Back-Stabbing

Zero Days since the Last Death (Twelve Deaths)

Once the shadows' efforts to forcibly keep his soul in that world of darkness were exhausted, Subaru abruptly returned to his body. "Koff! Koff!" Instinctively, Subaru brought his hands to his chest, which he pressed hard with his palms. Thump, thump... Thump, thump... Thump, thump... There deep in his ribcage, he felt the beat of life. His heart was healthy; there was no hole piercing it from side to side.

Taking a deep breath, Subaru filled his lungs with air. His heart then pumped blood throughout his entire being, distributing the absorbed oxygen to every corner of his body. It had been a quick death, but not a painless one. Once again, Subaru found it necessary to be grudgingly grateful for the overwhelming mantle of death, for were it not for the numbing effect that accompanied it, Subaru would probably have been scarred with crippling trauma.

His spirit would have finally been consumed by the flames of death, leaving Subaru as an empty shell, similar to how Leith had subsequently ended up upon each arrival at his family's residence in each loop. Subaru indeed was convinced that, were it not for a deep craving moving him, his mind would have completely snapped quite some time ago. Subaru could not regard himself as a person of great mental fortitude, and yet he himself had to accept that he was able to cope with traumatic situations better than the average person did.

"No..." Subaru whispered. He had sunk into depression once before; his mind completely broken. Had it not been for Anastasia, Mimi, Julius, Tivey and Ricardo, he would most likely never have emerged from that emotional abyss into which he had plummeted. If he was now able to deal with each of those excruciatingly painful and disheartening events, it was because he had a promise to keep, and the resolve required not to break it.

Anastasia had lifted him up when he had fallen into that abyss, Anastasia had kept him company, Anastasia had put up with his eccentric and unpleasant attitudes, Anastasia had given him a place to live, Anastasia had given him a reason to go on. Anastasia seized his soul, Anastasia seized his determination; becoming the source of it. Anastasia chained him to life with a promise he had to keep, a goal he had to complete, a destiny he had to reach. For her he would do whatever it took, even if it completely broke his mind...

Blinking, Subaru finally snapped out of his mental ramblings. It was then that he realized that in front of him were two men, one who looked as normal as a person could look in that world, the other who looked like a beast out of a fairy tale; the eyes of both were higher than normal. Otto and Utada, looking worried and indecipherable, respectively, waited expectantly for what Subaru had to say.

For both of them, the question "What's your plan, Subaru-sama?", had just been asked. Instead of the expected answer, what they both heard were the agonizing post-Return by Death groans that Subaru instinctively proffered, as he clutched his chest, tightly above his heart, desperately. With a sensation not unlike a heart attack spreading from his chest, Subaru had fallen to his knees without even realizing it.

Startled, Utada and Otto stopped the concurrent conversation and moved in front of Subaru with the aim of checking his condition; however, Subaru had already released his chest by then. After several seconds of silence, Subaru's vacant gaze recovered the glow concerning rationality, a sign they both understood as Subaru regaining his composure.

What Utada and Otto had made out from all this, was that Subaru, shocked by what was happening, had been overwhelmed by despair and this had led him to suffer a panic attack; or at least so Subaru perceived it. The former were wrong, and the latter was right. Without giving that matter any further thought, Subaru stretched out his hand, which was quickly taken by Otto, something that caused a deep bitterness to envelop Subaru. What he was about to do was the most treacherous and insidious, but it was necessary. I will do whatever it takes, he repeated in his mind.

"I had a vision..." Once standing, Subaru opted not to waste any more time and got to the point.

The "panic attack" had been due to the "vision"; he would use that ruse. In the future that had been revealed to him through his false Divine Protection, Subaru envisioned grotesque bloodbaths. One by one, each of them would fall like moths before a trap of light. In the end, only Subaru would be left, who would die trying to save them; an absurd lie that came from the mouth of someone so pathetic that, even in such a situation, he took advantage of it to self-centeredly portray himself as a saint.

