When Subaru woke up, the first thing he felt was the unbearable pain throughout his body.

Especially from the neck up, the pain radiating from his face was severe. The left cheek, around the right eye, the back teeth and the front teeth, the left ear—there were so many points of pain that it was impossible to count them all.

As he explored his mouth with his tongue, Subaru realized that he was missing two molars, one front tooth, and one canine. Then, he opened his eyes and looked around, understanding that his right eye was swollen shut.

“Wh-what the…?”

The bleeding in his mouth and the unpleasant discord of missing teeth came from Subaru’s lips.

With each breath, a chill resonated through the nerves in his teeth, and though he wanted to breathe through his nose, it was blocked by dry blood. He gasped, spitting out the blood in his mouth,

“Could it be… I didn’t die, after all?”

Dragging his severely damaged body along, Subaru faced the harsh reality that he had somehow survived that life-and-death situation.

Looking out with only half his vision, he lay collapsed in a dimly lit corridor. There were no signs of people. He recalled the exchange just before losing consciousness.

“Elsa, where…?”

She was absent.

At the very least, she was nowhere in sight.

She was a woman who made her living lurking in the shadows. Or, perhaps, she had mastered the skill of remaining undetected even when within view—but then there would be no reason for her to use such techniques.

Elsa was not here. She had disappeared—at least, without taking Subaru’s life.

“For what purpose… no, more importantly…”

Every time he moved his mouth, he bled, and feeling bothered by it, Subaru shook his head. He tried to move various parts of his body to assess where it hurt and where he couldn’t use his limbs and noticed—

—there was a faint, warm presence, gently breathing in his arms.

“—Rem”

The blue-haired beloved girl. The girl continuously sleeping, stirring Subaru’s spirit.

Rem was quietly pulsating with life in Subaru’s arms. The shallow rhythm of her breathing and the gentle warmth of her flushed skin—a certain sign that life flowed within her.

“———”

Overwhelmed with emotion, he tightened his embrace around her.

Since there was no response, he held her tightly, savoring the warmth of her small body. It was as if he wanted to feel the proof of her being alive through the warmth of their skin.

“Why did you, and I, not get killed… and just leave?”

Cradling Rem’s body, Subaru reflected on the bizarre behavior of Elsa.

She had killed Petra, Frederica, and even erased Beatrice, yet the murderous fiend had spared the lives of both Subaru and Rem.

Indeed, just before losing consciousness, Subaru had begged Elsa for Rem’s life. Elsa had seemingly responded in agreement, but could it be that she was actually that honest?

The thoughts behind the personality-disordered “Slaughterer” were unfathomable, but maybe that was the very reason Rem was saved.

“If that’s the case… why am I…?”

He thought he would be killed.

At the very least, Elsa had to have harbored a clear intent to harm Subaru when she swung her knife. The shattered parts of his body, the scars on his skin and flesh, screamed that painful truth to him.

Yet, what was the reason for Elsa sparing Subaru’s life?

“Regardless, right now…”

He shook his head in bewilderment; it was impossible to understand. Subaru used his aching body to lift Rem up.

Holding the light Rem in his arms, he spotted the end of the corridor—now lying there, as if abandoned, was Frederica’s corpse, and he decided what he must do.

—First, he must pay respects to Frederica and Petra.

“If I’ve accepted that this world is ending, then any of this doesn’t matter…”

A self-deprecating murmur slipped out, recognizing that his actions were sentimental, unreasonable, and terribly base.

Subaru had already resolved to redo this world with his own “death.”

Too many things had been lost. While there were some things gained, nothing gained could protect what he wanted to preserve. Just like before, or even more so, Subaru had lost. He had lost too much in this world; he lacked the courage to live on.

If he could retrieve everything by paying for it with his life, there would be no hesitation.

This world was one that was ending.

The deaths of Petra, Frederica, and Beatrice—everything could be reset.

The promise made with Petra, the apology for questioning Frederica, and the certain answer to Beatrice’s lament would be delivered in the next world.

If he could view it that way, then there would be no real meaning in mourning the dead.

The sentiments left for a world that would disappear would leave no memory for anyone if Subaru could just endure it.

—If he could resolve himself to that extent, Natsuki Subaru would undoubtedly overcome this looped world much sooner.

“Preparation, resolve, ability… really, it feels like everything I have is insufficient. Why am I so weak? Hey, Rem…”

There was no reply from the girl in his arms.

The space to express weakness or to show vulnerability was something Subaru could only manage in front of this sleeping girl, in this place alone.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

It was just a few minutes after Subaru had resolved to pay respects to Petra and the others that he discovered something.

“What is this?”

