The golden morning light filtered gently through the thick curtains of the guest room in the Mathers manor, chasing away the shadows of the night. Subaru slowly opened his eyes, his body heavy as lead, his consciousness painfully emerging from a fog of dull, throbbing pain.
His vision took a few seconds to adjust before freezing on a blue patch near his bed. Rem was there. Kneeling on the floor, her head bowed, large silent tears rolling down her cheeks to crash miserably onto the crumpled sheets.
As soon as she saw the boy's eyelids flicker, her shoulders jerked with a poorly contained sob, her entire facade of the perfect maid collapsing.
Rem : « Subaru-kun... I... I am so sorry... It's my fault. Because of my weakness, of my stubbornness, you... you almost died... »
The young girl's voice trembled with devouring guilt, weighted with a despair that instantly gripped Subaru's heart. Forgetting his own bandages for a moment, he offered a tired smile, filled with sincere tenderness.
He gently raised his injured hand to pat Rem's blue hair, before sliding his arm around her trembling shoulders to draw her against him.
Subaru : « Stop crying, Rem... It's thanks to you that I'm still in one piece. We saved each other, didn't we? »
They remained embraced like that for a few seconds that seemed to last an eternity. A moment of pure vulnerability, a sanctuary of peace where nothing and no one seemed able to reach them, cradled by the warmth of their shared survival.
And then suddenly, the massive oak double doors of the room flew open with a resounding crash, shattering this bubble of intimacy.
Kurisu : « Oh, hi there, Sleeping Beauty! I hope you had a good rest! »
The atmosphere shifted in a fraction of a second, the air suddenly turning icy. Rem sprang up, her tears instantly dried by a surge of pure adrenaline. Her hand instinctively dove under her skirt to grip the chain of her morning star, her gaze glaring at the intruder dressed in white with fierce hostility.
Subaru, for his part, jumped in his bed, completely bewildered by this sudden appearance, his heart pounding.
Subaru : « What the... Kurisu?! What the hell are you doing here?! »
Kurisu stepped into the room with the exasperating nonchalance of a noble visiting his own lands, regally ignoring the murderous aura emanating from the servant. He stopped at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms with an amused, almost mocking smile.
Kurisu : « I've come to check on the miracle man. Sure, you survived that little walk in the woods... but we both know it was largely due to insolent luck. If things continue like this, with your current abilities, you won't survive the next storm. »
Rem : « What do you know about it, monster... Do not go near Subaru-kun! »
Rem spat, her knuckles whitening on her weapon, ready to paint the walls with the blood of the Anomaly.
Subaru : « Wait, Rem, stop! Let him talk... »
Subaru raised his hand to stop her, swallowing with difficulty. He looked Kurisu in the eyes, his mind racing at full speed.
« He's right » he thought bitterly.
Memories of the clearing returned to him in bloody flashes. He had fought, yes, but he also remembered Kurisu's presence, his last-minute intervention to save him from the horde of mabeasts.
And so, a click occurred in his mind, suddenly remembering his confrontation with that great witch beast… how it had seemed to hit a wall in the empty air just as it was about to crush him… how its hand had been severed without any explanation…
He suddenly understood, with brutal clarity, that all of this was due to Kurisu… and that without his actions during the fight against the beast, he would be dead, shredded in the mud.
Subaru : « You helped me back there... You were the one who made sure I got through that horror, weren't you? I'm too weak. I saw it clearly. So... what are you proposing? »
He asked, his voice trembling slightly but carrying a new determination.
Kurisu's expression flickered with a microsecond of surprise. He hadn't expected the boy to analyze the situation with such lucidity so quickly. A satisfied smirk finally stretched across his lips.
Kurisu : « Oh, you noticed. Interesting. What am I proposing? Nothing too heroic, rest assured. I'm terribly bored right now. So, to pass the time, I've decided I'm going to train you a little. »
Subaru : « Huh?! Train me? But... I have to work as a butler! Ram will kill me if I drop my chores, and Roswaal... »
Kurisu : « Oh, don't worry about your little chores. I already settled the details with the clown this morning. »
FLASHBACK
A few hours earlier, in the Lord's office. Roswaal L. Mathers' luxurious study, usually so impeccable, looked like a field of ruins. The heavy mahogany desk was fractured in two, shelves were torn from the walls, and burn marks dotted the woodwork.
In the middle of this disaster, Roswaal, the most powerful mage in the kingdom, was on his knees with his hands on the floor, short of breath, streaks of sweat ruining his makeup. The fight had been one-sided, a total and silent humiliation.
Kurisu, without a single scratch or even a drop of sweat, was literally sitting on his back, using the mage as a premium chair.
Kurisu : « So, we are in agreement? The kid is mine for the coming month. No chores. No obligations. »
Roswaal raised his head, spitting a bit of blood onto the silk carpet.
Roswaal : « I am so-o-orry… dear guest but… he is my butler. I can't r-really grant you that, he has tasks to— »
Without a word, Kurisu leaned down and picked up the precious black Gospel that had fallen to the floor. Slowly, he pinched the current page between his thumb and index finger, applying just enough tension so that the antique paper began to creak dangerously.
Kurisu : « Are you still sure of your answer, clown? »
Roswaal's eyes widened, pure terror replacing fatigue.
