Chapter 134: The Witch Cult's Attack
The large force made its way grandly into the village, creating such a commotion that it immediately caught the attention of all the villagers.
Even if Subaru hadn't called everyone to gather, the uneasy villagers began to congregate of their own accord, murmuring anxiously among themselves.
It wasn't until Natsuki Subaru stepped out from behind the soldiers that they mustered up the courage to speak.
"Subaru-sama?"
"Yo, looks like everyone's already here? Good. Then please, I'd like everyone to listen to what I'm about to say."
The smile on Subaru's face vanished. His serious and solemn expression sent a wave of unease through the already anxious villagers.
"I don't want to lie to you, so I'll be honest: the Witch Cult is going to attack both the village and the mansion. I received word of this, and I brought this reinforcements from the capital to help."
"Next, we're going to suppress the Witch Cult. But to ensure everyone's safety, I need you all to board the dragon carriages so they can take you to a safe place."
"I understand what you're thinking. I know you're afraid. But I hope you'll cooperate and let us evacuate you. The village has a lot of people, so after discussion, we've decided to split you into two groups: one group will evacuate to the capital, and the other will be led by Ram-senpai to another evacuation point."
"Please rest assured. Once we eliminate the Witch Cult, we will bring you all back."
As he finished speaking, Subaru looked at the villagers' uneasy faces. The crowd was murmuring and stirring restlessly.
"Everyone, please get ready. And trust me—I'll protect you all."
The villagers didn't agree immediately. It wasn't until the village chief stepped forward that someone finally made a move. He took a step and said slowly:
"I'm willing to trust Subaru-sama. These old bones of mine will cooperate with his plan."
With someone taking the lead, the children—who didn't fully understand what was going on—began to step forward from the back and express their trust in Subaru as well.
With that, things started to move more smoothly. Thanks to everyone's cooperation, more and more people began boarding the dragon carriages.
"You're really someone the people trust."
"Hm?"
Subaru turned his head toward Julius, who had approached him. He didn't quite understand why Julius had said that so suddenly.
"We could all see the fear and hesitation in the villagers' faces. But even so, they still chose to believe in you. That's what it means to be trusted by the people."
Subaru fell silent, placing his hand on the sword at his waist.
"Yeah… they all chose to trust me. But can I really live up to that trust?"
Julius, hearing this, looked at Subaru's expression and could clearly see the fear in his eyes.
But Julius didn't know what to say. In the end, the only words that came out were:
"I'll help you. That's what I can do."
Subaru blinked in surprise and looked at Julius. Seeing the serious expression on Julius' face, Subaru let a faint smile tug at his lips.
"Is that so? Then what are you standing around here for? Go guide the villagers or patrol the area—don't just stand here slacking off."
"You really are ungrateful."
"Of course I am. I'm scared. Terrified, actually. And since you said that, I'm definitely going to put you to work so I can feel a bit more at ease."
"Then I'll go patrol."
"Thanks for the help."
Watching Julius walk away, Subaru lifted his foot, planning to head to the mansion to bring out Emilia so she could evacuate with the villagers.
He also needed to find Puck—even if the Witch Cult attacked, having Puck's power would help minimize the damage.
As he began moving through the crowd, looking for Ram, Subaru suddenly heard Felix's voice.
"So this is where you were. Took me a while to find you. But seriously, leaving everything to us while you do nothing—that's kinda too much, don't you think?"
"I'm not doing nothing! I'm heading to the mansion to bring someone out—and to get a powerful fighter."
"Is that so? Well, there's a slight issue with the goods over here. Subaru, you'd better come take a look."
Before Subaru could respond, Felix forcefully shoved him onto a dragon carriage.
Subaru was confused—weren't the logistics already arranged after the villagers agreed? Why was he being made to board a carriage now?
"Hey! You two, no flirting on my dragon carriage!"
The voice from behind made Subaru turn his head. He saw the driver of the carriage climbing aboard. Before Subaru could say anything, Felix had already moved away from him.
"Subaru, don't you think something's strange?"
"Huh? What do you mean 'strange'?"
Smiling innocently, Felix suddenly grabbed the hand of a middle-aged man who had boarded the carriage.
"I mean the Witch Cult, of course. Alright, got him."
With a dull sound, the man collapsed stiffly before Subaru's eyes.
"He's a member of the Witch Cult. Pretty strange, right? The Witch Cult's hiding somewhere in the forest, and we marched this big force right through the path—there's no way they wouldn't notice."
"I just used a tiny bit of cleverness, and boom, he walked right into it."
As Felix said this, he turned the man over, then held his hand near the man's face.
"You've got some weird sorcery in your body. Now, tell us everything you know. Felix's hands may be gentle, but they can be pretty scary too."
While Felix said that, Subaru's thoughts exploded. The more he thought about it, the faster his heart pounded.
If… if the Witch Cult already discovered their movements… and if their forces had already been infiltrated by spies from the Witch Cult…
Then right now, while everyone was busy and clustered together, waiting for the next step…
If the enemy chose this moment to strike while their guard was down…
What would happen?
"Felix! Get out of here, now!"
"Huh?"
"The attack has started!"
"Ia, protect him!"
The world slowed in Subaru's eyes.
He saw a faint spark of fire emerging beneath the collapsed man. He saw the anxious look on Felix's face.
He saw lesser spirits emerging from his own body.
Subaru lunged forward. In the slowed-down world, he broke through a barrier formed by the lesser spirits, and just as the explosion erupted, he managed to grab Felix and shield him.
In that moment, the massive blast completely destroyed the dragon carriage.
That explosion served as the signal for the Witch Cult to begin their assault—targeting the villagers, who were still frozen in shock.