――In the swaying dragon carriage, Rem was only thinking of him.
Suddenly hearing someone calling her name, Rem softly lifted her face and narrowed her eyes against the bright radiance of the sun.
She gazed at the entourage of dragon carriages ahead. Inside them, were the wounded soldiers of the battle with the White Whale.
All in all, only their most urgent wounds had been treated and more than a few of them were still seriously injured. Yet, despite their pain, the corners of their lips revealed only the sense of accomplishment for having fulfilled a long-cherished dream. After carrying this dream for so many years, to see it finally realized meant more to them than injury or death. Having achieved what they set out to do, they now ride towards the Capital on their triumphant return.
Taking all this into her sight, Rem hated herself for not being able to hold back the pain inside her heart.
[Crusch: You look anxious, Rem. Are you still worrying about him?]
[Rem: ...Crusch-sama]
Glancing towards the voice, it was Crusch sitting beside her.
Wrapped in light bandages, it was commendable how Rem revealed no signs of the seriousness of her injuries, but it was impossible to conceal her depleted stamina. The fact that they rode in a carriage was also because Crusch didn't feel comfortable letting Rem ride a ground dragon alone in this condition. So she resolved to accompany her, at least until the Capital is within their sights.
Sensing Rem's unsettled look, Crusch casually shrugged.
[Crusch: Compared to this…]
She shook her head,
[Crusch: He has Wilhelm, Ferris, the elites of the expedition, and Ricardo's mercenary company, all there to assist him. Besides, Anastasia must have predicted this turn of events. Even if the adversary's strength is a concern, I don't think there is any reason they would lose]
[Rem: Even so, I still can't help but selfishly worry]
[Crusch: Still can't remove the source of anxiety, huh… When the obstacle is within you, it would be possible to improve yourself until it is overcome. But when it's about other people, it does become quite difficult... Ah, I am quite terrible at comforting people after all, my apologies]
Seeing Rem sink deeper into her worries, Crusch realized she had misspoken and lowered her eyes. But seeing the always cold and formal Crusch suddenly so out of character, Rem couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.
[Crusch: Mn, that's good]
Seeing this, Crusch nodded contently,
[Crusch: Natsuki Subaru said it before, "a smile suits Rem better, doesn't it?". Even though it sounded like it came out of nowhere, it wasn't an entirely stupid thing to say]
[Rem: Crusch-sama… you know when you smile, you give off a completely different impression. You're usually stern, yet once you smile you become...]
[Crusch: People do say that. I can't say I'm not angry about it. I guess just because I don't smile for no reason in front of people, I'm becoming rather unlovable…]
Rem wasn't sure whether to take that as a joke, but seeing Crusch's gentle smile, her lips opened into a smile as well. Courageous and proud, to Rem, who had always been lacking confidence, Crusch was an ideal woman. But of course, in Rem's heart, the highest honor was reserved for none other than her older sister, Ram.
[Crusch: Ahead of their path is the Witch Cult... Even though it was more or less expected considering Emilia's identity, until we know more about them, caution is necessary. Natsuki Subaru realizes this, but surely Lord Mathers has a plan as well?]
[Rem: The depths of my master's mind, Rem couldn't possibly know. Even if you ask me I wouldn't be able to say]
[Crusch: That's harsh. Now that we're allies after all, a little information slipping around wouldn't be too bad]
Perhaps it was meant to distract Rem from sinking into negative thoughts again. Indeed, it was thanks to Crusch that Rem wasn't left alone with her worries.
Besides, Crusch made a good point. A man such as Roswaal L. Mathers must have had a grand plan for all this. Surely Subaru's actions were all furthering his master's goals, while also at the same time recovering his lost reputation.
Or actually, with the slaying of the White Whale, his reputation had already far surpassed what it was before.
――"Hero, Natsuki Subaru"
To Rem, whose heart and future he had saved, this assessment is only a matter of course, and considering the bright future he has yet to create, it is also more than justified.
And then, to be at the side of that radiant hero, a place he could occasionally turn to to make sure that she was there: if only that place could hold her existence, then there is nothing else in the world Rem would wish for. With this alone, she would be content.
When Subaru appears in her mind, Rem's heart is always full of turmoil.
It becomes warm, and perhaps calm. Yet somehow it also becomes full of pain, of anxiety, of longing and worry.
To give her heart at once so much happiness and so much suffering, only Subaru could do this to her.
With a smile carved upon her lips, Rem's thoughts turned to her future: her and Subaru's future.
