13 (part 1)

As the screen began loading up before them, many of the cast sat at the edge of their seats with excited expressions and looks of anticipation.

"I can't help but feel honored to witness such a legendary moment in history," Frederica said while smiling up at the screen.

"Of course, the defeat of the great calamity will be a story for the ages." Julius nodded his head and continued to watch the screen patiently and elegantly. He was a knight, hopping your leg up and down in excitement for watching a historic moment is not elegant behavior as such, he was not bobbing his leg up and down… He was merely doing one of Subaru's warm-ups, yeah.

"Um… I feel suuuper nervous?" Emilia turned to the excited maid sitting behind her with a worried nervous expression.

Rem giggled a bit as she understood the other's disbelief at the thought of the battle with the White Whale.

"I assure Emilia-sama that Subaru-kun was brave and wonderful to the very end of the hunt." The maid smiled confidently while toying with the sleeping boy's hair.

Emilia looked beside her to the smirking duchess. Before she could get a word in, the green-haired princess smugly gestured her fingers in a zipping motion over her mouth.

"You will all have to see what sir Natsuki-san did for yourself. I'm not telling."

Emilia pouted as Crusch winked at her. The half-elf wasn't the only one fuming, as the little spirit girl that was sitting on the boy's sleeping lap angrily pouted at the duchess as well.

Rem giggled softly in amusement. The maid's eyes softened as she stared at Subaru's sleeping face, she stroked his cheek tenderly and smiled at his innocent aura.

Who knew someone with such an aura could've gone through so much?

The maid's heart clenched in sadness for a moment as she remembered the last few viewings, the sheer despair, and horror they've all felt seemed to have lifted out of the room, replaced with excitement and border on cheerfulness that hadn't been present for ages.

"It seems everyone wants to forget the last sessions we've seen." Rem softly whispered in sadness as she kissed the boy's head softly.

"But I won't…" The Oni whispered.

[Season 1 Episode 11 Director's Cut.

Begin.

The scene opens up with the sun rising over a ruined village.]

"What's this?" Otto asked in confusion as everyone looked on with bewildered faces.

"Why are we starting here, I suppose? Why not the beginning of the battle with the Whale, I wonder?" Beatrice asked in an annoyed tone.

[From the middle of the road, a lone man could be seen walking along with the ruins and broken fences of the village.

The brown-haired young man stops in a wide cleared area. He unsheathes his blade and begins to swipe it melancholy. The brown-haired young man suddenly notices something from beside him so he looks toward it.]

"Who's dis? And why are we seein' dis? WHERE'S MUH CAP'N?!" Garfiel shouted angrily.

As the blonde demi boy raged in confusion, the rest of the cast was looking at the screen with bewildered faces as well as the abrupt change in the scene.

But an old man was looking at the screen with a solemn expression as he tightly gripped his chair handle.

"Theresia…" The man whispered as his heart clenched in pain.

"It seems like he's training in a remote area…" Tivey speculated.

"Bro, what does this have to do with the Whale and Subaru?" Ricardo shook his head and looked at the screen with frustration.

"Why do I feel like I knoyw him?" Felix mused in suspicion.

A red-haired knight looked at the screen with a saddened gaze as he understood what he was about to see. "Ah… That looks familiar indeed." Reinhard's tone was a lot less vocal than needed as he looked down at the ground.

"This will be a bitch and a half…" Heinkel grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms and pressing himself harder against his seat to thrust his frustrations into it. "Fuck…"

[It was a lady with red scarlet hair, watching the sunrise with her back to him.

"I haven't seen you before. What is a woman doing here so early in the morning?" The young man asks gruffly.

The lady turns around with a surprised look in her bluebell eyes. She places a finger on her chin and hums in thought for a moment.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just come here." The lady smiled cheerfully and gestured for him to come close.]

"She looks reeeeally pretty," Emilia said softly and smiled at the sight of the two.

Crusch's eyes widened as she recognized who this person was immediately. The duchess slowly turned to her knight and servant with a frown.

The old man… was shedding tears of anguish at seeing his late wife. Clutching his handles close and shaking in his seat while his lips trembled to a weak smile that spelled his grief forward in the most clear way possible.

"Yes… She was indeed, beautiful." Wilhelm said as he took her sight with his own eyes. "I thank the powers behind this window of glass… They managed to bring my wife's memory for me to watch again. For that, I must curse at those powers at the same time…"

"Wilhelm-dono…." Crusch teared up herself at the sight of the old man she respected.

"Relivin' that moment again as if he didn't base his life around it…" Heinkel scoffed and looked away from his mother's memory. His hands were shaking in place as did his booted legs, tapping against the carpet and kicking up and down. "Fuck… I need a drink for this shit… I need somethin'... Fuck…"

[The man didn't give a hint of emotion as he stepped closer to the lady. As he stood closer beside her, it was revealed that she was sitting atop a hill of condensed flower patches that bloomed and shined under the sunrise.]

"Wait…" Julius slowly turned to the Sword Demon with wide eyes as the realization hit him.

"His wife liked flowers…" Otto whispered as he did the same thing and looked at the old man with sympathy filling his eyes.

["Hey…"

The man turned to the ecstatic lady. She turned to him with a soft smile.

"Do you like flowers?"

The man looked at the lady with a surprised expression.]

"Oh…" Emilia and Rem looked at the old man with sad shocked expressions.

"S-She seemed really nice…" Emilia whispered in a feeble attempt at comforting the anguished old man.

Wilhelm just watched the screen with his eyes watering.

"Rein…" Right in front of the old man, a golden-haired princess looked at her knight with worry and sympathy filling her scarlet eyes.

Her knight, the sword saint had been watching the screen with an expression of shock and horror as he recognized his own grandmother.

"Rein what's up with ya… Is it because she's the previous Sword Saint?" Felt tilted her head with concern filling her expression. "Isn't she your family?"

"She…" Reinhard's voice broke as he looked like he was struggling to breathe suddenly. Felt was surprised since she had never seen this side of him before.

"Ya never lose yer cool like this… What's up…?" Felt held his arm and demanded of the knight.

"I… It's severe… My fault… What I did…" Reinhard held his head in his hands and gave into Felt's touch for a moment.

"What the hell do you mean that it's yer fault…" Felt growled as she held on to him to stop his trembling.

The screen played over his attempt for a response, recognizing that inwardly he wasn't about to say anything to provoke more conversation.

[The young man's face suddenly disappears and another face fades into the scene. An old gruff face of a hardened man was placed instead of the innocent sharp-looking young man. Gray neatly folded hair replaced the wide spiky brown hair.

The only thing that presented a connection… Was the sharp blue eyes that Wilhelm carried. Those sharp eyes were honed on the flying figure of the beast of fog.]

"What?" Petra asked in surprise at the sudden change. "Was it a memory from the past? Like what the window showed with Rem-sama and Ram-sama's childhoods?"

"That was the old man?" Al asked in surprise at the screen's way of doing things. "No wonder the gal was so hot. That was her before she became a grandma!"

"That's my mother you fuckin' twat." Heinkel pushed Al's head to the floor with a fierce grip since the knight never got up after Priscila had pushed him in the last viewing. "Stay down there! I need a drink badly and yer just annoyin' enough for me to fuck with."

"Ow bro… I was giving a compliment!" Al whined through his helmet.

Priscilla rolled her eyes and kept watching the screen and the three Astreas on her own, analyzing everything she was seeing with rapid interest growing in her eyes.

"It was showing us a moment between him and his late wife… spirits…" Frederica whispered in sympathy and grief as she could only imagine the hurt and anger flowing in the man's heart.

"This ability is intrusive at best…" Ram glared at the window above. "This thing is capable of showing us the past at will…"

Roswaal hummed beside her, looking at the younger version of Wilhelm and Theresia with a certain fondness in his eyes.

"It's not as bad as you think it is, Ram… Not at all." The lord said with a nostalgic smile creeping across his make-up-covered face.

["Troops-"

"LET HIM HAVE IT!"

"AL HUMA!"

As Rem's magic attacks stabbed the underbelly of the beast, blood spattered across the grassy field.

Crusch's disturbed expression turned to one of surprise as she and the rest of the crippled army looked on at the lone boy and his trusty maid running towards the beast on their black ground dragon.

The boy smirked encouragingly at them.

Crusch smirked in acceptance and took a deep breath.

