Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Tree on the Hill

Reinhard van Astrea was thirteen years old when he first encountered the Pleiades.

He never expected it to happen, it just did. And on a mission, no less.

Out in the open fields of the Lifaus Highway, where a large tree could be seen in the distance, two individuals were sent to investigate the tree, and, if need be, eliminate it.

Those two happened to be the former Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea, the grandmother, and Reinhard van Astrea, the grandson, and the new Sword Saint of eight years.

Even now, he still vividly remembered the week his grandmother went on a subjugation quest to end the Iron Whale. He was suddenly granted the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint while she was gone, and his grandfather instantly blamed him for his grandmother's assumed death.

Only, she didn't die.

A few days later, she returned home, only to walk in on her husband hitting her grandchild, and immediately came to Reinhard's defense, and screamed at Wilhelm to leave.

When asked what happened on the expedition, all she could say was "the White."

Reinhard snapped out of his thoughts when he nearly tripped over a vine. In fact, now that he looked around the area, he saw that several vines were covering the grassy fields.

All of them leading up to one giant and twisted tree.

"Grandmother, it would seem that we have arrived."

"I agree," the redheaded woman said. "The vines around here seem to be getting bigger and coming from the tree. Stay close to me, we don't know what we're dealing with."

"I understand. I'll follow your lead, Grandmother."

The two arrive at Flugel's Tree, or what used to be Flugel's Tree.

Gone was the brown trunk, it was now completely green. The body of the tree twisted towards the top, as if multiple vines were trying to form the trunk. The only thing that remained the same were the leaves, but even now, they were bearing red, and most likely, poisonous fruit.

At least, that's what the reports that came in last week claimed.

"What could have done this?" the younger redhead asked.

"The Pleiades. That thing must have applied its influence on the tree."

"It truly is a monster beyond our comprehension."

"Mm. If it's as far gone as I think it is, we might have to take action."

"Do we know what the Pleiades wants?" Reinhard asked.

"No. Since it arrived in our world four centuries ago, all it has caused is chaos, and spawned monsters. It is a creature beyond our comprehension," Theresia said.

"And what of the Cult?" he asked

"They're all completely insane to even think of coming near the Pleiades voluntarily," Theresia spat. "All of them, from the lowliest cultist, to the Nine Colors themselves."

"Nine Colors? I heard of them through rumors, but I was never informed regarding them."

"What have they been teaching you…? The Nine Colors are the highest of the Pleiades Cultists," the former Sword Saint explained. "Each one representing a different color, and each one of them having some unholy power, rumored to be granted by the Pleiades itself."

"I see…" the redhead contemplated. "I assumed the Great Sage and Divine Dragon would have already done something regarding Pleiades. I cannot help but wonder why they do not act."

"They do what they can. It's said that they keep the Pleiades itself in check, so they can't deal with the monsters it spawns. That's where we come in," his grandmother spoke.

"Wait... spawns?" Reinahard looked at his grandmother, confused.

"Some of them appear out of thin air, some are horrible mutations of already existing creatures, but all of them are unnatural, just like this tree," she said, pointing at the abomination.

Reinhard eyed the tree in shock. "How could... such a thing exist?"

"You'll have to be more specific," the grandmother spoke.

"The Pleiades," he clarified. "It comes to our world out of nowhere, takes the minds of people and twists them to its will, and creates monsters to terrorize the world for seemingly no reason."

"I don't know. Perhaps it's some sort of malevolent god. Or it's the incarnation of all evil. But what matters is that it's real, and we have to defend our world and those we care for against it."

The two knights proceeded to get closer and closer to the tree, and saw that a giant flower, with a white, yellow and orange, almost flesh-like, coloration was adorning the top of the trunk.

"Strange. Flowers don't usually grow on trees, especially ones of this size."

RRRRR…

"Huh?"

SQUELCH…

The flower suddenly opened up, revealing a giant red eye staring down on them.

"REEEEE!!!"

Theresia and Reinhard were startled for a second by the massive crimson eye, before grabbing the hilts of their blades, ready to attack the tree at a moment's notice.

THWIP!

THWIP!

THWIP!

In an instant, several vines came to life, and lunged towards the two knights.

"DODGE!!!"

BOOM!!!

Both Reinhard and Theresia jumped out of the way before getting hit. Reinhard drew out a spare blade he started carrying with him in case he couldn't access the Dragon Sword, whilst Theresia drew out her own sword, ready to attack the monstrous plant.

"AIM FOR THE EYE!!!" Theresia yelled.

In a flash, Reinhard was able to dash out of the way of the incoming vines, leap up towards the height of the eye, using the sword to slice right through it with no difficulty.

SLASH!

As Reinhard backed away, the purple blood stopped spilling, and…

RRRRR…

a white pus appeared, healing the eye, and completely regenerating it.

"Ugh, disgusting," the older woman groaned.

The vines attacked the two once more, the vines aiming for the younger Astrea –

"REINHARD!"

…Theresia pushed her grandson out of the way, getting tied up in the process.

"Grandmother!" the young Sword Saint yelled. Feeling frustrated that his grandmother was caught, Reinhard dashed right towards the plant monster, carefully building up enough mana in his sword to do substantial damage, but not enough to break the sword itself.

BWAAAAA…

Theresia grunted in anger, as she squirmed while the vines wrapped around her body.

"Get… off me!"

BOOOM!!!

Reinhard then unleashed his attack on the plant monster, making sure he didn't damage the former Flugel's Tree or his Grandmother. The monster, recoiling from the attack, had let go of Theresia and Reinhard managed to catch her in the air, with her chewing, "That's my grandson!"

The two of them landed back safely on the ground, analyzing the situation.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Reinhard said, before looking back at the tree. "Is it dead?"

Thereisa opened her mouth, but a different voice spoke.

"It'll take more than that to kill it."

"What?! Can it speak?!" Reinhard gasped.

"Um, over here, actually," a second voice said, one higher than the other.

Theresia and Reinhard turned away from the tree to see that two new individuals had shown up.

One of them was a tall woman, presumably a giant, with purple hair in a black dress, and the other woman appeared to be a human with pink hair in a white dress and green scarf.

"Oh, my apologies," Reinhard bowed at his presumed rudeness.

Theresia, however, looked like she just saw a ghost.

"Reinhard…" she said, her voice grim. "Stay away from them."

"Grandmother?"

"They're two of the Nine Colors."

"The Nine Colors...?" the purple-haired giant yawned, her voice deep and clearly bored. "How dull of a name... you knights couldn't have... made it more creative? Or was it Satella…?"

"Still… we should introduce ourselves…" the pink-haired woman nervously said, as she politely bowed. "I'm Carmilla the Pink, and this is Sekhmet the Blue. Nice to meet you."

"What business do you have here?" Reinhard asked.

"We can't let you destroy the Demon Seed," Sekhmet said. "The Pleiades has plans for it."

"The Demon Seed?" the redheaded child repeated. "You mean the tree?"

"Mm-hm," Carmilla nodded. "The Pleiades has left a part of his essence within that tree."

"All the more reason to destroy it," Theresia hissed.

"Leave, or we'll destroy you," the purple-haired giant growled.

Reinhard put away his spare sword and successfully drew out the Dragon Sword, stunning everyone. "I apologize, but I have a mission to complete. Surrender, or be destroyed."

However, his grandmother has a differing thought.

"Reinhard, listen to me carefully. Take care of the tree, I'll distract these two."

"I'm sorry, Grandmother, but I'm afraid I cannot allow that. If they are strong enough to allow me to draw the Dragon Sword, then I cannot in good conscience allow you to face them," he said, remaining where he was. "I have a plan, but you must get to a safe distance."

The older woman analyzed her situation. She was unable to beat one of the Colors back when she had her Divine Protection, and she sure as hell couldn't beat two of them now. It pained her to leave her grandson alone, but she had no choice in the matter. Eventually, she relented.

"Fine. But the tree takes priority."

"I understand," he nodded. "It will not see another sunrise. I promise."

Theresia nodded, as she leapt away from her grandson, who was ready to face off against the two Colors. She just prayed that this plan of his would succeed, whatever it was.

I need to stall for time for Grandmother to reach the ground dragons and get away, and allow me to charge up enough mana I need to obliterate this so-called "Demon Seed", the young Sword Saint thought to himself. I need to talk to them, distract them, for the time being.

"Tell me, why are you following the Pleiades?" he asked the two women, hoping to get them talking. "Do you not realize the damage it and your cohorts have wrought upon this world?"

"The Black follows the Pleiades, we follow the Black," Sekhmet said. "Simple as that."

"I assume the Black is your leader then," Reinhard stated.

"Mm," Carmilla nodded. "She was the first follower."

"Then why? What does Pleiades want? What is the purpose of all this chaos and destruction?"

"The Pleiades is trapped, begging for release, to be free in our mortal plane," Sekhmet said.

"And? What will it do should it arrive here? And how does this allow it to be free?"

"Every creation such as the Tree of Dreams is another step closer to the Pleiades succeeding," the Blue answered. "When he arrives, the Black, and all those like her shall be loved."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow at that. "Loved?"

"Each and every one of us has been rejected by the world for something out of our control. Our powers, our race, our appearances," the Pink said. "The Pleiades accepts all."

"I can't imagine that someone like you would understand us," the purple-haired giant of a woman scowled. "You are loved by the world. We can both feel it."

Reinhard was silent for a moment before speaking with conviction. "You're right. I have this power… and maybe I don't deserve it… but I'll do my best to use it to help others!"

"Strange…" Carmilla hummed. "You are loved by the world... yet rejected by its people."

"Oh? How do you figure?"

"I can see it in your eyes," the woman said. "The fear of being viewed as a monster. Your Grandmother does not look at you that way... then why? Why is there pain in your eyes?"

"Hmm…" Reinhard was silent for a moment, thinking over his answer. "Maybe it's because I stole her power? Maybe it's because the Dragon Kingdom sees me as a weapon? Maybe it's because I'm blamed for my mother's condition? I honestly can't tell you why."

"They turned a teenage boy… into a weapon…?" Sekhemt asked, her magenta eye betraying her complete disgust. "And you wonder why we do… what we do..."

"I may have been forced into this position, but I stay in it day after day out of my own free will," the young Sword Saint said, his eyes determined. "AND THAT WON'T CHANGE!!!"

BWAAAAA…

The hum was getting louder. The necessary time had passed, and Reinhard now held his sword straight up, unleashing a blinding light from the blade, which soon engulfed the entire sky.

"NO!" Sekhmet yelled, realizing that they had been tricked. "UNSEEN HAND!!!"

But it was too late, nothing she could do could stop the Sword Saint.

Soon, Reinhard swung the sword down, obliterating the tree and the monster in an instant.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

The light was so bright, that Reinhard couldn't tell if the two Colors had fled or if they were destroyed. However, he did see something dark coming from the tree.

If he was being frank, Reinhard was unsure what had happened after he destroyed the tree. Perhaps he passed out from the sheer power he unleashed. Or perhaps he had knocked himself unconscious. That would certainly explain the change in scenery.

It was all… gray. With a mix of a sad green and purple, along with a small hint of black. Honestly, he felt bad for anyone who would call such a plane of existence home.

But what made it worse was the fact that something was there along with him. Whether it spawned a portal, or it was always there, he was unsure, but it was there.

And whatever it was, it was straight out of his worst nightmares.

The first thing he noticed was that its "main body" was… a mass of tentacles, all of them pitch black. It was hard to tell how many of them there were because of how they all seemed to merge with one another, but Reinhard was able to count about fourteen of them at any given time. On top of the tentacles was a… a cloak? Whatever it was, it was a piece of cloth that split off into four of its own pieces, like a dress… that was made from the night sky itself.

He could see the stars themselves inside its clothes.

The rest of its body was a nightmare, too. Behind the tentacles and "clothes" were four, black wings, like those of a sharp butterfly, with… eyes. He didn't know if they were simply patterns or of those were four massive eyes on the four wings staring at him, but he was leaning more on the latter, as its "head" was some sort of broken arc with a star in the center of a black void.

It had been quite a long time since he felt fear.

However, the next thing that would happen… would surprise him for quite a long time.

"Oh, come the fuck on! Seriously?! I was so close to making some progress, and now it's all gone!" the creature of stars of nightmares shouted, visibly upset.

This made Reinhard confused, and made him do something risky.

He spoke up, drawing its attention.

"I'm sorry… who are you?"

