“Beatrice? Beatrice!” Subaru yelled.

The snowy forest was silent except for the howling wind.

“Beako!” He screamed.

“Subaru,” Emilia murmured, grabbing his arm, “I don’t think… Puck and Beatrice came through the portal…”

Subaru stared at her in open-mouthed horror.

“Oh my God,” Subaru whispered, looking around frantically, “Where the fuck are we?! We need to go help them! They’re all alone with Reinhard!” Subaru yelled, taking off at a run.

“Subaru!” Emilia shouted, grabbing onto his arm tightly. She jerked Subaru off his feet as he tried to run away. He fell back against her and she held him tight as he struggled.

“Mili! Let go of me!”

“Subaru, we don’t even know where we are right now! Beatrice must have teleported us someplace far away. It’s late spring so all this snow suggests that she sent us to northern Gusteko. That’s got to be dozens, maybe hundreds of miles away at the very least and we don’t even know which direction Lagunica is in!”

Subaru stared at her in astonishment, “Emilia, we have to do something! Puck and Beatrice are gone!”

“I know that,” Emilia whispered in a placating tone, “I’m as worried about them as you are. But the fact remains that we don’t know how to help them right now. We can’t just rush off in a panic…”

“Beako,” He whispered, falling to his knees in the snow. Subaru’s face was a caricature of misery and his eyes were hopeless as he stared up at Emilia.

“I know,” Emilia murmured, pulling him into a hug and letting his head rest against her chest, “I know just how you feel. We’ll find her, Subaru. I promise. And Puck too.”

Subaru was panting for breath, “I can’t believe that I lost her. I lost both of them. I can’t…”

“We’ll find them, Subaru,” Emilia whispered, stroking his hair, “I love them too. They’re family. We will bring them home.”

Subaru leaned on Emilia as she helped him back to his feet. Subaru was covered in snow and shivering violently from the cold wind.

Emilia looked at him with concern, “Subaru, are you alright?”

It took Subaru a moment to gather the breath to reply. “Sure,” He said through chattering teeth, “Never better! We just need… to go find… our partners…”

Emilia frowned, “Subaru, I don’t think that you’re dressed for this kind of weather.”

He gave a choked laugh as he wrapped his arms around himself trying to warm up, “Hey, I’m not the one wearing a skirt under that robe!”

“My mana keeps me warm,” Emilia explained, “When I was living in the forest with Puck, I didn’t have many clothes. I usually just covered myself with a cloak until Puck started to police my outfits.”

“Normally that image would put happy thoughts in my mind,” Subaru grumbled through violently chattering teeth. “But not right now. OK, we need to figure out where we are.”

Emilia frowned. “How do we do that?”

Subaru whirled on her. “I don’t know!” Subaru yelled, “I have no freaking clue where we are! I don’t know where Beatrice and Puck are! I don’t know anything, Emilia!” The words echoed through the snowy forest as Subaru stood there, panting for breath and looking frantic.

Emilia stared at him for a moment, “It’s alright, Subaru,” She said soothingly, “We can figure it out together, right? Like you always say, as long as we’re together, we can do anything.”

Subaru took a ragged breath and then nodded, “OK,” He sighed. “OK… I’m sorry, Mili…”

“So how should we start?” Emilia asked in a calm voice as the snowfall started to increase and the wind picked up.

Subaru shook his head. “Well… We should start by looking for people.” He thought for a moment. “A town will have smoke over it, especially in this weather because they’ll need to keep their houses warm,” Subaru said. “So we could try looking for smoke. Towns need water too so if we find a decent sized river, it will probably lead us to a town or at least a farmhouse.”

“Alright,” Emilia encouraged, “That all sounds good. Any idea which way we should go?”

Subaru, still shivering violently, looked around for a few moments and shook his head, “No idea. How about that way?” Subaru suggested, pointing toward a dense grove of pine trees.

Emilia studied it for a moment. “I suppose it’s fine but why that way?” She asked.

“Because this wind is brutal,” Subaru said through chattering teeth, “And I’m hoping that those trees will help shield me from it!”

“Oh. That makes sense,” Emilia agreed.

The two began wading through knee-deep snowdrifts as the weather turned more and more hostile. Emilia walked through the snow without much effort but Subaru had to fight his way through each step.

“What are you thinking about, Subaru?” Emilia asked, trying to fill the silence with something other than the howling wind.

“I’m thinking that I am going to dedicate my entire life to killing Reinhard if he harms so much as one hair on Beatrice’s head!” Subaru hissed.

Emilia jumped. “Subaru, you shouldn’t be thinking like that,” Emilia murmured. “Felt and Reinhard will take good care of Puck and Beatrice! And Reinhard didn’t mean to do anything bad. He… thought that he was helping you. He was obviously wrong but he didn’t mean to do any harm.”

“Yeah well, we have a saying back home,” Subaru growled, fighting his way through the snow using sheer anger to push him forward. “‘Any sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice!’”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that when you fuck up badly enough, it stops mattering if it was an accident!” Subaru snapped.

Subaru didn’t look behind him as he said this or he would have seen Emilia flinch and her face grow miserable.

He’s right, Emilia thought. This is all my fault. I need to find a way to make it right…

Subaru and Emilia walked long into the night. They were both exhausted.

Emilia held onto Subaru’s shoulder trying to help him as he struggled through the snow. Emilia was tired but comparatively in much better shape. Her mana shielded her from the biting cold and she was strong enough to move through the snow fairly easily.

The forest seemed to go on forever. Subaru had lost track of how many miles they had traveled but they hadn’t stumbled upon so much as a rough trail in the woods. No smoke could be seen over the horizon and they had found no rivers. The forest periodically broke into wide meadows but there were no tracks in the fresh snow that might indicate what direction to go in. Most of the time, Subaru and Emilia were forced to stumble through the thick underbrush where icy branches snapped at their faces and hands as they pushed through.

Subaru shook his head. Beatrice. How did I ever let this happen? You took a chance on me. You bet your happiness on me. I promised you that we’d be together forever…

And I managed to lose you in less than a month. I don’t know where you are, I don’t know if you’re safe, or what Reinhard and Felt plan to do with you…

I am the biggest loser in two worlds. Even when I’m granted enormous magical power, I still suck. As soon as an opportunity came to screw up and let the people I love down, I grabbed it with both hands.

“Subaru,” Emilia murmured, “It’s getting really late. I think that we need to find someplace to spend the night.”

Subaru barked a laugh. “I thought that was what we’ve been trying to do. We’ve been walking for hours through this frozen hell and we haven’t found anything but trees and bushes. We haven’t even seen any animals! We can’t just sleep in the snow, Mili, we’ll freeze to death. Well, I would at least.”

Emilia’s face was a mask of worry. “Subaru, why don’t you try to get some sleep? I can carry you for a while.”

Subaru took a deep breath and then swallowed it silently. He realized that he had been about to explode in rage at Emilia. “It’s alright, Mili,” He murmured. “I can keep going for a while longer. Frankly, I doubt that I could sleep right now anyway.”

Emilia’s face was worried and Subaru sighed. I need to control myself better. I’m angry and scared and frustrated but I can’t take it out on Emilia.