"Troops! Follow those two fools!"

And the army carried forth on their attack, emboldened by Natsuki Subaru's bravery.]

"So the battle begins." Anastasia mused while clapping excitedly.

Otto and Julius looked at the screen with glares towards the beast that had brought so much horror and anguish to the respectful duo of grandfather and grandson.

Emilia and Beatrice held on to the boy as they watched with worry for the boy.

"Go Cap'n!" Garfiel shouted with stars shining in his eyes as he watched the boy who had been suffering for so long finally take a stand and show his awesomeness by leading the army and fighting the monster of mist.

[From behind the rushing soldiers, many weird-looking structures were placed behind the army lines.

The weird-looking machines suddenly glowed brightly as the disks on top of them moved to point at the huge calamity in the air.]

"What are those?" Petra asked with stars in her eyes.

"They look super weird," Emilia whispered while staring at the screen with wondrous eyes.

Crusch and Anastasia smirked mischievously as they looked around to see the anticipation build up.

"Oh shit…" Otto widened his eyes in surprise as he recognized the weapons.

"What's the reaction fort?" Garfiel asked in confusion as he stared at the weird-looking disks.

[One by one, each of the weird glowing disks shot blue rays of magical energy… that aimed to hit the monster right in the face.

* BOOM!*

* BOOM!*

* BOOM!*

* BOOM!*

Very sizable explosions fired up the night sky against the Whale's colossal face making the monster close its eyes in annoyance.]

"Goddamn…" Al whistled at the brilliant lights.

"WOOOOOOOOAH!" Garfiel shouted while raising his fists in excitement at such weapons.

"How did you get such firepower, I suppose? These things are way too advanced, in fact." Beatrice looked astonished that technology had advanced enough to create such weapons.

Crusch smirked mischievously and zipped across her lips while shrugging. Smugly, she turned to look at the screen as Beatrice, Emilia, and Felt pouted in jealousy.

The duchess felt proud that she could tease the great spirit like this. After all, Beatrice had been teasing all of them since the start of these sessions.

"Hey now~! Those things were my proud donations after the Iron Fang…" Anastasia giggled from the side.

[Subaru and Rem looked on at the brilliant monster as it burned from the blows of the machinery.

"They're firing the night-banisher! Close your eyes!"

Subaru nodded to Rem's warning and did as he was told.]

"I'm closing my eyes too! You should do the same, Al-sama, Heinkel-sama!" Schult covered his face with his small hands, bringing many to chuckle at the boy's sweet innocence.

"Should we close our eyes too?" Tivey asked with curiosity. "Aren't we better equipped to watch from within this room?"

Ricardo shrugged and watched the screen excitedly.

[A small canon-like structure glowed brilliantly and shot a huge ball of light into the night sky right above the Whale.

The ball of light exploded and painted the starry black night sky with white shining rays of light that almost turned the world from night to another simple morning in a second. As if the sun just rose on command.]

"Whoa!" Otto was slack-jawed at the canon's ability.

"It's like a magical-made sun!" Felt marveled as the screen showed the small illuminating ball of light that lit up the entire biome before them.

"Cap'n's surely gonna use this to kick the bastard's ass!" Garfiel shouted while jumping on his seat in excitement.

Julius shook his head slightly but smirked softly at the excitement of the blonde man before him.

The knight had to admit… he felt the same sense of exhilaration.

["Whoa… it's just like everyone said! Incredible!" Subaru exclaimed while looking around at the suddenly lit-up plain fields.]

Emilia felt her heart flutter at the sight of an excited smiling Subaru.

"It's so good to see him happy for once… isn't it." Emilia was surprised to find Anastasia saying that with a smile on her face.

She looked around and noticed how Crusch, Rem, and Beatrice all had warm smiles as they all noticed how good it felt to see him so refreshed and not suffering or in pain.

Intimidated, Emilia's violet eyes narrowed beautifully and her grip on Subaru's crumbled hand tightened.

Had she been a cat, she would've hissed.

[The monster opened up its blinded eyes.

* SCREEEEEEEEEEEECCCHHHHH!*]

Ricardo and Mimi winced at the sound.

"Hey, sis! What's wrong, sis?!" Tivey shouted as he shook his trembling sister in worry.

"It's nothing, Tivey-san. Just let her be… the Whale's voice had a real trauma-inducing effect on all of us, especially ones who have superior hearing abilities such as demihumans."

Tivey nodded at Felix's explanation but kept his arms firmly around his sister.

"I didn't know the Whale left that effect on so many…" Rem looked at the shaken trio of mercenaries with pity.

"Everybody was in disbelief and high spirits for our victory to notice the heavy effects and burdens our fight had caused at the time." Crusch smiled and kept her hand firmly gripping Subaru's as her head filled up with unpleasant memories of her amnesiac self-interviewing whoever was left of her army and seeing their pains firsthand.

The duchess only leaned on the boy heavier because she genuinely liked the warmth and comfort he was providing as if easing the pain she had experienced while hearing about all those souls who had been scarred by the beast.

[As the monster's moans filled the air, the waves of sounds and echo coming from its mouth forced the very earth beneath its floating form to burst and fall over the oncoming army.

A cloud of dust settled between the ground army and the floating whale.]

"Oh shit!" Garfiel widened his eyes and smirked heatedly at the unexpected and exciting attack.

"He moved the ground with just the sounds coming from its mouth?!" Frederica asked in shock.

Reinhard's eyes widened and looked on at the soldiers getting hurt because of his inability to help or to be of use.

"Subaru…" Emilia's only comfort in watching the scene of the scary beast was the maid's smiling expression as she watched while hugging Subaru from the back.

[Subaru's dragon stopped along with the rest of the troops as they stared at the beast of fog while it wriggled through the air.

The White Whale was seen in all of its glory from the horn to the giant fins as well as its menacing gigantic mouth that emitted howls so loud they commanded nature's silence.

"That's… the White Whale?" Subaru asked as the monster continued howling over him.

Wilhelm's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the floating beast.]

"It's so big!" Petra exclaimed while holding her hands up to her mouth in shock and a rush of excitement. The little girl was so amazed and thankful for being able to see this legendary event play out before her. It was an honor for any peasant much less a none fighter like her.

That didn't mean she wasn't extremely worried for her hero.

Reinhard's hands trembled as his face was filled with displeasure. At the sight of the Whale, he understood…

"So many people got erased… because of my inability to find it… Subaru's gotten this hurt… because I couldn't stop the Whale outside of the capital." The Sword Saint mourned in fear for his fellow knights and fighters as soon as he took the truly massive shape of the Whale.

"... That thing…" Heinkel's tremble had worsened upon seeing the full extent to which the beast towered over everything beyond the illuminated plains. "This thing… It's undefeatable… It's impossible…" He ended up with his head in his hands as he began choking out incomprehensible words that put Schult and Al on edge.

"Are you okay, pal?" Al tried to put a hand on his shoulder but Priscilla had stopped him, sitting between the two and Schult. "Princess?"

Priscilla looked down at Heinkel with eyes full of pity and disgust, keeping her knight away from the Deputy Commander with a wave.

"Why?" Al asked with a bit of sadness in his heart as Priscilla observed Heinkel's rejection of the world around him.

"One cannot serve a purpose with a bent sword." Was all she gave as she continued to ignore Heinkel's breakdown to look at the window above her with interest

[Opening Theme 2: Paradisus-Paradoxum

The scene opens up to Subaru gazing below the Whale.

"It's so huge!"

"Are you scared?" Rem turned back to the boy with concern.

Subaru smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm scared… of the blindingly bright future where I'm praised for defeating it!"]

Emilia and Beatrice frowned a little and both looked at one another in understanding.

"He's hiding his terror, in fact." Beatrice leaned further into her contractor's chest, hoping to comfort him with her presence like always.

"He's always working hard to fight things that are impossible to face alone… That's why we need to help him… Such a troublesome knight." Emilia sighed and gave him a little smile.

Beside the two, Garfiel was nudging Otto excitedly. "Cap'n can see the future! He deserves all the praise!"

"... Yeah…" Otto replied with a little less enthusiasm, glaring at the White Whale with a stern expression.

"Otto-bro?" Garfiel looked at Otto with his neck moving to the side. "What's got ya so gloomy?"

"I just want to understand… Why did I throw him off that carriage…" Otto sighed and put a hand on his face to slowly rub the frustration from it.