"I would tell you, but you can't understand me, so what's the point?"

"No, I can understand you," Reinhard said.

The creature stared at Reinhard. "Wait… you can understand what I'm saying? You're not hearing gibberish of some shit that makes you wanna bow down or something?"

"No…? Why? Should I?"

The being of pure madness remained motionless for a few seconds, until –

"Fucking finally! Four hundred years! Do you have any idea what it's like?! No one has been able to understand me for four damn centuries! Everyone else hears what I assume to be random nonsense that makes whatever they want to hear, and I don't know how to fix it!"

In an instant, the creature shrank down. Gone was the giant abomination, now replaced with an abomination around his height. If it weren't for the fact that it still consisted of black tentacles and those other unpleasant features, Reinhard would have almost called it normal-looking.

It also helped that it was several centimeters shorter than Reinhard.

"Uh… Should I know you?" Reinhard asked.

"Oh, right," the creature of black fire said, as it suddenly… pointed a tentacle into the air? Was it striking a pose? "My name is Subaru Natsuki! I was originally a human, until I got summoned to this world as... this… and I've been trying to get my old body back ever since! Nice to meet you!"

What? Reinhard asked for clarification. "This…?"

"This shadowy abomination I've been stuck as. Sure, I'm super strong with it, but I can't hold a decent conversation, and people around just start worshiping me for no reason! Like, I don't wanna be worshiped! It feels weird, and not in a good way!"

"Wait…" Reinhard finally put two and two together. "You're the Pleiades?!"

"Yeah, that is what they call me, all right. "Pleiades" is actually just my real name in another language, so I guess "Subaru" didn't translate well," Subaru explained.

"You look so… different." Reinhard said. Well, at least compared to all the stories.

"Really? What were you expecting?"

"Some sort of multi-formed, genetically diverse, gender fluid being that had so many colors on it, that my mind would break from the sensory overload," he answered honestly.

"That's... rather strange and specific."

"I mean, it was either that, or some multi-armed mass of shadows," Reinhard said. That one was actually Julius' personal theory, but now, he wasn't sure who was closer to being right.

"That's fair. Anyways, forgot to ask. Who are you?"

It was then the knight realized he hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Reinhard van Astrea, from the line of Master Swordsmen, and the current Sword Saint of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica."

"Oh, you must be Reid's descendant then! I'm sure he'll love to meet you."

That threw Reinhard for a loop.

"He's… still alive?"

"Yep, he kinda faked his death, became immortal, and came to live with us. He's not a cultist, he just lays around all day drinking. He's also the reason we don't have any alcohol... like, ever."

The young knight was unsure of how to process such a revelation.

"But enough about that," the Pleiades… no, Subaru said. "If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer. I'm just so glad I can hold a conversation, if I'm being honest."

Well, I might as well ask some questions while I'm here, Reinhard thought.

Subaru's goals would be as good a place to start as any.

"What… exactly is it you want?"

"Simple. I just want my old body back. I don't wanna be worshiped, I don't wanna rule or destroy the world, and I don't wanna be the all powerful Demon Lord or some shit," the living mass of black tentacles, butterfly wings, and stars said. "I just wanna be normal again."

"I see…"

"Here, take a seat as I weave my tale," Subaru said, patting the ground next to him. "Just a warning, this is gonna take twenty hours long, and I prefer to tell it in five minute intervals."

"Okay…?" Reinhard said, as he sat down next to him.

"So, it all started back in my world. Yes, I'm from another world. I was just a regular guy like anyone else, then boom! I'm teleported to a new world, and I thought I was gonna be the main character with awesome powers, like in... some books I read... turns out I was half-right."

"You… were turned into a horrible monster?"

"Bingo, right on the money. I started out as a regular human with no powers. When I got to this world, I was suddenly this... thing." He gestured to himself. "I didn't know what I was, or what I could do, and whenever I tried to talk to someone, they almost always went mad."

"Almost always?"

"I'll get to that. Anyways, it wasn't long before I met who would become my first unwanted follower. Satella. Now, don't get me wrong. Satella is absolutely stunning and beautiful, and she's clearly very caring of others... but... I think my powers kinda broke her."

Reinhard remembered how Carmilla said that the first follower was… wait…

"This Satella lady… does she happen to be the Black?"

"Yep. She didn't go batshit insane like the rest, but she did become... obsessed with me. She became the leader of my Cult, and my first... ugh… "bride" Her idea, not mine."

"I'm sorry, your what now?"

"So, they think I need multiple brides or something to help me fully manifest into this world, and there about seven of them, and I think that they each kinda represent one of the Deadly Sins, or at the very least, that's what the Cult is trying to do, and… Why are you looking at me like that?"

The young redhead was currently staring down the Pleiades in visible disgust.

"Please tell me you have at least kept your hands clean."

Reinhard could tell that if the Pleiades could sweat, he'd be drenched right now.

"Uh… Define "clean," Reinhard…?"

"If you had your way with them, I'm going to pummel you to the ground."

"Oh, that. No, if anything, they had their way with me."

"That does not fill me with confidence whatsoever."

"Imagine how I feel. I just wanted one wife, now I have seven of them to worry about! Well, I'm not sure if I should count Shaula. So… six? Hey, does a homunculus count?"

"Do I even want to know?" Reinhard groaned.

"You probably don't."

Reinhard rubbed his temple at the absurdity of the situation. "So… now what?"

"Well, maybe you could come back with me and act as a translator? I reeeaaally need one."

"I… already have an occupation."

"Well, I won't rip you away from your job, but seriously. If you could just pop into our "evil lair" and help me tell my followers what I actually think, I will be eternally grateful."

Reinhard mulled over his options. On the one hand, serving as the direct mouth of the Pleiades would potentially allow him to stop the Cult's machinations. However, doing such a thing could easily backfire. Aside from the fact that Lugunica would brand him a traitor if discovered, the cultists might not even believe him, and result in infighting within their ranks.

"I think I can do you one better," the young Sword Saint said.

"How so?"

"You wish to be free, correct?"

"Definitely. Though I still need to reign my Cult in."

"Then I shall do just that."

"Okay…?" Subaru looked confused. "You're not really explaining anything."

"I mean I will find a way to free you, Subaru," Reinhard said, standing up. "It may not be any time soon, but it will happen. You have my word as the Sword Saint that I will save you."

"How are you gonna do that? Even I haven't figured it out yet."

"I'm built differently."

"Well, if you can understand me, I'm not one to argue," Subaru said, also standing up. "As a condition, you need to come by my temple sometime and be a translator, please."

"Very well, but I'll have to do it in secret. I can't let the public find out."

"Eh, just ask to see if you can investigate my cult or something. We'll need a meet-up spot, and I can take you there. It doesn't need to be a whole thing, just once would be enough."

"Very well, then."

"Alright, I'll try to keep them restrained for the time being, and thanks for the help. When you're ready to meet with me in an official capacity, I have a spy-slash-sympathizer within the Kremaldy Forest near the Roswaal Manor. Ask for a boy named Garfiel Tinzel."

"Garfiel… I see… thank you."

"Alright, I'm out. Don't wanna freak my followers out from being gone for too long."

Reinhard nodded, as he smiled, "Good luck with your life!"

Subaru waved him off, before opening a black portal behind him and walked through, the portal closing up as soon as he was through. And then… the world began to break.

The gray and sad world around Reinhard began to break apart like a mirror, with white cracks appearing everywhere. He nodded to himself in understanding. Ah… so I was unconscious…

KRAAAAAK!!!

As Reinhard regained consciousness, he saw that the explosion he set off was still burning the land around him. Time had slowed down when he spoke to Subaru, it seemed. Truly fascinating.

"Reinhard? REINHARD!!!"

"Huh?" Opening his eyes a bit more, the redhead saw his… "Grandmother?"

"That was… incredible! I could see that explosion from where I was!"

"The explosion? Oh, right. Was the monster destroyed?"

"Completely turned to dust! Nice job!" she cheered, before her face shifted to a more serious expression. "However, it seems that the Colors escaped… no traces of any bodies…"

"I see…" Reinhard said, as he looked over the scorched area.

While he could see the burned stump that remained from the ex-Flugel's Tree, the Demon Seed, along with the charred earth all around him, there were no corpses to speak of.

Sekhmet the Blue and Carmilla the Pink had escaped.

"You look out of if," Theresia said. "Are you good?"

"Oh. Yes, I'm fine. I guess I put more mana into the attack than I intended."

"Alright," she said, extending her hand. "Ready to head home?"

Taking his grandmother's hand, Reinhard smiled "Indeed."

It was that day Reinhard learned the world's more terrifying monster… once used to be human.

Author's Note: Didn't expect a new story from me so soon, huh?

I was originally planning to post a reverse-iseakai story, but then, EternalWhisper went and posted a variant based on my first story, and I was so happy that I posted a suggestion that happened to be the Pleiades, and he went and did that one, too. So, I decided to pull out this story from storage (over two years in there) and post it first.

If anyone saw the comments I left on EternalWhisper's works, you'd notice that compared to them, the actual Pleiades looks nothing like I originally described. Despite that, I liked the new design so much more that I changed the whole thing. The following excerpt was what was originally written for when Reinhard first encountered him:

"The mass of… shadows? No, the way they moved, they were more like black flames. They moved and shifted, but maintained a relatively stable form. It was large, like a giant wearing armor, but with flames on its head. Anyone weaker would have been driven mad already.

"What... is that?" he asked himself.

While most of the color on this… thing's body… was black, it also had purple as a secondary color. It almost appeared as if the creature's internal organs were purple, while its black skin was see-through. Honestly, Reinhard would have preferred if the creature was merely black and white, because even the visible organs weren't comparable to the true horror.

Its eyes.

Its eyes were orange and pupiless, and yet, the way they were shaped… It reminded Reinhard of death itself. Like the being in front of it had the answers to how Reinhard would die."

So, yeah. If you want to see an official visual of what the Pleiades looks like, go check out EternalWhisper's story, "Variants, Variants, and More Variants!" or use the link /works/63789406/chapters/185098731#workskin here!

Don't expect this to be a massive story like my other ones. I'm at a very uncertain time in my life right now, so I decided to show this story to everyone before it was too late. If anyone wants to create their own spin-off based on this, they're free to do so.

So! You all know I have created my own website where I've posted a bunch of my art, so, if you're interested in seeing that, visit httpshttps://eowen5.myportfolio.com/! And I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out,  https://twitter.com/ErnaloreProf is the link.

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is https://discord.gg/3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The Loved Dead

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Crusch asked.

Felix looked at the pathetic manor in front of him. Long ago, his broken mind used to call this horrid place home. It looked so large back then, but that was most likely due to the fact that he was so small back then, and so weak. Now, it was a shadow of what it used to be.

It was a shadow of what House Argyle used to be.

"I'm sure Crusch-sama," Felix said, calming himself.

"Alright," the green-haired warrior said, as she looked back at one of the troops she brought with them. "We'll scout ahead. If there's any emergency, we'll use the mirrors to contact you."

"Understood, Crusch-sama," the soldier nodded.

"Good," she said, looking back towards the manor. "Let's do this."

Crusch treaded carefully through the empty halls, her sword in her hand.

She never liked this place, too many bad memories. A year after Theresia van Astrea's miraculous survival against the failed mission to kill the Iron Whale, rumors had begun to spread about possible abuse and torture that Biehn Argyle was doing towards his son.

Cursch and her father went to investigate, and… the results spoke for themselves.

Her father immediately took Felix into their custody, the reputation of House Argyle was ruined, all their land and assets were stripped from them, along with essentially their nobility, save for the manor that existed on top of some uncultivated land, and the legacy of their name.

While it was horrible in every way possible, a small part of Crusch was glad it happened. It was how she met her best friend, one who she considered to be like an adoptive brother, Felix, or as the maids of the Karsten household called him due to his feminine appearance, Ferris.

However, tragedy would strike once again nine years later.

The same year Crusch and her family's soldiers defended the Fourtour Plains from the Nightmare Rabbit, there was news that Hannah Argyle, Biehn's husband and Felix's mother (although Crusch had her doubts), had died suddenly. No one was told the cause of the death, although the young green-haired noble suspected foul play was involved.

And now, two years later, Reinhard seemingly stumbled across something damning.

According to the report, the new Sword Saint had discovered that Biehn Argyle was in contact with a foreign operative from Vollachia, named Miles, in order to obtain slaves for human experimentation. It was sickening, and Crusch immediately moved out with Felix to investigate.

