the fight? The Purge King won't be happy if we are just chit chatting." Cecilus said in a slightly annoyed yet serious tone of voice, getting both Halibel and Reinhard's attention.

"Fair."

Halibel said as he nodded at what Cecilus had told him just a second ago. As he responded to the Blue Lightning, he noticed that their boss was just looking at the pair with a blank facial expression. The two guards didn't like this look since it usually means disappointment. This caused the pair to look at Reinhard with a serious and determined facial expression before continuing the fight. Cecilus with Halibel by his side attacked in unison, forcing Reinhard to go on the defensive though more to make it look like he was struggling.

"This time you are going down, Master Swordsman!" Cecilus spoke in a cocky like manner, feeling victory was within his grasp.

"You two are very strong, I will give you that Cecilus but I will not give up." The handsome red haired knight had spoken with confidence. Despite the disadvantage he has against The Purge King's two guards, he is still confident that he can keep the two at bay for a while.

'This is a bit more than I thought it would be originally...I don't think I can last long...No! If I can just drag it long enough then Subaru, Otto, and the others can rescue Emilia-sama.' Reinhard thought this with confidence in his mind, knowing just how important his role is. While the fight was going on with Reinhard still managing to hold his own against Cecilus and Halibel despite having a few injuries, The Purge King looked at the fight unamused since he was expecting something like this to happen. Reinhard was a very tough person to kill, even when he is at a heavy disadvantage, the sword saint seems to be able to keep up with his two guards, barely.

'Why am I not surprise? Man, this is just a...waste of...time...huh.'

Something had clicked in his mind, causing him to have a more serious facial expression. The Purge King turned to point his finger towards one of the mercenaries nearby him. The mercenary noticed this and quickly approached the Purge King, a bit afraid of him yet still managing to keep his composure.

"Y-Yes my liege?" Spoke the mercenary, sounding nervous which the Purge King took note of.

"I want you to do something for me. Alert everyone that there are intruders in the palace. If one of the intruders looks like me, make sure he isn't killed. As for the others, they can die for all I care about."

"U-understood."

The mercenary bowed at the Purge King before heading off to warn the others. While the mercenary left, the Purge King got off his chair and took a moment to observe the fight once again, seeing that Reinhard was still keeping up with both of his guards despite just how difficult the fight should be.

'Well, time to go.'

He slowly began to leave the throne room through a secret door he had created behind his chair all the while Reinhard was distracted in his intense fight with Halibel and Cecilus. As the Purge King was about to leave, he did felt some hesitation on leaving at first. He knew that he could stay to watch the Master Swordsman eventually lose yet he also knew that he can't just stay there either while his counterpart was up to something.

'You are playing a dangerous game, Natsuki Subaru. Sending in your strongest fighter to do your damn work. How pathetic.'

The Purge King thought as he was about to leave to find his counterpart. Just as he was going to do this, he could feel an intense aura approaching him with immense speed.

"You are not getting away, Natsuki Subaru."

"I told you to call me the Purge King! Cecilus! Halibel! I've changed my mind. Kill him if you both want to live."

"Understood boss."

"Sure thing, Purge King."

Both Cecilus and Halibel just barely made it in between Reinhard and the Purge King, managing to stop the Sword Saint in the process from approaching his target. The Purge King just glared at Reinhard for a moment before leaving his throne room through the secret passageway. As he is walking through there, a small memory back to his mind:

"I'll kill you...I promise you Barusu that I will kill you." A girl with hate in her pink eyes spoke.

"Okay." Subaru says this while he looked deep into her eyes. This caused him to have a smile since all he could see was colors from the girl that is locked up.

"Hmph. Pervert." The girl said with a blank voice, leaving Subaru silent for a few seconds before he responded calmly.

"You know I'm not."

"Then why are you here?" The girl spoke with some anger in her voice, not wanting the boy's presence.

"To check up on you, as always." Subaru says this in a calm manner, having sat down in front of the girl that hates him.

"Is that so? Then let me out so you can check on me properly."

"We both know that you are going to kill me if I do that. Besides, I'm not here for a fight. I'm truly here to check up on you." The girl noticed Subaru saying this in a serious voice, causing her to look at him with anger in her eyes.

"Hmph. I hate you."

"I know."

"..."

"..."

The two had stayed silent, Subaru not sure on what to say anymore while the girl that was in chains wanted nothing more than either Subaru to leave or to die by her hand.

"Well. This is awkward." Subaru said, not having felt this awkward in a while. The girl just looked up at him with an annoyed facial expression before saying:

"Pervert."

"Stop calling me that."

"Pervert. Pervert. Pervert."

"...Okay."

Subaru just got up and tried to pat the girl on the head only for her to try and bite his hand off. Subaru managed to pull his hand away quick enough before just looking at the girl in the eyes, seeing the fire and hatred they had towards him. All he could do was just watch her angrily trying to kill him before he turned away to leave, knowing that he had spent long enough with the girl.

"...I'll be back...Ram..."

The Purge King recalled how quiet things were after he mentioned that he was there to check up on her. Since this memory came to him, he knew that he should probably check on the pink haired girl known as Ram once this is all over. As he thought about his moment with Ram, he started to think about his counterpart's plan and what he could be planning.

'Seeing that my other me send the big guns to distract me, that means one of two things. He either is trying to overpower my forces from within or...he is staging some rescue mission.'

The Purge King had thought of the two possibilities and realized that they go hand by hand, with Reinhard distracting his forces while his counterpart trying to rescue someone though he wasn't sure who first. He thought that it could be Frederica yet it didn't seem like she would be too important for his counterpart.

He then thought about Ram yet he knew that everyone thinks she is dead. This only means that there is another person he can see with color aside from Ram that his counterpart could be looking for. Once he thought about this person, everything made sense for him, causing his expression to change from blank to a serious one.

'You are not getting to her, Natsuki Subaru!'

Realizing the real reason this loop is going completely different, the Purge King immediately started to run with everything he had. While he was running, a lot was going through his mind, mainly on how he wants to take out his counterpart, understanding how dangerous he is now.

'If you are planning to take away Emilia-tan from me, then you have another thing coming, fucking prick!'

Subaru and Otto's group continued to walk for a bit with Subaru starting to struggle in his movements since he was still recovering from his beatdown by Frederica. Otto looks at him and can see that despite the immense pain his ally is in, he is still determined to find Emilia. This was something he noted before looking forward, helping the group in finding something that looked like a place Emilia would be in.

'Natsuki-san, you need to rest. I get that Emilia-sama is important to you but you won't be of any help if you don't take care of yourself.'

As they walked around in search for Emilia for a couple of minutes, the group decided to take a break in order to restore their strength. As they rested, Otto set Subaru down next to a wall before allowing himself to sit down.

"We shouldn't rest for very long, the Purge King will eventually know we are here."

"You need this, Natsuki-san. You are pushing your body beyond what it can handle." The merchant said as he looked at his ally in a concerned manner.

"I get that Otto but—"

"No buts! You are going to rest for a few minutes so you have the strength to save Emilia-sama, okay?" Subaru was taken aback from the way Otto scolded him, causing him to be silent for a brief moment before responding with:

"...Okay."

Otto nodded when he heard this, allowing himself to relax by having his back rest on the wall next to his ally. As he was resting, many questions were rushing into his mind since he is curious on how his counterpart from other worlds are holding off compared to him.

'Did the other me from this Natsuki-san's world not get himself in debt? Did I became an amazing merchant? Or did I stay home without having been kicked out? I have to know.'

Since this was a rare opportunity to know of what life could've been, he turned towards Subaru to ask:

"What was I like? My counterpart from your world I mean."

"Hm?" Subaru paused on what he was thinking to look at Otto, noticing what the merchant had said.

"Well, you are happy in my world. As I said, you are the internal affairs minister of the Emilia Camp. Yeah, you do stress yourself out here and there but you seem to enjoy your job."

"I-Is that so...how did I joined Emilia-sama's camp?" Otto asked in a curious tone, a bit unsure how someone like him joined in such an important thing like the Royal selections.

"Well after you were saved from the Witch cult, you helped me save Emilia-tan's life from those bastards. After that, you helped me out with the Sanctuary before just staying permanently as a member of the Emilia camp."

Otto stood quiet as he heard the history of his counterpart, a bit skeptical on how he could've ended up captured by the Witch cult yet he felt grateful that at least one version of him was happy. He looked up at the ceiling with a smile for a moment.

'Man, I'm jealous of you, other me.'

Otto closed his eyes as he envied how free his counterpart is compared to him, being trapped by his own mistakes. He held back a few tears as he ended up saying:

"Man, that other Otto Suwen must've gotten lucky then."

"Why do you ask that?" Subaru asked with a curious look.

"Well I was just unfortunate to have bought that oil." Subaru could detect a bit of sadness in his friend's voice.

"I mean that was the same case for the Otto Suwen of my world."

"Yeah...wait what?!"

Otto looked at Subaru with a questioning tone of voice, surprised that the events played the same with his counterpart.

"What do you mean it's the same case for yours?! Did my counterpart bought that oil?!"

"Yeah...hehe, you both have bad luck."

"Shut up!"

Otto grabbed Subaru by the shoulders before he proceeded to shake him since he was now mad that his counterpart had a way out of the mistake they both had made. Subaru couldn't help but laugh at this, despite how laughing hurts. The knights all looked and couldn't help but chuckle a bit. After a bit of this, Otto sat back down with Subaru calming himself down.

"Haha...that was fun."

"For you maybe! I'm still in massive debt! Even if we take down the Purge King, I still owe a lot of money!"

"Huh?"

Subaru's smile faded away when he heard this, having a recollection to what the Pride's world version of Otto Suwen had said to him:

("Ha! If I were the best, I wouldn't be a debt slave!")

'A debt slave...so buying that oil sets Otto on this path to being in debt with Russell no doubt. Man, there has to be something I can do for Otto.'

Subaru took a brief moment to think deeply on how he can help this version of Otto. He knows that the Pride world version of Otto had his debt cleared thanks to Reinhard's assistance, so Subaru thinks that maybe he can get this world's Reinhard to help with Otto's problem.

'I mean it is a bit of a long shot to ask Rein but I should have a game plan on how to ask him for help with this.'

Subaru thought and thought yet he knew that this is something that should be fixed after the fact but he had to do something first. He got up which worried Otto since he was pushing his body once again, not having rested enough to move on his own. As both boys were getting up, Subaru looked at his friend's counterpart, hearing him say:

"You shouldn't get up! You are still injured!" Otto spoke with major concern for his ally to which Subaru had noticed.

"Hehe...I know but there is something I wanted to tell you, Otto Suwen." Subaru said as he was struggling to stay on his feet.

"What is it? You can say it while we are sitting down—"

"Yeah but this is more effective." Subaru pauses for a moment to put his hand on Otto's shoulder. "I know that it must suck having been in debt for who knows how long but I promise you that I will get you free from that."

"Ha! Why would you? Because I look like the Otto Suwen that you saved? Because I would owe you too?" The debt slave spoke with some anger showing in his voice.

"No, well let's just say that you saved me." Subaru said this with a smile, having a memory flashing on his mind. A fond memory between himself and his best friend.

"Huh? What do you—?"

Before Otto could finish asking his question, Subaru cut him off to explain himself.

"In the Sanctuary, I was set up badly and put in a no win scenario...or well at least I thought I was until you came along and helped me see that I can trust you...a friend. He saved me when I was at my lowest so seeing that you are at your lowest, I'm here to say that I'm going to help you. Not because you are my friend's counterpart but because I view you as your own entity, as my friend Otto Suwen."

Otto was a bit surprised by this, seeing that Subaru is being kind to him not because he shares the same face as the Otto Suwen from Subaru's time but because he wants to be friends with a screw up like him. Otto stood silent for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before smiling back at Natsuki Subaru.

"Alright then!"

Subaru nodded before the two gave a thumbs up. As they do this, Subaru turns towards the knights to say to them:

"We have to go. It won't be long before the Purge King sends his mercenaries after us."

The knights nodded at Subaru before they all continued to move around the Purge King's castle in Pandemonium. They were cautious since they wanted to avoid getting into a fight with any mercenaries until suddenly, they found an odd looking door.

"Natsuki-san, do you think this is it?"

"Maybe but something is wrong." Subaru said in a skeptical voice, something that got one of the knight's attention.

"What do you mean?" One of the knights had said in confusion.

"Well, where the hell are the mercenaries to start things off? Why isn't there a guard here if it is where Emilia-tan's at? There is just—"

"I should have really paid close attention to your little trick, other me."

Subaru, Otto, and the group of knights paused when they heard the Purge King speak to them in such a calm and calculated manner. Although the tone itself didn't have any malice behind it, the way the Purge King spoke really did cause the knights, Otto, and even Subaru to have some fear enter their hearts. They all look at the Purge King to see him smiling for a bit, finding everything amusing before snapping his fingers, causing a ton of mercenaries to pop up and stand behind him.

"So this is where Emilia-tan's at!" Subaru said with a hint of anger in his voice. The Purge King looked closely at his counterpart for a moment, seeing that he still had colors on him. This gave him a slight chuckle before he pointed at his counterpart's group while saying:

"Yeah but you are not getting to her. In fact, all of you here are going to die. No coin is needed this time."

As the Purge King says this, he snaps his fingers once again to get his mercenaries to attack the knights, knowing that eventually everything will be reset once his counterpart dies. Subaru notices this and quickly tells the knights:

"Can you all buy me and Otto some time to open this door?!"

The knights all look at the black haired boy and nod, knowing that they need to do this if they want to save a prisoner from the Purge King himself. They all turn towards the mercenaries charging towards them before swords start to clash. As a large fight broke out, Subaru and Otto looked at the door that was holding Emilia, both of them trying to figure a way to open the door.

"Natsuki-san, there are nearly fifty keyholes here! How do we even open it?"

"...you don't."

Otto looked at Subaru with a confused facial expression, not understanding what he meant by this. Wanting to clarify this, he asked his ally what he meant by what he said to which Subaru had responded with:

"You see here, there are a lot of keyholes meaning a lot of keys would be needed in order to open one door but what if this is a trap? What if this isn't how you really open the door? I mean, my version of this world seems paranoid so he would probably use a method that only he could trust."

"And what can that be?" Asked the debt slave, starting to slightly get worried.

"I'm not sure yet..."

The two analyzed for a moment the door, trying to figure it out but as this was happening, the Purge King was calmly walking in the middle of the fight, making his way towards the two without them realizing. As he was doing this, many thoughts were rushing into his mind with only one coming to mind.

'Why hasn't he reset the world? He knows he won't get out of this alive. Him and his allies. So why is he still here?'

The Purge King slowly approached the two with one knight attempting to attack him. The Purge King smirked before managing to dodge the attack, causing the knight to leave himself open to be stabbed in the neck. As the Purge King does this, his entire hand began to shake with fear, not liking what he had done.

'C-Come on, you are the Purge King...it had to be done.'

The Purge King continued to walk towards the two targets of his, thinking about Emilia the entire time, how he wants to protect her. As he was about to stab his counterpart, Otto had sensed the Purge King nearby, causing him to quickly turn towards him and stop him from trying to stab his ally. Subaru noticed this and quickly looked at the two starting their fight with Otto having the slight advantage.

"What? You merchant. Get out of the way!"

"No! I won't let you hurt Nats—no, my friend."

"Friend? Him? Ha! Why would you be friends with Natsuki Subaru?" The Purge King spoke as he was baffled by what he was hearing from some nobody.

"Because..." Otto paused for a moment, thinking carefully on his next words. As he was thinking for a second, he saw the moments where Subaru was being kind hearted with Frederica, someone who was trying to kill him. How he promised to help him out despite not needing to. This helped him find the words he needed to respond properly to what the Purge King had asked him.

"I trust him because he is my friend, he wants to help others and compared to you, he is a brave soul."

The Purge King looked at Otto with hate in his eyes, hating how in an indirect way he is being called a coward. This was something that triggered a memory, one of him running away from the mansion, into the forest to get away from everything.

("What choice did I have?! What could I...and I was...having so much fun!")

'I'm not a coward! I did what I had to do!'

This thought caused him to slowly gain the advantage, managing to surprise Otto since he didn't expect the Purge King with the way he looked to have a lot more strength than perceived. Subaru noticed this and quickly jumped into the fray by shoving the Purge King to the ground. Just as both Subaru and Otto were overpowering the Purge King, he quickly shouted,

"Puck!"

"Puck? What are—?"

Before Otto could finish his sentence, he felt a slight push from Subaru as a couple of ice blocks were headed towards the pair. Subaru was able to dodge the one sent towards him but the one sent towards Otto missed its intended target yet it hit Subaru in the face. Otto was surprised and concerned when he saw this.

"Natsuki-san!"

"Seems like someone needs some help." A cheerful voice speaks for a moment to reveal a cat-like spirit floating near Otto and the Purge King's location. The merchant looked at the floating cat with some fear in his eyes, seeing that they stood no chance at this point.

"Well, Natsuki Subaru. Who are these people?" Puck had said with a calm manner, curious to see what mess the Purge King had gotten himself in.

"Intruders. As the father of Emilia-tan, I'll need your help to protect her from them."

"Then you've come to the right person for this, Subaru."

"...don't call me that with others around." The Purge King had whispered this which the beast of the end had noticed.

"What was that, Subaru?" The great spirit had said in a teasing manner to which the Purge King looked at him with a serious facial expression.

"Not the time, Puck."

"Fine fine, who am I killing anyway?"

"...Puck?" Another voice spoke to which Puck turned towards, noticing that something was off when he heard this. As he turned towards the voice, he saw the Natsuki Subaru from another world. At first, Puck was looking at him with a confused look, thinking that this person is an imposter until he read the energy and the outside thoughts.

'This doesn't make any sense, why does this boy look a lot like Natsuki Subaru? A twin perhaps?'

As Puck was trying to figure this out, he could see that Otto was trying to harm the Natsuki Subaru of his world.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I may not care for him per say but my daughter does. If something happens to him, she will be sad."

"Your...daughter? Are you talking about Emilia-sama?" Otto asked with a curious tone.

"Yes, my daughter. Now die!"

Puck creates a few icicles all around the area, all of them targeting Otto. The Purge King smiled as he watched Puck do the dirty work.

'Let's end this.'

Just as it seemed like it was all going to end, someone shouted something.

"Invisible Providence!"

"Huh?"

Both The Purge Kind and Puck were uncertain with what was being said but before anything can be said or done, Puck received a powerful punch to the face, sending him flying away while also all of his icicles disappeared.

'I'm sorry Puck but I can't let you hurt my friend!'

As Subaru thought this, he knew that showing off his secret attack will make it hard when it comes down to beating his wrath counterpart. The Purge King was unsure of what just happened while Puck had realized that he underestimated this other Subaru. He looked at his counterpart with a curious look.

'What the hell did you do, Natsuki Subaru?'

As he was thinking this, he felt a sword enter his chest, not having paid attention to everything that was going on in the background. He turned around slowly to see that the old man from the last loop was here.

'W-Wait...I don't...'

"Wilhelm!" The Purge King's counterpart had spoken, surprised as well.

"Pardon me for the sudden appearance, Subaru-dono. I just could not allow you to do this all on your own."

Both Otto and Subaru smiled as they saw this, seeing that Wilhelm has arrived to help them. The Purge King looked at Puck and nodded to him, alerting him that it is time.

"You should know Subaru, it will kill you too."

"I don't care, just do it."

"...just so you know, I'll have to comfort my daughter after this. I hope you are happy in the hell that awaits you."

The Purge King nodded before everyone in the room was blasted with cold. Wilhelm, having sensed this, quickly let go of his sword to approach both Otto and Subaru. As he does this, he quickly pulls Subaru to help get him out of there while Otto runs beside him. As the trio do their best to escape Puck's attack, the Purge King had observed the way his counterpart didn't accepted death like him.

'Why are you still trying to live? Why are you still fighting to live when this world is done? What is your reason?'

As he thinks this, he can feel the cold embrace of death coming for him, causing the vision of his that is already grey to turn even darker. After a moment of waiting, the Purge King had died in the cold with Subaru knowing that the loop is going to end soon. He looked and could see that the cold is quickly approaching the three of them. Wanting to make sure that his two friends make it out alive, he noticed a door nearby and quickly said:

"In there! Quick!"

Wilhelm and Otto nodded before entering the room, the two of them finding something to keep the door from breaking because of Puck's attack. While the two search, Subaru thinks to himself for a moment.

'Knowing now that I can't send in Reinhard alone, next loop I have to find this door and quick. Puck might be a way to do it but...I'll need to win his trust.'

Now knowing the plan, he closed his eyes and waited for a moment. He waited and waited until a familiar voice from a handsome knight said to him:

"There is no need for that, Subaru."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 5: Pressure

"There is no need for that, Subaru." Reinhard had said in a concerned voice. Subaru opened his eyes and calmly he said to his friend,

"I want you to know Rein that the Purge King knows we are coming and that he has Halibel the Admirer and Cecilus the Blue Lightining under his wing."

"What?"

"I know it sounds far fetch with Cecilus since he works under Vollachia but I know for a certain that the Purge King has him under his wings. I do not know why but I need you to trust me on this, Rein."

Reinhard looked at Subaru with a bit skeptical yet he didn't detect any lying from his friend, causing him to understand just how dire the situation has become. He took a moment to process the new information before he asked,

"How do you know all of this, Subaru?"

Subaru was hesitant at first, yet he knew that his friend should know the fate of Natsuki Subaru from this world. He closed his eyes while taking a deep breath before revealing to Reinhard:

"Because I'm not from this world, Reinhard. Me, Frederica, Petra, and Wilhelm are from another version of this world. From what you've told me about being only four candidates means that this world's Crusch and Wilhelm failed to kill the White Whale."

"..."

"This sucks because that means you don't know that Wilhelm is your grandfather."

"...what?"

"Sorry sorry sorry, I know it is a lot of information to give out in such little time but we need a new plan and fast. The Purge King...or well the other me, is preparing his own counter measures since he knows I'm coming to rescue Emilia-tan."

"...what do you propose?"

"That's the thing, I want your output on things. Maybe together we can quickly come up with a plan that can work."

"Very well but might I suggest we also involve Otto Suwen? He is vital to this operation as well."

("I know that it must suck having been on debt for who knows how long but I promise you that I will get you free from that.")

Subaru had recalled in his last loop that he made a promise to this world's Otto that he would make sure that he gets free from his debt, similar to how he freed Otto Suwen from Pride's world of his debt with Russell. This caused him to quickly change subjects:

"Before anything Rein, I want to help Otto. I want him freed from his debt with Russell with your help."

"I...I don't know if I can do anything about that, Subaru. I may be the Master Swordsman but I also have limits of what I can do."

"What? I thought you could do almost anything, Rein! Hell, you can beat anybody with all those hacks! There has to be something that you can do that'll help poor Otto."

"I...I'm sorry."

Subaru crossed his arms has he thought about what he had done in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world. He knew that with help from Reinhard of that world, the two helped free that world's Otto from his debt.

'But why? There has to have been a reason...'

He thought and thought, trying desperately to find an answer to this problem until he came up with an idea. Not sure if it could work, he asked Reinhard:

"What if Otto takes credit in beating the Purge King? Could that help free him from his debt?"

"That is possible...it is a bit of a long shot, but it is a possibility."

"As long as there is a chance, I'll take it!"

Subaru said as he found something that could help this world's Otto with his debt issue. With a possible solution to this, he turned back to the original topic, coming up with an idea that could help take down the Purge King and those that follow him.

"Since my counterpart knows we are coming, we do a head on assault. Push our way through until we get to him."

"Th-That might be a bit reckless, Subaru."

"True but he won't expect reckless. All this time I've been trying to outsmart him but unlike the other one, this one seems to have something to help him keep himself one step ahead of me."

Subaru says this as he recalls his fight with the Sin Archbishop of Pride, viewing him and the Purge King as equal in intelligence but due to having different allies on their side, making things more on the Purge King's favor than the Sin Archbishop of Pride. Reinhard looked at Subaru with a serious facial expression at first before just giving him a nod, seeing that the only way to beat the Purge King is by going with Natsuki Subaru's plan. Just as the carriage stopped, Reinhard and Subaru got out to quickly inform Otto and the knights of the new plan. As they make their way outside, Subaru wanted to speak with Frederica in private first before discussing the plan with Otto.

"Frederica, is it okay if we speak for a moment?"

"Um sure thing, Subaru-sama." Frederica had said in a slightly hesitant tone.

"I'll join too." Petra said with an enthusiastic tone which made Subaru feel bad for what he is going to say next.

"S-Sorry Petra, but I need to talk with Frederica alone."

"B-But I want to help!" Pleaded Petra, wishing to do something rather than be on the sidelines. Subaru looked a bit sad towards the little girl, knowing that he doesn't want to let her down yet this was something that required only Frederica to know.

"I'm sorry Petra but this is between me and Frederica. I promise that we will let you know what is going on after we take down the Purge King."

"...okay."

Petra looked down sad before Otto approached the group to distract Petra for a bit, seeing that Subaru needed some help with the little maid. As Otto and Petra walk away, Subaru looked down for a moment, feeling guilt that he couldn't involve Petra especially with the sad eyes she gave him. After having a moment of getting that guilt out of his system, he could hear Frederica ask in a respectful manner:

"What would you like to talk about, Subaru-sama?"

Subaru looked at Frederica with a serious facial expression, knowing that he is going to need her help if they are going to beat the Purge King. He stood silent for a few seconds, causing Frederica to slightly worry until he finally spoke.

"Frederica, I know where your counterpart is."

"My...counterpart?" Frederica asked in a curious voice.

"The you from this world...she is not doing so well and needs help. The Purge King is...threating her with Garfiel and Ryuzu." Subaru spoke with a hesitant tone, unsure how the blonde haired maid was going to take the news. She just stood silent, unsure on how to take in the information.

"...We have to stop the Purge King." Frederica spoke in determination.

"We will but first we will need you and Petra together to get your counterpart out of the—"

"Petra should be away from that place." The blonde haired maid spoke confidently as she cut off Subaru. The boy was taken aback for a second before nodding at what she said.

"I know but every knight will be busy with the plan. Wilhelm will be helping Rein in taking on both The Purge King's guards while Otto and me go to rescue Emilia-tan." Subaru explained in a calm manner.

"...then it will be my responsibility to protect Petra-chan." Frederica said, somewhat hesitant at this yet knowing that it is her job to protect the little maid. Subaru nodded before the two returned to the group.

"Okay, we are back." Subaru exclaimed.

"Subaru-dono, I do not wish to sound harsh but this might be a foolish plan and a bit reckless."

"Hehe...I know but that is what I'm counting on."

Wilhelm and the others looked at Subaru with a confused facial expression, unsure on what the boy means by this.

"Okay, let's get started." Subaru said with the group agreeing.

The Purge King took a moment to think as he started to return back to his checkpoint. He was curious on multiple things such as why his counterpart chose to live rather than to use Return By Death and what his counterpart did to attack Puck.

'He has some kind of ability, an invisible attack...an invisible providence on his disposal. Thanks for the heads up, other me.'

The Purge King smiled for a second with satisfaction since he uncovered something that Natsuki Subaru would use on him. As he thought about this, his thoughts moved to why his counterpart didn't allow himself to die since there is Return By Death considering how he is able to change what happens in each loop. Normally he wouldn't want to use that ability either, he hates it but he knows when that ability needs to be used. Not only that but he saw the way that he was afraid of dying as if he won't Return By Death.

'Something is off by this, the way he looked...could it be that...'

The Purge King was trying to puzzle things together but his thought process was interrupted when he heard Cecilus speak to him:

"My liege, are you alright?" Cecilus asked in a calm manner.

"Huh...oh right, yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."

"What 'bout, boss?" Halibel asked in a curious manner.

"Nothing of concern...no, actually I want to ask you two if you are ready to fight the Sword Saint himself?"

"Of course I am!" Cecilus spoke out in excitement.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Halibel spoke in his calm demeanor, showing no signs of fear or confidence.

"Well we are going to prepare because Reinhard van Astrea is headed this way as we speak."

Both Cecilus and Halibel were surprise to hear this, with Cecilus being excited to have his fated rematch with the Sword Saint while Halibel looked indifferent about it. As The Purge King was about to give his orders to the two, they all turned towards one of the mercenaries that entered the room abruptly by opening the doors in a rather rude manner. The Purge King sat on his throne with a curious look as he knows that his counterpart is trying out a new plan while both Cecilus and Halibel were preparing their weapons in case of any hostility. The mercenary ran close to the trio before needing a moment to catch his breath.

"Hm. What seems to be the problem, minion?" The Purge King spoke calmly to which the mercenary found it scary. The mercenary took a few seconds to catch his breath before finally being able to respond to the Purge King's question:

"We have...a situation..."

"Yeah, I know. What is the situation?" The Purge King spoke with an annoyed voice, scaring the mercenary since he doesn't want to piss off his boss. He took a few seconds to calm down before finally being able to answer properly:

"We are under attack."

"Under attack?" Cecilus asked in a confused facial expression, confused by what he heard since nobody just attacks Pandamonium unless...

"By whom?" The Purge King asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Th-The Sword Saint himself with a large group of knights!"

"Wait what?" The Purge King said in a surprised tone, not expecting this.

"So Reinhard is here." Cecilus said as he got his katanas ready for battle. The Purge King took a moment to think on the new situation.

'What the hell is my counterpart up to now?! A full on attack? What the hell kind of plan is that?'

The Purge King was dumbfounded by this yet he thought of this as an opportunity to test out a theory. He stands up which catches the mercenary, Cecilus, and Halibel's attention. As he gets their attention by standing up, he takes a moment before he looks at his mercenary to tell him in a calm tone:

"Get all the mercenaries. We are going to war."

"U-Understood my liege."

The mercenary nodded at The Purge King with hesitation before quickly running out of the throne room, both in fear of the Purge King and determination since he gets to be in a battle. As the mercenary left, Cecilus and Halibel both looked at their leader to see what is his orders to them. The Purge King can see this yet he was more interested in his counterpart's foolish plan.

'Compared to last time, this one is the dumbest plan. A full assault in my heavily guarded safe heaven. And for what? To bring a whole damn crew to rescue my Emilia-tan! Like hell I will let that happen, even if you are one of four people with color.'

The Purge King had a determined facial expression has these thought rushed all around his mind, having a sense that he must protect Emilia no matter what. He looks at his two guards and says to them:

"Follow me."

"Yes my liege."

"Sure thing, boss."

The two guardians nodded at their leader before they followed him outside the throne room through the main entrance, Halibel somewhat skeptical on what is going to happen next and Cecilus excited for some combat. As the three were walking out of the throne room and into one of the large hallways, the trio could see many mercenaries making their way towards the front of their base of operations. As they watch this, they could all feel a powerful aura being emanated from the entrance to the place. Cecilus was already too excited that he turned towards the Purge King and kneeled to him out of respect while saying:

"My liege, please allow me to go on my own to face Reinhard van Astrea. I would be eternally grateful."

The Purge King stood silent for a moment, seeing how enthusiastic the Blue Lightning was in wanting to fight the Sword Saint. He took a moment to think on this since he does wish for Cecilus to help him on his plan yet he does want to keep Reinhard busy.

"You do realize that he will have all of his divine protections with him, right?" The Purge King questioned Cecilus.

"I'm well aware of that but I have a plan." Cecilus spoke with confidence.

"Go ahead then, just don't get yourself killed."

"Understood my liege." Cecilus said as he went off on his own, feeling confident in himself and excited to defeat Reinhard van Astrea. As Cecilus left, the Purge King turned towards Halibel.

"Do you wish to join him as well?"

"Nah, I gotta protect ya, boss." Halibel said in his calm manner.

"Hm. Alright."

The Purge King was fine by this and quickly with Halibel, the two went to look outside of their base of operations to see the fight between the knights and his mercenaries.

"Do you see that, Halibel?"

"Um...what do ya want me ta see here exactly, boss?" Halibel asked with a curious tone.

"All of this is unnecessary. Those knights are just sending themselves to an early grave."

"But what 'bout the Sword Saint?"

"Considering that Cecilus is going to take him out of the equation, those knights down there aren't going to last long." The Purge King said with a blank expression, something that Halibel was able to notice yet he did not question. The two continued watching until the wolf human spotted something while smoking his special herb.

"Hey boss, why is there another of ya?"

"Hm."

The Purge King looked down at the direction Halibel was looking at to see his counterpart running in the battlefield with the merchant and the old man by his side.

'Why am I not surprised? Regardless, I know where you are now, other me.'

The Purge King turned towards Halibel to signal him that they are going off now. The wolf human nodded at this before following the Purge King towards their location.

"So, are we gonna take care of yer other you?"

"Spot on, Halibel. That asshole won't know what'll hit him."

"You got it, boss."

Halibel nodded at his leader before the two made their way down to the first floor.

Subaru and his group continued on the full assault with the boy from another world looking up at the base of operations, noticing a glimpse of someone looking down at them before returning his focus on the fight. He dodge a couple of attacks before allowing Wilhelm to cut them down easily. As Subaru and his group pushed forward with everything they got, Reinhard took the lead and was able to knock down many mercenaries with ease. As the group were making their way towards the entrance, Subaru looked far into the distance to see that Frederica and Petra were making their way towards the secret entrance that Subaru remembered from the previous loop.

'Okay, they are inside. Now it's time to exact the next phase of the plan.'

Subaru turned towards Otto and Wilhelm, alerting the two that it is time. The two nodded at him before they started to work on their parts. Wilhelm approached Reinhard as the two lead the group of knights deeper into the Purge King's base of operation to deal with the large amount of mercenaries while Otto and Subaru waited for the right moment to slip away from the fight undetected to find Emilia's room. As Reinhard was able to cut down every single mercenary with ease, he eventually noticed someone familiar off on the distance.

"...is that...?"

The familiar figure smiled at him before running off onto another hallway, causing the Sword Saint to hesitate on whether he should follow it or not. As he was about to ignore the familiar figure and continue the plan, Wilhelm noticed this when he also spotted the familiar figure.

"If I may, you should probably make sure that person doesn't find Subaru-dono."

"Are you sure Wilhelm-sama? I would not like to diverge from Subaru's plan." Reinhard spoke with some doubt towards himself.

"Hm. It is understandable to want to follow Subaru-dono's plan but I fear that whoever we saw might be a bigger threat to Subaru-dono." Wilhelm spoke in a respectful manner, trying his best to not view this Reinhard in a bad light considering that this version of the Sword Saint didn't kill Theresia like his version from his world. Reinhard was still unsure but after giving it some thought, he agreed with Wilhelm that it is probably for the best to stop this familiar figure, or at the very least check who it is. The Sword Saint nodded at the old butler before going off on his own, confident that he can handle this familiar figure all on his own. As Reinhard went on his own, Wilhelm looked at the knights and began to lead them into the fight against the thousands of mercenaries. While Wilhelm and the knights continued to fight, Subaru and Otto both continued to run through the hallway with Subaru having remembered where they need to go exactly.

"Natsuki-san, are you sure this was a wise plan?" Otto asked as they were halfway, a bit uncertain of this plan.

"It may look reckless but that is the point, the Purge King would be expecting a more intelligent like plan but he won't be expecting recklessness." Subaru said in a confident tone, knowing that his plan will work for a bit before his counterpart realizes what he is doing. Otto looked at him for a moment before looking forward, seeing that this plan could work yet he was still skeptical. As the two were getting close to the giant door, Subaru felt a headache once again with memories of the Purge King's life starting to enter.

("Yo, you're here again after quite a while, is Lia the reason you came?")

("The door, open it.")

("Mmh, what is that, that tone is, if you spoil the father's mood he might not let you see his daughter you know, the feelings of a father having a daughter at such a ripe age, if you could understand that more it would make me happy..")

("Puck.")

("You endured it until you're left anxiously shaking like this again, so it can't be helped. That effort of yours is commendable, so I'll let it slide just this once.")

("Well poking at that blind spot, the idea that if there is a keyhole, then one must find a key that matches it, is usually the way. But if someone else tries to imitate this, it would become a difficult matter for them.")

("There's also a magic spell there, so if someone other than me tried something similar, immediately that news would get to you and me both, and then I would definitely be there with Lia.")

Subaru paused as the headache was a bit much for him to continue running, worrying Otto since he doesn't know what is going on.

"Natsuki-san?!"

"...don't worry Otto, I think...that's the last of the headache." Subaru said in a weak voice, still trying to shake off the headache. As he was able to get the memories to stop pouring into his mind, he did find this quite useful.

'So that's how I can get into Emilia's heavily guarded room...also this bastard is nowhere near the same like the Sin Archbishop of Pride. He is...a scared boy in the end.'

Subaru had stumbled upon a memory that shows his counterpart of this world unable to cope with the things he had done and is using Emilia to help let loose of the pain and guilt he is suffering. Seeing this caused him to hesitate on how he can beat this version of him since he can tell that the divergent point was the loop where Rem had died and Ram was trying to kill him because of it.

'Could he be reasoned with? Doubt it but it is a possibility. He isn't too insane like Pride but...he knows he is doing bad things.'

While Subaru was hesitant when thinking this, he looked around to see that they are close to Emilia's room. Once reaching the large door, both Otto and Subaru looked around to make sure there is nobody around. As they confirm that it's only them two, Otto looked at the large door and was worried since he noticed the amount of keys they would need in order to open Emilia's room.

"Natsuki-san, how do you plan to get in? We don't have all the keys at all!" Otto exclaimed in concern.

"I am aware of that Otto but those keys aren't the way to open the door."

"What?"

Subaru approached the door carefully and quickly started to knock while shouting:

"Puck! I know you are in there."

Otto was puzzled by what Subaru was doing while Subaru himself knocked a bit more before walking away from the door. There was a moment of silence with Otto getting tense while Subaru looked serious, knowing that it's a matter of time before the beast of the end will appear before them.

"Um Natsuki-san...is something suppose to happen?" The merchant asked in a nervous and uncertain tone.

"Hm...this is weird and awkward." Subaru said in a dumbfounded way to which slightly annoyed Otto.

"Seriously? We can't afford to waste—"

Otto was cut off when a bright light appeared in front of the door. The merchant was on guard by the floating cat while Subaru looked up with a serious facial expression. He was coming face to face with Puck once again though unlike the previous Puck, he knows that they are not on the same side at least for now. Puck looked at the two boys, viewing Otto as a slight threat since he notices his defensive side while he was surprised to see Subaru.

"Subaru, is it that time...wait, you look a bit different."

"I know I do Puck but right now we don't have any time to waste."

"Oh. I see. Reinhard is here. Yeah, I can see why you are in a rush but first..." Puck had a moment of pause as his expression had change from a neutral into a serious one, creating a couple of icicles all around the two boys. "Who are you?"

'Of course this would happen.'

Subaru thought to himself as he sees that the great spirit contracted to Emilia was threatening not only his life but his friend's life as well.

"Wh-What now, Natsuki-san?!" Otto said as he was unsure on what they can do to get out of the situation they find themselves in.

"Don't worry Otto, allow me to handle this." Subaru spoke with confidence to his friend before changing his attention to Puck. "Puck, my name is Natsuki Subaru. Emilia-tan's one and only knight. So let me see her."

"Lia's knight? That's a new one." Puck said in an interested tone.

"You may not believe me but I am Natsuki Subaru...just not from this world."

"Oh, this should be interesting to hear." The great spirit says this as he finds whatever Subaru says unbelievable.

"It is true Puck, even you can tell that I'm not lying or have any malice."

"That may be but an insane man would believe his own lies."

"Okay then let me prove something, I know about Emilia-tan more than even the Purge King himself." Subaru said with a smile on his face, something that Puck took notice on.

"Then start talking and quick before I change my mind." Puck spoke with an annoyed tone of voice. Subaru took a moment to think on all of the times and talks he had with Emilia during the one year of peace and bonding. He had learned many things of Emilia but there were a few crucial details that would help him prove to Puck that he knows Emilia.

"I am aware of why she joined the royal selection. It was to help find a way to help the elves in Elior Forest. I know about someone known as Mother Fortuna. Emilia-tan wouldn't talk about her a lot but she does mention that me and Fortuna share similar scary eyes. There is also the time you were there for Emilia-tan when she woke up after she was freed from her slumber."

"Okay, what are you getting at, "Natsuki Subaru" ?" Puck asked as he was on his guard, not expecting this Subaru to know this much about his daughter.

"The point is that this is wrong, Puck. Emilia-tan should be free. She shouldn't be locked up at all." Subaru spoke in a calm and respectful gesture.

"What would you know? I'm doing this to protect my daughter!" Puck shouted with anger, tempted to kill the two boys. Before he could, the three of them could hear a female voice say,

"Puck? Is everything alright?"

Subaru and Otto both looked at each other as they notice the voice coming from the large locked door. The two understood that it was Emilia herself, causing Puck to turn towards the door for a moment. Subaru turned towards the door and knew that this was now or never,

"Emilia-tan!"

"S-Subaru?"

Emilia spoke with a soft voice to which Puck gave a death stare at the boy for having said anything. Subaru noticed this and quickly he continued to say,

"Emilia-tan, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, are you going to come in?"

"Lia, don't listen to this imposter."

"Imposter?" Emilia asked in a confused tone.

"Puck."

"Sorry but you are done here."

Puck responded to Subaru saying his name, attempting to send his icicles towards not only Subaru but also Otto. Before he could though, Subaru used his invisible providence ability to stop the cat spirit. This caught Puck off guard all the while Subaru turned towards Otto to tell him to start running. The merchant boy nodded and began to run while Subaru stayed, knowing that running isn't going to help him specifically. As Puck was regaining his composure, the room started to freeze for a moment with the cat like spirit preparing to end the life of Natsuki Subaru.

"You should've run like your friend did."

"I wanted him to run because things were going to get heated right now."

"Is that so? Then let's cool things down a bit."

Puck says this as he starts to freeze the place, leaving Subaru's body in an extremely cold environment yet the boy's strong mind and determination allowed him to stand up tall.

"Puck, I have met you in my world and in another version of this world. In both, you have shown that you trust Emilia-tan and protect her but here...you are a terrible father."

"..."

Subaru looked at Puck directly in the eyes, not afraid of the wrath he was about to get from the beast of the end. The two stared each other down with Puck preparing to kill Subaru for that statement he made until:

"Puck, open this door." Emilia spoke with a more serious voice, something both Subaru and Puck were not prepared for. Although he did not wanted to, he didn't want to disobey his daughter. As he goes to open the door, he begins to respond to what Subaru said in a cold manner:

"You are lucky she wants me to open this door, because the moment I get you alone, I'll make sure you suffer for what you said before you die miserably. I have worked hard as Lia's father to protect her, I won't have some outsider say otherwise."

"Regardless Puck, this is wrong and you know it!"

The two just stared each other once again for a few seconds, both of them thinking differently than the other before returning their focus on the door. Once it was unlocked and opened, Emilia stood on the other side with an angry facial expression.

"Wh-what's wrong, Emilia-tan?"

"You two shouldn't be fighting! Also...wait..." There was a pause as she started to notice that Subaru looked differently than she remembered. "Subaru, you look well now. Why is that?"

"W-Well Emilia-tan...how do I explain this without sounding confusing? Um...I'm Natsuki Subaru."

"Y-Yes?" Emilia looked puzzled at the boy in front of her.

"And well—"

"Oh it doesn't matter, it's just nice seeing you smile again. Happy again. Come, let me give you a lap pillow like always." Emilia had cut off Subaru as she went back into her room to prepare for his lap pillow. Subaru was confused by this for a moment until something came to mind, causing him to feel a strong fear in his heart.

"Puck...can I have a word with you in private?"

The cat like spirit didn't like this but was curious to know what the person he currently hates wanted to say. As he closes in on the boy, Emilia sits down and prepares her lap until she notices that something seemed off of this Subaru. Before she could say anything though, Puck and Subaru have their conversation with Subaru asking:

"Puck, how long has Emilia-tan been here?"

"Well let's see...over a year to say the least."

"W-Wait, she has been here all this time? Hasn't left or anything like that?"

"Nope, you should know better than anybody, if you were him." Puck said in a disrespectful manner, wanting to insult the Natsuki Subaru in front of him. Before the boy could respond, the ground starts to shake intensely.

"That must be Reinhard...Puck, we need to get Emilia-tan out of here and fast!"

Subaru spoke with concern yet determination, knowing that the fight is coming to them yet Puck just stood there, watching him with a blank expression.

"Look Puck, if you want her to be safe, we need to get her out of here!"

"I don't think so... "Natsuki Subaru"."

The room turned cold for a moment as Subaru himself realized just how screwed he was now. He slowly turned around to see that it was his counterpart, the Purge King, standing on the entrance of Emilia's room.

"Well Well, I see that you entered this place, "Natsuki Subaru" but that is your gravest of mistakes."

The Purge King spoke in a calm like manner which did put a bit of fear into Subaru, knowing that deep down this probably pissed his counterpart off. As the atmosphere of the place was cold, the two Subarus and Puck all noticed Emilia approaching the trio with a confused look in her eyes.

"Wait, why is there two Subarus? Am I dreaming?"

"Huh..."

All three somehow dropped their previous emotions they had as they didn't really know how to explain the situation without involving the two subarus having an argument. This caused them to pause for the briefest of moments until the Purge King looked at Puck with a specific look signifying that Emilia needs to be escorted out of the room. Puck understood this and quickly got Emilia's attention by saying,

"Lia, let us go somewhere private so I can explain to you what is going on."

"O-Okay Puck."

Emilia listened as she was leaving the room, having both Subarus on their own. Once Puck and Emilia left, Natsuki Subaru and the Purge King stood quiet for a brief moment before looking at each other, both thinking of a plan.

"Well then, shall we talk." The Purge King said, breaking the silence between the two. Subaru took note of this and quickly responded with:

"What about?"

"How you are a nuisance."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 6: Despair

"You are quite a problem, Natsuki Subaru." The Purge King said in a blank expression, viewing his counterpart as a threat despite seeing colors in him. Subaru chuckled a bit before saying in a cocky like tone:

"Well, isn't that our specialty?"

"The hell do you mean?" The Purge king said with his arms crossed, not liking where this is going.

"Consider this, if our diverging point was around the mansion, then we both gave Emilia-tan, Rem, Ram, Roswaal, Rein, and even that crazy Elsa some trouble."

"Elsa? Man I haven't heard of that bitch in a long while." The Purge King lowered his guard as he recalled the Bowel Hunter, having been the very first obstacle he had run into in this world.

"Yeah, she was a crazy woman for sure."

"Hmph. I assume she is dead in your world, Natsuki Subaru."

"Yes, it took my friend's help to beat her."

"Intriguing."

"Have you taken care of her in this world?" Subaru asked out of curiosity, hoping that this version of him isn't like the Sin Archbishop of Pride that decided to work with the crazy gut loving psychopath. The Purge King paused for a moment before responding with:

"I haven't seen her in a long time. Since the loot house I haven't seen her."

"Okay...good."

Subaru felt a little relieve that his counterpart has a little common sense compared to Pride. The two Subarus were a bit surprised that they were able to have a calm conversation despite the two have been at odds with each other since they cross paths. As the two Subarus were able to talk calmly now, the conversation shifted with the Purge King saying:

"As much as I enjoyed this, let's cut to the chase, Natsuki Subaru. I want bargain with you but only for this one time."

"Bargain? About what?" Subaru spoke in an annoyed yet curious tone, not sure what his counterpart even wants.

"Well if you let me finish, asshole, then I can explain the deal. You still have your colors for some reason, so that means you aren't lying to me."

"Um...okay. What is your deal with colors?"

"Not important, anyway I need you, Natsuki Subaru, to leave me the hell alone. I'll let you leave now with all those knights, that old man, and that fake merchant of yours but leave the Sword Saint here." The Purge King spoke in a serious tone. Subaru just look at his counterpart with a serious facial expression before asking:

"Why just Rein?"

"Reason: Cecilus. A deal is a deal. Although I don't trust the bastard, I did made a deal with him and I will see it till the end."

Subaru was silent, seeing that this version of him seems to honor the deal he has with Cecilus, making him aware that the Blue Lightning of Vollachia's motivation is related to facing Reinhard. This information may be necessary in the case they end up looping once again. As this is all said, Subaru looks at the entrance to Emilia's room once again, recalling the look she had in her face. That look reminded him of the one from the failed loop from the Sanctuary, a loop he considers to be hell due to how everyone is dead and Emilia was left mind broken.

'I...I don't like this. Emilia-tan...she wasn't well and if this one is like that...'

Subaru didn't like the thought of encountering another mind broken Emilia. As this fear was in his mind, he recalled something that Puck had told him earlier.

("Puck, how long has Emilia-tan been here?")

("Well let's see...over a year to say the least.")

Having remembered this, he looked at his counterpart with an angry expression, recalling that he locked up Emilia for over a year. This caused his tone to be serious and slightly aggressive when he said to the Purge King:

"...Then why the hell has Emilia-tan been locked up?"

"For her own safety." The Purge King responded with a blank expression, only further pissing Subaru off.

"Her own safety?!" Subaru paused for a brief moment, his entire demeanor changing from calm and collected into one of anger. "So taking away her freedom is supposed to be good thing now? How much of selfish prick are you?!"

"Selfish? You are going to really call me that! After all the bullshit I had to deal with and you call me selfish! I've been dealing with lying pieces of shit my whole damn time I've been in this world! I had to die so many fucking times to make sure that I can protect Emilia-tan and you call me selfish? Fuck you! You have no idea what the hell I've been through at all, you piece of shit!"

The Purge King approached his counterpart, ready for a fight. Subaru prepared himself for another fight with another counterpart while he responded to what the Purge King had said to him:

"Do you even care for Emilia-tan?"

"I fucking do care!"

"Then why do you have her locked up?! Only a psychopath locks up the people that he supposedly cares about."

"You motherfucker!"

As the Purge King says this, he swings his arm at Subaru's direction, trying to land a punch yet the boy was able to block off the attack. As he blocks off the punch, he throws a punch of his own and manages to land a hit on the face with everything he got. As the Purge King falls to the ground, Subaru starts to speak with a hint of anger in his voice:

"I know you suffered, asshole! I know that you have trust issues but if you even loved Emilia-tan, you would've trusted her. She is more capable than you even know!"

"I-Is that so?! I'll make sure to remember that once I kill you."

The Purge King gets up and pulls out a knife in an attempt to kill his counterpart, confident that he can pull it off. Subaru noticed this and was tempted to use Invisible Providence yet he knew that this would drain his energy and could leave him vulnerable to be killed. He waited for the right opportunity before grabbing onto the Purge King's hands, trying to take away his knife. The two struggle as they both were trying to overwhelm the other.

"You are not going to win!" Subaru spoke with confidence.

"I'm going to kill you, kill the Sword Saint, and then make sure Emilia-tan is forever safe from the outside world!"

The two continued their struggle until finally Subaru was able to break the stalemate his counterpart and him were in by kicking the Purge King in the gut, sending him away for a brief moment. As the Purge King took a second to recover, he tried to stab Subaru again only to notice the unseen hand coming from Subaru's chest.

"What the—?"

"Invisible Providence!"

Subaru knew that this was a now or never situation, causing him to retract his thinking of using his Invisible Providence and quickly send the unseen hand towards the Purge King. The Purge King tried to dodge the attack but due to the timing of his reaction, he wasn't able to and received a powerful hit in the bottom of his chin. As this send the Purge King flying into a wall, Subaru coughed up a bit of blood before falling onto his knees, feeling the effects of his sloth witch factor.

"That should...teach you, asshole..."

Subaru continued to struggle in regaining his strength after he spoke with the Purge King slowly getting up himself, surprised by what he saw. He wasn't aware of this ability which made him a bit curious on what exactly did his counterpart do to attain such an ability.

"Th-that was quite the ability...where or how did you do it...?"

"Ha...like I'd...tell you...asshole..." Subaru spoke in a weak tone, still tired out from using the sloth authority.

"Well then, I guess I'll never know."

The Purge King slowly approached Subaru with his knife still in his right hand, preparing to murder himself.

'He may have colors...but I won't trust him. He needs to die.'

Just as he was preparing himself to kill his counterpart, someone stabbed him on his right side before shoving him to the ground out of nowhere. As this happened, Subaru looked up to see that it was Otto. The merchant looked at the Purge King with disgust yet when he looked at him, he had a concerned facial expression.

"Natsuki-san!"

"Otto...wh-what are you doing here? I thought—"

"Enough talk. Let's get you out of here."

Otto had caught off Subaru since he doesn't want the boy to keep using any more energy after looking so fatigued. As he helped Subaru on his feet, the two started to leave while a bleeding Purge King attempted to stop the pair by slowly getting up despite how much his wound was hurting him.

"You two...aren't leaving here alive."

"Yes we are." Otto spoke out. "You are the one staying here to die, Purge King."

The Purge King just looked at the merchant with full hate in his eyes, seeing this fake merchant looking at him with disgust. There was a moment of silence before Otto took Subaru out of the room, leaving the Purge King on his own, starting a grudge against the fake merchant. As the Purge King was taking a moment to let the pain of the wound pass for a bit, Subaru and Otto walk a bit away from the exit of the room with Subaru looking at the merchant. He was happy that Otto came back but he was curious to know why.

"Why did you came back to save me? Considering how dangerous it could've been and how I look like that mad man."

"Just because you look alike doesn't mean you are him. I see you as someone who cares for others, who wants to protect everyone. That and...you have been kind to me." Otto hesitated to speak on the last part but he managed to tell the boy what he thinks about him. Subaru was surprised by this yet he wanted to rebuttal with:

"Isn't Rein nice to you too?"

"Yes but that isn't the point, Natsuki-san! I just...I trust you and I normally wouldn't trust anyone after...that bad deal with the oil but that's irrelevant right now. I'm getting you out of here."

Subaru had a surprised face for a moment before a smile was form, always happy to see that no matter what world he is in, him and Otto will always be the best of friends. As he was thinking of this, something was flashing in his mind which caused him to collapse to the ground in pain. Otto was caught off guard by this yet he quickly was able to react by trying to check on his friend.

"Natsuki-san, what is wrong?!"

"I-It's nothing Otto...just give me...a minute..." Subaru was struggling to speak as memories were being filled in his mind.

("I won't let you die. After everything, I refuse to let you die.")

'Huh? What is my counterpart...doing?'

Subaru was confused as he is seeing a not so paranoid version of the Purge King attempting to save someone's life yet he wasn't able to see the whole memory since it was all a blur for the moment. While it was all hard to tell, there was something that caught his attention.

("This world...this damn world is full of liars...full of fakes but you are not. With those pretty colors of yours, you are not. I can only trust in you.")

'So...does he see the world in grey then? I mean...it makes sense now that I understand why he is talking about colors now but who is he talking to?'

Subaru was trying to push through the blur in his mind to figure out who his counterpart was talking with yet he wasn't able to. The memories stopped pouring into his mind, allowing him to stand back up as if he wasn't tired out. He looked at Otto and quickly said:

"We need to get to the Purge King's office and fast."

"We need to get out of here, Natsuki-san! You are still not at full strength!" Otto spoke in a worried tone.

"I know but we need to find out if the Purge King is hiding something or someone."

The merchant paused for a moment, a bit unsure of this since he knows that Subaru's new found energy is temporary yet if the boy was right like how he has been, then there is a possibility that the Purge King has a hostage. He looked at his friend and nodded confidently before following the boy in finding the Purge King's main room.

Frederica and Petra had both snuck in the fortress of the Purge King, both of them on high alert with only Frederica knowing the objective, to save her counterpart. Although it is scary meeting the Frederica of this world, she knows from what Subaru said that she needs help. As the two maids were walking around the long hallways, the two look around with caution, not knowing when they will bump into mercenaries. As they were walking around for a bit, Petra looked at Frederica to ask:

"What are we doing, Frederica-neesama?"

"We are looking for...a prisoner, Petra-chan." Frederica spoke with some hesitation since mentioning her counterpart might confuse the little maid.

"A prisoner?" Petra asked in a confused tone of voice.

"Y-Yes, a good person has been imprisoned by the Purge King. We need to help her out. That is what Natsuki Subaru-sama told me."

"W-Well if Subaru-sama said that we need to save this person, then let's go save the prisoner!"

Petra spoke with a confident tone, happy that Subaru is trusting her with something even though she can't really do much and basically learned it through Frederica. Little does the little maid know that their objective is one of the more safer ones since Subaru and his group were launching a full scale assault on the front of the Purge King's headquarters. As the two maids were walking around the hallway, closing in on the location Subaru had given to the big maid, a few mercenaries were running around which forced the two to quickly get down and stay as quiet as possible, not wanting to catch any attention.

"We have to hurry! The knights are closing in on the base!"

"Then we better hurry!"

The two mercenaries ran out towards another hallway in a hurry, trying to deal with the threat of the knights. As the two left, both Frederica and Petra felt a little relief since they didn't had to deal with the two. As the pair of maids were getting up, Petra looked at her senior maid and could tell that something was bothering her.

"Frederica-neesama, is something wrong?"

"...it's nothing Petra-chan." The little maid looked at her and could tell that something was bothering her, causing the little maid to pout since she wants to help.

"Come on! Talk to me! What is going on, Frederica-neesama?"

Frederica stood silent for a moment, tempted to tell Petra of the situation they are going into and how things are going to get a bit confusing yet she figured that since they are going to meet her counterpart, the little maid will understand much better than an explanation. She looked at the door for a brief moment before turning to the little maid while saying:

"Petra-chan, I want you to know that everything will be revealed to you when we enter that door. There is...someone important we need to help."

"Who?"

"...you'll know very soon. All I ask is for you to trust me, Petra-chan."

"...ok."

Petra was still a bit bummed out that Frederica can't just be open with her yet seeing that she will get her answers through the door where the prisoner is located helped her be at ease. The two looked at the door for a moment which spooked the little maid, making her afraid that a monster was hiding on the other side. She quickly went to hug Frederica's leg in fear, something the big maid noticed.

"There is no need to be afraid, Petra-chan. I'm here to protect you."

"R-Right."

Petra still held on to Frederica while knowing that she will be protected by her. Frederica couldn't help but smile at this, seeing how hard Petra was trying to put on a tough act yet unable to. She looked at the door and was a bit hesitant to open it at first yet she knew that Subaru and the others were depending on her and Petra to get her counterpart to safety. As she opened the door, Petra hid herself behind Frederica while Frederica herself had one of her hands transform into its demi human form in the case she gets attacked. As the door opened on its own, Frederica looked inside and could see that there was someone there, yet they were hiding in the shadows of the dark room.

