9

It was another morning in the Astrea Estate, the sun was high in the air as the members of Felt camp had long eaten breakfast and had begun their day. Whilst Felt continued her studies, necessary to her candidacy she had left it to the remaining members of her camp to continue to take the chance to train, something that was quickly resulting in the utter exhaustion of three beaten men.

"Am I going about this too hard on them? Or I am going in the wrong direction altogether?" Leo couldn't help but ask Kou, knowing that the spirit would be near him and listening to his mental words.

"I believe that there is nothing wrong with your approach, it's important to see their current limits first and you now have revealed them." Kou quickly replied as they continued to look down at the exhausted thugs before them that were still trying to pull themselves together.

The thugs, nicknamed Ton, Chin, and Kan, were a relative mess after each having their turns in fighting against Leo one at a time and each of them falling roughly as swiftly for one another. With Reinhard still missing since his summonings, it had in an awkward turn fallen to Leo to take the role of teacher and trainer for the three newest recruits of the camp until the knight made his return to take over.

There was a small part of Leo that quite enjoyed the idea of taking the role of instructor, yet at the same time, he was constantly mulling over his thought about whatever his next course of action should be.

"I was told to simply help them become stronger but… what's next? Physical training? I naturally gained some of that by constantly fighting with Reinhard but he's skilled enough that he can actually adjust the level he fights at so it's beneficial. Compared to me who can simply beat them down instead…"

"I would make a suggestion about training the one called Chin in fire magic, but you possess neither the affinity nor the sufficient skill in magic to make for a teacher," Kou replied with his own opinion on the matter.

"He's got knife skills it seems, maybe I could try engaging him in a few light fights about that, or perhaps marital arts? I think they could all benefit from at least some basic training in that."

"You know martial arts beyond the sword? I've yet to see the knight train you in such proficiencies."

"That doesn't mean I have never learned before, I was taken to lessons as a kid and kept up with them for a while for self-defense purposes mainly. I'm no grandmaster, but I'm sure I can get the job done in most instances."

"Then that would stand to be the most recommendable option unless the great spirit Cecily is willing to teach."

"I have a feeling she would if I asked her, not that I know how he would react to being forced into magic lessons under a great spirit…"

"Is that all the crap you're going to throw at us?" Chin asked as he and the others managed to finally pick themselves up despite their various wounds which mostly consisted of bruises.

"No, I was just thinking over what would be the best starting point for you considering what you've shown when fighting against me." Leo nonchalantly replied as he finally left a thinking position that he had been holding for a noteworthy amount of time. "At this point, just fighting with you isn't going to do anything so I'm better off just teaching you some basic martial arts and physical training, but if you have enough ability for it, then there's also some magic training you can try."

"Aside from Chin, we don't even know if we can use magic! And what do you think you're doing making us begin to work out after just beating us like that!" Kan angrily snapped back at the prospect.

"Hm? But Chin was sounding so raring for more just a moment ago?" Leo said with a sly grin as the group stepped back in hesitance, "Besides, Reinhard never gave me breaks during training times. You could imagine that I constantly got defeated by him but that never marked the end, I always had to get up to try again. It's only by reaching your limits and continuing to push can hope to show any improvement after all."

"Blast it, Chin, why did you have to say that to him?!" Ton said as the three scowled at the relaxed, confidant knights apprentice that stood before him.

"Anyway, surely you would be willing to have your magical ability told to you at the very least, right? I can't do it, but Cecily isn't my only spirit you know?" Leo continued, not at all caring for how the three were reacting to him whilst Kou made himself present as he floated above Leo's palm at the ready.

"And he has multiple…" he heard one of the thugs mumble underneath their breath but he didn't pay it any attention.

"I do hope you remember the nature of our current contract and its temporary existence," Kou replied to Leo, yet he still couldn't hear any trace of emotion in the spirit's voice that was in his mind yet he could still tell that it was slightly irritated.

"I know, and sorry but Cecily's currently elsewhere with Flam and Grassis and I can't do it myself. I hope that you don't mind doing something like this, it isn't hard for you is it?"

"Most certainly not, for a water spirit the small act of merely examining a person's gate is trivial." Kou quickly replied resolutely before floating off towards the three thugs that stiffened at its approach.

"Just relax and stay still, you won't even notice anything," Leo told the trio as they all watched Kou continue its business, floating from one of the young men to another until it finally retreated back to Leo allowing them to catch their breath now the spirit was done with them.

"So, what about us?" Chin asked.

"Kou says that you're the only one with a gate that has enough potential, and that fire is your only affinity, in short, nothing new," Leo answered to the disinterest of the group.

"As we thought." Kan said with a huff, "It was just a waste of time."

"I would like it if you showed a little more respect and thankfulness to Kou for taking the time to check your gates still… there was still the possibility that there was potential that you weren't aware of." Leo snapped back whilst Kou took the time to energetically float up and down, as if in agreement with what Leo had said making the thugs begin to tense up once more.

Yet there was no time for them to say anything to the spirit as the group in the courtyard was soon joined by three more individuals that made their way over in great haste. "Sir Leo," Flam called out to him as she and her sister hastily yet gracefully walked over, whilst Cecily began a light jog instead.

"Master, Master, the horrible clown came here!" Cecily said with an irritated expression as she clung to Leo, much to his confusion.

"Horrible clown? I haven't you call anyone that so far…" Leo replied as he racked his mind for anyone that would likely fit the discretion that the spirit would likely give them.