Before she left, Crusch naturally thanked Reinhard for the information, and was glad to see that the future of the Astreas was in good hands. This hadn't been the only time the redhead had partook in an important battle or passed on vital information to others. Though…

…a part of Crusch wondered if Reinhard somehow gained otherworldly intellect or the ability to see the future after coming back from that mission to Flugel's Tree all those years ago.

Shaking her head out of those thoughts, Crusch looked around the halls of the manor that she and Felix had been walking through. However, she realized that… "There's no one here."

"Where is everyone, nyah?" Felix asked.

"I don't know. Most of the staff probably left after their master's name was dragged through the mud, but we should have seen someone by now… Wait, look, there's someone."

As Crusch talked, she noticed a maid walking through the halls. She had curly brown hair and amber eyes, just like Felix, making Crusch's personal suspicions increase.

Felix, recognizing her, called out, "Hannah-san!"

Looking up, the maid's eyes widened. "Felix…? Oh, Felix, it's you!"

Rushing towards the maid, Crusch asked, "Hannah-san, what happened here?"

Her face immediately shifted from joy to seriousness, as she spoke. "Argyle-sama, he's gone insane, completely insane. He's been experimenting with things no man should, along with that Vollachian man! I knew I had to do something, I had to contact someone!"

"So that's why you contacted Reinhard…" Felix said.

"No, actually," the maid said, shaking her head. "I was going to contact House Karsten, but Reinhard-sama approached me first. I don't know how he found me, but I told him everything, regardless. He promised me that he would contact his friends and send help."

"Well, he delivered on that promise," Crusch said. "Where is Argyle?"

"In the cellar rooms, along with that man, Miles," she said. "He's been acting more erratic than usual, too… I think that he must have made a breakthrough, on whatever he was working on…"

"I see," Crusch said, as she grabbed the communication mirror from her pocket and flipped it open, contacting the others. "Captain, it's Crusch. We have confirmation that Argyle's in the cellar. I want you and your men to be here right away. And prepare for a potential fight."

"Understood, Crusch-sama. We're entering the manor now."

Turning back to the maid, Crusch said, "Hannah-san, please evacuate the manor –"

"No, I insist on staying," she said. "I need to be sure this ends."

"Very well," Crusch said. "But please stay behind us. It could get dangerous."

Deep down, in the labyrinth of a cellar, Crusch remained stoic-faced.

Despite that, she was nervous on the inside. If she was completely unafraid, she would be a fool. She was afraid when she faced off against the Nightmare Rabbit, but she suppressed it over the need to save those villages in her domain. She had to do the same here.

Still, she couldn't help but shudder at some of the things she saw down here. Cylinders made of glass, filled with an unknown purple liquid containing mutated human corpses inside them, were some of the least horrifying things down there. She had to stop herself from emptying her insides, more than once. Still, she remained outwardly calm. Her team needed her.

Despite the fact, she still couldn't help but shudder a little. There was so much illegal magic going on down here, it would make the magical atrocities that Sphinx created so many decades ago seem like a child drawing on the walls, compared to the horror in front of her.

"By the Od…"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"What the fuck…?"

"Steady, men," Crusch ordered her soldiers to remain calm. She had to make sure none of her men would panic when faced with actual combat. They were trained soldiers, sure, some of them even veterans… but there are some things in this world they couldn't beat.

It was times like these that she was glad the Three Heroes were on their side.

As she, Felix, Hannah and the rest of soldiers kept walking –

"LOOK!" Hannah shouted, pointing down the hall. "IT'S HIM! THE VOLLACHIAN!"

Sure enough, at the end of the hallway, a man with gray hair in a red-and-black uniform was there, completely caught off-guard. "Miles, I presume?" Crusch said, as she pointed her sword towards him. "You're under arrest for espionage and crimes against humanity. Surrender."

"Karsten?! How did you… Oh, I get it, the maid," Miles hissed, grabbing something out of his pocket. "Well played, bitch. Unfortunately, I'm not planning on getting arrested today!"

"Wait, what is that –?!"

CLICK!

KRAAASH!!!

As soon as the man flipped the switch, the vats of purple liquid behind them exploded, the fluid splashing out, and along with it, releasing all the transfigured bodies trapped within.

Then, the bodies started to move.

"RISE ONCE AGAIN, SOLDIERS OF ROT!" Miles shouted towards them. "YOUR MASTER NEEDS YOU! KILL THESE INTRUDERS! THE SACRAMENT CANNOT BE STOPPED!!!"

Responding to the commands, the bodies stood and began attacking the soldiers from behind. They were vile, with green skin covering whatever flesh they still had. Missing eyes, decrepit faces, and with their bones visible wherever skin had already decayed away.

As Crusch's hired soldiers attacked the undead, the green-haired woman yelled, "Felix! Take Hannah and some of the soldiers and chase after Miles! I'll find Argyle and end this!"

"Crusch-sama, wait –!!!"

The Valkyrie didn't listen, as she leapt towards the halls, and away from the group. For what felt like minutes, she kept running down the same unending hallway, chopping down whatever corpse soldiers came across her path with her sword. She kept running, and running, until –

She had arrived at what she could best describe as a living hell.

Passing through the door, Crusch saw the final room had changed. The only visible light were the pure red flames that surrounded the walls. At the end of the hall was an altar, with what she could best describe as a white cocoon. And out of it was protruding a bloody pale arm.

Steadying her breathing, Crusch took a step forward –

"Welcome back again, Karsten. Tell me, how is Felix doing?"

Readjusting her eyes, she saw that she wasn't alone in the room. "Biehn Argyle. You are under arrest for treason, unethical experimentation, and crimes against humanity. Surrender, now."

"My crimes? The only crime I have committed was murdering my beloved wife during a heated argument," the bearded noble scoffed at her, and gestured towards the arm in the cocoon. "And I am going to fix it. She will live once again, and I shall be well once more. The only person I see committing a crime is you, Karsten, trying to stop me from doing what is right!"

Crusch merely looked at him in horror. He was absolutely insane. All she could do was take him down, along with putting at rest the body of his wife. Raising her sword, she attacked.

"RAAA–"

Lunging towards Argyle, she swung down at him, only to see him dodge, and then scratch the air in front of him. In an instant, the air around him exploded into flames, pushing Crusch back.

"What?! That's impossible! You're affinity is Water Magic –"

"I am no longer bound by the laws of our world's magic!" he laughed maniacally, as his arms glowed red. "In fact, I am no longer bound by anyone, not even the Divine Dragon itself!"

"You monster," she gasped, realizing both what he was talking about the reason behind his newfound power. "You absolute monster! You have joined the Pleiades –"

"Oh, please, spare me your holy speech," he sneered. "I'm not actually loyal to the Pleiades, I'm merely borrowing its power to speed up the process of bringing back my wife! But once I'm done, who knows? Maybe I'll overthrow the Pleiades itself, and be the new –"

"FURA!!!"

As Argyle kept monologuing, Crusch unleashed a devastating attack of wind, directly towards the madman. Unfortunately, Argyle still kept his healing magic even after joining forces with the Pleiades, meaning that he could recover from Crusch's attack in mere moments.

The bearded noble smiled, as he merely threw his blood towards Crusch, which exploded into red flames upon contact. Dodging out of the way, the green-haired warrior grit her teeth. Fighting those who were magically enhanced by the Pleiades was always a challenge, as their powers were completely random, meaning she would have to play it by ear.

If I injure him, he will just throw his blood at me, she analyzed. That means that his blood has explosive properties. And that early attack where he scratched the air, it must have been related to the whole "wound" theme, which makes sense given all he's doing "for" his wife… wait…

Looking around the room, Crusch saw that the walls were pretty close to one another. Using her athletic abilities, she leapt from one wall to another, using the momentum to bring her to a height even higher than before. Looking down, she saw where Argyle was, and smiled.

"UL FURA!!!"

"This again?" Argyle asked. "What do you… wait, where are you aiming –?!"

Another burst of wind-made blades burst forth, heading where Crusch aimed them towards. But she didn't aim for Argyle, no… she aimed for the cocoon containing his wife!

"NOOOOO –!!!"

BOOM!!!

The attack was devastating, and effective. The blood around the cocoon exploded like fireworks, destroying it all. The large round cocoon was destroyed completely, and the body inside it was broken, reduced to nothing more than a torso with just a head and an arm inside it.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Argyle yelled, trying to fix it, but he couldn't.

His wife would never rise again.

"Your plan has failed," Crusch said. "Surrender, and be ready to face trial."

"No… no, no, no! NO!" Argyle shouted, standing up, his face enraged and full of madness, as he bared his long, sharp fangs towards Crusch… wait a minute…

Fangs?! Crusch stomach dropped at the realization.

In an instant, all of his teeth became razor-sharp fangs, his skin became darker, and his hair all fell down, being replaced with curved horns, so large that one gouged out one of his eyes. The remaining eye became pure yellow, as Argyle grew several feet in height.

Oh, no… Crusch thought to herself, as she realized just what she was looking at.

When a person became entangled with the Pleiades, whether it be using its unholy powers or even outright worshiping them, there was a chance that the Pleiades would notice them. And once the Pleiades noticed them, several very not good things could happen to that person.

The most obvious thing that could happen would be joining the Pleiades Cult. That's what happened with the Nine Colors. It was said that they were originally normal people, but once the Pleiades arrived in the world, it infected those nine individuals with its madness, granting them unholy powers. And thus, the first members of the Horde of the Pleiades were born.

Before the Pleiades Cult existed, the Horde of the Pleiades was the name of the army that came to be four hundred years ago. Those who came into contact with the Pleiades became organized, becoming an army of dragons, giants, monsters, and whatever demonic nightmares the Pleiades had created, all led by the Nine Colors, who acted as the generals.

They appeared seemingly overnight, and spread to all corners of the continent. Lugunica's history books even said that the war had gotten so bad, that the Horde even invaded the Capital, with the Royal Family nearly perishing due to the amount of monsters that had charged forward, laying siege to the castle, and nearly managed to break through the gates.

There was a good chance that the Pleiades would have conquered the entire world, had it not been for the intervention of the Great Sage, the Divine Dragon, and the first Sword Saint.

The three champions had annihilated the Pleiades' forces, saving the world, and destroying the Horde, forcing the Nine Colors to retreat. Now, the Pleiades Cult existed, a small and covert organization with a few hundred members, compared to the thousands of yore.

That was the first option. Get noticed by the Pleiades, join the Cult. But there was a second option, one that some believed… was far worse. And Crusch had to agree.

Monsterization.

While it was true that some of the abominations the world was now plagued with sprang out of nowhere, such as the Calamitous Beasts, several others were turned into them. If someone were to ever get involved deeply enough with the Pleiades, they would physically change, turning from the most average of persons… to an incomprehensible nightmare.

The trick, however, was that it was different for every race.

Onis, for example, would go from being indistinguishable from humans (minus the horns that could magically sprout whenever they wanted a power boost), to turning into giant monsters, standing at ten feet tall, with unnatural skin tones, such as red, blue and green, along with constantly visible horns, sharp jet-black nails, pointed ears, and pointed teeth.

Wolfin, also known as kobolds, would go from looking like demi-humans with wolf-like features, to shrinking down, into these short red creatures that looked like bipedal ground dragons. There was even a variation of them that could grow wings like an actual dragon.

Giants were especially tricky, as they had multiple options when it came to monsterization. Normal giants, which ended up being called "goliaths" to differentiate from the others, could go from appearing as a seven-foot tall humans, to one of three (and a half) options:

The first option stood at ten feet tall, and were called "ogres." They retained their original skin tone, but gained large sharp teeth and tusks. There was even a variation of them capable of growing two heads, called "ettin." They were considered the weakest type of the three.

The second option was taller, at around fifteen feet, with unnatural skin tones such as blue and green, and gaining the ability to heal from any injury, even decapitation. These were called "trolls," and their regenerative abilities could only be dealt with using fire-type magic.

The final option was that they retained their physical appearance, but became over twenty-five feet tall. These were dubbed "titans" and were considered the most dangerous monsterized giants, not due to their size, but due their ability to create natural disasters with unknown magic.

The list was seemingly endless, as for every race that existed in the world, there was at least one monstrous form they would take should they ever become entangled with the Pleiades.

However, the most terrifying creatures to be monsterized by far… were humans.

