Fade and Fire
Hours bled away in restless insomnia, each minute stretching on like an eternity as he battled the endless parade of intrusive thoughts. Time slipped through his trembling fingers like sand, and yet, eventually, the crushing fatigue of his body finally overtook the frantic flickers of his mind. His eyelids grew heavier, his consciousness teetering on the fragile edge of sleep—
When suddenly, an acrid, metallic scent invaded his senses, piercing through the haze of sleep like a dagger to the heart. Metal and salt, mixed into an ominous blend... Blood. The exact same sinister stench he'd once been all too familiar with, the stench of Elsa.
From the deepest, most guarded corners of his mind, a sharp voice rang out like a whip:
"Wake up, you fool!" Flugel's voice. A warning, cold and urgent, impossible to ignore.
Subaru's eyes snapped open, blazing with clarity. This was no nightmare. And now, the scent of blood was choking the air, thickening it with the unmistakable promise of death.
Threat.
His body reacted before his mind could catch up. He summoned Etherfang without hesitation; the dagger materialized in his grip, its blade glowing faintly with an ethereal blue shimmer that pulsed in sync with his racing heart. Subaru moved silently, slowly cracking the door open, his every nerve on high alert as he scanned the suffocating darkness beyond.
Footsteps... soft, deliberate, but undeniably present.
More than one. Their cadence was foreign, unfamiliar. None of them belonged to the mansion.
He couldn't pinpoint their exact positions, but he could feel them. Two presences... dangerously close. To the right—
In front of Meili's room!
A cold spear of dread twisted violently in his chest, suffocating him. There was no time to hesitate.
Like a bolt of lightning, he shot out into the corridor, Etherfang humming with mana, its glow intensifying alongside Subaru's hardened resolve.
And then he saw them. Two figures cloaked entirely in black, emerging from the shadows like phantoms. One wielded a long, elegant katana, its blade gleaming wickedly even in the gloom; the other carried a dagger that glittered ominously, reminiscent of Elsa's own sadistic weaponry.
The moment their eyes locked onto Subaru, the assassins lunged forward without hesitation, as if they had expected him.
Subaru braced himself. But then—
He sensed something behind him, swift and purposeful.
Turning his head sharply, he saw Elsa charging forward, her twin daggers already in hand, her expression an icy mask of deadly seriousness.
In the chaos of his mind, Subaru allowed himself a grim, fleeting smile:
"Well... at least it's not two against one."
Clinging to that bitter thought, he lunged toward the dagger-wielding assassin, Etherfang cutting through the thick air with a predatory hiss.
Slash!
His opponent parried with unnerving precision, but Subaru didn't give an inch. He pressed forward, unleashing a barrage of relentless strikes.
Clang! Clang!!
The symphony of steel upon steel shattered the oppressive silence of the corridor, filling it with chaos and violence.
At the same time, Elsa was locked in a savage dance with the katana-wielding assassin, her daggers meeting the lightning-fast katana strokes with brutal elegance, their battle a flurry of sparks and bloodlust.
In the midst of the frenzied combat, Elsa found a narrow window and shouted toward Subaru:
"SUBARU! THEY'RE FROM AN ASSASSIN ORGANIZATION!!"
Subaru's eyes widened in terror and realization. The scale of the threat he'd stumbled into had suddenly become excruciatingly clear.
Without wasting a second, he hurled himself at his opponent with renewed ferocity.
Gripping Etherfang with both hands, he poured as much mana as his body could muster into the blade, pushing its limits to the brink of collapse. He remembered... The last time he'd attempted this, the cheap daggers he'd looted from bandits had disintegrated in his hands.
But now, he prayed Etherfang would endure.
And then—
BLAST!!
A violent surge of condensed mana erupted from the tip of Etherfang like a cannon blast, obliterating the assassin's weapon and sending the attacker sprawling backward, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud, propelled by the unleashed torrent of raw energy.
Subaru exhaled heavily, his breath ragged, the weight of the battle pressing down on him—but there was no time to savor the advantage. The night had only just begun.
