(A/N: Note that it is not a full chapter, just a teaser!)
...
{3rd Pov}
"Why…?"
That single word echoed through the haze, drawing him back for just a mont.
Subaru had been ready to let go—to let the silence swallow him forever—but sothing made him open his eyes.
And there she was.
Emilia stood over him, her pale face contorted with confusion and sorrow. Her violet eyes, brimming with tears, stared down at him in disbelief.
One teardrop broke free from her lashes and landed on his cheek, mingling with his blood.
That single, warm droplet was enough to stir sothing inside him.
"Why…?"
The question repeated, whispered, murmured again and again. It echoed in the chambers of his fractured mind.
'What does that "why" an…?' Subaru wondered, his gaze locked on her trembling form.
'Why did I do all of this? Why did it have to end like this? Why did I co here… just to die by your hand?'
There were so many possible anings. So many layers to her question.
And in truth… he wanted to answer every single one. He wanted to explain everything—to tell her every step, every motive, every sacrifice.
But ti… was slipping away.
His heartbeat was slowing. His lungs were heavy. He only had one breath left.
So he used it.
He used it for the only answer that truly mattered.
"—I love you."
The words spilled from his lips, soft but resolute, before darkness began to claim him.
Emilia stared at him, stunned.
She couldn't comprehend what she had just heard.
She didn't want to comprehend it.
"He… he said he loved …" she muttered, her voice barely audible as her entire body trembled.
Behind her, Puck floated silently for a mont before gently responding, "Lia, it's over. You've done what needed to be done. You've killed him—the madman who nearly destroyed the entire kingdom."
But his words brought her no peace.
Guilt wrapped its cold hands around her heart, suffocating her. She looked down at Subaru's body—the boy who had upended the world, who had set it ablaze… all for her.
"He said… he loved …"
"Lia, listen to ," Puck interrupted sharply. "He was a Sin Archbishop. A Witch Cultist. They all worship the Witch of Envy—Satella. You know this. That wasn't love… it was madness. He said that to you because you look like her. You're a silver-haired half-elf, just like Satella."
He hovered closer, his voice growing firr.
"Don't let his words poison your heart. Don't take them seriously."
But even as Puck spoke, doubt had already taken root in Emilia's heart.
She didn't know what to believe.
She didn't know what was true anymore.
What she did know… was that his words didn't feel like a lie.
What Puck didn't reveal—what he kept tightly locked away—was whatever Natsuki Subaru said was true.
While he hadn't directly helped Subaru, he had learned from Roswaal that the clownish madman had, indeed, made so kind of pact with Natsuki Subaru.
That Sin Archbishop had slain the Witch Cultists, other Sin Archbishops and passed all the glory to the Emilia.
Roswaal shalessly took it, declaring Emilia to be the reason behind their death, and Puck had helped him in it.
But Roswaal was dead now, and with him had gone the details of that secret arrangent.
So Puck chose silence.
Emilia, hearing Puck's words, slowly steadied herself. Her breathing cald. She tried to believe him. Tried to bury the doubt.
But the shadow of uncertainty lood large over her.
anwhile, elsewhere in the burning capital, Reinhardt van Astrea finally stood victorious.
The Bowel Hunter had been reduced to nothing but scorched ash.
Using his newly acquired Divine Protection of Fla Steel, Reinhardt had burned her away completely. Without being able to use Reid Battle dragged longer than it was supposed to be, however OD Laguna granted him a new Divine Protection to kill Elsa.
He quickly chased after Subaru.
The mont he arrived at the scene where Emilia stood—beside the corpse of Natsuki Subaru—Reinhardt's eyes widened in disbelief.
He stood frozen, staring.
At Subaru's body.
At the ice spear embedded deep in his chest.
At Emilia, standing silent beside him.
At Puck, hovering near her like a silent sentry.
The wind shifted, carrying the bitter stench of burning rubble.
And then—breaking the silence—Reinhardt's voice bood through the plaza.
"My daughter… has slain the Sin Archbishop of Pride… Natsuki Subaru!"
His voice was loud, proud, exalting her actions to the heavens.
But Reinhardt? Inside he... was unraveling.
His heart refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
'How could it end like this?' Reinhardt thought, clenching his fists tightly.
'This is the man who nearly destroyed Lugunica… the one who killed Julius, who slaughtered the knights, who twisted everything. How could he die… this easily?'
It didn't make sense.
He didn't want to believe it.
'Did I fail… again?'
Another failure.
Another villain he could not judge. Another monster he could not deliver divine justice to.
He was supposed to be the sword of the kingdom. The arbiter of righteousness. The one to strike down evil.
But once again, he had arrived too late.
The chance to deliver justice had been stolen from him.
And he hated it.
More than anything… he hated him.
He hated Natsuki Subaru.
Every fiber of his being scread for retribution, for judgnt, for blood.
