"…What's wrong, my man? You're staring off into space."
"…Huh?"
When the man with a white scar across his stern face spoke to me, that was all I could manage to respond with.
The scar-faced man twisted his face in irritation.
"Look, I'm asking you what you're going to do! Are you going to buy that abble or not?!"
"…Huh?"
"An abble! You want to eat one, right? You started talking to me, and then you suddenly stopped and stared off into space! I almost freaked out! …So, what'll it be?"
He held out a round, cute-looking red fruit in the palm of his hand. Whatever it was, it looked almost exactly like an apple.
I stared at it, then back at his face. "No—I mean, didn't I tell you already? I'm forever and everlastingly broke."
"You kidding me?! I've had enough of you wasting my time. Get outta here! I've got a job to do. I don't have time to deal with your nonsense."
He pushed me aside with an annoyed shove and moved to another part of the shop.
I blinked, completely flustered. "Huh? What? What's going on?"
I couldn't even string my thoughts together properly as I spun around, looking at the shop in confusion.
The main road outside was as crowded as always. Lizard-drawn carts occasionally passed, but for the most part, pedestrians filled the street from end to end. The day was bright. Not unbearably hot, but it was enough to make one think the wolflike half-humans in fur coats must be sweating.
"But this is totally not the time to be reflecting on the state of the setting!" I muttered to myself.
I held my head in my hands, twisting around in frustration. My strange poses must have drawn curious glances from passersby, but I had no time to care.
After all… it had just been night a minute ago, hadn't it?
The sun was high in the sky. According to my senses, it should have still been night. The change had been sudden—so sudden it reminded me of the first time I was summoned to this world. But this… this was different.
I lifted my tracksuit and checked my stomach. "My stomach… isn't cut open, is it?"
Earlier, it had been sliced open with a large blade, and I had bled so much I was sure I was going to die. Yet now, there was no wound, not even a trace of blood. My beloved tracksuit was clean, and the convenience store bag in my hand was still full. My phone and wallet were exactly where they should be.
In every sense, I was back to square one.
—I felt like I was going crazy.
Trying to remember, I replayed the events just before losing consciousness.
My stomach had been cut open. I had been moments from death. I thought I had heard a woman's voice. I had seen a corpse in the loot cellar. And then the person who likely killed that man attacked me.
Near death…
"…That's right! Satella!"
Satella, who had surely been worried and entered the building, had also been struck down by the same weapon that attacked me.
Guilt twisted my insides harder than pain ever had.
"Wasn't I told to take care of Satella?!"
I remembered Puck's words before he disappeared. The promise I made to that cat wasn't a joke. Despite multiple chances to turn back, I had missed every single one.
Satella had told me too. If anything happened, I was supposed to call her. I hadn't.
"Am I an idiot? Well, of course I am. But I don't have time to just hang my head in despair. I've got to go find Satella and Puck…"
Both of them might be dead. Shaking that thought off, I forced myself to keep moving.
I had no positive qualities. I was useless, a comic relief at best. And yet, I was alive. If that was the case, there was no way Satella, kind and true to her ideals, or Puck, aloof and weird, could be dead. I didn't want them to be.
"At any rate, I've got to go back to the loot cellar…"
It had been the last place I was before losing consciousness, so any clue must still be there.
I made my decision and moved forward, ready to act quickly. But before I could even start…
"Hey, kiddo. How about we have some fun."
Three men blocked my path in the alley.
I froze at the sight of them.
"Hey, what's with the stupid look on yer face?" one mocked.
"I bet he doesn't realize the mess he's gotten himself into. How 'bout we tell 'im?" said another, grinning sinisterly.
They were classic thugs: poorly put together, bad personalities, bad upbringing seeping out of every gesture. Déjà vu washed over me.
"Did all of you guys hit your heads on something while I wasn't looking?"
They were the same guys who had caused trouble just hours before.
"In other words, now that you've found me alone, you want to get revenge…is that it? I understand you want to kick me while I'm down, but this is not the time to deal with you. You guys—"
"What the hell are you babbling about? Have you lost your mind?"
