Uploading date: 9/3/2018 [M/D/Y]

Forgive Me [Arc 3] - Remade

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Chapter 8: Sneaky Sneak Attack

Darkness, it shrouded him, everything around him was pitch-black. Being thrown into this void, he was cut off from all his senses. His limbs were senseless, his eyes and ears refused to see or listen. His consciousness was faint. His thoughts were hazy. As if they were spilling out of his brain and into the abyss.

Where is this? Who am I? Why am I here? Those were the questions that popped up as he continued floating towards the abyss of nothingness.

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"I... love you."

Somewhere in the darkness, a voice rang out, through the void, he felt it, it was warm, kind, longing.

The voice thumped his eardrums... if he had any. It clasped his heart... but it wasn't in his chest. It made contact with his soul... but he doesn't have one.

The voice reached out to him directly. His heart was swept away by those crazy emotions and mourned. It sounded terribly fragile, heart-wrenching, and filled with unbearable loneliness. Its affection, so seared into its soul, seemed to have made it strange.

'Had I eyes, I would stare at the owner of that voice.'

'Had I hands, I would caress the owner of that voice.'

'Had I a mouth, I would call out endlessly to that voice.'

'Had I arms, I would like to have embraced the owner of that voice.'

'Had I legs, I would have rushed to the side of the owner of that voice.'

'Had I a body, I would never leave the owner of that voice alone.'

'Had I a heart, I would give it to that voice.'

All of those thoughts could come true, but none of them did, because in this realm, he had none of that, he was merely a soul in a sea of blackness, he felt continuous suffering because of this, the love being whispered to his ear kept him sane, but that love became sins.

He felt Slothful, for being unable to reply to her pleas of love.

He felt Lustful, for wanting to unite and become one with her.

He felt Gluttonous, for wanting to find out everything that is her.

He felt Greedy, for seeking her love, demanding it, and then taking it all for himself.

He felt Wrathful, at the unreasonableness and absurdity that disallowed their love.

He felt Prideful, despising anything and everything that wasn't her.

He felt Envious, simply of the void that surrounds that lovely girl.

He could feel the love becoming sins. The sins, it filled the void, the empty void that he was floating in.

He could sense her presence nearby, he could feel it come closer. As she approached him, he could feel his body slowly reforming. He could feel her, she was right in front of him.

He took a step forward, and a pulse echoed through the void, time was moving. He then understood. If he goes forward, time continues and so will he, in this world, void of everything but the two of them. He felt something behind him, it was bright and far off, he turned around and saw it.

Now fully aware of what it is, he rushed for it. Suddenly, space and time around him started reversing itself, the light glowed brighter, it came closer, he felt the sins being lifted of him.

"Not yet, I'm not done yet!" He screamed internally, his mouth was sealed shut.

He came to an understanding, if walked towards it, the world would begin once again.

"─I love you."

As he heard the soft voice his body urged him to turn back to the voice and find it. You want to turn around, but I won't, I mustn't turn around.

Not, yet-

Not now-

But someday, I'll hear your voice again, I'll hold your hand, and I'll call out to you.

"─I love you..."

Natsuki Subaru continued on until he reached the bright light, the loving voice kept calling out to him. He reached the light and then he felt a familiar sensation, he was going to return by death.

After approaching the light he felt a familiar sensation. He opens his eyes, a few armored men came into his vision, they were looking at him, rather confused and worried. His save point has updated to the time during the meeting.

"Hoi, Subaru-kyun? Something wrong?" He stayed in his sitting position for a good ten seconds, he blinked a few times. "Umm, Subaru-dono... is something the matter?" Wilhelm asked the stunned Subaru. "Huh?" Blinking his eyes, his consciousness returns to his body.

He started shaking his head, snapping himself out of his trance. Checking his body which he remembered very vividly was blasted to bits, he confirmed that the checkpoint had once again been moved forward, and it seems it was just after the battle of the whale. He saw that everyone was looking at him, rather worriedly.

"Oh, sorry, dazed off a bit there. So where were we?"

"We are just about ready, then you said there was one more thing you have to tell us nya~"

"Alright..."

He gathered his thoughts and brainstormed. He pieced the bits of information he learned from the last loop. This persisted for a whole minute, then he gathered their attention. All of them were listening carefully.

"Okay, there's three things I forgot to tell you all about, now listen carefully okay? The first thing is, news within the witch cult runs very fast and I'm sure they'll find out soon enough that we've taken down the whale and that we're going to interfere with their plans over in Roswaal's domain. Now, we're going to be asking the travelling merchants to help us, Anastasia-san's already doing that, we'll meet in a village near Roswaal's mansion..."

"Your telling us to be cautious of the merchant's, one of them could be a witch cultist, am I right?" Julius asked, and Subaru nodded "Hoho, Subaru-kyun is smarter than he looks, nya~ Ferri-chan can make sure whether they are a threat or not…"

"Secondly, their sin archbishop, Betelgeuse, has an ability called unseen hands, he can create invisible hands that interfere with its surroundings, There are people that are able to see his hands, i'm not sure how many of you can, but I can see parts of it, just bits of purple streaks here and there. So if any of you see something like that, please tell everyone to regroup"

They all nodded.

"Finally, the sin archbishop has another ability, or more like it's his trump card. Upon death, he is able to take control of other people around him, he takes over your mind and body and then he technically becomes you, something I'd call Possession"

Everyone gave a shocked stare, to be able to take control of the bodies of the people around him, such a terrifying enemy they all have to face. Julius then spoke up. "I have read about this sort of ability, this sort of ability is shown by spirits of a very high caliber"

"Yeah, that's what I thought… it seems anyone with a strong connection to spirits are basically immune to this sort of thing, and the more suitable you are to be a spirit arts user, the more likely he's going to possess you, so that's a precaution we must take"

"It seems he's strong enough to forcefully form a one-sided contract…"

They all seemed to understand, and they were definitely scared. "So if that's all, then the best course of action would be for myself to take care of him, it'd be the safest to keep everyone else away, but regarding his hands, just how much hands is he able to summon?"

"How many huh… if I recall, Puck said he had the ability to summon two thousand, half of what the Witch of Envy could do…"

"T-Two thousand!?" They all said, rather astonished. Two thousand long ranged, invisible hands, that itself is terrifying, with the added fact that he can instantly take over your body upon death, it seems they were all losing hope.

