6

"R-Right! We should start moving then." Emilia tensed up.

"I'm assuming we'll be traveling by carriage?" The fierce man stood, thinking about his options. It was hard to think out here, though, after all; mere inches away from him lied the corpse of his oppressor.

Except…

The corpse was already gone.

Epitaph didn't warn him?!

"I-Impossible!" Diavolo turned quickly; there was really no trace of her remains any longer.

Subaru flinched at this sudden reaction.

"W-What's up?!" Subaru looked around, puzzled.

Diavolo grabbed his shoulders with his hands and stared directly into his eyes, grabbing the attention of Emilia, who also piped up.

"Elsa's gone."

"Who?" Emilia asked, genuinely concerned.

But just how could she be? He eradicated her and turned her into a gore pile!

Blessings really aren't something to scoff at, that's for sure. Maybe he should have tried to burn her to death? How would he even do that?! Another loop?

"Calm down, Doppio." Subaru put his hands on Diavolo's arms, attempting to mediate him. This gave Subaru horrible flashbacks; nonetheless, Diavolo was acting the same way he did in the first loop.

"She could easily destroy all of our progress, just like nothing." His eyes were filled with dread, and his face was chilling. He let go of Subaru, kicking the dirt in frustration and crossing his arms, looking up at the night sky.

"Progress? What do you mean?" Emilia was now really confused.

Diavolo turned, and Subaru stepped up before he could let a word out.

"Well, I didn't want to reveal it like this, but this actually isn't the first time we've met." The boy began to explain.

"You see, I can return by dea-." He was stopped as a dark force surrounded Subaru and Diavolo.

'W-What?!' Diavolo faced Subaru in shock as he returned a similar look on his panicked expression.

'What's going on? Subaru could think straight, as he couldn't shake off the darkness.

'T-This feeling..' Diavolo held his chest as an invisible hand grasped it yet again. It was just like before.

Then it stopped.

"Progress? What do you mean?" Emilia repeated it like a broken record.

They both fell to the ground and began to breathe like they had just run a mile, holding their chests in unison.

"Are you ok?!" Emilia put her hands on her mouth in panic, running over to them.

Diavolo held out his hand, motioning that he was fine, while Subaru couldn't process what just happened.

"Doppio…. Did you also?!" Subaru ignored Emilia, looking at his ally and barley mouthing these words.

"Indeed…." Diavolo stood, regaining his stamina.

"What happened to you guys?" The girl prepared to heal Subaru before he stopped her.

"W-We're fine! Just an inside joke between us! We're so shocked to be in the presence of such a beauty!" Subaru put on a forced smile towards the girl as she took a few steps back. He panted.

"That wasn't funny at all." She had a more sorrowful face as she crossed her arms in worry.

"No, it wasn't." Diavolo locked eyes with Suabru again as he coughed, they'd need to discuss this later.

"Getting back on topic. We should be heading out now." He attempted to steer things back.

"Ok… But you owe me an explanation." Emilia didn't know what to think now.

…

The carriage was not very comfortable, the seating was awkward, and the constant bumping made it near impossible to rest, combined with the various other sounds that would be heard throughout the night.

Also, Subaru was in the same carriage.

"I hereby rename you Emilia-Tan!" Subaru proclaimed loudly, to the annoyance and cringe of Diavolo, who was trying to sleep after centuries.

"Tan? Is that some kind of foreign expression?" She put a finger on her chin in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I guess you can look at it like that, Emilia-Tan." He flirted as Diavolo prepared to jump out of the carriage.

"Shut UP!" Diavolo screamed in Subaru's direction as he chuckled, now getting used to the boss's brutal approach to things.

"What's the matter, Doppio? Are you getting jealous?" Subaru smirked, unaware that Diavolo had come up with 50 ways to cave his head in just three seconds after uttering this sentence.

"I wish I could go back to Venice." He sighed in defeat.

'I also wish I could fucking kill you' He kept this to himself.

"Where is that?" Emilia asked

"It's part of a place we used to live in. Our home pretty much." Subaru answered immediately.

"Oh… So you are foreigners after all?" She patted herself on the back for guessing correctly before.

"Though I've never heard of Venice before..." She thought for a second.

"Yeah, you won't find it anywhere on any map. It's kind of like a really localized area." He kept the lead.

"Wow… So why did you both come to Lagunica? I'm assuming you weren't there just to help me get my insignia, right?" She hesitated, actually unsure if that was the reason.

"No… We were actually thinking of finally moving out of town. It gets stale living in the same place all the time, right, Doppio?" Subaru nudged his companion.

Before he answered, he sighed heavily and dramatically.

"Yes. So stale." It was clear he was disinterested.

"See?" Subaru awkwardly laughed as Emilia just looked more concerned. Just who were these guys?

"Um… Right."