I had wanted a peaceful solution, but their behavior pushed me too far. Normally, my patience was thin.
"Now listen here, kiddo. If you put down everything you've got and walk away, we'll let you go."
"Ah, is that right? Everything I've got. Gotcha. I'm in a hurry, so fine."
"But first, get down on all fours and act like a dog! Say, 'Save me, save me, please!' too!"
"All right, I've had it with you idiots!" I snapped.
They weren't ready for me. I went for the skinnier one with a knife first.
"You're first! Guys like you who don't know the value of life can go to hell!"
I struck him with an uppercut, then a punch to the abdomen. He slammed against the wall, out cold.
I tripped the next one, tackling the last into the wall. My wrist and elbow strikes, combined with a suplex attempt, sent him slumping, unmoving.
Finally, I kicked the knife-wielding thug repeatedly. Out.
"Hmph! Well, that was easy! In this world, evil never triumphs!" I said, striking a triumphant pose.
After confirming none were fatally hurt, I left the alley. Onlookers gawked. I ignored them. No time to waste—I had to reach the loot cellar.
Hours later, I arrived at the loot cellar. The sun had moved far across the sky.
"F-finally…finally I've found it. …It sure took me a long time, damn," I muttered, wiping sweat from my brow.
I had spent nearly two hours searching. My memory of the place wasn't perfect, and the signs were unreadable.
"Last time I was here, I was looking at Satella most of the time…no wonder I don't remember the way well, damn it."
Yet my heart pounded hardest at what awaited inside. Images flashed: the old man's corpse, my sliced-open abdomen, Satella dragged into the chaos.
"Don't be scared. Don't be scared. Don't be scared. Are you an idiot? …Well, of course I am, but do you think I'm really going to come all this way and go back empty-handed?"
Determined, I moved forward, knees shaking. Slapping my legs to calm myself, I took a deep breath.
The rough door of the loot cellar looked as though it silently rejected me.
"Is there anyone home?" I called.
Silence answered. My fear grew. I knocked harder.
"Someone… I know there's someone in there! Come on, answer me! …Please."
The door creaked. Suddenly:
"Cut it out already! What are you doing, trying to break the door down just because you don't know the password?!"
The door swung open violently, throwing me five meters back. I rolled to a stop and looked up.
A giant, red-faced bald man stood before me, ragged clothes over a muscular body. The sun reflected off his polished bald head.
"Who are you, boy?! I've not seen you before! How did you find this place? Who told you?!"
He closed the distance in an instant, lifting me by the collar.
I floated helplessly, feet off the ground.
"My name is Natsuki Subaru, the ever-busy and never-free wandering vagrant… For now at least, would you kindly put me down? Let's talk with our feet on the ground," I said, straining to sound polite.
Eventually, the violent first encounter ended, and I was let into the loot cellar. I explained who introduced me to the place.
I sat on a wooden chair at the counter, shifting uncomfortably on splintered wood.
"Why do you keep moving like that? Are you that concerned about where your balls are?"
"Of course not. My boys are fine. But really? That's the first thing out of your mouth?"
The giant old man—Rom—bent down behind the counter, grabbed a bottle, poured himself a glass of liquor, and sipped.
"Well, you interrupted my drinking time. I hope you have a good reason for coming. If not, that's just terrible."
"The sun's just started to set and you're already drinking? You're going to die early if you keep that up."
I looked around. Everything was intact; no traces of the previous night's tragedy remained.
Rom noticed me inspecting the room.
"So, kid, interested in some of these goods?" he asked.
"…Well, one of those is why I'm here."
"One of the reasons…huh. Got other business too?" Rom raised an eyebrow.
I nodded. "This may sound odd, but… Old man, have you…uh, died recently?"
Rom laughed.
"Ga-ha-ha-ha! I was wondering what you'd say! I'm old, but I haven't died yet!" He poured me a drink.
I refused. "Sorry, not right now."
I couldn't get over the corpse I had seen. But perhaps it had been a dream…? The pain, Satella's touch, the guilt—were they all remnants of a dream?
I asked Rom, desperate.
"Rom, have you seen a silver-haired girl around here lately?"
