Reinhard van Astrea had entered the scene.
And the air changed with him.
The sheer relief that hit me was so visceral, I nearly collapsed.
Emilia, seeing that the Sword Saint had arrived, shifted her priority from defense to aid as she sprinted off to the side, where Tracksuit had collapsed while clenching his bleeding arm and screaming in pain.
"Ethan. Lady Emilia," Reinhard said gently, voice clear and calm, unshaken despite the carnage around him. "I seem to have arrived rather late."
He tapped the side of his boot against the ground. A dull, straight sword lying nearby responded instantly, flinging itself into the air, spinning end over end before landing perfectly in his open palm.
He caught it without looking.
"Forgive my tardiness."
He raised the sword, inspecting it for only a second.
A blue sheen bloomed across the metal, coating it in an ethereal glow that the moonlight only seemed to amplify.
Then he pointed the blade directly at Elsa.
"Black hair, and blades unique to Northern Gusteko…" he said, tone thoughtful.
"If my guess is correct, you are Elsa Granhiert. The Bowel Hunter."
Elsa, naked and bloodstained, offered no fear.
If anything, she looked delighted.
"...The Sword Saint himself has seen fit to grace me with his presence," she purred. Her voice dripped with amusement and lust.
"So many delicious opponents tonight. Fortune really does favor me."
Her eyes gleamed, teeth showing in a sharp smile.
"Tell me, knight of knights, what will your guts look like when I spill them?"
Reinhard hummed in thought before casually turning to look at me.
"Ethan, please go over and stand by Lady Emilia, you're bleeding quite heavily, my friend."
I moved without argument and all but collapsed beside Emilia, who immediately gave me a once-over, then visibly recoiled.
Her jaw dropped.
My right sleeve was soaked. Blood dripped down my fingertips, darkening the already black fabric until even my glove squished with it.
I ripped it off and let it fall. It hit the floor with a wet splat.
"Damn. Been like two days since I've seen my own hand."
"Ethan!" Emilia gasped. "I thought you said you were going to—! You were going to do something about that! Your… tourni-qeet thing!"
"Relax, Lia. I'll totally be fine."
I gave her my best half-dead smirk. "Help me strip this kid's jacket."
Tracksuit groaned on the floor nearby, teeth clenched while Emilia's healing magic seeped into the vicious cut Elsa had carved into his arm.
It was working.
His wound was mending, slowly but visibly.
Unlike mine.
'So… maybe not every one of her blades was laced with anticoagulant. Lucky bastard.'
Emilia, as quickly and carefully as she could, took off Tracksuit's tracksuit, then awkwardly handed it to me as she got back to applying magic to his arm.
I took a look at the jacket, then at the bloody gash on my arm, and questioned how the hell I was gonna wrap this thing on.
—
"There are many things the order would like to ask you. I strongly suggest you surrender." Reinhard spoke with absolute calm.
"Do you really expect a starving predator to resist such choice, juicy prey?" Elsa asked, her final blade waving through the air as though imagining exactly how she would go about disemboweling the opponent in front of her.
But the reality was that she was looking for an exit. She had failed her contract. The half-elf still breathed, and the insignia remained within their grasp, but her mission was a success.
The man was exactly as Mother had described, radiating a power far above the rest, cloaked in that same twisted aura she'd only ever felt around the deranged Archbishops of the Cult. Even his appearance reminded her of that pitiful excuse for a man.
The confirmation would be enough to spare her punishment, and perhaps even allow her little sister to be spared the "love" that Mother had planned on gifting her from the mere fact that she had to lend them some of her pets for this mission.
Reinhard shifted his stance, and Elsa's mind immediately stopped wandering. It would take some finesse to escape this cage she'd walked into.
Or perhaps the best way to escape the trap was to willingly stay in it?
Elsa took her stance, final blade at the ready, and charged.
"I would rather not use violence on a woman," Reinhard said lightly.
Then stomped the ground—
A focused gale exploded outward, slamming into Elsa like she'd run into a brick wall. It stunned her mid-charge.
She barely registered the force before a thunderous kick collided with her side, rattling through her ribs and echoing through her body like a tuning fork struck too hard.
Stars filled her vision.
