Subaru shot a furious glare at the grinning knight before him, his fists clenching in rage at the bastard who had spoiled his once joyful day.
Rem looked back and forth between Subaru and the knight, confusion etched on her face. Was this the one who had attacked them? Why would an imperial knight target them, the servants of Roswaal L. Mathers? They hadn't done anything wrong?
Her gaze shifted to Subaru's furious expression, a sight she had never seen before, and then back to the knight. 'Is he after Subaru-kun? But why?'
As the tension in the air thickened, more figures began to emerge from behind the carts and buildings, all clad in knightly attire. Soon, around twenty-five of them had formed a circle around Subaru and Rem.
Subaru surveyed the group, noting the mocking laughter on some faces, the sneers of hatred on others, and a few who appeared eager for a fight, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
Seeing how all of this was just to ambush him, Subaru took a moment to breathe, allowing his anger to dissipate and replaced it with fake cheerfulness.
"Gee, I didn't know I was so popular that I would attract such admirers. You all must've been captivated by my charm, right?" he quipped dryly.
The leader of the knights scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, criminal. You know precisely why we're here."
He then raised his sword high, a saber that shimmered in the orange light, with a subtle blue glow that indicated it was enchanted.
"For the crime of disrespecting and tarnishing the sacred honor of our kingdom and our knights, I, Cedrick Valeric, hereby impose the death penalty on this criminal!" he declared, lifting his sword triumphantly into the air.
The knights surrounding them raised their weapons in unison, their loud cheers ringing out, clearly thrilled at the prospect of punishing the butler.
Rem stood in silence, the cheers from the knights completely lost on her. Her mind was solely occupied with the man's declaration, particularly the mention of the "Death Penalty."
"Subaru-kun…" she murmured, struggling to find the right words, her gaze cast downward, her hair obscuring her eyes.
"Shit," he swore, catching Rem's whisper. He then realized he had seriously messed up; he should have told her about what had transpired at the castle. He had intended to, but those scum forced his hands
Nevertheless, he kept up a smiling facade, quipping, "Wow, I must say, you really know how to put on a performance, O' honorable knight," he said with a sarcastic tone.
But then his expression shifted, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "But let's skip the bullshit, alright. You're not here because of what happened at the castle, are you? You're just here because your pride is hurt, right?" he continued, still smiling.
He struck a nerve, as Cedrick's eyes narrowed in response. "Do not assume you understand our intentions, insolent scum. We, honorable knights, have come together to deliver justice—"
"Blah, blah, blah. Is that what you told yourselves?" Subaru interrupted, rolling his eyes at the hollow justification. "Please, spare me your self-righteous nonsense; it's disgusting." he faked gagged
The knight's eye twitched in anger. "You dare! Even after your disrespectful behavior, you have the audacity to mock our duty?!" he shouted.
Subaru merely scoffed at him. "Honor? Duty? Don't pretend you have either of those."
He gestured around them. "Look at this place; you've surrounded us in an empty area, ready to 'execute' me like I'm some kind of animal! Where's the honor in that?"
He leaned forward a bit, almost growling, "You don't care about duty, nor do you have any honor. You're just here to kill me because your ego can't handle a simple butler speaking the truth."
"At least Julius had the guts to challenge me fair and square to a duel. But what about the rest of you?" he said, gesturing to the group.
"Do you honestly believe there's any honor in what you're doing? Do you believe you're acting justly? Did you clear everyone out of here just to plan my death?"
"What about Rem?" he asked, gesturing toward the still maid. "Are you going to kill her too? She's innocent and had nothing to do with any of this." His voice was almost a growl.
His words struck a chord, but not in the way he intended. Instead of evoking shame or doubt, he was met with fury. The knights had their fists tightly clenched, and he could feel the mana in the air shifting, signaling that they were ready to cast spells against him.
The same reaction when he said those words tight after he left the throne room.
Cedrick merely looked bored here, "Are you done?" He said, not caring a bit about the impromptu speech he just gave. He was a criminal, he shouldn't let his words rile him up nor make him hesitate.
Regardless of what he was saying, He is a dutiful Knight, and it was time for him to perform his duty.
Subaru glared at the man with venom, That man just doesn't care, does he? Before he would smash his face in, he had one important question to ask.
"Just to clarify, are you going to kill Rem too?" he asked. Depending on the answer, he would either break all the bones in his body or break all the bones in his body.
"Oh, her?" the man chuckled. "Of course, she's part of the half-devils' camp, isn't she?"
He then aimed his saber at Subaru. "There's no way we'd accept that half-devil as our king; doing so would spell our doom! If killing her would make her campaign harder, then all the better."
"…" That was the worst possible response.
