His throat trembled, and a roar echoed through the dark forest.
It was just a meaningless explosion of sounds, neither "a" nor "o," which made no sense.
Even though it was coming from his own throat, even Subaru could not find any reason or meaning in the action.
The red dots of light rushed towards me all at once.
As it got closer, the outline of it gradually became clearer, and it became clear that it was a jet-black beast, baring its fangs and charging at us.
There is no time to be aware of the trembling of your legs, the fear in your heart, or the screams of your soul.
However, what dominated Subaru's mind at that moment was not his feelings towards the overwhelming embodiment of "death" that was approaching before his eyes, but only the safety of the girl lying right behind him.
Widening his stance, he stretched out both arms, shielding himself from the beast's claws and fangs, preventing them from reaching behind him. He didn't do it consciously. It was simply his body's reaction of moving on its own.
If he had been the kind of person who would have simply backed off in recognition of his goodwill, he might have been saved. However, the reality before his eyes was merciless, and such sentimentality was meaningless in the face of the wild, animalistic lust.
--It's over. I've come this far, and finally, the whole picture is coming into view.
I don't have enough strength again. I can't reach it again.
No matter how much he tried to resist giving in, Subaru's pure lack of strength took away his options. Was this situation just the same?
"--------!!"
He roars, refusing to accept giving up.
That was the only thing he could muster, not to be defeated by any of the points of light in front of him. It was literally a bluff, a scare tactic -- his fangs bit into his throat,
--Before my very eyes, I saw the beast's head explode like fruit.
Blood splatters everywhere as the beating takes place at close range, and Subaru, who is directly in front of him, is also covered in the blood from his head. Immediately afterwards, the headless body crashes into Subaru, but with the same momentum. He is blown backwards and rolls, and Subaru stands up, shaking his head in pain and the unpleasant sensation of blood.
What on earth is this――?
"I'm late, but I'm glad I made it in time."
The blue-haired girl gracefully fluttered the hem of her skirt, lightly clutching her white apron dress in one hand, and holding a fiendish iron ball in the other, descended into the abyss.
Turning her body, she took gentle steps, the sound of the chains clanging,
"I thought the talk was about just buying time?"
「I did my best! I bought a lot of time! I went in as if I didn't care if I ended up defeating him! This is the result, thank you so much!」
As Rem chained the morning star's high-pitched sounds together, Subaru literally prostrated himself in thanks.
Glancing at that reaction, Rem slowly turned her gaze to the herd of magic beasts in front of her, licking their lips as they watched the new prey arrive.
They had been so belligerent towards Subaru alone, but now that a small girl had joined their ranks, they had switched sides to caution. They certainly did not take lightly the fact that one of their flock had been slaughtered in an instant.
As I had learned from my previous exchange with one of them, despite their beastly appearance, they are quite strong and cunning.
"Rem..."
He called out to the man as he stood there with his legs apart, urging him to be on his guard.
Subaru's voice had lowered slightly in tone, and Rem didn't turn around, but simply let out a sigh,
"I chased after Subaru-kun's awful body odor, then rushed over to hear his strange voice, which didn't seem to care about the attention of others, and this is what I found. This isn't a good state of affairs."
"The terrible body odor is a bit depressing. Also, I don't know if I was aware of it, but I'd like to know more about what I was shouting just now."
"If you feel like it, Rem. And if they'll allow it, I'd be happy to tell you all the details."
Pointing forward with her iron handle, Rem's eyes lit up with a menacing gleam. While Subaru felt his blood boil, the beasts receiving her hostility seemed not to be calm. They silently glared at him, but their eyes clearly showed signs of combat and a rush to destroy.
"Because that seems impossible."
"--Rem!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Subaru instinctively called out Rem's name in a shriek-like voice.
Suddenly, two demonic beasts broke out in front of her, one on each side, and started to attack. Just as they were just a few steps away from her, the two beasts, which had been running side by side, simultaneously split into two groups.
If Subaru had been facing him, he would have been unable to keep up with what to do and would have been torn apart by his poisonous fangs in an instant.
However,
"---Shh!"
His right arm gripped the iron handle and swung it roughly as if he was waving away an insect. The chain attached to the handle swung along with it, and the iron ball connected to the chain followed suit.
The destructive weapon, which should have been sluggish, spun with incredible force, sweeping away everything in its path as the arm swung, and struck the body of a demonic beast in its path, blowing it in half. Bones and organs were scattered everywhere, and it quickly turned into fertilizer for the forest without anyone knowing.
