Subaru brought Emilia into the shower and helped her clean herself off.
Her expression was utterly humiliated.
Then he wrapped her in blankets and put her back into bed.
Emilia sat in bed, staring down at her hands with a numb, shamed expression as Subaru quickly scrubbed the mess off the floor.
“I’m so sorry, Subaru,” Emilia whispered for the third time.
“No,” Subaru said firmly, wishing he could punch himself in the face. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault, Mili. I can’t believe that I was this stupid.”
You fucking, unbelievable idiot! Emilia can’t walk! What were you thinking, leaving her alone all goddamn day?! She hasn’t eaten anything but raisins since lunch. It’s almost midnight! She’s all out of water! She couldn’t get to the bathroom. She can’t even get out of bed without your help, you fucking idiot! Thanks to you, she spent most of the night shivering on the floor in a puddle of her own pee!
It’s no wonder that Emilia’s self-esteem is in the trash after all this! And you deserve to be thrown into a trash-compactor for being so stupid!
Seriously, I wish I could smack myself with Indomitable. I should rip myself to pieces for this.
Or hell, I wish that Puck was here and he remembered who Emilia was. He’d have no trouble disciplining me for this…
Emilia took a ragged breath as Subaru finished cleaning. “I can’t believe how pathetic I am,” She whispered with tears in her eyes. “I can’t even get to the bathroom by myself!” She burst into tears.
Subaru bolted to the bed and wrapped Emilia in his arms. She cried into his shoulder.
She shook and cried for a long time. Finally, her sobbing softened and she whispered, “I’m sorry…,” in a broken voice.
Subaru took a deep breath. “Emilia, this was all my fault. I’m sorry,” Subaru said earnestly. “I was away much too long. This was all my stupidity. You did nothing wrong.”
Emilia sniffled but it was clear she didn’t believe him.
Subaru sighed. “Alright. Give me a few minutes and I’ll throw us something together for dinner,” Subaru promised. “You must be starving!”
Subaru finished wiping up the floor and then flew downstairs to make some soup and put away the food he’d bought at the festival.
While it cooked, Subaru then went back upstairs and sat down beside Emilia on the bed.
She turned her face away from him. Tears marks covered her face. She looked like she wanted to die from shame.
“Dinner will be ready soon, Mili,” Subaru said as gently as he could. “Also, I brought you a few presents.”
Emilia refused to look at him.
Subaru took out the books he’d purchased. “I thought that this would give you something to read while you were stuck in bed.”
Subaru gently placed them in her lap.
Emilia looked down at the books and her face twisted in agony and despair. She swatted them off her lap so they crashed onto the floor.
Emilia buried her face in her hands and cried.
Subaru quickly wrapped his arms around her. Emilia stiffened at first and then buried her face in his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him almost painfully as she wept, great wrenching sobs that threatened to tear her apart.
After Emilia had cried herself out, Subaru brought two bowls of soup up to the bedroom along with a tiny glass of Vitae.
He’d quickly refined some Umbra into more Vitae and he had enough medicine to keep Emilia stable for two more days.
“Come on, Mili,” He prodded gently. “You must be starving.”
Emilia sighed and begrudgingly sipped her soup.
Subaru didn’t have much appetite either.
“How was Kocytos?” Emilia finally asked. “Did you find anything useful?”
Subaru hesitated. OK. First of all, let’s not discuss what happened at the Witch-Burning Festival. At all.
Emilia would freak out and she’s under enough stress as it is.
“Not really,” He admitted. “I found some supplies but not it’s the stuff I needed. And the doctors were no help at all.”
Emilia’s face fell. “Then… what do we do now?”
Subaru took a deep breath. “I don’t really know yet,” He admitted.
They both just sat there in silence.
“Alright, Mili,” Subaru said calmly. “Let’s wash you up again before bed. Maybe I can find some fresh sheets for the bed too.”
Subaru woke up late the next morning after a long night of little sleep.
Subaru stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.
Alright, what’s next? I need to cure Emilia and, depending on how many Years I stole from Robert, I have only a day or two to do it. That’s the first thing. I have no idea where else to look for healers and none of the ones I spoke to in Kocytos would refer me to anyone else!
Alright. So I’m on my own. I need to cure Emilia myself. Daphne knows a variety of potions that can cure curses but they’re all very specific and some of them take weeks to brew and can be very dangerous when ingested. I can’t just feed Emilia two hundred different potions and hope to get lucky.
But maybe I can work smarter, not harder.
If I’m going to be able to do anything, I need to figure out exactly what kind of curse this is and then hope that I can find the cure in Daphne’s memories.
Unfortunately, Daphne had no understanding of medicine at all. She knows what potion cures which curse but she has no recollection of what the different curses do, look like, or where they come from.
Subaru thought for a moment.
Well, what about process of elimination? I’ve read that powerful mabeasts can inflict curses on people. So I could try to investigate what curses can be inflicted by the mabeasts that we’ve encountered lately.
So that’s the wolgarm and the Guiltylowe. We also bumped into the Big Guy in the forest but my instincts tell me that the Snow Blight wouldn’t bother using curses. He was more about smashing stuff.
And let’s be honest, we’ve only encountered one monster in the past few days that seems powerful enough to cast this kind of curse. A curse potent enough to threaten a whole city.
