Garfiel Growled and took a step forward
Subaru smirked. The damage on Garfield's face indicates a certain Merchant had put in some work. "Otto, you idiot. You went and did something crazy, didn't you?"
Garfiel cracked his Neck and adjusted a stiff shoulder. "I never knew he had it in 'im. To add insult to injury, he even won Ram over... And now I look like this!"
Subaru's eyes widened in surprise. "Ram? What happened to them?"
Garfiel shrugged angrily, "What you guys are plotting don't mean shit to me."
Subaru nervously asked, "You didn't kill them, did you?"
Garfiel angrily stared at Subaru and replied, "I told ya, it don't mean shit! Move. I'm gonna smash up the entrance, and put an end to all of this."
Subaru looked at him. "If you do that, the Sanctuary will be closed off forever. Is that what you want?"
Garfiel nodded aggressively. "Yes, it is. Every other damn thing is the problem!"
He began walking forward toward the Sanctuary, Emilia stepped out in front of Subaru to block his path.
Garfiel looked up confused and angry as always. "What're you tryin' to pull? Huh?!"
Emilia lowered her hands to her waist and looking him dead in the eye asked "Garfiel, what are you so afraid of?"
Garfiel clenched a fist so tight that it might burst, an aura emerged from his body reeking of killing intent "You think... I'm afraid?"
Emilia seemingly not caring calmly replied "You are. That's why you're shouting and trying to make yourself look bigger, isn't it?"
Garfiel looked up surprised, the killing intent off of him in an instant "What are you... What the hell do you think you know about me?!"
Emilia continued just as calmly, "I do know. Because... I've been afraid of many things throughout my life. I lived in fear right up until today. I left all the bad things in Puck's hands so I could forget them, But now I've finally remembered."
The rage came out of Garfiel again and he quietly whispered, "Shut up."
Uncaring to this, Emilia carried on "I still haven't figured out what it is I need to do. I need to find what that is. But..."
Garfiel seemed to snap at last, "Shut up! Get out! Don't you... Don't you even dare..."
Emilia stopped being so calm and passionately replied, "But you've already found that something for yourself, haven't you?"
Garfiel clenched his teeth. "I told you to shut your damn mouth!"
Subaru chimed in on cue "You're just too half-assed, Garfiel. It's true that Emilia failed the trial once. I can't deny that she cried her eyes out when it showed her a past she didn't want to see, either. But Emilia will keep trying, over and over. Unlike you, the guy who gave up and ran away.
Garfiel, do you have a grudge against your mother who abandoned you?"
Garfiel was shocked by this and let out a gasp "Sorry, man. We take off our shoes when visiting someone's home, but it's the Natsuki family way to trample all over people's hearts with our shoes on. Your mother left you and Frederica behind when she left the Sanctuary.
And then... what did you do? Frederica left the Sanctuary, too. She believed you'd eventually liberate it, so she left to make a place in the outside world for the people living here. And what have you been doing here on the inside? You want to keep the Sanctuary closed off because you hate your mother and the outside world that made her leave you? Because you don't want to be hurt here?!"
Garfield began taking steps backward and Subaru advanced forward "No, you're... What the hell do you..."
Subaru continued walking forward while speaking "I don't! Not unless you tell me! I won't understand until you speak! If you hate your mother, Then bust out of here right now to get revenge on her or whatever! Don't take it out on the rest of us in here! You hate your family! If you didn't—"
Garfiel, who was now only a couple feet away from Subaru spoke up again "You're wrong!" this stopped Subaru in his tracks as Garfiel continued "I... I..."
Urging him to speak Subaru demanded "Tell me the truth!"
Garfiel gritted his teeth "I... wanted... my mom to... be happy. We were in the way, weren't we? My sister and I were in the way of her happiness, weren't we?! It only makes sense! She couldn't even stand to look at us! If you're carryin' baggage like that, what's wrong with dumpin' it somewhere?! Mom left so she could find happiness! So I'm not holdin' anything against her! But... I saw it. I saw it in the graveyard... Right after Mom left here, there was a landslide. And she died! Why? Didn't she leave here so she could find happiness? Didn't she leave us behind so she could find happiness?! If she abandoned us only to die before she could find happiness... What are we supposed to do? I wanted Mom to be happy. I wanted her to make me believe our sadness and loneliness served the purpose of helping her find happiness! I wanted her to make me hate her! I'm not lettin' you get to the outside world. Things changing ain't gonna make everyone happy. For a lot of us, nothing's ever gonna get better! I'm gonna protect them. I'm gonna protect everything and everyone within my reach. I will become a barrier! A real barrier that separates the inside from the outside!"
Garfiel began glowing with a red aura as he began his transformation Subaru's eyes widened, and he shouted, "Garfiel!"
Garfiel growled as he continued, "The Sanctuary, the people here, the old hag... I'll protect them all! No one can do it but me! No one will know but me! And no one else needs to know!"
He fully transformed, Gust of hot wind shot off of him, making Subaru flinch back.
Emilia prepared to rush in "Subaru!"
Subaru stretched a hand back telling her to not come forward. "It's okay, Emilia."
He turned to face the notransformed Garfiel "You're so damn stubborn. I guess I'll have to force you into total submission to make you realize... That you're just a big, sweet idiot! You'd better survive this, body!"