And with its partner killed in an instant, the other half poured all of its rage into its fangs, delivering a sharp blow to the left side of Rem's body - just before that, its left fist struck the beast's nose from above. The force of the punch caved in its skull, and it was hit so hard that its head was buried in the ground, killing it instantly.
It was a brilliant move, but the brutality of it all was far from brilliant.
Words of praise were a distant memory; Subaru's eyes widened at the massacre that had taken place before his eyes, and he could do nothing but stand in shock.
He thought he knew firsthand the destructive power of Rem. But it becomes clear that this was only a "thinking."
"T-That's strongeeeeeee!!"
"I don't think that's appropriate to say to a woman, Subaru-kun."
"I have a limited vocabulary, so these are the only words I can think of to describe the situation. You're really amazing."
Subaru was surprised at how reliable Rem was, and he bounced back to his original position.
Subaru crawls back and checks on the fallen girl. Even though she is in a desperate situation, and her life is currently in danger, the sleeping girl continues to sleep soundly, unaware of it.
"Oh my, what a carefree and optimistic kid. I'm sure he'll grow up to be a lively and tenacious child!"
Admiring the stately sleep, I used my aching arms to pick up the small body. I held her up carefully so as not to drop her light weight.
"Rem, can you actually aim for annihilation all by yourself?!"
"We are outnumbered and in a desperate situation."
"That's true. Well then..."
With the girl in his arms he moved next to Rem.
The movements of the beasts, who had recently lost two members of their pack, were sluggish. They kept low as if waiting to see what to do, and although their threatening gazes flashed, they had no opportunity to take action. If they had relied on their numbers to launch an infiltration operation, Subaru and the others, who were outnumbered, would not have stood a chance.
However, they confused caution with cowardice and made the wrong choice.
Therefore, Subaru and Rem had their eyes on the same spot at almost the same time,
"There!"
Subaru's shout was met with a strike from Rem.
The roar of the iron ball pierced the air, cheering the slaughter. It hit its target, and just before the spot where the swarm of magic beasts was concentrated, the ground exploded - lumps of earth and dust flew up, and a waterfall of sand blocked the vision of the retreating magic beasts for several seconds.
"now--!"
At Rem's next cry, Subaru's body was kicked away and he took off running.
The next step was to break through the crowded area, the encirclement having been broken open by that single shot.
As Subaru leaps into the gap, the beast that had given way to him roars. Roaring, the beast leaps again to block Subaru's path, but...
"--Whoa, what a traumatic sound!!"
The light sound of the chains gently caressed my ears as I ran past.
A shudder runs down Subaru's spine as the refrain from the past repeats. Right next to him, a welcome from the iron ball explodes, and a single flower of blood blooms in the night forest.
Leaving fresh blood behind, he stepped on an uncertain footing and ran into the forest, exposed to immense hostility. He leapt over tree roots, his cheeks hit by branches,
"Rem, I don't know the way!"
"Go straight ahead. The battle will be over once we break through the barrier. Until then, don't lose your way!"
Even if I'm told to go straight, I can't see straight ahead.
He had never imagined that the darkness, in which he could only see a little way ahead, would make his sense of direction so troubling. Even though he tried to find his way forward, the weight of the girl was blocking his arms.
Naturally, Subaru had no choice but to curl up and run while keeping the damage to the girl to a minimum, keeping his eye on any obstacles ahead.
I'm out of breath. I wonder if I've lost my way. I wonder if they'll catch up with me. I wonder if they're surrounding me.
The anxiety was endless, and the rising fear was steadily chipping away at Subaru's spirit.
His left arm was numb, and the blood was continuing to drip through the fabric of his jacket; the droplets on the blood gave him the illusion of leaving a trail for his pursuers.
Run, run, keep running away.
The same scenery continues, and I feel as if I haven't moved a single step forward. This isn't true, but my sense of impatience only intensifies the feeling.
And so, whenever a complaint grew in my heart and I felt like I was going to give way at the knees,
--Behind him, the sound of undulating chains spurred Subaru on.
Every time he heard that sound, Subaru gritted his teeth and looked straight ahead.
It was thanks to Rem that he was able to run like this. It was because she had been eliminating external enemies and continuing to protect Subaru's back that he was able to live in shame like this.
Since I had already exposed this much, I might as well throw away my reputation and show my shameful struggle for survival.
"Oh, shit! My side hurts!"
He yells in frustration, encouraging himself and taking action.
Forward, forward――!
And suddenly, darkness opened up before Subaru's very eyes.
My field of vision widened, and I involuntarily squinted my eyes at the suddenness of it all, before my eyes I saw artificial lights off in the distance.
