Chapter Text
It wasn't a secret that the Lugunican Capital was simply a prison of fear. It was simply that no one wanted to admit it. When people walked outside, they'd risk finding a protest, an argument, a fight. And they'd be expected, encouraged, required to pick a side. Worse yet, sometimes they had a side. A side they wouldn't be willing to give up for their life.
After Natsuki Subaru's death there was chaos. And one would think that the chaos would die down. That after some time the chaos would end.
It didn't. Not with the Witch Cult. With the people rioting, and knights preoccupied, the Witch Cult had a fog. It had a way of being hidden. People fought, people killed, people raged.
They fought, killed and raged because of a horrible, horrible mistake. The knights were expected to be strong and righteous. The Council was expected to be wise and intelligent. The camps were meant to be a force of good and peace.
Natsuki Subaru was not simply a knight. Even if his camp had not won then he would have been remembered as the killer of the Witch Cult's archbishops. He showed a change of fate where even the weakest of men could make a difference for the better.
He wasn't a symbol of righteousness, his debut had shown that.
He wasn't a symbol of strength, he was beaten quickly and soundly.
He wasn't a symbol of wisdom, he had gained nothing from his first actions.
He wasn't a symbol of intelligence, there's so much he didn't know.
He wasn't a symbol of good, no person that supported the half-elf's camp would be considered as such.
He wasn't even really a symbol of peace, he always fought for something, never relenting once.
He was a symbol of change for a better future.
Until he died.
Then he was righteous for showing the corruption of the knights, the council, the Royal Camps
Then he was strong for fighting a battle he could not win and standing strong even after defeat.
Then he was wise for recognizing the folly of the Knights, the Selection, the Council.
Then he was intelligent for he made his mark before he could be erased.
Then he was good for he fought against corruption until his final breath.
Then he was peaceful, for choosing to trust each and everyone of them and letting them become better.
Then he was killed. His trust was betrayed.
That was the narrative the Witch Cult chose to bring forth.
They played the villain to make Subaru the hero.
They played the victim to make Subaru seem like the victor.
They played the cowards, attacking when Subaru was gone.
They played the fools, letting Wrath remain in prison until Subaru had disappeared.
They played the catalyst, letting the people be furious that their savior had been killed.
They played the mastermind, directing anger, dividing the people.
They had played the world and let it eat itself from the inside.
The Witch Cult had planned the circumstances perfectly. After numerous attacks on the newly named 'Natsuki Village' they'd managed to cause tension within the capital to be at its highest. People would be furious at the village that Natsuki Subaru protected from being destroyed. People would be happy that the village that had left him to rot would have justice. People would be indignant that Natsuki's name would be destroyed once more. People would be joyous that the ones who stole the man's name for their dead village would be punished.
Now, the cult truly intended to set the bomb, that they themselves made, off and let the world riot. Draw out the half-elf, draw out the artificial spirit, draw out the camps. And tighten the strings they had around Lugnunica's neck.
All of that was a bit much for a village girl. Watching the entirety of the army march towards her home.
Petra hid silently behind the trees, wearing a cloak enchanted by Roswaal to hide her presence. If she drew too much attention to herself, this would all be for nothing.
She was really glad that Subaru had decided to rely on her but was really dreading her part. Because if she messed up, then no one else would be able to do anything in Subaru's plan.
At best, they’d be forced to retreat to the village for a last stand. At worst, Subaru’s existence would be revealed to the Witch Cult.
So they needed to make this look like an accident at worst and a self-sabotage at best. Subaru’s plan would work only if everyone played their part perfectly.
The reason that Petra was particularly stressed about her role was because it was extremely precise. If she was just a bit off, she would be revealed.
But she also couldn’t panic, because yang magic had the weakness of becoming ineffective depending on the user’s mental state. So if she couldn’t control her emotions then it wouldn’t matter if she was precise. But that thought didn’t calm her down, she started to lose control of her breathing.
