15 Together
Back at the Roswaal mansion
After a deafly silent trip back home, Emilia and Co reached the gates of the Roswaal manor
Every single one excited their respective carriages exhausted, tired and miserable.
Although it is hard to blame them since it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they just experienced one of the worst events in centuries.
Subaru's words still clung to all their minds like a parasite slowly draining all their energy away
("I love Satella")
These three simple words caused many feelings to stir amongst each camp member
Anger, Sadness, Fear, and regret were just some of the emotions shared and felt by everyone present.
But these words hadn't affected anyone as much as they had for Emilia
Emilia almost chuckled at the situation
Those words marked the breaking of Subaru's most recent and last promise to her
With that in mind, Emilia tried blaming Subaru and anyone else for why he did what he did.
Subaru was just a dunderhead who needed to come back
Puck wasn't here to help fix this
Roswaal should have tried harder
Beatrice should have known Subaru wasn't a cultist
Rem should have been awake to help
Otto should have been a better friend
Garfeil should have been a better shield
...
"pathetic"
Emilia whispered to herself as she began to walk into the mansion
Emilia after being blinded by envy saw how she could not help but blame everyone around her as for the longest time she could not harm.
Emilia while disagreeing with whom Subaru loved, could understand why he loved another
Could this have been prevented?
Maybe if Emilia was a little more proactive back at Reinhard's party she could have helped prevent Subaru's treatment... oh who was she kidding, after Beatrice called Subaru out on his smell, there was zero chance she or anyone else would have acted in support of the poor boy.
But Emilia knew that now was not the time to go back to her room and cry, no she had done enough crying instead of helping this whole time. Emilia wanted to make things right, and she saw only one way to do it now.
"Roswaal."
Emilia said timidly
Roswaal slowly angled his face to Emilia and spoke with what seemed to be a smile that was trying to do down
"...Yes...Emillia-sama?"
"Please gather everyone at the dining table, I have an announcement to make."
Roswaal bowed
"As you wi~sh Emilia-sama"
Roswaal gestured to his maids who began to run off to find everyone who had already gone inside.
Emilia looked at the sky
"I hope this helps fix things Subaru."
...
Emilia sat at the end of the dining table
Everyone had been seated except for Beatrice who had refused to partake in any further activities that involve anyone who isn't Subaru
Even Petra who had to be fetched from the Irlam village was present
"So umm Emilia-sama"
Otto began to speak with an opened bottle in hand
"What's the reason for this meeting?"
Otto took a small sip of the alcohol pacing himself to not get drunk in an important meeting
"YEEH WHY TE FUC HAVE WE GATHERED NOW! I WAS ABOUT TO DO SOME TRAINING- OW SIS?!"
Frederica slapped Garfeil across the head
"Language Garfeil. Although I must ask, why have we gathered so suddenly?"
Petra looked towards Emilia and couldn't help but feel some disbelief that Subaru wasn't by her side
Even though he said he wouldn't, it still felt off to the young girl
"Emilia-sama"
Petra called out
"Is this meeting about Subaru-sama?"
Petra could have sworn that everyone else present for a second had the most dreadful look on their face
Petra also noticed how Garfiel's nails began to scratch into the armrest of his chair
Emilia looked at Petra was an indifferent expression
"It involves... Subaru yes."
Petra noticed the pause before she said Subaru's name but why?
Emilia cleared her throat
"Because of recent events with Subaru, I have decided to leave the royal selection and return to Elior forest. Thank you for your services and good luck with your future."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone needed a few seconds to properly process what Emilia just said
"W-what did you just say E-Emilia-sama?"
Otto asked with worry in his voice
"As I said, I will be leaving the royal selection. I apologise if this inconveniences you."
Emilia replied with genuine empathy in her voice
"B-but why would you leave the royal selection because of Subaru!"
Petra asked surprised that anyone would give up the opportunity to become king
"I know we all forgot him, and I know he's not here right now, but that's no reason to."
Fredrica put a hand on Petra's shoulder
"You don't want to know."
Petra turned to face Fredrica
"Yes, I do, first Subaru says he doesn't want to return because of a mission he has, and now Emilia-sama says she wants to quit being a king candidate! It is so confusing and unfair!"
