――All I could see was light, and that was it.

I remember looking up and raising my head.

Right after that, a part of the tower in front of me shone white, and I squinted at the brightness.

But that’s where my memory ends. After that, I remember nothing.

No pain, no shock, no fear; I felt not a single one.

For Natsuki Subaru, those were all indispensable companions of ‘death’ arriving.

No screaming pain, no shock of my body tearing apart, and no fear of everything being lost.

Perhaps that ‘death’ was kinder than any ‘death’ known to Subaru.

However, as Subaru’s brain evaporated upon dying, there was no time to think about such things, nor any room to reflect and indulge in it.

Like a blink, just as my vision was darkening for an instant, Natsuki Subaru’s lost ‘life’ was resurrected, flowing backward, and once again cast into reality.

――I was thrown back.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

“――tch, tch, tch.”

“――!”

For a moment, a heavy suffocation pressed down on my senses, and Subaru opened his eyes wide.

The sound of blood flowing throughout my body felt deafening, and the contracting muscles screamed in pain. My hands tightly clasped around the reins dug my nails into my palms, asserting Beatrice’s existence with her hot body.

“……huh?”

In the dim light, I was looking down closely at the back of Beatrice’s head.

The violently sweet scent streaming into my nostrils was different from that of the girl when I picked her up. Beatrice’s scent was similar to sweet baked goods, but this pervasive aroma surrounding me was like a viscous poison, a cloying sweetness that pressed in on me.

I recognized this sweetness. Of course, it was what I had been inhaling continuously just a short while ago.

Actually, it was special that I had even experienced a pause of just a few seconds.

“tic, tic, tic, tic.”

A faint sound resonated rhythmically in Subaru’s muddled consciousness.

In front of me stood Beatrice, rigid, while even Patrasche held its breath, watching as a vile beast stood at the nose of the dragon cart with Emilia and Rem aboard.

The bloodthirsty beast, a Courtesan Bear, had fine roots spreading all over its body, parched for blood.

In that moment, an incredibly vivid sense of reality returned to Subaru.

There was no doubt about this feeling. This was ‘Return by Death.’

Natsuki Subaru was now experiencing ‘death’ and had returned to this moment in time.

“――!”

――But of all times, to be sent back to this moment!?

I cursed my bad luck regarding the timing of my ‘Return by Death’ more than the event of the moment of ‘death.’

Milly was trying to gently coax the magical beast away with her sound, like a clicking noise, hoping to draw its interest away from the dragon cart. Her plan succeeded almost until the very end, but ended up failing at the last moment.

The earth dragon pulling the cart—Giant, could no longer withstand the pressure from the beast.

“――――!”

Realizing that, Subaru hesitated in making a quick judgment call.

I couldn’t see Giant’s condition from the back. But Julius, holding the reins, couldn’t perceive the earth dragon’s abnormality. Even he didn’t have the leisure to keep an eye on that.

Everyone in the dragon cart was hoping for Milly’s success in contacting the Courtesan Bear.

But unfortunately――,

“tic, tic…… tii!”

Milly’s voice took on a hint of urgency, and her fingers pointed to the right side of the cart. The Courtesan Bear began slowly moving in that direction.

The atmosphere of relief blossomed in the dragon cart and in Beatrice, but Giant couldn’t handle the tension any longer.

“Juli…”

“――――!!”

Before Subaru could express a proper thought, it was drowned out by Giant’s roar.

Revisiting the previous scenario, Giant bellowed and stomped on the ground, awakening the Courtesan Bear with the shock of his slams and roars.

With bloodshot eyes, the Courtesan Bear lunged forward, drooling; a pale blue light pierced through its head, exploding it right back out.

“El! Human!!”

Emilia, standing on the roof of the dragon cart, waved her hands and danced in the air, forming a vortex of ice blades. The rotating ice blades shot down toward the ground, devouring the swarm of Courtesan Bears, dismembering their limbs with savage screams.

“Run run run run run run――!!”

Pulling the reins to accelerate Patrasche, Subaru shouted as the dragon cart began to move.

Glancing to the side of the driver’s platform, I saw Ram springing out, switching places with Julius, who was drawing his knight’s sword, charging toward the oncoming Courtesan Bear.

――It was all the same.

By following that flow, Subaru clenched his jaws tightly.

Yet, the sudden ‘Return by Death’ had left his consciousness in the dust.

Pushing aside the shock of having died, Subaru’s heart was filled with regret.

Up until now, having wasted a ‘Return by Death’ for the first time since realizing its existence, it was a new experience for Subaru.