"She speaks of Subaru, Sir Leo. He came here looking to request the help of Reinhard from Miss Felt, but since he isn't here Miss Felt has taken the chance to recommend you instead." Grassis explained as they worriedly looked up at him.

"And is Subaru willing to accept my help…" Leo asked, his mood already notably sinking at the prospect of already dealing with the sharp-eyed boy. 'I know his mental state rapidly changes but there is no way that he's going to be in a decent mindset to not be a pain already…' he thought to himself.

Just earning of his name was enough to bring back vivid enough memories of the previous morning and the end result that had occurred from it. It was something that he was not willing to put up with again, especially if Subaru was still going to vent off on people around them again.

"He seemed begrudging but also desperate enough to say yes, Miss Felt is likely going to request you to assist him with his troubles. But the full situation is something you should hear from them." Flam answered before worriedly waiting for however, Leo would take to the news as he released a heavy sigh in response.

"He should remember how he behaved yesterday if he wants your help! He has too much attitude like this!" Cecily shouted out with a pout.

"I agree with you there but if Felt's making the orders then I have to obey if I have to give him benefit of doubt to make it easier… if he came first looking for Reinhard I want this to be serious." Leo huffed, now taking the chance to hold Cecily's hand feeling firsthand her full frustration as he tightly squeezed down on him. "You three are saved by Felt then, Flam, Grassis, could you lead?"

"Of course, Sir Leo." The twin maids answered in unison before turning around to lead the way back into the house, leaving the thug trio of their own to puzzle over the situation that had just unfolded before them…

"You want me to help you do what?!" Leo exclaimed, barely a minute after entering the room where Felt, Subaru, Rem, and some attendants were waiting for them.

"I said…" Subaru repeated as he bit his lip tightly enough that it had begun to bleed, his own frustration and hatred about the situation clearly being quite horrible in its own right. "I need help to kill the witch cult. They're going to attack the village, and the mansion, Emilia and everyone is going to be slaughtered if we don't do something."

"And how do you know this…" Leo asked in uncertainty, the attention in the room shifting back to Subaru.

"While we were at Crusch we heard her reports… and they might be doing it because Emilia is a half-elf," Subaru replied as silence filled the room again Rem merely took the chance to nod in agreement from her position standing beside Subaru. "I've already asked the other candidates for help but they weren't willing to do crap, so I asked for Reinhard's help but he's gone on a mission apparently…"

"Yeah… he's also dealing with a witch cult matter, on behalf of the council of wise men. Doesn't that overlap with what you want?" Leo replied but Subaru just shook his head.

"Whatever he's doing… it's not about what's happening to Emilia." Subaru replied with notable rage as it remained clear that whatever he was thinking, it likely wasn't something positive about Reinhard.

'I wonder if he's thinking something along the lines of Reinhard being worthless since what he's doing is of no help to him right now and not giving him an easy option…' Leo couldn't help but think to himself as he eyed Subaru both critically and with disdain.

"But, you'll be able to do something instead, so, if you'll help destroy them…" Subaru then said, now looking back up with a mixture of frustration and desperation once again, seemingly everything of his hinging on whatever Leo would answer with.

"How do you know that I'm enough? You requested me to go up against a whole terrorist organization, I don't know how many or how strong their members are on average…"

"You can't just do nothing, you have to try to do something! You'll just be leaving them otherwise!" Subaru shouted as he got to his feet, his emotions clearly beginning to carry him away again whilst Rem worriedly glanced at Subaru before speaking up herself.

"Sir Leo, when I was much younger the witch cult were the ones to attack my village and destroyed it… I have fought them before then and I remain confident in my ability and desire to strike them down as well, you won't be fighting alone. I'm sure that someone of your stature and strength would have an even easier time against them than I would. So long as their numbers aren't so overwhelming that they manage to exhaust us that is…"

"Hey, don't you have a way of dealing with things like exhaustion? If your fighting cultists then you'll never run out of gas right? You know, because of your…" Felt interjected as she tried to hint at what Leo could obviously tell was his authority.

"Cecily is a great spirit, right? She's powerful as well too, isn't she? I'm certain that between Rem, you and Cecily, you could win! And even then there's Ram back in the mansion! We don't have to win, just buy enough time in order to carry out an evacuation!" Subaru pleaded once more as Leo eventually sighed in response.

"I'm not so cold that I'd leave innocent people to die if there's something that I might be able to do about it… but I do want to hear a plan before we do anything." Leo sighed in response as he finally took a seat on a spare sofa with Cecily joining him on his lap again, kicking her legs about with a faint pout.

"This isn't just about him Cecily, it's about all the people of the village and Emilia, you don't wish harm on them, do you?" Leo silently communicated to the spirit as he sensed displeasure from her.

"No! I like her a lot and her kitty! I'm happy to help you save other people because of your kindness! I just wish that he would apologize or make it sound like it's more for their sake and not his…" Cecily cried back in response, an answer that he couldn't find himself disagreeing with.

"Right, you've got a point there… How about we get everyone to head to the manor and we can play defensive whilst having a few people go offensively for the leader? And if the opportunity arises then maybe we can try to get everyone to evacuate when possible."

"Not a bad immediate suggestion…" Leo replied as he thought over the idea. "Their leader would be a sin archbishop, right? This would mean that we're picking a fight with some kind of authority… and do you have an idea where the witch cult is likely hiding out? You make it sound like we can just go right to them."

"Yeah… there were reports on where they were most likely based after all… I don't get quite what their goal is or what exactly they are waiting for but I know that we need to destroy them before they can do anything!" Subaru replied as he pounded his own lap with continued infuriation.