"Hello? Anybody there?" Frederica spoke in a polite manner, not wanting to be hostile towards her counterpart and yet she received no response. This caused her to worry since she doesn't know how hostile her counterpart can be. Frederica and Petra both slowly entered the room with Frederica's guard by. As they were slowly entering, the two maids looked at the inside of the room to see the room itself look all messy. Petra was a bit hesitant on who could the prisoner be to leave such a mess while Frederica was completely caught off guard by this, seeing the misery her counterpart must be going through thanks to the Purge King. As the two were looking around, the two heard a noise that caused the pair to be on guard with Petra holding Frederica tightly. Frederica looked around until she spotted a silhouette that resembled herself.

"Hello there." Frederica spoke in a friendly manner.

"..."

"We are here to help—"

"Who are you? Why do you sound like me?" The counterpart spoke with some hate in her voice, uncertain and feeling threatened.

"Frederica-neesama? Are you okay? Why are you speaking to yourself?" Petra asked as she was confused by the interaction.

"Petra-chan, the person we are rescuing is...this world's Frederica Baumann."

Petra was confused at first until this world's Frederica stepped into the light to reveal herself, looking completely depressed yet angry. The two Fredericas just look at each other, both of them unsure on what to say yet Petra looked at this world's Frederica with a sad facial expression, seeing how bad Frederica looks.

"Frederica-neesama, what happened to you?"

"..." The Frederica Baumann of this world looked at the little maid, having been reminded of the life she had enjoyed when she was under Roswaal's mansion. She took a moment to think before looking at her counterpart.

"Who are you? Why do you look like me?"

"It's...hard to explain but we are here to get you out of here."

"I-I can't!" The Frederica of this world spoke with fear in her voice, knowing full well what would happen if she tried to run. Frederica from Subaru's world noticed the fear alongside with Petra, both of them attempting to calm the Frederica of this world down.

"Everything is okay, Frederica-neesama."

"As Petra-chan said, everything is—"

"N-No! You both don't seem to understand the situation!" The Frederica of this world spoke out with fear in her voice, catching the attention of both Frederica and Petra. Petra was unsure on what was going on with this version of Frederica while the Frederica of another world knew what was going on with her counterpart.

("The you from this world...she is not doing so well and needs help. The Purge King is...threating her with Garfiel and Ryuzu.")

Knowing that the Purge King is making her counterpart feel this miserable, she approached her counterpart in a calm and non-hostile manner to which the Frederica of this world did found threatening for a moment until she saw her counterpart place her hand on her shoulder while saying:

"I know what he did, that horrible man. I know you are scared to lose our family but the Sword Saint, his allies, and Subaru-sama are working together to take down this Purge King."

"Subaru-sama? Do you not know who is the Purge King?!" Frederica of this world spoke with anger in her voice.

"I..."

"It is that bastard, Natsuki Subaru!"

"What...? But Subaru-sama would never do something like that..." Petra said in a sad yet conflicted tone, something that this world's Frederica noticed. This caused her to look at her counterpart to ask:

"Is...is the Natsuki Subaru of your world a good person? Can you vouch for him?"

"Yes! He saved my life!" Petra said quickly as she rushed for Subaru's defense, something the Frederica of this world noticed. She looked at her counterpart to see what her response will be. Frederica looked at her counterpart of this world with a serious facial expression before giving her response:

"Natsuki Subaru. I didn't met him when he first arrive to Roswaal L Mathers' mansion after the incident with the insignia but when I arrived per our master's orders, I was told on how he saved the children of the village from the Mabeast. How he did faced some repercussions for having disobeyed Emilia-sama's orders but despite that, he had gathered a large force to deal with the White Whale. He also had saved Garf by helping him leave the Sanctuary. To say that the Natsuki Subaru-sama I know is a bad person is far from the truth."

Frederica from this world looked at her counterpart's eyes, seeing how truthful they looked when speaking of Natsuki Subaru, surprising her that in another world, the man that caused her so much despair would be able to help her little brother get over his issues of leaving the Sanctuary. She closed her eyes and thought back when The Purge King threatened her life with his iconic coin toss, making her still afraid of staying yet if her counterpart was telling the truth that rescue as come, this could be her chance to save herself from this horrible fate. She opened her eyes and nodded at the two maids, feeling a bit of hope in her heart. Petra smiled while Frederica gave a respectful nod before the three maids began to leave the room, the three knowing that they must hurry as they feel a violent shaking nearby them.

"We best get moving, the Sword Saint must be having a heated battle."

"Agreed."

The two Fredericas spoke before the three maids started running towards the exit with the Frederica of this world leading the way since she knows her way around. As the three were running around a couple of hallways, they eventually came across two mercenaries trying to escape the fight.

"What the?! Why are you out here, bitch? Well not like it matters since we are all screwed."

"Hey, pal, why are there two of her?"

"Huh...that is weird, what is going on?" The mercenary to the left spoke before pointing his sword at the two tall maids. "Talk, you two."

Both Fredericas looked at each other for a moment before the Frederica of another world looked at Petra to say:

"Close your eyes for a moment, Petra-chan."

"...Okay, Frederica-neesama."

The little maid closed her eyes and even covered her ears, knowing that things are about to get ugly. As she did this, the two Fredericas approached the two mercenaries to beat them up, seeing that they weren't going to leave the three of them alone. The fight begins with one of the Fredericas grabbing the sword before snapping it in two with her transformed form hand. This prompted the other mercenary to pull out his sword and prepare to attack only to be stopped by the other Frederica as she grabbed his hand that is wielding the sword. The mercenary noticed this and quickly tried to pull his knife with his free hand yet he was punched in the face with enough force to knock him out.

The other mercenary managed to pull out his knife fast enough to try an attack the Frederica that broke his sword yet she managed to easily take him down with two punches, the first one being aimed at his gut and the second on his jaw to knock him out. As the two Fredericas knocked down the two mercenaries, the Frederica of this world looked at the two mercenaries with disgust before giving them one hard kick for each of the mercenaries, something the Frederica of another world didn't approve but understood why her counterpart did it. She quickly went to tap Petra in the shoulder to alert her that the fighting as finished. The little maid opened her eyes and moved her hands away from her head for a moment before looking around, noticing the two knocked out mercenaries. She stood silent about it since they had to continue moving.

"Come on Petra-chan, let's get out of here."

"Y-Yes Frederica-neesama."

The two maids looked at the Frederica of this world, waiting until she finally started to lead the three of them out of the Purge King's fortress. As the three ran for a couple of more minutes, the three could hear Otto shout from a distance:

"Natsuki-san!"

"Wh-What was that?" Petra asked the two Fredericas.

"If that was Otto Suwen then...Subaru-sama is in trouble." Frederica from another world answered.

"Then we need to help Subaru-sama!" Petra instantly said, not wanting to leave Subaru while he is in possible danger. The two Fredericas both noticed what Petra said, prompting Frederica from Subaru's world to want to help the boy while the Frederica of this world was a bit hesitant by this. She wasn't sure if she has the strength to help the Purge King's counterpart yet looking at how Petra is giving the sad eyes to her, she was somewhat convince to help. She nodded at the two which made Petra happy.

The three of them quickly went towards the direction where they heard Otto shout, having a feeling that there is someone dangerous nearby. As the three eventually reached the hallway Otto and Subaru were located, they noticed that Subaru was on the ground trying to get up while Otto was attempting to fight Halibel. Frederica of this world knew that Otto stood no chance against Halibel on his own considering how skilled the Admirer of Kararagi is. The three maids turned towards Subaru's direction, noticing how he was struggling to get up. This prompted Petra to try to run towards the boy's side yet she was stopped by Frederica of her world.

"Petra-chan, wait." Frederica spoke with an assertive tone.

"B-But Subaru-sama needs our help!" Petra exclaimed.

"Yes but you can't go running into danger like that." Frederica said since she knows going into danger will bring nothing but more trouble. Petra was silent for a brief moment before looking down in defeat.

"...okay..."

Petra backed down as she was convinced by Frederica's assertive tone. The Frederica of this world looked at the situation and knew that they had to act if they wanted to save Otto, seeing that he is barely able to put up a fight. She turned towards her counterpart while saying:

"Let the little maid help the boy. We have the strength to help the merchant from getting himself killed."

"A-Are you sure?" Frederica spoke with a bit of hesitation.

"Trust me on this, my um other self."

Frederica was at a pause for a moment, seeing that this tone from herself of this world is confident compared to the ones her and Petra have heard. This convinced her to let Petra go and assist Subaru while she along with her counterpart assist Otto, seeing that he is about to get himself killed. Otto was doing his best to fend off the admirer but he had nothing but a knife and his divine protection was useless at the moment. He did everything he could do land a hit yet Halibel causally blocked some attacks while dodging others with ease.

"I gotta say, ya got some spirit, merchant boy."

"Yes! Anything to help a friend!" Otto responded in determination though showing hints of fatigue.

"Well, I admire that from you but sadly like boss said, ya got to go down. It was nice fighting you (although that is putting it nicely)."

Halibel was going to kill the boy in front of him yet he was hesitant for some reason, seeing how hard Otto was fighting to help Subaru despite how much of a losing battle this is. This caused him to wait until Otto attacked him once again yet he sensed two attacks heading towards his back side, causing him to turn to his back to quickly block off the attacks. As he does this, he notices that it is Frederica and another that looks exactly like the maid, causing him to question whether he is seeing things or not. While Halibel was distracted by this, Otto was going to attack only for Frederica of another world to say:

"Otto-san, don't. Get Subaru-sama and Petra-chan out of here."

Otto paused for a moment as he turned towards Subaru's direction seeing that the little maid he met earlier was with his friend, helping him get up on his feet. Halibel also noticed this and somehow had a smile on his face, happy to see a kid helping out her fellow friend before turning back to the fight against the two Fredericas. The debt slave was hesitant himself yet he knew that he needed to help his friend and get the little girl away from danger. He approached Subaru and Petra to assist his friend.

"We shouldn't leave them." Subaru said, worried for the two Fredericas' sake.

"I know Natsuki-san, but there isn't much we can do."

"We also need to get you to safety!" Petra chimed in, wanting to be a part of the conversation. Subaru looked at the two and knew that this is probably the only chance he has in getting to the Purge King's office without interference. He nodded at the two and quickly the three left the area, leaving the two identical maids to fight side by side against one of the strongest fighters of Kararagi. As the two Fredericas went all out, Subaru and his group walked for a bit until the boy had a headache, feeling memories poring in like crazy.

"Subaru-sama!"

"Natsuki-san!"

"I-It's okay...at least this headache...is helping me find something..."

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Otto asked in concern, not understanding what his friend meant by that. Petra looked at Subaru with more concern, unsure what her hero even meant by that at all. The two continued to stay with him until all of a sudden he got up on his own, feeling like he has all of the energy of the world. He took a moment before turning towards Otto and Petra to tell them:

"Do you two trust me?"

"Of course I do, you dummy!" Petra said as she pouted, not liking the question at all since she has so much faith in Subaru.

"I do trust you, Natsuki-san." Otto spoke with a smile on his face.

"Okay then, I need you two to trust me here and just follow me. I think I know where to go."

Petra and Otto both wanted to object to this since they don't want to run into any more trouble yet they knew that Subaru wasn't going to listen. This prompted the three to run for a bit with Subaru taking the lead. After a couple of minutes of going through a few hallways, they ended up in a special looking door.

"What is this?" Petra asked in earnest.

"This is the Purge King's main room. Here we will find some answers to a few questions." Subaru responded in a calm manner.

"Let's just not stay here too long. We don't want to encounter a dangerous foe."

"Agreed."

Subaru nodded at Otto's statement before opening the door, seeing that it is just an office room if anything. Before entering the room, he turned to both Otto and Petra to instruct them with:

"If anybody tries to enter the room, go and hide. We don't have any strength or power to fight powerful opponents."

"Understood Natsuki-san."

"Okay!"

Both Petra and Otto nodded at Subaru before the three entered with cation, unsure on what they would find inside. As they were walking around the office, Subaru looked at one part of the room, his memories he had received telling him that this will tell him something that could be the key in beating this version of himself. He opened a secret metal door with Otto and Petra wanting to approach him.

"Did you found something, Natsuki-san?"

"I hope I did. This might be the key to beating that bastard, the Purge King."

"Hopefully it does, Natsuki-san."

Subaru nodded at Otto before turning towards the opened metal door to check on what's inside yet the three heard the entrance of the Purge King's office about to open. Both Petra and Otto were tempted to run with Subaru into the metal door's room yet they knew that they were a bit too far, causing the pair to look around the room to see where they can hide while Subaru chose to enter the room before closing the door. As he did this, he looked at the door with fear at first, unsure on who is entering the office. As he was waiting to fight back with his whip on his side, his mindset shifted to the noises of the chains. This prompted him to look at the direction of the noise while asking in a slightly hesitant tone:

"Wh-Who's there?"

"―Finally, did you come wanting to die, Barusu?"

"Barasu?...wait, you are..."

Subaru was completely confused when he looked at the woman in chains, approaching him with her long pink hair. The boy was stunned because he knows who it is, considering there is only one person he knows that would call him by that nickname.

"...Ram. But how? He killed you! I saw him do it!"

"...what are you talking about now, Barusu? No matter, it is time for you to die."

Ram approached Subaru as she prepared to choke the boy she hated as shown in her eyes yet she ended up pausing when she started to see Subaru in a much clearer way. She made a couple of notes which helped calm Ram's anger since this Barusu in front of her looked nothing like the one she hates the most, the one she blames for killing her sister.

"Who are you, fake Barusu?"

"Yeah. I expected that. Well I am Natsuki Subaru, I'm just not that asshole."

"...I still want you to die."

"Wha—"

Before Subaru could respond to this, Ram had caught him off guard and started to choke him to death, wanting to kill him even if she believed that he wasn't the *real* Barusu she knows. Because of this, Subaru was struggling to free himself since she had a good grip on him yet he was able to free himself by tickling the pink haired oni. This was a trick he honestly didn't think would work but by some miracle it did worked. As Subaru gained some distance from Ram while also trying to catch his breath, she looked at him with her face red before looking down as she said to him:

"Pervert."

"Okay, you were trying to kill me."

"Pervert."

"Stop it."

"...Rem's killer..."

"..."

Subaru was going to say something but hearing this reminded him on how this was the loop where Rem was killed by Meili's mabeast. This reminder caused him to fall on his back and look at the ceiling, sad since he does blame himself that the world ended up this way because in that moment, he was being slothful.

'...I'm sorry, Rem...Ram...'

As Subaru was on the ground for a bit, both him and Ram turned towards the door as they noticed it open to reveal the Purge King himself. Subaru got all of his energy of the world to get back up on his feet, ready for a fight while Ram just looked at the Purge King with her hatred for him returning with a vengeance. The Purge King looked at Ram first before looking at Subaru, prompting him to say:

"I guess at some point you were going to met. Considering how annoyingly persistent you are." The Purge King said with a hint of surprise in his tone yet overall a blank tone.

"I know you are suffering, Natsuki Subaru, but there is a chance to turn this all around." Subaru said as he wanted to try to reason with the Purge King, seeing that this loop can still be saved.

"Don't call me that name. I don't go by that and never will." The Purge King said in a bit of an aggressive tone, hating it when others that aren't certain people call him by his name, something Subaru picked up on.

"Well, it is your given name that mom and dad gave us." Subaru said, curious how his counterpart would react. The Purge King's eyes for a moment looked dead until a fire showed, a fire of rage.

"The fuck are you going to bring them up! They aren't here, are they?! So I don't want to hear about mom and dad!" The Purge King shouted, hating how his counterpart had brought up their parents. Before anything else can be said, Ram started to shout at the two:

"Shut it, Barusus. You both are annoying."

"..."

"..."

Both Subarus stood silent for a moment as they looked at Ram, seeing how annoyed she was at the pair. This caused a silence in the room for a few seconds before Subaru broke the silence by first offering a hand at his counterpart while saying:

"I know you are scared. You trust nobody considering that you see mostly grey aside from a few individuals. Since I'm one of those individuals, allow me to tell you that you can still change things around. Turn yourself in. Take responsibility for the damage you have caused and try to actually do good for this world. You know this isn't our home and the things you did...are horrible but if you have any good in you, at least show it by letting Ram and Emilia go."

The Purge King had a blank facial expression, completely caught off guard by this yet he started to panic a bit. He pulled his knife out which prompted Subaru to get his defenses ready. As the two Subarus had their weapons out, the Purge King started to shout with anger and fear coming from his voice:

"No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO! NO! Me? Redeemed?! Ha! Like hell that can even fucking happen! If you knew all the shit I have done...all the fucked up things I did to get to where I am...there is no way in hell I can ever be redeemed! You are just...a liar!"

As the Purge King calls Subaru a liar, he begins to see that his counterpart was slowly losing his color, confirming that not even he should trust himself. This caused a small fight to break with the Purge King trying to get close to Subaru in order to stab him to death while Subaru used his whip to keep a distance, seeing that negotiations had failed.

The two were in a bit of a stalemate for a bit until the Purge King got close enough to Subaru by trying to stab the boy's eye yet Subaru was able to dodge the attack and react quick enough to knock the knife out of the Purge King's hand with his whip similar to how he did with the Sin Archbishop of Pride. As he was able to do this, he had a massive headache that caused him to drop the whip while falling to the ground in pain, confusing the Purge King and Ram.

("I am still thankful for that, Beatrice….. Why, back then, did you not kill me?")

("Beatrice, I'm thankful for you. I think I probably did like you. Within that time, only you truly drew close to me, those are my thoughts.")

("...That is, the lowest confession.")

("Halibel, a sword.")

("A sword.")

("You are, with those colors that fit you well, very pretty you know.")

("Are you, they?")

("――You are, Betty's, they, I suppose?")

("I, am your they.")

The Purge King goes to grab his knife in order to kill his counterpart yet when he was about to approach him, he noticed that Subaru had tears in his eyes. Ram also noticed this, somewhat curious on what exactly this Barusu is even crying about. There was a silence for a brief moment before the Purge King tried to kill his counterpart. As he was about to stab Subaru on the back, he could hear him say to him:

"H-How could you?"

"Huh?"

"How could you...how the fuck could you kill Beako?!" Subaru shouted with hatred in his eyes, surprising the Purge King since this helped reverse the loss of colors his counterpart had. With colors once again and seeing the same hate his counterpart has like Ram, it made him happy since he knows that this is how things should be. Subaru got up and continued to shout at his counterpart with complete and utter hatred:

"You say that you trust those you see color and Beako was one of those people who had color...only for you to...you fucking prick! You are right, you aren't forgivable or redeemable at all. You don't deserve it at all! That's why I'm going to beat you and make sure you can't hurt anybody ever again."

"Is that so? Well I'm still going to kill you right here, Natsuki Subaru."

"No, you are not."

The Purge King had not noticed but he felt a knife stab right on the back of his neck. He slowly turned around as he was being chocked by his own blood, seeing that the one who will make him restart again is the fake merchant. As the Purge King fell to the ground, Petra entered the room and quickly noticed Ram.

"Ram-sama!"

The little girl approached Ram to check on her, surprising Ram herself since she wasn't aware of this girl working under Roswaal. Subaru and Otto looked at each other, Subaru showing that he is grateful for what his friend had said while Otto had notice the tear streams on his friend's face.

"What happened, Natsuki-san?"

"D-Don't worry about it...there is just something I have to say to this bastard here."

Otto nodded as he understood that there was some unfinished business between the good Subaru and the bad Subaru. He approached Petra and tried to help free Ram all the while Subaru looked at the dying Purge King, seeing the two looking at each other with different emotions. One had absolute hatred while the other just felt happy that his counterpart hated him. Subaru looked with anger before finally saying to him before the Purge King dies from blood loss:

"I really wanted to believe you were better than the Sin Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru. He was insane and I was hoping that maybe you were a scared boy who got accused for something you never did but in reality, you became something worse. Something that would make Emilia-tan disappointed if not hate you. The fact that you not only killed Beako but even said that you were they for her...you are unforgivable. I, Emilia-tan's knight, is going to make sure you are done in this next loop. I promise you that, Purge King."

The Purge King looked at how much rage Natsuki Subaru has on his eyes which makes the colors the boy has brighten up more closely to what Ram's colors are. This made him smile before finally dying, giving Subaru a few seconds to say something before everything restarts. He looks at Ram as she was left uncertain since the person she hated for so long is dead now. He got her attention when he called her name, seeing the hate in her eyes slowly leaving her. This prompted him to say:

"I promise this Ram, I'm going to save you."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 7: Broken

The Purge King returned to his throne room with his mind blank for a moment, recalling some of the words his counterpart had told him at the end of the previous loop.

("How could you...how the fuck could you kill Beako?!")

("You say that you trust those you see color and Beako was one of those people who had color...only for you to...you fucking prick! You are right, you aren't forgivable or redeemable at all. You don't deserve it at all! That's why I'm going to beat you and make sure you can't hurt anybody ever again.")

'...fuck you, Natsuki Subaru.'

The Purge King's blank eyes had turned into rage, hatred towards his own counterpart. Although he was initially happy that his counterpart is being honest with him, he does dislike the words he said, making him out to be some heartless villain.

This prompted him to get up from his seat, noticing that Halibel and Cecilus were both giving him attention as the pair had taken notice of their boss standing in a different manner. The two give a quick look at each other, both agreeing through a simple look that the Purge King is suddenly angry. The wolf man quickly spoke out in a calm manner, hoping to calm the Purge King with some kind words:

"Boss? Is there anything you'd like me and my pal here to help you out with."

The Purge King at first looked at the wolf man with a stare of death, slightly intimidating the admirer of Kararagi for a brief moment before he blinked, allowing the anger to calm itself down for now. As he calmed down, he looked at the door to his throne room for a moment before looking back at his two guards to say:

"I need you two to check the perimeter for anything nearby. Whether it is a knight, a merchant, or some random fucking traveler! Kill them on the spot. Also if you notice someone that looks like me...kill his ass."

"Understood my liege." Cecilus said as he bowed his head in respect for the Purge King himself.

"Sure thing boss." Halibel spoke with a calm gesture.

The way the two spoke did annoy the Purge King to a small degree, seeing the two as unfaithful to him even if they do listen to his orders due to the fact that he views them in grey. The Purge King sits back on his throne and watches as his two bodyguards leave the room, both having their assignment. Once the two guards left, the Purge King took a moment to look around, assuring that he isn't going to be attacked or being watched before he went through the secret passage, wanting to be in his office for a moment. While he was walking towards his office, he continued to have some memories run in his mind.

("I was anxious and angry when I saw you speaking with Sister. You, someone involved with the one who put Sister through so much…weaseling into our precious home—!")

("Subaru, please. If there's something you can do for Ram and Rem...please.")

("—I'LL KILL YOU!")

("You killed my sissy, so die as a forsaken bastard, even if it's the last thing I do, I will end you with my bare hands.")

("――You are, Betty's, they, I suppose?")

("I owe ya one, boss.")

("Mmh, what is that, that tone is, if you spoil the father's mood he might not let you see his daughter you know, the feelings of a father having a daughter at such a ripe age, if you could understand that more it would make me happy..")

("I'll kill you...I promise you Barusu that I will kill you.")

("Then it is a deal, Natsuki Subaru. I, Cecilus Segmunt, The Blue Lightning of Vollachia, shall fight under your orders from now on.")

("How could you...how the fuck could you kill Beako?!")

The Purge King closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep a calm composure for now until he reached his office. As he was getting closer and closer to the office, he was struggling to hold his anger that had been building up. He continued moving forward and forward until finally he reached his office, filled with hatred in his mind for not just his counterpart but for everyone.

He trusted only those with color and yet he saw what he had done to them, having Emilia locked up with Puck as her guard just to keep her safe despite the fact that Emilia hates him in his eyes, keeping Ram in chains and alive to keep himself from losing his mind, and having killed Beatrice to relieve her of the pain she was had and also to prevent her from losing her color.

With all of these thoughts in mind, he started to grab objects around his office to throw around in a fit of rage, having built up more and more hatred towards the world but more specifically his counterpart, Natsuki Subaru.

"What the hell do you fucking know, asshole!? I had to suffer because of that maid! She viewed me as the threat when I didn't do a damn thing except wanted to be her fucking friend! It just goes to show why I should give a rat's ass to ANYBODY! Emilia-tan looked at me disappointed, horrified for having backed me up and I ran away...ran away like a fucking coward...all for what? To end up in this stupid fucking mess?! I never asked for this damn it! It's all...it's all..."

The Purge King paused himself as he didn't know what else to say, he knows that this is his fault. He chose to run away from everything, he chose to not commit suicide to save Rem all because he never forgave her for the pain she caused him.

This caused the Purge King to just look down, noticing the knife he had with him be on the floor next to his right foot. He slowly went to puck it up and wanted to just commit suicide right there yet he knew this was pointless since he would just loop back to the throne room.

He just lowered the knife and looked at the destroyed office he caused while he was screaming his head off in his rant. The boy from another world, once wanting to help out a beautiful silver haired half-elf girl and now into the most dangerous king in the four kingdoms.

All The Purge King can do now is continue on purging, causing destruction to those he doesn't trust. He looked at the door where Ram is holding out in, seeing that he needed someone to vent about. He approached the door and was about to open it until he recalled her screams of pain and hatred a long time ago.

("—I'LL KILL YOU!")

This caused his hand to shake a bit before he got it under control. As he did this, he slowly opened the door. Once inside the room, he looked straight ahead as Ram slowly moved her head up, looking at the Purge King with absolute hate.

"―Finally, did you come wanting to die, Barusu?" Ram spoke with a calm tone, holding for a moment her pure hatred. The Purge King noticed this and would've allowed it yet he needed to let out his anger.

"Not this go around. I need to take care of Natsuki Subaru."

"...what?" Ram was confused and slightly dumbfounded by what the Purge King had said. "What nonsense are you spouting now, Barusu? Have you finally lost it?"

"Ha...I lost it a long time ago but I guess it would make sense you don't understand what I'm talking about." The Purge King paused himself for a moment to think of what he should say to his prisoner. After a few seconds he said in a calm manner:

"Let's just drop it. I...hate Natsuki Subaru."

"What? You aren't making any sense at all."

"Right...look I just hate this asshole who looks like me and is me I guess. Like hell he knows of all the crap you and your sister put me through—"

"Don't Talk about sissy!" Ram spoke as she tried to attack The Purge King. He looked at her as she tried to attack him, not worried since she wasn't able to due to the chains holding her back. He was silent since he knew he made a mistake speaking about Rem. The two looked at each other, one with a blank expression and the other with pure hatred.

"The moment I get out of these chains, you are a dead man, Barusu."

"I know."

The Purge King turned around and made his way out with Ram just giving him a death stare, wishing death to the Purge King. While she did that, The Purge King managed to get back his calm emotions while he looked around the office. He closed his eyes to keep his emotions in check before leaving the office, having the determination to take down his counterpart.

"You are going to die, Natsuki Subaru. Regardless of the colors on you, I'm going to kill you."

"There is no need for that, Subaru." Reinhard had said in a concerned voice, causing Subaru to get his senses back in order as he realized he just looped. Reinhard waited for a second as he saw the shift in Subaru's emotion from calm and kindness into one of sadness and hatred. This prompted the Sword Saint to ask:

"Are you okay, Subaru?"

"Y-Yeah...can we stop the vehicle real quick...I need a minute." Subaru struggled to speak, having so many mixed emotions coming at him all at once. Reinhard nodded at his friend's request and quickly asked the driver to stop for a bit. The knight noticed this and complied with his request by asking the other knights to stop the wagons.

Otto noticed this and was a bit curious about what this could be about along with Wilhelm, Petra, and Frederica. As all the wagons stopped, Subaru got out and started to run towards the woods, wanting to be far away from everyone for now. This caused Reinhard to worry since he doesn't know what happened to his friend all of a sudden.

Wilhelm was the first to notice this and wanted to help the boy but first he needed to know what exactly happened. He turned towards Reinhard which caused him to instinctively look away, having recalled what the Sword Saint did to Theresia. As he recalled that moment, he also recalled something Subaru had said to the group earlier:

("It's basically the same world as ours with the same people living in it but the course of history is altered here. I was just in one with Julius and Garfiel...we dealt with something devastating but for now, we should just look around to see where we are at.")

'Remember...different history, different Reinhard van Astrea.'

With this thought in mind, he was able to look at the Sword Saint of this world to ask him:

"What happened to Subaru-dono?" Wilhelm spoke in a blank expression which caught Reinhard's attention.

"I-I don't know. He was determined at first but then he suddenly was filled with sorrow and anger...I don't know what happened."

Wilhelm took notice of this, causing him to realize that something must've happened to Subaru. Before anything could be done, Reinhard wanted to go after his friend yet Wilhelm stopped him.

"Allow me to handle this."

"Are you sure? I want to help him out." Reinhard responded, worried for his friend which Wilhelm understood. Before he could answer Reinhard's question, the two heard the little maid approaching them say:

"Where is Subaru going? Is he okay?"

"He...He just needs some space." Wilhelm spoke in a calm manner, hoping that this doesn't worry Petra yet the little girl was aware that something was up even if she wasn't being told. She looked at the direction of where Subaru ran and wanted to go after her hero yet Frederica stopped her.

"Frederica-neesama?"

"We need to give Subaru-sama space."

"B-But—"

"She is right, little one."

Petra looked at Wilhelm, seeing a serious expression on his face. This caused her to just look at Subaru's direction in sadness, wishing to help him. As the four of them watch from a distance, Subaru runs and runs as far away as possible, wanting to be absolutely alone.

Once he was assured that he was away from everyone, all Subaru could do was fall onto his knees with tears dripping down his eyes, having the moment this world's Beatrice was killed. Although this wasn't his Beatrice, it still hurts seeing her die.

"Beako...you deserved better..."

As Subaru was sobbing for a bit, he felt hatred swarming his emotions. At first it was towards The Purge King for having harmed so many innocent people, Ram and Beatrice especially. This hatred eventually grew towards the Sin Archbishop of Pride, having recalled all of the things he had done to that world and the versions of his friends in that world.

'Am I...just destined to be a villain? After all the hell I have gone through for my friends...for Rem...for Emilia-tan...am I going to turn evil...?'

Subaru didn't know what to do since he had seen what he could become had he been too prideful to call for help or filled with so much hatred to not forgive Rem and try to save her. He starts to wonder what else he could have done to turn evil.

'Did I run away when I wanted to give up? Did I accept Echidna's contract in some parallel timeline? What else did I do to ruin the world...?'

As Subaru just sat on the ground, hating himself since he wished that he could've done everything right the first loop. While he stayed on the ground for many minutes, he tried to summon Beatrice from his world, trying to bring her where he was since they are contracted but as he kept attempting to try this, all he felt was something like static. Like he could reach out, but the link wouldn't connect properly.

'Why? I know I can summon her, I think. Why can't I see...Beako? I want to tell her that I'm sorry...I just want to mess with her hair, see her smile...'

"Because that's not how it works."

Subaru was shocked when he heard this, feeling like it has been a long while since he has spoken to the watcher.

'What do you mean?'

"Look Natsuki Subaru, I need you to know that you can't just summon whoever you want, even if you are contracted with said person. There is a reason why I can only send you a specific person—"

'I don't give a shit! Let me see Beako!'

"No! There is an order I have to keep. If people just jump around different timelines, it'll be a mess to keep things in order, so no!"

'Screw you, you annoying piece of shit!'

"Do you think I WANT to do this?! There is an order and reason for things. So stop bitching at me for stuff and actually fix your own damn problem without giving up every loop!"

'It's not even that. We literally swore to never be apart. So Beako never had to feel alone anymore. Do you know what it's like to feel completely, utterly alone like I have? Like she has?'

"More than I'm willing to share with you, yes. My point stands. Stop whining and start working towards a solution."

Subaru thinks with anger in his mind seeing just how many things both the Purge King and the Sin Archbishop of Pride had done to their respective worlds. This thinking caused him to just keep putting his mind deeper and deeper into darkness until he could hear that someone was approaching him.

This not only snapped him out of his dark mind but also he quickly wiped away the tears, not wanting whoever is approaching to see him so pathetic. Once he did this, he turned around to see that it was Wilhelm Trias. The old butler had waited long enough before going after him, wanting to check up on him.

"S-Sorry about that. I just needed some time to think." Subaru said, not wanting to worry Wilhelm yet this sentence only brought more concern for the old butler. Wilhelm approached the boy and set his hand on his shoulder while saying:

"I understand Subaru-dono but it doesn't hurt to talk about your problems with others."

"Y-Yeah, I know what you mean." Subaru had a small smile as he said this, having recalled back in the Sanctuary when he was punched in the face by his best friend, Otto, for trying to do everything on his own. This brought him hope for a moment before his eyes returned to despair since he was afraid of what he could become.

"Wilhelm...I have come to learn that this world's version of me is the Purge King. He is a bad person and I can't help but feel like...I could end up like that."

There was a pause as Wilhelm was caught off guard by this information, slowly piecing together the reason why Subaru ran into the forest alone with a shift of emotions like Reinhard had said. This prompted the old butler to take a moment to think carefully to find the right words before saying:

"You shouldn't think like that, Subaru-dono. If this world's Subaru-dono went down the wrong path, that is their choice. Their choices are not your responsibility."

"I am aware of this but I can't help but wonder...if I'm destined to be a villain...someone who would hurt innocent people. Back when I started this weird adventure, I met this Sin Archbishop of Pride that just so happened to be me. He didn't have anybody and had to suffer when he fought that crazy Bowel Hunter. Reinhard wasn't there for that version and he turned into an unredeemable bastard. The Purge King is no different. He was trying to avoid trouble and even had Beako protecting him yet Rem died and he was blamed for it. Because of this he distrusted everyone. I would've understand if he didn't returned to help Emilia-tan, if he just made a better life somewhere else but no, he chose to hire Halibel the admirer and Cecilus Segmunt the Blue Lightning to kill Ros-chi and...kill Beako..."

Subaru paused as he wasn't able to continue speaking since he felt horrible even thinking about his contracted spirit being killed by his own hand. The boy tried to hold the tears, not wanting to cry in front of someone he cared about yet the old butler just set his hand on the boy's shoulder once again, trying to comfort him. Subaru noticed this and just continued to speak:

"I just can't help but think that the more I go to these worlds...the more I discover just how dangerous I can become. How much evil is probably inside of me, ready to control me and use everything I have worked for against me and those I have fought so hard for. I just don't know what to do anymore."

As Subaru finished speaking and just looked down with despair in his eyes, Wilhelm processed for a moment on everything he had just heard, seeing that this has had a big effect on the boy he cares about like a grandson. After a few seconds of silence, Wilhelm began to speak in a proud parent like manner:

"Subaru-dono, I understand that it is hard having to face a version of yourself that has gone the wrong path. I understand but you are not like them. You didn't join the Witch cult like the Sin Archbishop of Pride version of yourself or let that distrust consume you into something like the Purge King. You are Natsuki Subaru-dono, the knight for Emilia-sama. You are a good person and one that I care about."

Subaru looked at Wilhelm with a slightly dumbfounded facial expression yet he was unsure how to respond to this. This caused him to have a few tears streaming down his eyes, unsure on how to feel about this until both him and Wilhelm heard someone speak behind them, addressing to Subaru:

"You shouldn't think like that, Subaru-sama! You are a hero...my hero!"

The two turn to see that it is Petra there, speaking with Reinhard and Frederica behind her. Subaru wiped away the tears that were still in his face away as fast as he could, not wanting Reinhard, Frederica, and Petra to see him like this.

As he did this, Petra ran towards him to hug him, wanting to help comfort her hero. Frederica allowed this since she knows that Subaru needs someone there for him. As Petra was hugging Subaru, she continued to speak to him:

"You are always looking out for everyone's sake. You protected my friends and I from the Mabeast. You came back to save the village from the Witch cult and from that horrible Roswaal. You go out of your way to help everyone. That makes you a hero!"

Subaru just listened for a moment before having a small smile, a small semblance of hope since he is hearing another person care for him. As this was going on, Reinhard looks with a bit of sadness since he wished that he could've done something to help a friend.

'I really am a failure...'

Reinhard thought this as he could see that a little girl did a better job at helping Subaru than him, the Sword Saint. Although he felt bad that he was useless, he did smile as he could see that his friend is recovering from his despair with Frederica looking proudly at Petra for helping Subaru.

As the two watched, Subaru just wanted to let go of all the pain he was feeling, wanting to have a moment to tell his friends just how much it hurts having to deal with everything on his own until he recalls something Otto had told him back in the Sanctuary.

("Then, for the sake of those girls, to at least supplement the portions beyond what their eyes can see, surely it is fine to have someone lend you a hand? –a friend, perhaps?")

'Seems like I owe you for this one, Otto.' Subaru thought, seeing just how much influence Otto had made to him. He slowly got up and looked at the four people standing before him, seeing that they are depending on him, especially with what's to come. Although he is still heartbroken that this world is also another where Rem is dead, he knows that there are three people counting on him to save.

He has to save Frederica from her despair, free Emilia from her prison, and save Ram though he knows that the last one is going to be a lot harder since she will try to kill him the first chance she gets. Seeing that this is going to be a problem on his own, he needed at the very least his friends there to help him.

"There is something you must know. The Purge King is Natsuki Subaru, the one Reinhard helped way back then."

Wilhelm knew this information from what he gathered from Subaru when he was trying to help him yet it still felt horrible hearing this. Frederica had a serious look, understanding now why Subaru had ran off. Petra was shocked by this news, having a hard time believing this. Reinhard was at a pause, shocked at the news which prompted him to ask:

"What are you talking about, Subaru?"

"Right...so Rein, we are from another version of this world. All of us here at least from what I know."

"...is that so?" Reinhard said as he crossed his arms and started to understand the situation. He knew that Subaru wouldn't lie to him considering how he was earlier but if that were the case, that made him realize that his friend, the one he met a few years back in the alleyway and in the loot house, went down the wrong path. As Reinhard was trying to process all of this, Subaru continued to speak:

"There is also more news. As I told Wilhelm, the Purge King has two of the strongest warriors in the four kingdoms. He managed to get Halibel the Admirer through some debt he got the wolf man in. He also got Cecilus the Blue Lightning through some deal which involves you, Rein."

"Me?" Reinhard said with a confused tone, uncertain that Cecilus would work for someone like the Purge King. Subaru was aware of this from his previous loops, which prompted him to say:

"I know it seems far-fetched since he would be working for the emperor of Vollachia but the deal was to take you down. That's all I know for now."

Reinhard crossed his arms and closed his eyes to think on this, seeing that this could prove a problem for the others since all the knights with him would get killed within a second if they faced the Blue Lightning of Vollachia. Not to mention how this could cause a war between the two kingdoms to spark if word got out of Cecilus' involvement.

Wilhelm had also noticed the problems with this as well since not even he is capable of facing a divine general of Vollachia in his age, much less the Blue Lightning himself. While the two thought of this, Frederica spoke out to ask in a polite and respectful manner:

"Subaru-sama, is there a plan to deal with the Purge King and his assistants?"

Reinhard, Petra, and Wilhelm all three noticed this and looked at Subaru, wanting to see if he had a plan to deal with this. Subaru at first tried to think of many plans that could be used. The first was repeating the events of the last loop yet he feels that his counterpart would be aware of what he was trying to do.

His other plan involved sneaking in but he felt that the Purge King would've increased security this time to prevent something like this. He kept trying to think of many other ideas but most would likely get everyone but Reinhard killed since an all out strike against everyone would eventually lead them all to die. As he was struggling to think of a plan, he figured that this should be a group plan.

"I don't have a plan, which is why I want to have all of us working on this plan."

Reinhard and Wilhelm both nodded at this, both wanting to assist Subaru in stopping the Purge King. Frederica and Petra were a bit unsure on what they can contribute, especially Petra since she doesn't have fighting experience and is arguably the weakest of the group. Frederica prompted to ask:

"We should know our objectives first before trying to target the two strongest warriors under the Purge King's command."

"Is there anything that we should do first before taking down the Purge King, Subaru-dono?"

Subaru looked at Wilhelm for a moment, noticing the question he was asked. He stood silent for a few seconds before answering with:

"The first is getting the Frederica of this world free. She is afraid of the Purge King and if we can get through to her, we might even be able to gain an extra ally. The second is freeing Emilia-tan."

"Wait, so the Purge King has Emilia-sama hostage?" Reinhard asked as this was something that he needed to know. Subaru took note of the concerned tone in Reinhard's voice, causing him to respond in a calm manner:

"She isn't in any harm thanks to her contracted spirit, Puck. The problem though is that Puck thinks that having Emilia-tan locked up will keep her safe but—"

"—That is wrong!" Petra said to which Subaru agreed.

"Yeah, it is wrong which is why we need to get him on board on our side if we want even a small chance to help Emilia-tan."

Frederica, Wilhelm, and Reinhard nodded at this statement, agreeing that they can't leave Emilia locked up. This prompted Reinhard to ask in a curious tone:

"What is the last objective, Subaru?"

"The last one is...to save Ram." Subaru said with some hesitance in his voice. This caught Frederica and Petra's attention more than Wilhelm and Reinhard, seeing that one of their friends and fellow maid coworkers is in trouble.

"What did the Purge King do to Ram-sama?" Frederica asked first, worried for her friend's sake. Subaru stayed silent for a moment, trying to find a way to explain what is going on with Ram. As he was hesitant for a moment, he eventually figured out what to say.

"Ram is a prisoner to the Purge King in his private office. I don't think he has harmed her but he is keeping her around because he can see colors in her."

"Colors?" Both Reinhard and Wilhelm said in unison, both a bit confused by this. As they both said this, the two looked at each other for a brief moment before looking forward. Subaru figured he should explain what the meaning behind the colors is with the Purge King.

"He only views those he trusts with colors."

"...then why is Ram-sama and Emilia-sama locked up?!" Petra exclaimed as she found this distasteful. Subaru looked at her and knew that he didn't have that answer himself since he also questions his counterpart on this. All he did was stay silent, showing Petra that he doesn't have the answer to this at all. She just looked down with Frederica finding the Purge King disturbing the more she learned about him. The five of them stood silent for a bit before Subaru said in a calm manner:

"Regardless, that is the objective. Getting Frederica of this world to help us. Save Emilia by convincing Puck to help us. And lastly, getting to Ram before the Purge King does."

"With those objectives, we could work together to complete them one at a time." Wilhelm said as he believed teamwork is the key to beating the Purge King. Subaru nodded at this as he agreed, seeing that when they work as a group, they are able to do more than when they are alone.

"Well, we could always do the original plan with Otto Suwen." Reinhard said, knowing that this is the original plan they had before encountering Subaru and his group.

"I wish that would be the case but the Purge King knows we are on our way." Subaru responded which surprised the others.

"B-But how?" Petra asked.

"He...just knows. Let's think of something else."

"How about an attack?" Petra asked as she wanted to try and contribute something to the pattack from the front wouldn't be wise, Petra-chan. I suggest we try to sneak our way around, attack them from the inside." Frederica proposed, seeing that attacking from the front is not only reckless but also something that would alert the Purge King of their presence.

Subaru had a blank expression to this since he did try that in the previous loop which worked only because his counterpart wasn't expecting something like that. He crossed his arms as he didn't know what to think of until something came to mind.

"We could go with the plan only this time having Wilhelm and Petra be a part of it." Subaru said as he started to think of a plan that could work. Frederica immediately responded with:

"Absolutely not. I will not allow Petra-chan to be put in danger like that." Subaru felt a bit of intimidation as Frederica spoke out her mind in a stern voice. This prompted the boy to quickly respond with:

"I get it but the Purge King only trusts those with color and I'm willing to place my bets that Petra won't be harmed."

"That is still too risky, Natsuki Subaru-sama." Frederica continued her stern tone, not liking this idea at all. Wilhelm and Reinhard both looked at Frederica before looking at Subaru, both of them having the same mindset as the big maid. Before they could say anything, Petra spoke out:

"I want to help! I don't want to just be on the sidelines."

"Petra-chan, you shouldn't shout."

"S-Sorry. I just want to help..." Petra looked down as she really feels helpless that all she can do is watch those she cares about do things while she is stuck waiting for their safe return. Frederica took note of this and knew that this was the right thing, to have Petra away from danger and yet she also felt that Petra needed to learn how to handle dangerous situations. Before she could make a choice, she needed to confirm something.

"Why do you want Petra-chan out there, Subaru-sama?"

"Because..." Subaru paused as his mind recalled something he heard from the watcher in the first loop of this world.

("Because, she will serve a purpose.")

("The people I send as your allies can and will be helpful in their own right. Wilhelm van Astrea being the skilled swords, Frederica Baumann being the muscle like Garfiel, and Petra Leyte being the emotional support...in a sense.")

"Because Petra is here for a reason. Maybe she is the key to beating the Purge King."

Frederica, Reinhard, and Wilhelm were hesitant to go with this idea yet both Frederica and Wilhelm just nodded at the boy, having seen all the things he had accomplished despite how risky most of his choices were. Reinhard was still hesitant by this since he didn't like having a child in harm's way.

"I don't know Subaru, this might be a little much."

"I get your concerns, Rein, but all I ask is for you to trust me on this." Subaru said with a determined look on his face, slightly convincing Reinhard somewhat. The Sword Saint just crossed his arms and looked worried for a moment before just trusting Subaru's judgement. As they were on their way to meet up with Otto and the other knights, the group paused as they saw a bright light appearing out of nowhere.

"What is—?"

"Just so you know, Natsuki Subaru, I'm only doing this because I feel bad for you."

'Oh fuck off watcher!'

"Hey, you were the one that wanted this. Besides, I can't keep contracts from being accomplished."

'Wait, what are you—?'

Before Subaru could finish his thought towards the watcher, the bright light flashed for a moment, blinding the group for a few seconds. After the light had disappeared, the group looked with Petra happy, Frederica surprised, and Subaru having a big smile on his face.

"I'm only doing this once so don't waste this opportunity."

'Understood...thank you.'

"Yeah Yeah. Whatever."

Subaru looked at their new ally as she was giving the boy a stare for a moment before saying:

"Well then, will someone please explain what is going on, I suppose?"

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 8: Patience

The Purge King returned to the Throne Room to see that both Cecilus and Halibel were waiting for him there. The two turned towards the entrance to see the Purge King entering with a different manner. The two guards looked at each other for a moment, both of them slightly unsure on what their boss is going to do. They both then turned towards The Purge King with Halibel being the one to ask:

"Are ya alright, boss?"

The Purge king looked at the wolf man, having noticed the calm gesture he was in when asking him that question. He stood silent for a moment, still having his blank expression as he passed the two. As he was walking back to his throne room seat, he responded to Halibel's question in a serious manner:

"That's none of your concern, Halibel. Now, why are you both here?"

"Well my liege, we have inspected the entire base of operations and even a bit of the woods. Halibel and I didn't find anybody." Cecilus quickly responded in a respectful gesture, catching the Purge King's attention.

'Hm. I guess he is trying to play it safe this time. How annoying.'

The Purge King sat down on his seat and began to think of ways his counterpart would try to attack this time, knowing that this won't be like last time with a reckless plan of just going on a full on assault. The Purge King had a little chuckle when he thought of the last loop, finding it a bit stupid but funny just how far his counterpart would go to just get in to save Emilia.

'Since he knows about Ram, I should have one of my guards take care of that. I also should probably alert Puck about this. I don't want that bastard trying anything.'

The Purge King knew that his counterpart could convince Puck to go against him though lucky for him, he would have Cecilus by his side should that happen. Just as he was going to see Emilia and Puck, one of the mercenaries enters the throne room in a calm manner, something the Purge King took note of.

"My liege, we have a couple of people are approaching us."

Cecilus and Halibel both looked at each other with some concern, knowing that this isn't something they saw when they were outside. This caused the two to slowly turn towards the Purge King, a bit uncertain how he would react to this. As they look at their boss, they could see that he still has his blank expression. The Purge King just stood silent for a few seconds, processing what the mercenary had told him. This prompted him to ask with a bit of curiosity:

"Can you describe these people?"

"Y-Yes my liege. There is a merchant with a suit. Along with a few other merchants."

'Ah, the bastard that stabbed me last loop brought his false merchant friends. Glad to see that I can get my revenge on that jackass.' The Purge King thought as the mercenary continued to speak.

"With him is an old butler from the looks of it."

'The old man? Hm. Interesting choice. I mean he is a fighter but he does remind me of someone...I can't put my finger on it.' The Purge King thought as well, a bit curious to know who exactly this butler is. The mercenary continued:

"And lastly, from the looks of it a little maid."

'A little maid? The hell?' The Purge King was completely caught off guard by this, causing him to be tempted to see what his counterpart is up to. He got up from his seat in a calm manner while saying to the mercenary:

"Let them in. I want to know what they want."

"U-Understood, Purge King."

The mercenary bowed at him before leaving the throne room as fast as he could. While the mercenary left, both Cecilus and Halibel wondering what is going through the Purge King's mind. The Purge King closed his eyes for a moment before turning towards Halibel to say:

"Halibel, go to my office and stay there. Guard it with your life. Should anybody that isn't me come in, kill them on the spot."

"Understood boss."

Halibel nodded at The Purge King and started to move towards the exit of the throne room. While he was leaving, the two guards of the pleiades group looked at each other for a moment before they looked away with Halibel looking at the exit while Cecilus turned towards his boss. The Purge King could see that Cecilus is waiting to see what he would be doing. This prompted him to say:

"Don't worry, Cecilus. I have a job for you that relates to our deal but for now, I need you to be my guard. At least for now."

"...I understand, my liege."

Cecilus bowed at the Purge King has he understood what he was telling him, causing the blue lightning to keep his desire to fight the Sword Saint in check for now. As Cecilus stopped bowing, the two waited for a bit as the mercenary was bringing in the outsiders. While they waited for a couple of minutes, the Purge King crossed his arms and closed his eyes to go into deep thought of the situation he is in.

'Who else is my counterpart bringing in? I don't recall seeing any maids, let alone a small one since our battle had begun.'

The Purge King tried to think of all the people that it could be, trying to see if it is anybody from his world that is alive or if it is someone from his counterpart's world. As he thought of this, he had something come to his mind.

'Regardless of who he brings, they won't have any color with them. That old butler doesn't have any color, so regardless of who you bring Natsuki Subaru, it won't affect me.' The Purge King thought confidently, knowing better than to trust anything his counterpart is up to. He sat down and waited patiently until finally the false merchant and his group arrived to the throne room with a couple of his mercenaries surrounding them, preparing themselves for a fight. As the room was starting to get tense, the Purge King looked at Otto with a cautious facial expression, not trusting in whatever the fake merchant was up to.

"What do you want, "Merchant"?" The Purge King said in a sarcastic like way which Otto picked up on this. Although slightly nervous now, he knew that he had to keep up with Subaru's plan.

"Oh, just some here for some business—"

"Take your business to hell, ki—" The Purge King cut Otto off, wanting to kill the fake merchant for what he did in the previous loop yet he himself was cut off when a familiar voice spoke out against him.

"Subaru?"

"I'm not...wait, that voice. I recognize that voice. Are you...?"

Before the Purge King could even dare to finish his words as he saw the familiar girl, the one he failed to save the moment he chose to run away. The little maid looked at the Purge King with such a surprised and concerned facial expression, seeing just how bad her hero's counterpart looks. The Purge King himself was a bit surprised, seeing Petra with colors brought joy to him since it would make sense, a child that looked up to him, that he once cared for, would have her colors still. Before anything could be done, he returned back to a more serious state. As he did this, he pointed his finger at Otto specifically while saying to his guards:

"Take his group outside of the throne room and keep an eye on them while I talk to the little maid. Any sudden movements and they all die, understood?"

"Y-Yes my liege."

The mercenaries understood the orders and quickly started to take Otto, Wilhelm and the others out of the room. Wilhelm wanted to stay and protect Petra but Otto grabbed his arm, showing that it would be risking trying to defy the Purge King.

"We need to trust in Natsuki-san's plan."

"...right."

Wilhelm nodded at this statement before looking at Petra, noticing that she is scared yet trying to keep a brave face. All he could do is give her a nod before going outside with the others. Cecilus looked at his master to know what he would like him to do. The Purge King stood still for a moment, first wanting to assure that Otto and the others had left before giving Cecilus his orders, knowing that the Blue Lightning of Vollachia is getting a bit desperate. Once he saw that it was just Petra, he turned towards Cecilus and signaled him to come closer. The Blue Lightning obeyed this request and approached the Purge King before being whispered the orders.

"The Sword Saint is here somewhere, go find him and do what you came here to do."

"Understood my liege."

Cecilus bowed as he spoke with some excitement in his voice, ready to face his rival. As Cecilus leaves the room swiftly, Petra was preparing herself for whatever her hero's counterpart was going to do to her. The Purge King noticed this and quickly wanted to clarify:

"I won't do anything to you, Petra-chan. You don't need to worry about that."

"Wh-What happened to you, Subaru-sama?" Petra spoke with hesitation, not sure how she should feel seeing the Natsuki Subaru of this world so broken, so evil looking. The Purge King had a moment to pause when he heard the little maid girl saying his name, something he doesn't normally like but seeing that she is a child, he ignored it. He approached the girl only to see her slowly backing away. This slightly hurt yet he understood why Petra would do this, she views him as a threat.

'Not like I blame her, I don't deserve her forgiveness or kind-hearted nature. I'm nothing more than a monster.' The Purge King thought this, knowing that this is something true regardless of what very few would ever tell him. He lowered to the ground to be on one knee to look at Petra, wanting to make sure he and the little girl had eye contact as he continued their conversation.

"How are you still...alive...? I know when I went back, I learned...I learned that you and the others were..."

("What do you care? The children died a long while back. The Margrave was supposed to protect us but he didn't.")

The Purge King recalled how hurt he was having to hear the bad news of all the children of the village having been killed. Since he knows that Petra and the others are dead, he was a bit curious on how he is seeing Petra alive right now.

"Now Petra-chan, tell me the truth. How are you alive?"

"Well...um..." Petra struggled to say since this is not only going against Subaru's plan but something she isn't sure herself. While she showed hesitation to answer, the Purge King looked closely at the little girl before being able to deduce that she is telling him the truth. Having met all untrustworthy people, he had slowly picked up when someone is directly lying to him despite everything mainly looking gray to him. He got up and started to try to think on what exactly was Petra's purpose of being here.

'For sure it is the handy work of that bastard, Natsuki Subaru. But the thing I don't get is...why the fuck is he sending in a child?! Is he really that damn desperate? Hell, not even I would do something like that, the fucking dumbass!'

The Purge King began to criticize his counterpart, not getting what is the purpose to sending Petra though it was something he was okay with since he gets to see the little girl once again. He still holds regret that he didn't realize that Petra from his world and her friends were in danger. Had he learned this prior to taking Beatrice's deal to escape, he might have stayed to at the very least save them. Although he had failed to save Petra and the children of the village, he sees this as an opportunity to save this Petra from any future dangers and from his counterpart. He turned around and started to make his way back towards his seat where his secret passage is located. As he was walking, he spoke to Petra:

"Follow me Petra-chan, there is someone you have to meet."

"O-Okay."

The little maid responded, still on her guard while also trying to think of something in case she needs to defend herself from Subaru's counterpart. The two left the throne room but as that happened, Otto was able to listen to the conversation by staying close to the door, being lucky that he was able to understand what was going on. He turned towards Wilhelm and gave him a confident nod, indicating that their part of the plan should begin. Wilhelm understood this and without warning he pulled out his sword and swiftly took down the mercenaries guarding them. The remaining mercenary noticed this and was about to shoutout for reinforcements yet Otto managed to get close enough to deliver a punch to the mercenary's face, knocking him out. As Otto accomplishes this, the knights all got out their swords to prepare themselves for a fight.

"Seems like that was close, right Wilhelm-san?"

"Indeed. I still don't like leaving little Petra-chan alone with...this Subaru-dono." Otto looked at the butler as he noticed him struggling to say the boy's name, knowing how hard it must've been to see the counterpart of someone important. Otto also felt off when he saw just how alike the two Natsuki Subarus are, yet he can tell they are different. Aside from looks, their personalities and the way they speak tells it all. He sets his hand on the butler's shoulder while saying to him in a respectful manner:

"I know it's hard but remember, that isn't Natsuki-san. That in there is the Purge King, the version of Natsuki-san we need to stop. We still have your version of Natsuki-san, a good person."

Wilhelm took note of what Otto had said and nodded with a confident facial expression. As he got his doubts to slowly fade away, the group quickly start making their way towards the location Subaru had given them, being the rondevu point the boy had given them.

Petra and the Purge King continued to walk for a bit with Petra being a bit cautious since she doesn't trust this Natsuki Subaru. From the moment she saw him, she could tell that this Subaru is dangerously broken. And the conversation with him assisted her in confirming that this Subaru holds tremendous amount of guilt but acts on it in the wrong way. The Purge King looked at Petra for a moment before looking forward again, having some of his own thoughts telling him that having her around is a trap.

He knows that his counterpart wouldn't do something without reason just like when he had Reinhard attack everybody on his own in a previous loop or when he did a reckless assault on his base of operations. Because of those two and the last thing he heard him say to Ram, this made him more paranoid on what his counterpart could be up to.

As he was on guard, Petra eventually started to ask how long it will take since the pair had been walking for a couple of minutes. The Purge King noticed this question and quickly responded in a calm manner:

"We are almost there. Sorry if I'm not talking to you a lot, I guess it's all just a little...surreal."

"I understand...I think." Petra said, trying to keep the Purge King from getting mad at her or anything of the sorts. Though hearing that line from Petra sparked the Purge King to have a bit of interest in not only the little girl's history but to learn more about his counterpart.

"What exactly happened with my counterpart?"

"What do you mean?" Petra asked in a confused tone of voice, not sure what the Purge King meant. The Purge King notices this and quickly rephrases the question.

"Sorry. I wanted to ask how you two met?"