Subaru needed to be able to reckon on the sympathy of his companions, he couldn't afford to lose their trust; humbly, that was his excuse... As he recounted what he saw in the futuristic vision, Subaru never took his eyes off Utada. He was the reason he was trying so hard to make the lie convincing. Everything he was saying had a purpose; even his pathetic good-natured exploits totally detached from reality.

"Wait, Natsuki..." After nearly five minutes had passed since Subaru began to narrate what he had glimpsed thanks to his fake Divine Protection, Otto interrupted him. His merchant friend was noticeably anxious. "... I honestly don't understand what you're getting at."

"..." A brief but awkward silence preceded the reply. "I need you and Leith to stay here. Utada, you'll have to protect them." It was then that Subaru finally mustered the courage to say that for which he had so adorned his false vision. "You will die, there's no doubt about it." He stated with complete seriousness, subsequently pointing to the door that would lead them outside. "If you walk through that door, you will have assured your own deaths."

"Our deaths?! How can you be so sure of that, Natsuki?! Besides, what about you, didn't you die in that vision too?!" Otto questioned him, becoming visibly agitated.

"My Divine Protection's never wrong, Otto. It's because of it that I'm here and not six feet under. So I need you to calm down and listen to me carefully." Having listened to Subaru, Otto took a deep breath and, with a nod of his head, signaled Subaru to continue. "Thank you... Now, if you paid attention to what I was saying, then you'll recall that I clearly stated that my death was because I tried to help you guys; specifically Leith and you. Utada tried to protect us, and although he managed to hold out for several minutes, in the end he was overwhelmed by the forces of the Witch Cult. So, no matter what we do, if you come with me, our fate is to die before we make it out of the commercial district. Therefore, I'll go alone to the castle and make sure that guards are sent for you."

"But Natsuki..." Otto seemed willing to continue arguing, however, Subaru did not have the time to engage in another annoying and lengthy discussion. It was pointless. That had been proven during the previous loop, when he tried to convince Otto that going to Leith's house was a bad idea. If he stayed a second too long, he would risk Leith snapping out of the state of shock he was in and it would only make it more complicated for him to get out of that place.

"I've already made up my mind, Otto, so I don't intend to argue with you any further." With a bitter expression, Otto sealed his lips and refrained from speaking further. Paying no attention to his friend's dismay, Subaru shifted his focus to Utada, who still spoke no words. "Utada, your job is to keep me alive, isn't it?" There was no response, which Subaru took as an indication for him to say whatever he had to say. "You know firsthand how effective my Divine Protection visions are, so you'd understand that the best thing you can do is obey me."

"Ya're correct, Subaru-sama." Utada replied, nodding.

"In that case, as I'd already said, stay here and protect both Otto and Leith. Don't let them leave here, unless this place is attacked. My chances of survival, and yours, will be greater if you do as I say. So I'll repeat myself. Your job is to keep me alive, isn't it, Utada?"

"... That's right."

Once again he would leave them behind, abandon them to their fate. If Leith, after his departure from there, begged to go to the rescue of his family, it would no longer be a matter of concern to him. If they died, at least he would not witness it, and therefore would not have to carry the painful image in his mind for the rest of his pathetic existence.

"Then stay here and let me go alone to the castle. Only then will you fulfill your duty..."

Subaru had not lied; at least not entirely. If Utada accompanied him, he would fail his duty and murder Subaru. Subaru's heart would be pierced with the pointed haft of Utada's axe and thus begin another loop. Perhaps that same scenario would not repeat itself, however, the outcome would; Subaru would be killed by Utada.

Subaru had initially thought that Utada's attack was due to a stupid misunderstanding. Utada, who had barely survived Petelgeuse's attack, had set off badly wounded in search of Subaru, only to finally find him conversing cordially with a Sin Archbishop. In that scenario, it was not surprising that Subaru had ended up killed.