Why not? A cold voice in his mind mused. Fundamentally, this entire mess is one hundred percent her fault. She lost control of her magic and turned everyone against you, even the spirits. She was the one who talked you into fighting the Guiltylowe and rescuing Captain Falric who naturally told Crusch exactly where you were. And Emilia was the one who told the slaves who you were and then convinced you to give them the wagon. It’s not an exaggeration to claim that it’s completely Emilia’s fault that you lost Beatrice.

Subaru shook his head, trying to dispel the poisonous thoughts. Shut up! No, that isn’t fair. Emilia never meant for any of this to happen. She’s dealing with magic that she never even knew she had. Hey, if the fact that she lost control of it is anyone’s fault, it’s Puck’s. Puck tried to keep her his little girl forever and he never let her grow into her own abilities. Then, when she finds herself in a desperate situation, of course she doesn’t know what to do!

Puck makes a very convenient scapegoat, The other voice mused, but that doesn’t do you much good. The fact remains that Emilia is your problem right now. And as much as you love her, she’s nothing but a burden in this situation. How can you hope to rescue Beatrice knowing that Emilia won’t be safe if you bring her into danger and also doesn’t have the skills and expertise to keep herself out of trouble even if you find somewhere safe to leave her behind? She’s dead weight in this struggle.

Subaru took a deep breath. No. That’s completely unfair. This mess is my fault and mine alone. I wanted to make Emilia happy. I could have just said ‘no’ to her. We could have kept walking and let the Guiltylowe have its prey. We could have wished the slaves luck in getting somewhere warm before the night fell and the cold became extreme. We would have been over the border safely in a few hours. I should have told Emilia ‘no, we can’t help anyone else because we need to take care of ourselves first. You can only help others if you yourself are not in desperate need of help.’

Fuck it. I’m a fucking liar. Even if I’d been all alone, I’m not sure that I could have done either of those things. Could I really have left those men to be Guiltylowe chew toys? Captain Falric is a good man. He doesn’t deserve to die like that. And Emilia was right, the slaves would have suffered frostbite for sure before they ever got out of the mountains. Walking all those miles on bare feet, the children would have been going through life with two toes on each foot.

Beatrice’s loss is my fault and no one else’s. She was a fool to put her faith in me. She thought that I could keep her happy? God, I couldn’t even keep her safe! I led her into a trap in the Sanctuary where the barrier’s mere presence made her sick. I brought her through five different fights with the Sin Archbishops, I’ve made her a fugitive from the kingdom, and now I’ve even let her be captured in my place…

Fuck me. I wonder if all this has made her finally figure out that the only reason she bonded with me in the first place was because my Authority made her. Next time I see her, she’ll probably reduce me to mulch. Not sure that I could blame her.

Subaru growled under his breath. I can’t believe that Felt and Reinhard actually betrayed me! Just like that. After everything that we’ve been through together, they refused to even consider that I knew what I was talking about. I wanted nothing from them. All I asked for was to be left alone! Emilia and I weren’t hurting anyone. But Felt told the kingdom that a witch walked the land and the kingdom scrambled to hunt her down and kill her. Or maybe they planned to kill us both for all I know. Crusch certainly wouldn’t shed too many tears if she found out that something had happened to me.

And what about Rem. I saved her life. I saved it over and over again. I forgave her when she attacked me and Reinhard wanted to kill her. I protected her from Roy and Capella when they attacked the Sanctuary. I saved her from Lye. I lured Capella away from everyone when she was tracking us. This was the thanks I get? She threatens to kill me. She accuses me of trying to get Beatrice and Puck killed.

The fucking bitch. I should have just handed her to Capella as a distraction. ‘Here, Capella. Please take this humble and delicious peace-offering. Take as long chewing her up as you want, it will give the rest of us a good long head-start.’

The cold voice in his mind mused, Everyone has turned against you. The only person whose loyalty never wavered was Beatrice and now she’s lost to you as well.

That’s not true. Emilia never turned on me. I still have Emilia.

True, the voice admitted, but Emilia is incapable of aiding you in a tight spot. You can’t even leave her alone without any confidence that she won’t be in danger. Emilia is a liability, not help.

Subaru sighed. I need to reduce this to my highest priorities. I need to get Emilia somewhere safe. That’s priority number one. Then I need to figure out how to rescue Beatrice.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how to accomplish either of these goals because I am currently lost in the goddamn frozen woods!

Fuck me.

It was the middle of the night. The forest was black as pitch and Subaru could barely see where he was going although Emilia seemed to have no trouble.

After Subaru had tripped and fallen three times over rocks or roots, Emilia finally took point and led Subaru by hand through the underbrush. Subaru’s body screamed for rest but he just kept walking long through the night.

The frigid wind cut to the bone and the snow kept falling.

Put one foot in front of the other. Keep moving. Don’t stop to think about what just happened or you might be unable to move at all.

This is turning into one enormous nightmare. First, everyone forgets about Emilia. Then Felt and Reinhard turn against you. You lost Beatrice, and that’s not even considering what you did at the slaver camp-

Stop it! No time to unpack that now! You need to find Beatrice and Puck! You need to keep Emilia safe! Even if you need to tear yourself to pieces in the process you have to accomplish these tasks.

Then you can die.

Subaru blinked at this strange thought that had risen unbidden out of the depths of his mind. I must be more exhausted than I thought. Subaru pushed the idea away as he continued to struggle through the snow and the dark forest.

I feel… off balance. When was the last time that I walked any kind of distance without Beako on my shoulder?

I can’t believe that it’s only been two months since we met. Beako has become a part of me, just as much as Emilia has. Not in the same way, obviously but just as essential. I feel as if I’ve had something amputated. I feel… incomplete. I feel violated. I just want to scream until my lungs explode…

Subaru held his breath, worried that he really might start screaming, and when he couldn’t take it any longer, he triggered Reason and Judgment. The snowstorm froze around him, each snowflake held up for his inspection, tiny fractal jewels suspended in mid air.

You’re not calm inside the frozen moment, Subaru mused. This is a bad sign. You’re so terrified that something might have happened to Beatrice and Puck that not even Reason and Judgment can completely shut the fear off.

Regardless, the only cure for this situation is to take action. You will recover Beatrice. This is as certain as the sun rising and woe betide anyone who gets in your way. Anyone who attempts to separate you from Beatrice has made an enemy of Subaru Natsuki and that is always the shortest path to the grave.

However, you need to finally accept the truth: Your only remaining resource is the Authority. Your friends have betrayed you and the spirits are lost to you. All you have left is the Authority.

Beatrice suggested that the Authority would grow stronger as you gave into your own ‘flaws’ and in this case it seems obvious that the particular flaw she referred to is your pride. To master the Authority, perhaps you simply need to believe that you deserve to do so. You do struggle with self-esteem but luckily you have Reason and Judgment to help you. Perhaps Reason and Judgment unlocks first for all wielders of this Authority; it helps them to master the Authority by filling them with overwhelming confidence. It seems sensible that to master the Authority, you’re simply going to have to use it more often. It’s time you moved past your constant fear of using Reason and Judgment. You’ve been trying to limit your usage of it for weeks now and things have only spiraled further out of control.