Seeing the object that sat before him, an utterly vacant voice escaped Subaru’s throat.

However, no one could blame Subaru for this. The object before him looked utterly unidentifiable and incomprehensible.

A pinkish lump of meat—such a description might come close.

It was a grotesquely shaped round chunk of meat, like a mud ball made by a child. Just that description would be enough to convey its peculiarity, but there was more to confuse Subaru even further.

“It’s huge—”

Purely put, the meat chunk was enormous.

It was about the size that one had to look up at, with a weightiness that suggested it was densely packed inside. It resembled the color and texture of fresh pork or chicken meat you’d find at a butcher’s shop. However, Subaru didn’t have the courage to touch it to confirm.

Within eyesight, there were around twelve of those massive chunks of meat. Each one was about the same size, scattered all around as if on display.

“What on earth is this…?”

Unable to arrive at an answer, Subaru repeated the same question multiple times.

And then he turned his head,

“Where did all the villagers go?”

In the center of the uninhabited Araham Village, Subaru muttered in bewilderment while surrounded by chunks of meat.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

—The reason Subaru had descended to Araham Village was to borrow manpower to lay Petra and Frederica to rest and, most notably, to inform their families of Petra’s death.

He steeled himself for the possibility of being struck or cursed at.

It was the same reaction he would face at the mansion. Here too, Subaru could evade that pain. He could hide Petra’s death and restart the world without informing the villagers.

Then, he could bury the guilt of having allowed Petra to die within himself and wallow in the guilt alone.

However, when he thought about allowing himself to act that way, he realized it was impossible.

“In the end, that would just be self-satisfaction, wouldn’t it?”

He intended to inform the family about Petra and then to bury both of them.

He didn’t have a clue how to mourn Beatrice. Spirits left no corpses behind. That refreshingly final way of disappearing robbed Subaru of the very sense of her death.

Perhaps—yes, he felt a sense of regret.

With such mixed sentiments, Subaru descended to Araham Village.

He carried sleeping Rem with him to ask for help during the burial.

And when he arrived at the village and searched for signs of villagers, he stumbled upon those very meat chunks.

“—No one is here.”

Temporarily setting Rem down under an eave of a house, Subaru concluded after running around the village.

Sweat trickled from his brow, mingling with the dried blood that had clotted, staining his face red. If the villagers were to see Subaru in this state, they would likely scream in fright.

However, there was no sign of the villagers who would scream at the sight of Subaru, and he sat down next to sleeping Rem, utterly at a loss.

—When Elsa had vanished from the mansion, he couldn’t help but entertain the thought.

Given what had occurred in the capital, he wondered if Elsa decided to slaughter everyone involved and maybe even descended upon Araham Village to unleash her murderous intent.

With various reasons in mind, a part of the anxiety that had driven Subaru to Araham Village lingered. Yet what greeted Subaru upon his descent was an unexpected and far worse state.

Mangled lumps of meat scattered around, and not a single villager in sight.

—Naturally, unpleasant thoughts bubbled up in his mind, but Subaru subconsciously ignored them.

“If no one’s here, I have no business being around… I need to hurry and give the two of them a proper send-off.”

Mumbling half-hearted excuses, Subaru picked Rem back up and left the village.

The massive lumps of meat remained right where they were. He felt no remorse about leaving them as is. He did not want to keep even a whisper of it in the back of his mind.

His head felt like it was going to burst.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Burying Petra and Frederica went surprisingly smoothly.

He laid their lifeless forms to rest, cleaning their bloodstained skin and faces with beautiful cloth. As he changed their clothes with another set—feeling guilty doing so—as one would expect, no inappropriate feelings arose.

What gripped him more was the of emotion that wrapped around him, as he dressed their cold, stiff bodies, despite the urge to cry, the dryness behind his eyes imprisoned him in an inexplicable emotion.

“…At least, may they rest in peace.”

He spoke a few comforting words over the soil he’d placed over them, praying for their tranquility.

Of course, Subaru didn’t know the proper way to pray in this world or how to send off the dead in his former world. All his relatives were alive, and he had never attended anyone’s funeral, nor did he have any interest in the ritualistic practices due to his Japanese upbringing.

Now, he regretted that.

—He felt an intense remorse for not knowing how to send the two of them off properly.

“I ended up troubling you, too. Thank you for helping.”

As he spoke and reached out, Patrasche, the black earth dragon, pressed her nose to his fingers.

Despite getting dirty from digging up the debris of earth, Patrasche nuzzled against Subaru with concern.

Having located Patrasche, who had been safely in the stables during the disaster, Subaru borrowed her strength to bury Petra and the others. Understanding Subaru’s crude request instantly, Patrasche had dug Frederica’s grave with her large feet while Subaru used his shovel-like tool to dig.

