AN: The Elections have finally come to an end?...ENJOY.

ARC Eight: Sins of the Past

Chapter Sixty Eight: Reach Out, Victory is There

The capital was bustling with excitement as the Royal Selection was scheduled to be coming to an end this day. Kadomon was busy as can be as fruit was literally flying his shelves, making even his little girl Plum help out. His shop was still famous for being a shop constantly visited by the members of the Emilia Camp, and in the previous months almost every other camp.

He could only sigh happily as he never imagined meeting two oddballs would change his fate.

In the slums, the rubble of the loothouse had wild flowers and weeds growing there. In fact, unknown local patrons would regularly visit and take care of it. It is said in local legend that it was the very place where the great heroes Reinhard, Batman and Natsuki Subaru first met. It was sometimes even seen by far off dignitaries.

In the graveyards at the center of the Capital, Liliana's tomb had beautiful flowers placed there. They swayed in the wind as if to show, somehow, her resting spirit was indeed happy.

Outside of the capital, carriages road past what was left of the Flugel Tree, some drivers who wore hats tipped their hats to it, it was said to be good luck. In fact, right in front of the tree, was a large stone monument. Inscribed on it were the names of those whose died against the White Whale and honoring the parties that helped defeat it.

At Irlham Village, all the villagers were getting ready to listen in for the results with a Metia they were given, much like a radio. In the middle of the town, was a large steel slab with a bat symbol on it, made in commemoration of the Emilia Camps defeat of the Sizable Hare. It was quite the tourist destination.

Dunharrow was literally holding a celebration as they were setting up the sound metia so they could hear the results of the selection many of them yelling out the names of their saviors from the battle against Scarecrow. The mayor looked out his window and chuckled as he took a sip of wine...then turned his attention to a painting he had commissioned of the Emilia Camp fighting Scarecrow in what one would say looked almost biblical.

At the town near Augria Sand Dunes, the local bar was swamped with people. With the tower conquered, people just came to be where the Camp Alliance visited before their odyssey to the tower. The bar owner smiled, as a man and woman ordered warm and cold milk.

The last six months were both uneventful and enriching for the Emilia Camp. They were able to move into a smaller estate near the Capital, making it easier to make trips to the city. While not as large as the other two, it was more than enough room for everyone...especially those who needed the rest.

Bruce eventually healed from his wounds after the Battle of Borders, but one downside that was extra, was the stress on his body caused his left eyebrow to turn white. He didn't mind it. He began training again with physical exercises, to make up for his three months of not being allowed to use magic. He continued training everyone in the art of combat and would push everyone to their limits. He eventually seemed to relax. His attitude was more calmer than when Subaru and the others first met him.

Garfiel kept getting visited by Mimi whenever she had the chance, dragging him off to parts unknown. Only for him to return being dragged around like a lifeless doll. Though everyone seemed to notice, he was kind of enjoying her visits more and more.

Otto was busy with paperwork as always. Some days he would be so stuck with paperwork some of them felt like going on search parties to search for him under a pile of papers.

"Hey Otto…"

"P-Pamela-san?"

Pamela was another regular visitor to the place. She would always come to speak wioth the gals...and to constantly tease Otto. Otto didn't mind it, but there was one point when she kissed his cheek...he immediatley collapsed back.

"Otto!"

Subaru and Garfiel found him and quietly wept.

"We have to say goodbye to our fellow brother in arms."

"Yup, we gotta let em' rest well."

They both put their hands in prayer.

"Goodbye Otto."

"I'm not dead."

"Yes you are."

"I feel fine damn it."

"You see Garfiel? This is such an emotional moment that we keep hearing his voice in our heads. OH! Such a tragedy…"

"Fuck the both of you!"

Otto sprang back up and was helped up by a laughing Pamela. She then whispered something into his ear and grabbed his sleeve, pulling out of the room...and they left for quite some time.

After several minutes, Otto came back.

"Whoa!"

"Th' hell?!"

Otto was practically shining brightly like gold and he had a genuinely calm and relaxed face. He slowly turned to see his friends.

"Ah, Natsuki Subaru and Garfiel Tinsel...good to see you both."

"Otto? What the hell happened to you?!"

"Ah, simple minded Natsuki-san, I have transcended my mind to a higher state of being. Everything is so clear to me now and my spirit is free of absurdities."