How many of the problems now facing you could have been defused if your intelligence and willpower had been heightened to their utmost limit? Could you have talked Felt and Reinhard down? Persuaded them to wait and see about Emilia? You and Emilia are in a desperate situation right now and anything you do that in any way limits your potential is risking Emilia’s life. Even if Reason and Judgment is causing some unspecified damage to you, what of it? How much damage would you be willing to accept in exchange for Emilia’s life and safety?

Moreover, the Authority is now your only option for a variety of other problems. Roswaal suggested that its power was close to infinite once controlled properly by its rightful master. That master is you. Even Reinhard thought that you could tame the dark power he sensed in you. It’s time that you proved his faith in you was merited, if only to establish how unwise him choosing to betray you actually was. All this time, you have been treating the Authority like a parlor trick but its magic has unimaginable potential in the right hands.

You need to start practicing with the Authority. Study it. Learn to harness it, rather than simply relying on using it on impulse. The Authority is the best candidate right now to break Emilia’s curse. Beyond that, the Authority is currently your only possible means to fulfill your promise to Emilia to heal the forest.

Imagine going back to the Elior Forest and commanding that the curse be lifted. The Authority could certainly do that for you. Emilia’s magic, potent though it may be, is insignificant next to the unimaginable power of the Authority. What if you could speak Emilia’s name in front of Reinhard and Felt and force them to remember her? Dispelling whatever the Archbishops did to Emilia should be child’s play.

The Sin Archbishops are still hunting for you. Facing them in combat all alone would be a desperate affair. But what are their piddling little parlor tricks in comparison to the vast power of the Authority of Pride? Pride is the first and greatest of sins. A man who can conquer Pride can accomplish anything. Picture Regulus breaking under your will and begging for mercy. Imagine Capella’s magic abandoning her at your direction and leaving a frightened, helpless little girl trembling before you.

Moreover, consider the long term problems that bedevil you. Emilia doesn’t really want to be King, or even your Queen. You know this. But she does want to fix the kingdom and that’s a problem. That’s a lifetime of labor during which Emilia is going to be surrounded by crowds of people who despise her. She’ll be close to miserable. But imagine what would be possible when the Authority submits to you in totality.

Imagine turning your Authority on the Kingdom. Imagine turning it on the whole world! Use your power and demand that this world become a place worthy of you. The Authority would sink its magic into the very fabric of this land and make it a utopia; a paradise where fear and want are only legends known from story books. A kingdom that would bring awe to the stars themselves, with the greatest of rulers gently guiding his chosen people toward peace and prosperity. All of this is possible once you master the infinite power of the Authority.

You must master the Authority. The Authority is your only trump card right now. Luckily for you, it’s the strongest card in the deck.

Subaru restarted time and his calm and confidence drained away like water into parched sand.

He struggled to keep walking in the biting cold.

“Subaru, is that a cave?” Emilia murmured late that night.

Subaru wearily lifted his head. He’d lost track of how far they’d come in the dark and snowy forest. He knew that the distance itself was not very impressive but each step through the deep snow had taken huge amounts of effort and the freezing wind sapped his strength.

Subaru sighed. “I can’t see that far in this murk,” He admitted. “But anything that gets us out of this cold and gives us a chance to rest is awesome as far as I’m concerned.”

The two stumbled through the snow, Emilia almost carrying the exhausted Subaru. As they got closer, Subaru saw that Emilia was right. It did appear to be a small cave. It would be cold, damp, and dirty but at the moment simply getting out of the screaming wind and the endlessly falling snow seemed like an unparalleled luxury to Subaru.

Don’t get too excited, Subaru reminded himself. With our luck, the cave will probably have a pack of wolgarm living inside.

Emilia and Subaru stepped into the cave mouth but a moment later she froze in her tracks.

“Emilia, what is it?” Subaru groaned, every muscle aching.

“Subaru, there’s something in there,” She whispered.

“A mabeast?” Subaru asked, peering into the dark.

There was a low growl from the cave and two points of glowing red appeared in the shadows. A Guiltylowe slowly crept out of the darkness.

Perfect.

“Get behind me!” Subaru ordered.

Emilia glanced at him and planted her feet, refusing to move so Subaru took a step forward and stretched an arm out protectively in front of her.

The monster towered over Subaru and Emilia, its bushy black mane scrapping the top of the cave mouth. The Guiltylowe growled at them.

Subaru tensed but the Guiltylowe didn’t attack. It stood there glaring at Subaru and Emilia. It seemed somehow reluctant to make the first move.

On some strange impulse that he couldn’t explain, Subaru grabbed Emilia and slowly backed them away from the cave mouth. The Guiltylowe glowered down at them but the lion-like beast didn’t spring. Subaru set their backs against a nearby tree and waited.

The Guiltylowe scowled at Subaru. For a long moment, nobody moved.

Then the Guiltylowe slowly slunk out of the cave. It never took its burning crimson eyes off of Subaru for a moment. Its gaze was fairly dripping with loathing. When the beast had left the cave and walked some distance away, it finally turned its back on the pair and vanished into the darkness.

Subaru let out an explosive breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

“What just happened?!” Emilia demanded incredulously. “Subaru! Is it going to wait until we fall asleep and then ambush us?”

“I kind of doubt it, Mili,” Subaru sighed, almost too tired to speak. “If it wanted to take us by surprise, it just passed up a terrific opportunity to do it. I’m guessing that it decided that we were a fight that it didn’t want to pick and opted to back down. But I’m not sure why it made that decision and that worries me.”

Emilia bit her lip. “Subaru, it doesn’t matter right now. You need to get some rest.”

Subaru sighed and laboriously marched into the cave. “Yeah. I’ve got to admit, that sounds wonderful. I feel like I could sleep on broken glass right now.”

“How about hard stone?” She murmured.

“Yeah, that too,” Subaru said, looking around the mabeast lair that reeked of decay and excrement.

Subaru found a relatively clean spot on the floor and laid down, using his satchel for a crude, lumpy pillow and beckoned Emilia to lay down beside him. “I’m probably not a very good pillow,” Subaru said, guiding her head to his chest. “But I hope you can get some sleep.”

“But what about you?”

Subaru shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure that I could sleep tonight, no matter how tried I am. My brain is running all over the place.”

Emilia was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Subaru sighed. “What’s there to talk about? I watched our family get ripped in half tonight and I was completely helpless to prevent it.”

“Subaru, that wasn’t your fault,” Emilie murmured.

Subaru chuckled ruefully. “It sure feels like it was, Mili,” Subaru replied. “I couldn’t even get us over the border without getting captured by Reinhard and Felt. The only reason we got away is because Beatrice pulled a miracle out of her sleeve but I have no idea where we are or where the spirits are. I don’t know how we’re going to make everyone remember who you are or even where we can find a safe place to lick our wounds and make plans. Fuck, I don’t even know where our next meal is coming from! Man, I’m pathetic. You know, you and Beatrice really have horrible taste in the people you love.”

Emilia didn’t answer right away. “Subaru, you need to stop talking about yourself this way,” She said firmly. “No one could have gotten us out of the Sanctuary any better than you did. Thanks to you we all got away safely. That’s a big deal, Subaru.”