"Yes but there are also a few specific cultist that he can possess at any time, they are what he called his fingers. It's said that he's given them each a part of him, so you get what I mean" Everyone else was now dreading the situation, though the two just kept up on their discussion. "So, if we don't deal with his fingers first, he'll always be able to flee"

"You got that right"

"I see, then if all is settled..."

Subaru snaps his fingers and "We head over to Roswaal's place, and we're gonna crush that cult-like mashed potatoes!" It seems only the big players replied with their battle cries, the others gave despaired looks, "Woah, why are you guys suddenly all gloomy?!"

"Heh, Subaru-kyun, you don't even know the weight of your own words, nya~"

"Hey, the Knight of all Knights is here, do they have no faith in him?"

"Then i'll have to make sure to wipe of those looks in the battle field"

"Tch, there you go all smug and knightly…"

The group had left and half of them is now entering the village. The Fangs of Iron and Felix were sent to check up on the merchants that were tasked with evacuating the village. They all got off their ground dragons and approached the village center, there weren't as many people outside as Subaru remembered. They got here earlier than last time since now they decided to evacuate the people before fighting the Cult.

Unlike last time, Subaru had dropped the cloak and instead went directly to talk to Ram, "You really are foolish aren't you, Barusu?"

"Yes, this is your foolish Barusu reporting for duty… you knew I was behind this all didn't you Nee-sama? That's why you came here to personally greet me, heh?" Subaru said in a rather mischievous tone, Ram scoffed at him and sighed, "Ram only came here only to insure Emilia-sama's safety, I had no intention of greeting you"

Subaru sighed, and followed her into the village.

"When Emilia-sama received the letter about the alliance, everyone thought Roswall-sama had made the deal"

"But Roswall didn't go to the capital, and your the only one who would know that, and so you reached the conclusion that I made that deal right? You didn't tell the others about it did you?"

"No, it would cause a big ruckus and we would all have to set off to find you, much to my displeasure"

Ram looked away, Subaru gave her an annoyed look.

"Hey am I really that worthless to you!" He protested.

"Yes, dig your grave after you've cleaned up this mess"

"So savage!"

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"So, what's the plan exactly, Barusu?"

"Ram and Wilhelm-san will go and distract everyone while I go get Beatrice's help, we need her to beat our enemies boss"

"If it's Barusu, Beatrice-sama would most definitely refuse, you sure you can do it?"

"Come on, when has Beatrice ever refused me?"

"Fifty three times, and counting"

"Have some faith in me wouldn't you?"

The cloaked Subaru hung his head low as he, Ram and Wilhelm approached the all to familiar mansion. They made it past the gate and through the mansions large door, where they were greeted by a blue-haired maid, Rem.

"Rem, the guests have arrived, please call Emilia-sama down…"

"Yes Nee-sama…"

She scurried off to the stairs, going to Emilia's room. Before she reached the top she turned back and looked at cloaked Subaru, then she looks at Wilhelm, her face seemed to light up when she saw him, she then continues her search.

"You should hurry up and find Beatrice-sama Barusu. Before Rem notices you"

"Right, counting on you two"

Looking around the hallways for a little while, he runs to one of them waving the two off, "Then, this way sir"

"Please, just Wilhelm is fine"

"Very well, Wilhelm-dono…"

Opposite Subaru's direction, Ram lead Wilhelm to a room, there were several chairs and a table centered around them. Wilhelm sat down and Ram went to the kitchen to prepare.

Subaru was standing in front a door, it wasn't a special door, it was the same as the countless others in the hallway, what was special was the feeling he got from it. He stared at it for a long while, his mind was in deep thought, he had to word his response perfectly in order for this to work.

"Just come in, I suppose..."

A voice from the other side of door spoke out, his mind came back and he gulped, his hand approaches the doorknob and turns it, he saw the inside of the room, it should have been a guest room, dimly lit with a bed, a small desk, cupboards, shelves and a bathroom, but what he saw was a library, filled with rows and rows of books, it was brightly lit.

In front of the door, on a stool, sat a little girl, with drilled twintails, she wore an extravagant dress colored maroon and white, with a pink bow attached on the side, her eyes were blue with pink butterfly like pupils, holding a big black book in hand.

"So you actually came back? What do you want, I suppose..." She said as she stared into his eyes.

Meanwhile, in another room, Emilia was seated, opposite to Wilhelm. Ram, and Rem standing beside her, and Puck is sitting on her shoulder.

"So, Wilhelm-san, the discussion about the alliance is already done?"

"Yes, it has finished yesterday, the alliance is on equal terms and it goes as follows, the Crusch camp, Anastasia camp, and the Emilia camp have the shared mining rights to the magic gems in the Elior forest"

Emilia was surprised that the Anastasia camp had joined in on the alliance. Before the incident at the capital, Emilia and Roswall had tried to form an alliance with Crusch, she was willing to comply, though she needed something to give her the last push into joining. That was what Subaru had done.

"Anastasia camp? Wasn't it originally just our two camps?"

"Yes but there were some changes after the negotiations, I have been forbidden from saying it here as she wishes to discuss it with you in person" It wasn't a lie, Subaru had asked Crusch to discuss the alliance with her so it would lead to no confusion. But it wasn't Crusch that had forbidden him, it was Subaru.

"I see... The letter also says to prepare for evacuation, is there a threat approaching nearby?"

"Yes, the Witch Cult's movement have been spotted in the forest near Arlam village and we were tasked to subdue them"

"But why would Crusch-san be willing to do this?" She was confused. To Crusch, Emilia is a political enemy, to keep her safe, that would be risking her position as the king. It made no sense why she would do this.

"That is also something I have been prohibited to discuss with you"

"I understand, if there is nothing else, we can close the discussion here and prepare for the evacuations" She wanted to end the conversation here as she feared that she was delaying the evacuation which could increase the risks.

"Yes, is there anything else you would like to know?"

"No, I have no further questions"

"Then we can con-"

"Wilhelm-dono..."

They were just about done until Rem called to him, she looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Yes?" Wilhelm knew what she was going to ask so he prepared himself, Subaru was aware this might happen so he came up with a plan.

"Rem would like to know if... Subaru-kun is alright..."

"Hmm…" Wilhelm put up a serious face, but it deteriorated into a smile, "Subaru-dono is fine and well. Last I saw, he had the smile of a warrior on his face, if I were to say, it seems he's found what he's been looking for"

"What are you saying, I suppose?"

