"I'm… going to… save you."
With his final declaration, Natsuki Subaru drew his last breath while clenching onto Satella's warm hand.
Subaru's consciousness returned to him slowly, and all of his senses begin to register his surroundings. He felt the lingering pain on his gut from the time the attacker hurt him. He felt the cold, hard ground that he had laid on. He felt the hand drained of warmth he was holding onto, a hand that felt all too familiar before he lost consciousness.
Subaru slowly opened his eyes to see a body lying in front of him. A girl with silver hair with pointy ears. Her face was unnaturally pale as well. However, when he looked below her face, there a sight he wished he never saw. Her guts spilled out from her body as dried blood surrounded her.
"AHHHHH!"
Subaru's first instinctive was to scream in horror. The horror of seeing his first crush gutted and dead right in front of him.
The sight of Satella's dead body was enough to make him go on a panic attack as he tried to move Satella's guts back into her body while wrapping a piece of cloth he found nearby to act as a bandage to keep her body together. He didn't mind the blood. He didn't mind the cold touch of Satella's body. The only thing in his mind was to keep her body intact as he did not accept that she died of his mistakes, and he was the only one who survived.
Wait, didn't I get gutted as well?
The thought ended Subaru's panicked state as he checked his own body.
From Subaru's tracksuit, there was a large torn area with dried blooding surrounding it. Beneath the torn area was the place where he became gutted. His wound was closed up without any scars or any signs of damage despite the dried blood around it.
Subaru took a glance where he once fell. There was a pool of dried blood where his gut would have spilled, a pool that rivaled Satella's blood.
I don't understand. I was dead a moment ago. I was wounded, yet I still stand here alive and healed as if nothing hurt me.
Subaru sadly gazed upon Satella's motionless body.
Satella lost consciousness when someone struck her down. She should not be able to heal me, and Puck was sleeping. Who did it?
Subaru knelt beside Satella.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Satella. I didn't have the strength to yell at you to run."
Subaru buried his hands into his face and teared up.
"For the kindness, you have granted me, my mistake of not warning you soon enough lead to your death while I stood standing. I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so useless! I'm sorry for being so undeserving of your kindness! I'm sorry!"
Subaru wept for a while of the death he could have prevented. The sadness of the short happiness he had felt ever since he came to this world was taken away. This incident served as a reminder of a cruel reality that faced him. He was summoned into a parallel world, but this world has its evils he has to face. He realized his powerless nature. Nothing resembling his protagonist status. No powers to have him fight evil and to protect others. Nothing to save Satella.
As Subaru started to delve into his self-hatred while he wept, the stone on Satella's neck began to shine.
"Puck?"
In an empty area above Satella, Puck began to take form. However, unlike his regular, carefree face, Puck's face was full of anger.
"I knew that I should not trust you with Lia! You have committed a grave sin!"
Puck started to grow in size and change in shape.
Subaru was wide-eyed as he scurried himself back into a wall in shock and fear.
"What did I do wrong?"
"The sin of letting Lia die!"
Puck grew even larger as he broke out from the loot house's roof. Snow and wind begin to swirl around him as snowfall fell all around.
Subaru felt colder. Freezing. His body felt numb all around. He looked at his own body to witness the frost encompassing him.
All Subaru could do was to watch in shock and fear as he stood powerless against Puck.
Puck stopped growing in size as he became a giant monstrously of a feline as he doubles the height of the loot house.
"You will die, Subaru."
Subaru's face begins to crack and shatter.
Puck gave a menacing look at Subaru.
"Per my contact, I will destroy the world."
Subaru begins to lose consciousness of his body and mind. All he can do is stare at Puck's monster form.
At that moment, Subaru lost his life again. He died at the hands of his crush's spirit. Oh, the trouble he has been getting himself.
"Are you alright?"
An unfamiliar voice called out to Subaru.
He could feel all of his senses returning to him. The bitter cold still faintly tainted him, but he was able to comprehend his body's normal status.
Subaru opened his eyes to witness an unfamiliar man kneeling in front of him.