"Um well..." Petra was at a pause, having figured out that this Subaru wants to find a weakness of her Subaru. Despite being a kid, Petra was able to pick up on this which made her cautious on anything that could be used on her Subaru. "...he came to the village with Ram-sama, showing us his calisthenics. After that, there was this girl, Meili...she had a Mabeast and put my friends and I in danger. Both Ram-sama and Subaru-sama saved our lives."

Petra had a smile on her face as she said this, having fond memories of her hero going out of his way to save her friends and her from the Mabeast. The Purge King noticed this and just stood looking forward with somehow the very first genuine smile he has ever had in a long time. Although in the world's time it would've been around two years since he smiled, it had been an eternity for the boy. He only kept this smile for a few seconds before returning to a default state while he started to notice something wrong.

'Wait, she mentioned that my counterpart went with Ram instead of R—her. Hm. Something is wrong here.'

The Purge King knows that the history goes that it was him and Rem that went to the village together. Hearing that instead of Rem it was Ram that went with him puts him a bit off edge since something changed.

"What happened to Re—am's sister?" The Purge King asked in a polite manner, hoping that this would work on the little maid yet she was aware that telling him about Rem would be used against her Subaru. She took a moment to think on what she should say before coming up with something that isn't a lie.

"Rem was never there. Nobody knows her."

"What?!"

The Purge King stopped on his tracks as what he heard was too much important information to ignore. He turns towards her and tries to grab her arms gently while he says:

"What do you mean Re—am's sister wasn't there?"

"She wasn't. She didn't exist..."

"What does that mean?!" The Purge King started to shake her a bit which resulted in him receiving a kick to the face. This not only caught him off guard but also snapped him from his mindset. Before he could say anything, Petra started to run away from him, prompting the Purge King to follow.

'Damn it, I got carried away. I should keep myself in check next time.'

As the Purge King thinks this with disappointment towards himself, he manages to catch up to the little girl and starts to apologize.

"Sorry. I didn't meant to do that...just that the history of events are too different that I just...I'm sorry."

"..." Petra stood silent as she feared this world's Subaru, something that the Purge King picked up on and understood.

"...Let's just go. I promise not to do anything like that anymore. Come on."

Petra was hesitant to follow the Purge King yet she knew that she had a job to distract the Purge King long enough for her Subaru to get to Emilia of this world. She reluctantly follows the Purge King for a bit, the two walking slowly towards a large door. Petra was a bit skeptical when she saw this, unsure what exactly the Purge King is leading her to. As she was hesitant to say anything, she noticed the Purge King say to the door,

"Puck. Come on out."

"...Puck?" Petra said with a slight curious voice until she noticed a familiar figure forming into a cat. This caused her to be very surprised since she didn't think she would see the cat spirit after having been told by her world's Emilia what had happened to him. Once Puck was complete in his cat form, he looked at the Purge King for a moment before looking at Petra, having noticed her within seconds.

"Subaru, who is this girl with you? Trying to kidnap a child?" Puck said in a playful way which both Petra and The Purge King didn't found the comment funny.

"I'm not a kidnapper so shut it with that. And stop calling me that name." The Purge King spoke in a serious tone.

"Well then, what brings you here? Is it time to see my daughter?"

"I wish but I have a request. Protect this girl. I want her safe along with Emilia-tan." The Purge King said this as he looked at Petra for a moment, noticing that she is still scared of him. Puck also picked up on this yet he didn't bother with it since his focus was on another subject.

"So...is this girl more important than my daughter?" Puck asked with a slight threatening manner, causing the area to get a bit tense with the temperature dropping slowly. The Purge King did not flitch at this and just gave Puck an unimpressed look.

"You should know by now that Emilia-tan is the most important thing for me. I just want this girl, who has colors, to also be safe. Is it wrong to want an innocent child safe?" This kind of talk left Puck completely silent since this is something morally right...if it had been Natsuki Subaru from the loot house but this version is just bringing some excuse to counter his questioning. He looked at the child and could see that she is scared but also confused of the situation. This prompted the spirit to think for a moment before speaking:

"...I have my eyes on you, Natsuki Subaru." The Beast of the end spoke with a threatening manner, something that the Purge King could care less.

"..."

The Purge King just kept his mouth shut as he watched the beast of the end open the vault that kept Emilia safe. As he did this, he turned towards Petra and wanted to say something, yet he knew that anything he said wouldn't be believable or reassuring to the little maid. As he was leaving, Puck turned towards Petra before signaling her to follow him inside. Once inside, Emilia looked up and noticed that it was a little girl in a maid outfit.

"Oh. Hello. What is your name?"

"P-Petra." She spoke with some hesitation, a bit uncertain on why she was afraid of this Emilia despite the silver haired half elf not looking like a threat. Emilia approached Petra and found the little maid cute yet she was a bit curious on why she was there.

"Why are you here? Did Subaru send you?"

"S-Sort of..."

"Sort of?"

Emilia looked with a confused facial expression. Puck took notice of this but first he closed the door to his daughter's room before going towards the two females to explain the situation. Once he did this, he started to approach the pair to explain. Petra turned towards the door and once she saw that it was closed, she closed her eyes as she thought to herself, 'Subaru...where are you?'

"Um, Petra-chan? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry Lia, she is just scared."

"Scared? Why?" Emilia looked at Puck with a curious look, something that gave the floating cat spirit a bit of guilt since he can't reveal the truth to her. As he felt some guilt, he felt that something was off in the atmosphere.

'What in earth is going on? I can sense that something is trying to enter this place but who?'

Puck looked around with concern in his cat like face, noticing that something is trying to enter through Yin magic while Emilia looked at him with a concerned face herself. She noticed him being concerned which caused her to be concern.

"Puck, is everything alright?"

"...don't worry Lia, everything is fine."

"You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"No, I would never lie to you, Lia."

Emilia was hesitant by this since she felt that Puck could be lying yet she decided to trust her contracted spirit. Puck kept his guard up for a moment before lowering it once he noticed that nothing was going to happen. As his guard was lowered, he let out a sigh before looking at his daughter. He was at the very least happy that she was safe yet the moment he was about to approach his daughter and the little maid, a random portal appears.

Emilia was startled by this, Puck got himself ready for a fight, and lastly Petra let out a reliving sigh since she knows who it is. There was a moment of pause before two people came through, a familiar boy with nasty eyes, black spikey hair, and a more healthy looking body. With him was a familiar drill-haired girl with butterfly eyes. Puck lowered his guard as he didn't think he would see his sister once again while Emilia was happy to see a familiar face.

"Subaru!" Emilia shouted in a happy voice.

"Betty..." Puck said in a sad tone of voice, surprised yet sadden that he is seeing her again after hearing that she had died back in the mansion. This caused the cat spirit to approach his sister while Beatrice herself was caught off guard by this encounter has well. The last time she had seen him was during the time when the Sin Archbishop of Sloth was preparing to attack Arlem village. As the two looked each other for a moment, Beatrice grabbed Puck to give him a hug, something that he was surprised yet he accepted while Subaru looked at the approaching Emilia, seeing how happy she is to see him.

"Subaru, I thought you said that Beatrice-sama died?" Emilia spoke in a curious tone.

"..." Subaru wasn't expecting such a blunt question to which Beatrice even heard this, causing her moment to be ruined.

"Wait what?" Beatrice opened her eyes as she took a moment to process what Emilia had asked before responding with, "I'm not dead, in fact! What is the meaning of this, Subaru?!" The little spirit girl approached her contractor in a slightly angered tone, annoyed and also angry at him since he didn't tell her the whole situation. Subaru would normally laugh it off yet this is a big moment he skimmed over when informing Beatrice of the situation. This caused him to hesitate for a moment before telling Beatrice:

"Sorry, I guess I skimmed a few things but first let's do our part of the plan."

"...you owe me an explanation, I suppose!" Beatrice said with her anger slowly going away.

"I will." Subaru said in a determined tone, reassuring his contracted spirit before looking at Emilia, noticing that she was just confused. Puck also was a bit confused of the encounter since he had mixed feelings. Subaru took a moment to look at Emilia's amethyst eyes before turning towards Petra to pat her in the head.

"You did really good, Petra-chan. I'm proud of you."

Petra couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly happy hearing that from her crush meanwhile Emilia was left stunned by those words. The area started to slowly get cold with Emilia feeling something in her saying that this isn't right. Subaru, Petra, and Beatrice all three took note of this and quickly calmed the situation with Subaru being the one to speak:

"Emilia-tan, Puck, I probably should tell you two that Beako, Petra-chan, and I are not from this world."

"Not...from this world?" Emilia asked as the tension was deescalated with a simple sentence. Both Puck and Emilia just looked at each other with some confusion since they didn't understand the statement Subaru had just said. Puck looked at Beatrice before looking at Subaru once again, having finally noticed that this Natsuki Subaru is much more sane, more caring for others compared to the Purge King he has been familiar with. This caused him to slowly understand yet have more questions than answers. While Puck had lots of questions, Emilia just looked at Subaru with a confused expression before saying:

"So...there are two Subarus?"

"I mean in a sense, yes." Subaru said as he figured this was one way of seeing things yet he wanted to make a clarification. "Though Emilia-tan, the Subaru you are aware of and me are two different Natsuki Subarus. He lived the life you know while I lived a more honorable life."

"How honorable would you say?" Puck said with some skepticism in his voice. Beatrice took note on what her brother had said, causing her to quickly respond to the question:

"Betty's Subaru is quite stubborn and a very bad contractor, I suppose."

"Hey! How is that helping?!" Subaru spoke with a fake insulted voice, something he usually does when Beatrice says such things. Puck picked up on the fake manner Subaru spoke while Emilia didn't though she was more focused on a specific detail Beatrice had said.

'Betty's...Subaru?'

The air started to get slowly tense with Emilia have a dead like expression. Subaru took note of this and wanted to say something but Puck intervined when he questioned his sister:

"Betty, did you and Subaru made a contract?"

"Yes, in fact." Beatrice responded proudly which caused Emilia's dead expression to change into a surprised one. Subaru nodded at this yet he knew that this wasn't an important conversation at least at the moment they are in. He looked at Puck with a serious facial expression while saying to him:

"We need your help, Puck. We have to stop the Purge King."

"..." Puck couldn't respond to this since he wasn't expecting Subaru to ask him such a question. This caused him to be conflicted since he knows that helping this Subaru would mean that the safe heaven the Purge King gave his daughter would be destroyed and he would be a target of the Purge King and his lackeys. He knows that the last thing he wanted was to put Emilia in danger which caused him to want to say something until he heard Subaru speak first.

"I know Emilia-tan's safety is important, that is something I agree but you can't trust that killer. After all the horrible things he had done, he isn't worth trusting at all!" Subaru spoke with some anger in his tone, still feeling some hatred towards his counterpart after all the things he had done. Petra and Beatrice both looked at their world's Subaru with a bit of concern on their faces, having noticed the hateful tone he had when he spoke of his counterpart. Puck and Emilia also picked up on it but what was more concerning for Emilia was when she heard Subaru say that her world's Subaru was not to be trusted and a killer.

"Subaru, what do you mean by that?" Emilia asked with some curiosity and a hint of concern in her voice. Both of these were picked up by Subaru as he looked at her with sad eyes since he realized at this moment that she doesn't know anything of the real Natsuki Subaru of this world, the Purge King himself. He took a moment to calm himself before he finally was able to answer Emilia's question:

"Natsuki Subaru, my counterpart of this world, is known as The Purge King. He hired two powerful bodyguards to help him do his dirty work by killing innocent people using the stupid coin trick from the western side of my world...he even killed Beako that fucker..." Subaru paused himself as even saying that out loud hurt him just as much as it did the second both Petra and Beatrice heard those words.

Although Petra did expected this world's Subaru to be evil after having encountered him, she didn't expect him to do such a thing. Beatrice on the other hand was completely lost for words, hearing that her contractor's counterpart killed her counterpart.

All she wanted to do is cry as she couldn't believe what she was hearing yet when she looked at her contractor, she could see that he was struggling with this fact more than her. This caused her to quickly grab his hand to comfort him, already knowing that he is suffering so much guilt prior to this. Subaru notices Beatrice holding his hand which helps yet he had to continue on what he was telling the Emilia of this world.

"...Emilia-tan, the Natsuki Subaru you know, the one who you have been held captured, shouldn't be trusted at all. He doesn't trust anybody and those that he apparently trust seems to want to lock up or kill."

Emilia had a blank expression when she heard this, trying to process all the information she learned from Subaru. As she was processing everything, Puck looked at the boy and asked him:

"Why do you assume that I'm going to help you, Subaru? For all I know, you could be putting my daughter's life at risk." Puck spoke with a defensive tone. Subaru was about to respond yet Beatrice was quick enough to answer her brother's question.

"Because we need your help, bubby. We can't do this without your assistance, I suppose."

Puck looked at Beatrice and could tell that she is being sincere, causing him to have a bit of doubt since he doesn't know what to do exactly. He doesn't want to go against Beatrice but he also doesn't want to risk putting Emilia in harm's way. Although he was conflicted, he did wanted to know something.

"Say I got along with you, Natsuki Subaru. Is there a way to make sure my daughter is safe and sound?"

"Trust me, Puck. I will make sure Emilia-tan comes to no harm. Besides, we still have one more person to assist us." Subaru had determined voice and a confident facial expression when he said this, catching Puck's attention and even Petra, both of them curious to know who this person Subaru is referring to.

"And who might that be?" Petra asked to which Puck was also curious.

The Purge King walked around the halls for a bit, trying to think what the purpose was of having Petra distract him. As he was trying to think of many ways Petra could be used against him by Natsuki Subaru, he noticed that Cecilus was approaching him. This prompted him to return his facial expression into a blank one, not wanting one of his guards to notice his concern. As he returned to his blank expression, he notice that Cecilus looked a bit anxious.

"Anything to report?"

"Nothing my liege. I still haven't found Reinhard van Astrea. Are you sure he is heading here?" Cecilus said with some cautious in his voice. The Purge King noticed this and quickly crossed his arms with an annoyed facial expression, not liking what Cecilus was implying with that question.

"Are you questioning me, Blue Lightning?" The Purge King spoke with his hand moving towards his pocket to his right side to grab the coin. Although he isn't strong at all, the way he said it and his gesture caused the hallway to feel intense and even got Cecilus to be a bit wary.

"N-No my liege, I'm just asking to make sure that he is coming. I want to make sure I do my part in your grand plan."

The Purge King glared at Cecilus for a moment, having already grabbed his coin from his pocket. The room was tense with Cecilus mentally preparing himself for a fight should he have to defend himself from his leader. The stood like this for a few minutes before The Purge King put the coin away while he said:

"Good. The last thing I would want is to get rid of you for questioning my authority." The Purge King spoke with an intense tone of voice to which Cecilus just simply nodded. The two stayed silent with the Purge King looking around for a moment before asking his guard:

"Was there anything that seemed off?"

"Not really my liege. It all seemed to be going well."

"...too well..." The Purge King said as he was looking around with a bit of paranoia. Cecilus caught onto this and quickly had his hand on his weapon, ready for a fight. The two were on their guard for a few seconds before the Purge King stood up and calmed himself down.

"Pardon me, Cecilus. I was expecting something to happen."

"It's fine my lie—" Before Cecilus could finish his sentence, the two felt a sudden shake on the base of operations. Both Cecilus and The Purge King looked at each other for a moment before giving each other a nod, both knowing who could do this.

The two quickly start running towards the throne room for Cecilus to easily deal with Reinhard. As the pair were making their way towards the throne room, Cecilus had a feeling of excitement since he gets what he wants while The Purge King was preparing for the battle against his counterpart, knowing that he needs to end this now. As the two eventually approach the entrance to the throne room, the pair noticed that Otto, Wilhelm and the other "merchants are gone".

"Damn it all! I should've had them killed!" The Purge King said as he was getting fed up with the situation he was in.

"Would you like me to hunt them down, my liege?"

"No...they are not the threat that we should be worried about. Our focus should be on Reinhard van Astrea, the Sword Saint of Lugnica."

"Understood my liege."

Cecilus nodded and the two were about to enter the throne room until they noticed and explosion occur far off on the hallway they were in. The pair turn around with Cecilus having his weapons out and ready for a fight while The Purge King pulled out his knife, hoping that his counterpart is the one approaching them. The two waited for a moment until the dust settled to reveal a person neither of them is familiar with.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

(Memento plays)

The Purge King spoke with a threatening manner, knowing that this person is a pawn send to distract him by Natsuki Subaru. The young man looked at the Purge King with anger in his jade colored eyes. Cecilus observed the golden-haired young man and noticed how he was wielding what seemed to be two shields on both his arms, catching his interest.

"The Purge King asked you a question. I suggest you speak if you still want your head attached to your shoulders."

"Ya don't fuckin' scare my amazin' self ya fuckers! Now where is Ram?!" The young man spoke as he angrily stomped his feet on the floor, causing a significant amount of damage. Cecilus was prepared to fight the young man yet all he needed was his leader's approval to attack. The Purge King noticed this yet he was more curious on who this new threat is, knowing that this person not only looks familiar but knows Ram.

"If you have a death wish, at the very least give me your name. I would like to know who I'm going to have my guard here kill."

"Ha! Aight then." The young man spoke with a cocky look before smashing both of his shields together. "The Shield of Sanctuary, Garfiel Tinsel! The one who'll kill yer ass and save Ram!"

'Garfiel? As in...Frederica's brother?' The Purge King thought, having known the family of Frederica to assure that she wouldn't try anything. The fact that Garfiel was here meant that his counterpart had been busy, explaining why Petra was sent in. She was there to distract him long enough for Subaru to get another ally.

'You sly fox.'

The Purge King would commend this action if he wasn't so pissed off at everything. Just as he was about to order Cecilus to kill Garfiel, another person appears next to Garfiel. A familiar knight that seems to always give the Purge King some trouble.

"Natsuki Subaru, stand down. You are not going to win." The handsome red haired knight spoke with confidence, leaving the Purge King angered by this while Cecilus found this situation amusing.

"...Reinhard..." The Purge King spoke with hate in his voice, knowing now what his counterpart's checkmate move is. Cecilus smiled calmly as he prepared for a fight until he felt The Purge King's hand be placed on his shoulder. He looked to see that his leader was signaling him to go into the throne room with him. Cecilus paused for a moment before agreeing and going inside with him, causing both Reinhard and Garfiel to follow.

"Don't ya fucking dare run away, fucking cowards!" Garfiel yelled with anger, having an intense hatred for the Purge King. Reinhard noticed this and although he would advice the young man to not hold such anger, he understood why his ally was like this. Having been explained by Subaru what's at stake, he knows that Garfiel is justified in wanting to take the Purge King down just as much as him. Once the two entered the throne room, they both noticed that it was just Cecilus standing in the middle of the room.

"Where da fuck's the Purge King?! Show yourself ya coward!" Garfiel shouted with anger as he wanted to beat the ever living shit out of the man that imprisoned the woman he loves. Reinhard looked at Cecilus with a serious facial expression while also wearing one of disappointment, not thinking that someone like the Blue Lightning of Vollachia would side with someone like the Purge King.

"What do you gain out of this?" Reinhard asked with a respectful manner.

"He promised me a fight with you. He delivered." Replied Cecilus with a confident tone in his voice, ready for his rematch.

"Why? Why work for someone who has killed thousands of people. Most of them innocent people." Reinhard said out of instinct to which Cecilus brushed aside.

"And? All I want is your sword but the only way to get it is by taking you down." Cecilus said to which Reinhard and even Garfiel found distastful.

"Shall we kick his ass?" Garfiel asked as he was ready for a fight. Reinhard looked at the young man before looking at Cecilus. Although he did appreciated wanting some assistance, he knows that this fight is between himself and the Blue Lightning. He tapped Garfiel on the shoulder before saying to him:

"Go find Ram. I'll take care of Cecilus."

"Are ya sure?"

"Positive."

Garfiel was a little conflicted by this yet he knew that this isn't his fight per say. His goal was to save Ram and Reinhard is giving him the opening he needs to find her. He lowered his guard and was about to leave but he wanted to tell something to Reinhard before he left off to find Ram.

"Good luck, Master Swordsman. Make sure ya kick his ass."

Reinhard nodded at the Shield of Sanctuary before seeing him go off to save his crush. Cecilus allowed this as well, finding it somewhat noble for a young man to go and save the woman he loves. The room was silent for a moment before both warriors prepared for battle.

"From the line of Master swordsman, Reinhard van Astrea."

"The Blue Lightning of Vollachia, Cecilus Segmunt."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 9: Rescue

Prior to the attack:

"Well then, will someone please explain what is going on, I suppose?" Beatrice spoke as she was annoyed by the fact that she didn't know what was last she remembered, she was at the Pleiades watchtower and she was too young a spirit to let her memory fail her yet. Before anybody could say anything to her, she was all of a sudden hugged by her contractor.

"Wh-What's the meaning of this?!"

"Hehe...sorry Beako, I just need this." Subaru said as he tried to keep himself together. Beatrice looked at him annoyed yet deep down she felt comfortable with this, feeling safe and happy. Petra, Frederica, Reinhard, and Wilhelm all four smiled as they saw this, with the three from Subaru's world knowing how close Beatrice and Subaru are while Reinhard was happy that his friend had someone to rely on, someone better than him. There was a moment of silence before Subaru got up with Beatrice saying:

"Now then, explain the situation."

"Right. So um...how do I explain this without confusing you?Let's just say that we are in a different world that is the same as our own...like a parallel universe."

"Parallel...universe? What nonsense are you babbling now, I suppose?!" Beatrice exclaimed as she was starting to lose her, her cheeks puffing up as she huffed.

"I know it is nonsense, but this is the best way to explain things, Beako."

"Well...at least tell me what we are facing, I suppose." Beatrice said as she could see that something was causing pain to her contractor. Subaru took note of what Beatrice had asked, causing him to be silent for a bit. He looked at Reinhard and the others for the briefest of moments before looking back at his contracted spirit.

"We are dealing with two powerful warriors. Halibel, the Admirer of Kararagi. And Cecilus Segmut, the Blue Lightning of Vollachia."

"Hmph. Seems like my stubborn contractor is backed into a corner, I suppose. What would you do without me?" Beatrice said after she sighed, seeing that the situation was much more dire than she expected. Subaru couldn't help but chuckle a little before his small smile faded away.

"That is not all, Beako. There is also their leader, The Purge King."

"The Purge King? Never heard of a name like that, in fact."

"Y-Yeah, it is a name unique to here since...well my counterpart is that, the Purge King." Subaru said reluctantly, something that Beatrice instantly noticed.

"Wh-What do you mean by your counterpart?"

"I know it's hard to believe but...in this world Beako...I became a tyrant. My counterpart...he did some horrible things...he is just the worst..." Subaru spoke with his voice sounding defeated, broken to which Beatrice could not stand. She hugged him in hopes of comforting her foolish contractor to which he appreciated and found comfort in. The two hugged for a bit before Beatrice really thought deeply on what Subaru had said, understanding that something must've gone horribly wrong for a version of her contractor to have gone the wrong path. Although it is painful thinking of this, she knows that her contractor was suffering much worse than this one.

"Alright then, what do you propose we do, I suppose?"

"Well...we are going to take down that bastard, the Purge King." Subaru said after having paused for a moment, allowing him time to regain his confidence. Beatrice took note of this and was quickly given the details of the plan. Upon hearing that Petra would be used as a way to distract the Purge King, she slapped Subaru in the face.

"Dumbest plan yet, I suppose."

"It isn't supposed to be smart. My counterpart is expecting smart."

"Regardless, that is a risk but you are lucky that I'm here, in fact. We can use her to teleport anywhere with my yin magic." Beatrice said as she was confident that her contribution will lead them to success. Subaru was caught off guard by this yet he nodded as he knows that now he has a better chance with Beatrice involved. As he got up, Frederica approached Subaru as she thought of a suggestion.

"Why not bring Garf into this? I believe this world's Garf would be more than capable of providing some assistance."

"I...I don't know. It was hard the first time to get him to listen to me in our own world." Subaru said with some doubt in his voice, knowing that it would be even harder to get the demi human boy to join them in this world. Frederica and the others noticed this, to which the big maid responded to the boy's concerns by saying:

"I can persuade him. I'm still his sister regardless of being from different worlds."

"True but how do we get to the Sanctuary from here? It would take a long time and we don't want to give The Purge King too much time to prepare." Subaru brought up some valid points since the group agreed that they can't waste anymore time. There was silence for a moment before Reinhard stepped in to speak.

"I could possibly get the big maid to the Sanctuary using my Divine Protection of Wind Evasion. That and combined with my Divine Protection of the Cloud, I should be able to get us there in no time." As Reinhard spoke of this, Wilhelm and Subaru both nodded at this since Wilhelm knows this could work while Subaru trusts Reinhard's judgement. Frederica on the other hand is hesitant since she doesn't want others to know of the Sanctuary yet considering that Ram and her counterpart are in danger, she knows that they need her brother's help. As she nods with hesitation, Subaru starts retaking the attention by saying:

"We should start with the plan but Rein, Frederica, we need you two to get here as fast as you two can. We will do our best to hold out but you two are important to beating the Purge King."

"Don't worry Subaru, we will be back in time." Reinhard said as he swore to his friend, seeing that he is important to the plan. Subaru nodded at him before the group watched as Reinhard took Frederica towards the Sanctuary. She guided him in every step of the way as they moved from the edge of Kararagi towards the barrier of the Sanctuary within minutes. As they were making their way towards the Sanctuary, Reinhard asked in a respectful manner:

"Do you believe your brother will be convinced?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he will be quite stubborn but the moment he learns of Ram and...well the other me, then he will join us." Frederica said as she recalled what Otto, Subaru, and even Garfiel had said regarding the events that lead to Garfiel overcoming his fear of the outside world. Reinhard had taken note of what Frederica had said.

"Understood."

The pair eventually reached the barrier of the Sanctuary, with Frederica somewhat hesitant since she hasn't seen the place in a while. Reinhard could sense the barrier yet he didn't think much about it. The two entered with a sense of calmness as Frederica assured the Master Swordsman that there wasn't anybody a threat to them. Reinhard believed the blonde maid just as his guard went down, trusting that he won't be in any fights until they return to help Subaru. The two walked around for a bit yet during their walk, the pair noticed that the forest was oddly quiet. Reinhard looked at Frederica as she was looking a bit worried.

"Is everything okay, Frederica-san?"

"...yes..." Frederica hesitated to answer to which Rein noticed. Because of this hesitation, Reinhard prepared himself for a possible fight. The two continued to walk for a bit until they arrived at the village with the two noticing that something's not right. Without hesitation Frederica started to run towards the village with a worried look. Reinhard followed as he figured that something happened to the village yet he isn't sure what for now. As they arrived at the center of the village, the handsome red knight turned towards the blonde maid to ask her:

"Are you alright?"

"...It can't be..."

"...Frederica-san?"

"..." Frederica fell on her knees as she saw this, feeling compleknewen as she knew what had happened here. She knows the fate that Subaru had prevented in their world happened in this world. Reinhard wasn't sure what happened, yet he knew that Frederica was distressed. He placed his hand on her shoulder in hopes of comforting the maid, to which she appreciated. She got up slowly as she wiped away some of the tears before saying to the Sword Saint:

"Pardon me for that...it's just...the Great Rabbit came here and..."

"...I'm sorry, Frederica-san." Reinhard said as he started to have negative thoughts towards himself. He feels like a failure for not having done enough to save the people of the Sanctuary. As both Frederica and Reinhard were thinking about this, Reinhard's senses quickly picked up something heading towards him and Frederica. This prompted him to quickly grab the maid and to jump high enough to avoid the explosion underneath their feet. This helped snap Frederica out of the sadness she was experiencing since she felt that the attack thrown towards them was familiar. Once Reinhard landed on his feet, he set Frederica down before looking around to see where the attack came from. While he looked around, the two eventually heard someone yell at them with pure rage and pain:

"GET DA FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

"...wait...is that...?" Frederica was slowly realizing who was speaking to them, causing some glimmer of hope to appear in her eyes while Reinhard prepared for a fight. The two waited until a young man with torn up clothes and blonde hair appeared in front of them after having jumped from a long distance to land near them. As the young man landed, he looked at the pair with anger in his eyes as he was trying to control himself from transforming.

"I SAID GET TH'FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

"Garf..." Frederica spoke with pain in her voice as she knows that this version of Garfiel is more broken than ever. Although she should be happy that he is still alive in this world, the fact that he is the only one in the village can only mean that the Great Rabbit killed everyone, leaving Garfiel to his own hellish torment. Garfiel was about to attack but for a moment, his mind was able to calm down long enough for him to recognize Frederica. Seeing his sister caused him to pause for a moment as he never thought that she would ever return to the Sanctuary.

"...sis?"

"Yes Garf...it's me, your big sister."

Garfiel's heart was hurting for two reasons, the first being that he has someone he hasn't failed yet and the second reason is that his sister had returned far too late. He wanted to shout with anger towards her yet he noticed the powerful aura coming from the person her sister had brought to the Sanctuary.

"Who da fuck's he?"

"From the line of Master swordsman, Reinhard van Astrea."

"Master swordsman? Yer th'Sword Saint!" Garfiel's mind had many thoughts in mind but the first was wanting to test his strength against the Sword Saint. He pointed his finger at the Sword Saint while saying to him:

"Fight my amazin' self, Sword Saint!"

"I don't think that is—" Reinhard tried to avoid fighting Frederica's brother yet he interrupted him.

"No! You will fight my amazin' self!" As Garfiel said this, he charged at the Sword Saint with everything he had, wanting to prove that he is the strongest. Reinhard knew that this was something unavoidable, causing him to wait until the right moment before blocking Garfiel's attack with his second sword he had with him. As he blocked the attack, he easily pushed Garfiel away, sending the young man flying into a building with enough speed to crash into it. As this happened, the Sword Saint started to apologize since this wasn't the otcome he wanted.

"There is no need to apologize. This is something my brother wanted." Frederica said as she started to walk towards the building Garfiel is in, knowing that she needs to help her brother. Reinhard also followed as the two went to see Garfiel slowly getting up, feeling completely incompetent. Frederica goes to tend his wounds yet he didn't want her help as he knew that a failure like him didn't deserve help.

"Don't be like that, Garf." Frederica spoke with a stern voice yet her brother didn't care.

(Garfiel's Past Theme song plays)

"Why are ya helpin' me? I failed them all! I failed the villagers. I failed the old hag..." Garfiel spoke as he just looked down, not being able to look at his sister.

"I-I'm sure you did your best."

"Not good enough, Sword Saint...those fuckin' rabbits...they...they..." Before Garfiel could even say the horrible events that happened in the Sanctuary, Reinhard set his hand on the young man's shoulder. Garfiel didn't look up but he could tell that it was Reinhard being the one trying to provide some comfort. Frederica wanted to help comfort this Garfiel, seeing that he is holding an enormous amount of guilt yet she knew that Petra, Subaru, Beatrice, and the others were counting on her and Reinhard to get Garfiel out of the Sanctuary and into Pandemonium.

"Garf...I know that we just got reunited but...Ram is in trouble."

"...Ram...?" Garfiel said as he started to think about the girl he likes. He did thought about how he didn't deserve to see her since he failed the Sanctuary yet that change once he heard Frederica say:

"Yes, she needs our help. She is being held hostage by the Purge King."

"The Purge King...th't fucker...!" Garfiel's determination was slowly building up again, seeing that he is needed by his sister. He slowly got up as he looked around the village, still recalling the screams he heard as he did everything he could to save the people. He closed his eyes as he spoke to Reinhard and Frederica:

"The old hags, they tried everythin' but they fell...My a-amazin' self won't let their sacrifice be in vain. If I'm gonna do somethin' t'make up for th's, it's t'save Ram's life." Garfiel opened his eyes as he knew that they needed to start to leave. "Let's go and save Ram."

(End of song)

Present Day:

Garfiel was running around the halls of the Pleiades base, his mind focused on saving Ram no matter what. After having lost the Sanctuary to the great rabbit, the only two things he has left are Ram and Frederica. He continues to run around for a bit before noticing a couple of the Purge King's mercenaries standing in his way.

Without any hesitation he started to beat on them, blocking their attacks with his two shields. As he was beating the mercenaries down without hesitation, the screams of every citizen of the Sanctuary played on his mind. Each scream enraged him, reminding just how powerless he was to save them.

("Survive Young Garf...survive my grandson...")

'...I won't let yer death be in vain, old hag...'

Garfiel managed to push away the thoughts of those he failed to save, focusing on saving Ram. As he got his mindset back on track, he quickly took down the remaining mercenaries fighting him before continuing to make his way towards the Purge King's office.

Having been informed by his sister, he knows where Ram's location is. As he moved onto the next hallway, he noticed that a group was being surrounded by mercenaries.

At first he was going to leave them be, since they are not his concern, until he noticed a little girl in the same maid outfit as his sister making him think that she is probably someone important to his sister. Just as he was going to go and help the group, he noticed his sister joining them and helping them push back the mercenaries.

'Hm. Aight. Ya got th's sis.'

The Shield of Sanctuary turned around and was about to leave until he heard someone familiar speak to him.

"Garf?"

"Huh?"

The young man turned towards the voice and was caught off guard when he saw that it was his sister yet she looked different. She looked broken, sad, and completely consumed by fear.

"Wh-What's da meanin' of th's...?"

"Oh Garf..."

Frederica of this world charged towards the boy and hugged him, causing him to be still since he didn't know how to respond to this sudden reunion. He looked at the Frederica that was hugging him for a moment before turning towards the group far off in the hallway to see that the little girl in maid clothing was hugging the Frederica he talked to in the Sanctuary. Before he could question anything, he recalled something odd his sister had said to him prior to having split up:

("Garf, one more thing. Find the me that is trapped here.")

("Eh? What're ya talkin' about?")

'So...there is more goin' on then...well, I trust ya, sis.'

Garfiel may not understand it all but he knows that his sister is someone worth trusting, despite how weird this moment is. He returned the hug before hearing the Frederica he is hugging ask him,

"What are you doing here, Garf?"

"I'm here ta save Ram. She needs my amazin' self's help."

"Ram? But that can't be...she was dead right after Rem-san died."

"Wait...Rem's dead?! What happened?! Did Roswaal—?!"

"Don't badmouth Roswaal-sama, he didn't do anything. Rem-san died by a Mabeast user."

Garfiel was silent for a moment, surprised by the news yet his determination to save Ram had increased. Knowing now that Ram needs someone to help her, he wants to get to her. He turned towards the group as he noticed the Frederica he talked in the Sanctuary with her group approaching him and the Frederica he was hugging. She turned and the two Fredericas met eyes with the two surprised.

"What's going on?" The Frederica of this world spoke with a confused tone of voice. Before a response could be given, she looked at the group and noticed Subaru was among them. This fueled her with anger and fear, hating the view of Natsuki Subaru yet her hatred was stopped when she noticed that Beatrice was there, holding the boy's hand.

"B-Beatrice-sama..."

"Hmph. Well I can see that you are surprised to see me, I suppose..." Beatrice said with a slightly hesitant tone since she can tell that the reason Frederica of this world is reacting to seeing her is because she is dead in this world.

Frederica of this world looked at the group again, more towards Natsuki Subaru to see that he is not like the Purge King. The two may share the same face but the way they present themselves is different. Garfiel looked at Subaru as well and somehow he can tell that this one is different from the one he had encountered earlier. Before anything could be said, they all felt the Pleiades base to shake violently.

"Seems like Rein is having quite the fight." Subaru said as he knows that they can't waste anymore time in trying to save Ram's life now. The boy turned towards his world's Frederica to tell her:

"Get Petra and your counterpart out of here. Beatrice, Garfiel, and I will go rescue Ram."

"Are you sure, Subaru-sama? We could help you out."

"I know but I need you all safe." Subaru said in a confident tone, knowing that Frederica and Petra did their part of the plan. Petra wanted to stay and help yet she realized that there isn't much she can do. Frederica looked at her counterpart to see what she thought about this.

The Frederica of this world looked down for a moment as she knew that she isn't in condition to fight, after the fear that the Purge King had put into her really messed up her mindset. She turned towards Garfiel and gave him another hug before saying:

"Just please be careful Garf...I don't want to lose you..."

"Don't ya worry sis, my amazin' self'll survive this!"

Garfiel says this with a thumbs up, Frederica couldn't help but smile as she can see her brother smile. The two hugged once again before both Fredericas and Petra ran one direction while Subaru and Garfiel went towards another direction with Subaru carrying Beatrice. While the two boys were running, Garfiel looked at Subaru for a moment before looking forward.

"What's yer story?"

"Huh?"

"Why're ya here? What's yer reason?" Garfiel asked in a slightly aggressive tone, not trusting Subaru until he heard his motives. Subaru took note of what he was being asked, causing him to think carefully since he knows the answer he gives will affect the way Garfiel will treat him.

"You said you met the Purge King, right?"

"Yea, he's a fuckin' coward."

"He sure is. I'm here to save my friend, Ram, and to kick my counterpart's ass! After everything he had done...he doesn't deserve mercy."

"Damn right!"

Garfiel liked the response he got, feeling that the boy was being honest with him. Beatrice looked at Subaru for a moment before just looking at his back side as she was being carried. She wasn't surprised by the answer her contractor gave though what worries her is how her counterpart died. After a few minutes, the two boys and the little loli spirit arrived at the door of the Purge King's office. Garfiel was about to break the door down until he felt that Subaru grabbed his arm.

"Hold on Garfiel, something is up."

"What do ya mean?"

"The Purge King knows that we would be after Ram so I doubt he left his office unguarded."

"Ha! Like anything can beat my amazin' self!" Garfiel said this without thinking, wanting to boost himself with confidence as he went to break the door down. As he broke the door down, the group looked around to see if there was anything in the office that could be a threat to them. As they looked around, the trio didn't see anything that could be threatening which caused Garfiel to go into the office and start breaking things in search of something that'll get him to Ram.

"Ram. Ram! Where are you?"

Garfiel continued to break things until he saw Subaru walk towards a door he didn't see and start opening it. Garfiel looked annoyed at the boy before following him and his contracted spirit into the room where Ram was held. As the three were in the dark room, Ram slowly looked up as she was hearing the mess that was happening outside the room she was in. As she did this, Garfiel was shocked to see Ram in such a state, prompting him to quickly head towards her.

"Ram!"

"G...G-Garf...?"

"Yes Ram, it's me!"

Garfiel manages to break free the chains holding her. As he does this, he hugs her with a tear streaming down his cheek as he was not only relieved that Ram was okay but the fact that he still has her in his life. Ram herself wanted to break down and cry since she has someone from her childhood still alive. She returned the hug as she was finally happy to see someone. While the two hugged, Ram looked up to see Beatrice standing which surprised her completely.

"B-Beatrice-sama? I-I thought..."

"...that I was dead? I've been hearing that a lot, I suppose." Beatrice spoke with her worries starting to increase. Seeing that a lot of people are mentioning her counterpart's status and the way Subaru even said it...this all made her more concerned than she thought she would be.

As Ram had noticed the little loli spirit, she did also notice that she was holding someone's hand. She looked up and was filled with complete rage the second she saw Natsuki Subaru's face. She quickly broke the hug with Garfiel and started to make her way towards Natsuki Subaru's directions, her hands ready to choke the life out of him yet Beatrice stood in front of Subaru while saying:

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, in fact."

"Not this again...please Beatrice-sama, move out of the way." Ram said as she was having déjà vu of the situation. Subaru was also having déjà vu of the situation since it was one of the few loops he was slothful. He patted Beatrice's head before approaching Ram, worrying his contracted spirit. Garfiel was also a bit worried since he knows that Ram is going to kill the boy yet Subaru shook his head, telling him to back off. After doing this he turned towards Ram with a serious facial expression, knowing that she was preparing to attack him.

(Chain of memories plays)

He took a deep breath for a moment before finally saying to the pink haired oni:

"I know you hate me, Ram. What happened to Rem—"

"Don't you fucking dare talk about sissy!" Ram shouted as this was the trigger that caused her to attack. She tried to go for the neck yet Subaru was able to avoid her by moving out of the way. As he moved, he continued to speak in a serious voice:

"Rem is not only a good person but she cared for you deeped she wanted you to be happy."

"Shut up!"

Ram tried to attack the boy once again only to miss since Subaru had anticipated the way the pink haired oni was going for. As he once again dodge the attack, he continued speaking:

"Rem loves you, Ram. She not only cared so deeply for you but put you on a pedestal of sorts.. At one point she even viewed herself as your replacement."

"Shut your fucking mouth! You don't know me! You don't know my fucking sister, you fucking bastard!"

"You can kill me, Ram. You can 'avenge' your sister but after that, what then? Will you really be satisfied?"

"Yes, I fucking will you motherfucker...I'll enjoy choking you to death!"

Ram approached Subaru and managed to get her hands on his neck, preparing to cut his ability to breath yet something happened. Garfiel grabbed her from her backside while trying to calm her down.

"Ram! Calm down! He isn't the Purge King."

"Stand back, Garf. He needs to die."

"No! You won't hurt Betty's Subaru, in fact!" The drilled haired loli said as she created a few purple icicles around the pink haired oni, showing that she won't hesitate to protect her contractor. Ram looked around to see that her life was in danger with Beatrice's attack preparing to be fired towards her. This caused her to look at Beatrice with a slightly angered facial expression.

"Why are you such a stubborn spirit? He is the enemy! He got Rem killed!"

"I'm not the fucking Purge King. My name is Natsuki Subaru but I'm not a part of this world. The one you want dead is out there, running around and I want to take him down. I want him to suffer for all the pain he caused...hell he deserves to suffer for killing Beako!"

Beatrice was taken for a mental loop as her killer was revealed. She learned now that she was killed by a version of her own contractor. This caused her to start crying since this is something she just doesn't know how to react to. Ram noticed this and wanted to shout at Subaru for making Beatrice cry only to see that he is doing his very best to hold back the tears.

"Do you know how it feels to have the memories of that bastard? Do you know how I fucking feel seeing my own counterpart kill Beako, my contracted spirit, the little girl I made a promise to stay with?...I fucking doubt it." Subaru spoke with all the pain in his voice, having not only the Purge King's memories but also the Sin Archbishop of Pride's memories. The two versions of him had done so many horrible things which he has to live with.

Ram stopped trying to kill the boy as what he said to her and the way he spoke finally got to her. She looked at the boy's eyes and saw that they are filled with life compared to the Purge King's yet they share the same pain in their eyes. She looked down with a bit of shame yet she still wanted vengeance, she still wanted the Purge King dead.

"He is responsible for killing my sister..."

"He is, because he chose to run compared to what I did, save her life and do my best to keep you all safe."

"...wait...what are—"

"In my world Ram, Rem is still alive. She is still breathing."

Ram's eyes were starting to be filled with tears, knowing that in a different world her sister survived. This caused her to fall on her knees, finally breaking down. Garfiel hugged Ram since he understood her pain while Subaru turned towards Beatrice to hug her since she was still crying.

The room was silent for a moment as Ram and Beatrice were both crying for a bit before the two were able to stop.

(Song ends.)

Though the second they stopped, the four of them heard some movement outside of the room. Garfiel and Subaru both looked at each other before the pair quickly made their way out into the office to see a wolf man.

"Who are ya?"

"Hm. The name is Halibel. Nice to meet ya."

"Gr. Why're ya here?"

"To stop you all. I was tempted to but I saw that y'all needed a moment, so I let ya."

"Hmph. So what? We should thank ya?!" Garfiel continued to talk with a bit of anger in his voice. Subaru looked at Halibel and started to think to himself. On previous loops, Halibel could've killed him so many times yet he didn't for some reason. This gave him an idea though one that is risky on its own.

"Halibel, can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure thing Su-san."

"Can you let us get Ram out of here? She doesn't deserve to be locked up in that room." Subaru said this in hopes of gaining the wolf man's sympathy. Halibel took a moment to think on what he was asked before looking at Subaru to respond to what the boy had asked him.

"I would but I need to make it look like you all are escaping on your own. So I suppose fightin' one of ya would make it possible to let you get th't girl away."

Subaru and Garfiel took note of what the wolf man had said, prompting Garfiel to step up to fight Halibel. This allowed Subaru to quickly go into the room to get Ram and Beatrice to leave the room. As they were leaving the room and making their way towards the exit of the office, Subaru looked at Halibel to ask him:

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" The boy had asked since this was something he wanted to know.

"Hm...let's just say that I'm feeling nice today."

"That's n...okay..." Subaru said as he still didn't understand why he is still helping them yet he couldn't waste anymore time. Subaru gets Beatrice and Ram out of there while Garfiel stayed behind, preparing to fight.

"Ya said yer name's Halibel, right?"

"Correct." Halibel said in a calm manner.

"So, R'ya happen t'be the Admirer of Kararagi?" Garfiel questioned since he wanted to confirm this.

"Hm. Of course, that is what I'm known for." Halibel said with a friendly manner and with a smile. With this confirmation, Garfiel smiled since he gets to fight against another one of four powerful warriors. He smashed his shields together with confidence while saying:

" 'Kay then, the name is Garfiel Tinsel, the Shield of the Sanctuary!"

Halibel smiled as he heard this, curious to know the strength of the boy. He quickly created clones of himself before charging at the young man, wanting to go all out to test the demi human.

While their fight had started, Subaru was trying his best to get Ram and Beatrice outside of the base. While he was moving as fast as he can, the trio eventually heard someone speak to them:

"Where do you think you are going with her?"

"...shit." Subaru whispered under his breath since he wasn't planning to deal with his counterpart, especially now with Ram in her state and with Beatrice around. The three turned around to see the Purge King, noticing that he is holding a knife and his eyes look even more insane than before.

"Where are you going with my last colors? You fucking prick."

Chapter Text

Wrath Chapter 10: Peace

A few moments back:

The Purge King ran away from the throne room in one of his many secret passages before heading towards the direction of his office, knowing that his counterpart is heading there to free one of his important and ONLY colors. While he ran towards his office, he began to think on the events that had transpired only minutes before:

'What the hell is going on?! This was nothing like the previous loops...damn my fucking counterpart! Now I have another random person with no colors! Damn it all to fucking hell!'

The Purge King's hatred for Natsuki Subaru increased as he started to see how the boy's involvement really damaged all of his original plans. He was well aware that Reinhard was going to attack, he was well aware that he was a target after having ordered Cecilus to kill Roswaal but he never expected to be facing a version of himself, someone who actually posed a threat to him.

No, not just a threat, but someone that had actionable intelligence in his schemes and plots. Someone that could undo all of his efforts easily. It was an impermissible feeling, the walls tightened around him and he felt even more suffocated. Who would've known a mere counterpart with little underworld experience could undo the Purge King so easily?

Ever since the two had met he hadn't realized just how much of a pain that man was, the person bearing the name Natsuki Subaru. He had eventually grown tired of his counterpart following him on each loop and constantly changing things for the worse, putting Emilia and Ram's lives at risk with the outside world.

With Ram, she was imprisoned to keep him sane, to remind him of someone who truly hates him. Yet, is it really that simple? How fastidious it was to lock someone up for years to enjoy their torment? Has he ever stopped to think about it even once? He had forgotten, he forgot a plethora of things since his mind always trembles and screams of agony.

He was doing this for Emilia's sake, as she is the only person he can allow himself to break down in front of, to feel some form of regret for the things he had done while also having some feelings for her. However, does he even have time to feel regretful? He resents locking her up, yet he knows she has a hidden ace to get out if things are dicey.

Yet, really? Is this what the Purge King is reduced to? A snivelling pissant. A hateful creature? He still struggled finding a way to reconcile with these facts.

While thinking about Emilia, a new thought came into his mind. Something from a previous loop had made him realize something.

'Wait...what about...Emilia-tan!'

The Purge King stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned around to make his way towards the location of Emilia's room, starting to figure out that Petra was sent here to get Emilia out. This caused him to hit his head a couple of times with his right hand, having been stupid for not realizing it.

"Even she could betray me, a child! I should've seen it coming, those colors were a lie! A fucking lie...no, she is but a child. An innocent child that can be used as bait. Ha, what a fucking twisted individual you must be to send a child to such a place, Natsuki Fucking Subaru."

The Purge King's running increased in speed as he was left with nothing but hatred for his counterpart, seeing just how easily he used his colors against him. He ran for a bit until he accidently tripped on himself, not realizing that he had twisted his ankle when he stepped on the floor at a jarred angle.

He looked at his ankle for a moment before attempting to get up, ignoring the slight pain it was giving him but just as he was doing this, a familiar voice spoke out to him:

"Subaru?"

"Huh...?" The Purge King was confused by this voice since it was familiar, someone he trusts. He turned to see someone he did not expect to see, so soon and out of her gilded cage.

"...Emilia-tan?" His voice slightly trembled for the first time as the Purge King, for in front of him was an individual that could make him feel anything other than animosity.

"I'm relieved, Subaru...it turned out I can meet you properly."

"..." The Purge King was left silent if not dumbfounded. He was confused on why she was acting all nice to him considering that she is out, most likely because of the other Subaru's actions. He got up with her help while he also said:

"Why..."

Deep in his thoughts he pondered:

'Why are you being nice to me! Do you have Stockholm Syndrome or something? Are you daft, or just dumb. Why don't YOU HATE ME?!'

"Hm? Why what?" Emilia asked as she wasn't sure what the Purge King was trying to ask.

"Why are you here?" The Purge King said in a calm and gentle voice, not wanting to harm someone he can see the colors of, yet his inner thoughts went wild as to what was happening. Not wanting to relinquish the feelings he still possesses, of a chance encounter and a girl with a heart of gold.

Emilia could only smile at him while giving a calm and happy response:

"I came to see you, of course, you dunderhead."

His eyes briefly shook as he analyzes the situation, then replies:

"...what is Puck up to?"

"Puck is...Mm-hmm, that story is, well..." Emilia was hesitant since she herself can't explain what Puck is up to, she honestly isn't sure and she doesn't want to trouble the person she is obsessed with in such a trivial manner. The Purge King took notice of this yet he didn't really care at this point. He knew that it was a matter of time until Puck turned on him. He briefly thought:

'Another enemy to consider for the brief future.'

Once upon his feet, he was prepared to go back to his office until he heard something that he never expected from Emilia.

"Subaru, let's run away together. If it's now or never, nobody will be chasing after us."

"...run away, with...me?" The Purge King spoke in a dumbfounded manner, he was troubled by the course of events transpiring. This never should've happened. He was disturbed by the idea that the woman he kept as a bird in a gilded cage said something Emilia was a bit annoyed by.

"Yes! There is someone outside. I am not saying something strange, you know."

After letting out a little anger, Emilia poked the Purge King's nose with a finger. This bizarre act caused the Purge King to question everything. He had expected Emilia to hate him after having forced her into being locked up or harbor some kind of resentment towards him.

"But still, since you're nice, I have just been pampered..."

"—Is it, I wonder? It was something like that I've been thinking about."

"Emilia?" Inquired the Purge King, as his eyes narrowed and he felt his breathing become rough, for this idea would have been entertaining when he was amassing his forces in kararigi. But not now, not at this critical junction. Such thoughts simply aren't dared to be entertained.

With his hand on his chest, it was as if Emilia had coldly spoken, as if feeling like everything he did had no meaning from those words, he lowered the corners of his eyes. That hesitation brushing past her heart, was it that The Purge King had abducted her, was it that she had spent so much time here? How many times had she gazed at that hated opponent's sleeping face? In that time The Purge King had received salvation, but to Emilia it would have been filled with humiliation.

"Ah, that I was angry at Subaru, I did think that. But, it was reaaally only at the beginning….. From then, that Subaru's help I was definitely receiving, I thought that."

"From me, receiving help...?" The Purge King asked as he wasn't sure what she meant by this.

"Because it was me that Subaru had been needing. Nobody would ever need me, that was how I had felt. Nobody ever liked me, or talked sincerely with me, or let their head rest on me you nincompoop. Jeez, even at the mansion I had no one but Puck, I've never really had a close friend. Memories of someone arise yet they are always stiff and disappear. Subaru had freed me of that, so..."

Codependency, such words surfaced inside The Purge King's mind. Just as The Purge King needed Emilia's presence for peace of mind, Emilia had definitely, at that time, inevitably within her need of relationships, if wanting to feel reliable and dependent wanted someone to trust her, this he had concluded. And so the pair, each in turn relying on the other, had fallen into a codependent relationship.

A very toxic codependency that he knew would lead to nothing but misery.

"I want to be with Subaru. So, let's run away?"

"...Like that, you saying it, makes me happy, but..."

Responding while stuttering, he could not accept Emilia's confession. He had received a big shock inside his heart. He had feelings but his thinking drew out more realistic views in reply. Running away would not be possible for him. Reinhard and Garfiel were after him, his counterpart had put him in such a corner where he couldn't run and there was a crowd of enemies blocking their path from something like a glorious escape into the sunset.

As for the outside of the castle, the Purge King had no allies left to call upon as he burned every single bridge. The only realistic ally he could try getting would be Elsa but he dismissed the idea since he would rather get stabbed to death than work with her, someone he hates. Everyone has clearly become an enemy to him, making the Purge King realize that he is going to die here. It is an inevitable as a wristwatch telling the time, as eventual as when the sun turns a splendid crimson and goes to sleep as its twin the moon rises up. Although he will make sure to take Natsuki Subaru down with him, he will fall here. It's simply fate, it's simply predestined to occur, he feels it in his very soul.

"...then, I'll die together with you."

"—"

At this moment, the Purge King had been stunned by the words he had heard from the silver haired half elf. More than when he saw Reinhard, his counterpart, or Petra. He turned to see the smiling Emilia gaze on him with words that contained love and definite affection.

"I'll finish it together for you. You, in a place where you won't need me, I don't want to stay somewhere like that."

"..."

He trembled as his way as his world came crashing down, as everything he had thought of turned to dust and scattered in the wind. How, why, no...this isn't possible. Before these ideas could take hold of his mind she kept speaking:

"Please, Subaru. I need you. I wish you would come with me."

"...let me ask you something, Emilia." The Purge King spoke as his eyes were for a moment, blank of expression. "Did you speak with Natsuki Subaru?"

"With you?"

"The other me. Sorry, I probably should've specified. The other Natsuki Subaru."

"Yes...he said some things about you but I don't care! I was a little angry but I didn't care. I want to be with you."

"Ah...I see..."

The Purge King felt silent as Emilia was getting closer to him, wanting to be with him only, clinging onto him. Emilia looked closely at The Purge King's face and noticed that he wasn't responding or reacting at all. This put some concern on her, causing her to call his name, wanting to gain his attention.

"Subaru...?"

The Purge King stood silent for a few seconds before his eyes shifted from nothingness into pure hatred and fear. He held Emilia's shoulders and shoved her off him. Emilia was caught off guard by this and just looked confused while The Purge King was shouting at her,

"Ly-Lying..."

"Suba—"

"No! No, please stop, stop it! Why me? Now come on, why! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Please Stop!"

The Purge King had finally been filled with nothing but fear, afraid as he started to play horrible memories on his mind.

("—Stinking so much of the witch.")

("—My sister is too kind.")

("I'll make your death swift, pitiful man.")

He covered his eyes and screamed his head off, engulfed in the fear that caused him to run away, to accept Beatrice's help in trying to run away from Ram.

"I! If you hated me, I would be happy, content, and everything would make sense! I, if you thought to avoid me, I would have been glad! Hell, if you had taken Natsuki Subaru's side, the other me's side, I would have been happy, and accepted the outcome!"

"..."

"YET WHY! WHY ARE YOU TURNING LIKE THE OTHERS. WHY ARE YOU BECOMING GREY?!"

Emilia was fading into gray, her beautiful colors becoming into that monochrome world that was washed away. All the Purge King knew was that everything was a lie, a deception.

"Subaru—"

"Don't act kindly towards me...!"

"Anyway, something about me, you will come to hate won't you? You will suspect me, won't you? Since I'm an obstacle, you will want to kill me, hate me, curse me, and will betray me!"

"Then, please stay like you hate me from the start! Without changing, if you had just stayed like that I would have been exalted! Hateful, just that, hateful, just that...!"

"..."

The Purge King was shaking, completely in a state of fear, not sure on how to handle the black and white Emilia he saw in front of him. The only people remaining that have their colors are his counterpart, Petra, and Ram. Those three have been true with what they feel, even Subaru almost lost his colors until he showed how much he hates him.

He had hoped that maybe it would be the same with Emilia, where she will regain her colors and yet she is still trying to show kindness towards him. This was something he just couldn't accept. He figures that Emilia is only showing kindness to eventually betray him in the future, which is no different than having been betrayed already.

"When you'll just betray me one day, pretending to be in love with me, please don't you do that!"

"Eh!"

The Purge King pushed Emilia out of the way as he ran, befuddled by his thoughts. Confused by the horrible misunderstanding he is unaware he committed. Knowing that he needs to kill Natsuki Subaru and then try to get either Petra or Ram to kill him. If one of the two could kill him, then he would be at peace.

Present time:

"Your last colors? Here I thought Petra would've blinded you with her color. She's pure, unlike what you've twisted everyone else into being." Subaru said with anger in his voice, having had enough of his counterpart speaking about those he 'trusts' having colors. It's clear that the delusions of his doppelganger that speaks of colors as trust are merely byproducts of a different mentality. A damaged one, he's saddened that it seems he broke, despite his intelligence and foresight. The Purge King did not appreciate what he heard and started to say:

"What the fuck are you implying, you fucking prick?"

"That YOU are the one who made everyone lose their colors around you! Everyone was trying to help you, Natsuki Subaru, and you threw it all away in a moment of fear!"

They both collided with their stares and fists clenched. They couldn't accept each other. Try to join hands, it wasn't possible. They were too branched off and different.

"You son of a bitch. I had no choice! You should fucking know that!"

"Don't even try that 'woe is me' crap on me cause I know to call out our own bullshit! Of course you had a choice! You ALWAYS had a choice! You chose to run, you chose to view the world in nothing more than colors and you chose to take the same colors away from everyone else to fit your own twisted worldview to justify all of your actions. The world didn't take your colors, Natsuki Subaru the Purge King, YOU DID!"

"I ran away from a murderous woman and a heinous misunderstanding. You fucking killed yourself! You jumped off a cliff to return by death for the sake of one individual you had met for days! I'm nothing like you, nor will I ever be! This ability of ours is a fucking curse, a dejection. Fate's greatest gift is allowing death to happen, yet we DON'T EVEN HAVE THAT!"