The mana in the air vibrated sharply, an electric pulse echoing in the stillness of the corridor. The system's translucent screen flickered before Subaru's eyes, illuminating the darkened space with its ominous glow.
[Ding!!]
New Skill Obtained!
Name: Overburst
Type: Active Skill
Features:
-Condenses mana at the tip of a weapon and detonates it in an explosive burst.
-The greater the concentration, the more devastating the effect.
Subaru lowered his dagger slowly, a subtle, weary smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His entire body still throbbed from the aftermath of the clash, adrenaline coursing through every nerve, but in the deep, silent corners of his mind, one thought echoed louder than anything else: This fight was far from over.
His gaze snapped toward the assassin he'd blasted backward. The man's weapons were now nothing more than shattered, twisted fragments of useless metal, scattered like confetti across the corridor. Overburst had obliterated them entirely, reducing them to pathetic wreckage.
Subaru's breath came out ragged, but his eyes remained sharp as he swept them across the battlefield. He found her immediately. Elsa.
She remained locked in vicious combat with the katana-wielding assassin. Her daggers shimmered crimson in the suffocating darkness, each swing a deadly, elegant arc of violence, blurring the lines between attack and defense in a seamless, hypnotic dance.
And Subaru saw it— That expression.
A smile.
But not one born of duty or survival instinct. It was something deeper, darker. A predatory grin tinged with unsettling satisfaction, as if she relished the warmth of freshly spilled blood and savored the intoxicating proximity to death. Her eyes shone with a sickly, euphoric gleam, a dangerous hunger igniting within their depths.
A shiver crawled down Subaru's spine like a phantom hand. "Why... does she seem to enjoy this so much?" he thought, the question stabbing through his already fraying nerves.
Elsa's daggers moved with haunting precision, each block and parry delivered with the finesse of a maestro. Her counters sliced through the smallest vulnerabilities, as if she danced upon the very edge of mortality itself.
She was more than an assassin. She was the personification of death incarnate—silent, graceful, merciless, and utterly inescapable.
Subaru swallowed hard, forcing his breath to steady. He knew well that even the slightest mistake here wouldn't merely cost him his life. It would doom Meili, Elsa, and possibly the entire mansion.
Tonight wasn't merely a battle. It was a desperate struggle for survival, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
With Elsa's final flourish, the katana-wielding assassin faltered, stumbling back with a gasp. For the briefest of moments, the battle paused, tension hanging in the air like a noose.
Elsa approached Subaru, her steps slow and deliberate, her presence predatory. Her daggers still dripped with the residue of violence, the smell of blood clinging to her like a shroud.
Her lips curled upward in a sly smirk, tongue flicking across them as if tasting the lingering chaos in the air.
"Your way of using mana... it's fascinating," she purred, her gaze fixating on Subaru's Etherfang, gleaming ominously in his grasp.
Subaru stiffened but forced a strained grin onto his face.
"Heh... let's save the compliments for later, okay?" he replied, though the tightening knot in his throat refused to loosen. Elsa's aura was suffocating even in the middle of battle, a miasma of dread and seduction mingling into something uniquely terrifying.
Both of them redirected their focus to the remaining assassins still standing before them. And at that precise moment, one of the masked figures stepped forward, breaking the oppressive silence.
"Elsa. You and Meili should withdraw. Mother will not tolerate disobedience," he stated, his tone as cold and heavy as steel.
The words sank into the air, weighing it down like wet cement. Subaru felt Elsa's body tense beside him, her breath hitching. Her shoulders trembled, caught between instinct and logic.
"Think carefully, Elsa," the assassin continued, his voice like an icy whisper, barely concealing its venomous undertones. "We're not the only assassins lurking inside this mansion tonight. Mother is never careless. You of all people should know that."
Elsa's grip on her daggers faltered slightly, trembling under the strain of the storm raging inside her. The fury she'd tried to suppress radiated outward like a suffocating heatwave, crawling over Subaru's skin, making it prickle.
She wanted to slaughter them all. Rip them to shreds. Bathed in blood.
But if she acted recklessly, Meili would become a pawn in their sick game. And she knew that.
"I..." Elsa's voice cracked, breaking into a ragged, breathless whisper.