But all he could do… was stare at the broken body on the ground.
And then… almost out of habit, Reinhardt activated one of his newly acquired Divine Protections—granted just days ago.
A Divine Protection that allowed him to commune, briefly, with the Od Laguna itself.
He asked it a single question:
'Is Natsuki Subaru… alive?'
The response ca instantly.
Yes.
Reinhardt's entire body went rigid.
His breath caught in his throat.
His fists trembled violently.
"W-What happened?" Emilia asked, watching his face twist into sothing she had never seen before.
It wasn't just shock.
It wasn't confusion.
It was pure, unfiltered hatred.
And then Reinhardt smiled—a grin he knew he shouldn't wear. One that felt wrong even to himself.
But it was there.
And when he spoke, it was with burning certainty.
"Lady Emilia," he began, voice low and dark, "Natsuki Subaru—"
"—The Cardinal of the Witch Cult… Sin Archbishop of Pride—"
"—is alive."
To be continued...
(A/N: I just want to make your anticipation grow so I uploaded this teaser chapter.
I know so of you might be cursing , but well, I will upload chaps next week at minimum, or next to next week at maximum(Hope not get sick, pray to jesus and allah for my well being, of course not ntion our cute Lord Vishnu or innocent Mahadev, though you will be just praying to the GOD, hopefully not to fakers like Odin, Jade Emperor, Ra and seriously not to Zeus or Indra!)
Okay? I am doing this because... This is now my longest running fic.
Longer than Fate/Poseidon, in a few months no less.
Before when I did it for free, even now I am doing it for free for non-patreons, I won't change that, I am not going to ghost you like GhostlyZ.
But- I am not a full ti Author, till now I haven't been earning anything.
Now I am finally earning, maybe that's the reason I am still continuing this fic without loosing my passion, hard to lose it when you are on a paycheck.
But I can say till the end of Multiversal Arc, perhaps till the end of Re Zero Arc, I have enough inspiration and motivation, it will range from 200 chaps to 300 chaps(On Pacing), we are on 94th right now.
I have written over 1.5 million words, but for a single story? Nah, except for Fate/Poseidon which is not AI edited, I have worked in no fic harder than these, only Mushoku Tensei compares to it, and Fate/Poseidon had I worked harder.
So I am trying this to see if I get more patreons, I have et this month's quota. If we go by how cheap things are in India, I will have like 250 dollars for what you can buy in foreign(Not for India and not the real amount I have got is much less)
But yeah, thanks for your support! Don't mind if I try to make you chap hungry to squeeze the ones who can pay LMAO.
Anyway, you can end your chapter viewing and join the discord by this code:
Xb47VnFUpQ
Or you can listen to this interesting tidbit I have for you.
I know many of your are foreigners and I don't care how you view India or it's culture, it doesn't matters in the end, unless it is just stereotypes and other people's portrait, your experience is all that matters, even if it is bad.
Now, there is an animation movie called MahaAvatar Narshima(If you have watched it and ford your opinion, you can leave, I have no right to change your opinion unless you visit personally or are in India. Let's keep things professional)
It is fire here, just watched it, pretty good.
Of course it is because it follows the correct story of Hinduism, for others it is just a mythology(We believe Christianity is a mythology as well, so cannot bla you)
But if you are interested how is the God we Hindus pray is towards his devotees, and why we pray so devoutly despite many being highly educated and completely dismissive of other Polytheistic religions, you will realize when you see this movie.
Animation is Great for Indian cinema, cannot compare to Arican Animation or Japanese Ani, however story wise it is great.
Though if you don't know the context, you might think it is a PS3 ga that turns to mortal kombat by the end.
But here is the story.
There was a demon, an Asura, and he was like a big hater of the GOD, in Hinduism the only God out of all ones, have been rightfully called THE GOD is 'Lord Vishnu', there is Lord Shiva, but well they are the sa being, so it doesn't matters much in the end.
His brother was killed by Vishnu, because from the Cosmic Ocean(Galaxy), he kidnapped Goddess Earth, and Lord Vishnu took an Avatar(A boar) to save her and slay that demon.
To Avenge his brother, the Demon did an devout prayer, no rituals that you might think of. In fact the greatest prayer to God is, just to chant his na, he went to secluded forest and chanted Lord Brahma's na with a devout heart, if you don't eat or drink or move, you are considered most devout.
The rituals that Brahmins do are basically just an easier way to connect to God.
Now for those who don't know, Lord Brahma is the Creation God, he created the entire Universe, all dinsions, all realms, but no Hindu will pray to him, and that's a fact.
Because he has been cursed that no one will pray to him due to his arrogance, so whenever soone prays to him, he is actually very happy.
Now this demon prayed to him for months, disregarding wordly desires, while standing in one knee, with no food and water, finally Lord Brahma too happy with his prayer appeared in front of him.
