Chapter 11:

Subaru ran, his breathing loud and heavy. A little sweat dripped down his face despite the cold night air. Clement was close behind, also panting from running.

Subaru was still confused as to why his save point had updated, but he had pushed any thoughts of it out of his mind, as what mattered right now was surviving.

A few minutes later Subaru began to slow, his legs ached from running. Clement, who wasn't as tired as Subaru, said, "Hey, I think we lost him… at least for now."

Subaru nodded, "Ha… yeah."

"Let's take a break from running and get back on the same page."

Subaru agreed, and walked to the side of the street they were on, sitting on a stone step in front of someone's house.

He was still alert, his eyes scanning the dark street and nearby roofs for Zei, but he had to rest.

Clement leaned against the side of the house, next to where Subaru sat. He said, "So… other than what you explained earlier, is there anything I should know?"

"Uhm… all I know is that Youra was paid to send him to kill me."

"Youra? The man who helped us against Hans?"

"Yeah…" Subaru's heart twinged with betrayal. "The person who requested to have me killed was the archer, Aura, who helped us."

"Archer?"

"She mainly helped while you were knocked out."

"Mhm."

Clement sighed, and looked up to the night sky. Subaru followed his movement and craned his head back to look at the sky.

Clement asked, "Any ideas on how to get out of this situation?"

Subaru stayed quiet, thinking through his recent loops for any clues.

Most of his information was useless now, such as how he knew Zei would attack the fifth night, which was proved wrong by how he was attacking now on the first night. He knew how to use spells, but Ceres didn't and his gate was too weak to cast them.

"Nothing…"

"...Tomorrow we could hire a mercenary to protect us… but we still have to make it through tonight."

"Yeah." Subaru stared up at the night sky, his eyes following a shooting star whizzing through the sky.

Just as it began fading away, pain exploded in Subaru's shoulder. "G-Gaah-" His head snapped back to the street, though he saw no one.

He looked at his shoulder, his eyes widening when he saw an arrow pierced through it.

"Gh-"

Subaru stood up, pain shooting through him from his shoulder. Clement, who had noticed the arrow just a moment earlier, stood still, his eyes wide. He blinked and grabbed Subaru's arm. Clement began running, pulling Subaru behind him.

Subaru looked around, his adrenaline drowning out the blistering pain in his shoulder. His eyes landed on a woman atop a roof, a bow held in her hands, with an arrow drawn back, pointed towards them.

"Hk- Clement-"

Subaru dove to the side, pulling the arm Clement held to try to pull him to the ground as well, but all that happened was his arm slipping from Clement's grasp.

A moment later Subaru hit the ground, staring up at Clement. A blur whizzed through the air and ran through Clement's chest, getting stuck halfway. The half of the arrow that had left Clement's chest was coated in blood.

"Ghk…"

Clement stumbled and fell facedown, his head hit the ground with a thump.

"Clement!" Subaru scrambled onto his knees, and crawled over to Clement, ignoring the pain that resounded through his shoulder as he put weight on it.

Subaru approached Clement, his heart racing, not wanting to believe what he had just seen.

Subaru grabbed Clement's shoulder and shook him, "Hey… C'mon, we have to go…"

He rolled Clement around, tears formed in his eyes when they landed on the blood-soaked arrow through his friend's chest.

Clement was dead. Again.

Subaru slowly rose to his legs, turning around to face Aura on top of a roof. His heart pounded loud as he looked at her.

He had to die here. Clement had to live.

He had to.

Subaru took a short breath.

Aura slipped another arrow into her bow and pulled back the string.

It was then that Subaru was hit by something, and was thrown across the street, hitting the ground and rolling once or twice before stopping near the wall.

"Gh-"

Subaru's vision was unfocused and disoriented by the impact. A couple of moments passed before he was able to see clearly.

The first thing he noticed was a large pool of blood forming around him. The second thing he noticed was that his internal organs were scattered around him.

"Ah-"

A scream exploded out of him and pain washed over him.

He writhed on the ground, trying to seek refuge from the pain.

Blood poured out of his split abdomen, his vision was hazy from the pain and the loss of blood.

However, he still noticed when a man dressed in black walked up to him. The sword he held was covered in blood.

"I found you."

The man squatted down in front of Subaru, reaching out and touching his cheek, which was wet from tears of pain.

"Youra said to make your death quick but… seeing you like this, I don't think I can bring myself to end you quite yet."

Subaru tried to gasp for air but only ended up choking on blood. His vision was starting to go black.

Warmth spilled out of him, cold air bit into his skin.

His body began to shut down, something Subaru was eerily used to by now. He was grateful that the pain would end soon.

"Oh? You're already going to die? I was hoping to watch you writhe in pain a little longer. Oh well."

Subaru's consciousness began fading.

Blood continued to leave his body, warmth continued to fade. The cold continued to bite at him.

It was then that Subaru's world ended.

"Subaru."