The carriage continued onward as the sun was beginning to rise.

By now, three of them were asleep; well, two of them were, as Diavolo stayed wide awake.

Sleeping was not an option anymore; Elsa could easily kill that brat. It's not worth the risk of resetting again.

He had a small moment to think about his situation; after all, it was finally beginning to get quiet.

Closing his eyes, he reflected.

What was the next step? A request from a noble of this world would be akin to a get-out-of jail-free card. as if he needed any more of those. But then, what would he even ask for? Money? Or maybe... information? Both?!

He sighed in deep thought, struggling to open his eyes again. Dark circles began to form under them, and it was clear his body was starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep, even if he didn't mentally.

He couldn't drift off; however, it was too dangerous. if they reset…

He tried to fight off the easy feeling of closing his eyes as he finally drifted into rest after what had felt like millions of years.

It was a great feeling. It was too damn great to resist.

…

He opened his eyes, and, to his surprise, he was no longer in the carriage. Luxurious furniture and intricate interior design surrounded him instead.

He sat in a cushioned chair, looking around.

He realized this wasn't an ordinary location. It was none other than one of his hideouts! When he was still in charge of Passione, he had selected several areas in and out of Venice to live in to best conceal his identity. It was only fitting for a boss to be in a suitably comfortable environment.

But how did he get here? Who was in this room with him? Wait….

He noticed several men within the premises of him; it was strange; they felt so nostalgic to see.

One wore a strangely marked beanie-like hat, accompanied by purple and blue clothing with white lines intercepting, similar to the patterns of King Crimson.

Another was wearing a very exposing shirt, shaped like a heart opening his chest. His hair was golden.

It didn't take Diavolo long to fill in the dots.

This was none other than Giorno Giovanna and Guido Mista, two rotten traitors to Passione and one arch enemy to Diavolo.

Why? Why now?!

He was free. And yet he is forced to sit beside these traitors?!

A glow formed beside Giorno, who stared at the former boss with Emerald eyes.

No, that glow... It can't be... NOT AGAIN!

"You will never find the truth. This is a requiem." A shining figure glared into Diavolo's very soul, flaming even more fear than he had ever felt in Lagunica.

The environment around him shifted into a shattered world, with the chair the only connection to his previously rich hideout.

"N-NO! NO MORE! I DO NOT WANT TO DIE ANYMORE!" Diavolo couldn't move as he shook in his binding chair.

Golden Experience Requiem Apart from Giorno, fully revealed itself, floating closer and closer to Diavolo at what felt like the speed of a train.

"S-STOP NO!" His eyes widened as a punch flew in his direction at an impossible speed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Diavolo yelled out in terrified anguish, waking not only himself up but also Emilia and Subaru in the carriage beside him.

"AH! What the heck!?" Subaru awoke almost instantly, and Emilia followed, adrenaline pumping in his veins.

To distract himself, he looked over to the two of them, his wide, open eyes darting between them and hundreds of other things. He shook violently and uncontrollably, and his companions looked at him in concern and fear.

"Doppio?! What's wrong?" Subaru nudged his ally, but it had little effect.

His breaths were uneven as he filled his lungs with as much air as he could muster. As he slowly began to return, sweat was erupting from his face.

"Does he normally do this?" Emilia was really scared, having hardly known Subaru or Diavolo.

"I don't actually know." Subaru tensed up, realizing just how much he didn't know about this guy himself.

His heavy pants soon began to stabilize, and his breathing returned to normal. He closed his eyes for a moment to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.

"Everything alright?" Subaru, naturally compassionate, attempted to console his ally for no reason other than to ensure his safety, even if it meant putting himself at risk. He placed his hand on his shoulder with a worried look.

Diavolo didn't respond, deciding he didn't want to show weakness in front of the boy. If he did, then how would he get his way at all?

He shoved the hand off defiantly, as Emilia simply watched in astonishment.

"Hey! That's not nice! He was just trying to-"

"SILENCE!" Diavolo yelled out in an outburst of anger. It was the only thing he had left, after all.

She quickly stopped talking, a sweat dropping down her neck. Subaru disapprovingly looked at him.

"Just... bring us to this damn noble already." To Emilia's annoyance and scorn, Diavolo illustrated his point with his hands.

"You'll soon see that Roswaal isn't your typical noble…" Emilia didn't even try to explain this.

"W-We've arrived." The carriage driver nervously announced this to the group. The sun is fully out now.

"Perfect timing." Subaru chuckled to himself awkwardly, still off-put by Diavolo's clearly declining mental state. Though he had much to worry about himself..

They all stepped out of the carriage, and Emilia almost instantly made a great deal of distance from Diavolo as they got out.

He noticed this, but didn't care. She was just an objective, a checkpoint.

They were in front of an enormous mansion, one of which even Diavolo had not seen before.