"Silver hair…? No, I can't say I have. That'd stand out too much to forget," he laughed.
Rom noticed my seriousness and set a glass of amber liquid before me.
"Drink," he urged.
"I'm not up to it. Plus, I'm not a kid trying to act cool."
"What are you talking about? Drinking is what kids like you are supposed to do! Take a big gulp and burn it all out of you!"
Overpowered, I lifted the glass, inhaled the smell, and tilted it back. The burn hit immediately, scorching my throat. I slammed the glass down.
"Argh! Gah! Terrible! Hot! Ugh! Disgusting!"
"You don't have to say it so many times! Half the fun is in the heat!"
Rom burped mightily, smiling.
"But still, you should be proud! How about it? Feeling like letting some stuff out now?"
"…Yeah! Just a little! Old man, it's time for me to take care of that one other reason I'm here!"
Turning the old man's smile back with a wicked smile of his own, Subaru wiped his mouth with his sleeve and pointed to the back of the cellar, where most of the stolen articles of value were concentrated.
Rom's face took on an air of seriousness, and Subaru spoke directly.
"I'm looking for a badge that's got a jewel embedded in it, and I want you to let me have it."
This was Subaru's original goal. Other than confirming Satella's safety, it was the main reason he was here: to retrieve the thing so important to Satella that she would face danger just to get it back. Even while Subaru still felt insecure about Satella's wellbeing, he thought that if he could at least get a handle on the badge, he'd have a clue toward finding her.
After Subaru stated his goal with all the emotion behind his words, Rom made a difficult expression before replying.
"A badge with a jewel… I'm sorry, but no one's brought in anything like that."
"…Really? Think long and hard about it—you sure you're not senile yet?"
"If I can't remember when I'm at my best with liquor running through me, then I really have to say I don't know. However…"
Just as Subaru's last thread of hope was about to snap, Rom gave a sly grin.
"Someone's made plans with me to bring something in later today. I'm told it's valuable, so it might just be the thing you're looking for."
"Is the person bringing it in, by chance… a girl named Felt?"
"That's exactly the case, but… what? You actually know the name of the thief who took it?"
Subaru couldn't help but strike a victory pose. Just as he thought he'd lost all leads, things connected once again. Felt's name had just come up—the girl who had supposedly taken Satella's badge. If that were the case, Felt's existence would prove Satella's existence. At the very least, Subaru could be sure she wasn't a figment of his imagination.
"I was just about to think my love of silver-haired heroines had made me delusional…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt your strange sense of relief there, but you don't have any guarantee that you'll be able to buy back the item, even if she brings it here. If it's got a jewel embedded in it, it's going to fetch a high price."
"Ha! You can look at me all you want, but I've got nothing! I am eternally and peerlessly penniless!"
"Then you're out of luck!" Rom yelled, taken by surprise.
Subaru lifted a finger in front of his face and waved it back and forth.
"Tsk-tsk-tsk. It's true, I may not have any money. However! In this world, you don't necessarily need money to obtain things. There's this wonderful system called 'barter'—haven't you heard?"
Rom didn't argue, just nodded silently, egging Subaru on.
Subaru dug around in his pants pocket and took out…
"…What's that? It's the first time I've ever seen anything like it."
"This object I now raise is a fantastic magical item that can freeze any object in time! It is called a 'cell phone'!"
It was a compact, white, thin-model cell phone. Rom looked amazed at this mysterious item he had never seen before. Subaru quickly moved his fingers, and a white light flashed in the darkness inside the building.
As a loud shutter sound rang out along with the flash, Rom fell back behind the counter. Subaru couldn't help but laugh, but Rom was obviously mad.
"What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?! Don't think you can fool me with your funny moves!"
"Wait, calm down. Take a deep breath, relax, and come over here to take a look."
Rom's eyes opened wide as he looked at the screen.
"This is… this is my face. How did you do that?"
"I told you, didn't I? This is a fantastic item that cuts out a piece of time and freezes it. Using it, I cut out a bit of your time, just before now, and sealed it within this device."
Subaru pointed the camera at himself and took another picture. When he showed the screen to Rom again, it displayed Subaru making a peace sign.
