4
Ordinary precipitation is harmless. They fall on the ground and disappear where they touch it, leaving no trace except moisture.
These drops sowed destruction, turning the Water Gate City into a ruin. Everything they touched crumbled as if struck by a hammer. Buildings collapsed in clouds of dust, cobblestone roads cracked. The city was disappearing.
The Subaru ran like mad, shouting like a man possessed. Next to him, Emilia was running with her mouth clamped shut, the momentum blowing away her silver hair.
The layout of the Water Gate City was not conducive to escape. Emilia and Subaru felt it firsthand when they saw the wide stretch of water in front of them, Winding streets winded between canals that could only be crossed at certain places.
We won't have time to run to the bridge!
- Shit! - he shouted in terror.
- All or nothing. Subaru, grab my hand!
He did so without a moment's hesitation.
Lights began to circulate around the runners. Subaru could sense from Emilia the powerful mana bubbling up within her. The air grew frosty. The half elf was combining her magic with the power of spirits.
- Please, help! – she pleaded without stopping her running.
The spirits shined more strongly. Everything around them became covered in silvery white. The ground they stepped on froze and their breath turned into fog. They were already at the edge of the canal....
- Aaand hop! - cried Emilia, accelerating.
- AAAA!
He wasn't ready for that. His beloved pulled him directly into the water.
At least he thought so.
- Whoa! Emilia-tan! You're so smart! Cool!
- Don't talk nonsense! It's hard to keep your balance, so hold on to me tight!
So he did. He squeezed her white hand and focused on his feet, which were now sliding on the frozen surface of the canal.
Nice speed...But I just keep wobbling!
- Emilia-tan! I could use skates! You know, those shoes with those blades on the soles, for sliding on the ice...
- Wow, interesting... Ah! I know! You showed them to me once! Oh!
An ice cap magically appeared on their shoes with a blade on the end.
As part of the Icebrand project, Subaru spent some time showing Emilia what items from his World he could create out of ice to then use in battle. In doing so, he took advantage of split imagination to speed up the translation process.
- Great! Now we can run away faster! - Subaru was happy.
- Every once in a while someone really annoying passes by. Someone who thinks they are special....
With a chokehold on their shoulders, they looked back. Regulus followed them down the icy path, which shattered into pieces under his footsteps.
- Do you really think that such tricks devised in panic will ensure your victory? What hubris. A belief in your own superiority. This is blasphemy for someone as humble as me!
He sure has a way with words... Shit, whatever. It's bad!
He moved as if he were taking a leisurely stroll, but the speed with which he pushed forward was striking. It was as if every movement moved him several meters. He was getting closer and closer, and they were not able to run faster.
- What a nasty type! - muttered Subaru, still glancing back.
- Subaru," cried Emilia, holding out her hand to him, on which a small light shone. - I'll pass it to you, okay? You can do it!
- Hm? - The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise, but immediately realized, - Okay, sure, I can do it! When I was a kid, everyone told me I had such a talent for ice that I would become a figure skater!
When he was little, he had long hair and looked like a pretty girl, so every time he went to the ice rink with his parents, random people would predict this future for him.
- I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean," the half elf replied with a smile, then she let go of Subaru's hand and turned around, now gliding backwards on the ice.
- Go on, then! - she called out.
Icicles, ice swords, spears, and debris rained down on the Archbishop. However, none of it hurt him. The magical weapons struck at him, then splashed back into mana without inflicting any damage. Regulus didn't even slow down.
- Please, spirit! Spirit! Little spirit! Help me!
Subaru's job was to make sure the spirit continued to create an escape route by cupping the rough water in the canal with ice.
- Hooop! And more! And another! - shouted Emilia.
She had never skated before, but after coming out of the ice prison where she had spent so many years, something still surprised her and she was used to it. She gracefully sped it up once, slowed it down once. The archbishop approached at arm's length.
She conjured two ice blades with which she slashed at the enemy's neck, and then an axe with which she struck at his torso. With the spears she attacked one vital point after another. With her other hand she created a blue light to freeze him. He parried each attack, mocking her magic.
- I would say that you are resisting futilely, but that would be an insult. After all, it is not futile resistance, but foolish resistance. With such a power differential, only a fool would stand up to fight as if nothing had happened. You simply refuse to accept my superiority. You don't want to admit that I'm powerful... And my strength is my pride, the result of years of hard work... The effect of the abilities I was born with... Your attitude is offensive to me. It's a violation of my...
- How about this! - exclaimed Emilia, conjuring up a nunchaku.
The Archbishop received a powerful blow right in the crotch. So powerful that Subaru flinched. Unfortunately, this attack did not harm Regulus either. At least not physically, for the mental effects were plain to see. He stared at Emilia with hatred, furrowed brows and a trembling vein on his temple.