The end result of a monsterized human was always unpredictable. They could be turned into anything. Crusch had read several reports of monsterized humans, ranging from them becoming as tall as titans, with tusks and claws, to becoming animal-based, unmistakable from demi-humans, save for a few obvious disfigurations, to anything in between.

The only thing that could even be considered "consistent" with monsterized humans was that sometimes, their newfound appearance would reflect their desires, such as a forest-loving human becoming some sort of plant-based monster. But even then, the human mind was so bizarre, that their desires might not even play a factor into it whatsoever.

In short, monsterized humans were the most dangerous foe to face.

And Biehn Argyle just turned into one.

"Get back here, nyah!" Felix yelled, chasing after Miles.

The knight kept running after the Vollachian spy, followed by the maid and some of the soldiers. Running towards the stairs, Miles crashed through the window, forcing everyone to stop.

Looking out towards the back garden, they saw that Miles had a flying dragon waiting for him. Rushing towards the nearest door, the party ran toward the back of the manor…

…only to see Miles taking off on top of his flying dragon.

"Shit," one of the soldiers cursed. "He got away."

"We can't do anything about it now. Let's go back and help Crusch-sama with –"

BOOOOOM!!!

Before Felix could even finish his sentence, the roof of the Argyle Manor was blown away, and out of the smoke flew… a monster. It was taller than a goliath, with black wings reminiscent of a raven's, but its face screamed "demon." With sharp fangs, curved horns, a single yellow eye…

But what was most bizarre about it were the clothes that it was wearing. They were those of nobility, the ones he remembered his father wearing… Wait… oh, no… no, no, no –

"FELIX!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, the beast human saw that the monster, now recognized as his father, was carrying something, no, someone, in one of his black, clawed arms –

"CRUSCH-SAMA!!!"

Crusch could feel her breath falter as Argyle tightened his grip around her.

And to make matters worse, he was flying higher and higher. Not many knew this, but Crusch Karsten was absolutely terrified of heights. And being forcefully carried up into the sky by a recently monsterized human was NOT HELPING HER PHOBIA WHATSOEVER.

"HAHAHA!" Argyle laughed in a distorted voice. "YOU HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! NOW, IT'S MY TURN! DIE, KARSTEN, AND JOIN MY BELOVED WIFE!!!"

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Crusch felt the wind around her blow. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was falling, Argyle having let her go.

A thousand thoughts were running through her head, but the biggest one was the fact that if Argyle escaped, he could kill hundreds in the Capital before he was subdued. Crusch needed to stop him, even if it was the last thing she did before dying.

But how?

He had the ability to self-heal, along with what flaming blood of his. How could she…

She had an idea.

Within her hand, the sword's blade began to glow a bright green, as she combined both her Divine Protection and her magic to combine into one singular strike, known as –

"ONE BLOW, A HUNDRED FELL!!!"

"HUH –?!"

Before Biehn Argyle could even react, a large blade of wind, larger than any of the previous attacks, swung towards his direction, slashing his head clean off from his body.

SLAAASH!!!

He may have been able to heal himself from any injury, but immortality was Felix's domain, and in terms of sheer power, his father might as well have been a novice compared to him.

And with that, the monster known as Biehn Argyle was dead.

The blood-like fire escaped from his body, raining down and mixing with the sky itself, temporarily turning it from blue to purple. While the soldiers down below were amazed by what could have caused such a change, Crusch was busy with other things.

Namely, not falling to her death.

As the ground began to get closer and closer to her, Crusch panicked, trying to figure out how to not become a splatter on the grass. There was only one thing she could think of, and while it wouldn't stop her completely, it would at least cushion her impact.

"AL FURA!!!"

Pointing down towards the ground, the wind was sent to where Crusch wanted it, right beneath her. Dust exploded, and she felt a gust overcome her face before –

BAM!!!

The last thing Crusch saw before blacking out was the dirt.

"Crusch-sama… Crusch-sama, please, wake up!"

"Huh…?"

"CRUSCH-SAMA! OH, THANK GOODNESS, NYAH!" Felix cried, as he saw his mistress open her eyes. Overcome with joy, he immediately hugged her, thankful that she was still alive.

"Ugh…" Crusch groaned, nursing a major headache. "What happened…?"

"You fell, and from a really great height, nyah" her knight said. "If it weren't for your spell cushioning the fall, you wouldn't have survived. Luckily, Ferri-chan was here to fix you right up!"

"I can't feel my legs," she deadpanned.

"Nyah, the lower-half of your body might be out for a bit," he said. "I was more focused on saving your entire body over comfort, so you'll feel a bit numb for a few days."

"Well, what's important is that I'm alive," she said, trying to stand up. Unfortunately, her legs gave out, and had to use her knight as a crutch. "Thank you, Felix."

"No problem," he said, before his smile disappeared. "So… that monster… was he…?"

"Yes," she said. "That thing was your father. I'm sorry, Felix."

"Oh… well, I'm glad you're safe. Thank you for slaying him, Crusch-sama."

Crusch smiled, before looking towards the rest of the hired soldiers. "Status report?"

"All the undead have been destroyed, however, the Vollachian spy escaped on a flying dragon," one of the soldiers said. "We're currently confiscating all of the illegal magic."

"Well, hopefully he didn't get away with anything."

Near the Lugunican-Vollachian border, Reinhard van Astrea waited.

He knew that today was the day Crusch-sama and Felix would raid the old Argyle Manor to put an end to whatever insanity the head of the house was doing. Despite not participating in the mission himself, he was still kept in the loop about what was going down.

After all, he was the one who delivered the information to Crusch-sama.

Or would it be more accurate to say that it was Subaru who delivered the information?

Ever since that encounter at Flugel's Tree all those years ago, the two of them had been working together. Kinda. Reinhard was still extremely cautious about his public appearance, so the majority of the Pleiades Cultists that Reinhard had come into contact with didn't know the truth, and the few who did, he only met once, never to see them again.

He hadn't even gone to Kremaldy Forest to seek out Garfiel due to how paranoid he was.

However, more recently, Subaru had discovered that he could enter peoples' dreams and influence them from there, but since everyone else was still susceptible to Subaru's mind-breaking aura, the technique was usually limited to Reinhard alone.

Still, it helped Reinhard locate soon-to-be threats that directly involved the Pleiades, from soon-to-be monsterized, to beasts casting trouble out in rural villages. In fact, it was thanks to Subaru's dream warning that he was able to make contact with Hannah-san.

So, now, all he was doing was waiting out here, per Subaru's instruction, and…

Ah, there he is, Reinhard thought to himself as he felt the wind pressure changed around him. Looking up, he saw that the cause of this change was the result of beating dragon wings.

Reinhard knew that it was now his cue.

BOOM!

Using his incredible strength, Reinhard leapt into the air, leaving a small crater behind him. Rocketing through the air, the Sword Saint kept going up and up, until he was on the same level as the flying dragon, grabbing its rider right off of its back, and heading back down.

BOOM!

As the flying dragon left, Reinhard looked back at the man he was holding captive. "Hello there," said, as he smiled at the man, still in his arms. "You must be Miles. Nice to meet you."

"The Sword Saint?!" the Vollachian spy cried out, struggling to be free of Reinhard's grip. "What are you doing here?! No, let me go! I have done nothing wrong! I'm innocent, I tell you!"

"Unfortunately, that is not the case. Ah, there it is. Sacrament of the Immortal King. I can't let you run off to Vollachia with that," Reinhard said, as he grabbed Miles' bag, and took out a book. Turning around, he shouted, "Okay, I'm done with him! He's all yours!"

"Hey, Rein! Good job on nabbing this guy!" In an instant, black tentacles materialized behind Reinhard, as a creature with eyes on its wings appeared from behind. "You can head on back home. There's even a surprise waiting for you there! You can think of it as a bonus!"

"A surprise?" Reinhard asked, as he dropped Miles into the dirt.

"Yeah, a little something as a "thank you" for all the hard work you've been doing for me!" Subaru said, before turning to the already frightened Miles. "Anyway, run along now! I'll deal with this guy. Oh, and you might not wanna look back, this is not gonna be pretty."

"No…" Miles begged, backing away from the monster. "Please, no… AAAAAAAA–"

As Reinhard walked away, ignoring the tortured screams of Miles most likely descending into madness due to staring at Subaru for too long, he wondered what this "surprise" was.

Within one of the rooms of the Astera Manor, a blonde woman slept.

Her face was as still as it was for over the last decade thanks to the Sleeping Beauty disease, an illness that no one could overcome. Well, at least not until now, that was.

Deep within the darkness of this woman's dreamscape, she saw something. Within all the sad colors, she saw a creature composed of wings, eyes, stars, and lots of dark tentacles.

And yet, without a mouth, the creature spoke.

"WAKE UP."

And just like that, she opened her eyes, and looked around her room.

For the first time in over a decade, Louanna Astrea was awake.

Author's Note: Biehn Argyle's monsterization was inspired by Mohg from Elden Ring, with some Nomus, to boot. And you got some more lore, so there's a bonus for you.

Wicked.A: No, Reinhard is more of a troublemaker in this timeline.

flugel001: Nice second comment. Unfortunately, Wicked.A beat you to first place.

Ezeolegend27: First on ArchiveofOurOwn, I suppose. Thanks for the props.

TerraLight: I can't clearly recall what inspired me to do this. Probably Overlord. Anyways, I hope the second chapter was just as fun for you as the first one, see you again soon!

Tonyman70: Your comment was pretty good.

Creativebobs: This idea (and a part of this chapter in particular) have been floating around Reddit for years now. I only brought it back now because EternalWhisper drew the Pleaiades, and I figured since I already finished the chapters, I might as well post 'em.

LGKRO: This comment is peak. Thank you, and I shall keep cooking.

10FourKnox: Keep snacking on that popcorn, things only get better from here!

CheemsCL: Thank you for the emojis, Texan dog that most likely uses Reddit.

InfernoArk1508: Here is the next chapter! Let me know what you thought of it!

DragonMB: Yeah, they're pretty buddy-buddy with each other.

Tuskgyro56: You are correct! Well, in this timeline, at least…

Victhor (Guest): Ainz Ooal Gown can relate to this post.

DroidSans_Monocromatic01: Glad you deemed this concept "awesome."

Chitake_21: I AM THE GREATEST. OF. ALL. TIME?! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Inter1tus: Ironically, Infinite and I have played out a joke like that before.

Wildemam: You're probably gonna see that in one of the future chapters.

VGodOfRain: If I was gonna make a Subaru with the personality of the Qu, I would make him look like a canon Subaru (that makes it way more scary). A lot of people who are dead in canon are alive and kicking here. You'll see more of them soon enough!

oras: Probably not, but who knows? I have written the ending to this.

Boris_o_o: Amazing comment.

Kifhjoofff: Me alegra verte por aquí. Nos vamos a divertir mucho.

Shady_Dealings17: I'll be expanding on the concept, so be sure to stick around!

Jerami: I hope you're ready to see the other changes I've made to the world…!!!

IDK_I_JUST_WANNA_READ: Yeah, I'm the Otherworldly Sage guy. Glad to know that having written that means that I can be trusted for more quality stories in your eyes.

SenSlice: Glad I caught your interest. Though, to be fair, everything regarding Japan or the modern world would probably be incomprehensible to the rest of the cast.

VinHD15: Yeah, the amount of comments on just a single chapter here is absurd.

onething6: Fire comment.

Starry_Ish: Orange would be Echinda's color, actually.

Vivianpro: Fun fact, every chapter title for this series is gonna be a reference to one of Lovecraft's works (including the actual title to the series), so keep an eye out for those!

So! You all know I have created my own website where I've posted a bunch of my art, so, if you're interested in seeing that, visit https://eowen5.myportfolio.com/! And I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, https://twitter.com/ErnaloreProf is the link.

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is https://discord.gg/3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: In the Vault

Prince Fourier Lugunica had to admit, this was certainly a good sign.

Earlier this morning, he had received a letter from House Astrea about the amazing news: Louanna Astrea had woken up after more than a decade of sleeping. Apparently, the family was throwing a party later this evening at the manor, and Fourier and Fillole were invited.

Personally, Fourier was excited at the prospect of going.

Nothing interesting was happening within the Royal Family as of recently, in his opinion. His father, Randohal, alongside Miklotov McMahon and Bordeaux Zellgef, members of the Council of Elders, were busy training Zabinel on what he'll need to do when he eventually inherited the crown, and his uncle, Ford, was busy keeping Fourier's other two siblings in check.