"It cuts out little pieces of time, just like that. Pretty rare, huh?"
"I can't get terribly excited about that lame pose of yours, but this really is… hmm…"
Rom looked very intensely at the cell phone. Subaru made a fist and squeezed it, emboldened by Rom's interest.
"This is my first time seeing one of these, but… basically, this is a metia, isn't it?"
"A metia?" Subaru caught himself before saying, "It's just a flip phone." Rom nodded.
"It's what you call items you can use to do magic without opening a gate, like magic users do. Mostly used as gifts rather than tools…"
Rom finally put it back on the counter.
"I'm not sure I can put a definite price on this. I've worked here in the loot cellar for a long time, but this is my first time handling any metia. …I can say, though, it would sell at a high price."
Rom's voice quickened in excitement, rubbing the tip of his chin as he looked down at Subaru.
"To be honest, even if it has a jewel embedded in it, exchanging something like this for a purely decorative item puts you at a loss. You'd be better off trading it for something more expensive… Well, really, you can't compare it to any of this stolen junk I have here."
For someone involved in illegal activities, it was strange for Rom to give such a kind warning. Subaru responded with a weak smile.
"No, it's all right. I'll exchange this metia for the badge that Felt brings in."
"Why would you go so far? Is that badge really worth more than this metia? Or are you saying it's worth more than money can buy?" asked Rom.
"Well… I haven't seen the badge myself yet, but I don't think it could be worth more in money than this cell phone, and I'm sure I'm going to take a loss."
"If you understand all that, why go through with it?"
"Isn't it obvious? I want to take a loss."
Rom blinked, but Subaru felt exhilaration. This was his answer.
"I want to pay someone back. I always feel like I have to return a favor. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night otherwise. Even if I take a big loss, I'm going to take back that badge."
"Hmm… So, it sounds like this badge isn't yours… Is that right?"
"It belongs to a beautiful silver-haired girl who saved my life. I don't understand why, but it's very precious to her."
"But why isn't she here?"
"I'm looking for her! Actually, right now I'm not even sure she's not a figment of my imagination!"
Subaru gripped his fist and laughed off his anxiety by putting it into words. He was going to get the badge back—and see her smile again.
"You're quite the idiot, aren't you?" laughed Rom.
Subaru spent the next while chatting with Rom. Given Rom's fascination with the metia, Subaru mused that gadgets were something men were fond of in any world.
"Whether it be your clothes or this, you've really got a lot of strange stuff on you, don't you? I mean, these things here are delicious!"
"I know, right? Hey, wait! Those are my corn chips! That's the last food I had on me!"
"Oh, don't be so stingy. If you keep something tasty all to yourself, you'll fall straight to hell."
"Oh, and you won't, for eating them yourself?! Blaming others while doing the same is a bad habit… I said stop eating those!"
By the time they heard a knock on the door, it was close to sunset. Subaru, just starting to doze off, looked up as Rom moved lightly toward the door.
After quietly putting one ear against it, Rom whispered a series of short questions, and received curt answers—the special knock and passwords. Satisfied, Rom unlocked the door.
"Sorry I took so long, Old Man Rom. I had someone persistent on my tail," a young girl said as she slipped past Rom. Blond hair, red rabbit-like eyes, semi-long hair, a mischievous canine tooth, and clothes in tatters.
Subaru stood, causing a clatter. The girl looked at him and wiped the smile from her face.
"Who's this? Hey, Rom. I didn't want anyone here, did I?"
"I understand, but that kiddo there has business with you, Felt, unrelated to the 'big thing' you mentioned."
Felt drew her hand close to her chest, where the badge was, and looked at Subaru with suspicion.
"You don't have to be so nervous. Sit down and have a glass of milk first."
"Stop it with that stupid face. I don't know what you're scheming, but I'm not interested unless it means more money for me."
Subaru raised both hands in front of her.
"I'm not planning on doing anything. I've only come to negotiate."
Subaru pointed at a small table.
"Let's aim for a result where both of us come out on top. Win-win."
After a pause, Felt nodded. Rom poured two glasses of milk and set them on the table.
