Blood streamed from his gouged shoulder and thigh, his ragged breath carried the heat of his wounds, and his pallid complexion marked the countdown to his demise.

If I didn’t administer treatment immediately, his life would be in danger.

And yet, healing magic would surely save him. It was absolutely a wound he could recover from.

“Then why…”

In the ruins beside the blown-up flour mill, the improvised wood still smoldering with acrid smoke, Subaru faced the ‘enemy.’

Yes, that ‘enemy’ was none other than Todd Fang.

—He didn’t want to call Todd the ‘enemy.’

Since their first encounter, Todd had caused him nothing but suffering. He had attempted to take Subaru’s life multiple times, actually succeeded in killing him once, instilling a deep sense of death and fear and nurturing a bitter rivalry.

Time and again, Subaru returned from death, dealt with Todd’s ambushes, and effectively erased the tragedies Todd had wrought.

The forest inhabited by the ‘People of Shudrak’ had been burned, leading to their extinction; Flopp had been killed multiple times during sneak attacks on Castle City Gwararu; during the operation to seize the City Hall of Gwararu, he felt as though he were walking a tightrope over a burning rope.

The ultimate act had come in ‘Gladiator Island’ Gnunhaive, where Tanzer, Idra, Hiaine, Vaits, Gustav, Old Man Nur, and many others had been slaughtered. Yet even that, Subaru had overturned.

He wasn’t trying to erase Todd’s actions.

It was merely that as Subaru struggled to protect what was dear to him by ‘returning by death,’ Todd’s caused deeds had simply been canceled out.

The reason Subaru considered Todd an enemy had begun to exist within himself alone.

And ultimately, having been forced to retreat from the unprecedented disaster befalling the Imperial Capital, Todd displayed an attitude of cooperation with Subaru and the others in order to protect his fiancée.

In truth, without Todd’s cooperation, how many retries would it have taken them to devise a solution against the surging zombies and achieve everyone’s escape?

That single-eyed warrior’s battle against the zombies was included as well.

Even to bring down an enemy turned into a monster, Todd’s cooperation was necessary. They both understood that without either of them, there would be no life left.

So it was just one step away.

Just one more step, and Subaru could have walked alongside Todd with his conflicted feelings suppressed.

Yet still—

“Why…!”

“Don’t speak so naively. You were aware enough to prevent that. It’s not like you reacted to my killing intent; you were just on guard the whole time, right?”

Todd squinted his bloodshot right eye at Subaru, who was shaking with emotion.

With an expression reserved for children who wouldn’t listen, Todd’s gaze shifted toward the axe that floated in the air—what Todd perceived to be a deadly weapon gripped in black hands.

For Subaru, the axe represented Todd.

He had experienced the sensation of his skull splitting beneath it more than once or twice. Even when taken from Todd’s hands, the anxiety didn’t leave his mind as the axe lingered at the edge of his vision, causing Subaru to clench his teeth.

It hit home. Subaru had indeed been wary of Todd all along.

So, when he turned his back to the injured Todd, he activated ‘Invisible Providence’ to protect his head. If he were to be targeted, he believed it was a certainty to be struck down at the head.

But still, he had wanted him not to aim at him.

He wished for nothing to happen.

If only—

“Failure, failure. You fell right into my scheme.”

“No…”

“I thought I had separated you from the others, and dealt with the enemy… what a remarkable performer you are.”

“No…!”

“Did you hope to blow me away in that last explosion? If that’s the case, you must be sorely disappointed.”

“No! I truly wanted to work together with you…!”

“—Don’t lie.”

Subaru’s throat made a sound as Todd coldly uttered that single line.

Keeping one eye closed, Todd peered into Subaru’s eyes with a gaze devoid of warmth or moisture. That expression was one that had already decided Subaru’s worth.

“You must have understood deep down. We can never understand one another.”

“—”

“I view others with suspicion, while you trust others with your back turned. No matter how much we say, our values are different.”

Slowly positioning himself, Todd sized up Subaru through the axe floating in the air. Subaru bit down hard on his lips as he cast a sorrowful glare at Todd through the suspended axe.