The Black Water.
And the Black Water is still around. I mean… yeah, it’s dead but its corpse is still back there in the forest. It just looks like the world’s ugliest modern art sculpture.
What if I took a quick trip into the forest today? I could grab a piece of the corpse, come back here and analyze it in the lab. Daphne knew lots of tricks for analyzing magical systems using chemistry. She was no expert in magical theory and neither am I but maybe I can use Reason and Judgment to bridge that gap and figure out what kind of curse I’m dealing with.
Yeah, I know it’s a long shot but why not? It’s not like I have any better avenues of investigation.
Actually, if I go to the forest today then Emilia needs to come with me. I can’t leave her alone.
Even ignoring the accident she had yesterday, an accident which was completely foreseeable to anyone with half-a-working brain and yet strangely enough not to me, Emilia is just too vulnerable if I leave her here alone.
She has no magic and she can’t move. And she’s in a country crammed full of people who hate her.
Yeah. I can’t just leave her here alone.
That said, taking Emilia on Patrasche in her condition won’t be easy but I think we need to figure out how to do it. We never know when we might need to flee in a hurry.
Subaru glanced at Emilia and realized her eyes were open. She looked at him with a dead, despairing gaze.
“Oh!” Subaru said, fighting to sound cheerful. “Good morning, Emilia. How did you sleep?”
Emilia sighed. “Fine, I guess.”
Subaru took a deep breath and then forged ahead. “Mili, I think we should try taking a little trip today.”
“A trip?”
Subaru nodded. “I want to make a quick trip back to the forest. I want to look for some regents for potions that make help cure you,” He said evasively.
I don’t want her to be thinking about taking samples of the Black Water. Knowing Emilia, that might freak her out.
Emilia looked conflicted. “I don’t know, Subaru. I can’t use my legs…”
“I know,” Subaru sighed. “And that’s why I want you to come. We should try to get some experience riding Patrasche like… this when there’s nothing at stake. We don’t want to try to figure out how do it when we’re running for our lives so this is going to be like a… practice run.”
Emilia thought that over and finally nodded.
Also the people of Stoneybrooke are rabid, xenophobic lunatics who might try to visit Nicholas while I’m gone. I’m not going to leave you alone here for half the day when anyone could walk through that door!
The trip to the forest was slow. Not only was it a long way but Subaru and Emilia had to try several different positions before they figured out something that could work. Patrasche’s saddle wasn’t designed with cripples in mind and Emilia couldn’t use her legs to hold on.
They went some distance with Emilia sitting behind Subaru and holding on to him but her arms quickly got exhausted. She couldn’t use her legs to help keep her balance and with her mana sealed, she couldn’t augment her strength.
They only made it a few miles before Emilia needed to stop and rest.
They tried to put Emilia in front and have Subaru hold onto her while Emilia took the reins. However, Emilia had no experience controlling a dragon and she struggled to direct the increasingly annoyed Patrasche.
Finally, they had Emilia sit facing backwards in front of Subaru and hold onto him while Subaru took the reins and wrapped his arms around her to help steady her as much as he could.
It was a very awkward ride but it was the best they could come up with.
It was late afternoon when they reached the forest.
“Mili,” Subaru said. “Why don’t we go check the, um… statues while we’re here? It’s been a few days.”
Emilia sighed and buried her face in his shoulder. “It’s been months, Subaru,” She whispered. “They must be completely buried by now.”
Subaru blinked. “Oh. Uh,” He cleared his throat. “I guess I forgot to tell you about that. The day we fought the Black Water, I went up on the hill and cleaned all the statues off.”
Emilia trembled. “You did?” Emilia whispered.
“Yeah. Um. Mili, I’m… I’m really sorry for everything I said during that fight we had. I was an idiot.”
Emilia squeezed him tighter. “Thank you, Subaru,” She whispered.
Subaru rode Patrasche up to the hill. Patrasche dropped to the ground and Subaru dismounted with Emilia in his arms.
She sighed. “My arms are tired,” She moaned.
Yeah. Imagine how I feel. I’ve been supporting your weight the whole trip.
“OK, let’s do a little cleanup, OK?” Subaru suggested.
The statues were still mostly clean from Subaru’s last visit but they went around and cleaned them off anyway.
“Well, we did something good today at least,” Subaru murmured.
Emilia sighed. “Subaru… do you think… do you think you could give me a moment alone with them?”
Subaru blinked in surprise. “Sure.”
Subaru whistled and Patrasche ran over. The dragon dropped down and Subaru gently placed Emilia on the saddle.
Subaru flashed her a deprecating grin. “Sorry. It’s the best seat I could find.”
Emilia gave him a fond smile. “Thank you, Subaru.”
“I’ll be down here. I’m just going to check on something,” He said, walking down the hill.
Emilia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked around at all the terrified faces surrounding her, all the people frozen in ice for all these many long years.
“I’m back,” Emilia whispered. “I just wanted to come here and say that… I’m truly sorry. I… I can’t save you…”
Emilia waited a moment but the only reply came from the whistling wind.