Stealing a glance at the side of Rem's face, Crusch exhaled a sigh of relief. Caressing the scabbard of her knight-sword with her fingers, her eyes stared in silence into the road ahead―― her thoughts were of the long path to the Capital.
[Crusch: ――h?]
[Rem: ――――?]
Crusch squinted her eyes, the same instant Rem heard a noise and raised her head.
What Crusch's eyes captured was something off about the dragon carriage up ahead. The noise Rem heard came from the same direction. In fact, both clues were leading to the same conclusion.
In Crusch's eyes, the dragon carriage "disintegrated". In Rem's ears, the prelude to "collapse" echoed like the sound of raindrops.
A mist of blood sprayed out. The image of the dragon carriage in front of them all of a sudden transformed into a pitiful blur.
The ground dragon, the carriage, and all of the wounded inside were completely uprooted, and then shattered mercilessly by overwhelming devastation.
[Crusch: ――! Enemy attack!]
Her astonished throat delayed only an instant, before Crusch bellowed out the rally call. With Crusch at the helm, the surrounding dragon carriages sensed the crisis and prepared for battle.
Rem, pushing away all sensations of injury and exhaustion and with her morningstar in hand, stood up at once―― on the other side of the blood mist was the upright shadow of a man.
Who is that man, now burning into her sight, standing in the middle of the road?
Without weapon, without armor, without fear. Without compassion or malice or intent――!
[Crusch: ――Crush over him!!]
Crusch's command came roaring from atop the driver's platform. Hearing the command, the knight-driver snapped the reins in acknowledgment. With a cry, the ground dragon led the carriage charging―― with surging momentum capable of shredding any victim coming into contact.
Without deviation from the mark, it was a head-on collision into the upright figure. The man showed no intention of moving. And just like that, the two objects touched, the slender body about to be ripped to shreds by the–
[Rem: Crusch-sama――!]
With this cry, Rem picked up Crusch by the waist and flew off the side of the carriage. There was no time to reach for the driver, Rem landed biting her lip, thinking this.
And then, right after――
[Man: Agh really? Don't do that. I didn't even do anything and someone wants to crush me to death. Really, that isn't what people should be doing. I don't think so]
He spoke with the relaxed demeanor of a man leisurely walking in a park, or basking in the sun or some such situation.
If it weren't for the shattered debris of what used to be the dragon carriage, Rem would not have found this scene to be so bizarrely horrifying.
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No matter how you look at it, the man doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary.
His body was slender, and his neat white hair was neither long nor short, nor particularly odd. His black clothes were neither flamboyant nor shabby, and his face was not eye-catching at all. He looked so very ordinary that perhaps no matter where you put him he would not seem out of place, and if you met him on the street you'd forget him within 10 seconds.
But the fact is, upon coming into contact with this man, the ground dragon was ripped in two, its feet still in mid-stride, and then, along with the driver and carriage, shattered into countless indiscernible pieces.
The most frightening part is, though Rem never looked away, all she saw was this man merely "standing there".
Not doing anything, just by standing there the man survived collision with a charging dragon carriage, and still stood there as if it were nothing.
[Crusch: Thank you, Rem, for saving me. But… it seems the situation hasn't improved]
Still being carried in Rem's arms, Crusch thanked her, stood back up, and in the same instant drew her knight-sword from its sheath. For the driver who followed her order and was shattered into a thousand pieces as a result, Crusch grieved his death in her heart and narrowed her eyes,
[Crusch: To so cruelly murder my subjects, do not think this will end so easily... Who are you?]
With her naked blade gleaming with the intent to kill, she threw these words at the man. Taking in these words, the man touched his chin and began nodding as if he understood.
[Man: Ah I see I see right right, you don't know about me. But I know about you. The whole Capital... actually, the whole country is talking about you. You are a candidate to be the next King, after all. Even I, so out of touch with the world, can imagine what a great burden...]
[Crusch: Idle talk ends now. ――Answer my question, or the next time I shall slay you]
[Man: That's really extreme! But then you wouldn't be able to run a country otherwise. Yet this sentiment, I really don't understand it one bit… This desire to wear the crown, and take up all those responsibilities, how can anyone understand it? Ah, ah, even though I don't understand, I won't disagree with you. I'm not so arrogant as that, not one bit. Unlike you…]
Not paying any attention to Crusch's demand, the man just kept on and on.
And then,
[Crusch: ――As I said, that was the last chance]
As Crusch coldly pronounced these words, her arm swung out a blade-of-wind.