"Please… be my partner…"

Subaru was on the ground, practically begging her, "Betty heard what you said, I suppose. I'm saying if you know how absurd your request is!" The spirit yelled at the boy who had his head on the ground. "I know you have to protect the library and whatever, but I really need your help! Isn't there some kind of way to bypass the contract?"

"There is no way to bypass that contract, it's almost absolute, and even if you were to find a way to bypass the contract, what makes you think Betty would want to form a contract with you?!"

"I know alright! There's no reason for you to make a contract with such a lowly fool like me, but that's why I'm begging you! I don't have much but just take everything I have, just this once please!"

Beatrice gave Subaru a look that was similar, if not, the same kind that Priscillia gave him when he was begging for her help, he was terrified, "Hmph, you're giving such a pitiful look it hurts, I suppose…" She got off of her stool and crouched down to the boy, "Lift your head up, I suppose, Betty dislikes looking at people in such a sorry state…"

"Huh?"

Lifting his head up rather hopefully, his eyes meets with the spirit's, "Betty's job isn't to protect this library, in fact, it's to pass it on to a special 'Person' that is destined to come one day, it may be far in the future, it could be tomorrow, maybe's they've already visited… but they haven't come for four hundred years, so I wouldn't expect them to come any time sooner, I suppose…" Shattering all his hope, that's what she's aiming for.

Subaru's eyes widen at the disparity of the situation, if he can't get Beatrice in his side, then people are bound to die, he can't let that happen. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his head, "Then… what if you gave me the library?" Ridiculous? Yes, that's what Beatrice thought, a ridiculous plan Subaru had proposed.

"You're a fool, I suppose…"

"I know I'm a fool, but it works doesn't it?"

Subaru looked at Beatrice with eyes of determination, "What in the world are you going to use this library for, I wonder?" She crossed her eyes and stared at him, he doesn't falter, "I have no use of this library, hell, I can barely even read what's in a handful of these books… In fact, I don't even care about the library one bit" His reply was filled with the truth, the hard, and barren truth.

"Then why must Betty give you the library then?"

"Because I want it, why else?!"

"To give all this knowledge, stockpiled over centuries… for Betty to simply hand it over to a fool who can't even use it… is dangerous, I suppose. What if someone were to find out and blackmail you, I wonder? How would you react, would you simply give away the-"

"Enough of library this, library that! Didn't I tell you that I don't care about this library one bit?" Subaru said, raising his voice a little, giving Beatrice a confident face, "If your scared the library will fall into the wrong hands, then I'll burn it! If want the knowledge to be passed on to someone worthy then I'll scourge the land for someone! If you want the knowledge to be appreciated then i'll damn memorize everything in the library! Just give me the library!"

With an outstretched hand reaching out to Beatrice, Subaru pleaded to her. "You imbecile, do you not understand the importance of this library? It's not something you just give away or burn down, I suppose!" Retorting Subaru's request with a stomp to the ground, she looks away with an irritated sigh. "Screw the library! I don't care what happens to it, just give it to me so I can have you!"

The way he said it could have been misinterpreted in many ways, but in this situation, it would be impossible for such things to occur, "Betty whole reason for living is because of this library! To just brush it off as another book-filled room, Betty shouldn't hand it over to you, I suppose!" Now clearly angry, Beatrice threatens Subaru, with her hand out to get him.

"Your whole reason is just for this library? Don't screw with me, no person would make such a dumbass decision. If your 'reason to live' is this library, then i'll destroy it! Along with everything you thought was life! Then, i'll give you another reason to live, I'll bring you out and show you life as it's meant to be, I'll be your 'reason to live'!"

In front of Subaru heartless resolution, Beatrice's figure faltered, "What nonsense are you spouting, I suppose!? You'll be my reason to live!? That's absurd!" Right now, she was shivering, shivering at the unfaltering form Subaru is showing her, his eyes were burning, he wasn't joking around, "I'll throw everything away, so please form a contract with me…"

Her hands shook, her lips quivered, "Y-You do know what your saying, right? Betty isn't some second-hand spirit that will be pleased by your mere presence, you know…" He nods, reassuring her, "Whatever it is you want, whatever it is you need, you can count on me, i'll go through hell to be your reason to live so please help me…"

"You… you understand that by doing that, you'll put Betty and only Betty first, not the half-elf, nor that maid, or even your parents, I suppose… with that, do you still think you have what it takes to be Betty's reason to live?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course, I'd rather stand by your side and watch everyone live happily than live in a world where they all die, a world where everything I've amounted to is nothing… so please…"

"..."

Back where the others were, the atmosphere suddenly loosened up, with Wilhelm telling them all that Subaru was fine, though, he wasn't finished, "Ahem… He also left a message," Everyone in the room, Ram excluded, gasped in surprise.

"A message?" Rem repeated, making sure she wasn't hearing things. "Yes, he has told me that he wants to inform you all that he'll be returning, he has made up his mind, from the look on his face, I think it'd he'll be greeting you very soon…"

Emilia and Puck gave bright smiles as they looked towards Rem with a nod. Rem widened her wavering eyes, she looked like she was about to cry, she managed to bring out a smile and bowed. With just the thought of Subaru returning she was happy, Ram looked over at her, she couldn't help but sigh in an irritated manner.

"Thank you, Wilhelm!"

"Your welcome, Rem-dono"

Suddenly, while they were all rejoicing, the door opened, rather quickly, it surprised Rem and Emilia. "Wilhelm-dono... preparations for the evacuation have been done" A cloaked figure appeared on the other side, he was concealed head to toe, "Time is of the essence, the witch cult could attack at any time so if you have finished with everything..." It was Subaru, trying his best to conceal his voice.

"Oh yes, we are done here" Wilhelm stood up from his chair and looked at the four that were opposite to him "The carriages have been prepared, Emilia-sama, we must evacuate immediately"

"Understood..." With no time left to spare, Emilia got off the chair, so did the others, "Puck, we should call Beatrice, it's dangerous to stay here alone, isn't it?"

"It's alright Lia, Betty can handle anything if she's inside her library. She's super~ strong when she's there, and I don't think anyone will be able to find her anyway" Puck reassured Emilia with a cute nod, Ram then stepped in as well, "You have no need to worry Emilia-sama. When Beatrice-sama is serious, no one can ever find her, I have experienced this first hand"

Emilia looked at the two with a defeated look "Ok then if you say so..."

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The all left the mansion, and were walking to the gate, though Ram stayed back, with the cloaked Subaru to do some final checks around the place, once the others made it past the gate, Ram turned over to Subaru, "So, has the useless Barusu finally did something worthwhile?" Shooting Ram a rather victorious smile, he turned to the mansion door and yanked a blonde haired spirit out.