He turned to Emilia with expectation.

"Well?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her to lead them.

Emilia sighed, seriously beginning to reconsider helping these two, especially Diavolo.

"You need to work on how you talk to other people." She glared at him, pissed off. She had a lot to work on too, but Diavolo was on another level.

"I don't care. If you can't handle a simple task, then clearly YOU need to work on your ability to listen to instructions. It's not my responsibility to be nice to anyone." He began scratching at his eyes as he was still waking up after his nightmare, much to Emilia's annoyance.

"Come on, Doppio! Why are you acting like this towards her? She's going so far out of her way to help us." Subaru tried again to steer Diavolo in a more noble direction.

"She angers me. And you do more than her! I await the chance to leave this nonsensical world already." He snarled, fed up with all of the boy's shortcomings thus far.

'Leave this world…?' Emilia wondered.

"Okay, that does it! I'm revoking the 'I'm in charge' policy now." Subaru stood his ground as a great frown formed on Diavolo's already dissatisfied face.

"You have got to be kidding me." He deadpanned.

"Nope! From here on out, we're still doing things my way. I don't want to hear any complaints." He crossed his arms with a cheeky grin.

Diavolo's aura skyrocketed, intense enough to even cause Puck to appear out of hiding.

"What is going on here?" Puck yawned tiredly after waking up, fully manifesting after a couple of seconds.

"Puck-" Emilia was cut off.

"I'm about to strangle this dead-weight idiot. Then kill myself doing so. That way, I won't have to deal with this shit any more." Diavolo answered honestly, causing the entire awkward atmosphere surrounding the group to be even more awkward somehow.

"Hm." Puck stared at Diavolo emotionlessly, realizing he was in fact not kidding, as malicious intent pooled from him.

"Do it then!" Subaru raised his arms in a T-pose, closing his eyes and smiling confidently, saying he wouldn't try it.

"You think I'm joking? I've killed for looking at me the wrong way, and you seriously think I'm going to let you walk out of this situation scott-free? ME?" Diavolo's eye twitched, his aura increasing even more.

"These guys are friends… right?" Puck whispered to Emilia, who backed up further.

"Y-Yeah! I think you're not going to do anything." Subaru doubled-down. He was scared, but he was beginning to realize that being afraid was something he would have to learn to let go of.

Diavolo looked like he was prepared to do something, but scoffed and gave up. As the tension began to dissipate, Subaru took a deep breath in relief.

This opportunity he has now presents a unique chance; he must resist the temptation. He can't kill him, no matter how nice it sounds… no matter how easy it would be… no matter how-

He's getting off topic….

Puck de-manifested as Diavolo's aura stabilized.

"Myyyyy oh my," an even more annoying voice than Subaru's joined Diavolo's mind.

"..." He turned to see a tall, strange man wearing makeup and strange baggy clothes; he could see through the smile he wore in seconds.

The man was accompanied by two maids, who wore red and blue matching hairstyles and heights, respectively. It was uncanny, to say the least.

Emilia greeted the clown-like figure with a smile very formally, as Subaru tilted his head and analyzed them.

"Miss Emilia, it is so great to see you back, Saaaaaafe." He spoke in an almost harmonic way, singing certain words.

"Welcome back, Miss. Emilia." The maids said it in unison.

'That must be Roswaal.' Diavolo realized quickly, knowing full-well appearances were too deceiving, combined with the fact Emilia would greet him in such a way.

'And those two beside him... they must be his body gaurds. Or some sort of… casting? There has to be something to this.' He assessed them, and it was clear there was more than they were letting on from looks alone. Funnily enough, he was receiving a concealed but noticeable bloodthirsty look from the blue-haired maid.

A malicious idea formed in his head as he nudged Subaru, causing him to jolt in surprise.

"Subaru, I believe this is Emilia's appointed clown." He gaslit the naive Subaru for fun, not much caring about the consequences of talking out of turn in front of nobility.

"Right?! It makes so much sense!" Subaru agreed with him, clearly thinking this exactly.

Emilia was beginning to regret bringing them, as she looked exhausted at the two.

"T-That's…." Emilia stuttered. The 'clown' cut her off.

"It is no problem, Miss Emilia. They didn't seem to knooooow." He smiled widely, narrowing his eyes at Diavolo.

"Eh?" Subaru tilted his head.

"I am Roswaal L. Mathers, the lord of this very manor." He diligently corrected, getting closer to teasing Diavolo and Subaru.

Subaru's heart sank as he immediately started to apologize.

"And you are?"

"Natsuki Subaru." He answered

"Delightful! A pleeeeeeasure." He turned to Diavolo.

"And you-" The man paused suddenly.

Oddly, Roswaal's smile faded for a very small moment; it was difficult to notice in a blink. It happened when he stopped to take another look at Diavolo.

