The Assassin and the Mabeast User

Nine hours since the Last Death (Five Deaths)

"Anastasia..." With parched lips, Subaru tried to say something to her... But as much as Anastasia had managed to give him back the determination to fight together to get out of the situation they were in alive, nothing had changed. They were still surrounded by the mabeasts.

"Yes, Natsuki-kun?" Still agitated, Anastasia asked in a strained voice. Something to be expected, as she was probably still expecting him to say something against her words of support.

"I'll stay by your side, so you can relax..." In an attempt to reassure her, Subaru indirectly indicated that he would no longer seek his own death.

"That's good to hear… We've a lot to accomplish together, so I can't lose my newest and most promising employee." Making a slightly carefree comment, Anastasia led the conversation in a different direction. "Now… what can we do to get outta our terrible situation? I suppose it would be naive of me to expect you to come up with something." With a nervous laugh, Anastasia pointed out the obviousness that Subaru wanted to give up, because he had nothing in mind to overcome the situation they were in.

However, Subaru didn't answer anything... Anastasia probably couldn't see his face, because the only glimmer of light that filtered through the opening of the hole was illuminating Anastasia's tender face. And yet, she also remained silent, as if she realized that Subaru was thinking of something.

Now that his despair had been barely cured by Anastasia, and his desire to save her had increased, Subaru was focusing all his mental resources to find a way to escape the collapsed room without being devoured. What if we split up? No, we are both too tired, that would only make us easier prey. What if I go out first and…? Rambling on, Subaru thought of everything he could, but every thought that ran through his head ended with both of them dead.

If he could save at least her. If he could do something to at least ensure Anastasia's survival, he would not feel guilty about perishing. He could do everything he could to lure the beasts and try to survive the chase. If he died, at least he would do it for a good reason... With that in mind, Subaru again felt the despair surround him with its dirty claws.

He was weak, and so was Anastasia. Together, as much as they wanted to, they were unable to survive. Besides, he was not very resourceful, and although Anastasia was, it was clear that her strength was not survival in combat. Obfuscated, Subaru went over his options again. It was then that, on impulse, he said something that he had vowed never to say again: "If I weren't only able to return by…"

It had been completely involuntary. With his mind struggling to find a way out, he let out a comment that the only thing he could do was return by death. Realizing too late what he had done, Subaru noticed that time had stopped again.

Panicking, Subaru watched as the shadowy hand re-materialized. This time, not only its fingers had a defined shape, now its wrist and part of its arm even before his elbow also had it. The hand, like the previous occasion, went through his chest. It was then that Subaru understood that the shadow was still enraged by what happened with the fragment of his mind, during the first time he broke the taboo.

Then, pain so intense that it could cause him to lose his sanity struck him. For Anastasia it was only an instant, but for Subaru it was an eternal time during which his heart was crushed until it turned into a pulp of flesh and blood. Falling to his knees, Subaru vomited the contents of his stomach, which were mixed with blood. Apparently, on that occasion the bleeding had only concentrated in his throat.

"Natsuki-kun!" Alarmed, Anastasia tried to approach him. Due to the darkness, it had been impossible for her to understand what had happened; her only clue that something happened was the sound of Subaru vomiting. But fear ran through her body as she caught the unpleasant smell of vomit, accompanied by the coppery smell of blood. "Natsuki-kun…" Nervous, Anastasia called him again.

"I-I'm fi… fine." Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Subaru tried to get to his feet, but he staggered and fell.

Subaru was unable to understand where the bleeding was coming from, but he was still alive, which meant his heart was still beating without problem. Even so, the shadow's torture had left him with consequences that made it even more difficult for him to get out of the current situation alive. It was as if it couldn't get any worse... Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case.

"Grrroaah!" Smashing the debris that had been covering the hole, three Wolgarms entered it and lunged at Subaru. It was in that instant, before being eaten by the beasts, that he realized something. It's me they've been following...

"Waaahhh!" But that thought, contrary to his expectations, did not accompany him to the third loop at Priestella. Because, the mabeasts that had been about to devour him, exploded in a shower of bowels that bathed both Anastasia and him.

Everything happened too fast for his brain to process it properly. He had been attacked by the mabeasts shortly after he stupidly broke the shadow taboo, only to be immediately saved by the scream of one of the triplets. Comprehending the latter, Subaru peered out of the hole, partially regaining his ability to stand.