Roswaal : « Yeeeeeess... take him... d-do what you w-want... » the mage croaked, swallowing the worst humiliation of his four hundred years of existence.
END OF FLASHBACK
Subaru : « You... You convinced Roswaal? » Subaru asked, brought back to the present, incredulous at the white-clad man's confidence.
Kurisu : « Let's just say we had a very striking exchange of views. Get ready, Natsuki Subaru. Your training has officially turned into a one-way ticket to hell. But don't worry... you won't die… or maybe you will? kekekeke. »
The month that followed was a succession of visceral traumas. In the oppressive gloom of the estate forest, Subaru ran, his eyes blindfolded by a thick cloth, his breath short and his lungs on fire. He had to perceive Kurisu's invisible attacks.
Kurisu : « Your reaction time is pathetic. Do you have lag or something? »
Schlack! A blade of compressed air sliced clean through Subaru's right calf. The boy collapsed into the mud, screaming until his vocal cords tore as the pain, unbearable and artificially amplified, ravaged his nervous system. Beneath his tear-blurred eyes, the smoking flesh reconnected itself in a sickening sound, welding the tissues and bones back together.
What Subaru didn't know was that Kurisu had asked a small favor from "Author-san." For the sake of the show, the rules of reality had been slightly bent. During these nightmare training sessions, Subaru would benefit from an accelerated regeneration capacity.
His limbs would never be permanently lost; he would not end up a cripple. But the price of this temporary "immortality" was exorbitant: every wound, every broken bone, every cut would have its nerve pain multiplied by two.
Barely back on his feet, another invisible blow almost disemboweled him, leaving him spitting blood on his knees. Severed fingers flew into the ferns before painfully reappearing on his hands. It was an educational slaughterhouse.
Yet, the cruelty bore fruit. Over the weeks, driven by a primal survival instinct, Subaru's body began to adapt. Unable to perceive mana—since Kurisu emitted none—he learned to listen to the silence.
« The wind... it changes just before he strikes… » Subaru thought during yet another session.
He began to feel the tiny pulsations of the air, the atmospheric pressure shifting a fraction of a second before impact. His dodges, initially non-existent, became rare desperate twisting movements, then actual side-steps.
When he finally removed the blindfold, his vision seemed sharper. Facing Kurisu's linear and basic attacks, strikes that any average fighter could have seen coming, Subaru was now able to manage with agility. He hadn't become overpowered, far from it, but his ability to avoid a direct fatal blow had, at the very least, drastically increased.
But Kurisu didn't intend to stop at simple physical survival. Back at the manor, he began the psychological torture: the art of reading intentions.
Kurisu : « Humans lie, Subaru. Their mouths say one thing, their posture screams another. Observe the inhabitants of this manor. Tell me what they are hiding… or at least, what you can see. »
At first, Subaru failed miserably. He accompanied Rem to the village, helped Ram with the laundry, chatted with Emilia in the gardens, but he only saw what he wanted to see: friends, allies, no lies or hidden desires... Everything seemed normal to him.
Faced with this failure, Kurisu gave him insidious advice.
Kurisu : « You're looking at it wrong. Of course, if they're alone with you, nothing will happen. Observe them… when I'm around. »
The result was a chilling revelation. By applying this method, the scales fell from Subaru's eyes. He noticed the micro-expressions he had ignored until then.
He saw Rem's pupils dilate with hatred and her nose wrinkle imperceptibly as Kurisu approached, betraying a visceral disgust linked to his "smell," an animosity she struggled more and more to mask behind her polite smiles.
He caught the furtive and heavily suspicious glances that Ram threw at the white-clad man's back; the elder sister knew perfectly well what had happened to her master Roswaal in that destroyed office, and every broom stroke she made near Kurisu seemed calculated for a possible strike.
As for Emilia, though more measured, Subaru now perceived the slight trembling of her shoulders and the way she unconsciously crossed her arms, deeply unsettled by the crushing presence of the Anomaly.
Kurisu, for his part, remained an absolute concrete wall. One day, after a training session, Subaru, lying on the ground totally exhausted, tried to analyze him…
Subaru : « You're weird, you know? After all this time… I've tried to read your expressions… You smile, you make jokes, but… your eyes seem… completely empty…. How is that possible? »
He asked, sincerely intrigued by Kurisu… but Kurisu just laughed softly, his gaze shifting toward him.
Kurisu : « I simply manage my emotions, that's all. That's true mastery. You, on the other hand, have your doubts displayed in capital letters above your head. Learn to close that open book and control yourself, otherwise, you'll make a fool of yourself at the opportune moment... »
He said, as if to foreshadow a future event.
To complete this cocktail of suffering, Kurisu imposed an absurd physical training regimen on Subaru. Every dawn echoed with his complaints as he forced himself through an exhausting routine.
Subaru : « 98... 99... 100! What is this madness... Do you take me for Saitama or something?! »
He groaned one morning, dripping with sweat after his 100 push-ups, 100 squats, 100 sit-ups, and 10 kilometers of running, collapsing miserably onto the dew-covered grass of the garden.
Sitting in a majestic armchair a few meters away, sipping a steaming tea, Kurisu burst into a sincere laugh.