Subaru sighed. “But we didn’t all get away safely, did we? Beatrice and Puck got captured. I don’t even know if we got away safely because I have no idea where the hell we are. Gusteko only has a few cities and the northern woods are very sparsely occupied. I don’t know how far we might need to walk through these woods before we stumble over a farmhouse, much less a town.” Subaru shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Mili. I’m just talking about how this affected me. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling now that Puck’s been taken away. You must feel even worse.”

Emilia took a deep breath. “I feel… better than you’d think, actually. I’ve had time to adapt.”

“What do you mean?”

Emilia smiled sadly. “Subaru, I lost Daddy days ago. I lost him the day that he forgot who I was.”

Subaru winced. “Oh. Yeah, I guess it would feel like that.”

“Him being gone… it’s almost a relief, honestly,” She said.

“Hm?”

“It’s just… it’s so hard seeing Puck floating next to you and knowing that he despises me,” Emilia murmured.

“Mili, he doesn’t despise you,” Subaru reassured her. “He’s just uncomfortable with you and it’s going to take some time for him to adjust. He’s getting better.”

Emilia gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Subaru, Puck threatened to kill me today.”

Subaru’s eyes grew huge. “What?”

Emilia nodded against Subaru’s chest. “I tried to make up with Puck while we went off to gather firewood. I told him… how sorry I was about everything that had happened. Daddy didn’t care. He told me that I was doing nothing but putting you in danger. He said that each time I screwed up, he was more tempted to kill me, even though he knew how you would react…”

Subaru could only stare at her. “What the fuck?!” He breathed.

“He reminded me about the time that I cursed you and Felt-”

“Mili, that was an accident,” He reassured her.

Emilia ignored him. “And then he reminded me about when I had convinced you to rescue those soldiers from the Guiltylowe. How I had told the slaves who you were and that I didn’t even realize I’d done that until you pointed it out to me,” Emilia said, sounding ashamed. “I even talked you into giving away our wagon…”

Subaru shifted uncomfortably. “Mili, I chose to do those things. You didn’t make me do any of them. Puck is being utterly unfair to you.”

Emilia whimpered. “That’s why I’m not more upset that Puck was captured, Subaru. I feel horrible even saying this about Daddy but… it’s easier to have him gone than to have him beside me and know that he hates me and wants me dead. What’s worse is that… I’ve realized that even when Puck loved me, he never respected me.”

“What do you mean?”

Emilia sighed. “Daddy… loved me because I was his daughter but not because I was Emilia. Even when Puck disliked you, he still respected you. You had traits and skills that he admired. Now that Puck doesn’t think of me as his daughter anymore, he has nothing but contempt for me. He thinks that I’m stupid and helpless. And now, I’ve realized that… Puck always would have felt that way about me if I hadn’t been his daughter. He thinks that I’m pathetic,” She burst into tears.

Subaru wasn’t sure what to say so he just held Emilia close and let her cry into his chest as he stroked her back.

After a while, Emilia cried herself out and her breathing became deep and even.

She’s exhausted, Subaru mused to himself. She needs to rest.

Goddamn it. I thought that Puck was coming around. Now I find out that he’s still debating if he needs to kill Emilia to protect me! I remember all those times Puck thought about ending me when we first met. They weren’t fun. How much worse is it for Emilia to have to deal with this behavior from her own father? No wonder she’s relieved that he’s gone.

She needs to rest and I need to figure out where we are and where we’re going. I need to find out where Beatrice and Puck are and how I can rescue them.

Fuck. Once I rescue them, my problems are just starting! I need to figure out how I’m going to stop them from killing Emilia! Can anything else go wrong?!

Subaru was still brooding on this when he fell asleep between one thought and the next.

Subaru slept until late the next morning. He felt like he could have slept for days but the urgency of their situation gnawed at him and he reluctantly forced himself awake.

The first thing he noticed was that Emilia was gone.

Subaru’s heart leapt into his throat. Subaru jumped to his feet but before he could set off in search of his lover, he heard footsteps in the snow just outside the cave.

Emilia walked back inside the cave with a pile of berries in her arms. “Good morning, Subaru.”

Subaru let out an explosive breath. “Mili,” He grumbled, fighting not to snap at her, “If you need to go somewhere while I’m asleep, please either wake me up first or get some paper out of my satchel and leave me a note.”

Emilia looked a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Subaru,” She murmured.

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“No worries. What were you doing?”

“I was foraging,” She replied, putting down the pile of tiny purple berries on top of Subaru’s satchel and kneeling on the floor just inside the mouth of the cave. “It seems that living in the Elior forest was actually good training for finding food in Gusteko. I found a bunch of Juniper berries.”

“Awesome!” Subaru said, sitting down next to her. I have no idea what Juniper berries taste like but a bowl of cooking lard sounds like a banquet right now.

The pair started to eat the berries together.

“Did you see anything while you were out?” Subaru asked.

Emilia shook her head. “I only went a mile or so in each direction but I didn’t see any sign of people. There were no houses, no roads, no trails, nothing.”

“Great,” Subaru sighed, “So we are still hopelessly lost in the vast northern woods.”

Emilia chewed on a berry thoughtfully for a moment. “Subaru, maybe I should go on ahead while you wait here.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I can move around in the cold and the snow a lot better than you can,” Emilia pointed out. “I could go exploring today and cover a lot more distance. Maybe I’ll find a town or a homestead.”

Subaru shook his head. “I don’t want us to be separated right now, Mili. We’re both less vulnerable when we’re together. Besides,” He added pensively, “After what happened to Beatrice and Puck last night, I don’t think that I could handle letting you out of my sight right now. I’d literally worry myself sick…”

Emilia gently slid her hand into Subaru’s as they ate.

A short time later, the pair exited the cave. The sky overhead was still overcast and flurries drifted down steadily.

“Which way should we go?” Emilia asked.

Subaru shrugged. “I don’t know. You’ve done more exploring around here than I have. Did any direction seem promising?”

Emilia flashed him a smile. “Walk a mile in any direction and you’ll feel like you didn’t really go anywhere at all.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Subaru sighed. “I don’t suppose you saw the sun come up?”

Emilia shook her head.

“So we still don’t know which direction is which,” Subaru muttered. “Well… I guess that way looks like the lightest part of the cloud cover so maybe that’s east? And that means,” He pointed. “That way would be south?”

Emilia shrugged.

Subaru chuckled. “Well, whatever. One direction is as good as any other at this point. We just got to keep moving. We’ll find somewhere eventually.”

“Good attitude,” Emilia approved as they left the cave, walking hand in hand.

From far back in the trees, a figure in a hooded robe watched them go.

The pair walked all day long through the vast, trackless woods but they never felt like they were actually getting anywhere. Every part of the forest looked like every other part.

The sun was setting and the wind was picking up. The snow was starting to fall more heavily.

“We better start looking for a place to hole up for the night. This storm might get rough,” Subaru commented.

“How far do you think that we’ve come today?” She asked.

“Not far,” Subaru admitted. “It’s slow going, breaking through these snow drifts, for me at least. I’m guessing that maybe we’re doing a third of what we did when we were walking through the grasslands.”

“We should start looking for food,” Emilia suggested.