Crusch's wind-magic combined with swordsmanship unleashes an invisible slash―― Renowned as the "Hundred-Men-Cut", it is a powerful ultra-long-range slash that can sever a man's body without him even knowing where, or who, it came from.
Back then, when the Mabeast "Great Rabbit" appeared in the plains of the Karsten county, she slew all the Mabeasts under the Great Rabbit's command in her first ever battle, and it was that time onward Count Crusch Karsten earned the name "Hundred-Men-Cut".
Even the White Whale's adamant skin was opened by this blade, as it played no small part in bringing down that colossal Mabeast. Compared to the White Whale, this small, frail body could not possibly withstand...
Yet,
[Man: ...attacking someone while they're talking, just where are your manners?]
Head tilted, as if flaunting how his body took no damage, the man just stood there.
His existence was utterly unaffected by a slash that could rend even the White Whale's armor. The man's body―― no, even his clothes were unscathed.
He did not defend the attack. Rather, it was something wholly different and unknown.
Crusch could not help but hold her breath, and Rem froze in place, after witnessing something so far outside the realm of understanding. In front of them, the man sighed for the first time.
[Man: You know…] he went on with a tone lowered by displeasure,
[Man: I was talking. Wasn't I talking just now? And then you interrupted me. Isn't that a bit impolite? Don't you think that was wrong? I have the right to speak… even though I don't really want to have to point this out, but to not interrupt people when they're speaking… isn't that just common social decency? You're free to listen or not listen I won't bother you about that, but just what are you trying to do by not letting me talk?]
As he ranted, the man occasionally stomped the ground with a displeased expression on his face. And just like this, he pointed his finger at the two in front of him, both now eerily speechless.
[Man: And now you're quiet, what is this? You're listening. You were listening, right? Wasn't I asking you something? Then give me some kind of reply, it should be like that, right? You won't even do that, don't even want to. Ah, ah, freedom. That's your freedom. You see me ranting and you want to kill me, then when I ask you a question, you ignore me like I'm the wind. So it's like that, is it? Well you're free to do that. Alright, let's just say it's like that. But then, what is that supposed to mean?]
Seeing the two standing silently in front of him bracing for an attack, he tilted his head and stared at them with his sharp eyes, and then, with a smothered voice,
[Man: You're disregarding my Right――one of my only few possessions, right?]
Just as a chill ran up Rem's back, the man took a step forward. His drooping arm lifted, sweeping up a small gust of wind.
Then, on the same line as the motion of his arm―― the earth, the air, and the world parted in two.
Round and round and round, Crusch's severed left shoulder flew into the air.
Still grasping onto the sheath of a knight-sword, the arm dropped down in a spray of blood. Crusch, blown off her feet by the impact, fell to the ground, convulsing in pain and mass loss of blood.
[Rem: Crusch-sama――]
Stunned for few seconds, Rem rushed to the side of the fallen Crusch. She placed her hands on Crusch's wound and with the small final remnant of her Mana, applied all her power to stop the bleeding.
Crusch's shoulder flowed bright crimson, the flesh, bones, nerves and arteries were all perfectly severed. A clean and masterful attack, Rem sighed with a rather inappropriate admiration.
[Crusch: Ferris... oh… you?]
Under Rem's healing hands, Crusch looked on with unfocused eyes, muttering indiscernibly, and, with her remaining right arm, grasped tightly onto Rem's knee. Proof that she still possessed the strength to live.
Crusch clenched her teeth, enduring her pain.
Rem kept her eyes on the man's every movement.
She has no means of defending against his strikes. At the first sign of an attack, to leap away with Crusch is the only thing she could do.
In a moment of eerie realization– for some reason Crusch and Rem are all alone — why hasn't anyone come to their aid? In this critical juncture, with their lord gravely wounded, those knights who did not cower even in the face of the White Whale, why—
[Youth: Ah really… I eat and I eat it's still not enough! It's because of that, we keep on living! Eating, chewing, biting, ripping, crunching, munching, sucking! GLUTTONOUS DRINKING! GLUTTONOUS EATING! AH– I'M DONE!]
All of a sudden from behind came the shrill, ear-splitting voice of a teenager.
Like the first man, the youth's voice sent chills running up Rem's spine. Her body stiff, she turned to look at him. The youth stood among several empty carriages, from head to toe he was covered in blood.
His long, dark-brown hair extending all the way down to his knees, his body was short, about the same height as Rem, and perhaps 2 or 3 years younger — perhaps not much older than the kids in the village near the mansion.
Under his hair, only a thin, blood-soaked rag covers his slender body. Every inch of his skin is coated with blood.