"What about me?" Diavolo's brow rose at the turn of events.

"Your name." He didn't bother to fool around with Diavolo.

"Doppio." Diavolo stood his ground, locking eyes with Roswaal, who gave him a fierce smiley glare.

This continued on for a few seconds before the man sighed.

"Well then, Doppio and Subaru, I'm sure we have much to discuss."

"Why don't we head insiiiiide?" He spoke again.

"Sounds good to me." Subaru chirped, wondering what just happened.

'He's hiding something.' This was a thought that wouldn't leave Diavolo's mind.

…..

The group settled into the mansion, sitting down to eat in the manor's dining room. The room was open and clean; it reminded Diavolo of his previous hideouts and how much he actually missed them.

There was also a little girl with blonde, drilly hair sitting with them, which really weirded Diavolo out. She was not established at all, pretty much appearing.

Roswaal looked at them with his usual grin, while his maids stood beside him.

Some food was prepared on the table they sat at; it was rich food, but even without that trait, Subaru and Diavolo would have devoured it anyway; they've lacked food intake for the past couple of days of looping.

"This food is phenomenal!" Subaru had to say something.

"MMMM! Of course, Rem is a delightful cook regardless of her looks." Roswaal gloated proudly, holding his hand out towards the blue-haired girl.

"You made this?" Subaru asked curiously.

"Yes, sir, I do the cooking. My sister is not very good at cooking." She replied.

"Oh, so your sister does the clearing, right? You both do good at different things." He poked for more.

"Correct, my sister excels at housework and chores." She replied again.

'This is so pointless; why does he seek to ask such questions that do not move us forward?' Diavolo prepared to throw his fork at Subaru, thinking about what to ask Roswaal in the meantime.

"So does that mean…. Um…" Subaru stopped talking mid-sentence, noticing her calm demeanor shifting into a more angry one.

"Did I do something to make you angry? I'm sorry!" Subaru apologized.

She ignored Subaru, staring directly at Diavolo, who continued to play with the fork, pretending to chuck it at his ally.

He turned to face her, noticing her rage was yet again directed at him.

"Oh? Is there food on my face or something?" He jokingly tried to play off her clear hatred.

She sighed frustratedly before whispering something to Roswaal.

Diavolo called upon his stand as King Crimson appeared above the table, invisible to everyone.

He silently moved his spirit towards the two, listening to their conversation in King Crimson's ear.

"I do not trust either of these men; they reek of the witch. Especially the one with the pink hair…" She whispered to him.

"I understand, Rem. We shall decide how to handle them once they've established their demands, the other one may present an issue… he defies the predictions.." The man used his hand to signal for her to return to standing beside him.

Diavolo recalled his stand: Just who was this 'witch' he keeps hearing about, and what does it have to do with them?

"So, Subaru, Doppio. I understand you went so far out of your way to retrieve Miss Emillia's insigniaaaaaa." Roswall cuffed his hands and put his chin over them.

They nodded in unison.

"I am very thankful for this; if Miss Emilia were to lose that insignia, then it would mean her guaranteed loooooooss in the selection."

She decided to finally say something, being quiet the entire time at the table.

"What he says is true. You seriously helped me out with this. If you need something, go ahead and say so." She looked at Subaru when saying this; she didn't want to give Diavolo too much credit.

"Yes, just say the word, and I will do all in my power to accommodate your request." The man raised his arms dramatically.

Diavolo realized that Subaru would probably say something stupid, so he immediately stood to speak for both of them again.

"Give us a lifetime supply of holy coins." He yelled out.

Subaru held out his hand in protest, unsure of what to say next.

"W-Wait, could we also work here?!" Subaru tried to correct their demands. A line was drawn between the two.

"Hmmmmm, I can only grant one of those requests." Roswaal answered.

"You idiot! Why would we need to work here if we have an endless supply of funds?" Diavolo facepalmed.

"No! You're the idiot here! Why do that when you can surround yourself with beautiful girls like Emilia and Rem while also getting free food, housing, and labor to do to pass the time?! No amount of holy coins will ever replace that!" Subaru blurted this out, causing Emilia to blush and Rem to feel very uncomfortable.

"I-I… You…. Wh- I am at a loss for words. Truly, each and every time you speak, it seems like I lose more of my intelligence. Why on… WHAT!?" Diavolo sat down, defeated planting his face into the table, contemplating suicide yet again.

The entire table was silent.

"Heh! It seems like we're working here starting today, Roswaal sir!" Subaru smiled.

The pink-haired maid sneezed.

"Veeeeeery weeeeell." The man smiled even wider.

Diavolo slammed the table in defiance,

"Truly, fate is cruel…"

….

Before they could start working, much to Diavolo's displeasure, they needed to have proper attire.

