Chapter 2

Breathing heavily, Natsuki Subaru awakened in the same dark and dense forest as before.

Subaru: "I see. So this is my savepoint, huh? Of course."

Subaru was disappointed. He had hoped that his savepoint would've been before he had been transported to this weird place. But even if that was the case, he probably would've been transported here regardless. There was still much confusion in Subaru's mind.

What was he doing here? And Emilia? What was she doing here as well? Was this some kind of test? Did someone bring them here? What was the point of this? There was so much Subaru didn't understand, and aside from all these random thoughts, the thing he thought about the most and what he feared about the most was..

Subaru: "The masked man.. Who was he? Whoever he is, he's not good. He's out to kill us. He already got Emilia last time, and I failed in saving her. And then he got me. So wait.. If I respawned here that only gives me around fifteen minutes to find and save Emilia! Let's think…"

Subaru thought about the situation from his last loop and what he should do this time around to save Emilia.

Subaru: "I didn't make it to Emilia last time because I took too much time looking around the place. I mean, you can't really blame me, I guess. This is a whole new environment so I had to make sure I took a look around. I also discovered a shack that's not far from here. There was a flashlight. It's something I really do need, but I have to ignore this time. My only goal right now is to save Emilia and nothing else. And in order to do that I…"

Subaru thought some more. With saving the half-elf beauty the only goal in his mind right now, he hadn't had time to think about what to do even if he did end up saving her.

"Damn, that's right! Even if I do manage to get Emilia away from that killer, I still won't know what to do after! Are we just gonna run from that man until we end up dying again? No! I need to think of a plan! And furthermore, I don't even know if there's any exits. This space is large and full of obstacles, including the thick trees and rocks all around. And adding to that is the darkness, which will make it hard for us to make it through smoothly.. Hmm.. any other obstacles?"

Subaru thought some more.

Subaru: "The bear traps. Last time, I got caught in one of the man's traps. And those suckers aren't easy to get out of. I couldn't even pry myself off of it. And that's what led to the killer finding me and then killing me. No matter what, I have to avoid those traps at all costs."

After all his thinking was done, Subaru decided to press on. The rain was starting to come down, just how it did in his previous loop. Subaru took around three or four minutes standing there thinking, so he didn't have the full fifteen minutes, however it was a lot more time than he had last time.

Subaru scouted the area. He looked for things that he would find familiar. Walking around, Subaru discovered the very hook that he was placed on last time.

Subaru: "Alright, so if this was the hook I died on last time, then the one I found Emilia on is not too far from here. The shack is also close by, because I was caught in a trap around there, and the man carried me to this very hook, which was close to the shack."

Subaru continued walking on the path toward the hook Emilia was placed on. It was a lot darker now because the dark clouds now blocked out the moonlight, and the rain was also an obstacle. It was a lot more difficult to see, but Subaru could still make out significant parts of the area, such as the large branches, rocks, lockers, and also the hooks.

At last, Subaru discovered the hook that Emilia was placed on. Fortunately, Emilia was not yet hooked, so he still had time to find her. Knowing that she'd be caught by the killer soon, he had to find her before he found her. It was a race against time, and Subaru had to make sure he came in first.

Subaru began to sprint, his sneakers squeaking on the wet ground.

Subaru: "Emilia-tan! Emilia, can you hear me?!

There was no response. Subaru kept running, checking everywhere for Emilia, however no matter where he looked, he couldn't seem to find her.

Subaru: "Emilia!"

?: "Will you shut up?!"

It was a female's voice but it wasn't Emilia's.

Subaru was slapped in the face, and those scorning words shut him up instantly.

Subaru took a closer look to see who it was that slapped him. It was a girl, probably a year or more older than he was. She had ginger hair tied in pigtails, an athletic jacket and sports leggings. Her face was covered in dirt, and she had a bitter look on her face, most likely due to the stupidity of Natsuki Subaru.

Subaru didn't know who she was, and he knew she never encountered her in his first loop, either. Subaru knew he had to lower his voice now. In a low whisper, he said:

Subaru: "Who are you?"

?: "Meg. Just call me Meg. I was out for a quick jog and I ended up in this dark forest, and now there's some guy chasing after me. He's got a mask and he carries this huge-"

Subaru: "Cleaver?"

Meg: "How did you know?"

Subaru shuddered thinking about his previous loop and how he was beaten so mercilessly with that weapon.

Subaru: "Well, I'm just aware there's a killer. I've noticed and I've seen him."

Meg: "You have? I see.. Well, we both have then. How did you get yourself into this mess?"