In the past, he had failed to handle effectively the information gained from a ‘Return by Death’ and ended up facing death again. But this was the first time he had returned by death only to stumble and trace the same situation without a way to intervene. Whether he wanted to tread that path or not, fate was dragging him along a predetermined track.

“――Subaru! There’s no time to dawdle!”

“――!”

With regrets in his heart, Subaru’s grip on the reins tightened when Beatrice bumped her back against him. Upon seeing her light jolt and hearing her voice, he looked ahead, where a fierce magical beast loomed.

At the same time, Subaru clasped the small palm reaching out, holding Beatrice atop the dragon, and the counterattack began.

“Minnya! Minnya! One more shot, maybe another Minnya!”

Through the palm, mana with nowhere to go was siphoned from Subaru’s body and returned as power through Beatrice. The purple crystals that emerged pierced into the body of the beasts blocking their path, crystallizing and shattering their bodies as Patrasche crushed the fragments underfoot while advancing forward.

“Here’s a special one, Sand Worm!!”

Milly’s panicked shout was heard as sand erupted at the edge of his vision.

From beneath the layer of sand covering the Courtesan Bears beneath it, a monstrous Sand Worm rose up, its massive jaws tossing several magical beasts inside its gaping mouth, crushing everything with its impressive size.

Once again, a colossal monster showdown, but Subaru knew that the odds were against them.

“――Balus! Run as if your life depends on it! Or you’d better hope to stay alive!”

Amidst the shaping dread consuming Subaru, a voice pierced through with urgency.

Ram, controlling the reins from the driver’s platform, managed to reign in the excited Giant. With skill comparable to Rem, she had the earth dragon under her control, but as it was, things were becoming dire.

“We can’t keep going straight like this! Ram, change the path!”

“――! What are you talking about? The watchtower is up ahead, and the area is the magical beast’s territory!”

“That’s true, but that’s not going to work!”

Patrasche ducked down, ramming into the body of the Courtesan Bear that blocked the way. The black earth dragon advanced, using the beast’s body as a shield, with the claws tearing apart the creature’s flesh as petals and fresh blood drenched the sandy sea.

“Balus, what have you noticed? Speak clearly!”

“If I could explain clearly, it wouldn’t be a hassle! Just change direction!”

With Ram’s irritated tone, Subaru had no choice but to yell back roughly. It was an absurd response even he realized, but he had no other way.

Especially since, right now, Subaru had no clue why he had died.

It was certain he had ‘returned by death,’ but he couldn’t recall the reason for his death.

While it felt at instinct that he had returned by death here, it was reminiscent of the feeling he had experienced when he had faced ‘death’ for the first time in Roswaal’s Mansion.

First, he needed to determine the cause of death and eliminate that problem.

“But there’s no time for that!!”

Had he been taken down by a magical beast? As the tavern owner had advised, had he been torn apart and left as grotesque fodder? Or maybe he had just accidentally fallen off Patrasche and broken his neck? Though it sounded utterly impossible, there was also the possibility that Beatrice had drained his mana, leading to a slow death.

“No matter which of those it was, I’ve never had such a clean break in my memory.”

Even if he got torn apart, frozen, crushed by an iron ball, consumed by a rabbit, or caught in a nonsensical ability, Subaru had come back from ‘death.’

Regardless of the cause, he had always been able to analyze the events just before ‘death’ and find a way to break out of the deadlock.

But this time, that fragile thread of fate was nowhere in sight.

And they were not given the time they needed to search for that invisible, thin thread.

――This was, quietly, the worst ‘Return by Death’ blocking.

Should he die the same way again, it would mean restarting from complete scratch.

Before that could happen――,

“I’m moving from this end! Whatever happens, don’t approach the tower!”

“Why would you say that…?”

“The tower’s glowing! That light is probably dangerous!”

“Ha――!?”

In this desperate situation, there was no time for Ram to coat her words with venom. As she shot back a bluntly negative comment, Subaru pulled the reins, conveying to Patrasche.

Not to go straight, but to willfully turn.

“Up ahead, I can see the tower…!”

While the watchtower in front was obviously getting closer, it was among the sandy sea, where a horde of Courtesan Bears were rushing in.

If they approached that tower, it would truly be a replay of before.

To prevent that, Subaru chose――,

“We’re backpedaling! It’d be better to dive back into ‘Sand Time’! We’re heading back to the previous sand dune!”

“What on earth are you talking about…?”

“Ram! Do what Subaru says!”

