“Sorry, buddy but Ryuzu is staying with us,” Subaru quipped. “She is very cute. I understand you wanting one of your own but we staked a prior claim.”

“I suppose I could go with him if it made them leave the Sanctuary alone,” Ryuzu shrugged.

“No!” Garfield barked.

“Yeah, we couldn’t let you do that, Ryuzu,” Subaru agreed. “If you weren’t around I might have to take care of Garf and that’s a lot of work.”

“Oh, shut up!” Garf growled.

Roy was staring at Subaru, “Are you people confused or stupid?”

“Neither one, Roy,” Subaru said as if speaking to a child. “We’re making fun of you because we think that you’re too dumb to figure it out.”

Garfiel laughed.

Roy shook his head, looking annoyed.

“So we ready to step on this bug?” Garfiel asked, slamming his fists together. “I’m down for a rematch! I feel like Jacob and Rough Riders.”

Roy looked a bit uncomfortable. “Actually, do we really have to fight? It just seems pretty pointless, you know? I don’t think that I can eat you for some reason and even I’m not hungry enough to eat him,” Roy pointed at Garfiel, “So fighting just seems like a waste of time. I’m really only here for the half-elf.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Subaru replied.

Roy sighed, “This is so annoying,” He muttered.

A sound came from overhead like the beating of heavy wings. Subaru looked up and his jaw dropped. A massive black dragon circled the Tomb far overhead.

“Oh no,” Roy muttered.

As Subaru watched, the dragon dove straight toward the ground and then… shrunk in on itself. The dragon seemed to liquefy and flow until it crashed to the ground near Roy as a massive pile of black sludge. The sludge flowed back together and then reshaped itself into a short girl with blond hair.

She looks kind of cute. Her outfit is ridiculous though: legging, hot pants and a bikini? She looks sort of like Felt actually, right down to sharing the same red eyes but Felt’s eyes shine with intelligence. This girl’s eyes blaze with a lunatic zeal. I get the funny impression that I’m not going to like this girl too much.

“Well, look who we have here: Scabies!” The girl cackled at Roy.

“Capella, could you be like anywhere else right now?” Roy sighed.

“Sorry, Scabies, I got my instructions same as you: Grab the elf. So you can just go and fuck yourself,” Capella answered.

“And who precisely is giving you these orders?” Subaru called, “I feel like that would be useful to know.”

“Oh. Are you ‘that’ guy?” Capella asked, sounding barely curious.

“You’d be surprised how many people have asked me some variation of that question,” Subaru replied.

“Our Gospels told us to capture the elf girl so that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Roy shrugged.

“Oh, wonderful. I’m dealing with religious zealots. That’s always fun,” Subaru mocked.

“Zealots indeed,” Roswaal said, walking over toward the tomb with Ram at his side. The sorcerer seemed to be out of bed none the worse for wear and he was quickly stripping off his elaborate bandages.

“Roz, what are you doing here?” Subaru asked suspiciously.

“Why I simply thought that you might wish to accept some assistance in this conflict, young Subaru,” Roswaal replied.

“Why?”

“Hm. Because you are hopelessly outmatched and have no choice?” Roswaal replied.

“No, Roz. I’m asking why you want to help me,” Subaru grumbled.

“Hm? Oh, joyous tidings, young Subaru. Your signing of the slave contract is no longer necessary,” Roswaal replied.

Subaru blinked. Wait what?

“My own Gospel has informed me that during this battle you will learn something that shall make us into faithful allies!” Roswaal explained.

What?! Now Roswaal is into this Gospel prophecy bullshit too? Why would I ever help him do anything? Why would he-

You know what, fuck it! I have bigger problems to deal with right now.

“Fine, great, whatever,” Subaru grumbled.

OK, we need a plan. Capella seems like the really dangerous one. Little as I like to admit it, Roswaal is probably my best bet for fending her off. Maybe if I get lucky they’ll both kill each other in the fight. That’s a happy thought.

He’ll need backup. Ram wouldn’t leave his side if I asked her to so let’s give him Ryuzu and Rem to help hold Capella off. I think that Garfiel, Beatrice, and I can deal with Roy. Beatrice is weak but her magic is still potent and Garfiel is a powerful if unskilled fighter. Put that together with Indomitable and I bet we can handle him.

“Rem, why don’t you and Ryuzu go and help Roswaal and Ram deal with the girl. The rest of us will take care of Roy,” Subaru said.

“A reasonable strategy,” Roswaal agreed.

“So I get to play with you creeps?” Capella asked. “Works for me!” She yelled, rushing toward Roswaal and Ram who fell back into the nearby meadow.

Ryuzu sped off in pursuit.

“Garf, do exactly as Subaru instructs,” Rem instructed him, “Or I’ll tell my sister about what I caught you doing the other day.”

Rem chased after Ryuzu and Garfiel turned bright red.

Subaru sighed at Garfiel, “I don’t even want to know.”

Garfiel snarled at him. “So what’s the plan…, Captain,” He snorted.

“Subaru!” Emilia called from behind him.

Subaru jumped and spun around to see an exhausted Emilia and Felt coming down the stairs.

“I completed the second trial!” She cheered.

Subaru spun back to face Roy but the Archbishop had already leapt straight over Subaru’s head and toward Emilia and Felt. He was within a fingernail’s reach of grabbing her when Garfiel and Subaru both grabbed him by his ankles and flung him away. Roy crashed into the ground and bounced away.

“Emilia! The Archbishops are here! We need to break the barrier now!” Subaru shouted.

Emilia nodded and raced back up the stairs.

“Felt! Go and warn the villagers to be ready to leave as soon as the barrier is broken. Then find us some transportation: a wagon, a cart, I don’t care just find us something that we can escape in and bring it back here!” Subaru yelled.

Felt had bolted away and around the corner almost before Subaru finished talking.

“Come on!” Roy complained, licking some blood off his hands with a long lizard-like tongue, “My Gospel tells me that I need to get the girl!”

“Oh, really?” Subaru growled as Beatrice scrambled over to the tomb steps and climbed up them. Betty stood on the steps preparing her magic while Subaru stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Garfiel on the ground. “Well my ‘Gospel’ says that I’m not moving. And you’re not getting past me!” He shouted.

Roy rolled his eyes, “This is so annoying!” He complained.

Roy flung his knife chain at Garfiel but Subaru stepped in front of him absorbing the hit harmlessly while Garfiel sprang after Roy.

Let’s try a new strategy, Subaru thought stomping his foot on the chain as Roy leapt away. The chain went taunt as if Roy had tethered himself to a mountain and Roy crashed down onto the ground where Garfiel punched him full in the face.

Roy went flying but by now Indomitable had run out and the chain was jerked out from under Subaru’s foot.

Twenty five seconds until Indomitable is back, Subaru thought.