Todd had declared that they could never understand one another. Was it truly so? Subaru continued to ponder.

Was there really no way to make things work out?

“If you kill me here, what will happen with the zombies—”

“Don’t be so unwilling to die. Once we exit the Imperial Capital, we can handle anything. Thanks to cooperating with you, I was able to get Kachua to the walls. It’d be better without you from here on.”

“Why? I have no intention of hurting Kachua! I wasn’t planning to fight you either! And yet!”

“—But you’re treating it like you can choose whether to save Kachua or not.”

“Ah…?”

Confronting Subaru, who raised his voice, Todd sent a cold assertion his way.

Feeling soaked in cold water by Todd’s words, Subaru hardened his cheeks.

He couldn’t grasp what that even meant.

In the first place, it conflicted with Subaru’s assertion. Whether to choose or not, Subaru had no intention of harming Kachua whatsoever, so that accusation was absurd.

Yet Subaru’s thoughts were being blocked.

—In that instant, Todd did not let it slip away.

“—I do not beg for your forgiveness.”

Capitalizing on Subaru’s momentary lapse in speech, Todd crouched low and charged.

As the distance between them closed, every cell in Subaru’s body screamed in response, and he commanded the ‘Invisible Hand’ he had extended into the air to sling the seized axe at Todd.

But—

“Guh, gahh!?”

In that instant, a searing sensation pierced through his right thigh, painting Subaru’s vision a vivid red.

The knife lodged in Subaru’s thigh had been thrown by Todd just before he dove in while Subaru’s thoughts had halted.

In pain-filled confusion, the ‘Invisible Hand’ that should have thrown the axe froze, and Todd’s front kick collided with Subaru’s chest.

“Ugh!”

With his wounded leg unable to support him, Subaru tumbled backward with a choked cry, striking the back of his head and scattering his already chaotic thoughts even further.

His leg, chest, head, and back throbbed, and the bloody axe descended toward him.

“Ahhh!”

Screaming wildly, Subaru interjected his black hands into the path of the descending axe.

The ‘Invisible Hand’—deployed from Subaru’s chest—was struggling desperately against the descending blade, using his own hands to resist, though three arms were insufficient against Todd’s ferocity.

Thus began a comically pathetic struggle for survival.

A fierce showdown occurred in the defense of the Imperial Capital Rupugana, as Subaru and Todd engaged in a battle that descended into the mud.

No refined techniques, no special weapons, no trump cards to overwhelm the other.

In the standards of the Volakia Empire, it was a battle for life and death fought at an extraordinarily low level—that was the decisive battle between Natsuki Subaru and Todd Fang, who could not understand each other.

“It’s all mismatched! You act like you don’t care if you die at any moment, yet you put others’ lives on your selfish scale and, when it comes to a situation like this, you resist with all your might. It’s disgusting!”

“Don’t say something like that! I don’t think that I can die whenever! I’ve never weighed anyone’s life against another… I don’t want to die!”

“Die!”

“I don’t wanna!”

The pitch-black murderous intent in Todd’s eyes chilled Subaru’s heart. The conflicting axes were struggling against each other, yet this extreme contest of wills couldn’t last forever.

For indeed—

“Guh, ugh!”

Subaru stifled a groan deep in his throat as blood trickled from his ear.

The backlash from the ‘Invisible Hand’ was corrosive to his body, sending warning signals throughout. However, it was a necessity because if he didn’t, the blade would cleave through his face.

“That strange magic of yours seems close to its limit.”

Todd could comprehend Subaru’s visage, flowing with blood, illuminated with frantic determination. He understood that if more time passed, Subaru would ultimately reach his limit first.

At that moment, Todd devised a plan to make sure it didn’t come to that.

“—Ah!?”

Surrounded by the violent rumble of the axe, both Subaru and Todd lost their awareness to a tremendous booming sound.

Such a sound came from a distance away from Subaru and the others, in the heart of the Imperial Capital—the reservoir beyond the Crystal Palace, which contained the pressure of its immense stores of water, was meeting its limit.