Felt drank her milk, suspicious of Subaru's presence, but eventually, negotiations began. Subaru presented the cell phone as his only card, and after demonstrating its abilities, the negotiations tilted in his favor.
Felt clapped her hands, satisfied that Subaru had no stronger cards, but she hinted she was still negotiating with someone else—the original commissioner who offered ten blessed gold coins.
Subaru realized the value of the metia far exceeded the original offer, giving him leverage. Felt's triumphant grin showed she was already calculating a better deal from the other side.
Subaru prepared to face the next person, an incredibly beautiful woman, tall, black hair tied in a braid, dressed all in black. Felt introduced Subaru as her "rival" in the negotiation, and the next stage of the deal began.
"The way I see it, the negotiations lean in favor of the kid. No offense to your employer, but it looks like you're going to have to bring them their money back," Rom said, shoving the coins back toward Elsa.
Subaru let out a cry of excitement. Felt threw her hands up in the air, signaling that she didn't have a problem with the decision, and Elsa shrugged, though she did not look all that displeased herself. Subaru followed up with a triumphant pose, but that exaggerated action only made him stand out from the crowd.
"W-what? I'm happy, all right? Let me be! This is the first time I've actually accomplished something here! What's wrong with a little celebration?!" Subaru said, embarrassed.
"I didn't say anything. If you want to celebrate, then celebrate. As long as I get my money, I'm happy," Felt replied.
"My employer doesn't actually need that badge, so I don't have any reason to beg you to reconsider," added Elsa.
Both Felt and Elsa seemed uninterested in Subaru's antics.
However, while Subaru wasn't so mean-spirited that he was hoping for Elsa to beg and plead, he found it strange how disinterested she seemed, despite the negotiations not going her way.
"Well, I'm sorry, Elsa. I imagine your employer's going to be angry at you."
"There's no helping it. It would be different if I failed because I was the one who made a mistake, but in this case, it's my employer's fault for thinking that they would be able to get away with paying so little for the badge."
"But when you plan for as much as twenty blessed gold coins and that turns out to be not enough, that's got to be tough," remarked Rom.
"Well, I guess it just means that my luck is in full swing! Does this mean that my era of greatness has finally come?" Felt laughed, oblivious to the mood, in contrast to the two males who were showing sympathy for Elsa.
Either way, Subaru had managed to complete one of the goals he had in coming here. Without having to fall back on a plan B, it looked as though there was a glimmer of hope that he would be able to pay Satella back.
Normally, it would be best to report to Satella that Felt and Elsa were the ones responsible for the theft, but Subaru didn't have it in him to do anything that might result in either of them getting locked up.
It had been simple opportunism.
"Well, as the negotiations did not go in my favor, I think I'll take my leave now."
Elsa stood up and gulped down the last of her milk. Again, she used her tongue in an erotic way to lick up the last few drops of milk, before looking at Subaru. As she stared at him, it felt as though her eyes were binding him in place.
"By the way, what is it that you were planning on doing with that badge?" Elsa asked in a somewhat deep, frozen sort of voice.
The sweet ring of her voice threatened Subaru's eardrums and made him feel, by some delusion, as though he couldn't lie.
"…Oh, I was planning on returning it to its owner." As soon as he said it, he knew he had made a terrible mistake.
He had just declared, in front of both the girl who had stolen it and the woman who had ordered the theft, that he was going to return the stolen item to its owner.
"I see. So you're with them." Subaru's words were enough to set Elsa's cold murderous intent into motion.
"Wha—?!" Subaru felt a sudden impact from his side. The force was enough to push him aside, and unable to catch himself, he tumbled to the ground.
From Subaru's perspective, there was first pain, then shock, his vision spinning as he hit the ground. When he looked up, he saw that Felt was clinging to his side.
"What do you—"
"Are you an idiot? Pay attention and get out of the way! You want to die?!" Felt yelled.
"—think you are doing?!" The last part of Subaru's shout was drowned out by Felt's.
Subaru was in shock. From his low vantage point, he saw Elsa facing toward him.
"Oh, it looks like you managed to dodge that one," she said, her head tilted in surprise.