- Slut! Have you no sense of shame?! Not only did you attack the heart and arteries, but this... this place... You're a fallen woman! You are not fit to be my bride! - Enraged, he reached out his hands to catch the half elf.
- I told you I'm not becoming one! - The girl dodged his clutches with a smooth motion. - I would never let anyone deprive me of my smile!
Emilia moved with the grace worthy of a professional figure skater, spectacularly gliding on the ice in her slit wedding dress. She looked extremely charming, like a goddess.
- And why should a wife smile! Wives are supposed to look the way I like! They are to do everything the way their beloved husband wants them to! It's obvious! Don't mock me, you whore!
- Everyone should have the face they want! If he wants to smile, let him smile; if he is angry, let him be angry; if he is sad, let him cry; and if he is tired, let him look sleepy! It is you who are wicked!
They clashed in a spectacular battle on the ice. They were a unique sight. The couple, who had just been standing at the altar, were now fighting to the death. The beautiful girl gliding on the ice with unearthly grace, and the inhumanly wicked Archbishop of Sin.
Emilia danced on the frozen canal, doing jumps and pirouettes, speeding up and slowing down. Regulus was unable to grasp her, Clearly beginning to lose patience. He bent down, ready to leap...
- Emilia-tan!
- Yeah? Aaa! - she cried out as the length of Subaru's whip wrapped around her narrow waist. The boy pulled her towards him just as they reached a fork in the road. They turned, enlisting the help of the spirits, and Regulus flew straight and crashed into the wall with the momentum. The black-haired man pulled the half elf to him and caught her tightly. Together they kept sliding.
- Thank you, Subaru. You saved me.
- Pleasure’s all mine! Worst of all, Plan V, like Vital Points, and Plan C, like Crotch, failed. Well, where is his Achilles heel! Where is his weak point! - shouted Subaru.
- There is none! Come to terms with it! - an angry voice answered him.
At the fork a huge column of water rose up, as if some great beast was raging beneath the surface. Regulus leaped from it. He moved with such great speed that a wave formed behind him. The water splashed in all directions, destroying the already flood-damaged buildings on the shore.
- No good! It's about to catch up with us!
- Subaru, grab me tight!
- Hm? Always happy to. What do you want to do?
- This!
Emilia conjured an icicle above their heads and launched it forward. Subaru furrowed his brow, trying to understand what she was trying to accomplish.
- Come on, get him!
- Aaa! Okay!
He shot the whip so that it wrapped its length around the receding icicle.
- Woooooooooooooooooo!
Pulled by the ice gliding through the air, they accelerated rapidly. So fast that the spirit could barely keep up with the freezing water in the channel. They were now gliding through the half-cut ice, splashing it sideways. Subaru felt like he was speeding in a speedboat.
Except that we have no rudder or brake, only a flying magic icicle... We have to be careful not to capsize!
- Shit. It's hard... ...to keep... balance...
- It's not going to fly forever. It's about to start slowing down, and then it's going to fall. I'll conjure up another one!
- Yes, ma’am! Come on!
Indeed, the icicle began to lose momentum. Emilia created another one, and Subaru caught it with a whip so that it would gain new drive before the old one fell into the water. They drove on. Unfortunately, this escape technique required a great deal of Subaru's concentration. Again and again they changed the ice.
I can do something with my Guiltywhip, but geez! I've only had it for a year! And for what's going on here, a master level of service is required! On top of that, Emilia is absolutely convinced that I can do it.... The girl I love trusts me so much. I can't screw up!
- Watch over me, Master and sweet Buddha! - Subaru mentioned the two not necessarily equal figures in one breath and focused all his attention on the task at hand, aware that the next few moments could seal his fate.
Emilia left the Subaru to handle the entire escape and dealt with Regulus, who was close again.
- My turn! - she called out, and struck him down with a huge lump of ice, so big that when it fell on Regulus, it seemed as if the sky was falling.
The entire wide channel was filled with ice. Regulus had no chance to escape, he was pressed to the bottom of the channel. For a moment, Emilia was sure that it was all over... But the Archbishop appeared on the surface of the ice. He simply penetrated whatever had pressed him down, and stood on top, whole and healthy.
They were confused.
How did he get out? He didn't use brute force. If he had hit the ice from below, its surface would have cracked. Nor did he use heat - you can see that nothing melted. The ice is intact. Only in the place where Regulus came out of it is there a kind of hole.... The same thing happened as when he kicked Reinhard! His body flew through the walls, leaving behind a human-shaped hole! That's a clue! Maybe this will help us figure out how the Regulus Authority works!
- He's catching up with us! - shouted Emilia.