With the deafening boom, cracks spread across the dam, causing the water rushing toward the Imperial Capital to increase in both speed and volume. It became a massive wave rushing into a world without oceans, stirring the city violently, and the ripples reached the struggling lives of Subaru and Todd.

Then—

“Uahhh—!!”

“—!”

In that infinitesimal moment, as Todd’s consciousness slipped away in the booming sound, Subaru summoned all of his strength.

He shifted his supine body, momentarily banishing the pain of the knife in his foot. He rolled over with all his might, launching the axe he had grasped with the ‘Invisible Hand’ to the ground beside his head.

Powering through, Todd was unable to resist the force of this move. The axe fell perilously close to Subaru’s head, and Todd found himself crashing onto the earth.

“Hah, hah… buha!”

With momentum carrying him, Subaru continued to roll away from Todd and the axe.

Each impact of the knife embedded in his foot caused intense pain, but in desperation to escape his pursuer, he gritted his teeth as he rolled.

Before long, after rolling ten or twenty times, Subaru bumped into a remnant of a building and was forcefully halted. Propelled by sheer will, he managed to rise, blood streaming from his cut forehead—only to see it.

“…What a detestable bast—”

Kneeling, Todd murmured resentfully. The axe had deeply embedded itself in his left shoulder, which was facing Subaru at a distance.

“——”

When Subaru had narrowly dodged the fatal axe’s sweep, Todd had instead fallen onto it.

The blade pierced deep, shattering his collarbone and gouging within. The wound was potentially fatal, yet there was no sign of weakness in Todd as he wiped his mouth and spat out blood.

He was absurdly tough.

Despite being a decoy against the zombies, sustaining various injuries, being caught in explosions, and now an axe embedded deep within him, he remained unflinching.

At last, the reasons for Todd’s demeanor came clear in Subaru’s eyes.

It was—

“—Did you see? Failure, failure.”

Without a hint of buoyancy, Todd’s voice was marked by evident frustration.

He bore profound anger against this mistake of having revealed something that should never have been seen, while animosity flared up from realizing it before Subaru.

Hissing rage seeped into Todd’s anger, he yanked the axe from his shoulder. The richly bleeding wound sprayed crimson and—yet instantaneously, the blood ceased to flow.

A testament to his species’ evolution, he possessed a recovery capacity that mitigated hindrances when injured, something Subaru had witnessed numerous times in this other world.

To an outsider, he appeared unchanged, but the blood flowing within him was different.

A subhuman. Specifically—

“—You’re a werewolf?”

“Close, but that’s not entirely correct.”

Before a bewildered Subaru, Todd narrowed his eyes, confirming half of his suspicion. Not understanding the full implications, Subaru gasped.

With a twisted sneer, blood-colored fury igniting in his gaze, Todd added—

“—I’m a werewolf.”

△▼△▼△▼△

In this world, there were several things that were loathed simply for existing.

Half-elves stood out among these hated beings, eternally cursed as descendants of the ‘Witch’ who nearly brought ruin to the world, facing common disdain in every nation.

Additionally, in the Kararagi City-State, subhumans without fur were considered unlucky, while in the Gusteco Holy Kingdom, those with hair or eyes darkening were shunned for being loathed by spirits.

Likewise, in the Volakia Empire, two species were also despised—mole-men and werewolves.

In ancient times, the mole-men and werewolves were said to bear an everlasting sin, forever unforgiven for betraying the most cherished woman of the Volakia Empire and causing her death.

As a result, the mole-men abandoned their homeland, digging into the earth and fleeing. The werewolves, who knew not how to escape, were hunted to the last, eradicated to oblivion.

The Empire’s ire extended to foreign lands, and if mole-men or werewolves were found in their territory, they would be deported across borders to face execution—infamously known as the history of mole hunts and wolf hunts.

In modern times, mole-men are believed to live hidden beneath the soil, utilizing their skills to evade notice, and of the werewolves’ remnants, there was only one who publicly declared their lineage, falsely claiming to be a dog-person—Halibel, renowned as the strongest of the Kararagi City-State.