"You are nothing but a fucking coward, Purge King."

The Purge King heard this and before anything, he took a moment to breath before saying:

"FUCK YOU, NATSUKI SUBARU!"

The Purge King charged at Subaru with hatred in his eyes. The boy from another world noticed this, causing him to hesitate for a brief moment since he knows that he can't leave Ram and Beatrice on their own. This prompted him to use his invisible providence, knowing that it might assist in pushing his counterpart back. As he summoned the unseen hand, the Purge King for the first time noticed it.

'That's...a hand! Being summoned by that bastard's chest area!'

The Purge King was so dumbfounded by what he saw that he didn't think to dodge the attack, causing him to receive a hit to the face. This caused him to be sent flying back for a bit before his back hit the ground with force. As the Purge King was on the ground, Subaru for a moment felt nauseous, sick, and exhausted which caught Ram and Beatrice's attention.

"Are you alright, Barusu?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Subaru said as he tried to be reassuring yet Beatrice nor Ram bought that. If anything, Beatrice started to shout at her contractor for his foolish actions.

"You are a stubborn contractor, in fact! Stop using the sloth witch factor! It is harming you, I suppose!" The drilled haired loli spoke with anger as she was extremely concerned for her contractor's sake.

"Hehe...sorry...about that Beako..."

"Beako...?" The Purge King spoke as he was completely unaware that the little spirit was even among Subaru's group. He looked at the drilled haired loli spirit with tears from his eyes, recalling how he stabbed her, killed her.

("Are you, they?")

("――You are, Betty's, they, I suppose?")

("I am, your they.")

('Then… I'll free you from your torment.')

(She looked at him with tearful eyes yet a joyous expression as he plunged the knife in her heart and she replied as her mana scattered and she faded into nothingness: "Thank...you.")

But, he just did as she wanted, he fulfilled her wish. Yet, why is she looking so splendid next to that bastard, why does he feel a pang of loss, and his heart ached at the sight of the trio. Why, why, why, did he feel like the villain of the scenario?

"You are, with those colors that fit you well, very pretty you know." The Purge King said as he was still amazed when seeing the little spirit, still being able to see her colors. A swirling turbulence of magenta with cyan thunder inside, he doesn't recall ever seeing such a beautiful aura, or colors on anyone before he started losing them.

Subaru had nothing but intense rage when he heard this, recalling that this was the exact same thing he said to the Beatrice of this world before killing her. Ram and Beatrice both were disgusted by this, seeing the Purge King nothing more than a pathetic excuse of a human. Yet, they faltered in their hatred, since this wasn't their place to interfere with just yet. A certain senpaku eyed boy had to do some more after all.

"Shut...your fucking mouth!" Subaru said as he did everything in his power to use his remaining strength to move slowly towards his counterpart, wanting to beat the crap out of him.

Ram noticed this and with her own limited strength, she assisted Subaru in closing in on the Purge King, both of them desiring to beat the shit out of him. As they work together, Beatrice was the first to approach the Purge King.

"Beako, stay away from that madman." Subaru shouted in fear, worried for her sake yet she ignored her contractor. She closed in on the Purge King's face to look at his eyes, seeing that they hold nothing but death and distrust.

The Purge King wanted to hug the little spirit only to receive the hardest slap he had ever gotten from everyone in his life. He looked to see that at some point, Beatrice had taken her shoe off to give him a good smack to the face.

"You...You are the worst, pathetic, failure, horrible, sh-shittiest Natsuki Subaru I have ever seen, in fact! I...I hate...this you!"

Natsuki subaru's eyes widened as he thought:

'A subaruism?'

The spirit spoke out her feelings with tears in her eyes, struggling to hate this Subaru since he looks like her contractor yet still disliking what he had done. Subaru and Ram noticed this and stopped for a moment while the Purge King had a smile on his face, seeing that this is what he deserves.

"...okay then Beako...kill me..."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I want...you to kill me..." The Purge King said as he realized that if anybody should kill him, it would probably be the spirit he had killed long ago. It seemed fitting to end like this, it seemed worthy for his life to extinguish at the hands of the petite great spirit. He chuckled and hoped for it to happen, bit noticing how broken his gaze looked.

Despite the fact that his counterpart would still live, he would rather be done with it than try something that would likely fail. Beatrice had a blank expression at this, feeling some connection to this emotion the Purge King was feeling before feeling disgusted.

She didn't hesitate to slap him with her shoe once again before walking away from him, not caring what happens to this Natsuki Subaru anymore. As she walked away, Ram and Subaru were able to stand on their own before Subaru grabbed his counterpart by the throat with his two hands.

"You piece of shit! How fucking dare you request something from my Beako! Have you no fucking shame?!" He screamed as he tightened his grasp on his opposite self, yet he couldn't bring himself to end it, he knew what would happen.

"Shame? For what? Wanting death? All I see is nothing but gray. A world of deception and liars who accused me for something I didn't even fucking do...and you think it is justified for Ram to still hate me..."

"I never justified her actions! Yeah, she was wrong when trying to kill you. You didn't kill Rem, I know that for sure." As Subaru said this, he looked at Ram with a sharp look. The pink haired oni looked back with a sharp look herself. The two were like this for a moment before he looked back at the Purge King. "The thing I criticize your ass is when you chose to run away instead of saving Rem."

"Saving her huh? I should've killed myself just like you and be a fucking tool then...right, the bitch who—"

The Purge King was interrupted when Subaru punched his face with enough force to break the Purge King's nose. Ram was about to do something herself when she noticed the Purge King trying to insult her sister only to be surprised by Subaru doing the deed himself.

"You are going to call her by her fucking name, you piece of shit!"

"...doesn't matter now, I'm a dead man whatever I do, Natsuki Subaru. Why not end this fucking mess right now by killing me? Ending this fucking farce."

"So you can loop back and try to kill me all over again, not happening!"

As Subaru says this, he punches his counterpart again in the face, wanting to let out all of his anger. After doing this, he gets up and begins to walk towards Beatrice, wanting to hug her and comfort her. As he walks away, Ram takes this opportunity to pin the Purge King to the ground, having her hateful pink eyes gaze at his dead brown eyes. The two stared each other down for a few seconds before she spoke:

"Who...killed...my sister?"

"Wha—"

"Tell me, who!"

The Purge King didn't know what to say. He himself doesn't even know since he didn't gain enough information to find out who did it. All he did was look at the ceiling while answering in a blank tone:

"Doesn't matter, you are just going to kill me."

Ram punched the Purge King on his side, breaking a couple of his ribs. As she does this, she continues to shout at him,

"Fucking answer the question, Barusu!"

"Hehe...just...end it...damn it..."

His eyes reflected tears of pain as he thought:

'Why can't no one end me, or kill me or eliminate me. When it's all I want…'

Ram's anger was starting to overwhelm her mind, wanting nothing more than to kill this Natsuki Subaru for all the things he had done. To her, to her love, to her friends, and to the innocents. She moved her hands towards his throat, preparing to end his life until a voice of reason spoke to her from a distance.

"Don't, Ram. It isn't worth it."

"Is that so, other Barusu? After everything he has done, he deserves to die! He may not have killed sister...but he didn't save her either, just like you said. He ran away like a fucking coward! He captured me! He killed Roswaal-sama! He killed so many people! So please fucking tell me why I should even let this scumbag live?!"

Ram spoke with such passion, such hatred to which Subaru couldn't go against. He understood why she hated his counterpart, even though he has a small fraction of that hatred and yet he knows that it won't do any good.

Should he die, everything would reset and all the hard work they have done would've been for nothing. Not only that but they have beaten the Purge King, having him on the floor, helpless to change his situation. He looked at Ram with a confident and determinate expression before answering with:

"You can have your vengeance, you can kill this pathetic excuse of me, but it won't change anything here. Everybody is still dead, no one will come back if he dies. He would be getting an easy out for all the crap he has done. That and you'll allow that hatred to consume you, to change you for the worst. That isn't something your sister would've wanted."

Ram looked at Subaru for a moment before turning back towards the Purge King, seeing that he wasn't even putting up a fight. All he was doing was just waiting for death to take him, preferable by her now since she also contains colors. Just as she was going to choke the life out of him, she closed her eyes and really processed everything Natsuki Subaru had said to her.

She knew that this wasn't going to bring anyone back, that this was just something she desired to do and yet, she chose to do something else. She moved her hands away from his neck and stood up, surprising The Purge King while Subaru smiled as this was the right thing to do. He slowly got up despite the broken ribs and started to question Ram as he gasped in pain dye to his broken self:

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Being better than you, Barusu. I'm not ever going to be forgiven for having unfairly pinned my sister's death on you...but I won't let this twist myself into being like you, a murderer."

"...I wanted your wish to come true...to exact justice for your sister and to give the two of us happiness by doing that act." The Purge King spoke with a disappointed voice, noticing that the colors of Ram were slowly fading away as well. Ram herself was left silent by what she heard, causing a swarm of anger to try and come out. The Purge King could see this and was about to say something until he noticed Ram beginning to speak.

"I have wanted you dead, Barusu. Every single second in my mind has wanted you dead by my own hands. I have wanted to grab your throat and crush it, choke you, destroy the chance of you breathing. I have wanted it for so long but realizing just how pathetic and weak you are...you aren't worth killing. Death would be too kind for the likes of you."

The Purge King had anger in his eyes, hating that she isn't following her desires, the desire to kill him. That is the only thing that is keeping Ram's colors from fading.

"Y-You are lying...you are going to kill me! It doesn't matter what you say right now! You are going to kill me the first chance you get—"

"I'm a demon. A demon burning with hatred in her wish to avenge her sister."

"Then why don't you fucking kill me then?!"

"Because you are not worth the time to kill. You are not the one I'm after. Thanks to the better Barusu, I see that I misplaced my hatred."

The Purge King's eyes widened as everything he had believed was changing. He saw that Ram had officially faded into gray, causing him to lose his mind as she was the one that had her colors be brighter than the others. As he was screaming in his mind, he looked at his counterpart with the most hateful gaze he could muster. Seeing that everything has changed because of his counterpart caused him to try and attack the boy.

"This...this is all your fucking fault! I'm going to kill you, Natsuki Subaru!"

The Purge King tried to go and charge towards his counterpart, wanting him dead more than anything now only to be blindsided when Ram punched him in the gut, stopping him in his tracks. As he was stopped, he looked at Ram and could see that she was giving a disgusted gaze towards him.

"Honestly...there's no help for you."

As Ram says this, without hesitation she knocks the Purge King out with a single kick to his jaw, knocking him out cold. As the Purge King collapses to the ground, Ram also falls to the ground with her stamina completely drained. Subaru and Beatrice both notice this and quickly approach Ram, wanting to make sure she is alright. As they approach her, the two hear a voice from off in the distance.

"Subaru...?"

"Huh? Emilia-tan?"

Subaru spoke as he was a bit confused why Emilia was right there. He had recalled that Puck was supposed to be leading Emilia out of the castle and into safety last time they spoke. Wanting to know some answers, he got up and asked:

"Where is Puck?"

"Puck...he is um...gone..."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?!" Subaru asked as he didn't know what she really meant by this. Emilia stood silent before noticing that she was speaking with the Natsuki Subaru of another world and not her Subaru. She looks to the left side of the hallway to see that her Subaru was knocked out. This caused the room's temperature to drop rapidly with Subaru and Beatrice both on their guard.

"What did you do...to my Subaru?" The way Emilia said these words were much colder than the room, filled with nothing but hate and sadness. She pointed her hand towards the two and fired a powerful wave of ice towards them.

"Beako! E M T!"

"On it, I suppose!"

Beatrice quickly with the mana she has, created a sphere around the pair and both Ram and The Purge King, protecting the four of them from Emilia's attack. The madness in her eyes leaked as the Witch of Glaciation unleashed her full might. Ram, with her little conscience she had left noticed this and was surprised just how strong both Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice were together.

Emilia noticed this and was surprised at first yet she continued to attack Subaru, viewing him as a threat considering how her Subaru acted after asking her questions of the other world Natsuki Subaru. She blamed him, cursed him, despised gin , for twisting and corrupting her Subaru.

This caused the two sides to be in a stalemate for a bit until suddenly Emilia stopped using her ice magic on the group. Subaru and Beatrice were confused by this and looked closely until they saw that she collapsed to the ground with Otto and Wilhelm standing behind her.

"Otto! Wilhelm!"

"Good to see you are alive still, Natsuki-san!"

"Yes, I'm glad to see you alive as well, Subaru-dono."

Subaru smiled as he heard the nice words from the two before he and his contracted spirit returned to assisting Ram, seeing that she was barely holding on. Otto, Wilhelm, and the group of knights approached them with them noticing a knocked out Purge King. Wilhelm looked at this version of Subaru and couldn't help but feel sad for this version.

He had always put Subaru in such high regards, treating him almost like a grandson, and was thankful that his world's Subaru turned out to be the way he is while this one went the wrong path. Otto wanted to stab this version of Subaru, after all the destruction he had caused and yet he refrained himself from doing that when he saw Ram was on the ground. He turned towards a few knights to tell them:

"She needs help."

"Understood!"

The knights quickly went to Ram's position and carried her towards the outside of the castle to have her be sent to the closest village to help her. Before she had left, she looked at Subaru and with a smile on her face, she said to the boy:

"Thank you, Barusu...for freeing me."

"Anything for a friend..."

Ram smiled before finally falling into a deep sleep, having exhausted her remaining energy. As the knights took her somewhere, Otto and Wilhelm both looked at the entrance of the office to see an injured Garfiel carrying an injured Halibel. Subaru also noticed this and couldn't help but find it amusing.

"What? Did you two had enough fighting?"

"We heard the fighting was over, Su-san. So we decided to put our fight on hold to check things out."

"Yea, now where's Ram?" Garfiel said in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, our best knights will be taking her somewhere nearby to recover." Otto responded quickly, wanting to make sure that there was no panic from the demi human. Garfiel was not happy about this and yet he felt relieved. As he sighed of relief, he looked at the knocked out Purge King and asked:

"Wh't 'bout him?"

Everyone looked at the purge king with most of the emotions in the room being hatred towards the boy.

"We should kill him." One of the knights answered, wanting to see this threat be taken out. Subaru took note of what was said and quickly responded to it.

"No, death would be too easy for this pathetic excuse of a human. He needs to pay by being locked up, far away from the world."

"Isn't that too merciful, Natsuki-san?"

"Maybe but I don't want him to just be killed without facing a trial."

"He is right."

The group all turned around instantly when they heard another voice speak out to what Subaru had said. As they turn around, they see Reinhard standing on the hallway carrying an unconscious Emilia while also looking battle damaged.

Subaru smiled as he knew his friend would make it out alive while Wilhelm was still uncertain on how he should react to this Reinhard. He still resented the Reinhard of his world for killing his wife while this world's Reinhard hadn't done such a thing...or so he hoped. Before he can even try to confirm this, Subaru took the attention away when he grabbed Otto's arm and began to say:

"You should take the credit for this."

"W-W-What?! I didn't do anything but f-follow your plan, Natsuki-san!"

"I know but this might free you from your slave debt."

The atmosphere in the room felt quiet when Subaru said this, with Otto stepping back a bit since he did not expect the boy to know about this. Regardless, he wasn't sure if this would necessarily free him from his debt until Reinhard entered the conversation regarding this.

"It might be possible. Should I even vouch for Otto, it might help."

"Wh-Wha...you would really...? But I didn't—"

"I never saw what happened here, so I wouldn't be lying. Not to mention that we can't say that the Purge King's counterpart defeated him. People wouldn't understand."

"That's fair..." Otto said as he hadn't realized how far-fetched the story would be if they tried to explain the truth to people. He turned towards Subaru and smiled before thanking him, seeing that he truly had found a decent friend.

"Thank you, Natsuki-san. I will forever be in your debt."

"Now come on Otto, we are getting you out of a debt, not more debt." Subaru said in a teasing like manner to which caused Otto to get flustered by.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"You are both so hopeless, I suppose."

As Beatrice said this, everyone started to laugh as they found this interaction quite funny. As they all laughed for a bit, they all eventually grabbed the Purge King before starting to make their way out of the castle. During their way out, Subaru and Reinhard had a chance to chat.

"What happened to Cecilus?"

"I defeated him and he ran away, eager for the next duel."

"I see...so he only joined my counterpart to fight you..."

"It seems so..."

The two went quiet for a bit since they didn't know what else to talk about. Reinhard was still a bit down that he could even save his friend from becoming the Purge King yet he was curious about something.

"What happened to Emilia-sama?"

"She...she isn't right, Rein. She needs help, and I mean a lot of help. Since I can't stay in this world forever, I have one favor to ask you, as a friend."

"What would you like to ask, Subaru?"

"If you can look after Emilia-tan. Whatever my counterpart did, he caused her to be in a horrible state and she'll need someone to look after her. That person should be you."

Subaru said this as he smiled at his friend, leaving the sword saint surprised at first. He didn't think that he would be asked such an important request. He thought to himself for a moment, seeing that things might be difficult since Emilia resembles the Witch of Envy yet with Felt's assistance, they might be able to help Emilia get back on her feet. He looked back at his friend and with a smile on his face, he said:

"I won't let you down, Subaru. You have my word, that I will help Emilia-sama."

"Thanks, Rein. I know it is a big request and you are a busy guy but...with the other me going to get locked away and with Puck gone...she will need someone to be by her side."

"I understand, Subaru. You can count on me."

The two boys nodded with confidence before Subaru went on ahead to check on the two Fredericas and on Petra. As Subaru does this, Wilhelm takes the chance to speak with Reinhard. He approaches the handsome knight and begins to say:

"You did well out there, Master Swordsman."

"No need to be so formal, you can call me Reinhard."

"It's alright, I prefer it this way..." Wilhelm paused himself for a moment, hesitant to say the next thing yet it needed to be said, at least to this version of Reinhard. "You didn't kill Theresia."

"Hm? You...knew honored grandmother?" Reinhard hesitantly asked which Wilhelm took notice of.

"Y-Yes, she was quite the woman. A dear friend. Just know that you aren't responsible for what happened to her."

Reinhard was just caught off guard by this, not sure how to respond to someone who was a friend to his grandmother. Before anything else can be said, Wilhelm quickly went towards Subaru's position, feeling like saying anything more would be unnecessary. Subaru looked at Frederica of this world and wanted to ask if she was alright. She noticed what the boy had said and responded with:

"I'll be...alright...as long as he is gone, I think I will be fine."

"I'm sorry Frederica...sorry for everything." Subaru spoke with guilt in his heart, seeing that this could've happened to him, becoming the Purge King, hurting those he cares about. Before the guilt could consume him, he felt Frederica of this world's hand be placed on his shoulder.

"There is no need to apologize, Natsuki Subaru. This isn't your fault."

"Yeah, you don't need to blame yourself for that meanie's actions!" Petra added in as she wanted to fill Subaru with words of encouragement. Subaru couldn't help but smile at this and nodded at them before they all looked at the group of knights approaching with Halibel and Garfiel among them. Garfiel and Frederica of this world noticed each other and quickly went for a hug, both of them just happy to be reunited.

"Sorry sis...I couldn't...I couldn't save them..."

"It's okay Garf...I'm just...glad you are okay."

The two hugged with Frederica of the other world smiling, wishing to hug her brother from her world. Subaru and Petra both smiled as they were happy the two siblings were able to reunite. As the atmosphere was filled with happiness, Subaru noticed that a bright light was beginning to shine around them.

"What's going on, Natsuki-san?!"

"Seems like it is our time to go." Subaru said as he figured that he managed to fix the world in some odd way. He looked at his counterpart, being tied up by some knights. He felt hatred towards this version of himself before looking at Otto. He patted his friend's arm while saying:

"I'm counting on you Otto. Make sure he can't hurt nobody ever again."

Otto looked at Subaru with a surprised facial expression at first before he turned it into a confident one, adding in a smile as well.

"Of course, Natsuki-san! You can count on me!"

"I know you can. You are Otto Suwen! My best friend across all worlds, well alongside Garf!"

Otto didn't understand that last part yet he was proud to call this version of Natsuki Subaru his friend. As the two nodded at each other, the bright light got brighter until everything was a white void.

"Did you enjoy your time there? Natsuki Subaru?" A familiar voice spoke to the boy, annoying him since he knows exactly where he is. He got up and looked at the door of Wrath, seeing that it changed into a symbol of patience.

"That world...was pretty freaking hard. I would've liked a warning." Subaru said as he was annoyed at how much effort he had to put.

"Eh, I suppose you are right."

"Anyway, what happened to the world?" The boy asked as he wanted to know the outcome of his friends.

"Well, rest assured with the assistance of Halibel and Reinhard, Otto Suwen took the credit of defeating the Purge King, allowing him to be a free man once again."

"That's good." Subaru said as he had a smile on his face, happy that his friend got to be free once again.

"Garfiel and Frederica both rebuild the sanctuary together with Ram by their side."

"At the very least they got each other now." Subaru spoke, knowing how hard it must've been for Garfiel when he learned that the Sanctuary was attacked by the Great Rabbit. He couldn't help but feel guilty for it but at the same time, he is grateful that his world's Sanctuary never faced a terrible fate in losing to the Great Rabbit. Subaru eventually realized that he was forgetting two people.

"What happened to myself...and to Emilia-tan?"

"...well, Reinhard did everything in his power to help Emilia but she was beyond help..."

Subaru had a sad look since he was hoping his friend could help her but in the end, she was too broken to be saved. Without her codependent partner, she couldn't hold herself together. His expression change to one of a serious one before asking:

"And what about that bastard?"

"Well he lost his mind. No way to undo the events, everything being gray. He just lost it."

"...good."

The watcher looked at Subaru and noticed how much this version of Natsuki Subaru hates his two counterparts, seeing that both as unforgivable people. For a moment the two stood silent, with the watcher thinking carefully on his next words before saying out of the blue:

"Before you ask about them, Petra, Frederica, and Wilhelm had been returned to your world."

"That's good...wait, you said three out of four allies."

"Yes, I know what I said." The watcher spoke with confidence.

"Then where's Beako?" Subaru spoke in a panic, not liking where this is going.

"She is...sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Subaru asked with a bit of hostility in his voice. He looked around again and noticed his contracted spirit on the floor, in deep sleep. He quickly ran towards Beatrice's location but before he could even reach her, a barrier blocked his path.

He tried to force his way through but the barrier wasn't giving in. Eventually he turned towards the watcher with an angry gaze, knowing that he had something to do with this.

"What did you do to Beako?!"

"I still need her to help you in another one of the worlds. Should I have returned her to your world, she wouldn't be able to help you out in the future."

Subaru was confused by this but only for a moment before just taking a moment to look at Beatrice. He still sees the visions of his wrathful self killing her, accepting being 'that person'. He also contains visions of his prideful self, seeing the amount of death he brought to that world. This eventually caused him to say in a sad tone:

"Tell me something, why are you sending me after the disasters have happened? Why not before my counterparts...ended up the way they did...?" Subaru said with both curiosity and doubt. The watcher crossed his arms for a moment, having expected this question to come up. He closed his eyes for a moment before answering with:

"Sending you to the beginning wouldn't help since you are not aware of the change, not to mention that it would cause even greater confusion. Besides, my powers allow me more to send you and your allies to specific points in the world, after your counterparts had changed."

Subaru was skeptical of what he heard, still not sure on how everything works but something else was bothering his mind.

"Then...allow me to ask this...why me?" The boy spoke in a doubtful tone.

"Hm?" The watcher was a bit curious on what Subaru meant by his question. Subaru looked at him with some doubt in himself.

"Why me of all people? I assume in the infinite masses of timelines, there has to be a Natsuki Subaru who can take these...these versions of myself without the need of allies."

"...You are different."

"How? If anything, I could become the most dangerous Natsuki Subaru...if I took the wrong path, I could..." Subaru sat down as he was having doubts in himself. He has only been to two worlds and he already can see that there are probably even worse versions of himself. "Did you summon me just to...punish me? Remind me of my own failures?"

"...Now isn't that an interesting thought." The watcher said in a blank expression, not expecting Subaru to be this doubtful towards himself. "If I came to punish you, I would've taken away all that you love but that isn't why I summoned you, Natsuki Subaru."

"Then why?"

The watcher looked at Subaru for a moment, noticing the doubt in his tone of voice. He stood silent for a brief moment before answering Subaru's question in a calm manner:

"You are unique, Subaru. Out of all the Natsuki Subaru's I've observed, you are by far the most unique. You have faced many challenges and although you could've ended up like the Subarus you have met and have yet to meet, you are one that will always make it through for his friends, despite your weak combat abilities, despite the madness that is RBD, you alone can do it.."

"...Then what is my future? What am I destined to become?"

"That...I do not know." The watcher said reluctantly to which Subaru took note of.

"What? I thought that—"

"I could see everything? Yeah, I can but your fate is the only one that is unknown for some reason. Not even the powers of my previous warden could see through the future."

"Previous warden?" Subaru asked, making the watcher realize that he spoke too much. He quickly changed the subject by speaking of the next world he will send Subaru in.

"Anyway, this next world is...not exactly what you'd expect."

"What do you mean?" The boy asked with a curious tone.

"You see, when I send you into these worlds, you have currently helped deal with those that want to harm the world itself but you haven't gone to a place where the world itself doesn't need fixing but the person inside it."

"You know, you could say things a bit more direct."

"Yeah, I could...but it is more fun for you to figure it out."

"Yeah but it makes it a pain in the ass to fix things up."

"Fair Fair. This next world you shouldn't have to worry about dying and such...hopefully."

"You do not inspire confidence, you know that?"

"Hm." The watcher smirked a little before he turned towards the door representing sloth. Subaru looked at the symbol and for a moment he felt hatred as it reminded him of Petelguese.

("You are very slothful!")

"...are you sure that there isn't something related to the Sin Archbishop of Sloth in that world...?"

The watcher was about to answer the question swiftly yet he noticed the fear in Subaru's eyes, having recalled some of the worst loops during his time trying to stop the Sin Archbishop of Sloth. This caused him to think his words carefully before speaking in a respectful manner,

"You don't need to worry, this world is like a 'slice of life' kind of world."

"Wait, if that's the case with this world then why am I going there?" Subaru questioned as he needed to know the purpose of going into a peaceful world. The watcher didn't look at the boy, he just looked at the door before responding to Subaru's question.

"It's not the world that'll need help, it is the person there, the other Natsuki Subaru who needs help."

"What kind of help?"

"...you'll see."

Subaru gave a cautious gaze as he didn't like the way the watcher was avoiding his simple question. He looked forward and was about to enter the door yet something came to mind when he was halfway.

"If it is a peaceful world, will I need any allies?"

"Not really but there is one that is needed, not for fighting purposes but for more personal reasons."

"...okay."

Subaru walked towards the door and was about to enter the world but first he wanted to look at Beatrice, wanting to make sure she is alright. As he looked in her direction, he could tell that she was sleeping peacefully.

This made him have a smile on his face before regaining some confidence to enter the door. As Subaru went to the sloth world, the watcher looked at Beatrice with a sad face before closing his eyes.

"Natsuki Subaru, this world should give you a bit of a break from the hell you have gone through...and a chance to make peace...the two of you."

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 1: A calming environment

Subaru looked around as he noticed that he was once again in a forest, making him feel a little annoyed since he preferred being somewhere that isn't a forest. His track record with forests was somewhere between shit and atrocious. He looked up for a moment at the blue sky, noting that it is a bit peaceful this time around. Unlike the forest he had been in from the previous world, it immediately felt more peaceful and calmer.

While he was feeling the entire place being much calmer than his world, Pride's world, or even the Purge King's world, he himself started to reflect on his moments with his counterparts and the memories he has of theirs. This caused him to fall to the floor with his back on the ground, looking at how horrible both versions were.

The Purge King would do good things from time to time but he did kill many innocent people for thinking that they would betray them. He threatened Frederica with Garfiel and Ryuzu's lives, he imprisoned both Ram and Emilia, and lastly he killed Beako without a second thought despite it being her that saved his life from Ram's wrath.

Although at first he understood and even had a bit of sympathy for that version of himself, seeing that he couldn't take his life and ran away from a place where he was hated, seen as the bad guy despite the fact that he was innocent yet having become a person who caused harm to others was something Subaru couldn't agree.

Then there was his first counterpart he met, the most insane version of himself, at least at this point. That one was probably worse than the Purge King, having died billions upon billions of times to try and create the outcome of having Emilia become king of Lugnica.

Even if that meant that she would get hurt in the end, that many innocent lives would be taken, even if the name Natsuki Subaru had gotten tarnished to the ground and had himself reduced to being a villain worse than the Witch of Envy in the process, he didn't hesitate to do what it took. Compared to the Purge King, the Sin Archbishop of Pride was an irredeemable bastard.

'Now that I think about it, maybe I could've convinced the Purge King me to stop...maybe...but then again...'

He recalled the memory of how The Purge King not only killed Beatrice but imprisoned Emilia, blackmailed Frederica, and killed many innocent people. This caused Subaru to get up from the ground and approach a tree to punch it, despite how that won't change anything except his fist hurting. While he did this, he recalled how his interactions with the two went:

("...fuck you! The fuck would they know what I had to go through! The fuck you know what I've been through! You can go to fucking hell, you stupid self righteous piece of shit!")

'Go to fucking hell, Sin Archbishop of Pride!' Subaru thought as he had an intense hatred for that version for himself due to how much hell he brought to those he cares about.

("Shame? For what? Wanting death? All I see is nothing but gray. A world of deception and liars who accused me for something I didn't even fucking do...and you think it is justified for Ram to still hate me...")

("This...this is all your fucking fault! I'm going to kill you, Natsuki Subaru!")

'...it's your fault, Purge King.' Subaru thinks this as he knows that everything he had done was cowardly. He couldn't kill himself to save Rem yet he had killed himself to get Cecilus and Halibel to join his side and even to save Ram's life from mana poisoning. This build up anger caused him to punch the tree once again, this time with enough force to cause his fist to bleed.

'I hate...I hate myself...'

Subaru's self-loathing had slowly been returning to him as he witnessed different versions of himself doing so much death and destruction in the name of their own twisted desires. This causes his mind to turn his attention into the possibility of this world's Subaru to be related to the term sloth.

("You don't need to worry, this world is like a 'slice of life' kind of world.")

("It's not the world that'll need help, it is the person there, the other Natsuki Subaru who needs help.")

'Hm...this feels like a version of me that just gave up...' Subaru thinks as he recalls the things the watcher had told him. '...Could this me...have run away?'

This was the only thing he could conclude before deciding to start walking in a random direction. Just as he started to walk, he sensed something was behind him which prompted the boy to turn to see a small light approaching him. Subaru stopped on his tracks and waited to see who his ally would be this time.

'If it is a slice of life kind of place...then please be Emilia-tan! I would love to spend time with her, especially in a setting like that.'

Subaru hoped for this sort of outcome since he had seen enough manga and anime of slice of life type genre to know that it would be the perfect romantic date setting for him and Emilia. The small ball of light got close to Subaru shining bright, blinding the boy for a second before returning the area the way it was. Subaru's eyes opened with hope before being filled with some disappointment. The boy's ally stood silent for a second before responding with her red eyes looking sternly at him:

"What are you looking at with those eyes? Scum of the earth, prostrate in front of Ram and apologize for despoiling me for Roswall-sama."

"Guh...always with the insults, nee-sama. Such a blinding curse!"

Subaru was disappointed it was Ram but he felt sad since he recalls how the other two Rams he met, how they were thanks to his counterparts. Before he could think any further into this, Ram looked around and felt off since she recalled that she was in the watchtower a few seconds ago.

"Where exactly are we, Barusu?"

"Well...um..."

"Spit it out already!" Ram said in an annoyed tone.

"We aren't in our world per se."

Ram stood silent as she analyzed what the boy had said. After a few seconds, she hit Subaru in the head while saying:

"What nonsense are you spouting out now, Barusu?"

"Was that even necessary?" Subaru asked as he rubbed the top of his head.

"Yes, because it was that stupid. Now answer my question."

"Okay Okay. We aren't in our actual world, rather a different version of ours."

"Explain." She says this as she looks like she is prepared to hit him again.

"Think of it this way, there is a world that is like ours but with a different history...that's the best I can explain it without sounding insane!" Subaru exclaimed since it is hard enough to say this without sounding stupid or crazy while raising his hands to protect himself from another head slap. Ram speculated for a moment before lowering her hand, concluding that either Subaru has gone insane and is just denying it or he is telling the truth somehow.

She took a moment to look around for a bit, wanting to see what situation she got thrown into while Subaru just continued to feel guilty since he doesn't know if this world's Ram or Rem is suffering because of him.

'I'm sorry Ram...I caused you so much pain...you and Rem...'

After a few seconds of looking, Ram turned to look at Subaru only to catch that the boy was thinking bad of himself. This caused her to quickly slap him across the face. This stunned the boy since he wasn't expecting this, prompting him to say:

"What...What was that for?!" He said as he was both annoyed and flustered by this. Ram closed her eyes and responded in a calm manner:

"You were gloomy and brooding; it looks stupid on you." Subaru wanted to respond back yet flashes of memories of what the Purge King had done to Ram played in his mind for a moment. This caused him to stop himself from speaking while also being filled with despair. He lowered his head the second Ram opened her eyes, leaving her with a blank expression has he said to her:

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry Ram...I..." Subaru struggles to speak since all he can think is how he feels responsible for how Ram ended up in both Pride and Purge King's worlds. With the Sin Archbishop of Pride's, she ended up broken since Rem was killed the same way as the Purge King's world was.

The Purge King's world had Ram be locked up by his counterpart, leaving her with complete hatred for a few years straight. This was something he will have to live with, which is why he wants to apologize to his Ram.

"...I should've been stronger, to save Rem. Had I been stronger or even competent, then maybe she wouldn't be in deep sleep..."

...

...

...

"Barusu."

"...yes..."

Subaru slowly looked up to see Ram have a slightly annoyed expression, disliking what she sees in front of her.

"You are a complete moron." Ram said with a harsh tone, something that made Subaru have a small smile.

"Hehe...I know..."

"You were entrusted with Rem when she didn't return from the capital. The fact that you left her on her own is your fault." Ram said as she continued to be harsh towards Subaru, something that the boy accepted since it is his fault from his perspective.

"I know, I should've done more."

"...but, I don't blame you for what happened to her. You had to make a choice and you chose the one that saved the most lives. Even then, in the end that gluttony bastard got what he deserved." Ram says with a satisfied voice, since she managed to kill Lye Batenkaitos, the person responsible for leaving her sister in the state she is in. Subaru was unsure on what to say since he didn't expect this. Ram continued: "You have been doing your best, although pathetic. So when my sister wakes up, you better treat her with royalty, more than you do with Emilia-sama, you got that?"

"Understood..." Subaru said with a hesitant tone, something that caught Ram's attention. She gave him a stern look before closing her eyes to use her Clairvoyance. While she did this, Subaru looked up at the sky as he felt that this world was too peaceful. Having dealt with Bowel hunters, Witch cultists, Mabeasts, and many other threats he had a hard time believing that he would ever get something that resembled a break from all the fighting.

'Could he...be lying to me? Maybe make me believe that things will go well just to end up in a shitty situation.' Subaru thinks to himself since it wouldn't make sense to go into a world where everything is peaceful.

"You think I would do that?"

Subaru stepped back for a second as he was caught off guard by the sudden voice of the watcher speaking in his mind.

'Man, I will never get used to this.'

"True but still back on topic, you really think I would lie to you?" The watcher said as he was a bit curious on what the boy was speaking.

'Well, I don't know who you are so yes, I would think that you would lie to me so I can accomplish whatever goal you want completed.'

"That is fair but to clear up everything, I wasn't lying. This world is not as dangerous as you are thinking it is."

'Okay, then why send me here?'

"Because Natsuki Subaru, you and this version of yourself need some form of closure."

'What are you talking about?'

"You'll…" The Watcher began to explain before Subaru cut him off. 'What the hell does that mean?!' Subaru shouted in his mind as he wanted answers yet he received nothing, implying that the converhad had ended. This annoyed him since he didn't like how vague the watcher was being. As that conversation had finished, Ram opened her eyes as she managed to find what seems to be the closest city.

"Come on, Barusu. I know where to go."

"Okay."

Subaru followed Ram's lead as the two started to walk around the forest for a bit. While they started their journey towards the closest city, Subaru begins to think to himself on how his start in this world is similar to his previous two. He arrives in an unknown area for a bit before finding the problem which will ironically lead him towards his counterpart. The only difference here though is the amount of allies.

In his first world, the Pride world, he had both Garfiel and Julius backing him up. In the second world, the Wrath world, at first he had Wilhelm, Frederica and Petra up until a certain point when he broke down and managed to somehow convince the watcher to let Beatrice be with him not only as an ally but as someone he can find comfort in.

Seeing that in this world he only has one ally, this makes him a bit hesitant since he doesn't know whether that is a good or bad thing. It would be a bad thing if the watcher was lying and this Sloth world's version of himself was a threat to both himself and Ram.

Though if the watcher was telling the truth, then in a sense it is a good thing to have just Ram and himself. He will get the chance to redeem himself in a way for what the other two versions of the pink haired oni had to endure due to his two counterparts' actions.

"What do you think I should do? For Rem I mean when we wake her up."

"..."

Ram had no words to this, not only being caught off guard by this but also a question she doesn't know how to properly answer. The only thing that comes to mind is for Subaru to make her sister feel like she is a goddess that had just awakened from her beauty sleep. The two were silent as they continued walking through the forest until finally an answer was given to Natsuki Subaru:

"Make her happy, Barusu. After all, you saved her when she couldn't control her oni form. You helped her be more happy after that night. Though you are nothing more than a pathetic bug crawling along the ground, you still make her happy. Keep it that way...or else."

"I will...wait..."

Subaru had a moment to pause since something didn't add up. He noticed that Ram was able to talk about the events of Meili's attack as if she had lived it herself. This made him somewhat hesitant to ask yet he had to know.

"How do you still remember Rem?"

"..."

Ram stopped for a moment as she noticed the question she was asked. She turned around and slapped the boy once again, although not with a lot of force, it still stung a bit.

"What was that for?!"

"You are clearly an idiot and a fool, Barusu. Of course I would remember my sister. Just how stupid are you?"

"Wait but...how..."

'How does she...remember?'

Subaru was dumbfounded since this was new. He was always hoping someone else would remember Rem, hoping that at the very least that it would be Ram. Although that is true now, he feels happiness but confusion since how is it possible for the pink haired oni to remember her sister.

'Is it because we are in a world that Rem probably wasn't erased?'

"Not necessarily."

Subaru's eyes widened as he heard the watcher's voice once again, surprised that he would even speak now.

'What are you implying?'

"Should someone from your world, like Ram for example, talk to Rem before she met her fate by Ley, things wouldn't change since they won't have their memories of her back, even if they go to a world where she never fell under Gluttony's authority."

'Okay, so how is Ram able to remember her sister?' Subaru asked in his thoughts, wanting answers from the watcher.

"Well, you forget that I do have a lot of power over things, such as memories."

'Of course you are the cause of this.' Subaru thinks to himself while also saying this to the watcher, feeling stupid for not having thought that the watcher could've been a cause for this. 'Why did you do it anyway?'

"Because you'll need it. I can't tell you more but just trust in that."

'Trust in that, how? You are still unknown to me, how can I ask to trust someone that won't tell me who they are or what their goals are?' As Subaru finished this thought in his mind, the watcher didn't respond. This annoyed the boy once again since he is still going in blind in this world, not knowing what kind of version of himself he will be dealing with. As Subaru was lost in thought, reality hit him hard as he received another slap by Ram.

"Barusu, have you lost your mind or what?"

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"For looking stupid. Come on, let's get to civilization before you drive me insane as well."

"I'm not insane!"

Ram smiled at how flustered she made her friend before continuing on in their path towards civilization. Subaru looked annoyed at first before a smile was formed, happy that he can still have his usual banter with Ram before following her.

While the two were walking through the forest, someone was watching in the background, wearing a cloak. He observed Ram first, noticing that she looks oddly familiar before turning towards Subaru's direction, noticing that he looks too familiar.

"He looks like..."

The person in the shadows paused itself before continuing to follow the two, curious on who they are since it recognizes them.

After an hour of walking, both Ram and Subaru arrive at a city that reminds the two of Priestella. With that in mind, the two eventually realized that they were in Kararagi, seeing that too many people spoke in a similar manner to the way Anastasia speaks.

"So Barusu, care to explain how we ended up here?" Ram said as she suspects it is Barusu's fault.

"And why did you come to this conclusion that I somehow brought us both here?" Subaru questioned as he knows for a fact that all of this wasn't his fault.

"Since you know what is going on, it is the best conclusion that it's all your fault Barusu. Now shut up and let me think."

As Ram said this, she looked around to see if she could pinpoint exactly where in Kararagi they were. While she was doing this, Subaru couldn't help but be amazed by the city, having reminders of his own hometown and some cities of Japan.

'So this is Kararagi...man, imagine if I had been teleported here instead of Lungica...'

Subaru was left thinking of all the things he would do in the city though he doesn't regret having been transported to Lugnica. He had been saved by Emilia, given a second chance to make things right, became Rem's hero, found two best friends with Garfiel Tinsel and Otto Suwen, and became an important person than he would ever be back at home.

While his mind was focused on what things Kararagi had in store for him, something caused him to pause.

'Wait. What would my counterpart of this world be doing in Kararagi? Could he actually have just ran away from everything? But if so, then why?'

This was a question he would need to solve if he wants to understand what exactly he is getting into yet his mind was completely caught off guard when he received a slap to the face.

"Stay focused, Barusu!"

"Ow! Stop that!"

"Then stop losing focus."

"Okay..."

"...follow me."

Subaru nodded before following Ram around the city, trusting that she can help him find either his counterpart or the possible source that caused his counterpart to have decided to go to Kararagi. While the two walked for a bit, Subaru started to have some flashes in his mind of when he went to the city with his parents.

'...those were the good old days...I wonder...what are they doing now?'

While Subaru thought this, Ram stopped all of a sudden which caught the boy's attention. He waited for a moment before asking her:

"Is something wrong?"

"...I haven't eaten. Let's get some food."

"Food? With what money?" Subaru said since despite also being hungry himself, they don't have any money. Ram stood silent before walking towards one of the stores without warning, catching Subaru off guard.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Subaru quickly followed the pink haired oni into one of the stores nearby, noticing that it is a noodle-like place.

"This looks...oddly familiar."

"What are you talking about?" Ram said sharply as she took notice of what the boy had said.

"This place gives me this feeling of being back at home."

"Back home?" Ram asked with a little curiosity, all things considered when it came to Subaru at least. The pink haired oni has known the boy for a while and yet she has no knowledge of his past or hometown. So hearing this caught her attention for once since this is information she wouldn't normally hear from the boy.

"Yeah...Sorry, I guess my homeland wouldn't interest you."

"It would be best to know what they are like so I can understand why you are such trash, Barusu."

"Okay, no need to be like that. Let's just get some food."

As Subaru says this, he takes the lead and begins to order some ramen for both Ram and himself. After the hell he has gone though in the last two worlds, he deserves this break. The two sit down at a two chaired table and wait for the food. As they wait, Subaru looks at Ram's direction for a brief moment only to see Rem there, dressed in a kimono with long hair.

'What is...going on?'

Subaru was completely caught off guard by this look, since he did find Rem attractive. Though that also had him starting to think about Emilia, wanting to see her in a kimono as well. While dozing off, he received another slap to the face by Ram, which Subaru figured since he was staring at her direction for a while. A few seconds passed by with Subaru rubbing his bruised cheek while Ram turned away with her eyes closed and her hands crossed.

"Don't look at me with those perverted eyes, Barusu. You brought this on yourself."

"...my bad..."

"Hmph."

The two stood silent for a bit until their ramen bowls were given to them. Subaru and Ram looked at the food with Subaru having a bit of nostalgia while Ram was curious on what she was seeing.

'I've seen this before...' Ram thought as she tried to pinpoint where exactly she saw this. Subaru began to eat after thanking the waiter for giving them their food, feeling somewhat calm for once. While the two began to eat, a person with grey robes and a hood entered the ramen shop.

Some of the people inside noticed the tall looking teenager yet they paid no mind to him as they went on with their business. The mysterious boy sat near Subaru and Ram after having ordered some ramen himself, wanting to listen in on what they had to say. As the boy sat down, Subaru eventually broke the silence between himself and Ram.

"How is the ramen?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...come on, say something."

"You are a moron."

"Not exactly what I was thinking but that is something." Subaru said as he ignored the insult thrown towards him. Ram continued to eat her ramen while keeping a blank facial expression, not wanting to give any expression to Subaru. While she continued to eat, she was left intrigued by how good the food was despite it coming from Barusu's hometown. She continued to eat for a bit before finally managing to finish her bowl of ramen. She sets her plate down and just glares at Subaru.

"What?"

"Hurry up, you are wasting my time."

"Fine. Fine. I'll finish up. Just give me a minute."

"Hmph."

Ram crossed her arms and turned away while Subaru looked back at his ramen bowl, trying to enjoy it as best as he could. The mysterious boy just looked at the two and couldn't help but find the situation a bit amusing though he was still curious about the two, especially Subaru himself. He along with Ram waited for Subaru to eventually finish up his ramen bowl. Subaru set his bowl down and was about to say something only to be slapped once again.

"Damn it, what the hell?! My cheeks are gonna be red and swollen at this rate!"

"You took too long!"

"I was enjoying my food."

"I don't care."

Subaru just glared for a moment before looking at the waiter approaching them, wondering whether or not Ram had some plan in paying for the food they just ate. He looked at her for a brief moment before asking:

"Okay, who is paying?"

"You."

"...excuse me, what?" Subaru had a moment of pause as he processed what Ram had said. After a few seconds, Subaru retorted this by saying:

"With what money?! I told you I didn't have any money!"

"Well, then figure this out."

"You little—"

Subaru was annoyed by this before turning his attention to the waiter, trying to think of what he could do to avoid any trouble. Just as he was coming up with a plan, he noticed a mysterious boy get in front of him.

"Huh?"

"Allow me."

Subaru and Ram both looked at each other for a moment, both of them being skeptical of the boy right in front of them. As they turn towards this unknown person, they can hear him with a fake deep voice say:

"I'm paying for these two as well."

The waiter nodded at this boy as they received the payment for the ramen before turning their attention towards something else. While the waiter left, the mysterious boy looked at Subaru and Ram.

"Could you two follow me?"

"...um, okay?" Subaru said as he doesn't want to start any trouble in a foreign land right off the bat. Ram stood up as well, having a blank expression as she was very skeptical of this but not wanting to show anything on her own face. She quickly moved in between both Subaru and the mysterious boy while asking in a sharp tone:

"Who are you?"

The stranger looked at Ram for a moment, keeping himself calm despite the hostile tone Ram was saying. There was a moment of silence before the stranger responded with:

"...that will be revealed later. Now come with me please."

"No, we won't." Ram spoke as she didn't trust this person. Many people looked at the three which caused Subaru and even the stranger to notice that they were getting attention.

The stranger stood still for a moment, silent and calm as he thought for a moment before turning around to look at the pink haired oni. As he looked at her, he began to say:

"We should take this outside. I'm not causing these people here any trouble."

"Yeah. Come on, Ram. We don't want to start causing a scene and get too much unwanted attention." Subaru said as he agreed with the boy that they should take this outside. Ram stood silent for a few seconds before agreeing to this.

"Hmph. Seems like you're finally getting smarter, Barusu."

Subaru could only glare at her before the three left the ramen shop, with Subaru and Ram both having their guard since they don't know who this person in front of them is.

The three walked around the city for a bit with Ram paying close attention towards the stranger, having an odd feeling about him while Subaru continued to look around the city, feeling nostalgic.

'If my counterpart really lives here, then maybe I might really get a break for once...'

Subaru closed his eyes for a brief moment as he felt that something was amiss in this world. Seeing that this city is calm and doesn't seem like a farce, it makes him curious to know if the stranger knows his counterpart.

"Hey, do you know someone named Natsuki Subaru?"

"..."

There was no response yet Ram gave Subaru a look of confusion yet a stern one, causing Subaru to stay silent for the remainder of the walk.

After a couple of minutes had passed, they eventually reached a road where not a lot of people were walking around.

Ram and Subaru both look around and could tell that something is fishy here.

These prompted the two to keep their guards up. After a few minutes, the stranger stopped in the middle of a road with a few bystanders walking by.

Seeing this increased Ram's distrust towards the stranger, causing her to slowly move to grab her wand in the case a fight breaks out meanwhile Subaru looks around for a moment, observing the place they are at.

As he was distracted by this, he started to see his parents for some reason, causing him to freeze for a moment before his mind got back into reality.

He saw that the stranger pulled out a kunai which caused the boy to prepare his whip, also ready for a fight to break loose. The stranger analyzed the two for a brief moment before asking his question for them.

"What are your names?"

"...why do you want to know that?" Ram asked with a hostile manner.

"This is your one chance to avoid a fight with me. Who are you two?"

Ram looked with an angry facial expression, preparing her mana for a wind attack. Just as she was going to attack the stranger, Subaru got in front of her in hopes of calming the oni down while also wanting answers himself.

"You never answered my question. Do you know someone named Natsuki Subaru?"

"Barusu, why are you asking such a stupid question? Have you lost your mind?" Ram said as she was more cautious than before. Subaru looked at her as he was going to respond to her question only for the stranger to answer him first.

"That is something I won't answer until you two answer my question first."

"Like hell we will." As Ram said this, she fired a powerful wind attack towards the stranger, prompting him to quickly evade the attack. Subaru was surprised by this while Ram continued to have a blank face. The stranger looked at Ram's direction while saying:

"I suppose if I want answers...I'll have to beat them out of you."

As the stranger finished saying this, he stepped to the side and from where he once was, a perfect replica of himself stood there like it had been in that space all along.

"My mother said I should have been one set of a pair of twins." The first said.

"Nah, that's a lie." The second one interjected before it stepped to the right.

Just like before, a third version of himself stood in the spot where the other had walked away from.

"I think that we should've been triplets." The second sardonically stated.

"That would be a lie too." The third said with a long suffering sigh before it stepped back, allowing a fourth clone to take its spot.

"Now then…" The fourth started to say, before all of them had a familiar, to Subaru, weapon appeared in their hands.

"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO ANSWER PEACEFULLY. NOW WE DO THIS THE HARD WAY." Every single clone stated in perfect unison.

'The hell? He can...clone himself?!'

Subaru was stunned for a second since he has seen this ability before in some show he once watched. Before he could think more on it, the fight broke out with Ram charging towards the three clones and leaving himself to deal with the real deal.

"Well...shit. So much for this being peaceful." He muttered as he took his whip out and gave it a test crack.

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 2: Passing storm

Ram dodged all the attacks thrown by three of the four clones of the mysterious boy while Subaru was struggling to even land a hit on the fourth clone. Subaru realized that this was a big problem since he is essentially useless and might even get killed because of it.

'Damn you watcher, you fucking prick. You say this world is peaceful...DOES THIS LOOK FUCKING PEACEFUL?!'

While he was shouting this in his own mind, he continued to try to land a hit on his opponent with his whip.

The mysterious boy that was facing Subaru noticed this yet he didn't move as he figured he could dodge the attacks with ease. As the mysterious boy stands still, Subaru takes this opportunity to surprise him by preparing to use his invisible providence.

"You stand there like this is a cake walk." Subaru said, trying to trip up his opponent only to be meet with:

"Well it is, you are just as pathetic like him...actually, even more so."

'Pathetic like him? Is he referring to my counterpart? He has to be!'

With Subaru concluding to this, he was more determined than ever to try and win the fight, hoping that his win could get him some information on his counterpart of this world.

He continued to throw attacks with his whip, being careful to move his opponent to a specific location before using his trump card, Invisible Providence.

While Subaru was doing this, Ram continued to hold her own against three of the clones. She dodged a few attacks before starting to block off the rest with her superior strength.

As she blocked each attack, she had an odd feeling that this opponent of hers was similar to her in some way. She waited for a moment before managing to grab on one of the clone's fists.

As she does this, she takes this opportunity to use her oni power for the briefest of moments to land a knockout punch. The other two clones took notice of this and quickly reacted by pulling out their kunai, seeing that Ram isn't someone to take lightly.

"You'll regret that."

"Is that so?"

Ram gave the two clones of the mysterious boy a glare, one that caused the two to pause in their tracks for a second. Ram noticed this and quickly took her opportunity to use her wind magic to attack the two clones while they were stunned for that one second.

Just as the wind attack was about to hit the two clones, the clone dodging all of Subaru's attacks quickly leaves his fight with the incompetent boy to save his other two clones.

He pushed the two out of the way before pulling out his kunai to block off Ram's attack. Both Subaru and Ram noticed this, seeing that they shouldn't underestimate the mysterious boy and his clones.

'Shit, I need to think of something and quickly or we will both be killed.'

The boy thought quickly on what he could do. He thought about using Invisible Providence like he was planning before his opponent decided to leave their fight yet he knew the risks.

Should he mess up, he would be useless and would leave Ram on a massive disadvantage. This prompted him to look at his whip, seeing how he isn't useful anyway considering just how easy his opponent was dodging all of his attacks.

'Damn. What the hell can we do?'

The boy thought and thought and thought until something came to his mind.

'What if I use Cor Leonis? That could work but that would still make me useless. Last time I used this on Ram, it was very straining on me...'

Subaru looked up to see that the three remaining clones of the mysterious boy were all slowly approaching him and Ram. This made him see that using Cor Leonis is the best chance for both himself and Ram to win the fight.

"Ram, do you trust me?"

"What is your stupid plan now, Barusu?"

"Remember back at the Pleiades Watchtower, how you were able to go all out against the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony?"

"That wasn't long ago, idiot."

"Okay, my bad. Do you remember—?"

"I remember. Are you implying that I do all the work while you stay on the sidelines like the lazy boy you are?"

Subaru just stood silent as he didn't have some quick-witted retort this time. Ram took note of this silence before turning towards the three approaching clones. She sighs before saying to the boy,

"Just stand back, Barusu. Also, don't get in my way."

"Alright."

Subaru nodded before activating his Greed authority, taking in all of the burden away from the pink haired oni.

While he did this, Ram herself closed her eyes as she started to use her oni powers, having her forehead glow. This once again paused the three clones of the mysterious boy.

"...who the hell are you?!" One of them said as they sounded both surprised but also slightly angry. Ram heard this yet she had a confident smile while holding her wand tightly, preparing herself for round 2.

"If you wish to know, you'll have to beat me."

"So be it."

All three clones said in unison before suddenly summoning their own individual horns. Ram's confident facial expression slowly faded as she started to figure out that this boy is not just a simple strong human. Subaru also noticed this, causing him to think,

'What the?! Are they...demons as well?!'

He remembered when he first discovered Rem being a demon, during the time when he was trying to save Meili from the Mabeast and seeing Rem get injured to the point that she took out her horn. He was having the same exact feeling here yet at the same time, he felt a strange connection to this boy that he couldn't explain.

'Is this boy...related to someone I know in this world?'

Subaru started to puzzle things together, having a feeling that he is in the right direction with this. While he was trying to connect the dots, Ram charged at the three clones with everything she had, knowing now that she has to go all out.

The three clones and Ram clashed with the pink haired maid managing to dodge all of the kunai attacks from the three clones before going on an aggressive offense.

She managed to land a couple of powerful hits on all three clones of the mysterious boy, pushing them back a bit but only for a brief moment before they quickly recovered.

Once this happened, the three all coordinated a few of their attacks in order to break Ram's guard, hoping that this would give them the opportunity to land the knockout punch.

The pink haired oni was aware of the clones' plan, seeing this as a childish and short-sighted plan but one she was curious to see if they could pull off.

She continued to block off the coordinated attacks from the two clones before noticing the third clone waiting for the right moment before charging in for one strong hit.

Knowing this now, she prepared something to counter the attack while dodging and blocking the other two.

'Whoever this is, they are a strong oni. I must be careful.'

Having a good grasp on the clones' strength, she waited just until the right moment before blocking the fatal attack from the third clone.

"What?"

"Too predictable."

"The hell I—!"

"Shut up."

Ram knocked out the third clone of the mysterious boy, prompting the other two to start throwing a couple of ninja stars with intense force.

Ram responded with this by sending a powerful Al Fula. With the wind attack pushing away the ninja stars, the two clones of the mysterious boy were hesitant to continue on fighting since this opponent is incredibly strong and scary looking at this point.

'Man...where is she when I need her...?'

While one of the two clones thinks this, the two quickly go hide into the shadows to rethink their plan.

As they do this, she turns towards Subaru to see that he was barely holding his own. He was coughing out blood since he was pushing his body's limit due to how much crazy strength Ram was using.

'Damn, this is a lot more painful than last time...but I won't give up...'

Subaru just gave Ram a thumbs up, wanting to make sure her friend doesn't worry for his sake.

Ram could see right through this yet she understood that she needs to focus on the fight ahead and to finish it fast since Subaru won't be able to hold out for long.

'You are stupid Barusu...but I will hurry up.'

She started to move swiftly towards the shadow area, trying to finish the fight until suddenly just one of the clones attacked her head on. She was caught off guard by this and ended up receiving a punch to the face.

Although this would normally do intense damage to her, Subaru took the damage which caused him to collapse to the ground, barely conscious.

'Fuck! That was a bit more than I expected...'

Subaru thought as he was doing his best to get back on his feet, his entire body completely in extreme pain.

Ram noticed this after having recovered from the punch, seeing that the hit she took is doing immense damage to her friend.

Being aware of this, she looks sharply at her opponent since she can't take another hit like that without risking Subaru's life.

'Just hang in there, Barusu. I'll end this quickly.'

She landed on her feet before quickly charging at the one clone of the mysterious boy, prepared to take him on while also keeping in mind that the other one is probably waiting to pop out when she is too distracted by her current opponent.

The two clashed fists for a moment before Ram quickly managed to land a hit on the boy's face.

The boy was not only caught off guard by this but he was also near the point of unconsciousness. The other clone saw this and knew that he had to do something since he is the remaining fighter.

