"GRRRRAAAAGH!" –The beast doesn't share this sentiment, as he makes the first move: A familiar plume of energy grew from beneath Subaru, violently growing bright as it was close to exploding—

"Move, you idiot!" Beatrice exclaims—

*VMMM—pffff...* —only to find the attack snuffed out... by his shadow?

"...But how...?" Beatrice's understanding of the boy started to crumble, as he denied the beast's attack.

Subaru continues to walk, unabated. Rem continues to cover her nose, as her vision blurs from her senses.

The beast's maw uncovers its teeth, as the monster growls in frustration, before finally lunging at the boy with his large mouth—

"KhhHhh!?"—Suddenly, the beast feels a pressure on his neck, and sees one of Subaru's shadowy limbs, Unseen Hand, suddenly drawn out from his chest in a surprise attack.

Beatrice, Meili, and Rem had full visage of Subaru's performance.

"Tut, tut..." Subaru's tone is quiet, and cold, "Bad dog..."

"Grrr..." With what little air the other head could muster, the beast continues to growl.

"I don't understand...!?" Beatrice murmurs, her eyes scrunched in dismay, "What's gotten into him...!?"

"Oh? Are we mad? Ehehe..." A dreadful look grows on Subaru's face as the unthinkable happens:

The Unseen Hand that held onto the first head simply... peels off into another hand, one that quickly claims the beast's other neck.

The beast's eyes change into panic quickly, as his much-needed supply of air is cut off. All-the-while, Subaru's look grows darker and darker.

"Hey!" Beatrice tugs on Meili's arm, demanding an answer, "What did you do to Subaru!?"

Meili looks at Beatrice with worry, opening her mouth to respond—

"How about we teach this old dog..." The grasp on the beast's necks gets tight, as another unnatural force is shoved right into his chest,

"A new trick!" –And, with a violent shove, the beast is suddenly thrown into the air, upside down due to the grip on his heads.

The stunt catches both Meili and Beatrice, along with Rem, off guard.

With a smile, Subaru makes a motion with his fist closed, to thrust his hand toward the ground behind him.

The beast, in kind, continues to fly over Subaru—and slam right into the ground, on his back!

*Crrrraaashhh! ! !*

A loud noise runs through the trees, and the ground seems to shake below them; The mighty beast is effortlessly flipped on his back by Subaru.

In doing so, Rem has a crystal clear view of Subaru, as he stands tall above the beast.

The beast's legs start violently shaking, a sign that it was going through shock.

Subaru leans over the beast, and the beast looks back with trembling eyes.

Subaru looks at the beast through his giant eye. It was big enough to reflect Subaru back like a mirror, garnishing an eerie smile from the boy.

"Aaah... I wonder what he's thinking right now..." Subaru whispers to himself, getting a heavy blush, before smiling to the beast, "...I wonder how happy he'll be, once I finish you off..."

Subaru squirms, as her own thoughts get the better of her. The beast, at his mercy, begins to whine. Subaru laughs.

"No, no, I can't let you go..." Subaru pets the beast, not seen by anyone... but Rem, "You have an important role to fill, after all..."

Rem stares with uncertainty, on the cusp of either regaining her senses, or falling into depths of an Oni-fueled insanity.

This person was Subaru.

Subaru was nice!

Subaru smells horrible, awful, evil...

But... Subaru was nice...?

The beast's shaking slows down, and the beast closes its eyes.

"Good boy..." Subaru stands up, his smile never-ending as he stands up. The shadows grew dark below him and the beast. The evil mana that everyone felt before, returns full force—!

"Bye bye..." Subaru speaks wistfully—

*SSSHLKKK! ! !*

—As the shadows turn into pitch-black spikes, piercing the monster all over.

"...Wha...t..." Beatrice falls down at the sight, the falling sun reflecting the crimson blood dripping from the shadows-made-physical.

"...No..." Meili's tone turned weak, as she gripped her dress, "Not like this...!"

And Rem, who had a full display of Subaru's act, was rendered speechless as her instincts screamed red alert!

Subaru lets out a deep sigh, turning over to Rem, with some splatters of blood on his face...

Yet his smile never ended.

"Hey," Subaru spoke, but it didn't sound like Subaru. His eyes were looking at her, but this wasn't Subaru looking at her...!

"Let's go home, Rem."

The blood-stained hand that was offered to Rem... wasn't Subaru's hand.

Rem landed on a conclusion.

This... is not Subaru.

—Rem's horn made a crack of energy, as her mana soaked the earth—

It's not Subaru! It's not Subaru! It's not Subaru!

—Subaru watched Rem grit her teeth, whatever little conscious she still had faded into the depths of her mind—

It's not Subaru! It's not Subaru! It's not Subaru!

"What the!?" Beatrice snaps out of her stupor to see Rem crackling with energy, "...is she really going to—"

It's not Subaru...

The energy suddenly grows quiet, as Rem glares at the man she was once familiar with, and opens her mouth.

"Where... Is... Subaru...!?" Rem's voice growls out, her breath easily seen by how hot it was.

And Subaru's smile turned wild.

This was enough to shoot Rem past the point of no return, once more.