After some measurements were done on the two, custom made butler outfits were fitted onto them.

Diavolo wore the outfit with grace, it made sense that professional looking clothes fit him well.

"Wow, I'm shocked. You actually look good with proper clothes on." Subaru complemented the murderous psychopath, finally getting a good look at him without his signature fishnet and pants.

"And you STILL look weak and frail. Do not think to insult my attire, boy; it is dignified. The 'fishnet' as so many call it is actually a very refined and awe-sticking article. It highlights my stature, and complements my violet pants perfectly." He gave a very strange and uncharacteristic answer, causing Subaru to try not to laugh at the response.

"A-Are you serious?… It's just a fishnet. I thought you were homeless or something when I first met you.. PFFFT, BWAHAHAHA!" Subaru burrowed into a laughing fit, as Diavolo stood with the scariest look Subaru had ever seen from him.

"Haha…hah… Uh…. wait, what are you doing?! STOP!" Subaru stopped laughing quickly as Diavolo stared at him, the pressure of the stare causing him to sink to his feet and bow in forgiveness.

"Know your place." He crossed his arms in accomplishment, unsure of why he had achieved victory this time.

"T-That outfit is too powerful, it makes you look so scary…" Subaru cried to himself, shuddering.

"I've noticed many have pointed out your eyes, actually. I wonder what makes yours so 'scary' to others? All I see is incompetence." Diavolo examined Subaru with a finger on his chin.

"Pardon my intrusion." the pink haired maid, named 'Ram' stepped into the wardrobe-like room they both resided in, they turned.

"Hmph, you look acceptable." The maid named 'Ram' gave them both a look, giving a look of disgust to Subaru for some reason.

"She clearly understands." Diavolo nodded at this, she gave a thumbs up toward him.

"T-Then why did she look at me like I was trash?" Subaru pointed to himself.

Diavolo coughed loudly, as she finally spoke up again.

"We're going to begin by first assessing both of your skills. After we identify a pattern, I'll assign each of you tasks based on the assessment. Let's start with Su- with Barasu, since it will likely be quick."

"Barasu…? What does that mean?" Subaru tilted his head.

"It's your name. Do you really need me to explain something so simple?" She wrote something down on some paper furiously making Subaru panic.

"O-Oh did I just lose points?!" Subaru held his hair in shock.

She wrote something even harder.

"If I may add, while Su-... while Barasu is very incompetent in many things, please consider the fact he possesses a strong will." Diavolo commented this out of the blue, surprising both Ram and Subaru.

"D-Doppio…" Subaru began to cry for some reason.

Diavolo sighed, already regretting speaking for him.

"As you can clearly see he is VERY incompetent." Diavolo held out his hand toward Subaru affirming this.

"Hmph. To be honest, I wasn't actually assessing either of you. I just thought it would be funny to see you squirm." Ram giggled to herself devilishly, checking off some kind of box on the piece of paper.

"You clearly are a bad judge of character then." Diavolo corrected her, sighing into his palm.

"Hm? You really think I can't catch you off guard?" She stayed calm whilst saying every word.

Diavolo knew better, he's been caught off guard way too many times already.

"Yes. Anything you try will fail. It is fate." Diavolo didn't need to explain.

"... Ok…" She stared at him mischievously, as he blinked at this.

"So when do we start working." Subaru was motivated.

"Hopefully never, I'd like to leave already." Diavolo yawned.

"We'll start outside." She led the way.

…

They were outside doing some yard work near the bushes that surrounded the mansion with the pink-haired maid.

"This is absolutely pointless…" Diavolo sighed, doing twice the amount of work with King Crimson.

"Aw, come on! A little work won't do you any harm." Subaru tried to motivate him, to adverse effect.

"I'm sick of you. All you do is cause issues for both of us. Why out of all the possible things…" He glared at him and sighed, tired and annoyed.

Subaru sighed; it seemed like Diavolo was always angry.

"What can I do to make it up for you then?" Subaru genuinely asked.

"You can start by convincing Roswaal to reconsider our reward. Then, you can go ahead and cut ties with me and not die in that time, until I escape or find a way to break our curse." He yet again replied brutally and honestly.

"Ok then…." Subaru just went back to working, realizing quickly negotiation was pointless with Diavolo.

Diavolo decided to try and dig deeper to find the root cause of his idiocy.

"Why exactly do you want to work here, seriously? We could have been out of here by now with an endless supply of holy coins. Does that concept not sound promising to you at all?" Diavolo questioned, still working.

"Well, it's not that it doesn't sound promising. I actually almost considered just asking for that. I just thought, It's not very fun, is it? An easy way out sort of." He answered honestly and compassionately.

"Fun…?" Diavolo was shocked that he could be so careless.

"I guess fun isn't the right word. There isn't even a word to describe it. I just want to work for things rather than have them handed to me on a silver platter." Subaru kept talking.