Kurisu : « Rest assured, even if you train for a thousand years like a madman, you will never have a quarter of his power. But look on the bright side: you'll keep your hair. Come on, up. Hand-to-hand. »
These close-combat sessions were humiliating. A black belt in karate in his old world, Kurisu handled self-defense with clinical precision. He didn't fight; he dissected Subaru's messy movements.
Kurisu : « Your hitbox is far too large when you strike like that, »
Kurisu declared while sweeping Subaru's legs with disconcerting ease, sending him biting the dust.
Kurisu : « Brute force won't save you against someone who has read your attack pattern. »
Subaru, nose bleeding, groaned as he got back up. These strange barbs, these terms from video games that they seemed to be the only ones to know, punctuated every training session.
« Where does he get this vocabulary from, damn it? » Subaru frequently wondered, his brain too clouded by pain and fatigue to connect the dots.
He filed these reflections away in a corner of his mind, convinced, wrongly, that if he survived this month with Kurisu, nothing more in this fantasy world could break him.
…..
Kurisu's arrival hadn't just disrupted Subaru's daily life; it had insidiously poisoned the entire atmosphere of the Mathers manor. During this month of training, every resident had developed their own way of surviving the presence of this "Anomaly."
For Rem, it was a torment at every moment. The scent of the Witch emanating from him, though different from that of the Cult, twisted her senses and awakened her murderous instincts. Every time Kurisu passed through the hallways, the maid's knuckles whitened on her broom handle. She stayed on her guard, eyes dark, ready to draw her morning star.
Yet, deep down, a cognitive dissonance gnawed at her. She remembered Kurisu's words in the forest, how he had brought Subaru back alive. Without him, he would be dead, partly because of her own suspicions. This debt of blood forced her to swallow her hatred, settling for paranoid and silent observation.
Ram, for her part, had initially shared her sister's mixed distrust. Kurisu had brought Barusu back alive; that was a fact. But since the day she had to clean the ruins of Roswaal's office, her outlook had radically changed.
Beneath her mask of a stoic maid, a cold and calculating hatred had settled in, coupled with a visceral fear she refused to admit. Her master, the most powerful mage in the kingdom, had been nothing but a toy in this man's hands.
On Roswaal's explicit order, she had to treat him as the most prestigious of guests and ensure that Rem committed no folly. Ram obeyed with a glacial and measured politeness, knowing full well that if the man in white decided to wipe the manor off the map, none of them could stop him.
In the shadows of his new office, Roswaal L. Mathers nursed the wounds of his shattered pride. The Lord of the domain was psychologically devastated by his helplessness, but his spirit refused to break.
His precious Gospel, his compass for four centuries, continued to dictate his path, but the pages remained desperately blank concerning Kurisu. The Anomaly was a black hole in the fabric of destiny. Facing Kurisu head-on was equivalent to pure suicide.
But Roswaal was not a man to abandon four hundred years of obsession and hard work for a simple unexpected turn. He redoubled his efforts in the shadows, observing, calculating, waiting for the storm to pass to regain control of his Great Work.
Strangely, Emilia seemed to be the only one to tolerate the situation with a certain innocence. At first, Kurisu's crushing aura had intimidated her. But through crossing paths with him in the gardens and seeing him invest himself in Subaru's training, her benevolent nature had taken over.
She saw him as an eccentric, rude and sarcastic, but fundamentally harmless to them. After all, he had saved her knight and even seemed to be helping him grow. She smiled softly at him when they crossed paths, ignoring the deep unease that nevertheless emanated from her own familiar.
For Puck, however, was terrified. The Great Spirit of Fire remained in a morbid silence in Kurisu's presence. He refused to materialize unless he had to. Puck had perceived, from the first day, Beatrice's primal terror. He had seen his own magic dissipate like a simple breeze.
Floating cautiously near his daughter, imaginary cold sweats running over his fur, Puck repeatedly asked himself a question that paralyzed him: even by taking his true form as the Beast of the End, could he even scratch this monster? The answer, whispered by his instinct, chilled his blood.
But the most complex case remained that of the guardian of the Forbidden Library.
At the beginning of the month, Beatrice fled from Kurisu like the plague. This man's aura, this sensation of absolute and inevitable void, awakened in her terrors buried for centuries. He painfully reminded her of Hector, the Devil of Melancholy, through that insidious way of crushing the space around him.
As soon as Kurisu's footsteps echoed within ten meters of one of the library doors, Beatrice immediately changed its location with panicked violence, betraying a dread she could no longer conceal.
Yet, one misty afternoon, the inevitable happened. Without even using the handle, the Library door opened with disconcerting ease.
Kurisu : « Yo, Beako. How's it going? »
Sitting on her stepladder, Beatrice flinched so violently she almost fell. Her small hands gripped the cover of her Gospel with the strength of despair. She instinctively backed away, her back hitting a shelf. All her mana agitated, ready to explode to defend her.
Beatrice : « What... What do you want from Betty, in fact? Do not approach! »
But Kurisu did not respond with his usual sarcasm. His mocking smirk, which always seemed glued to his face, evaporated instantly. What replaced it was much worse.
His face became a perfect marble mask of abyssal coldness. His eyes, usually sparkling with cruel malice, emptied of all light. He stepped forward slowly, with a almost mechanical fluidity, too perfect to be human.
Beatrice immediately understood that fleeing was useless. Her magic would have no effect on this aberration of nature. Paralyzed, breath short, she closed her eyes as a pure defensive reflex, expecting to be pulverized.