"That hell does...wait…"

Subaru and Garfiel glanced at each other for a moment. Then their eyes widened...they knew exactly what happened to Otto.

"Oh maaaan...you gotta be kidding me!"

"Otto-nii, ya lost ya v-card?! You fuckin' stud!"

Just then Batman opened his rooms door and turned his head, only to see a smiling radiant Otto...he then immediately went back inside his room.

Pamela found the entire ordeal hilarious, but enjoyed her time with Otto.

Roswaal was looking over some papers, when Ram entered his study.

"Roswaal-sama, I have come to inform you that the carriages taking us to the capital are ready."

"I seeee, then we should all be getting ready then."

Roswaal got up, but looked down at Ram and smiled, making her blush a bit.

"Roswaal-sama?"

"For staying wiiiiith me and being by my siiiiide all this time...Thank you Ram."

"I did it...because of what I feel for you."

Roswaal chuckled, before giving her a quick kiss on her head, making her blush intensely. He then made his way past her, but turned to look at her.

"Coming my dear."

"Yes, wherever you wish to go my master."

Ram walked next to Roswaal and smiled, she knew this was the day everything would be ending, the day Roswaal would finally get his way and fulfill his dream.

Roswaal did as well, which is why he had a truly wicked smile on his face.

Petra went into Subaru's room but only found Beatrice getting dressed.

"Ah morning Beatrice-chan."

"Hm. Good morning, I suppose."

Petra sat on the edge of the bed playfully kicking her legs into the air. However when she glanced at Beatrice she could see that she was expecting something.

"Well? What do you want to say?"

"Can't hide anything from you huh? Well...It's about Subaru-sama."

Beatrice turned all of her attention to the maid, who now stopped her playful antics and put on a melancholic face.

"The truth of the matter is, I accepted this job to be closer to Subaru. I wanted to know him more, and maybe let him see me more...but, then he left to the tower and I didn't see him for a whole year. In a way, it made me yearn for him more y'know? Then when he came back...he brought Rem-onee san back with him...and I knew then and there, deep in my heart-"

Beatrice saw that Petra's eyes began to get watery.

"-He would never look my way, the way he did with Emilia-sama and Rem-onee san. And it...hurt. I-I felt jealous of those. It's disgusting of me to say this, but Subaru is my hero! He saved me so many times, at risk to his own life and always respected me to no end. So…"

"The reason came here in the first place…?"

Petra nodded weakily as she looked looked at the closed door, almost as is if she was waiting for it to open.

"I was going to confess to him."

"...Now what will you do?"

"...I think I'll wait a bit longer."

Petra rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

"When I'm ready I'll tell him, then...I hope I'm ready for what comes next."

Beatrice sighed as she took Petra's hand and helped her out of the bed.

"Betty understands that Subaru is important to you, but I can assure you that Subaru cares for you too, I suppose."

"Maybe not in the way you do him. Regardless, he is an understanding person, and his time with Bruce has humbled him more. Give it time Petra, I suppose. Wait for the right moment and then strike, he'll be helpless then."

Beatrice winked at her, making the long haired maid laugh brilliantly. She caught her breath and fixed herself.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes...thank you Beatrice."

"Nothing to thank me for."

Beatrice took her hand and begrudgingly smiled up at her.

"I just don't like...seeing a friend look pathetic is all."

Petra smiled once again, holding onto the spirits hand as they made their way out of the room.

The spirit and maid found themselves in main entrance of the estate...and near on of the windows were two heroes sitting on a small table across from eachnother.

Bruce Wayne and Natsuki Subaru.

While Emilia was the candidate in question and Roswaal was their main backer...it could be argued that these two people were the true figureheads of the camp. Their exploits over the last few years were exceptional to say the least. And here they were having a small meeting to discuss things.

Subaru noticed them first.

"Hey, morning Beako, Petra!"

"G-Good morning Subaru-sama, Bruce-sama."

Bruce nodded happily seeing these two.

Beatrice then went over and happily sat on Subaru's lap, meanwhile Petra was simply staring at Subaru...then shook her head as she saw a tray nearby with some tea and snack nearby.

"Rem onee-san must of brought this to them."

She decided to pour them some tea which they all thanked her for. Still, Subaru grimaced as even after about three years in this new world he still couldn't get used to tea.

"So Subaru, are you really ready for the end of the Royal Selection?"

"Have to be, I'm just glad this all ended without incident."

"We do have alliances with all the camps right now, so I think it ended quite well for everyone."