"Petra"
Emilia spoke coldly
"How do you know that Subaru has a mission?"
"Well I-."
"Because unless you spoke to him, there is no way you should know something like that."
" I did, not too long ago he came to the village and played with us before leaving."
"... I see."
Emilia began to walk out away
"Someone inform Petra of what happened."
Emilia nonchalantly said before leaving
Everyone looked at each other with concerned looks wondering if they should tell a literal child what happened
Otto skulled his drink before slamming the now-empty bottle down on the table
"I *hic* I'll do it."
"Bro arr ye sur?"
Garfeil asked
"Shurrrr."
Fredrica stepped in front of Otto
"As her instructor, I should be the one to... gently explain this... situation."
"Finnnne"
Frederica turned to face Petra
"... You should take a seat, there's a lot to talk about."
TWO YEARS LATER
THE SAGES TOWER:
A quiet tower stood by itself
Long gone are the days when random beams of light enveloped the world
No more roars of dragons could be heard
It was simply silent
On the outside at least
However, the inside was a different story...
...
"Blaise what have you done?! Fura fura!"
Subaru yelled while trying to extinguish several Books of the Dead using wind magic
"It was necessary!"
Subaru began to throw the flaming books off the selves to stop the flames from spreading further
"How was this necessary!? These books are irreplaceable each and single one!"
Blaise just pouted and turned away from her contractor
"I had to do it."
"WHYYYY?"
"You can't understand, I have been stuck in this stinking tower for way too long, and there's almost nothing to burn. You don't let me burn the bed and clothes; you won't let me explore any rooms above the library. And besides ma beasts, there's nothing to shoot at!"
"But did you have to burn the irreplaceable books?"
"Yes."
"*sigh* Please don't burn any more books."
Blaise looked Subaru in the eye with a sad expression
"But as the great spirit of fire, it is my sworn duty to burn everything around me."
Subaru crossed his arms
"Nope, you cannot burn down the library."
"... Well... what if I promise to only burn books that you won't read?"
Subaru gave Blaise a head pat
"Sorry, Blaise but I want to give this library some respect, just because its original guardian is gone doesn't mean we can just casually burn it all down."
Blaise's expression became mad
"You must let me you must! If I contain my explosive personality any longer, I will surlily die of... of emotions!"
Subaru chuckled at his companion's explosive personality
"Blaise, just because our magic has greatly increased over these years doesn't mean we have to use it recklessly."
Subaru held out his hand
"Come on Blaise, I've already studied enough for today, let's go to your art wall."
Blaise for a second glanced at the books behind Subaru, however, her attention quickly shifted back to Subarus's hand
"Okay!"
Blaise energetically grabbed Subarus's hand
And the two walked out of the library together
...
Before walking to what Subaru now deemed as the art room, Subaru went to the green room to invite his other five spirits along
"Hey girls, I'm heading off to the green room with Blaise. Anyone else want to come?"
"Oh, I would love to join you." Said Aqua
"I will join if I must." Said Aeolus
"Finally, I thought you decided to become a library hermit. And yes." Said Shami
"Greeting contractor, I do hope progress has been along smoothly." Said Eon
"Ye." Said Toph
Subaru smiled as each of his spirits greeted him on their way
And seeing all his spirits in the same room filled him with a unique kind of happiness, one reserved for his small spirit army
Subaru reflected upon there re-materialisation
Flash Back:
"Shami pass me another book please."
"Ok"
Subaru watched as a book slowly floated towards him. Once it reached him Subaru grabbed it
"Thank you. Minya."
Subaru summoned a Minya crystal shaped like glasses that while resembling his dads, were not a perfect replica
As he put them on, he heard Shami audibly laugh
"Is something funny Shami?"
Subaru asked
"Yes actually"
Shami floated over to Subaru and tapped his head
"Why do you wear those, they make you look dumb. And don't you say they help you see, we both know your eyesight is fine, and those glasses would make things harder to see."
Subaru simply readjusted his glasses and smirked
"Well, even so, I think they make me look cool. And besides, I'm allowed to wear something different every once and a while."