"Give..."The mana around Rem crescendos into an eruptive, pink haze around the girl!

"Give Subaru BACK! ! !" –Until it erupts, into a violent explosion of charged energy!

"Guh!?" Beatrice, who was expecting her to retaliate, was not expecting the sheer amount of dense mana blazing from the blue-haired girl.

Even in her stunned state, however, she could see the person closest to her start to lean forward, completely focused on the event unfolding.

Meili's lips were thin. Her eyes were intense.

"Ahh..." Subaru let out a soft noise, hovering a hand over his heart, "...Even now, I can feel his love..."

Rem grits her teeth, succumbing to the primal control of her horn and leaping towards this imposter who posed as Subaru!

Losing all sense of reason, Rem throws out her Morningstar without thinking twice of the consequences!

"Don't—!" Beatrice reacts accordingly—

The Morningstar, caught by Subaru's Unseen Hands, shatters into millions of shards.

Rem is taken aback, despite her current state.

Meili —The real Subaru— pairs the event with the first time they fought Rem. When Satella killed Rem.

The possessed Subaru continues to smile.

However, this smile has a tinge... of jealousy.

"...His love... for you." Subaru's voice is colder, as his eyes grow dark.

"No!" Beatrice jumps once Meili suddenly breaks out into a sprint, running towards the two fighters!

"Wait! You're going to get yourself killed!" Beatrice throws herself forward, catching the small girl's arm once more.

"Let me go!" Meili's frantic look was turned to the spirit, "I can save them! Let me go before it's too late, Beako!"

"Like I said, you're just going to—" Beatrice's eyes widened... from something Meili said...

Beatrice gives Meili an intense stare, "Beako... that's Subaru's stupid name... How—"

Meili gives an awkward smile, her brownish-grey eyes reflect an ever-knowing luster—

"Please help me save them...!"—And the tone she used reminded him of... Subaru!?

Rem reels back, with a look of disgust, "Tsssh...!" Hissing through her teeth, she throws down her hands onto the ground, "AL HUMA! ! !"

A gigantic glacier of ice, spurred on and condensed by the Oni's mana, rushes over to Subaru—

"You wish!"Subaru snaps at Rem, thrusting a wave of darkness to cut through her magic, rendering it useless.

Beatrice lets Meili go, and she continues to run towards the duo. Beatrice, with shaded eyes, grits her teeth,

"You have... so much explaining to do... Subaru!" Beatrice hisses out, throwing her mana towards the small girl, "Murak!"

Meili, who was now weightless, jumps off the ground, and soars towards the group!

"Thank you!" Meili's response was heartfelt, as she puts her focus on Rem and the possessed Subaru.

"Ehehe..." The Witch of Envy giggles, sending out two Unseen Hands towards the maid.

Rem, knowing something was amiss, could feel the Unseen Hands approach thanks to the real Subaru's dilemma last time. Rem falls down to her fours, and the Unseen Hands whiff past her.

Satella, who was certain she had trumped over the maid, reels back, "What!?"

Gritting her teeth, Rem surprises the Witch further by shooting straight towards her, aiming to land a clear hit!

"GrrrrAHHH!" Rem's fist lands a direct blow on Envy's stomach!

"Kuh... ghhh!" Satella reels forward, the maid's attack knocking the wind out of her.

"Ghh!?" —And above, through their link, Meili-baru also felt the phantom sensation of the blow.

Now recognizing just how much trouble he was in, Subaru starts racking up ideas in his head.

"...If I can just... stop her somehow..!" Meili-baru pushes aside the gut-blow, and considers using the contract against her once more.

"But if I freeze Satella, Rem will just... nnk...!"Deciding against it, she focuses on another way...

"How dare you...!" Satella throws the maid off, making Rem stumble in the dirt as she collects herself, "You don't deserve Subaru, worthless trash!"

Rem suddenly feels invisible hands locking onto her limbs. A hand on her neck made itself incredibly apparent when it began to strangle her.

Rem's brain shoots adrenaline through her system, and her horn elicits a response by supercharging Rem, taking any and all the mana present near her person.

"...Nngh!?" Suddenly, Satella has a hard time holding onto Rem, as her mana grows bigger and bigger, almost making a shield of sorts, "Damn it... Damn it...!"

Rem, her skin turning pink from the sheer volume of mana, doesn't make a noise. Slipping through the Unseen Hand's grip, she lightly falls onto her feet, locking onto Envy once more...

Satella reads the maid's intent, and quickly swerves out of the way once Rem throws a fist out at her, the shadows carrying her all the same, "Nice try—Kkh!?"

Satella bites her lip, seeing how Rem wasn't done, and before she knew it, she was 'dancing' with Rem—Dodging every attack the maid could make.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it...!"—Satella could only voice her frustration, as the maid's mana made it impossible to grab her, whether with Unseen Hand or shadow magic.

Rem, at this point, was nearly unstoppable.

The two moved erratically, making Meili's job that much harder as she simply floated above them.

"...How am I going to do this...?" Meili-baru whispers, exasperated. Both of them were incredibly powerful, yet incredibly deranged. He could get Meili killed if he didn't think this through!