If I did things differently, the result would inherently be different. So he had thought before he died. But that idea had expired. Utada hates the Witch Cult, that much is undeniable, it is a hatred capable of clouding his, usually sober, judgment; Subaru witnessed it on a couple of occasions. Utada longed to end the life of every member of the cult, and of those who sympathized with them; Subaru had no doubt about it.

Therefore, Subaru was convinced that Utada would not keep his cool the moment he witnessed how the archbishops treated him with relative friendliness, at least for members of the Witch Cult; the mere fact that he was not killed on sight was proof of this. Utada, the steadfast mercenary who always obeyed his orders to the letter, had lost his sanity in the face of Lust and partially forgotten his primary responsibility which was to keep Subaru safe. Which implied that Utada was not in perfect control of his emotions when it came to matters related to the Witch Cult.

Utada deeply hated the Cult due to past events, and there was nothing in that world that could quell the anger born of that hatred. If Utada were to lose his mind upon witnessing the Cult's good treatment of Subaru, something he considered extremely likely to occur, then there was no doubt that he would discard his order to protect Subaru and advance with murderous intent. Once the desire to assassinate him was satiated, he would probably proceed to fight whatever archbishops he had in front of him.

For that reason, Subaru would need to keep his bodyguard as far away from him as possible. And not only because of the amalgam of fear, pain and hatred that had been planted in his heart; a seed of negative feelings directed towards Utada, who had betrayed him and stabbed him in the back. To achieve his goal and stay alive at the same time, it was necessary for him to get away from Utada, and this was mainly because he would need to make use of the information he had obtained during the previous loop.

Indeed, he would once again need to use his status as an "anomaly" in order to cross the borders of death erected by the Witch Cult. And Subaru was convinced that what to the witch cultists was a persona grata, to Utada would be a persona non-grata. In short, in order for Subaru to make use of the tool he had acquired during the previous loop, he would need to prevent Utada from learning of the anomalous importance of his existence to the Witch Cult.

What was the purpose of his life for the cult? Why was he the only one whose life they were willing to spare? Subaru could not claim with complete certainty that he understood this. The reasons behind the ambiguous actions of the Witch Cult were unknown to him. Did it have to do with his ability, Return by Death? Did it have to do with his alienated existence in that world alien to his own? Was it connected to the fact that beings related, in one way or another, to the witch, always knew how to find him?

Once again, Subaru really could not be sure, not as long as he refrained from questioning the archbishops about it. However, he did not have the time for it, and besides, it was something that lacked importance under the present circumstances. Still, Subaru understood that he could not evade the matter forever, eventually curiosity would be overwhelming enough to lead him to inquire into it.

"But that time isn't now..." Subaru murmured, as he entered a narrow alley that would direct him westward.

Subaru would try to avoid encountering the witch cultists commanded by Petelgeuse and Sirius. He would evade them as much as possible, and if they should find him again, he would use his newly acquired knowledge to get rid of them. With that plan in mind, Subaru ran nimbly through alleys and backstreets.

Unlike in the last moments of the previous loop, on this occasion he had not completely discarded his caution. He had not, however, resorted to stealth to move between the alleys. He would not skimp on using measures to shorten the time it would take him to reach the castle, for that was his priority. Therefore, when he suddenly came upon a group of guards heading towards the business district, and one of them called out to him, Subaru could not help but grunt in annoyance.

"Hey, you! Didn't you hear that the city is on high alert! You should return home immediately!" Subaru considered ignoring the warning and continuing to run, but immediately concluded that this might be suspicious and dismissed the idea; after all, he was alone, and the last thing he wanted was to be attacked by guards.

"Appreciate the concern! However, it's unnecessary. I'd already been warned about it, so it's exactly home where I'm headed." Forcing a smile on his face, Subaru informed the guard as he curtsied slightly.