Anastasia, who was not long in reaching out to help him, also peered impatiently. The image, while not bleak, was far from miraculous. They were Mimi, who was full of cuts and wounds, and her brother Tivey, who although full of bruises, was in better shape than his sister. Finally, Hetaro, who was on his brother's back, was missing one of his legs and one of his arms.

"Hetaro..." On the verge of tears, Anastasia stared at the dreadful scene. Subaru, without thinking twice, moved to get out of the hole. The girl, understanding his intentions, helped him walk and together they proceed towards the triplets. Once with them, Anastasia released Subaru and approached them.

"Miss, I'm glad you're okay…" With a remnant of her lively smile, Mimi looked at her mistress. But then she showed a gesture of sadness. "Mimi's sorry that the plan didn't work out, miss. If we hadn't returned in time, we may never..." Drowning a sob, the little girl was unable to continue.

"I must also apologize, miss. We couldn't stop the mabeasts from endin' up surroundin' you. And if it hadn't been for Hetaro, I'd be dead." A little more stable, Tivey also lamented for failing in his job.

However, Anastasia did not reprimand them, quite the contrary. Without saying anything, she wrapped the brothers in a hug. Tivey's eyes moistened, fogging his monocle, which had a break running through it. Mimi, on the other hand, broke down into tears, returning the embrace. After a moment, Anastasia pulled away from them, wiping away the tears she hadn't been able to keep from shedding.

"I'm glad ya came back." She said, smiling at them. After that, she looked at Hetaro with sadness. "Is Hetaro...?" The question finally caught in her throat, so she couldn't finish asking it. Tivey, to her reassurance, shook his head.

"He's still alive. However, if we don't do somethin' quickly…" Tivey's concerns were obvious. , but the situation made it very difficult to do so. "The amount of mabeasts in the inn is very high, and it seems that they keep appearin' non-stop. To make matters worse, some species are very powerful. It's likely that we wouldn't have been able to get here and kill the nearby mabeasts so quickly, if not for the fact that suddenly all the mabeasts ignored us and started runnin' in this direction..." Puzzled, Tivey explained the reason why he, his sister and his brother had managed to return to their mistress...

"I've an idea." Subaru, who had been watching them from the side, had come to a conclusion. Connecting the dots of what he noticed when he was attacked, and what he heard from Tivey, Subaru concluded that he could serve as bait to keep all the beasts out of the way of Anastasia and the triplets. He could finally be of use.

"Natsuki-kun?" Looking doubtful, Anastasia turned to him. Subaru wasn't sure why the beasts were following him or if it had anything to do with him being the target of the assassins, or if breaking the taboo was related to the beasts finding him in the hole. But he did know that he could be useful if he at least put his life on the line, in favor of those who had been protecting his life in his place.

"I'll lure the mabeasts and flee in that direction. Thus, you'll be able to leave the inn and seek help for Hetaro." Simply put, Subaru stated his plan, while signaling a point deep in the inn grounds.

"Natsuki-kun, in the condition ya are in, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, how are ya so sure that ya'll be able to lure the mabeasts?" Expressing her doubts, Anastasia disagreed with the plan.

"I just know it, Anastasia. Besides, after everything you told me, I can't accept that you stop me from doing it. If I do it, it's out of determination to keep the three of you, and myself, alive. No matter how many mabeasts end up following me, I'll find a way to survive, I promise you. After all, I'm not gonna watch from death how you make my project a success by yourself. " Smiling, Subaru pointed to himself confidently. Although, of course, to anyone's eye, the trembling in his limbs indicated that it was an act to cover the fear he felt.

Sighing, Anastasia looked at him with melancholy. "I suppose I'd respect your determination, Natsuki-kun... In that case, I'll tell ya the same as my most important employees. I order ya to come back alive! If ya die, my company will suffer great losses!"

"I will do it!" Regaining a bit of his spirit, Subaru prepared to carry out his plan. However, a voice stopped him.

"Subaru, let me accompany you." Tivey, who had just handed over his wounded brother to Anastasia, walked over to him and looked into his eyes from his short stature. "Together we will lure the mabeasts and..."