"Beako, successfully swooned!"

"For the maid to see the great Betty in such a state… I'm a failure, I suppose!"

"Aw cheer up already! You've got many more chances to make an appearance"

Subaru took several glances at the diminishing figures until they finally went out of his vision, then. "Ok, now that they're gone, we just need to wait for the rest of them to fish out the traitor"

"You've already found a traitor? Is Betty really needed here, I suppose?"

"Yes, of course, you are, just wait for your time to shine"

"Beatrice-sama, this may aid you in your endeavors, consider it a gift for finally stepping out of the mansion after last month's events" Ram hands over to Beatrice what seemed to be a cloak, it was Ram's own, "Hm… I shall take it, I suppose. But I don't appreciate the latter part of your sentence, Pink maid…"

"Well, we gotta keep a low profile, if they find out we're doing this then it might cause a ruckus, I'll make you a bright and colorful one when this is all done so bear with me ok..."

She nods and Subaru whistles, from the bush, a rustling sound could be heard. A jet black ground dragon sprinted out and straight to Subaru, startling Beatrice. "Haha, sorry for the wait Patrasche, a little spirit was stubbornly refusing me with all her heart so it took a while" Hearing this, the little spirit pouted away, with Ram giving Subaru a rather disgusted stare.

"Oi, don't give me that look Nee-sama…"

After meeting up with Julius and Felix, Subaru and Beatrice split off with Ram. They trailed three figures onto the hill overlooking the village, "Yes, they seem to have spotted our movements…" One of them was holding onto what could be a communication device, "I don't know… At the moment they're fleei-" A sword was stabbed straight through his throat, the other two turned around but were knocked out almost instantly.

"So you guys have walkie talkies I see… well then, Ferris, you can control bodies right?" Subaru walked up to the dying man, blood gushing out of his throat as he tried to gurgle out a curse, "Correct, nya~" Felix crouched beside him, Julius came by as well, "You aren't going to have things your way, sorry, but we'd like to live our lives to the fullest…"

Grabbing the map in the man's pocket, Subaru sees two crossed marks, "This where your friends are?" The man didn't give a response, so Felix touched stroked his face and he nodded. "Right then… we'll let Ricardo handle these guys, then we search around for the remaining fingers. After that's all done, we'll finish of Betelgeuse"

He threw it over to Julius and without a moment to waste, he headed off, "I think it's some sort of Metia nya~ It works like mini conversing mirrors..." Felix chimed as he scanned the Metia on his hand.

"Listen closely, we're gonna give your friends a schedule that is... let's say two hours late, in that amount of time, we'll evacuate the village, cut off all those 'Fingers' of your boss, and then I'll go and personally finish off your sin archbishop" Subaru chuckles and gives shoots the man an evil grin. The cultist's eyes, they weren't filled with fear like it should be, it was filled with frustration.

"We are one step ahead of you, I suppose," Beatrice suddenly entered the scene. "And you're about to see how terrifying that really is" Subaru added. The dying man just leered at the three as they gave him mocking smiles, then he suddenly closed his eyes, and stopped breathing.

"Hey, Ferris how was that duo, sentence finisher!" Subaru said while looking at Felix with a rather proud look. "Nya~ is that really what you should be asking when a person has literally died in front of you nya…"

"Enough of that, I suppose… these two aren't dead yet so we can fish out some information from them, I suppose..."

"Alright, nya~"

Felix approaches the other two knocked out on the ground and shakes them awake, the moment they were awake, Beatrice squeezed out all the mana inside them, "Stay down, I suppose" With the figure no longer able to move, Felix's hand glows blue as he brings it to the man's chest. "Nyow… tell Ferri-chan all about your plans…"

As the evacuation was going on, Emilia and Rem were waiting by the village center for their carriage, when Ram walked towards them. "Emilia-sama" However, she wasn't alone. Several children were with her, the village's children. "We seem to have encountered a shortage problem, the merchants don't have enough carriages so we must ask you to travel with these children"

"Huh, can't we put them in another carriage?"

"Sadly not, the other carriages are already full"

She looks at the children, it's not like she didn't want to go with them. It's just that she felt like they didn't want to go with her and that they were forced into doing it.

"Excuse me, Miss"

Someone came up to them, he wore a white cloak with purple cat-like ears extruding from the top. Rem stares at him, she could smell the scent of the witch on him, though the trickles of blood on his cloak made her act otherwise, "Ah, the envoy from Crusch-san?"

"Yes, time is running short, I'm sure the children will be more than happy to travel with you. So you don't have to worry" He said to her with a reassuring smile. "Huh, but still, I think it'd be better to-" Not really letting her complete her sentence, he moves over to the girl with chestnut hair.

"Isn't that right little one, you don't mind traveling with the beautiful lady right?"

Petra and the other kids look over to Emilia and approach her, they all smile. "Your the lady that came the other day with Subaru right? Of course, we don't mind traveling with you" The other children nodded their heads in agreement. They then went to Rem.

"Rem-rin! Will you be with us as well!" With Rem being overwhelmed by the childrens sheer happiness, she looks over to her sister who sighs. "Yes, Rem will be accompanying you as well… we already know how cute my little sister is so none of you go bothering her now..." Giving a rather cold stare at the children, she walks away slowly.

"Uwaah! Ram-chi is scary!"

"Hmph…"

The children were celebrating loudly, Emilia and Rem chuckled a bit. Ram just stayed in her usual expression slowly backing away. "What about you Ram? Aren't you coming with ys?" Emilia asked as she walked over to Ram.

"Huh? Ram shall be taking half of them to Sanctuary where Roswaal-sama is currently in, there wouldn't be enough space to hold all the villagers in the capital"

"Okay then, take care..."

"You too Emilia-sama, and Rem please don't let Emilia-sama or these kids out of your sight okay"

Rem nods "Of course Nee-sama, Rem will protect them with her life".

"And with that, we can finally stop all this cloaking nonsense!" As the carriages fade into the distance, Subaru threw off his cloak into the air, taking in the fresh blood-filled air. "Smells horrible!"

"Stop clowning around, I suppose. The other's have returned..." Turning around to see his newly contracted spirit, he catches sight of a group moving towards them, the Fangs of Iron that were sent to subdue the cultists marked on the map they had plundered. "So how did it go guys?" Subaru called out to them.