“Yes, food and shelter. Those sound like things we should be searching for right now.”

I haven’t seen any sign of food or shelter all day. The weather is turning ugly. I almost wonder if it was a bad idea to leave that cave but what could we have done there? Make it our new home? We need to figure out where we are and then find Beatrice and Puck. We couldn’t do either of those things back at the cave.

The day faded away and the night began. Subaru and Emilia kept moving, looking for any place to spend the night. Subaru lost track of how many miles they walked. The storm was becoming intense and his vision was sharply reduced.

My brain feels burnt, like it’s been cooked in its own stress. I can’t handle much more of this crap. Last night, I avoided thinking too much about what happened to the spirits, probably exhaustion keeping me from brooding myself sick but I can’t push it down much longer.

Ignore it. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Just keep moving.

Someone had been following Subaru since he first arrived in the forest. He wasn’t hard to track. In a wilderness where he’d seen no sign of any living thing, he gave no thought to trying to conceal his passage.

However, even if he had tried to cover his tracks, his pursuer would have had no trouble following the trail. Subaru Natsuki had a very specific ‘scent’ to anyone familiar with the more esoteric forms of magic. His aura was strong but also illusive unless you knew what to look for. Having finally located him, they had no intent of letting him slip away again.

But now the watcher was growing impatient. Nothing was happening and there was still no evidence that Subaru Natsuki was the one that they had been searching for since before the world broke apart. A test was needed.

The pursuer smiled. They quickly whispered a jest to the storm and the gossipy wind quickly spread the joke all throughout the forest, along with Subaru Natsuki’s scent.

Subaru and Emilia continued walking through the forest. They’d found no signs of civilization but at least the snow drifts in this part of the forest were noticeably smaller and Subaru was able to move more easily. The snow kept falling but the ground in this part of the forest was covered by no more than a dusting.

Well, this is lucky anyway. After a full day of breaking through the snowbanks, I don’t think I could keep moving if the snow around here was as deep as it was before.

“Subaru, it’s getting really cold. I think we need to stop,” Emilia said in a worried voice.

Subaru laughed. “Where? You want to lay down in a snow bank?” He asked, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.

“No! I mean we need to start looking for a place to stay! This storm is getting worse.”

Subaru laughed again. The laughter sounded shrill even to his own ears. “Ok, Mili! Sure! You got a plan for how to do that? Would it be any different than what we’re doing right now? We haven’t seen so much as a cave since we started out this morning!”

Emilia looked down with a gloomy expression on her face.

Fuck. I know I should apologize to her for being that blunt but frankly, I’m too tired to apologize. I can barely keep walking at this point…

“Look,” Subaru said in a conciliatory tone. “There’s a hill over there. Let’s climb it. Maybe we can see something from the top.”

Emilia gave Subaru a sad look and nodded.

Subaru laboriously climbed the hill while Emilia seemed to not struggle at all. The wind was picking up and the cold was so extreme that it burned at Subaru’s skin.

“I’m sure that Reinhard and Felt are taking good care of Daddy and Beatrice,” Emilia tried to encourage him.

Subaru’s chattering teeth made answering difficult. “That’s only reassuring if they have custody of them. Crusch could try to place them in her custody. Or the kingdom could demand that they be surrendered.”

“Reinhard would never allow that!” Emilia swore.

Subaru gave a bitter laugh. “Red?! Have you met him? If the sages’ council told him to disappear forever, he’d just get a sad look on his face before he vanished! He’d hand the spirits over to anyone in authority as soon as they asked!”

Emilia looked horrified, as if this thought had never occurred to her. “But why would the kingdom want Beatrice and Daddy?” Emilia asked, her tone suggesting that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Subaru shrugged. “For leverage, maybe. Maybe the kingdom thinks that they have information about us.”

“Daddy wouldn’t tell them anything about us!” Emilia said firmly. She hesitated. “Well, he wouldn’t tell them anything about you anyway,” Emilia amended sadly.

“That assumes that they have a choice!” Subaru said, stumbling up the hill. “I’ve spent the past two months reading about the kingdom! Their interrogators don’t stop at asking nicely! They-”

Subaru felt full blown panic swept over him at the thought of the little spirits being interrogated and he triggered Reason and Judgment.

The last time Subaru invoked Reason and Judgment it had failed to completely quiet his raging emotions. It had even more trouble reassuring Subaru this time. His emotions seemed to oscillate between relative calm and full blown panic.

Beatrice. My own precious, little Beatrice. My greatest failure was ever letting you slip away. I will have you back. I don’t care what the price is. The kingdom will be buried in flames before I’m done if necessary but I will have you back! We’re in Gusteko right now. This land is fertile territory for me. Lagunica will surrender my family to me. They shall give them gladly with both hands.

Gusteko could be mine within the month. I have no hesitancy left about doing whatever must be done to protect my family. Between Reason and Judgment and Indomitable, conquering the capitol would be child’s play. I could easily start by capturing a criminal cartel in the city to acquire resources and manpower. The criminals would quickly kneel to my overwhelming strength. Once I control the underside of the capitol, the nobility will learn to do my bidding. An assassination here, a bribe there, some judicious blackmail on the side, Gusteko will bow to my every word even if only a few people are even aware that I exist.

The King, or whomever rules here, will demand that Beatrice be returned to me by the kingdom and state that war is in the offing if it does not. Would the kingdom care enough about Beatrice and Puck to refuse?

And why stop there? What about Vollachia, Lagunica’s ancient enemy? If Gusteko extended a hand, offering an alliance to destroy Lagunica, Vollachia will leap at the chance. Not even Reinhard van Astrea can be in two places at once. My forces will grind the kingdom into rubble until all beg for my forgiveness and vow the safety of my family.

This isn’t my world. What do I owe it anyway? What do I care if it’s destroyed? My family will flourish. Any other considerations need not concern me.

Subaru restarted time and reached the top of the hill a few steps later. His confidence and conviction faded away leaving behind nothing but a weary ache radiating from sore muscles.

As they looked around, something started to nag at Subaru.

“Emilia,” Subaru mused. “You’ve spent a lot more time in forests than I have, right?”

“I suppose I have. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… does anything feel… wrong to you about this forest?” Subaru asked awkwardly.

Emilia thought about it for a moment. “There’s a lot of mana here and it’s especially pure. It’s a very vibrant forest in that regard.”

“Yeah, but where is everyone?”

“Hm?”

“Mili, I haven’t seen a bird or a squirrel or even a bug in two days. The only living creature that we encountered was that Guiltylowe. That isn’t normal, no matter how far north we are. Why would this forest be so dead?”

Emilia frowned thoughtfully.

Subaru looked around trying to spot any kind of landmark or location of interest to walk toward but he saw nothing. The wind was throwing snow in every direction and seeing more than a dozen yards away was impossible.

Wait a second. Don’t the spirits draw mana from me? If they’re hundreds of miles away right now, can they still do that? What if my absence denies them mana? Could that make them sick? Could they maybe even starve?!

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment, trying to calm himself. However, this time the storm didn’t pause around him. The snowflakes slowed and sped up and slowed and sped up over and over again as a sharp pain built up in Subaru’s head.