"..." Garfiel's body language faltered and he frowned at his friend's anguish.

[Subaru smirked intensely and mischievously at the beast. "Now, let's run like hell!"

"Yes!"

Subaru and Rem ran on their ground dragon right beneath the monster's nose. The Whale's yellow disgusting eyes immediately focused in on the running pair.]

"Subaru…" Beatrice hugged her contractor tightly as her breath caught in her throat from fear and worry for her contractor.

"Go Subaru!" Petra cheered with her hands clenched up to her chest in a praying fashion.

"He truly is baiting it…" Julius couldn't help but lean forward with an excited smirk.

[The monster twisted mid-air toward the two with its mouth open.

"It's so fast!" Subaru gritted his teeth in panic as the monster looked like it was going to eat them in a second.

* ZAAAAPPP!*

* CRUNCH!*

A loud zipping sound filled the air and an invisible force of wind suddenly cut the whale's face, making it bleed and stagger back midair away from Rem and Subaru.

* ROOOOOAAAAAAR!*

As the monster howled in pain, Subaru turned back to see who was it that saved him.

"You greatly underestimate us, looking away so carelessly."

A proud armored Crusch spoke to the monster while holding a glowing green blade.

"The intangible sword with no regard for range… That's Crusch-sama's sword art, famous for its Hundred-Man Strike." Rem commented as everyone looked at the creature, howling in pain in the sky.]

"Whoa!" Otto allowed out of his mouth in amazement at the strike. "That's sword art. I feel like I'm witnessing more than just magic…"

"Mhm~ My lady's weapon is the greatest because Lady Crusch-sama is the greatest, nyan!" Felix nodded his head with a proud faithful smile.

"Thank you so much, Crusch-sama." Rem bowed deeply for the green-haired princess.

The duchess smiled softly at the maid and nodded her head. "I should be thanking you really, the Whale took you both as distractions while I just stole the hit."

"Thank you anyways, Crusch-sama." The half-elf gave the lady a bow of the head as well.

The noble lady nodded at Emilia's sincere thanks and turned to watch the show with her hand still tightly holding Subaru's.

"... I didn't take time to think about it being this dangerous for you…" The duchess whispered softly to the sleeping boy beside her with her eyes glued to the screen.

[The light cannons began shooting the beams of magic at the distracted Whale from all sides.

The Whale howled angrily and floated down towards Crusch's army.

The Duchess and the Whale seemed to be staring at one another as it hunkered down towards her.

"Disperse!" Crusch shouted while glaring at the Whale.

The duchess stood alone before the oncoming Whale as her entire army moved out of the way.]

"Ain't ya gonna move?!" Felt shouted as she felt tense by the stance Crusch had taken. "Yer insane!"

"No, she won't."

Felt looked back to find the old butler that had been in grief and mourning turn into a menacing monster with an aura of pure ill intent swarming around him as he glared at the screen.

The blonde girl was so terrified she leaned more on her guilt-ridden knight while keeping a distance from the old angry demon.

Ricardo smirked in pure excitement. "This is where things get badass."

Everyone looked closely at the screen in anticipation of the beastman's words.

[Wilhelm suddenly jumped off from his ground dragon and stood right before the Whale as it howled menacingly toward him and the duchess behind him.

The old man simply closed his eyes while holding his unsheathed blade.

"For fourteen years, I have dreamed of nothing but this day." The old man whispered.

The beast of fog burst toward the old man with its mouth opened wide.

Wilhelm opened his eyes and pointedly spoke to the oncoming beast.

"Fall here, and leave your corpse behind."

* HOWWWWWWLLLLLL!*]

"…"

Reinhard looked up for a moment to see the scene with his own eyes. Finding a greater relief in what was transpiring than blaming himself for the past.

"Fourteen years my ass…" Heinkel gripped the sides of his head harsher to the point Schult had enough of watching the older man and hung onto the drunkard's arm.

"Heinkel-sama! Stop beating yourself up like this!" Schult said with droplets clear in his eyes. Ones of care and compassion that forced Heinkel to stop his strong grip upon his head sides.

"Fuck this…" Heinkel breathed heavily and let his hands go, looking up at the window above them with an almost tearful glare. "Fuck this old man… Fuck this Whale…"

"..." Schult held on to him with a tight hug that couldn't be escaped.

[Wilhelm and the Whale stared one another down as the monster flew toward the old man, mouth opened.

The older man kept staring at it with a cold indifferent expression.]

Garfiel marveled at how cool and legendary this pose was.

Petra had her hands to her mouth in fear for the old man.

Emilia gazed softly at the man sitting in the theater after his words and frowned in pity at the pain he had to go through.

"Thank you for helping him, Subaru." The half-elf whispered lovingly to the boy who had worked so hard to bring all of this together.

[Scene change…

To the red-haired lady smiling at the young Wilhelm….

"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A MONSTER!"]

Reinhard flinched in guilt at the sheer anger in his grandfather's tone. At the words spoken. "Monster…" The knight had to grip his fist tightly to relieve some of the pressure on his heart. The shaking knight couldn't help but wince harder when a hand was put on his shoulder from behind.

"Don't blame yourself," Wilhelm whispered to his grandson. "Please, Reinhard…"

Reinhard's tear-ridden eyes widened in shock at the man's words.

As the grandson thought himself going mad from hearing the kind stern words, the grandfather's eyes closed momentarily as if lamenting on an early grieving… as if guilty. "Please…"

Reinhard's entire form stopped rigid as his breathing stopped. Eyes wide as saucers, Reinhard looked at his grandfather in bewilderment as Wilhelm whispered to him softly.

"Please… Don't ever blame yourself." Wilhelm finally opened his eyes and stared at the confused and astonished knight before him.

The old man looked guilt-ridden and shameful.

Reinhard could only slowly turn around and stare at the screen… his eyes never once blinked as the shock overtook him.

[The old man jumped right out of the way of the beast's oncoming open mouth spun his entire body in the air and pointed his blade toward the baited Whale.

Shouting, the man stabbed the Whale in the forehead, making it bounce on the ground and fly back into the sky from the pain.

* HHHOOOOWWWWWWWLLLL!*

Everyone watched in awe as the Whale spun and twisted its body in the air as Wilhelm stabbed and cut through its flesh all over from every angle he could burst the tip of his blade in.

The old man could be shown running along the Whale's entire length with his sword cutting through its flesh, leaving a long wound that was spurting blood so much that it looked like a wall of red had suddenly appeared on top of the Whale.

"How wonderfully cooperative of you, coming here to be slain!" The old man twirled his blade with rage in his eyes as he stabbed into the giant Goliath once more.

* HOWWWWWL!*

* SPURT!*

* SWISSHHHH!*

* CRUNCH!*

* HOOOOWWWWWWWL!*

"Ha!"

* CRUNCH!*

* HOWWWWL!*

Wilhelm stabbed, jumped, and stabbed again while shouting in anger.]

"It's exactly as the stories described, in fact… Subaru wasn't just exaggerating…" Beatrice muttered in astonishment as many cheered the old man's beating of the monster.

"What did Subaru-kun say, Beatrice-sama?" Rem asked while hugging the sleeping boy from behind.

"He described it as a beautiful dance in the sky… Of fog and steel… in fact." Beatrice leaned forward with her eyes wide to see every detail of the moment before her. "Betty's contractor didn't do it enough justice, in fact."

"Truly…" Emilia said breathlessly as she admired Wilhelm's work of the blade.

While many cheered around him, the old man couldn't help but give a guilty sigh of enjoyment, giving himself a moment to take pleasure in the howls of the beast as it got butchered.

"Damn…" Al whispered in shock as the entire theater cheered the old man on.

Garfiel, Petra, and Otto just stared at the screen with slack jaws. The blonde demihuman was so happy to see such badassery he began bumping his fists together repeatedly.

"Damn, he's so cool," Felt whispered as she hopped a little bit in her seat from the excitement.

Reinhard frowned a bit as he noticed how angry and upset his grandfather was. He settled his shock to the side, trying not to focus on what was said to him. But his grip never lessened on himself.

"Hope you're fuckin' enjoyin' this shit… You fuckin' bastard…" Heinkel seethed from the back, glaring at both the Whale and his father with the same harsh grip on his fists as his son in the front row.

["Oh crap!" Subaru shouted in panic as the old man fell off the whale.