"Rem! Light! People are... reaching the barrier!"
Subaru turns his head back in joy at the literal appearance of a ray of light.
However, Subaru immediately found himself staring at it.
The sight of Rem fighting from behind, protecting Subaru's back, was simply too heroic.
Her well-starched maid uniform was riddled with lacerations, either from claws or fangs, her bare white skin bore numerous cuts, her once vibrant blue hair was now a complete mess, and there was so much blood splattered all over her head that it was impossible to tell its original color.
"Rem――!"
"Please run! ... While Rem, Rem, is still able to be Rem!"
Subaru's worried voice was cut short by strong words from behind him.
I couldn't accept it. However, the shout made me shake off my doubts and I ran towards the barrier.
Putting all sentimentality aside, all that remained was for him to just get through the barrier, and then――,
"What...?"
But just as he had resolved to do so, an unexpected sight instantly thwarted his resolve.
Subaru was taken aback, his gaze turning to the glow of the crystal that controlled the barrier, right next to the great tree in which it was buried. His gaze was low, almost parallel to the ground. In that place, crouched a tiny, tiny shadow.
As he got closer, and its outline became clearer, Subaru's eyes widened.
It was a tiny thing. Its body was small enough that you could wrap your arms around it, and its fur was soft like down, but I knew it couldn't be compared to anything larger.
--It was the puppy-like demonic beast that had led Subaru to the village.
"If you don't see me then... but you know what, even I could kick the hell out of you!"
If the intention is to block passage, there is clearly not enough weight.
If this is intended to be the final obstacle in this escape, then I have to say it is a shallow idea.
Subaru's thoughts are as follows:
"That's a lie..."
An enormous landslide unfolded before my eyes, and I was swept away by it, obscuring everything I could see.
The scene made him realize that it was him who had had such foolish thoughts.
The world slowly becomes more gradual. Subaru knows from experience that this is a reprieve, given that his life was in danger.
In a world where everything moves so slowly, I have belatedly realized something.
Before entering the forest, Rem had told Subaru:
--Demonic beasts are external enemies of mankind that possess magical powers.
It's not that he can use curses, but that he has magical powers. Doesn't that also mean that he can use magic?
"Ohhhhh――!!"
He put his foot sideways, trying to brake his momentum. But it was no use. His body lurched, losing its balance, and the mudslide was already approaching right in front of his eyes. There was no way to avoid it. And if he was swallowed by the current, the orgy of sand and stone would tear him to pieces in an instant.
It's all over.
The moment that thought occurred to him, Subaru prepared to at least throw the girl in his arms to the side-- but the impact came from the side and he was blown away, taking trees with him.
"O-gaaaahh!?"
She was hit in the right side of her abdomen, and the force of the blow made her scream and send her flying, nearly causing her internal organs to spill out. In a state of gravity-defying excitement as she felt herself going up, down, left and right, she curled up in a ball just to protect the girl, but then her back crashed into a thick tree trunk, and she fell to the ground, losing her breath.
"Gahah, ahh, ahh... it hurts...!"
Groaning in pain, he raised his head, rubbing his stomach where he had been hit.
He then saw Rem being hit directly by the landslide and thrown high into the trees.
Rem's small body danced as lightly as a leaf in the rough welcome of the earth and rocks. Her appearance, now splattered with blood, was clearly different from her previous appearance, covered in blood, and even an untrained eye could tell that she had sustained some serious damage.
Unable to even catch herself, Rem's body fell spectacularly to the ground. The only good thing was that the earth that had been plowed by the mudslide didn't crush the girl's head as she fell.
If things had come to this, even Subaru, who was not good at reading things, would be able to comprehend the situation.
As Subaru stiffened before the landslide, Rem sacrificed the time she had spent dodging it to push him away, and ended up taking the brunt of the impact.
Of course, there was no way Subaru could have withstood the force of the blow, but if it meant Rem was sacrificed, then there was no point.
"Rem, you idiot! You're like this...I'm like this...!"
"For what purpose?" the moment he shouted that, a chill went down Subaru's spine.
They probably all felt the same. The demonic beast that had unleashed the mudslide, and the pack of pursuers that had caught up with it, all stopped moving at once.
I had a premonition. I was certain. There was only a dense presence of "death" in the air.
--Slowly, Rem's fallen body rose to its feet.
Even though she had received such a spectacular attack, there was no sign of injury when she stood up. On the contrary, the wounds that should have been received healed in an instant. Her incredible recovery ability caused her to generate a high fever, and even her blood evaporated, creating a red mist.