Roy hit the ground rolling.

“Garf! Stay close!” Subaru instructed.

Garfiel shot Subaru an annoyed look but he obediently moved backwards until he stood beside Subaru again.

“We’re never going to pin him down if we don’t go after him,” Garfiel grumbled.

“We’re not trying to pin him down,” Subaru replied, “The goal isn’t to kill Roy, it’s to stall until the barrier breaks.”

Roy got up wiping blood from his mouth and there was rolling fury in his eyes.

Fifteen seconds.

“Beako,” Subaru called, “His leaping is getting obnoxious. Do you have any magic that could trap us all in some kind of cage so he has less room to avoid us?”

Beatrice thought about it then nodded.

Subaru felt a shadow passing over him and looked up to see Roy trying to jump over him. The toad like monster landed right behind Beatrice and tapped her with his left hand before running up the stairs to where a helpless Emilia lay all alone.

“Beako!” Roy cheered, licking his hand as he raced up the stairs.

Then Roy fell down. His body trembled and he vomited all over the stairs.

Beatrice cast a spell and grabbed Roy around the ankle with a whip made of shadows. She swung Roy over her head and threw him back down the stairs. Roy crashed onto the ground near a large boulder in the field and was noisily sick again.

“You… tricked me!” Roy gasped, “That was a fake name!”

What is he talking about?

“Come on!” Subaru roared at Garfiel but Garfiel was already charging ahead.

Indomitable is Ready!

“Beako! The cage! Trap the three of us in the cage!” Subaru yelled as Roy got to his feet and turned away seeking to leap to freedom.

Beatrice cast her spell just as Roy leapt away and he crashed into a cage made of shadows that knocked him back to the ground.

Garfiel threw himself at Roy but the little Archbishop fought like a demon, cutting and biting at Garfiel.

“Garf! Throw him here!” Subaru screamed.

It was obvious that Garf didn’t understand but he obeyed. He flung the twisted frog like creature straight at Subaru.

Subaru triggered Indomitable and punched Roy as hard as he could. The misshapen little monster went flying toward the boulder like a runaway train until he crashed into it full force.

Where he splattered like an insect against a windshield.

“Wow,” Subaru whispered as all three of them panted for breath.

“Annoying little twerp, wasn’t he?” Garfiel gasped.

“I suppose…,” Beatrice said, weaving back and forth where she stood on the stairs.

Subaru quickly shook off his exhaustion. “Come on, we need to help the others!” Subaru shouted racing to the steps and hoisting Beatrice onto his shoulder.

Then Garfiel and Subaru raced off to find Roswaal and the twins.

What the fuck?! Is that Capella?! Subaru thought to himself as they raced toward the others locked in battle with a gigantic bear-like monster.

I mean, I guess it would have to be but I thought she was a dragon not a giant bear. She’s trying to slash Roswaal but he’s parrying her claws with a sword. Where did he get a sword? Oh, it’s ice. He must have made it. Rem’s slamming her mace into the thing’s knees but Capella doesn’t even seem to notice. Ram and Ryuzu are using air magic to blind it but to no effect. Shit, is she like Regulus? Can we hurt her at all?

Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.

Subaru and Garfiel came racing up to the fight. Subaru paused only long enough to put Beatrice down safely before charging straight at Capella. Garfiel roared a challenge as Capella moved to attack Ram and Ryuzu. As the bear turned to check the source of the noise, Subaru activated Indomitable and punched the bear in the belly, which was as high as he could reach.

Capella burst. She flew apart as if Subaru had punched a water balloon full of black gunk. By sheer luck, Subaru’s punch blasted all the black sludge away from him and his friends. Subaru heard it bubbling and eating away at the grass like acid.

The black gunk pulled itself back together again and the Capella reformed as a blond girl. “Persistent bunch of cucks, aren’t you? Where the hell is Scabies? He was supposed to keep you busy. Can’t he at least pretend to be useful for once?”

“Your friend is lying in pieces for the sport of the crows,” Subaru informed her.

Capella’s eyes narrowed, “You killed Roy?”

“Yup and you’re next!” Subaru promised.

“Yeah, keep dreaming you little piss-ant! Well, my Gospel tells me that I’m just about done here for right now. But before I go, I am supposed to give you an important message, Pride.”

Subaru ignored the title, “Oh yeah? What’s that? That you’re attracted to men who think you’re a disgusting little freak and you want me to sleep with you? You look like someone who gets off on degradation. I mean, it would explain the outfit.”

Capella scowled and hissed at him but then she broke into a broad smile. “Oh no. It’s about the Sacred Dragon’s Blood,” She purred.

Subaru blinked, “What about it?”

“It’s gone,” She tittered.

Subaru frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“It’s all gone! The Kingdom doesn’t have any more blood! I drank it all before I escaped the castle!” Capella cheered.

“No. That’s not true. You’re lying!” Subaru snapped.

“Of course it’s true, you little retard!” Capella laughed, “If they still had the blood, don’t you think they would have used it to try and save the King and his family? They didn’t use it because they don’t have it!”

Subaru looked up at Capella in absolute horror. It’s not true… She’s lying… but… it makes sense… why wouldn’t they try to use this miracle cure to save the King’s family if they could? Or at least use it to save one of them?

Oh my God. Emilia… what am I going to say to her…

“Then we’ll ask for more!” Subaru shouted, “As soon as we reforge the pact with the dragon we’ll ask him for some more blood,” Subaru yelled back.

“Oh you silly, silly, little shit,” Capella mocked, “You don’t understand anything at all, do you? The truly powerful Sacred blood must be taken from a dragon’s last heartbeat. The dragon won’t lay down his life to you just because you ask him nicely! If you want any more blood drawn from the dragon’s heart, you’ll have to take it the old fashioned way.”

The world trembled around them and the sky shimmered as if a translucent lid was being lifted off the area. Subaru felt an intense pain in his gut as Rem, Roswaal, and Garfiel all clutched the same place on their own bodies.

Ram and Beatrice both collapsed.

“OK, guess that’s my cue! I need to go and guide that insipid, overstuffed virgin Regulus in here now. See you soon!” Capella cheered as she transformed back into the dragon and flew away.

Subaru broke out in a cold sweat.

“Pansy?” Garfiel muttered, “Who the hell is she talking about?”

“Regulus!” Subaru cried, “She’s bringing Regulus in here! We have to get out, now!”

At that moment, Felt drove up to them in an enormous carriage that looked more like a train car. It was being drawn by four earth dragons. Felt struggled to control the earth dragons but she managed to bring them to a stop.

“My carriage. A most excellent choice, Miss Felt,” Roswaal commented, bending over the passed out Ram. “Hm. Ram was injured by the shattered barrier. I must tend to her,” Roswaal murmured casually, picking Ram up and carrying her into the carriage.