In all honesty, he felt like among his siblings, with the exception of Zabinel, he was the only one who actually cared for the future of their beloved Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.

Still, it wasn't like he could do anything outside of his current studies and swordsmanship classes. He had been learning how to govern in the event that his older brother was unable to, but at the moment, everything was going fine. So, a party to quell his boredom was in order.

I wonder what I should wear…?

Princess Fillole "Felt" Lugunica enjoyed visiting Reinhard's place.

Ever since she was a young child capable of cohesive thoughts, Fillole felt like something was off with her life, like a piece of her was missing. Sure, she was happy being a princess of the kingdom and all that, but she still yearned for… something, she just didn't know what.

Over the years, she tried to figure out what it was. Her older cousin, Fourier, helped her gain a piece of what she felt was missing, but it wasn't enough. She needed more.

Over the years, she met others. Like that girl Fourier liked, Crusch, and the catboy, Felix. Heck, even the first time she met that purple guy, Julius, she felt another piece fill up.

But the day she met Reinhard, her heart was truly full, and she realized what she had wanted her entire life: Companionship. Sure, her father was nice, but he was always busy with Uncle Randohal. To make matters worse, she had no siblings, and her other cousins always set her off, either due to their antagonism or awful personalities. They were not like Fourier.

So when she visited a twelve-year-old Reinhard van Astrea, she felt complete. Not only because she had the final piece of the puzzle, but because she had also just acquired the largest piece. Reinhard was like her: Well-liked, from a nice family, but lonely.

She heard about what had happened to his mom when he was two, and his grandma's near-death experience at the hands of the Iron Whale made his relationship with his grandfather strained. Aside from Theresia, the only one in his family who Reinhard had a positive relationship to was his dad, Heinkel, but even then, the two of them were more like strangers.

So, when Reinhard met Felt, he immediately latched onto her like a puppy. He was already friends with Julius and Felix, so the two little groups became one big group of friends, composed of six inseparable friends: Fillole, Reinhard, Fourier, Crusch, Julius and Felix.

From sleepovers, to joint missions, they did a lot of things together. She would never forget the day she gained her nickname due to an incident involving themselves and a bunch of felt carpets. While the knights may have tried to stop the story from going public, the memory of it lived on in the form of her nickname, which she cherished even more than her actual name.

"I thank you all for coming!" Heinkel announced, as he hugged his wife, the entire Astrea manor now filled with guests. "Now, let us celebrate! For the return of my beloved wife!"

And now, she and the rest of her group celebrated the return of Rein's mom. She looked over to the boy who helped her find what she was missing in her life, happy that he was able to have all the pieces of his family back, too. Talking to Louanna was nice, especially after both she and Reinhard finished crying and catching up on what she had missed over the last decade. All of Rein's friends being introduced to his mom was nice as well. The food at the party was great, too. The entire party was great, something straight out of a story, really. However…

However, despite Reinhard's smile… she couldn't help but notice that something seemed to be bothering him. Like there was something constantly at the back of his mind that haunted him.

The following years were, for the most part, uneventful.

Sure, things did happen, and would end up becoming major historical events. However, to Reinhard, they weren't of any major concern, as they weren't Pleiades-related.

A few years after his mother's return, Reinhard, along with Julius and Felix, went to Vollachia to sign a nonaggression pact alongside King Randohal. Interestingly enough, a coup occurred during that time that put both the King and Emperor Vincent Vollachia in danger, but both of the masterminds behind the coup were discovered and while one escaped, the other was killed.

Interestingly enough, one of them was the 9th Ranking Divine General, Balleroy Temeglyph, who Julius ended up cutting down in a duel. But that was besides the point. Afterwards, the pact was signed, and the three knights, along with his majesty, were on their way back home.

One month after that, two of the Divine Generals entered the Lugunican borders in order to catch the other mastermind of the coup, some viscount named Gramdart Holstory, and while they did end up succeeding in capturing him, Celsius Segmunt still challenged Reinhard to a spar.

So, honestly? Nothing interesting.

And that was what was driving Reinhard mad.

For the last six years, Reinhard had been contacting small fractions of the Pleiades itself, and even managed to avert a few disasters with Subaru's help, but really he did nothing major. He was too scared of being caught that he never did anything that actually helped.

And because of that, Subaru was still trapped in that prison he called a body.

For the last six years, Subaru has been trapped, but despite that, he was still kind enough to save Reinhard's mother, all while the red-haired knight did absolutely nothing.

He truly was a monster and a coward. But if there was one thing he knew, it was that he couldn't give up. He needed help if he was to ever save Subaru. And he knew who to ask.

The only issue was, would they listen to him?

It was a quiet night in the Royal Castle, where the group, which included the prince, Fourier, his cousin, Felt, Crusch, Julius and Felix, were all waiting for Reinhard in the Throne Room.

"Are you sure he wants us to meet him here?" Crusch asked.

"Yes," Fourier answered. "He said somewhere private, and my father never uses this room unless there's an emergency. The only person we even have to risk overhearing us is Bordeaux, since his room is down the hall. Thankfully, he should be sleeping at this hour."

Before anyone could say anything else, the doors opened, revealing Reinhard.

Felt's breath hitched as she saw the red-headed knight's condition. He had massive bags under his eyes, like he hadn't been sleeping properly, or had been highly stressed recently.

"Hello, everyone," Reinhard said, giving them a weak smile. "Thank you for coming."

"Reinhard… are you all right…?" Felt asked, approaching the knight.

"No, Felt-sama, I am not alright, and I have not been for quite a while," the redhead answered. "Please, all of you, sit down. What I'm about to tell you, I have been carrying for the last six years of my life. You can judge me however you see fit, but please, hear me out first."

Once they sat down on the floor, he told them everything. Everything, from the incident at Flugel's Tree, to meeting the Pleiades, working with them, all the way till today.

"..and that's basically what happened," Reinhard said, finishing his story, an hour later.

He looked towards his friends, his second family, for any kind of reaction. They were all silent, their faces with expressions that crossed the line between serious and concerned.

But then the silence was broken.

"I seriously doubt you, for some odd reason. Well, maybe not that odd," Julius said, still somewhat thinking that everything Reinhard just said was a joke. "Are you feeling well?"

"If not for my numerous Divine Protections preventing me from feeling such a way, then I would be questioning that as well," the Sword Saint said. "But I am also telling you the truth."

"Rein…" Felix said, in a tone that showed worry for his friend's sanity, something the redhead indeed noticed. "Is the monster man here with us right now? Is he talking to you?"

"No, I haven't seen or heard him since the incident with Miles."

"Alright, so, the Pleiades is actually capable of speaking to you. Do you know for a fact that he was telling you the truth?" Fourier asked. "No tricks or lies, whatsoever, of any kind?"

"The Divine Protection of Wind Reading never once reacted."

Felt, meanwhile, had a different line of questions to ask. "You think if it weren't for all of your Divine Protections, you would have gone crazy just by looking at him?"

Reinhard nodded his head, "I am certain that would have been the outcome."

"That answer's both vague and unconvincing, and that's coming from me," Crusch said.

"However, there is much I'm not sure of."

"Oh?" That grabbed Julius' attention. "Like what?"

"If "Subaru" were so powerful, why resort to all of this just to reconstruct his body? I believe that is what he wants to achieve, but I'm certain there are easier ways to go about it."

"Did you offer him any suggestions?" Fourier asked.

Reinhard stayed silent for a moment, before saying, "The thought failed to cross my mind."

"Rein, I love ya, I really do, but sometimes your stupidity is legendary," Felt chuckled.

The young Sword Saint bowed. "My apologies, Felt-sama."

"Cousin, stop making him feel bad," Fourier said. "Anyway, what ideas did you have in mind?"

"Unfortunately, not many. To my knowledge, there are very few methods when it comes to creating a new body, but according to Grandmother, one of the Nine Colors has the ability to alter the physical being of another. Would that not be the most viable option?"

"Maybe they attempted it once, and failed horribly? Like, so horribly that they made one of the various types of monstrosities that haunt our world to this very day?" Felix asked.

"How would that work?" Felt wondered.

"I dunno, I mean, look at the tree, nyah. That was apparently influenced by this Subaru guy, so maybe spawning monsters out of thin air is within the realm of possibility," Felix said.

"Speaking of spawning... didn't you say he has multiple wives, Rein?" Felt asked.

"Seven, if I recall correctly," the Sword Saint answered.

Felt let out a low whistle. "If I was a guy, I'm not sure if I'd envy him or feel sorry for him."

"Felt-sama, please, no," Julius said, groaning.

"Moving on," Crusch said, more than ready to change the subject. "Reinhard, how did Subaru act, compared to how you would have been expecting to encounter the Pleiades?"

"He was… odd," Reinhard said. "He acted like an eccentric teenager, despite being centuries old. It makes sense. He was quite excited to be able to finally speak with someone."

"What do you mean?" the purple-haired knight asked.

"He cracked jokes, and spoke in references and phrases that I did not understand," the red-haired knight replied. "They are probably local slang from his original world."

"No, I mean about him finally being able to talk to someone? Can he not talk to his followers?"

Reinhard shook his head. "No, to everyone else, his speech is unintelligible garbage. They try their best to interpret it, but several things have probably been lost in translation."

"Damn, that must suck for him," Felt said. "Meeting you must have been a breath of fresh air."

"Yes, he was quite excited when he realized that I could understand him."

"So, that must be why he asked you to meet with him," Julius realized. "He wants a translator."

"Yes," Reinhard nodded. "However, that would end up making him an accomplice of his cult. The only reason I even told you about my encounter is because I trust you all."

"Then perhaps this could help broker a peace treaty?" Fourier suggested. "If Subaru doesn't want to harm Lugnica or the world at large, then perhaps this could be a diplomatic mission."

It was not a bad idea. However, before they could make any more plans –

"AAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"What the hell was that?!" Felt asked, startled by the noise.

Felix, however, recognized that voice. "It sounded like Bordeaux!"

Oh, false alarm then, the crimson-eyed girl thought to herself.

"HEEELLLP!!!!!" the voice of the old man rang again.

"I'M COMING!!!" Reinhard rushed out of the Throne Room

Reaching the Elder's bedroom, he opened the door to reveal him with a giant… hand… thing. It was large, larger than a man, its skin was a pale blue, with an even deeper shade of blue for fingernails, and ten large fingers on a severed hand, making it crawl around like a meat spider.

"I can't believe we're helping this jack– WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?!" Felt immediately screamed, as she and everyone else followed Reinhard to Bordeaux's room.

"Ohh, I think I'm gonna be sick," Fourier said, putting a hand over his mouth.

"Is this one of the Pleiades' spawns?!" Julius asked.

"FINGERCREEPER!!!" Felix shouted in horror.

"Julius! Felix! Secure Bordeaux!" Reinhard shouted. "I will deal with this creature!"

"Shall I assist you?" Crusch asked, drawing her sword.

"Of course, Crusch-sama. Fourier-sama, Felt-sama, please evacuate for the moment."

"But we can fight!" Felt shouted in protest.

"I do not doubt that, Felt-sama, but we are up against an unknown opponent with no knowledge of its capabilities. It would be best if you and Fourier-sama were to reach a safe distance."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Fourier said, grabbing his cousin.

Fourier and, reluctantly, Felt evacuated along with Felix and Bordeaux, with Julius staying behind to assist Reinhard and Crusch. The fingercreeper turned towards the trio, and proceeded to charge towards them, each of the ten fingers acting as a leg.

"Crusch-sama, Julius, I have a plan," the redheaded swordsman said, getting his friends' attention. "I will engage the creature in close quarters combat, while you can use your spells to attack at a range, but be sure to stay by the door and do not allow it to slip by."

"Right," Crusch said, as she rushed forward. "Hey, ugly! FURA!!!"

"El Huma!" Julius shouted, launching a shard of ice.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two of the fingers got damaged, but the creature kept moving towards the Sword Saint. Reinhard, unable to draw the Dragon Sword, pulled out his spare sword to swing at the monster with such speed that neither Crusch nor Julius were able to see any movement.

KRAK!

"ARGH!!!"

While he kept ax-chopping the beast with his blade, the fingercreeper tackled Reinhard, and proceeded to wrap its fingers around him, in an attempt to crush his bones to dust.

"Fura!"

FWOOSH!