"And Rem, you're willing to back his every word that he's said?" Leo said, whilst the blue-haired maid politely nodded in response whilst not actually saying anything in response to Leo's notice. "Fine, if Felt is alright with then we'll help."

"Well of course I'm going to tell you to go! Bro and Big Sis are in trouble, we can't just leave them like that!" Felt snapped back, "You're going to go help save them, but just don't lose your own head out there…" she said, settling back into her chair with a faintly bashful and worried expression, clearly awkward about showing her concern for him as she eventually released a small huff of frustration.

"There's no need to worry, me and master will be able to handle everything by ourselves! They won't stand a chance!" Cecily happily cheered as she jumped to her feet, "And if we do well enough then maybe I'll be able to meet with the kitty again!"

"You're really smitten with Puck, aren't you?" Leo asked.

"Yes, with the aid of a great spirit and the sword saints apprentice, I'm certain that we'll be able to push back the witch cult! Rem will make sure that she won't get in your way when the time comes!" Rem excitedly tagged on with her own excitement, "Isn't this good Subaru, we've finally managed to acquire some assistance! What should we…"

Rem found her words escaping her however as she looked back at Subaru to see him breaking into a cold sweat with wide, panicked eyes. Yet the expression lasted for only as long as a mere moment it left her doubting if her eyes had truly perceived him correctly.

"Right, come on! There's no time to waste, I need to get to Emilia!" Subaru declared as he got to his feet with determination, making Rem further question her eyes until she finally accepted the situation…

"It's going to be the dead of night by the time we arrive there, I understand the urgency but I don't think that things will go nicely if we're stuck in the dark," Leo said whilst he remained seated in the back of a wagon that was pulled along by a land dragon, whilst Cecily and Grassis were sat with him as Rem and Subaru were sat in the front.

"Are you saying that we should just wait out here until something happens!?" Subaru shouted back in outrage whilst the three silently glared back at him.

"Sir Leo brings simply brings up a valid point to consider, it would be foolish to travel there and only become the victims of an ambush instead," Grassis replied with what was easily the harshest voice that Leo had ever heard from her. "And before you try to make an argument about us merely being loyal to Sir Leo, I'm confident that Miss Rem shares the same opinion as a maid. With my sister remaining back at the manor for our communication and Miss Felt's protection, it falls all to me to make sure that Sir Leo remains in relative safety and I'm certain that Miss Rem wishes to not risk your safety as well."

"Please calm Subaru, they aren't without a point. Although we may be traveling with assistance, Rem would hate to be unable to protect you if we are caught unaware. The witch cultists would most certainly hold a large advantage over us if we were to fall into their grasp like that." Rem added to Subaru's clear strain as he didn't know how to respond to the situation, knowing that he was unable to win due to being the only one willing to do his own desires.

"But… but!" Subaru said in frustration as he pounded his lap with a fist until something caught his and everyone else's attention. "Huh? Wait, where did all this fog suddenly come from?" he couldn't help but ask in confusion as they continued to trundle along.

"Is this…" Rem murmured to herself as she got on guard, doing her best to look around despite the fog, no longer able to remain calm anymore.

"It might be…" Grassis replied, the two maids perfectly understanding the other's thought process.

"It might be what?" Leo asked, no longer liking the way the girls were behaving, "I know that this didn't exactly come about normally but is thick fog some kind of bad omen here?"

"We need to leave immediately! I can sense it closing in on us!" Cecily suddenly exclaimed as she looked over the side of the dragon carriage with an expression of nothing but pure horror and dread. "The white whale is here!"

Rem instantly reacted to the great spirit's words as she instantly cracked down on the reins that she held, making the dragon carriage suddenly lurch forwards as the land dragon broke out into a full sprint, doing its best to travel as quickly as possible with its own despite to escape the situation.

"What is the white whale? Why are we panicking over it?!" Subaru shouted out as he gripped his seat.

"The white whale is one of the three great mabeasts, made by the witch that has plagued this world for the last 500 years! We won't stand a chance by ourselves, it's much worse than the witch cult!" Rem shouted out in response as she continued to observe the area around them. "Lady Cecily, do you know where it is? Or if we are escaping it?"

"AH?!" Subaru cried out, serving as an answer instead as everyone immediately shifted their gaze to what had spooked him only to witness a giant eyeball that alone was easily the size of an adult person.

"Al Jiwald!" Cecily immediately cried out as she unleashed the spell, an enormous amount of light rapidly gathering in the palm of her hand before it blasted at the eyeball as a massive laser. The creature instantly recoiled, flying away from the carriage and into the air whilst releasing a cry of pain loud enough that it made the air around them reverberate.

"What the hell?!" Leo exclaimed at the sight as his heart began to rapidly pound against his chest, prompting him to move and hand to help calm himself down, "Is that supposed to be the white whale?!"

"Yes, it's a fearsome entity that little is actually known about. Whilst there are some reports of failed hunts of the whale, no one actually knows what it's fully capable of…" Grassis answered.

"But Cecily just blasted it in the eye, right? It must have lost its vision in it right? If we can just make it blind then maybe we stand a chance!?" Subaru frantically pointed out, doing his best to prevent himself from breaking out into a further panic.

"I would be proud if that's the case." Cecily replied, "The whale is actually covered in fine hairs that help weaken the effect that all spells might have on it, it would just have to close its eyelids to survive it…"

"It's still didn't like it right? Can't we continue to blast it while we run away?" Leo frantically asked, managing to find the strength to stand up while using the side of the dragon carriage as a method of supporting himself. "While… while you blast it…" he then mumbled as he looked down at his hand.