The beast quickly maneuvered mid-air and sunk with its mouth opened toward him.]

"Oh no!" Emilia gasped in worry for the awesome swordsman she had been admiring just a moment ago.

She didn't notice how Crusch, Felix, and Rem smirked while watching the screen confidently.

"NO!" Schult was shouting right after Emilia, bringing attention that he existed behind everyone.

[As the Whale closed its mouth to swallow the older man mid-air, a red ground dragon dashed below them both and jumped high in the air, taking the old man on its back from between the Whale's massive teeth.

"Don't you look away from us, moron!" Ricardo shouted as he swiped his blade on the monster's teeth gum.

"Here we go!" Mimi shouted as she beside the monster on her riger.

"Everyone let's go!" Hetaro ordered from behind his sister as the rest of the magic users jumped beside the twins.

* BOOM!*

* CRUNCH!*

* SPURT!*

* BURST!*

The riger riders of the Iron Fan attacked the Whale's side with attacks of wind magic and stabbed it with lances and long swords.]

Tivey cheered for his clan along with Petra, Mimi, and Garfiel.

"They seem to have taken it by surprise, will Betty's Subaru get his part, I wonder?"

Emilia pinched the spirit's cheek while frowning at her sternly. "Beako! Many were giving it their all, and worked super hard! You need to appreciate them as well and not just Subaru!" As the half-elf pouted at the small girl, Beatrice immediately huffed and slapped her hand away.

Emilia shook her head with a small quirk of her lips as she continued watching the screen.

"Still though… to be able to garner all of these amazing warriors and knights' respect and admiration… What did you do here, Subaru?" Emilia asked in bewilderment as she remembered how the people spoke about him.

From the many rumors and fictionalized stories about a strong, courageous commoner that faced the Whale down and slammed it into the earth without any effort.

Far-fetched… but he had done something to make everyone believe such silly tales.

"You must've been so cool…" Emilia happily smiled and watched the screen with excitement and proud warmth for her knight.

["Troops, get back!" Crusch shouted as she prepared her glowing master sword.

She swiped her sword in the air and sent a wind beam shooting towards the Whale and cutting its mid-waist with a force so strong it forced the Whale to bleed and screech in pain.

"Fire at its flank!" The princess ordered, taking the opportunity that the monster was distracted.

"Al goa!" The magic users behind her released powerful balls of explosive magic towards the Whale.

* BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!*

The army cheered as the Whale was swallowed by a raging explosion of fire that had filled the sky.]

"Go lady Crusch! GO!" Felix cheered with a fist out.

"Were you not there as well?" Julius asked with a raised eyebrow.

The catboy extended his tongue out to the knight beside him on the row, as did any mature person, and continued to cheer for his lady.

Julius suffered to chuckle at the antics of a newly envigorated Felix.

"WHAAOOO!" Otto and Garfiel went crazy and laughed from the shock and excitement of the attack.

"It's so terrifying," Frederica whispered with wide eyes at the power of the magical weapons.

Anastasia whistled, impressed. "It really is worth every holy coin."

"I'm guessing the Whale's not gonna be able to fly anymore because of the attack." Ram snorted and shook her head in disappointment at how fast the battle had ended.

Priscilla's eyes narrowed as she noticed something. "Why isn't the beast using its special fog?"

The princess's question rang out across the theater, making all of the hopeful audience stop and making the ones who were in the battle fall rigid in their seats.

Otto's eyes widened as he noticed something on the screen.

"It's still floating in the air normally," he whispered in horror as he realized… the attack…

"The attack did nothing to hurt it, infact." Beatrice's eyes narrowed as she looked at Daphnee's creature with disgust. "Of course, it wouldn't be so easily killed, I suppose…"

["Looks like that was pretty effective! I think we can pull this off!" Subaru commented enthusiastically as he smirked at the raging fire cloud.

"No, in truth, we had hoped that attack would ground it."

Subaru's eyes narrowed at Rem's words. He looked up at the sky as the fire started dissipating and the Whale's tail could be seen in the sky.

"It's not losing altitude at all… " Subaru commented while glaring at the monster.

"We used all of our best attacks right from the get-go." Ricardo said from beside the boy. "If that didn't make it fall, that means it's a lot tougher than we thought."

"The magic attacks didn't work?" Subaru inquired in a panic.

"Its white hair scatters mana and disperses force. My magic wasn't as effective as it appeared, either." Rem lamented in alarm.

"Fire!" Crusch ordered and moved out of the way as the light canons shot their explosive beams once again.

* BOOM!*

* BOOM!*

* HOWWWWWLLLL!*

"Time for the second campaign. Hack away at its reserve power!"

Ricardo smirked at Subaru and shot off on his riger along with his squad.

The Iron Fang ran along the Whale's fin and reached its side. The beast of fog could only howl in pain as the fang hacked and slashed at its side.]

"Damn, that thin' is tougher than I thought," Garfiel growled as he realized the true strength of the White Whale.

Reinhard's eyes narrowed at the beast, his hands clenching in righteous anger for leaving the people of his kingdom to fight such a powerful demon and not helping them.

"Just fuckin' run…" Heinkel muttered seethingly from the back, unable to look a the White Whale for longer than a few seconds.

["Acting as a decoy now would just be a hindrance. So all we can do is watch until it makes a move?" Subaru growled as he watched from the ground.]

"I understand his frustration. But there is really nothing he can do at the moment." Julius muttered through gritted teeth as the beast's power began making his blood boil. Why wasn't he with them?

Reinhard grimaced as he remembered what Subaru had to face to fight this monster. He couldn't believe that his friend returned to face the monster once again even if he needed a lot of help to get back on his feet.

He couldn't help but think about the way Subaru sees himself as worthless and expendable and yet fighting monsters much more powerful than him just to keep a few villagers alive.

The Sword Saint never felt this incompetent in his life, and that was saying something.

"I can't say I don't understand how he feels…" Tivey sighed from the side of Julius. "Being a tactician is the same as being someone who sits on the sidelines to watch because they can't contribute much…"

"Shut up!" Mimi said as she held a finger on her twin's lip.

["I feel just as irritated as you do." Subaru looked beside him to find Felix looking at the whale on a yellow ground dragon.

"I don't even have any attacks, so all I can do is watch, anyway."]

Crusch's eyes narrowed a little bit at how similar her knight viewed himself to Subaru. She couldn't help the sense of worry from overwhelming her once again.

"Ferris…" She knew that her knight could be suffering from the same self-depreciation as Subaru, they both had the same loyalty issues and obsessive love for the people dear to them… "I'll keep an eye on this… i swear I will change things for you."

[Subaru leaned in with a smirk toward the cat boy. "But with your healing specialty, you're our lifeline. Just fulfill that role for us! We're counting on you!"

Felix looked at Subaru with a bewildered expression. "You've really changed in just one day, huh? What happened?"

"If I had to say, I've become a slightly better man." The nasty-eyed boy winked with a smile.]

Many eyes were glaring at Subaru's cheerful smile.

"What an absurd joke…" Heinkel scoffed and gave Subaru a glare for throwing away his deaths in one statement.

The duchess nodded her head sternly, agreeing with the nasty-eyed boy's effort to cheer her knight.

The catboy looked down with his ears flat. "I'm sorry for doubting him… " The healer whispered in guilt and sadness as he flashbacked to all of the horrors Subaru had endured to make this change in himself happen.

"You should listen to Subaru-sama's words more. Ferris." Crusch spoke sternly from her spot in the front row.

The healer looked at his lady in confusion and bewilderment.

["Wilhelm-sama is…"

Subaru and Felix instantly looked where Rem pointed.

Up above, the old man was swiping his sword as it dug deep into the colossal Whale and ran across its body as a wall of red sputtered behind him.

"SEEEEAAAHAHHHHHH!"

* HOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLL!*

The old man encouraged himself by screaming over the Whale's pained screeching and howling, impressing all of the troops below the two.]

"Oi! Tha's somethin' mine amazin' selfs would do!" Garfiel laughed and cracked his knuckles together in excitement.

[The old man quickly unstuck his sword from the big open wound he inflicted on the monster and jumped high in the air with the blade drawn behind his back.

* CRUNCHH!*

With elegance, the old man stabbed the sword into the Whale's black pupil, making it bleed from the eye as he jumped down to the ground.