He waited for a moment before pulling two kunai to try and stab his opponent, viewing the pink haired maid as a big threat now after seeing what she is capable of with her oni powers.

Just as he jumped out of his hiding place to try and stab Ram in the back, the pink haired oni was able to detect this and blocked off the attack.

While she blocked off the attack, the mysterious boy looked at Subaru for a moment to notice how he looks like he is dying.

'What the hell?! What happened to him?!'

Seeing the boy near death forced him to abandon his fight with Ram to check on the well state of Subaru.

Ram noticed this and thought that he was going after her ally, prompting her to quickly make her way to Subaru's position as well while also using her most powerful wind magic to stop the mysterious boy from closing in on her ally.

The mysterious boy noticed this and quickly was forced to defend himself by blocking off the attack, allowing Ram to get close to Subaru's position before her opponent could.

Once she does this, she checks up on the boy to see that he was barely able to stand.

"Barusu!"

"D-Don't worry Ram...I'll be fine..."

"Don't be stupid. You are going to kill yourself for the dumbest reason. Rest up, now."

"N-Not yet!"

As Subaru said this, he noticed their remaining opponent was approaching them in a threatening manner, prompting him to try and use Invisible Providence while he had the chance.

He turned off his Greed Authority to use his Sloth Authority, allowing him to shoot out an unseen hand from his chest area.

Once this happened, he waited for the right chance before landing a hit on the mysterious boy since he wasn't expecting it at all.

This sent the clone flying back for a brief moment while Subaru collapsed to the ground with his mind trying its best to stay conscious.

"Barusu!"

"Haha...sorry, I couldn't help but...get a little payback..."

"You are useless and pathetic."

"I know."

Just as he said this, the two felt a powerful presence around. Ram got her wand out and ready for a fight, relying on her own mana as she knows that Subaru is too injured to keep using Cor Leonis.

She looks up to see a woman, one with white skin, and wearing an immaculate pure white kimono with green and black decorations. Subaru takes a glimpse at this while Ram continues to have her guard out.

The woman in the white kimono landed in front of the pink haired oni, at first very hostile looking until she took a closer look at her opponent to see something odd.

"Very strange, you look almost identical to someone I know. Or well a while back actually."

"Hm. Who are you?" Ram spoke in her serious tone of voice, not trusting this woman in front of her. The woman takes note of this hostile like behavior, prompting her to prepare her wind magic abilities.

"Shall you be my next victim, woman?"

"Hmph. From what I can see, you are nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a woman."

The two give each other a death stare before both throwing their strongest wind magic, managing to counter each other's attack.

While this happened, the mysterious boy's three clones disappeared, leaving only him, the original, around. He slowly got up with his jaw hurting since he was still annoyed by the invisible providence attack.

'What the hell was that?'

He looks at the direction he was punched to notice that someone has arrived to assist him since they are taking on against the pink haired oni maid.

He was about to join until he looked at Subaru and saw how he was struggling to stand up despite how he was dying.

This gave him the opportunity to check on the boy, wanting to know who he was along with making sure that he didn't die. Once he closed in, he helped Subaru to get up on his feet which surprised him for a moment.

Once he assisted Subaru on his feet, he looked at him for a moment before trying to land a surprise punch on him. The mysterious boy blocks the attack with ease while asking in a serious tone of voice,

"Who are you two?"

"Who the hell are you? Who is that woman there?"

"Hey! I asked you first."

Subaru and the mysterious boy just looked at each other with an intense glare before Subaru tried to attack the mysterious boy once again with his remaining strength.

Although the mysterious boy could have blocked the attack, he allowed Subaru's punch to land on his face.

As the attack connected, the boy didn't feel pain since Subaru's attack wasn't strong enough to do anything.

"Hm. Why am I not surprised? You and the old man are pathetically weak."

"...A-are you calling me...old?"

Subaru finally gave in to his injuries and lost consciousness.

Subaru opened his eyes, thinking that he had died permanently until he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

'Hm? So did I survive?'

Subaru was uncertain about this since he is aware that he doesn't have Return by Death yet seeing that he is in an unknown location that isn't the void with the watcher, he is more positive that he survived the fight.

He slowly got up to see clearly that he was in a hospital of sorts, something similar to his hometown.

'Wait...was it all just...a dream?'

This thought caused him to panic since he didn't want every experience he had in Lugnica to be for nothing. He tried to get up in a hurry only to realize that his body was in pain.

"Sh-Shit!"

"Man, you really are a lively one."

"Huh?"

Subaru turned towards the voice in the room to see that there was someone hiding in the shadows. Although he can't tell who it is, he does find the voice familiar.

"Are you an ally or someone I should worry about?" Subaru asked with a skeptical tone, not sure if he should prepare himself to make a run for it despite the injuries he had received when using Cor Leonis.

The person in the shadow took note on what he was asked by the boy, causing the room to be silent for a brief moment before he responded in a calm manner:

"I get it, my pupil kinda went a bit overboard in fighting you and your lady—"

"Please don't phrase it like that, Ram would kill you for saying it like that."

"Ah, my bad. Your pal then."

"That's better...actually, where is she?" The person in the shadow noticed the change of tone the boy had when speaking of Ram. This reminded him of someone he has known for a long time, giving a smile on his face.

"No need to worry about your friend, she is outside. We asked her if she wanted to see you but she said that you would be fine because 'you are a stupidly lucky'."

"Hm. Of course she would say something like that." Subaru said with a smile, just happy that Ram is alright. The shadow person noticed this, causing him to also smile before having a curious question.

"You know, I haven't gotten your name yet."

"...right." Subaru was hesitant since he still isn't sure if his counterpart has done anything that would put him in trouble.

This caused him to be silent for a second before making a choice. He gets out of the bed regardless of his injuries and points his finger up at the sky while saying,

"My name is Natsuki Subaru. I'm completely lost and broke."

Regardless of the risk, he needs to know what his counterpart has done in this world. Whether this world's Subaru became corrupted like the Sin Archbishop of Pride or maybe a paranoid wreck like the Purge King.

The shadow person stood silent for about the minute, processing what he just heard and saw before laughing. Subaru couldn't help but feel a bit insulted by the laugh for a bit before just letting it slide.

"Just as I think I've seen everything at this point, I can't help but be surprised once again. Pleasure to meet you, Su-san."

"Su-san?" The boy questioned, having heard that nickname before by one of Purge King's helpers. With this in mind, the person in the shadows reveals himself to be the exact person he was thinking about.

"Halibel?"

"Hm? You know me?" The wolf human asks as he was a bit surprised by this but only for a moment.

"Something like that."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I'm popular here so I suppose my name would be going around."

Subaru laughed this off since in reality, he had only known of Halibel due to his confrontation with the Purge King and his group, the Pleiades.

Although he could mention this, it would come off as weird and unneeded. After a few seconds, Subaru sat back on the bed since his entire chest area was hurting.

"Seems like you took it pretty bad." Halibel said, trying to be sympathetic to the boy. Subaru appreciated the kindness, prompting him to respond with:

"Sort of. Ram's the one who fought the most."

"Yeah but you looked pretty beaten up. Ya must have done a lot to end up in such a state."

"I guess..." Subaru paused as he went into his own thoughts. 'I mean, Cor Leonis helped a lot but I still felt like I wasn't able to help a lot more like before.'

"That's because Ram isn't at full strength."

'What do you mean?' Subaru asked in his thoughts to the watcher.

"Remember, Ram is still recovering from her fight. So your Greed authority was working but due to the power she wanted to use, it was going to affect you in a negative way."

'Fair but why keep her in a weak state then? You gave her back the memories of Rem but not help her be back at full strength?'

"I suggest you focus on Halibel."

'What—?'

"So, what brings you and your pal here, Natsuki Subaru?" Halibel said, which caught Subaru's attention.

"W-Well we are looking for someone."

"Oh. Who?" The wolf human asked in a curious tone.

"Someone...actually, I want to ask some questions of my own before answering yours."

"Go ahead. It wouldn't be fair if I'm the only one gathering information." Halibel calmly says this as he takes a smoke from his pipe. Subaru takes a moment to think carefully on what he should ask, knowing that there is that lingering question he had since he encountered Halibel in Purge King's world but also the question on his wolf human's apprentice.

"Who is that boy? The one that you call your pupil?"

"Oh. He is the son of my neighbor. His parents don't fully know about his secret ninjutsu skills I taught him after he begged for almost a year."

"Ninjutsu skills? Like a ninja?" Subaru asked with some excitement in his voice. Halibel noticed this and couldn't help but feel some déjà vu. This prompted a smile on his face before responding with:

"Yeah, there are a lot of techniques."

"Really?! That's so cool."

Halibel chuckled a bit when he heard this, being reminded of how his pupil acted when he first learned some ninja skills. After a moment, Subaru regained his composure into a serious one though with some light tone of voice.

"That is pretty neat to hear but one thing that caught my attention was something your pupil did."

"Hm? What could that be?"

"Is he an oni?"

The atmosphere had paused since things started to get serious. Halibel continued to stay calm and chill while smoking his special herb while thinking carefully on Subaru's question.

"Well, he does share oni blood."

"Ah. That's what I suspected..." Subaru paused himself for a moment, feeling that it was time to ask something important. "...hey, Halibel, can I ask you something important?"

"Um, sure. What is it Su-san?" Halibel asked with a calm and friendly tone.

"What would make you turn on your boss?"

"Huh?" Halibel was a bit confused by the question, something that Subaru caught.

"Sorry, I should give a little context to this. Say you are working for someone you know that does well…evil things but you have a debt to them. What would be the core reason to turn on them?"

Halibel was still very confused by this question, even with the context it didn't help but he did try to find an answer that could satisfy Subaru. He closed his eyes and went into deep thinking while Subaru started to figure that this was probably a bad idea.

'Even with the context, it won't fully answer my question on why Halibel of that world helped me...I probably should've just left it as is.'

As this was running through the boy's mind, Halibel was able to find an answer to the weird question he had been asked.

"I suppose my friend, or well, neighbors would be the only reason I would turn on, say, an evil boss."

"What do you mean?" Subaru questioned out of curiosity.

"I met them two when they were having a rough time. He was very lively with his lovely girl always being by his side. The three of us became friends and had done a lot of misadventures, as he would put. We have gone through a lot and should I be following the wrong crowd, I know they will let me know."

"...what if your friends go evil all of a sudden?" Subaru questioned while also having a theory on the two people Halibel was referring to.

"Well, that's kinda hard honestly. She would assure he wouldn't go evil, plus he is a bit of a stubborn man to even go evil."

Subaru heard this and couldn't help but start to understand why this world is different and considered 'peaceful'.

Once understanding this, both Halibel and him turned towards the door as it began to open, noticing that it was Ram. She entered with a kimono attire, catching Subaru completely off guard.

"Oh, so you have finally awakened, stupid Barusu."

"Y-Yeah. I'm up." Subaru said this with a slightly nervous tone of voice. Ram picked up on this and quickly said,

"What Barusu? What are you nervous about now?"

"I'm not nervous! Just caught off guard."

Ram raised an eyebrow at this for a moment before figuring out why Subaru was caught off guard.

"You pervert."

"How am I a pervert?!"

"Your disgusting look! How dare you lust over my precious body!"

"Sh-Shut up! I just didn't think I would s-see you in a kimono...actually why are you in a kimono?!" Subaru said as he tried to save face. Ram quickly responded in her usual snarky tone:

"Well Barusu, after you proved to be useless as always, that woman and I had a long drawn out fight. My outfit was a mess so that kind gentleman that you are with paid for my new outfit. So, you owe Halibel however much this nice outfit costs."

"What?! With what freaking money?!"

"That's your problem."

"What?!"

Subaru's eye twitched with anger while Halibel couldn't help but break out laughing as he didn't think he would find the two funny with their interactions. Subaru gave Halibel a look to which the wolf human said to him:

"Sorry, ya two are just funny. No need to worry about the kimono, I did it mostly because my pupil attacked you two. So, he is to blame."

"That's not nice, Halibel-sensai."

Subaru, Halibel, and Ram all three turned towards the voice to see that it was the mysterious boy, still hiding under the hood.

"Well, you should have taken a calmer approach." Halibel said in a serious manner while still looking calm.

"Yeah...I guess..."

Ram and Subaru both approached the mysterious boy, both having some questions with the first one being:

"What is your name?"

"..."

"Come on kid, we need to know what to call you."

"...Rigel."

"Rigel, what a weird name." Ram said.

"Hey, it isn't weird. It's the name of a star."

"It's whatever at this point." Rigel said, indifferent about his name at this point. Halibel approached Rigel to tell him,

"I would like you to take these two to your parents."

"Wait why Halibel-sensai?"

"Because, I have a feeling that they might know them." Halibel spoke with confidence, yet Rigel was reluctant about this.

"B-But—"

"Come on, Rigel. You owe them this much. Especially after you attacked them."

Rigel was annoyed by this since he was a bit aggressive when trying to extract information. Even then, he ended up getting his ass whooped by Ram.

"...f-fine but accompany me at least. I don't want to be alone with them."

"Oh you'll be fine. I believe in you." Halibel says this as he pats his pupil on his left shoulder. Just as he did this, he turned towards Subaru and Ram to alert them of what was going on. "You two should follow my pupil to meet his parents, I have a feeling that they would be people of great interest."

"Are you sure about that?" Subaru asked with some concern.

"Trust me, it might be worthwhile."

Ram and Subaru looked at each other, both skeptical but seeing how Halibel was being nice to the pair, they reluctantly listened and began to go with Rigel. Before leaving, Rigel looked at Subaru with a bit of a glare.

"What?"

"Shouldn't you be resting a bit more?"

"I'll be fine. I've taken worse before."

"Ha. That's funny coming from you, lazy Barusu."

"Hey! I have!"

"Of course you have." Ram responded with sarcasm, annoying Subaru to the core.

"We both know I did a lot, especially during the Mabeast attack."

"You did poorly. If anything, sissy and I did all of the work along with Roswaal-sama. All you did was be in the way."

"That's not true!"

Subaru and Ram continued this with Rigel just hiding underneath his hood. While they were leaving, Halibel stood quiet with a smile on his face.

He continued to find their conversation funny but he was also interested to know how the confrontation between his friend and Natsuki Subaru would go.

'Su-san, you are going to have quite the chat. You and your pal.'

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 3: Coming together

Rigel led Subaru and Ram out of the hospital and started to lead them deeper into the city, wanting to check something out first.

'Damn it Halibel-sensai...I wished that you would accompany me with these two. Now it's going to be weird...'

Rigel thought of this before they went deeper into the city, heading towards the fastest path towards his home.

During their walk, Subaru looked at his surroundings to see that Banan looked rather peaceful compared to the stories he heard.

("Hoshin was Banan's sunset.")

("'Hoshin was Banan's sunset' is a saying based on the tale of how the legendary trader, Hoshin, brought the small nation of Banan to ruin.")

He remembered that phrase told to him by Garfiel Tinsel and the tale behind that phrase from Otto Suwen both in the same failed loop back in the Sanctuary.

'If what was told to me was true, considering the saying meaning to either surrender or prepare for an all-out attack, then why is the place that originated the saying be...well different.'

With this in his mind, he was still caught off guard that the city of Banan he presumed that the place would be a death trap for any newcomers like Ram and himself would be extremely peaceful.

As this was on his mind for a bit, he did look to see that a lot of the people around him were wearing much nicer clothing than him specifically. Even Rigel with the coat and hood he's wearing was still rather decent compared to him.

'Hm...I probably should change out of these clothes...'

Subaru turned towards Rigel's direction to ask him:

"Is it okay for me to get some clothes? I completely feel out of place."

"That's a first." Ram said which annoyed Subaru to a small degree.

Rigel turned towards Subaru's direction for the briefest of moments before looking forwards, annoyed at the situation he found himself in.

"Anyway, think you can help with that?"

"Why should I?" Rigel responded like a rebellious teenager.

"Okay, I shouldn't have to remind you that Halibel basically said that—"

"I know what he said! I don't need to be reminded da—umbass."

"Language!" Subaru said with his arms crossed, a bit annoyed at the way the kid was speaking to him. This just reminded him of when Garfiel hated him, though it wasn't to this degree where he was just throwing childish insults.

Ram looked with a blank facial expression though he was slowly getting annoyed by the way Rigel was acting.

Had this childish and misguided anger be directed towards her...the boy would not be getting away with any mercy.

The moment turned into a slightly tense silence with Subaru still annoyed by the way he looked compared to everyone else around him.

"Okay, is there any other solutions we can use for my attire problem?"

"You can wait until we get to my place. There should be something there that'll fit you." Rigel responded with a slightly aggressive tone.

Subaru would want to correct this but seeing that this boy has some kind of temper, he doesn't want to push his luck. He remained silent as he decided to just pay close attention to the structure of the city.

"Hey Ram." Subaru whispered. "If I recall, the city of Banan went downhill because of Hoshin, didn't it?"

"Hm?" Ram looked at him with a curious look. Subaru noticed this which caused him to continue to speak:

"The phrase, 'Hoshin was Banan's sunset'. Didn't it refer to how a legendary trader, Hoshin, brought this place to ruin? It looks too well run and successful to me."

Ram paused for a moment, a bit surprised that her ally had acquired such knowledge. She crossed her arms while taking a moment to think before responding to Subaru's valid questions with:

"I'm surprised. Lazy Barusu actually has some decent knowledge of something like that."

"..." Subaru just looked at Ram, annoyed. She continued:

"Well, you aren't wrong. The trader known as Hoshin brought ruin to what was once considered a small nation but from the look of things, the people here have managed to fix themselves up."

"Yeah but some of these looks are a bit too...familiar..."

"Familiar? In what way?" Ram asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you mean the look of Japanese?" Rigel said as he decided to enter Ram and Subaru's conversation.

Subaru was taken aback from this since he wasn't expecting the boy to know of such things.

Before he could even ask the question, Rigel figured what Subaru was thinking, prompting him to say:

"If you want to know, one of my parents knows about this stuff."

"Makes sense but which one?" Subaru asked with some suspicion, having a sneaky feeling that it is his counterpart.

"...wouldn't you like to know..."

Rigel's response did annoy Subaru since this isn't helping him in the slightest.

"I should also let you know about that phrase. People here don't like it so refrain from referring to it."

Subaru took note of what Rigel said, prompting him to nod while keeping himself from looking annoyed.

He hasn't been able to figure anything of importance except for the fact that Rigel is an oni and that his counterpart could have something to do with the world.

This prompted him to say,

'Hey, jackass, are you listening to me?' Subaru thought, wanting the attention of the watcher. He waited a minute or two before he got a response:

"Yes? What do you want?"

'You are aware of what's going on, so where the hell is my counterpart?' Subaru said this in his mind with an annoyed tone. There was another moment of silence before the watcher responded.

"You'll interact with him. Just be patient."

'You really are no help, are you?'

"If I guided you around like a child, you would learn nothing."

Subaru got annoyed by what the watcher had said. He stood silent as he just started to puzzle everything together.

'Okay, let's start with what I know. I see that Halibel isn't someone I'll have to worry about and he did give me important information, that being the fact that Rigel is an oni. Another thing is that one of the boy's parents knows Japanese ascetics considering how people are dressed here...unless that's just Kararagi? Nevermind that, if one of Rigel's parents knows about the word Japanese, then they have to be someone who was isekai'd. Given the fact that he is, from what Halibel said, part Oni and has a parent who is isekaid, then that means—'

"Barusu! Stop sleepwalking, idiot." Ram slapped Subaru in the head, causing him to snap out of his thinking mode.

"Huh?" Subaru rubbed his head as it was hurting.

"Focus on the situation at hand, idiot Barasu."

"What's going...?" Subaru paused on his question as he noticed that the lady from before was standing in front of them.

'Crap. As if we need another fight breaking out...'

Subaru was on his guard with Ram preparing her wand should she need to defend herself and her useless ally.

Rigel just stood still as he looked at the woman in front of him with a blank facial expression. The air was tense for a brief moment with everything dead silent until eventually the woman spoke out:

"Rigel, what are you doing with them? Are they still causing you trouble? Shall I…kill them?" The woman's eyes were slowly turning into one of bloodlust, causing Subaru to step back with Ram slowly moving her wand out.

"Last I checked, I was winning the fight. Not only are you still a pathetic excuse of a woman but a poor fighter."

"We could fix that."

The woman spoke with an annoyed facial expression, her eyes having those of death itself.

Subaru wasn't sure on how to handle this specific situation except for preparing his body to reuse Cor Leonis, knowing that this could possibly kill him this time.

Before a fight almost broke out between the two, Rigel closed his arms and spoke in a serious tone of voice:

"Zarestia! Please stop. These two...are not a threat...(plus I don't want to get in trouble with Halibel-sama again)."

Zarestia looked at Rigel for a moment, noticing that something had changed within the last few hours. She closed her eyes to hold the urge to kill just so she can understand why Rigel wants to protect the two that they were fighting. Once she was calm, she looked at him and began to question him.

"What's the change now? Don't you want me to kill them?"

"We talked about this...or well mom talked about this with you, you can't just kill people who cause me trouble. I can fight my own battles."

"Hmph. You barely were a challenge." Ram said which caused Rigel to turn towards her with a glare. Ram noticed this and glared back, the two locking in an intense glare for a moment before the boy turned back towards Zarestia, somewhat afraid of the pink haired oni now.

'Why the hell does she remind me of mom when she's mad...?'

Rigel thought this to himself while he looked at Zarestia. At first he had a serious face but after a few seconds, he turned it into a tired one. He sighed for a moment before saying to Zarestia:

"Halibel-sensai."

"Halibel? What does that wolf creature have..." She paused for a moment as she figured out what Rigel was trying to tell her. "Man, he can be a real pain. Why don't we kill them and pretend that they left the city?"

"Zarestia. Think about what mother would say."

Zarestia took a moment to think on what Rigel said, being a bit annoyed since she knew what the boy's mother would say.

"*Sigh*, she would say that it is wrong."

"And?"

"And that I should keep my urges to kill in check."

"Yeah, she would scold you."

Zarestia managed to keep her urge to kill at bay thanks to what Rigel had said. Ram and Subaru both noticed this with Subaru being relieved that things hadn't gotten violent while Ram looked with disappointment at the woman in the white kimono.

"That's so sad. The fact that mere words from someone who isn't here are able to make you stand down. That's just pathetic."

"Hmph." Zarestia pouted as she was annoyed that she can't do anything, especially to the pink haired oni who was being mean to her. Rigel and Subaru both also couldn't help but also feel like that was a bit out of line.

The four remained silent for a bit before Zarestia signaled Rigel towards him, wanting to speak alone with Subaru and Ram listening in. Rigel took note of this and quickly turned towards Subaru and Ram to say:

"Stay here real quick. Please try not to look suspicious. I will kick your asses if you try something stupid."

"Ha! That's funny coming from you." Ram said, knowing that she can beat Rigel without Subaru's assistance.

Rigel was tempted to say something back but he was too annoyed at this point. He turned towards Subaru, his look shifting into one of seriousness rather than annoyance before saying:

"Just keep her in check."

"..." Subaru just stood silent, knowing that anything he said could result in Ram's full wrath towards him. Rigel took note of this and just turned around to go speak with Zarestia alone. As he was going with Zarestia a few feet away from Subaru and Ram, the two proceed to speak.

"Ram, was it really necessary to be this...insulting?"

Ram just looked at Subaru for the briefest of moments before responding to him while having her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

"If they can't handle such words, then they are worthless like you, Barusu."

"Are you serious?" Subaru asked in annoyance, disliking the fact that she calls him useless when he was helping in making sure that she can go all out without any repercussions to her. Ram noticed the question and gave her a unique response.

"Considering that I did more than you, of course I'm being serious. A simple mind like yours can't understand anything, Barusu. So stop thinking and shut up."

"..."

While Subaru was left annoyed by this conversation, Rigel and Zarestia both turned to look at Subaru and Ram, waiting to see if they are going to do something stupid.

After a moment of looking, the two could start their conversation.

"What is the reason for this, Zarestia?"

"Well Rigel, those two look a bit familiar, don't you think?"

"..." Rigel stood silent, having suspected this ever since he encountered the two in the forest. At first he wasn't sure since there could be people that happen to look alike but upon closer examination and having spoken with the two, he knows who Subaru is.

As for Ram, he has some suspicions but he isn't too sure. Zarestia looked at the two for a moment before noticing something.

"That boy, he definitely looks a lot like—"

"I know! I don't need you to tell me that."

"Okay. No need to get mad. Remember, I'm still much stronger than you." She says this in both a teasing but threatening manner. Rigel just shrugged this off.

"Anyway, it's the boy's companion that has my attention."

"She sure is quite the annoying bug." Zarestia quickly said as she disliked how insulting Ram was.

"Yeah...I don't know her deal but I know she is an oni, like me."

"Another oni? That's surprising. There are only two I know of, one of them is dead."

"Yes, my parents told me about it. Heck, you accused my mom about—"

"A-Anyway..." Zarestia interrupted Rigel in a bashful tone, not wanting to remember a mistake she had made. "...this oni, she reminds me of your mother. Do you think that they are related?"

"Well...I mean I don't know. Maybe? I mean not every demi human looks the same."

"Yeah but she looks a lot like her, especially during the first few days I interacted with her and your annoying father."

"Hm..." Rigel went into deep thinking, trying to puzzle things together. Zarestia looked back at the duo they left on their own, seeing that Subaru was getting annoyed by something.

She figured it was probably something from Ram before turning her attention back to Rigel.

"Why don't we ask them if they know your parents? Maybe—"

"No. I mean yeah, that will make things easy if we want to know who they are and what connection they have to my parents but then again, I don't trust them. Especially that boy."

The two looked at Subaru and Ram one last time, noticing that they were having some conversation at this point.

"Would you like me to join you?" Zarestia asked, figuring that if these two prove to be a threat, she can kill them on the spot.

"Yes. Please."

"Okay. I'll join you. Plus, it gives me a chance to talk with your mom."

"About what?" Rigel asked in a curious tone of voice. Zarestia just had a smile on her face, thinking about how long it has been since she had spoken with her closest friend.

Rigel just looked at Zarestia, annoyed since he didn't get a response, but he didn't press on the matter either, considering that there was something else he had in mind.

He along with Zarestia approached the two for a moment, hearing the end of the conversation.

"You are still as stupid as ever, Barusu."

"You keep saying that but it doesn't answer my question."

"Hmph. That can be discuss at another time, stupid Barusu."

Subaru was going to say something but he noticed that Zarestia and Rigel were approaching the two. He took a deep breath to calm himself with Ram just giving everyone a blank facial expression.

"Alright you two, just continue to follow me and Zarestia. Do anything stupid and we will take you out."

Subaru nodded while Ram just gave Rigel a death look, causing the boy to just look forward, continuing to lead the two towards his home.

After an hour-long walk, the four arrived at Rigel's house with both Subaru and Ram on guard.

Subaru has a feeling that he will eventually encounter his counterpart while Ram was just on guard since she didn't trust Rigel or Zarestia.

As the four approach the door, Zarestia begins to speak with joy.

"It's been so long since I've seen your parents, Rigel. I wonder how your mother has been?"

"She's been fine. I've told you this a million times."

"Oh stop being mean, or you'll become like that hag."

"Hmph. You keep advising him like that, and he'll be an even more incompetent idiot than Barusu."

"Wait..." Subaru paused himself as he processed what Ram had said. "...is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Shut it, stupid Barusu."

Subaru returned to making an annoyed facial expression before turning towards Rigel to watch him open the door.

Just as he was about to, he paused himself for a moment. He turned towards Subaru with a glare, causing Subaru to wonder what Rigel is mad at now. The boy under the hood pointed at Subaru to tell him:

"You have a hood, correct?"

"Um...yeah?" Subaru responded with a bit of confusion. Rigel immediately told him:

"Put it on."

"Wait, why?"

"As for pinky, I'll have to figure something out. I don't want to deal with...what happens next."

"What a stupid nickname. You are even worse than Barusu."

"Hey! I pick great nicknames."

"Ha! Name one."

"B—" Before Subaru could even say anything in response to what Ram had said, he was rudely interrupted by Rigel, having had enough of this.

"Enough! I don't want you two arguing if my parents are here...(Please don't be here)."

Both Subaru and Ram looked at each other for a moment before shrugging this off, with Subaru listening to Rigel's request.

He saw this as an opportunity to investigate more without being instantly recognized but he also found it problematic with the fact that Ram could be recognized.

'I suppose improvising is the only way forward at this point.'

With that in mind, Subaru prepared himself mentally for whatever is to come.

The boy under the hood goes to open the door only to be surprised when seeing that it was open, making him think that his parents were home considering that the door wouldn't be left open otherwise.

"Mom? Old man? Spica? Where are you all? We got some guests."

'Spica?'

Subaru was caught off guard with that name, knowing it as another star name like Rigel, making him more suspicious of who could be Rigel's father. There was no response for a minute, causing everyone to be alarmed for a moment.

Rigel assumed that possibly some threat was trying to harm his family while Subaru and Ram were on guard, both not liking this feeling at all.

Zarestia on the other hand felt no danger and was just being oblivious to the tension. Before anyone could act, a young girl comes out of nowhere as she runs towards Rigel's position.

"Onii-san!"

She jumps at Rigel to give him a hug, to which the boy also returns the hug.

"Good to see you, Spica. Where is mom?"

"She's with dad. They are cooking somethin' big!"

"Something big? Wait, what day is it?" Rigel said with slight fear in his voice. She looked puzzled at Rigel for a moment before responding with a smile on her face.

"It's mom and dad's anniversary."

"...shit!"

"Language." Ram said as he hit Rigel in the head, disliking how one would curse in front of a young child. Spica looked at Ram with a puzzled look, feeling like she looks familiar yet unsure.

"Who are you?...Rigel, who are they?"

"R-Right...I should probably tell you that these are—"

"Little Spica!" Zarestia shouted with glee, happy to see the little one of the household.

Spica was caught off guard by the hug from the woman in the white kimono, causing her to be still for a moment.

"My, you have grown so much since I've seen you!"

"O-Onii-san...who is she?"

"Huh?" Zarestia paused for a moment as she heard what Spica had said. She sets her down with Rigel sighing for a moment before being able to respond to his sister's question.

"Think of her like an aunt. She came by a long while back to visit our parents."

"Aunt? You mean Aunt Tia?"

"Yes! That's me!"

"Th-The one who tried to kill mom."

"...why did they tell you that story?" Zarestia said as she looked down with shame.

"Oh, onii-san told me." Spica said with a cute smile. Zarestia had a moment where she twitched before turning towards Rigel with anger.

"Wait a minute Zarestia—"

"—Why? Why the hell would you tell such a story like that?"

"Hold on, Zarestia, I—"

"Not to mention that I gave you that bracelet as a gift so we can spend more time together and you haven't once called me."

Rigel was slowly stepping back as the bloodlust was returning into Zarestia's eyes. The boy turns towards Subaru and Ram to request their aid.

"Guys, come on. A little help would be nice."

"Nah, I think it's your problem. Don't you think, Ram?" Subaru said this in a smug like tone, getting a little payback for the way Rigel had been treating him earlier.

Ram smiled as she followed with:

"For once you are right, Barusu. This isn't our problem."

"You sons of—"

Before he could finish the sentence, he noticed Zarestia swing her fist directly at his face, prompting him to dodge.

'Shit!'

"Hey! No dodging attacks!"

"S-Spica, get mom! Quick!"

"You got it, Onii-san!"

Spica says this proudly before starting to run towards the kitchen area of the new house her family had gotten.

Zarestia noticed this, distracting her long enough for Rigel to start making a run for it towards the kitchen as well. Both Subaru and Ram couldn't help but find this all amusing.

"That was something."

"Hm. Well then, Barusu. What is the plan now?"

"Well—"

Subaru in that very moment, had a couple of memories of this world's Subaru to hit him hard. He collapsed to the ground as he was overwhelmed by the amount of things he was learning.

("Run away with me.")

("...I'm sorry...I'm sorry. I'm...so weak...so...everything's my...")

("With that dog face, you must be Hal-san. Don't startle me.")

("As expected of the rumored Magoji palace…it's so huge.")

("We have a child…a baby. And that…makes me…")

("I'm not talking about Tia. I'm going to believe in the eyes of my wife, the one who persuaded Tia.")

("…There's no running away anymore.")

("Y─Yeah, I got one. I have one. If it's a girl, Spica. If it's a boy...")

'...Rigel...'

Subaru got up once all the overwhelming memories finally stopped.

"Barusu! What happened?" Ram said in a stern voice, trying to avoid any signs of worry. Subaru looked at her for a moment before looking forward as he noticed a shadow slowly appearing.

"D-Don't worry about me. Someone's coming."

Ram noticed this and quickly grabbed Subaru by the collar to assist him in getting back at his feet.

As she did this, the two look to see someone with long blue hair and in a different kimono than Zarestia's, despite sharing some of the same color patterns.

"Who did you bring with you, Rigel?" The woman asks before looking at the door, her eyes at first at a pause as she tries to process what she is seeing.

Ram and Subaru were also thrown off by this since they immediately realized who this was.

"N-No way..."

"..."

"..."

The room was filled with silence for a brief moment before another voice was heard coming from the right side of the woman with blue hair.

"The food is almost ready, I just need your help...hey, what's wrong?"

The man with slightly longer hair than Subaru and wearing a darker kimono appeared to check on his wife, noticing that something was up.

He turned to see what was making his wife have tears in her eyes.

As he looked to see who it was, he also was surprised. Subaru took off his hood to reveal himself, catching the woman and the man completely off guard. Nothing could be said here other than just pure silence.

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 4: The lesson home

"S-Sissy?"

"R-Rem?"

"Natsuki Subaru?"

"Me?"

An older looking Rem and Subaru looked at Subaru and Ram, all four of them just stunned at the situation they were in. Subaru looked at his older looking self, a bit surprised since this version of himself is extremely different.

He didn't look crazy or insane like the Sin Archbishop of Pride and he didn't look like a paranoid mess like the Purge King. This Natsuki Subaru in front of him looks to be at peace, someone who has had a chance to finally rest and have a good lifestyle, one that doesn't involve dying repeatedly over and over again.

The Natsuki Subaru of this world looked at his younger self, having a few questions in mind since he is not only looking at himself but a version of him that is in an attire he has never worn before.

While the two Natsuki Subarus were just inspecting each other, Rem and Ram were both at shock since Rem never thought that she would get to see her sister again, much less looking the exact same way as she had remembered all those years ago, while Ram never believed that she would see Rem awake and being the older of the two of them rather than always being the younger twin.

The two sisters were just left stunned, unsure on what to say. With tears slowly beginning to form, Rem wanted to cry but all four of them were snapped out of this trance-like state the moment Rigel ran in between both his parents.

"Mom, old man, help."

"Hm?" Rem and the elder Subaru turned towards their child, having noticed what their son had said. The two then turn towards the direction Rigel came from to see that Zarestia was approaching the two.

"I wasn't doing anything!" She said with a pouting face, not wanting to get in trouble with Rem. The elder Subaru crossed his arms for a brief moment before asking his son:

"What is she doing to you, my son?"

"She's mad that I told Spica about how she wanted to kill you two."

"Hey!" Zarestia looked at Rigel with a slightly pouting facial expression, disliking when that story is mentioned, especially in front of Rem. Rem and the elder Subaru just looked at each other, finding this situation comical.

"Rigel, why would you tell that story to Spica?" The elder Subaru questioned as he knows that isn't the right thing to let a young girl know about their 'aunt'.

Rigel just gave his old man the death stare, knowing that his father would be the one to ask this. Rem would be inclined to agree with her husband on asking their boy that question but she was a bit more curious on what Zarestia was up to, which was why when her gaze turned to the white haired woman, it was with a very cold gaze that demanded answers.

"Zarestia, what were you planning to do to my little Rigel?"

The stern tone of voice caused Zarestia to freeze up, even Subaru was caught off guard by this and froze up as well. Ram saw this side of her sister and just nodded with approval.

"N-N-Nothing!"

Rem continued to stare at Zarestia, knowing that her close friend was planning something since she does hate being reminded that she almost killed her.

This continued for a moment, instilling fear into the woman in the white kimono for another minute until Rem changed her facial expression from one of a threat to a much sweeter one.

"Okay. Let's go eat."

"O-Okay..." Zarestia responded nervously. Rigel smiled at this since he was both happy and expected that his mother would help him.

In order to celebrate this, he stuck his tongue out at Zarestia, causing her to just pout at the boy before crossing her arms in annoyance.

Rem and the two Subarus chuckled at this scenario in unison. As this was happening, Spica appeared to look at everyone, curious to know why her parents were chuckling.

This curiosity only lasted for a few seconds until she noticed Subaru and Ram once again.

"Mom, who are they?"

Rem turned towards Ram and Subaru, having been brought back to the reality that her sister is back in her life with...what appears to be another Natsuki Subaru.

She closed her eyes before telling both of her children:

"Spica, Rigel, I want you two to meet your Aunt Ram, my twin sister."

"Another aunt? Yay!" Spica shouted as she was happy to have another aunt.

"Aunt..." Rigel spoke with some hesitance, having now realized that he just had a physical fight with his aunt...and lost.

'I'll beat you in our next match, "Auntie".'

Rem gave her two children a small push to go and approach Ram, wanting to see her sister's reaction. Spica and Rigel both approached Ram, noticing the serious look on her face.

"Hello Auntie!" Spica said in a happy tone. Rigel just stood silent. Ram closed her eyes as she wasn't sure what to make of this situation.

She stayed silent for a moment before opening her eyes with her nephew and niece noticing the shift in the pink haired oni's eyes being from serious to a softer look.

"You two are just adorable."

"...I guess." Rigel said in an uncertain tone of voice.

"Thanks Auntie!" Spica said with her eyes glowing. Ram had a small smile on her face as she heard how happy Spica was. This smile faded away the second Rigel asked,

"So...if you are my mom's onee-san, then who is the guy with ya? He looks like my dad so I assume they are related...are ya two like a couple or something?"

"..."

There was a pause in the atmosphere, as if a raging inferno of anger was building up in the pink haired oni. Both Subarus knew that Ram didn't think of them that way and that it was a mistake for the person to assume that.

"N-No, it's not like that at all. Me and Ram are—"

Ram looked at Subaru with fire in her eyes, basically giving the boy a warning that if he chooses the wrong word, she will beat the shit out of him.

He paused himself for a second before looking at Rigel, finishing his sentence with:

"—acquaintances."

Ram continued to give him a death stare for a few seconds before just closing her eyes and looking away from the boy, showing that this was an acceptable answer.

Rigel looked with a skeptical look, having doubts about this yet he didn't care enough to learn any further.

He turned around and grab Spica's hand to drag her towards the kitchen area while saying,

"Well then, let's get some food."

"Yes! Food!"

Spica shouted since she always loves the food their parents make them. As the two were heading towards the kitchen, Rem turned towards her husband to know what he was thinking.

The elder Subaru noticed this and just started to act in his usual calm manner,

"Well, I can't have my double, looking like a homeless person when we go eat. Allow me to find him some clothes."

"Understood love."

She smiled at the elder Subaru before turning towards her sister, approaching her with a hesitant manner.

"W-Would you like to join us, sissy?"

"Yes sissy, I would like to join you."

Ram responded in a blank expression, doing her best to suppress the urges to cry and hug her sister since she doesn't want to show any weakness to either Natsuki Subaru.

As the oni twins left the living room with Zarestia following Rem, the two subarus just looked at each other, unsure on how to start a conversation.

This stood like this for a minute before the elder Subaru turned around while signaling to his counterpart to follow him.

"Come on, we need to give you some appropriate clothing."

"Okay."

Natsuki Subaru followed his counterpart all the way towards his room. As they enter, the elder Subaru turned towards his younger counterpart while saying to him:

"You can take a shower here. We are lucky this place has a shower and hot water to boot."

"Okay. Thanks."

Subaru speaks in a blank expression, not sure with himself on how he should act since this is the first Subaru he has encountered that isn't trying to kill him.

Just as he was going to go into the shower, the elder Subaru dug through his old clothing to find something for his counterpart, noticing that he had grown quite a bit.

During his search, he ends up finding his old track suit.

'Hm...it's been so long since...'

The elder Subaru closed his eyes with some pain, knowing that this reminds him of his failure. He was about to put them away until he remembered that he should probably give these to his counterpart, considering that these would surely fit himself as this was also around the age he stopped wearing them.

He reluctantly took them out of the drawer he found them in and quickly made sure they were somewhat clean before setting them at the door. As he does this, he prepares to leave his room but not without knocking at the bathroom door.

"Hey, I left some clothes outside for you."

"Thanks."

"..."

"..."

"I'll just wait out here."

The two Subarus stood silent by this, unsure on what to say to the other. The Elder Subaru waits outside as he is left with many questions while his counterpart begins to take a bath.

While this was going on, Rem and Ram walked side by side, both of them silent as they weren't sure how to speak with each other.

Rem had an enormous amount of guilt in her heart since she ran away with Subaru, leaving her sister to be on her own.

Ram was silent since she regained her memories, remembering every second she saw her sister from her world in deep sleep.

This also left her with guilt since she failed the Rem of her world. As the two remained silent all the way until reaching the kitchen.

Rem closed her eyes as she buried the guilt she had deep down in order for her to speak with her sister.

"Sissy, could you help me out?"

"Of course."

Ram nodded as she said with a warm smile on her face, having missed these moments where she and her sister served the food.

"What can I do?!" Zarestia said as she wanted to be useful to Rem. Ram's smile turned into a blank expression, disliking Zarestia. Rem turned towards her friend and just smiled while saying to her:

"It's okay. You can sit down if you want."

"Okay."

Zarestia says before going to sit down next to Rigel, giving a murderous aura as she was still annoyed at the boy for what he did. Rigel could sense this and was tempted to move seats but due to his sister seating next to him and the seat on her left side being their father's, he reluctantly stayed.

"What's wrong, Rigel?" Zarestia said with a smile and her eyes closed, making Rigel more aware that she is even more mad at him than he originally thought.

'This...is going to be rough...'

As Rigel thinks this, Rem and Ram both start to move around some of the food that is already cooked and ready to be served. Ram observed some of these foods, noting that a few were new to her.

"My sister has become an amazing cook." The pink haired oni spoke with praise. Rem noticed this and couldn't help but feel happy. She looked at her sister to respond:

"Thank you sissy but most of these were done by my amazing husband, Subaru-kun's doing."

*Crack*

Rem was surprised by the sudden sound of breaking glass with Zarestia, Rigel, and Spica also being caught off guard by the noise.

"Is everything okay?" Rigel asked as he suspected something was wrong.

"It's okay Rigel." She says to her son quickly before turning her attention towards Ram. "Are you okay, Sissy?"

"Y-Yes...I'm okay..." Ram said this with every restraint she could muster. Hearing those words about how this world's Subaru is married to her sister disgusted her to her very core.

Despite how she does value Natsuki Subaru, she definitely doesn't like this outcome at all. Even thinking about having Natsuki Subaru as her brother in law burns her to her very core.

The children she was fine with, she had nothing against them even if she felt Rigel was taking too much after his failure of a father, but the fact that there were Subaru's spawn disgusted her.

"L-L-Let's talk about something else, Rem. What have you been doing here?"

"I'm a teacher."

"That's great to hear." Ram said with approval in her voice, happy to see that her younger twin sister was doing something good with her life.

"So um...sissy...h-how did you get here? Who was that with you? Why did he look exactly like Subaru-kun from years ago?"

Ram's expression turned back into a blank one, figuring that this question would be unavoidable since there are two Barasus at this point.

She took a deep breath before answering her sister's question in a calm manner:

"This is something that might take a while to explain but to make it easy, I'm Ram from another world."

"Sister...from another world?" Rem asked in confusion, causing her to tilt her head. Ram felt stupid for saying this since it makes her sound like a crazy woman but it was the truth.

"I know it sounds...convoluted but it is the truth. I'm not the Ram of this world."

Rem just looked with confusion but eventually she understood to a degree, making her aware that the Subaru that was with Ram is Natsuki Subaru but isn't her Natsuki Subaru.

She nodded at her sister before looking forward, happy that she got to see a version of her sister.

It is a little sad since she wishes to see the sister of her world once again, wondering what could've happened to her but she isn't complaining.

Fate gave her what she wanted, to speak with Ram once again.

"I wonder, what is the Rem of your world doing?"

"..." Ram paused herself since she knew exactly what her sister of her world was doing, stuck in a deep sleep.

This hurts since she doesn't want the Rem of this world to know but at the same time, this is something she might need to let some of the guilt that has been stuck inside of her go.

Before she could even respond to Rem's question, she felt something pull on her arm. She turned down to see her little niece looking at her.

"Food?"

Ram just looked at her niece with a blank expression for a moment, seeing the parts that resemble her sister and the parts that resemble Barusu.

Regardless, a warm smile found its way into Ram's face before she turned towards her sister.

"We could continue this conversation after we eat."

"Okay. Then let us eat."

"Yes."

Ram nodded at her sister before helping her set all the food onto the table. While the two twin sisters were doing this, Rem looked at the direction of the living room, wondering what is taking her husband and the young version of her husband so long.

Subaru finished taking a shower, feeling relieved since it had been a while since he had taken a nice warm anything. As he was relaxing for a bit, he started to think about what his next move should be.

'This world looks at peace...what am I here to fix?'

"Isn't that a good question."

Subaru opened his eyes with a bit of annoyance on his face, hating how the watcher can just randomly appear in his head whenever he feels like it.

'Okay, asshole. What's the point of being here?'

"Already angry when nothing bad has happened yet. Man, you have quite the temper."

'That doesn't answer my question at all!' Subaru shouted in his mind.

"*Sigh* There is a reason you were sent here but unlike the other two worlds, this one is in need of a different kind of help."

'What do you mean?'

"You'll see."

As the watcher says this, Subaru was about to respond with anger in his mind only for someone to knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you okay in there?"

Subaru snapped out of his thought process, noticing the blank tone from his counterpart as he checked up on him. He turned towards the door to respond quickly with:

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Okay."

Subaru waited until he heard the elder Subaru leave the room before he went out of the bathroom. As he left the bathroom, he looked to see his old tracksuit there though unlike the one he left in his world, this one was for sure worn out.

'Eh. Can't be worse than what I was wearing.'

As Subaru thought this, he put on the track suit, feeling a little nostalgic before opening the door to leave the room, ready for what's next. As he leaves, the elder Subaru gives him a look. Despite being the same person however, this expression is one that Subaru himself isn't sure of.

"Talk about a blast from the past."

"Hm?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, I suppose you are confused by all of this like I am." Elder Subaru said as he wanted to speak in a wiser tone.

"Not really, you are the third Natsuki Subaru I've encountered."

"...wait, what?" The Elder Natsuki Subaru looked at him, completely caught off guard by what he just heard. "What do you mean third?"

"Well, you know the multiverse?"

"Yeah. I haven't forgotten the crazy stuff that happens in some odd time travel manga...wait, are you saying that—"

"There are a couple versions of us that have made different choices."

"Hm." Elder Subaru just crossed his arms, left completely speechless that something like this existed.

Before he asked his questions, he remembered the attire his counterpart was wearing was completely weird.

This made him think that this Natsuki Subaru did something different that led him towards a different place.

"Tell me, what exactly makes our realities different?"

"Well, I made the choice to stay and fight. From what I can tell here, you ran away from Emilia-tan."

"..."

Subaru noticed the silence from his counterpart. He crossed his arms and took a moment to think before continuing to speak.

"You aren't the first Natsuki Subaru who ran away. The last one I confronted had run away as well but unlike him, you didn't cause so much destruction. You just sat around while the destruction of our friends happened."

"Hmph. I won't argue that. I did run away but in exchange, I saved Rem from a horrible fate. I got to live and make a happy family." The Elder Subaru said without regret, remembering the deaths he experienced after Julius had humiliated him. The one death that comes to mind when he recalls them was his death with Puck, making the realization of how he isn't needed. "We were never needed. Nobody cared about us except Rem. She's the only one that I really care about. As long as she's by my side, I can move forward."

"You aren't wrong."

"Hm?" The Elder Subaru opened his eyes as he was surprised by what he heard from his young counterpart. Subaru continued to speak:

"Rem is important to me as well. She is the reason I haven't given up even when I have. She still helps me push forward even when..." The boy paused as he still felt the intense pain of losing Rem to Gluttony. "...when I lost her to that bastard."

"What do you mean lost her?"

"...let's just say after managing to kill the White Whale with her help and killing Petelguese with Julius' help, she was attacked by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony."

"Wait...hold on." The Elder Subaru got up from where he was sitting down as he needed a moment to process everything he had heard. "So you beat the White Whale and that bastard Sloth?"

"Yes."

"With Julius?"

"Yes."

"The same Julius that kicked our ass in front of everyone?"

"Yes."

The Elder Subaru stood silent and shocked as he did not expect something like this was possible. Guilt did increase in his heart but it didn't overtake him since it had been many years since he had last thought about his choice to abandon Emilia and those in the Emilia camp to their fate.

"Then I must congratulate you. You saved Emilia, I assume. But tell me this..." The atmosphere turned tense as the Elder Subaru's eyes turned into a more serious one. "...why didn't you save Rem?"

Subaru noticed the way his counterpart spoke, as if he was judging him. He hated this since he knows that he did his best to save everyone and yet...

"I tried to go back but the checkpoint set in...she's now in a coma because I wasn't fast enough. Even with Return By Death, I can't be in two places at once."

The Elder Subaru just closed his eyes, unsure on how to take this. On one hand, his young counterpart managed to stop two big threats that he could never do and save many lives but on the other hand, he lost Rem in the process because he couldn't be there to help her at the same time.

"That brings me to one important question my younger self, what brings you here?"

"I...honestly don't know..."

For once, Subaru doesn't know why he is even in this world. Each of the ones he has gone through, it has been too late to help those versions of Natsuki Subaru yet a chance to save the world from continuing to suffer under their rule.

Here though, it is completely different. There aren't any immediate threats he needs to worry about, the world seems to be fine despite how much death might have and still is happening by the Witch's Cult. The Elder Subaru closed his eyes as he went into deep thinking for a moment before he asked with a curious tone:

"Tell me, what were the other versions of us like?"

Subaru looked at his older version of himself with some hesitance, unsure if this should be told but at this point, it might as well be said.

He began by explaining what he saw in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world, all he encountered and the memories that came along with it before talking about the Purge King's world and his memories.

Elder Subaru just stood quiet, giving no facial expression as he processed every ounce of information.

Once everything was said, the Elder Subaru just stood silent as he needed a moment to think about what he heard. After a few seconds, he turned towards his young counterpart to ask him:

"Do you believe that you did the right thing?"

"What do you mean?" A hint of hostility was shown in the boy's voice, disliking what his older self was implying.

"I mean, I don't blame you for wanting to take both of our counterparts down. Heck, I'm more pissed about the Purge King. Leaving Rem dead...it's shitty but at the same time, he isn't pure evil."

"The hell do you mean? He left Rem to die like a coward! He killed Beako! Imprisoned both Emilia-tan and Ram! Threatened Frederica! Killed so many people! So tell me how isn't that bastard pure evil?!"

"Because he isn't perfect and neither are you!" The Elder Subaru said as he raised his voice like a father would to their child. "You act like a hero and well, maybe you are. You probably have done a lot, been through a lot with Emilia, Beako, Otto, and others but at the end of the day, you are just a boy from another world and so were they!"

"I know that! I know I don't have to be there for Emilia-tan but I choose to be there for her. I want to make her ruler, not because it's my obligation, I just want to help her out."

"And that's not a bad thing. Hell, I'm happy that you got what you wanted but that's just you."

"What are you implying here?"

"Despite what you've been through and believe me, I can imagine it clearly, you aren't some special Natsuki Subaru that gets everything right and has a happy, perfect fairy tale ending."

Subaru paused as he knew this, he knows he isn't perfect but compared to the versions he has met, he is better than them.

He believes that he was humble when he needed to be rather than be prideful, he was selfless and gave up the life he had saved in order to go back and save Rem, and he didn't give up when Rem said that he shouldn't give up, when she gave him his chance to start his life in another world from zero.

Before the boy could respond with passion in his voice, his older version continued.

"I ran away and yeah, maybe it wasn't the best choice. Maybe I should've kept fighting like you did, tried to save everyone but what's done is done. I can't keep looking at the past that is full of regrets. All I can do is move forward with Rem and my two amazing children by my side."

"I get that. Family is important and I'm not even saying that you were wrong to want to run away. I wanted to run away too but thanks to Rem, I didn't. She kept me going."

"But in exchange, you had to leave her behind to fight another battle. As a consequence, you lost her to save everyone else." The Elder Subaru says with a blank expression, leaving his young counterpart silent.

"..."

"*Sigh* I know you have good intentions, but you are stubbornly seeing things in just one way. Let's start with the version that joined the Witch Cult. If what you told me is correct, then yeah, he is insane but he is also someone who was left all on his own. You and I had Rem, Emilia, Ram, and Beako. He had to rely on his own strength, his own person. Let's not even mention the amount of deaths he must've endured. As for the Purge King...with him, I don't know what to say really. As you stated, he imprisoned Emilia and Ram. He threatened someone you know named Frederica. He killed Beako. To top it all off, he caused mass genocide. Those are some shitty things to do, almost if not rivaling what our Pride counterpart has done. If we are going by what he has done alone, then yes, he is also a horrible person but think deeper than that. He didn't have the obligation to save Rem...as much as that pains me, it is the truth. We chose to waste that life to save someone we wanted to save. We aren't obligated to do anything, which is why I ran away...because I felt like in the end, I wasn't needed."

"But t-that's not true. I—" Before Subaru could even say anything, his older version continued to speak.

"I doubt you were sent to each of these worlds just to fix them from our mistakes. I mean, why are you here? To arrest me for running away? Don't get me wrong, I get what you were doing with Pride and Purge, those two did need to be stopped but did you even try to talk to them, try to redeem them? They are Natsuki Subaru as well. Just ones that didn't have a support group like we did."

"Th-Those bastards don't deserve mercy...! They—!"

"I know you are angry but that doesn't answer my question, young Natsuki Subaru. Did you try to negotiate with them? Use the memories you acquired to help bring them back from the darkness? Or did you just leap at the chance to play the hero role?"

"What the hell?! Trying to reason with two insane people is insane within itself!"

"Yeah, I know that. But we are insane as well."

"Insane? Us? What the fu—?!"

"Think about it. We di—took our own life for someone that could've killed us. This alone tells you that we aren't right in the head. Not just once either. Multiple times to the point where at any moment, we could become numb to the concept of dying itself."

"We had a good reason! Hell, if we didn't do it, Rem wouldn't be there for us when we need her!"

"Yes, I know. I love Rem with everything I got and I love Rigel and Spica as well. That's why I'm satisfied with my choice."

"And what if you return back?! What if you can't have that happy ending you want?!" Subaru shouted as his frustration had increased more than he expected. "Then what would you do then? Run away again? Like a fucking coward."

"Yes."

"..."

"I'd do it all again; befriend Halibal, deal with the nonsense that is Zarestia, raise my son and daughter almost the exact way just with a little better parenting skill, and marry Rem all over again."

"What...?"

"I know it may happen, hell if it does then it would feel like all my efforts would've gone to waste...until I realize that I will always have Rem by my side. I'll always know that she will always support me. That's just who we are, a couple of old love birds."

"..."

"Things will get tough such as explaining why I know events or maybe things would get boring of repeating who knows how many times...but as long as I have Rem and the family we created on my side, nothing else matters."

"Nothing else matters...is that right?" Subaru says as he can't believe what he is hearing, from an older version of himself no less. "So, you rather leave Beatrice trapped in her forbidden library, desperately waiting for someone who will never come?"

"That's—"

"You'll just allow Ram, Rem's own sister and by proxy your sister in law to die? You'll just let Emilia-tan die as well? Killed by that maniac witch cultist?! You'll let Crusch and Wilhelm both perish to the White Whale?! Allow that bastard Regulus to walk around and keep harming people? Sirius? The bastard gluttony? All of those bad, evil, disgusting people! You'll just let them live?!" Subaru shouted with passion in his voice, knowing just how bad things would get without him.

The Elder Subaru was getting angry at this but he kept a level head, being reminded that he is the actual adult between the two.

"Yeah, I get what you are saying. Our involvement would...no, it will save so many people but have you ever thought about yourself? About how our power is just tearing our own sanity apart?"

"..."

"I've had time to think about this and yes, I do regret wholeheartedly not saving Emilia. She was someone who saved my—I mean, our lives at the beginning but...after what happened with Julius and that fight...I realized that she doesn't need me. I don't want to force something that wasn't there to begin with. We may be the same person, but that is not who this Natsuki Subaru is."

The two Subarus remembered these events, both viewing the events differently. The Elder Subaru as a reminder of who he is deep down while Subaru knows that it was a mistake he needed to learn in order to improve on who he was back then.

"I get what you mean, we were real assholes to Emilia-tan. Trying to use our feelings to get her to understand. I get it. But she does need us, she needs a friend. She needs someone who she can count on."

"I guess...I mean, I assume you know since you've spent more time with her but...I'm not putting my wife's life in danger along with the existence of my children just to save Emilia. It's not like I don't want to save her but I just can't risk it. You might have traded the life of one for the sake of saving many others, but I'd gladly trade the same many people if it meant I could keep the few closest to my heart safe."

Subaru wanted to argue back, he wanted to convince his older self that he needed to save Emilia until it finally hit him.

He has been forcing his ideologies on people.

Although he has done good, he can't force his counterparts to think like him. Doing that was pride and vanity to the highest degree and that isn't the kind of person Natsuki Subaru wanted to be.

("Following the logic, it does. You and me are friends, Meili.")

("Oni-san! My doll broke!")

("My My, you are quite the person, aren't you?")

("Don't say that while looking at me all...weirdly! Gives me off signals, besides my heart belongs to someone else.")

("Maybe that was going a little too far, don't you think?")

'What the?!' Subaru was caught off guard by theses sudden memories of Pride, some he hadn't been aware of.

("Everything will be okay, Subaru.")

("Thank you...for saving us...Purge King. We are in your debt.")

("Hmph. You may have saved me but I'm still going to kill you, Barasu.")

("That's fine. I don't need forgiveness.")

Subaru's head was starting to hurt as he gained now more unknown memories from The Purge King as well.