Subaru clenched his fists tightly, his heartbeat syncing with a simmering, silent rage that boiled within his chest.
And then— He opened his eyes.
The mana in the air surged violently, resonating with a deep, guttural hum. An invisible, suffocating weight rippled outward from Subaru, warping the very fabric of the corridor itself.
It was as if the walls, the ground, even the stagnant air bent under the oppressive force of his breath, thickening with an ominous gravity.
His pupils darkened into a shade that devoured all light, and his gaze pierced through the shadows, a promise of inescapable death radiating from every fiber of his being.
From his lips, a cold and merciless threat spilled forth, his tone sharpened like a blade honed for execution:
"If you lay even a finger on anyone here...I'll erase you... Your so-called Mother...And every last one of your pathetic organization."
The words didn't merely echo—they roared through the tense corridor like a storm, crashing into the assassins with a force that bypassed logic and training. Even these killers, sculpted by relentless years of desensitization, flinched involuntarily. Their rigid discipline faltered, overtaken by an instinctual, bone-deep dread they had long since forgotten how to feel.
For these moments, they weren't assassins. They were prey.
Because on the battlefield, it wasn't merely blades and sorcery that clashed. It was willpower. And Subaru's will, burning at the heart of this confrontation, radiated with a ferocity sharper and heavier than any weapon.
One of the assassins swallowed thickly, throat bobbing like a man about to drown, while another's tightly-coiled shoulder muscles quivered beneath their cloak, betraying the terror clawing at them from within.
Their instincts screamed— "Run. Escape." Yet their bodies, bound by duty and the looming shadow of their enigmatic "Mother," held them fast in place, shackled before the nightmare Subaru had become.
It was then, slicing through the suffocating silence...
Click.
A door creaked open—the door to Meili's room.
The small girl stepped into the corridor, her tiny, bare feet eerily quiet against the floor, surrounded by her crimson-eyed, winged familiars that swirled like phantoms around her shoulders. Despite her sleep-mussed hair and the exhaustion clouding her eyes, her voice was calm, her tone as cutting as steel.
"There are nine assassins in the mansion, Elsa-nee. I just killed one."
Subaru's gaze locked onto Meili, and something twisted painfully inside him, a bitter ache that suffocated his chest. He never wanted her to shoulder this burden of death. Never wanted her tiny hands to bear the stains of murder.
But... At least she could defend herself. That truth—harsh and unforgiving—loosened the suffocating knot in his throat, even if only for an instant.
Beside him, Elsa exhaled softly, her tense body loosening, as if the crushing weight she'd carried had momentarily been lifted. Meili was alive. And for Elsa, nothing else in the world mattered more than that.
But for Subaru, it was far from enough. Meili might be safe right now... but what about the others? emilia? Ram? Rem? Beatrice?
Roswaal? Subaru barely spared the clown any thought. The Court Mage would protect himself. He always did.
Without a word, Subaru gathered mana into his legs. The surge of energy coiled violently through the lower half of his body; muscles tensed like drawn wires, tendons stretched until they felt as if they'd snap. And then, defying the laws of nature itself, Subaru launched forward.
Etherfang pulsed, almost humming with bloodthirst.
[Mana Blade - activated]
[Phantom Drift - activated]
Subaru became a spear of pure intent, tearing through the shadows.
The first assassin had only the briefest heartbeat to register the blur descending upon him before the blade erupted through his chest. His eyes widened in stunned disbelief. No scream left his lips. He simply crumbled, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The second assassin reacted quicker, katana slicing through the air in a desperate arc aimed straight at Subaru.
But Subaru's perception was no longer tethered to the ordinary. The world crawled at a sluggish, deliberate pace. He saw the katana's path as if glowing lines traced its motion in the darkness.
He tilted his head a fraction to the left. The katana grazed his cheek, a whispering sting that left a cold line against his skin.
Subaru retaliated mercilessly, thrusting his hand toward the assassin's throat. Mana, condensed to a deadly edge, sheathed his fingers like an ethereal blade. He gripped the man's neck. A sickening, visceral crack echoed from within the assassin's throat.