Of course none of the blood was his. It was from the knights lying at his feet.
While Crusch and Rem were in a standoff with the man in front, the knights had engaged the enemy behind them. In the end, before Rem even sensed any combat, it was already over.
[Rem: You, are…]
Her voice quivering, Rem, with Crusch in her arms, backed up until both enemies were within her field of vision. Blood from Crusch's shoulder had dyed the road red. Now the air turned cold, as if mocking their weakness, their fear.
Hearing the question, the man and the youth looked at each other.
As if it had all been arranged, they nodded to each other. Then with the same deranged smile of violent delight, they announced their name:
[Man: Witch Cult Sin Archbishop "Greed", Regulus Corneus!]
[Youth: Witch Cult Sin Archbishop "Gluttony", LEY BATENKAITOS!]
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
[Ley: When we sensed our pet got killed we came to have a look. But then, AH!— WHAT A DELIGHTFUL HARVEST! It's good, it's pretty good, it's very good, it's great, it's wonderful, it's terrific, it's breathtaking, it's remarkable! It's SPECTACULAR! Passion! Love! Hate! Chivalry! Oh JOY! And SORROW! That is, that is! THAT IS WORTH EATING!]
Witch Cult — and Sin Archbishop.
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When those words reached Rem's ears, she stood frozen in place.
With an exhilarated expression the youth stomped on the ground while howling in strange noises.
Spinning, as if dancing, his arms pointed to the fallen knights, and then looked at them as if with overwhelming compassion.
[Ley: How WONDERFUL! To personally come to feed. It's been really hard to find people with backbone nowadays. But now, I am rediscovering my hunger's LONG LOST GRATIFICATION!]
[Regulus: That's what I don't understand about you, Batenkaitos, your hunger isn't real hunger, and the one being filled isn't even you. Why can't you be satisfied with just the way you are? We only truly possess what we hold in our own two hands and can carry with our own two arms. If you realize that, you will be able to control your desires, no?]
[Ley: No need to get preachy old man, I don't like being preached to. I don't disagree with what you said, but I'm not interested either. To be honest, as long as I don't starve – I DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THE REST!]
"Gluttony" Batenkaitos descended into a fit of deranged laughter, and "Greed" Regulus shrugged disinterestedly.
Two Sin Archbishops appearing in the same place at the same time, Rem sank into thought.
In terms of strength, defeating these two is impossible.
Even though Crusch's bleeding had been stopped, she is still in critical condition. Whether the knights are dead or comatose, they can no longer fight.
To heal Crusch, Rem had already over-tapped her mana, though if she transform into demon mode she will be able to absorb mana from the atmosphere and put up a fight. But against these two, victory is inconceivable.
On the one hand is the flawless offense and defense of "Greed". Known to be able to capture a city single handedly, it is impossible to measure the full extent of his power. On the other hand, "Gluttony" is no less formidable. Though his abilities are as yet unknown, he has managed to wipe out an entire battle tested army within seconds. No matter what, Rem could not see victory waiting for her in the near future.
She quickly scanned the battlefield, the Riger carriages are nowhere to be seen. The demihuman mercenaries were tasked with transporting wounded soldiers — and the head of the White Whale. They might have escaped in the chaos and be retreating full speed toward the Capital right now. Commanding them must be the Fang of Iron Vice Captain – Hetaro – bright and resourceful, and possessing great common sense and judgement…
If given enough time, perhaps he will return with reinforcements.
But, even so — it will probably not arrive in time for Rem.
[Rem: White Whale…]
[Regulus: Eh?]
[Ley: Huh?]
She muttered quietly, and both Sin Archbishops tilted their head.
She held her breath for an instant, having found a clue to stall for time. Before they lost interest, she continued.
[Rem: Did you want the Whale back? Because we are transporting the severed head to the Capital right now]
[Ley: Head? Ah, I was beginning to wonder what that weird smell was. What happens to the head doesn't matter anyway. It's dead, sure bring it back, what can you do? If we want to, we could always make a new one… It'll take about the same amount of time to raise]
Saying this, Batenkaitos snapped his neck and ground his teeth,
[Ley: Compared to this…] he said forcefully
[Ley: Compared to a dead Whale we are more interested in the PEOPLE THAT KILLED IT. After 400 years someone FINALLY killed that thing. Even though we were already expecting a feast… AH! THIS IS FAR BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS!]
His head shaking up and down, his long hair wildly swinging, the youth laughed with saliva flying from his mouth, clacking his teeth as he did so.