"I'm sorry, Tivey. But I'm going to have to refuse your help." With a bitter gesture, Subaru was forced to say no to the determined triplet. Thus, Subaru had rejected his best chance of getting out alive after executing his plan; but not without a reason. "Of your siblings, you are the only one who seems able to continue fighting without problems. If you come with me, my plan would lose its meaning, because Anastasia and your siblings would be in great danger of being attacked."

"I… You're right, Subaru." Nodding, Tivey realized that what Subaru was saying made sense, so he returned to Anastasia's side without arguing.

"Well in that case, here we part ways. I wish you the best of luck!"

"Likewise, Natsuki-kun. Thanks for your efforts!" Waving her hand, Anastasia said goodbye to him in a simple way, having already said what she needed to say. Satisfied, Subaru set out to leave them, but again was stopped before he could do so, as he felt something on his feet that prevented him from moving forward. When he looked there, he noticed two watery blue-green eyes.

"Thank you, Onii-san… I hope you'll come back so you can keep givin' me interestin' toys." Mimi, hugging his foot, thanked him, in her own way, for what he was doing.

"Get everythin' you just said you would! If you do, I'll never doubt you again, Subaru Onii-san." Without saying anything else, Tivey also said goodbye to him, but from her mistress's side. After that, Mimi released him and returned to Anastasia and her brothers.

Looking at them one last time, Subaru began running with all his energy deep into the inn. Once he got away from the traces of blood and organs left by the mabeasts that had surrounded the hole, he noticed that several beasts began to follow him. Fortunately, most of them weren't very fast; which was to be expected, since those swift ones, upon arriving earlier on the scene, had already been exterminated by Mimi and Tivey.

"I don't know if I should try it." He said to himself. He wanted to see if breaking the taboo was related to the fact that the mabeasts had ignored Mimi, Tivey and Hetaro and had run to the hole where he was with Anastasia. But he feared that if he tried it, the aftermath would make it even more difficult for him to escape. He also risked being found by some of the more dangerous mabeasts, and in the state he was in, all alone, his death would be certain. Moreover, the very idea of suffering the torture of the shadow again made him back down... "However, to make sure that the mabeasts won't be chase Anastasia and the midgets, I must..." Determined to do everything possible to keep the mabeasts away from Anastasia and the children, Subaru took a deep breath and shouted... "I can die and come bac-"

The hand, now with its well-defined elbow, returned to take his heart again violently, transmitting a strong dose of jealousy in the process. And after a time that seemed eternal for Subaru, the gloomy hand finally released him once more. Unfortunately for him, what he feared most happened. His body collapsed, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose, and a herd of mabeasts of various kinds, including the bears with flowers on their bodies, approached him.

Dammit! I hope I at least managed to help Anastasia and… Subaru's thoughts collapsed like a tower of cards when hit by a strong gust of wind. From his legs, an agonizing pain ran through all his nerves until it collided with his brain, like a train whose brakes had broken down.

It was the sensation of fangs piercing his flesh. It was the sensation of the jaws tearing at his muscles. It was the sensation of canine teeth slicing his tendons. The pain came from multiple bite wounds inflicted by a dozen of mabeasts that wanted a piece of him.

Subaru was so stunned by the pain, that he was unable to react in order to fight for his life. After all, he was weak. As much as he didn't want to die, there was nothing he could do about it. With his gaze aimed at the ground, Subaru could watch the pool of his blood spread away from his body. In just a matter of moments his feet would be devoured and it would be the rest of his body's turn. It was inevitable, he would die a terrible death again...

"Hmm… Guuuuys, stop! Now! Daaaarn it! There're so many, that keeping cooontrol of them has gotten extremely diiiifficult. Ahem! Guys, stop now!"

Suddenly, when his life was hanging by a thread once again, Subaru was saved one more time. Slowly, the beasts stopped chewing his legs and moved away from him. Blinking, confused, Subaru raised his face, looking for the person who had served as his latest savior. Putting himself in danger and being saved, that was all Subaru had managed to do, even though he was determined to try to change his situation.

"Hnk!" It was when he managed to capture the image of his savior, that Subaru choked on his own breath. There, on one of the hippo-shaped mabeasts, was Meili. The girl, noticing that her target was looking at her, smiled lustfully.

