The Battle That Should Not Continue
"Your hands are bound, left waiting; all that awaits you is death.
However, if you are chosen by the 'Gospel,' then you should be saved! If saved, you are comrades. If not, then you are just a passerby. Simple and straightforward, right?"
Familiar words, but spoken at a different time and place.
At dawn on the eighth day, after finishing the trial, Petelgeuse spoke to the black-haired boy chained to the door, then laughed maniacally and left.
— Sometimes, you get lucky like this. You should bite your tongue to commit suicide, or slam yourself against the iron door behind you, or...
For some unknown reason, this time Subaru did not choose to kill himself immediately.
Even though delaying too long might alter the save point of his death return, perhaps because he was tired, or because he was desperate, or... whatever the reason, this time Subaru did not choose suicide.
After starving for over ten hours, Subaru saw it — he saw the second sun suddenly appear in the south.
The White Whale subjugation battle at the Flugel Great Tree south of Mathers Manor was replayed before Subaru's eyes once again.
While pondering the meaning of this trial, he suddenly felt his vision darken slightly.
!!!
The change in perspective made Subaru notice that night and dusk were encroaching upon the bright world.
It was natural — all magical devices eventually run out of magic — but such an ordinary fact filled Subaru with a fear that reached deep into his soul.
Impossible. No, it can't be...
— I shouldn't know this. I shouldn't notice this. I shouldn't think about this.
Subaru's soul frantically issued warnings, but now Subaru was nothing but a viewpoint — a perspective that could move within a limited range.
He couldn't close his eyes, nor cover his ears.
Return by Death accumulates the lingering scent of witches; the witches' scent attracts beasts.
Having experienced countless reincarnations, Subaru had nearly reached the peak of mockery toward the White Whale.
After a few simple attempts confirming he couldn't survive, Subaru treated this as a doomed bad end and gave up.
Because the attempts were few and the deaths painful, Subaru remembered vividly.
He was therefore absolutely sure the scene before him was one he had never seen before — one that shouldn't exist.
— It's okay, this is probably just that, a reasonable simulation of memories, or maybe I'm mistaken, or maybe I simply didn't notice while being hunted by the White Whale.
While Subaru was trying hard to convince himself, an undeniable fact unfolded right before his eyes.
A White Whale chasing a fleeing squad suddenly emitted a pained cry.
It began to thrash about wildly, as if something inside was attacking it.
Finally, it crashed from the air onto the ground.
Such a huge commotion naturally caught Subaru's full attention.
He saw two people break away from the fleeing troops to face the White Whale sliding close to the ground.
"Sis, now's the time!"
"It's so annoying when you can't reach the itchy spot! Mimi gets it too!"
The familiar twins took a deep breath and opened their mouths simultaneously.
Maybe because they weren't in the royal capital, or maybe because they combined their powers, the shockwave was several times stronger than when they severely injured Elsa.
The immense force bent the White Whale's body in an incredible way, its hardened feathers instantly covering half the battlefield's airspace.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
With a terrifying roar, an old man covered in blood wielding twin swords hacked through the White Whale's body.
Blood gushed from the wound that almost bisected the White Whale, splattering everyone nearby in red.
— Wilhelm?!
Subaru recognized the severely injured attacker as Wilhelm, the strongest fighter of the Karsten family — the sword demon Wilhelm.
Blood soaked, he knelt on one knee, barely supporting himself with his sword.
"...Aah....ah....!"
"Don't speak! I'm taking you to Cat Bro right now! Don't refuse — we need you to wake him, or else we'll all die!"
Ricardo, riding a giant wolf and covered in wounds, scooped up the barely breathing Wilhelm and moved quickly.
Soon, the two reached the Flugel Great Tree, surrounded by injured soldiers.
Exhausted healers, wounded soldiers groaning in pain, busy mages charging magical devices — amidst this tense rear area stood an out-of-place figure.
Felix, known as the strongest healer, had his head buried in his knees. Not far from him was Subaru, who had lost half his body to the White Whale in one bite.
Even Subaru, who had died more times than he could count, was seeing his dead body from above for the first time.
As a ghost, Subaru gazed at his corpse, a terrifying sight, which also awakened the horrific memories of being killed by the White Whale.
Yes, he had been...
— Eaten.
At that thought, the terrifying memory of the Great Rabbit, which Subaru had just desperately tried to forget, began to resurface.
He hurried to turn his gaze away, but naturally failed.
Seeing his pitiful self, Subaru's mind went blank.
He didn't want to comprehend what was appearing in his vision, but having such thoughts meant Subaru already understood the situation.
He failed. He made a mistake.
A misjudgment... Why did he notice the abnormality? Why challenge the trial?
Regret filled Subaru's mind.
Subaru understood that with the "Return by Death" ability given to him, he could neither know nor understand what happens after death.
For one who resets the world with his life, for one who alters the worst outcomes by sacrificing his life, a world where he died must never exist.
Because even imagining a better ending causes immense mental strain on Subaru, let alone this ending — a failure caused by his own arrogance, foolishness, and weakness.
"Felix, I don't know who you lost, but I understand your pain, because the White Whale also killed my beloved wife. If something could turn you like that, it must mean she means to you what my wife means to me.
I spent over ten years seeking revenge for someone important to me. What about you? Do you intend to hide away your whole life like this?"
"I-I... Why, but..."
Felix, who didn't know what he lost but understood how important that loss was, was sparked into a flame of revenge by Wilhelm's words.
He unsheathed his sword after a long time, and in the moment no one reacted, he cut off his own arm.
The battle that should not continue was unfolding right before Subaru's eyes.
— Return by Death is the world's reset!
This core belief Subaru relied on for survival was being overturned.
Under normal circumstances, Subaru would never be shaken so easily, but now his mental state was already at its limit.
— Stop, stop, stop...
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