Natsuki Subaru had stepped outside of the Mansion, his mind running over all of the loops he had restarted on this day, remembering every single thing that had happened.
All of the small mistakes that had led to his death or all of the things he needed to know in order for the day to go perfect.
This sudden change is so unnatural and out of nowhere that it makes him think, what exactly is the cause of this new change of events.
'Could it be the Witch cult? Perhaps something had changed that required Roswaal to let me know that something's wrong. No, he wouldn't be that generous. So what the hell is this change?' He paused his thoughts as he turned his attention to his true partner in crime. 'Echidna, any thoughts?'
"From your memories, there's nothing that should've indicated a threat was on its way. The only possible explanation is that the witch cult has done something to hide themselves until now."
'Maybe...but why now? Why on this loop?'
"Isn't that what makes this investigation fascinating."
Echidna had been losing interest for a while, having had her fun with the idea of having multiple possibilities allowed to her, all to achieve Natsuki Subaru's "perfect" loop.
This new threat that seems to be out of nowhere has ignited the greedy side of her that desires knowledge.
Subaru is aware Echidna's interest in this mystery, prompting him to ask:
'Did you have something to do with this?'
"That's very hurtful to assume that, Natsuki Subaru." She speaks in a hurt-like tone, to which Subaru knows damn well she's just teasing him. Echidna would eventually notice this which prompted her to say, "You really are too serious. No, I had nothing to do with this."
'...okay.'
As Subaru confirms this for himself and can tell she's telling the truth, he notices Garfiel suddenly jump high up from the forest as if he was getting away from something.
'What is he...?'
"Subaru-sama."
"Hm?" Subaru's train of thoughts were suddenly halted by a voice of a trusted maid. He turned to see the pink haired oni maid. "Ram."
"Have you gone to see Roswaal-sama?"
"Yes, we talked already."
"Good. It wouldn't be good to keep him waiting."
"Yes, I know." Subaru said, knowing that Ram is being nice as per Roswaal's request after the events of the Sanctuary...but he can also sense the hatred she has for him.
"If you don't mind me asking, is there a reason why you are out here?"
"...I'm investigating something." Subaru spoke with a slight hesitation, which was something the maid took note of.
"And what might that be, Subaru-sama?"
"..." Subaru remained silent but he did manage to turn the subject with, "...do you know why Garfiel went into the forest?"
"Because Reinhard was asked by Roswaal-sama to go and fetch you, which left Garfiel on his own. He probably wanted to be on his own in the forest, the only reminder of his home."
"Makes sense...so why is he running away?"
"??"
Ram turned towards the direction Subaru was looking to see Garfiel running out of the forest.
"Garfiel, what's the meaning of this?" Ram questioned.
"I just saw th't bastard out there...with th'princess 'n th'girl...and that merchant coward."
"What are you talking about?" Ram questioned once again as she was tempted to hit Garfiel's head. Subaru paid close attention to what was said, starting to see that this was probably the cause of the sudden change.
Although he was confused by the things he was saying, he had realized that he mentioned the word 'merchant'. This caused him to say:
"Wait, are you saying that...Otto is back?"
Garfiel turned towards Subaru, seeing him here. This made him angry as he started to think that he's being messed with after he encountered him in the woods.
He approached Subaru at a rapid pace before landing a punch on him.
"Stop messin' with me!"
As Subaru was sent flying a few feet back, Ram approached Garfiel to smack him in the head.
"What were you thinking, Garfiel?!"
"Th's fucker's messin' with me! He was in th'forest with th'princess!"
"If you're referring to Emilia-sama, she hasn't left her room."
"What?! Impossible! I know what I saw!"
"Perhaps you are tired and are hallucinating."
"I'm not th't tired!"
"Doesn't matter, apologize to Subaru-sama."
"Ha! Nice joke. Never gonna apologize t'th't piece of shit."
Ram gave him a sharp glare as she began to speak in a serious tone.
"You will apologize, Garfiel."
