"Master."
Elsa was startled awake, her eyes widening as she looked at Lucien smoking nearby, her expression filled with longing and excitement.
Last night, when they had been together, Lucien had injected her with his blood again. After enduring a second transformation, Elsa could feel her strength growing stronger.
"Besides you being summoned by the assassin organization, is there another assassin capable of controlling magical beasts?" Lucien asked as he exhaled smoke and lifted Elsa's smooth chin gently.
"Is Master referring to the Beast Tamer, Meili San?" Elsa blinked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Get up and come with me," Lucien said.
The silk sheets slipped off as Lucien stood, putting on his black elastic boxers, T-shirt, and beach shorts.
Lucien recalled that in the first season's storyline, not only had Elsa been hired by the organization, but there was also a colleague capable of controlling magical creatures.
Since he might face Roswaal and Betty next, he decided to recruit an ally.
Though momentarily confused, Elsa rose and dressed quickly, smoothing down her stockings and garments.
Within moments, she once again became the alluring Gut Hunter.
To avoid wasting time, Lucien, cigarette dangling from his mouth, picked Elsa up in a princess carry and shot out the window like lightning, vanishing into the bright sky.
Deep within the forest beyond the village barriers, a young girl with blue braids knelt among enlarged wolf-dog-like magical beasts, holding a bald pup in her arms.
This creature was the leader of the pack.
This was Meili, the Beast Tamer.
She possessed the rare ability to subdue magical beasts by breaking their horns, forcing them into obedience.
She was also affiliated with the same assassin organization as Elsa.
In the original story, holding that bald puppy had caused Subaru to perish many times, but it also prompted Rem to fall deeply for him.
Suddenly, a streak of golden lightning descended from the sky, revealing a figure: Lucien, still carrying Elsa.
The surrounding magical beasts snarled, baring teeth and glaring at Lucien and Elsa with obvious hostility.
"Meili San."
"Elsa."
The two women recognized one another instantly; though not close, they acknowledged each other.
"Come here," Lucien said as his figure floated three feet above the ground and spoke directly to Meili.
The next moment, Meili's face turned stiff, and she began to walk toward Lucien as though compelled.
The bald pup in her arms sensed its human's fear and snarled, commanding the surrounding beasts to attack.
"Lie down," Lucien said simply, and every threatening magical beast immediately collapsed to the ground.
This effect worked on every beast that met Lucien's crimson gaze.
Even the bald pup whined and lay down, defeated by his presence.
Lucien's Law Following Speech was only effective against beings significantly weaker than himself, and evidently Meili and her beasts fell into that category.
Meili approached Lucien, her fear uncontrollable.
In front of her, a thorn-like shadow swayed like a venomous snake.
The thorn pierced her flesh, and as a small amount of fresh blood entered her system, Meili collapsed, convulsing on the ground.
Minutes later, Meili also turned to ghostly ash.
After finishing, Lucien had Meili's unconscious body and the group of magical beasts taken outside the village for an ambush setup, while his own appearance shifted into that of a frail old woman of seventy-eight years.
He no longer intended to hide.
As soon as Subaru appeared, he would kill him.
The next day, Subaru appeared in the village with Rem.
This time he had neither Emilia nor Ram with him.
He did not know if anyone was hiding nearby, but he entered the village with intense vigilance, scanning every face, regardless of age or gender.
A sudden woosh of air signaled danger, followed by three rapid finger strikes aimed at Subaru.
Instead of panic, Subaru's eyes gleamed with triumph as he stared directly at Lucien.
"Betty sama, it's him."
A magic shield formed around Subaru, effortlessly blocking the strikes.
Betty appeared beside him, staring at Lucien with suspicion.
After all, Lucien now looked nothing more than an old man.
Clearly Subaru had brought Betty along again.
"Stop breathing."
Even Roswaal appearing now would not faze him.
Law Following Speech activated, and Lucien locked eyes with Subaru.
In the next second, Subaru choked, clutching his neck and collapsing, his eyes bulging, then widening in horror until his face turned a deep purplish blue.
"It's just forced magic, It can undo it easily," Betty said calmly as she reached out and activated a magic circle.
Subaru, struggling for breath, instantly recovered, gasping as the effect of Lucien's attack was nullified.
Lucien sensed his Law Following Speech had been forcibly broken.
Clearly, level one of that ability was too weak against a strong opponent.
"Trying to ambush me?" Subaru growled.
The Lucien standing in the original spot began to fade.
His true body appeared before Subaru as if by teleportation, his blood-red index finger nail extending to within a hair's breadth of Subaru's forehead.
Suddenly the world seemed to freeze.
Rem stood beside Subaru, tense and confused.
Subaru's face showed terror as his body seemed poised to roll away, and the villagers all stood frozen.
Just as Betty thought victory was assured, the atmosphere around Lucien shattered like glass.
The blood-red fingernail surged forward two more decimeters and pierced Subaru's forehead cleanly.
"How could this be…"
Betty's eyes widened with disbelief as she stared at the old man, now burning with white flame and encircled in golden lightning.
An overwhelming aura pulsed from him, sending shockwaves toward her.
Lucien ignored Betty, and in a blink, everything dissolved into the familiar ceiling of the tavern.
At the same time, Subaru blinked awake in Roswaal's Mansion, clutching his chest and gasping.
Before him, Ram and Rem stood close, holding each other, their expressions distant but calm.
"Even Betty sama couldn't stop him, who is he?" Subaru panted, recalling only a fleeting glimpse of the attacker before waking in his bed.
Just then Emilia entered, her sapphire eyes filled with concern.
"Subaru, what's wrong?" she asked.
"N-nothing!" Subaru forced a smile, his voice shaking, his gaze briefly flickering toward Rem and then away.
His thoughts were chaotic.
He could not determine whether the other party's target was himself, Rem, Emilia, or even Ram.
If the target was him, then Rem might be safe.
But was he willing to gamble on that?
His hand trembled as veins spread across his eyes.
The next day, Rem exited the mansion.
"Rem," Subaru called desperately.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, calm and composed.
"Do you really have to go to the village? Anything you need can be sent to you," Subaru pleaded, his breath uneven, his fear evident.
Rem merely glanced at him, silent, and turned to leave.
"Rem," Subaru called again, but all he received was her cold gaze.
In the end, he could not stop her, and Subaru watched helplessly as Rem disappeared down the path.
"The other party's target must be me, not Rem," Subaru clung to that hope in his heart.
Meanwhile, in the village, Lucien had transformed once again, this time into a woman, thoughtfully watching Rem from afar.
Elsa and the ambushed magical beasts lay hidden outside the forest.
As for Meili, Lucien had already infused her with more of his blood.
Because his Return by Death had brought him back to the tavern at that moment, it had occurred somewhat earlier than expected.
____
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