A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 682 - Part 46

This naturally led to the start of a violent conflict, in which neither side was willing to surrender or negotiate, and although Roswaal seemed to have the balance tipped in his favor, it was also true that the conspirators' side did not need to win to achieve their goal.

No, they only had to destroy the Gospel. This was much simpler and only required exhausting or distracting the magician long enough to take the book from him.

Returning to Emilia, she finally came to her senses and decided it wasn't the time to ask questions. She knew Roswaal had been acting suspiciously and had even witnessed his tense exchange with Leandro, during which the dark-haired man nearly accused him. Therefore, Emilia didn't hesitate and joined the conspiracy.

Roswaal had sensed Emilia's presence, but he hadn't expected her to act so quickly and so drastically. Suddenly, a shower of icicles rained down on him, catching him almost completely off guard and injuring him.

"Lady Emilia?!" Rem and Ram shouted in unison, looking at the half-elf in surprise.

"I have no idea what's going on, but I want to help, so count me in!" She exclaimed with determination, eliciting a smile from the elderly Ryuzu, a look of respect from Rem and Ram, and an admiring 'fuck yeah' from Garfiel.

"Wow, who would have thought..."

The magician didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The fragile and naive doll, always so dependent and easily manipulated, had become a capable pawn: another danger to be reckoned with.

"After all, it seems I was still underestimating your ability to influence them, Leandro." He muttered bitterly. "However, this is as far as the little rebellion you've orchestrated can go. Your avaricious mindset is a big flaw, and I'll do whatever it takes to convince you of that. Even if I have to bring this world to its end..."

Despite his declaration, Roswaal was slowly but surely cornered due to the balance shift caused by Emilia's reinforcement for the enemy side; another consequence in that domino effect was that the sorcerer's magical reserves were depleted much sooner than anticipated, making him truly vulnerable for the first time.

This was not lost on the conspirators, who had already prepared several tactics for this moment. With a coordinated effort, they synchronized their actions to force Roswaal to defend himself against a barrage of spells that came from the front, while Rem (with her horn activated) and Garfiel launched themselves at him from different flanks.

Roswaal tried to shield himself with a double barrier of ice and earth while neutralizing the incoming spells, but Rem and Garfiel's strength was enough to break through his defenses. Roswaal dodged them at the last moment by leaping into the air with wind magic, but he hadn't counted on Ram waiting for him. She came up behind him and delivered a kick that sent him crashing to the ground.

The pink-haired woman had to use all her latent demonic power to execute the move effectively, so she collapsed to the ground, exhausted, almost at the same time as Roswaal. The sorcerer rolled across the snow and got up a few seconds later: the attack only stunned him for a moment, which didn't surprise him, since his faithful Ram would never try to seriously harm him, even under those circumstances.

But then, Roswaal discovered that something was missing.

"The Gospel..."

The book of wisdom, the precious gift from her teacher, was no longer there.

Roswaal hadn't planned to move on with his life, at least not with that version of it. But even though he had resolved to leave everything in the hands of his next self, he couldn't help but feel empty and alienated when the only thing he cared about in the world was taken from him.