Subaru clenched his teeth, his fists tightening as anger surged within him, cursed energy coursing through his veins at full output.
To hell with everything; he was going to kill that guy—
"I can't let you hurt anyone else because of me,"
Emilia's words echoed in his mind, and the rage that had consumed him began to dissipate, replaced by shame and guilt.
'What the hell is wrong with me? Emilia left me here to cool off, and here I am, thinking of killing someone just because they disrespected her.'
He shook his head vigorously, pushing those thoughts aside. 'Focus, Subaru, focus. you can think about it later.'
As he was having an internal struggle, he was unaware of the movement beside him. It was Rem, her gaze still cast downward as the knights prepared for the fight.
"Rem doesn't understand what's happening," she spoke up, her voice loud enough to draw everyone's attention, including Subaru's.
"She doesn't know the crime he's committed or why the knights are targeting him," she continued, pulling out her morningstar.
"But Rem does know one thing," mana began to swirl in the air as a pink horn emerged from her head.
"That Subaru-kun is going to be taken away from Rem, and her reason to smile will be lost forever," she declared, her voice steady as she looked up.
Though her anger was evident, she was fighting to keep it in check as she activated her horn.
"Rem doesn't care if her hero has offended you or anyone else! He is the kindest and most loving person there is! One who would put his line in danger just to help others! Rem will not allow anyone to take him from her!" she shouted, glaring fiercely at the knights surrounding them.
Subaru watched Rem in astonishment, moved by the intensity of her emotions and her unwavering support for him. It warmed his heart and filled him with a sense of comfort.
If it weren't for the current situation, he would have been smiling brightly.
"I-Is that an Oni?" one of the knights exclaimed in disbelief at her glowing form.
"Wait wait wait, an Oni! But that's impossible! I thought they went extinct when their village was destroyed years ago!" another knight added in.
Rem's glare intensified as she growled at the men, furious that they could speak of her village so casually, as if its destruction were merely a historical fact in a history book. It was the source of her long-buried pain and trauma, and they dare make light of it?!
"Rem," her hero's voice pulled her back from her spiral of rage, and she looked up to see Subaru gazing at her.
"Now's not the time to lose control, okay?" he said, and Rem took a deep breath, calming her nerves at his words.
He smiled at her, "Good. I have a plan, and I need you to follow it, alright?" he said.
"Of course, Rem will do whatever her hero asks," she nodded, and Subaru leaned down to whisper his plan to her.
Cedrick surveyed the scene as the knights murmured among themselves, some displaying clear signs of worry or fear at the thought of an Oni being present.
'Damn these incompetent fools! Have they never fought a battle before?!' he fumed with rage that he had brought these pampered men into this fight.
Having a butler insult them directly and then easily defeat one of their top knights in a duel was not just an insult; it had tarnished their reputation.
A duel of this significance, especially in such a crucial time, was bound to make waves, and the snobbish nobles and nosy servants would spread the news far and wide, which had already begun to happen.
And the fact that it was a mere butler who caused this embarrassment only deepened the disgrace, making the knights appear as nothing more than a laughingstock to the public.
As an honorable knight, Cedrick was not going to let their honor be tarnished like this.
However, attacking the butler outright would be foolish; whether he liked it or not, that butler had brutally beaten Julius in a fair match, even if they were wielding wooden swords. So, he concocted a plan to restore their honor.
He would gather some disgruntled knights, and they would track the butler until he reached a suitable location. There, they would fake an investigation to clear the area and subtly guide him into their trap.
Once that was accomplished, he would ambush him with a surprise attack; if that failed, they would unleash spells from all directions.
The presence of a maid was an uncalculated factor, but a welcomed one. especially since he seemed to have a close connection with her. Instead of signaling for an attack, he would have them reveal themselves and present an ultimatum.
They would demand his surrender in exchange for sparing the maid.
Of course, he planned to kill her afterward; they couldn't afford any witnesses.
But life just decided to throw a wrench into his plan, she just had revealed herself to be an Oni, a race renowned for their strength and ferocity.
And now those wimps who call themselves knights are getting cold feet.
"What the hell are you all waiting for?! Attack him!" he ordered.
This seemed to snap everyone back to reality, as if they had momentarily lost sight of their objective.
Rem and Subaru exchanged nods, their plan was about to start.
As the knights prepared their magical attacks, summoning fireballs, gusts of razor-sharp wind, and solid earth to obliterate the duo—
"Shamak!"
A thick black cloud burst forth from Subaru, enveloping the entire marketplace and spilling into the surrounding area with dense smoke. The knights, including Cedrick, found themselves trapped within it.
He coughed but felt no feeling in his lungs; he touched his body but sensed nothing; he sniffed the air but smelt no scent; he licked his lips but tasted nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Then, something shifted. He could slowly feel sensations returning—he could touch, breathe, taste, smell—everything was coming back.
