12Hello guys thank you for taking a look at this little crossover of mine. I am a big fan of both of these series and was sad to see the lack of crossovers between them. Now I need to make a few things clear before continuing on.
1. This is not a replacement story, the idea is this world is a fusion between that of RE:Zero and Berserk, so some liberties were taken/span/strong/p
2. Reinhard will not exist in this storyline... as in a twisted sense Griffith will be the one chosen to fill this role
3. The God Hand will have power over the witches
Now that's out of the way, I do not own Berserk or RE:Zero, go take a look at the late great Kentaro Miura and Tappei. Please support the official release, and don't forget to let me know about any improvements. Also, the beginning setup segment mostly consists of stuff from the Witch Cult Translation of the web novel.
Our story opens up with a familiar young man, a man not native to this world of fantasy... a man with the ability to return by death... as he was walking and pondering about what he should do he ended up leaving the street and was now entering a narrow alley.
"Isn't this where I first met her…?"
It looked very similar, but he was unsure.
It wasn't that different from the path into the slums in terms of atmosphere, on top of which he had only been to the alley of their meeting in the first world, and had never revisited it since.
The second time was clearly in a different alley, and thinking back to the third time, that was yet another dead end. Even if Felt stealing Satella's insignia was a fixed event, which alley she would run into after the fact seemed to vary depending on the situation.
Perhaps it was the same the first two times, but the third time things seemed to have changed slightly due to Subaru's presence.
Having thought this far, Subaru suddenly realized just how shallow his thought process was.
Maybe he could find Felt or Satella now that he was in a familiar alley.
However, that also meant the possibility of a different reunion. In short,
"I'm so damn tired of seeing you, Ton, Chin, Kan!"
Subaru turned around fed up, and found the usual suspects blocking his path.
There was no difference in appearance, clothing, or countenance. Their goal and equipment were most likely the same as well, no progress whatsoever. It was only natural since he was back in the same spot.
"Even though I'm having such a hard time finding Not-Satella and Felt."
The reason he was unable to find them was probably because their actions depended on many factors independent of him.
By contrast, the reason he kept running into these guys was most likely because they were targeting him from the start.
That's why he kept encountering them despite taking a different path each time.
"Now that I've come up with a conjecture that doesn't make me happy in the slightest, what exactly do you guys want?"
"Just what the hell has this guy been muttering about?"
"He probably doesn't get what's going on here. How about we go ahead and teach him?"
Even this conversation between Ton and Chin followed the template exactly, which caused Subaru's mood to sink further. However, he also felt that he couldn't take them lightly just because he was tired of dealing with them.
The clear conditions for the Tonchinkan encounter weren't that demanding, but it wasn't like he had a 100% chance of breaking through. After all, they were the cause of his third death.
Maybe Not-Satella would save him like the first time, or maybe he could beat them on his own like the second time, but he had no guarantees.
Things went really well the second time, but this time wouldn't necessarily go down the same way. There was also a high chance that there was a big event waiting for him after this, and he didn't want to sustain any injuries.
"On the other hand, I wouldn't want to escape by handing over my stuff either, I could use those to negotiate."
The ideal would be to get out of here without sustaining any losses, like he did the second time.
And if he could avoid wasting time like the first time, that would be best of all.
Subaru crossed his arms and cocked his head, wondering if there was some way he could get away from them.
On the other side, perhaps thinking Subaru's attitude meant he was ignoring them despite their seemingly superior position, Ton, Chin and Kan's expressions were dyed in hostility
He at least had to make a decision before they drew their weapons.
As he lamented their lack of patience, Subaru figured he would have to go with a surprise attack after all―Suddenly, he remembered the moment of his third death.
As he lay there on the verge of death, all he could do was hear.
Back then, what was it that they were talking about? His dying brain could not comprehend it back then, but it should be possible now.
―Yeah, that's it.
"Guaaaaaards!"
Ton Chin and Kan were caught off guard by his sudden call for help, causing them to jump.
The volume was such that it smashed the silence of the alley, and even tore through the hustle and bustle of the main street.
His absurd sensitivity was well known when he took kendo and had long since stripped him of any shame when it came to screaming.
Something like screaming for help did not damage his pride even slightly.
"Someone―! I need a man―!"
"Bastard… Don't screw around! You're seriously yelling at a time like this?!"
"You're supposed to listen to us if you don't want to get hurt, that's how it's supposed to be! You can't just do this without even listening to our demands!"
However... out of the blue and entering the alleyway behind Tonchinkan a fourth man, standing at a towering 203.2 cm and wrapped in a long black cloak, which concealed his face and body, and behind his back seemed to be a handle of some kind...
Yet despite this, the trio of thugs failed to notice this man's towering presence until he was right behind them... surprising them... the tallest of the three spoke first
"Who the hell are yo-" Only to be interrupted by the cloaked man
"You're in my way..."
"Oh? Well, what're ya gonna do about it, tough guy?"