Subaru, with a gulp, decides to wait on a key moment: If either Satella or Rem fail to keep the pace, he will attempt to stop the fight.

...Ironically enough, he was hoping Satella would be the victor here: Rem was a wildcard in this situation.

Beatrice, who was simply a witness to 'Subaru' and Rem's scuffle, could only watch with baited breath as she fit the pieces together...

"This power..." she whispers, and her eyes shimmer with worry, "It couldn't be... It can't..."

"Beako!" Beatrice, snapped out of her moment, looks to the floating girl in the sky, "When I make the call, I want you to dispel the magic, got it!?"

"Wh—" Beatrice passes a quick glance at the battle, then back at Meili-baru, "Are you insane!? There's no way you'll get out of that unscathed, I suppose!"

"Don't worry! I'll make the call the moment I see an opening! I'm pretty good when it comes to—"

A searing pain on his left arm.

That was what caused Meili-baru to lock up, and cut his train of thought.

It was an awfully familiar sensation, too.

Did... did Meili's arm get cut off?

"Nnn... Nghh...!?" —Shaking, Meili-baru turns to her left, fearing the worst.

Only to find it still intact...?

Meili, trembling from the pain, looks down to Subaru and Rem—

"...Ah..." Envy stood straight, as her senses light aflame, "Ah... Ahhh... Gggghhh...."

Rem, who wanted to simply grab Subaru's arm, unknowingly ripped it off due to her sheer volume in mana;

Her own body was like a hot knife, cutting through butter!

"...No way..." Beatrice whispers, a pit of dread in her stomach.

Rem, looking down at the appendage she grabbed, feels a sudden pang of shock run through her, and loses her focus—The once overpowering 'shield' of mana slowly falling back to nothing.

"Ghh—Hghh... Ghh—Hghh..." As if trying not to hyperventilate from the pain, Subaru's eyes become crossed, "Authority... of Envy..."

Rem's nose picks up a torrent of miasma, and she turns to Subaru—holding his stump of an arm in pain.

The shock of the condition he was in, was enough to snap Rem out of her Oni-like state.

"...Su... baru...?" Rem whispers, trying to make sense of all this, as her horn started to flicker.

"Everlasting Love."With a whisper, the stump shines a bright pink, and like magic, it forms a new arm in the place of the fallen one.

Meili-baru sighs a breath of relief, the overwhelming pain vanishing almost instantly, before turning her attention back to Rem and Satella—

"You... You, you, you, you, you—" Satella began to whisper, loud enough for Rem and Meili-baru to hear.

"Not good!" Meili whispers, trying to motion herself closer to the duo.

Rem recoils a bit, as the floor beneath her floods with shadows. The air around them grows tense and... Hold on, was it already nighttime?

"You— You—You— You— YOU—" Satella's words become intangible, as the miasma around him grows to a near palpable state!

"Ghhh!?"Rem lets out a grunt, blistering wind rushing past her.

Subaru, who was surrounded by the now-material shadows, begins to slowly rise as the shadow carries him, once again

"If he could love..."Subaru's tone wasn't nearly as joyful as it was before, rather it was sharp and cutting,

Rem watches the boy, still thinking it was Subaru.

"A monster like you...!"Subaru's smile was completely manical, as he loomed over Rem.

Rem recoiled, failing to notice the shadows rising—

"Then," The possessed boy hovers right in front of Rem, his crazed smile in full view,

"Surely he can love a Witch like me, too...!"

Rem's mind flooded with noise, mixed feelings of dread and confusion, but she wasn't granted time to comprehend her feelings—

Subaru lifts a hand, trapping Rem in shadows!

"Guh!?" Rem lets out a gasp of air, as her body was compressed into a tight squeeze!

Rem tries to push more mana out of her body to free herself, but to no avail; Her reserves were all but tapped out.

All she could do was watch the person that wasn't, or... was Subaru, decide her fate,

"Wa...it..." she calls out, weakly.

And Subaru —Satella— was all too eager to finish to job.

"Sweet dreams," Subaru whispers cooly, "Rem."

Rem's eyes shimmer a bit, as Subaru makes a motion to squeeze Rem further—

["By our contract, I order you to freeze, Satella!"] —The real Subaru's voice comes through in the bond he and the Witch share, and the reaction was instant.

A bright, prismatic lock appears on Subaru's heart, and a cold sweat appears on his face, "Nngh!?"

Subaru looks up to Meili, who was floating above both of them, "Why!? Why, why, why, why, why!?"

Rem's gaze goes up, and her horn continues to flicker.

Meili hovers above Rem, with apologetic look. To Rem, she could easily be an angel...

"Hey... Smile, Rem." This girl gave off an gentle aura, one that reminds Rem of Subaru—the real Subaru.

"I mean... I've told you, haven't I?"

Meili lifts her hand over Rem's horn, and makes it hold a 'flicking' pose. Rem simply keep looking toward Meili, unable to make any motion to stop her.

"I guess I went too fanatical, huh..." Meili gives a cheerful smile, putting Rem at ease, "I'll learn better next time, I