SLASH!

The wind blade successfully cut through the fingers, releasing Reinhard.

"Reinhard, are you all right?" Julius asked his friend.

"I am unharmed," Reinhard reassured the purple-haired knight.

"Uhh… is it dead?" Crusch asked, inspecting the downed hand.

"I'm unsure, though this entity seems... familiar…" the redhead said.

Julius squinted his eyes. "Familiar how?"

"I don't know how to put it into words, but the aura it gives off... it feels like I've encountered it before," Reinhard replied. It reminded him ever every time he encountered –

"NYYAAA!!!!!" A scream was heard from outside the hallway.

Crusch immediately recognized that voice. "Felix?!"

"OTHER WAY!!!" the voice of Fourier could be heard.

"What's going on?!" Julius shouted.

"CAN WE LEAVE BEHIND THE OLD MAN?! OH, CRAP, IT'S GAINING ON US!!!"

"I'M COMING, FELT-SAMA!!!" Reinhard yelled, as he dashed out of the room.

"Reinhard! Dammit!" Crusch cursed. "Julius, freeze the door so it can't escape!"

Reinhard ran through the hallway, only to find his friends (and Bordeaux) on one side of the corridor, and… something… on the other side. It was tall, completely red with a smidge of black, white, pupil-less eyes, long sharp teeth and claws, and tentacle… things wriggling on its back.

"Life... finds a way…" Fourier deadpanned.

"TO MAKE ME VOMIT!" Felt shouted.

"WE! ARE! CAAARNAGE!!!!!" the red abomination shouted.

"It can speak?!" Crusch asked, horrified.

The creature stopped moving, as it proceeded to stare at the newcomers.

"Who are you, and what do you want?!" Reinhard asked.

"DINNER!!!"

The Sword Saint looked confused. "You... want to stay for dinner?"

"Rein, I think it means we are the dinner!" Felt said.

"RAAAA–" it screamed, as it charged towards the group.

Reinhard launched himself in front of the group and used his strength to send the monster back against the wall. However, the crimson creature proceeded to roar and chomp down on Reinhard's left shoulder, while digging their razor-sharp claws into his back.

"Hey! No one bites him! FURA!" Felt shouted, launching a gust of wind.

SLASH!

"Wait, Felt-sama, you can use Wind Magic?!" Julius shouted in surprise.

"Ah, shit. That was supposed to be a surprise," Felt chuckled.

With Felt having successfully cutted of the creature's head with the wind blade, Reinhard got away from the body, only to see fleshy wire-like things start to rise from its stump on the neck, grab the head, and reattach it back to the body, much to everyone's shock.

"Did that... just happen?" Felt asked nervously.

"Evidently, it did," Fourier answered, equally shocked.

"Well, any other ideas?"

"Feed Bordeaux to it?"

"DON'T YOU DARE!!!" the old man shouted at the red-eyed cousins.

"Resisting will make us more convinced!" Felt shouted at him.

"We are not feeding a Council member to that thing!" Crusch shouted. "Even if it is Bordeaux!"

"Hehehe… AHAHAHA!" the monster proceeded to laugh, much to everyone's confusion. "Argue and bicker and divide... it's chaos... that is what I want... ABSOLUTE CHAOS!!!!!"

"You'll fail," Reinhard said, staring off the creature.

"No... you have failed," the monster growled. "Chaos... is inevitable."

"Perhaps…" the Sword Saint said, as he flashed a smile. "But even if that's true… even if it's inevitable… I'll keep on fighting… because that's what Heroes do. Now, Julius!"

"GOA!!!"

FWOOSH!!!

With Reinhard having bought enough time, Julius was able to use a spell to light the monster alight. But even as it burned, it started chuckling, and soon evolved into a maddening laughter.

"Hehehehe… hahahaha… AHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

As the creature devolved into ash while it laughed, everyone remained silent.

Felt was the first to break the silence, saying, "Well, I'm not gonna fucking sleep tonight."

"Please tell me that's the last of them…" Crusch sighed, before she noticed something. Pointing in that direction, she said, "Oh, wait, Reinhard, behind you. There's another one."

"Huh?" Reinhard turned around to see a regular-sized, five-fingered, but severed and rotting hand slowly crawling towards him. Was that the same one that attacked them earlier?

"Well, it is certainly persistent," Julius said.

"Uhh… I think that's a new one," Fourier said, noting its smaller size.

"Is it also trying to kill us?" Felt asked.

"I… think it's trying to…?" Crusch said, as she kept staring at the small hand trying to claw towards Reinhard, but failing. "But… it's just one tiny hand. Crawling slowly."

"Julius, would you mind burning that one as well?" Fourier kindly asked.

Julius nodded, and then set the hand alight with a Goa spell. As the hand burned, it flipped over, and proceeded to give everyone in the hall the bird, before it too also turned into ash.

"Wow… what a dick," Felt deadpanned.

"Please tell me that's the last of them," Felix begged.

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything else, a dark portal opened in front of the group, with a single star-shaped face popping out. "Oh, so this is where that portal leads."

That was a voice Reinhard immediately recognized.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA –!!!" Bordeaux screamed, pointing at the "monster."

"Hm? Oh! Hey, Reinhard. I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"Do you… all see the same thing?" Fourier asked.

"A monolith-like head coming out of a portal? Yep," Felt said.

"Oh! Hello, Subaru," Reinhard smiled.

"Wait... that's Subaru?!" Crusch shouted, pointing at the monstrous head.

Subaru bobbed his head in mid-air. "'Sup?"

Felt bumped the redhead's side, saying, "Rein, start translating."

The being publicly known as the Pleiades looked around the room, before asking, "So, you guys haven't seen a giant shadowy hand and a red humanoid blood monster around, have you?"

"He's asking if we've seen a shadowy hand and a red monster around," Reinhard translated.

"Julius burned them," Felt said, pointing towards the knight.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry about those," the being seemingly composed of stars apologized. "I cut one of my tentacles while testing these portals earlier today, and my blood kinda made… those."

"He said he cut off one of his arms while testing his portals, and his blood made the monster," Reinhard translated the Pleiades' incomprehensible speech for the rest of the group.

"A single drop of blood created that monster, and because it came from your "hands," it caused those other two ones?" Julius asked, horrified at Subaru's potential power.

The black-and-white creature turned its head questioningly, and asked, "There were two?"

"Yes, a large blue one with ten fingers, and a smaller, but rotting one," Reinhard said.

"Huh... that first one sounds like mine given my previous... spawns, but I've got no idea about the second one," Subaru said. "Maybe it was some undead that snuck into your place?"

"Maybe it half-spawned from the large one, and was starting to rot?" Reinhard suggested.

Subaru "shrugged", saying, "Eh, hell if I know. I'm still figuring out the kinks to this body."

"I still can't understand squat," Crusch said, referring to Subaru's speech.

"Tell me about it!" Subaru groaned.

"She meant your speech," Reinhard said.

"I know! It sucks ass!" Subaru shouted.

"Ahh… augh… aaa…" Bordeaux groaned, his sanity still deteriorating.

"Is he okay?" Subaru asked, looking a bit concerned. "Or is that just because of me?"

"Probably because of you," Reinhard replied. "I believe that the less of you there is, the less likely you will be able to drive insane those of… ahem… a lesser constitution."

"Yeah! That's what I've been thinking! I thought that maybe just popping my head out wouldn't drive people insane that much!" Subaru explained, showing off his small portal.

"What are you two talking about?" Julius asked, feeling out of the conversation.

"He thinks that by appearing with only his head visible, he will be less likely to drive people insane, due to less of his physical body being in the area," Reinhard explained.

"It's not working on this geezer," Felt said, as she kicked Bordeaux.

"Maybe because he's old?" Subaru suggested a theory.

"What did he say now?" Felt asked.

"He asked if it's because of his age," Reinhard translated.

"I hope it's just him…" Felix said. Going insane did not sound fun for him.

"Well, while he's distracted…" Fourier cleared his throat, as he stepped out of the group, and towards the monster. "Subaru, correct? I am Prince Fourier Lugunica. I've just heard of your encounter with Reinhard, and I'm hoping we can come to a peace conclusion with your cult."

"Isn't the current King still alive?" Subaru asked, confused.

"Reinhard?" Fourier looked at his friend for a translation.

"He asked if your father was still alive," the Sword Saint answered.

"I can speak to my father about a truce," Fourier said.

"Alright, maybe we could… hm?" Before Subaru could continue, he looked over his side, as if he could see something the others could not. "Oh, what the hell are they doing now?"

"What is it?" the Sword Saint asked.

"Some of my followers are doing some stupid ritual with my blood," Subaru groaned.

"He said his followers are doing a ritual with his blood," Reinhard translated once more.

"What," Crusch deadpanned, trying to comprehend what she just heard.

"I gotta go. Talk to you later. Peace!" Subaru said, as he retracted his head and closed the portal. As the portal popped away into tiny bubbles, the group remained silent.

"Well, let's hope that no more of his followers turn into any monsters thanks to his blood. Though, I do wonder what they'd look like…" Reinhard said, curious.

"Well, I've had enough crap for one year," Felt said. "Rein, meet me in my room in an hour."

"Whatever for, Felt-sama?" the Sword Saint innocently asked.

"I ain't gonna be able to sleep alone tonight after seeing a blood demon laughing as it burned to death, so you're keeping me company," Felt said, as she hugged Reinhard.

"Keep it in your pants, cousin," Fourier groaned.

"Can I expect the same for you and Crusch?" Felt asked mischievously.

The green-haired woman blushed at the implications. "I… I… I…"

"Alright, fine," Fourier hissed. "You win."

This was certainly a night the six friends would never forget.

Author's Note: For those who don't know, the fingercreepers are an enemy from Elden Ring, the tinier crawling hand was a monster from Dungeons & Dragons called a crawling claw, and the big red guy… yeah, that was just straight-up Carnage, not gonna lie.

Thanks to that (plus the tree from the last chapter), I'm sure you've all honest that a lot of the monsters in this story are from other fandoms, and there are gonna be characters from other fandoms showing up here, so that does bring up the question: Should I add them here and officially make this a crossover? Or should I just keep the tags purely for here? Please let me know in the comments this week! And speaking of comments…

flugel001: Well, I did have basically two pages dedicated to the lore of this world, Crusch fighting what was basically a demon, plus the surprise appearance of Subaru, so it does make sense that some people would prefer the second half of the chapter over the first.

Andawy: My Discord server link is at the bottom of the Author's Note in every chapter!

LGKRO: What happened with House Argyle is basically gonna be the model for everything in this world; completely confusing and at some points, horrifying.

Lazy_Guys1SHADOW: Time to read again! And this time, maybe comment properly?

ChaozMatt: You've only realized that this story is super cool just now?

Bonelesser: I'm glad you mess so heavily with this premise.

Shady_Dealings17: I'm not sure I would call Reinhard an anti-hero, as those guys do good things for selfish reasons. Additionally, I have no idea what Wilhelm's living situation is, despite the fact that he'll appear later in this fic. I also noticed your little pun, don't think you could hide it from me. And you are right about who the Nine Colors are!

10FourKnox: Sorry, the reunion was off-screen, I had other things to cover.

Wildeman: Vollachia will appear, but not in the way you expect…

Roxon: Well, it's not exactly one or a couple characters getting sent to Japan, it would be… everyone… But anyways! I haven't written anything regarding Roswaal yet, but given that Echidna is still around, I guess there's a chance that he might show up…?

Kifhjoofff: Tienes razón sobre el autosabotaje de Subaru hace cuatro siglos, pero en cuanto a quién es el Gran Sabio para la gente... Te mantendré en la oscuridad por ahora.

Tykronos: Well, it has been over five years since they've met, sooo…

oras: Don't worry, they're gonna go meet Garfiel in the next chapter!

sYisus: I didn't read Berserk when writing this, but I can see the parallels now…

SenSlice: I don't think Gluttony is responsible for Louanna's condition in canon since everyone remembers her. And while Subaru may not be battling anyone, there will be plenty of people Reinhard and his friends are gonna have to take on to save the world.

H57Sans: I haven't written a proper ending to this story (and I'm probably not gonna), and Emilia already has a family, so that's also a no, but it was a cute attempt.

MehDewyy: I have no idea what "distorting" is in your context.

Lordyoussef: No clue who Carmen is, does it relate to that "distorting" thing?

DragonMB: Ya liked that?! Well, have some more Elden Ring content!