Finally the effect faded without Reason and Judgment ever fully triggering. The storm kept raging as Subaru violently shook his head, trying to clear it. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever had a migraine this piercing.

He thought that he might throw up.

“Subaru, are you OK?” Emilia asked.

Subaru held his head between his hands. He felt as if his skull might shatter from the pain. “Mili, can you see anything?” Subaru shouted over the wind.

Emilia peered into the storm and then gasped.

“What?”

Emilia’s eyes were wide with horror. “Subaru,” She whispered. “We’re not alone here.”

“What is it?” Subaru said, forcing himself to ignore his exhaustion and pain as he peered through the storm.

A moment later, Subaru saw it himself. Great dark shapes with burning red eyes came prowling through the storm.

“We’re surrounded,” Emilia whispered.

Subaru looked down the hill and saw four lion-like Guiltylowe as well as several dozen of the wolfish wolgarms. The hill was indeed surrounded.

Oh, my God! Can I just get a break, please?! How much harder does this need to be?! I just want to get my family back and keep them safe! Is that really too much to ask?!

Subaru swallowed hard. “Emilia, I’ll distract them. You run away.”

“No!” Emilia snapped. “You’re so tired that you can barely move, Subaru! I’ll draw their attention and you can run away!”

“Emilia,” Subaru said, almost sounding amused. “Like you said, I’m exhausted. I can’t run for any kind of distance. You’re the only one with any chance to get away so I want you to take it.”

Emilia stared at him in horror and violently shook her head. “I won’t leave you!”

“Emilia! You-” Subaru paused. “Wait. Why aren’t they attacking?”

What are they doing? They’re just kind of… standing there in that loose ring around the hill. They’ve just watching us.

Why? We have no chance against these kind of numbers. Or… do they not know that?

Mabeasts don’t have a lot of variety in their facial expressions but if I had to guess, I’d say that they all look… indecisive, maybe even confused.

“Subaru, what’s going on?” Emilia whispered.

Subaru snorted. “Hey, you know as much about this as I do,” He replied.

From the depths of the forest, Subaru heard a resounding thud. And then another one. Thud after thud, steadily drawing closer.

Through the swirling snow born by the wind, a great shape appeared. It was a towering bipedal form at least eighteen feet tall. It was shaped somewhat like a gorilla or a yeti. Its fur was pitch black and the skin on its face and bare chest was the color of dried blood. Its yellow eyes burned and two great lower tusks thrust up out of its jaw and over its cheeks.

The titanic beast walked slowly to just outside the ring of mabeasts and stood there, staring at the pair.

“…Snow Blight,” Emilia whispered in horror.

“What?”

“It’s a Snow Blight! It’s one of the most powerful kinds of mabeasts. There was one in the far northern part of the Elior forest but Puck and I always gave it a wide berth. Subaru, this monster is far too strong for us to fight,” Emilia whimpered.

Subaru clenched his teeth. “I am sick to death of being forced into fights that I can’t win!”

The Snow Blight inhaled noisily and gave a ponderous growl. It then began to walk toward the pair trapped inside the ring of mabeasts. The other mabeasts remained in position and watched the beast approach. Their heads were bowed and their posture was submissive. The two Guiltylowe nearest the beast wordlessly gave way at his approach, giving him a clear path to the hill top.

“Subaru! We need to run!” Emilia hissed. “I’ll carry you and we’ll try to escape!”

Seriously, Mili?! Do you really think that you can outrun a pride of Guiltylowe?! Especially while carrying me?!

This is bad. There have got to be sixty mabeasts here and that’s not even counting the Snow Blight! We can’t outrun the wolgarm and Guiltylowe and we can’t fight the Snow Blight! What the fuck do we do?!

The Snow Blight stomped toward them with a deliberate slow stride. Every step sounded like thunder.

“Subaru!” Emilia hissed in near terror.

Nothing to lose! Let’s try our new trick! Subaru raised his hand. “Pridebreaker!” He roared. “Kneel before me!”

Why did I say that?!

Emilia gasped as she felt a surge of dark power radiate outward from Subaru like a great wave. She sensed all the lesser spirits for miles around fleeing in panic from Subaru’s magic.

The wolgarm screamed and whined, their legs trembling violently. Then one by one, the wolgarm’s front legs bent, their heads slumping down in the snow as they bowed.

The Guiltylowe writhed in pain, their bodies shaking as they struggled against the overwhelming compulsion that assaulted them. They froze in place, agonized roars trailing off into pained whimpers. They shook their manes violently and their bodies trembled but they did not kneel.

Subaru doubled over and vomited. A glut of something thick, black, and sticky with thin streaks of red slowly poured from his mouth. The tar-like substance filled Subaru’s mouth with an acrid taste like burnt rubber.

Subaru hurriedly brushed his mouth clean.

The Snow Blight looked at the other mabeasts in confusion for a moment then continued to stomp toward Subaru and Emilia.

Subaru quickly looked around at the surrounding mabeasts that either knelt in the snow or were violently trembling in place.

This is the best chance that we’re going to get!

“Come on!” Subaru shouted, grabbing Emilia’s hand and running away from the Snow Blight as fast as he could.

Emilia quickly fell in beside Subaru as they bolted toward the edge of the ring of mabeasts.

The Snow Blight gave a colossal roar and began to chase after them.

Subaru and Emilia had to bolt between two Guiltylowe to escape. The beasts were growling and whimpering as they stood there, frozen like statues, but they made no other reaction as Subaru and Emilia darted between them.

Moments later, the Snow Blight crashed through the line of mabeasts sending the smaller beasts flying in all directions.

“Subaru! What do we do?” Emilia shouted.

What the hell do we do?! Fuck it! Run to where the snow banks are smallest! It looks like that part of the forest over there is more open to the wind. There isn’t as much snow on the ground because the wind sweeps it clear. That’s our best move to outrun this stupid thing!

The pair ran as fast as they could but the roars and the thunderous footfalls of the monster got closer and closer behind them.

Emilia suddenly jerked her hand free of Subaru’s and spun around.

“Emilia!” He shouted, skidding to a stop.

Bright cobalt energy erupted from around Emilia’s hands, like tendrils of lightning. Her eyes blazed.

She took a deep breath and as the Snow Blight charged up to them she flung a great bolt of cobalt magic at the monster.

The bolt struck the beast full force and it enveloped his head like a blast of water from a fire hose. There was a bright flash and Subaru shielded his eyes. When his vision cleared, the monster’s head had been encased in an huge shaft of ice.

Subaru looked at Emilia in amazement as she stood there panting for breath.

The monster shook its head furiously, blundering around in circles and wrenching at the enormous icicle that had grown around its head.

The monster began to beat the icicle with huge fists. Subaru’s eyes widened as he saw chips of ice begin to fly.

“Come on!” Subaru yelled, grabbing Emilia’s hand and sprinting away again.

A few moments later, they heard the ice shatter and the Snow Blight’s furious roars. The sound of its feet shook the earth like a great drum as it chased after them.

Emilia kept running but she turned around long enough to launch a volley of ice crystals at the monster, each one thicker than Subaru’s wrist.

The beast roared as the ice shards made contact.

Well, she hit it! But that cry sounded a lot more like a roar of fury than of pain! The Snow Blight didn’t even break its stride!