“Not now!” Subaru yelled at Garfiel who was clenching his fists at Roswaal. “We need to get out! Garfiel, Ryuuzu go and make sure that the Sanctuary people and the villagers got the signal to run! Rem bring Beatrice inside the carriage! I’m going to run back to the Tomb!”

Garfiel snarled but nodded and he picked up a visibly uncomfortable Ryuzu before leaping away at a sprint. Rem gently picked up Beatrice.

Subaru took off at a run back to the black tomb. There was nothing apparently different about it from outside but as Subaru ran inside he didn’t feel any pain: the mana barrier was gone.

Inside he found Emilia, lying there like a crumpled doll.

“Emilia!” He screamed, leaping to her side. He pressed his ear against her mouth and broke into a huge smile when he heard her breathing. “That’s it, Emilia,” Subaru encouraged. “Great work! Come on, we’re all getting out of here!” He slung Emilia over his shoulder and ran back to the carriage, his lungs burning with exertion.

Subaru leapt into the carriage through the back door. The carriage was a long rectangular shape that was almost two separate rooms with a narrow opening between them in the middle. The carriage had four reasonably sized couches inside; one in each corner. A thin curtain across the narrow opening between the ‘rooms’ separated the front set of couches from the back set, possibly for privacy. Subaru found Beatrice on the couch in back and he gently put Emilia down on the couch across from her.

Subaru leapt to Beatrice and was relived to find out that she was still breathing strongly.

Whatever that shockwave thing was, it must hit you harder depending on how much mana you have, Subaru thought.

Subaru ran into the front of the carriage and pulled the curtain shut behind him. Roswaal had placed the unconscious Ram on the couch and was casting some kind of spell on her.

“Is Ram OK?” Subaru asked, hating the fact that he had to talk to Roswaal.

“She shaaall be fine, young Subaru. Her body is simply overworked. Having one’s mana burned is a most uncomfortable experience. Luckily I am familiaaar with means to defend myself against it,” Roswaal replied, continuing to treat her.

“Great,” Subaru muttered.

Garfiel came pounding up to the front of the carriage and leapt inside. “Oy! Ryuuzu and the others are all gone! I climbed the lookout. Everyone’s bugging out like rats out of Cornwall!”

“Wow, I think that I actually understood that one. They’re all gone?” Subaru asked.

“Yeah. They took your advice. Once they hit the border they all split up and they’re going every which way. If anyone wants to catch more than one or two of them they’ll be working hard for it; like Gundrak at Valagene.”

“Alright then, that’s the best we can do!” Subaru shouted, pushing past Garfiel and out the front of the carriage.

“Rem, Felt, get us out of here!” He shouted at the two girls sitting up front.

Rem cracked the reins and the earth dragons took off at a run.

Subaru stepped back into into the carriage and rubbed his eyes.

“Garf, aren’t you going to go with Ryuzu and the others?” Subaru asked.

“What? Are you kidding? I need to keep an eye on my woman!” Garf snorted.

“Your wom-?!” Subaru gaped, “You know, what? Whatever. I have much bigger problems to worry about right now.”

The carriage thundered down the road.

“Now what the hell do we do?” Garfiel rumbled, deliberately looking away from Roswaal who was still treating Ram.

“Now we run!” Subaru emphasized. “I don’t know where Regulus is but if Capella went to go find him, he can’t be too far away.”

“Who is this Regulus guy you keep talking about?” Garfiel asked, “Is he like Roy or is he more like Capella?”

“He’s far worse than both,” Subaru said seriously. “As far as I can tell he’s completely invulnerable to any attack and his magic lets him shatter trees and boulders like glass.”

Garfiel’s eyes widened. “No way! Everybody has their weak point. Even Yorick the Strong had his twisted finger,” Garfiel said uncertainly.

Well, that’s good. The old Garf would have rejected my warning out of hand. Now he’s at least considering the possibility that he might be outmatched.

“I’m sure that you’re right,” Suabru agreed, “But I don’t know what his weak point is. And throwing ourselves at Regulus to try to figure out what his weak point might be seems a lot like jumping face first into a meat grinder. Until we work out what his weak point is, we have to run,” Subaru emphasized.

Garfiel grimaced and then nodded.

Subaru walked out front to the driver’s platform and Garfiel followed. Rem was driving and Felt sat beside to her.

“Are we almost clear of the Sanctuary?” Subaru asked the girls.

“Yeah!” Garfiel answered, “That’s the forest edge right there!” He pointed a few miles in front of them. Garfiel frowned. “I’m going to go and take a quick peak up that tree,” He said pointing at a massive fur that dwarfed all its neighbors. “Least ways we’ll know when that Regulus guy gets close.”

“Wait!” Subaru grabbed Garfiel as he tried to leap away. “You don’t even know what you’re looking for!”

Garfiel looked angry but then paused and nodded.

“Regulus is a thin man with white hair. Try to keep an eye out for Capella. A huge black dragon should be easy to spot and if she’s guiding Regulus in here then wherever she is, Regulus won’t be far behind. Don’t take any chances, just get up there, take a peek and get back.”

Garfiel opened his mouth to protest but Subaru didn’t give him the chance, “If Capella sees you then she’ll stop guiding Regulus to the Sanctuary and start guiding him toward us.”

Garfiel hesitated then scowled. “Whatever you say, Captain,” He snorted then leapt away at a speed that the earth dragons couldn’t match.

“Subaru, are you really sure you want to bring this guy with us?” Felt asked, sounding as if being flippant right now was taking great effort. “Mutinies have broken out over less, you know. He’s immature, arrogant, and flat out stupid.”

“We can’t all have your brains, Felt,” Subaru admitted with a weary sigh, “Besides did you get a close look at Petelguese?”

“Closer than I’d like,” Felt replied.

“Yeah, well a whole group of people who could kill Petelguese effortlessly are now heading this way and they explicitly want to kill all of us,” Subaru said.

Felt’s face turned white.

“I’m not inclined to turn down an offer of assistance from anybody right now,” Subaru concluded.

“Miss Felt,” Rem said, “Young Garf is arrogant and stubborn but he has a good heart. He’s just very immature. I’m glad that he’s with us. He’s not very clever and I’m worried about what would happen to him if he went off alone.”

Felt snorted but made no further objections.

“Subaru,” Rem asked with an edge in her voice, “What did that Witch Cultist mean when he said that he wasn’t supposed to kill you?”

“I don’t know but he got over it pretty quick,” Subaru replied.

Rem gave him a dark guarded look.

Subaru sighed, “I don’t know, Rem. Really I don’t. Look, I promise that once we get clear of here I’ll tell you everything I know. I’ll lay everything out on the table for you so that you can decide if you want to keep trusting me or not. But it’s going to be a long conversation and there’s no time right now so lets just all focus on staying alive at the moment so that we have a chance to go over it all later.”

Rem looked at Subaru with misgivings but turned her attention back to the road.

Rem is suspicious but she’s not hostile yet. She is definitely going to demand answers to some questions when the chance arises but I think that the bulk of her suspicions were removed by the fight with Roy and Capella.

Subaru saw Garfiel racing back toward the carriage as Roswaal stepped out onto the driver’s platform.

“Lord Roswaal!” Rem exclaimed, “Ram-”

“Your sister will be entirely fine, Rem,” Roswaal said calmly, “She merely needs to rest.”

Garfiel leapt to the carriage and hung off the overhang above the driver’s platform as there wasn’t much room on the driver’s platform for five people. “I saw Capella! She’s a ways off to the south. There’s a tornado coming from that way!”

“A tornado?!” Subaru exclaimed, looking up at the cloudless blue sky.

“Yes! Well, no. Shit, Captain, I don’t know! Right underneath Capella there’s something that’s knocking down trees. They’re not just falling down either they’re bouncing up into the air and being thrown all over the place!” Garfiel exclaimed.

“Regulus,” Subaru growled.

“Wait, are you telling me that this freak is doing all of that?! How the hell does anyone have that kind of power?” Garfiel demanded.

“Don’t know, don’t care!” Subaru yelled back, “Where is he going? Is he still making for the Sanctuary?”

“Yeah. They’re about twenty miles out but they’re moving fast! If they get to the Sanctuary and find out that we’re not there…” Garfiel said.

Subaru ground his teeth. They’ll come right down this road, looking for stragglers.

Fuck, what do we do now? Beatrice, Ram, and Emilia are unconscious and the rest of us are exhausted. We barely defeated Roy and he was practically a flunky! We have no chance against Regulus right now, none at all. Add Capella to the mix and the fight is going to be comical.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

What do I do? Maybe I could distract them? I’d be running to my death but I can distract Regulus longer than anyone else could. I bet he’s nursing a grudge from the last time we fought. Since they’re allowed to kill me now, I’m guessing I can easily get him to chase after me…

You know what, why not? I’ve already fucked up everything. There’s no dragon blood for Emilia and the Archbishops are tearing up the Sanctuary. Maybe if I die distracting Regulus so everyone can get away, I can at least redeem myself somewhat. One Sin Archbishop fighting another to save people, it’s almost poetic. Beatrice will be devastated that I broke my promise but Emilia will be with her. Emilia will take care of her. Oh God, what will Emilia think if I die here…

Focus! Emilia needs to survive long enough to wake up before she can think anything! Whether they forgive me or hate me, at least they’ll both still be alive. They can be a new family, a family without me. With no more dragon blood to pursue, their new quest can be to find Puck. Maybe that will help heal their broken hearts…

Subaru heard thunder echoing off in the distance and through the towering forest, he saw a huge tree, much taller than its neighbors, fall down.

Fuck! Coming fast is right! Regulus will catch up with us for sure if Capella spots us!

Damn it! There’s nothing else to do.

Subaru sighed, “Alright! I’m going to go back!”

Everyone, even Roswaal, stared at him in astonishment.

“What?! Did you take too many hits to the head in that fight, boss?!” Felt demanded.

“I don’t want to hear it, Felt! I’m the only one who can stall Regulus for even a little while! Get out of here! Get somewhere safe! Find Reinhard. If anyone can protect you from these monsters it’s him,” Subaru said.

Yeah if anyone can. Can even Reinhard stand up to Regulus? No, stop thinking like that, it doesn’t help. First these guys need to live long enough to worry about it.

Garfiel snorted and dropped down from the overhang standing on the driver’s platform. “Fuck, I ain’t running then!” Garfiel said although his face was pale and his eyes wide. “If you’re going back so am I! I ain’t letting some cultist prick thinking he’s so damn crazy he can run my ass up a tree! It’ll be just like Darran and the Stormguard!” Garfield slammed his fists together.

Subaru got right up into Garfiel’s face, “Don’t be a fool, Garfiel! I’m going back there to die! I have no chance against Regulus! None whatsoever! But I might be able to buy you guys, and the people fleeing, the time you need to get away.”

Felt stared at Subaru, white faced and her lips trembling, “Then I can double that time!” Felt cried defiantly. “I’m not letting you go back alone! You’d probably get lost finding your way back anyway,” Felt snorted.

Subaru stared at Felt. God damn it, Felt. When have you ever been this self-sacrificing? Or this stupid? Making a sacrifice for the greater good is one thing but this is just pointless. Regulus will obliterate you with one hit and he might never even realize that you’d been standing there in the first place.

“You are a helpless girl, Miss Felt,” Rem interjected not unkindly, handing Felt the reins and taking out her mace. “Subaru will require someone who can handle themselves in combat, someone that understands how to recognize superior opponents and keep them at bay,” She added, casting a weary look at Garfiel.

Garfiel actually looked a bit hurt.

Rem is willing to fight with me? Actually apparently she’s willing to die with me. I guess her suspicions aren’t as profound as I thought. Unless, of course, she’s just worried that I’m about to double-cross her…

“Felt and Garfiel will watch over the carriage. I will go with Subaru,” Rem said firmly.

“This is foolish,” Roswaal said calmly, “You will all remain here. I will distract the Archbishops.”

Subaru glowered at Roswaal, “Roz, please do not misinterpret this as me being concerned for your wellbeing in any way but Regulus will swat you like a fly.”

“Of course he wooould,” Roswaal agreed pleasantly, “I said that I would distract him, not fight him.”

Roswaal turned to look at Rem, “Rem, when your sister awakens, please inform her of my orders: Until such time as we meet again, I wish you to follow Subaru and obey his instructions as though they were my own.”

Rem gaped at Roswaal and Subaru had to fight not to do the same thing.

Then without a word, Roswaal flew up into the sky and zoomed off to the south.

Subaru could only stare at the vanishing sorcerer in confusion for a moment.

“Subaru, we’re exiting the forest,” Felt warned him. “Which way are we going?”

Subaru looked through the thinning trees where they met a wide open plain.

“North,” Subaru instructed. “We need to get as far away from Regulus and Capella as we can. There’s no cover out here on the plains. Our only defense is speed and distance right now.”

Felt obediently turned the earth dragons and the carriage raced up the road to the north.

The sounds of thunder and falling trees began to fade in the distance as the carriage raced away from the forest.

“I hope Ram is alright,” Rem whispered.

Garfiel gave her a sharp look.

“Ram is fine,” Subaru assured her, “I may not trust Roswaal farther than I can kick him but I am confident that he cares about Ram. He wouldn’t have left her here if he didn’t think she’d come through just fine.”

“Honestly, the person I’m most worried about right now is Beatrice,” Felt admitted, “She seemed like a broken doll when Rem carried her inside.”

Subaru rubbed his face, “Her breathing is strong. I think that she’s just exhausted,” Subaru said, hoping it was true.

Garfiel snorted, “If you guys are solid up here, I’m going to go check on Ram,” He said, heading into the back.

Subaru sighed and rubbed his face, “I get the funny feeling that maybe I should go back there and keep an eye on him.”

“I would appreciate that,” Rem replied calmly, “Since Lord Roswaal has healed my sister, we must assume that she could wake up at any time. It would be a shame if she killed Little Garf upon awakening due to him being inappropriate again.”

“And why would that be a shame, exactly?” Felt asked Rem.

“I’ll just be back here,” Subaru sighed to no one as he entered the carriage.

Subaru checked Ram’s breathing which was clear and strong. Garfiel hovered behind him.

“Garf, I’m going to go check on our other patients. Why don’t you just take a seat and give Ram some space while I’m back there. Rem has a very hard mace and I speak from personal experience when I say that you do not want to get hit with it,” Subaru said.

Garfiel sighed, “Oy. She’s Ram’s sister, alright,” Garfiel walked to the only free couch and splayed out on it, rubbing his forehead.

Subaru walked through the curtain into the back half of the carriage.

He checked them both. Emilia and Beatrice were both still unconscious but at least they were breathing easily.

Emilia and Beatrice have a ton of mana. That… mana drain whatever it was seems to hit people worse the more mana they have. Emilia and Beatrice must have felt like they were hit by a truck.

Roswaal treated Ram for the mana drain but I’m not sure if he healed Emilia or Beatrice. He didn’t mention it.

Does Emilia need to be healed? Was she hurt by the mana drain or was she shielded from it by being inside the Tomb at the time and she’s just exhausted from the trials? And what about Beatrice? Did she not get the treatment she needs to survive or did she not need treatment because she’s a spirit?

Fuck me, why didn’t I make sure that Roswaal healed both of them before he took off? He probably didn’t do anything for them. I feel like Roswaal would have made sure that I was aware of it if he had healed them so I’d know that I owe him. Come to think of it, why didn’t he suggest healing them?

As far as I can tell, Roswaal has lost all of his leverage over me at this point. If he had offered to heal Beatrice and Emilia that would at least have put me in his debt. I wouldn’t have become his servant but I would have at least heard him out if he asked me for help with something. I’d do it against my better judgment but still…

Subaru stroked Emilia and Beatrice’s heads for a moment but they didn’t react.

They don’t feel my presence. They’re too deep asleep.

Subaru bit his lip and then pinched both girls, hard.

Emilia and Beatrice both flinched and muttered but they didn’t wake up.

Wonderful! At least they can still feel pain so they’re not in a coma. They must be deep asleep but this suggests that they might just wake up whenever they’re ready.

That’s the best news I’m going to get right now. There’s nothing left for me to do at the moment but wait. Fuck me.

Subaru went back to the front half of the carriage and sat down next to Garfiel with a sigh.

For a moment neither one spoke.

“What do you think that Regulus freak is going to do to the Sanctuary? You think that he’ll actually destroy it?” Garfiel asked.

“I hope so. If we’re lucky he and Capella will take the time to demolish every single building,” Subaru replied with a tired sigh.

Garfiel snarled at him, “You son of a-”

“If Regulus isn’t destroying buildings, that means that he’s chasing people!” Subaru cut him off, “It means that he’s either coming after us or another transport full of innocent people. I know that you love the Sanctuary, Garf. I know that it’s your home. But buildings can always be replaced. Lives can’t. That should summarize your priorities right there.”

Garfiel snorted but he looked slightly thoughtful.

They were both quiet for a moment.

“I’m guessing you’ve never actually been out of the Sanctuary before,” Subaru said quietly.

Garfield snorted and folded his arms across his chest, “Never wanted to be!”

Oh, yeah. I buy that. You’re not nervous at all, are you, ‘Little Garf.’ Out in the big scary world for the first time with horrible monsters hunting you down? Yeah, you’re completely calm.

Did he come along with us to look after ‘his woman’ or because he wanted Rem and Ram to look after him? He really is just a kid after all. He’s probably close to freaking out.

Subaru changed tack, “Well, I bet a big strong guy like you is really excited to be on this journey,” Subaru said.

Be careful, Subaru. Don’t let your voice get sarcastic and you absolutely positively can not start laughing.

Garfiel looked at him through narrowed eyes, “What do you mean?”

“We’re off on an epic adventure across country that you’ve never explored! We’re fighting against terrible monsters that want to kill us and we have beautiful girls who are depending on us to keep them safe,” Subaru continued.

Ladies, please forgive me for spoon feeding him this bullshit but the poor kid is scared right now.

Oh, boy. With my luck, Ram will wake up right now and then smear us both all over the walls. Hell, even Felt might give that a try if she walked in during this conversation!

Garfiel snorted, “Hey! Ram’s got nothing to worry about with my magnificent self along on this trip! It’s going to be just like Jonas and the Harpies!”

“Yeah, we got this. We already killed one of the monsters right? You and me fought side by side against the Archbishops, didn’t we?” Subaru said.

“Yeah,” Garfiel admitted.

“That was a hell of a fight,” Subaru mused. “People will be talking about that battle for a hundred years.”

Garfiel thought about that for a moment then chuckled, “It was a pretty intense fight, wasn’t it?”

“That’s putting it mildly. Frankly, for a while there, I thought that our dirty little playmate was going to be too much for us,” Subaru replied.

“And then you smashed him into that rock and he burst open like a rotten fruit!” Garfiel cheered.

Subaru’s stomach turned over at the thought of that image but he forced it back.

“Hey, I couldn’t have done it without you setting me up for that spike,” Subaru replied.

“Yeah… Yeah! We nailed him! We caught him between the hammer and the anvil, just like Varric and the ice beast!” Garfiel slammed his fists together.

OK, I know that I’m not from this world but what the hell is he talking about? I’ve spent the past month reading all the history and folk tales I can get my hands on and I still can’t make heads or tails out of any of his references. Am I really still that ill-informed about world history or is he just making all of this shit up?

Garfiel scratched his cheek, “Hey, I’m real sorry about what happened to your little sister. She seems like one hell of a fighter,” Garfiel said.

Subaru was about to correct him and then didn’t. Beatrice was his sister by any other name, “Thanks,” He replied.

“Is she doing OK?”

Subaru sighed, “Yeah, I think so. She seems to be in the same boat as the others. Her breathing is steady so hopefully she’ll just wake up after she’s rested a bit.”

Emilia…

“You know,” Garfiel mused, “When I was on top of that tree looking for Regulus, I thought that I saw something kind of funny…”

“What was that?”

“I thought that I saw an extra Ryuzu.”

“Two Ryuzus?” Subaru asked.

Garfield looked at Subaru and his eyes glinted, “Yeah. Two,” He coughed.

“Hm. What was the other one doing?”

“Well, I might have been mistaken but I think that she was riding your earth dragon out of there,” Garfiel said.

Subaru slapped his forehead, “Fuck me, I completely forgot about her! Oh well, whoever ‘Ryuzu number two’ was she has my gratitude for at least getting that kind animal out of there. I have more than enough deaths on my conscience already.”

They were both silent for a moment.

“So what do you know about these cultist freaks?” Garfiel asked him.

“Not very much. I only saw one for the first time yesterday,” Subaru admitted.

Well, ignoring every time that I look in the mirror…

“How many of them do you think there are?” He asked.

“Dunno but there’s got to be at least a few. The only ones that I’ve met so far that you don’t know are Lye and Regulus.”

Garfiel looked thoughtful, “Lye, huh? Did you fight him? Is he like Roy or more like Capella?”

“I didn’t fight him,” Subaru admitted, “But from what I saw he seems more like Roy. He just stood back and watched while I tried to fight Regulus.”

Garfiel’s eyes widened, “You actually fought Regulus?”

Subaru laughed, “Kind of. Actually, Regulus was knocking me around like I was nothing. I couldn’t even scratch him. He was blasting trees and boulders away without any apparent effort. The only reason that I survived was that Lye reminded Regulus that he wasn’t supposed to kill me.”

“Huh?!”

Subaru shrugged, “Hey, I don’t get it either but for some reason Lye and Regulus were apparently under orders from someone not to kill me, or at least not to kill me back then. Roy mentioned that, whatever my immunity was, it’s expired. In fact, the whole reason that Regulus and Lye showed up was specifically because another Archbishop named Petelguese was about to kill me and apparently that was against instructions.”

“Whatever happened to that Petelguese guy?”

“He’s dead. Regulus vaporized him in one blow,” Subaru replied, “There was nothing left but drops of blood, scraps of flesh, and a pair of boots.”

Garfiel looked a bit frightened. “So what happens if Regulus does catch up with us?”

Subaru barked a laugh, “You, me, and Rem are going to get to do that ‘last stand’ thing we talked about. It’ll be a short stand but I’m sure that it will be very valiant.”

Garfiel growled, “Well, how long are we just going to run away like Drogo and Karnack? These freaks destroyed my home and almost killed all of us!”

“Not forever but we’re getting out dodge right now,” Subaru muttered, rubbing his face.

God I am exhausted, Subaru continued, “We won the fight but our team is worn out and we need to recover while the Archbishops hopefully waste their time and energy blowing up buildings.”

Garfiel scratched his cheek, “Maybe we could set a trap for them? What if we waited near the Sanctuary for them to start leaving and then ambushed Lye? We could pick them off one by one.”

“Bad idea,” Subaru said shortly.

Subaru noticed Garfiel glaring at him and smiled ruefully, “Sorry, Garf but it really is. We’re all exhausted and we’re in no shape to pick another fight right now. Besides, even if that weren’t the case, the Archbishops are all swarming together right now. If we attacked Lye the rest might come running.”

Garfiel frowned for a minute, “So what is our plan then?” He grumbled.

“Pretty much what we’re doing. Get away and recover. When the Archbishops try to come looking for us, they’ll need to split up in order to search. Then we might get a chance to ambush one of them like you thought. If we’re lucky, once he’s isolated and vulnerable, we can all take him down together.”

Garfiel snorted, “If it’s Lye I bet I can handle him on all by myself. You lot can just hang back and watch.”

“Oh, really?” Subaru asked with profound skepticism. “Just like you handled his brother by yourself a few hours ago? Oh wait, my memory misleads me. He kicked your butt.”

Garfiel scowled at him and opened his mouth to respond.

“If I go up against Regulus, I am going to die,” Subaru cut him off. “It’s just that simple. If I go up against Capella, I am going to die. And I doubt that I will have better luck with Lye if I try to take him on alone. These freaks aren’t people, Garf, they’re monsters. This isn’t a case of ‘let the better man win’, it’s a case where we all dog pile the monster and hope to hell that we can kill it before it eats every last one of us.”

Garfiel frowned but he seemed to be thinking about it.

“There’s no shame in asking for help, Garf. You helped me protect the people I love, so now I owe you one. That means I’m going to help you get even for the home you lost. In the meantime until you find your place out here, you have a home and it’s with the twins and me and our friends,” Subaru held out his hand to Garfiel.

Garfiel stared at Subaru’s hand for a moment and then shook it.

“Well,” Garfiel said with a slow smile. “I guess my glorious self can stand fighting with you one more time. The ‘little bit’ too once she’s feeling better.”

“Oh yeah, she’s going to want to get even!” Subaru assured him, “We may be running away right now, Garf but make no mistake that battle was a victory. How often do you think one of the Sin Archbishops actually dies? We killed one of them and then we all got out safely. We owned the freaks. And they made a huge mistake.”

“Yeah,” Garfiel growled, “They should have made sure they had all arrived before they attacked. We got to take them on one by one and they weren’t in position help each other or to cut us off before we got away.”

“No,” Subaru disagreed. “They made us angry.”

Garfiel flashed him a savage grin, “Fuck yeah, they did! When you shoot the tiger you better not miss! Next time, we’ll be ready for them!”

“Damn right,” Subaru approved. He cocked his head as he heard Felt and Rem arguing up front. “Jeez, what’s going on now?”

Subaru got up and walked out the front door with Garfiel following behind.

“-That is completely foolish,” Rem proclaimed.

“Don’t you talk to me like that, you-”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Subaru asked, looking ahead. They were approaching a five way crossroad.

“We should return back to the manor, Miss Felt,” Rem said in a curt voice. “Ram will wish to see Lord Roswaal as soon as she wakes up.”

“Maybe she does but don’t ask me why,” Felt retorted. “Does she have a backstabber fetish? Besides we’re being chased down by literal demons from hell. We need to go someplace we’ll be safe and that means we head back towards the capitol and look for Reinhard.”

“Lord Roswaal is entirely capable of keeping us safe,” Rem asserted.

“Yeah, right up until we’re between him and something he wants,” Felt snorts.

“OK,” Subaru said interrupting. “So that road goes to the manor and that road goes to the capitol,” He said, pointing at the closest two roads. “Rem, where does that road lead?” He asked, pointing straight ahead.

“That goes to the capitol as well but it’s the long way around. It avoids most of the Mathers territory and brings us close to Gusteko and then far out to the north east of the kingdom before heading south again,” Rem replied.

“And I assume that road heads out toward Priestella?” Subaru asked, thinking back to the maps he’d seen while pointing at the road that led west.

“I believe so,” Rem replied. “Lord Subaru, we should return to the manor and reunite with Lord Roswaal before those creatures catch up with us.”

“Roswaal isn’t there, Rem,” Subaru replied before Felt could jump in. “He’s just made the Sin Archbishops really really mad at him. If he went back to the manor then they would know right where to find him if they took it personally enough to hunt him down.”

“Also,” Subaru added in a growl, “Roswaal has just made me really, really mad at him and he’s not going to risk being somewhere I can get my hands on him until he’s sure that I’ve had enough time to calm down. Roswaal is in hiding right now. We won’t find him, he’ll find us when he’s ready.”

“So we go to the capitol,” Felt asserted.

“Yes but we’re going that way,” Subaru replied, pointing straight ahead.

“Lord Subaru-” Rem began.

“Please, Rem, just ‘Subaru,’ He sighed.

Rem took a deep breath, “Subaru, why are we going the long way around?”

“Because the Archbishops are still out there and they’re specifically looking for us. They’re going to assume that we either went to the manor or the capitol and they’ll be watching for us on those roads. Hopefully by taking the long way around, we can put them off the scent for a while. We’re in no condition to take another fight, Rem. We need to stall for time and get them off our trail while everyone recovers from the Sanctuary fight,” He paused, “Do we have enough food to take the long way?” He asked.

Rem sighed and shook the reins leading the carriage straight ahead. “We have ample provisions in the carriage and we will pass several trading posts on this road where we can acquire more.”

“Better and better,” Subaru said in a weary voice.

“Subaru,” Felt murmured, “We are going to go find Red, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” Subaru agreed firmly, “But Reinhard can take care of himself, better than any of us can. He’s not in any danger, we are. That means the priority is for all of us to stay alive and safe until we can hook up with him again.”

Felt did not look happy about this but nodded, “Do you think the Kingdom will send Red up here to deal with the cult?”

“Probably,” Subaru replied, “But it’s a question of when. It could take a while before the Kingdom even figures out what’s been happening out here.”

Subaru’s eyes widened, “Oh, shit! I should have told the villagers to make for a garrison and report that the Archbishops are on a rampage. Too late now.” He shook his head in disgust at himself.

Subaru sighed, “Garf, why don’t you go in back and take a nap. You’re been running around today more than any of us.”

Garfiel laughed, “Why? I can go on for days if I have to?”

“No doubt,” Subaru said seriously, “But why would you want to? The goal is to be in tip top shape in case the freaks find us. If any of them catch up with us, almost half our crew is unconscious. We all need to be at 100% if we’re going to have any chance. Besides,” Subaru leaned in to whisper to Garfiel, “When will you get another chance to sleep near Ram?”

Garfiel’s eyes widened and he turned a bit red. “Yeah,” He yawned a little theatrically, “Maybe I could stand to catch forty winks,” He said, heading back into the carriage.

“Subaru,” Rem grumbled, “Please refrain from offering my sister up as an inducement.”

“I know, Rem,” He sighed, “I’m going back there myself now to check on everyone. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Subaru checked on Ram but she seemed to be in the best shape of the three so as Garfiel quickly nodded off, Subaru went into the back.

Garfiel’s snoring quickly filled the carriage like an approaching thunderstorm.

Nothing had changed for Beatrice or Emilia so Subaru just sat down on the floor, laying back against the couch where Emilia rested.

Subaru buried his face in his hands.

Oh my God, how did I fuck this up so badly?! When did I lose control here?

Well, you haven’t actually lost control yet, another part of Subaru observed. Its voice was dry, clinical, and completely unwelcome. It’s a setback certainly but really all you-

Shut the fuck up! God! I thought I was so smart and so clever. I was going to get Emilia whatever she needed and that there was nothing anyone could do about it!

Why was that? Because I was the hero of this world? No, it’s because I’m a fucking witch! Everything I accomplished is because I was using the same magic that Regulus, Capella and the others use! I felt powerful because I was only facing people who didn’t have this kind of black magic and that made me feel like some kind of big man!

Then I met a few people who do use the same kind of witchcraft and boy was that a rude awakening!

In the past week I’ve been outsmarted by a guy who wears clown makeup, my champion is off in the south somewhere playing farmer, my fiancee almost had a mental breakdown and my cat’s run away. I lived through the last three battles by the skin of my teeth and some of that was only because my opponents were explicitly not trying to kill me! I manage to get two different communities destroyed on my watch and now I’m running for my life with a bunch of folks who have no chance of surviving if Regulus or Capella catch up to us.

How did I fuck this up so badly?

Subaru’s mind suddenly drifted back to Reinhard’s words at the royal selection announcement.

“I am proud to stand here today and pledge my enduring loyalty to Lord Subaru, the man I myself revere as King.”

Subaru wanted to beat his head into the floor. “Sorry, Red,” Subaru whispered, “I guess if you were here right now you’d be having some serious second thoughts about me.”

“Why?”

Subaru spun around and saw Emilia looking at him bleary eyed from the couch.

“Emilia!” Subaru gasped, grabbing her hand. “Are you alright?”

She seemed confused, “Subaru, what happened?”

He gently kissed her palm. “You passed the trials, Mili! You freed the sanctuary and we got everyone out!” Subaru whispered.

Emilia’s eyes widened in wonder and she began to smile. “I did?” Emilia pressed her face into the cushions in sheer exhaustion but her smile broadened. “Then I guess I finally saved you for a change.”

“You’re the hero today, Mili,” Subaru promised her. “You saved all of us. You deserve all the credit.”

“Where are we?”

“We’re in Roswaal’s… carriage thing. I don’t know what you call it,” Subaru admitted.

“Are we going back to the manor?”

Subaru hesitated, “We’re heading someplace safe,” He sidestepped.

Emilia rubbed her face into the cushions. “Subaru, I’m so tired,” She whimpered.

“Then go back to sleep, Mili,” He encouraged, rubbing her back. “Everything is fine right now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Emilia flashed him a smile and then drifted off to sleep.

Subaru lay back with a smile on his face. She woke up. She’s exhausted but she woke up! She’s going to be OK. She just needs to rest a bit. Thank God.

But now what?

Subaru buried his face in his hands.

Oh my God, how am I going to tell her that the dragon blood is gone? ‘Hey Emilia, some bad news: we discovered that the kingdom doesn’t have any more dragon blood so we’ve been completely wasting our time with the royal selection and nothing that we’ve worked on has advanced your goals in any way. We could have spent the last month shoveling snow out of the great Elior Forest and accomplished more with our time. Also, since nobody has seen this divine dragon in decades, for all I know the entire species is extinct and we are completely out of options to heal your people.’

No! I’m not licked yet! There is still a way. I know there is a way to save Emilia’s people because… the clown… told me that I’d become his ally after I heard that the blood was gone. That means I’m not sunk, there is another way to do it. If there wasn’t then I’d never become Roswaal’s ally because he’d have nothing to offer me.

There is still some way to heal Emilia’s forest I just need to work with… the clown. So what, do I go looking for Roswaal?

No, I just explained to Rem that Roswaal is absolutely in hiding right now from both me and the Archbishops. He’s not going to risk contacting me until he’s sure that I’ve regained my temper. So that means that I just need to keep the twins close; even though one or both of them are almost certainly spies. When Roswaal decides that I’m ready to talk, he’ll come back and make his offer.

Subaru’s eyes widened. Or do I already know the answer? The Authority of Pride! That’s what Roswaal wants from me. I have no idea how it works but Roswaal implied that the Authority could give me whatever I most wanted. It gave me Reason and Judgment because I wanted to be smart and it gave me Indomitable because I was afraid. Roswaal told me that it would grow stronger and that eventually I’d be able to control it. How does it work? Is there a limit to it? If my greatest wish was to heal Emilia’s people, would the Authority simply grant me the power to do that?

But I have no idea how the Authority works. Could maybe… Reason and Judgment tell me? And I know that nothing is ever free so… if I do make that wish, what would be the price?

Subaru sighed.

Let’s hold that thought in reserve for now. Maybe Beatrice will have a few ideas on other ways to heal the forest…

Subaru looked at the tiny spirit who lay unconscious atop the couch across from him.

Beatrice, what have I done? How could I let you get hurt so badly? The mana drain shockwave seems to impact people worse the more mana they have. Emilia only woke up for a minute, Ram’s still out cold, and poor Beatrice must have felt as if she got hit by a train. I guess in a way we’re lucky that Puck wasn’t around. If he had gotten hit by that shockwave he might have exploded.

Subaru’s eyes widened. “Puck,” He whispered.

We’re outside of the Sanctuary and the barrier’s been destroyed! So maybe…

Subaru carefully reached out and, being careful not to wake her, touched the gem around Emilia’s neck.

“Puck,” He prayed.

For a moment nothing happened and then a tiny flying cat appeared in thin air and stretched.

“Hey there, Subaru!” He said with a yawn.

“Puck!” Subaru gasped.

“Long time no see! Give me paw knuckles!” Puck said.

Subaru extended his fist and Puck slapped it.

“I am so very glad to see you, my friend!” Subaru realized he was crying.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened, Subaru. Something was keeping me trapped. I couldn’t get out!”

“The important thing is that you’re back with us,” Subaru sighed, “We’re all together again.”

Puck is home. We’re getting back on our feet. We’ll continue to get back on our feet. We will figure all of this crap out together, as a family.

Puck was looking around. “Betty!” Puck flew off to hover over the unconscious spirit. “Her mana is completely drained! Subaru, what happened?!”

Subaru sighed. “Well, I’m not really sure,” He said, following Puck over to Beatrice’s couch. “I think that when we broke that barrier that kept you locked up it drained everyone’s mana to a greater or lesser extend. Most of the magic users are still out cold.”

Puck inspected her, “Yeah, everyone here was hit with a bad mana drain but Betty’s the one in the worst shape. Don’t worry, Subaru. She’ll be fine, she just needs a recharge. And luckily, I have plenty of mana!”

Puck hovered over Beatrice and started to glow with a warm orange light, shining down on Beatrice like a tiny sun. “It’ll probably be a while before she wakes up though. So catch me up, Subaru. What did I miss? How long was I out?”

Subaru thought about it. “I’m guessing close to two weeks. There’s a lot to tell you, Puck and it’s all bad.”

“Come on, Subaru. It can’t be all that bad. I know that you can handle whatever gets throw at you,” Puck replied.

Subaru wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, “OK, where to begin? So after we all separated, Beatrice, Reinhard and I went fishing and we managed to kill the whale. Yay, us,” Subaru cheered sarcastically.

“Then we came to find you guys in Arlem only to discover that the village was being occupied by some sort of lunatic named Petelguese, a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, who wanted to kill me for some reason. I don’t get it either, so don’t ask. Petelguese gets killed by two more lunatics, Regulus and Lye, because apparently Petelguese ignored somebody’s orders not to come after me. Regulus almost kills me and Betty but he eventually remembers his orders and leaves us alone. Then we follow you guys to the Sanctuary and find out that you’ve been sealed away in the crystal and everybody else is trapped inside the barrier and poor Emilia is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because the trials to free the sanctuary are destroying her mind.”

Puck’s eyes narrowed. “Subaru-”

“I know, Puck, I know!” Subaru said, falling back on the floor and burying his face in his hands. “This whole mess is all my fault! Everything Emilia went through is my fault! I will cheerfully submit to whatever punishment you think is appropriate; trust me, I deserve it. Just let me finish first. If you’re going to obliterate me I would like to have throughly earned it.”

Subaru shook his head and continued, “We find out that Roswaal has been playing us all for fools this whole time and that he was the one who hired Elsa to steal the insignia from Emilia in the first place. He also tricked Reinhard into going to the other side of the country so he wouldn’t be able to help us while we were trapped in the Sanctuary. Roswaal tried to bind me in a magical slave pact in exchange for allowing me to pass the trials and free the Sanctuary because the Sin Archbishops were coming to kill everyone inside of it but Emilia managed to complete the trials and break the barrier. Garfiel- that’s the new guy over there, you haven’t met him yet but he’s OK-, Beatrice, and I fought a gluttony Archbishop named Roy to buy Emilia time to finish the trials and we managed to kill him. Meanwhile, Roswaal and the twins are fighting another Archbishop named Capella. Capella escapes but not before telling me that the kingdom’s dragon blood is all gone and everything that we’ve done up until this time to try to help Emilia by reaching the throne has been a fantastic waste of time!” Subaru snapped at himself.

Puck just stared at Subaru.

“Capella warned us that Regulus was coming and Regulus is somebody that none of us could possibly hope to stand against, maybe not even with Reinhard backing us up. So we piled into wagons and everyone flees the sanctuary and we barely managed to get out of there with our lives before Regulus shows up. Now we’re on the road and I have literally no idea where we’re going or what we’re going to do next!” Subaru paused, gasping for breath.

Subaru shook his head, trying to shake off his frustration, “I’m really grateful that you’re back, Puck,” He continued gently. “I missed you. Plus not only can you help heal Beatrice but you can be there when we tell Emilia that the dragon blood is gone and that we don’t have a Plan B to heal the forest just yet. Emilia… is going to be shattered. I literally can’t imagine a more terrible revelation for her. It’s just going to break her heart. She’s going to need both of her boys there to help her through this, buddy,” Subaru extended his fist for a paw knuckle.

Puck just floated there with an unclear expression.

“Subaru,” Puck said. “Who is Emilia?”