Shami took the glasses off Subarus's head
"Since I am currently the only great spirit who's active, it is my sole responsibility to ensure that my contractor doesn't accidentally make a fool of himself by wearing these."
Subaru subconsciously felt a little offended at that
"What? How could these possibly make me look like a fool?"
Shami deadpanned as she responded
"What if you tripped and the Minya crystal shattered causing some shards to pierce your eyes causing you to die?"
"... That would never happen."
Subaru said trying to convince Shami that he wasn't that clumsy
"It won't because I will not allow it."
Shami replied not giving Subaru any chance for negotiation
Suddenly another voice spoke up
"What do you mean you won't allow it? We won't allow Subaru to die in such an embarrassing way."
Subaru heard a voice from behind Shami
"What the... Aqua?"
Aqua walked out from behind Shami
"It is so nice to talk to you again."
"... Heh."
Subaru chuckled
This caused Aqua to suddenly done a worried expression
"What? Why laugh?"
Subaru pointed at Aqua
"It's because even after Shami just appeared with no flashy entrance I still half expected each girl to emerge with a huge light show... but no it is just poof and here you are."
Aqua had a dead-panned expression
"Subaru... I sense something... off with you."
"huh? What is wrong Aqua?"
Subaru asked concerned that the (third) greatest healer he's ever met seemed worried for him
"Subaru... have you been receiving healing... from other spirits?"
Subaru suddenly tensed up
"Oh... maybe."
Aqua suddenly looked down, and a shadow somehow concealed her face.
"Subaru."
"Y-yes Aqua?"
"...Please don't."
"Don't what?"
"..."
"..."
"Please don't... please don't replace me with another spirit *waaa*."
Aqua ran up to Subaru and tightly hugged him
"Whoa wait a sec-."
"I'm the best healing spirit around, nobody could ever replace me, my power is that of a great spirit, I can't be replaced by just some random spirit"
Aqua continued to cry similar to a useless god trying to convince a human that she needs more money to pay off debt money
"Whoa whoa Aqua, I am not replacing you. I would never consider doing something so cruel."
Aqua looked up at Subaru with tears forming on the sides of her eyes
"Then why do I sense such a high amount of healing magic being used on you?"
"Aqua, I promise it was all necessary. I wouldn't have just done it unless there was no other option ok?"
Aqua wiped her tears away
"You promise?"
"Of course."
"...But you don't have a great track record of keeping promises."
"W-well... this time I won't break it."
"Fine, you better not."
And with that Subaru had two of his spirits bac-
"Pardon the intrusion, however, I too would like to be welcomed back by our dear contractor."
Subaru and Aqua turned to face the new voice
"...Eon?"
"Indeed, it is I Eon. Tell me how have you been? Has this whole spirit hybrid thing worked out for you... and what are those ugly things Shamis holding?"
"*sigh* everyone's a hater. Umm, I have been doing pretty well, the spirit hybrid thing was a very strong buff to me which is always welcomed. It worked so well, that the only downside was you and the other girls being forced to take an emergency refuge inside my soul. Speaking of which, what's it like there?"
Eon put her hand to her chin pondering her experience
"I can't speak for the others... who will be here soon-."
"Really?!"
"BUT... I found it to be a... safe yet boring experience."
"Boring?"
"Indeed, while I was indeed safe from all damage, and was able to rest, being fully conscious through the experience was rather boring. At least I and I presume the others could help assist you to use your... gates."
"Wait were all of you conscious the whole time?"
"I was and I am presuming that the others were as well."
"Oh, dear. It's a good thing your no longer just trapped there."
"Trapped?"
"I mean you couldn't leave just whenever you wanted to... could you?"
"If I wanted to die yes."
"Oh."
"But don't think that when I say boring it was bad. It is simply a fact that less happened inside your soul
compared to all the training we did."
"Well anyways."
Subaru got down on a single knee and spread his arms out offering a hug
"It is nice to have you back."
"Yes, yes, it is."
Eon walked to Subaru and the two hugged
After the hug ended Subaru looked around the room
"So..."
Subaru spoke out loud to nobody in particular
"Is anyone else here?"
Subaru called out
"..."
Subaru kept looking around
"No? All right-."
Three small girls now stood at the other end of the library
Subaru smirked
"Ahh there you are, what are you all doing over there? I'm sure you could have materialised right next to me if you so desired?"
Subaru asked knowingly
Subaru then observed Toph, Aeolus and Blaise all slowly walk towards him
"Suuuubaru! You ruined the surprise!" Complained Blaise
"Yeah, we were supposed to sneak up on ya and surprise you." Said Toph
"Heh, sorry girls, but Eon kind already told me the rest would be coming soon, plus once Aqua and Eon appeared back-to-back, knew it was time."
"Eon! I suppose you had a reason for spoiling our arrival?" Aeolus asked Eon
"Well, if you must know, it was a mere slip of the tongue."
Aeolus didn't appreciate Eon's response
"Maybe cutting it off would fix the problem I wonder?"
Seeing that things were getting a little violent Subaru stepped in
"Aeolus, I promise I'm happy to see you again, surprise or not."
"... G-good I mean of course you would be happy to see me again."
Subaru gave Aeolus a head pat
"I see you still the same."
Aeolus let out a gasp at this
"What do you mean by that? I suppose I hold no reason to change as I am already perfect."
"Of course, you are... in your unique way."
"So Subs, Subaru what's it like being one of us?" Toph asked
"Umm being part spirit is a great feeling. It is like I'm energised all the time."
"Yeah, being made up of mana does that to one."
"Well I mean I still have all my blood and organs. So it is like the mana part of me is supercharging the human side of me."
"Oh and that means?"
"Healing factor and I never have to drink medieval coffee again."
"Coofie?"
"Oh yeah, I'm also physically much stronger, want a story of how I battled a pink-haired Oni hand to hand and won?"
All the spirits agreed to listen to Subarus's many stories
"Well, it all started after I got out of the forest-."
Flash Back End:
"All right let's go, art waits for nobody except farther time itself."
Subaru was about to head off when someone called out to him
"Wait Subaru!"
Shami called out
"Yes, what's up?"
"I would like to race you Subaru."
Subaru let out a small chuckle
"Are you sure, something like that doesn't seem very fair?"
At this Shami giggled
"I promise to give you a ten-second head start"
Subaru sighed
"Ok, ok fine. Does anyone feel like joining me for a quick sprint?"
Subaru gestured to his other spirit loli's
In response to this, the spirits just looked around pretending to ignore Subaru
"...Fair enough. Shami on three... one, two... THREE!"
As Subaru took off running Shami entered Shaula's clothing wardrobe
...
"Almost there"
Subaru said to himself as he approached the art room with impressive speed
Subaru didn't see Shami in the room yet
"Maybe this time I might just make it in..."
Subaru stopped speaking to himself as Shami stepped out of the closet they placed in the art room
"Su-ba-ru! What took you so long?"
Shami asked with a cheerful and innocent expression
Subaru feeling defeated just commented
"Man, if I knew how much you would abuse that, I may not have tried to recreate my past contracted spirits door crossing with you in a collaboration."
Shami floated up to meet Subaru at the same eye level
"But you did, and there's no way to turn back the clock."
"... guess not. But even so, I wouldn't change anything we've done these past two years."
Subaru turned to the wall that he and the girls had used to draw art.
Be it from scorching the walls with flames to create art or using powdered Minya and water to make a very light paint
When Subaru wasn't drinking, Sleeping or Studying, he would play with Shami, Blaise, Aqua, Toph, Eon and Aeolus. And a time passer Subaru created (besides reading books with them) was drawing.
Blaise at first was the only spirit who drew on the wall or as she referred to it 'expressing my pent-up emotions and feelings
And Blaise drew a lot of art
Her greatest drawing was a picture of Subaru which Subaru dubbed 'The MonaSuba'
And after seeing the paise Blaise received the other spirits began to draw in a small contest for Subarus approval
Truthy if Aqua wasn't around to wash away some of the junk art now and then the wall would have been completely unusable by now
"Ahh this room feels so nostalgic, wouldn't you agree Shami?"
Subaru asked his companion
"Not, for spirits like us, usually two years isn't enough time to consider something worthy of nostalgia."
"What? Shami, you need to look at the small and sentimental things a bit closer. After all, one-day Aqua may come along and wash it away forever."
Shami looked at Subaru
"Well, I usually don't hold emotions for these simple drawings... however, if you recommend it ill try to look into the sentimental value, regardless of size."
Subaru gave Shami a small head
"Great to hear."
Subaru suddenly noticed that his other girls were approaching with what seemed to be... burnt paper floating behind them...
"G-girls... where did you get that burnt paper?"
Aeolus stepped forwards with a prideful smile
"After the fire girl informed us about her little book accident, we agreed to not let such valuable resources go to waste."
Eon interrupted Aeolus to finish her explanation
"In other words, we are recycling the books of the dead."
Subaru just dead-panned at this
"...So disrespectful, using the ashes of the books of the dead to paint the walls of the tower they were supposed to be safe in. There's some level of irony to that... oh wait Eon can't you restore the."
"No."
"What? But we have had two years to grow stronger, didn't those books and our mana training regime greatly increase all our magic potential?"
"...*sigh* What I meant to say was, no I don't believe restoring the books would benefit us in any way. So, I would prefer to not do so."
"Eon... tell you what, we don't have to restore these books, but if Blaise burns anymore, please try to fix them."
"...Those are agreeable terms."
Subaru then felt his sleeve being tugged softly
Subaru looked down to see Aqua
"What's up Aqua?"
Aqua pointed towards Subaru's art
"May I please wash that off the wall?"
"Whaaaat? But I spent so much time working on that trying to get every detail right. Why would you want to destroy it?"
Subaru asked shocked
"W-well it's just, even with only the colours purple and black, your picture seems to closely resemble an elven lady... and well."
"..."
Subaru gave Aqua an emotionless stare
"N-never mind."
Subaru sighed
"Hold on, I can offer a compromise."
"Oh, I'm listening."
"I don't want the art removed, and you don't want it to remain. So I will simply remove part of the wall."
"...Pardon?"
"Watch this."
"Fura, fura, fura, fura!"
Subaru carved a thin square around his picture
Subaru then seemed to grab the air and pulled back
Thanks to the earth magic he was using; caused a thin layer of the wall to be taken out of the tower and was floating casually above the ground
"Ok Aqua, now there's free space on the wall."
"...Thanks, but that was a little reckless."
Subaru moved the wall piece to the side
"Well now that all problems are solved, it's drawing time."
...
After a fun day of drawing and bonding, Subaru and Girls Subaru went back to the green room to have the same dinner, he's been having for the past two years
Mana and Water
Well at the beginning Subaru tried consuming some ma beast's meat as he did in the forest when he trained for two months
But to his dismay becoming part of spirit had healed his taste buds back to full health
So, he ended up vomiting all the food and a lot of bile up onto the ground
However, as Subaru found out later being part allowed him to semi-self-sustain himself
All he needed was water and mana
And thus, that was all he consumed
Humorously most of the spirits voiced their concerns about Subaru's new diet that seemed to contradict the healthy and balanced diet he consumed under Halibel's tutorage.
But eventually, they stopped after realising that besides ma beasts there was nothing else to eat
They joined Subaru for his daily bowl of water
Usually, Subaru would fetch the water himself since he had the physical strength to wind up the well.
But sometimes when he was too engrossed in a book, the spirits worked together to fetch it themselves
...
"Itadakimasu!"
Said everyone in sync as they began to drink their meal
As Aqua drank her water a thought came across her
"Subaru, why don't you just have me create water? It would be more time efficient."
Subaru laughed
"Aqua, you need to understand the sentimental value of drinking from this tower. It is ancient, and the water holds some historic value."
"...So you are doing it because..."
"Because I think it is cool."
Aqua sighed
"Also, we have all the time in the world!"
Blaise yelled out
Subaru snapped his fingers at Blaise
"That's right, just us seven semi-immortals, in an isolated tower that nobody will ever arrive at."
Eon put her hand up
"What's up Eon?"
"May I explore further into the tower?"
"...Well...I mean it might be dangerous."
Eon rebuffed this claim
"I think not, in two years, we have all grown far stronger than imaginable. There are almost no threats we can't handle in our sleep."