“Save your magic, Mili!” Subaru shouted. “It’s not working!”

“Subaru! We’d need an army to fight a Snow Blight!” Emilia screamed. “What do we do?!”

Subaru scanned the area and his gaze zoomed in on a dense grove of trees. “Into those trees!” Subaru yelled back. His legs ached painfully from all the walking they’d done and his lungs burned from the freezing cold air. “We need cover! And the Snow Blight’s too big to fit between the trees!”

The two raced into the dense trees. The monster’s thunderous footfalls stopped behind them and the beast roared.

For a moment, Subaru thought that they were safe but then a huge pile of snow fell from above, knocking both Subaru and Emilia off their feet.

Subaru shook his head and fought his way out of the heavy snow that had landed on top of them. What the hell was that? It felt like a dump truck full of snow just decided to drop all its cargo on us.

Emilia also climbed out of the snow. “Subaru! Snow Blights make huge snowballs to attack prey that’s out of reach!”

Subaru heard a cracking sound. He spun around and saw that a huge tree had been fractured by a single blow of the Snow Blight’s mammoth fist. It teetered and started to fall toward them.

“Mili! Look out!” Subaru shouted, grabbing her hand and jerking her away from the falling tree.

“We’re lucky that the snowball hit the trees before it hit us, Subaru!” She shouted. “We might have been badly hurt otherwise!”

“OK! Snow Blights throw snowballs. Good to know. Anything else about this monster that you feel like sharing, Mili?” Subaru snapped as the tree fell to the ground.

“I don’t know much else, Subaru!” Emilia shouted.

The pair stood there panting.

Outside the grove, the Snow Blight grabbed a massive oak tree and ripped it from the ground the same way a man might uproot a small shrub. The monster swung the tree like a bat, smashing it against the trees that made up the protective grove. The uprooted tree splintered but the other trees’ trunks began to crack as well. The Snow Blight dropped its ruined, makeshift club and threw its full weight against the cracked trees, continuing to fight its way into the tiny grove.

“Fuck! Move!” Subaru yelled as he pulled Emilia along.

The Snow Blight roared and abandoned its attempt to force its way in. The monster continued its chase, pacing them as it ran around the dense grove of trees.

Fuck! It’s just going to stay with us and wait for us to come out! We’re running out of trees to hide in and the Snow Blight will just keep knocking them down one by one until it catches us!

We need to find some way to get this thing off our trail!

Subaru and Emilia were running toward the edge of the grove and the Snow Blight followed just outside the trees.

What the hell do I do now? I need options!

OK. There’s a huge boulder right outside the trees. Might give me some cover to do… what?

Fuck! I got nothing! And I’m out of places to hide! Better hope an opportunity presents itself!

Subaru emerged from the grove and pressed his back against the rock.

“Subaru-!” Emilia was cut off when Subaru clapped his hand over her mouth.

He heard the Snow Blight charging around the boulder.

Oh crap. Here goes nothing!

As the Snow Blight raced around the boulder, Subaru leaped toward him and triggered Indomitable. He hit the titanic beast’s knee as hard as he could.

The tree trunk-sized limb snapped like a twig.

The Snow Blight roared in pain and it lost its balance. It fell down a steep incline, rolling away from Subaru and Emilia. Finally, it crashed into a huge tree and lay there, its leg twisted beneath it at an unnatural angle.

Subaru panted for breath but he had a big smile on his face. “That guy will be a whole lot slower chasing us now!” He shouted to Emilia, laughing in relief.

Emilia nodded with a smile.

The Snow Blight angrily shook its head and glared up at Subaru and Emilia from the bottom of the slope. It bared its yellow fangs at them with a roar and then used its arms to pull itself up into a sitting position. Its shattered leg lay broken and twisted under its body.

Subaru shook his head with a weary sigh. “We should… get out of here before the big dope… decides to throw more snowballs,” He said, panting for breath.

Emilia nodded.

The Snow Blight grabbed its broken leg and jerked on it savagely.

Subaru frowned.

The beast tugged on it a few times and then the leg made a loud cracking sound.

The Snow Blight gingerly put the leg underneath it, testing its ability to hold the monster’s weight.

Then it stood up unharmed.

Subaru gaped.

“Subaru!” Emilia gasped.

“Oh, that is bullshit!” Subaru roared at the massive Snow Blight. Subaru was suddenly too angry and indignant to even be scared. “That is completely fucking unfair!” He pointed at the monster accusingly.

The Snow Blight looked up at the pair and its yellow eyes blazed with hate. It roared and began to charge up the hill.

“Shit!” Subaru shouted, grabbing Emilia’s hand and running away.

“Subaru! What do we do?!” Emilia screamed as they heard the beast’s thunderous footsteps behind them and closing in.

I don’t know!

Subaru’s eyes looked around, searching for an escape. Subaru saw another dense grove of trees. “In here, Emilia!” He shouted, leading them inside.

Subaru heard the beast’s footsteps stop.

“This way!” He shouted jerking Emilia in a different direction, zigzagging through the trees.

A moment later a huge snowball crashed into a tree a short distance away, knocking it over. “We need to keep zigzagging so that it can’t throw those snowballs at us!”

What the fuck do I do?! The freak can regenerate! How the hell can I kill it? Maybe if I killed it in one blow? If I could shatter its skull, I doubt that it could regenerate from that, but how the hell can I do that? Climb a tree? Ask Emilia to throw me at the thing’s face?

Subaru had a sudden mental image of Emilia hurling his tiny body at the monster and the Snow Blight swatting him away like an annoying fly. He pictured his Indomitable body smashing through dozens of trees before finally hitting the ground.

Subaru and Emilia emerged from the dense grove of trees. The Snow Blight raced around the trees and began to charge toward them, its every step shaking the ground.

Subaru’s lungs burned and his heart felt like it was about to explode.

I can’t… breathe… I need something! A resource, an asset, an idea! What’s around here?!

A few more groves of trees that we could maybe shelter in for a minute each before the Snow Blight uproots them all. A couple of hills I could spit over. A large frozen lake. A big boulder-

Subaru’s eyes widened. Wait a second!

“Subaru!” Emilia shouted. “You can’t run much further. Stay here and hide! I’ll lure the Snow Blight away! Stay undercover, I’ll escape the Snow Blight and come back!”

“No, you’re not!” Subaru shouted back as he jerked Emilia across an open plain. “This way, quick! I have an idea!”

“Subaru! What are you doing?! We need to stay undercover! We can’t outrun the Snow Blight on flat ground and there’s no cover out here!”

“Trust me!” Subaru gasped.

I’d like to tell her my plan but I don’t have the breath for it! I can’t run much further!

Emilia looked terrified but at the words ‘trust me’ she had swallowed hard and followed Subaru.

Subaru pulled Emilia out onto the frozen lake.

I really hope I’m not overlooking something! This far north, I’m betting that the ice should be thick enough to take our weight easily. But maybe it won’t take the Snow Blight’s weight!

The lake ice was smooth as a tabletop. Subaru and Emilia ran across it, running, sliding, and slipping, but by some miracle they kept on their feet.