The Empire, relentless in its pursuit of werewolves, ironically bore the crest of a wolf pierced by a sword.

A sword-wolf was held in the highest regard among the Empire, yet the wolf petrified by such a sword was deemed the most contemptible.

Thus, in this world, the existence of werewolves, as well as the half-beast called ‘werewolves,’ continued to bear the curse of eternal unacceptability.

△▼△▼△▼△

“Werewolf…”

As Todd spun the axe he had pulled from his shoulder, Subaru stood as if turned to stone.

Confounded by Todd’s previously unknown secret, he felt torn between two emotions, unsure whether to embrace the valid or the invalid, but more than anything, he felt a rush of daunting dread.

—Subaru had no knowledge of the werewolf’s repudiated history in this world.

He remained unaware of how mole-men and werewolves were reviled in the Empire, of the reason rooted in the betrayal of the woman Iris, who lived in ancient times, or that Iris was Yorna Mishigure, and that her beloved Emperor was Vincent Volakia—not a clue.

He possessed no understanding of the background.

Yet somehow, deep within, Subaru’s soul grasped the truth—what a strange existence called ‘werewolf’ represented in this world.

“That look of surprise differs slightly from my expectations. You’re surprised not by me being a half-beast but by me being a werewolf.”

Gazing at the silent Subaru, Todd furrowed his brows, sensing a twist in his earlier predictions.

“But now you can indulge without restraint, right? Werewolves are meant to be hanged; that curse runs in the blood. You too—”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why does it have to be this way? I…I didn’t want to…!”

While he couldn’t deny feelings of wanting to kill him, it stemmed not from Todd’s blood or heritage, but from how their actions were incompatible.

Still, Todd’s remarks were—

“Don’t make it sound as if I became your ‘enemy’ because of blood.”

“——”

“The times we clashed were due to problems between you and me! Whether it was your true nature or that your blood stirred my rage—these don’t matter!”

Clenching his teeth, Subaru pressed his palm to the ground and struggled to rise.

Pain shot through his body from the knife embedded in his foot, rushing through him at great speed, solidifying his focus and sharpening the anger that boiled inside him.

“Stop becoming a werewolf on your own!”

“Hey, hey, that’s not something you can control for me…!”

“Shut up! Why are you like this?”

Not one of Subaru’s desires grasped reality; whenever he felt positive, Todd acted negatively, and whenever Subaru remained hopeful, problems erupted.

When he assisted Kachua, rescued Rem and the others, and allied to defeat formidable zombies, Todd straightforwardly tried to kill him, stifling his thoughts, and now, to crown it all, he was a werewolf.

“Why is this happening?!”

“Don’t meddle with how people are born. That’s just how it is. Maybe my mom slept with a dog—oh, and I’ve had a big dog living behind my house since ancient times; maybe that was my dad?”

“That’s not it! It’s you who’s raising a fuss over blood!”

“——”

“The reason I face off against you like this…!”

Subaru was ignorant of the life Todd had lived as a werewolf.

He didn’t even want to know. If he learned, he might search for excuses to forgive Todd. Thus, he preferred ignorance, unwilling to forgive him for reasons beyond his control.

So—

“—I’ve decided.”

Gritting his teeth, Subaru murmured through the fury and pain muddling his mind.

Hearing that murmur, Todd squinted, silence urging inquiring further on what Subaru had decided.

Obeying that silent summons, Subaru spoke.

“I won’t kill you. You won’t get your way.”

“——”

Todd had no retort to Subaru’s quiet proclamation.

He did not maintain his silence, though. Instead—he laughed.

“Hah, ha ha ha ha!”

With the hand not holding the axe, Todd raked his hair backward, an expression of delight brightened across his face, grime and blood sullied hair and brow, yet Todd laughed uproariously.

After he laughed heartily, Todd lazily shook his head.

“You’re a monster. Much more than those zombies.”

As his eyes sharpened, revealing visibly intense emotions through his gaze, they locked onto Subaru.

That dark, murderous intent concealed an emotion that had finally shown itself—a feeling Subaru had witnessed reflected back at him countless times in the mirror.