Subaru sighed as he remembered the meeting they had two days after Batman was healed, he revealed to everyone in the camps that he and Subaru from other worlds, which Julius and Anastasia corroborated with.

Crusch was the first to speak out about this.

"Y-You mean those rumors about Batman-san being from beyond the waterfalls is accurate?"

"Yeah in a sense. We stumbled into this world three years ago and have been stuck here ever since."

Even Wilhelm was beyond shocked to hear that such a thing was even possible.

"Subaru-dono that is quite the story, but do you not wish to return home."

"Well there were times in the beginning...but right now, I have people I love and care for-"

He glanced to hsi side and looked at the Emilia Camp members who were standing by, giving them a smile.

"-So as far as I'm concerned, I am home."

"Understood. And Batman-dono?"

Bruce sighed as he scratched his hair.

"I do have intentions of some day going back...but right now I'm focused on helping the Emilia Camp and getting myself back to one hundred percent strength."

"You truly are a formidable one, Batman-dono."

Bruce chuckled at his comment.

Then, Felt got closer and crossed her arms.

"So do you know what brought you here?"

Everyone could sense the change of stillness in the air. Subaru and Batman had the same expressions of panic on their faces. This shocked everyone in the room, especially since they had never seen Batman make such a face before.

"Listen to me…"

Bruce looked over at them from his bed and narrowed his eyes at them, giving everyone chills.

"In due time, we will tell you...but right now is not an appropriate time. Should the truth of the matter of how we got here came out...it could lead to a world-wide conflict, especially from the outside kingdoms."

Crusch nodded and ordered everyone not to press further...she detected no lies in his speech.

Eventually everyone agreed to let the subject go...except for the questions.

Priscilla hugged Subaru's arm, her breasts squeezing his arm.

"Now tell me, what do you people do for entertainment in the other world?"

"U-UM, well uhhh…"

Rem was cracking her knuckles behind Priscilla.

"H-Hold on! Let's talk about this in a more civilized manner!"

Bruce then had Felt sit near him, she giddly got close to him.

"S-So what was your world like...Well?"

She smiled at him, but in the corner of his eyes he saw Frederica and Sarah looking as if they were about to pounce at her.

"Good grief…"

Bruce sat his cup down as he noticed Petra was being fidgety.

"Something wrong Petra?"

"Um, I was going to ask you something Bruce-sama."

"Fire away."

Petra held the serving tray close to her chest and timidly looked over at him.

"Um, are you mad at them?"

"Mad? At who?"

"Well, Frederica onee-san and Sarah-sama."

"...No, not at all. Why would say that?"

Bruce was taking some sips of his tea as he waited for her answer.

"Well...last night, I was going to get some milk and snacks...and um, I passed by your room. I heard the three of you making weird noises and calling out each others names."

"PFFFFFFFFT!"

Bruce spat out all his tea at Subaru's face who could only scream at his extreme reaction. Beatrice was spare as Subaru used his arms to block it from her.

Bruce coughed a bit beofre looking t Petra.

"Ahem! Petra could you get us some towels? Please."

"Y-Yes! Right away!"

Petra ran off to get some towels...while Bruce pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to Subaru to dry himself off.

After cleaning himself, Subaru glanced at Bruce.

A full few seconds of silence went by...Subaru took a deep breath.

"YOU SLEPT WITH THEM?!"

"DON'T YELL THAT OUT!"

Bruce slammed his fist on the table repsonding to Subaru's scream.

"I didn't mean for to happen!"

"Well? Care to explain."

"Apparently those two drank a bit too much last night, talking about their problems involving me. So the two of them came into my room late at night and were going on about consummating the marriages! And so...one thing led to another."

"Gosh...what a pervert."

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people."

Bruce face palmed a bit...then he glanced over at Subaru who had a mischevoius smile.

"I know you love Frederica, but what about Sarah?"

"...Honestly, I don't know if I can follow through two different marriages. But I must admit, I do think she's a remarkable woman, a valued friend and-"

Bruce noticed both Subaru and Beatrice were holding back laughter as they kept listening to him, he got the gist of it.

"-She's standing right behind me isn't she?"

Sarah hugged him around his neck, kissing his cheek as she did.

"Yes, Please don't let this stop you now."

Subaru and Beatrice chuckled at seeing Bruce in a situation even the great Batman couldn't dig his way out of.