He wanted to grant the demon a boon of his choice for his prayer(No Immortality and No Systems!)
The demon asked for the boon that he cannot be killed in night or day, neither on earth or sky(Heavens), neither by a living being or non-living being, neither by a weapon, tool or barehand.
Lord Brahma instantly understood that this Demon was going for world domination, but here Gods are bound by Karma that if soone prays to them devoutly, they have to answer his prayer(Not in this yug)
So he gave him the boon.
Then as expected the demon went on world conquer, he conquered hell, then the Heaven, and defeated the King of Gods aka Zeus' Indian brother, Indra and declared he is the GOD.
He started punishing everyone who didn't pray to him, now he had a son, nad 'Prahalad' and it just happened due to so circumstances(It is not just because plot dictates) he is a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
When his father learned that he punished his son to be sentenced to dead, however unable to bear to kill him at first, he decided to let him die by soone else's hands.
He tried to poison him, drown him, freeze him, stomp him, burn him(Yeah basically he got Subaru treatnt), but Prahalad was protected by Lord Vishnu who couldn't bear to see his cute devotee die unjustly.
So the king failed, Prahalad who was rely five years old and super smart and kind due to various reasons(Not just because plot dictates)
Now Prahalad considered himself unable to et Lord Vishnu, because he was a son of a Demon, and his father was like the Anti-Christ here, however he t Lord Vishnu when he called for his nad, when Lord Vishnu asked that he could ask for anything(Here Lord Vishnu can grant him immortality, he is just like that)
Prahalad asked for to see Lord Vishnu and that his faith never waves, so Lord Vishnu gave him the boon that he can see him in everything that he resides.
Lord Vishnu is Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotent for those who don't know, only Lord Shiva has the sa qualities(He is Lord Vishnu in a sense), while no other god has been said to be basically THE GOD.
So now Prahalad happy with the boon returned to his father, he said that he still loves his father(If it was , I would have shotgun aid at my father), and wants him to just give up his hatred for Lord Vishnu, he didn't need to pray to him and just beco a kind king.
But ofcourse our demon Lord who was at height of his arrogance couldn't accept that and when Prahalad said how Lord Vishnu is everywhere. He said that he had enough and will kill Prahalad himself, and if his God really loves him then co to et him in person and save him, he mockingly said, 'Is your Lord in this pillar?'
Next mont GOD was so enraged that he appeared in Narashima Avatar, a half-man half-lion, to protect Prahalad and destroy the demon, they had a fight(Because God can while destroy everything with will alone, if he does that then there will be no aning in existence) and took the demon on his lap.
Of course Lord Vishnu was bound by the boon, but at that ti it was evening, it was neither outside of the ho or inside it, the demon was on his lap, neither on land, nor in sky, Lord Narashima was not created by Lord Brahma, he wasn't a human or animal, nor a Deva.
His thod of killing were his claws, they weren't barehands, nor any weapons.
Claws aren't alive nor dead in typical sense.
So he ripped his gut apart and killed the Demon.
Even after that God was still enraged at the injustice his devotee has suffered, and his roar shook the world(Literally)
All the Gods(Demi-Gods or Devas) appeared, and tried to calm himself, but seeing his anger, his bloodly claws, they basically had no courage to go in front of him.
Even when gods requested King of heavens, he replied.
'Please do not make from King of Heavens to the one departed for the heavens' Indra-2025.
Even Lord Vishnu's wife gave up.
In the end depending upon the version that cos next.
Either Lord Shiva takes the Avatar of a Griffin like creature to calm him, or most famously Prahalad went to him and requested him to calm down.
Seeing Prahalad in front of him his anger vanished, and taking the kid on his lap he started licking his face(He is a lion), then he said, he loved Prahalad, who loved him without any greed, and blessed him.
He also told that his father(The Demon Lord) has been cleansed of all of his sins, after he killed him, and his soul won't suffer(Probably no eternal damnation, though he may have gone to hell for a few thousand years)
So yeah, that what it was about. If you like this story and curious about it, then this is an animation you can check it out!
If you didn't like it by the end(Then I cannot do anything, I won't force you to accept my culture or views, I just hope you can be broad minded and be dismissive of it, no hatred that's all)
If soone asked to pray to Jesus, I will go to church, if so asks my to say 'Allah' while with that particular hand sign, I will do it, because we pray to God, it doesn't matters how we pray in the end.
Because Lord Krishna has said.
"ONLY I AM THE GOD, I AM KNOWLEDGE, I AM FIRE, I AM WATER, I AM DEATH, I AM MUSIC, I AM KNOWLEDGE, I AM END, I AM THE BEGINNING, I AM IN EVERYONE..."
So I believe as long as you don't believe in Zeus, you are probably believing in God, and that's the sa God I pray to, and of course I will take a God who spends his life guiding everyone and protecting them, over the one that bangs so cow.)
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