It was fear. A fear that stemmed from the incomprehensible—an entity that brought forth ‘death.’

“The worst part is, you don’t even recognize it. You are deciding who lives and dies. Who to save, who to let die—you’re making that choice freely. You dote upon those who bow to you, yet you disregard those who don’t. I have no hesitation in flattering or exposing myself to anyone…”

“——”

“There’s no way I can get along with someone who whimsically decides the lives of others.”

—That was Todd Fang’s final ultimatum.

“——”

Todd’s words were dismissively harsh, making his appearance resemble something skeletal.

What was revealed was the uniform of the imperial soldiers, tattered from various wounds. The jagged wounds closed up with displays of vitality and skin transformed into fur of the same color as his hair. His nose protruded, his mouth stretching wide, teeth turning overwhelmingly sharp and transforming into that of a ferocious beast.

That transformation was exactly as he had declared—a werewolf.

Standing on two legs, wielding arms with tools, devouring life with his ferocious fangs. Such was the metamorphosis laid bare—his true form was revealed.

“Die.”

With that short, redefined declaration of intent, Todd stepped toward Subaru.

That step was wide, and the explosive speed at which he launched himself aimed at Subaru for murder—an ominous atmosphere to a foe who knew Todd’s true identity, refusing to let him live.

Feeling the gravity of the moment, Subaru’s fighting spirit surged.

“—Invisible Providence.”

As Subaru whispered, Todd, now a werewolf, lunged with the axe raised.

Subaru thrust a piece of rubble up, lifted by the black arm extending from his chest, intercepting Todd before the axe could reach him.

“—!”

Yet, even without an axe, the new Todd wielded other weapons—his fangs.

Having employed the ‘Invisible Hand’ to defend against the axe, he could not rely on his powers to stave off those fangs.

Instead, Subaru gripped the knife embedded in his foot with both hands.

“Guh, ggaahh!!”

Screaming through the unbearable agony, Subaru wedged the knife into the gaps between Todd’s snapping jaws.

The closing razor-sharp fangs were halted by the knife, and as Subaru was pushed down again, drool spilled from the werewolf’s mouth onto Subaru’s face as he struggled.

“—Gah!”

“Aaahhh!!”

He was overwhelming pushed back, Todd’s fangs loomed dangerously close to Subaru’s throat.

Desperately resisting, Subaru screamed through the pain.

“I won’t… I won’t kill you…!”

On the brink of being killed, just as Todd’s fangs neared to shred his throat.

Even if he were cleaved in twain and cast back into the depths of this fight.

Subaru, caught in an unknown grievance, cursed and resented that very Todd—

In that split second.

“—That’s enough.”

A sudden voice rang out, clawing at Subaru’s very soul.

The beastly breath, accompanied by rough tremors throughout the trembling Imperial Capital, echoed amidst the chaotic tumult.

Yet that voice prevailed over all the other sounds.

As if Natsuki Subaru’s existence resonated perfectly in tune with it.

“Goo—”

Instantly, Todd’s physique nearly crushing Subaru was thrust sideways by a colossal impact.

“—!”

Before him, the form of Todd transformed into a werewolf was flung aside. What entered Subaru’s view was a shower of twinkling ice shards, which amassed from a hammer made of ice.

An enormous ice hammer slammed into Todd with all its power, propelling him away.

And as that ice hammer was swung aside, a stunningly beautiful girl with flowing silver hair appeared, clad in a white robe—

“—Emilia.”

The name struck Subaru like lightning, involuntarily escaping his lips.

The girl turned her gaze. Her sparkling indigo eyes met Subaru’s solitary black gaze. Caught in the beauty of her eyes, Subaru gasped for breath—

“There, kid! Over here!”

“Huh?”

Just when he seemed to forget to breathe, a white finger shot toward him with unexpected strength, pulling him in without a moment’s hesitation. The blood-soaked and mud-caked Subaru was effortlessly scooped up, and Emilia, bending her knees, with a call of “Ya!”