"Yep, they were there alright, we took em out like it was a piece of cake! But we brought back one of them with us for questioning, well it was more like he was the only one that could talk anyway..."

Behind Ricardo, two Rigers came along, a log of wood locked into their jaws. Tied onto the bark of the log was a man, gray haired and gagged, wearing mostly green his face was one of despair. He was a familiar face to Subaru, finding him here, Subaru can't help to suppress his laughter.

"Whats funny, I suppose," Beatrice asked looking at him, rather worried.

"I've been wondering when you'd show up! Seriously, I thought you'd be the first one of the merchants I'd meet, was kinda worried when you weren't anywhere in the village. It's okay guys, I know this one personally, he's not a threat" Confirmed by Subaru's words, he was untied and was dropped to the ground.

"Ugh... I thank you for saving me, sir... But can you please stop laughing at my misfortune!" After a few minutes, Subaru's laughter finally died out, he laughed so much that his chest started to hurt. Wiping off the tears from his eyes, he gives his hand over to the man "Haha, alright then... so, my name is Natsuki Subaru, I already know you're Otto, so you don't need to bother with an introduction. Traveling merchant looking to get some money right?"

Otto stood up and dusted himself, taking Subaru's hand. Looking around he could see many knights and mercenaries, something important is happening here he thought, much more important than he originally thought. "Uh, well, thanks for that Natsuki-san… although I'm a little weirded out by how you know so much about me when this is the first time we've met…"

Giving Subaru a rather doubtful and concerned look, Otto shakes his hand, "Don't worry about the trivial stuff, I'm pretty famous for knowing things out of my reach, you can say it's one of my only good points. So, how'd you end up with the cult anyway?"

"Well, I was heading to the village so I could get a part of the evacuation deal, so I decided to take a shortcut but I was ambushed before I made it there..." Looking rather down from that, Otto sighs at his misfortune. Subaru pats him on the back, consoling him "Well your waaay too late to take part in that deal, everyone's already left, Haha!"

"W-What?! No way..."

The group, now including Otto, have now gathered after defeating all the remaining fingers, the preparations for Sloth is done. "So Otto, since your here, you can help with confirming the carriages or something, sorry but I got no cash to spend so make yourself a little bit useful please," Subaru said to Otto, who wasn't allowed to leave.

"First I miss a golden opportunity, now I do community service…"

Rather disheartened, Otto followed Felix over to one of the houses, with the others finally returning. Julius was walked towards Subaru and Beatrice "All the preparations are finished, we can leave any time, Subaru" he informed them.

After hearing this, Subaru walked up to a place where everyone can see him, Beatrice standing beside him, "Alright, attention everyone! Everything is going accordingly so we'll continue as planned. We haven't lost anyone yet, and I'd like to keep it that way until the end! Half of us have gone to protect the villagers but we are more than enough to finish off what's remaining, we'll end this once and for all!"

Everyone cheered out their battle cries, rather loudly, not something you'd do when your planning on performing a sneak attack, though fortunately, they weren't heard, everyone took their positions and waited for the signal.

.

Subaru walked into the clearing alone, he was uncloaked, Beatrice wasn't by his side, neither was Julius, they were stationed elsewhere. Wilhelm wasn't behind the rocks preparing for a sneak attack, and the twins weren't hiding by the bushes, he was simply alone, with no one to help him.

"I welcome you, oh fellow believer of love"

Hearing a wretched voice, he stayed calm, a wide smile plastered on his face, "I am a sin archbishop of the Witch Cult representing Sloth... Betelgeuse Romanee Conti, Desu!" The madman greeting him bends forward in a rather awkward stance. Subaru walks closer, in one of his hands was a book, the other was shut tightly into a fist. Betelgeuse looks to the hand with the book and squeals.

"It is a great honor to meet you fellow Cardinal, it is I, Natsuki Subaru, Sin Archbishop of Pride" Subaru exclaims rather triumphantly his smile twisted into a smirk as he jokingly glares at Betelgeuse, a way of asserting dominance, he hopes that's how they interpreted it anyway.

Betelgeuse's eyes widened, tears forming on the corners of his eyes. "Ahh! How wonderful! With this, we are all complete!" He started pulling out his hair, smashing his face into the cave walls. "Forgive me, my witch, forgive me for my slothfulness! Forgive me, for not finding him sooner my witch!"

Blood leaking from his head and hair dropping down on to the stone floor. Subaru was going to let him continue his self-torture until he tired out, but he had no time to waste. "Oi, you're making quite a fool of yourself there Bete-san, show some restraint, one mustn't lose their composure in front of their subordinates you know?"

"Agh! You're absolutely right! I curse myself for my slothfulness!" He continues slamming his head into the rock, small chunks of the rock breaking off with each slam. "Then, let's hurry up and get things over with, the witch doesn't like waiting you know? I've only been told by mister book here that I'm to meet you here and continue with pushing the half-elf towards the trials or something?"

"Ah yes the trial! Of course! We must test the devil and see if she's worthy as a vessel for our witch! With our combined efforts, nothing can come in our path! Desu!" His rather loud shriek made Subaru wince "If she is unworthy... she will be disposed of, right?"

"Yes! For she is an imposter!" Betelgeuse started laughing maniacally, Subaru, however, was seething with the intent to kill this man. They didn't the slightest bit care about Emilia, though they are a cult with a twisted mentality. "Now then, it seems you have received your gospel, we must begin immediately!"

"Just a moment there Bete-san, I want to do some introductions first"

"Eh?"

Opening up his enclosed fist, he showed to him a golden and circular object, lobbing it over to Betelgeuse, Subaru cloaked himself once more, looking over to a nearby bush "What is that?" He asked while flipping it around, "Oh, you should know what this is, it's what you use to talk with the rest right? I got it from one of your guys"

Finally flipping over the conversing Metia, an image appeared on the other side "Nyaho! Ferri-chan here! Is this thing- Waah~ he really is scary, you weren't kidding now weren't you, Subaru-kyun!" Betelgeuse just stared at the screen, his face was of utter confusion. "Ferris! You gotta put extra Nya~ into it! His reaction ain't funny enough! Hehe"

"Then, Kyuun Kyuun~"

"What is this!"

Betelgeuse says while staring at Subaru, his mind not registering what's happening right now, "Weird ain't it? Well that's just how life goes, right now, your in a dream, but it's not any dream, it's gonna be your worst nightmare..."