But the pain didn't come. Instead, she felt two firm hands slide under her arms. Before she could protest, she was lifted off the ground with the ease of a ragdoll.
Beatrice : « Wh... What are you doing, I suppose?! Release Betty! » she cried out, completely disoriented by this unexpected physical contact.
Without saying a word, Kurisu gently drew her against his chest, enveloping her in a silent embrace. He simply held her, placing a reassuring hand on her curly hair.
The gesture was disconcertingly soft, completely clashing with the terrifying aura he had projected a second earlier. Beatrice, her face buried against the white silk of his jacket, was in total shock.
Her mind was working at a thousand miles an hour, looking for the trap.
Beatrice : « Why... Why are you doing this, in fact? » she asked, her voice starting to tremble, her mask of pride cracking under the mental fatigue.
Kurisu sighed deeply, a heavy and profound sound that echoed in the silence of the book-filled room.
Kurisu : « Sorry, Beako. If I scared you, or if I reminded you of a distant and unpleasant memory. I really don't want you to hate me... especially since I like you a lot. »
The softness of his tone was unsettling, almost dizzying. Beatrice understood nothing anymore. This anomaly who broke millennial mages for pleasure was speaking to her with the tenderness of an older brother. She weakly tried to push his chest, but her arms lacked strength.
Beatrice : « What... What do you know of Betty, in fact? Who are you really? »
Kurisu continued to gently stroke her hair, his gaze lost in the void of the library.
Kurisu : « Many things. I know your past. I know that old contract... And I know that this solitude has lasted for four hundred years. I know you are waiting... aren't you? »
He hadn't dropped any names. Just simple allusions, spoken with surgical precision. But for Beatrice, it was as if her heart had just been torn from her chest. Her eyes widened, bright with burgeoning tears.
This absolute secret, this mute suffering she had kept confined in this room for centuries... he knew. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. A spark of hope, wild and desperate, lit up in her eyes.
Beatrice : « Are... Are you... "that person"... whom Betty must wait for? »
She asked, her voice broken by a vulnerability she hadn't shown in decades.
Kurisu stopped his gesture. He looked at her, and for a fraction of a second, an authentic glimmer of regret crossed his empty eyes. He slightly tightened his embrace.
Kurisu : « Forgive me, Beako... But no. I am not "that person." »
At those words, something definitively broke inside the little librarian. The tension, the fleeting hope, the interminable wait... everything collapsed to leave only an insufferable void.
She bowed her head, resigned, her face contorted by grief. She wanted to pull away from his arms, flee far from this latest disappointment, crawl into her corner to cry alone, as she had always done.
But Kurisu did not let her go.
Kurisu : « But... don't worry too much. "That person" will be here soon. » he whispered, his voice strangely prophetic.
Kurisu : « They are even much closer to you than you think... So, while waiting for that day... if you need someone to cry on, someone to pour out those four hundred years of excruciating waiting to... I am here. »
Beatrice tried to resist, her pride still struggling weakly. But the invitation to break her shell was too strong. The wait had been too long. The dam burst. Her small hands gripped Kurisu's jacket with despair, and she burst into tears.
She cried abundantly, loudly, with heavy painful sobs that shook her entire body, pouring out centuries of silent solitude against the shoulder of this illogical being.
Kurisu : « Yes... I know. I know how much the void hurts. » he whispered, resuming his soothing strokes.
And it was the strict truth. Even if, in his own world, Kurisu lacked nothing, his structural inability to fully feel emotions, to cry with sadness or tremble with fear, isolated him from the rest of humanity. He observed the feelings of others behind unbreakable glass.
This absence of humanity paradoxically made him the only one capable of understanding the abyssal and static solitude of the Great Spirit. It was a rare moment for him, a connection forged not by laughter, but by a mirror of their own inner void.
« It's curious… » Kurisu thought, feeling the desperate embrace of the little girl.
« I almost feel compassion. Maybe this world will end up changing me too, who knows? »
He was about to add a comforting word when the characteristic sound of the door handle turning broke the quiet of the room.
Subaru : « Yo Beako, how are you? It's your favorite butler coming to check on... you... »
Subaru's sentence died in his throat. He froze in the doorway, blinking at the surreal scene unfolding before him.
Kurisu, the cruel and sadistic Anomaly, was holding a crying Beatrice in his arms, who seemed to be clinging to him like a lifebuoy. Subaru's brain short-circuited. The image, totally devoid of its tragic context, lent itself to the worst of confusions.
Subaru : « Uh... dude... » Subaru began, eye narrowing, breaking the sacred atmosphere with the subtlety of an elephant in a porcelain shop.
Subaru : « I know you have like three wives and all... but Beako looks like a child, you know. I'm pretty sure what you're doing there is punishable by law. »
Kurisu froze. The small glimmer of empathy that had just been born in him was instantly pulverized to make way for a much more familiar emotion: a black and furious irritation against this congenital idiot who had just ruined the only moment of peace in the day.
Kurisu : « Fucking little bast— »
Beatrice : « You idiot, in fact!! »
Beatrice didn't let Kurisu finish. Her face crimson, mortified to have been caught in such a pitiful state of vulnerability, the little librarian screamed. Without waiting, she converged an enormous amount of magical power toward Subaru before he could even raise his arms.