Sent flying across the room, she skidded to a halt in a poor recovery that left her kneeling. Splinters from the shattered floorboards embedded in her palms and legs that her flesh sluggishly began to reject.
A straightforward approach wouldn't work on him.
"The rumors don't exaggerate, it seems," she hissed.
"I'm not sure what the rumors say about me," Reinhard replied. "But I will try my best to bring you to justice."
He lifted the borrowed sword—
And vanished.
Elsa's eyes shot around the room before her instincts screamed at her to duck.
Lunging forward at a speed far surpassing anything she'd shown prior, she managed to dodge the blunt swing Reinhard was delivering from behind that sought to knock her out.
A heartbeat later, she spun on reflex and dashed toward him, only to pivot and leap off the wall, launching herself to the second floor.
For a split second, she entertained the idea that she might just be able to run away.
Then Reinhard was there.
Already in front of her.
Sword arcing down.
She ducked, losing strands of hair.
Dagger lashed out, blade slicing upward, trying to make him dodge.
He didn't flinch.
He caught the blade between two fingers and snapped it off the hilt with a crack.
Her eyes went wide.
She let go immediately, spinning into a kick toward his neck.
Reinhard leaned back exactly enough for it to miss.
She landed.
Vaulted backward over the second-floor railing.
Dropped to the first floor with a silent thud.
Her face shot to the corner of the room where all the survivors had gathered. Perhaps she'd be able to take one of them down with her? Make her inevitable capture worth it.
But instead of seeing her huddled victims, her gaze was met with a large black glove that landed on her face.
Before slamming her head into the floorboards, followed by a vicious stomp that pinned her spine, the feeling of cold steel kissed her neck.
"Cease your struggling," Reinhard said gently.
"I do not wish to cause you more harm."
Her limbs strained weakly beneath the sudden weight of what felt like a building pressing her into the floor.
And then… she simply stopped.
'The Bowel Hunter, caught by the Sword Saint,' she thought numbly.
The sensation reminded her of her so-called "loss" against the Blue Lightning of Vollachia.
But just like back then, the mission would be completed.
That was her final thought before unconsciousness claimed her in full.
—
Watching Reinhard single-handedly and so simply dismantle Elsa was… honestly kind of a treat.
At least, it might've been, if I wasn't halfway slumped against a wall with my teeth clenched to hide the pain that was currently scorching through my mind.
Emilia and, surprisingly, Felt had both worked together to tie Tracksuit's stolen jacket around my arm to tide me over temporarily until Emilia was done mending the guy's arm back together.
It seems that Elsa had almost chopped it off at the elbow, and that took more immediate precedence over my gash.
I let out a huff of… annoyance? I couldn't keep track of every feeling sloshing around in my mind while the ever-present pain forced me to stay awake.
At least Tracksuit had passed out. Lucky bastard.
I didn't get that luxury.
Letting out another sigh, I tried to focus my attention on the "fight" between Elsa and Reinhard. Sad that it had just ended, though. I winced as I watched him smash her face into the ground and then place his hand on her head.
Then he stepped off her, reached into his jacket, and pulled out a slim pair of shackles.
With mechanical ease, he snapped them onto her wrists.
Then he looked up, caught my eye, and gave me his usual million-megawatt smile and a big thumbs up, like he hadn't just flattened an infamous assassin in under thirty seconds.
I shook my head, a grin tugging at my lips despite myself, though with all the pain, it came out more as a grimace than anything else.
As he picked Elsa up by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of flour, I heard thudding footsteps outside the ruins of the loot house.
I raised an eyebrow at Reinhard.
He just smiled wider.
Then—BANG—the front door was kicked off its hinges.
Stomping through with measured steps came three royal knights with their swords drawn. They had come prepared for battle.
Instead, they froze mid-step.
Their eyes scanned the wreckage, the shattered floorboards, the gaping hole where the roof of the building used to be.
Then they landed on Reinhard, standing calm and clean in the middle of the chaos, a naked woman draped over his shoulder, completely unconscious.
While the knights had stared in shock, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Emilia had slipped the hood of my cloak over her head at the sight of the men.
Reinhard casually dumped Elsa off on the knights after telling them who she really was, which gave all of them pause and almost made them draw the blades they had just sheathed.