"Hiiii, Onii-san! I'm glaaaad I was around to keep you from dying eeeeaten by my boys." After greeting him, the girl looked reproachfully at her mabeasts. "It seems that your smeeeell attracts them and puts theeeem in ecstasy. Now I'm controooolling more mabeasts than the limit of my Divine Protection alloooows me. Besides, I'm controlling seeeeveral with which I don't have good compatibiiiility. So you should stay still, or you could end up getting eeeeaten without me being able to do anyyything about it."

Subaru, despite his condition, made an effort to listen to every detail of what the girl was casually saying. At least that way, after dying, it wouldn't feel like he had a meaningless death. Every piece of information was vital to making sense of each of his deaths. Since Subaru had pledged not to die without a fight, he would do his best to stay alive until the last minute and take advantage of every last second.

And while much of what Meili had said made no sense to him, he had heard various things that he believed might be important. The girl had mentioned a Divine Protection, and from what Subaru knew about them, they were a kind of blessing that anyone born into that world could receive. They vary in qualities and rarity, and the more useful Divine Protection is, the rarer it will be to meet a person with it.

Apparently, Meili had a Divine Protection that allowed her to control the mabeasts; or at least that is what she had implied. If that was the case, then it would explain how such a small and fragile-looking girl could act as the leader of so many dangerous beasts. In addition, he had discovered that she had reached the limit of mabeasts that she could control with her ability, and that this caused them to stop obeying her. Perhaps such information would not be very useful at that time, but if he died, which he was beginning to believe could not really be prevented, it would be.

"W-Why are you keeping me alive?" Subaru asked her, struggling to ignore the tremendous pain in his legs; comparable to having them stuck in the caldera of a volcano.

"Hmm? What kind of stuuupid question is that? It's obvious that I'm doiiing it because I need my partner to meet with me and do what we've been aaasked to do. With the state my mabeasts are in, if I tried to make them tooorture you, you would be eaten even before they staaarted. Honestly, I thought you already knew thaaat... Wasn't it you who discovered our plaaan...? I still can't believe you ruined daaaays of effort and work. We had been waiiiiting for you in the sewers, which smell soooo bad, just to be able to ambush you at the best tiiime. We were careful as our client aaasked us to be, and it still didn't do any good. To make matters wooorse, we would've attacked once we found out you discoooovered our plan, but we wasted a loootta time preparing the booooys. So I'm veeeery frustrated! Onii-san, tell me, how did you discover our perfect plaaaan?"

"I would tell you…" Subaru replied, smiling despite the pain he felt. Just knowing that he had ruined the assassins' efforts improved his mood a little. "… if I could."

"Hm!" Turning her face away, offended, Meili stopped looking at him. "Stupid Onii-san… Hmm… Elsa, where did you goooo…? If she doesn't get here soon, our target will bleed to deaaath. What it's taking her so loooong? Should I keep waaaaiting for her? Or should I just do the job myseeelf? Though, it's true that don't think it will wooork... The boys are too agitated, and most of the those I brought from the desert have almost stopped obeeeeying me completely... Hmm... What should I do-? Hmm? " As the girl rambled on loudly, the sound of approaching footprints reached the ears of her, her beasts and Subaru. "Elsa?"

Subaru, who was surrounded by multiple beasts that made it impossible for him to look in the direction from which the footsteps came, feared that it was the girl's companion. If it were Elsa, he was not sure he could end his own life before the torture, as he did during his previous death. If it really were Elsa, the emerald rock that prevented him from dying would be placed on his neck and he would suffer extremely once again. Thus, with his hearth in his throat, Subaru silently listened to the sound of footsteps approaching.

"I'm sorry I ain't who ya expected, little girl! But I'm afraid your mabeast party's over!" With a loud voice like a train, extremely familiar to Subaru, the owner of the steps assured that he would stop Meili and her mabeasts. Excited, Subaru had the luxury of having a little hope again, since Ricardo had come to exterminate every last one of the mabeasts attracted by, according to the girl, his scent.

Julius knew that removing the knife from his leg would increase the bleeding. However, not doing so would mean losing mobility, and he couldn't afford that. Applying force to his mandible, the knight ripped the metal weapon from his thigh and threw it away, out of the area that comprised the dining room. Until a moment ago, he had found himself at an advantage, but now the scales had been reversed and it was he who was at a disadvantage.

