Death
Subaru glared with fierce eyes at the black spectral hand toying with his heart.
He held his breath, prepared himself mentally, and silently waited for the moment the pain would come.
However, the hand made no further move.
Precisely because it could strike at any time, it chose to do nothing.
In this world where time had come to a standstill, initiating a war of attrition would only lead to a battle lasting until one's spirit was completely exhausted.
Even if Subaru's determination was now unbreakable, the time would eventually come when he'd show a crack in his resolve, be consumed by fear, and finally surrender.
—If that's what you're thinking, then let me tell you, you're far too naive.
No matter if it takes hours, days, or months—I'll endure the pain.
I haven't died all those times for nothing.
As long as I don't die, no matter when the pain comes, or how much it hurts, I'll absolutely bear through it and show you.
That was Subaru's resolve—
"Ah?"
Subaru let out a puzzled voice, as the frozen world before him suddenly began to regain color.
The pain that should have arrived only showed a precursor and then vanished—disappearing somewhere nonexistent in this world.
In front of Subaru, who had been left behind with his resolve, sound, color, and time began to return.
Breath, heartbeat, the sound of the world turning—filled Subaru's surroundings, as if affirming his determination, and the world resumed its motion.
'Did the hand perhaps sense my unwavering resolve and realize its actions were pointless, so it withdrew?'
Subaru uncertainly placed his hand over his chest, where the sensation of the black misty right hand gently grasping his heart still lingered.
If it had squeezed in that moment, Subaru would have—
At that thought, a sudden doubt emerged in Subaru's mind.
He could still clearly feel the ominous right hand touching his heart. But what had happened to the left hand in that time? At first, it had stroked his cheek. So where had it gone after that?
Before he could answer that question, Reinhild across from him seemed to mutter something.
The voice brought Subaru back to himself.
He recalled the words he had tried to speak before time had stopped.
Although it was unsettling to be released from the nightmare without consequence, if he could avoid paying the price for breaking the taboo, there was nothing better than that.
He would reveal everything to Reinhild, share the memories of the four loops with her, and together obtain that beautiful future he had seen in his dreams—a world Subaru wished for from the bottom of his heart, and that everyone else surely wished for too.
His resolve, born for that purpose, was finally bearing fruit—
Thud~~
Just as Subaru opened his mouth again, Reinhild's body suddenly slumped forward onto the table.
"Ah?!!"
Without thinking, Subaru stood up and ran to Reinhild's side.
The body his palm touched was still warm, but he couldn't feel a heartbeat.
Subaru held his breath.
Drip drip...
"—Rei…" Drip drip drip drip Drip...
"—Reinhild?"
From Reinhild's mouth, blood began to pour out in large volumes.
—During the time the right hand was gripping Subaru's heart, where had the left hand gone?
Looking at Reinhild, vomiting blood nonstop, the large quantity of blood dyed most of the dining table red, and in that moment, Subaru understood everything.
"No...hey, wait, what...?"
Trying to stop the bleeding, he tried to lift the girl's head, but panicked, he instead let Reinhild fall to the floor, locking eyes with her now lifeless pupils.
And then Subaru fully understood.
—The spectral hand, right in front of his eyes, had taken Reinhild's life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
A scream echoed. It was a scream so intense it nearly tore his throat.
Subaru, trembling, embraced Reinhild.
The girl's limp body grew lighter and lighter.
The blood gushed out without end.
Subaru's body was soaked in her blood, dyed red again and again.
While the right hand was touching Subaru's heart, the left hand had grasped Reinhild's heart.
Subaru's resolve, his determination, his actions, his past, his future—they were all being mocked, trampled, and finally shattered.
His unbreakable resolve, his determination that he had just vowed would not be broken, was smashed to pieces. And Natsuki Subaru fell into the abyss of despair.
—It was him. He had killed Reinhild.
Just thinking that—
"Subaru, I'm okay."
In the moment his spirit was about to collapse, the blood of the girl in his arms ignited like flames, and the next moment, she smiled at the Subaru who held her.
"Rei—Reinhild?!"
Subaru let out a scream of disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me. But still, that really…"
Countless black hands suddenly erupted from Subaru's body and struck Reinhild.
But they were blocked by the sheath of the Dragon Sword.