He dashed forward, and Garfiel pounced. Subaru yelled
He felt the mana stream forth from his half-broken gate, "Shamac!" the Smoke burst outward, and he smiled, "Thanks." Garfiel's paw collided with the ground, shaking the earth but hitting nothing else.
"Come on down to my level, Garfiel!" Garfiel felt something sharp poke into his arm, and almost all his strength faded in an instant as he returned to his regular form.
"Wh-What just..." Garfiel exclaimed before collapsing to his hands and knees"
He looked at his arm and noticed the blue talisman embedded in his forearm. "Is this... my sister's? Damn it, why..."
Subar smirked and whiped some dirt from under his nose "Good question. Maybe there's a really hungry cat hanging out inside it?"
A faint Familiar voice sounded from the inside of the pendant, "That's all the help I can give you."
Subaru stood up and remarked "Apparently, even when you can't talk, you find a way to be annoying by glowing. Look at me, Garfiel."
Garfiel looked from the pendant to Subaru. "Huh?"
Subaru pointed at himself "If you want to stop me, do it with your own hands. Don't wuss out and hide behind your blood, you spineless coward! When are you gonna stop taking me for a fool? We're going to the outside world. Emilia will take on the graveyard. The Sanctuary will be liberated. Whether you want it or not."
Garfiel grumbled weakly as he struggled to his feet. "Who asked you to do that?! Who said you could?! This place doesn't need to change!"
Subaru waved his hand at their surrondings "You know it's not gonna stay like this forever! In the same way we've all been completely cornered, there's gonna be a time when you'll be helpless on your own! It could be tomorrow... or right now! Just go down, Garfiel. Learn what strength in numbers means!"
A faint bit of strength lingered in Garfiel's eyes, and he slowly clenched a fis.t "There had to be... A better way for you to say that!"
He shot forward and slammed it into Subaru's face. He stood tall and stared Garfiel down as blood trickled from one of his nostrils. Garfiel pulled his fist off of Subaru's face, and Subaru spat out a tooth. "Take a good look, Garfiel. The wall you're so afraid of doesn't exist."
Garfiel clenched his teeth and gestured at himself, "It does exist! I am the wall! I stopped here, and so did the old hag and everyone else. And that's the end of it! That means it's over!"
Subaru looked at him angrily and retorted, "Don't just give up on yourself! Whenever you think, "I wanna do it! I wanna change!" That's where your starting line is! When you decide to lift your head and walk again, who has the right to stop you, for any reason?! Isn't that right, Garfiel?! Isn't that right, Emilia?! And... Isn't that right, Los?!"
Garfiel Shot towards him again "Damn you!"
Subaru Concentrated as hard as he possibly could and his gut clenched firmly he groaned and with what felt similair to vomiting, an unseen hand erupted from his chest and slammed into the chin of Garfiel. knocking him off his feet and launchign him a fair distance away to come to a rolling halt.
Subaru himself collapsed to his knees and nearly threw up "Talk about a bad first impression for a new technique." He looked up and to his astonishment saw Garfiel once again standing tall. "Come on, you've gotta be kidding. Just how tough are you, man?"
Garfiel grumbled faintly, "Don't you... Underestimate me. As long as... I don't break... I can still..."
Garfiel shambled forward and Subaru hunched his head in agknowledgement "Well, damn. After all this, I have no choice but to recognize your strength."
Garfiel growled determinedly, "This is... the end of it! No one else will ever—" He was cut off as a speeding Patrache rammed into him at full speed and knocked him into a nearby stone wall.
Subaru grinned and let out a hoarse laugh. "What do you think, Garfiel? This is what you call "strength in numbers."
Garfiel now lying near unconscious on the ground, coughed and replied, "Again... there had to be... a better way... to say that."
Subaru nodded, "Okay, then. All of our feelings came together, and our bond won us this battle."
Garfiel gasped in a mix of exhaustion and pain "I guess nobody can lift a quain stone alone..."
Subaru smiled, "You finally said something that sounds like it came from you..."
The pair both passed out simultaneously.
while he was asleep Subaru thought about the ability "That nasty witch was probably behind it. That Sloth Witch Factor that she talked about... Unseen Hand... Unperceived Impact... No... it's the invisible will of God. Invisible Providence. That's what I'll call it." Suddenly he awoke and realized he was looking up at Emilia
She smiled down at him. "Huh? What did you say?"
He blinked. "Uh, nothing."
He then smiled, "You're letting me use your lap as a pillow again. I guess that's my reward for overcoming my biggest battle yet."
She smiled and patted his head. "Yes, yes."
Author Notes
So we are about 1/4 of the last events that have to happen im changing the timeline a bit as after this, Subaru will go back to the mansion again, Roswaal will start the snow, and Elsa will attack the Mansion at around the same time. Anyhow thanks to everybody for reading I know i'm a little inconsistent with the uploads but I will finish this series off BEFORE I write my own light novel which already has two chapters but I can finish this in probably like 10-15 chapters so I'd like to do that instead most likely, Just dont expect the Re:Zero portion of the story to be finished as I haven't even read the light novel
As for Los and Sekhmet, I think their stories can be finished in the mentioned 15 chapters and I think I can set it up so realistically Subaru's journey will have a clear path to the finish line as well.