Then—
Head and body separated in a spray of crimson, like fruit plucked from an overripe tree. The second assassin hit the ground with a dull thud.
And Subaru... Stood among the carnage, his expression a void, untouched by even a flicker of emotion.
After a tense pause, heavy as lead, he turned to Meili with a voice as flat and cold as the steel in his hand: "Meili. Where are the rest?"
Meili stared at him, her crimson gaze flickering, sensing something monumental had shifted deep within Subaru. A merciless, unwavering resolve now simmered behind his eyes. He would kill without hesitation.
Her voice wavered slightly, barely a whisper: "Four downstairs, Subaru-nii... and three waiting outside..."
Elsa stepped forward then, her steps light, almost playful, as if the scent of blood fueled her joy. A wild grin stretched across her face, her predatory nature fully unleashed.
"I'll deal with the ones outside, Subaru. You tear through the basement."
Subaru nodded slowly, eyes gleaming like twin voids in the darkness.
"Don't lose yourself too much out there," he said, voice icy and detached. "I'll kill them all and come back."
Elsa's smile sharpened, but she offered no reply. She walked to the window, her silhouette framed by the moonlight. With a graceful leap, she vanished into the night, her long black hair trailing like a river of shadows. Tonight, the predator was free once more.
Subaru turned his attention to Meili.
"Meili. Stay in your room. Summon more demon beasts if you can. Protect yourself at all costs."
Meili stepped forward, her small fists clenched, her lips trembling: "Subaru-nii! I... I can fight too!"
Yet Subaru only stared at her, the weight of countless deaths pressing down on his shoulders. This night had only just begun.
Subaru closed his eyes for a long, drawn-out breath, letting it sink deep into his lungs as though trying to anchor his trembling spirit.
Then, with a voice that was both gentle and impossibly firm—one that allowed no argument—he finally spoke:
"Listen closely, Meili. I want you to stay here. No exceptions. No one here wants you to get hurt. So please... stay. And wait."
Meili's lips quivered, her eyes glistening, threatening to overflow. She hated this. She hated being left behind. Yet Subaru's tone brooked no disobedience; even a child like Meili could feel the gravity in his words—an immovable will she could not defy.
Lowering his head ever so slightly, Subaru offered her a soft, fleeting smile. His hand reached out, ruffling her hair in a gesture both comforting and resolute. A silent promise passed between them.
Then, with no further hesitation, Subaru gripped Etherfang tighter and bolted down the stairs. Like a shadow melting into the pitch-black corners of the mansion... He descended toward the battlefield awaiting him.
The shift in the mansion's air was palpable the moment he reached the lower floors. The suffocating tension of death clung to every stone, wrapping the corridors in an unnatural silence that made every footstep echo like a scream. Beatrice was nowhere in sight; she had likely hidden the library again, as was her custom in times of crisis.
From a nearby room, broken, gasping voices drifted through the cracks—Ram and Rem.
Subaru's heart clenched, dread lancing through him like a spear. He raced toward them, the pounding of his steps muffled only by his desperate heartbeat.
At the doorway, an assassin lay sprawled on the ground, his corpse twisted, face-down, pooling in his own blood. Crimson trails streaked across the floor, smearing the scene of a desperate battle where every drop of blood had been hard-fought.
Inside, the sight that awaited Subaru froze his breath in his throat. Ram was huddled behind Rem, her leg mangled, the wound gruesome and leaking dark blood. In front of her, Rem—tiny, yet ferocious—swung her morningstar wildly, her forehead horn radiating with a fierce, bluish glow that sent ripples of mana vibrating through the suffocating air.
The assassin they faced, however, moved like a phantom, slipping past every strike as though dancing through the chaos itself.
Subaru's instincts screamed—'I need to get there now!'
But just as he prepared to move, he felt it. A cold shadow against his back. A razor's edge of intent.
The strike came without warning. A sickle tore into him, and a geyser of hot blood burst from his lips. Agony crashed into his senses like a tidal wave. His knees gave way, collapsing him onto the cold, merciless floor.