The next moment, Reinhild was blown out of the room.
"Everyone, evacuate immediately!"
Subaru felt her voice echoed through the entire Astrea mansion.
The next moment, Leander, Winston, Bernie, and other elite fighters of the mansion appeared before Subaru. Their enemy—over a hundred massive black spectral hands emerging from Subaru's body.
The black hands in front of Subaru began attacking everything around them.
They were incomparably hard; even the elite guard's sharp weapons couldn't leave a scratch.
They had monstrous strength—Subaru saw a guard's arm explode upon impact.
A thrown stone by one of the hands created a great roar as it vanished into the horizon.
They had regenerative abilities—Subaru saw a hand Leander had severed reform nearby as a mist. And worst of all—it seemed only Subaru could see them.
"What the hell is this?!"
Seeing several guards gravely injured in just the first exchange, Subaru roared.
"Leander, you're in charge of my support. Everyone else, evacuate!"
Reinhild issued the command.
The large number of guards slowly began withdrawing from the battlefield.
The spectral hands, whose target was Reinhild, ignored them. And so began the battle between the girl and over a hundred hands.
Faced with a swarm of immortal monsters, the red-haired girl held the upper hand.
Her sword struck the ground, raising dust, and she danced a terrifying yet elegant sword dance within the net woven by the hands.
Over a hundred spectral hands attacked furiously—but not one could touch even the hem of her clothes.
Even though Leander's full-force strikes couldn't destroy a hand, the Sword Saint's sword could slice through them like tofu.
Whenever a hand got too far away, Reinhild's sword would completely disperse it.
Then the hands began to use Yin magic: space cutting, time distortion, visual obfuscation, gravity control.
But no matter what kind of magic or interference, nothing could stop Reinhild's advance, nor withstand her slashes. With a speed that created over thirty afterimages, she engaged in fierce battle with the hands—more accurately, a siege. She continued to push through the spectral hands, step by step, toward Subaru.
The siege lasted ten minutes.
Each time the girl's iron sword broke, Leander would throw her a new one from far away.
She switched out swords many times.
Her clothes were torn and ragged.
But her body remained unharmed—or rather, healed at an inhuman pace. Finally, one of the hands failed to regenerate from mist.
Even Subaru understood the tide had turned.
Even without using the Dragon Sword to protect herself, the mansion had enough weapons to slash the remaining 148 hands into mist.
And indeed, after the first unregenerable hand appeared, the second followed shortly. Soon, most of the hands could no longer regenerate.
And with most of the hands gone, Reinhild began to stride confidently toward Subaru.
"I'm here to save you. But after this, you better explain Return by Death properly."
Drip drip drip drip...
"You're seriously too damn cool…"
Subaru reached out his hand—but couldn't grasp hers.
He felt his body lurch forward. He couldn't speak. He could only watch as she rushed to catch him. And just as she caught him—Subaru coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He clearly saw it: A barely formed, half-dissolved black hand. The left hand. The 150th hand. Its end was lodged in the girl's chest.
"So this is the last one."
The girl's face showed no pain—only a smile.
With a hand blade turned into the sharpest sword, she severed the connection between Subaru and the black hand.
"Why? Why... to save me—"
Subaru instinctively caught the collapsing Reinhild. Looking at the girl in his arms, he cried out.
"Don't be sad. It's okay. It's just a little death."
Though she spoke lightly, it couldn't fool Subaru—who knew how painful death was, who knew how excruciating it was to have your heart crushed.
Looking at the weakened girl in his arms, even if he understood her feelings, Subaru couldn't smile.
He gripped her hand and cried.
"I'm not worth it."
"Don't belittle yourself, Subaru."
Her hand that stroked Subaru's face fell to the ground.
But her blood once again ignited a flame of hope. Then, the girl opened her eyes.
"Damn it, damn it, I love you…"
Subaru thought he heard a voice full of regret from the girl. He didn't care. Right now, he just wanted to talk to Reinhild.
But as he opened his mouth, a massive amount of blood poured out, along with his own organs. Subaru realized—he was going to die.
"This is... I'm sorry, Subaru, I did it again..."
—Ah, such a sad expression doesn't suit you.
With his last bit of strength, Subaru wiped the blood from the girl's face.
Then, his hand fell to the ground.