“I really tried to save all of you,” Emilia muttered, sounding like a lost little girl. “I wanted… so badly to make up for what I did. But I can’t. All I’ve done to everyone I’ve ever met is bring them tragedy and lead them into disaster after disaster. I can’t even walk anymore. The dragon blood is gone. Our friends turned against us. I can’t do anything. I can’t save you…”
Emilia stifled a sob. “But I want you to know that you’ll still be saved. Subaru will find a way. He always does. He’ll save you.”
Emilia hesitated and then shook her head in despair. “Subaru will save you. Because I can’t. And… I thought that I owed it to all of you to say that to your faces. I can’t do anything to help you. I can’t do anything at all. All I’m good for is leaching off of kind people and convincing them to take care of me. First it was Mother Fortuna, then Puck, and now Subaru…”
Emilia took a deep breath and forced a broad smile on her face. “But you’ll be free soon. Subaru will find a way. I know that you all hate me but… Subaru and I don’t have to live here after we break the curse. We can go somewhere else. And my magic is sealed. So I can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
She thought for a moment. “It’s funny. Maybe being useless is actually an improvement for me. Before this, all I could do is ruin other people’s lives…”
Subaru marched down the hill to the place he had fought the Black Water.
There was nothing left but a pile of muck, tiny pieces of debris like the shredded twigs of the world’s ugliest thorn-bush, and a bed of black dust.
Oh right. I shattered this thing into powder after I dried it out. I forgot about that.
I was thinking that it still looked like that statue.
Well, maybe I can still get what I need.
Subaru reached down and picked up the remains of one of the Black Water’s gnashing tentacles. It was a fat, coarse ‘thorn’ slightly larger than Subaru’s hand.
He slid it into his pocket.
Subaru glanced up the hill. Emilia was sitting on Patrasche but she didn’t seem to be talking. She just sat there staring out into the distance with a morose expression on her face.
“I wonder if she’s done yet,” Subaru murmured. “I’ll head back up there. I don’t want her brooding right now. We should be getting out of here anyway. It gets cold in the forest at night and Emilia doesn’t have her mana to stay warm.”
Subaru remounted Patrasche and helped Emilia settle into his arms.
“Subaru,” She mumbled. “I’m suddenly getting really tired.
Subaru frowned. “I bet the medicine is starting to wear off. It’s been almost twenty four hours since we gave you that last dose. Fuck, I should have thought to bring more!”
“I’m fine, Subaru,” Emilia murmured. “I’m not in any pain. I’m just sleepy.”
Subaru kissed her hair. “We’ll get home quick as we can. Try to get some sleep.”
“Do you know the way back?” Emilia asked, sounding barely awake.
Subaru smiled. “I remember what you showed me today and I can follow Patrasche’s tracks out of the forest. By the way, Mili, we do need to pass by the village on our way out. Do you want to stop there? You must be feeling awfully bored being stuck in bed all day. Maybe we could get you some books? Or a puzzle or something?”
Emilia didn’t answer.
Subaru frowned and gently moved her face so he could look at her.
Emilia was snoring softly. Unlike the other day when she was panting for breath due to the curse, now her breathing was smooth, deep and even.
Subaru smiled and gently kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Mili.”
Subaru nudged Patrasche and they took off.
With Emilia sound asleep and unable to hold onto him, Subaru had to learn to control the reins with one hand and use the other hand to hold Emilia. This was very difficult and his success in the venture was mostly due to Patrasche’s determination to heed her master’s instruction. They went slower than normal but they still keep up a decent speed.
It was full dark when Patrasche struck the frozen river.
The dragon leaped onto the frozen water and flew up it at great speed, not needing any direction from Subaru to follow the river.
Then Subaru nudged and Patrasche left the river and charged across an open meadow.
Suddenly, Subaru noticed something and he reined in Patrasche sharply.
The earth dragon honked in protest but Subaru pointed off into the distance.
The earth dragon quieted when she noticed a large fire burning through the trees.
“People? In the forest?” Subaru whispered.
Are they here for us?! Could it be Reinhard or worse, the Sin Archbishops?!
Subaru sat on top of Patrasche for a long moment, wondering what to do.
Subaru looked down at the sleeping Emilia and bit her lip.
We could just keep going… but that means that we won’t know who else might be in the forest. We still plan to come back here so strangers in the forest would be a real problem.
I need to find out who they are. Not to mention that if it really is anyone looking for us, they’re already way too close to Stoneybrooke.
Ideally, I’d take Emilia back to the elven village first where she’d be safe and then come back here and investigate. But the problem is that if I do that, it’s going to take me a while to get back here and the night is passing.
Worse, if the people here are looking for a fight and they’re something I can’t handle, I’ll need to escape them, evade their pursuit without revealing the way back to the village, then find Emilia, and get her out of the forest without letting these people find Emilia first.
That’s… a heavy proposition.
On the other hand, if a fight breaks out and I do have Emilia with me, then I’ll be hamstrung in the fight. That’s not a happy thought either.
But if I can get just close enough to discover who these people are while Emilia is with me then I can take more effective action. If it’s nobody we care about then we could just ignore them.
Maybe this is a stroke of luck, A cold voice in Subaru’s mind observed. You only have another three days of life for Emilia. Perhaps here you’ll find the chance to procure more.
Subaru’s eyes widened. What the hell?! I’m not just going to start hunting folks down for raw materials! What’s the matter with me?