* SCREEEEEECH!*]

"Ewwww!" Petra grimaced in disgust at the sight.

"That's so gross!" Schult shrieked as well trying not to puke from behind Petra.

Beatrice smiled in satisfaction as she heard the monster's pained shrieking. "That's what it gets, for hurting Betty's Subaru, in fact!"

[Wilhelm's leg was met by Ricardo's side-turned blade as the dog man forced the butler to boost up toward the monster.

"Upsy-daisy!" The beastman growled as he sent the old swordsman flying.

Wilhelm shot like a bullet and screamed battle hardy as he stabbed his sword into the area around the Whale's eye.

He quickly cut the entire area in a circle shape and forced a fountain of blood to burst around the Whale's eyeball.

* SSPPRRRRRRRTTTT!*

Subaru could only watch in awe as the yellow gigantic eyeball fell from the Whale's socket and landed right beside his dragon.

Wilhelm followed the eyeball and stabbed his sword into it, causing blood to fly all around him.

Subaru watched with a hung jaw.

The old man held the beast's eye by his sword tip and moved it in the air. Smirking as if taunting it, he spoke confidently.

"Miserable."]

"It seems less frightening when it's being easily attacked by an old guard like that…" Otto seemed unsure when it came to trusting the scene.

"Something's not right, I agree with your assessment." Julius found himself muttering under his breath as well. "I notice that Wilhelm-sama also got overly excited to understand the particularities of the current fight."

"Forgive me," Wilhelm bowed his head without shame for the excitement displayed on the screen. "I was lost in my opponent's cries for help."

"Who would even come to help the White Whale…?" Frederica asked from his side with Petra sitting between them.

Many of those who were in the battle winced in union and looked away from their partners in the theater due to their remembrance.

"I say watch what happens… It's a doozy." Ricardo's head lowered as he rubbed his muscled neck nervously.

"That doesn't fill me with confidence…" Otto looked concerned at the faces he noticed from Crusch and the mercenaries who were at the battle.

"The tales only said the White Whale was vanquished in the expedition before the Sloth… So no other mabeast will come to assist…" Tivey muttered under his breath, not having heard the story from his sister due to her being too traumatized by it. "Mimi… Are you still banning me from talking about this? I want to know badly what happens…"

Mimi zipped her lips and kept her hopping in place to force her brother to watch.

"I wish Hetaro didn't follow your request to ban any mention of this battle during dinner time." Tivey sighed and looked up at the window.

[Wilhelm's smirk fell as soon as he noticed something.

"What is that?"

"Something's odd..."

"What's going on?"

The other soldiers pointed and whispered amongst themselves as they all noticed the giant monster's change.

"The color of its eye… " Subaru watched slack-jawed as the Whale's remaining yellow eye suddenly turned blood red with a black pupil at the center.

* SCREEEEEEEEEEECCCCHHHHHHHHH!*

Subaru and Rem glared with narrowed eyes as the Whale forced weird alien-like sounds out of its throat, filling the air with unnatural sound waves as spurts and holes opened up all across its massive body.

The Whale's eye formed blood red as the holes in its body filled up with moving scales.

Its mouth opened and let out a roar of anger.

* ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!*]

"What's going on?!" Schult held on to Heinkel, shivering from fear.

"It began attacking after being provoked by the peasants." Priscilla crossed her legs and leaned back in her seat. "The beast is capable of strategy it seems."

"It wore them out…" Heinkel's gruff voice was lowered to one of shock at the dirtiness of the tactic.

[Subaru, Rem, the Iron Fang, and the rest of the army had to place their hands on their ears to protect them from the striking sound waves as the monster angrily shouted.

Subaru suddenly opened his eyes in horror as the monster's holes extended further.

* TSSHHHHHHHHHHH!*

The alien shrieks filled the air as the beast of fog lived up to its name and covered the entire Lufus plain fields with blank white mist.

The mist and fog were being gushed out of the Whale's many holes.]

Many in the audience had their eyes wide in shock at the scene.

"So that's how it makes the fog," Otto growled, glaring at the screen.

"How could the Witch create such a monster? So powerful and dangerous." Julius gritted his teeth as he remembered when the entire world filled up with mist and fog while he was blocking a road instead of helping his fellow fighters end the beast.

[Scene change…

"Have you grown to like flowers?"

"No, I hate them."

The screen shows the younger Wilhelm swiping his sword in the same ruined village.

Watching him while sitting on a rock to the side was a pouting red-haired lady with blue belle eyes.

"Why do you wield that sword?" She asked curiously.

"Because this is all I have." Younger Wilhelm swiped with a hardened stance.

The young man faded to place the present-day Wilhelm in his place, as the scene changed.

The old man glared fiercely at the fog-filled sky as the Whale emitted the alien shrieks around him.]

"She looked so beautiful…" Felt had to comment under her breath, wondering if she could see a little bit of Reinhard within the woman's similarly striking blue eyes. "Rein?"

The knight couldn't look at the woman supposed to be his grandmother, nor was he allowed to enjoy the first meeting between her and his grandfather due to him closing his eyes and looking away.

"Rein…" Felt reached out to her knight with a concerned expression. Not knowing what to do Reinhard moved away from her silently.

"Give him time, Felt-sama…" Petra whispered from above the blonde candidate.

Most of the people in the theater frowned in sympathy for the old couple.

"They looked so made for one another…" Frederica whispered as her heart clenched in sadness at the sweet couple.

Wilhelm grounded his teeth in anger at the way he treated his beloved in his early days, wishing he could give her nothing but happiness and love filled moments instead of wasting his days with her being a petty brainless fool. "I wish my wounds could open a thousand times for one more moment like that with you…"

Heinkel was the only one left with a different expression from the rest of the people in the room. He held a look of contempt towards his mother's younger version that worried the butler beside him.

"Heinkel-sama… She was your mother, wasn't she? She seems like a good person…"

"It's not about her, kiddo… Just don't get involved." Heinkel shoved the boy away and grunted in his seat, unable to see the look of heartbreak on Schult's small face.

["It disappeared?" Subaru asked as he struggled to stay put as his ears were assaulted by the Whale's sounds.

"We're going to move! Hang on!" Rem shouted worriedly.

As Patrasche ran through the fog, Subaru and Rem could only hear the voices of their comrades around them.

"Troops! Retreat!" Crusch ordered.

"Got it! Retreat! Re-"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"GRAAAHHHHHH!"

As the sounds of many screams and cries of his allies and soldiers filled the foggy air, Subaru could only look around blindly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

As he was preoccupied with everyone screaming, Rem managed to make Patrasche dive aside.

Narrowly missed a fog attack that had broken off a piece of the earth that they were standing on.

"That's what magic fog looks like?" Subaru asked while looking at the area of the ground that had been hit. "If that had hit us…"]

"Oh my Od…" Frederica held Petra close as she watched the horrific scene.

"How's he not as freaked out as we are right now?!" Felt was at the edge of her seat with anticipation and nervousness.

"Shit…" Garfiel fell silent with a serious look on his face for the soldiers on the screen. "They're all dyin'?"

"They are being forgotten, I suppose… That's the fog of the White Whale…" Beatrice's words were dark and solemn with their finality. Making the room more tense.

"The tragedy is that we can't factually say who fell… Just the number due to a system of counting we devised before the battle…" Felix sighed and held his dress harshly. "None were remembered…"

Crusch watched with a tortured expression. The voices of every man who had suffered under her commands haunted her psyche. The sight before her blasted her with unpleasant memories of every soldier condemning her in a dark void. It was easy to forget these nightmares when she was amnesiac or when she was busy learning about this boy's painful life in her world. But seeing the battle from another perspective reminded her of the things she needed to be guilty of. Of her incompetence and ignorance at forgetting such a sin, she had committed to hundreds of men.

Emilia looked worried for her knight and saddened for the people who were getting hurt in the fog.

"Damn beast…" Julius gritted his teeth in fury as he heard the screams of the proud men around his friend.

Reinhard winced and clenched his fists tightly as the screams and shrieks of innocent men filled the theater. "I'm so sorry." He whispered as the screams around Subaru intensified.

Ricardo and Mimi shuddered in place while looking away as they too had been in the same place as Subaru.

Rem looked at the screen with pity as she had been too busy saving Subaru at the time to think about the other men around them.

[* ZIIIIPPPPP!*

* ZAAAAAAPPPP!*

Crusch swiped her glowing sword in a different direction, forcing the mist to part away just a bit for her soldiers to be seen around here.