- Cha, cha! You thought to escape me! You violated my rights with this vain resistance, you belittled me... You will pay for this! I have you! - cried Regulus, and then he kicked the surface with such force that a wave as big as a tsunami came crashing down on Subaru and Emilia. This time, they had nowhere to run.
Emilia swallowed her saliva as she looked at the wave towering above them. Subaru embraced the girl more tightly.
- Well, finally! - shouted Subaru. - Here we are!
- What?
Startled, Regulus saw something break out of the brick bank of the canal directly into his wave. Reinhard stepped into the fray. Or rather, he flew in, for it was only the wave that stopped the momentum he had fallen into after the Archbishop's blow.
- Sorry for taking so long! - threw the Sword Saint, then swung the scabbard of the Dragon Sword.
How can it cut without a sharp edge!
This lack did not hinder the Sword Saint at all. The blow he struck had strength and properties comparable to an attack with exposed steel. The horizontal slash unleashed a powerful wave as if it was made of solid flesh. The water gushed high, and then the two pieces collided with the surface of the channel.
Regulus jumped out of the melt and threw himself at Reinhard.
- This is absurd! Are you from this world! - cried the Archbishop.
- They often ask me that. - The knight smiled sourly. - But I admit you're doing quite well on your own.
- Don't compare me to you, monster. You could give yourself a break! Take care of yourself and let others live! Don't stand in the way of our love! - said the Archbishop, again and again attacking Reinhard, who avoided all blows.
- It seems that your feeling is not reciprocated. In such a situation, you can't talk about 'your love. Besides... - He glanced behind him. He saw Subaru and Emilia hugging each other with joy. He smiled. - I will always support my friend in love. I would like to be at his wedding - he announced cheerfully, even in such a gloomy situation keeping his cheerfulness.
- Thank you for this confession, it's all the same to me. You can keep on dreaming, but in the other world! - roared Regulus, apparently ready to attack Emilia and Subaru.
Fortunately, Reinhard reacted immediately. He ran across the water to take the blow. The pair rode away on their own, safe and sound.
Regulus looked more carefully at the Sword Saint's legs. After all, he had hounded his leg, the best evidence of which was the blood on his leg. Reinhard should be howling in pain with every step, not jumping gleefully on the water.
- You're the nasty type! Not only a swordsman, but also a healer! They must really hate you. So talented, better at everything than everyone else... Do you like proving to people that they're inferior to you?
- Let me correct you. I cannot use healing magic. This wound was treated for me by the spirits that dwell in the air above this city. That's all I wanted to say," he said, then used the tip of his scabbard to strike a blow that went straight to Regulus' solar plexus.
It couldn't hurt him physically, but, like the blow to his crotch, it severely wounded his pride.
- Die... - whispered the Archbishop calmly, with the truest hatred.
He put his hand into the canal and lifted the water as if he was grabbing the end of a carpet, then cast it at the enemy. His target was the Sword Saint, but also Subaru and Emilia.
- Plan SD! - cried Subaru to Reinhard.
- — SD? What kind of... oooooh?! - squealed Emilia as Subaru took her in his arms and, with the help of a spirit, formed a sort of ramp.
They launched into the sky.
He looked behind him to make sure of Reinhard and landed far away, on the edge of the canal. He did his best to protect Emilia, which unfortunately meant landing in the form of a four letter slide.
- Phew," the Sword Saint only sighed, then bounced through the water, air, jumped over a wave and landed right in front of Regulus. Subaru couldn't keep up with his movements with his eyes.
- What do you mean! - hissed the enraged Archbishop, as Reinhard slashed with the hilt of his sword from below, aiming at his armpit.
The force of the blow sent the white-haired man flying far back. Reinhard moved behind him and directed the attack so that Regulus landed just in front of the tsunami and was pelted by the wave he created himself.
- You fool! - growled the Archbishop while still in flight, then disappeared, hit from behind by a mass of water.
Unfortunately, only for a moment, the Water split in two, as if Regulus' body was a blade cutting through it, and swept sideways, destroying sidewalks and buildings near the shore.
Greed stood in the middle of the great canal, invariably whole and healthy. He stomped, and then a geyser shot out that carried him high.
- You wanted to see if my own attack could hurt me? Absurd. You must have a pretty good opinion of yourself to look down on your opponent like that. It's a very ugly trait. Did you really think something so stupid would work?
- It didn't work out," Reinhard muttered. During the battle, he could watch up close as the water, the same water that devastated the canal and the buildings on the shore, became simply water again on contact with the Archbishop's body. It destroys everything, but not himself.
The Sword Saint looked at Subaru, who was also watching the course of events, and nodded to him.
- Plan SD like Self-Destruction also failed! - muttered the boy, picking himself up off the ground. - Shit, my ass hurts...
Plans SP and A also failed... Sorry, I didn't make it," Reinhard replied using Heart Penetration. He meant SP for Solar Plexus and A for Armpit.