"It's fine, Ram." Subaru spoke in a blank expression as he slowly got back up. "He probably encountered a witch cultist if what he's saying's true."
"If that's the case, we should inform the Sword Saint—"
"I'll handle it."
Subaru spoke with a bit of determination, wanting to confront this new anomaly to have a plan for the next loop and the loop after that.
He walked into the forest without a care for his life, as he needed to disregard his life should he want a future where everyone was happy.
"If it is the witch cult, what will you do? Allow yourself to be killed?" Echidna asked, curious on how her partner would respond.
'I need information. Dying for the sake of dying won't help. I can throw away my life but I need it to be worth it, otherwise it'd be a waste of a life.'
"That is true, dying without gaining anything from it would be a waste of time. But I'm referring to how you will handle them? You aren't strong enough to fend for yourself. Perhaps having the Sword Saint by your side would've been the wiser choice."
'No. I don't want to risk losing possible information that could help in finding Gluttony.'
Although the goal is for Emilia to win the Royal Selection in order to get the blood of the dragon, a method that can help wake Rem from her slumber, finding Gluttony could also help in his quest in saving Rem.
Echidna knew this but didn't object to this since this could be interesting, if Natsuki Subaru found another way around Gluttony's effect.
While Subaru began to walk into the forest all alone, someone had grabbed his hand with a tight grip.
'Garfiel.'
He didn't have to turn around to know who was the one grabbing him.
"Yes, Garfiel?"
"Like hell I'm lettin' ya get in there all alone. I don't trust ya."
"..."
Subaru remained silent as he continued to look forward, not really caring if this loop he was trusted by Garfiel since he has a multitude of chances to win the boy's trust.
He just simply acknowledged that he wasn't trusted in this loop.
"What you said, who you saw, I need to see it for myself."
"Like hell I'll let ya!"
He prepared to harm Subaru, still thinking that he's messing with him only for Ram to gently place her hand on his shoulder.
"Garfiel, I won't ask again, let Subaru-sama go."
"..."
Garfiel was pissed by this since he knows full well what'll happen if he refuses to listen to Ram...again.
"Tsk. Yer lucky she's here, otherwise ya would be a dead man, Natsuki Subaru."
He let go of Subaru's hand and angrily started to walk back to the mansion, seeing that being there would only piss him off even more.
As he was leaving, Ram watched before turning her attention to Subaru.
"Subaru-sama. You shouldn't go alone."
"..." Subaru stayed standing as he continued to hear Ram speak.
"Roswaal-sama wouldn't be pleased if you died."
"...nobody cares."
"..."
Subaru started walking into the forest the moment he realized this was said, having made a mistake on saying this.
Although it shouldn't matter since this was a throwaway life, he knows that these kinds of mistakes shouldn't be made.
"That's the first time in a long while since you've slipped up."
'...'
Subaru didn't respond as he just continued to walk deeper into the forest, leaving Ram standing on her own.
While walking alone into the forest, Subaru paid close attention to his surroundings as he walked for a few minutes until he heard someone approaching him.
This prompted him to slowly have his guard up until he saw someone he didn't think he'd see.
"...Otto?"
"Hm?" The merchant looked up and saw someone he didn't expect to run into right away.
"Natsuki-san?"
"Did you call me, Otto?" Another Subaru popped up, having been right behind the merchant.
"Wait."
"Wait."
Both Subarus spoke in unison as they looked at each other.
'This is way earlier than I expected.' The Natsuki Subaru from a different world thought as...well it isn't usually this easy.
The first one was during the burning of the capital, the second one was helping the Otto of that world as well as the knights in infiltrating Purge King's castle, the other was by pure luck as Halibel was gracious enough to lead him and Ram to his counterpart, and the latest one was during a battle with the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.
To see this world's Subaru this early is very...nerve racking.
The two Natsuki Subarus approached each other as they were curious by how the other looked.
One was curious by how the other looked so...alive, so filled with life while the other was intrigued by how his counterpart was wearing a fancier attire than normally.