"How many men did we lose?" Crusch asked sternly.

"Twelve from my unit. We're three short now." A soldier answered from the side.

"Who was lost?" Crusch asked sounding a bit soft.

The soldier gritted his teeth. "I don't know."

"Fourteen from mine. One deserted." Another soldier answered.

"I'm missing six. I'm sorry." Another said with his voice filled with shame.

Subaru's eyes widened.

"No one was riding on the opposite side of me."

"Who is Rem?"

"Rem… who is that?"

"You've forgotten Rem, too?

That's it. People hit by the White Whale's fog vanish from existence, along with all memories of them.

"The Fog of Elimination… " Subaru gritted his teeth in anger.]

"What a disgusting creature," Priscilla growled out with a snarl of disgust. "Ending its presence in mine world is but a duty."

"One where you rejected… Remember princess?" Al was the only one brave enough between the three males sitting around her to remind her.

Priscilla narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "T'was mine service to the world that I pushed things this far ahead. Do not toy with the foils of a world that serves mineself, Aldebaran."

"That's convenient…" Al shut his mouth once her glare intensified on him. "Sorry."

"This situation is looking really dire now. I can't see any way out." Anastasia caressed her scarf in frustration as she analyzed the situation of the soldiers.

Ram gritted her teeth in worry for her sister on the screen.

"What will you do to get out of this, I wonder?" Beatrice asked any of the two girls who were present with the boy during the fight in impatience and worry for her contractor.

They stayed silent.

["You're back." Crusch sounded out from his side.

He looked beside him to find Wilhelm with the Iron Fang walking out of the mist and toward the area Crusch's sword had cleared up.

"Forgive my haste," Wilhelm said.

"What are the damages?" Ricardo asked.

"A total of twenty-one lost. It appears one whole platoon was wiped out. It won't even be possible to properly protect the honor of those lost."

An old soldier from behind Crusch growled out. "Forgive me."

Wilhelm looked down with a scowl.

"Why do you wield the sword?"

The scene changes to younger Wilhelm watching the flower patch beside the red-haired lady.

"Because I couldn't think of any other way to protect." He answered her question.

The scene changes back to present Wilhelm, gripping the sheath of his blade tight while frowning to the ground.]

"Remember her when a problem comes up because of your fuckin' pathetic love for that sword." Heinkel spat under his breath as he heard Theresia's voice with Wilhelm.

"Deputy Commander!" Julius glared back at the drunk man with little to no respect in his eyes for the title exiting his mouth. "Please refrain from commenting like that again! Your situation is not done with your murder attempt on Subaru!"

"What's it to ya, Juukilius? Eh?" Heinkel refused to give up his glare and aimed it a hundredfold at the knight. "Why don't ya fuck off to your books or somethin'?"

"Bringing the responsibility of this beast's victims on Wilhelm-sama after he gave away so much to fight it for us is all the reason I need to involve myself with your words!" Julius stood in his seat, but Garfiel's hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing something he might regret.

"I never took ya as someone so hotheaded, Julius-kun," Anastasia muttered under her breath, but she looked at the despaired faces of the other soldiers and then at her knight's righteous expression. "Ah… That's just yer guilt… I see…"

"Gave away what? For whom?" Heinkel bellowed a laugh that was trapped within the bottom of his depth until he had to hold on to the chair in front of him for balance.

The laughter forced Wilhelm and Reinhard to look at the man with haunted expressions as many grew uncomfortable.

"THE ONLY THING THIS FUCKER GAVE A SHIT ABOUT WAS HIS OWN FUCKIN' ASS! NOT THE SOLDIERS AROUND HIM, NOT THE ONES WHO HAD TO FACE THE THING BEFORE HIM, AND FOR FUCKIN' SAKE STOP TRYIN' TO MAKE THIS ALL 'BOUT HER!"

Heinkel's breath stopped him from earning more grimaces and shocked faces, he pointed a finger at Wilhelm and due to the contrast of positioning, Reinhard as well.

"The monster who killed your wife is right in front of you, old man." Heinkel's words earned shocked gazes towards Reinhard.

The knight didn't respond with anything except for a look of acceptance.

"Heinkel…" Wilhelm tried to intercept the man's words but the damage had already been done.

"DON'T FUCKIN' BLAME THE WHITE WHALE WHEN IT WAS YOU WHO WANTED TO PUSH ME AGAINST IT!" Heinkel glared with hatred towards the man supposed to be his father. "YOUR FUCKIN' SHAME FOR HAVIN' ME LED HER THERE! FORCED HER HAND TO GET KILLED BY THIS MONSTER BEHIND YOU!"

"That's enough!" Emilia glared at Heinkel after his words struck both Wilhelm and Reinhard into silent disturbed expressions. "I don't know what this is about, but this is a dire situation all of our friends are stuck in… Please be mindful of your accusations and all of the hurtful things you say about them."

"Fuck off… Half-elf…" Heinkel told Emilia, glaring right back at the stern girl as she opposed him.

"If you think I can be intimidated because of my race then please realize that you're not the fir—" Emilia was cut off by a scoff.

"I don't give two shits about yer race or where yer from… Just fuck off…" Heinkel said, making Emilia blink in surprise.

"Dog." Priscilla's commanding voice filled the theater, earning a grimace of attention from the fiery man standing at the attention of everyone in the room.

Heinkel looked back at the cross-legged Baroness, toying with her fan as she observed the screen above.

"Sit. You're much better silent for mine divine self." Priscilla didn't intend to repeat her words so she allowed her tone to be a factual one without any complications towards what she wanted.

Al looked nervously at the two, "Just sit down bro, it's not worth this… Whatever it is you're going through right now."

Heinkel's glare dropped, as did his hands. He adopted an obedient grimace and sat down beside Schult without much of a hassle.

"She's got 'em whipped at least…" Felt sighed as the room began to calm with the tension being lifted from Heinkel but back to what was happening on the screen. "Rein…" She looked at her knight, who was still looking at his father with a struck expression.

"I would like a minute, my lady…" Reinhard spoke to her for the first time. "I do not feel all that well…" His voice was empty, mechanic, and soulless.

"..." Felt looked at him with worry in her eyes clear.

Meanwhile, Emilia sat back down, giving Wilhelm a look of sympathy along with Rem and Crusch.

The old man simply allowed his head to hang in shame after everything had been settled due to Priscilla's interference.

["Now that it's in the fog, we don't know where it will attack from. Staying close together is the worst thing we can do." Crusch boomed out to her army.

"Disperse imme-"

* SHRIEEEEEEEEEECK!*

"What is that?!" The duchess shouted in alarm as she looked around.

The sounds of alien screams surrounded all of them as the mist and fog intensified, making everyone blind to the source of the beastly howls.

Soldiers began to cover up their ears as the sounds tore through their earbuds and caused a microcosm to ingrain their heads and consciousness.

"Is that the White Whale?" Subaru gritted his teeth as he held one ear closed.

"AAAAAHHHHHHAHHHHHH!"

Subaru looked behind him to find a soldier falling off the back of a ground dragon and screaming while scratching his face in pain.

"Hey! What's wrong?!"

Subaru shouted as he dropped off and ran towards the man.

"Hey!"

Subaru pulled the man's hands off his face to find that he had scratched his entire face with his fingers while screaming.]

"Wh-What's going on?!" Emilia asked, her eyes wide in horror.

"It seems to be an effect from the Whale." Julius slammed his fist on the chair in anger.

"It's the fog," Rem whispered while hugging her hero to ease her tension and anger at the disgusting ways of the beast.

"I wanna punch it in the face!" Garfiel growled like an animal and glared at the monster's underhanded tactics.

"They will be easy pickings now. How did you get out of this?" Anastasia glared hotly, scratching her scarf harder and faster to ease her frustration.

"What a scary monster." Petra looked quite frightened at the troop's situation.

"Hey… Sister…!" Tivey held onto Mimi as she trembled on Ricardo's lap. "What's goin' on?!"

"It's the voices, kid…" Ricardo sighed and kept his hand on the back of the little girl. "Even without being beneath the damn thing, we remember what it was like in there."

Tivey's eyes widened at the explanation. "That's why Mimi's so scared of the Whale?"

Ricardo had to nod his head for the shocked tactician.