You should focus on the problem at hand. Emilia’s life is in jeopardy. That must be your only concern.
Subaru shuddered.
I need to focus here. If it is Reinhard or Regulus then hopefully there’ll be no reason to fight at all. We’ll just slip away before they see us. I’ll turn Patrasche around and head toward…
Fuck. Where is left for us to hide? If Reinhard or Regulus has found the forest then Nicholas’s house won’t be a refuge for long. It’s only a matter of time before someone hears about what I did in the inn.
If we need to flee this area then where do we go? Head west to Kararagi and trust to luck?
Alright. That doesn’t matter right now. If this is trouble, the first priority will be to get out of here. I’ll go somewhere else. Where that is can be figured out on the road.
All the same, I might need some back up.
Without even pausing to wonder how to do it, Subaru sent out a call.
Subaru considered leaving Patrasche and Emilia behind while he crept up closer to the fire but ultimately decided against it. If he really needed to run, having to remount Patrasche quickly while carrying Emilia in his arms would complicate matters considerably.
As it was, the earth dragon crept closer and closer to the fire. Patrasche seemed to understand the need to be quiet but this wasn’t an ability that riding dragons had ever evolved and her footsteps in the soft snow sounded thunderous to Subaru.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The fire had a group of men surrounding it. The camp was substantive, with probably enough tents for thirty people. There were also six large carts loaded with goods.
I don’t see any earth dragons, Subaru thought. I’m guessing these men are probably pulling the carts themselves. In the dense forest, they wouldn’t move much slower pulling these wagons than an earth dragon would.
But what are they doing here? Are they merchants? Why are they trying to pass through the forest?
Subaru strained his ears, trying to listen to the conversation of the men around the campfire.
“Is anybody going to be able to sleep tonight?” One fat man with a short gray beard grumbled. He had the bright red nose of a hard drinker. He was dressed in patched, old clothes and he had a rusty sword belted at his side.
“Will you relax, Joe?” A younger man with a long face and large hands said. “We haven’t seen so much as a squirrel since we came into these woods.”
The fat man spat into the fire. “Young men. Their eyes look but they never see. Doesn’t that seem ominous to any of you? When the animals avoid a place, there’s probably a good reason for it!”
“Forget it, Bob,” A grizzled old man with a pipe said to the younger one. “Joe’s just that sort. Always throwing salt over his shoulder and talking about making money whenever his palm itches!”
“You may say so, Tim, but mark my words: Lady Koi has sent us all into peril just to save a few coppers! This forest is cursed and everybody knows it!” Joe snapped.
“All the better, Joe! The curse can’t be meant for us,” Bob pointed out, “But the local garrison isn’t going to pursue us through a cursed forest. We’ll be over the border and into Gusteko in half the time!”
“There are mabeasts in these woods,” Joe grumbled. “Big ones. And my grandmother once saw the Witch of the Woods. She said that devils roam this forest and sometimes they come through the villages in the dead of night, tempting men into dark accords.”
Witch of the Woods?! Do these men remember Emilia?!
…No, probably not. I’m guessing that they just have stories handed down to them about the other elves who lived in the forest before they were frozen.
“Is this the same grandmother who used to drink paint when she couldn’t afford liquor?” Tim asked in a bored voice.
Bob waved a large hand dismissively. “We can handle a few mabeasts, Joe. We’ve got thirty men! There’s nothing about us that should attract the attention of anything big and we can run off a few wolgarm,” Bob said.
“Wolgarm are one thing, boy but there are Guiltylowe in the forest. Rumors say that there’s even a Snow Blight in these woods. Ever seen one? A small army would struggle to bring it down!” Joe growled.
I can vouch for that.
“Ignore this old fool, Bob,” Tim muttered, refilling his pipe. “Snow Blights are attracted to mana. It takes a large amount of mana to get the attention of a Guiltylowe, much less a Snow Blight. That’s why the Lady sent us instead of her best guards.”
“You’re an idiot, Tim,” Joe snapped. “Not that that’s news. I knew that you were an idiot twenty years ago. Lady Koi sent us because we’re expendable. If we don’t make it to Gusteko alive, she hasn’t lost much.”
“Forget it,” Tim grumbled. “We’ll be out of the forest by end of day tomorrow and over the border into Gusteko. We’ll deliver the Lady’s goods to the distributor and head back along the main road. No need for hiding then.”
Bob picked at his chin. “You know, me and some of the boys were talking about doing a little hunting while we’re in here…”
Tim squinted at him. “Hunting? Nothing lives in these forests except mabeasts. And mabeast meat would turn a rodent sick,” Tim replied.
“Nah, Tim. They’re talking about going hunting for the Witch of the Wood,” Bob whispered.
The two older men sat there in stupefied silence.
Joe’s jaw hung open. “Gods above. Lady Koi really is trying to get rid of all the mental deadwood in the organization,” Joe mourned. “Why the hell am I here?!”
“Have you gone completely insane, Bob?” Tim asked.
“What? We got more than twenty strong lads with us, plus you old codgers,” Bob snickered. “We sneak up on the witch real quiet-like and then: Off with her head! There’s a big reward for captured or killed Cultists, you know.”
Subaru scowled.