The decision, which seemed absurd, naturally caused Ram to protest as Emilia halted her, while clearing away magical beasts with countless ice shards, she nodded towards Subaru.

“It’s impossible for Subaru to randomly say something without a reason!”

“Balus spews nonsense on a daily basis!”

“Subaru would have no reason to babble aimlessly when he’s in danger!”

“Thanks for clarifying with a reiteration!!”

Should Subaru lament being treated like the wolf boy, or take joy in being considered a reliable man during a crisis?

Setting aside both reflection and narcissism, Patrasche obeying Subaru’s will plunged its feet into the sand, initiating a sharp turn. The swishing tail mowed down one of the magical beasts, kicking it aside as they began to retreat.

“――! The two up top and to the side! Don’t get thrown off!!”

Watching Subaru’s party make their sharp turn, Ram skillfully turned Giant around. Naturally, the dragon cart already consuming the centrifugal force tilted dangerously, on the verge of overturning――,

“Emilia-sama! Stabilize us!”

“Eh? Ah, right! Yes!”

Stabbing his sword into the car body, Julius called for Emilia to assist in stabilizing the leaning dragon cart. Genuine surprise lit up Emilia’s eyes as magic poured down beneath the cart. An icy slope formed to support the tilted wheel, and the cart made a semicircle, escaping complete overturn.

Without losing that momentum, they began backpedaling while chasing after Patrasche.

――At that moment.

“What…!?”

In the next instant of beginning their retreat, a sharp sound like a bell, scratching at their eardrums, rang out.

Unintentionally, Subaru hunched his shoulders as the strange wind began to circle behind him.

“What was that…? Hey, hey, hey, hey!?”

“What is it…Pi!?”

Both Subaru and Beatrice turned around, stunned, at the mysterious sensation arising behind them.

Almost directly behind, the dragon cart’s occupants, Emilia and Julius, were equally bewildered.

“The Sand Worm, it’s……!”

Milly, peering from the driver’s platform, trembled in shock.

Just in front of her, the gargantuan body of the Sand Worm rose up, covering the back of the dragon cart. The length surpassed ten meters, and its girth was such that it would take two men wrapping their arms around each other to embrace it. Poking its head out from below, glaring at its prey, it looked like the king of the sandy sea.

Its body was blown into pieces, having taken some sudden blow.

The slithery skin tore open, and that long and thick body was splendidly cut in half. The headless part fell to the side as the head now devoid of support slowly began to sink down toward us――.

“Move to the side, quick――!!”

The falling head of the Sand Worm carried more than enough weight to flatten the dragon cart.

With the dying screams of magical beasts being crushed beneath the body, Subaru and Ram conveyed their respective orders to their earth dragons while fiercely diverting their paths to escape the Sand Worm’s vertical collision course.

“――――!”

With a piercing cry, the head of the Sand Worm plummeted rapidly into the sandy sea.

Sand erupted, the bones of the unlucky Courtesan Bears shattered, and limbs were blown off in the impact. Meanwhile, the head of the Sand Worm bounced, continuing to roll and causing chaos amongst the magical beasts, changing from beasts into chunks of flesh in no time.

“Whew, whew, whew, that was close, so close!”

“Subaru, that was bad!”

Relieved after the sudden crisis had passed, but immediately, Beatrice dismissed any notion of relief.

“What happened? Did we lose the dragon cart or not!? The only ones left are the Bettys!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

In a panic, Subaru followed her gaze, confirming there were no dragon carts surrounding them.

All he could see was the distant glow of bluish mana, echoing magical beast roars, and minor bursts of sand, noting Emilia’s fight and Milly’s new summons far away.

However, attempting to regroup would mean navigating through an ocean of Courtesan Bears. And as the counts of them dwindled, the magical beasts remained relentless with their assault.

“Simply halving our combat power! Twice the enemy!”

“Now it’s four times worse than before!”

With their claws raised high, the Courtesan Bears lunged at them with furious faces.

As the whip crackled through the air towards the Courtesan Bear’s face, the blow found its mark, managing to blind the beast’s sensitivity, creating an excellent opportunity for Patrasche to sprint away. Even as they continued swinging in the opposite direction, they were still veering away from Emilia’s cart.

“Patrasche! Not that way…!”

“This Earth Dragon’s instincts for survival are far better off trusting its own nature than with the likes of you or Betty!”

Drowning out Subaru’s cry, Beatrice blew away the blocking Courtesan Bears with magic. Patrasche pushed through, desperately exploiting the weakest point in the encirclement to protect his two companions.