They were approaching the middle of the lake when Subaru saw the Snow Blight had reach the shore and kept charging across it.

OK! The Snow Blight didn’t even hesitate to run out on the ice! That’s a really bad sign! This monster might be stupid but if it’s not worried that the ice won’t take its weight then I’m really worried that the ice won’t break!

Subaru skipped to a stop. I can’t… run anymore!

The Snow Blight thundered toward them.

“Subaru!” Emilia shouted.

Time to go for broke!

“Emilia! I want you to use your magic!” He shouted. “Keep the ice under us in one piece!”

“Subaru! What do you-”

Subaru triggered Indomitable. He glared at the charging behemoth as it closed the distance toward where they stood in the middle of the frozen lake.

He brought his fists together and slammed them down on the ice in front of him as hard as he could.

There was a thunderous snapping sound and huge jagged cracks started to spread and expand in every direction from the impact point.

Subaru felt the ice under his feet start to give way but Emilia, quickly catching on, used her magic to refreeze the ice they stood on and keep it solid.

The Snow Blight skidded to a stop a few yards away as the ice cracks spread and widened under its feet. The Snow Blight stared down at the widening cracks, its monstrous face contorted with fear.

Then the ice all across the lake broke wide open, dumping the beast into the frigid water. The monster roared, thrashing wildly but the gorilla-shaped mabeast was not well suited to swimming and it had to fight tooth and nail just to keep its head above water.

Subaru collapsed, panting for breath on the small ice float that was sustained by Emilia’s magic. Emilia knelt down behind him, holding him tight as the Snow Blight beat the water with enormous fists, its thrashing driving the icy lake into a froth.

The Snow Blight glared at Subaru and Emilia with seething hatred. The beast stopped its thrashing long enough to raise an arm over its head and strike their ice float with one huge fist.

The ice float that Subaru and Emilia sat on flew up like a seesaw and sent them both flying high into the air over the mabeast’s thrashing body and toward the shore.

Subaru and Emilia separated in mid air and Subaru saw the lake and its ice floats flying up at him.

Indomitable isn’t ready!

He desperately covered his face with his arms as he crashed into the lake.

Hitting the water felt like smashing face first into a brick wall.

The lake water was so cold that it burned. It felt like a thousand icy teeth biting and tearing into Subaru’s body. He fought with everything he had not to inhale while he was under water.

A moment later, he felt his feet touch the lake bed and he leaped skyward.

Subaru’s head broke the surface and he gasped for air. He saw the lake shore just a few yards away and swam for it desperately.

He hauled himself out of the water and collapsed there, gasping for breath and shivering violently. His muscles were jerking and vibrating as if an electric current ran through them. Subaru couldn’t move. His face was pressed against the cold, hard ground and he couldn’t seem to lift it up.

“Subaru!”

Subaru managed to turn his head to see Emilia racing toward him on the shore: soaking wet but otherwise unhurt.

“Mili!” Subaru gasped through violently chattering teeth. “Are you… OK?!”

Emilia nodded, not even shivering. “I’m fine, Subaru.”

She helped Subaru struggle back to his feet.

Subaru looked out at the lake and saw the beast still struggling. The monster could no longer keep its head above water but its great arms still beat the air uselessly.

A moment later, those too slid out of sight and the lake surface became still.

Emilia was panting for breath. “I can’t believe that we survived that,” She whispered.

“Yeah,” Subaru muttered, his body shivering so hard that he felt like his muscles might tear. “Me neither!”

Subaru glanced at the woods behind him and choked. “This… just isn’t fair!” He gasped.

Emilia spun around and gasped. Through the blowing snow, she could see mabeasts, dozens and dozens of wolgarm and even some Guiltylowe, standing in a great half circle surrounding where Subaru and Emilia stood on the lake shore. Their black bodies and crimson eyes were clearly visible through the storm.

Oh God. I have got nothing left…

What the hell can I do… If nothing else, I must get Emilia out of here safely but how can I even do that? I can barely move!

“Subaru,” Emilia whispered. “Why… are they bowing?”

Subaru frowned and tried to peer through the blowing snow.

Subaru gasped to see that all the mabeasts were prostrating before them.

What the hell… Pridebreaker! I told them to kneel! …for some reason. Not really sure why I said that but they are kneeling and putting their faces in the snow.

I guess… they came here so they could obey my command?!

All of the mabeasts’ muscles are flexing wildly. They’re whimpering and snarling. These monsters aren’t submissive, they’re fighting the compulsion to kneel with everything they have. And the look in their eyes tells me that if they break free, they’ll cheerfully rip Emilia and me apart…

Can I give them new orders?

Subaru looked around, considering. “You may… rise,” He said uncertainly.

The mabeasts all stood up, shaking the snow off their pelts. Their faces were angry and confused.

They can’t really speak my language, can they? How smart are mabeasts? Or does the magic just ensure that they understand what I want? Wait, what the hell do I do with them?!

Subaru hesitated. “I have no use for you right now, but I suppose that an army of mabeasts could prove useful later… You may all return to your lairs but come swiftly at my call.” He paused. “One more thing,” Subaru added, pointing at Emilia, “Until further notice, the safety and security of this woman is your top priority. You will allow nothing to happen to her by action or inaction, in peril of my wrath. You may go.”

Emilia could only stare at Subaru.

The wolgarm and Guiltylowe all turned and walked away through the snow. Their bodies moved awkwardly, like badly controlled marionettes.

They’re still trying to fight my commands. They’re moving like that because they really want to come back and tear us apart but my… my magic, my Authority, my… whatever-it-is won’t let them.

The mabeasts continued to walk awkwardly until they had traveled some distance away and then they all seemed to give up. Their bodies resumed their normal fluid motion as they stopped struggling against Subaru’s compulsion to leave. The mabeasts vanished into the storm.

Subaru’s adrenaline abruptly ran out. His eyes rolled up in his head and he fell onto his hands and knees in the snow.

“Subaru!” Emilia screamed, rushing over to him.

“Man,” He sighed. With Emilia’s help, he laboriously got back to his feet. “That fight really… took a lot out of me. I think that… I’m ready for bed now.”

“Subaru, how did you do that?” She asked.

“Oh, it’s probably just… some magic thing. I wouldn’t… worry too much… about it,” Subaru mumbled, gasping for breath.

Emilia wanted to press for more details but she saw that he was shivering violently, “Subaru, we need to get you somewhere safe,” She said, looking around. “But I don’t see anywhere that we can find shelter from this storm!”

“That’s bad,” Subaru moaned. “Got any ideas?”

Emilia saw Subaru’s legs trembling violently underneath him, “Subaru, maybe it would be better if I just carried you,” She said.

“I can still manage,” Subaru said in a groggy voice.

“Subaru, I know that you’re tough but-” Emilia protested as she took his hand. Her eyes widened in alarm, “Subaru, you feel like ice!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cold out here,” Subaru coughed. His shivering felt a little less violent at least but he was feeling very tired all of sudden. He supposed he hadn’t gotten much sleep the past few days.

Emilia stared intently into his face, “Oh Gods! Subaru, you’re turning blue!” She shouted.

Without waiting for a reply, she swung Subaru up over her shoulder and carried him like a baby as she dashed through the snow at full speed.