Elsa held in her hand a weapon that glimmered with a dull light. The weapon was, according to Subaru's knowledge, a kukri blade, and it clashed with the rest of Elsa's image. It was easily a foot long, with the body of the blade bent inward as it extended from the handle. Due to the weight of the tip, it was a weapon often used like an ax to decapitate enemies or prey. Just by looking at it, Subaru could imagine its vicious brutality.
Despite wielding the blade, Elsa's serene smile was unchanged. From her stance, it was clear that she had already swung the weapon once. Which meant the only reason Subaru was safe was that Felt had leapt up and tackled him out of the path of the weapon.
Fear, late in coming, made Subaru's hands and feet shake, and he felt nauseated. However, the situation wasn't going to stop just for him.
"Rrrragh!" Old Man Rom let out a roar as he rushed toward Elsa, swinging the club that had never left his grasp since the negotiations had begun. The spiked part of the club came barreling down toward her head.
Despite the club weighing at least twenty pounds, Rom swung it as if he were swinging a twig. It cut through the air before slamming against the floor of the cellar.
As the club sprang off the floor, it felt as though the entire building had shook. Several stolen articles flew from the shock of the impacts, which continued as Rom and Elsa traded blows in front of Subaru.
"This is my first time in mortal combat with a giant," said Elsa.
"Go ahead and keep talking, little girl. I'll turn you into mincemeat and feed you to the giant rats!" Rom shouted, swinging his club even faster. Before the power of that swing, any untrained attempt to block would be no more effective than a sheet of paper.
Inside the cellar, there was very little room to move around, and allowing the swings of that club to corner you could easily be fatal.
However, Elsa's skill was of such a high level it could only be called freakish.
While still wielding her kukri, dangling from one hand, Elsa—herself like a black shadow—was able to slip around each of Rom's surely fatal swings.
Her movements were precarious, walking a thin line just barely away from life-threatening danger, and still it was she who was in control of the fight, not Rom.
This can't be good, Subaru thought instinctively. Something in his head was setting off an alarm. "This is bad…" he muttered, his lips shaking.
"Don't worry. There's no way Old Man Rom can lose! Ever since I can remember, I've never seen Rom lose a fight!" Felt yelled back, putting her trust in Rom into words as if to dispel her own doubts.
In Felt's words were experiences built up over long years; experiences that formed her unshakable trust. Even without Felt telling Subaru outright, he could see their closeness in how they interacted.
Despite Felt's confidence, Subaru was preparing for the worst. But he couldn't figure out why.
"Take that!"
Before Subaru could pin down his anxiety, there was a change in the flow of the fight.
Rom yelled and kicked over the table, the same small wooden table they had been negotiating around. The table split and splintered from the force of the kick, and for an instant Elsa, who was up against a wall, was hidden behind its fragments, her line of sight cut off.
Rom swung his club down with all his might. If the hit landed, it was sure to be an instant kill. However…
"Rom!" Felt's distraught scream shook the air inside the loot cellar.
Subaru then saw the result that scream had sought to prevent.
Something was flying, spinning in the air.
It was Rom's right arm, still tightly gripping his club.
The arm, which had been severed at the shoulder, flew through the air, spraying blood everywhere before it landed against the wall.
The whole room was showered with blood. Subaru and Felt were no exception.
Felt screamed again.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" Having lost his right arm, Rom was spraying blood out of his shoulder like a hose. Without even trying to stop the flow of blood, Rom leapt forward toward Elsa, to attack her with his one remaining arm.
As the splintered wooden table fell to the ground, Elsa stood behind it, still holding the position of the follow-through of her swing.
Before Elsa could flip the kukri back around, Rom's giant body would crush her. But in that fleeting moment of Rom's last stand…
"I forgot to tell you before, but thank you for the milk."
…he was cut short. With her other hand, Elsa struck with a broken shard from the very glass she had been drinking from. On the sharp tip of the shard were droplets of blood—blood that had come from Rom's slit throat.
His arm severed and his throat cut, blood frothed from the old man's mouth, and as the light from his eyes vanished, he collapsed on the ground.