“Witches and Witch Cultists are two different things, you slack-jawed gewgaw,” Joe said in a pained voice. “If the whole lot of you go chasing after a witch, there won’t be enough of you left to bury! Unless you she turns you into something unnatural or puts you in the stew.”
Subaru realized he was clenching the reins hard enough to drive his own nails into his palms. He slowly forced himself to relax.
Alright. So they’re smugglers…
They must be planning to use the forest as a shortcut into Gusteko to avoid the authorities. It’s not a bad strategy actually. But it can’t be allowed.
I get the impression that this ‘Koi’ sent these smugglers into the forest as a test run. If they succeed, more and more people will start coming into the forest.
That can’t be allowed, The cold voice pointed out. It’s an unacceptable risk. And they’ve already threatened to kill Emilia. Thirty men will provide an admirable amount of life…
“Up, lads!” A voice shouted from behind Subaru. “We’ve got an intruder!”
Subaru spun around, cursing himself for a fool. He saw another grubby man standing in the darkness behind him.
Of course, the camp would have sentries keeping watch, you idiot!
The men in the camp were all springing to their feet with cries of alarm. Every man raised a sword or drew a bow.
“Who’re you now?” Joe shouted, marching over toward Subaru.
Subaru looked at the crowd of armed men. He didn’t much like his chances. Especially with the sleeping Emilia in his arms.
“I could ask you the same question!” Subaru shouted defiantly. “What are you fools doing in my forest?”
“Your forest?!” Joe shouted incredulously. “Nothing lives in this wood ‘cept mabeasts and monsters.”
“And which do you think I am?” Subaru snapped.
“Subaru?” Emilia murmured.
Subaru looked down as Emilia woke up at the absolute worst possible time. She shook her head blearily and her hood fell away from her face.
The smugglers all gasped and raised their voices. “It’s a witch!” One screamed.
Bob laughed. “Looks like our prey has come to us then! And she looks sick!”
Emilia’s head darted around trying to understand what was going on. Her eyes were wide with fear.
“There is a big price for witches in Gusteko,” Joe mused. His face grew sly. “Tell you what, friend. My boys and I are feeling generous tonight. Give us the witch and the dragon we’ll let you get out of here with your skin.”
Emilia shut her eyes tight. “Will you promise to leave Subaru alone-” She called to the men in a despairing voice.
“Shut up, Mili!” Subaru said like the crack of a whip.
Emilia flinched.
“Subaru?” Joe said in surprise. “Subaru Natsuki?!”
Emilia bit her lip and closed her eyes, once again cursing her own stupidity.
Subaru took a deep breath and drew himself up. “The Invincible,” Subaru said bluntly. Emilia had definitely compromised their ability to stay in the forest by admitting who they were but there was no time to worry about that right now. “How much you want to bet that a couple of cheap smugglers and sell-swords can handle the man who killed a troll with his bare hands?”
The smugglers muttered to one another, looking aggravated.
This isn’t good. These guys aren’t fighters and normally they would have backed down. But they can sense Emilia’s weakness and they’re getting excited like any predator would. They’re used to going after the sick and the lame. They know that fighting while trying to protect Emilia will hamstring me and they think that gives them a chance. I don’t know what the bounty on witches is but it must be too good to pass up.
The talking among the smugglers died down. “There’s thirty of us and one of you!” Joe snapped. “Even if those rumors about killing a troll is true, you’re not going to be able to handle all of us.”
Subaru took a ragged breath.
“Subaru,” Emilia whispered, tears streaming down her face. “Save yourself…”
“I’m going to give you exactly one chance,” Subaru said in a cold voice. “Leave the forest now and never return. Otherwise I’m not going to be responsible for the consequences. You will all die here. And no matter how much you beg, your cries for mercy will not be heeded.”
Some of the smugglers looked nervous but most looked unimpressed. “I think we’re going to take our chances, pal,” Bob snorted.
Subaru nodded with a grim look on his face. “As you wish,” He promised. He looked at Emilia. “Emilia, I want you to promise me something,” Subaru said firmly.
Emilia blinked in surprise. “What?”
“Close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you,” He said. “And cover your ears.”
“But-”
“Promise me!” Subaru snapped.
Emilia flinched and shut her eyes and covered her ears. “I promise. Promises are important and I must keep my promises!” She whimpered.
The smugglers were all laughing out loud at this.
Subaru scowled down at them. “You promised to let me get out of here with my life if I gave you everything,” His voice was venomous. “I am more gracious. I’ll leave you with everything and simply take your lives. Endless Hunger.”
Every bonfire and torch blew out simultaneously. A great wind picked up, buffeting the smugglers’ as they cried out in fear and confusion.
The forest around them was now impenetrably dark. Even once their eyes adjusted, they could still see nothing.
A moment or two passed and then they realized they could see something.
A great figure mounted on an earth dragon that was a silhouette, darker than the darkness. The figure was the heart of a great vortex that seemed to steal every ray of light in the dim forest and suck it into his great shadow.
Every man in the camp recoiled. None of them had ever experienced fear like this before. It lashed at their minds like a physical thing. It was very much like a child’s primeval fear of darkness; unquestionable and all consuming.