"I had heard that you are capable of cheating death, but I never expected that you would be able to regenerate lost limbs." Looking at Elsa warily, Julius made a makeshift tourniquet out of a piece of his cloak, to ensure more effective combat time.

"It's just a blessing that I owe to Mother. Thanks to it, I've always been able to fight without worrying about what happens to my body." Licking her lips, the girl began to approach him with the intention of resuming the fight.

"I think I know what that ability of yours is. Some call it vampirism, but its name is Cursed Doll. An ancient black magic technique commonly used in Gusteko for murder. Though I must admit that avoiding the side effect, which involves loss of self-consciousness in return of a supposed immortality, it's something worthy of admiration. " Having understood the origin of the Bowel Hunter's immortality, Julius exposed to the assassin the information he knew about her supposed blessing.

"Hmm…" Stopping midway, Elsa looked at him with apparent calmness. "You seem to have deciphered my blessing. Something to be expected from the Valuable Knight. Still, what are you planning to do with that information? It's not like it's going to help you kill me..."

"Thank you for confirming my suspicions. From what I see, you really don't mind that I know the secret of your supposed blessing."

"Why would I? I love fighting at a disadvantage, so if knowing my secret helps you to give me a better fight, then I'm willing to let you know." Licking her lips again, Elsa began to take up an impulse position.

"In that case, I will tell you that the Cursed Doll technique has a weakness, and that is that no matter how much damage the body receives, if the soul is damaged, the host will die. Something that is extremely advantageous for me, considering that my Spirit Knight's technique, Clarista, imbues the edge of my sword with a great amount of mana, making it capable of slicing the very existence of whom it reaches; including his soul."

"Hmm… A battle of life and death… How exciting! In that case, let's give it our all! Every last drop of our blood!" Having shared all the information they needed to share, Elsa finally lunged at Julius. He, without hesitation, dodged her and, making an arc with the tip of his sword, tried to slit her throat.

With her head brushing the ground, Elsa dodged Julius' attack, then pulled another knife from her dress and tried to sever the knight's ankle. He, realizing the assassin's intentions, kicked hard, hitting her elbow. The force of the kick was such that Elsa's newly regenerated arm was bent at a completely abnormal angle; it was dislocated.

The bones that formed the junction of her right elbow were completely separated, so Elsa was forced to move away from Julius again. Her arm was dangling, and now there was a strange bulge where her elbow was supposed to be. Still, Elsa had not dropped the knife in that hand. Smiling, the woman took his forearm and, without making the slightest gesture of pain, set about rearranging her elbow.

"Clarista!" Of course, Julius did not wait patiently for the woman to rearrange her arm.

Before the woman could finish repositioning her elbow bones, Julius' sword was already inches away from her face. Looking at her reflection in the steel of the weapon, Elsa could see that her face was now bathed in blood.

Without losing her wicked smile, Elsa applied all her strength to the forearm she was taking and, with a cracking sound, set her elbow bone in place. As she did so, gliding with her feet, the assassin moved away from the path of the sword, backing to the side. Releasing a whistle into the wind while cutting it, the sword formed an arc, leaving behind a trail of light, and returned on its way to attempt once more to cut through the assassin.

With a rapid movement of his feet, Julius was increasingly cornering Elsa who, feeling disadvantaged, was forced to jump backwards and fall on one of the few tables that had not been destroyed during the battle. It was then that she noticed a sharp pain on her face. From the base of her ear, passing through her cheek and up to her chin, there was a deep sword cut, from which blood was constantly flowing; the cut covered a great part of her face.

"Hmm… If this keeps up, I'll end up losing. I need to get the offense back." Carefully feeling the handles of her knives with the palms of her hands, Elsa surveyed what was left of the dining room. Part of it was charred, most of the tables had been turned into rubble and the wooden walls were full of holes, which had been made both during the combat between her and Julius, and during the brief combat between the mercenaries and the mabeasts.

Having a trajectory in mind, Elsa jumped up to one of the walls and, taking momentum, began to jump from one point of the dining room to another, as if she were a projectile. Between each leap she took, she took the opportunity to attack Julius, who had found himself needing to stay in one spot in order to defend himself from the onslaught. The combat was in its final stage, whoever remained standing in the next few minutes would be the winner, while the life of the loser would be extinguished. That was inevitable, so the question was: Who would die?