A juxtaposing warmth surrounded Subaru. He took a breath as the pain left. He clenched his shaking hand and pushed his fear to the side.

He pushed down some nausea and said, "Clement, we have to go, now."

"Eh?"

Subaru grabbed Clement's arm and pulled him down the hallway, the same way as he had done just a little while ago. He ignored Clement's questions for now. He threw open the door to his room and quietly shut it.

A moment after the muffled sound of glass shattering came from the living room.

"What's happening? Hey, Subaru, what's going on?"

"Long story short, Youra sent an assassin to kill me."

"What…?"

"There isn't time to explain right now."

Subaru stepped over to his window and pushed it open, "Here, jump out, I'll go behind you."

"Ah… okay."

Clement walked over to the window and hopped out, landing in the soft snow below.

Subaru followed a moment later, though he precariously sat on the window sill and closed it behind him before jumping. He hoped it could buy them some time.

He landed, letting out a shaky breath from his fear of Zei, and told Clement to follow him.

The two began running in a different direction than they had last time.

After some time, while they both were exhausted from running, Clement said, "Hey… let's stop here and rest. I think we've gotten far enough away."

Subaru shook his head, "Not yet. Just a little longer…"

"..."

Subaru and Clement were pretty much just walking by now, Subaru refused to stop moving in fear of being found.

Clement understood his fear so he decided to just go along with him.

He was still confused, though, about how Subaru had suddenly known about this assassination attempt. They had just been talking when Subaru's whole demeanor changed and he suddenly told him that Youra was trying to kill him.

It really was strange.

But all Clement could do right now was trust him, he'd ask questions about it later.

Shifting his train of thought, Clement tried to think of how they could get out of this situation. He didn't really trust the city's guards to do anything about this unless he paid them a large sum, so the best way to stop this attack would probably be by hiring a mercenary to protect them. It was probably impossible to get Youra to call off the attack, plus he didn't know where that man lived.

"Hey, Subaru, how do you think we can get out of this situation?"

Subaru took a breath, "You're thinking of hiring a mercenary, right?"

"Ah, yeah."

"I think it'd be better to go to get Amai to help us out."

"Amai… huh? It might be possible… but isn't a mercenary easier? It's easier to find a bar than it is to get across the city to ask Amai for help."

"Yeah… I guess so."

"Let's do that, then?"

"Yeah, let's try it."

The two continued walking, Subaru was still anxiously checking over his shoulder every few seconds and was scanning the rooftops occasionally.

Clement began to check the roofs as well, as Subaru had told him about Aura. While he was checking them, he noticed a figure on top of one.

"Ah-" The figure was holding a bow, a second or two away from firing. It had to be Aura.

"Subaru- get down!" Clement dove to the side, landing behind a few crates and getting out of the woman's sight.

However, Subaru wasn't as lucky. Clement's eyes widened as he watched an arrow fly through Subaru's skull, killing him instantly.

"Ah… Subaru… Ghk-" Clement held back vomit as the stench of blood and death filled the street they were on. Pieces of Subaru's skull and brain were scattered around.

His breathing and pulse raced as the true severity of the situation dawned on him.

Subaru's dead…

Sweat dripped down his face as he hid, trying not to look at Subaru's corpse.

An arrow flew through one of the crates he was behind, piercing a hole through the wood and sticking into the stone road.

Nonononono-

If he stayed here any longer that archer would probably just fire an arrow through the crate he was behind and kill him. He had to move, even if it meant he might die trying.

Clement dove forward, desperate to get away from his friend's corpse and from the woman who had killed him. He ran, nearing an alley he could duck into, but everything suddenly stopped as an arrow flew through his skull as well.

He fell to the ground, but his consciousness had gone long before he hit it.

"Subaru."

"Ghk-" Subaru stood in the warmth of the living room. Clement was opposite him.

Subaru's legs shook. It was so sudden, Clement yelled, and then he abruptly died.

Subaru fell backward, disoriented from the instantaneous transition.

Sweat dripped down his face.

"Hey- Subaru?"

Clement hurried over to him.

Subaru bit down on the inside of his cheek and spoke.

"We have to go…"

He scrambled to his feet, realizing how many precious seconds he had just wasted.

Subaru reached his feet just as Zei jumped through the window.

He froze in fear, remembering the pain of death he had felt two loops ago when he had been disemboweled.

Subaru watched as Zei jumped towards him. His eyes widened as he realized there wasn't any way to stop him.

Subaru panicked, using the few moments he had to grab Clement and threw him away, hopefully buying him at least a few more seconds to get away.

A split second later Subaru's mind went white with pain as Zei stabbed his sword through him, severing his spine and cutting organs in half.

Subaru collapsed, his legs paralyzed. "Ah- ah…"

Subaru barely stayed conscious from the pain. Tears of pain spilled out of his eyes.

All he could do was hope it would end soon.