Subaru didn't want to say he was transported to a different place, that would sound totally unbelievable and she would totally find him to be a lunatic.

Subaru smirked.

Subaru: "You see the tracksuit, the sneakers? The same as you! I went out for a quick run and got lost here as well!"

Meg: "Oh, well you do look like quite the athlete.."

Subaru: "That's right. I do radio calisthenics every morning to get the blood pumping. I also got incredible grip strength!"

Meg: "Oh, well, that's good, I guess."

Subaru: "Wait, there's something you need to know. The man has placed bear traps all over the place, so you have to be careful? I got cau- I mean.. If I did get caught in one I probably wouldn't be able to get out of it. The traps probably clench on super tight, and despite my strong grip, I probably wouldn't be able to get out of it."

Meg: "Alright, thanks for the tip. I haven't noticed any traps as of yet."

Subaru was spending too much time conversing with his new acquaintance that he forgot all about his objective: Saving Emilia.

Subaru: "Oh, that's right! I'm looking for someone! She's a beautiful girl, pale skin, amethyst eyes, and silver hair. I need to save her from that killer at all costs! I tried looking around here, but I wasn't able to find her at all!"

Meg: "Oh, you mean Emilia?"

Subaru gasped.

Subaru: "What? You know her?"

Meg: "Yes, we met each other a little earlier. She's actually the first person I came across when I ended up here. She should be close by somewhere. Here, follow me."

Subaru: "You could've told me this earlier, you know!"

Meg ignored Subaru and she led him on a certain path. She signaled Subaru to keep quiet and to crouch down in order for him to stay hidden from the killer.

Subaru saw Emilia's figure right up ahead.

"Emilia!" Subaru said with a smile on his face.

At last, he saw the girl that he loved so deeply.

Emilia said nothing in response.

Subaru got closer. Then, he heard a thud.

Emilia dropped to the ground. The large cleaver that belonged to the man was deep into Emilia's back.

The man glared into Subaru and Meg's eyes.

Subaru and Meg couldn't move a muscle. They were too scared to make any movements.

Without warning, the man grabbed the cleaver out of Emilia's back, raised it above his head, and..

SMASH!

The cleaver smashed onto the back of Emilia's head. Blood oozed from the back of her head and onto the already wet ground. Again and again. Over and over. The ruthless killer smashed her head with his cleaver.

Subaru and Meg could only watch in horror as they watch Emilia being brutally murdered by this man.

"Subaru: EMILIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Subaru was disgusted. He was disgusted by the sheer wickedness of this man, and how he could commit such an atrocity. He was angry. He couldn't stand Emilia being hurt or killed. He had to do something. Anything. But it seemed that Emilia couldn't be helped.

Finally, the man stomped on Emilia's already severely battered head, and crushed it completely. There was a whole pool of blood now. The man grabbed Emilia's lifeless body and just tossed it aside like it was nothing but trash.

Subaru clenched his fists.

"Damn you… Damn you!"

Subaru was out of options. He failed again. He wasn't able to save Emilia, even the second time around.

Meg: "What are you doing, you idiot? Let's get the hell out of here!"

Subaru: "I don't care! I'm gonna take this shitbag down, one way or another!"

Subaru was in a fighting stance. He was ready to demolish this man for what he did to Emilia.

Subaru let out a battle cry and charged at the man.

Subaru's fist landed in the middle of the man's torso.

The man just stood there, unfazed, unfeeling. What the man felt was as if a fly just landed on him. The punch that Subaru had thrown was absolutely nothing to him whatsoever.

Subaru was speechless. He hadn't done anything to him.

Subaru: "You're not a man… you're a monster!"

With those words, Subaru was instantly thrown to the ground.

Subaru: "Meg.. Run.. Get out of here, I'll buy you some time!"

Heeding Subaru's words, Meg got out of there as quick as she could. She wanted to help Subaru, but Subaru insisted that she escape.

Like a spark of lightning, a sharp pain in Subaru's back arose. Subaru was smacked in the back with the man's giant cleaver.

Subaru: "GYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Subaru's screams of pain were blocked out by the sounds of thunder and heavy rain pouring down.

And then, the same with Emilia, Subaru's head was smashed over and over and over with the cleaver.

There was blood everywhere. The ground was soaked. Soaked with both the rain that was falling and with the blood of both Subaru and Emilia's.

The man wiped all the blood off of his cleaver, and then just looked down intently.

Intently at the boy he just brutally killed. The now lifeless body of Natsuki Subaru.