And then he saw, Subaru saw.
Rem glared around, her eyes losing all rationality.
Her face, covered in blood, was twisted into an ecstatic smile, and above all - her hair ornament had come off and white horns were sprouting from her head.
"Ahahaha――"
Laughter. It was like a little girl's laughter, overflowing with raw cruelty.
Turning her body, Rem's body, riding the wind, charged towards the group. Before the lead demonic beast, who had stopped moving, could react, its nape was crushed by Rem's heel. The demonic beast's throat was crushed from above, and it died. Rem kicked the beast with all her might, keeping the other demonic beasts waiting behind in check. Starting with those that had stopped moving, she folded the morning star she held into her iron handle and slammed it down, slamming it down again and again, mass-producing bloody flowers and corpses one after another.
"Demon, demon, demon - witch!!"
What's most frightening is that Rem, whose eyes have lost their rationality, has not lost her sanity.
Even as she surrendered to her gushing animal instincts, she didn't lose sight of the situation. With her overwhelming power, she was spitting out some kind of karma that had been smoldering inside her.
Blood spurts, skulls collapse, and intestines and brain matter are scattered wildly across the forest.
Dropping to his knees, Subaru forgot about the pain and gazed upon the spectacle.
He didn't have the courage to speak up right now. If he did, if he were to enter the consciousness of the raging Rem, he couldn't help but feel like he would be killed, even though it shouldn't be.
Or perhaps, that wasn't a misunderstanding. Rem just now seemed so out of touch with reality.
His appearance, covered in blood and laughing wildly through the forest, was truly bizarre.
"--A demon."
No matter how much blood it gets splashed on, its white horns never get dirty.
The sharp tip glows on the top of her head, as if loudly proclaiming its presence.
Subaru is consumed by the situation.
But unlike Subaru, who was unable to move, the beasts were not going to just sit around and wait to be slaughtered. The ones that had escaped from their paralysis surrounded Rem one by one, and while the number of corpses piled up with each blow, they slowly began to sink their claws and fangs into her body.
They were outnumbered to begin with. The number of monsters that had originally joined the pack had increased by an immeasurable amount as they moved through the forest. The first few in the pack should have been crushed by now, but red dots of light continued to appear in the dark night without interruption.
"No matter how powerful your mode is, there's no way you can last forever against an infinitely spawning opponent..."
The situation is changing rapidly, but the bottom line remains the same, and Subaru and his friends are at a disadvantage.
Understanding this objectively, Subaru stopped speaking once again as he sensed his magical powers rising.
Mana's focus is once again on the puppy.
All the mana in the air was gathering there, distorting her vision. She must have sensed the vortex of magical power. Rem turned around to deal with the threat, readying the sword she had just used to dig into the beast's innards and heading towards the puppy - but...
--Not missing the opportunity as he tried to run away, the swarm of magic beasts all jumped on his back at once.
「――――!!」
Even Rem, who was in a state of complete panic, seemed overwhelmed by the situation, which was beyond her understanding.
Emotion returned to her eyes, where rationality had been lost, and the murderous, blood-stained smile suddenly crumbled, revealing the face of a girl overcome with grief.
--Ah, so she could make a face like that, he thought to himself.
"--GAHHHHH!!!"
Subaru's throat nearly bursts as he screams in excruciating pain from his bitten left arm.
Immediately afterwards, I felt fangs dig into my right leg, my left side, and my back at the same time. My vision turned bright red. I no longer felt the pain. My ankle was crushed. A huge chunk of flesh from my side was taken away. Blood, flesh, leaking out. Spilling out. What a waste. Flesh and blood.
"Subaru-kun――!!"
A scream-like sound can be heard.
Even if I tried to raise my face towards the sound, I couldn't move my body freely. I lost my balance. The ankle on the other side of the one that was crushed was also torn in half, which was just the right amount of injury. I collapsed to the ground. Right in front of me, a mouth filled with fangs was approaching. Fangs closing in on my throat. It was crushed between the iron ball and the ground right in front of my eyes. Blood splattered. Was it my own blood, or something?
My consciousness fades away. I don't know what will happen when it disappears.
Life is spilling out. I think to myself that I did something stupid. When there is no point in trying again, I get too hung up on it and it ends up being the opposite of what we should do.
Pain, suffering, far away, can't see, can't hear, life is wasted.
Life spills out of his holed side like sand in an hourglass.
Disappearing, ending, everything - me.
"Don't die, don't die, don't die--!"
A voice that sounds like crying.
cry.
I am――