(A/N: I have edited this as well fixing all the mistakes, new readers fear not for I am here!)
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3rd POV
"I'm glad we were able to find her mother," Emilia said with a warm smile as she looked at the little girl waving goodbye.
Despite being generally disliked—no, outright hated—because of her race, Emilia never let that poison her heart.
She was kind, empathetic, and never held resentment toward others for the way they treated her.
Her dream was simple, yet heavy: to free the frozen elves.
And the only way she had been told to achieve that goal was by acquiring dragon blood—something she could only obtain after becoming the ruler of the Kingdom.
"Anyway, we should head to the slums now," Subaru said, and Emilia nodded in agreement.
Soon, the two of them found themselves deep in the slums. Crumbling buildings, rotten wood, exposed bricks, and the stench of poverty hung in the air like a curse.
The place looked just as depressing as Subaru remembered from the anime—except grimier and depressing in real life.
They asked around, mainly from kids playing nearby, and were eventually pointed in the direction of Rom's hideout.
"Is this the place?" Emilia asked, eyeing the old wooden bar that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
They knocked on the door. A gruff voice responded from the other side.
"Tell me the password."
Subaru leaned in and said casually, "Knock, knock, Rom. Knock knock."
"…That's not the password," the voice growled back, but the door creaked open anyway.
Standing in the doorway was a towering, bulky man with a hunched posture. His appearance was more intimidating in person than in the anime.
With his thick white eyebrows, bald head, and massive frame, there was no mistaking it—this was Old Man Rom.
Subaru blinked. "So you're Old Man Rom. I've seen you before, but this is our first actual meeting."
Rom grunted in reply, casting a suspicious look at both of them. "Why are you here?"
Emilia stepped forward, determination in her violet eyes. "I came here to get back my insignia. Please, return it."
Rom raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Don't know anything about an insignia."
Subaru stepped in. "Well, Emilia, you remember what I told you, right? The person who stole it is bound to come here. This is where the deal's supposed to go down. Let's just wait."
Emilia hesitated for a moment, but nodded. She trusted him.
Rom stepped aside reluctantly, allowing them into the bar. He let out a sigh and thought to himself, "Looks like Felt's latest deal might not go through after all…"
A few minutes later, the door creaked again, and a familiar voice called out.
"I'm back, Old Man—wait, what the hell are they doing here?!"
The blonde-haired thief, Felt, entered and instantly froze when she saw Emilia.
"So you're the one who stole my insignia!" Emilia exclaimed, her voice sharp with accusation. "You need to return it—now!"
Puck floated out of her crystal necklace, his little body glowing faintly. "As my daughter said! Return the insignia, thief!"
Felt immediately shifted into a defensive stance, backing up slightly and throwing a panicked glance at Old Man Rom. The old man, however, gave her a flat look that basically said: "You got into this mess. Deal with it yourself."
He wasn't planning to help her unless things got out of hand. Still, he remained alert, just in case.
Subaru, meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts. 'Should we just leave with the insignia now? Wait I forgot to call Reinhardt! Damn it way to go Subaru! Your survival instincts are that of Reindeer!'
His face paled as he berated himself.
'SHIT. I should've called Reinhard…'
Everyone noticed the sudden shift in his expression.
"Zero? Are you okay? You look sick…" Emilia asked, genuine concern on her face.
Just as Felt seemed ready to take advantage of the situation and make a run for it, a new voice echoed through the room.
"My, my… seems like there are quite a few uninvited guests here."
'SHIT!' Subaru cursed internally.
"EVERYONE, RUN! SHE'S THE BOWEL HUNTER!" he shouted.
It took everyone a few seconds to process the words. When they finally registered, a wave of shock spread through the room.
Rom's eyes widened in pure terror. "Kid… do you even understand what you just said?!"
From the shadows, she stepped into the light.
Elsa Granhiert.
The infamous Bowel Hunter.
And goddamn—she was even hotter than in the anime. Purple eyes with a beauty mark under the left one, a face that could make you forget she was a walking death flag, and that dress… strapless, backless, and basically designed to give fanservice and heart attacks at the same time.
Even Subaru—Natsuki Subaru, the guy currently facing imminent death—found himself gulping. Hard.
'No one told me she'd be hotter than the anime version! Shit… something's rising and it ain't the Shield Hero!' he thought as he instinctively stepped back.
Elsa's smile was calm, graceful, yet laced with danger.
"It seems I've been exposed… not that it matters. I never planned to let any of you leave alive in the first place."
Her eyes darkened.
She lunged.
Puck reacted instantly, launching ice projectiles at her. But Elsa moved like a ghost. She drew her two curved daggers and slashed through the ice like it was paper, spinning gracefully as she advanced.
"Reinhard! Sword Saint! Divine Protection collector! Od Laguna's favorite boy! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Subaru screamed at the top of his lungs.
But no one came.
Elsa paused for a moment, clearly recognizing the title 'Sword Saint' though she didn't recognize the name. Her body tensed, and she glanced toward the door—but when no footsteps approached, she relaxed.
And smiled.
"Looks like no one's coming to save you after all," she purred. "I wonder… how your guts will feel when I slice them open?"
The room froze.
Suddenly, with a roar of frustration and desperation, Old Man Rom grabbed a nearby wooden chair and smashed it over Elsa's back.