Much more than the servant attire he was wearing back in those first few months in Roswaal's mansion.
"This is..."
"...kinda trippy."
The two Subarus spoke as they were trying to see if they could get information from the other.
"This is all very fascinating." Echidna spoke with such interest in her voice, never thinking of the day where she could see another Natsuki Subaru, one that looked a lot more alive than her version.
Subaru noticed what she said but brushed it off for a moment as at first he suspected his counterpart wearing his old attire to be Capella since well she would pull some crap like this...but the issue is that she never saw him in his track suit attire.
He had stopped wearing it after the events of the Sanctuary, after the situation with Clind. This meant that if he wanted information from his counterpart, he would have to ask some questions.
"...what's your deal here? Why do you look like me?"
"Multiverse." Subaru said, hoping this word alone could help in clearing any misunderstandings.
"Intriguing." Although Echidna isn't aware of what the word means, she is linked with Subaru's thoughts which help give her context. "Other worlds with different outcomes."
'Yes, the multiverse. So many possibilities but if this version of me is telling the truth then...'
"Subaru...?"
Before he could finish his thought, someone had said this name, someone that did frighten him as well as caring for.
"Emilia...?"
The Natsuki Subaru of this world turned to look at Emilia, feeling so nostalgic since he hadn't seen her with her long hair and friendly aura in such a long time.
He does care for the Emilia of his world since he cares for those in the Mansion...but she's not the same Emilia that had saved his life in the very first loop.
This was something he blames himself, making him feel even more obligated to use his life as a tool in order to make up for leaving his Emilia in a broken state.
"We already have one doll, we don't need another one."
Echidna was not happy seeing that another Emilia existed, if anything having two silver haired half elves in the same world is much more cursed than anything else.
Though this anger would go away when she as well as Subaru noticed Beatrice, looking much lively and determined while going to the other Subaru's side to hold his hand.
"Beako...?"
"..."
Beatrice had a blank expression though she was very protective of her Subaru, already having encountered an evil Subaru.
"Two Beatrices in one world...I wonder how the other would react."
That is a question, something that even this world's Subaru was curious about.
"Are you two in a contract?"
"Yes." Subaru said in a serious tone, catching Subaru and Echidna's attention.
"...how did you—?"
Before he could finish his question, a sudden explosion could be heard off in the distance, catching everyone's attention.
"What was that?"
"...another reason to restart."
"Restart?" Otto questioned, finding that response very odd. Subaru caught on to this, which made him very hesitant that this version of him was sane.
'That kind of line isn't normal.'
The Natsuki Subaru of this world remained silent for a few seconds before making his way back to the mansion.
"Stay here. We will talk more on the next loop."
"Next loop? What are—?"
"Hold on, are you planning on just ending yourself? Just like that?!" Subaru questioned his counterpart, knowing that something's wrong.
Natsuki Subaru paused on his tracks before turning towards his counterpart.
"We will talk about all of this next time."
With that being said, Natsuki Subaru started to run towards the mansion, trying to take this chance to analyze everything that had just transpired.
'Another me with Otto, Emilia, and Beatrice...Is this some cruel joke?'
Natsuki Subaru could tell that his counterpart was aware of Return By Death by the simple fact that he knew what he was up to.
This helped tell that it was indeed Natsuki Subaru and not just Capella messing with him.
As he was approaching the location of the Mansion to see that it was damaged by Emilia as there was ice in some portions of the large building.
"Seems like the bitch couldn't keep herself in check."
'Echidna.'
Subaru hated that kind of talk towards Emilia yet the Witch of Greed didn't care for this. Her hatred towards Emilia is too much to keep in check.
He shook his head in disappointment before charging into the mansion, wanting to prevent Reinhard from killing Emilia, knowing that he would if she tried to kill him.
As he entered the building, he went up the stairs until he found the hallway where Reinhard was standing with a secondary sword while Emilia was slowly approaching him.
"Where's Subaru?"