The last part sounded very evil like, coupled with his eyes, it would make even the most mightiest of warriors flinch. He snaps his fingers and from the forest appears a black ground dragon, it burst out full speed and rammed Betelgeuse straight on, sending him flying towards the rocks.

"Nice! Our sneaky sneak attack was a success, good job Patrasche!" The ground dragon heads over to the Subaru and he gives her a nice pat on the head, smirking over at Betelgeuse's direction. "How'd you like that surprise, Bete-san? Seems you were slothful yet again"

"Surprise... Surprise! Then what do you think about this!"

As he got himself back to his feet, Subaru saw purple streaks heading straight for him, and when they came close enough, they suddenly appeared as hands. He reacted quickly, flinging up a Fire gem. Patrasche grabbed him by the collar and dashed off to the side. The stone erupted mid air and all the unseen hands disappeared.

"Well that's not very 'surprising' if you ask me, hehe"

Betelgeuse screams out in frustration, he twists his back into a rather painful position, and he bit into his fingers till they bled, it was a gruesome sight. "Impossible, my authority, gifted to me by the Witch, how... how can you see them!" Glaring at Subaru who dusted himself off, he scratched his own face, spreading blood around it.

"Well, if you really wanna know that badly, why don't you go ask your precious witch then? I'm sure she'd be very happy to tell you, she did slather her scent all over me, didn't she? Oh wait, don't tell me you can't talk with her anytime you want like me? Hehe..." Sticking his tongue out at the enraged Betelgeuse, Subaru got back on top of Patrasche.

Betelgeuse was now furious, biting at his nails once more, he screams, "How dare you! How dare you speak as if you are intimate with the Witch!" Sprouting out several unseen hands from behind his back, Betelgeuse lashes out at Subaru. Whipping the reins, Subaru manages to maneuver around them on Patrasche, shooting Betelgeuse a rather mocking smile.

"Well I did, what are you gonna do about it you sloth?"

He screams once again, more hands came out to grab him, and they were bigger. Subaru whipped the reins once more and the two of them dashed into the forest. Having lost his temper, Betelgeuse picked himself up with his unseen hands and tore through the trees and shrubbery.

"Do you really think you can escape!"

As Subaru and Patrasche dodged the barraged of unseen hands, Betelgeuse persistently chases them through the forest, neither side backing down in the chase "Escaping? That's a cowardly thing to do for a prideful person like me, don't you think? This is just a tactical retreat, right? Let's keep going Patrasche!"

Several unseen hands were shot at him, they were faster than Patrasche so they would catch up to him in a matter of seconds. "WAAAAH" A blast of energy dissipated the unseen hands from their backs, Mimi and Tivey appeared into the scene, along with other Fangs of Iron members.

"What's this!? That man's flying all crazy!"

"Tell me about it, he's crazy in the head, counting on you two to fling the minions of our tail!"

"You got it! Nee-chan!"

"WAAAAAAH!"

Another blast and Patrasche suddenly made a sharp turn, the unseen hands zoomed past them, a few cultists tried to follow them but fell on the dirt. Betelgeuse continued on the search on his own, tearing down the whole forest during the process. As they split off from the rest of the cult, Subaru lead Betelgeuse over to an empty spiked battlefield.

He then stopped, getting off of Patrasche.

"This place..."

Betelgeuse lowered himself and jumped down, landing in front of Subaru, leering at him. Subaru had his hands in his pockets, with a cocky smile on his face. "You know Bete-san, this is a rather special place to me, I've met my end twice here, and it's helped me resolve a few problems before, we even died here together you know? I've got a pretty long history with you…"

The twenty men Crusch gave to Subaru were tasked with escorting the evacuees alongside Wilhelm, they were solely for ensuring the safety of the villagers. The evacuating group had stopped for a break, they were making their way to Flugel's tree but it seems they've encountered a predicament.

Emilia and Rem were talking while the children were playing a game when Wilhelm suddenly approached them. "Excuse me Emilia-sama, Rem-dono. I'm afraid to inform you but a group seems to be tailing us from behind, I will need to take a few of our forces to deal with them..."

"Will you not be needing any of our assistance" Rem asked, prepared for battle, Emilia looked determined as well. "That wouldn't be necessary. Besides, I'm sure the children would worry for you, wouldn't you think?" With the two looking at the children playing games in the back, they smiled. "Yes, I guess they would worry now wouldn't they..."

"A maid and a candidate shouldn't bother themselves with the frontlines, it's much too risky, If something were to happen, I'm sure Subaru-dono would blame himself wouldn't he?"

With the sudden mention of Subaru's name, the two suddenly tensed up, it's true Subaru would blame himself, so they dare not let that happen.

"Your plan... was to lead me out here? Out in the open?! Without all my subordinates! Your very slothful, Desu! My love for the witch, surpasses all, I don't need to rely on anyone! I can perform the ordeal myself! Then... what do you have prepared for me..."

"Well, as much as I hate it, I won't be able to beat you on my own, so I got some help"

Subaru patted Patrasche and she left the scene, he then whistled loudly. From the top of the cliff appeared Julius, looking down at the two with an imposing pressure. Taking a big leap, lights of different colors start glowing around him as he slowly hovered down the cliff, he made a perfect landing next to Subaru.

"I shall gladly aid you in this battle, Subaru"

Then, he snapped his fingers and out of nowhere, Beatrice appeared beside Subaru, grabbing hold of his hand. "Since Subaru's personally begged for Betty's help, It would be rude If I didn't accept, I suppose" Twirling her hair in the air she landed her gaze upon the robed madman.

There was minor small talk between the three. Betelgeuse glares at his three opponents, gripping his hands tight, his eyes bulging out rather painfully, his teeth clenching. "Do you think adding two more to your rankings can beat me! Disappear, in the face of my diligence!"

Several unseen hands rushed for them, at a terrifying speed. Julius stood still, So did Beatrice and Subaru, not caring about the madman in the slightest. Subaru glanced to the side for a second then he turned back again, merely snapping his fingers. The unseen hands surrounded Julius and then engulfed him, no one knew what happened, the shadowy hands blocked the vision of everyone in the battle, but then...

.

.

.

.

"Al Clarista!"

.

.

.

.

As an explosion of bright light brightened up the sky, the shadowy hands dispersed from the three of them. The bright light faded and Betelgeuse saw the three, they were completely unscathed, unharmed, as if his unseen hands had no effect on them. He stood there frozen, so were his remaining unseen hands, frozen in shock. Purple bolts were conjured out of then air, and shot directly at the remaining hands, tearing a hole through them cleanly.