Subaru came up with all sorts of strategies, hoping that one of them would lead them to Regulus' weak point of Authority. Most of the ideas: he took from his favorite manga and games, but who would blame him, considering that in many ways this world very much resembled the universe of some anime?
- He failed to drown, his own attacks do nothing for him.... What else is left? - He analyzed, giving Emilia a hand to help her up.
He's busy fighting Reinhard. We're safe for a while. This is our best chance to figure something out. Our only hope is that we can somehow get around his invulnerability.
- Maybe we are doing something wrong? Maybe we need to think from another angle? So that we at least know something for sure....
I got a little sneak peek of him fighting Reinhard. For: I lived some strange phenomena. For example, when he kicked Reinhard so that the poor man flew and flew. Or when he went through the ice himself. The way he uses sand and water droplets as weapons of mass destruction. There's definitely something behind that.
- Subaru... Maybe there's something I can do? Anything? - asked the half elf, ready to do anything to help. She knew it would be of no use if she tried to join the fight directly.
Behind them, a little further away, columns of water and waves were rising into the air again and again. The entire Water Gate City was trembling.
I understand that she feels helpless. So do I. I can't do anything, and she trusts me! Shit! So does Reinhard! They're not the only ones. Those who are now fighting at the other towers, those who are sitting in the city hall waiting for good news. All the citizens who have heard my voice.
Subaru had no more ideas. He had hit a dead end. He relied on the half elf.
- Maybe you heard something while you were trapped? Maybe you noticed something? Anything?
- When I was incarcerated?
I bet she doesn't want to think about the time she spent as this pig's betrothed.... But she's had to deal with him the longest. We need some kind of clue, otherwise we'll never beat him.
- Hmm... - she muttered, wrinkling her eyebrows. - For example, he kept making sure I was a "virgin"...
- I'm gonna kill the guy, I'm gonna bludgeon him!
How dare he ask my angel something like that!
- He addresses his wives by numbers, not names - added Emilia after another moment of consideration. - He forbids them to smile, punishes disobedience with death - she calculated, straining her memory. - He behaves like some kind of prince, a despot... Yes, like a little king, as one of the girls put it.
- "Little king..." - Subaru picked up.
If I were them, I'd call him that behind his back too! He acts exactly like some little asshole, convinced he has all the power. Great summary of his character. Except... ...it reminds me of something... It's just...
- The name of the star...
It finally came to him.
Regulus, Sirius, Capella, Alphard... and a misrepresentation of Betelgeuse. All the names of the Archbishops were borrowed from the names of the stars. It had crossed his mind before, but now he had no doubt. It couldn't be a coincidence. After all, in this world, those stars didn't even exist. Subaru remembered them from another sky.
That's impossible...
- The appearance of our inn, Hoshin of the Plains... - whispered.
So many elements of this reality seemed to have some connection to his home world. He was convinced that they were traces of the presence of other Japanese visitors similar to him. He was already seeing too many of them to simply ignore. Why then would he ignore the names of the Archbishops? He would have to try very hard to see them as a coincidence. After all, it wasn't just the sound of the name itself.
"Regulus" is Latin for "little king." Another coincidence? I don't think so. And Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti... If I'm right... "Betelgeuse" is Arabic for "hand of the giant", or "hand of the constellation of Orion". It must have something to do with his Authority, with the Unseen Hands. Wait a minute, Regulus, a star in the constellation Leo, bears another name....
- Emilia, I have a question... - spoke up Subaru, slowly putting the facts together. His voice sounded so serious that the girl looked at him surprised.
- Ask.
- When he grabbed your neck... - he began, touching his own. - Was his hand... was it hot? Or cold?
Emilia furrowed her brows. She wasn't sure what she was getting at. Besides, she had to find the answer in her memory.
- Hm, indeed," she said suddenly, remembering. - I didn't feel the warmth of the hand. Nor the cold. It was as if something that didn't exist had touched me.
- Something that doesn't exist?
- It was very strange... Like I was caught by a shadow... or through the air... - she struggled to describe her experience.
However, Subaru had already guessed what it could have been about.
We are unable to hurt him, although Reinhard is really trying. Meanwhile, the Archbishop didn't even get out of breath. He didn't get wet from falling into the canal. He can make weapons out of grains of sand and drops of water. He is so powerful that he destroys a city as if it were a house of blocks. This can't be about simple invulnerability.
- Reinhard! - he exclaimed, grasping Emilia's hand.
Such concern sounded in his voice that the Sword Saint immediately turned away, although after all, the battle with the Archbishop was going on at its best and he couldn't afford to be careless for a moment.
If I'm right, Regulus' authority lies in…
- Reinhard, check if he has a heartbeat!
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