A voice from the trees called down to her. “Hey, hey. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Petra paused for a moment and looked at Subaru. “What will you do if I can’t?”
Subaru pondered for a moment. “I’d probably use Vita to break off tree branches and shatter the crystals that way.”
“Risky. And more suspicious.” Petra countered.
Subaru nodded thoughtfully “True, I might just try to go back to the village and make a plan involving them. A final stand.”
“People will probably die.”
“I could try again…”
Petra narrowed her eyes. “You know, I realized something weird about you.”
“What is it?”
“You don’t want us to worry about you.”
Subaru stopped moving, he wasn’t moving much before but now he stopped. “Isn’t that natural?”
Petra looked at Subaru as if he'd transformed into a Witchbeast right before her eyes. “...No? If that were true, then why would you be worrying about everyone else since you met Meili? Isn't that hypocritical?”
Subaru opened his mouth to reply and then closed it. “I… guess I just forgot what it was like to have someone care.”
“That’s a bit sad. I can’t really hug you right now. Or… even get much closer to you. But if no one else does, then we’ll be sure to love you enough for the whole world.” Petra said, smiling. Unknowingly copying almost exactly what Subaru had told Meili.
Subaru smiled and looked away, embarrassed. “Huh… so that’s how that sounds. Well, if you’re that determined then you’ll do just fine. So let’s do this.”
Petra nodded and aimed her finger at the army and waited for her signal.
And she didn't have to wait long. The army stopped moving as a pack of Wolgarms past by, trying to attack the army but was blocked by the barrier.
Petra whispered, "Jiwald."
The end of Petra's finger glowed white and a beam of light was fired at a barrier crystal while the holder was distracted, shattering it instantly. The two years of magic training showing their worth now. Petra and Subaru grinned as part of the invisible barrier shattered and the Wolgarms ravenously devoured the cultist's body, splattering blood and viscera gruesomely. Then stopped before looking at each other.
"Are you ok with this?" They both asked each other before laughing quietly.
Petra had been in her village for almost a year following Subaru's death. Seeing blood, gore and death wasn't a rarity for her anymore. It was painful, it was cruel. She lost friends and family alike. So when it came to any attackers of her village dying, Petra did have empathy for them but it was muted. But when it came to a Witch Cultist, a member of the group directly responsible for Subaru's execution.
Likewise, Subaru had died repeatedly trying to survive in his cell. He had already seen his death and every individual organ in his body be removed, become destroyed or simply boil inside his body. He wasn't numb to his death but as for the Witch Cult. His only real regret was not being able to kill them himself.
"This is messed up..." Subaru said, still grinning.
"It really is." Petra confirmed, pointing again. "Jiwald."
Another crystal shattered as the cult tried to push the Witchbeasts away from the group with a crystal; causing the cultist to fall over and quickly be devoured.
"Get AWAY! FIX THE BARRIER!” A leader in the army called out.
“THE CRYSTALS ARE BREAKING BY THEMSELVES, WE’VE BEEN SABOTAGED!” Subaru called out in a disguised woman’s voice, forcing Petra to cover her mouth to prevent her laughter from being heard.
The entire army was already panicking, simply due to the death of two cultists. One of the Wolgarms gripped a fallen 'Gospel' with their teeth and flicked its head, causing the book to strike into the crowd.
"A blank book?" someone in the crowd questioned.
"IS THAT A GOSPEL?" Subaru called out in a disguised voice, causing the entirety of the crowd to grow unsettled.
"A gospel?"
"Why is there a gospel here?"
"Focus! There are more mabeasts here!"
It was deflection but it was true, more and more Witchbeasts were starting to reveal themselves, preying on the would-be invaders. Only Witch Cultists had died, and that was a calculated effort on Meili's part. Carefully, observing the situation from the trees.
The attack was convincing. A crystal shattered and then the mabeasts attacked the closest person before the barrier was resealed. But that wouldn't last. Eventually it would become clear that the attack was targeted, regardless that the knowledge to control mabeasts were only available to a select few.