"Something the matter, I suppose" Beatrice questioned him, almost in a mockingly. Julius started to walk forward with his sword pointed at the madman, his eyes glowed a nice hazel hue.

Betelgeuse was infuriated, he was furious, but most of all, he felt disregarded. His eyes started to bleed out from the sheer pressure of their bulging. He screamed, a scream of frustration and the final battle had begun. "How... How, How! How! One soul being able to see them is madness, but now two others can!"

He screams out in utter frustration, pulling out strands of hair as he shakes his head insanely. The other three just winced at the sight, if they let him continue, it fight would be well over before anyone actually landed a hit. "If you want to know what madness is, then I say you should go look in a mirror, it'd do you very good actually"

"Nect... It's a high-class spell that allows the connection of certain senses through gate connection. With Beatrice-sama's help, we're able to connect our visions with Subaru's, combining it with our own. So what we see, is also what he sees, with his eyes, we will defeat you!"

"It feels disgusting, I suppose" Beatrice complained sticking out her tongue in disgust, "Yeah that's right, it's like sharing a body with a loli and a macho at the exact same time, I really don't like this, hey Julius, let's get this over with!" Subaru said, completely on his partner's side with this.

"Then we shall…"

"No, such humiliation, you shall not use such trickery, such foolish means, to mock my devotion! My love, It won't be obstructed! My love is unending! It's undying! My love! I'll show you, my Love!" He screams aloud in a blood-curdling voice and a wave of unseen hands burst forth, ready to besiege them, though they were either sliced apart by Julius's sword or were shot by Beatrice's purple bots.

"Hah, this is way too easy, hey Bete-san crank up the difficulty would ya?"

Another ear shattering scream and the unseen hands split up, one bundle followed Julius while the other aimed for Subaru and Beatrice. Taking a jump back to cover some distance, Beatrice took the unseen hands herself. "El Clarista!" With a single swipe of his sword, Julius easily wiped out everything from his side.

"Hey, hey Beako, don't leave me out of this, teach me how to do that!"

Stepping back quickly, Beatrice grabs onto Subaru's hand and both suddenly float off into the air. "El-Clarista!" A slash of light and the surge of purple hands cleared away at once. "It's as simple as visualizing, I suppose, you can visualize right?" While the two were afloat, more unseen hands shot out, bigger and faster, they were speeding at an alarming right.

"Visualize? Right, I can visualize!"

Stretching his hands out, he imagined the attack Beatrice used, a crystal-like bolt, "Taste my visualization!" Purple light glew and a bolt was appearing out of thin air, the next second it lashed down on cut through one of the hands, breaking on impact, "Your imagining them as if they're thin glass, I suppose! You have to make them as hard as steel if they're to be useful, Subaru!"

"Argh! I never thought science class would come in handy like this!"

With Subaru and Beatrice becoming a bolt spitting machine, Julius fended off the rest of the hands with his glowing sword and spirit arts, even then, there was still too much, they weren't able to push through or find an opening. "Futile! All your attempts are futile! Fade away in the face of my diligence! My everlasting love for the witch!"

"Beako, any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"Magicians don't usually reveal their tricks, but since Subaru asked…"

"El-Minya!"

Spreading her arms out wide, evenly lined purple crystals surrounded the two, fine, thin, and sharp, "Woah!" She clasps her hands and they flew forward. Maneuvering around the purple hands with ease, they flew on like homing missiles, Betelgeuse being their target. "You won't trample down my unending love! Never!" Covering himself in several large unseen hands, Betelgeuse defends from the attack, barely. The crystals shot through the hands with ease but their trajectory was altered, so he was only grazed by a few.

"Tch, I missed, in fact…"

"Julius, don't just stand there! Your chance!"

Hearing Subaru well and clear, he dashed forward with his sword, "It's your time to end, Sloth!" Building up speed, he ran towards Betelgeuse, his sword pinpointed straight at him, "My love! Never, Never!" More unseen hands shot for him, but he either cut them down, or dodged them.

"Ul-Dona!" Slamming his fists to the ground, Betelgeuse summoned a dome of earth around himself, his last attempt at protecting himself, Julius slashed his sword at it while chanting, "Al-Clarista!" a shine of light erupted and decimated the dome of earth, concealing Betelgeuse for another attack, but, "Slothful!"

Before Julius could advance any closer to Betelgeuse, unseen hands burst out of his way. Blocking it with his sword he was knocked back rather far, tumbling down on his way, but the barrage of unseen hands didn't stop there, they weren't done yet. "Ul-Minya!" Blue light binded them before they could reach Julius, however.

"Don't neglect Betty, I suppose!"

The blue light covered the hands and imploded, destroying them all completely. "No! Impossible! Impossible! The Witch! My Love! Why!" Julius gets up once more and runs in closer, " My love! My love! Fear my love!" avoiding the unseen hands, dashing from side to side, he picked up speed. Another wave of unseen hands were closing in, but with the swipe of his hand, "La! El-Goa!" they were burnt to cinders.

"NO! I thought I was loved, Why!"

Lumping up the rest of his remaining unseen hands, he formed a massive clump that headed straight for Julius, It was easily four times his size, it can crush him in a mere instant, but they were ready. The moment the hands touched him, he disappeared. "What!" With Betelgeuse exclaiming that, a loud explosion destroyed his lumped, mega unseen hand.

"Damn, these magic crystal gem things are amazing!"

Another flash of light, this time, behind him, Betelgeuse was too slow to react, Julius thrusts his sword forward, "Al-Clauseria!" The bright light turned into a white inferno, being caught in the impact, Betelgeuse was sent hurling away, slamming into a few stone spikes. He was smacked into the edge, bones breaking, skin tearing, a critical hit most definitely. Where Julius stood was a small round crater dug into the earth.

"It's over..."

Julius had unsheathing his sword, his spirits fading out of sight, and he fell to his knees. "Woah, you alright there?" Subaru and Beatrice floated back down and went over to check on him, though he just snickered, "I used a little too much mana on that last attack, I won't be able to cast another spell for a whole day it seems"

"Hmm, I've never heard of such a spell, I suppose"

"It's a spell that me and my spirits created, Beatrice-sama, and there aren't much times where I get to use it all out, so it's not well known, but when I do use it, the spell becomes rather devastating, I still need to practice on it before it's completely perfected"

"Woah, you can make your own spells? Beako, we should make one too! Something offensive too!"

"Hmph, with Subaru's crazy ideas, such a feat could possibly be reached, I suppose, but Betty fears Subaru may end up wasting it on something unreasonable…"

"I won't... let it... end! My love... my love won't be taken! It is mine!"

The three jerked their heads to a dying voice, Betelgeuse, struggling to get up on his feet, half his body was literally burnt, the other half torn out, "Pride! Natsuki Subaru! The witch's love, it will be mine!" Letting out a final scream, the whole forest shuddered, the trees rattled, the birds flew away, a surge of magic flushed over Subaru.

"Julius, Beatrice! Undo Nect now!"

"Very well"

"Alright, I suppose!"

Julius's black and white spirits appear again and in a flash, the orange hue in all of their eyes faded away, Subaru's eyes, that were temporarily glowing purple, had reverted back to its original hazel color. Subaru then clutched at his heart, like there's something grasping him.

"Trying to interfere with the contract! Hmph, Subaru's is Betty's now, you can't take him, I suppose!"

"Hey Betelgeuse! You were going on about your love for the witch… let me help you confess then! I can Return by Dea-"

Time stopped, the world darkened, and he was once again embraced in shadows, his mind was growing numb as the realm of shadows once again overlapped reality. He was sitting down on a pool of shallow water, no, it wasn't water, it was just shadows, shadows that felt like water. In front of him, was Betelgeuse also sitting down on a pool of his own, behind him was an eerie presence, the witch.

"Ahhh!" Betelgeuse squealed in ecstasy as he slowly turns around, the witch entering into his field of vision, "My witch… oh my lovely witch, we finally meet!" Bowing down to the eerie presence, he cries his heart out fully, tears streaming down the madman's face. "All this time, all the years i've spent, and I finally get to see you! Ahhh!"

With him continuing on his bowing, Subaru just got up and watched as the witch stares at him, deprived of any emotion, just staring, "Pride… this was your plan all along! To get me to meet with the witch! You truly are a believer of love! Yes, forgive my slothfulness, forgive me for not noticing!" Embracing Subaru as thanks, dragging his bloodied body over to him, he stayed there crying for a minute, neither Subaru, nor the witch moved.

"You've got that wrong, Bete-san…"

"Huh?"

Her hands started to stretch out to Betelgeuse, while he was literally bawling his eyes out, "I didn't bring you here to help complete your dream… it was merely to show you how absurd that dream of yours is. You were chasing a flower you can't even reach…" A sharp stab of pain filled whatever was left of Betelgeuse and he was flinged away.

Half his body was torn in the process, he fell down, his face half submerged in water. Subaru walked up to him, with a rather sorry look, "You're not the one she loves… it's me…" With the final bits of tears dripping off his, he lets out a cry, a plea, a scream. Subaru walks away and looks at the witch, she stares back, and suddenly, the realm broke, the gripping pain in his heart gone, time resumed, darkness subsided, and reality returned once more.

The next second, Subaru fell to the ground, breathing rather raggedly. "Subaru, what's wrong, I suppose!" Beatrice asked nervously, Julius helping him up, both of them worried to what in the world might have happened to him. "My witch… why…" Opposite of them was Betelgeuse, miraculously torn into two.

"What about my love… all these years i've spent loving you… why won't you accept it… my love… My Love!"

An ominous wave of energy blasted through them, they understood it well, "He's going to use his authority again!" With Julius, unsheathing his sword with the small amount of strength he has, and Beatrice spawning in crystals while holding onto Subaru, the final stretch was here.

"We're at a major disadvantage, without Nect we won't be able to see his hands!"

"Subaru, we need help, I suppose!"

"Love! If you won't give me your love! I won't let anyone have your love!"

The cliff started to rumble, unseen hands were scraping it off, destroying a whole chunk, it all fell down towards everyone, "Murak, Beako use Murak now!" Subaru suddenly said, Beatrice's eyes narrow and she did as he said, standing in front of the two, she casted the spell, the huge falling rocks that were tumbling their way stopped midway, and floated back up.

"Julius, finish this!"

"Indeed!"

Rushing over to Betelgeuse with his sword, he looks down at his enemy victoriously, "Like I said, with my sword, and with Subaru's eyes, we'll end your life, right here, right now!" And he stabs it, directly where his heart should be. He let out one last, blood-filled scream, before he stops, completely dead.

"He's dead, I suppose…"

With a moment silence, the wind blows in, the battle was finally over, they have won, "It's finally over…" Beatrice moves aside the floating boulders away from them and drops them off, falling down with a crash. Julius took his sword out of Betelgeuse, wiping off the blood from his blade.

"It seems this subjugation, was a success"

The three looked down, in reality, he was a confused man with an unrequited love for the witch, they almost felt bad for killing him, almost. Julius felt rather shaken, he didn't think something as heated as this would happen, though he isn't disappointed with the results. Beatrice on the other hand was quite refreshed, having got to used her spells after a long time. Subaru, he felt a strong urge of relief in his heart, and happiness, all this suffering was finally done, everyone was safe, no one died.

As the three was about to look away, Subaru took a glance at the madman's gospel, it seemed intact, with a little blood here and there. Crouching down to grab the book, he opened it up, all of it still gibberish, "Hmm, still can't read it" He muttered to himself, though Beatrice heard it.

"If your lucky, you might be able to read that soon… though, I'm not sure if that'd be luck or misfortune, I suppose…"

"Heh? Wait, wait, what does that mean, Beako?! Is Betelgeuse still possessing me or something?"

"You shouldn't worry about it for now, I suppose, no one is possessing you with Betty on guard…"

Leaving Subaru a little curious and worried about himself, Beatrice and Julius walk away, back to the village

A/N

10.K word count! We finally did it! I'm proud of myself, I'm super proud, good job Review! Jolly good job!

YOSH~ One more chapter then I can finally close the original and marvel at this rewrite! As you can see, there was a rather big change here, mostly cause the events of [Redacted] never happens, if your wondering what that was, it's not important at all.

So changelog:

1)Because the events of [Redacted] never happens, Subaru and Beatrice's conversation had been altered, with less crying from Beatrice's side and more begging from Subaru's side.

2) During Subaru and Betelgeuse's chit chat, Subaru refers to himself as Pride unlike last time where he asked for a position as a finger

3) The scene with Satella was skipped in the original so I decided to write it in here

4) Subaru can use Minya right of the bat, like in the Web novel with him shouting "Visualise! Visualise~"

The final chapter will be out sometime later, probably going to be out late as it always is...