With her powerful limbs racing through the ground, her mud-streaked body remained proud and beautiful. He felt once again a deep gratitude for her existence.

Subaru dug the hole for Petra. Though she was small, he made sure she wouldn’t feel cramped, as his hands bled multiple times from the unfamiliar tool.

He shoveled dirt over Petra, witnessing her form disappear, unable to restrain the tears that rolled down his cheeks, but he didn’t bother to wipe them until they dried.

He did the same for Frederica, finishing the burials with simple grave markers.

Even having wrapped up one task, instead of feeling lighter, Subaru only felt heavier.

“…There’s no point in staying here any longer.”

He muttered quietly.

The irreparable tragedy at the mansion had already ended.

He embedded the series of events firmly in his memory. He would never forget the regret of sending the two off like this.

Having etched that regret into his soul, he vowed to wipe it away the next time he had the opportunity.

Only by achieving that could Subaru take responsibility for their “deaths.”

“Once I’ve confirmed that, I’ll return to the ‘Sanctuary’.—I can’t leave Rem behind, so she’ll come with me.”

The sun was beginning to set slowly.

If Subaru was correct, the darkening world was ushering in the third night. Confirming what he needed to confirm, if he left the mansion early tomorrow, he would reach the ‘Sanctuary’ by the fourth night.

He had a day and a half left before the fateful sixth day. And this time would mark Subaru’s first experience of returning to the ‘Sanctuary’ after departing.

He would protect the mansion and break through the ‘Sanctuary’.

Two hurdles he had to conquer had essentially become a must in accumulating that experience before tackling the clearance round.

He wondered what changes awaited the ‘Sanctuary’ while he was gone.

It was likely to follow a similar trajectory as when Subaru was dealt a decisive blow by Garfiel and subsequently imprisoned. In that case, on the fifth night, Otto and Ram would start moving to evacuate the villagers from Araham.

“Before that happens…!”

He was concerned about Garfiel left behind.

Using brute force, Subaru had shielded Ryuzu, preventing Garfiel from pursuing him. He could only imagine how incensed Garfiel must be due to it.

And Garfiel would need to be informed of his sister, Frederica’s death. Not having taken precautions to help her after suspecting her as a traitor was Subaru’s blunder.

He would undoubtedly have to face Garfiel’s anger.

“I’ll return to the ‘Sanctuary’.—I want to see Emilia.”

As he melancholically contemplated the number of burdensome events, Subaru inadvertently voiced his feelings.

Maybe it was something close to weakness.

However, in this moment, he simply wanted to be honest about it.

He wanted to see Emilia’s face. He wanted to feel her presence.

In that moment, when he reflected on how fragile his heart felt, he wanted to be healed by Emilia’s existence.

Subaru was utterly exhausted to the point of thinking that.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

—The moment Subaru noticed something was wrong was when he entered the forest near the ‘Sanctuary’.

Riding on Patrasche while holding Rem’s sleeping form closely in his arms made for a precarious balance. Fortunately, Rem didn’t move a muscle, and Patrasche flawlessly compensated for her master’s failings and they had progressed without issue.

Unlike when they’d rushed back to the mansion, they couldn’t speed along this time; the time it took to return was about seventeen hours, which meant they were approaching the fourth night.

The time they had planned to stay in the ‘Sanctuary’ had effectively shrunk into just a single day.

It was simply a necessity for time usage. He had no intention of blaming Patrasche at all.

Yet, one unforeseen element deviated from the careful path Subaru had followed.

“This is no joke… What on earth is happening…?!”

Through the path leading to the ‘Sanctuary’, a forest with a barrier—halfway along that path, the air felt as if a chilling cold began to wrap around the world.

Frost covered the green leaves of the trees, and the surface of the trunks had turned a pale white with ice. Water moisture nestled in dips within the ground froze, creating slick patches of ice here and there.

An abnormal drop in temperature—was this midwinter or even colder? Subaru clenched Rem tighter, exhaling in frosty breaths while scanning his surroundings.

The forest remained eerily devoid of life, but even the life force within the trees seemed to be fading against the chill. The fact that the forest wasn’t prepared for this extreme cold was conclusive evidence this cold was a distinctly unnatural phenomenon.

“The chill so severe it turns my vision white… that’s only giving me bad vibes. Patrasche!”

“———”

“Hey, Patrasche?!”

His unease compelled him to hasten Patrasche, but the dragon made no noise in response.

Furrowing his brow at his beloved dragon, Subaru noticed that the dark-hued earth dragon had stopped, taking shallow breaths filled with strain.