It was shaking, he was shaking. His whole body continued to lightly quiver whilst every hair of his body was standing on edge and it was obvious why. He was completely overwhelmed by dread… every part of his body understood the danger that he was facing and he was faltering in the face of real danger, in the face of death.

"But if you use the spiritual arts, you can do everything I can do!" Cecily quickly replied before grasping his shaking hand with a firm grip. For a few moments, Cecily herself remained still until she looked back up at him with an understanding smile. "Don't worry, if we work together then there's nothing we can't do!"

"I can't believe I'm needing support…" Leo quietly replied as he couldn't resist returning the favor back to Cecily, tightening his grip on her own small hand.

"I'm your spirit, I think it's only natural! And it's only your second every encounter with danger, you seem like you've never been in a dangerous situation before which means you lived a happy life!" Cecily replied with a smile.

"That's… not quite true… I've had one other brush with a dangerous situation but I'll leave that for another time…" Leo answered as he looked back up, taking one last deep breath before returning his focus to the problem at hand.

"Alright! Master and I will keep the white whale at bay!" Cecily proudly declared as the two found their resolve to fight.

"Grassis, will you please take the reins?" Rem asked the little maid, earning instant action from her as she climb into the driver's seat beside Subaru before accepting the reins, allowing Rem to climb into the back alongside Leo and Cecily as she brandished her Morningstar ball and chain. "Please allow me to assist you, Sir Leo."

"All help is wanted." Leo instantly replied without sparing a single glance at the maid, merely feeling her approaching his side whilst hearing the rattling of chain, followed by a small pink discharge of mana as a pink horn emerged from her head. It was something that would have filled Leo with several questions but his current state of mind didn't allow it, as he remained a complete mental mess, unable to prevent hundreds of other panicked thoughts from filling his mind, all of them about the whale…

His feelings only became wilder as the sound of rushing wind filled their ears alongside another bellowing cry of the whale as he frantically started looking around for any sign of the beast until they all mutually spotted a gigantic shadowy figure.

"Master, use the spiritual arts with me!" Cecily quickly said whilst Leo nodded in response, already understanding just what she was wanting from him, as the moment that the white whale began to enter their vision through the fog the three fighters acted in unison.

Rem immediately swung her Morningstar with all the strength she could muster whilst Cecily and Leo took aim with the palms of their hands. "Al Jiwald!" Leo and Cecily shouted out together, both of them unleashing gigantic beams of light that joined with one another and backing up Rem's Morningstar, the three attacks firmly striking the beast in the horn and driving it off once again.

"Using the spiritual arts with you is… potent…" Leo mentioned as he briefly reveled in the magic he had managed to cast with Cecily's aid. "I mean, my mind was a mess… I could never have even cast a basic spell on my own even then and yet…"

"I'm glad that master is pleased! But master should remember that I am a great spirit, it's natural that your spiritual arts are going to be powerful!" Cecily happily replied with a proud little smile before it soon dropped back into another rare serious expression. "But it's doing nothing but pushing it away, we're doing virtually no damage…"

"If we can manage to keep repelling it like this then it might give up the chase!" Rem said, clinging to what glimmer of hope she could.

"Rem… didn't you call it a mabeast before?" Subaru then spoke up, dread clear in his voice.

"That's right, the white whale is one of the three great mabeasts, does Subaru know something important?"

"K-kinda… we're… not going to outrun it… and it won't give up either," Subaru replied as his dreadful and haunted emotions finally made it to his face as he began to cave into his feelings. "Leo and I… we both have the witches scent, it's after us!"

"WHAT?! How does that work?!" Leo exclaimed instantly, turning around to face Subaru, desperately trying to ignore the heart attack happening in his chest.

"All mabeasts are attracted to the witch's scent, it makes us like magnets for them!" Subaru shouted back as he briefly collapsed on the spot whilst newfound horror filled Leo, a pit forming in his stomach as he began to freeze up, doing his best to think of absolutely anything to cheat the situation.

"Sir Leo, should I contact my sister and see if we can request help?" Grassis suggested.

"N-no… I mean… no one but Reinhard could save us now, and he's still gone…" Leo answered, gripping Cecily even tighter than before as he felt more and more of a need to rely on her.

"No… there's a way…" Subaru spoke up without any emotion in his voice as he climbed into the back of the open carriage with everyone else.

"Yes Subaru, what is that you're thinking of? Your Rem will be sure to do everything within her power!" Rem enthusiastically responded with a fire now lit in the young woman, eagerly awaiting whatever plan Subaru would reveal.

"Leo… your authority…" Subaru mentioned to Leo's own shock.

"That only works on contact, and it can take time! How on earth am I going to touch that thing?! I'll die first!" Leo shouted back as Cecily unleashed another blast of magic into the fog before standing guard over Leo.

"He can't do it! It's far too dangerous!" Cecily shouted back in outrage.

"No, it has a second ability…" Subaru replied with just a little emotion as before whilst he continued to draw closer, an action that was rapidly beginning to get more and more on Leo's nerves as he could feel that something was wrong with Subaru, yet he continued to hide his face to make it impossible to get a read on him.

"How would you know?!"

With another howl from the whale as it once again drew closer to the dragon carriage and at the same time Subaru's fists tightened with resolution. As the whale got close and Cecily and Rem turned around to drive it off again, neither could bring them to do anything as pure shock completely overcame them to what they witnessed.