Behind him, the sickle was ripped free with a wet, sickening sound. A voice, dripping with mockery, slithered into his ear:
"Never fall for an act, buddy."
The assassin's laugh was like the stench of rotten fruit, vile and suffocating.
Subaru's vision flickered, tunneling into darkness. But still, his mind clung to a single burning thought: 'I can't... I won't die without taking this bastard with me...'
His lungs filled with blood, each ragged breath slicing his insides to ribbons. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. But he refused to falter.
Clenching every ounce of his will, Subaru gathered his dwindling mana into his heart.
In the chaos, Rem's eyes caught sight of Subaru's bleeding form. Her movements hesitated for an instant. A single falter—a single mistake.
And the assassin before her seized it without mercy. He lunged forward like a demon unleashed.
"Fura!" Ram's shriek pierced the room, panic overwhelming her stoic mask. "Sister! Get it together!"
Terror and rage bled together in her voice, desperate and raw.
Subaru blinked away the haze clouding his sight. No. This wasn't how it ended.
Even as agony consumed him, he forced his battered body into motion. His blood boiled, mixing with mana, filling his veins with a furious storm. He was dying. That much was certain. But all that mattered now was landing one final, decisive strike.
Subaru dropped to one knee, choking on the blood flooding his lungs, spilling through clenched teeth. His vision dimmed like a candle flickering in a storm. Yet... He would not yield.
Even as the suffocating weight in his chest crushed him, he pushed the gathered mana from his heart into every corner of his failing body. His muscles screamed. His nerves burned.
Etherfang trembled violently in his grasp, hungering for vengeance.
The assassin, still sneering, stepped back, sickle twirling mockingly in his hands.
"Still standing, are we?" he jeered. "You're... one stubborn bastard... guh..."
But the sentence never found its end.
Subaru hurled himself forward like a thunderbolt unleashed from the heavens.
His first step splattered the floor with his blood. His second made his lungs tear themselves apart. His third raised Etherfang high, poised to strike.
The assassin swung his sickle, but Subaru slid under it in a last-ditch maneuver, the blade whispering death above his head.
Etherfang, infused with Subaru's final surge of mana, gleamed with wrath as he prepared to bring it down with all the fury his broken body could muster.
As struggled to his feet, every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he ignored the pain. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the hilt of Etherfang, the blade that had become both his weapon and his final hope. With gritted teeth, he poured every last drop of his remaining mana into the weapon's edge, forcing it to absorb his essence.
[Mana Blade - Active]
The blade trembled violently, glowing with a blinding intensity. Sparks of condensed mana danced along its length, casting eerie shadows on the bloodstained floor.
And then Subaru let out a scream — more than a war cry, it was the sound of a soul tearing itself apart, of grief, fury, and undying determination given voice:
"DIE!"
The dagger drove forward, straight into the assassin's chest. There was a sickening crunch as bone shattered beneath the force, followed by the wet sound of steel slicing through organs. The assassin's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth gaping as if to scream, but no sound emerged.
Etherfang buried itself deeper. The weapon pulsed, releasing the searing mana stored within. It surged through the assassin's body like wildfire, burning away every trace of life from the inside. Subaru gave a subtle twist of his wrist — just enough to rupture the assassin's heart completely.
The killer crumpled to the floor, a lifeless heap. Yet even as he fell, his glare remained locked onto Subaru, filled with unrelenting hatred.
But Subaru could barely remain standing himself.
Etherfang slipped from his trembling hand, clattering against the stone. His legs buckled, and he fell to his knees, breathing heavily.
Distant voices pierced the haze in his mind — Rem and Ram, shouting, crying. Someone was calling his name, but the words were jumbled, meaningless. All he could see was Rem's figure, running toward him, her face a mask of desperation and sorrow.
His vision blurred, and his chest heaved. The weight of mana depletion, of pain, of everything he had endured, crushed him. But before darkness took him, a final thought anchored him to the moment:
Meili… Ram… Rem… Beatrice… Emilia… Did I… save anyone… this time?
As his eyes slowly closed, the last thing he saw was Rem, her face trembling, tears streaking her cheeks.