In each his own way, these were all hard and bad men. None of them in their life had escaped someone warning them of damnation. But only tonight did they finally understood what that truly meant. They stared at a being who was darkness beyond darkness. These were hard men and against a witch they had all been prepared to sell their lives dearly but now facing this monster all courage and defiance deserted them. Swords dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers. Each man could think of nothing but crawling and hiding and death.
The man cocked his head. “What madness bade you to enter into my forest?” He asked almost politely. His voice was deep and inhuman.
“Uh,” Joe began. He tried to speak but choked and then tried again with no more success. Joe took a step forward, raising his hands in surrender.“Forgive us, my lord. We had absolutely no idea that this here forest was your property.” He said lamely.
The man didn’t answer immediately. “No idea? Are you saying that you did not know that this forest was the property of Taiyang, Witch of the Wastes? Whose curse blights the very air that you breathe? Whose will dominates every witchbeast within this forest?”
Joe swallowed hard. “I’m afraid not, my lord. My men and I aren’t too wise, you understand. We’re only in this forest at all because Lady Koi ordered us to!”
“And who is Lady Koi?” Taiyang asked.
“Our employer, sir! She runs the smuggling branch of the Black Silver Coins cartel,” Joe said.
Bob winced to hear Joe give up their employer this easily. Lady Koi would certainly have the lot of them killed if she found out about this but right now that seemed to be the least of their problems.
“Hm. And whom told you to threaten my bride?” Taiyang’s voice grew sharp as a frozen blade.
Joe gasped for air. For some reason, he was struggling to catch his breath. Around him, the men fell to their knees, one after another as their strength gave out.
“We didn’t know she was yours, master! I swear!” Joe squeaked, struggling to make his voice loud enough for Taiyang to hear his groveling but his sudden exhaustion was profound. “Please, grant us mercy! We’ll pay any price you ask!”
Taiyang didn’t answer right away. “I’m afraid you’re confused. If you saw a mosquito about to infect your love with Dengue fever, you wouldn’t stop to ask it what it had to offer. You’re just squash it flat. Of course in that case, the mosquito is innocent, simply following its nature. You all acted out of your own malice. Your own greed.”
The camp was silent except for the rushing wind of Taiyang’s great vortex.
“You tried to take her away from me. No one will ever threaten my Emilia ever again,” Taiyang said in the voice of doom.
Bob was so tired that he could barely speak but he fought to rise to his feet.
Just then a deafening roar came from behind him.
Bob craned his neck to see a Guiltylowe sink its great fangs into Joe’s large gut and ripping out a massive chunk of flesh and organs the size of a pig.
The massive mabeast almost glowed fluorescent blue in Taiyang’s strange non-light.
Joe’s body collapsed in on itself as he fell to the ground, a great pool of blood spreading around him while Joe screamed and his limbs thrashed helplessly.
The Guiltylowe paid no attention to Joe’s screams and returned for a second great bite of flesh, chewing his organs as the man slowly died, his eyes wide with horror.
Tim was driven to the ground as five wolgarm leaped upon him. The wolf-like monsters wolgarm didn’t bother with a killing blow, simply tearing great mouthfuls of flesh from Tim’s body as they went into a feeding frenzy.
Bob heard a low growl behind him and whirled around with his rapier extended in a trembling hand.
The Guiltylowe bit through Bob’s sword arm in one great chomp.
Bob staggered back his eyes wide as a river of blood poured out of his missing arm. Bob stared at his arm that now ended just below the shoulder with horrified amazement. He raised the remains of his arm and watched it tremble and the blood flow increase.
The Guiltylowe chewed thoughtfully on Bob’s forearm for a moment or two and then let it fall out of its mouth with the rapier still tightly gripped in the hand.
Bob stumbled backwards and landed on the ground. Bob saw the Guiltylowe’s eyes narrow in dreadful intent and he began frantically crawling backwards.
“Leave me alone, you devil!” Bob screamed in a barely audible voice.
The Guiltylowe pounced and pinned Bob down with one great paw. Then its maw descended on Bob’s midsection and he felt the beast’s teeth tear him in half. Bob’s final sight was the mabeast standing over him, chewing. The beast let the great mass of flesh fall out of its jaws without bothering to swallow any of it and then it went back for a second bite as Bob’s vision faded.
Subaru watched it all impassively. Each fading life was absorbed by his power.
In less than two minutes, the carnage was done. The former campsite was now a field of torn-up bodies.
Subaru dispelled Endless Hunger.
He looked down at Emilia. Her eyes were still clenched tight and she had her ears covered. Her face was buried in Subaru’s chest and she was whispering: ‘Promises are important and I must keep my promises’ to herself in a terrified mantra.
Huh. This might be the first time in my life I really didn’t feel any guilt at all about killing someone. I even freaked out after killing the slavers.
These guys were just smugglers but they still threatened Emilia. And that means they needed to die. And I’ve certainly gained a large number of years to sustain Emilia.
They’re just like those villagers in Stoneybrooke. They hated the very idea of Emilia so much that they were willing to kill her!
This world isn’t some happy fantasy. It’s kill or be killed. I’m just lucky that I have enough power to make sure that the people I love stay safe.
Subaru suddenly though about Beatrice and a wave of misery swept over him that threatened to bring him to tears.