The man had red, fiery hair with blue eyes sparkled with confidence. His face was above average, but it was handsome enough to swoon the hearts of everyone easily. He wore a white coat that hides his black shirt underneath. His outfit also consisted of black shoes, gloves, and belt, a strange crest on his left sleeve, and a sword sheathed by his hip.
"I see you are awake. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Subaru stood up and patted himself in shock that his body was intact.
"I'm fine. A little cold, but nothing hurts. Who are you?"
"My name is Reinhard van Astrea. What about you?"
"I am Natsuki Subaru. What happened?"
Subaru looked around the loot house. The roof was gone with no sign of Puck. The snow that littered the loot house has disappeared as well.
"Where did Puck and all the snow go?"
"I see you are acquainted with Puck. I sadly had to end him before he could have achieved his part of his contract. What's the story that leads you here to the events that unfolded here? You must be acquainted with Emilia as well."
"Emilia?"
Reinhard pointed towards Satella's body.
"The silver hair girl with elven ears. Sadly, she looks like someone assassinated her, causing Puck to go on a rampage."
Subaru was confused by the name difference.
"I thought her name was Satella. That is what she told me."
Reinhard shook his head.
"Subaru, that name must have been a cover-up to get people to leave her alone."
"Why she did that then?"
"For one who casually says her name, you must not know behind the origins behind Emilia's fake name."
"What's so bad about it?"
"Satella is the name of the Witch of Envy. The witch who devoured half of the world. She bears a striking resemblance to half-elves like Emilia. For Emilia to bear the name towards you, she was trying to keep her distance."
"Oh, so that's why."
Subaru looked a bit down after hearing Reinhard's explanation.
"Given your reaction, I believe the two of you shared a proper bond despite the fake name. Come with me, Subaru."
Reinhard stood by the old man's corpse.
"Help me bury these two poor individuals."
Reinhard pointed towards another body that Subaru never noticed. It was a blond hair, short girl who was another victim of being gutted.
"Once we give them a proper burial, I need your help carrying Emilia's body. After that, I have some questions for you about your history with Emilia. Also, I need to know about the lead-up of the events that lead to this tragedy."
Reinhard and Subaru prepared a simple burial for the fallen victims. The process took a while as the ground was still cold from the snow.
Once the two finished, Reinhard ordered Subaru to stick with Emilia's body while Reinhard prepared a casket and wagon.
Subaru took a look at Emilia's corpse. The beauty and warmth she once emitted became replaced by frailty and coldness.
Subaru wondered why Emilia gave him a fake name of an evil witch. Did she want to get rid of him after their meeting? Was she undercovered? Not only he wondered about Emilia's attention, but he recalled what Reinhard said about the Witch of Envy. The backstory of this world seems strange to him. The title did not faze him at all but made him even more curious.
However, what troubled Subaru more was how he managed to stay alive after being killed. He was gutted. He was frozen. Yet both times, he lived. No signs of wounds. No signs of damage. Only the sensation of the pain he suffered through lingered shortly after revival and the tear of his clothing.
Subaru did not understand if this was a power of his. Immortality? Respawning? Subaru could not comprehend the changes he went through. All he knows is that someone granted him more chances to live in this world.
"Subaru!"
A familiar voice called out towards him.
Reinhard returned from his errand while lugging a casket with him.
"Help me put Emilia's body inside. We will have to send her to Lord Roswaal."
"Roswaal?"
"A lord and expert magician that backs Emilia. He would want your story as well, so we will head there."
The two moved Emilia's body into the casket and brought it outside.
The driver did not bat an eye nor question the casket as the two brought it inside the wagon.
Reinhard took out a small pouch and gave it to the driver.
"Take us to the Mathers' mansion."
The driver nodded and drove them towards the mansion. Subaru and Reinhard sat across from each other with the casket in the middle.
Subaru started to nod off a little as the day of misfortune took a toll on his body.
"Subaru, I know you are tired, but I want to know your story concerning Emilia. I reported to nearby knights about Puck, but I haven't told the news about Emilia's demise until I receive your story. I assume Roswaal would want the story as well. This royal selection will be a mess if I release information too soon."