And then, Subaru's body went limp. Death embraced him.Yet, before the world completely faded, a whisper echoed in his ear — faint, but unmistakable:
"I love you."
[Return by Death - Active]
With a sudden gasp, Subaru's eyes shot open. He was back. Back in that familiar moment — just before descending the stairs. A transparent system screen hovered before him.
[Ding!!]
A new ability has been copied through [Resonance by Death].
Name: Fade
Type: Active Skill
Effect:
-While active, this skill blurs the user's visibility.
-Enemies struggle to detect or pinpoint the user's exact location.
-Does not require mana to activate.
Subaru stared at the glowing letters. "Fade, huh...?" he muttered. He skimmed the description again. 'Blurs presence. Makes it difficult for enemies to notice the user.'
"So that's how the assassin slipped past me."
A cold realization gripped him. And yet, despite everything, a sliver of hope cut through the fog. This new ability might be the edge he needed.
"Useful..." he whispered.
Clenching his fists, he steadied his breath and took a step forward. Every cell in his body burned with exhaustion, but he couldn't afford hesitation. Not this time.
He descended the stairs.
Once more, the scene unfolded just as before — Rem and Ram, struggling. The same assassin lay on the ground, unconscious or perhaps pretending. The air was thick with tension, and for a brief heartbeat, it felt like time had frozen.
Subaru narrowed his eyes. No mistakes.
He gathered the last motes of mana flickering in the air, guiding them to the blade of Etherfang.
[Overburst - Active]
A radiant surge of energy burst from the blade like a lance of divine judgment. The blue-white mana shot forward and pierced the assassin's chest, obliterating any chance of survival.
The silence that followed was absolute. Then Subaru exhaled, a shaky but victorious breath, and a small smile crept onto his face.
"This time... you're not getting back up "buddy"," he said, voice rasping. His tone was low, but it carried pride, relief, and vengeance fulfilled.
He turned toward Ram. Her shoulder was soaked in blood, her lips pale. Rem was close by, trembling, her breath ragged and uneven. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she dropped to her knees.
Subaru felt his body sway. The aftershock of mana burnout dulled his senses, and the world spun slightly. But he gritted his teeth and stayed upright. He had to.
Suddenly, the assassin locked in battle with Rem froze in place. Like a puppet with its strings severed, he went stiff, unmoving.
A familiar voice cut through the moment:
"Subaru! Rem!"
Emilia's voice, filled with panic and urgency, echoed from across the room. She rushed toward them, her silver hair flowing behind her like moonlight.
From the corpse of the frozen assassin, Puck emerged. His tiny form floated into the air, surrounded by a swirling halo of glimmering ice crystals.
"I'm fine, Mili. Help Ram," Subaru said, his voice cracked but firm. He turned to meet Emilia's concerned gaze.
She nodded without a word. Taking Rem gently by the arm, she guided her to Ram's side. Together, the two women knelt and began to chant healing spells in hushed voices.
Subaru turned to Puck, blinking away the haze. "Puck... how many have you taken out?"
Puck floated higher, his tone calm, but eyes sharp.
"Including this last one, that makes three. There are still three more outside. Betty and Elsa are handling them."
Subaru's heart leapt. A thrill coursed through his weary body.
"I want to see that with my own eyes," he said with a grin. And summoning his final reserves of strength, he turned on his heel and ran toward the exit — toward the next battle, the next breath of hope.
When stepped outside, the chilling remnants of battle painted a grim scene before him. The moonlight cast eerie shadows across the courtyard, illuminating the blood-soaked earth and the broken forms that lay upon it. Beatrice and Elsa stood side by side, their backs straight despite the exhaustion that clung to their frames. Their weapons, stained with the blood of their enemies, hung low in their hands.
Around them, the lifeless bodies of the remaining assassins were scattered like discarded puppets, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Only one of them still clung to life, trembling in the final throes of death.
The dying man coughed weakly, flecks of blood painting his lips. His voice, barely audible, rasped with venom and regret. "Mother... won't forgive you..."
With that final breath, his eyes dimmed and shut, never to open again.