Subaru : « Wait, Beako, it was a jok— AAAAAAH! »
A blast of wind of incredible violence hit the boy full force. Subaru was literally ejected from the library, crossing the hallway to crash through the opposite window.
He flew over the courtyard with a high-pitched cry before crashing heavily... right in the middle of a freshly turned flowerbed generously covered in manure.
Subaru : « Yuck! Not again! But that was really mean, damn it! »
he groaned from outside, spitting out dirt and fertilizer, his voice muffled by the distance.
In the silent library, Kurisu and Beatrice remained frozen for a moment, listening to the butler's distant whining. Then, they exchanged a look.
Beatrice's reddened eyes met Kurisu's reappearing smirk. And, against all odds, they burst out laughing at the same time. A light, sincere laugh that definitively chased away the shadows of the past.
Kurisu gently set Beatrice back on her feet and patted the top of her head.
Kurisu : « There, Beako. I hope you won't be afraid of me anymore. I just want us to be friends. »
Beatrice violently turned her gaze away, her cheeks still red as tomatoes, crossing her arms in her characteristic haughty pose to try and save what remained of her pride.
Beatrice : « Hmph... In her great mercy, Betty is willing to consider accepting you as a vague confidant, I suppose... »
Kurisu smiled without adding a word and left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Beatrice's opinion had irrevocably changed that day. She no longer saw the man in white as a monster herald of the end, but as a strangely comforting presence.
And, in the back of her mind, Kurisu's words still echoed: "That person is not as far as you think..."
Thus, the rest of the month passed. Subaru's nightmare training sessions resumed with a vengeance, and the strange dynamic of the manor settled into a precarious routine, sliding gently toward the eve of the last day. The calm before the inevitable advance of the plot.
.....
On the eve of the end of this infernal training, the night enveloped the Mathers domain in a deceptive calm. The air was cool, almost biting. Lying on the cold tiles of the manor's roof, Subaru and Kurisu contemplated the celestial vault speckled with stars.
It was one of the rare moments of truce that Kurisu granted his "pupil." The silence was broken only by Subaru's still ragged breathing, his aching muscles bearing witness to the day's torments.
Carried by the heavy and melancholic atmosphere, Subaru slowly sat up. He turned his gaze toward Kurisu's indecipherable profile, hesitating for a moment before breaking the ice.
Subaru : « Tell me... why are you doing all this? What does a guy like you gain by wasting his time with someone like me? »
At these words, Kurisu breathed a small, amused laugh, without even deigning to turn his eyes from the night sky.
Kurisu : « You finally decide to ask the real questions, huh? »
His tone, at first mocking, fell back into an almost weary monotony.
Kurisu : « If you're looking for a great cosmic reason, you're going to be disappointed. Let's just say... that you and I share the same disease. I'm the only one here who understands what it feels like to be ripped away from a world where things made sense. »
He sketched a nostalgic smile, a feeling that seemed totally foreign to his usually cold face.
Kurisu : « You know what I miss the most, Subaru? The flickering of neon lights and the sound of the vending machine at the bottom of my building at three in the morning. The sky of this world is a scam; it's far too beautiful to be honest. Here... the silence is too authentic. »
These words acted like an electric shock in Subaru's mind. His eyes widened, his breath caught. The pieces of the puzzle had just violently clicked into place.
Subaru : « You... You come from over there? From Japan?! But then... why? Why do you look like this? And above all... Why did you turn into this kind of absolute monster?! »
The question, asked with a mix of shock and dread, pulled a frank laugh from Kurisu. A laugh devoid of any warmth.
Kurisu : « Why does it interest you so much? Would you have preferred me to be yet another hero with a sacred sword? Maybe you dreamed of "cheat" powers typical of Isekai stories? »
Subaru : « Of course I did! » Subaru almost screamed, annoyed by this condescension.
Subaru : « Who doesn't dream of being able to fly, of summoning Excalibur, or stopping fucking time like you do?! This world is truly unfair! »
He let himself fall back heavily on his back, staring at the sky with bitterness. Kurisu finally turned his head toward him, his gaze piercing the darkness like two blades.
Kurisu : « What exactly are you complaining about? You literally inherited the most absurd anomaly there is. Being immortal thanks to "Return by Death," being able to erase your failures and start all over with complete impunity... It's the ultimate skill, isn't it? »
Subaru froze. The blood drained from his face. Hearing his heaviest secret, the one that crushed his heart at every attempt to confess, spoken with such casualness terrified him.
Subaru : « That's... that's not true... Even if I can start over, death... the pain, it doesn't wash away. It's a nightmare, Kurisu... I don't want to die over and over again. I'm afraid... »
Subaru was trembling, pulling his knees against his chest. Then, the realization hit him a second time.
Subaru : « Wait... since when... Since when have you known about my power? Why are you the only person I can talk to about it without that shadow hand crushing my heart? Do you know who cursed me with this?! Do you know who brought me here?! »
Kurisu raised a hand, waving it loosely to cut short this desperate interrogation.
Kurisu : « Wow, slow down. I'm not an archive open to all winds. I don't hold the secrets of the universe. But to answer you: I've known since the first moment I laid eyes on you. As for why the curse doesn't affect me... let's just say I don't belong to the rules of this world. That's all you're getting out of me tonight. »
He stood up with supernatural grace, smoothing his white coat. He stepped away a few paces, leaving Subaru drowned in his doubts. Before disappearing into the shadow of the roof hatch, Kurisu stopped. The temperature seemed to drop brutally.