They looked like they wanted to ask questions, but then thought better of it as they shook their heads and simply carried the notorious killer off to wherever they held high-value prisoners.
With more official business out of the way, Reinhard finally approached our ragtag group.
Past helping patch me up, Felt had stayed silent and out of the way, eyes constantly vigilant even with the Sword Saint and especially against the knights who came and went.
Old man Rom had collapsed onto a crate full of booze and, since Reinhard had arrived, had been casually guzzling the entire crate down.
Reinhard stepped closer, his gaze sweeping across us before resting gently on Emilia, still cloaked.
"Lady Emilia, are you alright?"
She exhaled quietly. The glow faded from her hands.
Tracksuit's arm looked like hell, but it was whole again. Pale skin stretched tight over an angry red line, no longer hanging by a thread.
The boy continued blissfully sleeping through the trauma as Emilia gave Reinhard a simple nod before kneeling next to me and quietly beginning to pour soothing cool magic into my wound.
Essentially being ignored by her, Reinhard awkwardly scratched the back of his head before sitting down on a crate next to my slumped form.
He didn't speak for a while.
Just looked around the broken, quiet ruin of a house.
Emilia continued to use her magic, and the pain continued to dull; the silence almost lured me to sleep.
Then Reinhard finally spoke up.
"Did you find the missing item?"
I gave him a hum and lifted my still functional but sore left arm and pointed at Felt.
"She still has it."
I didn't say anything further, because the rest was pretty self-explanatory. Reinhard was a knight, and the girl hiding in the corner possessed a stolen item.
Reinhard didn't say a word.
Just stood up and walked over to Felt before kneeling and asking gently if he could have the item back.
I'd expected some resistance from Felt. This insignia had almost gotten her killed. But instead, she pulled the insignia from her pocket and silently offered it to Reinhard.
I was about to close my eyes and tune out of living for a little bit when I noticed my friend suddenly go stiff.
He jolted to his feet before grasping Felt's hand in a rather rough fashion.
"Ouch! You're hurting me, let go!"
The sudden yell shocked both Emilia and Rom, who both turned their heads to the scene. Emilia looked to me and gave me a look of confusion while Rom grabbed his club and looked ready for blood.
"How can this be?" he questioned, more emotion shown now than when he'd beaten Elsa into the dirt, "What's your name?"
A sudden range of questions flew from my friend's mouth as he attempted to interrogate Felt's entire life story in the span of a minute.
His grip never let go of Felt, who continued to struggle under his strength.
"Oi, you Astrea bastard! You let that girl go. She ain't done nothing worth taking in for!" The old giant yelled, feet thudding on the ground as he got closer to Reinhard.
My friend's gaze landed on Rom, then shifted back to Felt, and suddenly something clicked in his mind.
"I'm afraid I can't let you go free. Neither of you."
Suddenly, his palm covered Felt's face, and the girl went limp. He gently laid her body on the floor before turning to the old giant.
Rom's face contorted in rage, but before he could let loose a battle cry, Reinhard was already leaping in front of his face, hand landing on the man's forehead, and an instant later, the giant was being gently laid out on the floor next to Felt.
Reinhard stooped to retrieve the insignia from the ground, then walked back toward us, quiet, unreadable.
He stopped before Emilia and me.
I squinted up at him, blinking through the exhaustion.
"What the hell was that all about?" I asked.
Emilia gave a concerned nod, eyes wide.
"They stole something important, I know… but I'd prefer it if they weren't punished too harshly," she said gently.
Reinhard approached her before kneeling and offering the insignia to her. Its gem dull in his hands, but the moment it touched her palm, it began glowing a resplendent red once more.
"Lady Emilia. I can understand why you didn't inform me or the guards about your stolen insignia. I swear on my honor as a knight that I'll not speak a word about tonight's events concerning it."
He stood slowly, taking a steady breath.
His eyes flicked to mine, then drifted to Felt, still lying motionless save for her quiet breaths.
"Stealing proof of royal candidacy is no small crime. Under normal circumstances, I'd defer to your judgment."
His voice hardened slightly.
"But that's trivial compared to the greater crime unfolding before me now."
'Royal Candidate? Who? Emilia?'
