Chapter 45: Oh, the blue-haired miss is pretty good at fighting.
[[ "That's too greedy. It might cause children who could have been saved to be lost."
After Petra told Subaru that she and a child (Meili) were stranded deep in the forest, Subaru planned to rescue them.
But Rem stopped Subaru.
"To maintain the children's stamina, Rem's power is needed. Probably... the village's youth group will catch up with us soon. Then you can hand the children over to them and come find me."
"The enemy's combat strength cannot be estimated, and it's unknown when the villagers will be able to meet up. In the worst case, Rem might not be able to find Subaru!"
"It's okay, you won't lose me."
"What basis do you have..."
"Even if others can't detect it, you alone can perceive my scent. Perceive the stench on me, the lingering scent of a sinner? Right?"
"Subaru... how much do you actually know?"
"Who knows, there's too much I don't know."
Then, Subaru and Rem made a pact and made a promise.
Subaru advanced into the depths of the forest. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Uh... at this time, Miss Rem might not have a very clear understanding of Natsuki-san's strength?"
Although Natsuki-san should be indicating that he's just here to buy time, even buying time is fatal for Natsuki-san.
If he dies, wouldn't all previous efforts be wasted?
Miss Rem should know Subaru's powerlessness at this time, but not how powerless he is, thinking that buying time is still achievable.
Otto couldn't help but think.
"Sigh, even though Little Bro is saying it with such a calm face, he's actually hiding a lot of pain and bitterness."
Felt said.
Subaru calmly stated the fact that Rem could smell the witch's scent, and this was a judgment he came to after experiencing a lot of pain.
—
[[ "If it's just that puppy from daytime who cast the spell on the kids, I wouldn't lose."
Returning to the screen, Subaru found Meili lying on the ground while talking to himself.
And then—
Many canine-type magical beasts appeared.
Their name is "Wolgarms." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"There are so many... with Subaru's combat strength, this is a bit... no, it's very troublesome."
Julius frowned.
"Natsuki-san has a constitution that attracts magical beasts... is it because of the witch's lingering scent?"
Otto asked.
And Beatrice responded with a nod.
"Subaru..."
Reinhardt gently touched the Dragon Sword with his hand, sighing because he couldn't protect his friend.
"Then what should Subaru do now..."
Emilia became worried.
"It's okay. Next, Rem..."
—
[[ Before Rem could finish speaking, Rem rushed over.
She smashed the head of a magical beast that was about to bite Subaru with a morning star.
"The children have safely returned to the village—thank you for buying time."
Then, Rem fought against the group of attacking magical beasts while covering Subaru's escape. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Oh, the blue-haired miss is pretty good at fighting."
Al praised Rem.
"But... isn't this number a bit too much?"
Ram said with heartache.
At the beginning, Rem handled it with ease, but as the number of magical beasts increased, she began to suffer major and minor injuries.
But no matter what, Rem's strength really surprised Ram. Although Subaru had said that Rem was strong, she didn't have a real sense of it because she didn't have memories. But now she has indeed witnessed it.
"And then next is..."
Rem frowned and lowered her head.
Next is a scene that Rem almost regretted for the rest of her life.
—
[[ "Rem! I see a light! It's the village... we're almost at the barrier... Rem?!"
Facing the impact of the mudslide, Rem pushed Subaru away.
Rem fell heavily to the ground because of the mudslide. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Rem!"
Ram shouted outside the screen.
Just a few more steps and they would have succeeded, Ram thought they had already won, but she didn't expect this sudden turn of events.
Rem's heavy fall made Ram feel very distressed, and she was extremely worried about Rem.
And yet...
"Transformed."
The feeling changed.
Wilhelm said softly.
"This is..."
Ram noticed the change in Rem on the screen.
As a member of the Oni race, she understood what this meant—
—
[[ "...Is an Oni." Subaru was very shocked to discover that Rem's wounds were healing at an extremely fast rate.
She stood up, and a white horn grew out of her forehead.
"Ah ha, hahaha... hahahahaha! Magical beasts! Magical beasts! Magical beasts—Witch!"
Rem had a crazy look on her face, and she frantically struck the surrounding canine magical beasts.
Everyone could intuitively feel that Rem had lost her mind and her combat strength had skyrocketed. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"This... this... this... so cool! This white horn! When I get the chance, I must compete with Rem!"
Garfiel exclaimed.
And in this aspect, it's a bit like this Great Me, losing reason in exchange for becoming stronger.
"The Oni race's... Oni transformation, huh... it's truly better to see it once than to hear about it a hundred times."
Anastasia didn't let go of this moment, wanting to take in this scene as much as possible.
Because the Oni race is on the verge of extinction, it is already extremely difficult to see an Oni, let alone see an Oni transformation.
Most people stared at this rare scene with curiosity.
—
[[ But no matter what, Rem was still outnumbered.
At this time, a group of magical beasts aimed at Rem's back...
"...Ugh!"
Subaru pushed Rem away.
At this moment, the attention of those magical beasts was focused on Subaru.
And Rem regained her senses because of this push and canceled the Oni transformation. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"This..."
Julius felt heartache for the scene before him and showed respect.
—
[[ "...Aaaaaah!" The magical beasts tore at Subaru.
His stomach was torn open, and blood and internal organs flowed out...
The screen gradually darkened, presumably, Subaru's consciousness was gradually disappearing.
The screen completely darkened.]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Subaru!"
Unable to see the screen, only Rem's cries could be heard.
"Sigh, fortunately, this is a loop to break the situation; it would be too bad if he died here."
Felt sighed.
"Why do you always stop Mimi from watching! Say something, Garf! Hey—"
"Ugh... uh! Why do you always twist This Great Me's ears!"
"Who told Garf to always block Mimi's eyes?"
Garfiel had just blocked Mimi's vision because of the bloody scene, and then he was stunned by Rem's sorrowful cries.
"Subaru... really, I was so worried when I found out."
Emilia said.
"Lia guarded Subaru for a whole night back then."
Puck said.
It was this scene that made Rem extremely guilty at the time.
Because there was clearly still a chance to save Subaru-kun at the time, but Rem hesitated because of the scent on Subaru-kun...
Which led to Subaru-kun being torn apart by the magical beasts, hanging by a thread—
—
[[ Then, some blurry sounds rang out on the screen again—
"...Other methods?"
"...Yeah. Then do as you please."
"...I will definitely save you."
This time, it wasn't Subaru saying these words to someone else.
But the first time someone said these words to Subaru. ]]