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
However, Elsa didn't even flinch.
She simply slashed through the wooden chair as if it were made of paper, and in the very next second—
Old Man Rom's guts were spilled.
Blood gushed out from the deep gash across his stomach. He stumbled backward, his face contorted in pain and disbelief as he fell hard onto the floor, a growing pool of crimson forming beneath him.
"Wha… the fuck… Felt… run…" he choked out, blood spurting from his mouth before his body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"NO! OLD MAN ROM!!" Felt screamed, eyes wide with horror as she watched the man she saw as a grandfather bleed out in front of her.
Her hands trembled. Grief twisted her face. But rather than run, she acted.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!" she roared, drawing her daggers.
Her Divine Protection kicked in, boosting her speed, and within a flash she was right in front of Elsa, ready to strike.
But it was pointless.
A silver gleam flashed through the room.
Felt's head separated cleanly from her body, rolling across the floor before stopping near Rom's corpse.
She never even had the chance to react.
"You…" Emilia whispered in fear, stepping back as the brutal scene unfolded before her.
Subaru clenched his fists, his entire body trembling—not just from fear, but rage… and helplessness.
'Am I just supposed to stand here? Hide behind her? Be a coward again?'
'But what can I even do? I'm weak… I'm pathetic… I never asked to be here…'
But then something inside him shifted.
'Whether I wanted this or not doesn't matter anymore. I'm here. I'm in this situation. I have to act… If I can't do anything else, I need to at least make sure she lives.'
Even if his death wouldn't matter. Even if he didn't know whether Return by Death actually rewound time or just created a new timeline altogether—he had to make it count.
"Emilia! I'll hold her off! You RUN!" he shouted, stepping forward to place himself between her and Elsa.
"No! I can't just leave you to die!" Emilia cried, trying to push past him.
But Subaru wasn't backing down.
His eyes met Puck's.
"Puck! If you don't want your daughter to die today, GET HER OUT OF HERE! Get help! NOW!"
Puck hesitated, his expression serious for once.
The little spirit narrowed his eyes. He could sense it—Subaru wasn't lying. There was no deceit or selfishness in his voice. It was genuine… determined.
'He's right,' Puck thought. 'My time's running short anyway… I have to make sure Lia lives. That's all that matters.'
He didn't care about the one called Zero. He had no emotional investment in him. As long as Emilia survived, the rest of the world could burn for all he cared.
"Lia! He's telling the truth. We HAVE to go!" Puck said urgently.
"NO! If we leave him, he'll DIE! Who's going to save him?!" Emilia's voice cracked, tears welling up in her eyes.
Subaru felt something deep inside stir at her words.
She barely knew him, and yet… she didn't want to abandon him. That simple fact made something in his chest hurt even more than the fear of dying.
But he knew how this moment had to go.
Before he could respond, Elsa tilted her head with a cold, amused smile.
"How rude of you… To ignore me," she said casually, her voice laced with sadistic glee.
In the blink of an eye, she darted forward.
"EMILIA!" Subaru yelled, pushing her away with all the strength he could muster.
And then…
PAIN.
A burning, stabbing agony exploded in his gut.
Blood poured out as Elsa's blade tore into him.
"Fuck…" he gasped, falling to one knee as he clutched the open wound in his stomach. He watched the blood stain his clothes—bright red and terrifyingly real.
Elsa stepped back momentarily, forced to retreat under a barrage of Emilia's ice spells.
"ZERO!" Emilia screamed in horror, her voice breaking at the sight of him bleeding out.
She couldn't bear it. Even if she had just met him earlier today—this was too cruel.
"EMILIA, WE HAVE TO GO!" Puck yelled, rapidly growing in size. His magical aura flared up as he grabbed Emilia, hoisting her into his arms.
"No! Puck, STOP! Put me down!" she pleaded, struggling, trying to reach for Subaru.
But Puck ignored her, unleashing a storm of ice projectiles toward Elsa while taking to the skies with flight.
The mana cost was enormous. He hadn't done something like this in months. But none of that mattered—not if it meant saving his daughter.
Subaru watched them flee.
His vision blurred.
His arms trembled.
He wanted to scream. To move. To cry.
But all he could do was watch as the two people he'd protected disappeared from view.
Elsa approached casually, spinning one of her bloodied daggers between her fingers.
"How disappointing… They left you behind."
She gave him a final look—amused and pitiful.
Subaru collapsed to the floor.
'It hurts. It hurts so goddamn much.'
The pain was unbearable. It felt like his insides were being slowly boiled and torn apart at the same time.
'Why the hell can't I just die instantly?! Why do I have to feel all of this?!'
Tears streamed down his cheeks. Not just from the physical pain, but from the emotional weight of it all.
He hated that he felt abandoned, even if he understood.
He hated that he was still afraid.
He hated that his death probably wouldn't even matter.
He was bitter. He was scared. But he didn't regret trying to save Emilia.
And with that final thought…
Natsuki Subaru… drew his last breath.
Natsuki Subaru died for the second time(*4)
To be continued…
(A/N: Thanks for reading! If you're new, please check out my other fics! Also don't miss my new releases: "Is It Wrong to Be an Elf in the Dungeon" and "Re:Zero – The Great Sage"! Let's GOOOOOOO!)