Alone, far away from the rest of the group.
The same room, yet no one was there. Rem and Ram, Frederica, Petra, Otto, Garfiel, Beatrice, and Roswaal… all of them were gone.
As he watched the loop, his environment changed. Subaru would like to say that he had at least fought against this change, but that would be nothing but a lie. It simply happened; his senses didn't alert him of the change.
"Beak… huh?" When he noticed, it was already too late. In his lap, the girl spirit was long gone. To his sides, both Emilia and Rem had also vanished. How could he not notice? A change as abrupt as that one—it was simply impossible not to immediately take notice.
The sensation left in him was rather odd. To him, it almost felt as if… they were never there.
Subaru called and called, but was always left unanswered. Every spot of that theater room was checked. Using what he learned as the mansion's servant, no corner was left without at least a double check.
"Beakoooo! Emiliaaaaa! Can you hear meeeee?" He tapped on the walls; they were solid. That meant punching them would get him nowhere.
"This is bad, this is bad. I need to be with them!" Subaru scratched his head as he walked in circles. "They're gonna find out. I can't let that happen, or else… she will come."
Subaru was starting to get really stressed. His body was covered in cold sweat, and he couldn't stay put in one place.
"Who the hell is behind all of this!? You can hear me, right!? If that's the case… LET ME OUT!"
"You saw what happened at the sanctuary when I told Echidna. The same thing is bound to happen here, and you know that."
THAT WON'T BE HAPPENING HERE
"Woah!" He didn't anticipate an answer this quick.
The voice made his whole body shiver. It was soft, feminine, and calm—so much so it made Subaru's skin crawl.
"Who's there!? Who are you!? Where is everyone!? Answer me!"
The voice which carried the words was unrecognizable. He tried thinking of all the Sin Archbishops he had faced that were still alive.
Gluttony… maybe that girl called Rui Arneb Otto mentioned fighting? But that made no sense. Why would the Gluttony Sin Archbishop know about Return by Death? The other two's voices simply didn't match the one Subaru heard.
There was the Wrath Archbishop, Sirius, but she was locked up. Also, she always looked agitated, completely opposite to the voice he heard.
The Lust Archbishop… Capella.
Instantly disregarded. After Subaru's brief exchange with her, her personality had been perfectly conveyed to him. This wasn't her style of doing things.
The rest he knew were all dead—both Petelgeuse and Regulus.
Maybe one he didn't know of yet?
That would make sense, but who could possibly be behind it all? What sins were still unknown? Pride… and Envy. But the Authority of Envy was already in his possession, so it was impossible.
Only one possible answer, then.
"Are you the Pride Archbishop!? I'm right, am I not!?"
He awaited her answer. Five… ten… thirty seconds passed. No answer, Subaru.
"Hey! I'm talking to yo—"
CALM YOUR ANGER, NATSUKI SUBARU. THEN WE SHALL TALK.
This response only made him angrier. He clenched his fists and lashed out again.
"Calm my anger, you say!? How can I in this situation!? You suddenly teleported us all to that creepy theater room! Then you start showing all my failed loops! And then you have the nerve to ask me to calm my anger!? At this rate, they will all find out about Return by Death…"
As he said the fatal words, return by death, his tone lowered. Subaru repeated it again. "…return by death…" and again. "Return by Death!" He looked around. Nothing changed. "I can Return by Death!"
YOU HAVE FINALLY NOTICED, CARRIER OF THE ENVY AUTHORITY.
"…how? What is going on here?"
Subaru had said the words. Where was Satella? On any other occasion, she would have appeared. Yet again, when the same happened in the sanctuary…
"Echidna tried the same trick as you, and everyone ended up dead!"
When he finally revealed his secret to Echidna in the tea party, everything looked fine. But the second he stepped out, it was total chaos. Satella had made her appearance and killed everyone present at the scene, consuming the whole sanctuary.
WHAT THE WITCH OF GREED ECHIDNA AND I ARE DOING CAN'T BE CONSIDERED THE SAME. I DO NOT HOLD ANY EVIL INTENT AGAINST YOU.
"Huh? And why exactly should I believe that?"
That thing said she wanted not to hurt him, yet there was no evidence of it.
"What is it you're in for? Why do you make them see it? What are you gaining from this!?"
I DON'T SEEK TO GAIN ANYTHING. THE ONE WHO WILL GAIN IS YOU. THEY DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING. THEY THINK OF YOU AS AN EQUAL. THAT COULDN'T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. DON'T YOU THINK SO TOO, NATSUKI SUBARU?
"Why would I want them to see all my failures!? Are you insane!?"
I ASK OF YOU AGAIN, CALM YOURSELF.
"What are you on!?"
Fuming, he kicked the seat next to him—so hard that it hurt quite a bit, enough for a tear to almost fall from his eye.
"Damn it! Fine! I'm calm now! Just tell me if the rest will be fine."
THAT WILL DEPEND ONLY ON THEMSELVES. THEIR PHYSICAL BODIES WILL BE MOSTLY PROTECTED BY ME, IF THAT'S YOUR QUESTION.
"What's with that mostly? Didn't you just say you held no ill intent? Your answer sounds pretty weird."
WHAT GOES ON INSIDE THEIR MINDS I CAN'T CONTROL. I WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO DIE. THAT MUCH I CAN PROMISE.
"But… what about Rem, Garf, Ram… even Emilia? I'm sure it will be terrible for them knowing what they did in previous loops."
SIT DOWN AND WATCH, NATSUKI SUBARU. I WILL NOT BE ANSWERING ANY MORE QUESTIONS, THIS CONVERSATION IS TURNING INTO A USELESS ONE.