"Emilia-sama, please calm down. I don't wish to cause any harm."
"Where. Is. My. Subaru.?"
Emilia's anger was causing the hallway to swiftly drop in temperature, causing Subaru to start freezing as he wasn't prepared for Emilia to lose control.
'I've got to stop this.'
"Emilia!"
"!"
Emilia and Reinhard both turned towards his direction, having heard him shouting the silver haired half elf's name.
"Subaru!"
Emilia spoke as she started to calm down, having her friendly aura coming back. Reinhard looked at Subaru with a blank expression.
"Subaru-sama, please forgive me. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"It's fine Rein...it's fine." Subaru slowly approached their position as he wanted to head towards his room first. Once he was close to their position, Emilia swiftly approached him.
"Subaru, why did you send Reinhard to my room? You could've come by."
"...Roswaal alerted me to a new problem I needed to check out."
Emilia tilted her head as she was looking at Subaru intensely, as if trying to see if he's lying. While she did this, Reinhard was concerned by what was said.
"Subaru-sama, what kind of problem were you alerted to?"
"...nothing dangerous, though something that might...make things complicated."
"How so?" Emilia asked, now curious about this 'problem'.
"It's nothing to bother you, Emilia-tan."
"..." The air started to intensify all of a sudden. Prompting Reinhard to grab Subaru and get in front of him. "Subaru, are you hiding something from me?"
"Stand back, Subaru-sama."
"...Emilia, why are you thinking that? I'm just being honest that it's not a life or death kind of problem. It's just a problem that is...kinda hard to explain."
Emilia noticed what Subaru had said, prompting her to calm down a bit as she wanted an explanation of this problem.
"Coooome on, Subaru. Tell me what the problem is."
"Annoying bitch."
'Echidna, insulting her isn't helping me at all.' Subaru instinctively responded to what she had said in his mind before turning towards Emilia, a bit flustered by how she suddenly appeared right close to his face.
"E-Emilia-tan! Too close!"
"Tell meeeee."
"I would also like to know as well." Reinhard added, curious to know what kind of problem Subaru is talking about. He took notice of this, prompting him to quickly say:
"I will tell you all...after I go to my room. I need to grab something."
Emilia didn't like this and wanted to know what the problem Subaru was talking about. Before she could say something, he spoke before her.
"I will tell you after I leave my room."
"...do you promise?"
"I promise."
With that, Emilia allowed Subaru to walk towards his room.
Reinhard didn't move or say anything but understood that something was in Subaru's room that was possibly needed.
The moment Subaru entered his room, he gently closed the door to not alert either the Sword Saint or the royal candidate before quickly going to grab his knife.
"Planning on a restart?"
'Yes. I needed to know why things went off and well...I need to make sure that I have everything under control before talking to my counterpart.'
"Then I'm curious, why lie to that half-devil?"
'...I technically didn't lie. In the next loop, I'll let her and the others know of the situation.'
"Is that wise? You don't know why the other Natsuki Subaru is here." Echidna questioned, as she wanted to know the other Subaru's motives.
As per their contract, she would help her Subaru in getting the perfect future for everyone.
If this new Natsuki Subaru threatens this, then she would be breaking a contract, something forbidden even for a witch.
That was one minimal reason, but another is to see what information this new Natsuki Subaru can give her.
Could he be someone worthy of loving, someone that could make her feel love.
Subaru had paused when hearing this, seeing that Echidna had a point...though he would have to deal with that in the next loop.
He held his knife right on his throat and without hesitation, he stabbed his throat in order to start the process of restarting this loop.
Although he hated doing this as well as hating the pain that comes to it, at this point he just doesn't care.
Death doesn't frighten him as he needed to die if he wanted others to live. While he was dying, he used this time to think on his plan for the next loop.
'If I start where I always do, I'll need to skip my usual routine and go to Emilia's room. I don't want her worrying about me. I'll also need to get to Garfiel and prevent him from encountering my counterpart. I want to avoid him telling others and causing unnecessary concern. I'll also need to speak with Roswaal unless I want to make Ram mad. And...I need to see Rem. So many things to do, such little time.'