Kurisu : « You know, Subaru... dying for others is easy. It's a fucking emergency exit for cowards who refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their weakness. Learn instead to live to piss them off. Believe me, it's much more satisfying. »
And upon that icy sentence, he disappeared into the darkness of the manor.
…..
The next morning offered a striking contrast. The sun flooded the estate, the birds sang, totally ignoring the tension of the past night. At the entrance of the manor, an imposing carriage drawn by a ground dragon had just come to a halt.
Wilhelm : « Please forgive me for parking in front of your domain without notice. »
The old man, dressed in his impeccable butler's uniform, bowed politely to Emilia and Ram who had just come out to welcome them. Wilhelm van Astrea and the knight Felix Argyle stood straight.
Very quickly, Felix hurried into the manor with Emilia to settle the formalities related to the Royal Selection, leaving Wilhelm alone outside.
The old veteran appreciated the calm, but his attention was suddenly captured by dull thuds coming from the other side of the garden. Cries of frustration.
Kurisu : « Too slow. Too weak. Your footwork is disastrous. Seriously, what was the point of this month of training if it was to strike like a drunken peasant? »
Subaru : « Shut up! Stop moving and you'll see! »
Wilhelm approached discreetly. What he saw left him perplexed. Subaru was lunging with all his might, chaining together desperate strikes. Facing him, Kurisu had one hand in his pocket, the other holding an open book he was reading distractedly.
He dodged every blow with disconcerting insolence, shifting by a millimeter, pivoting on a heel, without ever looking up from his page.
Kurisu : « Pff... Even when I'm doing nothing, your fists are just punching air. »
Subaru : « Damn it, I'm gonna get you! »
Subaru charged head-on. Kurisu snapped his book shut, made a simple side-step, and with an almost invisible trip-up, destroyed the boy's balance. Subaru went crashing heavily face-first into the ground, only a few meters from Wilhelm's boots.
Kurisu : « Sorry, kid. But you're a thousand years too early to hope to touch me. »
He looked up and met the butler's gaze.
Kurisu : « Oh, but whom do I see? If it isn't the Sword Demon himself. »
The nickname made Wilhelm flinch. His gaze sharpened instantly.
Wilhelm : « Good day to you. I am surprised that you recognize me. May I know to whom I have the honor? »
Kurisu : « Oh, this? The guy with black hair and a hitman's gaze who is eating dirt right now is Natsuki Subaru. The useless butler of the manor. »
Subaru : « Hey! I already told you, my eyes aren't that scary! »
he shouted, spitting out a blade of grass and painfully picking himself up.
Wilhelm : « Very well, I see... And you? »
the old man insisted, staring at Kurisu with a politeness that hid a tactical analysis.
Kurisu : « Me? Just a simple guest. Nothing very special. By the way, Mr. Astrea, could you do me a small favor? »
Wilhelm : « What favor would that be? »
he replied, increasingly suspicious of this man who evaded his identity with such fluidity.
Kurisu : « Nothing complicated. Would you like to exchange a few blows with Subaru? Just to see if he has evolved a bit, or if I should take him to the forest of demonic beasts for his last day of training. »
A sadistic smile stretched across his lips.
Subaru : « Huh?! But are you serious?! He's a veteran! He'll break me in two! »
Kurisu : « That's the idea. Go on, show me I haven't wasted my time. »
Subaru swallowed and turned to Wilhelm with a pleading look.
Subaru : « That... that wouldn't bother you, would it? »
Wilhelm : « Do not worry, young man. This will allow us to pass the time pleasantly. »
The two took their positions. The fight began. Subaru, though tired, lunged with new determination. His blows were messy, his posture imperfect, and Wilhelm managed to deflect every attack with a simple rotation of his wrists, without even moving from his axis.
But Wilhelm was analyzing.
« His movements are rough, certainly... but his gaze, that seeks the opening. »
He does not strike at random.
After a few minutes, Wilhelm decided to end it. He dodged a wide hook from Subaru, slid into his blind spot, and prepared a quick, dry strike aimed at the boy's neck. That was when the improbable happened. A fraction of a second before impact, Subaru instinctively ducked.
His eyes had widened under a surge of icy adrenaline. Pivoting on his support foot, he tried to unbalance Wilhelm with his shoulder. The veteran, surprised by this sudden reading of danger, had to block the impact with his forearm to avoid stepping back.
Kurisu : « Right, that's enough. » He clapped his hands and approached, placing a hand on Subaru's shoulder.
Kurisu : « Not bad at all for an amateur. »
Subaru : « Uh, thanks... but I didn't do anything. I just got played around with. »
Wilhelm : « Do not be mistaken, young man. »
The old butler resumed his perfect posture.
Wilhelm : « Your physical abilities and martial skills are certainly... rudimentary. But your instinct, that is remarkable. Few warriors could have perceived an attack coming from that blind spot, and even fewer would have attempted a counter-attack. You can be proud of yourself. »
A wave of warmth flooded Subaru's chest. His fists clenched.
Subaru : « Really? ... All this ordeal won't have been in vain. »
Wilhelm then turned his piercing gaze toward Kurisu.