"Back where I was from originally, I didn't actually have a great life. To me, this is sort of like a fresh start." He stopped finally.

Diavolo sighed, halting his work for a moment.

"I suppose you are too modest for your own good Natsuki Subaru. You sound like a person I knew a long time ago." Diavolo said this nostalgically, opening up very slightly.

"Hm?" He tilted his head at this.

"His name was Bruno. And though I completely despised him at the time, The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized he was just fighting for a better life." Diavolo, uncharacteristically, began to trail off, looking into the white clear sky.

"You say 'was'... what happened to him?" Subaru questioned me curiously.

"I killed him. Twice." He chuckled, that was just how it was.

"Oh…." Subaru went silent. This guy was a murderer through and through.

Wait, twice?

"You piece things together quite slowly too, boy. But you have a whole life ahead of you. You can do things better than I or Bruno ever could have. You can actually live ignorant." He spoke, beginning to get annoyed at how sympathetic he was feeling.

"Although I did respect Bruno, I did not respect Giorno. Nor did I respect their actions against me. Those filthy traitors." Diavolo's aura spiked again, as his reminiscing soon turned to revenge plotting.

"And apart from that similarity, in truth you are not very alike in the slightest; Bruno was actually somewhat logical in his approach to… everything." He was about to say more,

"Enough talking; we need to finish this; otherwise, I think Ram is going to be angry at us." Subaru reminded Diavolo they were still stuck at the manor.

"And stop being such a jerk to me!" Subaru whined, causing Diavolo to roll his eyes.

"Get back to work." Ram gave Subaru a jolt.

They promptly began to work again. Subaru smiled a bit, finding out a little more about his ally. Ram just looked at them suspiciously, plotting something of her own.

…

Both Subaru and Diavolo now sat in a break room of sorts, taking a moment to relax.

"Subaru." Diavolo said sharply, locking eyes with Subaru.

Subaru turned tilting his head,

"Huh?" he was shocked Diavolo initiated conversation.

"We need to talk about what happened with the girl." He needed to bring this up.

"Y-Yeah. That was odd. It was like we couldn't tell her about the looping." He scratched his head.

"Well, that's exactly what it was." Diavolo clarified.

"Want to put it to the test then?" Subaru asked him.

"Hm, perhaps another time. I don't wish to feel like that again right now." He reminded Subaru of the panic and exhaustion that ensued.

"G-Good point. I guess it's just good to know." Subaru sighed, a little saddened by this fact.

"Listen to me, boy. Whatever transpires from here on out is shared between us. Whether either of us like the arrangement, the sooner we come to terms the better chances we have." Diavolo explained this to Subaru, having realized this himself.

"But you know… not being able to tell people is gonna be a real problem for us." Subaru looked down, his expression gray.

"I shall ensure things stay filtered. I've said so before, boy. Leave everything to me, and we won't have any more problems." Diavolo stood, and raised his hand to Subaru.

"You've said that before? Heh, maybe I don't remember." He grabbed his hand. As they both stood up.

"But, please don't kill so mercilessly. I won't work well with a killer."

'You already are.'

…

The moon was out now, and the beautiful, clear sky of the world was shining. Subaru stayed outside, observing it with Emilia, while Diavolo decided to stay inside and explore.

He walked with no real destination in mind across a wide and almost endless hallway; it was just as clean as every other part of the manor and featured many door entrances.

'I wonder how they are going to try to kill us.' Diavolo put a finger on his chin as the thought crossed his mind.

It was obvious Roswaal was plotting on murdering the both of them when they were off guard; their body language and talk of 'trust' behind their backs confirmed so.

The question was, when?

He'd be prepared; Epitaph ensured that, but Subaru wouldn't; he'd have to protect him again.

Diavolo decided to randomly open one of the doors to see what was behind it.

Upon doing so, he entered an impressive library, featuring columns and columns of books across the room.

The most notable aspect of the room was the blonde little girl, though.

"Hm? How did you get in here, I suppose?" The girl closed her book and looked towards Diavolo, who was equally confused.

"I opened the door. There really isn't any other way to enter a room." Diavolo deadpanned.

"This is no ordinary room, I suppose." She sighed, not elaborating.

"Regardless, I am here." He stood his ground.

"You would benefit from leaving before I kick you out, I suppose." She growled in a monotone voice.

"Hoh? Go ahead and try it." Diavolo raised his arms, ready to put her in the correct place.

She instantaneously appeared before Diavolo, to his surprise, and put her palm on his chest.

He foresaw this moments ago.

"KING CRIMSON!" He quickly erased time, making sure to hide behind some books.

She no longer held out her hand and was instead just standing where Diavolo was previously.