With everything set, he allowed himself to finally die with an idea of things he'll need to deal with first before encountering his counterpart, Natsuki Subaru.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As everything seemed to reset, Subaru looked around the area to see that his checkpoint was set right after he had talked with Otto, Emilia, and Beatrice in regards to the other worlds.
'Okay. So the other me must've ended up dying by either his hands or by whatever caused the explosion.'
"What's wrong, Natsuki-san?" Otto asked, having noticed Subaru stop on his tracks all of a sudden. Subaru turned towards his best friend for a moment, confused before realizing that they were starting their walk towards the Mansion.
"Sorry, something was on my mind for a moment. Let's get going."
Otto, Emilia, and Beatrice all looked at one another, a bit worried by the way Subaru had responded. As they follow behind him, Subaru couldn't help but think that something's off with his counterpart.
'He seems...so dead inside. He wears a more professional attire, which isn't a bad thing but that crystal. It felt...off.'
The dark crystal was something that had taken the boy's mind for a bit, having felt such an odd intense aura from it for some reason.
As he was stuck on this thought for a bit, he continued to walk until suddenly a tree appeared right in front of him.
"Huh?"
Subaru paused himself for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Beatrice questioned, having noticed her contractor suddenly being confused by something and halting.
"Are you okay, Subaru?" Emilia added as she was worried for her knight's sake.
"...sorry, I was deep in thought."
"Deep in thought in a few seconds?" Otto questioned, a bit uncertain that Subaru could achieve this after he told them that he will lead. Subaru was silent for a second before turning towards Otto to answer his question,
"Yeah, I'm just that good."
"Hm. Right."
Otto doubted this but could see that Subaru is still his usual self. Emilia and Beatrice both notice this, prompting Beatrice to sigh.
"You are hopeless, I suppose."
"Sorry to worry you guys."
"Just try to stay focused, Natsuki-san. We don't know what dangers lie ah—"
And before Otto could finish, Subaru was suddenly looking at the tree in front of him again.
'What the?!'
Subaru paused on his tracks, catching the attention of his friends.
"Subaru, is everything okay?" Emilia asked, noticing that her knight suddenly looked confused. Subaru didn't respond since this was the third time he had looped from the looks of it, the first one being more concrete and these last two being out of nowhere as well as at different times.
'What the hell is my counterpart doing?!'
Understanding now that his counterpart is up to something, he needs to quickly get to him before he loops again. He turns towards Emilia to tell her:
"Sorry but I have a bad feeling all of a sudden. We need to go."
Beatrice, Emilia, and Otto noticed that Subaru sounded like something's wrong, prompting them to be on guard as they followed him into the forest.
While deep in the forest, Subaru started to think deep into his thoughts, hoping that a memory of his counterpart could help him in figuring out what's the deal with this world's Natsuki Subaru.
As he was running for a minute, he suddenly found himself back in the same area once again.
'Again?!'
This happened a multitude of times, each at different points. Sometimes it was within two minutes, others would be ten minutes after the loop, and the rare times it was fifteen minutes.
This left Subaru frustrated since well he's just repeating the same events with no rhyme or reason.
'This is pissing me off.'
Subaru stopped in place as Emilia, Otto, and Beatrice had noticed him being frustrated.
"What's wrong?" Emilia asked, knowing that something's bothering her knight.
Subaru looked down for a moment before turning towards Emilia, feeling somewhat calm whenever he saw her face.
"Sorry, I'm just angry at my other self."
"Which one?" Otto asked, thinking that perhaps going over the other versions of Natsuki Subaru had made his version to get angry at them once again. Subaru turned towards his best friend to respond with:
"This one."
"Wait but we haven't seen him yet." Beatrice questioned, curious to know why Subaru suddenly changed into disliking this Natsuki Subaru when they haven't even seen him yet.