Subaru stepped forward, his gaze lingering on the fallen for a few long seconds. There was no triumph in his expression — only fatigue, sorrow, and a quiet, grim acceptance. The air was heavy with the stench of blood and iron, suffocating in its stillness.
Slowly, he turned toward Elsa. His voice, strained and low, carried across the space between them. "Are you okay? Any wounds?"
Elsa gave him her trademark half-smile, though this time, it was tempered with something more genuine — a softness Subaru had never seen before.
"No need to worry about me," she said gently. "I've had worse. But... thank you. It's nice to be asked."
Subaru nodded, brushing past the subtle undertone in her voice. There was no room for banter tonight. Not after everything they had been through.
His eyes drifted over the corpses. "These assassins... were they from your past? From the same place you came from?"
Elsa's gaze dropped to the nearest body. She exhaled through her nose, a bitter smile forming.
"Yes. According to them... they came to bring us back."
Subaru's jaw tightened. A slow breath left his lungs as he processed her words. Every inch of his body screamed in protest, but still, he managed a small, resolute smile.
"That's not happening," he said quietly, but with unwavering resolve. "Not while I'm still breathing."
Elsa gave a small nod, her eyes glinting with something unspoken. Then, without another word, she turned and walked toward Meili's crumpled form, her movements almost reverent.
Subaru watched her for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the small figure nearby. Beatrice stood with her arms crossed, scowling in her usual fashion.
"Thanks for helping protect the mansion, Beako," Subaru said, his voice sincere.
Beatrice gave a huff, turning her face away with a sharp flick of her head.
"Hmph! Betty merely grew tired of all the bothersome noise these insects were making," she retorted. "Their screeching was unbearable, in fact."
Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heel and stalked off, her twin-tails bouncing behind her.
Subaru allowed himself a faint chuckle, then looked once more at the battlefield. The assassins' bodies lay still, their blood soaking into the cold ground. Slowly, Subaru dropped to one knee, his breath shaky, his expression distant.
Tonight, he had killed three men with his own hands. And no matter the justification, that weight settled into his chest like lead.
The silence stretched on, thick and oppressive.
Then, through the hush, a familiar set of footsteps echoed across the stone. Roswaal approached, as flamboyant as ever, his multicolored robes trailing behind him like a theatrical curtain. His expression was unreadable, a peculiar mix of curiosity and mock amusement.
"My, myyy... What an interesting group of visitors we've had tonight," he mused aloud, his voice drifting like silk through the death-laden air. The tone was so glib, it bordered on grotesque.
Subaru remained kneeling. His hands pressed into the ground, his shoulders trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and something darker. He swallowed hard, fighting the bile rising in his throat.
This... it shouldn't have been this easy. It shouldn't feel so empty.
Then, like a dagger through his thoughts, a cold voice echoed in his mind.
"Don't be so soft," Flugel's voice rang out — sharp, metallic.
"You've already died once. You know what war is. Emotions... they're a liability, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru's fingers dug into the soil. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned bone white.
Some battles end when the blood stops flowing. But others only begin in the silence that follows.
Slowly, Subaru pushed himself upright. The motion was painful, but necessary. His limbs moved like lead, but he forced them to obey. He turned to face Roswaal, and in that moment, his eyes were unreadable — a storm held at bay by sheer will.
"Roswaal," he said. His voice was rough, like gravel. "Did you alert the assassin organization?"
It wasn't a question. It was an accusation.
Roswaal blinked, then offered a theatrically shocked expression. He raised both hands in mock defense, his lips curling into an exaggerated smile.
"Oooh? Subaru-kuuun, how could you think such a thing? Me, betray you? Never! You're far too important! Why, I'd never allow harm to come to my dear ally!"
Subaru stared him down. He could hear the lie — could feel it — nestled in every saccharine syllable. But this wasn't the time.
Without replying, he turned and walked past Roswaal, heading back toward the mansion. Each step thudded with the weight of his exhaustion. His body cried out for rest, but his mind was a storm of unanswered questions and simmering anger.
The battle was over. For now.
But Subaru knew better.
War always left echoes. And some of them screamed the loudest when everything else went quiet.
(A/N: Give me those powerstones.)