Jumped toward a nearby building, propelling herself higher as she kicked off the wall. Coming to a landing on the building’s rooftop, she cradled Subaru, who was wide-eyed, exclaiming, “Huh? Huh? Huh?” although comprehension was slow to catch up.

From above, he witnessed Emilia, who had securely landed, with raging torrents rushing underneath where she had just stood, threatening to swallow everything.

“That was dangerous… you were almost washed away just now.”

As Emilia breathed a sigh of relief, stroking her chest.

Her response conveyed little urgency or horror, yet the despair of the pulverized flour mill and the will of zombies being dragged through the streets was breathtaking.

Had she hesitated even a moment longer, Subaru would have shared the same fate as Emilia described—he would have been consumed by that deluge without any hope for escape—

“—What about him!?”

Todd, who was blasted aside by Emilia just before he could devour Subaru.

If left too late, would he, too, be swept away in the tides? Surely, he would find no salvation against that torrent’s velocity.

Forgetting the pain in his legs, Subaru hastily searched for Todd’s form amid the tumultuous streets of the Imperial Capital. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted Todd to be found or not; he just had no answer.

“Hold on! Calm down! Who are you searching for—ah! Wait a moment, you’re badly hurt! We need to treat that right away…”

Desperate to focus, Emilia noticed the injury on Subaru’s leg. She intended to set Subaru down but quickly seated him on the rooftop edge.

“Just a second! I need to find someone who can use healing magic…”

“There’s no time for that! If you leave it, you…”

“You need to take care of your own leg first—”

Emilia tried to reason with Subaru, her brow furrowing as he obstinately attempted to rise. However, her admonishing remarks were left unspoken.

Her large indigo eyes widened, reflecting something behind her.

From behind Subaru, a werewolf surfaced through the splashes of water, jaws agape as it lunged for Subaru’s neck.

“——”

Be it getting crushed beneath teeth or dragged underwater, either way, in that fleeting moment, neither Emilia nor Subaru could reach out in time.

Todd’s fervor overrode the raging water, desperately seeking to feel Subaru’s flesh between his fangs.

Instantly—

“—That person!”

A resounding slam sounded, thudding against the rooftop.

In stepped a girl with pale blue eyes ignited in rage.

“Don’t touch him—!!”

In a simultaneous roar, she hurled a tremendous axe, wielding it with all her might.

The very axe that Subaru had deflected, was now back in the possession of its original wielder.

“—Get—”

With a deep plunge into Todd’s already lodged axe wound, the second strike pierced even deeper. An overwhelming impact rolled through the werewolf, hurling his massive form straight into the surging current.

With a tremendous sound and a splash, Todd Fang was finally plunged into the depths below.

“Hah, hah, hah…”

Panting heavily, the girl who had wielded the axe embraced Subaru, who rested against her bosom. She dropped the axe from her trembling hand into the water while kneeling there.

Thus, as her pale blue eyes locked directly with Subaru’s black gaze—

“It seems you’re all right.”

“…I’m not okay, though.”

Emilia, now with her eyes softening in relief, responded hesitantly to Subaru.

He turned his head to look behind, scanning for Todd, now submerged beneath the waters thanks to Emilia’s blow. —And there was nothing found. This time, he knew for certain there was no way Todd would return. Even if he was found, it would be the end for him.

“—!”

A surge of regret and bitterness welled up within Subaru’s chest, hand pressed against it.

He had never understood Todd even once. Not what he wished to convey, nor what Todd thought was unnecessary to share—none of it.

That fact stung. It was an unbearable bitterness that gnawed at him.

Holding in that insurmountable frustration—

“Rem! Thank goodness. Heal this one’s wounds, please! I… need to get Subaru…”

“Wait! It’s him! He’s the one claiming to be Natsuki Subaru…!”

“Wha!? This is Subaru!? He’s adorable, though…?”

As strength drained from Subaru atop the rooftop edge, the two who had saved him—Emilia and Rem—began chattering about him.

As he watched the two exchange words in front of him, he thought to himself, how long has it been since he witnessed something like this?

“Todd, you big fool….”

With one last plea of frustration and a sense of defeat, Subaru’s consciousness abruptly severed.