Zei stood above him. He rotated his sword in his hands so it was pointed straight down at Subaru's head, and thrust it down, shattering Subaru's skull and piercing through his brain, instantly killing him.

"Subaru."

"Gugh-"

Subaru fell to the ground, his head hit the wooden floor hard, spots of black appeared in his vision.

Nausea, fear, and disgust were just a few of the emotions that filled Subaru.

"Ah? Hey, Subaru?"

Clement walked over to Subaru, crouching down next to him.

"You okay? What happened?"

Subaru squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears. He had too little time, he couldn't survive.

The sound of glass shattering filled the house accompanied by a stomp as Zei landed inside the house.

"Wha- ghk-"

A thump hit the floor nearby Subaru. Subaru opened his eyes and screamed. Clement's decapitated head lay next to him, blood poured out of his neck forming a puddle around him, his eyes were half open and lifeless.

Subaru sat up pushed himself away from his friend, holding back vomit. His back hit a nearby wall. His eyes landed on Zei, a blood-covered sword in his hand. Fear coursed through Subaru.

I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time!

Zei walked up to Subaru. "Ahh… that terrified look on your face… it's perfect."

In a flash, Zei stabbed his sword through Subaru's abdomen.

"Ghah-"

He tightened his grip on his sword and tore it out through the side of his abdomen. Blood poured out of Subaru's torn open abdomen, his entrails slipped out through the wound as well.

Subaru screamed his throat raw, writhing in pain.

"Ah- that's perfect." Zei crouched down next to Subaru, placing his sword to the side.

"Does it hurt?" Zei shook his head, "Of course it does. That's just how I like it."

Zei reached his hand towards Subaru's cut-open abdomen and pushed it into him. Subaru screamed again in pain as Zei moved his hand around in Subaru, pushing his organs around and feeling them.

Zei grabbed his intestines and began to pull them out. Subaru began blacking out from the pain.

Subaru's eyes rolled back into his skull and he passed out. Zei sighed and stood up, grabbing his sword again. He flipped his sword around and thrust it towards Subaru, stabbing it into his chest, shattering his ribs and tearing through his lungs and heart.

"Subaru."

Too much. It's all too much.

Subaru felt vomit rising in his throat. It was just too much for him. His deaths were coming way too frequently.

"Ghk-"

Subaru tried to hold back his vomit, but after a moment it spilled out, splattering onto the floor as he leaned forward.

Subaru took a step back, coughing and taking deep shaky breaths.

"Ah! Subaru!"

Clement rushed over to Subaru, concern filling him.

Subaru stared into Clement's eyes, more nausea rising within him as he remembered Clement's decapitated head.

He took a number of quick shaky breaths, before forcing words out of his mouth. "Cl-Clement… We have to go… n-now…"

His voice was shaky and weak, filled with fear.

"Eh? We have to leave?"

Subaru took a deep breath, pushing his nausea to the side. He grabbed Clement's hand and began pulling him towards his room again. His grip was weak enough that Clement was barely even being pulled and was instead walking after him.

"Hey, Subaru. Hold on"

Subaru found it hard to walk, his whole body was shaky and weak.

The sound of shattering glass filled the house once again.

Clement threw open the door to Subaru's room and pushed Subaru into it. He followed shortly after.

"What's going on?"

Clement looked around the small room nervously.

Subaru walked over to his window, pushing it open. "Here… get out."

Clement nodded, trusting Subaru's judgment, and walked to the open window. He placed his hands on the bottom of the frame and hoisted himself through the window. A moment later he landed on the snow below. Subaru took a breath and placed his hands on the bottom of the frame.

A chill ran down Subaru's spine as his door swung open. He pushed himself off of the ground and used his hands to orientate his jump. A moment after he left the window, something struck him and he fell to the ground in a spin.

Subaru hit the ground hard but ignored any pain as adrenaline raced through him. He opened his mouth to yell, "Go!" but all that came out was a bunch of blood. His eyes widened as he felt warm liquid soaking into his shirt. His hands moved up towards his neck, and fear exploded within him as he felt a large slash through it.

At that moment pain rushed through him. He fell down, clutching at his neck, and spasmed.

Not again- no. Please. Let me live. Just a little longer!

Subaru's eyes fell on Clement, who had fallen to the ground in horror in front of Subaru.

Warmth pooled around Subaru, all originating from his neck.

"Ghgg-"

Blood filled his mouth despite him continually spitting it out.

Even if he tried to breathe it would just be useless, the blood and the hole in his throat would just block the air from reaching his lungs.

Subaru's vision began going black—luckily, as that meant the pain would leave soon.

Just a little longer…

He just had to hold out a little longer.

The pain would vanish, and the disgusting blood would leave his mouth.

Just… a little longer.

Subaru's vision was nearly gone, yet he still kept the image of Clement looking horrified in his mind.

Sorry… Clement.

Thus, Natsuki Subaru's world ended yet again.