Cedrick gasped as the black cloud was drawn into a swirling blue orb, sweat trickling down his face as his heart raced. What had just happened?
"Wow, are you guys seriously supposed to be the kingdom's best warriors? What a fucking joke. Even Midget can take you all on without breaking a sweat," Subaru remarked. Cedrick stared at him in disbelief, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Surrounding the duo were the fallen knights, sprawled across the ground. Some had limbs twisted at odd angles, others were groaning and gasping in pain, while a few lay completely unconscious.
"But hey, the plan worked perfectly. Great job, Remmy!" he cheered, giving the maid a pat on the head, causing her to blush in embarrassment even as her horn was still unleashed.
"Y-you?!" Cedrick roared, spitting in fury, "What did you do?!"
"Oh, that?" Subaru replied, tilting his head with a smirk, "Shamak. Quite a handy spell, don't you think so?"
"Don't mess with me!" Cedrick shouted, "That's a basic Yin spell! It can't do what just happened!"
"And you'd be right! Shamak shouldn't be able to do this. But it did! And you know why?"
He pointed to himself with a smug grin, "Because I'm the strongest."
Cedrick had reached his limit with this cocky attitude; it was high time to put that arrogant fool in his place!
Mana swirled around his saber as he summoned his most powerful spell, one he had dedicated sweat, tears and years to perfecting.
"Ten-Thousand Spear Parade!" he yelled, unleashing a barrage of ice spears that shot forward, hurtling toward the duo.
A thick cloud of dust erupted from the sheer number of ice spears launched, obscuring everything in front of him.
Cedrick bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. The Ten-Thousand Spear Parade was his crowning achievement in fire magic, capable of obliterating anything in its path, but at the high cost of all of his mana.
At least he managed to wipe that smug grin off the insufferable man's face—
"Wow, that's the lamest trunp card ever. Hell, even Satoru could come up with something better than that, "Cedrick's eyes widened with disbelief as he surveyed the scene.
Subaru stood unharmed, the blue oni behind him, while the remnants of the marketplace lay in ruins around them, ice shards littering every surface, from carts to buildings. The other knights had already retreated from the devastation.
"H-how," Cedrick stammered. He should have been torn to shreds, not left standing like this!
What kind of monster is that man?
"Sorry, but that's a secret," Subaru replied with a smirk. "Now, let's wrap this up, shall we?"
In a flash, Subaru charged at the arrogant knight, who could only sluggishly lift his saber in a feeble attempt to defend himself.
As Subaru raised his arm to strike, he noticed a crackling energy surrounding his fist—something he had only experienced twice before.
"Now you're just unlucky bro" he said, though his words went unheard as he dodged the weak swing and landed a punch to Cendeir's stomach, black and red lightning dancing around him.
"BLACKFLASH!" Subaru roared at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing as the knight doubled over, blood and spit spraying from his mouth before soaring into the air.
Higher
Higher
Higher
Until it collided with something solid—something invincible yet undeniably present—before crashing down onto a building.
Subaru scanned the area, noticing that all the knights had been knocked out and none were stirring anytime soon.
"Well, I guess we're finished here," he remarked, turning back to a bewildered Rem.
"S-Subaru-kun, what was that?" she couldn't help but ask, having never seen such an attack before.
"Oh, that's called a Black Flash. It's a sort of secret technique that just happens, I guess," he tried to explain.
No one was aware of his cursed energy, and he preferred to keep it that way—at least for now.
"Anyway, you did an amazing job, Rem! I'm proud of you!" he said, giving her a thumbs up.
Rem beamed at the compliment, her smile brightening. "Rem is happy to meet her hero's expectations."
Their plan involved Subaru channeling more than half of his mana into Shamak to bolster it when the knights launched their assault. Once they were all trapped and robbed of their senses, Rem would spin with her morningstar, taking down as many knights as possible, while he would handle any that she missed.
Of course, she had to be careful not to aim too high to avoid causing fatal injuries; as repulsive as they were, they were still knights, and any deaths would create a scandal that could jeopardize Emilia's campaign.
As for the invincible barrier, it was a Curtain that Subaru had setup once they found themselves surrounded.
He couldn't allow any of them to escape and twist the narrative to make it seem like they were in the wrong, nor could he let anyone hear what was happening, which was why he had deployed it.
'Judging from the destruction, I don't think we'll be in any trouble,' he mused, then glanced at Rem.
"Well, today has certainly been eventful. Let's head back home."
He and rem then teleported out of there, and into their suite, as if nothing had happened.
Thus, the unsanctioned Knights' attempt to restore their "honor" has ended in a grand failure.