Dead.
Rem had been murdered by the cultists.
Her body lay submerged in a pool of her own blood, a knife carved into her back — likely the one that delivered the final blow.
Subaru looked around at the corpses of the cultists. Rem must have given everything before finally succumbing to their superior numbers.
Near her body, a storage cabin caught Subaru's attention.
◇
In the theater room, everyone watched Subaru arrive at the mansion. Their eyes followed his every move, holding their breath. Before he even stepped into the garden, almost everyone braced for the worst.
After seeing what remained of Arlam village, it was possible to guess where this loop was headed. Yet even knowing, even expecting, seeing it unfold was still shocking.
Those in the room wondered.
How can Subaru endure this? How can someone go through this and still try again? Why does he want to save us so badly?
The most affected by what their eyes were grasping was not the one dead on screen. Rather, it was her sister next to her.
Ram's eyes were wide open, as was her mouth too.
She immediately grabbed her sister's hand.
She was there. Rem was right next to her. Her sister was alive.
Her breathing gradually increased. Every step Subaru took towards her sister's corpse, she got more and more heated.
Her grip became stronger... and stronger...
She would never allow her to leave her side.
Never.
Rem would stay with her forever.
"N-Nee-sama-"
The most dearest voice she knew called out to her.
"It hurts."
Rem said as she gritted her teeth. She had been enduring the pain, but her sister's hand appeared to have no intention of lessening.
Should I...? No.
Ram would not let go. If it hurt, she would apologize later. If it broke, she would heal it later. If Rem cried, she would console her later.
"Nee-sama... it hurts... please."
Rem's eyes tried to find her sister's. But Ram wouldn't budge. Her gaze was fixated on the screen, where Rem's corpse lay. All because of her stupidity. If Ram had stopped Rem from leaving her side, this wouldn't have happened.
Ram, and only Ram's fault.
"hk! Nee-sama~"
Rem's pleas were not being heard by her sister.
I mustn't, I can't, it's my fau-
"Ram!"
"guh! Roswaal-sama?"
Roswaal had gently smacked Ram's head. His voice had been the more useful resource to make her snap out of her mind.
Ram turned her head to face him.
Unaware of her sister's cries.
Unaware of her pain.
He looked at her and pointed to the opposite direction, where, on the verge of tears, was-
"Rem!? Why... why are you crying!?"
"It hurts..." said Rem as she bit her lip, still in pain.
"What? What are you--!?" She finally noticed the pressure she was applying with her hand. Her sister's fingers had gone white due to the lack of blood flow.
She quickly separated her hand, almost subconsciously. As their hands parted ways, Rem let out a sigh and began regaining her breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't notice. Why didn't you tell me it hurt?"
Rem's watery eyes took on a shade of confusion.
"I did."
"Huh?"
"It seeeems like you were too absorbed in your mind," added Roswaal.
Ram looked down and silently looked at her hands. As she looked at her hands, the right one was red from gripping Rem's. But in that very moment, that couldn't have been less important to Ram.
Ram's mind was a turmoil, composed of only six words, repeating over and over again.
"Again... I let..."
...her hand go
◇
The storage cabin.
Three knives were nailed around the door.
Subaru opened the door with teary eyes.
"Uugh... uggh..."
More corpses were scattered around the place. Some of them recognizable to Subaru.
He stepped away and vomited.
"No, No, No, No, No, No, No!"
On all fours, he looked at the ground below him. The mix of vomit and dirt was truly repulsive.
"This is wrong."
"This isn't what I wanted... Someone..."
He stood up and tumbled as he walked towards the mansion. While he did, like a broken record, he kept repeating the same word.
"Someone... Someone... Someone... Someone... Someone... Someone... Someone..."
The corridors of the mansion were completely empty, and the rooms as well. No one was seen or heard.
That would be until Subaru reached a certain door.
As he pulled the door, something seemed to pressure it from the other side. That would be-
"Ram..." Ram's corpse, and next to it was another one.
"Petra..."
Her body was facing the floor, so Subaru tried to flip her over. But as he did, he noticed something on her face.
"AAAAGH! UUAAAAGH!"
Her eyes were bleeding.
Whether it was for that reason that he screamed and fell to his back, only he knew.
"No! It's not my fault!"
He saw a hairpin on the floor, covered in blood.
One he recognized.
◇
"Petra-chan... Emilia-sama..." Otto muttered.
Everyone was speechless. No one knew how to react to the loop. Rather, no one but Roswaal was able to properly process the information.
The current loop had seen the deaths of Rem, Ram, everyone in the Arlam village, and Petra.
Beatrice, after seeing the hairpin on the floor of the mansion, turned to check something, already ready to accept reality.
"It is," Emilia said.
"..."
"It is my hairpin."
◇
As Subaru looked for the hairpin's owner, he found more of her daily-use accessories, like the white flower she usually wore.
"Emi... lia..."
His body was trembling.
Next to where the now red flower was, a secret entrance was wide open. By the way he looked at it, it was easy to tell Subaru had never once entered it before.
The corridor was cold. Its walls and ceiling were narrow. It almost felt like it was designed to feel claustrophobic. A stairway descended before him. As he walked them down, the climate became colder.
Next to him started to appear frozen cultists.
Were they dead already? Frozen to death?
Nonetheless, Subaru ignored all of this and kept marching ahead.
At the end of the corridor was a door.
He slowly reached the doorknob...
"Ow!"
As he looked down at his hand, he noticed his fingers had disappeared.
His gaze moved to where he had placed them seconds ago.
They had been frozen in place at the doorknob.
"AAAAGH! AUUUGH! AASSGH!"
As he stepped back, he fell again.
Not because of his clumsiness, but because yet again, it had happened. His leg was frozen in place.
Next to him stood a frozen cultist.
The way they had died was now clear. Subaru gained awareness of it.
The only thing he could do was scream as his body turned to ice.
"You're too late."
His head cracked in two.
Death.
◇
The voice that called out Subaru's lateness. Just who in the world was it? Who had enough power to freeze such an amount of people?
The voice.
It was soft...
...high-pitched...
Just like one they all knew very well.
They all knew, yet no one was able to piece it together.