("What should we name our new baby girl?")

("She shall be named...Spica.")

("Hey old man, can you...help me with something?")

("Sure! Anything for my son!")

("It's good to see you again, Su-san.")

("I love you, Rem.")

("I love you too...S-Subaru-kun.")

One after another came to the boy's mind, showing him everything. This eventually caused Subaru to unlock the other memories, though unlock was a simple way of putting it. Rather, he finally decided to stop looking away from all the memories that he could have chosen to see in the first place.

He still witnesses every dark deed Pride has done though he also started to see some moments were he isn't an insane asshole such as small bonding moments with Meili and Elsa, helping a lost boy in the streets, and even trying to assure that Emilia isn't hurt by any of the Sin Archbishops. He also sees that Pride had moments of regret since he doesn't like killing people to a degree, with Petelguese of that world being the one friend Pride made.

For Purge King, he witnesses the death he brings but he also witnesses things he never thought of such as doing everything in his power to save Ram from mana poisoning despite how many times she has tried to kill him, had saved an entire city in Kararagi, and even tries to treat all of his minions as good as he can despite not trusting them. He also sees the moments where he goes to cry on Emilia's lap, showing Subaru just how much pain the Purge King really was in since he never truly wanted to hurt anybody.

Before, all he wanted to see were memories that justified his excuses for the other Subaru's being bad people. Now that he knows his viewpoint altogether was wrong, the dam that had been holding back everything else burst in one go, flooding his mind with the full memories of the two Subaru's he helped to put down.

He also had the chance to fully view this world's Natsuki Subaru's memories. He saw how happy Rem and him were, how hard they worked to make sure Rigel and Spica had good lives. All of this caused Natsuki Subaru to just sit down next to his counterpart, unsure now since he doesn't know how he could amend the things he caused and how he should move forward.

'I'm still an idiot. No matter what I do...I'll just cause so much pain in the end...'

"Come on you dumb young version of me, stop looking all gloomy."

"Huh?" Subaru looked at his counterpart's direction, noticing that he was standing up all of a sudden and lending a hand.

"If Rem truly helped you to not give up, wouldn't it be appropriate to follow her wish?"

"..."

"I know you hate that I left everyone behind and you want me to try to start over but I love my family, I don't want them to be gone because of a 'what if' that could have made everything better. We are not omniscient and as you said, checkpoints will update randomly. I can't trade certainty for a possibility."

"That's not the case. I don't want you to give up on your family." Subaru says this as he started to accept his older version's assistance in getting back on his feet. "I just want you to help Emilia-tan should our ability allow you to. She really needs a friend at the very least."

"...I don't know, Puck made it very clear that we aren't allowed to go back." The Elder Subaru said as he recalled every vivid detail of his last death, dying in the cold while laughing at how he had failed everyone.

"I understand your concerns but that's because we have never told Emilia-tan why we help her, not in a proper way that is."

"What? Tell her that she saved us when we first arrived? That won't work."

"That's not what I'm saying." The elder Subaru looked at his young self with a confused facial expression. "We helped her because we want to truly be close to her. In your case though, it would be because you want to be Emilia-tan's friend. I mean, who wouldn't?"

"..."

"Come on." Subaru teases his older self, knowing that deep down in the core of any Natsuki Subaru, Emilia will always be there regardless of what the feeling is. The elder Subaru just scratched his head with an uncertain look.

"I guess. I mean, it doesn't hurt to be friends with a silver haired half elf."

"A cute one at that."

Elder Subaru just gives Subaru a stare which causes the young version to laugh a bit, finding this all funny. Eventually the Elder Subaru chuckles a little, finding it a little funny the situation but also a little relief, knowing that there is a way to save everyone.

"We should probably get back to the dinner table, my wife wouldn't like it if we missed dinner."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

The two Subarus laughed at this before going off towards the direction of the dining room, knowing that they should hurry. Just as they were getting closer towards the location, the two Natsuki Subarus notice that the atmosphere is suddenly tense.

"Barusu!"

"Hm?" The two Subarus look forward as Ram is approaching the two in a serious manner.

"Oh, hi there Ram, it has been quite a while since—"

Without warning she punches the elder Subaru in the gut, sending him flying into a wall. Subaru was stunned by this alongside Rem.

Rigel covered Spica's ears while having told her to cover her eyes, not wanting her little sister to be shown such violence while also interested to see what his old man did to piss his aunt off.

Zarestia just looked with a blank facial expression, not sure of what to make of this situation. The Elder Subaru slowly got up with his body hurting.

"D-Damn...I forgot how strong you were..."

Without warning once again, this Subaru got slapped in the face, almost knocking him out due to the amount of strength Ram is using behind her attacks.

"Hold on Ram, there is no need—"

"Shut it, Barusu!"

She slaps Subaru across the face, sending him flying across the living room and almost knocking him out as well.

"Wh-What the heck...Ram?" The Elder Subaru questioned since he is confused on why Ram would just start attacking him.

She did not respond at that moment as she just started to punch him with a bit of force. Subaru managed to get back his senses to see that Ram is just beating the shit out of his older counterpart.

"Ram! Stop!"

Subaru goes and quickly tries to stop her only to get shoved away.

'For the love of.'

Subaru knowing that this was his only chance at calming the situation, he uses Invisible Providence, managing to catch the attention of Zarestia while also managing to shove Ram away from the elder Subaru.

The moment this happened, Rem quickly went towards her sister's position to restrain her.

"Please calm down, sissy."

"Calm down? No disrespect sister but this trash deserves to die."

"Wait...why...?" Subaru questions in a weak tone since he was recovering his body after having used the sloth witch factor.

"Sissy, it's okay."

"Okay?! This piece of shit wanted a divorce! He deserves death!"

"Divorce? What is she talking about?" Subaru asked as he was helping his counterpart get up on his feet. The Elder Subaru took a moment to think carefully before realizing what Ram meant.

"Oh...that...hm."

"Older Me, please tell me what is going on?" Subaru asked with a worried tone since he knows that Ram will kill him if he doesn't explain himself now. Elder Subaru giggled nervously as he began to say:

"I was joking when I said that—"

The Elder Subaru was hurt when Ram managed to kick a chair towards her brother in law's direction, causing him to get injured.

"A joke? A fucking joke?! I'm going to kill your ass!"

"Sissy, please!"

Rem pleads as she doesn't want her sister to kill her husband. Subaru couldn't help but look disappointed at his older self.

"Man, you really fucked up."

"Oh shut up younger me."

As the elder Subaru said this, they all stopped as they heard a knock at the door.

"Hm? Visitors? Who?" Subaru asked his older counterpart. The elder Subaru wasn't sure himself, prompting him to turn towards his wife to see if she knew who it could be.

"Halibel-san?"

"Maybe but he said he was busy tonight."

As everyone in the elder Natsuki Subaru's household were wondering who this visitor could be, Subaru heard the watcher once again.

"Open the door."

'Why?'

"Because, it is for you and your counterpart."

Subaru was very hesitant to listen to the watcher but considering that he broke the rules to allow Beatrice to assist him against the Purge King, it could be something similar like that.

He walked slowly towards the door with everyone turning towards him.

Just as he arrived at the door, he was hesitant for a moment since he doesn't know what the watcher is up to and yet he set his hand on the doorknob.

"Well guys, one way to find out."

As Subaru finishes speaking, he opens the door only to be left caught off guard by what he was seeing.

"Wha...?"

"Subaru? Where are we?" A girl spoke with a soft tone of voice, one that Rem and the Elder Subaru haven't heard in such a long time.

"E-Emilia-tan?"

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 5: A fated reunion

"Emilia-tan? Wh-what are you doing here?" Subaru questioned since he didn't expect Emilia to be here.

"I don't know. One moment we were in the Pleiades Watchtower and then the next...wait, how long have you been here?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you weren't wearing that when we went to the watchtower." Emilia pointed out, knowing that Subaru had a different attire altogether.

"R-Right, well I haven't been here too long but...it's complicated."

Emilia looked at Subaru for a moment before slowly entering, wondering what kind of place she was at. Subaru wanted to stop her but at the same time he knew that she had the right to learn what was going on.

"What is this place, Subaru?"

"W-Well..."

There was a pause as Emilia's eyes met with the elder Subaru, who was completely stunned at the entire situation. Rem also noticed Emilia which caused her hold on her sister to loosen. Ram took note of this and was extremely tempted to beat the crap out of the elder Subaru, still angry at him for his misdeeds but she knew that she had to wait since she could sense her sister's fear.

"Emilia-sama, do you know how you got here?" Ram asked, wanting to break the silence that had been lingering in the room for a minute.

"I-I don't know...we were all in the watchtower and then I ended up here. A voice told me to knock on this specific house."

"A voice...?" Subaru asked as he started to think carefully on this. It didn't take the boy long before he figured that this was the watcher's doing.

'You...what the hell are you doing now?!'

"Giving you both an opportunity."

'Both? Opportunity? For what?! To cause drama?!'

There was no response from the watcher.

'Damn that bastard!'

Subaru had tightened his fist for a moment before quickly calming down, knowing that this isn't the time to get angry. Once he managed to calm himself down, Emilia looked deeply at the elder Subaru with a curious look.

"Who are you? Why do you look like Subaru? Are you his older brother?"

"If he were my older brother, he would be pretty lousy at it." Subaru said, wanting to get a jab at his older self.

"I don't know about that, I'm clearly the much wiser one between the two of us."

"Wiser my ass, you just admitted to making a stupid joke. I shouldn't—"

"Okay, shut up." Elder Subaru said as he did not wanted Ram's anger to boil over once again, knowing the hell that awaits him if she was to be reminded of such a dumb mistake he made a long while back. He turned towards Emilia to answer her questions. "This is weird to say but I'm Natsuki Subaru...from another version of your world."

"Another...version of my world? I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean."

'Talk about a blast from the past.' The elder Subaru thought since he did find it cute the way Emilia's confused face looked and how her voice sounds, despite how badly he tried to subconsciously deny that. He turned towards his younger self.

"Hey young me, mind explaining things? You are the expert on this."

Subaru was tempted to make a joke at his older self's expense but since he doesn't want Emilia out of the loop, he started explaining the situation.

"Consider this world like ours but different. And by different, I mean that it is built by a different choice that we all made."

"Different choice?"

"Yeah. Consider this world to be its own world for just one major choice."

"...okay..."

Emilia tried to think carefully on what she was told, trying to understand the situation but everyone's attention would shift once Zarestia, Rigel, and Spica all three entered the scene.

"What's going on?" Zarestia said since she noticed how everything had turned silent. Rigel and Spica were also curious about this as well. As the three entered the living room, they noticed the silver haired half elf.

"Old man, who is that?" Rigel instantly asked, knowing that this had to be someone his father knew.

"Well...she's..."

"Emilia-tan!" Subaru said, knowing that his older self was uncertain on how to address Emilia, considering how long it had been since he had seen her. Rigel turned his attention towards Subaru for a moment before looking back at Emilia.

"So 'Subaru', are you in a relationship with her?"

"Yes!" Subaru instinctively answered. "She's the royal candidate of Lugnica with me being her one and only knight!"

("Nice to meet you, members of the council of elders. My name is Natsuki Subaru. I am a manservant in Roswaal's mansion, and I serve as this candidate's...Emilia-sama's best knight!")

("You just declared that you are a knight. And you did so here, audaciously, before the Knights of Lugnica!")

("You are irredeemably powerless. You are not worthy to stand at her side.")

("Stop telling lies about how everything is for my sake! Coming to the castle, fighting Julius, using magic...Are you saying that was all for me? I never asked you to do any of that! Hey, do you remember what I asked you to do? I asked you to wait at the lodging with Rem. I asked you not to use magic because using more would endanger you.")

("I owe you so many debts, Subaru. So I'll repay all of them now. And we'll end this. You've done enough, Natsuki Subaru. You know, I had hopes for you. I thought maybe you...That only you wouldn't give me special treatment. That you'd look at me in the same, exact way you look at everyone else.")

("Well, I think teaching swordsmanship which will make a man stronger, to one who has abandoned the option to get stronger seems meaningless.")

("Look. You must look. That is the result of your actions. By doing nothing, you practiced sloth...And because of that, the girl is dead!")

("You don't know why? You haven't once said that you want to save Emilia.")

("You called it here, let Lia die, and now, you die yourself.")

("You truly are slothful, Subaru.")

The elder Subaru was completely shaken when he heard his younger self name himself as the knight of Emilia with the silver haired half elf actually being here. Many of those failed loops he had managed to suppress over the years started to resurface. While the elder Subaru did his best to contain his guilt, Emilia turned towards Subaru to tell him,

"Subaru...you don't need to shout."

"S-Sorry Emilia-tan. I just couldn't resist."

As Subaru said this in his usual playful like manner, Rem looked at the two with a blank expression, managing to keep her thoughts on the matter to herself. She was aware at this point that this Subaru had gone through a whole different life though it still hurt seeing how natural both this Subaru and Emilia acted towards each other. This prompted her to close her eyes and to humbly bow at the group as she said,

"Pardon me, Rem will be right back."

"Where are you going, sister?" Ram asked with concern, having a bad feeling.

"I'll be okay, sissy. Please excuse Rem"

"Wait, Rem are you—?"

"I'll be okay...please excuse Rem."

As she cuts the elder Subaru with a kind response, she leaves towards the backyard to gain some space. The two Subarus and Ram instantly knew that something was bothering her.

"Wait hold—"

"Hold on, older me, let me do this."

"What? But she's—"

"I'm going to talk to my sister." Rem cut both Subarus' conversation, determined to help her sister.

"No, allow me to talk to mom." Rigel said with conviction. He prepared to go help his mother only to be stopped by Zarestia.

"No, allow me to help Rem-sama." She said with concern in her voice.

"Why? So you can try and—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll kill you on the spot." Zarestia said in a calm manner, instilling a bit of fear in Rigel since he's pushing it too far at this point with that story. Just as Zarestia was about to go help her friend, Ram had grabbed her arm.

"No. You are not going near sissy."

"...let go."

"No."

"..."

"..."

Zarestia and Ram both locked eyes as they were both preparing to fight each other once again. Before anything could happen, Zarestia closed her eyes first.

"Okay. You are Rem-sama's sister. I will allow this once."

"Hmph."

Just as Ram was about to go help her sister, Subaru had grabbed her arm.

"Wait Ram, allow me—."

"Let go Barusu, unless you wish to lose your arm."

"Let me help Rem. Please."

"No."

"Then what about me?" The Elder Subaru said as he approached both Ram and Subaru. Ram responded quickly to the elder Subaru's question.

"Why? So you can tell her some stupid ass joke again?" Ram sharply said to the elder Subaru, showing that she still holds anger towards him for the whole divorce joke.

"Then allow me, Ram."

"She's my sister. Now let go." As Ram finished speaking, she pulls her arm away from Subaru's hand. Although Subaru knows that he should allow Ram to handle this, something was prompting him that this is his moment.

("Giving you both an opportunity.")

Subaru remembered the last thing that the watcher had said, leaving him annoyed how this was probably the opportunity he was meaning. His chance to speak with Rem. He looked at Ram with a determined facial expression before it shifted into a hesitant one.

"I know but allow me. I...I also need to talk to her."

"..."

"Please..."

"..."

Ram looked at Subaru with a sharp facial expression, trying to think carefully on whether she should allow Subaru to talk to her sister. Just as her mind was made up within three seconds, she remembered something he had said to her a while earlier.

("...I should've been stronger, to save Rem. Had I been stronger or even competent, then maybe she wouldn't be in deep sleep...")

Ram recalled that there was still guilt in Subaru's heart and that this was the chance for him to let that guilt die.

"*Sigh* Fine Barusu...but if you make sissy cry, you will wish for death."

"U-Understood." Subaru said with a hesitant voice since he knows that Ram is being serious. As he goes towards the backyard, Emilia was silent since she hadn't noticed Rem until the entire situation had happened.

This caused her to understand that this was a world where Rem and Subaru ended up together. She looked at the older Subaru for a moment before turning towards Spica and Rigel.

She had noticed that something looked oddly familiar on Rigel but seeing that Subaru and Rem were together in this world, she saw that this boy was their child. She found her heart clenching.

'Why does...it hurt?'

As she thought this, Rigel approached her as he wanted to know something.

"So, how did you meet the old man?"

"Old man?" Emilia asked with a confused tone of voice.

"*Sigh*, Your knight."

"Oh. You mean Subaru. Well..." Emilia's heart shifted from slight pain into warmth as she remembered how she first encountered Natsuki Subaru. "He saved my life."

"Really?" Rigel asked with a skeptical tone, surprised that his father could do anything, especially something like that.

"Yes, he did his very best and saved me from that Bowel Hunter. Though I do hate when he gets himself into danger, I do appreciate all the hard work Subaru does."

Rigel was surprised by this while the Elder Subaru couldn't help but smile since he doesn't regret dying to save Emilia from Elsa.

Remembering this also brought him the memories of the mansion, how he did his best to hangout with Beatrice any chance he got, how he worked alongside both his wife and sister-in-law, and the number of moments he had with Emilia despite it being one-sided.

Though on the flip side, those same memories once again reminded him of his mistakes that he did back then, back when the royal selection started.

("I understand your concerns but that's because we have never told Emilia-tan why we help her, not in a proper way that is.")

("What? Tell her that she saved us when we first arrived? That won't work.")

("That's not what I'm saying. We helped her because we want to truly be close to her. In your case though, it would be because you want to be Emilia-tan's friend. I mean, who wouldn't?")

The elder Subaru thought back on the talk with his younger self, remembering what he was asked should he have the chance to make up with Emilia. Although this isn't his Emilia, this was possibly the one chance he has to let the guilt in him be expressed in full and maybe…maybe he can find it in himself to let that same guilt go..

'Hm...so that's why you wanted to talk with Rem. I can't blame you though. This is your opportunity...and mine as well.'

The elder Subaru had realized that this is the chance to make amends with himself and finally be able to move forward. He turned towards Ram and Zarestia first to tell them,

"Could you two please take care of Rigel and Spica for a bit? I need to talk with Emilia alone."

"Why should I?" Ram instantly responded as she was still extremely mad at him. The elder Subaru noticed this, prompting him to quickly say,

"I know you hate me but please Ram."

"..." Ram was silent for a moment before slapping him on the face. "I'll let you have your talk with Emilia-sama out of respect for my world's Barasu...but know that you aren't off the hook yet."

"...noted."

Ram turned towards her nephew and niece to quickly take them towards the kitchen with Zarestia following behind. Before Zarestia was about to leave with Ram, Spica, and Rigel, she had turned towards the elder Subaru to say,

"Just don't do anything stupid."

"That goes for you as well."

"True...but at least I didn't say stupid things to Rem."

"Is that right?"

"Yup."

Zarestia turns around and begins to leave, content with herself. The elder Subaru was a little annoyed by this but he just let that go as he turned towards Emilia.

"Emilia, can we speak?"

"S-Sure." Emilia spoke with a little hesitance, not sure what this version of Subaru wanted to talk about. The elder Subaru offered her a seat to which she thanked him since she appreciated the politeness before she sat down.

"Before we chat, do you want something to drink?"

"I'll be okay. Thanks for asking."

"Y-Yeah..." The elder Subaru was too nervous since he didn't know where to start. He was still afraid to talk with Emilia after the last loop he had gone through before he ran away..

("You called it here, let Lia die, and now, you die yourself.")

His hand began to shake as he started to truly remember how he had killed her the last time he had set foot on the mansion, he closed his eyes with the guilt overwhelming him. Before he ended up hating himself once again for having run away, leaving Emilia and those in the mansion and in the village to die, he felt Emilia's soft hand ruffled his hair.

"Huh?"

"You looked like you were in pain. Since you are with Rem, I can't give you a lap pillow but I want to do something to help you."

The elder Subaru was surprised by this since he had forgotten just how kindhearted Emilia was. A part of him wanted to cry but remembering that he is an adult, he kept that side to himself, only reserved for Rem's eyes. As he managed to hold back the tears, he lamented on his own weaknesses.

"Man, after giving so much hell to my younger self, I'm still pathetic like him."

"I don't think you are pathetic." Emilia said with a kind gesture and voice.

"You really are nice...I don't deserve it...not after..." He paused himself since he didn't know if it was even right to say what he has guilted over. Emilia noticed the pause, prompting her to slowly change the subject from the Subaru in front of her to the Subaru she personally knew.

"You know, my Subaru and you aren't too different. You both do your best to help the people you both care about. You both are kind. And will do everything to make the person you find so dear to your heart happy."

"Y-Yeah, I better hope my younger self is making you happy. He's so stubborn, strong headed, an idiot...but a lovable idiot at that."

"Yeah. I do hate it when he always puts himself into danger...but I know he does it because he wants to keep me and everyone else safe."

"He sure does...(while I ran away)."

The elder Subaru truly reflected back on his actions and the things he had told his younger self. Although he still holds true to his words that he would repeat this happy ending with Rem, he does think on his young counterpart's words.

("And what if you return back?! What if you can't have that happy ending you want?! Then what would you do then? Run away again? Like a fucking coward.")

'I would repeat it all with Rem, all I ever needed was Rem because I love her. I love my children. I love my friends Halibel and Zarestia. I love this life...but I also know that he is somewhat right on one thing. Will I constantly repeat the same happy life knowing that everything will be the same? Will I really abandon those dearest to me...?'

The elder Subaru really thought to himself on why he had told his younger self that he would do everything again without being sure himself on a subconscious level. Seeing Emilia now reminded him of why Rem had fallen in love with him in the first place, why she had stayed loyal to him until the bitter end in many of the failed loops, including the loop he is in now.

'I didn't give up on her. I wanted to save her life—no, I wanted to save everyone. I wanted to make sure Petra and her friends had a future. I wanted Rem and Ram to still be alive together so they wouldn't suffer the loss of a family member. I did that because I truly cared for them. Even if it was painful, I didn't want to lose them because they meant something...they still mean something to me.'

The elder Subaru smiled at himself as he started to see that his younger self had managed to influence him in the same way he influenced him.

'Well then, Natsuki Subaru, I'll be damned. I guess like the saying goes, you can teach an old dog some new tricks.'

With this affirmation in his heart, he was finally ready to take the next step should he be able to but first he needed to make amends with himself. To do that, he opened his eyes and looked at Emilia's purple eyes in order to let go of the guilt in him.

"Emilia, I hope you can forgive me."

"Huh? For what?" Emilia asked with both concerned and a bit of curiosity.

"Forgive me for having acted like a fool in the royal selection. I should've known better that it wasn't helping you there. Hell, I broke a promise for selfish reasons. After many years later, I definitely know that it was wrong doing such a stupid stunt like that. I should've trusted you more. Not only that but our fight, I wasn't honest with you on why I helped you out so many times even when I wasn't needed. It was because you meant so much to me that I just wanted to help. Even so, fighting with Julius and using my magic when I wasn't supposed to is no excuse, so forgive me for that as well. And lastly..."

The elder Subaru paused as a few tears wanted to come out as the pain of having left his world's Emilia to die.

"...S-Sorry th-that I left you to die...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

The elder Subaru broke as he started to cry, all the guilt finally coming out since he had left so many people to die. As he was crying, Emilia was a bit stunned at this for a moment, understanding now what her Subaru meant by a different world through a different choice. Although it did hurt knowing that this Subaru didn't save her when the witch cult attacked prior to the events of the Sanctuary, she couldn't help but hug him, wanting to help comfort the elder Subaru.

"It's okay Subaru. It's okay. I forgive you on behalf of the me that isn't here anymore. I know she would say the same thing."

'Even as an adult, you are still a big softie you dunderhead.'

Emilia messed with the elder Subaru's hair and continued to hug him until he finally stopped crying. Once this happened, the elder Subaru cleaned up his face before saying to the silver haired half elf,

"Thanks Emilia, I really needed this."

"You're welcome." Emilia smiled as she was happy to have helped this Subaru. The two remained silent for a moment with the elder Subaru recollecting his thoughts. Just as it seemed like the conversation was done, the elder Subaru wanted to know something.

"Do you think that...if I had the chance to save you, could we have been able to be friends?"

Emilia paused herself as she understood that this Subaru's heart is fully dedicated towards Rem, making her worry a bit whether her Subaru would also end up loving Rem once she wakes up. Although this did worry her, she did want to be honest with this Subaru in front of her. She thought deeply on the question before answering as honest as she could,

"I think we would make great friends, Natsuki Subaru."

"You think?"

"Yeah, but be honest with what you want. I won't know what you want unless you tell me."

("I can't understand if you don't tell me, Subaru.")

The elder Subaru still remembered the painful memories of that encounter with Emilia but having reassurance from this Emilia helped him feel a bit of inner peace with himself. He smiled as he looked up at his ceiling.

"If you are worried that my young self won't love you as much, then don't because you mean the world to him."

"Huh?" Emilia was caught off guard by this sudden change of subject.

"I know you are worried about that since my question did bring some concern to your face, but you don't need to worry. He chose to save you because he loves you. He thinks the world of you."

"H-How would you know that?" Emilia asked with a bit of hesitance.

"Because I know myself better than anyone else." The elder Subaru said with a confident smile, knowing just how much his younger self loves Emilia. She was surprised by the confidence in the elder Subaru's voice though it made her happy since she can trust his word considering he is a wiser Subaru.

"Thank you Subaru."

"I should be thanking you, Emilia. You reminded me of what I need to do once I get my happy ending."

Emilia wasn't sure what the elder Subaru was saying but she trusted him since he is just the older version of her knight. The elder Subaru looks at the door leading to the backyard, curious to know how his young counterpart is doing with his wife.

'Good luck, Natsuki Subaru. You are going to need it.'

During the time Elder Subaru and Emilia were speaking, Subaru had managed to reach the backyard just as Rem had stopped running, trying to hold her emotions despite thinking that she's alone.

Subaru realized that Rem was suffering though he wasn't sure on what, prompting him to slowly approach her, not wanting to startle her only for Rem to easily detect him.

"Subaru-kun, I know you are there."

"S-Sorry Rem. How did you know it was me?"

"...you know why."

"Sorry. I didn't think I still had the witch's scent on me."

"...yeah..."

There was a moment of silence with Subaru facepalming himself since the start of this conversation had gone on a bad start. Rem took a deep breath before saying to the boy,

"Rem's sorry, Rem shouldn't get mad at—"

She stopped speaking as she was caught off guard by Subaru's hug.

"Eh?"

"S-Sorry Rem...I just...I really missed you..."

Rem was stunned when she heard this, feeling just how much the boy missed her by how tight his hug was and the tears that were hitting her neck.

This made her realize that her sister had been feeling the same way as Subaru though she had kept her emotions in check compared to Subaru, albeit poorly since anger seemed to be the substitute for sadness and guilt in how she expressed herself.

There was a part of her that worried that something happened to their version of Rem, making her sad since she wanted that world's Rem to be with Subaru like herself in this world she called home.

Though on the other hand, this also made her smile since she had always admired how strong her sister was and she also smiled on just how much she means to this Subaru.

She smiled but her fears were still there, the fear of losing her Subaru. She waited until the younger Subaru was done with his hug before the two could talk properly.

"I'm sorry, it's a bit pathetic of me doing that."

"Rem doesn't think that it's pathetic to show your emotions with those you care about."

"R-Right." Subaru said a little reluctantly though he still had a smile on his face. Rem smiled back as she was remembering those first few days with her Subaru. Before she could comment about her thoughts, Subaru beat her first by saying, "I see you grew out your hair."

"Yeah...do you like it?"

"It makes you super cute!" Subaru said with a thumbs up and a smile on her face, managing to cause Rem's cheeks to turn slightly pinkish red.

"I see that you are still a romantic." Rem teased, which Subaru laughed it off since he wasn't trying to. Rem giggled at this, enjoying her time with this Subaru, seeing just how hyperactive her husband was in his youth. The two smile for a bit before Subaru's facial expression changed to a more somber one.

"I don't mean to ruin the moment but...I'm a bit lost and want your guidance, Rem."

"I'd be happy to, Subaru-kun...but first, I want to know something."

"Okay."

Subaru stood silent as Rem had so many questions in her mind with only one being the strongest of them all.

"What happened to the Rem of your world?"

"..."

There was a pause since Subaru wasn't sure if he should even say the exact reason due to how much Rem hates the witch cult but he knows that she has the right to know.

Rem could see both the hesitation in Subaru's movements along with the mix of emotions of rage and sadness. This confirmed for her that she is dead in that world.

"So...I'm dead...?"

"No, you are not..."

"Huh?" Rem looked at Subaru confused.

"I just...we defeated the White Whale with the help of the Iron Fang, Wilhelm, Crusch, and her forces. After that you were unable to continue on so you went with Crusch to the capital only to be attacked while I stopped that bastard Sloth. I saved Emilia...but I lost you in the process...you ended up in a sleeping coma thanks to one of the Gluttony siblings."

Subaru stopped himself as he could feel more tears wanting to come out, having remembered just how painful it is to be the only one to remember Rem.

Despite Ram remembering right now, he knows too well that this is temporary.

Rem had a momentary pause as she tried to process everything though the answer she was given left her with a few questions, one of these being,

"Subaru-kun, who is this Crusch and Wilhelm you mentioned?"

"Oh...right…in this world they also suffered the same fate..." Subaru said as he figured that at this point, his involvement really is the factor on whether Crusch and Wilhelm continue to live. He looked down for a moment as he answered Rem's question, "Two important people that lost their lives against the White Whale in your world."

"Oh." Rem was taken aback since this would explain why those names don't sound familiar to her but could possibly be familiar to her husband.

"Still, I'm sorry Rem that I couldn't save you then...despite the fact that I declared that I would save you in front of Emilia-tan...it has been over a year and I have yet to save you...I really am a failure..."

"No you are not." Rem said in a stern voice. Subaru looked up as he hadn't heard this stern voice since he was given the best speech in his whole life. "You did everything you could, Subaru-kun. You saved so many lives and even saved Emilia-sama's life like you wanted to. You weren't aware of my counterpart being attacked by the witch cult so it isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

("...but, I don't blame you for what happened to her. That Gluttony bastard got what he deserved.")

Subaru was stunned in silence as he remembered what Ram had told him as well, how it wasn't something he shouldn't be blaming himself about. Rem smiled at the young version of her husband before going over to kiss his forehead and giving him a hug.

"I believe that you will be able to save your Rem. If you can save Emilia-sama, you can save your Rem. You are a hero."

("Because you are my hero, Subaru-kun!")

Subaru was shocked once again before he closed his eyes with a smile on his face, remembering the courage Rem gives him every time they talk. With a happy tone of voice and some tears streaming down in his eyes, he starts to say,

"Thank you Rem, for never giving up on me. Really, thank you so very very much."

"I should be the one thanking you, Subaru-kun. You and my husband. If the events still happened the same, then your Rem would feel the same."

"Yeah. She called me her hero and that's what I want to be for my Rem. I'll be there for her just like my counterpart is there for you."

"I know you will." Rem said with a smile which prompted the two to hug. As the two were hugging, Subaru looked up at the sky as he began to think about his Rem, how she is still the pillar of his strength.

'Don't worry Rem, I promise that once I'm done saving my other counterparts, properly this time, I'll make sure to be there to wake you up. That way the first person to greet you back into the world will be your hero.'

Subaru and Rem both return inside with the two happy. Rem was happy to see that no matter what, she will always have a spot in any Subaru's heart while Subaru himself is motivated once again to be a hero.

Though this time with the caring of Rem and the wisdom of his older self, he can truly be the best hero he can be without letting that hero complex get to him.

Once inside, Subaru felt that maybe it was time to go since this is when he along with his world allies leave the world though something caught his attention.

"Are you okay, Rem?" The elder Subaru asked as he was unsure if his younger counterpart managed to help his wife. She gave a heartwarming smile to him before answering with,

"I'll be okay, Subaru-kun."

As she finishes saying this, she approaches her husband to give him a quick kiss. Ram almost threw up when she saw this, hating every second of it though she was able to resist the urge to because she was happy that her sister was happy. Though she wishes she could slap her sister silly for choosing such trash as a husband.

Subaru smiled as he can see how happy both his older counterpart and this world's Rem were. This made him be grateful not just to see Rem and talk to her but also see a possible future he could've had, how it would've been a much happier and peaceful one though he doesn't regret not having this life.

'I may still hate that everyone is dead…but I am happy for you, older me, idiot or not .'

As Subaru thinks this, he also starts to think about the other Natsuki Subarus he had encountered in this odd but important journey. He first thought about the Sin Archbishop of Pride, an insane version of himself.

'I'll always detest you for your actions. How twisted your so-called love for Emilia-tan was...but it's not like I don't understand just how much it sucks to be all alone. You just wanted someone there when you needed it, but couldn't reach out because you didn't know who to reach out to. For that, I'm sorry you suffered in that aspect but otherwise, you are still an irredeemable bastard.'

Once this thought finished, he began to think about the Purge King, the suicidal and paranoid version of himself.

'As for you, I will always hate the fact that you killed Beako, that you imprisoned Emilia-tan, Ram, and Frederica...but like the insane version of us, I understand why you ended up so lifeless in a sense. You had been accused of something and chose what most would, to run away from the mansion. As much as it pains me, Rem wasn't our priority to save at that point in time. I understand you a little better now. Maybe there might have been hope, at least with you, to have redeemed yourself but I will never know now.'

As Subaru contemplated what could've happened had he actually tried to reach out, he noticed that his older counterpart was approaching him. He quickly discarded his thoughts in order to see what his older self wanted.

"Well, I don't know if you and the others will be leaving soon but I want to ask if you all stayed at least until the night ends."

"Hm? Why?"

Chapter Text

Sloth Chapter 6: Last day of peace

Night time had come to the city of Banan with all types of demi humans outside in what the Natsuki Subaru's would call the festival. Natsuki Subaru and Emilia were both helped by the elder Natsuki Subaru and Natsuki Rem in finding some kimonos in order to be in proper attire for this festival. Subaru was a bit curious.

"Why is there a festival?"

"What? Do you not trust it?" Rigel questioned.

"It's not that. I just feel like this is too peaceful."

"Now, Now young me, don't start getting paranoid. Nothing bad will happen."

"...I guess." Subaru said reluctantly, knowing that usually things go wrong when they are too peaceful. Though then again, he might just be paranoid that someone new will come in and cause some issues. He got onto the kimono he was given, noticing how he looked a lot like his fathers from back home on Earth when they had gone to such similar events.

"Man, you really look like dad." The elder Subaru said, surprising both the younger Subaru and Rigel. Subaru was surprised since he was thinking the exact same thing while Rigel was surprised since his father has never spoken about his grandfather.

"What was the old man's old man like?" Rigel asked Subaru, figuring that the young version of his father would know more about his grandfather rather than his own father.

"Wait, why are you asking him and not me?" The Elder Subaru questioned.

"Cause old man, you are very old. He isn't."

"Hey! I'm not that old!" The elder Subaru responded.

"I don't know older me, you seem to look the part. You certainly talk and act like it."

"Oh shut up."

Rigel slightly chuckled at this, enjoying that his old man was getting teased. The Subarus chuckled as well since they didn't think that something like this would happen, making it for quite a scenario. The trio laughed this off for a bit before noticing a certain wolf human appear in the room with his pipe ready to be smoked.

"Don't start to have fun without me, Su-san."

"Not our fault, you're the one who's late to the party." The elder Subaru said, seeing that Halibel had returned from his mission. "How did it go?"

"Went pretty well. Those bandits stood no chance."

"They are facing what is basically an equivalent of a Reinhard, of course they didn't stand a chance." The young Subaru added, knowing that Halibel's strength could be considered as the Reinhard of Kararagi.

"That's flattering to hear, young Su-san. Thank you." Halibel bowed at the young Subaru, appreciating the compliment.

"So Halibel-sama, are you going to participate in the festival this year?" Rigel asked since he was curious to know if his master will join them this time. Halibel noticed his apprentice asking this question with hope in his eyes, indicating that he wants him to go with them to the festival.

"I don't know..."

"Oh come on Halibel, join us."

"Not sure after what happened last time..."

"Wait, what happened last time?" The young Subaru asked, curious to hear the story behind this. Rigel and the elder Subaru both crossed their arms as they recalled the festival Halibel was referring to. The room was silent for a moment before the elder Subaru turned towards the admirer of Kararagi to tell him,

"I can guarantee that it won't happen again."

"Not sure Su-san, we both know that someone could bring alcohol again."

"Yeah but we will be prepared for it this time."

"Wait Wait Wait, what the hell happened? Did my dumbass older self get drunk or something?!" Subaru said with a strong sense of curiosity, now wanting to know what exactly happened. Rigel couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his old man being drunk.

"Pfft! As if the old man could get drunk."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom wouldn't dare to allow him to get drunk, plus we can't have that kind of alcoholic drink in the house anymore. Not after...well..."

Subaru was starting to get annoyed at the fact that everyone was avoiding the topic of what had happened to get Halibel to be hesitant in going to the annual festival.

"Oh come on! Just tell me already!"

Halibel, the elder Subaru, and Rigel all looked at one another for a moment before finally the elder Subaru spoke out on what had happened.

"*Sigh* Look, Zarestia has an issue with alcohol."

"Why? Does she hate the taste? The idiot people that overdrink it and make assholes out of themselves and others?"

"Well...she just hates it. If she sees it, she sort of goes a bit crazy."

"How crazy?" Subaru questioned, knowing that there were different levels of craziness. The elder Subaru took a moment to think on the right words only for Rigel to answer the question.

"The murder everyone type of crazy. She almost destroyed the entire city just by seeing one cup of alcohol."

"Just one cup of alcohol?"

"Yeah, just one small cup."

"Hm..." Subaru crossed his arms as he was surprised that someone like Zarestia would hate alcohol that much to the point she goes nuts. "...I wonder why?"

"Anyway...Halibel, come on. You should really join us this time."

"I don't know, I don't want another mess to clean up. Hell, I'm even surprised she is allowed to go."

"Well..." The elder Subaru rubbed his head as he knew the amount of hell he needed to go through in order to allow this to happen, after Zarestia begged and begged him to help her win back the trust of the public.

"The old man here had a lot of credibility, so should Aunt Tia destroy the town again, he would have to pay a hefty fine."

"Dang...I can imagine how unhappy that would make Rem."

"Ha Ha. Funny thing is, she doesn't know." The elder Subaru said which caught Subaru, Halibel, and especially Rigel's attention deeply.

"What the hell do you mean you didn't told mom yet, old man?" Rigel said with anger since he hates it when his old man tries to hide things from his mother.

"First of all, watch the language. Second, as long as Zarestia doesn't destroy the town again, everything should be fine."

"Sorry but I have to agree with your son, you are a moron older me."

"Oh, be quiet. I know what I'm doing."

"Are you now?" Subaru questioned which annoyed the elder Subaru, prompting him to tell them

"Let's just go, the girls should be waiting for us by now."

"Alright."

"Fine, but I will tell mom if you don't."

"I'll tell her. Just keep your aunt out of trouble."

"That should be easy." Rigel boasted as he was confident that he could keep Zarestia in check. After all, she seemed to favor him the most in the family outside of his mother, causing him to look down at a simple band of beads on his wrist that had been a gift from her.

As they were all walking out, the elder Subaru turned towards Halibel to ask him one last time to join them, knowing that this time it'll be fun without the worry of Zarestia losing her mind. The wolf human debated himself for a moment before looking at the young Subaru, seeing just how excited the boy was in participating in this festival.

"Hm. Honestly Su-san, time sure flies by."

"It really does." The elder Subaru said as he turned to see his son and his younger counterpart speaking, noticing how close in age the two were. Halibel smiled before patting his friend in the back.

"I'll go next year."

"Aw come on."

"I know, I know but I want to make sure that you can keep our crazy murder wind friend in check before I consider going again."

"...*Sigh*, fine. I'll prove to you that everything will be fine."

"I hope so or you'll be in trouble money wise and wife wise."

"Haha...I know." The elder Subaru said reluctantly, knowing just how mad Rem will be when she learns of this...actually Ram might kill him for this.

Halibel just wished him luck before heading home, knowing that everything will be fine. As Halibel left the area, Subaru and Rigel turned towards the Elder Subaru to see that Halibel wasn't there.

"So Halibel won't be joining us."

"Yeah...though I have some feeling he will be nearby."

"We should get moving. Mom and the others should be ready to go."

"Agreed."

The two Natsuki Subarus nodded at Rigel before starting to make their way towards the entrance of the festival, the location they agreed to meet up.

"How does Rem look, sissy?" Rem asked, having taken her time since it had been so long since she got to change clothes with her sister. Ram looked at her sister and couldn't help but smile with pride.

"My sister looks more adorable than ever."

"Of course! Rem always looks adorable." Zarestia added as she continued to help Emilia with her kimono.

Ram just looked at the Great Spirit of Murder with a sharp glare for a moment before returning with a soft look towards her sister. Despite the fact that this isn't her sister from her world, she still adores her like she was her Rem.

She helps Rem with her hair, feeling a little jealous since this hair suits her sister and that Subaru had been the one to suggest it to her. While Ram was helping to do her sister's hair, there was something in her mind that she wanted a bit of reassurance on.

"Sissy...Can Rem ask you something?"

"Of course." Ram said in a calm but caring tone. Rem took a moment to think of the right words before finally asking her question.

"Do you think...that Subaru-kun, my Subaru-kun, will end up loving Emilia-sama more than Rem...?"

Ram continued to help make sure Rem's hair looks amazing while trying to control her rage since this was one hell of a question.

'Stupid Barusu. How dare you make my amazing little sister doubt herself. I'll make sure you are punished before I leave.'

Ram finishes helping Rem with her hair before grabbing her hands, wanting to help comfort her little sister.

"Barusu is stupid, incompetent, and not at all wise. I still wish to murder him for what he told you."

"..."

"...but when it comes down to making a choice, Barusu wouldn't just turn back on it after making a decision. Aside from having good timing, he never backs down from his choice. If your world's Barusu is anything like the one from my world, then he loves you deeply and wouldn't just abandon you for Emilia-sama."

"Are you sure, sissy?" Rem asked with some doubt still hovering over her mind. Ram wanted to tell her sister that she was positive only for someone else to take that chance.

"Of course Ram is right, Rem."

Both oni sisters turned towards the voice, noticing that it was Emilia that spoke. She had finished getting on her given kimono, looking even more beautiful than ever. Rem and Ram were caught off guard by this while Emilia continued.

"Subaru is such a dunderhead but when he tells you that he loves you, he truly means it. He wouldn't lie about that. So if your Subaru says that he loves you, then he means it."

Rem was silent by this, still uncertain since she knows how deeply Subaru cared for her world's Emilia before he chose to abandon everything just to be with her. Despite that, hearing this from an Emilia that had a Natsuki Subaru by her side did provide some reassurance. Before she could smile, there was something she wanted to confirm to herself.

"Aren't you worried that the Rem of your world could take him away from you?"

Emilia stood silent for a moment, recognizing this question from her talk with Roswaal after the events of Pristella but before the events of the Pleiades Watchtower.

("You say that, but wouldn't her awakening be troublesome for Emilia-sama? Subaru-kun has strong feelings for that girl, no matter how you look at it. In fact, they're as strong as the feelings he has for you.")

("Yeah. I think that's right. Subaru will devote himself to that girl for a while, and he might stop caring about me as well.")

("No. Under no circumstances would that...")

("It's fine.")

("...huh?")

("If it makes Subaru turn the other way, that just means that I'll be the one this time to do my best for him to turn my way. I'm not worried about Subaru suddenly not being there. Therefore, I'll also have him come my way, no matter how madly in love he becomes with Rem with how cute she is.")

("Eh? Emilia-tan!?")

Emilia understood why Rem would be concerned since that was something she should be concern with her Subaru but knowing how dedicated he has been towards her, she smiles.

"I understand why you would be afraid but trust in Subaru. He wouldn't be so scummy to stop loving you after you have been with him for so many years. He is a good boy. The Subaru from my world, he...he tries so desperately to help you. When nobody remembered you, he fought to keep you safe. When others wanted to leave you behind, he insisted on taking you along regardless. That is just the kind of man he is. Both in my world and your own."

Although Rem would still have some doubts, she does trust what Emilia was seeing since she also remembered just how much Emilia's Subaru cares for her, considering how he still cares so deeply for her while also caring for Emilia equally. Rem smiled as she bowed with respect towards the silver haired half elf.

"Thank you, Emilia-sama."

Emilia was stunned for a moment since she wasn't sure how to respond at first though one thing was certain, she felt happy for this world's Natsuki Subaru and Rem, having a happy ending. Although she wished it wasn't at the cost of everyone else, she did see that the two in this world deserve each other.

This did add a little fear in her heart, fearing that maybe this would happen with her Subaru and her world's Rem. Although it was a small fear, she had a strong determination to make sure that she doesn't lose Subaru.

'Even if Subaru goes that way, I'll also have him come my way.'

Emilia smiled with confidence as her heart had carved these feelings deeply into Emilia's soul. Zarestia had finished her new and clean kimono as she started to say,

"We should start going to the festival! I want to beat the boys there!"

"Me too!" Spica added as she also had her kimono ready for the festival thanks to Zarestia's assistance. Rem, Ram, and Emilia all three noticed this from Spica, prompting the three women to smile at the little girl before agreeing that they should start making their way towards the festival.

As Zarestia carries Spica outside of the women's changing room, Rem and Emilia both begin a conversation about their respective Subarus, trying to see what is different between the two aside from age.

Ram was the last one to leave the changing room with a smile on her face, seeing just how happy her sister is in this reality. This smile would hide a bit if not a lot of pain since she knows that this is a life that her sister from her reality might not get, especially if they can't find a way to awaken her from her slumber.

'I swear...I, Ram, will save my sister from whatever gluttony did. That is a promise.'

Ram burned this promise into very being, wanting to save her sister even more after seeing just how happy she could become. As Ram took that promise deep into her soul, she kept her usual composure as she caught up with the girls, all of them excited for the festival.

The boys and the girls eventually reached the festival entrance at around the same time, both sides having noticed each other from a distance. Rigel was the first of the boys to be surprised, noticing just how cute his little sister looks in a kimono.

"So cute...!"

The Elder Subaru smiled as he watched how cute his daughter is but what got his attention was mostly his wife, his faithful wife that he loves dearly.

'I love my wife.'

The elder Subaru smiled as Rem noticed that he was looking at her with love in his eyes. She returned the favor by looking at him with love in her eyes, admiring how her Subaru looks while also noticing how the young Natsuki Subaru looked in a kimono.

This brought her fond memories of the first few festivals together, making her think of just how much time had passed. Subaru looked at Emilia, seeing just how beautiful the silver haired half elf looked in a kimono, causing his face to turn red.

'Emilia-tan...looks...so beautiful...'

Emilia looked at Subaru and couldn't help but see how good he looked in a kimono while also noticing that his face was red.

"Subaru, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah...I-I'm okay Emilia-tan...!"

Emilia knew that something was up due to how Subaru was shaking, as if he was scared of something. She gives a serious look at her knight while saying,

"Come on Subaru, tell me what's wrong."

"N-Nothing is wrong, it's just..." Subaru paused for a moment as his exciting emotions were bottling up until, "Emilia-tan looks super beautiful!"

Emilia was taken aback by this, being surprised and slightly embarrassed.

"S-Subaru, you dunderhead!"

Emilia gives a light shove to Subaru for embarrassing her by shouting such things, causing her cheeks to turn a bit red.

The elder Subaru chuckled when this happened, feeling a little embarrassed at how his young counterpart acts, reminding him how he used to act. Before he could even say something to his younger self, he and young Subaru's ears were pulled by Ram.

"Ow Ow Ow!"

"Wh-What are you doing, Ram?" Emilia asked as she didn't know why she was punishing the two Natsuki Subarus.

"This one needs to keep his lustful side in check." Ram said as she looked at her world's Natsuki Subaru. She looked at him with a blank expression for a moment before looking at the elder Subaru's direction, a little hint of anger being shown. "And this one is still being punished for earlier."

"..."

The elder Subaru looked at Ram with a little fear in his heart, seeing just how scary Ram can be when she's really angry.

Emilia just stood silent while Rigel and Zarestia both chuckled at how the elder Subaru was suffering over a stupid joke.

Ram continued to pull their ears for a moment before finally letting go.

She approached Rem and Spica to lead them inside, wanting to spend time with the two.

She turned towards Rigel and began to say,

"Nephew, follow me."

"...okay."

Rigel was unsure what was going on but he just listened to his aunt, not wanting to be on her bad side. Plus, he didn't really get to spend any time with her outside of having his butt kicked by her, so this would be a good moment to get to know her.

As the four of them entered, both the elder Subaru and Zarestia quickly caught up as they didn't want to be left behind.

The only two still at the entrance of the festival were both Emilia and Subaru. The silver half elf looked at her knight as she wanted to know,

"What did older you do to make Ram angry?"

"He said something dumb. Let's just leave it at that." Subaru said as he didn't want to tell Emilia what that joke was, not wanting to look bad himself since his older self is still him in a way. Emilia just looked puzzled for a moment before looking at the festival's entrance, a bit nervous since she hasn't been in a festival herself aside from Subaru's festival back during Puck's magical release period.

Subaru could see that Emilia was nervous, prompting him to quickly grab her hand gently while saying,

"Come on, let's go have some fun, Emilia-tan."

Emilia looked stunned for a moment, caught off guard by Subaru's action but the smile her knight was giving made her heart feel warm while also prompting a smile on her face.

"Alright."

Emilia said as she entrusted her Subaru with what they would do at the festival.

The boy smiled as he led the way, wanting to see what fun things they could do.

The pair walked around with a lot of interesting activities available with one of them being...

"A shooting booth? Here?" Subaru questioned, wondering why something like this would be here.

"Yup, I helped make some cool activities exist." The elder Subaru said, having managed to catch up with him and Emilia. Subaru would've been startled if he hadn't recognized his own voice.

He looked at him for a moment before turning towards Emilia, seeing that she was curious to try out such an activity.

The elder Subaru noticed this and quickly handed his young counterpart some kararagi currency.

"Here you go. This should allow you to do most of the activities around here and to buy yourself and Emilia some food should you two get hungry."

"Okay. Thanks."

The elder Subaru nodded at his younger self before watching him and Emilia head towards the shooting booth. As he looked, he closed his eyes as he recalled a conversation he had with his counterpart a little bit prior to getting him a kimono.

("Let's assume I go back and have the chance to save everyone. What would you recommend me to do?")

("Wait, are you being serious?! I thought—")

("It's just a question! I just want to know what are my options should I chose to change fate for everyone.")

("Alright. Well there is a lot I can tell you.")

("Well then, I'm listening.")

The elder Subaru recalls all of the events that took place on the loop that his young counterpart succeeded. He heard from convincing Crusch to the battle with the White Whale to the battle against Sloth to the events of the Sanctuary and so on. He heard everything up until the events of the Pleiades Watchtower.

The elder Subaru closed his eyes as he understood what he would need to do to save everyone, including Rem and Crusch from their fate.

He would think more on the subject but he decided to drop it since it won't be needed at this time.

He looked back at Subaru and Emilia, seeing just how close his young self got with the silver haired half elf. This prompted a smile to appear before saying,

"I know I gave you a lot of hell...but you did well, my young self."

He watched for a bit before deciding to join his wife and children.

The festival continued with the elder Subaru watching with his wife and sister-in-law as they observed Rigel, Spica, and Zarestia, watching the three have fun.

Subaru continued to do many things with Emilia, wanting to relive many of the fun things that he used to do in festivals when his parents took him while also making sure Emilia also has fun.

The two groups continued to do their own thing until they finally reached the middle of the festival where a band was playing music.

"Emilia-sama, did Barusu do anything stupid?"

"Is that seriously the first thing you ask?!" Subaru said with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Subaru didn't do anything bad. He actually helped me have fun." Emilia said with a smile, having been enjoying her time at the festival. She even had a few souvenirs that he had won her, though she wasn't sure if she could take them back with her, it was the thought that counted. At least she had some yummy food and desserts to go with it.

The elder Subaru nodded at his younger self's progress.

Rem just smiled that Subaru and Emilia were enjoying themselves, figuring that they probably don't have time to have peaceful moments like this in their world.

("Still, I'm sorry Rem that I couldn't save you then...despite the fact that I declared that I would save you in front of Emilia-tan...it has been over a year and I have yet to save you...I really am a failure...")

Rem remembered those words the young Subaru said, seeing that he deserves this time of fun before being forced to go back and face a grim world.

'I'm happy to see you happy, Subaru-kun. You deserve it.'

As she thinks this, she smiles directly at the young boy. The group eventually notice that a slow song plays, catching Subaru off guard since a moment like this shouldn't be possible.

'What is this? I get my own festival episode moment?! Finally!'

Subaru thought with excitement since it had been a long while since him and Emilia had a chance to dance. The last time they danced was the night he became her knight. He turned towards Emilia and extended a hand while saying to the silver haired half elf,

"Can I have this dance with you, Emilia-tan?"

Emilia was silent for a brief moment before nodding, accepting Subaru's proposal. She grabbed her knight's hand as he led her into the dance floor with the other couples. The elder Subaru couldn't help but feel prideful towards his young self, as if he was his own son.

'I'm so proud of you young me, you actually did it.'

He takes this moment to be prideful before preparing to ask his wife to the dance floor only to notice that she wasn't by her side anymore.

'Eh?'

He looks around as he was caught off guard by this only to notice that Rem was with Ram.

"Wait."

"Barusu, this is your punishment. Unless you prefer another beat down." Ram said as she turned to look at him, death being shown to the elder Subaru.

'Are you serious? She's my wife! Man, you really can't take a joke, Ram.'

"Do you have something to say?" Ram spoke with a stern voice, knowing that the elder Subaru was thinking about her negatively.

"No."

"Then watch the children."

She turns towards the dance floor to go and dance with her sister. Rigel and Zarestia both laugh at elder Subaru's misfortune.

"Sorry old man, it seems like you're out of luck this time."

"Haha...yeah..." The elder Subaru said as he tried to play it cool. Rigel could see through this but his focus turned towards his sister, asking her if she would like to dance with him. Spica nodded which made Rigel smile.

The two went towards the dance floor while Zarestia just enjoyed the moment, liking how happy everyone was. She looked at her world's Subaru to see if he was still annoyed at what happened, hoping that would be the case so she could tease him. Though to her surprise he wasn't mad.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

"What? No."

"Then why are you happy right now?" Zarestia asked with a curious look.

"It's just that I'm happy for my younger self and his date. Those two belong together."

"...odd you would say something like that. Wouldn't you want him with Rem-san?!"

"Of course I do! Rem is the best...but we aren't the same."

"Hm?" Zarestia looked puzzled at this, not understanding what Natsuki Subaru meant by that. The elder Subaru noticed this, prompting him to explain himself.

"He is me and I am him. We share the same blood, the same name, the same upbringing—"

"Then how are you two different?"

"He made one choice that changed his life. I made one choice that changed my life. We both have different histories. He is with Emilia and I'm with Rem."

"Was that the change? A different love?"

"It's...more complicated than that." The elder Subaru said, starting to realize that he hadn't really talked to Zarestia about his issues prior to having met her. He had chatted with Halibel about them, which helped him come to terms with his choice fully but he hadn't talked to the Great Spirit of Murder about it.

"I made a choice to run."

"Huh?" Zarestia was confused by this.

"I made the choice to run, with Rem by my side. That was the change. My younger self didn't run. He stayed and fought to save everyone."

"Oh..." Zarestia said as she finally understood what makes the two Natsuki Subarus different. The elder Subaru stood silent for a second before continuing to speak.

"That's what makes us different."

"Well...if it helps, I don't judge you."

"Hm?"

"I got to meet Rem, Rigel, little Spica, and even that wolf. Your choice may seem selfish, cowardly but I don't blame you for running. When things seem hopeless, you either run or fight. I don't think anyone would judge you for wanting to run away with Rem."

"..."

The elder Subaru didn't expect this from Zarestia though he didn't know what to expect with someone like her. He just smiled as he said,

"Thanks."

"I should be thanking you, I got to meet Rem-san and Rigel-kun!"

"Yeah, you did."

As the elder Subaru was enjoying this moment, he felt a tap on his shoulder. This prompted him to look to see that it was his loving wife, Rem. She extended her hand while saying,

"Would you like to dance, love?"

The elder Subaru was stunned for a moment before he closed his eyes with a smile appearing on his lips.

He had wished it was the other way around though he didn't really care, all he wanted was to dance with his wife.

Just before the two went towards the dance floor, Ram grabbed the elder Subaru's arm with a tight grip, catching his attention.

"Ram?"

"If you hurt her, Barusu, I will kill you on the spot. Understood?"

"...y-yeah."

Ram gave him a glare before letting his arm, allowing the elder Subaru and her sister to go dance while they had a chance. As the two went to the dance floor to start dancing, Ram stood next to Zarestia. The two together created a dangerous atmosphere with Ram looking at Zarestia sharply,

"You tried to kill my sister."

"Not this again."

"You will listen to what I have to say." Ram said as she looked sharply at the great spirit. "The next time you try to kill my sissy, I'll kill you on the spot."

"Do you really think you can even kill me?" Zarestia said with a childish tone.

"You'll die by my wand."

"Do you want to go then?"

Zarestia and Ram looked at each other with a death stare, both of them confident they could take out the other. They stood silent for a moment before Ram finally turned towards her sister and the elder Subaru's direction.

"You better take care of sissy."

"...what?" Zarestia was caught off guard by this. Ram continued to speak:

"I will be gone at some point so she will need someone to protect her. Barusu is too stupid and weak to do anything. My niece isn't strong enough to do it. My nephew might be strong but he lacks discipline, gets it from his stupid father and he is young. You on the other hand are strong and seem to care for my sister, so protect her. If something happens to her, I will come for you."

As Ram finishes speaking, she walks away, leaving Zarestia a bit dumbfounded. While this happened, the elder Subaru and Rem got a chance to talk.

"How have you been holding up?"

"Rem is doing fine. How does it feel speaking with a young you?"

"Weird honestly, but fun. I forgot how much of a handful I was."

"Yeah. What about...Emilia-sama?" Rem said hesitantly, wanting her husband to confirm what Ram had said. "Do you...still have feelings for her?"