“Patrasche!”

Hastily, Subaru pulled on the reins to stop Patrasche, and leaped down to lay a hand on her nape. Her neck had the texture reminiscent of rock; typical of normal, yet it was alarmingly cold. And it hit him.

“Could it be that earth dragons are sensitive to the cold…? They do have a reptilian look, how do they handle winters?”

Like many reptiles, lizards and snakes, many species hibernate through winter to endure the chill. Given Patrasche’s similar appearance to those reptiles, there was a chance she shared the same traits.

That meant pushing Patrasche to continue into this cold would be akin to a death sentence for her.

Because if Subaru’s guess was correct, the further they moved towards the ‘Sanctuary’, the harsher the cold would become.

“It would be tough to continue together… would the earth dragons left in the ‘Sanctuary’ be in danger too?”

He gently stroked the trembling Patrasche with a hand. It wouldn’t provide much comfort, but she nestled closer to him, seeking his touch.

Going to the ‘Sanctuary’ without her would guarantee further loss of time—however, moving forward together left a high chance they would both collapse from the freezing temperatures.

“Patrasche. I’m sorry, but could you wait outside the forest… no, could you head back to the mansion?”

At Subaru’s decision and instruction, Patrasche let out a sorrowful sound.

But being the intelligent dragon she was, she understood Subaru’s thoughts, her current state, and the conditions of the forest ahead. After a few soothing words from him, she ultimately lowered her head as if to relinquish her resistance.

He gently patted her head and pulled out clothing and simple provisions from the baggage she had been carrying, putting on as much as he could to prepare against the cold. He did the same for Rem, dressing her in an outer coat and strapping her belongings onto her before lifting her up.

“The path to the ‘Sanctuary’ is just straight ahead… right?”

“———”

“Don’t look so worried. I’m more worried about you. You must have suffered too; I’m sorry I didn’t notice that until now. I’m really sorry for not being more considerate.”

Subaru bowed his head as Patrasche, as if to say that he needn’t apologize, made a small noise. Then, beginning her way toward the forest’s edge, Subaru watched her until her form vanished from his sight.

She didn’t look back even once. A dragon that wouldn’t display any lingering feelings and held a kind of grace that prevented Subaru from feeling indebted to her.

Subaru thought ardently that he had an excessively good dragon.

“Patrasche should be able to make it through the forest safely… After all, worrying about what’s happening over there comes after worrying about what awaits here, damn it!”

Wrestling Rem back into his embrace, Subaru marched ahead, crunching through the frosty ground.

Breath clouding in the icy air, fearing he might soon be unable to form words, he pressed forward, heading for the ‘Sanctuary.’

“What happened to you, Emilia…?”

Calling the name of the girl who would likely be at the heart of this frigid air.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Forcing his stiffening feet onward, Subaru repeated shallow breaths while moving his lips, which had forgotten how to shiver. He pushed his eyelashes apart, which had become stuck to his eyelids, and managed to achieve a blurry vision that struggled against the white mist surrounding him as he continued into the woods.

—The intense cold enveloping the ‘Sanctuary’ far exceeded Subaru’s warm imagination.

With every step he took deeper into the woods, he felt as if the ambient temperature sank lower.

His skin had long lost its feeling, and all that sustained his body was the ghostly sense of duty and will to keep moving, as well as—

“———”

The presence of Rem, steadily maintaining her life response within his arms, regardless of whether the environment affected her or not.

He was supposed to be moving straight towards the ‘Sanctuary’.

He couldn’t check with his eyes if he was taking the right steps. Instead, he could only trust that as the bitter cold intensified around him, it meant he was progressing toward his destination.

Snow had accumulated up to his shins, and the woods had unknowingly transformed into a complete winter landscape.

It bore a level of influence that could alter the entire world. Subaru was acutely aware of this.

“———”

He trembled his lips and gasped for breath. The skin on his top and bottom lips peeled away from sticking together, creating a sharp pain as he bled. As he felt the slight warmth of his own blood on his tongue, he knew he had not yet frozen over inside.

He could still go on. He could still do this.

He still had not confirmed anything. If he stood still here, he wouldn’t understand the purpose behind sacrificing everything until now.

So—

“—Ah!”

Suddenly, Subaru noticed something crossing in front of his white outlook, causing him to stop in his tracks.

He rubbed his half-closed eyes open and focused on the anomaly that interrupted his line of sight. Gradually forming a clear outline, it took the shape of a person he recognized.

“Ryuzu-san?”

“———”

In response to Subaru’s call, the girl responded only with a silent gaze.