“Damn! Not this again! What the hell am I doing!?”

He swung the whip again, fending off the magical beasts’ advance, but the sheer ferocity of the beasts surged forward, bucking against his strength.

With sword attacks delivering deadly blows while magic choked their movements, Subaru’s chosen methods found themselves wholly insufficient. His cleverness was inept against the tremendous force bearing down upon them.

He thought progress had been made, thinking perhaps it’s starting to feel better.

Fate seemed to scoff at Natsuki Subaru’s trivial efforts, crushing him underneath with casual indifference.

“That bastard Regulus had far better options than this……!”

“There’s no time to be musing! We need some way…!”

“Bea, let’s use Murak on Patrasche! Lighten the weight and clear over the heads of the pack!”

“――! Murak!”

Following Subaru’s orders, Beatrice cast Murak—a spell that alleviated the effects of gravity on Patrasche, propelling the beast forward. The space between strides expanded, and Patrasche attempted to leap over the beasts to escape from the blooming field of Courtesan Bears.

But――,

“Light――!?”

A white glow flickered in the corner of his eye, and just as he raised his voice in alarm, ‘that’ came racing through the sky.

The white light streaked across the ground, sending the sandy sea flying at a breakneck speed. As the light barreled forward, the bodies of the magical beasts were torn apart, the geysers of blood arose, launching them into the skies.

In that frenzy, the power crashed into Patrasche, forcing the earth dragon’s sheer mass to be flung aside by the pressure of the impending ‘thing.’

“Beatrice! Hold on tight!!”

“You better hold on tight too, Subaru!!”

“――――!”

Patrasche let out a roar as Subaru clung to Beatrice and held on for dear life.

In midair, twirling like a top, Patrasche soared over the heads of the Courtesan Bears, while following closely behind, a relentless torrent of whites cascaded down.

The sand exploded, and the magical beasts caught in the wash exploded, screeching as Patrasche’s cries echoed in distress.

“Gahhh――!?”

In the midst of the attack, ‘Wind Shield’ was blown away, leaving Subaru to bear the full brunt of the overwhelming shock.

He grasped the reins and Beatrice, securing his legs around Patrasche’s saddle, but the force jolted him, sending his body hurling against the sides unpredictably, nearly losing consciousness.

Yet, amidst this storm, the claws of the Courtesan Bear pursued him relentlessly.

Overwhelmed by a tremendous impact, Subaru fought to stay on. If he fell now, he knew without a doubt he wouldn’t survive. Just hanging onto life by a thin thread was the only reason he remained steadfast.

“But at this rate――”

“This is bad…!”

“――Patrasche!?”

A powerful jolt struck, and Patrasche cried out in agony as it was sent flying.

Looking back, he saw with Murak in effect; Patrasche’s flanks were dissected by the sweeping claws of the Courtesan Bear. The dark scales were marred by deep claw marks, blood seeping from the painful wound.

“――Gah!?”

With that impact, Patrasche finally collapsed onto the sandy flats, and alongside them, Subaru and Beatrice were tossed aside to be left behind in the beasts’ feeding grounds.

Shaking his head, subsiding from that moment, Subaru struggled to rise, his hand still connected with Beatrice’s as she dusted off her dress, scanning cautiously around them. But the disadvantage was undeniable.

“Hey! Don’t lay a finger on Patrasche!!”

“Minnya!”

Piercing magics darted toward the magical beasts rushing toward the injured Patrasche. Subaru rushed over to kneel beside his dragon’s wounds, touching it gently.

The claws hadn’t penetrated to the organs, but excess strain would risk rupturing the intestines. He couldn’t force him anymore; the healing time was paramount now.

“Beatrice! Use Shamak! Misdirect the recognition of the surrounding magical beasts!”

“Now!? Doing that would only buy us time! Besides…”

“We need that time right now! Hurry!!”

With bloodshot eyes, the beasts positioned themselves tautly, waiting for an opening to spring.

If surrounded, he couldn’t react. Which of the beasts would rush forth and create the initial trigger depended solely on their patience, something he could not count on.

“――! El! Shamak!”

Beatrice clasped her hands together, and something inexplicable left Subaru in droves.

Within the girl’s hands, a swirling mass emerged as a quiet power enveloped the sandy sea, wrapping Subaru and the others in a ring of black mist radiating about ten meters outwards.

It was the foundation of dark magic, the mighty spell Shamak’s activation.

The Shamak effects distorted perception, halting the Courtesan Bears’ movements altogether. Their thoughts faded into oblivion, even their instinct to pursue prey dulled.