This was a loaded question since he wasn't sure himself. He turned towards Subaru and Emilia's direction, seeing just how happy they looked together dancing.

The two were happy which made him happy since he knows that his young counterpart worked extremely hard to win Emilia's heart.

As he smiled at them, he looked at Rem and without any warning, he kissed her. Rem was shocked by this since she didn't expect something like this to happen and yet her heart felt an intense warmth.

She knew that this action was her husband saying that she loves her. She stood like this for a moment before closing her eyes, enjoying their intimate kiss for a moment. Once the kiss ended, the elder Subaru said,

"That's my answer. I love you, Rem."

"I...I love you too, Subaru-kun."

As Rem said this, she leaned on her husband's chest while a few tears came streaming down, tears of joy as she saw just how loved she was by the one she loves so deeply. The elder Subaru smiled as he definitely felt the happiest at this moment. While The elder Subaru and Rem continued their dance, Subaru and Emilia started their conversation while dancing.

"Did you have fun?"

"I did thanks to you, Subaru."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Subaru said as he definitely had fun. Emilia smiled for a moment before thinking back on something.

("Aren't you worried that the Rem of your world could take him away from you?")

Emilia had a little doubt in her mind though what she was about to ask was more out of curiosity than worry.

"Would you have preferred to have had this life?"

"Hm? Why do you ask that, Emilia-tan?" Subaru questioned as he was uncertain on why she would ask that.

"Because...that older you is happy here with Rem. Wouldn't you want that? To be happy?"

"But I'm already happy, Emilia-tan. I'm with you. Just as my older self is happy with Rem, I'm happy with you. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Emilia was surprised by this but she smiled, happy by the response she got.

She knows that Subaru cares for Rem but hearing that he would still stand by her side and is happy being by her side made her very happy.

The two smiled at each other as they continued to dance for a little bit before the music ended.

The festival would eventually reach its end, prompting the group to all head towards the exit.

As they were making their way, Subaru and his group started to glow which indicated to the boy that time was almost up.

"Seems like it is time for us to go."

"Really? I was just getting used to having you around." The elder Subaru said slightly sarcastically. The two subarus just laughed this off before finally saying their goodbyes.

"You better take care of Emilia, you chose that path. And I know you'll save Rem."

"Thanks...and also thanks for helping me see the truth. I needed that."

"Us Natsuki Subarus need to stick together."

"Y-Yeah..." Subaru said hesitantly since he still needs to make amends with the two subarus he basically had damned, if he can anyway. While this talk was happening, Rem and Ram both hugged each other as they knew they weren't going to see each other again. As they were hugging, Rem said to her sister,

"Rem really missed you a lot, sissy."

"I missed you too, sissy."

"I hope to see you again."

"...I hope so too."

The two continued to hug for a bit before Ram disappeared. Right before that happened, Ram said to her sister,

"I'm proud of you."

"...thank you, s-sissy."

Rem smiled as a bright light started to shine around them. Subaru was also beginning to glow but just as this was happening, the two Subarus shook hands with the elder Subaru saying,

"I know the journey ahead of you will be tough but I know you'll pull it off. I believe in you, Natsuki Subaru."

"Thank you, Natsuki Subaru."

The two Subarus shared a respective smile before everything went bright.

Subaru opened his eyes to see that he had returned to the white void. He felt annoyed at first before he looked at his hand.

("I know the journey ahead of you will be tough but I know you'll pull it off. I believe in you, Natsuki Subaru.")

'I won't disappoint, older me.'

As Subaru thought this, he smiled confidently before looking forward to see that the watcher was in front of him once again.

"So, I assume my work is done in that world?"

"You could say that." The watcher said, being vague as always.

"It was nice and all but what was my point of being in that world? To show me another path that isn't going insane and trying to kill everyone?"

"It was a gift."

"A gift? What do you mean?"

"That world needed to be helped but in the sense of giving closure to that Natsuki Subaru but also a chance for you to see what could've been for you."

"How is that a gift?" The boy questioned.

"Because you got to see Rem again."

"..."

Subaru was silent when he heard this, agreeing that it was a gift that he got to see her again, interact with her.

("I believe that you will be able to save your Rem. If you can save Emilia-sama, you can save your Rem. You are a hero.")

Subaru smiled when he heard this, being reminded just how important she is to him.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. It was a gift seeing her again."

"Yeah. Well, we should get moving on to the next area."

Subaru prepared to head out but he first wanted to check on Beatrice, remembering that she was asleep. As he turned to see his contracted spirit, he began to think how cool it would've been to have her go to the festival. Just as this was on his mind, he noticed that not only was the little spirit was still sleeping but also Emilia was there in her original attire.

"Emilia-tan!"

Subaru ran to check on both girls, wanting to make sure that they were alive. As he was checking on them, the watcher slowly approached the boy only to see that he was preparing to attack.

"Still holding a grudge on me?"

"Why...Why is Emilia here?!"

Subaru goes to swing his arm only for the watcher to dodge the attack while answering the boy's question.

"She's here for the same reason as Beatrice, they will help you in a later world."

"What?!"

"You see, Natsuki Subaru, I broke my rule a second time and brought someone too early. Now they must stay in this state if you want them to provide assistance when you need them the most. If you wake them up, you risk not only their life but yours."

"Mine? How? You bastard, just say things straight for once!"

The watcher stood silent for a moment as he looked at a direction away from Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice. As the watcher does this for a moment, she turned back towards the boy to answer his next question by saying:

"The witch of envy would find this place."

"..."

"If she finds this place because you were acting rash, then we are all truly dead."

Subaru froze in place, having not thought about Satella in a while since he hasn't been using Return by Death personally. He turned towards a sleeping Emilia and Beatrice, knowing how dangerous it would be for the witch of envy to see them. He got up and stood silent for a moment before asking,

"What happened after we left?"

"They had a happy life."

"...did my counterpart loop?"

"He did loop but that's all I will say."

"...okay." Subaru said, hoping that his counterpart would manage to do things better if he had looped all the way back to the stand. As Subaru thought this, he turned towards the doors to see which one he will be dealing with next.

"Someone looks eager." The watcher said as he noticed a shift in the boy's attitude.

"I just want to get Beatrice and Emilia-tan out of this crappy place as fast as I can. So in order to do that, I need to finish what you had me start. So what is my next location?"

"This one."

The watcher looks behind him as a door appears, catching Subaru off guard.

"What the hell?! Where did the door come from?"

"They just do that when a new branch appears. Since this one is fresh, it would honestly be easier to help out."

"Wait, why this new one and not one of the ones over there?" Subaru pointed at the doors representing the symbols of Greed, Gluttony, and Lust since Sloth, Pride, and Wrath looked to be locked. The watcher closed his eyes while saying:

"Just trust me on this, the door behind me is a world that needs you. This Natsuki Subaru needs help."

"What kind of help?" The boy asked in a skeptical tone.

"The kind your older self had mentioned to you."

"..." Subaru paused as he remembered his conversation with his older self and how that helped him see the bigger picture. He closed his eyes and just started to approach the door, seeing that he needs to get this done in order to continue on the other three remaining doors. Just as he was about to enter, one final question came to mind.

"Why couldn't I see the entire life of my two first counterparts? Why did it take that talk with older me to finally unlock all of the memories?"

The watcher stood silent for a brief moment, knowing that this was a valid question since the boy needs to see all the memories in order to succeed in saving the world. The watcher stood silent for only a few seconds before responding:

"Think of this ability as one that can only be controlled by the way the user thinks. If they only think about being a hero, then it will only show them the worst traits of what their counterpart had done. The power of memory unlocking is one that is rare and can only be gifted by me. Your desire of being a hero clouded the ability a bit but now that you have opened your mind, you shouldn't have trouble with that ability of yours."

"Are you sure?" Subaru questioned with a stern tone, not wanting to encounter any disadvantages with this ability.

"Yes."

"Hm. Okay but if something goes off and it's because your stupid ability you gave me didn't work, I'm going to punch your face."

"Haha, alright, I get it, Natsuki Subaru. Now go, this world won't save itself."

"Tsk."

Subaru just turned towards the door and went inside, a bit curious since this one had an odd symbol compared to the other doors. As he went in, the watcher smiled as he said to himself,

"Seems like I chose the right person for this job."

After watching the door closed, the watcher looked to his left and spoke aloud, "So…what did you think?"

From behind one of the other doors, a figure walked out. Clad head to toe in a dark blue shinobi outfit that only left sharp, dangerous looking eyes free and a hole in the center of the forehead, they cut a mysterious figure.

"It's the old man, of course he'd get it done. Nice to see that I had an aunt though rather than just hear about her. Wish younger me could've beat her up but I was wet behind the ears even then and she was a veteran." A male voice called out.

"You are…what's the word I'm looking for…Tsundere? You hate him so much yet you have an unfathomable well of faith in the same vein." The watcher said with a chuckle.

"...yeah, you're lucky that you're a god or I would've put a fist to your head there." The male shinobi grumbled as he looked at the door Subaru had just gone through. "So what's that one?"

"If I wasn't telling Subaru what to expect, don't think I'll spoil you either on the specifics. All I can say is that this one is something that will be painfully familiar to you." The watcher stated with a waggle of its luminescent finger.

"That's already enough for me to guess because I know my roots on this crazy fucking journey."

"You Natsukis are so crass. Can't you just accept a single bit of happiness that comes your way?" The watcher said with a sigh that suggested frustration.

"...I try, but it's hard when you know they're not…you know."

"It's her and not her. The spirit, the maid, the princess and…well, it's not like you haven't gone directly in the steps of your father either. So ironic that you bring about women and men so similarly and yet so differently at the same time."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I didn't think that last one would even want to be a thing." The shinobi said while rolling his eyes.

"...were you at least comforted by seeing your family again in a happy state? Your sister, your mother and father?" The watcher said in a more quiet, respectful tone.

"I…it was good to see them all again. I wish I could have gone through that door myself but…my own are gone and there isn't anything that is bringing them back. I know that well enough. I made a deal with the devil and it took its due." The shinobi closed his eyes and shook his head while he admitted it reluctantly.

His wrist had a slight noise coming from it as he moved his arm, causing him to look down and see a well-worn wristband with three white orbs on it. Two cracks ran down the center of the left and right ones, leaving only the middle one untouched.

He touched each orb fondly and then placed a hand on his chest, where he could feel the Great Spirit contracted to him slumbering peacefully for once and not having to endure the same nightmares that he had.

"At the very least, being here can give some comfort and peace of mind to the future that will be coming my way."

"Maybe…maybe not. The future can never truly be written in stone as you've plainly seen. Give it time. You may surprise yourself…Rigel Natsuki."

Chapter Text

Aganau Chapter 1: Dangerous night

Subaru opened his eyes to see that he had returned back to a forest once again.

'Can I stop appearing in the middle of a freaking forest? It's very creepy and annoying at this point.'

"Not really my fault."

'How is it not your fault?! I keep spawning in the forest!'

"That's because you are needed there."

'Is that so?'

"Yes."

Subaru stayed silent for a moment. He brushed away what the watcher said to him and began to think about other things that were more important to him at the moment. The first thing that came to mind were his comrades from his world, wondering how the ones that are probably still in the watchtower are holding up.

As he thought of them, he started to think about Emilia and Beatrice, how the two were asleep in the white void where the watcher is located.

("I still need her to help you in another one of the worlds. Should I have returned her to your world, she wouldn't be able to help you out in the future.")

("Why...Why is Emilia here?!")

("She's here for the same reason as Beatrice, they will help you in a later world.")

'I wonder what world they will be needed in according to that jerk...'

As he thinks of this, he begins to close his eyes in order to reflect on everything that had transpired on this quest of dealing with the other versions of Natsuki Subaru. As he thinks back on the three worlds he had traveled so far, he starts to see a few errors he had made.

With the world of Pride, he knows that his mistake there was to not offer an actual hand to his counterpart. Although he was way more insane than the Purge King, he was still a version of him that was suffering from loneliness.

With the Purge King, he was completely paranoid thanks to what happened with Ram. Despite how he is pissed at him for having killed Beatrice and imprisoned his friends, he does understand that he could've had a talk down with him to find some reason.

Lastly with his elder self, he still dislikes that he ran away but he can't deny that it would've been nice to have a peaceful life with Rem.

'A peaceful life without any deaths...'

Subaru couldn't help but feel a bit off in thinking deeply of this possible fate that he could've had but he doesn't regret anything.

'Working hard to keep Emilia-tan, Rem, Beako, Ram, Otto, Garfiel, Petra, Frederica, Patrasche, Ryuzu, and even Meili safe. They are so important to me...I would go through hell so many times for them.'

With this in mind, he looked around for a moment to see where he should go. As he was looking, he suddenly heard what seemed to be an explosion. This prompted him to turn towards the direction of the woods.

'I guess I better get started.'

Just as Subaru thought this, he started to make his way towards that direction. At first he was walking slowly, cautious since he hadn't seen any allies appear near him. During this walk, he started to think to himself,

'I wonder what kind of version of me I'll be dealing with. Will he be like a maniac like the Sin Archbishop of Pride, paranoid to hell like the Purge King, a peaceful man like the father version of me, or will he be something completely different? Probably different but still...I hope he isn't a villain.'

As he was thinking of this, he suddenly had memories of this world's Natsuki Subaru hit him with extreme force.

"Th-There we go! Right on cue!"

As he says this, he's able to see the memories that were being shown to him. The first being in a forest very similar to the one he was in. Subaru was able to see things more clearly now with his memories. Unlike the previous worlds where he could see fragments of the memories, in this one it was like he was truly there.

("I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill him...I swear, I'm gonna kill that guy, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him.")

Subaru paused as this memory was extremely overwhelming, feeling the intense hatred his other self had.

'This hate...it's so overwhelming...I remember feeling like this when—'

Before Subaru could finish his thought, another flash of memory came through. For this memory, he was in a room, an unfamiliar room to him.

'Wait, am I...?'

("Subaru...")

("I want to be strong...")

'Reinhard...'

As Subaru had thought of his friend, he figured that something horrible must've happened to this version of himself. As he was trying to think of the many possibilities that could've sparked something like this, another powerful headache came in which caused him to see another memory.

This one was set outside, noticing that it was similar to the yard he was in when training with Wilhelm after the royal selection had started.

("Subar—" Reinhard tried to speak but was cut off.)

("Don't!" Subaru said angrily. "I don't need your help anymore. No matter how far we go, we'll never understand each other. Thank you for your help...!")

After seeing this particular memory, he did feel the anger and frustration his counterpart was feeling.

'This version of me...something must've happen to him if he refused Reinhard's help...but what could've—'

("Live...Love...you...")

Subaru suddenly stopped as a few tears streamed down despite the boy not previously feeling any kind of sadness until he heard those words.

"Wha..."

Subaru was stunned by this because it wasn't just some painful memory from his counterpart's past but the same memory that had broken him during his first few loops facing Petelguese, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

'Rem...'

Subaru paused for a second as he felt the pain of loss that it felt when he had to hold Rem's dead body before he ended up dying to Puck in that particular loop for him. This sadness eventually turned into slight anger towards Petelguese.

Despite the fact that he is dead in his world, he knows that he's still alive in the Purge King's and the father Natsuki Subaru's worlds. This left him angry for a bit before starting to think back on that painful memory, figuring that there was a purpose to why he saw this memory.

'I saw the memory of Rem dying in the mansion when dealing with the Purge King. We shared this memory, meaning that this world's me...'

Subaru had a big pause as he realized that the change with this world has to be involved with that specific event.

'Reinhard was with my counterpart, he wanted to help him which means that I will need to find him first...well actually, I need to find out where I am.'

As Subaru's thoughts were finishing up, he looked up at the night sky to see a familiar dark hand.

'An unseen hand?!'

The boy felt a strong chill in his soul, having to remember those painful deaths he had to witness in his world because of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

'He killed Rem, Ram, Petra, the people of the village, the children...Emilia-tan...'

Flashes of memories appeared in his mind, the dead corpses of everyone he knew in Arlem village and in the mansion. This boiled him with extreme anger as he hated seeing how everyone was killed, in such brutal ways.

With all of these deaths back on his mind, he started to run towards the direction where he saw what could be the unseen hand. While he was closing in, he could feel such a foul stench the closer he got.

'Whoever the hell this is, they are a part of the Witch's Cult. Nobody else would produce such a foul stench.'

As he was getting closer and closer, he quickly went towards a tree as he heard someone speak with a very familiar voice.

"-Oh? Well, well, well, well?"

'That voice...it can't be...'

Subaru looked out on the tree to take a peak, wanting to see if what he was thinking was really there only to notice someone older with what appeared to be in Al's attire.

'Al? What is he doing here?'

Subaru went back into hiding as he didn't want to be spotted by what seemed to be Al but also by the person he was thinking about.

"Maybe you...Didn't you see my "unseen hand"?"

'Unseen hand? I knew it! It can only be him!'

Subaru turned back to see, noticing the first person that had pushed him to his very limits.

'Petelguese Romanée-Conti...that bastard...!'

With this confirmed for the boy, his hands began to shake as he wasn't sure how he should approach this scenario. Normally he would have someone like Rem, Ram, Beatrice, or Emilia by his side, even Julius on some occasions.

Being alone here with someone extremely dangerous would be bad for him. Despite having gotten better in dealing with dangerous witch cultists, he is still nothing compared to them if he faces them alone, especially a Sin Archbishop.

'Hm...if it is Petelguese, then I'll need to find this world's Reinhard. He should be able to aid me in defeating this bastard.'

As he was thinking about how Reinhard would be the best way to defeat the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, he continued to hear Petelguese continuing to speak like the madman he is.

"No way...No way No way No way, that shouldn't be the case!" Petelguese spoke as he was beginning to freak out.

'Well...this brings back unpleasant memories.' Subaru thought as he disliked having to remember his time dealing with Petelguese.

"The "unseen hand" of "slothfulness" bestowed by my love cannot be seen by anyone else...!"

Subaru clenched his fist with anger, hating every second of this man's voice.

"Petel...guese..." The one that Subaru assumed to be Al spoke out with a surprised tone of voice. Subaru noticed the voice and was a bit confused since he slightly recognized the voice. Before he could think more into it, Petelguese continued to speak.

"Did you just call out my name?...This is really, really, really, really, interesting." Petelguese twists his head towards the one dressed like Al, looking extremely evil with his twisted smile. "Aren't you being arrogant, sir?"

Both the Al look-alike and Subaru were angry when they heard this, hating how Petelguese was speaking.

"It's hard to think that you're not a member of the Gospel even though you've received that much love. But! If that's the case! If that's the case! Why? For what reason? With what motive? To repay your favor, diligently surrender to your trials and tribulations. You are going to attack us, Today."

"What the hell?"

Subaru watched as the Al look-alike unleashed his most powerful blow at Petelguese; Yet the Sin Archbishop of Sloth managed to easily deflect the attack with his unseen hand.

"Aha, how lamentable is the death of communication..." Petelguese sounded disappointed. "Despite my diligent attempts at dialogue, you refuse to change your hostile stance at all..."

The Al look-alike just stood silent as he gave Petelguese an intense stare of hatred and vengeance.

"To be satisfied with the unknown is more slothful than anything else! For the love that she brings! Ohh, oh, oh! Death for one who can't reward wrath instead of love!"

'Man, he really likes to talk. I forgot about that.' Subaru thought as he was starting to get annoyed by Petelguese's ramblings.

"That's why I have to be diligent! Ohhhhh, love! To love! It is my love that is rewarded!"

"What the hell?"

The Al look-alike continued to swing his sword at Petelguese, attempting to land a fatal blow on the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

Subaru continued to watch from a distance, angry that he can't really do much at the moment since he isn't sure if this Petelguese is stronger or even beatable with just him and the person currently fighting him combined. This continued for a bit before the person facing Petelguese gained his distance and looked as if he was analyzing the battle.

Subaru looked at Petelguese to see that he was just standing there, not fazed by what was going on. Just before the boy was going to come up with a plan to help the Al look-alike, he heard him say,

"At last, we meet again. I'm relieved to see you haven't changed a bit in twenty years."

'Twenty years?! Wait a minute...I'm twenty years into the future of this world?!'

"This is because I've been looking forward to such a day!"

"Twenty years ago...?" Petelguese looked with a bit of confusion, something Subaru wasn't expecting to see...a genuine confused Petelguese without his twisted looks. Just as he was thinking, Subaru quickly tried to sneak behind the Sin Archbishop while the Al look-alike just as quickly charged at Petelguese directly ahead of him.

'Okay. So while he attacks from the front, I'll attack from behind.'

As the boy was sneaking behind Petelguese, he heard the Sin Archbishop of Sloth say,

"Oh...! Oh, Oh, Oh...Yes, Yes, Yes...I remembered that death! Twenty years ago! A night in a cave! The boy and girl who appeared before our trials! Yes, Yes! I have taken note of the favor that you had received in your body and had given you a test!"

("Now, as for your position in all this...I honestly have no idea what it is, so I shall judge you as our Lord sees fit. I will leave you bound here. Should the Gospel happen to find its way to you, I am sure you will be saved...")

'Damn you!' Subaru thought with hatred, hating every second of that moment.

"You who were nothing but a foolish, miserable, pathetic, lowly, dwarf in the guise of madness! The sinful you of that day, who just allowed the killing of the girl who thought about you in good health! You've been through so many trials and tribulations, and now you're going to appear before me once again! Oh, what love! This is love! The work of love! The miracle of love! My brain trembles!"

"Why don't you shut up?!"

"Huh?!"

Both the warrior and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth turned towards Subaru as they heard what he had shouted out. Before either could do anything, Subaru used everything he had in his Invisible Providence to punch Petelguese in the face.

'Man, I've been wanting to do this for a long while!' Subaru thought with a smile, feeling happy just to have landed a punch on the madman with his own stolen authority.

'What the...?' The warrior was caught off guard when he saw this random boy suddenly be able to use the same ability like Petelguese but against the madman. 'Wait...this is my chance!'

The warrior took this opportunity to quickly charge in Petelguese's direction. As he closed in, he swung his sword towards Petelguese's neck, attempting to kill the Sin Archbishop of Sloth right there while he still had the chance to do so. Just as his sword was about to connect to Petelguese's neck, one of his unseen hands managed to block off the attack.

"Oh, Oh, Oh! That was a pretty slothful attempt."

"Damn you!"

"And as for you!" Petelguese turned towards Subaru with anger in his face at first since he sensed the witch factors on the boy. But as he looked at the boy, his entire face morphed and twisted into an expression of surprise and thoughtful confusion. "My My, this is weird. You look just like you did twenty years ago...yet the older one was the one who I met twenty years ago. What is going on?!"

"Like hell I'm telling you!"

As Subaru yelled this he quickly turned off his sloth witch factor to avoid one of Petelguese's attacks. Petelguese did not like how Subaru was talking to him but what annoyed him more is seeing someone else also having the Sloth witch factor and another one he detected.

"Why are you so so so loved?! You contain my authority of Sloth! You contain the authority of Greed! Why?! The Sin Archbishop of Greed isn't dead. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?! Why are you so loved?! Both of you!"

"Man do you ever shut up?!"

Subaru attempted to use another invisible providence to try and land another hit on Petelguese yet this one was completely overpowered by a few unseen hands. Subaru figured this would happen alongside his body starting to be strained.

'Damn...my body is burning up. I overused the sloth witch factor.'

As Subaru thought this, he was easily punched away by one of Petelguese's unseen hands.

"Why are you both so loved?! Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? My brain trembles!"

As Petelguese was shouting this, the warrior looked at Subaru to see that he was completely weak at this point, having passed his limits. The warrior was at first hesitant since he has Petelguese right there, his actual chance to kill him yet he looked at the boy once again. As he looked very closely at him, he saw his entire face.

'Natsuki Subaru?'

With new questions being formed in his mind, his mind was set. He quickly brushed past the Sin Archbishop of Sloth in order to grab Subaru before starting to leave.

"Where are you two going?"

Petelguese said as he sent a barrage of unseen hands towards the two. The warrior just looked at Petelguese with complete hatred in his eyes. He slowly set Subaru down before standing proudly towards Sloth.

"You are going to die here, you bastard! I'm bringing hell on you!"

"Oh. You were looking for me to avenge the girl from that time, weren't you?" Petelguese said with a smile as the warrior managed to push back the unseen hands. "After twenty years of single-mindedly hating, loathing, abhorring, detesting, wearing you down, and you finally found me...However, reality is cruel. With that kind of power, it's almost impossible to reach my life. You're still "slothful", aren't you?"

The warrior was starting to get overpowered by the amount of unseen hands Petelguese was sending while also the warrior was getting angry at the things he was saying to him.

'I'll kill you, you fucking bastard! No matter what, I will kill you!'

"It was worth being beaten to see it."

"What?" Petelguese asked with a confused facial expression.

"Your habit of making petty jokes hasn't changed in 20 years, has it?"

The warrior quickly closed the gap between the two as he dodged many of the unseen hands before holding up his left prosthetic hand towards the madman.

He plunged his right hand which was still gripping the sword hilt, into the gap between the prosthetic hand to release the safety.

In the next moment, the prosthesis bent from the wrist, and the resistance popped out with a roaring explosion.

Subaru looked up as he heard the explosion, curious to see what was going on. As he looked up, he saw that Petelguese had been successfully stabbed by what looked to be a sharp metal rod.

'He...did it?'

Subaru was surprised by this while the warrior smiled as he said,

"This is...the end...I...Natsuki Subaru...have finally beaten you!"

Subaru looked closely at the warrior, finally seeing how this version of him looks fully. He was wearing Al's gear while also looking really buff and having a prosthetic arm.

'This version of me...really is more of a badass than the last me I saw...but this one is...filled with vengeance.'

Subaru managed to use the little strength he had to get back on his feet, watching his counterpart cut off Petelguese's head. As the Al looking Subaru managed to succeed in killing Petelguese, he took a moment to smile in victory before turning towards his young self.

He looked at him for a few seconds before approaching the boy. Once he closed in on the boy, he took a closer look and observed closely before asking,

"Are you real?"

"Yes, me. I'm real."

"Okay, then that leaves me with one question, why are you here? Did you time travel forward?...no, wait, why were you able to use that bastard's ability?"

As the older Subaru was questioning this, Subaru remembered something important.

"Older me, Petelguese isn't dead."

"What? The hell are you talking about?!"

"Petelguese is a spirit!"

The older Subaru's eyes widened when he heard this, understanding that the battle with the person he hates the most has really just begun. Subaru looked up as he saw an unseen hand heading towards them.

"Watch out!"

Subaru used all of his strength to shove his older self out of the way while also managing to avoid the unseen hand as well, albeit barely as he could feel the wind of the hand ruffling his jacket as it passed by. As the two had dodged this attack, they both looked at the direction the unseen hand came from, noticing a woman with red hair.

"You...really are a persistent bastard..."

"Death by Fingers."

"Fingers?" The Al looking Subaru said as he prepared his sword for battle.

"I am a "finger"! I am a rewarder of love! A faithful and diligent apostle who carries out trials and follows the guidance of love! Aah! Oh, you're slothful aren't you?"

Subaru looked at this new form of Petelguese with hate and disgust before turning towards his younger self to ask,

"How did you know he wasn't dead?"

"I'll tell you later...for now, we should get out of here."

"No. I need to beat him here and now."

"How do you plan to beat him then?" Subaru questioned, finding this version of him extremely stubborn.

"By killing him as many times as it takes!"

As the Al looking Subaru says this, he charges at Petelguese with his mind being filled with the deaths caused by the madman while also remembering the pain he had to suffer by seeing and knowing that everyone he cared about had been killed because of him.

Subaru looked at his counterpart, who was trying to close the gap between him and the finger despite having his trump card already being used and stuck in the old Petelgeuse's body..

'He is filled with so much hate...I can't blame him but he doesn't see that Petelguese won't fall for the same trick twice, not that he can even use it twice from how big that damn thing was. Even so...I have to help him!'

Subaru started to move despite his entire body being in pain, knowing that if he does nothing, his counterpart will surely die or end up with severe wounds.

He grabbed a couple of rocks nearby before using every ounce of strength to throw them directly at the finger of Petelguese, trying to distract the finger long enough for his counterpart to try and kill this finger.

The finger noticed that Subaru was trying to use rocks as distractions, prompting the finger to throw a large amount of unseen hands towards the boy.

"Oh no you don't!"

Older Subaru quickly cuts down the unseen hands before throwing his sword directly at the finger, hoping that his weapon could land the hit. Just as the sword was about to hit the finger, another unseen hand appeared to knock the weapon out of the way.

'Damn it!'

"Trying to kill my body once again, are we?! Not gonna happen! Now then, you both shall die by a finger!"

Both Subarus noticed the unseen hands beginning to go towards the two in massive waves, prompting the two to quickly try to think of a way to escape this situation.

'Damn it! I can't win like this! Not to mention I have no weapon now!' The older Subaru thought as he was quickly trying to think on what he could do to get himself and his younger self out of there.

'I can't die! I don't have return by death with me! And I doubt I'll be with this version of me when he loops!' Subaru thought in a panic, knowing that if his counterpart dies, the loop will be before he arrived and if he died, that would be the end of him. Just as it seemed like the two were going to die, the older Subaru shouts,

"Shamak!"

With one final chance and with a lot of luck, the older Subaru managed to create a powerful dark mist around him. This gave him the chance to avoid the unseen hands and to quickly go to protect Subaru. He shoved his younger counterpart out of the way, allowing the young version to be saved from the attack but in return the older version took the blow in his stead.

The older Subaru was sent flying into a tree and slamming into it with his body first, leading to a few of his ribs being damaged badly. Subaru slowly got up, having long since pushed past his limits from the overuse of Invisible Providence and all the running they had been doing. Once he reached the older Subaru's location, he helped him get up before telling him,

"We need to get out of here..."

"...N-No...this...is my chance...to kill him..."

"I understand your desire to kill him, but this isn't worth it at all. You need to live."

"..."

("Live...Love...you...")

The older Subaru had a momentary pause as he was reminded of the words from Rem, remembering her last wish to him, to stay alive. He looked at the direction of the mist from his shamak for a moment before turning up towards the night sky, hating that he had to retreat.

"Damn it all..."

The older Subaru nodded at his younger self, alerting him that he'll leave with him. Subaru nodded back before the two quickly started to walk as fast as they could towards the edge of the forest, hoping that they could escape the finger before it managed to catch up to them or find them.

As they were gaining some distance, they did notice some trees near them starting to explode as most of the unseen hands were thrown towards their direction.

"Do you believe you can escape me? How very slothful!"

"Damn you...Petelguese..."

Both older and younger Natsuki Subaru looked at the finger containing Petelguese's soul, seeing that he was preparing to finish them off.

"Seems like your twenty years of hating me have gone to waste~DESU!"

The older Subaru's eyes burned with fury as he remembered every ounce of hell he had to go through just to face Petelguese in person. He wouldn't let anything kill him, not until the Sin Archbishop of Sloth was taken care of.

"My hatred...the vengeance that burns in my soul will never die! I will kill you, Petelguese! Don't think for a second that you have the advantage!"

"Believe what you want...now die!"

Just as it truly seemed like the two Natsuki Subarus were done for, they suddenly had a portal appear underneath them, managing to take the two away from the area just in the nick of time. The moment the two Subarus had left, the portal closed and the unseen hands completely destroyed the entire area.

"Oh?" The finger looked at the destruction with interest, wanting to see if she did her job. As she moves the unseen hands away so she could see the end result, the finger begins to throw a tantrum. "Where are they?! Where are their corpses?! Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where?! Where?! Where?! Where?!"

Subaru was in a deep sleep, falling in what seemed to be a dark void.

'What am I...experiencing? Am I dead? No, I can't be dead. I still feel some life in me.'

Subaru thought as he started to analyze everything that happened prior to losing consciousness.

'Okay, so Petelguese was clearly strong, stronger than when I fought him. Either that or I'm just that lucky to have landed even a hit on him with my weaker sloth witch factor.'

As the boy was comparing his Invisible Providence to Petelguese's unseen hands, something important came to mind.

'Wait, Petelguese detected not only the sloth witch factor in me but also the greed witch factor...that might be a problem if he alerts the other Sin Archbishops of this world. My counterpart and I could barely survive one but any more would be too much. Fuck, Regulus alone almost took down Reinhard.'

As this was a concern Subaru had, he started to think about how he didn't receive any allies from the beginning like before.

'What the hell is that watching bastard up to? Honestly, he is a big pain in the ass.'

As this was on his thoughts, he started to see underneath his eyelids that something bright was starting to overwhelm the darkness he was covered by. This prompted him to open his eyes to end up finding himself in what seemed like the forest but it was not only daytime but he was actually in a different location.

He slowly started to get up only to feel his body completely burn from his sore and aching muscles.

'Damn! I pushed my body to the limit. I guess I shouldn't complain though, I'm still alive.'

"*Cough*"

"Hm?"

Subaru turned towards the coughing noise, seeing that it was his older self, still recovering from his injuries.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked, having some concern for his more mature and stronger looking self. The older Subaru stood silent for a moment before responding,

"I'll be alright...this won't kill me. Far from it."

"Don't push yourself too far, you are still human."

"Doesn't matter, that bastard will die." The older Subaru said as he managed to stand up despite his body hurting even worse than the Natsuki Subaru from a different world.

"You should be more careful. If you keep going off on suicide missions like that, you will get yourself killed."

"What would you know...?" The older Subaru paused for a second, something having popped on his mind. "Actually..."

He approached his younger counterpart before asking him one simple question,

"Who exactly are you?"

"What do you—?"

"While that bastard Petelguese isn't bothering us, we can actually speak without worry of death. So now talk. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Natsuki Subaru!"

"And so am I but that doesn't—"

"You two are so annoying, in fact."

The two Natsuki Subarus paused as they heard the familiar voice of Beatrice. The older Subaru turned towards Beatrice with a serious facial expression, a bit surprised that she's in the forest with them before noticing that in the distance, he could make out the ruins of a hauntingly familiar building.

While Subaru was just happy to see her once again, even if it isn't his world's version, he knew what the ruined building near them was and what it meant for Beatrice to be out here with them instead of inside her library even in the ruined structure of the once beautiful Rosswal Mansion

"You two are honestly something else, I suppose. But first, who exactly are you and why do you look like him but back when I unfortunately met you twenty years ago? Secondly, why did you choose to fight a Sin Archbishop so close to the Mansion after he had already destroyed it once before, in fact?"

Chapter Text

Aganau Chapter 2: Broken People

"You two are honestly something else, I suppose. But first, who exactly are you and why do you look like him but back when I unfortunately met you twenty years ago?"

Subaru took a moment to think on this question, knowing that this isn't just Beatrice's question but also his counterpart's question regarding him.

"I mean...it's a bit complicated."

"A bit? You are talking about having a young version of me, that being you, co-existing with me twenty years into the future. That's a little more than complicated." The older Subaru added, finding this all too complicated.

"You might find it too complicated because you are a simpleton, in fact. For Betty, she can figure anything out, I suppose."

"Okay then, try to explain this." The older Subaru said with an annoyed tone of voice, annoyed at how the loli spirit was being a bit smug despite still having a blank facial expression.

"The only explanation Beako can conclude is that this one is a clone, a fake, in fact."

"Hold it, I'm not a fake." Subaru protested.

"Well then, that brings us back to how you are even here? There can't be two of us by some coincidence."

"Well, I am Natsuki Subaru but from a parallel timeline."

"Parallel timeline?" Beatrice questioned.

"Wait Wait Wait Wait. That's actually a thing?" The Older Subaru said, surprised that something like this could exist.

"Yup. Fourth world."

"Fourth? The hell, why are you even...no, wait, that makes a lot of sense."

"Explain!" Beatrice said as she was getting frustrated that she was suddenly left out of the conversation. Both Subarus looked at each other for a moment before the older version nodded. He turned towards Beatrice to explain,

"Think of it this way, there are worlds that share the same exact people, same exact places, almost the same exact history but with a few differences."

"Differences? Like?" Beatrice questioned which the older Subaru was curious to know what was the main difference with his counterpart and his.

Before Subaru could even answer the question, the loli spirit sensed something odd about the young Subaru she hadn't sensed before. She approached the boy in haste before tapping her hand towards his chest.

"Wait Beako, what are—?"

"Quiet."

"..."

The older Subaru and Subaru just watched as Beatrice used her powers to look at the young boy's gate, having sensed something within it. After a few seconds, she was able to detect the contract the young Natsuki Subaru had.

"...who are you contracted with...?"

"Hm, is that—?"

"Just answer the question!" Beatrice spoke with a sharp tone, wanting to know this answer as soon as possible. Subaru was silent for a few seconds before answering after having sighed.

"The one I'm contracted with is the great spirit, Beatrice."

Beatrice's eyes widened for a moment as she heard this, noticing that the contract she had detected in this Natsuki Subaru made sense now. She was stunned for a moment before tears were starting to be created.

"I-If you are contracted with...then are you..."

"I'm not that person."

"Huh?"

Beatrice was stunned by this. Subaru looked at Beatrice in the eyes, remembering that same look from the Beatrice of his world when she desperately wanted him to say that he was that person Echidna had told her would come for her.

Just as he was going to say something related to that promise that Beatrice had held on to, Subaru's body was suddenly in pain, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"hk!"

"Hey! What's wrong?!" The older Subaru said, noticing that his young counterpart was in immense pain. "Beatrice, what's going on with him?"

"..." Beatrice stood silent as she was processing the words that came out of the young Natsuki Subaru's mouth. The older Subaru noticed this and quickly got her attention by flicking her forehead with very little force.

"Hey! I need you to focus!"

"?! How dare you do that to me, I suppose!"

"You can question my younger self about having a contract with another spirit that is named Beatrice later, right now we need to keep him from dying."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Beatrice prepared to throw the older Subaru away only to control herself at the last minute. The two turned towards the young Subaru to see that he had passed out.

"Shit! I need to get him to Ferris, he will know what to do."

The older Subaru uses his prosthetic hand to pick up his counterpart before turning towards the direction of the capital, having an idea where he needs to go.

Just as he was going to go, he turns towards the little loli spirit to tell her,

"You don't have to accompany me. He has that bastard's weird hand ability and knew about him not being dead, so that would mean that he might have beaten him. This young me will be the key to finally killing Petelguese."

"..."

The older Subaru noticed the silent response the great spirit gave him, prompting him to believe that she would not join him. He started to walk with one final thing to say,

"Thanks for the save...Beako..."

As the older Subaru walked a few feet, he heard that someone was walking behind him. This prompted him to turn around, seeing that the little loli spirit was following him.

"Betty will go with you, I suppose."

"Hm. I'm a little surprised—"

"Don't get the wrong idea, I suppose. I'm not doing it for you. Betty just needs to know something from your stupid younger self."

"...fair enough."

The two started to walk towards the direction of the capital, both having many questions for the young Natsuki Subaru.

Subaru slowly opened his eyes as his body was no longer in pain.

'What the hell was that? Could it have been the pain for overusing the invisible providence? No, I would've had that happen during the fight. Then maybe could it be my gate? I haven't had Beako drain up some of my mana like the contract stated and it was broken to boot. Ferris said never to mess with broken gate and I can feel why now' He paused his thoughts for a moment as he noticed that he was no longer in the forest. 'Okay, so I'm at some sort of new location. I don't recognize the ceiling.'

Subaru stood sitting up in order to take a look around for a moment, trying to see where he is now. As he was looking, he noticed that there were a lot of beds in the room he was currently in.

'Am I in...some kind of hospital?'

"So, you've finally awoken, Subaru-kyun."

"Huh?" Subaru was stunned for a moment since he hadn't noticed anyone in the room until he turned towards his back side, seeing that he missed a spot.

Subaru had recognized the voice but the moment he looked at this person, he knew who it was.

"Felix."

"Natsuki Subaru-kyun. Good to see that you are nyow doing well."

"Where am I...? Also, why are you wearing a suit?"

"Hm? What do nyow mean?" Ferris asked with a puzzled facial expression.

"Nevermind...anyway, where am I?"

"Nyow are at the hospital. Subaru-kyun was in bad shape and nyower gate is broken."

As Felix finished saying this, he smacked the boy on the head.

"What was that for?"

"Do nyow know how dangerous nyower life is now that nyower gate's broken?! Subaru-kyun's such an idiot. Nyow and that other Subaru-kyun."

"Other Subaru...oh right! Where is my other self?"

"Outside. I told him to wait until nyow woke up. He and the little girl with him have a lot of questions for nyow."

"Figured as much." Subaru said as he sighed, feeling some relief that he gets to see Felix once again but also that Beatrice and his older counterpart are alright. Ferris sat next to Subaru with the chair that was nearby as he took this opportunity to ask questions of his own.

"How's this possible? Are you even Natsuki Subaru-kyun?"

"Of course I am! It's just that I'm not the same one as the older me."

"I know that! I'm just...I don't know how to process this."

"Nobody does but if it makes you feel any better, I'm a Natsuki Subaru from a different world."

"Different world? What are nyow talking about?" Felix asked with a confused facial expression. Subaru figured this would be the reaction, prompting him to explain the whole parallel worlds to the catboy.

After a minute or two of explaining, Ferris got up as he turned around to think about what he had heard, needing a moment to process everything. As he was processing this, Subaru was a bit curious on what could've happened to Felix Argyle in the twenty years.

"So, what happened to you, Felix?"

"What do you mean nyow?"

"Like what have you been doing in the past twenty years? How's Crusch or Wilhelm?"

"..." Felix just stood stiff as he heard what Subaru had asked him. The boy took notice of the catboy's silence, having a bad feeling.

"Felix? Are you okay?"

"..."

"Felix...?"

"...who...are those two you mentioned...?"

"What?" Subaru said with a surprised facial expression.

("Who...is Rem?")

("Who is Rem?")

("I have no younger sister.")

("Rem?")

Subaru was reminded of the moments where people had forgotten about Rem all because Felix questioned him about who Crusch and Wilhelm were. He knew that the catboy wasn't playing around since he was very serious when he questioned him.

As this was processing in his mind, he started to access his counterpart's memories, how he reacted when he learned about Crusch and Wilhelm being gone. This made the boy think back about what he had learned so far in his previous worlds.

'Crusch and Wilhelm were destined to be erased by the White Whale. This is already the third world where the two are gone...actually the fourth, considering my previous counterpart ran away to leave Crusch and her camp to their fate.'

A smile formed for a brief moment as the boy felt happy that in his world, he was able to prevent such a fate to the Crusch camp, having seen them as closest friends and respectful allies. As this smile slowly started to fade away, he got up as Felix began to speak once again.

"Tell me...who are those people you mentioned...?"

"Wilhelm van Astrea, the grandfather of Reinhard van Astrea. He is someone respectful, an amazing fighter despite his age, and someone I view highly and with a lot of respect."

"...okay, then what about the other person?"

"Crusch Karsten, one of the candidates of becoming the 42nd King of Lugnica. She's someone I would follow into battle despite being weak. A hard and respectful worker. And she's someone that was deeply special towards you, Ferris."

"..."

Felix couldn't help but have a strong headache, his mind trying to remember this person close to him. As he was in temporary pain, Subaru approached him and went to hug the catboy, wanting to help him.

Felix wasn't sure on how to react to this but for this time, he accepted Subaru's hug since it was genuine and comforting. The two hugged for a moment before the older Subaru and Beatrice both entered the room.

"Hey, Felix, is my younger self awake already?"

As he finished speaking, he looked to see his younger self standing next to Felix. He wasn't sure what was going on but he was relieved that his younger self's alright.

"Felix, is there anything wrong with my younger self?"

"Nothing physical, he just strained himself. But there is something about this Subaru-kyun you should know. His gate's broken."

The older Subaru was caught off guard by this since his gate was fine, having twenty years to keep his gate from being broken.

'Okay, so there are different things between the two of us, younger me. You beat that bastard but your gate is busted. Hm. That must be rough.'

"Is there anything that can be done about it?"

"No, nothing can be done."

"It's fine, older me. I've dealt with that problem for a little over a year now."

"How?" Beatrice questioned, knowing that there was no way that this Subaru could've found something that could've solved that particular issue. Subaru turned towards the loli spirit to answer with a calm expression.

"My contract with you."

Beatrice hid how she felt when she heard this once again, a version of her contracted with Natsuki Subaru.

It made her feel jealous since she wants to be contracted with that person, the one that'll free her from her everlasting contract with the Witch of Greed.

The older Subaru turned his attention towards his younger self to ask him,

"Mind if we speak for a moment, in private?"

"Um, sure. I assume that you have a lot of questions."

"I do. So does Beatrice here."

"Okay."

"Fe—" Before the older Subaru could even say the healer's name, he approached the older him to ask, "Can you join me for a moment? It will be quick."

"Is it important?" The older Subaru said to which his younger self took note of since Felix being serious was not something he saw often outside of his official duties.

"Don't be a jackass, my older self."

"...fine, I guess we can speak for a bit."

"..."

Felix didn't respond but started to lead the older Subaru towards a different room, one where they could speak in private. As the two were walking out, Subaru and Beatrice were both left in the room with the atmosphere being confusing.

Beatrice was filled with jealousy for her counterpart, wanting to be freed from the contract while Subaru could feel the urge to want to help this Beatrice like he helped the one he is contracted to.

'I can't leave her like this. If my Beako was barely holding on when I went to save her from Echidna's damn contract...this one must be in a worse state. I have to do something.'

Subaru resolved himself to once again save Beatrice from her despair yet before he had the chance to speak, she chose to start the conversation first with a simple question:

"Why? Why would Betty form a contract with you, I suppose?"

Subaru didn't find this question hard, if anything this felt like a perfect chance to speak about how she doesn't need to be bound to the contract she's currently upholding. He confidently looked at the loli spirit as he started to say:

"Because I—"

"Why would this other me even consider someone like you, I suppose?! Especially someone who isn't that person...!"

("I'm not that person.")

Beatrice shouted this out in frustration as the words Subaru had said back in the forest was still playing in her mind. Subaru figured this would happen again, considering how his world's Beatrice reacted when he said that.

"There is a lot I know, Beako that the other me does not. I am aware that you are contracted to protect the forbidden library until 'that person' arrives. I know that the one you contracted with was your mother, Echidna, the Witch of Greed."

"..."

"I also know that you've been trapped in that library for over four hundred years, meaning that you have been wanting this contract to end for quite some time now."

"...knowing this...would make you more than qualified to be that person."

"But I'm not that person, Beako. I'm just Natsuki Subaru."

"Then why in Od Laguna would any Betty choose you, I suppose?!" Beatrice said as the entire room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Subaru would be afraid normally since dying here would be a permanent dead end but having known Beatrice for over a year at this point made him positive that he can get through to her.

"I had asked your counterpart to choose me."

"Choose you? For what, in fact?!" Beatrice shouted.

"To either choose me or that person. What I wanted to prove to my Beako is that she doesn't need anybody just like you don't need anybody. I don't know what happened in this world, not completely, but I'm still trying to understand it all. You, however, have held out on your own for twenty additional years."

"What you're saying is that Betty broke the contract? How...how could she do that...?"

Subaru couldn't tell if Beatrice was made at his Beako for breaking the contract or if she was jealous that she was able to.

"Beako..."

"...just leave me alone, I suppose!"

Beatrice quickly ran out of the room as she wanted to be alone, having asked enough questions to come to a conclusion.

"No, wait!"

Subaru chased behind her, still wanting to speak more about her Beako. The two ran for a bit until they were stopped when they saw the older Subaru abruptly open a door while falling to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Subaru asked.

"...Nope."

"Don't worry Subaru-kyun, I'll make you feel better." The two Subarus and Beatrice turned towards Felix, seeing him go through the door that the older Subaru broke through. Subaru and Beatrice took a step back as they sensed a strong malice and resentment on the catboy.

"Felix, what's going on?" Subaru said.

"Oh nothing Subaru-kyun." Felix spoke with a calm and happy tone, which in turn with his very angry face, meant that he was beyond pissed.

'The hell did my older self do to piss Felix off?'

Just as he thought this, he felt a sudden hit of memories.

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Felix?" The older Subaru said as he was annoyed that Felix took him far away from his young counterpart. Felix looked at the older Natsuki Subaru with dead eyes at first, still processing what he learned from the young version of Natsuki Subaru. After a few seconds of silence, he turned around to tell the older Subaru:

"Please have a seat."

"...okay...?"

The Older Subaru goes towards the seat next to the catboy, a bit curious now on what exactly Felix wants to talk about. As he sat down, Felix started to say:

"There's been a hole in my heart...something that I felt I was missing...something that I just don't understand. But then when I talked to the young Subaru-kyun, he told me that there was someone named Crusch Karsten. That this person was important to me, someone special towards me."

"..."

"I know nyow probably don't care but I want to ask something, do you remember this special person named Crusch Karsten?"

"..." The Older Subaru stood silent since he wasn't sure on how to handle this, especially since he had been avoiding this conversation for years and on how much of a toll it took on Felix when Crusch was suddenly erased from everyone's mind. Felix took this silence as an answer.

"Figured. Maybe something happened in the past for all of us to just...forget about this special person..."

The room grew much melancholy which prompted Felix to get up and start making his way towards the door.

"Sorry to waste your time, Subaru-kyun."

"...I know."

"Hm?"

Felix suddenly stopped; a bit uncertain with what the older Subaru meant by what he said. He turned towards him as he continued to speak:

"I know who Crusch Karsten is. I have seen you two together. I know. Hell...I'm probably the only one who knows."

"..."

Felix took a moment to process what he had heard, having a stern look at the older Subaru, questioning why now of all times would he reveal such a thing.

"Suppose...Let's say it's true, okay? For the past ten years, whenever Subaru has come here with a serious injury, I've been fixing it for him, right?" Felix started to walk over to Subaru and grabbed his elbow-less left arm. "You're telling me you've known about this since I took care of your left arm? All this time, you knew I was in pain, and you didn't tell me?"

Subaru felt from the point where Felix's hand was touching him, a disgusting feeling spread around his body, causing him pain. It felt as if he was burning in some flames, prompting him to try and escape Felix's grasp only to realize that he couldn't.

"AAAGGGGHHHH!"

"Hey, do you want to answer me?" Felix looked at the older Subaru with hatred, disdain, disgust, and pure anger. Older Subaru was able to see Felix's expression, seeing that depending on his answer Felix would either spare him or kill him.

"D-Damn it...I thought talking about it would only cause you more pain or make you think I was crazy!"

"...the fact that I learned it from your younger self than you; tells me a lot about this disgusting you I'm seeing!" Felix yelled out with more anger showing in his eyes. "Besides that, I don't know why you're telling me this now!"

Before this little torture session could continue, Older Subaru fell off his bed which also caused Felix to fall with him, freeing Subaru from the pain from increasing but leaving his body in complete pain.

'I have to get out of here! He's going to kill me!'

With all the ounce of strength he had, he jumped up and broke the door down.

Subaru felt a massive headache as he saw what had happened, making it much easier to understand why Felix would be hellbent in killing the Older Subaru.

"Felix, calm down—"

"I won't calm down! Nya!"

Felix was prepared to do some more damage to the older Subaru only for the younger Natsuki Subaru to finally intervene. He grabbed the catboy by the right arm with a tight grip which managed to catch the attention of Felix.

"What are nyow doing?!"

"Making sure you don't do something that you'll regret. You're a healer and you never, ever take a life you don't have to."

"I won't regret this, Subaru-kyun. After years of leaving me in the dark, leaving me to my suffering and confusion, this disgusting bastard deserves to suffer."

Subaru continued to have a serious facial expression while inside, he felt a bit intimidated by this display of anger.

"I get that you're angry, hell I would be angry too but I need you to calm down. For the sake of Crusch-sama."

"..."

Every time he heard that name, Felix felt like it was familiar and comforting despite not knowing this 'Crusch'. He continued to stare at the older Subaru with utter hatred for a moment before finally managing to calm down.

"...please let go of my arm, Subaru-kyun."

"Okay."

Subaru listened to Felix's request as he let go of the catboy's arm. Once he did this, Felix turned towards a hallway in order to go back to his duties.

"I need to go...we will talk later, young Natsuki Subaru-kyun."

With that being the last thing Felix said, he left off to go check on the other patients. Once he left the three, Subaru turned towards his older self while saying to him,

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"...I didn't want him to be in more pain like he is now. We've all suffered enough at this point."

"That's not even what I'm referring to. Why did you tell him right now? What were you trying to gain from doing this?!"

"...I need his help."

"With what?" Subaru questioned.

"...to kill that bastard. Kill Petelguese."

Subaru wasn't all too surprised by this response, knowing the amount of hatred his counterpart has towards the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

He just stood looking at his counterpart for a moment before responding to what his counterpart had said:

"I get you want that bastard dead, hell I'm still willing to help you kill him despite your bad choices. But still, why even tell Felix that you knew about Crusch? You could've kept silent and just let him think you forgot about her like everyone else did."

"I wanted his help. I thought being honest about that would've been a good first step after all this time."

"He would've helped if you just genuinely asked for his help. What you did was a dick move. You don't even know how he felt learning that someone he trusted had been hiding such a secret from him for twenty years."

"I don't need your opinion on this, young me. I did what I felt like I had to do." The older Subaru said before starting to get up, feeling his body back to normal after a couple of minutes. Once he was standing up, he turned around towards the direction of the exit. "If you want to join me, then tell Felix to meet me at the exit of the capital. I'll wait until sunset. After that, I'll be leaving."

The Older Subaru started to make his way towards the exit. Before he could leave, Subaru quickly said:

"Wait, we need to go find Reinhard."

"...why is that? Why do we need that stuck up jerk?"

"Hold on, Reinhard isn't a jerk and you know that."

"...why do we need him then?" The older Subaru repeated with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Petelguese mentioned that I also had the Greed witch factor. If he goes to the Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas, that will attract him like flies to honey since that bastard can't tolerate someone being as special as he is. With the Sin Archbishop of Greed added to the mix, we will surely lose."

'Great, another Sin Archbishop. As if I need another psychopath to deal with.' The older Subaru thought, knowing that another one like Petelguese would surely make things much more complicated. He stood silent for a moment before continuing to walk away.

"Where are you—?"

"We don't need that guy. If you really want to go see him, you can find him yourself. I believe that we can still beat Petelguese on our own. And should that Sin Archbishop of Greed get involved, he will die too."

"Are you stupid? If that annoying bastard, Regulus, gets involved then we stand no chance against him!"

"Doesn't matter. So long as Petelguese dies, nothing else will matter."

As the older Subaru said this, he continued to walk away until he finally left. Subaru was a bit frustrated by his older self, seeing just how stubborn he's being. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Once he was calmed down, he turned towards Beatrice, noticing that she was still by his side.

"Hey, Beako, could you join me in finding Reinhard?"

"..."

"...please?"

"..."

Subaru took this silence as a no though he wasn't surprised. Why would this world's Beatrice would join him if he did not give her a better reason to do so? She has no obligation to do this and he figures that she's still mad that he is contracted with a version of her.

As the boy started to walk towards the exit himself, he heard Beatrice's footsteps following him. He turned around to see that she was following her. She kept a blank facial expression while she explains her actions to him:

"I'm not doing this for your sake, I suppose. Betty just wants to know why another version of me would even bother to make a contract with someone like you."

"So you are just going to monitor my every movement then?" The boy asked with a curious tone of voice. Beatrice didn't answer this as she waited for him to continue.

Subaru figured that he would know this answer a little later. He turned back towards the exit and quickly started to make his way outside of the hospital with his goal being to find Reinhard van Astrea.

'Okay Reinhard...what have you been up to for the past twenty years?'

Chapter Text

Aganau Chapter 3: Familiar ties

Subaru and Beatrice walked around the capital of Lugnica, both of them amazed for different reasons.

Beatrice had been amazed for this being the first city she had seen since the start of her contract at the Roswaal Mansion; While Subaru was amazed at how not much had changed in over twenty years. He was curious on how at the very least the other candidates were doing though.

He knows that both Emilia and Crusch are out of the competition for...reasons. Which after taking that into account left Felt, Priscilla, and Anastasia as the remaining candidates.

'But if it has been twenty years, shouldn't the royal selection be done by this point?'

With this question in mind, the first place he wanted to check was Reinhard's, since the knight would know the answer to that question in a heartbeat.

("Rein hasn't been the same for years like everyone else so you might want to be careful.")

Subaru thought back on the words Felix had told him before leaving the hospital, a bit concerned that his friend hadn't been in a good state of mind since his argument with this world's Natsuki Subaru.

'I wonder what happened to you, Reinhard?'

As he was mulling over his situation with his thoughts, Subaru along with Beatrice were walking all around the capital, with Subaru taking this opportunity to see what happened in this world twenty years after Petelguese had attacked the mansion.

The few things he learned from just listening to people talk was that the royal selection had not concluded in the slightest. If anything, from what he had been hearing, it got worse.

Priscilla and her camp had gone missing here and there to attend to issues back in her home country, but they were still involved with the royal selection out of Priscilla's sheer stubbornness, in refusing to give up until the absolute end.

Anastasia had abandoned the royal selection completely after several years had passed, no doubt considering it now a loss to her profits over a substantial gain.

From what he last heard, she was currently handling a problem in Kararagi involving a white haired woman, lots of wind being thrown about and entire towns being destroyed.

'That sounds like Zarestia. I should've asked more about what made her join my Slothful self, since she seemed outright pleasant, so long as alcohol was not involved.'

With that in mind, he has noted that Felt is the only one that appears more than the other two but not by much.

Apparently right after the White Whale had come by, Reinhard had gone out and slain a giant monster threatening the city.

It had gained Felt a lot of popularity for a few years before the goodwill of that act stalled out and left them at square one again.

'This is bad. If something had happened to Felt, that would very much effect Reinhard's state of mind.'

As he continued to listen to the gossip of the common people that they passed along the way, he had also noted how Beatrice was acting throughout the one hour of information gathering. Having spent time with his world's Beatrice, he knows exactly how she feels.

Those observations allowed him to see the Beatrice of this world was hiding how excited she was walking around the city.

Considering that the little spirit had been locked up in the forbidden library for more time than his Beatrice, he knows that the great spirit needs outings like this.

"So, how are you enjoying the city?"

"..."

"Come on, I know you are enjoying yourself. It has been centuries since you've been outside that crappy old library."

"Hmph! I don't have to tell you anything, I suppose!"