It wasn't just Mimi who was dealing with this trauma, as Tivey noticed faint struggling from Felix and Rem as well. He noticed their hands trembling and a slight quiver in their lip that was similar to his sister's.

"This is troubling…" Rem struggled to say as she held on to Subaru tighter. "I thought I would be able to be past this when I woke up here…"

"Truly…" Felix sighed and kept a hand on his other wrist to stop it.

Tivey held on to his sister and continued to look around the room until he noticed something particular.

"What's wrong with him?" Tivey nudged Julius and pointed at the person sitting in the row directly infront of them.

Emilia's eyes followed where Tivey had pointed and Julius was turning.

"Otto-kun?" She forced people to turn towards the merchant with her worried tone.

"Otto-bro? Oi?" Garfiel cringed when more people began noticing what he was trying to fix.

Before all of them, Otto's face was changed into one that was disturbing to anyone who saw it. Even Crusch had to lean back slightly out of shock that a person could look like that.

"Hey… What's the matter?!" Julius said upon immediate recognition of the merchant's face.

"S… top… talking…" The merchant told them without a hint of emotion given through his voice. "Stop talking…"

"What?" Beatrice looked at the boy with a hint of fear in her eyes as she squinted with concern.

"Stop talking… Leave me alone…" Otto's eyes were glued to the screen, the redness within them clearly unnatural to the others if it weren't for an even more disturbing fact.

"His eyes… they are about to pop out of his face… Someone help him!" Petra cried out once she took a good look at the length to which Otto had widened his lids.

"Holy crap bro, there's blood coming outta his ears!" Al shouted as Felix moved immediately to walk to where Otto was sitting.

Everyone seemed horrified by the red trail that dripped across his neck to taint his emerald clothing.

"Even this ain't bringing nothin' outta him… He just keeps repeating the same thing… What the fuck is wrong with ya, no one's even talkin'!" Felt stood in her seat with alarm, glaring at the merchant who kept speaking over them.

"Stop talking… Stop talking…" Otto's words seemed more gargled as the blood flow kept steadily gushing out of his ears.

Felix quickly settled to kneel in front of the merchant and try to heal his ears but Otto started fidgeting back and forth with his eyes looking at the window even though Felix's face was right in front of him.

"I need someoyne to come help me, nyan!" Felix struggled to keep a hold of Otto even with Garfiel holding his shoulders in place.

Julius was about to jump into action before a shadow spawned beside Felix and Otto after a moment of hesitation from the knight.

"Let me be the one to do it, Ferris-sama." Frederica sternly demanded without any chances for the healer to object. "Otto-sama, please bear with us for a moment."

"... He's not listening to you…" Felix said firmly as he held the merchant's head in his hands. "He can't hear any of us."

"Then who…" Frederica asked with her heart clenched as Felix forced Otto to lie down.

"Please kneel on the floor and keep his head on your lap for a moment, hold on to his arms. Garfiel-kun, was it? Please come hold on to his legs."

"This better fuckin' work," Garfiel grumbled, disliking Felix but trusting the healer for the sake of Otto.

Frederica placed herself on the floor and swiftly held on to Otto's clenched fists to keep him stable.

"What's wrong with him?!" Petra asked from the back row, unable to see the merchant anymore due to Felix sitting over him and holding both hands to Otto's ears.

"I… He's being overwhelmed by something…" Felix shouted over the panicking crowd behind him.

"Stop talking…"

"What could possibly attack Otto-kun in here?!" Emilia looked at the merchant with increasing compassion and concern.

"Same person he's talking to…" Julius overcame the panic that flooded the room and had eyes turn to him as he stared at Otto with a struck expression.

"I assume that struck look ya got isn't just a theory…" Anastasia sighed and seemed to demand an answer with her eyes. "Come on, spit it out… what's wrong with the fella?" She seemed agitated and even disliked what was happening to her contemporary rival throughout the previous viewings.

Julius made them all look upwards where Otto's dilated pupils were focused.

"... What?" Emilia whispered with confusion as people tried to understand what the knight had.

[Subaru looked around in horror as many soldiers fell off their dragons while screaming and others began purposely hurting themselves by scratching their arms and faces and even banging their heads into the dirt.

Even Rem was shaking while holding her head.

"Hey! Rem!" Subaru shouted in worry.

"That voice is the fog directly attacking our minds…It's similar to mana sickness but much worse…" Rem struggled to speak as her mind was assaulted by the beast's screams.

"Some people can resist it, and some can't? I don't feel anything… " Subaru uttered as he looked around at the fallen army.

Rem shook her head. "It's okay. It will calm down now."]

"The White Whale?!" Felix's words made everyone look at the merchant in shock. "Is that what you meant, Julius? He's somehow talking to the White Whale?!"

"Otto-bro…" Garfiel grits his teeth.

"Listen to what he's rambling… understand…" Julius ordered everyone as he glared at Otto on the floor.

Frederica and the rest looked down at his expression, she held onto his hands as tightly as she could, feeling every tremor that passed his clenched muscles.

"No… don't kill any of them… please… stop talking… stop talking… I don't want to hear this… I didn't even try to be near… stop talking…"

"What the fuck…" Heinkel had to comment as he looked at the group and heard Otto speak.

"How… Is he hearing the White Whale speak from within the room… It's not even speaking on the window… How does he understand it?" Petra couldn't help but fall in her seat as she stuttered questions no one had the answers to.

"We're tryna figure that out…" Anastasia hummed softly, glaring at Otto and listening more to what he was saying.

The Emilia camp all looked at the merchant with increasing worry in their eyes, yet confusion as to what they must do to help.

["HHHHAAAAHHHHAAAA!"

"Hey! Enough! Stop it!" Subaru quickly ran over to the soldier and held his hands to keep him from hurting himself anymore.

A struggling Crusch shouted out to her knight. "Ferris! Have the unaffected help them!"

Subaru struggled to keep the man from hurting himself. "They say hurting people is harder on an army than killing them, but what monster does that?"

"Move!" Felix ordered as he held his hands to the man's face and activated his healing magic on him.

The soldier seemed to have calmed down as Ferris continued to heal his face.

I guess Felix can remove the effects of the fog's contamination,]

"It's not working here!" Felix desperately cried as he put his all into his magic. "Even though I was allowed my full water abilities, it's worthless… This attack is coming through Otto-kun's soul."

The merchant struggled in the grips of the blonde twins as Felix straddled his midsection to keep him from moving further.

"But… the bleeding I suppose…" Beatrice pointed with a question to the healer.

"It's not from any magic or injury… It's his body pushing itself…" Felix widened his eyes in realization.

"Ya look like ya got something. Spill." Felt commanded from her seat, putting attention from all the worries on Felix.

"This… It could be…" Felix struggled to speak but another answered for him.

"It's his D~iii~vine Protection." Roswaal's voice took center stage for attention as he looked at Otto with a small smile.

"Explain 'r I'mma strip that fuckin' smug smile outta yer face and have ya choke on 't!" Garfiel seethed with rage while holding the kicking feet of his friends in place.

"Otto said something to me in confidence that I thought you'd remember, Garfiel-kun. He used it to help subdue your rage for a while after all~."

Garfiel's eyes widened at the sudden understanding he had come to.

"Brother?" Frederica looked at him with hope in her eyes. "Can you explain?"

"Garfiel-kun? Please?" Emilia looked at him pleadingly from her place behind them.

"It's uh…" Garfiel swallowed with an aghast expression. "Otto-bro's Divine Protection of Soul Language... Allows 'em t' understand animals and shit… He only showed us that he could talk t' insects and dragons…"

Otto kept rambling and struggling harder as Julius, Felix and now Garfiel seemed more alarmed than ever.

"What yer sayin' is…" Felt widened her eyes as she and everyone else understood what was being told to them by the disturbed blonde.

"Otto-kun's condition isn't because of the Whale's abilities… It's his own Divine Protection allowing him to come into direct contact with the White Whale?!" Rem shouted with disbelief coloring her face, having Felix nod his head.

"It's impossible," Tivey said firmly, looking at them in denial.

"It explains the bleeding which Ferri-chan cannot stop, nya!" Felix glared at him, still putting his all to heal Otto.

Otto's nose began to leak blood as the merchant screamed new phrases.

"STOP STOP STOP STOOOOOP!"

Everyone looked baffled as Felix, and the demihuman siblings tried to do their best and keep the boy in place.