Seeing her demeanor, Subaru quickly discerned that the girl was not Ryuzu but a Replica of Ryuzu Meier.

At the same time, if she was indeed a Replica, it signaled that Subaru had command over her since he had returned to the ‘Sanctuary’.

“What a stroke of luck… please, guide me back to the ‘Sanctuary’…”

“That request… she won’t hear you, you know?”

As Subaru exhaled with foggy breaths, a voice suddenly cut across him from above.

He looked up, immediately seeing someone drop from the snowfield beside the girl, landing heavily. The snow sank with a crash, and a young man appeared.

With short blonde hair and piercing eyes aimed directly at Subaru, he radiated a strong hostility.

“Garfiel.”

“Hey, what face do you have coming back here? It’s a wonder you managed to come back, even after saying, ‘The bow of the lying beatoons is impressive,’ or whatever.”

With his unintelligible wording intact, Garfiel bared his teeth toward Subaru.

He looked down at the panting Subaru with contempt, and then his expression shifted severely when he caught sight of Rem, who was cradled in Subaru’s arms.

“Eh…? Why are you with Ram… nah, that’s not Ram. Eh? What’s going on? Who’s that girl…?”

“Explaining is a bit ambiguous, but… this is Rem. Ram’s genuine little sister.”

“I never heard mention of Ram having a sister… but, to dismiss this as a lie would be a bit too far-fetched, don’t you think, eh?”

Faced with a girl bearing a striking resemblance to the object of his affections, Garfiel’s determination waned slightly. Given that he didn’t immediately attack, Subaru perceived that he still held some rationality, which gave him pause about making a hasty escape.

Then, he glanced at the quiet Replica standing next to Garfiel and asked,

“Why doesn’t that girl listen to me?”

“That’s a simple story. After you left the ‘Sanctuary’, I quickly entered the experimental grounds. Then I just overwrote my command over her. Thanks to that, I had to relive some uncomfortable memories, though.”

“Is the transfer of command that simple?”

“Basic rules require touchin’ that thing. You experienced it too.”

The “thing” Garfiel pointed at was likely the crystal that contained Ryuzu Meier’s main body. If touching that was a condition for transferring command, it made sense that it returned to him from Subaru.

Anyway,

“Going out of your way to welcome me—that’s considerate.”

“I’m not here to entertain your nonsense. Given the current situation, I believe we’ve passed the point where we can talk idly, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I suppose… so, I’ll cut to the chase:”

Subaru nodded at Garfiel’s intimidation and gave a brief shake of his head before inhaling, then spoke.

“—Is this Emilia’s doing?”

“I can’t say for sure, since I haven’t come out of the Graveyard.”

“The Graveyard…?”

Subaru furrowed his brow at the unexpected response. Irritated by Subaru’s reaction, Garfiel ground his foot into the snow he stood on, proclaiming,

“Ever since the day you vanished, that half-demon’s behavior has been off. Just when I thought she was calm, she locked herself away in the Graveyard, and that’s what happened. By now, it’s gotten to the point where the ‘Sanctuary’ is completely frozen over, exactly like the Erior Forest.”

“You know about Emilia’s hometown…!”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have heard about it? Though I find that bastard Roswaal unlikable, he does answer my necessary inquiries. Because of that, I don’t trust this Emilia person.”

He spoke harshly, and then Garfiel moved closer to Subaru as his expression hardened. Subaru, unable to respond instantly to Garfiel’s sudden movement, found himself at his mercy.

“You look so pathetic.”

“What—?!”

Garfiel’s palm pushed down into Subaru’s chest, causing him to tumble backward helplessly.

Panicking, Subaru tried to protect the Rem in his arms, but his hand swung through empty air. Because—

“Hey! What are you doing to Rem?!”

“Want her back? You really seem quite obsessed, don’t you? I suppose your beloved girl is none other than Lady Emilia.”

Stabbing where it hurt, Garfiel snorted.

In his arms, the figure of Rem that Subaru had just been embracing had been snatched away.

Desperately trying to move his cold body, Subaru tried to cling to Garfiel, but he couldn’t catch up to the distance he’d created by jumping back.

“What do you plan to do with Rem…?!”

“I don’t plan on hurting her, you know. That would just be unreasonable. I’ll abide by the rules. It wouldn’t sit right with me to inflict pain that’s off the mark.”

Saying that, Garfiel looked down at Rem, yet his eyes revealed no intent to harm her.

At least, he wasn’t in a state of mind to hurt a girl with a face identical to someone he loved.

But if that’s the case, just what was it he intended? Before Subaru could form the words, Garfiel anticipated and said,

“Take her to the Graveyard. —Then drag out the half-demon hiding in there.”

“`

 

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