As she pouted while also looking away from the boy, Subaru couldn't help but chuckle a bit, having recalled how stubborn Beatrice was back before the events of the Sanctuary...or better yet before the events of the royal selection.

He just thought back onto his mission in finding Reinhard, asking people around if they know where he currently is located.

After an hour of searching, he looks up at the same mansion he saw from the memories of this world's Subaru, figuring that if there's any place he would be, is back at home.

"The fact that he is home at this time of the hour still surprises me. As the best knight around you'd think he would be patrolling the streets."

"Hmph. No one cares about your thoughts, I suppose."

Subaru just ignored this tsundere comment from Beatrice and just took a moment to think back on how his counterpart and this Reinhard ended in bad terms.

Not to mention that Reinhard was also responsible for killing Puck, something that Beatrice most likely knows since she would've seen the entire thing from any given window of the Mansion when it occurred.

"Hey, Beako, are you okay in joining me to speak with Reinhard?"

"...I'll be fine, I suppose."

"You sure? You don't have to come with me for this one."

'Not to mention that my world's Beako wasn't feeling good being near him. Maybe too much mana coming from all his blessings or something?'

Subaru thinks this as he thinks back to something his contracted Beako had said to Reinhard when they encountered each other in Priestella:

("…Betty is Subaru's contract spirit, Beatrice, in fact. I don't dislike your admiration, I suppose. Just, you should keep your distance, in fact. I'm sure you understand why, I suppose.")

Before he could say anything more, Beatrice shouted at him:

"I'll be fine, I suppose!"

Subaru didn't like this at all, he knows that Beatrice's mental state isn't well at all and if she was near Reinhard...who knows what would happen.

Before he could retort to what the great spirit had said, she just started to walk towards Reinhard's home on her own.

"Wait Beako—"

"We don't have time to waste. Let's just get this over with, I suppose."

Beatrice continued to walk towards the door, completely annoyed with this situation. Subaru was dumbfounded for a moment before he just sighed.

'Man, I forgot how hard it is to convince you...then again, you do have a point.'

He quickly caught up with the little spirit girl before going off to knock on the door. As he did this, the two waited for a moment. While they waited, Subaru took this opportunity to think on the many issues he finds himself in.

'This version of me is definitely a lone wolf; That can be a problem but considering that it's still me, I shouldn't have too hard of a time convincing him to listen. There's Petelguese, that bastard; Now that he's aware of me having both the Sloth and Greed authorities, he wouldn't hesitate to go start investigating. That would certainly bring the attention of Regulus Corneas, the big tantrum throwing man-child. If that happens, we will need someone like Reinhard to help us since the Greed authority is just that overpowered...but then again, my counterpart and this world's Sword Saint didn't end their last conversation in the best of terms. Man, what a mess to be in.'

"You'll be fine."

The watcher spoke inside of Subaru's mind, surprising the boy.

"What? What's the matter with you, in fact?" Beatrice spoke with an annoyed tone, having noticed Subaru suddenly looking surprised as if someone had slightly shocked him.

"Nothing, nothing, I just had an idea that came to me. Want to hear it, Beako?"

"Hmph. Not interested."

"..."

Subaru couldn't help but feel dumbfounded again but he changed his focus from his brief discussion with Beatrice to the discussion with the watcher.

'What the hell do you want?'

"Is that a way to speak with an ally of yours?"

'Oh shut the hell up, what kind of ally would just send someone to new worlds constantly with no information on what to expect?'

"Hey! I am a good ally! I didn't just teleport you in the middle of a fight like the first time."

'That doesn't mean shit! I have to gather information from the people of each world every single time just to get an idea of what the hell happened to me and those I care about!'

As Subaru was shouting this in his mind, he was starting to get fed up with speaking with the watcher.

There was a couple of seconds of silence before finally the watcher spoke in a more serious tone:

"Look, Natsuki Subaru, it's not like I'm hiding anything from you."

'Then why not tell me what the hell is going on in each world?'

"Because you wouldn't handle it well if you're not given the entire story and context from the get go and I or rather we don't have time for that."

'The hell do you me—?'

Before he could finish his thought, Subaru suddenly felt a strong aura nearby him. This caused the boy to shake on his feet. Beatrice noticed this and was about to say something until she also felt the strong aura, causing her to be filled with fear.

"Seems our conversation is cut short for now. I'll explain to you more once you're done with this world."

'Wait, where's my ally?' Subaru asked since he wants to know at the very least where his ally is located. 'Or can you at least tell me who's my ally this time around so I can make a half decent plan?'

"Your ally will appear when you are in dire need of help. I promise you that."

With that said, the watcher stopped speaking while Subaru noticed the door starting to open.

'What fucking timing.'

As he thought this, he quickly approached Beatrice and held her hand to try and comfort her before looking at the door with a serious look.

"Don't worry Beako, I'll be right here with you."

"..."

After a couple of seconds, the door opened to reveal Reinhard himself, looking a tad bit older but nothing too drastically different. At most his hair had grown out a tiny bit and there were stress lines around his eyes but nothing else for a man in his thirties still looking like his late teens.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The entire area was silent as Reinhard was surprised to see Subaru, Subaru was still shocked to see how good looking the Sword Saint looks twenty years later, and Beatrice was just shaking in fear and anger.

"Natsuki Subaru."

"Reinhard...it's good to see you again."

"...yeah. You haven't aged at all."

"Haha, that's one way to say it. You still look good."

"Hm. Thanks."

Reinhard turned towards Beatrice, just having noticed the little loli girl.

"Pardon me. I hadn't noticed you. I can tell that you are a revered and great spirit. It honors me to be able to speak with you like this."

"...please...stay back..." Beatrice spoke as she was doing everything in her power to keep her calm, feeling both fear and anger.

She felt this since she knew that Reinhard was responsible for killing Puck, making her have some resentment towards the Sword Saint. Reinhard took note of this and just nodded while respectively saying,

"I understand. My apologies."

"So, now that we are all acquainted, I wish to speak with you, Rein."

"Speak with me? What about?"

"Something important...is Felt around?"

"...she's busy." That was all Reinhard would say on the matter, which was unusual given his fondness for talking about her.

"Damn...alright then, mind if we come in?" Subaru asked, going to plan B since plan A wasn't happening.

"Sure."

Reinhard welcomed both Subaru and Beatrice into his home. As Subaru was trying to go in after Reinhard, Beatrice let go of the boy's hand.

"?"

"You go alone."

As Beatrice said this, she walked away. Subaru wanted to go after Beatrice yet he needed to speak with Reinhard.

'Damn, I knew something like this would happen. Well, I can't do anything about it now.'

Reinhard looked at Subaru with a serious facial expression while asking,

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she just was a bit overwhelmed by your amazing self." He quipped, knowing Garfiel would give him a high five for that if he was there…or complain about taking his line.

"..."

Subaru noticed the silence, prompting him to quickly enter the house and close the door.

Reinhard stood silent for a moment before turning around and leading the boy towards the dining hall.

Once the two arrived there, the two sat down with Subaru completely shocked at how fancy the Sword Saint's home is.

"Man, you really live like a king, don't you?"

"...I suppose that's one way to see it."

"What? It was a compliment."

"Pardon me if I couldn't see it as a compliment."

Subaru was unsure on how to take this kind of response, having noted that something has been bothering his friend since normally there wouldn't be so much bite behind one sentence coming from his mouth of all places.

Although he would wish to help Reinhard, he first needed to alert him of what was going on.

"I came here to tell you that I had an interaction with Petelguese Romanée-Conti, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth."

The room went silent with the atmosphere going dark for a moment.

Subaru was prepared for anything, though he figures that he wouldn't be able to escape the Sword Saint if he becomes hostile.

Reinhard was silent as he had a serious facial expression.

"You've been obsessed with finding him for twenty years, I'm not surprised that you would encounter him once again."

"Yes, well the thing is that he is in a new body."

"A new body?" Reinhard looked with a puzzled facial expression. "Would you please elaborate?"

"Right, sorry. So he's been possessing other people because he's a spirit."

"Hm. That's some useful information. It also explains why he's been active for so long."

"Yes but that's not the only important information."

Reinhard looked at Subaru with a curious look, unsure on what else he should know.

"I'm Natsuki Subaru from a different world."

"What do you mean from a different world?"

"Before I elaborate, could you activate a divine protection that can detect if someone's lying? What I'm going to say may sound...well odd. I'd rather have something showing I'm not insane to you."

"...okay..."

Reinhard did this and began to listen to Subaru explain his situation, how he's from a different world that is similar to this world. This information surprised him, prompting the sword saint to approach the boy and grab him by his hand while having his divine protection of empathy active.

"Sorry for this but could you repeat yourself?"

"S-Sure. I'm indeed Natsuki Subaru but not the same one as the one you had a fallout with twenty years ago. I exist in a world that is very similar to this one with a few exceptions such as Emilia-tan still being alive, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth and Greed having been dealt with, two of three great mabeast already defeated, and my world only being a little over a year since we had met in that faithful alleyway."

Reinhard was taken aback when he heard this and almost took his hang off of Subaru when his divine protection told him everything was absolute truth. It brought him understanding now as to why this Subaru is not only just treating him friendly but looking so young. He didn't know what to say but he was for sure having many questions in mind.

"Have you interacted with my world's Natsuki Subaru?"

"Yes. He's grown up for sure but still kinda an idiot."

"Hm. He wouldn't appreciate being called an idiot."

"I guess but right now I come to you to ask for help. It isn't just the Sin Archbishop of Sloth we are dealing with now. I fear that the bastard known as Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, might get himself involved as well."

"And you require my assistance for this battle you, both of you rather will be involved in?"

"Yes."

Subaru was honest with what he wanted, his friend's assistance. Since his world's Reinhard and him were able to originally defeat Regulus, albeit with a lot of help from Emilia, he figures that things would go similar if he can team up with this worlds Reinhard and Beatrice or Felix making up for covering what Emilia had done. There was a moment of silence before Reinhard said:

"I am…very very sorry, but I can't assist you, Natsuki Subaru."

"What? Why?"

Reinhard bit his lower lip as he turned around and just looked at the empty hallway towards the entrance of his home, deep in his thoughts for a brief moment before responding back to Subaru's two simple questions.

"I just can't…my sincerest apologies for wasting your time."

"Hold on, first of all talking with you is never a waste of time. Second, if something's bothering you then talk to me. I can help you out. Even if you're not the Reinhard from my world, I still see us as friends and friends help each other out."

Reinhard enjoyed hearing those words, someone wanting to help him out instead of the other way around, yet he couldn't allow this.

He started to walk away deeper into his home as he responded in a melancholy like tone:

"I appreciate you coming to visit, Natsuki Subaru from another world. It was...nice talking to you but right now I must be alone to process all of this. Feel free to stay if you need a place to sleep for the night."

With that, Reinhard disappeared into a long hallway that would probably lead to his private room or something.

Subaru wasn't sure how to take this since there was many things that could have happened to have Reinhard of all people refuse to help, he wanted to know what happened but the biggest question in Subaru's mind currently was probably the most correct guess of the bunch:

'What happened to Felt?'

Subaru walked outside of the house and closed the door gently before noticing Beatrice sitting on the ground.

"Beako, the ground is dirty."

"..."

"...come on, we have to meet up with the other me."

"Why?"

"Huh?" Subaru was uncertain on what the spirit meant by that. Before he could ask, Beatrice continued to speak:

"Why were you the one she chose, in fact...? Why did that other Beatrice choose someone like you, I suppose?"

"Beatrice..."

Subaru stood silent after calling her name, seeing that having told this Beatrice about how another version of her was freed from her everlasting contract with the Witch of Greed had badly shaken her view of the world at large.

He wanted to pat her head, hug her, and try to comfort her but he knew that she wouldn't accept his help or comfort.

'Considering that I'm contracted with another Beatrice, she wouldn't want my help...though I have to do something.'

He tapped her shoulder to which she didn't respond. Subaru noticed this yet he continued to tap her shoulder until finally she responded.

"What?! That tapping is annoying and starting to hurt, I suppose!"

"Come with me, I think I know what'll help."

"And why should I? I'm not obligated to follow you, in fact!"

"I know but I don't want you to be alone."

"..."

"Just trust me on this, Beako."

Although Beatrice didn't want to do anything with Subaru, either Subaru, she figured that she might as well since the alternative would be being alone. She got up and just stood silent, to which Subaru took this as the great spirit will follow him.

He turned forward and started to guide Beatrice around the city for a bit. After a couple of minutes, Subaru arrived at, for him, an a too familiar stand, one he hadn't been in a long while.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"Can I buy an appa?"

"Yes."

The female shop owner smiled at Subaru as she grabbed an appa to hand to him.

Once she did this, Subaru handed over a couple of coins that he had thanks to having had these from his counterpart of the last world.

As he paid for the appas, he couldn't help but ask the female shop owner:

"What happened to the previous owner?"

"Oh, you mean my dad? He's just sick for now. I'm just helping him sell these appas for the day."

"Oh really? Well then, hopefully I get to see him again when he gets better."

"Oh, do you know my dad?"

"In a way but he wouldn't remember me. Anyway, I shouldn't keep you too distracted from your temporary shift."

"Right! Thanks for coming by."

Subaru nodded at the daughter of the appa shop owner, happy to see that the very first person he had interacted with in the new world is still alive and that the girl had grown up to be a beautiful woman.

Beatrice looked annoyed at Subaru as she said to him:

"What's the point of being here, in fact?"

"I wanted to get you this appa."

"...why?"

"Because I want to give you an appa."

Beatrice stood silent for a moment before retrieving the appa from Subaru. As she held the appa, she looked at it for a moment before taking a bite.

She knows that she doesn't need to eat at all since she's a spirit that doesn't require food though it wasn't like she didn't enjoy eating.

It had been two decades since she ate anything since her last food was before the Witch cult had attacked the mansion.

As much as she wanted to hide it, a small smile on her face came to life as she ate the appa, finding it delicious though she made sure that nobody could see the smile outside of Subaru who was too close to not notice.

Once she finished the appa, she just looked at Subaru with a blank facial expression before looking away. Subaru could immediately tell that Beatrice liked it, which made him smile.

'Such a tsundere.'

Subaru turned towards the direction of the hospital, seeing that he had time to speak with Felix to see if he was going to join his counterpart in taking out Petelguese. He turned towards Beatrice to tell her,

"We are going to see Felix once again. I have to know something."

"..."

Beatrice just stood silent and followed Subaru towards the hospital.

As they were getting closer to the building, Subaru noticed that it was almost about time for him to meet up with his older counterpart before he goes on a suicide mission.

As the two were at the entrance of the hospital, they noticed that Felix was leaving the building.

"Felix!"

Subaru with Beatrice by his side approached the catboy.

"Subaru-kyun."

"I came here to talk with you. But first, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I guess. Still kind of processing everything, but healers bounce back pretty quickly."

Subaru could tell that Felix was trying to keep himself together. Felix took a moment to clear his mind before remembering that Subaru had gone to speak with Reinhard.

"How's Reinhard doing?"

"He's fine...broken for sure, but fine."

"Yeah, he hasn't been the same, just like everyone else. Nya."

"What exactly happened?" Subaru asked with both a curious and concerned tone of voice. Felix looked down for a moment as he wasn't sure how to respond to this.

"After that disgusting fight you and him had a fight all those years ago, apparently Felt was mad at him for not trying harder to help you out more. That was the start of Felt-chan distancing herself from Reinhard. The resentment for picking her and his duties over you despite you needing the help more had built up to the point where the two rarely talk to each other."

"Wait, isn't she still a candidate for the throne?" He questioned.

"Yes but she rarely shows up in public, her and the other candidate."

Subaru crossed his arms as he saw how tough the politics of Lugnica are in the future. Without Felt or Priscilla showing themselves frequently, it looks like there's no leader to rally behind.

"I can see why things haven't truly changed. There's no leader at all that the people can look up to."

Felix nodded to this. Subaru stood silent for a moment before turning towards the exit of the capital.

"Aside from that, I actually wanted to ask if you would be joining the older me on his suicide quest?"

"And be with the jackass that decided nyot to tell me anything? Nyo thank nyow."

As Felix was about to walk away, Subaru grabbed his shoulder.

"I know you hate him, hell I kinda hate him for not telling you this, but he isn't a bad guy."

"Why should I put my faith in someone who only desires revenge?"

"Because, whether you and him like it or not, he needs you."

"Hm?" Felix looked at Subaru with a curious look. "What do nyow mean?"

"I know he's an ass and can honestly be very selfish but at the same time I understand his pain. Losing Rem...losing Emilia-tan...it honestly is something I understand. The fact that he alone knew of Crusch's existence must pain him. Imagine being the only person to remember someone that the rest of the world forgot about. If he said anything to anyone, they'd think him insane and it would just isolate him even more."

For a moment, Felix was uncertain if he should even try to listen to what Subaru had told him since he's still pissed at his world's Subaru.

The only reason he would go through with it though is because this Subaru is honest and doesn't seem to be selfish in his eyes.

He pictured himself remembering only one person and being the only person that could remember them.

As he played this scenario in his mind, he figured that the only reason he would remember someone while others didn't is because they were special to them.

"What exactly do you want me to see by doing this, Subaru-kyun?" The catboy questioned.

"I want you to understand that it's a lonely path. I know that because in my world, I lost Rem the same exact way that Crusch was lost here."

"So you also lost Rem..." Felix spoke with a sad tone, somehow feeling bad for Rem considering that in this world she died at the hands of the witch cult. Hearing that something bad happened to her in another version of this world made Felix feel sympathy towards her.

"Yeah, a Sin Archbishop took her memories and her name, rendering her in an eternal sleep. I've devoted everything to save her but not alone. I have many people not only counting on me but people I can count on as well. My counterpart didn't have anybody to rely on."

"But I could've helped him, nya!" Felix shouted in frustration. Subaru was a bit surprised by this reaction though he kept his composure while Felix continued. "I know we aren't close but had he been honest with me, I would've been there for that idiot...but he lied to me. He's disgusting. After saving his life so many times, Subaru-kyun repays me by keeping the truth hidden when he knew I was suffering...it's just infuriating...!"

As Felix was saying this, tears were streaming down his eyes.

Subaru took a brief moment to look into the memories of his counterpart of this world, seeing just how many times the older him needed to be saved.

He looked through multiple memories, watching and somewhat experiencing just how much the older him needed help without outright saying it.

Once he saw enough, he closed his eyes to understand why Felix felt completely hurt and angry towards his counterpart.

"Yeah, you were there to heal all of his wounds. I understand why you feel so betrayed, which is why you have to join us."

"Why?!"

"Because I need your help."

"Huh?"

"Alone, even with Beako's help, we will surely die. I get that you don't want to help my older self so I want to ask for your help as my own person. We need you, Felix. I need your help, please."

Felix took a pause as he saw this Subaru as humble, asking for his help while leaving out no half-truths.

He is not sure if this is his way in trying to convince him to help his world's Natsuki Subaru. Yet he doesn't detect any kind of manipulation from the boy.

The atmosphere was silent as the catboy took a bit to think deeply before finally giving the boy a response.

"...okay. I'll join you."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes, but don't make me regret it! I will leave if I feel like I'm being used."

"I understand. (I wish I could do that myself)."

Subaru nodded before turning towards the exit of the capital, knowing that they should start making their way towards the exit before his counterpart leaves them.

The older Subaru looked at the capital from the exit, just having a serious facial expression while having Patrasche next to him.

He turned towards her, seeing that she was just waiting for new orders from him.

He took this opportunity to pet his trusted ground dragon, feeling like she's the most reliable companion...next to Rem of course.

'I owe you a lot, Patrasche.'

As he thought this, he heard a familiar voice speaking to him.

"You're so caring, Subaru-kun."

"...Rem..."

The older Subaru turned towards Rem's direction, seeing her in a ghost-like state, having a glowing aura around her.

"You look very tired. Did something happen?"

"...sort of. I'll be alright."

"Do you need a lap pillow?" Rem asked in a comforting and innocent tone of voice. The older Subaru had a small smile for a moment before looking at the sky with a blank facial expression.

"We are outside and there are people around. I can't right now."

"Okay."

Rem said with a smile on her face, giving the older Subaru a chance to keep his stress levels down. He continued to look up at the sky before closing his eyes, reflecting on everything that had happened with Felix.

"Rem...did I do the right thing?"

"About?" Rem said as she looked at Subaru with a puzzled facial expression.

"Not telling Felix about Crusch. Was I really wrong to have not talked to him about it back then?"

"Well secrets do hurt people but you didn't do it to harm Ferris-chan, Subaru-kun. You had good intentions."

"True...but even good intentions do not justify every action..."

As he said this, he recalled the complete hatred in Felix's eyes as he revealed that he knew of Crusch's existence the entire time.

"Subaru-kun is always hard on himself."

"I have to. If I want to avenge you from that bastard, I have to be tough on myself."

As he said this, he looked up to see that Subaru, Beatrice, and Felix were approaching him. He watched as the three were standing in front of him and Patrasche. The young Subaru looked at the ground dragon and couldn't help but smile, happy to see Patrasche again even if she was from another world.

"So, will you three be joining me on my mission?"

"..." Beatrice stood silent as she kept a blank facial expression.

"..." Felix stayed silent as he had a very sharp look at him, still mad.

"We will but under certain conditions." Subaru said as he wanted to break the silence between all of them. The older Subaru crossed his arms while looking at his younger self with a serious look.

"What conditions?"

Subaru moved his right hand towards the older Subaru's with only his index finger pointing up.

"First, you must not act on your own. We are only helping because I don't want Petelguese to keep causing trouble." Subaru kept his index finger up while having his middle finger point up. "Second, you will not lie no matter what. You want our help, then you better be honest with us. Remember, I'm you so I know if you're going to lie or not." Subaru lifted his ring finger up as he was getting to the last point. "Third and last, you will not abuse Felix's ability to heal us. He's willing to help because I asked and genuinely believe that he's the most important person of the group. The moment you abuse his help, he has the right to leave. Do you understand, older me?"

The older Subaru wasn't happy that he had to follow some rules just to kill Petelguese yet he did need Felix's help. The healing ability would be extremely useful, especially when facing an opponent that could easily leave him in death's door.

"...okay. I'll follow these conditions." The older Subaru was reluctant with this yet he rather have them on his side than go at it on his own.

"Felix?" Subaru turned towards the catboy, curious to see if he believed the older Subaru's word. The catboy approached Subaru while having a stern look on his face. The atmosphere was silent for a moment before a sudden slap could be heard, attracting a few attention from the people passing by them.

"..."

"That's for lying to my face this entire time. You better be lucky I can't do worse, Subaru-kyun."

As Felix said this, he turned around and went back to be next to the young Natsuki Subaru's side.

The Older Subaru allowed this and just stayed silent as they were all making their way out of the capital.

Subaru looked a little amused at the punishment given to his older self and felt the need to rub it in a bit more.

"Hey, other me."

"Now what?"

"Don't fuck with the White Mage."

"...shut up and get your stuff ready. That joke is as old as I am."

A man in white was walking around his large mansion at night, inspecting in case something or someone had entered since he heard an odd noise.

While he was walking around calmly, he just inspected his suit for a second before noticing someone in the usual witch cult attire.

"Eh? Who the hell are you? Why are you even here? It's the middle of the night and you dare to waste my time by entering here without my consent. You are violating my rights, my privacy."

The witch cultist just stood silent before taking off their cowl, revealing to be a female with red hair.

The man in white attire was taken aback for a brief moment before returning back to his usual expressions.

"You haven't answered my questions. Are you trying to provoke me? You know that it's rude to not introduce yourself. Do you believe yourself to be superior to me? Our standings are supposed to be definitively equal as we begin in our efforts to establish a relationship, but now we have a condescending someone trying to extort a name unilaterally. I wonder if it's occurred to you. That you're unconsciously, unsympathetically, and by your own accord treating me as inferior, has that occurred to you?"

"Well, Well, you are diligent as ever! DESU!"

The man stood silent as he immediately recognized someone who spoke in such a manner.

"Ah. Well this makes a lot of sense now. You are very inconsiderate of other people's rights, you pathetic excuse of a bishop. How dare you interrupt my time? Have you not realized you have violated my rights more than once, you know?! Why don't you speak already you insane man? What business do you even want with me here in that body? Trying to take me out once again or are you here to die?"

"My fellow Bishop, I only came here to confirm something and seeing you so diligent, it confirms that you are very much alive."

"Alive?" The man spoke with an annoyed yet curious tone. "What are you insinuating here?! Do you believe that any of you imperfect beings could even do anything to my perfect being? How dare you believe such a ridiculous thought. Who told you about this? Was it someone who wanted to violate my rights? Tell me now!"

The man looked at Petelguese with anger, prepared to kill the finger he was possessing should he not like the response he received.

Petelguese couldn't help but laugh maniacally for a bit, annoying the man for a moment.

Just as he was about to attack him, Petelguese finally spoke out:

"Attack me all you like but allow me to ask you something, Regulus Corneas, have you ever heard of another user of the sloth and greed witch factor?"

Regulus paused himself just as he was going to dispose of Petelguese's finger, taking an interest in what he heard.

"Explain yourself."

Chapter Text

Aganau Chapter 4: The hard path

It had been a few days of traveling by this point, with Subaru from another world noting to himself that this was the longest he had been in an alternative world since this mad quest started.

He looked up at the night sky as he thought on the previous worlds he had been in for a moment, thinking back on the things he had done right and the things he had done wrong on each world, hoping that he would do better for whatever remaining worlds he has to go in and fix along with the one he's currently in.

He turned towards his counterpart to see him all on his own, talking to himself from his perspective.

'I wonder what he's talking about with himself...'

"He's sick." Felix said suddenly which caught Subaru off guard, not having noticed him being to his right side. Felix continued, "Just having someone to talk to, even if it's just in nyor head. Subaru-kyun is being…no, even I cannot truly diagnose that..."

"..." Subaru stayed silent, seeing that Felix felt more alone after having truly learned about Crusch while also learning something about his counterpart.

'So, you are speaking to Rem...I feel your pain, older me...'

For someone outside himself, it would look like a sad man who can't let go of someone that's long gone or someone that's crazy but to him, it is someone who is in pain.

He looked down for a second thinking back on the nights he would talk to his sleeping Rem from his world after the events of the Sanctuary.

He remembers the nights he would tell her how his day was, the things he had done with either Emilia, Beatrice, Garfiel, Otto, Petra, etc.

Seeing that his older self was talking with an illusion of Rem created by his mind made him see a different side of his older self. He turned towards Felix to ask him:

"How are you holding up at least?"

"...Okay. Still mad at him." Felix says this as his eyes give a sharp look at the older Subaru.

"That's to be expected. It's me after all. Anything I say or do is bound to stick around in a person's head for a few days." Subaru sighed after saying this, having a feeling that things will get better between this version of Felix and his older self…eventually…hopefully, that was a better word for it.

"I'm surprised that Subaru-kyun isn't defending himself, er, the other you I mean."

"I mean I get his point of view since...well he's me but it also doesn't mean I side with every choice he has ever made. Different choices, different points of view because of those choices. Not to mention he's got a lot of years over me, so I can't judge on things that I don't truly know have happened or how they happened."

"I see..."

"..."

"..."

The two were silent for a bit, Subaru uncertain on what he can ask this version of Felix while Felix was hesitant to know more about Crusch or even his counterpart from another world.

After a minute or so of silence, Felix motivated himself to ask the question he had been pondering since learning more about the young Natsuki Subaru:

"Is...is the other Felix happy?"

"Happy? What do you mean?" Subaru questioned as he wanted clarification on what the cat boy was asking.

"The person that I have forgotten...is your Felix happy with her?"

'Ah, I see what you are asking now.' Subaru stood still for a moment as he thought this, knowing that he needs to be very cautious with his answer. This can greatly affect Felix of this world.

"I don't speak with you too often but from what I can see, you are happy with Crusch. She's your source of happiness from what I can tell and in return you're her most loyal knight in medical armor."

"Really...? That's good to hear..."

Felix looked up at the night sky with something in mind, something Subaru couldn't tell yet all he can do is hope that it's something hopeful.

The two looked up at the full moon with a calm atmosphere before they turned towards the older Subaru.

"Seriously though, I hate what he's become." Felix said with a melancholy tone. "I hate that this grudge he has had against that Sin Archbishop for the past two decades has made him so bitter. It's like a poison that's slowly rotting him down to the core of his soul."

'I can imagine.' Subaru thought, remembering how angry he was in the loop where he got Emilia killed by trying to tell her about Return by Death.

He remembered the intense hatred he had towards not only Petelguese but everyone who didn't help him in saving Emilia, Ram, and the villagers.

He can understand how that hatred for Petelguese could consume his older self.

Felix looked back at his world's Subaru, still watching him chat with an illusion of Rem.

This made him wonder:

"What exactly changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you both have such drastic histories?"

"Well...I..."

"Are you two planning to stay up all night talking, I suppose?" Beatrice spoke out in annoyance, interrupting Subaru from speaking.

Both Subaru and Felix turned towards the loli spirit to see her looking at them annoyed.

"What's wrong, Beako?"

"Betty would like some peace and quiet, in fact."

"Aw come on, if you felt left out of the talk, you could join us." Subaru spoke in a kind manner. Beatrice looked at him with a blank facial expression. She turned around while saying:

"Betty prefers to be alone, I suppose."

Beatrice goes to sit down near Patrasche as she chooses to spend the rest of her night on her own thoughts.

Subaru and Felix remained silent before both agreeing that they should rest up, knowing that the next day will have them working on finding this ally the older Subaru is attempting to recruit.

Subaru tries to dig into his counterpart's memories to see if it can help him figure out who is the last recruit only for his mind to go blank.

Convenient. When I really need it, it won't show me.'

Subaru sighed before he decided to go to sleep.

The next day arrived with the group arriving in a city called Bisito.

Subaru was amazed since he hadn't been to this city.

As the group walked around for a bit, the Older Subaru turned towards the group to tell them,

"They should be around that corner. Just to warn you, this person isn't someone to mess around with."

"What do you mean by that?" Subaru asked, not liking what his counterpart was saying. Chills were beginning to run down his spine with that warning.

"Let's just say that they are people who can fight. That's all I'll say on that matter."

"..."

Felix and Subaru looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the older Subaru with distrust in their eyes.

Felix already had trust issues with his world's Subaru, so seeing him act sketchy made that trust be even harder to attain.

For Subaru, the fact that his older self was acting suspicious and being all secretive made him feel uncomfortable.

"Nwyor trust is already low, Subaru-kyun. This is only making it worse."

"I get that, believe you me I do, but this person can help us out in taking that bastard down better than any of us can individually."

Both Felix and Subaru didn't like this response but they just didn't care anymore at this point because they accepted they were there for the long haul.

Felix is only there because Subaru is with him and Subaru is only helping his older self because he wants to truly help him beat Petelguese to help him move on with his life.

The only problem he has is when his older self just does things such as their current situation that make him more distrustful in the eyes of those around him.

"*Sigh* This better be worthwhile."

"It will be."

As the older Subaru said this, he led the group towards a sketchy alleyway.

"Yeah, this is certainly trustworthy old me."

"...shut up. Not all our experiences in back alleys are bad anyways."

As they were all waiting there in a sketchy alleyway, the older Subaru crossed his arms as he was thinking if he was even in the correct location.

"I could've sworn that this was the usual location...did I go onto the wrong alleyway?"

"You're still talking to yourself?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I knew you'd come."

Subaru and Felix were both completely on their guards when they saw older Subaru's person he wanted to recruit.

'...Out of all the people, did it have to be her?!'

Subaru looked at his older self with anger in his eyes, completely in disbelief that he would even consider someone like the Bowel Hunter as an ally. Elsa looked at the older Subaru as she started to speak to them, or rather to the older Subaru.

"It's been a while. It's been about two years since we last met."

"Has it been so long? No...it can't be?"

"Wait a minute, you've been meeting with this crazy woman?!" Subaru questioned with anger in his voice, catching older Subaru and Elsa's attention.

"Ara Ara, aren't you a familiar one."

"Even twenty years from now, you are still a sadistic woman who apparently looks like she hasn't aged a damn day."

Elsa just smiled at Subaru in a way that made him uncomfortable before turning his attention back to the older Subaru.

"Why did that boy look so much like you when we first met? Could he be your son?"

Both Subarus chuckled when they heard this.

"He'd be a horrible father if that were the case."

"...no I wouldn't."

"Yes you would."

"No I wouldn't!"

"Yes you would! I know because I've seen myself as a father. You'd suck ass compared to him!"

The two kept this up for a bit until Felix hit the two of them on the head.

"Focus!"

"Sorry."

"...you both are moronic, I suppose."

Beatrice said as she questioned more how a version of her would consider a contract with the young Natsuki Subaru with how idiotic he was being...more than usual, in fact.

As everyone was getting their minds back to topic, the older Subaru turned towards Elsa to question her about something.

"I have a job for you. I need your help with something."

"Who's the target? If you're gathering your people so carefully, then it must be a worthy opponent, right?" Elsa spoke with a bit of interest in her voice.

"When it comes to that, I won't disappoint in that regard."

"Well yeah, we have a dangerous foe to deal with." Young Subaru added to what his older self had said, catching the Bowel Hunter's attention even more.

"Ara Ara, now you have my attention."

"Older me, can we talk for a moment, in private."

"Sure...Elsa, play nice." Older Subaru said this, not wanting the bowel hunter to cause trouble with Beatrice or Felix. Elsa just gave Older Subaru a smile, one he didn't fully trust yet at this point he had no choice.

He turned around and followed his younger counterpart towards the streets where they could speak away from Beatrice, Felix, and Elsa. Once they were a good distance away, Subaru started to question his older self.

"What the hell!? You are working with her!"

"I get that you have reservations about her but right now we need anyone who can fight."

"Anyone but her! Hell why not talk to Al and ask for his assistance considering that you are in his attire?"

Subaru asked, now having the chance to question more of his older counterpart's attire. The older Subaru had a blank facial expression when he responded to his younger self's question.

"He and Priscilla disappeared a decade ago when they went to deal with some issue in Vollachia. Reinhard is...well we haven't spoken in two decades, Crusch and Wilhelm both failed against the White Whale. Felt is...too busy at this point to help. And everyone I once knew was killed by the witch cult. So what the hell do you expect me to do?!"

"What about Otto?!"

"I haven't seen him at all..."

Subaru had a pause as he processed what he was just told by his counterpart.

'He's right. Emilia-tan, Rem, Ram, maybe Roswaal, and Puck were all gone. He assumed that Beatrice was gone; He doesn't know about Garfiel and as for Otto...'

He looked down as he can understand why of all people his counterpart would trust Elsa, although not someone ideal for his taste, it is someone they know. The Older Subaru looked at his counterpart for a moment before looking up while hearing Rem say to him,

"Don't be harsh with your young self, Subaru-kun."

'...I get that but he needs to see that it hasn't been easy for me.'

"You are very stern, Subaru-kun." As the illusion of Rem said this, the Older Subaru looked at her for a moment before looking at the sky.

"..."

"..."

"Tell me this, young me, how is Rem doing in your world? Is she happy?"

"..." Subaru wasn't sure what to say. He's worried that his counterpart won't take the news seriously. Despite that, he knows better than to keep secrets when he already gave his older self hell about it.

"...I'm sorry but Rem is in a deep sleep."

"Deep sleep?" Older Subaru asked in a very serious tone, not liking what he was hearing. Subaru took a deep breath before continuing to inform his counterpart about what had happened.

"I hate to say this but a Sin Archbishop got her, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony."

"...How many of those fuckers are there...?" The Older Subaru whispered this as his intense hatred for the Witch Cult increased. "They all deserve to die...all Witch cultists deserve to die!"

Subaru was taken aback when he heard this from his older counterpart, being reminded of Rem and how she has such an intense hatred for the Witch Cult.

"Tell me, is that bastard at least dead?"

"...yes. He's dead."

"Good."

The Older Subaru looked at the direction where the others were located for a moment before looking back at his counterpart.

"Tell me, in the other worlds you have traveled, has there been anywhere Rem is happy?" He asked this with a concerned tone of voice, afraid of the answer to this question.

Subaru thought on this question for a bit, realizing that out of all the worlds he had traveled, the last one he had visited was probably the only one that Rem has a happy ending.

He smiled as he responded to the question in a positive tone,

"Yes, she does have a happy ending. Out of the three worlds I had been to before this one, the last one I saw was a world where a version of us had run away and started a life with her. Made her the happiest girl in the whole world. Family and everything."

"..."

The Older Subaru couldn't help but feel happy when he heard this.

'A future where...I ran away and started a life with Rem...'

He couldn't help but feel like that would be a future he would strive for if it meant that Rem would still be alive.

'...that's a better future than this one...'

"Subaru-kun, you shouldn't think like that."

'Hm? What do you mean? You would be alive.'

"But I don't want you to run away and leave everyone behind."

'But—'

"And I know that you wouldn't do that either. You don't give up on anybody, you wouldn't give up on anybody."

'...'

Older Subaru stood silent on this since he wasn't sure how to respond to what Rem had told him. He just looked at her for a moment before telling his younger self,

"We should catch up with the others."

"Okay."

The two regroup with the group, noticing that Elsa was petting Patrasche while Beatrice and Felix kept their distance from the bowel hunter.

As the two were approaching them, Felix was the first to notice the two Natsuki Subarus, prompting him to say:

"You guys took your time."

"Sorry, we just had to chat about something important. Anything we missed?" Young Subaru asked.

"No, everything seems to be calm. Nya."

The two Subarus turned towards Elsa's direction, noticing that she's being non-hostile at the moment.

"Is she still roaming around in your world?" The Older Subaru whispered to his younger self. Subaru responded back with:

"No, she's gone."

"Really?" The older Subaru spoke in a surprised tone of voice. "I'm actually impressed you were able to pull that off."

"Let's just say that it was a group effort." Subaru spoke with a smile on his face as he thought back of the events of the Sanctuary and the mansion, knowing full well that he wouldn't have been as successful without Otto, Garfiel, Emilia, Frederica, Ram, Puck, and Beatrice's assistance.

As he was thinking this, something popped up in his mind. He turned towards Elsa as he asked her,

"Hey Elsa, how is Meili doing?" The young boy asked the bowel hunter curiously since he isn't aware of Meili's status in this world.

Elsa stopped petting Patrasche for a bit as she turned towards Subaru's direction. As she did this, she continued to have her usual smile yet she didn't respond to his question.

Subaru noticed this and felt uncomfortable by just Elsa's smile, knowing that she wasn't happy by this question, or rather how he knew about Meili in the first place was the more likely culprit to her anger.

Older Subaru saw that tension was starting to rise, prompting him to die the tension down yet he stopped when he heard something off.

"Hey...do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Beatrice commented with Felix, Subaru, and Elsa also being curious on what the Natsuki Subaru of this world was saying. The four of them listened closely until they started to hear the faint screaming in the background.

"What is going on?"

Felix and the others all left the hallway to check what was going on, following the faint screaming until it started to get louder with more screaming being added to the mix.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know...but be on your guard."

Subaru and Felix nodded to what Older Subaru had said while Beatrice stayed close to the young Subaru, not wishing to get involved in any kind of fight while Elsa was preparing herself for a fight coming to them.

They all walked slowly as they started to hear some buildings get destroyed.

As a few buildings were breaking apart, Older Subaru and his group saw that a group of witch cultists were attacking innocent citizens.

"The witch cult!"

"Elsa, are you going to join us or not?" The Older Subaru asked with a serious tone.

"What's in it for me?" The bowel hunter asked, not wanting to get involved if it doesn't benefit her.

"You get to have a good fight and you get to kill those witch cult bastards without any restraints. Including one that is just as annoying to kill as yourself." The young Subaru said, relying on The sin Archbishop of Pride's memories to get Elsa to side with them.

Elsa was intrigued by this, seeing it as the first time she was asked to help kill people without any kind of restrictions like she usually gets. Although this was interesting, she still had a few questions.

"As much as I appreciate that offer, I still want compensation for my services. I don't work for free, even if I can kill those without restraint."

Subaru wasn't sure how to respond to this. He doesn't have any money and can't guarantee money either.

Older Subaru knew that Elsa would be hard to convince yet this wasn't the time to discuss such details.

"You'll be compensated but for now let's just deal with the threat at hand. Once we deal with them, you can tell us what exactly you want as a reward for your assistance so long as it doesn't involve killing us or fighting us."

"..."

Older Subaru and Elsa stared at each other for a moment before Older Subaru pulled out his sword to take down one of the witch cultists charging at him.

Patrasche knocked one of the witch cultists down with her tail before biting off another one that attempted to harm young Subaru.

Subaru was stunned for a moment before turning towards Patrasche.

"Thank you for that."

Patrasche nods at the boy before proceeding to beat the crap out of two other witch cultists nearby them.

Felix stands behind young Subaru while Beatrice stands next to him, prepared to defend herself and the boy.

Subaru looked at the loli spirit and just began to think back when he and Beatrice arrived at the Sanctuary to assist Emilia in facing the Great Rabbit.

This caused him to smile for a moment before turning his attention towards his older self.

"Why are they here?"

"I don't know...but just stay on guard!"

As he shouts this, he goes on his own to face off a couple of witch cultists trying to harm innocent bystanders. Elsa stood still for a bit, debating whether or not she should even help.

She knows that this world's Subaru has been hunting down someone from the Witch Cult yet anytime he has asked for her assistance, he has paid her back.

She observed her surroundings before noticing a few witch cultists surrounding her.

"Ara Ara, this should be fun. I'm not interested in your bowels but...if I can kill you however I like, then it makes up for it."

With that she joined the fight as an ally to the two Subarus and their group.

Subaru caught this which made him feel conflicted since he doesn't trust her at all yet he can see that they require her abilities to take on Petelguese and his forces.

"Beako, how much mana can you use?"

"Why do you want to know, in fact?" Beatrice questioned while keeping a blank facial expression.

"We will be facing Petelguese soon and maybe Regulus. You are going to be an important person in this fight."

"..."

Beatrice continued to give a blank facial expression while not responding to what Subaru had said in regards to her question.

She turned towards the witch cultists approaching their position and without hesitation she moved her right hand towards them.

"El Minya."

A barrage of yin mana was created above her, Subaru, and Felix before being sent towards the couple of witch cultists.

These icicles like yin mana tore the couple of witch cultists apart, leaving Subaru and Felix stunned.

"Th-That's a bit overkill...don't you think, Beako?"

"...you have no appreciation, I suppose." She says this in an annoyed voice before looking away from the boy.

"That's not what I'm saying! Of course I appreciate what you did...I just think it was a bit too much mana to waste on mooks like this."

"Witch cultists don't require a mercy kill, in fact."

"Well yeah, I don't disagree with that—"

"Then why question my methods, in fact?!"

"..."

Subaru just sighed before turning to check on Felix.

"How are you holding up?"

"No need to worry, Subaru-kyun. I'll be safe here with nyow."

"I guess..."

The three of them along with Patrasche and Elsa were all surprised when they heard a loud explosion.

As they turned towards the explosion, a large amount of broken masonry flew above their position and was closing in on them fast.

"Watch out!"

Subaru quickly scooped Beatrice into one arm before grabbing Felix's arm with his free one to get them out of danger, surprising both Felix and Beatrice.

Elsa and Patrasche both followed Subaru to safety as a bunch of pieces of the city's defensive wall was crashing to the ground, killing some witch cultists in the process.

"That was a bit too close."

"Yeah..." Felix responded.

Beatrice was in shock for a moment before she kicked the boy on the side of his head.

"Put me down!"

"Okay Okay, no need to be so—ouch!"

"I said put me down!" Beatrice shouted as she tried to free herself from Subaru's grip. He set the loli spirit on the ground, which prompted her to turn herself away from his direction.

"Oh come on Beako, don't be mad."

"Hmph."

Subaru just scratched his head at how Beatrice was acting for a moment before turning towards Elsa's direction, noticing her approaching them while she was covered in blood.

"Does this mean you'll be helping us?"

"For now. Let's see just how things go." Subaru did not like hearing this since it implies that Elsa could turn on them at any given point. Just as this conversation was looking to be done, Elsa added a bit more information. "I would also like to add that I'm currently on a contract to take care of someone."

"Who's your target?"

"That's nothing you need to be concerned about. If anything, this witch cult attack might actually help on my mission."

"Just...try not to get us killed."

Elsa just stayed smiling at Subaru before following him, Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice into the city.

Older Subaru had gone off on his own into the city, taking down any witch cultist that stood in his way.

As he took down a couple of witch cultists on his own, he thought about how they could have even found them in the first place.

'Is that bastard in the city? Or did he send a little scouting group to find us? No, Sloth wouldn't just send people if he thought we were here. He's too much of an up close and personal guy for that at this point.'

("I guess but right now I came to you for help. It isn't just the Sin Archbishop of Sloth we are dealing with but I fear that the bastard known as Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, might get himself involve as well.")

'...doesn't matter, if another Sin Archbishop decides to join in, I'll kill him too. I'll kill them all.'

Subaru's rage grew as he thought back on that fateful day, the day he had lost everything, the day he kept Rem's promise to live.

One of the witch cultists tried to stab him on the back only for Subaru to slice his head off swiftly.

'Any who are aligned with that madman don't deserve to live!'

As he easily took down the witch cultist, he stood still for a moment as he began to hear a familiar laugh, one he hated.

He turned around to make sure it wasn't all in his head again. As he looked behind him, he noticed a witch cultist standing on its own, laughing.

"Petelguese...!"

"I wasn't expecting to have found you so fast. Now then, where's that boy?"

"Who? The other me?"

"The one with a fake sloth witch factor. The one with a fake greed witch factor. The one who has been showered by her love more than any of us!"

As the witch cultist shouted this, a bunch of unseen hands began to appear behind Sloth, preparing to attack Natsuki Subaru.

He looked at them with a blank facial expression before pointing his sword towards the unseen hands.

"I can see it now, much clearer now. That disgusting ability of yours, Sin Archbishop of Sloth!"

He charged directly towards his target, seeing this as a chance to do something despite the odds being completely against him.

Petelguese removed the hood he was wearing, revealing that somehow within the few days since speaking with another Sin Archbishop, he had managed to return to his old body.

'The hell?! Why does he have that body once again? I thought I got rid of it...no matter, you are still dying regardless of what body you possess!'

The unseen hands attempted to kill Subaru only for the warrior to dodge some of the unseen hands while managing to take down a couple of unseen hands.

Petelguese was annoyed to see this be the outcome, prompting him to bite on a couple of his fingers. As he did this, a few more unseen hands appeared.

"You can make more of those damn hands but none of them will take me down!"

As he was shouting this, he continued to be on the defensive against Petelguese, someone wearing all white watched from a distance on a nearby rooftop. He was not interested in the boy that was taking on his 'ally' but he was curious to know just how long before Petelguese took him out.

'Just how long are you willing to test my patience? Don't you know that I have more important things to do than being here? You are violating my rights, you stupid annoyance of a Sin Archbishop. Why she allowed you to live that day is beyond me. You should've been killed in that forest along with the others.'

He continued to watch in annoyance until he turned around to see that there was a boy that looked similar to the warrior that was dealing with Petelguese running alongside a couple of other people and a ground dragon.

'Was that the boy this moron was talking about him? The one who supposedly has my authority and the sloth authority? Hmph. Doubt it. There's nothing special about him.' He looked at the group closely before returning his attention back to Petelguese, tempted to kill both him and the warrior he was dealing with.

'If this isn't it, you are all dying for violating my rights, my time.'

While Regulus continued to watch, Subaru and his group reached Older Subaru's location to see him facing off against Petelguese.

"He got his body back...? But how?"

"..."

"..."

Beatrice and Felix stood silent as they weren't sure how to respond themselves.

Patrasche looked angrily at Petelguese, instantly hating him at first sight.

Subaru turned towards his back side to ask Elsa something only to see that she wasn't with them.

"Of course she isn't with us...why am I not surprised?"

He turned towards Petelguese as he thought of the many ways he can try to assist his older self.

'What can I do? I need to help him out before he gets himself killed.'

After thinking for a minute, he just decided to charge directly towards Petelguese's location.

"Subaru-kyun!"

"What are you doing?!"

Beatrice and Felix were just shocked when they saw this, seeing Natsuki Subaru being reckless. Patrasche stood still as she waited for her opportunity to join in and help.

Petelguese noticed the young Subaru approaching him, prompting him to smile sinisterly.

"I'm so loved! She knew I was looking for you and now you are here~DESU!"

"Tsk."

Subaru noticed a few unseen hands switching their attention from his older counterpart to him.

The Older Subaru noticed this and quickly advised his young self to not get involved.

"Stay back! I can handle him on my own!"

"Don't be stupid! We are here to help you out, moron! That's why you made the group, right?!"

"..."

The Older Subaru stood silent as he knew his counterpart had a point.

He looked forward and just continued to slice off a couple of unseen hands.

Subaru turned towards Beatrice's direction while shouting to the little spirit:

"Beako! I need your assistance!"

"..."

"Please!"

"...I really don't understand why any Betty would be contracted with such a reckless idiot, in fact."

As she says this, she points her hand directly towards Petelguese's direction.

"...El Minya."

A barrage of yin magic gets created above Subaru's direction before being sent towards the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

Petelguese notices this, prompting him to quickly use his unseen hands to protect himself from the attack.

Both Subarus reacted to this tactic from Petelguese with the older one closing in to carve a path towards the Sin Archbishop of Sloth while young Subaru prepared the sloth witch factor he has to be used against the current user of this world.

"This time you won't survive!"

"We will stop you!"

Both Natsuki Subarus shouted this individually as they got close to Petelguese. The Older Subaru used his sword to cut a path to the Sin Archbishop of Sloth only for a surprise unseen hand that was hiding behind the witch cultist to grab him by the throat.

"You are very slothful!"

"Not as slothful as you!"

Young Subaru summoned invisible providence to try and land a hit on the Sin Archbishop of Sloth only to get blocked by one of Sloth's unseen hands.

"What a slothful attempt~DESU!"

'Shit! I need to do something, fast!'

Subaru looks around for a moment only to see that the Older Subaru looked in pain. He uses Cor Leonis to check on the status of his older counterpart only to see that he was fading.

'That tight grip Petelguese's unseen hand has on his neck will eventually kill him!'

Without hesitation he takes on the pain his older self was in, completely starting to lose consciousness.

As this was happening to Subaru, older Subaru could feel that his strength was returning to him.

'The hell's going on?! Did this bastard let go of his grip? No, I can still feel my neck getting crushed...I need to act!'

Using all of his strength, he sliced off the unseen hand that was grabbing him by the throat, allowing him to be freed.

As this happened, Subaru nearly collapsed to the ground as he started to regain some of his strength.

"Th-That...was a close one..."

"El Minya!"

"Hm?"

Both Subaru and Older Subaru heard Beatrice shout Yin magic once again, creating a barrage of icicle looking yin mana all around Sloth.

"Get out of there!"

Older Subaru and Subaru nodded as they quickly got up to run away from Sloth while Petelguese swiftly used Earth magic to create a barrier around him that'll protect him from Beatrice's attack.

As the smoke was clearing, Subaru and Older Subaru both reached Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice's location. Both Subarus received a hit to the head from Felix.

"Are nyow two that stupid?! Nya could've gotten nyowerselves killed!"

After shouting at the two, he proceeded to start healing the older Subaru first, having a feeling that he's going to need this.

While he did this, Subaru and Beatrice both noticed the smoke cleared with Petelguese's Earth barrier destroyed yet he was still standing.

'Man, I forgot how persistent he can be.'

Subaru got out his whip, feeling completely weak from having used two witch factors yet still having the strength to swing the only weapon he can properly use.

Beatrice could feel that she's already used up half of her mana yet kept herself ready to send another wave of yin magic at her old friend.

"That was indeed impressive...but as you can see, I'm still standing. How veeeeery slothful~DESU!"

Subaru and Beatrice were both on edge when they heard this.

"D-Do you have a plan, I s-suppose?"

"...No, I don't. I haven't been pushed into a corner like this..."

'Not to mention that Return by Death isn't an option for me.'

Beatrice was unsure how to feel at first until she heard Subaru continue to speak.

"Either way, I won't give up. I promised to protect you, to make you happy. That applies to all Beakos across all worlds. So when we are done taking down this bastard, I'll make sure you are happy."

"..."

The spirit loli didn't know how to react to this. Subaru gave her a smile before looking at Petelguese with a confident smirk.

"Alright then you slothful bastard, let's continue this fight!"

As he was preparing to charge at his opponent, he along with his allies heard someone else speak.

"You weren't wrong you creep, another person does possess the sloth witch factor."

'...oh fuck.'

Subaru was filled with fear as he knew who exactly that voice was. The others turned to see a person in white appear next to Petelguese.

"Who is that?" Felix questioned which caught the attention of Regulus.

"When you wish to ask someone's name, is it not polite to first state yours?" This reply from Regulus made Felix's emotions chill over all at once, amplifying his wariness even more. Regulus continued. "My reply just now was nothing short of cliched, but that said, I think anyone can appreciate the temptation to react that way in this kind of situation. Even though we are meeting each other for the first time and we stand on completely equal ground, why must you arbitrarily look down upon me and demand my name like this? Do you even realize the fact that you have subconsciously, inconsiderately, carelessly, and one-sidedly classified me as inferior?"

Felix just stood silent at this, unsure on how exactly to react at the utterly asinine logic being thrown at him. Subaru just wanted to yawn, remembering how annoying Regulus can be when allowed to speak. Beatrice just gave Regulus a blank stare while also saying:

"What an annoying pest you are, I suppose."

"Stating annoying pest is nothing less than insulting my rights as a man. That attitude...I just can't let it go, even if you are a child. It is excessively lacking in manners. It flies in the face of my individuality, my rights."

"Okay, can you *please* just state your name." Older Subaru said as he finally got annoyed by Regulus's ranting.

These words brought a change to Regulus's expression. His face blanched for a moment before slowly drew back a gloomy smile.

"Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Greed—Regulus Corneas."

A chill hit Older Subaru, Felix, Patrasche, and even Beatrice though to a smaller degree than the rest. Patrasche can detect that Greed was extremely dangerous yet she wasn't going to back down.

Felix and Older Subaru were both sure they were going to die since one Sin Archbishop was already a tough fight as is, going against two was practically a death sentence. Beatrice, however, didn't care as much about their odds as the others, she was just curious to know what the younger Subaru was going to do.

Considering that a version of her chose Natsuki Subaru over 'that person', she wants to see why. Subaru looked confident on the outside yet deep down he was afraid.

He isn't sure how to handle either Petelguese or Regulus. They were a pain on their own in his world, now that the two have joined forces, it is an even bigger pain.

'There has to be a way out of this...There just have to be—'

"No need to worry, Natsuki Subaru. I won't let you die."

'What are—?'

A bright light shone around Subaru's side for a moment. This bright light alerted Natsuki Subaru that the ally the watcher had been telling him about days ago had arrived.

He waited for the bright light to pass by in order to see who exactly would help him out. As the light faded away, Regulus and Petelguese looked unfazed though they were curious.

"What was that?!" Beatrice questioned.

"Nothing." Subaru said with a smile that hadn't faded away in the slightest. "Just something we needed."

The moment he said this, he felt someone grab his shoulder in a calmer manner. He turned towards the direction his arm was grabbed to see an all too familiar ally.

"Sup bro."

"Al. Good to see you."

"Yeah...mind if I ask, where am I?"

"Let's just say we are in a different world...I'll explain later. Right now, we—no, I need your help."

Al looked around to check his surroundings. He noticed an older version of Natsuki Subaru with his attire, catching his attention the most.

He noticed Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice all keeping their focus on the threat in front of them. He then turned forward to see both Petelguese and Regulus.

He was aware of Petelguese but for sure he recognized Regulus, remembering the events of Priestella. He pulled out his sword with his only remaining hand while telling his world's Subaru:

"Don't worry bro, I'll help y'all out."

"Thanks."

Al nodded at him before getting into his fighting stance. Subaru's confidence increased a bit.

Although he didn't have someone strong that he is aware of, he trusts the watcher's judgment for bringing in Al.

Considering that he's the knight for someone like Priscilla, he can tell that he's somewhat strong.

'Okay, let's do this!'

Chapter Text

Aganau Chapter 5: A brutal encounter

Al, without warning, charged directly towards Petelguese first as he had a feeling that he was the weaker of the two.

The Sin Archbishop of Sloth noticed this which prompted him to quickly send a couple of unseen hands towards his direction.

The one armed warrior looked forward while dodging each attack as if he knew where exactly they were going to hit.

'That's...impressive!'

Subaru thought this as Al easily closed the gap between himself and Sloth. Petelguese was completely in shock for a moment before suddenly Al jumped back.

"Hm?"

Before he could process what was going on, a large explosion had occurred right in front of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

"What is the meaning of this~DESU!"

"I'm impressed that someone with a defect like yours would dodge such an attack. I might call it commendable if it wasn't for the fact that you dodge an attack that was meant to kill you. Do you have no care for my rights?! Or do you enjoy destroying other people's rights?"

Al just looked at Regulus as he landed from the jump.

'Man, you really are annoying.'

Al was tempted to say this exact thought he just had to the man but from what he knows, he doesn't want to hear the Sin Archbishop of Greed go onto another one of his rants. He just stood tall as he prepared to face off against Regulus.

"Bro, I'll let you handle that creep in green. Let me handle Mr. White on my own." Al says this to his world's Subaru. Subaru heard this which prompted him to immediately respond with:

"Wait, are you sure you want to fight that bastard all on your own?"

Al looked at Subaru, noticing that he was concerned for his safety. He took a moment before looking at Regulus with a confident face being hidden behind his helmet.

"Don't you worry bro, this guy's not that threatening. Even the princess would be able to beat him."

As Al said this, Subaru chuckled at hearing this.

'Priscilla beat Regulus? Nonsense.'

Subaru just nodded his head though he admired how much confidence Al had for the lady he's serving under even with the attitude she had. The older Subaru looked at Al with a shocked expression, not thinking that he would see him again after a very long time.

'Didn't think I would see him again...but how is he here? Is he possibly from my counterpart's world?'

This was a thought on his mind but it was only there briefly as his focus turned back to the fight, noticing an unseen hand heading his way. He swiftly sliced it with his sword before charging in towards Petelguese's position.