In the open moment, Subaru moved forwards, ripping apart Leo's grip on Cecily whilst kicking him cleanly off the dragon carriage to be left behind in the mist with the whale to the horror of all the girls. "LEO!" Cecily and Grassis screamed out immediately but they knew there was no chance of hearing him any longer.

"YOU MONSTER!" Cecily screamed out in pure fury, immediately blasting a fireball toward Subaru, having him fall against Rem who had drawn him close to her.

"Huma!" Rem hastily chanted, doing her best to form an ice shield as quickly as possible but due to its hastiness it was effortlessly destroyed, leaving both Rem and Subaru with serious burns covering them yet they were still alive and on the carriage.

"WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING HIM?! HE KILLED MY CONTRACTOR!" Cecily continued to scream out in disgust and fury before shaking her head in denial. "I don't care, master needs me!" Cecily shouted, turning to jump off the carriage herself until she was pulled back by Leo. "Let go of me, monster!" she cried out again readying another fire spell to attack him with.

"N-no… just… look at it!" Subaru desperately pleaded as he used his other burned hand to point towards the sky, where the fog had begun to thin out and where the white whale was completely in sight.

"What's… happening to it?" Rem asked in confusion as the four beheld the sight in confusion. No longer was it chasing after them, but instead appeared to have something deathly wrong with it instead. It was becoming consumed in shadows that leaked out of its body and that continued to spread over the nearby land, with plant life that it touched beginning to die and decay at its touch.

"It's Leo… but we can't get caught in it!" Subaru answered with a panicked voice, "we have to continue to get away from here!"

"We can't leave Sir Leo to face it alone! He'll die!" Grassis shouted back, "It would be a disgrace to leave him now!"

"He's already dead! That's just his authority going out of control! You'll just die too!"

"He's not dead yet! I can still feel our contract!" Cecily shouted back, tears in her eyes as she finally brought down some more fire on Subaru's hand, worsening his burns and forcing him to let go before everyone fell down to the ground as a great tremor shook the land around them, even making the dragon carriage come to a stop…

"What… happened?!" Grassis asked, shouting to beat the sudden rush of wind before noticing the fog beginning to thin out and fade away to everyone's confusion. "Wait, does this perhaps mean…"

"The white whale is dead…" Rem finished as she, Subaru, and Cecily were already admiring the endurance corpse that was laying still on the ground. There was the occasional twitch but as the shadow's gradually receded back into it, it finally stopped altogether as the last of its life had finally been taken from it…

"Master did it… Master did it!" Cecily began to cheer at the sight in pure joy, "Quickly! We've got to go to him!"

"Yes, Lady Cecily!" Grassis replied as she cracked the reins again, spurring the land dragon back into action, turning around to head straight for the corpse. "Where is he?" she asked they finally arrived, coming to a stop close to the whale's corpse and inspecting the area around them to find any sign of Leo.

"I can feel him… he's inside the white whale!" Cecily exclaimed as she jumped off the carriage, wasting no time rushing to the mouth of the beast. "Akra!" She quickly chanted, beginning to glow in the night with enhanced strength to pry open the mouth and shine a light inside of it.

"Sir Leo?!" Grassis called out as she dared to begin to set foot inside the mabeast, hoping for a response whilst Rem and Subaru stood aside, watching the two desperate girls and waiting for the emergence of the knight-in-training.

"I'm… here…" A shaky voice responded to the joy of everyone as they spotted his hunched figure slowly walking out from the belly of the beast, using his sword to help support himself, steadily drawing blood from the whale's tongue as it managed to begin to stab into it with the force of his weight alone.

"You're alive! You're amazing!" Cecily cried out as Leo finally exited the whale's mouth, with Cecily and Grassis wasting no time by practically throwing themselves at him and clinging onto him for dear life, but despite the tears forming in their eyes they didn't fail to notice how he had changed.

No was his smart clothing bestowed upon him by Reinhard neat and nor was it intact. It was completely shredded, leaving him practically bare-chested, while his trousers had plenty of rips in them and were soaked with various fluids of the whale's internals…

It didn't stop the two girls from holding onto him as if it was a matter of life or death, however. "I thought you had died…" Grassis said as she did her best to hold back her own tears whilst Leo shook his head.

"But… that's the thing… I… I'm pretty sure that…. I died…" Leo replied with a haunted voice and terrorized expression. "I was… it… it bit in my half… My bottom was torn from my top and… it was so… cold… so, so quiet… I couldn't… feel anything…" he explained as he looked at his own rapidly trembling hand almost in disbelief of it merely being there, still attached. It was only thanks to the support that both Cecliy and Grassis were giving him that prevented the rest of his body from behaving the same way.

"You're still with us… and it's safe now, you saved us, you saved all of us…" Grassis said, trying her best to find the words to best comfort him as she felt her own heart tearing in two as they listened to the traumatized recount of his experiences.

"How?" Leo croaked out, "When I… when everything went dark… I just woke up healed… and the whale was suddenly dead…"

"It seems that when you die, you automatically drain vitality from all your surroundings in the attempt to revive yourself… I imagine without enough od to take you might not have returned…" Rem answered him, taking the time to inspect his figure and use healing magic to soothe his body and mind back to a stable state as he finally sat down on the ground to rest.

"I can cheat death… by killing everything around me?" Leo summarised with what little of his mind agreed to work with him instead of reeling in the horrible events that he had experienced. "Wait, then… what… what about Kou?" he asked with dread, already frantically attempting to reach out to the quasi-spirit that he had gotten used to following him around.