Emilia's eyes wandered above and found a more shocking sight. "Why… Why are you playing while Otto-kun is being harmed like this?" Her desperate voice made everyone look upon instinct.

[Subaru looked around at the broken and preoccupied army.

But there's not enough time. If it comes for us now, we're finished.

Subaru clenched his jacket tightly and breathed deeply.

"Crusch-san!" He shouted for the focused duchess.

"I'll buy us time. Have everyone regroup!"

"What?" Crusch asked in confusion but the boy was already climbing Patrasche's saddle.]

"What's this damn fool doing?!" Julius clenched his fist and stepped forward to look between Subaru and Otto.

"That's a fair question. What could Natsuki-kun do?" Anastasia mused critically. "With Otto-kun being affected by the Whale through the screen… I don't suppose we will be able to focus much without understanding what he is hearing…"

Emilia stepped back from Otto to look at her sleeping knight with a worried look. "Subaru was looking at everyone while they were dealing with the torture from the White Whale… Is he planning on helping more of them?"

"You're absolutely not correct, Emilia-sama!" Ram spoke from above them, giving her a glare toward the window. "He's going to be the stupid man he's always been! And take my sister with him!" She slammed a hand on the armrest beside her as Emilia and the others widened their eyes.

"PLEASE! STOOOOOP!" Otto screamed in terror as his blood kept flowing.

["Rem, sorry, but I need you to come with me to the most dangerous place here!"

The maid smiled sincerely. "Of course. Anywhere."]

"Rem!" Ram gave an expression that was akin to someone who had bit their lip and tried to keep it hidden. "Damnit… Sissy…" She breathed in and out, giving her sister a small glare for her self-sacrificing nature.

"What's he doing?" Petra asked while leaning closer to watch, her heart pounding in anticipation for her hero. "W-Would this help Otto-sama?"

"If tis is the fuckin' Whale who's got my bro like this…" Garfiel struggled against the increasingly volatile Otto. "Then I swear Cap'n better have done it in good…"

["Wait, Natsuki Subaru!" Crusch shouted as the rest of the soldiers looked at the boy.

"Anyone who can hear me, cover your ears! In this fog… Anyone who can't, stay where you are!" Subaru held on to Rem as Patrasche ran into the fog.]

"STOP! STOP! STOP! DON'T DO IT NATSUKI-SAN! PLEASE JUST DIE! JUST DIE SO IT CAN STOP TALKING!" Otto's shrieking increased to the point people looked at him with their hearts breaking because of what he was saying.

"That's the same…" Tivey whispered to them as they watched Otto and Subaru, both entering dire situations simultaneously. "It's the same exact thing he said during that loop… The one where we called him a coward…"

The tiny demihuman's words earned looks of realization on the Emilia camp's faces before it translated to the rest of the theater.

[He closed his eyes and shouted from the bottom of his heart.

"I'll Return by Death to-" And the world stopped immediately.

As black mist covered his entire being…

A figure appeared behind Subaru… purple tainted lips of a woman appeared….

It spoke something into his ear…

Softly…

Silently…

"I'm back!" Subaru shouted as the world around him moved normally once again.

"Well, Rem? Do I smell like the witch?" Subaru asked with a smirk.

The maid focused on the road with a worried look. "Yes! You reek!"

"That's what I wanted, but did you have to say it that way?!"]

Everyone barring Priscilla, Al, and Roswaal looked at the screen in horror and absolute fear.

"That's the fuckin' witch… Isn't it… It's her…" Heinkel muttered while cowering in his chair at the sight, unable to even swallow his own spit from the freeze implemented on his nerves.

"Sh-She's getting closer and closer to manifesting every time he challenges her authority," Julius said in a heavily frightened tone.

Reinhard gripped his handles tightly and narrowed his eyes, wanting to protect his friend from the hideous monsters that were surrounding him and everyone he loved.

Emilia looked at the sight with her breath taken away, never returning as she held a hand to her chest out of fright.

Rem and Crusch glared at the shape of the shadow lady, frustrated that they weren't aware of what the boy was doing right in front of them.

"What a stupid plan, in fact," Beatrice uttered for a second time, heartbroken for how much Subaru was willing to go to save everyone. "Try your best to keep him alive, I suppose!" Beatrice would shout at Felix as she dropped from Subaru's lap to run where they were.

"I'm trying, nya!" Felix said with tears in his eyes as Otto's sanity continued to break before him. "Please stop struggling!"

[As the boy and the maid disappeared away from them, Crusch turned to her injured battered army.

"Those who can move, get the injured at the foot of the tree! We'll have to use a bit of force." The duchess growled with gritted teeth.

The scene changes back to Subaru.

"With the ulgarm, it was effective enough to cover the whole forest. What will it do this time? Honestly, it's an unknown quantity… "

"No, it's working." Rem quickly urged the dragon to move away from an oncoming blast of fog magic.

"It's coming… It's coming! Here it comes!"

Subaru shouted as the fog infront of them dissipated to reveal the open mouth of the wounded Whale.

"Ul Huma!" Rem quickly forced an ice pillar to burst out of the earth and stabbed the whale's snout from the side to make it fly away from them.

"How?!" Subaru shouted and looked above him.

Same scene from a previous loop. With a giant disgusting eye glaring inches away from him.

This time… it was blood red.]

Emilia and Crusch glared heatedly at the monster. The duchess for not knowing the boy had faced it so close and the half-elf for seeing this creature frightening her knight.

Many in the room were on the edge of their seats for Subaru's situation, but they had their eyes drifting toward Otto constantly.

Until the screen glitched.

"What?" Emilia asked as the frozen eye of the White Whale moved on the window before them. She stepped back, away from Otto to see more clearly what the window was showing them.

"No way…" Felt spoke breathlessly as everyone looked up with a sweating alarm.

"Oi… Ya fuckin' bastard…" Garfiel kept holding Otto's legs but his seething glare was turned upward as he understood what everyone else had in that moment. "Yer fuckin' watchin' us, ain't ya…"

The eye of the White Whale seemed to pause the whole world around Subaru, but it moved to look directly at the people observing his story without any hesitation to the rules such a move would break. Gazing into the theater room from the confines of the past they were watching.

"STOOOOP! I WON'T DO IT! STOP TALKING TO ME!" Otto cried out, holding onto Frederica's hands from the pain.

Emilia and the others looked at him with shocked realization and then up at the eye glaring directly toward them.

"It's torturing him!" Petra shouted from her seat, glaring at the White Whale while her body trembled with fear.

"What the hell…" Al stood up in order to prepare for anything that may happen. "Weren't we supposed to be safe in here?!"

"Heinkel-sama?! Are you okay?!" Schult screamed from beside him, making Al and Priscilla look at their fallen camp member. The boy was holding on to an increasingly panicking Heinkel who chose to collapse into a cowardly position as soon as the White Whale gazed at him.

"Seems like he didn't expect a fated reunion with the beast…" Priscilla mused with a look of disappointment, earning a small glance from her knight.

"Heinkel-sama and the White Whale are connected somehow?" Al asked but he received no answer from his lady who stood with attention to push Schult behind her dress.

"Dog!" Priscilla called out above Otto's desperate screaming and everyone's panic, glaring at the ceiling above her. "Bring a solution to this immediately!" She commanded as the theater began filling with fog from all sides.

"Where the fuck are we gonna go?!" Ricardo held on to the twins and looked at his lady. "We should move rooms, boss."

Anastasia nodded her head, glaring at the White Whale with equal ferocity as any of the other candidates in the room.

But before anyone could move, Felix cried from beside them. "He's getting worse!"

They watched as the minister's eyes began bleeding trails of red instead of salt water, his struggles continued to the point the demihuman siblings had trouble holding on to his limbs.

"I WON'T DO IT! I WON'T DO IT!" Otto screamed and the others tried to understand what he was saying to the White Whale.

"Is it telling him to do something?" Emilia asked with sympathy and hardness in her eyes, ready for anything the Whale might throw at them. "Otto-kun…"

"Listen!" Crusch shushed everyone so she could hear more from the suffering minister.

"NOTHING WILL EVER MAKE ME TRY TO KILL HIM AGAIN!" Otto shouted and sobbed, trying to free his head from Felix's strong grip.

"Kill?" Anastasia muttered under her breath.

"Again?" Felt's eyes widen in realization.