Eventually everyone gathered outside to prepare for their trip to the capital.

Subaru was standing with the two loves of his life.

The silver haired half-elf Emilia.

The sky blue haired Oni Rem.

They both held his hands as he looked over the camp members. Subaru could only reminisce about the his first encounters with everyone standing there. The good moments they had, the bad ones and the fights they won.

Subaru couldn't help but see images of those he had to destroy to get at this point.

Elsa the Bowel Hunter. Killed by Garfiel and a raging fire.

Scarecrow the Demon of Fear. Defeated by Julius and Garfiel, ending his life with a suicidal explosion.

The White Whale. Taken down by a last minute alliance and finished off by Wilhelm.

Petelgeuse Romanee Conti. Destroyed by himself and Julius. Finished off by a massive explosion.

The Sizable Hare. Sent far away to a dimension unknown, by Beatrice.

Regulus Corneas. Defeated by Reinhard and killed by the pressure of this world.

Reese. Beaten by Batman and killed by Regulus. Her body was buried in her old hometown by Batman.

Sirius. Sent to outer space by Batman and Priscilla, never to return again.

Roy Alphard. Vicioulsy killed by Deathstroke and Pamela.

And presumably Grodd was most likely killed by the Blacksnake.

There were others too, but Subaru tried to focus on what to say next.

"Everyone, we're going to the capital to put an end to the Royal Selection. Whether we win...or lose, I want everyone here to know that they did their best and we couldn't have gotten this far without you."

"..."

"So thank you."

Subaru, Emilia, Rem and Beatrice bowed to them, making them all smile and feel just as appreciated as always.

Deathstroke made his way over and raised his fist into the air.

"Now let's get the fuck out of here! We got an election to win!"

Everyone else cheered along and they all left to the Capital.

Now at the capital, they could see the bustling streets surge with excitement.

Then Deathstroke made himself known to Emilia.

"Emilia, you do know what this means right?"

"Huh?"

"My contract with you and Subaru was only until the end of the elections...so once they announce the winner, I am done with this camp."

Both Emilia and Rem looked down sadly, while they did have their differences in the past, especially when they first met. They had come to see him as a good friend all things considered.

"What will Deathstroke-sama do then?"

"...I'll hold off on trying to take on Batman for awhile. Maybe...I'll go see Meili for a bit."

"To the Pleiades Watchtower?"

"Sure. Now that I know what to do, it should be easier you know?"

"Rem understands."

She did a quick bow with her head and then looked u and smiled at him, so did Emilia.

"Rem wishes you luck on everything you do from now on."

"Me too! I hope that you live well after this...and if you ever need anything, please do ask us. Afterall, you are still a member of this camp."

The two ladies smiled at him, making him question how he even got to this situation. He was always a loner and killed almost everyday...yet here he was, having been a bodyguard for two years now...he just nodded and peeked out the window as they were reaching the palace.

Now at the palace, Garfiel heard an all too familiar yell.

"GARF! HI!"

"Hey Mimi.'

Mimi walked over in a nice looking white suit...anyone could agree she looked cute in it, and yet once again she was a little taller than the last time they met, she now reached up to Garfiel's chest. And per usual….

"Let's go have some fun before we start lunch! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Ah hold on, AGH! Wait a sec!"

Garfiel was grabbed by his back collar and dragged off back into the city.

They could hear Mimi yelling something about being back on time, but everyone just assumed they would.

In the city, Garfiel was now walking holding onto Mimi's hand as they continued down the streets as Garfiel looked down at his friend.

"Soooo, wha' ya' wanna talk abou'?"

"Welp, the Selection is almost over, so I wanted ta hang out a bit today!"

"Really, how come?"

"...Because...my lady says if we don't win, we.."

Garfiel noticed that Mimi was starting to tremble a bit, he even saw her hand was struggling to hold onto his hand.

"Mimi?"

"...if we lose, we might have to go back to Kararagi."

"...Oh."

"Sooooo, I wanted to stay with you a bit longer."

"Okay, I understand."

Garfiel patted her on the head, execting her to fidget wildly about,maybe even complain. But this time he saw that she was looking up at him with expectant eyes.

"Mimi?"

"Garfiel."

She let go of his hand.

She used both of her hands to pull his vest down towards her and then planted a soft kiss on his lips. As she continued this innocent kiss, she then let go of his vest and held onto his cheeks. Garfiel moved his hands to her shoulders. She figured as much, he was going to push her away...but he didn't.