"I… can't sense him anymore…" Cecily replied with a solum look of her own, telling everyone just what had become of the spirit.

"It sounds quite likely… Sir Leo's authority doesn't seem to distinguish between friend or foe…" Rem mentioned as she lowered her head to the ground in grievance.

"So, I didn't just… kill… the whale… but Kou? Everything? If you had been too close…, could you have died as well?" Leo said in disbelief, the thought only making his ragged breathing worse. 'I've seen it but… I've never killed anything before, at all… and yet… I almost killed all of them…'

"Please don't blame yourself for anything, you are the victim here…" Grassis said with a sorrowful, soothing voice whilst she took the time to stroke his back, hoping that it would do something to help calm him down. "I'm sorry about the loss of your spirit, but no one else was harmed, we're all fine…"

"I should have protected you better… this wouldn't have happened if I had looked after you better… If he wasn't so evil!" Cecily shouted out as she continued to cry, pointing a finger with a shining ray of light straight at Subaru who instinctively recoiled in fear. "You're a threat to my contractor, and as his spirit, I won't fail you again!"

"Wait wait wait!" Subaru desperately cried out as he fell backward onto his butt, feeling renewed fear for the girl, no, great spirit before him. "I only did it because… I mean… It was the only way! We all lived!"

"You fed him to die!" Grassis shouted back, seemingly on the same page as Cecily to punish Subaru.

"Please wait, Lady Cecily! I understand that what Subaru did was quite horrible but… can we at least hear him out? It is true that we were saved after all…" Rem interjected with hesitance, gaining Cecily's attention for a mere moment before she resumed her focus back on Subaru. "Not to mention that any sudden acts of violence between us now would cause problems between the camps…"

"And what about the attempted murder against a member of Miss Felt's Camp? Should that be overlooked then?" Grassis replied.

"Why are you with him?" Cecily angrily asked.

"Because he is Rem's hero… Subaru saved Rem from both mabeasts, and the darkness that had plagued her for so long… I know that this is the worst that Subaru has done, but he did so hoping for the best outcome, it might have been a heavy price for Sir Leo to pay but surely it could be viewed as better than us all falling to the white whale?" Rem answered but neither of the girls was pleased with the response.

"How did he know about Leo's authority? Something that even he didn't know?" Cecily then asked with a glare that had Subaru continue to shrivel up as he looked down in shame.

"I… can't tell you…" Subaru choked out, barely able to bring himself to talk. Cecily and Grassis however remained in complete outrage as they found the answer unacceptable, pressing a small advance against the sharp-eyed boy only for Rem to intervene.

Leo himself remained unable to muster up any anger or even frustration as he almost limply watched the two fighting parties whilst he remained lost in his own jumbled mind…

"Leon Aries feels perfectly calm, there is nothing wrong…" A voice suddenly whispered into his ear, and at the same time, Leo felt himself rapidly calming down again as his thoughts finally cleared. He could still vividly recall his recent experiences, yet no longer did they faze him in the slightest, it was as if he had suddenly overcome all is issues in a mere moment…

Yet it was also thanks to the return of his clear consciousness that allowed him to finally react to the sudden occurrence. "Who?!" Leo said as he spun around to find who had managed to approach him from behind only to behold the sight of the same platinum-haired girl, the very same person who had been the first he had met since entering the strange fantasy world.

'No… it's not a fantasy world…' Leo then thought with a grim expression. 'If everything truly was a fantasy… then that… hell… would never have happened…'

"It's been some time since we last met, hasn't it? And it seems that you've been treated roughly as well." The platinum girl replied with her usual faint smile that contradicted the pity someone who spoke her words might have carried. "In fact, it's a little bit of the reason for our meeting. I didn't intend on seeing you this soon."

"When did you get here? And why are you here? You make it sound like you know what I experienced but how is that the case?" Leo asked as he immediately stood up, making sure to keep some space between them. 'If I'm to listen to what Beatrice said, I can't let my guard down around here…"

"I guess you could say I was in the area and a little worried at the thought of you traveling towards the white whale, I didn't think you could beat it. I have been keeping up with where you are after all."

"You know that doesn't tell me anything…" Leo dully replied, "And if you were worried then don't you think that you got here a little too late?"

"That is true… but a most wonderous authority has begun to take place within you. It seems that there is no longer any need for concern." The girl replied, her faint smile growing ever slightly bigger whilst Leo wondered if that was truly the extent of her ability to do so. "It's a shame that someone thought to try and use you however… doesn't that infuriate you?"

"Now that I can think again… I would be lying if I said no." Leo carefully replied, glancing back at the four fiercely fighting individuals before he looked back in confusion. "How have they not noticed us, noticed you, yet?"

"The four of them do not notice anything around them, they are too absorbed in fighting amongst one another to do so." the girl replied once more, now only her voice began to sound almost enchanting, her soft delicate tones becoming so soothing that heavenly was the only description that came to Leo's mind.

It was only thanks to her possessing the voice of an angel that it momentarily caused Leo to space out until he remembered the potential danger of the enigma that stood before him. "Is that an authority of your own? Does… the world reflect your words?"

"Mm, I do possess an authority." The girl calmly replied as she locked eyes with Leo, almost as if she was evaluating something about him yet she never gave any other indication of doing so.

'Is she not going to say anymore?' Leo thought to himself as he tried to grasp his situation. "There are two other things I would like to know, just two." He said, hoping that the girl would be willing to be more cooperative than their last meeting.