We both gave him a look of confusion, both for different reasons, but he didn't elaborate.
Instead, he turned back to me with a searching look.
"Ethan. Did you find who you were looking for? Or are we still searching?"
My eyes landed on Tracksuit, and both Reinhard and Emilia followed my line of sight.
'He's my most likely candidate. He comes from Earth, like me; there's no way in hell he doesn't come from Earth with how he acts. But does that mean he's the guy the Witch was talking about?'
"We're still rolling, y'know?" I muttered.
Reinhard nodded once. Understood.
Then Emilia's voice cut in, hesitant.
"Uhm… do you two know him?"
We both immediately denied that, and a look of contemplation crossed her features.
"Well… if no one here knows him, I think I'll take him with me."
I blinked. "What? Why?"
"Don't misunderstand," she said, hands raised. "I'm doing it for my benefit. He tried to buy back my insignia just to return it to me. And he stepped up to protect me from Elsa. I want to ask him why."
I slowly nodded. Couldn't argue with that.
Then she turned to me again.
"Oh. Ehm, Ethan?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"For all you did to help me today… I'd like to reward you. Somehow."
She sounded hesitant. Like she wasn't even sure she had the authority to offer anything.
"I understand you and Sir Reinhard were doing something else before helping me. It's only right I pay you back for your time."
I glanced up at Reinhard for input.
He gave me a nod.
I squinted.
'That tells me nothing, buddy.'
Seeing the look I was giving Reinhard, Emilia immediately chimed in.
"Oh! And of course, I'd need to reward you too, Sir Reinhard, for saving us at the end."
"Respectfully, Lady Emilia, I must decline," he replied, with that damn perfect posture. "But I will insist that Ethan be rewarded for his efforts. He did far more than I did, in truth. As for me, it is my duty to serve the people of this kingdom. Your safety is reward enough."
I stared at him for a second, then looked over to Emilia.
She was watching me with that same gentle look. Hopeful. Expectant. Like she really wanted me to accept something, anything.
"Uh…" she tried again, "If you come with me, we have a really talented healing mage. She can finish treating your arm."
I needed time to think.
Reason and Judgement.
Click
And all motion ceased.
The weight of pain disappeared. The haze cleared. I could finally think.
'The human body is such a strange contradiction… fragile, yet infuriatingly resilient. An ever-shifting dichotomy.'
Irrelevant thoughts.
'Focus.'
Emilia made it sound like choosing the reward meant going with her.
But was that what I wanted?
'Who is Emilia, really? I assumed she was a noble; now I learn she's a royal candidate. A potential Queen.'
Being rewarded by someone like her could mean a lot.
But more than that… going with her would let me stay close.
To him.
I could be healed. Rewarded.
And stay in proximity to Tracksuit.
Let her question him while I listen. Maybe even slip in a few of my own.
Figure out if he's the one the Witch meant.
He's from Earth.
A male.
And time hasn't reset since I met him.
It fits.
At the very least, I'd learn more about how the hell we got here. Maybe why.
Maybe something more.
'It'd be like an adventure, no?'
Decision made.
I released the moment, and the world resumed.
Author's Note:
My first time doing one of these, but the Webnovel one looked too limiting, and I wanted to share my thoughts.
First things first. This story has reached over 300 collections! Now that may sound small to you more experienced readers on the platform, but to me it feels like a massive milestone for something I started as my own entertainment!
Thank you to everybody who leaves a comment or engages with my content in any form!
Anywhoooo.
This chapter felt like it dragged to me. I just wasn't that motivated to write it, and honestly wanted to skip over the whole thing. But just skipping over such a technically important part of the story and essentially the first half of the ending of the arc sounds stupid.
Plus, it's not in my nature as an author to skip over parts of the story, as I'm sure you guys can tell; I'm rather verbose in my writing, I want everything detailed and explained, and thus the pacing is slow. (It's my sin.)
Besides that, how am I doing on the story? I'm beginning to slip away from canon, nothing too major yet, but I hope I'm at least somewhat entertaining.
Next arc, I plan to do some more splitting from canon. I don't want Ethan to hole himself up in the Roswaal Manor the whole time sipping tea.
Weeelp. Rant over, I guess. How do you end something like this?