For an entire year, former members of the half-elf camp had protected the village. After some time, each would need to leave for some reason or another. A requirement for each not to stay in the same place for too long, lest they draw attention.
Not of the Witch, of the general populace. The fact that the most controversial camp was protecting a village would be enough to paint it as a target.
So the camp had to be discreet, ensure they were never protecting them too strongly, make the village look abandoned, and be forced to let people die.
The Witch Cult had caught the camp in a trap and with the destruction of the village, war would rise once again. Theories, anger fights. All rampant again.
The Witch Cult would realize quickly that the crystals weren't breaking at random, it only took one mistake. So the longer this facade went on, the riskier it would be for them.
So they'd make an unbelievable present. A scenario so unbelievable that the only option left would be to believe it. A scenario so insane that no person would orchestrate it for they would have nothing to gain and so out of left field that the camp couldn't orchestrate it.
Subaru's plan didn't simply involve saving the village. Or even preventing rumors from spreading. Subaru planned to redirect the rumors.
And that started by using the three camp members that had almost no notoriety or fame.
An assassin that had remained unknown for years due to using mabeasts to be unsuspected.
A young village girl, turned maid, that knew a spell faster than could be tracked by any normal human.
And a maid that while known, had a lesser known ability that allowed this plan to work perfectly.
A roar emanated from the forest, causing the Wolgarms to look up from their meal and suddenly become wary. Or at least that was how it seemed to an outsider.
A large yellow leopard beast jumped out of the forest, Frederica had made an appearance.
The only way this could be more perfect would be if Otto, who arguably held less fame than any of them, was involved.
Regardless, Frederica jumped into the fray. Moving between the army and the Witchbeasts.
"Jiwald." Petra whispered again, shattering another barrier crystal.
"Hold off for now, let them regroup for a bit." Subaru called out to her. "We're aiming for a retreat, not a massacre."
Petra nodded. Subaru wonders what exactly happened when he was gone to make Petra this unapologetically bloodthirsty.
Frederica protected the army, headbutting, clawing and biting Wolgarms that got closer. Roaring periodically to scare both the Wolgarms back (really only signaling Meili to make them retreat before she was inflicted by a curse) and scaring the army back. A few heroic people tried attacking the Wolgarms to let the hole in the barrier be fixed.
But quickly more and more mabeasts started to appear, seemingly having a truce with other mabeasts to feast on the humans.
"Now." Subaru said, prompting Petra to shatter another crystal while no one was paying attention to it.
The Witchbeasts tried to launch forward to attack the cultist but Frederica and the army managed to fend them off for a few extra moments.
Pretty soon, some of the army was figuring out what was happening. There might be foul play involved but the Emilia Camp wouldn't be the perpetrators, it would be the Witch Cult. There would likely be a lot of suspicion, and for once the suspicion would be beneficial.
The army called for a retreat once they had patched the barrier, so now that no one else was destined to die. Only 4 cultists had died, but now they'd sewn doubt. And now, that doubt would buy time.
Subaru's plan had worked flawlessly.
After ensuring that they really were retreating, Frederica (with a fresh set of clothes) Meili, Petra and Subaru all regrouped.
Subaru grinned, looking at two bloodied gospels that weren't taken back. "Well, that worked out even better than I expected. I hope we can use these somehow. We should check on the mansion, right? I doubt it but it might also be under attack"
"Right, but there's one thing to do first," Meili said
"Go back to the village?" Subaru asked, "Wasn't that a given?"
"Two things then." Frederica said.
Seeing Subaru tilt his head in confusion, the three girls threw their hands in the air and yelled unapologetically. "Victory!"
Subaru took a moment but then doubled over laughing, they had used the ending of his aerobic exercises for a victory chant. It had been so long that he'd forgotten it. Subaru lost breath quickly, almost collapsing but then also his hands in the air.
"Victory."