He looked at his contracted spirit for a moment before looking up at the sky.
"Let's just say I've gotten a glimpse of him...and I hate it."
"A glimpse?" Otto questioned, curious on what could've caused Subaru to dislike his counterpart of this world. This prompted the merchant to think of a variety of possibilities that could've led to this. Subaru looked at the sky as he thought to himself:
'What the hell kind of mess did you throw me in, watcher.'
As he said this, he suddenly had an intense headache.
"!"
"Subaru!" Emilia and Beatrice shouted in unison when they noticed him in sudden pain.
"Natsuki-san!" Otto shouted at the same time as Emilia and Beatrice, worried for his best friend.
Subaru was on his knee while moving his right hand towards the group.
"It's alright...just...give me a moment."
("—Piece of shit.")
("It's beyond you to be able to do everything alone, Garfiel.")
("...")
("—It's just that your luck was bad.")
'Garfiel...the great rabbit...that means—'
He stopped his thought process as he's starting to understand that this Natsuki Subaru never reached Otto's hand for help.
He got up as if nothing happened before turning towards the direction where the mansion's located while telling Emilia, Otto, and Beatrice:
"We have to go."
"Wait but what about you? Are you sure you're okay, Natsuki-san?" Otto questioned first, having recognized this attitude his best friend was showing. Subaru was about to brush this off as 'he's fine' but that's the problem, he's not.
"...no, I'm not." He spoke honestly, not really wanting to hide anything from any of them. "This me, from what I see, chose to fight all alone. Something you had helped me in overcoming, Otto."
He patted Otto in the shoulder before turning towards the direction of the mansion.
"We should get going, together we will knock some sense into this version of me."
Otto understood what Subaru was referring to when he said this, making him smile with confidence before walking right next to Subaru. Beatrice and Emilia also approached Subaru with Beatrice grabbing onto his left hand while Emilia walked right by Subaru's left side.
Although Subaru was worried that he was about to loop once again, he and his group had finally managed to reach the mansion.
'Okay, seems like he didn't loop again.'
As he was thinking this, he realized that they didn't encounter Garfiel...hell, there isn't anybody around.
"You sensed it too." Otto questioned, seeing that Subaru and he had noticed something was off.
"Yeah..." Subaru turned towards Emilia and Beatrice. "Be on your guard, I don't trust this."
The two girls nodded at him, understanding the situation before having their guards up. As they walked slowly towards the mansion before they all entered with their guards up. Once inside, Subaru looked around until he spotted his counterpart up on the second floor.
"Took you long enough." The Natsuki Subaru of this world said as he was watching them.
His attention was directed towards Otto, having been so long since he's seen him. The merchant noticed this, feeling a bit off by the look he was getting.
"Natsuki-san?" He asked his version of Natsuki Subaru, wanting to know what's the move now. Subaru had taken note of what his best friend had said.
He was about to complain to his counterpart in regards to the looping situation...but since everyone else was there, he decided to say instead:
"Where is everyone?"
"Who are you referring to?"
"Emilia of this world, Beatrice, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Otto, hell even that smug Roswaal. Where's everyone?"
"..." Natsuki Subaru remained silent as he just made his way down towards the first floor where his counterpart's located.
This silence was something Subaru as well as Emilia, Beatrice, and Otto didn't like.
This caused them to all be on guard, especially by the way this Natsuki Subaru was approaching them. He noticed this, prompting him to say:
"I'm not going to harm any of you. I just want to talk."
"All alone?" Otto asked, finding this too peaceful.
Natsuki Subaru turned towards him, hiding the pain it causes him when someone like Otto Suwen distrusts him.
"I understand that things seem suspicious but trust me, I just want to know why you are all here." He turned his attention towards Subaru now. "Especially you."
"..."
"Two Natsuki Subarus can't be possible."
"I'd assume that two of Emilia, two of Beako, and two of Otto wouldn't be possible either, right?"