"What is it?"

"First, just so I know what to call you, what's your name?"

"You may call me Pandora."

"Alright then, Pandora… then can I ask why did you bring me here and give me an authority, last time you mentioned helping you with something, but then why me?"

"I believe that you have asked more than one question," Pandora asked with her constant cool smile, something that was further unnerving Leo the longer he remained with her. "But… I wanted to give you a gift, something to help you survive in this world. You have witnessed and experienced it's cruelty first-hand, and when you had grown there was something I was hoping you would lend me your help with."

"And that would be?" Leo asked, filled with suspicion.

"It's a little early to tell you, but I will tell you when the time is right," Pandora answered, slightly frustrating Leo as she continued to avoid answering his questions again.

'Not only did she have the witch factor she gave me but she has an authority herself, and she refuses to explain herself… but at the same time I technically would be dead without her so-called gift…' Leo thought to himself, desperately trying to work out the situation.

Surely, he was correct in thinking that she was suspicious but… did that mean she was bad?

It was during the time that he was beginning to get lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that Pandora had closed in on him, peering up into his eyes with a relaxed smile that made Leo jolt back the moment he realized the sudden closeness that she had managed to achieve.

"You're trying to work out just who I am, aren't you?" she gently asked.

"Well, you are quite the enigma…" Leo replied, leaning backward from her in discomfort whilst Pandora continued to smile.

"But who would be worse? Between me and the sharp-eyed one?" Pandora then asked, glancing past Leo to the fighting group that was still ongoing, oblivious to the conversation that was happening just like Pandora's enchanted words had said. "I admit… even I can't quite work him out. He knows so much that doesn't make sense… he even knew something about your authority that you didn't… I mean it when I say this, but that should have been impossible. Doesn't that also make him suspicious?"

Leo remained silent in the face of Pandora's questioning. He couldn't refute anything that she said, and it was clear that she knew it.

"He was also hostile to you… and he used you in such a horrible way… you might not know me, but I have given you the means to survive, haven't I? And in comparison, he treats you like a tool, as a lamb to the slaughter… he was the reason you experienced death… isn't he worse than me?"

"I admit… I currently hate his guts more than anyone else right now… But…" Leo replied as he balled his hands tightly into fists with burning frustration, already feeling a rush of unbridled fury towards Subaru as Pandora continued to stir his thoughts about him

"But?" Pandora questioned.

"Back at the loot house… he did show a better side…"

"But is that not back then? And not now? People can change… time has a cruel effect on people." Pandora continued to probe without the slightest sign of shame, or guilt, or even any particularly notable malevolence. But it only made her ever-steadfast behavior even more off-putting as Leo began to completely abandon the prospect of getting a read on her.

"Why are you trying to provoke me against him?" Leo asked, attempting to push past the thoughts and emotions her words were giving rise to. For a few moments, the two simply stared at one another whilst only the voices of the other fiercely arguing group filled the air but neither of them paid the slightest attention to it, instead remaining completely fixated on one another.

"Can I not be concerned for you? He's someone harmful to you, isn't it natural to take action against it?" Pandora eventually replied as she slightly tilted her head, seemingly in genuine confusion towards Leo's question. "He had no remorse… he despites you and uses you… he doesn't care about your death and would offer you up again… he's the cause of the death of your spirit and endangered the others…"

"Why do you know so much…" Leo grumbled to himself as he finally turned away from her as if to resist and block her out, but his temper was already long rising.

"How did it feel to die? You seemed to react quite poorly to it until I helped you…" Pandora continued as she approached him again, becoming close enough that they were almost touching whilst her voice descended into a delicate whisper that almost tickled Leo's ears. "He treats you so poorly… what's stopping him from revealing your secret? He thinks of you as a warlock… what if he was to spread it?"

All the while Cecily, Grassis, Rem, and Subaru were getting increasingly more heated in their arguing that it was beginning to break out into an all-out shouting match, their expressions delving further towards despising hatred for one another until finally, Cecily unleash a Jiwald blast.

For a few moments, there was total silence as everyone seemed almost stunned at the development with the sole exception of Pandora who still calmly smiled at the scene unfolding before them. It was Subaru that she had aimed for yet missed as he fell backward to the ground with an expression of horror and fear at the attempt on his life that the great spirit had made.

"You harmed Subaru!" Rem shouted out, now swinging a ball and chain in pure fury towards the spirit but it was deflected with another quick blast of light as the three girls quickly progressed into a fight to the death.

"Ok, isn't this going too far now?!" Leo said in shock as the girls continued to fight.

"It's because of our miasma." Pandora calmly replied whilst Leo looked back at her with an expression that demanded answers. "Between you, me, a great beast born from a witch, and the boy over there, there is enough miasma in the area that it's begun to make them easier to irritate... You could just say they're not in their right minds."

"Can you stop it? And I thought that Cecily and Grassis were getting used to miasma because of me?"

"There's no stopping miasma, especially if you're suddenly exposed to a large congregation of it…" Pandora calmly answered, "There's nothing I can do, but there's something you can do." She then mentioned getting Leo to freeze as he desperately tried to think of whatever the girl was hinting at before he started to witness the people he knew begin to slaughter each other.

"Use your authority to kill then." Pandora eventually answered, talking so normally as if it was the most obvious thing in the world whilst Leo looked at her as if she was a psychopath. "Your authority allows you to manipulate the life of things around you, doesn't it? To you, death is akin to sleep."