"H-Huh? Is he gone?" She looked around confused and disoriented at the skip in time, clearly put off by his power.

"Do you understand just how powerful I am?" Diavolo stepped from behind the book collum.

"Your speed is terrifying, I suppose." She didn't bother to attack again.

"Are you going to try again?" He was cocky.

"It is a pointless battle, I suppose." She gave up.

"I agree. Can you tell me some things about this world?" Diavolo decided to ask her some questions; it would be better to get some information and then just leave.

"I don't wish to talk right now, I suppose; we haven't even reached a name basis, I suppose." She pouted.

"Fine then. My name is Doppio; what is yours?" Diavolo played along.

"Your name isn't Doppio, I suppose; lying is very rude." The girl put a spotlight on him.

After a moment of being silent, he spoke again.

"Diavolo then." This was all he said; it was debilitating to use his real name after keeping it hidden for so long.

"Beatrice, I suppose." This was all she said, acknowledging his honesty.

"So… Are you going to help me, Beatrice?" He asked.

"No, please leave already, I suppose." She now looked disinterested and went back to reading.

'Is every single person in this world a compulsive dickhead?' Diavolo thought ironically,

"At the very least, tell me who the witch of envy is. I hear it everywhere." He pleaded.

She closed her book at this, locking eyes with him yet again.

"Are you an idiot, I suppose?" She growled

"No, the idiot isn't with me right now, I suppose." Diavolo countered

Her eye twitched at this.

"You reek of the witch, yet you don't seem to know who they are, I suppose?" Beatrice was now getting concerned.

"Correct, 3 out of 5 within this mansion want me and the boy dead because of it." He pieced this together hours ago.

"Hm, very well, Betty will comply just this once." She closed her eyes, holding a finger up, explaining,

"The witch of envy, also known as 'Satella', was a powerful half-elf mage, responsible for causing an event known as the great calamity over 400 years ago, I suppose." She elaborated

"What was the great calamity? Why did she go so far?" He inquisited.

"The great calamity was catastrophic; to say the least, Satella had essentially destroyed half of the world using her power. Thus, this gives her the reputation of being a universal threat, I suppose." She clarified.

"As for why, not much is known other than the fact she was 'envious' about something or someone all those years ago. Today, her current whereabouts are unknown, I suppose."

"Interesting, but that begs the question: why do I and the boy reek of such a threat?" He was imagining several possibilities.

"Betty does not know, but it is getting on Betty's nerves to try and ignore the stench, I suppose." She held her nose in disgust.

"Very well, this was informative. I shall leave you to your library." He turned and prepared to step out.

"Good, don't come back; Betty hates visitors unless they bring bubby, I suppose." She opened her book back up.

"..." He was weirded out even more, wondering what 'bubby' was.

When he stepped out, he looked out the window to see that Emilia and Subaru were no longer out in the grass.

'I'll have to find out where he went off to.' He decided to open up another door while thinking about this.

It was the library again somehow, and Beatrice was dissatisfied.

"I thought you were leaving, I suppose." She was annoyed.

"Me too. You said this room wasn't normal, which is clear in the way it defies the laws of physics." He pondered; it reminded him of 'Mr. President', a stand that created a separate dimensional space for people to temporarily hide.

"Betty does not know these 'laws' you speak of, nor these 'physics', but it sounds stupid, I suppose." She pouted.

"Hmph, regardless, I know you happen to know the layout of the mayor; do you mind guiding me to the whereabouts of the moron?" He asked

"I am getting very annoyed by your constant requests, I suppose. This room is connected to every door within the manor through transportation magic. I'll allow you to exit into his room, so you leave me alone, I suppose." She waved her hand as the room shook for a moment.

'Magic, how interesting it is.' He thought about this for a moment.

"Leave now, I suppose." She covered her face with the book, clearly fed up with Diavolo's antics.

"I hope so." He walked out again.

When he stepped out, he had been in a new room. It was a small room, accompanied by a bed, table, and Subaru.

In this case, Subaru was fast asleep.

"Of course he lets his guard down just like that, leaving all the work in my hands." Diavolo sighed, facepalming.

He looked out the little window that occupied the room, seeing that it was still dark outside. He wondered how much time actually passed within the library.

He pulled out a chair from the study table and sat in it, crossing his arms and waiting for the enemy to approach and Epitaph to warn him.

'Give me your worst.' He smirked, ready for another fight.

Hours passed, as he was beginning to feel incredibly tired. Too tired.

Before they had stopped working, Roswaal had decided to feed the group again for dinner. Which wasn't unusual itself, but the fact they had discussed Diavolo and Subaru's 'dealing with' hours earlier made him suspicious.

He ate anyway, along with Subaru, wondering while sitting in the room with him now if that was actually a mistake.

He began to feel nauseous as his vision turned blurry. This was not ordinary sleep deprivation. He had been poisoned. It made so much sense.