Though his body convulsed, there was no strength left in it, as Rom's life was dragged away even as it clung to his body.
Elsa bowed once gracefully toward the body, as if paying her respects.
While Rom's body continued to twitch, Elsa gently placed the remains of the glass down by his feet. "I'll give this back. I don't need it anymore," she said coldly, before twirling her kukri around in her hand and pointing its red-stained tip toward Subaru and Felt.
Subaru, still collapsed on the floor, was unable to say anything.
All of Subaru's thought processes had been arrested by the slaughter that had taken place before his eyes.
Someone that he had been talking to just a few minutes ago was now dead. Dead not by sickness or an accident, but killed by the actions of another, plain and simple.
While Subaru remained frozen in shock, Felt had stood up, slapping her legs to keep her knees from shaking. She pushed back her blood-soaked hair and prepared herself to move.
"How… How dare you…" Subaru heard, though he was behind Felt and could not see her expression. It was clear from the tone of her voice that she was not holding back tears.
"If you put up too much of a struggle, you will only end up hurting more," Elsa said, her voice calm, almost bored.
"I bet you'd still plan on killing us even if we didn't fight back, you psycho…!" Felt snapped.
"If you move too much, I won't be able to make a clean cut… I'm not all that skilled with a blade." Elsa twirled her kukri around, pretending to practice the proper cuts to butcher Felt.
Felt had nothing in her hands. There was no way she could win.
Subaru's mind screamed at him. He needed to distract Elsa, even a little, to allow Felt to escape. If he could just give her time to call for help, or even just escape on her own…
I have to do something… anything…
"…I'm sorry for getting you wrapped up in all of this," Felt said to Subaru in a soft whisper.
"I-I…" Subaru's face jolted toward her, but the words he wanted to say escaped him. He could only manage a choked mutter, pleading for her forgiveness.
But Felt left Subaru's sentiments behind as she dashed forward. There was a loud sound as she kicked off from the ground, and a gale seemed to blow through the cellar. Just when Subaru thought Felt had vanished, he saw Elsa's body twist.
A high-pitched sound rang out. Felt clicked her tongue from Elsa's side. In her hand was a small knife. Elsa, reacting overwhelmingly fast, dodged Felt's attack.
Felt leapt back, riding the gust of air she made as she flew. With her irregular movements, even the walls of the cellar became like ground to her. Elsa seemed surprised by Felt's acrobatic feats.
"So you have the protection of the wind. Oh, how wonderful. The world must adore you… I envy that," Elsa said, her ecstatic smile twisting into hatred. She bent her arm back.
"Wha—" Felt was cut down midair by a slice from Elsa, hitting her shoulder and forcing her into a roll.
The opening of the wound cut across Felt's chest, from the left shoulder to her right underarm. The cut was deep, slicing through bone and into her organs.
Ending her roll faceup, Felt spewed blood like a fountain with every beat of her heart. She had already lost consciousness from the pain and shock of the cut. She didn't move an inch. In just a few seconds, the flow of her blood lost its pressure, silently signaling the end of her life.
Subaru could not move.
He wanted to go to Felt's side, to try to stop the bleeding. If it was too late for that, he at least wanted to close her eyelids. But his arms and legs refused to obey. He could only shiver, shamelessly.
"The old man and the girl are both down, but you won't move. Have you already given up?" Elsa said, pitying him with bored eyes.
All she had to do was walk closer and strike a single time with her knife. It was obvious. Elsa's movements carried no hesitation; it seemed as though she were trying to hold back a yawn.
Anger welled up inside Subaru, uncontrollable and raw. The two people fallen in front of him had shared their emotions with him just moments ago. To take them and kill them without guilt was absolutely unforgivable.
He could not forgive himself either. He had just watched as both of them were slaughtered by this vile woman.
"So you've finally gotten to your feet. It certainly took you a while. I doubt you'll entertain me much, but it could be worse."
Subaru's anger, though late, gave him the power to move. His limbs still shaking, he pushed against the ground and somehow stood, his movements almost animalistic.
Was his shaking due to fear, or anger? Or both? He didn't care.