"Can we just actually put them to sleep?!" Leo snapped back but Pandora calmly shook her head in response.

"I have no means of doing so… and neither do you, do you?"

"Well…" Leo grunted in frustration, slowly looking back at the fight.

"Trust in your power more… it's only temporary until you gain some distance from the whale." Pandora continued gently talking into his ear, urging him onwards with a gentle push to his back.

Rem continued to fiercely swing her ball and chain with blind fury towards the two small girls that were fighting back with just as much ferocity, yet it was obvious that despite the power bestowed upon her by her sparking horn, it was clear that Rem was slowly losing her ground. "You should hurry, otherwise you might witness unnecessary pain for the others. I'm sure that your authority will be a much more peaceful alternate."

"Fine…" Leo said, his voice laced with hesitation as he began to think of his best way to enter the fray. "Akra" he said, drawing his blade before making his move… all the while, Pandora's smile slightly widened in resonance.

"The more he uses his authority, the more the witch factor will settle in… I look forward to when it does." She mumbled to herself, pleased with the development she had caused…

"ARRGH!" Rem growled as she swung her ball and chain with all her strength towards Grassis as the little maid prepared for the attack until there was a sharp clang as it was batted away by Leo as he used the hilt of his sword.

'How strong is she?!' Leo internally exclaimed as he barely managed to deflect the attack before standing his ground against the oni maid.

"Leo!" Grassis and Cecily cheerfully replied before noticing that Rem was already rushing forwards to continue her assault with more fury than ever before, yet she didn't manage to close the distance between them as she was forced to jump back to avoid a blast of fire from Cecily.

"When did you get here, witch cultists!" Rem shouted to the group's confusion, "Why have you come this time?!"

"She thinks we're witch cultists now?" Grassis said in furious bewilderment.

"No, they… in fact, I think that everyone's at least a little affected by collective miasma…" Leo replied, "At least… I want to hope that this isn't their actual selves."

"What? Sir Leo, you mean to say." Grassis tried to ask before they found themselves needing to move out of the way of the ball and chain that came swinging their way, jumping out of the way as Rem continued to wildly swing it with unbelievable amounts of strength.

"Please just trust me, I just need to get in close and I'll subdue them," Leo said as he remained on guard, already feeling a bead of sweat making its way down his face whilst the haunting experience of death flashed through his mind again. 'Even if Pandora helped me calm down, she still couldn't help me completely get over it. But if I just take the easy way out…' He thought to himself before shaking his head.

"Cecily, you're Akra is far stronger than mine. Could you help?" Leo called out at the spirit and eagerly nodded back with a rare look of purely focused determination. Cecily didn't even need to utter a word as she focused on Leo before a burst of glittering light began to cover him as her magic started to take full effect.

With another beastly cry, Rem was charging back in as her ball and chain came straight for Leo as he once again manages to deflect the strike into the distance, however with far greater ease than before feeling the clear difference in strength that Cecily could grant compared to what Rem herself wielded. In the same moment, with strength surging into his legs Leo began to rush forwards as well whilst Rem began a kick to intercept.

But her movements were borderline beastly and easy to keep track of despite the monstrous speed at which she moved, but it was enough for Leo to manage to block her foot from crashing into his stomach and holding his ground, and her leg, at the same time.

"Let go!" Rem continued to scream out as she was already trying to pull her ball and chain back to her yet failing to do so as another force was already pulling against her, preventing her from getting back the main part of her flailing weapon.

With building desperation Rem was quick to begin struggling, attempting to shake and pull back her leg but Leo continued to hold on with greater strength than she could muster until he finally pulled her in close, swiftly putting her into a headlock position.

Rem had wasted little time in fighting against the hold but despite all her strength found herself unable to remove Leo's hold on her as his magically enhanced strength continued to triumph over hers. "Witch cultists… you weren't… satisfied with taking away Rem's reason for living… but you had to come back to take more?!" she grunted out as she searched for every possible way to escape whilst Leo looked down at her with hesitation.

He could tell that he was still the only one that was able to see Pandora looking back at him from behind them all, still with a cool smile as she gently nodded at him, signally him to go ahead. 'Trusting her when it comes to something like this isn't what I want to do but… she has a point…' he thought before finally activating his authority.

"Sorry about this… I'll wake you up later in a better place…" Leo told to the blue-haired maid as shadows enveloped them as Leo activated his authority, draining all the strength from Rem. Little by little her resistive attempts continued to grow weaker and weaker as Leo could tell she was inching closer and closer to her 'slumber'.

"Let go of her!" Subaru suddenly shouted out as he grasped hold of Leo's neck from behind, showing little hesitation despite the shadows that were covering them. The moment that Subaru made contact, he already began to lose his grip strength as his life was snapped away from him but he likewise never relented, but it didn't pose the slightest amount of concern to Leo.

It wasn't long before Rem finally went completely limp in his arms, having fallen to her 'exhaustion' whilst at the same time Subaru's own grip began to fade away as a thump on the grass behind him could be heard. "You monsters… monsters! Monsters, monsters, monsters!" Subaru continued to shout as Leo gently lay down Rem's unconscious form on the grass before turning to address the boy that continued to hurl insults his way without hesitation.

Either from it being delusions of his own from miasma or from his own genuine emotions spurred on from having witnessed Leo's actions', Leo no one could tell, but nor did it matter. The only thing that Leo felt as he moved in to finish Subaru off was the faintest sense of satisfaction, the satisfaction of returning the favor of his involuntary sacrifice…