JustAnReader: I have not watched a single episode of Dragon Ball in my life, but I'm glad you could make that connection, I guess. Also, thanks for deeming my work peak, dude.

fliker09: I HAVE A VERY VIVID IMAGINATION! AND I SHALL CONTINUE IMAGINING!

Charlecavalo: That's not how you spell "Lovecraftian," but an A for effort.

The_Fanfiction_Consiglere: It's not exactly Subaru recreating mythologies from Earth in the Land of Od Laguna, it's more like the people there are more likely to become the creatures of their namesakes. But anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

So! You all know I have created my own website where I've posted a bunch of my art, so, if you're interested in seeing that, visit https://eowen5.myportfolio.com/! And I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, https://twitter.com/ErnaloreProf is the link.

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is https://discord.gg/3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: The Outsider

The following evening, the six friends sat inside Fourier's personal study.

"So…" the prince said. "I'm assuming that what happened last night wasn't a dream?"

"If it was, it was a dream we all shared," Crusch said.

"All right, so it really happened," Julius said.

"Rein… I can't believe you've been bottling that up for so long, hiding it behind your smile!" Felt said. "That sort of thing isn't good for a person! If you kept that up, you could have exploded!"

"I'm all right, Felt-sama," Reinhard smiled. "I have all of you now."

"Are we really going through with this, nyah?"

"I agree with Felix," Fourier said, as he stood up, and looked towards his red-haired friend. "Reinhard, are you really planning on freeing the Pleiades? Saving Subaru?"

"I do," Reinhard said. "He may not have shown it, but he was suffering. Think about it: He was a person, just like the rest of us, forced to this world, and trapped in a body he cannot control. He doesn't wish for chaos, or for power. He just wishes to be like the rest of us. So, I'm going to save him. The rest of you are free to join me, but if not, this is where we part ways."

The other five in the room were silent. To try and do something like this, it went against everything that they were taught as children. It was an offense that could bring death.

What would they do? What could they do?

"I'm going with you."

Reinhard looked down towards Felt, whose eyes were shining with determination. "I care about you, Rein, which means that you're stuck with me. I'm not gonna let you do this alone."

"Felt-sama, I… thank you," he smiled.

"This is quite the pickle you've put us in, cousin," Fourier chuckled.

"We're actually going through with this?" Crusch asked.

"Hey, someone has to keep my cousin in check."

"Nyah! If Crusch-sama is going, I'm going, too!" Felix said.

"Well, that's five," Reinhard said. "Julius? What about you?"

"Hmm… we get caught, chances are they won't execute us due to our status as nobility," Julius muttered to himself. "Eh, the knowledge we can get from such an endeavor is worth it in itself."

"I guess that makes six," Felt said. "So, Rein, what's the plan?"

"Before I confessed to all of you, I was afraid of being caught, so I kept my contact with the Pleiades Cult limited," Reinhard said. "So much so, that I don't even know how to contact them myself. However, I do know one person who might be able to help us."

"And where might they be?" Crusch asked.

"The Kremaldy Forest."

It had now been a week since Reinhard told everything to his friends.

During that span of time, every free moment they had, they prepared for their journey to the Kremaldy Forest. Fourier and Felt made sure that all of their royal duties were done ahead of time, as did Crusch with her work, while Reinhard and Felix prepared as many ground dragons as they could, and made sure that nothing would come up while they were gone.

Julius, meanwhile, had the important job of research. As a history buff, he kept a large collection within his library, and one of the books he had just so happened to be about the history of the Mathers region. As it turned out, the Kremaldy Forest was home to something called "the Sanctuary," which was created by a woman named Echidna, the Witch of Greed.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that if there was a settlement within the forest, especially one that was that mysterious, then chances were that this was where Garfiel resided.

All they needed now was a name for their little group operation.

So, with a destination in mind, the sunrise came for them, and the six friends were off. However, before they could leave, there was one more thing they needed to have.

They needed a name for their little group operation.

They had several suggestions, of course. The Pleiades Hunters. Brotherhood of the Pleiades. The Subaru Six. All of them were rejected, expert for one, which was Felt's idea.

Team Natsuki.

It was a completely random idea, to have Subaur's surname as their team name. But it worked. They had a name that unified them as members of the same goal: To uncover the mysteries and truths of both the world and its history, in order to save both Subaru and the world at large.

And so, with the name decided, Team Natsuki left, without anyone knowing. They left outside of the safe walls of the Capital, and out into the dangerous unknowns of the world.

A few days after Team Natsuki left the Capital, it was a bright day out in the field, where Reinhard and his friends were making their way towards the fabled Sanctuary.

"How much farther?" Felix groaned.

"About an hour left," Reinhard said.

"Reinhard, remind us what the Pleiades, err, I mean, what Subaru said about this individual you were supposed to meet with?" Julius asked. "Anything at all would be helpful."

"He's a contact within the Sanctuary, and one with an attitude," the Sword Saint said. "However, he's an excellent fighter, and wants to become a knight when they are older."

"Strange. You said he was a spy for the Pleiades?" Julius asked.

"More like a sympathizer."

"I see. Strange that he wants to become a knight despite sympathizing with the Pleiades."

"Everyone, stop," Crusch commanded.

"Are we there yet, nyah?" Felix asked.

"No, something's in the meadows," Felt said, pointing towards the grass.

The grass, much like all of the foliage around these parts, was tall, due to the fact people rarely traveled these parts anymore thanks to all of the dangers it entailed. Because of that, it was hard for the team to identify the precise location of the movement's whereabouts.

That was, if it wasn't for the fact they had the Sword Saint.

"Reinhard, can you see anything?" Crusch asked.

"It's coming close to us," Reinhard said. "And whatever it is, it's fast."

RUSTLE!

The grass rattled around them, and soon enough, a large, black-skinned, two-headed dog with sharp teeth and red glowing eyes leapt out of the grass, growling towards the group.

""RRR…""

"What the hell is that?!" Felt shouted.

"Some kind of dog, apparently!" Fourier answered.

Reinhard got off his ground dragon and took out his spare sword. "Julius, be ready to attack."

"Understood," Julius said, as the purple-haired knight got off his ground dragon and grabbed a sword, with his six spirits coming out to defend everyone else, too.

"Fourier, Felt. Get behind me," Crusch said.

The two royals got behind her, as the two-headed beast growled, and lunged at Julius.

""RRRAAAA–""

"FURA!"

FWOOSH!

""RRR…"" The wind blade slashed between the two necks of the dog, hurting it badly, but given how it simply growled at them, its rat-like tail whipping in the air, it did little to hurt it.

"It's still alive!" Julius growled.

The monster growled, and prepared to attack once more, only to suddenly –

GRAB!

""AAAARRR–""

Out of the meadows, something else appeared, shooting out its dark gray tentacles at the two-headed dog, and wrapping its rubber-like arms all around the beast's body.

"Oh, fuck!" Felt shouted.

""YELP! YELP! YE–""

CRUNCH!

The dogs' heads howled in fear, before suddenly getting eaten alive by a mass of dark tentacles, almost as if wrapped into a ball, with a beak in front of Team Natsuki.

"As Felt-sama would say... hell no!" Reinhard said in full disgust, as he rushed forward and sliced the mass of tentacles into pieces while it was still busy with its meal.

SLASH!

"EEEEE!!!"

The creature squealed in agony, as its organs fell out of its body, and it expired.

Reinhard sighed as he sheathed his blade. "Shall we continue?"

The group continued on their quest, as the corpses they created began to be eaten by the sharp-toothed porcupines and other scavengers they had attracted to the area.

Theresia looked around her home, but still found no sign of her grandson.

It was odd. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in his room, aside from a few papers on his desk, and he wasn't scheduled for patrol within the city anytime soon.

"Wilhelm, have you seen Reinhard?" she called out from the hallway.

"No, I have not," he answered back. "Perhaps he's with Fillole-sama?"

Yeah, that's probably it, Theresia thought to herself.

An hour after Team Natsuki's first-hand experience with the local food chain, they arrived at the border of the Kremaldy Forest, where the so-called Sanctuary resided.

Reinhard had to admit, if it wasn't for his addition to the team and the fact that they actually knew what they were looking for, there was a good chance that anyone else would have assumed there was nothing out there but trees as far as the eye could see.

The trees around the area were so tall and so bunched together, that sunlight barely reached them, only breaking through at whatever small openings the leaves left. The red-haired knight mused that the locals loved that sort of feature during the hot summer days.

But still, the fact that there was no sign of any obvious architecture around the area (that they could see, at least) made it clear that whoever lived here didn't want to be found.

Shame that they ended up with Reinhard as their tracker.

"It would seem we are here," Reinhard said.

"So, is there a door we knock on?" Felt asked.

"Hello?!" Crusch called out to the wilderness. "Is anyone here?!"

The group remained quiet, thinking for a moment it did not work, when suddenly…

RUSTLE… RUSTLE…

POP!

…out of the bushes, a small, pink-haired half-elf in a white dress popped up.

While the others were surprised that it worked, Fourier said, "Greetings, I am Fourier Lugunica. My friends and I are looking for a young man named Garfiel Tinsel. Do you know him?"

The half-elf remained silent, when suddenly…

DASH!

…she ran away in the opposite direction.

"Uh... are we supposed to follow her?" Felt asked the others.

"Hurry, before we lose her!" Crusch shouted.

"On it!" Felt shouted, as she dashed off using her Divine Protection, following the running half-elf. While the girl may have known the terrain, Felt was far faster.

The rest of the group follow Felt on their ground dragons, and through the forest, when she suddenly stops in the middle of a clearing, having lost the half-elf.

"Shit, she's good," Felt cursed.

Everyone looked around the clearing for her, but to no avail. Whoever the half-elf was, she was gone. Reinhard sighed, as he looked up into the sky, only to see something catch his eye.

"Hm…?" he hummed, before his eyes suddenly widened. "EVERYONE, SCATTER!!!"

Everyone moved out of the way from their large group, and right on time, as a figure quickly descended to the ground and slammed into the earth, causing dirt to fly everywhere.

BOOOM!

"So, th' clone had a reason ta run!" the newcomer said.

"Who are you?" Reinhard asked.

"Ma amazin' self is th' Shield whose gonna kick yer ass, pretty boy!"

"Hey!" Felt shouted. "No one calls Rein "pretty boy" but me!"

The blond warrior launched himself towards the red-headed knight, rearing their fist to strike the knight right in the face. But when the punch came flying, Reinhard was able to catch the blond's hand with relative ease, though was surprised by the strength behind the attack.

"RRRR…" the blond growled, baring his sharp teeth and revealing his demi-human heritage, before pulling back his other arms and launching a barrage of attacks. "RAAAAA!!!"

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

You're remarkably strong for one so young," Reinhard said, completely unaffected.

"SHUT UP!!!" the blond demi-human shouted as he kept punching. "AAAAA —!!!"

The boy attempted to deliver an uppercut with his available arm, but was blasted away by a powerful gust of wind caused by Felt. The blond demi-human tumbled back, and was preparing to jump them again, but was suddenly stopped by a new voice. A feminine voice.

"YOUNG GARFIEL, STOP!!!"

The newcomer looked just like the pink-haired half-elf they encountered, but wearing a black dress, carrying a staff, and had a far more taller and mature-looking figure.

"Hey, you like the half-elf from earlier? Is she your sister?" Felt asked.

"Granny!" the blond warrior shouted. "Whaddya doin'?!"

"Welcoming our guests, as you should have done instead of attacking," the half-elf said.

"And who are you, madame?" Julius asked.

"Ryuzu Meyer, Guardian of the Sanctuary," the pink-haired half-elf said, bowing in respect. "This is Garfiel Tinsel, the Shield of the Sanctuary, and my adopted grandson."

"Ah, you're Garfiel Tinsel?" Reinhard smiled. "You're the one we have been looking for!"

"Eh? Ya been lookin' for ma amazin' self?" Garfiel growled.

"And more importantly, why?" Ryuzu asked.

"I was told to come to you by Pleiades," Reinhard answered honestly.

Both Ryuzu and Garfiel remained silent, as they stared at the Sword Saint.

"Is something wrong…?" Reinhard asked, slightly concerned.

"No, nothing is wrong. You are welcome here," Ryuzu said, quickly turning around. "However, I suggest you make yourselves appear unarmed. The village is just over that way."

Listening to Ryuzu, the team followed her and Garfiel to the village.