No. Don’t think that way. Yes, Reinhard took Beatrice away but I will get her back. We’re going to all live in the forest together and raise our family.
And it might be my imagination but the mabeasts seem to be behaving a lot… friendlier now. They looked at me like they wanted to eat me alive last time I saw them. Now they seem to be… at least tolerating me. Maybe its the Authority of Gluttony?
I’ll bind all the mabeasts in the forest to me and set them to guard the woods. Hell, they probably would have killed anyone who came into the forest anyway but I’ll tell them to focus on it.
It’s almost too bad that I killed that Snow Blight. I bet I could have bound him with Pridebreaker if I’d had a little more practice.
Maybe I can find another one?
I wonder what the smugglers were shipping. It might be something useful. Maybe I should check it out.
Subaru glanced down at Emilia who had her face buried in his chest, her shut eyes streaming tears, and her hands tightly clamped over her ears.
No. Whatever is in those carts will keep until tomorrow. Right now, I need to take care of Emilia.
Patrasche made a nervous honk but Subaru patted the earth dragon’s face reassuringly. “It’s OK, girl. These are… my mabeasts. They won’t hurt you.”
Patrasche did not look entirely reassured by this statement and looked around at the massive crowd of mabeasts with a nervous expression.
The mabeasts for their part were basically just lazing around a vast field of torn up bodies. The mabeasts seemed to lose all interest in their meal the instant that it died. They were sitting around, cleaning the blood off their fur in the snow and waiting patiently for further instructions. A few looked curiously at the earth dragon but none approached.
“Thanks, guys,” Subaru said to the mabeasts. “You can all take off now.”
Subaru nudged Patrasche and the earth dragon slowly ambled out of the field of carnage with many nervous backward looks at the mabeast horde. The bemused mabeasts watched the earth dragon depart.
Subaru went a few hundred yards away from the field where neither mabeast nor corpse could be seen any longer and then he reined in.
Emilia was still chanting ‘Promises are important’ to herself and her eyes and ears were both shut tight.
Subaru stroked Emilia’s hair gently.
She stiffened for a moment and then relaxed into Subaru’s body, slowly catching her breath.
Subaru gently peeled one of her hands off her ear. “You can relax now,” He whispered in her ear.
Emilia cautiously opened one eye and looked around. Then she opened the other and finally took her hands away from her ears.
“Subaru,” Emilia said in a barely audible whisper. “What happened? Those men- What did we-”
“We did what was necessary,” Subaru said in a soothing voice while he rubbed her back.
Emilia started panting for breath. She seemed poised to go into hysterics. “Those men died because of me! Because I was here! Because I-” She was looking all around the forest as if desperately seeking an escape from her guilt.
“Emilia!” Subaru said firmly. “Look at me.”
Emilia took a deep breath and stared at Subaru, her expression both terrified and hopeful.
Subaru stroked her hair. “That’s it. Look at me. Just look at me. Think of nothing but me,” He whispered.
Emilia slowly started to catch her breath.
“Emilia,” Subaru said gently. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do.”
“You love me, don’t you?”
“You know, I do.”
Subaru nodded. “Emilia, those were bad men. They needed to die,” Subaru said in a voice of absolute certainty.
Emilia bit her lip. “Subaru. I don’t know. They were bad men but… we could have run! They couldn’t have caught us! We didn’t need to-”
“You trust me, right?” Subaru prodded.
Emilia hesitated. “Yes,” She whispered.
“Then you trust my judgment, right?”
There was a longer pause. “Yes,” She admitted.
“And you know I’d never hurt anyone if I didn’t have to. So if I kill someone, you can be sure that they needed to die and that it was necessary,” Subaru finished.
Emilia was silent for a long time. Emilia was not very well educated but even she saw the flaws in Subaru’s argument. She knew she should point them out. She should remind him that she loved him, she would support him, and that she would always be there for him but that wasn’t a license to ignore basic morality.
People should only be killed to prevent them from killing other people. Applying their own judgment to who ‘deserved’ to die and acting as executioners on that judgment was a very slippery slope.
Emilia knew that this was the right thing to say and that she should remind Subaru of this. She should remind him that he was better than this. That Emilia believed in him. That Subaru would always be her hero and she knew that no matter how bad things got, Subaru could always rise above it and still make the kind of choices that had earned him the admiration of a whole kingdom.
She should do these things. But…
I’m so very, very tired, Emilia thought. I’m tired of the struggle and the fear and the constant pain…
Everyone tells you to take the high road. But it’s so hard.
We tried to act like heroes. But I’m no hero. I never was.
Subaru is a hero. But is that fair to him? Why does he have to work so hard for people who mistrust and resent him. Why does he always have to do ‘the right thing’ when it’s always so hard?
Can’t we just be Subaru and Emilia?
Emilia took a deep breath. She sat there, deep in thought and Subaru waited for her to finish thinking.
Subaru needs something from me. He presented it as an argument but it’s really a request. He just wants me to trust him. To trust him even when it’s not easy. Even when I have doubts.
And I can do that.
All I have to do is choose to do that.
Trust is first and foremost a choice. A choice to believe in the people you love.
Maybe the facts don’t always line up the way that Subaru claims they do but… isn’t our love more important than some inconvenient fact or obscure point of morality?