Subaru was confused by some of the information Renhard told him. He had no clue of anything that was going on.
"Knights? Royal selection? I'm sorry, Reinhard, but I have no idea concerning the state of affairs of this area."
"Foreigner?"
"Technically, yes."
"That could be why you don't know. To be clear with you, I am the current Sword Saint of the van Astrea family, a linage of sword saints. I may be the strongest swordsman, but to others, I am a monster. Concerning Emilia, she is a royal candidate as a potential queen of Lugnica, so the news of her death in the royal selection would cause some turbulence. So Subaru, who are you, and why were you with Emilia?"
What kind of mess did I walk into?
Subaru set aside his newly gained information to think about it when his head is clear.
"I honestly have no clue how I landed here. I wandered around until I met some thugs who beaten me up, but Sa- Emilia saved me. To pay back her kindness, I took it upon myself to help her search for her emblem."
"Emblem?"
"What about it?"
"If this emblem refers to the kind granted to the royal candidates, this must be something serious happening in the background. What happened to it?"
"Well, Emilia said a thief stole it off from her, so we pinpointed it to the loot house we were in."
Reinhard narrowed his eyes.
"What happens next?"
"When I entered the loot house, I stumbled across the corpse of the old man. Suddenly, I was ki-"
At the moment, as if time stopped, Subaru felt a hand wrap around his heart. It stroked it and squeezed it. The pain from his heart shot quickly into his mind.
"Gasp!"
Subaru was clenching his chest and was breathing heavily."
"Subaru! What happened?"
What's this? I can't talk about my death?
Subaru calmed down as he felt his heart return to a normal heartbeat.
"Sorry about that. I believe it was a panic attack."
"You can rest now if you don't feel up to it."
"I'm okay. I'll continue."
"When I saw the corpse, someone attacked me, knocking me out. Before I became unconscious, the same attacker targetted Emilia granting her death. When I woke up, I saw Emilia was gutted and dead, so I took the time to patch up her corpse while in denial.
Reinhard narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin.
"Guts, you say?"
"Both Emilia and I were targeted in the guts. My wound healed, but you can see where the slice happened on my clothing."
Subaru pointed towards where the assassin gutted him.
Reinhard tensed his stance.
"Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter."
"Who is she exactly?"
"She is an assassin who exclusively hunts for the bowels of people. If an assassin was sent to steal the emblem and kill Emilia, other candidates may be in danger as well. Anything else?"
"I spent a short time being frozen alive by Puck, and then, I met you."
Reinhard frowned upon hearing the name Puck.
"I'm sorry about what happened between Emilia and Puck, but thank you for the information you gave."
"No problem. I don't know what's going on, so I'll take anything I come across."
"Rest up, Subaru. The path to the mansion will take a few days, but we will have a few pit stops along the way. I'll provide accommodations for your troubles."
Subaru was extremely sleepy after telling his story.
"Thanks for everything, Reinhard."
"Sleep well. We still have a long few days ahead of us."
Subaru quickly fell asleep as the tiredness overcame him. His day was exhausting to comprehend. Not only was he thrown into this world, he met many misfortunes with a sliver of hope from Emilia, but he was met with death twice that claimed her life as well. He had many questions about this world and his power but not enough time to figure it all out.
Reinhard watched the Subaru fall asleep and sighed a relief that he managed to help someone. He has failed to save three others from Elsa, but he was glad that one lived. Despite Subaru's strange looks and personality, he could tell Subaru was innocent in this mess. Someone who came here at the wrong time and place, who had no prior standings with the kingdom's politics.
Reinhard shifted his gaze outside of the wagon towards the moon. He would watch in silence as the wagon took them to the Mathers' mansion.
A/N: With respawn by death instead of return by death, expect a lot of suffering for Subaru in the future. Certain events will have to be taken out due to death of a few characters, but new events will replace them. Thanks for reading checking out this story as well. May we embrace the future suffering of Natsuki Subaru.