But before the trio could react, the mysterious Stranger, at a lightning-fast speed drew his great weapon from his back and brought it down on the largest one... and with a splatter of blood. cleaved him in half from the top down... breaking the ground on impact before it stopped moving the surviving two thugs finally got to have a good look at exactly what it was the stranger wielded.
It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron.
"No... it can't be... that blade..."
The shorter of the two surviving thugs said as he knew only one man capable of wielding such a massive slab of metal...
"It's... the Black Swordsman!"
In response to hearing his title, the mysterious man pulled down his cloak revealing his face. A man with short black hair, wearing black armor, with a missing eye, and a small scar running across his nose. The two most notable things about him were his metallic arm, and the massive sword he wields.
"Whaaat?!" The tall skinny exclaimed upon realizing that his comrades suspicions were true, quickly the two tried to cover up what they were doing by helping Subaru up
"W-we were simply helping this young m-man out s-see! I-It's very dangerous t-to be in this part of town alo-"
Before the short one could finish his line the Black Swordsman interrupted him, slowly lifting his sword
"I said... get out of my way." With that command, The short thug froze with terror, while the skinny one trembled under his gaze.
Then, the shortest one started babbling something incoherently before getting crushed... ripped in half by the Black Swordsman's great blade.
At the sight of this, the remaining man decided to do what his instincts told him, he took out his concealed blades and threw them at the Black Swordsman before turning to run... but the Black Swordsman merely turned his blade to the side using its sheer size as a shield before swinging it around... cutting the thug in half.
The sound of bone-crunching echoed throughout the area.
"Ahh... gahaha~" Subaru laughed heartily, feeling refreshed, the tension left his shoulders as he let out a gasp, and wiped off the blood that sprayed on his face before turning towards the swordsman.
"I am ever so thankful to you for saving my life, please allow me to express my gratitude. I, Natsuki Subaru, admire yo-"
The mysterious swordsman simply ignored him and walked past, leaving Subaru alone once again.
"What's with this guy? I know he wasn't passing through here through previous runs, so he definitely arrived when I called for help... " Subaru muttered as he looked at the fallen bodies of Ton Chin and Kan. Then Subaru came to a realization "Oh shit that guy was tough... if he was at the loot house he could totally tip the scales!"
After spending several a couple seconds contemplating whether or not to follow the stranger, Subaru eventually made up his mind and ran after him.
Subaru managed to quickly catch up to him since he hadn't wandered very far. However, the man kept ignoring Subaru
"Hey uhh, Mr. Black Swordsman right? As I said my name is Natsuki Subaru and I'm grateful for your help earlier today, so can we talk?" Subaru asked as politely as he possibly could. For several, the Black Swordsman tried to ignore Subaru... and after noticing that he wouldn't stop pestering him he bluntly stated:
"Why are you following me?"
"...Well, I guess you can say it's because I wanted to thank you, for dealing with those gu-"
"They were simply in my way, they were weak... now stop wasting my time"
"So your telling me that you didn't enter that ally after hearing my pathetic calls for help? I mean why else would possibly make you bother going that way?" Subaru questioned.
The man sighed and in an incredibly cold tone said "If you really think I activiely chose to assist you, ask yourself this question; What reason could I have for wanting to save someone as useless as you? I could care less whether you live or die. You are weak... and the weak can never be free"
Subaru could clearly tell that this man did not truly believe that, as he went through several loops without asking for help, each time the Black Swordsman did not wander through, making Subaru however, this also made things more confusing. But Subaru was not going to give up that easily, instead he continued pressing the man.
"Do you truly believe that? Do you honestly think that life is worthless and that the weak deserve to die?" Subaru demanded.
"Yes. Like I said they were weak, bound to a destiny of meaninglessness" The man answered flatly.
He then suddenly stopped walking, standing directly in front of Subaru.
This caused Subaru to halt as well.
And Subaru was met with an intimidating glare from the Black Swordsman, which was enough to cause him to flinch away.
"Your words may sound sincere, but in reality, they mean... nothing to me... Your opinion is meaningless" The Black Swordsman said.
With those last few words Subaru felt like he'd gotten slapped in the face by the Black Swordsman, his confidence shattered, but then he thought about the way he hesitated with those last words, Subaru was quite confused... this Black Swordsman was truly an enigma.
Subaru pondered the Black Swordsman's words as he contemplated what exactly he meant by them. Eventually, Subaru began to feel uncomfortable with the silence, he had no idea what else he could say to break it. So Subaru decided to speak up.
"Uhmm... well I guess there isn't much more I can say huh..."
Subaru awkwardly scratched his cheek.
. "Heh... guess I was originally going to ask you to help me with something deadly going on at the loot house, but since you truly believe I'm worthless..."
Subaru turned around, before looking back at the Black Swordsman
"I'll leave everything to fate... so see ya later... Mr. Black Swordsman"
As Subaru spoke, he turned back around and started walking, leaving behind the Black Swordsman who stood dumbfounded.
"What's with that kid..?" The Black Swordsman, Guts thought to himself.