Wilhelm : « Was it you who trained him in this manner? »
Kurisu : « Oh, is it that obvious? Well yes, I am guilty. »
Wilhelm : « If you knew how to awaken such an instinct in a novice, you must be an exceptional warrior. »
Kurisu : « An exceptional warrior? No. To tell the truth, if we go solely by the standards of this world, I would consider myself... average. Let's just say there are only a handful of individuals against whom I could lose. »
Silence fell. Wilhelm narrowed his eyes. The man before him had just declared himself "average" while claiming he could crush 99% of the globe.
Kurisu : « You don't believe me? » Kurisu's eye shone with a predatory glint.
Kurisu : « Try to attack me, Wilhelm van Astrea. A single strike. If you manage to even make me step back, I will reveal all my secrets to you. »
Wilhelm tensed violently.
« He read my thoughts. He knows I am analyzing him. »
The Sword Demon silently accepted the challenge. He had to know. He had to gauge this anomaly.
Wilhelm : « Very well. Prepare yourself. »
Kurisu made a hand gesture, open palm. A simple invitation.
Time seemed to slow down. Wilhelm took a deep breath, calculating the trajectory, the wind strength, the potential dodge angle. Then, he exploded. At a lightning speed that kicked up dust, he crossed the distance in a fraction of a second, his fist charged with mana ready to strike.
But his fist only met empty air. Before Wilhelm's mind could even understand what was happening, he felt a monstrous pressure. Kurisu's index finger was already placed, delicately, on his forehead.
A cold sweat flooded the veteran's back. His senses were screaming red alert, but the absolute terror came from something else: he felt no bloodlust. No murderous aura. What stood before him was not a predator. It was an abyssal void.
A total absence in the fabric of reality, as if the man in white simply did not exist. Acting out of pure survival instinct, Wilhelm made a prodigious leap backward to distance himself, short of breath, unable to hide his distress.
Wilhelm : « What... what is... »
Kurisu : « Your title is not stolen, old man. Your survival instinct is excellent. You know when to stop. »
Then suddenly, a cheerful voice broke the unbearable tension.
Felix : « Sorry to have kept you waiting outside! I bet you were bored, nya? »
Felix, with his adorable cat ears and light outfit, trotted over. Noticing Wilhelm's defensive posture and altered breathing, his smile wavered.
Felix : « Old Wil... do you feel alright? Did something happen? »
Wilhelm instantly straightened up, smoothing the folds of his uniform, his face resuming its usual impassivity.
Wilhelm : « Not at all, Felix... These two young men simply helped me pass the time with a light warm-up. »
Felix's cat ears flickered. He set his gaze on Subaru and Kurisu, scanning them up and down playfully.
Felix : « Meow, meow? Meowwww! »
Subaru, before this angelic apparition, felt his cheeks flush. He sketched a silly smile. It was at that precise moment that Kurisu dealt him a sharp blow to the back of the head.
Kurisu : « Stop drooling, Subaru. He's a guy. And between us, he's probably more vicious than you and I combined. »
Subaru : « WHAT?! » He swallowed, struck by disgust and cosmic betrayal, staring at Felix with horror.
Felix : « Oh, I see, I see! You must be the boy Emilia-sama spoke so much about! »
he said, pointing at Subaru with a wink.
Subaru : « Emilia talked about... me? »
But Felix had already turned his attention away. He was now staring at Kurisu. His healer's instinct perceived something abnormal, a dissonance.
Felix : « And you... you must be the famous guest of this manor, right? »
Kurisu : « Oh, of course. But don't mind me. I'm just a statistical person passing through. »
Kurisu suppressed a sarcastic laugh.
Felix kept silent one second too long. His questioning gaze lingered on Kurisu's face, before he decided to force a smile.
Felix : « Nyahhh... very well. On our way, old Wil. See you at the capital, Subaru-kyun! »
The carriage started with a heavy creak, moving away from the Mathers domain.
…..
Inside the carriage, the silence between the two envoys from the capital was heavy. Felix, unable to contain his curiosity, finally snapped.
Felix : « I was surprised to see you "playing" with them, old Wil. I thought you preferred cutting your opponents in two rather than chatting. »
Wilhelm looked out the window, his gaze lost in the passing landscape.
Wilhelm : « It's a grave misunderstanding. Those two... are frighteningly abnormal. Each in their own way. »
Felix : « Huh? The boy with the mean eyes too? »
Wilhelm : « The boy with the black hair... his eyes are not just mean. They are the eyes of someone who has stood alongside death more times than a war veteran. He carries the weight of hell on his shoulders. »
Felix was stunned. That Wilhelm would say such things about a frail servant was unthinkable. He then thought back to the other individual.
Felix : « And... the other one? That guy in white... He was weird, right? He looked like a stage actor who had wandered into the wrong play, nya. He didn't give off any mana. »
Wilhelm's face hardened dramatically. His hand came to rest mechanically on the hilt of his sword.
Wilhelm : « Never underestimate him, Felix. I couldn't read his movements. No... it's worse than that. I couldn't even feel his presence even though he was standing right in front of me. »
Felix looked at him, eyes wide.