"Mmh."

"Mmf."

He was holding onto her shoulders affectionately.

Then what felt like minutes passed as they stopped their kiss...but as they looked at each other's eyes, Garfiel and Mimi's faces turned bright red. They turned away from each other and tried to calm themselves down.

"M-Mimi…"

"Y-YEAH?!"

Garfiel looked at her with his cheeks still flushed.

"Want to go...um, walk around a bit more?"

"Yup."

Instead of holding his hand...she wrapped her arms around his and rested her head on him.

Garfiel breathed a bit heavily...he did always like Ram, but he always knew she felt love for Roswaal and not him, he even suspected she at one point tried to get with Bruce, but never his way.

But here and now, someone was looking his way, someone was giving their heart to him...and he would try his best to do the same.

They continued down the streets with smiles on their faces...even as a dark hooded figure was glancing at them from a far off rooftop.

In the palace, Subaru was lying on a couch, when Emilia and Rem entered the room. Subaru sat up as the two ladies grabbed some chairs and sat in front of him.

"Subaru, I think you can tell what this is all about right?"

"...The proposals right?"

"Yes, we...do want to marry you right away...but I think that we should wait until after the Royal Selection dies down."

Rem nodded.

"Rem agrees with Emilia-sama on that regard. Rem is-"

"-How about this?"

The two ladies saw that Subaru stuck out his finger to them.

"How about instead, when Emilia wins I'll propose to you both during the celebration? Right there and then it'll make this day all the more special to us right?"

"Subaru…"

Subaru looked into Emilia's eyes, which refelcted solely him.

"I want to stay by the side of the girl I fell in love with, the first moment I met her. The kind but sometimes goofy Emilia."

"S...Su...baru…"

Subaru looked into Rem's eyes, which also reflected only him.

"I want you to stay by my side...the girl that fanatically fought her way into my heart. The strong yet gentle Rem."

"Subaru-kun…"

Both girls had tears of joy leaking out of their eyes, of which made Subaru go over and embraced them both, kissing them both on the cheeks.

"Whatever happens, I'll be with you both."

The two ladies smiles hugged him back.

"Subaru is such a dunderhead."

"Yes, Rem thinks that Subaru is a truly troublesome person."

The three stayed there for quite some time…

Bruce was now in his brand new set of armor, it was made of high grade metal and chain-mail, it was colored black with a yellow bat symbol on his chest plate. He had his utility belt and a sword which was given to him by Julius as a gift. His helmet had the trademarks of usual mask, bat ears, triangular eyes and everything. His vicious white eyes let everyone know exactly who he was. His black flowing cape added to the idea that this was indeed Batman.

"Looks fitting."

"Yes, I agree that you look like your usual self this way."

His two fiances waited by the door for him. Batman looked at them for some time before taking a deep breath.

"What's wrong Bruce?"

"Nothing, I just can't believe everything that's happened to me these last few years, I guess."

"Ohhhh, like what?"

Batman looked out his window at the vast city, the very same one he saw all those years ago.

"Meeting Subaru, fighting all the things I've been in. Being here in all this political strife...and-"

"-Falling in love?"

Batman turned his attention to Frederica and Sarah, who were now both smiling at him.

"Sure I guess."

"Huh?! What do you mean by that?"

He chuckled at their forwns, but wrapped his arms around them and whispered to them both.

"Whatever happens, are you two still with me?"

The two ladies relaxed as the rested their heads on his shoulders.

"Of course, wherever you go I'll be there to help you no matter what. My hero."

"Yes, as long as you draw breath and hold me close, I shall go this world or any other to be by your side."

Batman nodded and soon let go of them and gazed at them.

"Alright, you ready?"

The two nodded proudly as they made their way to the throne room.

Garfiel was the last to meet with them after he took Mimi back to Anastasia, even while the Pearlbatons glared at the young man.

Garfiel met with everyone as they were now outside the throne room doors.

Subaru took a deep breath as they nodded to the guard. He then pushed on the door, making them open slowly, as they did the other camps waved at them, nobles stared in amazement and the Council were holding their breath as they slowly walked in. Marcos raised his voice.

"Everyone in attendance, please welcome, the Emilia Camp!"

They soon entered...

Natsuki Subaru.

Emilia.

Rem.

Beatrice.

Batman.

Frederica W. Baumann.

Sarah W. Remendis.

Otto Suwen.

Garfiel Tinsel.

Roswaal L. Mathers.

Ram.

Petra Leyte.

Deathstroke.

No one could speak as they all entered in with faces of pride, happiness, or intimidation.

And with that everyone began their festive meeting.

Pamela was happily speaking with Rem, even teasing the poor girl on what she would name her first kid.

Mimi was holding onto Garfiel, making Ricardo pat him harshly on the back laughing at him. Her two brothers were not pleased.

Wilhelm was sipping on some wine with a now helmetless Deathstroke, they spoke about small topics such as the history of their worlds.

Subaru was holding hands with Beatrice as he spoke with Crusch and Ferris about future ideas they could bring to this world, such as democracy. This interested them both.

Batman was with Frederica and Sarah talking with Anastasia and Julius about business practices he would love to introduce in this world, making the Kararagian woman smirk in excitement.

Priscilla was talking to Roswaal, though it seemed he was boring her. Al could only scratch his helmet...then he saw Ram. He froze for a moment... he felt his heart race feverishly, but took a breath and removed his hand from his sword grip.

"Not here…"

Everyone was relaxing, being as festive as possible.

Then, Frederica whispered to Batman and they decided it was time. Sarah was told to get everyone's attention, so she grabbed Otto and lifted him over her head.

"Yes, HEY! HEY! EVERYONE! PAY ATTENTION!"

"WAAAH! I hate being treated like this!"

She succeeded and everyone turned to face them, she gently set Otto down. Sarah then walked over and stood next to Batman. Frederica was on the other side and she held his hand.

"Ahem. Now that everyone is listening, the thing is, as of right now we have to tell you that-"

"-I, Frederica Wayne Baumann is pregnant!"

Everyone gasped.

"PFFFFFT!"

"AUGH! Why is everyone spitting on me today?!"

Garfiel spat out some milk he was drinking and spat it at the back of Subaru's head.

Subaru got a spare towel and rubbed himself down.

Frederica was blushing and then turned her attention to Garfiel.

"Garfiel, don't you see? You're going to be an uncle!"

"Me...an uncle?"

Garfiel chuckled to himself and then put on bright smile, he picked up Mimi and twirled her around happily screaming happily as he was going to be an uncle. But stopped when he noticed Frederica smiling at him, with a vicious aura around her.

"And I hope you set a good example for the child...YES?"

"...Yes, I will do my best."

Garfiel put Mimi down and bowed to his sister.

Soon everyone raised their glasses and congratulated the couple on their future child. They even went as far as to make Subaru and Emilia the child's godparents. Though this did make Rem jealous, Frederica whispered to her.

"I suspect we'll have more children in the future, so you'll get your chance Rem."

"Rem will wait earnestly for that time."

The two ladies smiled as everyone was happy with the news.

Felt was watching the celebration and smiled, she remembered the last time they met alone...she asked for him to wait until she was eighteen to decide if he would go on a "date" with her.

"How do you even know what a date is?"

"Does it matter? Do-Do you promise or what?!"

The longer he took to contemplate her request, the more upset she became, then worried, then very sad. Seeing her face like that made Bruce scratch his head.

"Fine, I'll consider it Felt."

"R-Really? You mean it?"

"Sure, I don't go back on my word."

The two shook hands, but Felt used her wind speed to get next to Bruce and kiss him on the cheek, smiling as she did.

"It's a deal then."

Now, she had her hands on her hips as she made a triumphant smile at Bruce.

"Just you wait...when I get older, I'll be so gorgeous you won't be able to look away."

Reinhard sighed hearing her say that, but smiled as all of them walked over to begin the ceremony.

The excitement died down...and the time had come.

Everyone was standing behind their respective candidate.

Priscilla Barielle and Aldebaran.

Crusch Karsten, Felix Argyle, Pamela Isley and Wilhelm Tristia. Some of the White Whale subjugation force was there as well.

Anastasia Hoshin, Julius Juukulius, Ricardo Welkin, Mimi Pearlbaton, Tivey Pearlbaton and Hetaro Pearlbaton. Some of Fang of Iron mercenaries were there too.

Felt, Reinhard Van Astrea, Rom, Chin, Ton, Kan and Heinkel Van Astrea.

And of course, the Emilia Camp.

Miklotov stood up and motioned his arms to the candidates, speaking into the metia that would transfer his voice to all other metias able to pick up the algorithm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now here to witness an end to the Royal Selection. After three years, we have gathered the votes and summed it all up. We have been through so much these past three years. I am honored to say that these four individuals and their compatriots have accomplished so much. They bring great honor to this nation of Lugnica. And now the results are in!"

The city erupted in applause, not only there but the many places of Lugnica especially those touched by the Emilia Camp.

Outside of Lugnica, Kararagi officials were waiting with bated breaths for the results.

Vollachia was too busy to care, as they mobilized their armies to defend their borders.

And Gusteko nobility listened in and were placing bets on who would win.

The head Council member then received a letter from a nearby guard.

"And now I must say one thing. You have all done us too many achievements to count, and we wish to give two titles before moving on."

Everyone was confused as to what was occuring.

Bordeaux nodded and called for two people.

"Natsuki Subaru! Batman! Please step forward."

The two made their way to stand in front of them.

All of the members in the Sage Council said in unison…

"As of this moment, Natsuki Subaru you will hold the title of Great Sage, in honor of your actions and in recognition of your conquests. And Batman you shall hold the title of Champion Hero, a title held only to those who are to spoken of in legends and tales to be sung by all in this kingdom. We thank you."

Subaru and Batman looked at each other and raised their shoulders, before they bowed to the sage council.

"Thank you for this honor."

"We will work hard on proving ourselves worthy of these titles."

They walked back and received a standing ovation. Mikoltov nodded and put the letter in front of him.

"And now, the time is here."

Emilia held Subaru's hand, and Rem did the same for Emilia. The silver haired half-elf smiled at her friend.

Everyone was now anxious for the results to be said.

He ripped open the enevelop and pulled out the paper.

"And here it is."

The entire world was waiting to see, who exactly was Lugnica's new king.

"And the winner of the Royal Selection, and our Dragon Maiden is-!"

B

O

O

O

O

O

M

!

A person made entirely of light suddenly bursted into existence in front of them all. He was taking shape, showing that it was a male. Everyone guarded the candidates...until Felt spoke up.

"Hey! It's the same thing that showed up at Priestella!"

Julius drew his sword at the strange being.

"Yes...it also showed up in the Augria Sand Dunes!"

Marcos grabbed his sword.

"All men prepare to attack the intruder!"

Just then the being of light looked at the candidates…

"You...were supposed….to….not…!"

"Th' heck!? Is it trying to say something?!"

"You...were….not….supposed….to…."

Now the being of light was becoming clearer, his green skin and odd body type was now coming to view.

Then his two large antennas were quite easy to spot.

Batman, Deathstroke and Pamela ran over to see if what they were looking at was accurate.

"What the hell…?"

"I-Is that you!?"

While still covered in a radiant light, and his body going in and out of view, it was quite clear who it was.

"AMBUSH BUG?!"

Ambush Bug was attempting to speak with them, even when it was obvious his dimension hopping powers couldn't keep him here for long.

"You total dumbasses! The hell are you doing?!"

"What?"

"You and this franchise were never supposed to meet! This damn crossover was not meant to be! Why didn't you just go back to the DC Comic circulations?!"

"Ambush Bug, slow down! We don't undertsand-"

"-How the hell not?! You're from an American Superhero Comic! And these guys are from some Japanese Light Novel series! THEY. DO. NOT. MESH. TOGETHER!"

"...?!"

"Now you screwed everything over! The natural order of things is fucked now!"

He was beginning to dissipate.

"Ah! No! Not now!"

"Ambush Bug!?"

"You screwed us all over! All of you!"

He then pointed at everyone in front of him as he began to finally dissipate.

"You are going to get all of us kill-"

Then he faded away, leaving no trace of him behind.

Everyone was quiet, no one could understand what just happened-

"Maaaaan, that was such a farce."

A voice called out, everyone turned their attention to someone leaning their back on the wall. The hadow of a pillar obscuring their silhouette.

Marcos glared at the stranger.

"How did you get in here?!...It doens't matter, for intruding into the palace we shall sentence you to death!"

"Oh crap, so you're gonna kill me? Sheesh, waht a blood thirsty personality you have Marcos Gildark."

Now stepping out of the shadows...he was revealed to be wearing a Witch Cultist robe.

"Witch Cultist!"

"It's a little more complicated than just that you know?"

The Cultist began removing his hood, revealing his face to evryone...Subaru stepped in front of Emilia and Rem.

"It's Lust! She's using her Authority to confuse us!"

"Stupid asshole...I'm not that bitch Capella. I'm me!"

They all thought it was trick, an illusion, something, anything plausible...because right now…

"Damn is it good to be alive again!"

Standing in front of them was Natsuki Subaru.

The only difference was that top left side of his face was burned, pieces of his eyebrow were also burned away.

He raised his arms wide as he looked over at everyone, with some disdain towards a certain someone.

"Reinhard Van Astrea…"

"What...do you want with me…?!"

"...Nothin'."

He then spit on the ground while still glaring at him.

Everyone could see that this person pretending to be Subaru had eyes akin to madness and rage, instead of the real Subaru's eyes. He glanced all around him and chuckled.

"Well this is good, everyone is gathered and we can start the fun!"

The doors busted open and everyone could smell the stench of death in the air.

Ahead of them walking through the countless guard corpses...was someone who looked like a grey armored Batman...as if he was an amalgamation of his three armors. From behind Reinhard a tear in space opened, and a large dark blue armored hand reached out for him. Reinhard reacted by trying to kick it away...but the calm knight was utterly shocked when his leg was caught. His body lifted high into the air and slammed into the ground, causing the very floor of the throne to crack in half. Everyone lost their footing or held their themselves.

Reinhard looked up and saw a humongous armored figure with vicious red eyes, glowing ones...and reminding him of Batman's.

"What is..!"

The figure emerged from the tear, revealing his vicious looking armor, looking to Subaru like something a dark lord would wear, but instead of black...his armor was a mix of dark and light blue. And it had two sharp points sticking out of his head...just like Batman's ears.

Reinhard's eyes further widened when he looked at the chest plate of this monstrous being…

"It cannot be...madness."

It was the Lugnica crest with a red Bat symbol on top of it.

"Let me help you out of here."

His voice sounded muddled under his helmet, but it was almost as if two people were talking at once. He then grabbed Reinhard by the throat and tossed him out the window.

He looked back at the dark robed Subaru.

"I'm going to deal with the Sword Saint, keep these idiots busy."

"Will do!"

The dark robbed Subaru winked at him, the armored kicked off the ground causing every window in the castle to break as he blasted out of there at astonishing speed.

From behind the dark robbed Subaru the wall broke apart and emerged a rather tall figure in black and purple armor. His helmet looked just like Batmans.

"You weren't too busy were ya?"

"...Nothing I couldn't be bothered with."

The dark armored figure walked past him and he stomped the ground, leaving a crater under his foot. Several knights charged at the grey armored figure...but they then fell to the ground and were unable to get up.

"You should have just run away...there is no way you can beat me."

Roswaal fired a heat blast at him...only for the blast to fall to the ground and kill a knight instead.

Roswaal fell back on his behind, Ram saw this first.

"Roswaal-sama?!"

"No...it's not…"

"Roswaal-sama?"

She saw the absolute fear in his eyes, the panic plastered on his face. He knew what this ability was.

The dark robed Subaru clapped his hands and fire began to spread around behind.

Emilia summoned Puck and he aimed several ice spears at them.

"Just what are doing?! WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"

"We are the heroes of this story."

"What?"

He closed his eyes for a second, before he glanced all around him.

"We are here to distract you so that we can accomplish our honest to goodness goal. To erase the mistakes, get rid of the weak and outright pluck the diseased out of them all."

"Of...what?"

The Subaru in front of her smiled sweetly, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Why...worlds, Emilia."

"W-Worlds?!"

"Yes...today everything ends! Everything will be saved by all of us! Together we will do this!"

This Subaru began to chuckle to himself, then…

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! All of us! The Apocatastasis Society will bring it all crashing down!"

"What are….you-"

"-Isn't it obvious?!"

The dark armored individuals eyes glowed a ghastly green, the grey colored Batman with three blue eyes, slowly walked over to them while clenching his fists. And down below Reinhard got up while tossing away his coat, getting up from the house he crashed into, he could see the armored figure kicking at the air, letting the shockwaves get him closer to his intended target.

The dark robbed Subaru had tears run down his face as he screamed at them, in a joyous madness.

"WE ARE GOING TO DESTROY THE MULITIVERSE!"

The Royal Selection had now come to an end...and with it's finality, the beginning of absolute devastation had arisen.

AN: Next chapter ends ARC 8...and maybe more? Stay Tuned...