I can trust him. I can offer him real faith. Unquestioning trust. All I need to do is choose to.
And what’s wrong with that?
Emilia took a deep breath. “Subaru,” She said calmly. “Are you telling me that these men deserved and needed to die?” She asked as if just confirming.
Subaru nodded. “They did,” He said simply.
Emilia leaned up and gently kissed Subaru. “Then they lived too long. You’re the kindest man in the world, Subaru,” She said sincerely. “If you say that they deserved to die then I know the world will be a better place because of their deaths. I trust you, Subaru. I always have and I always will.”
The two embraced and held each other close.
Emilia made a small sound of contentment. She felt as if she’d broken another chain in her life. She didn’t have to be more than what she was. She didn’t have to be a hero or some champion of righteousness. She could just be Emilia, lover of Subaru. It was all she wanted.
It was all that she’d ever need.
It was late when they got back to the house. In spite of the shock and tension of the fight with the smugglers, Emilia drifted off to sleep quickly and slept the entire way home.
Subaru carried her up the stairs and gently laid her on top of the bed.
By now, her cursed wounds were leaking blood and foul matter so Subaru woke her up.
Emilia reluctantly opened her eyes.
“Mili, we’re home.”
Emilia looked around. “Is this ‘home’ now?” She asked curiously.
Subaru hesitated. “Well, it is for the moment,” Subaru replied, handing her a dose of Vitae. “Let’s get you cleaned up and give you your medicine.”
An hour later, Subaru had made dinner. Emilia was clearly going out of her way to try and be more cheerful and positive.
Subaru helped her go to the bathroom and clean herself off in the shower. Then he laid her down in bed and urged her to get some sleep.
“Aren’t you coming to bed, Subaru?” She asked in a thick voice.
“Soon,” He promised. “I’ll be up soon. I need to check something in the lab first.”
Emilia nodded. “OK,” She sounded right on the verge of sleep.
‘Soon’ is a relative term and Subaru sat in the lab for several hours. The Umbra continued to cook but that was no great help since he already had more Umbra than he had sal-ammoniac to refine it with.
All the same, by the time he had finished processing the lives he’d stolen tonight, he had produced three Decades of Vitae and another seven Years as well.
All told this should last us over three months. But I’m completely out of sal-ammoniac. I can’t make more Vitae without it.
At the same time, Subaru spent the evening using every technique of chemical analysis that Daphne had inserted into his brain on the fragment of the Black Water.
By the end of all this, he was fantastically frustrated.
Excellent work, Subaru! Truly top notch.
You now know the precise chemical composition of the Black Water!
Just one question, what exactly do you plan to do with that knowledge?
Because the next step was one that you were always a little fuzzy on. You would learn more about the Black Water and that would help you cure Emilia by… doing what exactly?
Did you think you would discover that the Black Water contained sulfides and then you’d be able to look up some sort of ‘sulfide curse’ that you could assume Emilia was afflicted with?
You really didn’t think this through.
Subaru was tired, frustrated, and feeling helpless.
He wanted to go up to bed and try to come up with a new plan tomorrow but he was angry and he didn’t want to go up to Emilia while he was still visibly angry and risk making her even more stressed.
Subaru diverted himself by cleaning up the lab as he waited for his rage to subside.
After a short time, the fire of his rage had burned down to the cold ashes of despair.
What do I do next? What do I even try?
Subaru heard a sound coming from the basement.
His heart stopped.
I never went down to the basement since I’ve been here. Could there be something down there? Someone?
Bullshit. Nobody would have hidden in the house all this time without us catching some sign of them.
But maybe tonight somebody sneaked in down there through the outside bulkhead?
Subaru took a deep breath. He silently opened the basement door and then crept down the winding staircase as quietly as he possibly could.
Wait a minute. What the hell am I doing? Why am I sneaking around? I’m not in any danger! Unless my uninvited guest is Regulus or Capella, I’ll turn him into dust with one punch!
Well, yeah but don’t get too cocky, He reconsidered. Indomitable requires that I know that an attack is coming in order to time it properly. If I get ambushed from behind, I’m finished.
Conceding both points as valid, Subaru continued to sneak into the basement.
The basement was full of odds and ends and assorted junk of no particular interest. Subaru ignored it. His eyes were locked onto a light.
There was a hooded figure in the corner of the basement, next to the heavy door that led outside. They were facing away from Subaru and appeared to be studying something. A small lamp burned on a chest nearby to provide light.
Subaru crept through the crowded basement, getting closer and closer to the stranger so that they would have no chance to escape. The stranger wore a hooded blue cloak.
As Subaru approached he stepped on a loose stone in the floor and it made a soft grinding sound.
The figure spun around and drew a small knife. They flung themselves at Subaru with a cry.
Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment. He made a quick calculation and he seized the stranger’s wrist effortlessly. Subaru bolted around behind the intruder and forced their arm up behind their back.
The stranger dropped the knife to the ground with a shrill cry of pain.
Their hood fell down revealing red hair.
Subaru’s jaw dropped.
“Anri?!” He said in a tone of disgust. He let go of the girl’s arm and shoved her hard so that Anri went staggering across the basement, trying to regain her balance. “What the fuck are you doing here?!”