Wilhelm : « That feeling of unfathomable void... That power that seems to twist reality itself by its simple existence... I have felt such helplessness only once in my life. Against Reinhard. But where the Sword Saint is a blade of absolute light that obeys the world... that man in white is an absence of everything. An error of creation. »
Felix's blood ran cold. If the Sword Demon, the man who had survived the worst horrors, compared a stranger to the most powerful being in the world in terms of dangerousness...
Felix : « Hmmm... Nyow, you're scaring me, Wil. If you're right, then those two boys are likely to cause quite the storm in the future... »
Wilhelm narrowed his eyes. The carriage continued its route, carrying with it a silent terror.
…..
Back at the manor, the atmosphere in the main drawing room was singularly tense. Everyone was gathered, and the strategic meeting was coming to an end.
Kurisu : « So, we are agreed. Subaru accompanies you to the capital. »
He was slumped in a luxurious armchair, turning his gaze toward Emilia.
Emilia : « Yes... In any case, he had to go there to have his mana gate treated. »
Kurisu nodded slowly, then pivoted toward the lord of the manor.
Kurisu : « You have no objection to that, do you, Roswaal? »
Roswaal : « Oooooof course noooot... dear guest. »
the mage replied with his usual clownish smile. Behind him, Ram and Rem were glaring at Kurisu, a persistent grudge lingering in their eyes.
Kurisu : « Perfect. » He jumped to his feet.
Kurisu : « I think it's time for me to pack my bags. »
Subaru : « Huh?! Leaving? Like, really leaving, right here, right now?! »
Kurisu : « You thought I was going to settle in forever? Your month of training is over. I have other things to handle in this absurd world. I don't look it, but I'm a busy man. »
Ram opened her mouth, ready to fire off one of the deadly retorts she was known for to celebrate this miraculous departure, but she reconsidered at the last moment. No use provoking the devil on the doorstep.
Emilia : « Well... If you're leaving, thank you so much for helping Subaru throughout this month, Kurisu. »
To everyone's amazement, the half-elf bowed respectfully. Kurisu smiled gently and approached to lightly pat the top of her head.
On Emilia's shoulder, Puck's fur stood on end. The contracting spirit was clenching his teeth, boiling with a protective rage he struggled to contain before this impure contact.
Roswaal, for his part, had stopped smiling, his heterochromatic eyes scrutinizing Kurisu's slightest move with clinical intensity.
Kurisu : « No problem, Emilia. I hope this idiot can take a minimum of care of you, from now on. »
He turned toward Subaru. The boy looked at him with a maelstrom of contradictory emotions: gratitude for the growth, sympathy for their common origin, and a deep resentment for the tortures endured. Subaru finally sighed and gave a frank smile.
Subaru : « Thanks for your help. Even if your training was fucking sadistic and I half-hate you... at least, it made me a little less pathetic. »
Kurisu : « Don't get too confident. What I taught you won't save you against the real monsters of this world. It will just allow you to survive three seconds longer. »
He pivoted toward the exit. But before he could take another step, a small broken voice froze the audience.
Beatrice : « Wait... in fact! »
All eyes converged toward the door. Beatrice, the Great Spirit of the Forbidden Library, stood there. The fact that she had left her sanctuary of her own free will was already an extraordinary event.
But the most staggering thing was her face: her large eyes were clouded with tears, her small hands clutching the hem of her dress convulsively.
Roswaal tensed imperceptibly, his fingers tightening on the armrests of his chair. How had this stranger managed to break the emotional armor of a 400-year-old spirit in barely a month? Puck floated in the air, jaw dropped, unable to formulate the slightest thought before his "sister's" distress.
Ram and Rem seemed petrified.
Kurisu turned back, his face losing all trace of sarcasm. He crouched down slightly and opened his arms.
Beatrice, forgetting all her usual pride and height, ran to throw herself against him, burying her face in his white coat.
Kurisu : « Don't worry, Beako. » His voice was of a sweetness Subaru hadn't known in him.
Kurisu : « This isn't a goodbye. I'm just going away for a while. I won't let you down until the moment that famous moment arrives... and believe me, it is very close. »
Beatrice sniffled, wiping her tears with her small hands with a pouty but desperate expression.
Beatrice : « You... You promise Betty, in fact? »
Kurisu tenderly stroked her hair.
Kurisu : « I promise you, Beako. »
She detached herself from him, without another word, returning toward the shadow of the hallway. The scene had left the audience in a state of catatonic shock.
Only Emilia, touched by the scene, and Subaru seemed not to grasp the extent of the psychological miracle that had just occurred. True to himself, Subaru broke the silence with the indignation of a spoiled child.
Subaru : « Hey! Oh! I'm the only one who has the right to call her Beako! I'm the one who invented that nickname; find your own, you usurper! »
The absurd remark lightened the atmosphere. Kurisu chuckled and with a nearly imperceptible movement, sent a light pulse into the air propelling Subaru to the other side of the room in a metallic crash.
Kurisu : « Anyway. Later, everyone. Don't worry... when the world decides to become truly entertaining... no matter where you are, you can be sure I'll be in the front row. »
He smiled one last time. And without a sound, without a flash of mana, without the slightest breath of wind... he ceased to exist in the room. He hadn't disappeared quickly; he hadn't used a portal. He was there, and the next instant, the space he occupied was simply empty.
Leaving behind a heavy silence, terrifying doubts, and a groggy Subaru on the floor, this departure marked the end of a reprieve.
Arc 3 had officially begun.