"...yes." Natsuki Subaru said this as he had a brief look at Emilia before turning towards Subaru once again. Subaru and Otto were the first two to notice this, immediately thinking that perhaps something happened to Emilia in this world.
The two nodded at each other before turning towards Natsuki Subaru with Otto Suwen speaking:
"Shall we speak in a more appropriate setting?"
"..." Natsuki Subaru remained silent before turning towards his left side. "Ram."
The four were alerted by this, prompting them to turn towards their right side to see the pink haired oni maid walking out of the shadows and into the light.
"Ram." Subaru was caught off guard when seeing her again, having been a while since he's seen a version of her. Ram looked at Subaru and his group, giving a surprise expression for two seconds before reverting it to a blank one.
"You weren't lying when you said there was another you traveling around with another Emilia-sama, Beatrice-sama, and some merchant."
"Hey!" Otto was somewhat hurt by this...then again, Ram acting like well Ram was just normal. Ram turned towards her world's Natsuki Subaru to ask him:
"Would you like to take them to the dining hall, Subaru-sama?"
"Subaru-sama?" Subaru, Emilia, Beatrice, and Otto were all completely taken aback from this. They don't remember Ram ever saying Subaru's name, hell they know for damn sure that she would never use the honorifics on him.
Subaru turned towards his counterpart to question him.
"What the hell is the meaning of this?"
"What?"
"She would never call us by our own name, let alone the honorifics."
"Because Ram was rude in the past, ignorance and discourtesy that caused great inconveniences to Natsuki Subaru-sama."
"Bullshit." Subaru said in response to what Ram had said. "I don't believe a single bit of what you said, Ram."
Although it wouldn't be noticed by most, Otto and Subaru could tell that Ram was taken aback by what the boy had said.
Because of what she said brought a lot of red flags for the boy, he turned towards his counterpart to ask him:
"Tell me, where is everyone else?"
Subaru was about to go and approach his counterpart after saying this only for Ram to get in between the two.
"You will not harm Subaru-sama." She said this with a sharp tone, as if she was ready to kill him at any given moment. Beatrice noticed this and immediately moved her free hand towards the maid's direction.
"I suggest you think carefully of your next move, oni girl."
"..."
Ram turned her attention towards Beatrice, having noticed the threat the great spirit gave her as well as noticing how she's holding Subaru's hand.
This was also something Natsuki Subaru had noticed, prompting him to think of possible reasons for this to be the case...while also wishing that his world's Beatrice would be that close with him.
Subaru looked at Ram with a serious expression before saying to her:
"Please move."
"..."
Although it was serious, he was still being kind with Ram as he didn't sense her being evil or anything.
Ram just remained silent as she refused to move, having orders to protect Natsuki Subaru.
He noticed this and was about to say something to the pink haired oni maid only for Emilia to beat him to it:
"Ram, could you please allow Subaru to go talk with...Subaru?"
Ram looked at Emilia for a few seconds before turning back towards Subaru.
"Emilia-sama...it's been long since I've seen you like that."
"Hm? I don't understand what you mean." Emilia responded; a bit confused by this. Subaru knew that this response from Ram was the last red flag, meaning he needed to force his way past these two to check on the other Emilia camp members of this world.
He slightly tightens his grip on Beatrice's hand for only two seconds, alerting her of what he's about to do. She nodded and lowered her hand, not wanting to look hostile as Subaru says to Ram:
"I don't want to fight you Ram, but I need to know what happened here."
"What are you—"
"Emilia, Otto, I trust you two on your own. Just be careful."
"Understood." Emilia and Otto in unison said.
"What the hell are you planning?" Natsuki Subaru questioned. Subaru gave him a stare before gripping on Beatrice's hand one last time, alerting her that it's time.
"Shamak."
A sudden black smoke had surrounded the entire room, prompting Ram to pull out her wand to blow away the smoke.
As she manages to do this, she realizes that Subaru and Beatrice were gone while Otto and Emilia were standing right in front of her, both ready for a confrontation.