Facing Elsa and her kukri, Subaru charged forward with all his strength and spirit, teeth bared. He would fly at her and beat her down, pushing his strength past its limits.
But that mad rush of Subaru's was…
"Pathetic."
It ended swiftly as Elsa elbowed him directly in the face. She spun around, using minimal movement, and struck him again with a long leg, landing a powerful kick.
Subaru was thrown into a shelf filled with porcelain, crashing to the ground. His nose and front teeth were broken. His side, bearing the brunt of the kick, throbbed with pain, and several ribs were likely broken.
Still, Subaru shoved his fist against the ground and stood back up. His brain excreted endorphins, rejecting the pain.
In this state, he launched another mindless attack—but was struck back again.
Subaru's flailing arms could not reach Elsa. She struck him with the blunt side of her blade, breaking his left shoulder. Then, as if annoyed by his screams of pain, she kicked him straight in the jaw, knocking out the remaining front teeth.
Elsa looked down at Subaru as he tumbled to the ground.
"You're no good at all. You're just as inexperienced as you look, and your movements are all over the place. You don't have any divine protection, or any special skills. I thought you might use your head and have some trick up your sleeve, but I see you have nothing. Just how did you ever think you could stand a chance against me?"
"Shuddup… It's called being stubborn… You dink I'll just dake dis lying down?" Subaru's broken nose made a proper comeback impossible.
Thanks to the last counterattack, his left arm was useless. Everything from the shoulder down dangled limply. He couldn't feel any pain, but the ringing in his ears was unbearable. Nausea washed over him, and it felt as though his anger was seeping away.
Subaru was beaten. He could never win. His chances of landing a hit were minuscule.
"Well, I'll admit that you've got at least an unusually high amount of determination. If you had gotten up a little earlier, there might have been a different outcome for these two." Elsa pointed to the two bodies lying abandoned on the floor.
Subaru looked at the corpses. A strange feeling crept over him.
Why… why do I feel like I've seen this before?
The loot cellar, its floor a sea of blood… The giant corpse with its missing arm… The dull glint of a reddish blade…
A thought shot through Subaru's mind like lightning.
"Let's put an end to all of this. I'll send you off to go meet the angels."
Elsa licked her red lips, and with a sensual smile vanished into the darkness. Whether by trick or not, it seemed to Subaru that she sank into the shadows of the cellar.
Subaru looked left and right, panicking. "Wh-where are you?!"
He could hear nothing, see nothing—he could only feel the presence of a predator waiting for him. Elsa's slice came from the darkness.
"Wha—?!"
Subaru barely managed to jump back. The horizontal slash grazed him, opening his abdomen. He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain.
"Ughraaah!!"
He spun, striking Elsa's upper body with a critical hit, landing at least one retaliation.
However…
"Ah… That one was very satisfying," Elsa said. With a second kukri, she sliced about seventy percent through Subaru's abdomen, spilling blood and guts.
"Huh…?" Subaru staggered, sliding down against the wall. His blood stained the floor bright red. He tried to return the tissue to his body, but it pushed his hand away.
"Are you surprised? I opened up your stomach as you rushed me. It's my specialty, really," Elsa said, walking splish-splash across the sea of blood.
She approached Subaru, who could only gurgle in pain, staring at his blackish innards with ecstasy on her face.
"Ah…just as I hoped. Your intestines have such a beautiful color to them."
This woman was insane.
Subaru's consciousness began to fade. He realized he had fallen on his side. With shaking fingertips, he weakly touched Elsa's foot.
"Uu…ugh…"
"Are you in pain? Does it hurt? Are you sad? Do you want to die?" Elsa knelt beside him, eyes filled with bliss.
Slowly, slowly, slowly… ever so slowly… I will lose my heat… I will go cold…
Subaru could only feel his body growing colder, dying. The fear consumed him.
When will I die? Am I still alive? Or am I already dead? What is life? What is death?
He couldn't separate himself from the fear.
I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared…
As the absolute, unconditional death grew closer, Subaru's mind instinctively rejected it. That rejection filled everything he was.
His vision whited out.
Ah… I'm dead.
And with that very last thought, Natsuki Subaru's life flickered out.