[Ley: Love! Chivalry! Hatred! Obsession! Accomplishment! Gathered together brought to a boil and swallowed whole! THE GRATIFICATION! Is there anything in the world more DELICIOUS? No no no no no no no no no no there isn't there isn't THERE ISN'T! GLUTTONOUS DRINKING! GLUTTONOUS EATING! So! My Heart! My Stomach! My JOY and GRATIFICATION are TREEEEEEMBLING!!]
Incomprehensible.
As if losing control, Batenkaitos broke into shrill, convulsive laughter. Silently, Rem turned her eyes to Regulus, and Regulus waved hello.
[Regulus: Unfortunately, unlike him… I'm here purely, purely by accident… Not my intention at all… Of course, do I have hunger and desires like his? To hold such selfish, meaningless desires… Unlike his unsatisfied stomach torturing him, I, on the other hand, am completely, utterly, content with myself!]
Spreading his arms wide like a cross, Regulus stood in front of Rem with an utterly refreshing expression.
Crusch's left arm was severed, yet his two arms are still free to bend and turn, it was like an act to flaunt his very existence.
[Regulus: Conflict, I hate that… For me, just merely enjoying the calm and safety of regular life is enough, I have no more need than that. Static, unchanging time and my self, that's the best. Because my hands are small and powerless, for me, just for myself, just to protect my meager possessions I have to use up all my strength. That's my kind of fragile existence]
Regulus emphasized it by clenching his hand into a fist. The hand that claimed countless lives, and the arm of a woman. Such an explanation is just taking it too far.
Be it Ley, a madman in a trance of deranged laughter, or Regulus, a self-righteous, self-satisfied and self-indulged blabbermouth, they certainly are Witch Cultists.
A storm of boiling rage was rising in her heart.
Rem laid Crusch, still faintly breathing, down on the grassy plain. She forced her quivering legs to stand. In her hand, she held her morning star, and squeezing out the final drop of her depleted mana, spears of ice formed in the air around her.
Seeing this, Ley and Regulus's expressions changed.
[Regulus: Was anybody listening? I said I don't want to fight? If you're going take an attitude like that, then, then that's ignoring my wishes… That's violating my Right. One of the few meager possessions I was permitted to have… My property. Taken from me. — To me, already so few in my desires, this is… unforgivable!]
[Rem: Enough is enough, Witch Cultist.]
Raising her head toward Regulus, Rem pronounced these words firm and resolute. Toward the disappointed-looking Regulus, Rem rattled her iron chains.
[Rem: Sooner or later, a hero will appear. How much pain and suffering your self-indulgence and conceit had caused in the world, will be known to that hero. Rem's deeply beloved, one and only, hero.]
[Ley: Hey, a hero. We'll be looking forward to that guy! If you believe in him so much, that guy must be DELICIOUS!]
Clapping his hands, body angled forward, Ley Batenkaitos stuck his tongue out at Rem. His eyes were not the eyes of a man looking at an enemy, much less at a woman. They were the eyes of a starving beast looking at his food.
The fallen knights behind Batenkaitos began to blur, and become indistinguishable.
Their existence, their position, none of it is now comprehensible to Rem. Why are they lying there, who are they, and what relation do they have to herself?
Just like the nightmare of one's existence being erased by the White Whale's mist. So the Whale's master, "Gluttony", possessed the same Authority.
—"Head Maid of the Household of Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers, Rem"
Intending to proclaiming her identity, Rem shook her head.
In this moment, the name she really wanted to say was
[Rem: Right now, I am only someone who is beloved by the person she loves. Companion of the Hero, the one I love the most in all the world, no matter what. Natsuki Subaru's companion, Rem]
A pristine white horn emerged from her forehead, an immense surge of mana flew into her body from the atmosphere.
Her body drinking in new strength, the chain of her morning star writhing, rattling, the ice spears around her ringing in anticipation.
She opened her eyes, taking in the world and the feeling of the atmosphere. In her mind, she was seeing his face.
[Rem: Prepare yourselves, Sin Archbishops. Rem's hero shall bring punishment upon you!]
Raising her morning star, the same instant the ice spears flew, Rem's body shot forth.
As if in reply, Batenkaitos' mouth stretched wide open, full of fangs.
[Ley: How wonderful!! —-Ah such PASSION! LET'S EAT!!]
Clash met clash, and in that instant she thought—
I wish when he realizes I am gone, it could cause a small ripple in his heart.
—This alone, was what Rem wished for in her final moment.
-=Arc 3 Interlude II End=-