"Natsuki-san of this world, we don't want a fight but we will if you try and stop our Natsuki-san."
"..." Natsuki Subaru was silent when Otto said this. Ram turned her attention towards Emilia.
"I suggest you stand down, Emilia-sama. I will not go easy if you choose to act reckless."
"Ram, I don't wish to fight you. But I trust Subaru, I trust my knight."
Natsuki Subaru and Ram were both a bit caught off guard by Emilia's determination and serious tone as the silver haired half elf got herself ready for a fight.
"...this isn't how things were supposed to go." Natsuki Subaru whispered to himself, unhappy that things couldn't have been easy. He turned around while telling Ram: "Don't let them leave this area. Do what you have to do."
"Understood."
Ram nodded at Natsuki Subaru before turning towards Emilia, prompting a fight to break out between Ram and Emilia.
As Natsuki Subaru was about to go up the stairs onto the second floor, Otto got in front of him.
"I won't let you pass."
"...I don't wish to fight you Otto. Please. Move."
"I can't. I trust in Natsuki-san."
"That kinda hurts, you know."
"Huh?" Otto was a bit puzzled by this comment but he kept his guard up.
Natsuki Subaru looked him in the eyes, being the first time the two have truly looked eye to eye with the merchant taken aback.
"Those eyes...they look—"
"Dead, don't they? I'm not surprised you could see right through my fake expressions, then again you were always good at that."
"What are you—?"
"Why couldn't you trust me to do things alone?"
"...?"
Otto was a bit uncertain how to respond to the question being asked...which starts to make the merchant understand what might've happened between this Natsuki Subaru and the version of him from this world.
Before anything could be said, Natsuki Subaru charged at him, initiating a fight between the two.
"I hate this, I do...but you are in my way, Otto Suwen."
While this was going on, Subaru was running on the second floor while carrying Beatrice.
"Are you sure it was wise to go on the offensive, in fact?" Beatrice asked, a bit worried that this might've been too reckless.
"I know, it was a bit reckless but it'll pay off...I hope."
"*sigh*, my contractor is as hopeless as ever."
"Hehe."
Subaru just laughed this comment away as he trusted Otto and Emilia to handle themselves while he knows that Beatrice can protect them both.
As they were running around, Subaru tried to look for Rem first, having a feeling that she's still in the same place as the one in their world's mansion.
Right when he was on the door that led to Rem's room, Beatrice shouted Subaru's name.
"Subaru!"
"Hm!"
Subaru turned and noticed that someone was trying to punch him. Thanks to Beatrice's warning, he was able to just barely dodge the attack but in the process he fell on his back side while holding Beatrice in a way that avoids her getting hurt.
As he was on the ground, he and Beatrice looked to see Garfiel there, standing right in front of them.
"Garfiel."
"...I knew we shouldn't trust ya, annoyin' bastard!"
He tried to attack Subaru once again only for Beatrice to quickly cast another Shamak to give Subaru some time to get the two of them out of their current position.
Once he was able to do this, he set Beatrice down for a second.
"Stay here for a second."
He says this before turning towards where Garfiel was located and preparing to fight, knowing that he'll need to get through him if he wants to reach Rem.
Once the smoke had faded, Garfiel looked at him with anger and hatred.
"Yer gonna die here."
"I won't. Not by you, at least."
Garfiel and Subaru were about to start a very short fight in hindsight only for a sudden icicle looking attack to easily cut off Garfiel's left arm.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Both of them as well as Beatrice were caught off guard by this random attack, prompting them to turn towards the one that shot the icicle.
Garfiel was afraid since he instantly knew he was fucked,
"Shit."
If he wasn't in any danger before, he is now.
Subaru and Beatrice both immediately recognized who this person was, having silver hair that is short in this iteration, purple-blue eyes, and pointy ears.
"Emilia..."
This was the Emilia from this world. She looked exactly as the second to last loop of the Sanctuary, the kiss of death loop. Subaru was afraid of this because it can only mean one thing...
'She didn't overcome her past.'