Ford Lugunica was getting rather nervous.

His daughter, Fillole, was always a rowdy child. Skipping lessons, getting into trouble, wandering the streets, but every time she did something like this, she always had an accomplice; sometimes it was his nephew, Fourier, and his friends, or the Sword Saint every now and then. But there were no reports of shenanigans from the knights patrolling the Capital.

Something was definitely not right.

Opening the doors to the Throne Room, he saw that his older brother, Randohal, wasn't busy with any King duties at the moment, so this was a good time to ask him if he had seen –

"Ah, Ford! Perfect timing!" Randohal said. "Have you seen Fourier?"

"What?" Ford asked, shocked. "I was going to ask you if you had seen Fillole!"

Team Natsuki followed the woman and her grandson as they entered the village, one they soon realized was populated by… monsters. As in actual beings affected by the Pleiades.

Oni, lamias, trolls, multi-headed serpents, ogres, goblins, ettins, kobolds, demons, monsterized humans, and many other types of Team Natsuki would have struck down in literally any other place and scenario were simply living here, just… minding their own business.

Reinhard remained calm, but cautious. "These creatures... are they docile here?"

"Those are people, young man, not animals," Ryuzu chided him. "Just because they don't look like you and me, doesn't mean that they can't think and feel just like the rest of us."

"Tell that two headed dog that tried to off us on the way here," Felt grumbled.

"That was an animal, no different than a dog. The villagers here are sapient."

"What determines them to be sapient or not?" Julius asked.

"How are you different from a beast?" the pink-haired half-elf asked.

Felt nodded at the sound logic. "She's got you there."

"Y'all gonna keep talkin', or y'all gonna come on in?" Garfiel asked. "Yer freakin' out th' locals."

"Of course. Our apologies," Reinhard said, as he entered the shack.

"Please, sit down," Ryuzu said. "One of the Ryuzus will be here shortly with tea for you."

As Crusch sat down, something caught her attention. "Ryuzus? As in plural?"

"Tell me, what do you know of this place? Do you know who created it?"

"It was created by Echidna, the Witch of Greed," Reinhard answered.

"This is what she used to be known as in days of yore, yes," Ryuzu said, nodding. "These days, however, you know her better as Echidna the Orange, one of the Nine Colors."

"The Nine Colors that serve directly under Pleiades, correct?" Julius asked.

"Yes," the pink-haired half-elf said, her head nodding again. "They're the highest ranked members of the Pleiades Cult, with Satella the Black leading the nine within their group."

"Are you a part of the Cult as well?" Reinhard asked.

"There are those who have found balance between the Pleiades and the rest of the world," Ryuzu answered. "We, in specific, offer a home to those who have nowhere else to go."

"A refuge."

"Or a prison, since ya can't really leave, and all th' guards have th' same face," Garfiel grumbled. Given the mean look Ryuzu was giving him, it was a sensitive topic between them.

But Felt's curiosity got the better of her. "What do you mean you can't leave?"

"Everyone is free to leave," the pink-haired half-elf said. "It's simply that the act of doing so can come with… consequences for the unfortunate and the unprepared."

Crusch narrowed her eyes at those words. "What sort of consequences?"

"Be honest with me…" Ryuzu said. "What was your first instinct when you saw the locals?"

"Wariness," Reinhard answered honestly. "Unsure if they would attack first."

"Outside of this forest, you and your people would have attacked first."

"I'm afraid we don't quite understand," Julius said, confused.

"She's sayin' that yer a bunch o' monster hunters!" Garfiel shouted, pointing an accusative finger at the team. "Ya woulda attacked 'em if you saw 'em out 'n th' open, and ya know it!"

"We only fight to defend ourselves and others," Felix said. "We only actively hunt if we have to."

"I suppose I can't fault you there…" Ryuzu said, before she decided to change the topic. "Regardless, Echidna the Orange created this safe haven, but it required… caretakers."

As she said that, the door opened, to reveal several copies of the original Ryuzu, however, they were much shorter than her, almost as if they were younger versions of her. As they began serving tea to the team, the Sword Saint connected the dots to what they were.

"These... these are replicas of you, correct?" Reinhard asked.

"Technically speaking, they're replicas of me when I was twelve," the half-elf said. "It's been four hundred years since then, and I've… grown… as evidenced by my… physique."

"I see…" the Sword Saint said. "Anyways, we came here because I met Pleiades on a mission six years ago, and after finding out I could understand him, he told me to meet with Garfiel."

Garfiel stared at him in disbelief. "Ya… talked ta him."

"Apparently so," Crusch said, nodding in confirmation. "When we encountered him, we only heard random nonsense, but Reinhard could perfectly understand what he said."

"I see," Ryuzu said, as she sipped her tea. "What do you wish to know?"

"I heard from the Pleiades that he wishes to have his original body back," Reinhard said. "But let me ask you this: What have been the Pleiades Cult's interpretations of his desires?"

"While Satella the Black is devoted to him to her very core, she, and the rest of the Colors and their factions, are quite insane. Their attempts to bring the Pleiades into our plane of existence have resulted in the monsters and discord that have plagued us for the last four centuries."

"And he has been unable to stop it?" Julius asked.

"Up until now, I believed that the Pleiades was merely an entity of chaos, one which did not care if they were being worshiped or not," Ryuzu said. "However, now…?"

"Do you know if it is possible that Pleiades is actually... unable to control his abilities?" the Sword Saint said, unsure of how to exactly phrase it. "Regardless of his power, if he was suddenly thrust into a new body with no idea of its capabilities or how to use them…"

"That is quite possible. Tell me, what did he tell you when you met, specifically?"

"First, he voiced his relief that I was able to understand him, and then he explained his annoyance and exasperation that no one has been able to for four hundred years."

"Hmm… I see… Then, yes, I suppose that if he couldn't speak properly, then not being able to control his powers properly is within the realm of possibility," Ryuzu suggested.

Reinhard nodded, before he also added, "He said that he was originally a human from another world, before suddenly being pulled to ours as the being he is now, as well.

"An otherworlder?" Garfiel asked.

"That is what he said," Reinhard confirmed that part before moving on to the next part. "The Pleiades then explained his... situation with his seven brides. I was concerned at first that he violated them against their will, but it would seem that the opposite is more likely."

"Oh, yeah, th' Godkin."

"The Godkin?" Felt repeated the phrase Garfiel said.

"Just 'cause th' Pleiades can't speak, that don't mean he can't fuck."

"I... see…" Julius blushed a little. "And who are these Godkin?"

"Dunno. No one knows who they are or how many there are, 'cept for their mothers. All we know, they go around th' world wreckin' stuff, like th' Sword Saint if he didn't have a girlfriend."

"Hah, I'm your leash, Rein," Felt laughed at that.

"More like he's yours…" Fourier grumbled.

"Regardless, the Pleiades' brides, aside from being mothers to his offspring, also hold high positions in the Cult, with some of them being in the Nine Colors themselves," Ryuzu said.

"Wonderful," Crusch deadpanned. "Insane cultists gave birth to the cataclysmic spawn of a god."

"I'm afraid I can't give away the identities of six of the brides, but I can say that Satella the Black is the first bride," the pink-haired half-elf said, before sipping her tea once more.

"Because of course she is," Felix groaned, nursing his cup of tea.

"The Pleiades also requested that I be allowed to translate for him, allowing a line of communication to be formed from him to his followers," Reinhard added.

"Hmm…" Ryuzu hummed. "It would be difficult to be a translator for them, given the implications of what would happen if you got caught, but I do have a potential solution."

"What do you suggest?" Fourier asked.

"Within the Nine Colors, there are several factions, with each of the Colors having followers loyal to only them," the pink-haired half-elf said, finishing off her tea.

Crusch, and the others, all seemed intrigued by that. "Go on…"?

"Echidna the Orange has loyal followers who are within the King's court, while Typhon the Green has them in Vollachia. Minerva the Red and Sekhmet the Blue have followers within the Elior Forest, and Carmilla the Pink's followers are in Gusteko. You can go to any of them."

Reinhard thought about what he just and the others just learned, rubbing his chin. "Hmm... the Elior Forest is not too far from here, if I recall. We can probably head there soon enough."

"If you plan on going there, speak to the Romanee-Conti couple," Ryuzu said. "They are the leaders of the Elior Forest up north, and are like me, in terms of their allegiances."

"I see," Reinhard said, as he finished off his cup of tea, and stood up from the table, as the others followed suit behind him. "Thank you very much for this information."

"Yeah, yeah," Garfiel growled. "Now git out."

And with that, Team Natsuki had said their goodbyes to Ryuzu Meyer and Garfiel Tinsel, got back on their ground dragons, and made their way to the Elior Forest.

"Heinkel, where are you going?" Louanna asked.

"I'm being called by the King," the redhead said. "There's an emergency meeting going on with the members of the Royal Family, the Elders, my parents, and Captain Marcos."

"An emergency meeting?" Lounna repeated. "Why, what's going on?"

"Louanna, have you seen our son?"

"Reinhard? No, I haven't seen him for a few days, I thought –"

"That he was with Fillole-sama? That's what my mother thought, too. But he's not there. Fillole-sama and Fourier-sama aren't in the Royal Castle. We sent knights to the Karsten estate, Crusch and Felix aren't there, either, and Joshua said he hadn't seen Julius in a bit," Heinkel said. "Six of the Kingdom's children are missing, Louanna. Including our son."

Author's Note: Yep, we've got an aged-up Ryzuzu. Also, the two-headed dog is from Shield Hero, and the land octopus from Elden Ring. Now for the comments!

khangapp184: I guess I can see how someone would think this is a comedy…

Memorysoul: Oh, yeah, I guess I kinda did imply that, didn't I?

Tindle: For us? Yes. For him? Not really, Carnage was just a crazy exception.

Andawy: You're welcome for the chapter, reply, and the link!

BigZachOnEm: I love how everyone is now using "peak" to describe what they love.

Myron4ik3: Fingercreepers are the best example of casual eldritch horror in a high fantasy setting, in my opinion. They're not the final boss, but they still… exist.

mainblue22: I've never played Elden Ring, so I didn't know that was their weakness…

DragonMB: Don't forget to thank Infinite, he kinda helped me write half the dialogue.

Shady_Dealings17: Yeah, I always thought that if their world didn't have problems like the Witch Cult and the Royal Selection, the main cast would kinda be like the one from Fairy Tail; a group of friends going on adventures throughout their fantastical world.

oras: Okay, I may have had a hard time kinda conveying it, but they were kinda freaking out over the fact that Subaru was in the room. It's kinda like whenever Satella appears in a fic, no one is panicking, but they are clearly on-guard, even if it's not shown.

Tuskgyro56: Burdeos es mi saco de boxeo.

Chitake_21: Funny enough, I have no idea what the Gluttony triplets are up to here…

VGodOfRain: I'll be sure to add Felt and Reinhard's relationship into the tags!

LGKRO: Another one of those words, "cooking."

Inter1tus: Isn't Spica kinda like Groot when it comes to her dialogue options?

Novalesse: Subaru is also my favorite eldritch horror (my second place is Midoriya).

Ast3rWi: Yeah, I've noticed that I've got a lot of praise for the dialogue.

Genilgames: I wonder if you'll say that when Raphtalia shows up…

Random_de_internet: Well, we'll be seeing Satella soon, so there's your compromise.

Kifhjoofff: Y eso les va a pasar factura.

SenSlice: Let's just say that fantasy worlds tend to have standard monsters, and Subaru is just "creating" them, with Carnage being the only one that he knew was fictional.

Ernand: That's a good way to describe Subaru's condition. And no crossover tags, got it.

Jerami: I thought I wrote down fourteen… or did you count them from the original image?

John Guest (Guest): I have no idea what this is a reference to.

Jsaak: Seriously, could someone please explain that reference to me?

97Darth02Fury: Dunno what "TFS" is, you're gonna have to de-abbreviate that for me.

Bonelesser: Oh, yeah, I've heard about that game.

10FourKnox: I always preferred "Freya," but I'm a stickler for canon, sadly.

mail2003: I haven't actually thought of what Otto is doing in this world. Probably just living a comfortable life with Frederica and however many kids they end up having.

Wildemam: I might be blind, 'cause… I don't see any reaction here.

So! You all know I have created my own website where I've posted a bunch of my art, so, if you're interested in seeing that, visit https/eowen5./! And I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore