13 (part 2 )
"He's talking about Subaru-kun… The White Whale is…" Rem looked at Emilia and Beatrice with an astonished look.
"It wants Otto to kill Subaru…" Reinhard concluded, having already stood up in front of Felt with his full attention on the beast threatening them through the window. His words incited gasps out of Emilia and Petra as everyone looked at Otto with increasing worry.
"JUST LET HIM DIE IN PEACE WITHOUT ME DOING YOUR DIRTY WOOOOOOOOORK!" Otto screamed once more, his body and struggled to show that the torture was never-ending from the beast above them as it tried to force its will on the minister's mind.
"Hold strong!" Julius moved to Otto's side, helping Garfiel and Frederica hold him down. He looked down at the bleeding face beneath all of them and glared with determination. "Don't give in to it! Not this time!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"
The screen glitched again, and Otto's face and body relaxed within the same moment of its darkness overcoming the White Whale.
Everyone was standing up at this point, with eyes moving back and forth between the fallen minister and the dark window above them.
"What just happened?" Felix whispered as he kept his healing spell on the unmoving head of Otto.
"That monster managed to negate this prison's defenses…" Julius muttered as he pulled away, seeing that there was no need to hold on to an unconscious man. "He's out cold."
Emilia stepped closer to them with a worried expression.
"He'll be okay… I can feel that he's just exhausted at the moment, nya…" Felix informed her with a small reassuring smile, keeping his healing hands over Otto's core this time.
"I-Is it over?" Petra looked at Otto with relief, mirroring what Emilia and Beatrice did, and sighed. "I don't want it to attack him again…"
"We're not gonna be sure of that though," Al said from above. "That whole moment was not supposed to happen. How can the White Whale attack us IN this room FROM the past?"
As people nodded with him, some glared up at the ceiling of the room where they would always hear the Warden's voice for explanations.
"He doesn't want to explain this?" Crusch said bitterly, glaring at the imagined man who trapped them there.
Priscilla also glared at the ceiling with annoyance more than hatred. "Disobedient peasant." She snarks before huffing and sitting in her seat, crossing her leg over the other. She had one more thing to say to them as she opened one of her eyes to look at the dark screen, aiming her voice loud for everyone below her to hear.
"You should commend that commoner's efforts. 'Tis was a great service he's done indeed."
"We know…" Emilia said as others around her nodded, all of them eyeing Otto with sympathy and gratitude. "He stopped the White Whale from forcing to hurt Subaru… All on his own…"
Rem cut her off to say what Emilia and many others felt for the boy at that moment. "Otto-kun is amazing…"
"I gotta apologize for callin' 'em a coward later… Remind me, Rein." Felt rubbed the back of her head with an uncomfortable expression that earned a small smile and a nod from the relieved knight.
Felix, Garfiel, and Julius all help each other to put the merchant in his seat, freshly cleaned from the blood after Felix is sure of his healing process being done.
"If you don't mind me sitting beside him on the other seat, Garf?" Frederica asked Garfiel, surprising her brother but not being unwelcomed to do so.
"Uh, sure, Nee-sama." Garfiel shrugged and took his seat beside Otto.
Frederica took a seat on the other side, hoping to be a comforting presence for the minister like she had been every time he would deal with a hangover in the morning.
"Why the hell did it choose him of all people?" Tivey asked flabbergasted at the whole situation. "That guy's not some weakling outside of the prison, is he?"
Rem looked around for an answer since she doesn't remember actually meeting Otto herself in her lifetime.
"Otto-kun is physically weaker but… He always seemed to be the most well put together mentally." Emilia sat back down in her seat after making sure Otto was settled and comfortable with the others. "He's still a huuuuge worker and a big help!"
"The White Whale could only reach him due to the Divine Protection," Reinhard said with a narrow-eyed expression. "It seems like the beast wanted to harm Subaru specifically… And it chooses the one person that can understand it…"
"Does that explain why he pushed him off the carriage in the previous loop? Because I still think that was very out of character for the guy who's been rushin' to make us believe in Subaru this whole time." Tivey was the one to bring up what many were avoiding for so long.
"... Didn't he say similar things…" Emilia looked unsure at her camp members.
"His creepy expressions looked the same too, I suppose." Beatrice noted for them as well.
"Then how come he didn't try to kill Subaru this time, even though the White Whale tortured him in the same manner?" Crusch asked with a look of astonishment aimed at the sleeping minister.
"Firstly, we do not know that for sure," Anastasia sighed from behind her, rubbing her scarf. "The Whale wasn't torturin' Otto-kun to kill Natsuki-kun during the failed loop… Or it may have recognized Subaru-kun as a threat and forced Otto-kun to choose between who lives and who dies."
"Considering that Subaru was a stranger in the failed loop…" Julius had a small grin on his face as his lady continued from the side.
"Mhm, right you are, Julius-kun… I suppose Otto-kun is the type t'never betray his friends." Anastasia earned some smiles from the Emilia camp members who knew Otto well.
"How can we apologize to him…?" Petra's voice was hoarse, ridden with guilt as she gazed at Otto.
"I'm sure our words and honest thoughts are enough," Frederica gave Emilia and the others a confident nod. "Otto-sama doesn't need much for us to know he's appreciated. So we must make it known once he wakes up."
Emilia clapped excitedly and nodded alongside Beatrice and Petra. Rem looked like she wanted to be involved also.
"This is going to make him feel so much better about his guilt!" Emilia all but squealed in place from how giddy she felt for Otto's sake. "I'm sooo happy that he's so strong and goodhearted!"
Priscilla snorted and rolled her eyes, having her job in making them acknowledge Otto's effort fulfilled easily by people who want to forget about the sad past quicker than beggars kneeling to pick up coins from the street.
"What are we gonna do know?" Schult asked his lady from the side, looking at the window above them. "I'm really glad that Otto-sama person managed to hold off something so scary~ but… This isn't the end of the battle… right?"
Priscilla and Al gave Schult particular glances.
"Schult-kun… Do you wanna watch the rest of the battle even after everything that happened?" Al asked while Priscilla looked down at her butler curiously.
"I…" Schult puffed his cheeks even though he was blushing. "I really want to see it defeated after what it did…"
Priscilla grinned at the boy with approval and surprise. "... Hmmm… Well put." She patted his head pleasantly and looked upwards as the screen lit the whole room once again.
Many who weren't around Schult tensed in their seats.
"Brace for anything that might happen to him." Ram ordered Frederica and Garfiel from her seat above the others. Gaining nods from the two as they looked at the sleeping Otto with nervous expressions.
"Hey Rein…" As everyone braced for whatever might come next, not knowing if the White Whale would be able to reach into the theater again or not, Felt took to talk with her knight. "You feeling better?"
The knight raised an eyebrow. "I suppose…" He sighed, not wanting to look at either of his family members at the moment.
"I was askin' about the Whale… I know ya can pick whatever Divine Protection bullshit ya wanna have…" Felt eyed him curiously, earning a look of understanding.
"Ah… You're saying that I might've had the Soul Language that caused Otto-kun to clash with the beast?" Reinhard chuckled while shaking his head. "That's an amazing observation, my lady. Thank you for worrying about me."
"I ain't worrying about ya," Felt scoffed. "I'm worried about the Whale who will try to harm ya without knowin' what it's up against." She teased with a grin, earning a chuckle from the knight.
"I suppose… But no, my lady. That Divine Protection isn't one I paid particular attention to… So I currently do not possess it." Reinhard shook his head.
"So, the guy was really the only one able to take that thing on by himself…" Felt sighed in her seat and crossed her arms. "Remind me to apologize to 'em. Yeah?"
"I heard you the first time, my lady," Reinhard smirked as Felt leaned back into her seat with a begrudging scoff.
Above them, with the fog disappearing from the room which was noticed by Roswaal who had been observing everything with a keen eye the whole time, the screen played the same scene of the Whale's eye glaring at Subaru.
[Subaru's face contorted in panic.
"Arrrrghhhhhhhaaaaa!" A flying Wilhelm shouted as he dropped from the sky and right ontop of the Whale, stabbing into it roughly.]
"Well done Wilhelm-sama!" Petra cheered for the old man.
"Yes!" Garfiel had to cock his fist into the air in celebration as well.
"He saved him!" Schult was holding his fists in the air with a happy smile.
The feeling of relief at seeing the White Whale hurt, away from both Subaru and Otto was one that put a smile on everyone's faces even Roswaal.
["Sis! Together!" Hetaro and Mimi jumped high behind the old man on their rigers and shot a burst of wind magic at the Whale's wounded side.]
"Yeah! Yea! We are za best!" Mimi shouted in cheer, wishing she could have her brother Hetaro cheering as well for saving their big bro.
["Captain!" Mimi shouted.
"I got this!"
The beastman quickly maneuvered his riger to walk alongside the Whale's side. He stabbed his blade into its body and kept it in as he runs alongside it. Cutting and slashing every hole on the Whale's body that was emitting the white fog.]
"So handsome~" Ricardo whistled, making Anastasia snort and giggle beside him.
[The White Whale began thrusting its side against the earth to get rid of the pesky humans that were attacking it.
"Rem!" Subaru ordered in distress.
The maid silently forced Patrasche to run right underneath the Whale's nose.
The bleeding calamity instantly honed in on the boy's smell and sharply glared at him.]
"Come on, I suppose!" Beatrice sat on the edge of Subaru's thighs and started biting her nails from fear of this situation.
["Looking away from me? How unfriendly. And after I've spent the past fourteen years utterly mad for you!" Wilhelm commented as he stabbed his sword into the Whale and jumped right on top of it.
He unsheathed another blade and stood beside Ricardo on the head of the monster.
"This is startin' to get fun! It's more sturdy than expected, but not all that strong!" The beastman commented.
"No, it's putting up less of a fight than it should." Wilhelm shouted as he stood beside Ricardo's riger on the Whale. "I find it hard to believe this mabeast got the better of my wife a Master Swordsman. The fact that we got the jump on it, and that it didn't use its fog to divide our forces to start with-"
* HOOOOWWWWWWWWWWL!*
The Whale suddenly turned its body upwards and began flying towards the sky, making both Ricardo and Wilhelm drop from ontop of it.
"I'll take one more thing before I leave!" Wilhelm shouted and cut off one of the Whale's fins and making it drop to the ground.
A red ground dragon quickly caught the old man on its back and ran with his master into the fog.]
"Nice going old man!" Mimi giggled in cheer as many clapped for the old man's tactics in the fight. Watching the battle with amazement and wonder.
Though Wilhelm and Crusch locked eyes for a moment with firm nods in understanding. Both knew what was to come after this and since Otto was asleep, no one would be there to catch what the old man had said about the White Whale.
["Wilhelm-san!" Subaru shouted as he ran alongside him.
"Be alert! We don't know where it'll come from!" The old man shouted making everyone anxious.
Subaru, Wilhelm, Ricardo, and the twins all stopped in a cleared patch and looked around into the surrounding thick fog.
"What's up? It ain't gonna follow us?" Ricardo asked.
Silence…
"It comes!" Wilhelm shouted and looked up suddenly.
Subaru quickly moved away with Rem and Patrasche and shouted to the others. "The fog's coming down!"
* SSSSSPLAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHH!"
The magical fog attack hit the spot where the group had once stood and forced an explosion that knocked all of them off their dragons and rigers.]
"That was close! I never knew how scary it was for you guys to fight it in the fog like this, nyan!" Felix said as he sat on the edge of his seat for them.
"Subaru Natsuki did us a miracle by getting away from where we were," Crusch admitted begrudgingly while frowning at the scene.
"He's a moron!" Beatrice huffed in anger, making Emilia nod her head in agreement while looking at the screen worriedly.
"Subaru-kun truly did his best to help the troops against the Whale." Rem somberly smiled at the boy.
Garfiel whooped proudly at his captain's awesome plan. He truly began showing them how cool he was and the blonde tiger was all in for it.
"He looks competent amongst you." Julius mused with a sincere smile on his face as he watched Subaru's heroic.
[Wilhelm quickly picked up his blade and struggled to stand on his knees.
He slowly looked down…
To find a pretty yellow flower standing alone right beside him.
"Run!" Subaru shouted in anguish.]
"What the hell?!" Heinkel shouted over the scene, watching with widened eyes and a shock that was clear on him for anyone who would be able to see the man's body tremble in place. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING LOOKING A FLOWER WHILE A BEAST LIKE THAT IS ABOVE YOU?! FUCKIN' RUUUUUN!"
Reinhard and Wilhelm looked at Heinkel with shock coloring their faces more than the scene above them.
[But he was too late.
All Wilhelm could do… Was watch as the White Whale opened its mouth and moved to swallow him.]
"No!" Petra shouted in despair while Garfiel and Otto cursed loudly.
The ones who were present during the fight winced as they remembered how heartbreaking it was to learn that they lost their best warrior.
Reinhard had a worried wince but he relaxed it after remembering that his grandfather was more than safe after this moment in the future, or else he wouldn't have been in this room with them.
["Hey, have you grown to like flowers?"
The scene changes abruptly to young Wilhelm standing at the flower patch with the lady.
"What's wrong?" She asked as she noticed his hardened expression.
"There was talk of conferral, and I became a knight."
The lady looked surprised for a moment but smiled softly. "Well, congratulations! So you're one step closer to your dream."
"My dream?"
"You wield a sword so you can protect, right? A knight is someone who protects another."]
"That's a really noble motivation, Wilhelm-dono," Crusch said while watching the scene with an expression of respect and grief for the old man's wife.
Wilhelm's gaze fell on his grandson and felt the presence of the tense son he'd ignored for most of the viewing behind him.
"I couldn't protect everyone, Crusch-sama…" Wilhelm's words earned him glances from the two men, one was curious and hopeful, and the other was intrigued but hateful.
[The scene changes to a burning city. Dead bodies of knights and demihumans were all around.
Wilhelm is shown on the ground, wounded and bleeding with his sword by his side.
He was surrounded by monstrous demihumans.
"I don't want… to die…" Wilhelm uttered pathetically as a monster picked up his axe and was about to kill Wilhelm.]
"This seems familiar…" Emilia whispered as she watched with her head moving closer to Subaru's shoulder.
"Those are scenes from the war…" Julius looked down in respect for the fallen knights around Wilhelm.
Heinkel grits his teeth at the sight, not expecting his own father to look like this. "After hearin' so much about how I should live up to your deeds during this fuckin' war… You looked like this in the end…"
"To be honest pal… You don't look much different every time you face a fight you can't win…" Al earned a glare from Heinkel as he commented casually.
[Wilhelm just gritted his teeth tiredly.
Waited for his death.
*WHOOOSH! *
In an instant, a figure stood ontop of him.
A figure that had cut down every single monster in the area in a matter of seconds.
"Huh?" Wilhelm looked up in astonishment.
Theresia van Astrea, stood ontop of him wearing her armor and wielding her legendary sword in hand.
The Swordswoman glared at the second pack of demihumans and shot towards them.
Cutting and slashing. Dodging arrows and kicking the shooters' heads off their shoulders.
The army of monsters never stood a chance as she turned them to corpses beneath her boots.]
"It's truly a wonder how powerful she is." Anastasia marveled at the ease Theresia butchered her enemies.
"The reason humans won the war 70 years ago was because of the Sword Saint." Julius morbidly stated as he clenched his hilt.
Reinhard winced and shook his head while Heinkel looked at his mother with something akin to awe and shame at the same time.
"She was the best out of all of us…" He gripped his armrests and closed his eyes shut. Schult's worried expression covered him from the side, making the man increasingly agitated beyond belief. "Fuck… I really need that drink…"
["It's humiliating!" Wilhelm shouted as Theresia blocked his sword strike with her fingers.]
"Huh?" Heinkel's eyes opened suddenly, looking at the screen with confusion coloring him.
"What?" Reinhard whispered under his breath as he too gave a curious gaze at the scene.
["I see." She simply said to the angry man.
"Were you laughing at me?! Answer me, Theresia! No… Master Swordsman Theresia van Astrea!" Wilhelm growled and moved to slash at her with his sword once again.
Theresia instantly moved away and plucked his sword out of his hand. Holding it, she plunged the helm of his blade right into his lungs, forcing him to drop down on the grassy field.
"...Ghhk!"]
"Why fight?" Emilia held a hand to her mouth with heartbreak at the couple's troubling time.
Wilhelm shook his head, not wishing to explain to anyone how he wished to remove that destiny that crushed Theresia's tender soul from the world.
"It seems private for us to intrude and watch…" Anastasia muttered under her breath, looking for any relevant information she could keep track of from such a vital memory. "I'm not a gal without shame but this is curious to see. Ain't it?"
"I do not mind," Wilhelm said to the surprise of many. "I want my love for her to be seen by you."
Even though he was talking loudly which made it seem the words were aimed at whoever was hearing him in the room, Felix and Crusch both eyed the two men at the beginning and end of the theater, the ones truly concerned by Wilhelm's words.
"I think we already know the love you have for 'er." Heinkel snorted which earned a shake of the head from Wilhelm.
"I loved her more than that… To the point I wanted to stop her from making a mistake…" Wilhelm looked away from the miserable man above him and to his grandson. "It was my own fault for pushing her away…"
Reinhard and Heinkel both looked apprehensive at the old man, not wanting to move their gazes to look at one another yet.
"Bullshit." Heinkel spat and looked upwards instead of at Reinhard.
["I won't come here again," Theresia said softly as she looked down at him with a sad frown.
She walked away from him as he struggled to stand up.
"With a face like that, you shouldn't be holding a sword!" Wilhelm shouted.
"I'm a Master Swordsman. I didn't understand the reason why, but I do now." The lady stopped walking and spoke softly.
"The… reason?"
"Wielding a sword to protect someone… That sounds nice to me, too." The lady began walking away.]
"Fuck off…" Heinkel pleaded and glared at the ground, unable to look at the window anymore, much less at Reinhard. "Fuck off… Protecting someone is what put me in this mess in the first place…"
Schult noticed tears in the man's eyes that crushed his heart. "Heinkel-sama…"
["Wait, Theresia! I'll take your sword from you! I don't care about the role bestowed upon the Master Swordsman! Wielding a sword… The beauty of a steel blade… Don't look down on them, Master Swordsman!" Wilhelm shouted as Theresia walked away.
The scene changes to present-day Wilhelm, looking at the flower that was plucked out of the earth as the Whale's mouth grazed the chunks of dirt he was standing on.
And as Subaru watched with wide horrified eyes…
The Whale closed its jaw and swallowed Wilhelm van Astrea.
To the shock of everyone watching…. The Whale was loving it.]
Many had their hands hung at the heartbreaking scene.
"NO!" Garfiel shouted in shock while everyone else stayed silent behind him.
Wilhelm lowered his head with a tortured expression, his failure hitting him more than he had expected.
["We've got trouble!" Ricardo shouted.
But everyone could only watch as the Whale moved to swallow Subaru in the same manner it had done to the old butler.
Before the Whale could reach Subaru, Ricardo pushed the boy out of the way.]
Emilia couldn't help but breathe in relief while watching the screen with worried eyes. It didn't help that she had completely squeezed his hand in her shock.
Crusch winced and crushed the boy's hand as well, wishing that she had been there to better protect him.
"Idiot, he didn't need to be a distraction." Felt gritted her teeth in fear and frustration.
[Subaru opened his eyes as he was falling away to see Ricardo's body cut open with his riger torn in half because of the Whale's sharp teeth.]
"OOO! Sorry for your back man." Al winced for the beastman.
Ricardo laughed out loud. "No need ta worry' it was jus' a scratch!" He boasted loudly.
Anastasia shook her head and sighed in relief that both, her subordinate and Subaru were alright.
"Wolfie NO!" Petra shed tears for the fluffy wolf that had died.
[The boy rolled around the floor until Rem caught him on her lap.
Subaru looked at the patch of blood where Ricardo and his sliced riger now lay. He noticed a giant shadow looming over him.
He looked up.
His eyes widened in terror.
He started shaking…
"You're kidding me…"
* SCRIIEEEEECHH!*
* HOOOOOWWWWWWLL!*
* RAAAAOOOOORRR!*
Up above him, illuminated by the night-vanquisher through the fog,
Three floating White Whales could be seen.
Title screen:
Wilhelm van Astrea]
"HUH?!" Garfiel shouted and slumped into his chair from shock and horror.
"H-How?! This isn't what Subaru told me when he spoke about the Whale." Emilia, now full-on panicking in horror and despair for her knight's situation, sat on the edge of her seat while looking at the screen with a slack-jawed expression.
"This shouldn't be possible, I suppose! Why are there three now?!" Beatrice demanded of the troops that were present in the battle for an explanation.
"I didn't see the other two corpses when I arrived after the subjugation." Julius lamented now holding an expression of nervousness and stern worry.
"This has really become a shit show." Al tsked and shook his head at his other-worldly brother's stupidity. He wouldn't have to deal with all of this had he just ran.
"You're fuckin' jokin'... There are three Whales? It can't be…" Heinkel whispered as he stared at the screen in fright and disbelief. "What… What the hell… Is all of this shit…?!" Heinkel's voice broke into a pathetic sob as he held the armrests of his seat and stared at the three beasts above Subaru with tears still fresh in his eyes.
"Hmm, how did you beat all of them then? Did you drive the other two away?" Tivey demanded, feeling a little insulted that none of the men of the Iron Fang shared the news about the other two Whales.
"Big bro can't get a break can he?!" Felt shouted in fury at the pure amount of dragonshit being shed on Subaru's rescue attempt.
"How did you win this?" Frederica shuddered and thanked her lords that she wasn't present during the battle. And feeling a little on edge for the poor fighters on the screen.
"Now this is truly interesting." Priscilla smirked and finally felt her excitement rising as she noticed how dire and dangerous the situation had become. Downright impossible even.
"This is too much to handle. Barusu had his arms full." Ram shook her head and glared at the screen with a glint of sympathy showing for the poor boy that will eat without teeth for the next few weeks after she stomps his head to the ground for all the shit he put her sister through.
A red-haired young man was slack-jawed at the sight before him. His body trembled in shock and his eyes dilated.
"…" He whispered as his face twisted in horror. "Please…"
"There are three of these monsters…" Petra hugged herself and hid her face from the shuddering thought.
"This isn't enough to make you falter, Subaru-kun?" Roswaal muttered under his breath with a serious glare on his face. "Every life you have counts but death is always an ending to stupidity… Facing this… did you ever think about that?"
The magic user couldn't help but narrow his eyes with increasing curiosity, keeping them only on Subaru alone.
[(A scene that was exclusive to the Manga and one of the best in ReZero's history has been added to the script here. Enjoy and special thanks to thegreatsage on discord for telling me about it.)
He looked upward with a despair overwhelming all emotion on his face. Subaru's knees folded beneath him.
"Well." A voice spoke mockingly in his ear, making Subaru look to the ground.
Above Subaru was a distorted version of himself, grinning sinisterly with nothing but malice aimed at him by his copycat.
"Isn't it about time we give up on this run? On this loop?" The second version chuckled into Subaru's ear.]
"What is this…" Emilia asked, breathless at the terrifying sight before her. "W-Why is it talking to him like that?"
Everybody seemed to be taken aback by the sight of the second Subaru and the things he asked.
[He looked at the grass sea with a frozen expression as the counterpart leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes.]
"The fuck?! Stay away!" Garfiel growled protectively, knowing that it was useless but it helped him get past his confusion at the scene.
["There's no way you can do it." It told Subaru as he seemed to have darkness overtake his face from the misery of the situation overcoming him.]
"Oh…" Anastasia and Crusch widen their eyes in immediate understanding.
"So you deal with this too…" Crusch whispered under her breath, not even blinking as she watched the terrifying shadow speak.
"Don't talk to him like that, I suppose…" Beatrice spoke weakly, having a saddened expression for his contractor as he was towered over by the shadow.
["You had so much trouble with only one of them… Now there's three…"]
"Just listen to yourself, kid," Heinkel muttered under his breath, removing his trembling expression and glaring at Subaru, also showing he understood what the others had. "Even you have no chance to win this."
"This is his self-doubt?" Schult asked Priscilla from the side, giving her a look of fear that shouldn't be on a kid's face. Perhaps that's why she patted him on the head while focusing on the window. "It's cruel… The things he says to himself…"
[Subaru's self-doubt laughed and waved at the three whales, standing over him haughtily.]
"At a time where he is most desperate?! How sadistic can this self-doubt be?" Julius had a glare of worry itched on his charming face to the point he ignored the hair strands he used to wipe back.
"Shit…" Garfiel looked at his captain with a pleading expression. "Come on, man… Don't let it win…"
[Something held his sleeve and Subaru's eyes turned to the person beside him other than his illusion.
Rem was looking up at the sight of the three beasts flying above with something akin to worry showing clearly and genuinely.
Rem…]
The one being called looked at the window, her lips trembled at the emotion he expressed when he said her name. "Yes, Subaru-kun…"
[Subaru's lips pursed and he looked a the ground once more.
Don't make that face…]
Her eyes widened, alongside Emilia and Beatrice who expressed shock immediately.
Ram began looking at Subaru with a warmer gaze, removing her pity from within her gaze as she gave him a small smile in understanding.
[He stood up with a furious expression shining across the looks of fear and panic from the army around him.
Your smiling face is so much better!
Before he could move, the other version of him held his shoulder and leaned closer to his ear with a grin.
"Give it up."]
"Listen to it," Heinkel uttered desperately. "It's the only thing that will keep ya alive, kid…"
Priscilla's eyes narrowed at the window, showing complete interest and focus on Subaru.
["You don't have what it takes." The illusion spoke to Subaru with a sinister smile that crawled evil down his skin.]
"Is this what you always saw?" Emilia wondered desperately as she looked between the sleeping Subaru beside her and the one being trapped by his doubts. "Every time? Whenever you were unsure or desperate?"
"In every loop too?" Petra had the same expression as Emilia and the others, showing complete horror at the thought that this was a common affair with Subaru no matter the situation and he's been dealing with it alone.
[Until Subaru's fist collided with the other version of himself in the face, turning the second Subaru of darkness into nothing more than a cloud of black smoke that dispersed around Subaru.
He glared up with a determined glare towards the three beasts and began to move.]
"..." Priscilla's gaze never faltered as she changed her target to the sleeping Subaru inside the theater below her. "Well done." was all she gave him in approval as she grinned for the first time in a long while. "Disappointing displays take a long time to offset mine annoyance but… 'Tis was a great service."
"That's a breath I thought I might never lose from my lungs," Anastasia sighed with a troubled look clear on her face.
While some cocked their fists in victory like Garfiel and Schult, most were just looking at the sleeping Subaru with sympathetic gazes.
"I'm proud of you, Subaru-kun… My hero…" Rem hugged him from behind, feeling increasingly lucky to be beside him in that moment when she needed him the most.
Emilia and Beatrice looked at Subaru with increasing admiration, not saying anything but taking the sight of him being there with them as a sign of comfort.
"He managed… Though it is distasteful that we do not know if this will happen to him again…" Julius sighed and waved his hair back once again due to his frustrations.
"That scene was heavy… Felt like I was watchin' somethin' that held me in place against my will." Tivey commented with a relieved hand falling on his chest. "I hated that…"
"Can't help but agree with ya, nyan~..." Felix muttered in his seat, still fiddling with the bloody skirt with a dispassionate expression. "That Subaru-kuyn cannot be dealing with these a lot… Or else he ain't human in my opinion."
"We hope not… Ferris…" Wilhelm gave the healer a supportive hand on the shoulder and a firm nod, eyeing Subaru with a little more respect in his eyes than usual. "He's done splendidly."
"Punchin' the shit outta it ain't 'splendid'," Felt snorted from the front of the old man. "It's fuckin' satisfyin'."
Crusch had to close her eyes after that scene had finished, keeping her grip on Subaru's hand to bring herself some sense of calm. That scene had rattled her more than she realized.
"I know that this is how you see him dealing with his doubts constantly…" Frederica whispered softly to the boy sleeping beside her, his clothes bloodied. "Otto-sama… You'd be proud of him once I tell you all about it…" She smiled at the innocent face Otto was making in his sleep.
["Captain?" Mimi whispered as she looked at Ricardo.
Crusch looked horrified at what lay above her.
The entire army looked at the three beasts with terror in their eyes.
Some, if not most, dropped their weapons entirely.
"How?" A soldier whispered.
"It's all over." Another soldier hugged himself to stop his shaken body.
As Ricardo bled on the ground. And Wilhelm van Astrea was swallowed whole.
The soldiers just gave up and looked at the three monsters with fear and terror.]
"Everyone's lost their morale to fight." Julius gritted his teeth in anger for not being present during these hard times.
"No one in their right mind would still be able to face such a sight and keep a steady face. I would've run away immediately if I was them." Al snorted making some of the viewers worried.
Heinkel glared at the floor. "You say that but judge me?" He muttered inching closer to punching the man in his mind. "Go fuck yerself…"
Al didn't hear what was being said as he had focus on the screen's dire situation.
[Until]
"But… They've gotta help the old man!" Garfiel growled and scratched his handles in frustration and worry for the soldiers and his captain.
Emilia held her hands together and prayed for the poor fighters who were trapped under three White Whales.
None of them noticed how some of their friends were smiling warmly at the screen.
"Whatcha smilin' 'bout? You don't seem to care that you were unconscious when the army's hope was shattered." Anastasia mused to her beastman companion as she felt her worry return full force when the three whales showed up. She truly did not envy these poor fools. But she was still worried about her own men.
Ricardo shook his head and laughed with glee. "It's not that I don't care my lady. It's that I always wondered what happened during this part. Here is where I was brought down and couldn't continue the fight."
"Here's where Natsuki Subaru truly showed his true colors. That's what my fellow soldiers told me, at least." The beastman revealed excitedly, making the crowd of wondering audience look at the screen in anticipation.
"What could a boy like Subaru add that would help them in this situation?" Schult asked, his innocent eyes increasingly growing more excited with every scene he watched. "It's like I'm watching the stories Priscilla-sama used to read for me come to life!"
The red baroness had a small smile for the boy's cuteness and patted his head some more.
["Don't let it swallow him!"
The entire hopeless army looked up in surprise at the shouting black-haired young man.
"If we get him out before he's swallowed, we can save him!" Subaru shouted as he rode Patrasche to catch Rem after she plunged her mace into a Whale's fog hole.
"Subaru-kun…" Rem smiled up as the boy caught her in his arms and held her close.
Subaru smirked and looked at the Whale with confidence.
"Don't think this little bit of despair is enough to stop me!"
The three Whales flew around him as Subaru glared at all of them.
"Giving up doesn't suit us! Not me, not you, "
All of the soldiers looked on at the boy.
"NOT ANYONE!"
* HOOOOWWWWLLL!*
* RAAAAOOOOOR!*
The Whales all screamed at the boy as the night-vanquisher dissipated and let the darkness of the night return to the fog-ridden plain fields.]
Wilhelm and so many others widened their eyes at the shouting Subaru had done.
"Oh, Subaru…" Emilia smiled proudly at him. "You're amazing…"
"Holy shit…" Heinkel whispered while slumping back, shock overwhelming him at the sheer bravery shown in this scene. "He's a fanatic moron!"
"I believe I can agree with you for the first distasteful time, Deputy Commander. He is an idiot, isn't he?" Julius said as a heartfelt smile wormed its way on his expression.
Felt was so in awe at how cool Subaru was, she was jumping and cheering with all her might.
"Betty's Subaru shouldn't be the one to give these fools courage, I suppose. He shouldn't face down three hulking beasts on his own if he looks really brave doing it. Hmph!" Beatrice humphed and pouted at her contractor's brave yet idiotic behavior.
Felix and Crusch shook their heads but had warm smiles on their faces.
"How did I forget these moments he had? All of this courage he showed?" Felix lamented on why he hated the boy before this all began. Why did his respect for Subaru suddenly vanish into thin air, replaced with nothing but disdain for the boy. "I couldn't be his friend even if he wanted me to." Felix gritted his teeth in defeat as the guilt built up and swallowed his consciousness.
Crusch just held the boy's hand tightly and smiled warmly at the screen. "Moments like these truly pull a girl's heartstrings, Subaru-sama. That's very dangerous." The duchess mused teasingly to no one as she watched the young man's bravery.
Petra and Frederica could only stare slack-jawed at the way Subaru faced the three mythical beasts in awe and sat on the edge of their seats in excitement.
"He fires you up," Ram smirked at the sight, chuckling once she caught how crazy Garfiel was going as he slammed his fists on his chair handles over and over again with starstruck eyes. "Barusu will forever be grateful to know that Ram will cook him her specialty once they return home." Ram nodded proudly and smiled with relief when she saw Rem being carried in Subaru's arms.
Reinhard looked at his friend in shock and admiration, wishing he was on the ground to witness Subaru's bravery with his own eyes.
"At least he doesn't screw up." Anastasia nodded her head with an excited smile on her face.
Priscilla looked genuinely pleased by the boy's display of courage. "That's how a devoted dog should think. Loyal and pleasing."
Rem had a proud wide smile on her face as she heard the others gush about her hero. "If only you get to hear them, Subaru-kun." The maid thought sadly as she remembered how low he thinks of himself.
"He's really changed." Emilia smiled warmly, feeling happy that her knight finally began looking up instead of looking down on himself.
Seeing him fight on even though he was weaker than everyone around him to stop a dark future from befalling all of them.
Fighting and running even though he's been tortured and killed by monsters and evil madmen. Carrying this burden to save her and everyone else even though he was abandoned and scorned by all around him.
It filled her with so much warmth… So much astonishment…. So much worry.
The half-elf moved on her seat, leaning forward with an amazed and excited smile on her face as she finally saw the reason why so many people spoke of her knight as if he was some legend to be.
"You're so cool, Subaru!" Emilia gushed with wide eyes and an excited smile as she focused on the screen.
[Rem could be shown with her horn out as she jumped in the air and plunged her mace into one of the whale's fog holes.
Subaru ran beneath the beast with a smile. "Let's go, Patrasche! Run right under the Whale's nose!"
The beast began lowering down towards the boy and his ground dragon, mouth open.]
"No!" Petra gasped as everyone's breathing hitched for Subaru's safety.
["The only one who may sniff Subaru-kun is me!" Rem shouted in anger as she shot her mace to deliver another painful hit to the Whale.]
The maid herself couldn't help but blush beet red from shame and embarrassment, hiding her face in her hands as everyone began laughing at her.
She didn't even want to see Emilia's eyes which were looked at her with a disapproving glare.
"I'm sorry Emilia-sama."
The half-elf beauty kept her hard stare on the maid. "It's fine, Rem… Just no naughty things done to my knight, please."
The maid shivered at Emilia's cordial tone.
Ram shook her head in shame and disappointment. "Barusu's idiocy did this to my sister." The pink-haired maid shook her head and scowled deeply as she counted this as 10 points where she gets to use Subaru's head as a football.
Roswaal had to stop himself from chuckling as well lest he earn a sharp jab to the sides by his maid.
[As Rem held off the Whale, Subaru breathed a sigh of relief…
Before opening his eyes and looking beside him where a second Whale had its mouth open and ready to shoot a fog blast toward the boy.
Subaru's face contorted to one of fear.
"Close your mouth!"
* ZAAAAAAPPPPPP!*
Crusch delivered another strike of wind from her glowing sword that made the Whale close it's mouth and shriek in agony.]
"Shit!" Garfiel shouted and stood up in alarm for his captain.
"Thank you so much, Crusch." Emilia bowed her head to the lady while sighing in relief.
The green-haired lady smirked at the half-elf proudly. "Of course, Emilia-sama."
[The beautiful duchess rode on her dragon alongside the boy and spoke sternly. "At a glance, the situation looks dismal. Where is Wilhelm?"
"If you remember him, at least we know the fog hasn't erased him. It'll all depend on how well Rem fights…"
Subaru looked at the maid as she hit and slashed at the Whale fiercely.
"What do you think, Natsuki Subaru? Does nothing seem strange to you?"
"Strange?"
"There are now three White Whales. If it's actually a mabeast that lives in groups, how could we not know that by now? There must be some trick behind it." Crusch concluded while staring at the three beasts above.
"And we need to find it, huh?"
Subaru and Crusch stopped their dragons and stood side by side.
"If we don't, we won't hold out for long. We'll do something. A retreat is no longer an option." The duchess glared as a Whale moved down to attack them.
She unsheathed her sword and shouted to the army of brave warriors behind her.
"Fire!"
Nothing…
Crusch looked behind her to find the magi users all had looks of hopelessness and defeat on their faces.
"Fire, I said!"
Nothing.
Crusch gritted her teeth and swiped her glowing sword to deliver a magical wind strike towards the beast.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"Crusch-san!" Subaru shouted as the princess kept striking the beast to hold it back.
He looked beside him to find fog clouds coming near the huddled army.
Patrasche began running and avoiding the many fog blasts the Whales were shooting toward her master.]
"Damn! They're gangin' up on Cap'n!" Garfiel growled as he saw the two Whales shooting at Subaru while he ran under them.
"While I was protecting the rest of the army and distracting one Whale, Subaru-sama bravely forced the other one to follow him as he led it away from us." Crusch held the boy's hand and informed Emilia with a smile.
"But where was the third one?" Emilia asked while wincing in worry for her knight.
"You're going to have to watch to understand that. I assure you that this is the right loop." Crusch smiled sheepishly as she didn't want to explain the long-winded version nor did she want to ruin the shock that will come when they conclude.
"He seems to use all of his abilities efficiently. If only he could put that resolve into some combat training." Wilhelm was impressed with the way this kid used something like the Witch's stench to hold off a mythical monster on his own.
He also glared at the screen as his sense of shame overwhelmed him for losing grip and allowing himself to be downed mid-battle. Forcing the rest of his fellow soldiers to wallow in fear and misery.
[As Subaru held off the Whale and continued to dodge it's fog attacks, Rem began plunging and throwing her mace into every hole that was conjuring up these fog attacks.
Subaru barely had time to dodge a speeding Fog of Elimination before he stumbled and began to fall over from the speeding Patrasche.]
"Shit!" A childish voice said from the back which made the blonde maid sitting in the front whip her head immediately.
"Petra-chan!" Frederica scolded sternly as Petra jumped in her chair with a worried expression.
Emilia and Beatrice held on to the boy and looked on in alarm.
[He held his legs tightly around the dragon and shouted.
"Willpower!"
He quickly caught the tug and placed his legs roughly on the saddle.]
"What's going on?" Schult asked with an anxious face as he hoped his fears wouldn't be realized. "Why is no one moving to help the swordswoman and Subaru-sama?"
"They're paralyzed with fear… Damn." Julius gritted his teeth in anger at the soldiers' cowardice.
"You can't blame them for it. Three White Whales dropped on them and they don't know how to kill one much less find the will to fight these three." Frederica argued not liking where the fight was going.
"We didn't even knoyw if more Whales were coming, nyan!" Felix shook his head and tried his best to forget the enormous amount of fear and confusion on the battlefield that day.
"What a scary situation." Emilia held her hand to her chest and watched with sympathy covering her expression for everyone on the battlefield. She wouldn't have been able to help anyone had she been there. She would be scared and terrorized like the rest of them.
"This situation is fuckin' unsalvagable, fuck…" Heinkel looked more interested in what Subaru was doing than anyone else in the room.
["Damn… Just being a daredevil isn't gonna be enough! I've gotta use my head! Why are there three of them?"
"Duck!" Subaru heard Crusch shout.
He didn't have time to dodge as an oncoming attack from another Whale was shot at him…
"Raaahhhhhh!"
"Raaaahhh!"
Subaru opened his eyes to find that the twins had shot their wind magic against the fog attack and canceled it.]
"Whew!" Mimi wiped her forehead and sighed in relief.
"Is he gonna keep getting hit from all sides like this?!" Felt asked in outrage at the tricky situation.
"The army was in no condition to fight-"
"The army was scared and useless in this fight!" Felt cut the hesitant Crusch off with a glare. The duchess sighed and shook her head at the girl's words, not denying the truth behind them.
"Had it not been for Subaru's constant distracting and use of the Witch's stench on him, the army would've lost a long time ago. Crusch-sama couldn't have won against these three beasts without him." Reinhard informed with a look of realization and awe at his friend's role in fighting the beasts.
Everyone looked at Reinhard with expressions of shock and surprise.
"Hmm, I suppose that is correct. The three whales could've directly erased the entire troop had it not been for their distraction with Subaru." Julius lamented critically with a surprised expression. The knight truly couldn't believe how useful Subaru was in this fight.
Emilia glared a bit with worry and frustration.
"He's putting himself in a lot of danger though." She whispered and shook her head at her knight's heroics. "That's always been his way of doing things… With or without the Witch's curse…" Emilia looked frustrated.
"Subaru-sama is owed a great deal in this battle for everything he did to fight. It truly was his name that deserved to be praised for this feat." Crusch had no problem declaring to the crowd behind her while giving a slight look towards a far-off Priscilla. "On without needing to impress anyone."
The fiery princess just gave the duchess a look of pity.
"Poor Karsten dirt thinks she needs to prove something to me. How pitiful will she look when I have that precious hand she holds so dearly rubbing mine beautiful feet." The princess snarled lightly at the end.
Crusch just smirked and even though she didn't hear what Priscilla had said, she was content with the look of pure annoyance the arrogant woman gave her at the end.
"Why is our lady annoyed by that nice cool swordwoman-sama?" Schult asked Al as Priscilla huffed from above him.
Al sighed, "They've been taking potshots at one another since Princess humiliated that gal's knight or something. We shouldn't involve ourselves in their matters, Schult-kun."
The boy gave an 'ahhh' of understanding and nodded his head, immediately siding with his lady and glaring at Crusch's back, though clumsy.
[He looked behind the twins and found that Crusch had actually forced one of the Whales down and was striking at it with her army surrounding the creature.
"Whoa! Awesome!"
"We'll all back up Natsuki-san and Crusch-san until the captain is fully healed and we can regroup." Hetaro told to the ever elated Subaru.
"Ricardo's still alive?"
"Yes, my sister took him to Felix-san."
"He struggled a lot! It wasn't easy!"
"I see… That's a relief."
"On the verge of death, our captain sent a message. 'Hey, it's getting' a lot lighter. The fact that I didn't die proves that!' that's what he said."]
"Ya, bastard Hetaro! Get my voice right!" Ricardo growled in fake anger as the twins on his lap laughed.
"What does he mean by weaker, I wonder?" Beatrice mused while looking at the screen critically.
"I don't know but I believe that Subaru will use this to help everyone." Emilia smiled warmly and tilted her head to glance at her knight with pride painting her eyes.
Crusch and Rem snorted at how true that was. This was noticed by Julius and Wilhelm, earning nods of approval from both men.
["Lighter?" Subaru looked up at the Whale above him in thought.
"What's light about a hard, heavy situation like this?"
He looked down to the Whale that Crusch was striking and cutting at.
"Light?"
Subaru slowly looked up to the third whale. The one with… an eye missing….
His eyes widened in surprise. "That's it… I get it!"
Before he could share his findings, the Whale that's been tailing him suddenly dropped down onto the ground and started rubbing its sides against the earth.
"Wha…" Subaru and the twins looked on in bewilderment as the Whale howled and groaned in pain while it rubbed against the earth.
Everyone noticed a spot from underneath the Whale's flesh bulging out unnaturally.
Rem gave a war cry and stabbed her mace into the spot.
The twins followed her and shot their wind magic attacks on the same spot.
Suddenly, the wounded flesh of the Whale opened up and a gloved hand shot out and grabbed the Whale's fur.]
"Badass." Ricardo snorted softly while everyone looked relieved at the old man's safety.
"I'm glad you made it, Wilhelm-sama." Emilia exhaled softly.
The old butler bowed silently and elegantly to the half-elf princess. "Had it not been for Subaru-dono's focus and determination, I'd not have had the support I needed to escape."
Crusch's eyes widened, realizing the amount of respect that Subaru owned from the old man all over again.
Reinhard breathed a sigh of pure relief at seeing his old man safe from the belly of the fog beast. "Thank you, Subaru, Rem, Mimi, and Hetaro." The hero softly whispered under his breath and steeled himself to see what his friend would do now to beat those three beasts.
"..." Heinkel didn't comment at all as he watched his father start to get pulled out of the beast. His eyes were more focused on Subaru than anything else.
[The hand pulled as strongly as it could and out came Wilhelm, covered in blood.
Subaru hopped off of Patrasche and ran towards the fallen old man.
"Wilhelm-sama."
"Not skilled enough. I was careless…" The old man uttered tiredly and fell unconscious.]
"I apologize once again for my miss givings." Wilhelm bowed in apology once more, earning a wave from his lady who was focused on the screen.
"No need. I am fascinated how Natsuki Subaru came to the conclusion he did…" Crusch muttered to herself, increasing looks of interest on Subaru from the room.
["Is he alright?" Hetaro asked in worry.
"Yeah, he's just unconscious! Sorry, but could you take him to Felix?"
"Of course! What about you?" Hetaro inquired worriedly.
"I realized something." Subaru uttered as he stared at the lone floating Whale.
Scene change…
Subaru and Crusch were standing side by side as the boy reported to the lady.
"It split up?"
"Yeah. Its fighting strength and the left eye that Wilhelm-san gouged out convinced me. Your group's been engaging it head-on, so you must have sensed it." Subaru explained to Crusch.
"I was absorbed in battle, but… You're right." Rem agreed in surprise.]
The audience gave audible sounds of shock and surprise at this.
"That makes sense." Felt softly agreed, smiling wide as she announced. "Big bro is really smart actually, that's impressive stuff."
"Hmph! As expected of Betty's Subaru, I suppose. He's not as smart as Betty but still better than the rest." Beatrice smugly gloated from her place on Subaru's lap.
"So it wasn't three beasts, it split itself and let the copies fight while the important one rested and healed," Frederica noted while holding Otto's hand.
"So they will be able to win by just killing one and not all three of them!" Petra clapped her hands in excitement and hope.
"Subaru is really doing great here," Reinhard spoke with a slack-jawed look as he couldn't believe how he missed such obvious signs.
"I think Barusu just blurted his conclusion out and got lucky, heh!" Ram huffed out with a proud smile on her face.
"Hmph! I guess, he did a fine job." Julius begrudgingly admitted with a smile of his own.
"He managed to put hope and confidence into hearts by his plans and efforts while our best fighters were mostly beaten and out of the fight," Wilhelm admitted without shame and in good confidence.
"Nya, we were all in disbelief when he suddenly turned the tide in the fight," Felix admitted as well while Mimi nodded her head.
"Seems like he's a good tactician as well.." Anastasia softly whispered as she felt her greed wanting to see more from him. "Much better than whatever the hell was drivin' 'em up the wall in that loop."
Emilia was silent but she looked blown away with her eyes shining with pride. The half-elf slowly frowned in disappointment a little as she noticed how he was treating Crusch. The two looked so well-tuned with one another as they thought over how to face this impossible beast.
"Man, Subaru-kyun looks like a perfect knight when he's working with my lady! It makes me soooo jealous, nyan!" Felix growled out making some in the theater explode in laughter.
Crusch snorted as well but smiled warmly at the screen as she imagined the thought. "There's no one to replace you, Ferris. Never forget that." She gave him a stern glare for a moment which was met with an emotional hug from behind by him.
Emilia was gripping Subaru's hand tighter as she smiled at the two.
["I do agree with the conjecture that this one is weaker than the original body. But what good does knowing that do? Killing three White Whales is much easier said than done." Crusch inquired sternly.
"We don't need to kill all three of them. Just one should be enough." Subaru smirked confidently.
"That bastard's been making its two doubles fight, while it just hangs around up there and watches. What do you think it's doing?"
Subaru glanced up with Crusch and Rem.
The princess glared at the Whale. "That's the real one?"
"It won't come down because it knows it can't let itself be killed."
"But…" Crusch closed her eyes in disappointment as she gripped the handle of her sword tightly. "I can't rely on my sword to hit from this distance. If I had one strike, it might be possible, but… " Crusch looked at her sword with a frustrated look.
Subaru smiled.
"I have a plan that's just a bit too much of a wager." Subaru's smile turned to a confident smirk as he challenged. "You want in?"]
Everyone looked at Crusch for some sort of explanation, giving her a moment to finish her sigh of exhaustion.
"That was one of the riskiest wagers that have been proposed to me." Crusch smiled at the disappointed glances from everyone around. "Though I think you all will get to enjoy his success."
"Betty already knows that he will succeed, he's her contractor after all, in fact!" Beatrice kicked her legs happily, grinning with pride, as Emilia and Rem nod with happy smiles.
"We will see how he brought the Whale down?" Felt asked with her eyes twinkling with excitement. Her knight also perked up a bit.
"Bringing the what down?!" Garfiel seemed the most excited in the room once he heard what was about to happen. "YES! GO CAP'N!"
"You didn't see anything to make you cheer yet, you buffoon!" Julius admonished with annoyance, trying to see the window as Garfiel jumped up and down in front of him. Frederica giggled at them and looked at Otto with sincere disappointment that he wasn't witnessing any of this.
"I can't take much more of this bullshit…" Heinkel sighed and rubbed his eyes, tired of focusing on Subaru too much. "All I've seen is a kid actin' tough and gettin' lucky every time things went to shit during the battle…" His voice sounded desperate as he stared at the floor, alone with his thoughts. "Then why the fuck can he make it but she can't?... This fuckin' monster isn't allowed to beat someone like her on its own!"
[Scene change…
The two Whales that had been grounded down began attacking what was left of the army.
Felix and the rest of the healers were busy with the mounting number of wounded and injured soldiers.
As the Whale's attacked the tired out soldiers, Crusch's shocked voice sounded out over the screen as she spoke with Subaru.
"I think you're insane."
The boy smiled at the duchess with his eyes shining. "We're already insane for taking on that huge thing in the first place."
Crusch smiled and shook her head. "Perhaps… No, you're right. That goes for everyone here right now."]
"You're truly beautiful when you smile, Crusch-sama." Rem smiled softly at the lady.
Crusch smiled as she looked at the maid. "I guess my time with Subaru as an amnesiac made me aware of how easy it is to smile with him around."
"You two look like you'd make a great team." Felt said snarkily with her voice slightly tinted with jealousy.
"Yes, Crusch-san. Ya look real happy with Natsuki-kun servin' by your side." Anastasia giggled a bit into her gloved hands as she noticed how cold Emilia's stare had become.
Crusch simply shrugged and resigned herself to smirking comfortably. "Natsuki Subaru wasn't serving under me. He was fighting alongside me to rid this world of an evil that had long lived its purpose." The duchess corrected sternly but kept her smirk.
Emilia pouted cutely and crushed her stupid knight's hand. It was bad enough that she wasn't there to help, she was also sure that she couldn't do as good of a job helping him as the duchess was. Now she had people talking about how good her knight looked serving other girls.
["Get out of the way!" A demihuman warrior shouted as he held on to the fur of a Whale that was moving to attack the wounded camp sitting at the bottom of the tree.
Crusch glared at the Whale and glanced to the boy beside her. "We will hold off the two doubles." She extended a closed fist out and smirked at the boy. "I'll take your wager."
Subaru smirked back and bumped his own fist with hers.]
"Historic moment!" Schult's eyes widened with glee, clapping his hands together at the sight.
"If I remember what I heard from the townsfolk, stories spread of the subjugation across the kingdom of all the events of the fight," Frederica commented with a warm smile as she remembered all the fantastical stories.
"I heard that this moment, in particular, was dubbed 'A commoner's last stand.' the moment where a mere commoner stood side by side with the warrior princess to bring down the beast of fog." Schult continued for Frederica, surprising everyone with his retelling which sounded fairytale in nature. "It's one of my favorite pieces!"
Crusch snorted a little and leaned in her seat in amusement. "It's not far off from the truth, I suppose." the duchess whispered in amusement.
Emilia glared a bit as she remembered some of the stories about the commoner and the warrior princess.
"Heh! I heard stories that Big Bro cut the Whale in half with his bare hands. Idiots." Felt snorted and shook her head at the rumors that spread all over the slum districts.
"How will he bring the Whale down, I wonder?" Beatrice brooded while looking at her contractor on the screen with a curious but worried look.
[Scene change to the soldiers shaking on the ground in terror and fear as the Whale came down upon them.
"They're coming this way…"
A second Whale reached them from the fog.
"Stay away!" A frightened soldier shouted.
"Run!"
"We'll be wiped out!
The soldiers, wounded and injured all looked on as the two Whales shot multiple attacks of Elimination fog.
But then… Crusch jumped in front of her army with her sword unsheathed and glowing.
"HHHHAAAAAAAA!"
She let out a war cry as she delivered a strong airstrike that blocked the two's attacks outright.
The airwaves of the attack were so strong that she was knocked off her ground dragon.
The soldier's all howled in despair and shock at the fallen lady.
Crusch paid them no mind and leaned on her sword to stand up.
"Crusch-sama!"
The noble lady took a deep breath. And shouted.
"Stand up! Lift your faces! Take up your weapons!"]
Priscilla's eyes lit up with a decent amount of respect for the Karsten candidate. "Truly, this world brings a most surprising class of peasants to compete for mine throne."
Everyone had eyes glued on the screen, giving the duchess all attention as her words silenced the soldiers behind her.
Crusch had a small proud grin on her face that wouldn't be removed for the next few minutes.
[The soldiers looked at her in surprise and shock.
"Look at that boy! He's so weak and fragile, a breath could blow him away, and he's unarmed!"]
"Oi!" Garfiel glared at the duchess after giving her a chance to speak.
Anastasia and Priscilla had to both give snorts of amusement at the scene.
[Subaru could be shown, dodging the attacks from one of the Whales as he ran alongside it.
"He's a powerless boy whose defeat I have seen with my own eyes!"
The soldiers all looked on at the boy as he dodged and ran against the Whale's attacks with gritted teeth.]
"I see…" Julius nodded his head with an easy smile covering his lips.
"I do not intend to apologize for reminding you of your deeds," Crusch commented without looking at Julius.
"There is no need for you to do so. They are my own responsibility." Julius nodded respectfully and appreciatively to the candidate as she nodded.
["He's weaker than anyone else here! Yet he's shouting louder than anyone that we can still do this."
The entire army, along with the wounded, all looked at Subaru with wide eyes.
"So how can we sit around, looking at the ground?"
Some of the soldiers hardened their eyes.
"If our weakest man hasn't given up,"
Some began to grit their teeth in anger.
"How is it acceptable for us to kneel in defeat?"
* ROOOOAAAAARRR!*
An oncoming Whale opened its mouth to shoot another fog attack.
Crusch prepared to strike it with her sword as well.
"Did you all come this far to wallow in shame?!"
The lady asked as she prepared her legendary sword.
* WHOOOOSH!*
A mace was sent flying, impacting the Whale's eye forcing it to withdraw the attack.
Crusch looked behind her to find the leader of the old knights with his arm extended and a battle-ready glare on his face.
Seeing this, the other knights began unsheathing their weapons and picking them up.
Crusch nodded her head and glared at the Whale.
She let out a war cry as she attacked with all her might.
"Follow me!"
And the army howled behind her.]
"Damn, that was a rousing speech, lady." Al praised.
"That was really amazing," Petra called out as her heart pounded from excitement.
The duchess only shook her head and sternly spoke out against any praise. "It was Subaru's efforts that the soldiers had recognized not my words or tone."
"But you're the one that put an effort in reminding them about Subaru's continuous effort against the whales." Reinhard praised with a soft smile.
"I like the way you used his weakness to hit their pride," Julius smirked bastardly.
"Cap'n's not weak." Garfiel snorted at them and glared at the screen. He approved of the lady's way but he didn't like it.
Crusch smirked at the blonde boy and answered in confidence. "I know."
Emilia couldn't help but feel how small she was as she witnessed the sheer efforts Subaru and Crusch had been pulling together to defeat this monster. How would she have fared if she was down there with them? It scared her.
But having her knight working so hard to fight such a frightening mabeast.
"I don't know how you do it." Emilia looked at her sleeping knight in distraught emotion.
The images of all of his deaths and horrible betrayals played in her mind, making her tear up a bit.
"I don't know how you do it, Subaru." The half-elf leaned closer to his shoulder and found it appropriate to rest her head on it while watching the screen in silent worry and anguish for what her knight was going through on his own.
[Subaru was suddenly surprised to see that the Whale he was tailing was getting shot at by the beam canons.
He smirked back at the newly encouraged army. "She has some nerve, calling me a weakling and a loser."]
Crusch snorted in amusement.
Rem smiled at her fondly, happy that the noble lady was breaking her stern persona and showing some heartfelt emotion.
"You're Betty's weakling and loser, in fact." Adorably, Beatrice nudged her head with his chin and tried to wake him with the tiny effort.
"Cap'n ain't no weaklin'!" Garfiel growled even more frustrated that he wasn't there to be a part of the legend that was being witnessed.
[He glanced up at the monster above.
"Let's do this, Rem. Time for the climax!"
"Right, Subaru-kun!" The maid nodded her head and smiled.
Scene change…
Rem stood alone on the ground with her horn out.
"Al Huma!" She shouted, activating her magic gate to make a giant sphere of ice three times her size appear before her.]
"Damn!" Garfiel shouted and looked at the maid with stars in his eyes.
"What're ya doing?" Ricardo whistled and asked with an excited smirk.
Wilhelm leaned forward with a thoughtful expression. He was unconscious with Ricardo when Subaru's moment happened… The old man's eyes widened in shock.
"Where's big bro?" Felt asked with a raised brow.
Beatrice and Tivey facepalmed as soon as they put two and two together.
"Idiot!" Beatrice reprimanded the boy for his plan.
"I should've thought of that!" Tivey reprimanded himself for not thinking about such a shrewd solution to this particular problem of having one Whale that needs to be lowered down.
[The soldiers cheered in shock and awe at her ability.
"Please!" Rem begged as she sent the pillar of ice flying towards the third Whale that was flying up in the sky.
The Whale moved out of the seeding pillar's way and avoided it as it glided past him.
The army looked disappointed at this.]
"No!" Petra held her hair out of nervousness, feeling sad that the pillar missed its target.
"It missed?" Schult lowered his hands which he had already prepared to celebrate once they managed to pierce the monster. "Why…?" He looked heartbroken by it.
"Shit!" Ricardo slammed his fist in anger.
"Laaammmee!" Mimi booed in disappointment.
Emilia noticed how Rem was grinning at the screen. She turned to see what Crusch was doing and found that the Duchess had crossed her legs and was smiling at the screen with excitement.
[Crusch smirked while looking up at the Whale.
"I'm counting on you." She said in a confident tone.]
"What…" Anastasia glanced at the Duchess and the screen with interest.
Priscilla and Felt also tried to get some sort of reaction to understand what Crusch was doing but they reserved to watch the window for answers in the end.
[The screen shows the beaten Whale as it spectated everything that was happening down below.
And then…
"Hey, now that I see you up close, you really are creepy."
The Whale looked up and its eyes widened in surprise.
Right above it, standing on the very tip of its horn was Subaru.]
The Emilia camp minus the sleeping Otto looked at the screen with expressions of shock and astonishment.
"Goddam!" Al shouted. "That's fucking good bro!"
"I WISH I was there to see that!" Ricardo whined while staring at the screen in amazement.
"This is unreal…" Heinkel choked on his spit at the sight.
[Natsuki Subaru glared down at the beast of fog with his arms crossed as the wind around the two began blowing intensely.
"Try to keep up with me. Just so you know, I'm infamous for being so annoying that no one can ignore me!"
* HHHOOOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLL!*
The beast sounded loudly in outrage as its eyes glared intensely at the boy.]
"How…" Julius uttered in shock at the bewildering sight before him.
"Tha's muh Cap'n!" Garfiel cheered, looking shocked and amazed.
"Holy crap." Felt looked at the screen with a starstruck expression.
Anastasia and Priscilla were both on the edge of their seats with looks of disbelief and surprise.
"Subaru-kun's truly amazing." Rem giggled at everyone's starstruck expression.
"This kid's a fucking nutcase," Heinkel uttered with a horrified expression, unwilling to believe the sheer insanity before him.
"That's amazing… He's amazing…" Schult stuttered with a struck look aimed for Subaru on the screen. Admiring him in every way possible.
["Okay, let's do this!"
Subaru jumped down from the Whale's horn and fell to the ground with his arms and legs extended.
"I'm doing you a huge favor! Listen up! It's because of you that Rem died and experienced such horrible trauma!"
Subaru's entire world stopped suddenly as black mist covered him.
The shadow lady appeared once again beside him and her black hands suddenly clenched the boy's heart tightly.
Subaru gritted his teeth in pain but forced his entire body to stay put underneath the Whale as he fell to the ground.
"I made it back!" Subaru shouted. His body could be shown with dark mist coming off of it.
The beast's nose caught the smell instantly and it was compelled to lower down and rocket towards the falling boy.
Subaru faced off the Whale as they both fell towards the earth with one another.]
"Subaru!" Emilia shouted while clutching the boy's hand in fear and amazement.
Beatrice hugged her contractor tightly while staring at the screen in disbelief.
Most of the viewers watched on the edge of their seats with looks of awe and disbelief at the scene.
"Natsuki Subaru… " Heinkel could only stare with a look of desperation and hopelessness. "How can you be this troublesome of a guy?! Ya really are the worst of the worst… "
The Sword Saint looked at the boy who had been fighting and facing down all the monsters that Reinhard himself couldn't fight, increasing morale with his bravery, and doing his best to keep everyone safe. "... And you doubted yourself before all of this?" Reinhard whispered to his friend with a pained expression.
["Rem!"
"Yes!"
The maid suddenly shot the second pillar of ice toward the rocketing creature, forcing it to move away from the falling Subaru.
Just before the boy hit the ground, Rem caught him with the chains of her mace and pulled him into her chest.
Subaru looked up at her and smiled.
"You saved me!"
"Thank you for the treat." The maid smiled innocently.
"What are you talking about?" Asked the poor confused young man.]
"REM!" Emilia shouted in outrage while holding her knight's hand and crushing it while blushing to her pointy-ear tips. "How could you do something so naughty when he was asking for your help?!"
Rem just huffed and hugged the boy tighter while glaring possessively at the half-elf.
Garfiel was just laughing his ass off. Even Julius was hiding behind his hand and snickering loudly.
"Lucky bastard." Ricardo howled while laughing out loud.
Petra was glaring at Rem with a pout.
"I didn't know you could be so dirty, Rem-san." Felix teased warmly, happy to see the girl getting her claws into her love.
"Now, now Ferris. Let the girl make her move." Crusch smirked at the increasingly audacious Rem as she huffed at her as well.
"Schult-kun you shouldn't watch things like that," Al softly sighed and told the young boy who was looking curiously at the crowd beneath them.
"B-But… Priscilla-sama always does the same thing to me—"
"That's because she needs a lesson in etiquette with minors, Schult-kun." Al earned a huff from the red princess as she patted Schult's head.
"You fool, who belongs to whom between us for you to demand that mine self's missing proper etiquette? Seems like you require one for doubting your divine owner, Jester-san." Priscilla turned back to watch Subaru's fall, having a more pleased expression to the point she ignored Al's transgression.
"He's proving himself again to ya, princess?" Al asked, earning a look from Heinkel.
"The road for that is very steep," Priscilla crossed a leg once again while fanning herself. "But 'tis is an impressive start, one must admit with pleasure." She nodded approvingly.
Heinkel glared at them both before looking back to the ground. "What an insane guy… They're all crazy…" He muttered breathlessly and closed his eyes when the Whale's screeching replayed in his head.
[The two looked beside them to find the original Whale howling in pain because of the ice pillar.
"Don't let me down, Patrasche! You're a dragon, aren't you? Show me how awesome you are!"
The dragon roared and began speeding up as the Whale chased them with its mouth open.
"Take this!" Subaru shouted.
"Fire!" Crusch commanded.
And as the Whale and the boy started passing their chase closer to the colossal tree of the wanderer, canons and magic users bombarded the trunk of the tree, splintering it and making the tree fall from the heavens and straight on top of the gliding beast of fog and the self-proclaimed knight.
* BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!*
The Whale could only let out a howl of pain.
* AAAGGRRHHHHH!*
Before the tree of Flugel fell on top of it and trapped it underneath.]
"He truly brought it down!" Julius exclaimed as he stared at the screen still in shock. "That's how… The stories don't even start to do this any justice…"
Emilia and Beatrice looked at one another and held onto the boy in amazement.
"I can't believe he made such a cunning plan' in seconds." Al shook his head in disbelief. "Pal's on another level I can't hope to match."
"Who'd want to match this fuckin' insane guy…" Heinkel grumbled, looking at the Whale with deeply rooted hatred.
"That's true pal!" Al laughed at the thought, remembering who he was. "Better leave it all to him then!" Al said in an offly cheerful tone that forced Heinkel to glare at the floors for the hundredth time, unable to see what was on the screen.
"Go, Patrasche! Go!" Petra and Mimi shouted with cheered with one another.
"NOOOOO!" Schult shouted with his eyes wide at the destruction of the tree. "I wanted to see it…" He sounded heartbroken and disappointed.
Emilia and Beatrice also held their hands to their mouths in shock.
"It was the boy's idea to demolish this historical monument, wasn't it?" Frederica shook her head, disappointed… While also smirking in amusement.
"Cap'n burned the tree on top 'o the Whale! Tha's too cool!" Garfiel shouted and hollered in pride.
"Subaru's plan…. Was using the great tree to trap the Whale…" The shocked half-elf's wide eyes started filling up with a small bit of satisfaction and even pride at her knight's efforts.
Anastasia and Priscilla looked really impressed with the boy's thinking.
"A cunning that needs more focus should he impress mineself like this once again." Priscilla hummed to herself, happily enjoying the sight of the Whale's entrapment.
[As the Whale was trapped beneath the tree, all of the soldiers looked on, as Wilhelm readied his weapon.]
Everyone quietened their voices as the screen began showing a somber scene that all understood to be of great significance.
Wilhelm's eyes watered at the next image that played, for never would he have thought that he could see this moment from such an angle.
[In the royal palace, where Theresia was just being named a royal knight, Wilhelm walked to issue his challenge to the king and queen before the entire line of knights and magic users.]
As the screen changes between the past and present, Heinkel grimaces at both worlds from his future.
[Wilhelm walked towards the beaten and battered White Whale with his sword at the ready.]
"Fuck off… Fuck this." Heinkel stands up and makes a move toward his room. "I need some fucking booze."
Priscilla's swift hand gripped the hair on his head, making him kneel before her and keep his head looking upwards at the window.
"Tck!" Heinkel grits his teeth and glares at her as she holds him in place without effort.
"You shall watch and burn this into memory. I have proclaimed it your duty, Heinkel Astrea." Priscilla spoke into his ear as she leaned on his body for her balance and comfort while they both watched.
Heinkel knew better than refuting the red lady he served so he obeyed.