It seemed that Epitaph was only able to predict minutes into the future as opposed to hours, as even Diavolo didn't foresee such a scenario. It was annoying, as he's done it many times himself.

"D-Damn it." He held his neck with both hands as he began to vomit uncontrollably, blood surfacing beneath the food he ate moments ago.

A pain began to rise in his chest as his heartbeat increased rapidly. This was a poison clearly not meant for someone awake, as his eyes began to water uncontrollably, and he resisted the effects with agonious determination.

'Must stay alive.' He didn't want to lose all of their progress again. Too much was on the line.

He fought with all his might, somehow managing to outlast the effects of the concoction he ingested. He was not an ordinary man, after all.

After what felt like years of suffering, he was incredibly weakened, looking over at Subaru, who was somehow still sleeping soundly, though his breaths were noticeably less apparent.

'NO! THE BOY!' Subaru also ingested the poison. Diavolo began to panic.

It didn't matter if Diavolo lived, because Subaru would soon die and reset them anyway.

He limped over to Subaru and tripped as his legs gave out, knocking the chair over and making a loud sound.

Besides the chair, a noticeably louder sound of chains was beginning to approach their room as its rattle echoed through the large halls.

That didn't matter now; Diavolo continued to try and awaken Subaru; if he died, all of this was for nothing.

He finally crawled to the bed he was sleeping in, punching him in the face with King Crimson. He was desperate.

This immediately woke Subaru up, who moaned in pain from the sudden jolt.

"Gah! What the hell?!" He blinked a few times, then began to feel the effects of the poison himself.

He vomited similarly to Diavolo, holding his neck with one hand in pain.

He looked over, barely able to see anything due to his blurred vision, to see Diavolo beside him, panting rapidly and coughing up blood.

"What's….going on…." Subaru could hardly formulate any words; his breathing was heavy.

"Poison, Roswaal, Dinner." Diavolo was concise with his words, as they established a clear cause for Subaru.

Subaru was on board now, but he was hardly able to stay conscious due to the poison. Diavolo slapped him in the face.

This managed to keep him up, but the chains were finally catching up with the both of them, as right outside the door they stopped.

Diavolo's eyes widened at the vision he then foresaw, as his hair positioned itself across his eyes to show Subaru's beaten and bloody corpse.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, cracking his neck in preparation.

He stood, regaining a little strength, and stared at the door.

"I know you're out there, Rem." Diavolo taunted.

The door was demolished, as a gigantic spiky ball was slammed through it, putting a hole through the door and the window and destroying the bed.

Diavolo, knowing this, had moved Subaru out of the way before it could hit him, but he wasn't done there.

"KING CRIMSON…." He activated time erasure, but felt a strain on his body as he coughed up even more blood. He really was out of his prime.

With the time he had, he moved Subaru outside and placed him on the floor. Time was erased. He was using the wall as support.

"Do not resist." The chilling, calm voice of Rem echoed. She was still looking in the room, not aware that time had been erased and they had both escaped.

"Get up!" Diavolo tried to help Subaru off the floor, but he was completely out of stamina due to the poison. Diavolo fell as his legs fully gave out.

Subaru, not being as powerful as Disvolo, was already unconscious.

"No! we got so far this time..." The boss could only watch as Rem finally noticed them outside in the hall as she took small steps towards them, dragging her incredibly large mace with her.

"Are you affiliated with the Witch Cult?" She predominantly said.

"No, we just smell like the witch, we are inflicted with a curse!" Diavolo was out of options, so he tried to reason the best he could.

That answer wasn't good enough; she swiftly flung the mace at Diavolo, who was impacted directly in the chest by the spiky ball. It had fractured many ribs.

"Gah!" He yelled out in pain as a pool of blood formed beneath him and Subaru, he was filled with invigoration and might.

"Do not lie. I ask again, Who are you, and why do you smell like the witch?" She didn't stutter.

"I'm going to kill you next time. You and everyone in this mansion will fall beneath me." Diavolo grinned wildly, looking directly at her, as his wounds bled profusely. He wanted to go out his way, always.

"Hmph, you're scum." She flung the mace at him again, this time destroying his head.

All that was left was Subaru, who was barely conscious now.

"R-Rem… why…" He faintly cried, not understanding how it could have come to this.

"It's your turn; who are you, and why do you smell like the witch?" She glared at Subaru.

"I thought we were friends. Why?" He continued to bawl as tears ran down his face.

She mercilessly threw the ball towards him, destroying his legs.

"AHHHHHH!" He yelled out in agony; it was unbearable.

"Answer. Me." She stared at him.

"I'm sorry. I don't… know…" He could hardly cry anymore, as his tears were soaked into the floor.

"You liar!" She threw the ball at his head, and he was dead too.

….