"Oh oh, I want to explore further too."
Said Shami
"Me too, exploring the same three levels each day is sooo~ooo boring!"
Complained Toph
"I do wonder what mysteries lie beyond the lower floors we reside in."
Said Aeolus
Soon Subaru found that all his spirits wanted to explore higher levels
"Ok, ok but wait for me to come, just in the event of you encountering a puzzle you can't overcome."
...
"Ok girls are you ready to explore!"
"YES!"
They all responded
"Then here we go!"
Subaru began to lead his loli army up into higher floors
"All right beyond this door lays the floor above the library, are you ready?!"
The spirits let out an excited cheer
"Then let a go!"
Subaru opened the door slightly and
"!"
The ground began to shake as dust fell from the roof
"UNDER MY CONTRACT YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE TOWER!"
"...w...wha?"
Subaru said while his spirits began to franticly look around
Subaru could feel the tower shake
Subaru recognised this voice
"V-VOLCANICA!?"
Suddenly a holy dragon burst through the roof in a mad rush trying to remove Subaru and his companions from the tower
Subaru wasn't aware of it but his presence in the tower had been irritating the dragon for years now.
But being so far down it was nothing more than an endless ringing noise to the poor dragon driving him madder even in his poor state.
But when Subaru climbed higher the dragon could finally lock onto him
And so Volcanica began to fly downwards towards his target destroying anything in his path
...
Subaru lay on his back in a large amount of rubble
His spirits were doing their best to shield him and themselves from the falling rubble
Perhaps the sheer pressure from Volcanica forced them into hiding
Subaru looked up to see both the holy dragon and the absence of the tower
"Aww, man..."
Subaru moaned as he realised just how bad things were
The tower destroyed
The dragon was pissed
His spirits would stand no chance against this beast
And yet as Volcanica began to charge his purification blast Subaru felt some odd emotion boil up inside of him
It was... curiosity. His human desire to learn more and more. Even in the direst of situations, Subaru was not worried for his life, why would he? Instead, his mind and body only sought out one thing, knowledge.
As Subaru observed every detail of the scenario, he began to feel greedy and almost possessive in an unnatural way
Like something was enhancing his desires
However, there was not much to gain in this scenario
And thus, Subaru closed his eyes accepting that with the incomplete authority of Envy his defence would eventually give out.
And the dragoon fired his breath
Before being enveloped Subaru took one last look at his Spirits
Toph
Aeolus
Blaise
Aqua
Eon
And Shami
They stood against the divine dragon himself for him
But sadly
FWOOS------------
As the breath hit Subaru all sound died
And as his spirits faded away into mana
Subaru's vision began to slip as well
...
Subaru opened his eyes in an unfamiliar place
Surrounded by everything and nothing
He felt safe yet endangered
Underwhelmed and overwhelmed
This place was not natural
Subaru blinked slowly as reality itself began to warp altering his vision to that of stars
Beautiful stars
Moving stars
"(What the?)"
Subaru thought to himself
The stars began to manifest in front of Subaru taking the form
Soon took shaped themselves into something that closely resembled Subaru
It moved closer to Subaru and hugged him
However, Subaru felt nothing from this hug
"What do you wish to recall?"
Asked ???
Subaru didn't know what to respond with
??? Just stared at Subaru unmoving
"What?"
Asked Subaru
"What do you wish to recall?"
??? Repeated with the same mysterious tone
"...How can I defeat Volcanica?"
Subaru asked testing the waters
"...You cannot recall that."
Said ???
"What? Why not?!"
Subaru asked
"Because nobody you have killed knows how to do so."
"...Killed?"
"...Are there any spells I don't know?"
Subaru asked kind of hoping Sloth would know some spells that he did not... unlikely but worth a shot
"You must be precise with your questions. Vagueness' only results in unsatisfaction."
Subaru not knowing how to ask for something he didn't know existed decided to change his question
"Can I wake up"
"Yes"
"How?"
"You must stop desiring more to let go."
"Let go of what?"
"... Greed."
"My Greed?"
"Your Greed for knowledge."
[That's right baby new greed authority revealed. Also sorry for the long wait been extremely busy. Authority's name revealed next chapter]