Of course, those who executed it—Subaru and Beatrice—felt no effects. They just wouldn’t last long.

“If any beasts outside the effective range come in, we’ll be overrun soon. Before that, get that earth dragon moving and escape!”

“I know! The effects of Murak are still upon us, right? Then I’ll carry Patrasche, and we will chain-cast Shamak to regroup with the others――”

Prioritizing exit from the battleground, he reached for Patrasche.

Normally weighing hundreds of kilograms, during the Murak effect, Patrasche felt feather-like—overly illustrious, but still much lighter. He could easily carry back.

Golden eyes stared intently at Subaru. The mix of emotions swirling within those eyes were complex, far from befitting those of an earth dragon.

Those eyes told a story.――’Don’t leave.’

“――Subaru!”

Just as he was captivated by Patrasche’s gaze, Beatrice’s sharp voice broke out.

As she rushed toward him and thrust her palm out, an eruption of magic formed a shield, creating a purple barrier beside Subaru—diverting the incoming white light around it.

“Gah!?”

A sound resemblant to steel clashing rattled out as Subaru felt the shudder, being tossed to the side. Rolling over onto the sand, he lay flat, gasping for breath, attempting to rise but realizing—

Blood streamed from his right side where the force had hit him, soaking his right leg.

“What… did I take…?”

Holding his bleeding flank, Subaru bent on one knee and expelled a bewildered breath.

At that very moment, the jarring sensations stirred about his insides like waves clamoring to erupt, and bile mixed with blood poured from the corner of his mouth.

Air escaped the gash in his abdomen, releasing an embarrassing noise akin to flatulence.

“Ah, fu…”

“――Bal! Subaru!”

As the ragged breath escaped him, his vision began to tilt sideways simultaneously.

Realizing he was collapsed sideways and unable to move, he came to terms with that understanding. But that did not extend far beyond anything else. The heat radiating from his wound burned, and it felt as though his body was liquefying and fading away.

He barely caught the sound of someone calling his name.

“Subaru! Subaru, are you okay? Don’t die…! Don’t leave me…! Please! Stop…!”

She shook his shoulder. A tearful voice broke forward. He wished he could stretch out a hand to comfort, yet he couldn’t muster movement.

Had his brain been seared through, he couldn’t recall the girl’s face standing before him.

With her adorably crying features, he thought he shouldn’t let her shed those tears.

“――――”

Behind her, a large, massive lizard lay collapsed.

It was a beautiful, black lizard in appearance. Its body was riddled with several long, thin, white objects piercing through it. The lizard remained utterly still, clearly dead.

He thought that he must have been struck with that too.

“Don’t leave Betty behind…!”

Crying desperately, the girl clutched Subaru’s limp body.

Her small frame struggled against Subaru’s weight, no matter how hard she tried.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, wishing he could at least wipe away those tears.

He searched for a place to move in his body, yet found none. So, he pulled from somewhere outside his body for movement that wasn’t there.

“――u”

“Subaru?”

Invisible to everyone but himself, he felt a ‘hand’ brush against the tear on the girl’s cheek.

Moist droplets were traced by dark fingertips as she turned towards him, a look of realization on her face. He could offer no reassuring smile in return.

“Su–”

For a brief moment, the girl was about to say something.

However, ‘that’—arriving from far behind her—interrupted her.

“――――”

Once again, a heavy impact pierced through Subaru’s chest.

Slowly lowering his gaze revealed ‘that’ had penetrated the girl’s back while cratering through Subaru’s chest, exiting through the back.

“Ah…”

Leaving behind a dulled breath, the girl embracing Subaru evaporated.

As if she were never of this world, the girl vanished from view.

With no support, Subaru crumpled to the ground. He couldn’t move. There was no reason to move.

“C—”

His fingers faintly brushed through the sand, nothing more.

Losing the caster, the black mist dividing them from their surroundings dissolved into the air.

Once the power of lie was revealed, all that was left were the carcass of the earth dragon and a barely-there boy. The horde of magical beasts licked their lips and approached their prey.

“――――”

His breath halted, the world blurring away.

This felt different from death due to blood loss. Something fatal began flowing into him.

He couldn’t remember anything.

Just close at hand, he could hear the growling voice of the Courtesan Bear, raising its claws above him.

Would those claws cleave through his skull?

Or was it the faint glimmering ‘thing’ at the periphery of the dissipating world?

He didn’t know which caused it, but Natsuki Subaru’s life came to an abrupt end.