"Hmm... Understood! In that case you may proceed on your way." The guard, just like him, seemed to find himself in a hurry, so the matter was settled within seconds; something Subaru was inwardly grateful for. Considering the possible eminent death of the kind man who had taken of his time to inform him of the situation, Subaru set about to blurt out a few parting words. Though he was unable to do so...

"Huh?! What's..? We're under attack! Get into defensive formation and prepare to...! Agrhhh!" Suddenly, a group of up to fifteen cultists emerged from the darkness itself, surrounding the group of guards in an instant.

Stunned, since he had not been the main target of the cultists, Subaru watched indifferently as the guards were slaughtered; it was inevitable, he repeated in his mind. The group of guards did not exceed five individuals, so they were quickly overwhelmed by the strength and numbers of the cultists. It was to be expected, considering how depleted the capital's security forces were.

If one took into account the picturesque and grotesque death landscape found in the commercial district, especially in the south, then it was safe to say that the siege of the city had begun at least an hour or two before Utada became aware of it. Considering the trail of death, it was reasonable to say that the Witch Cult had entered from the southeast of the Royal Capital, and from there had begun to move northeast, with the castle as its main target.

In the process, the Archbishops had probably split up, thus dividing the cultists under their command. Wrath and Sloth would cover the commercial district, the slums, and probably the urban district, which stretched east of the commercial district. Lust would take over the nobility district and Greed would go ahead and take the lead, initiating the siege of the castle on his own. Pride was missing, so Subaru was convinced that those four were all the Archbishops currently in the capital.

Four... It may not strike one as a very large number, however, one archbishop by himself could devastate an entire city; having four in one place, it would not be an exaggeration to say that such a place would transmute into hell on earth. Approximately two hours had passed since hell was summoned in southern Lugunica, in that time, undoubtedly hundreds of guards had fallen.

The group of guards he had encountered were probably among the last ones dispatched by the garrison barracks. They were stragglers... Subaru, only during the previous loop, had come to see guards advancing westward. Since this was the occasion when he had left Leith's house the fastest, it had led to this most unlikely encounter.

Most likely the cultists had been attracted by Subaru's presence. Why had it happened so quickly? Subaru could not be sure, however, he certainly remembered how every time he used Return by Death, the fake Zarestia seemed slightly more agitated. Did every time he died, his scent, presence, or whatever, increased? If that was the case, the guards had turned out to be utterly unfortunate.

Misfortune had brought them to their untimely deaths; fate, fate was undoubtedly laughing at the cost of their lives. At that moment, those five guards were experiencing hell on earth firsthand. The one who seemed to be the leader of the group, the captain, fell to the ground with his throat sliced open, crimson gushes erupting from his mouth and from the cut on his neck.

The quick death of their leader caused the rest of the guards to fall into disarray. Bewilderment and commotion spread among the men, who vainly swung their swords, thus barely extending their lives. One of the cultists slipped into the shadows and stabbed another of the guards in his lower back, in the space between the upper and lower part of his armor. The hooded man twisted his blade and pulled it out of the guard's body, causing streams of blood to begin flooding the silver armor.

Another of the guards began to scream, as he writhed on the ground. His armor had been heated by one of the cultists' magical attacks, and was now red hot. Agonizingly, the guard was cooked inside his armor. Like wet paper, his skin began to peel away, sticking firmly to the metal surface.

Another of the guards was stabbed with a dagger in each eye, and as he screamed in despair, he was decapitated. And the last one, unable to do anything but watch paralyzed as his comrades were slaughtered, died convulsing, covered by another blanket of flames. In less than a minute, the five guards were no more than corpses on the side of the path.

Once they had concluded their work, the witch cultists turned their hidden faces towards Subaru. A powerful shiver ran through his whole body, yet his indifferent expression did not waver. In the blink of an eye, the cultists left the crime scene behind and surrounded Subaru. The hooded gazes of the fifteen sadistic cultists were fixed on him, like a horde of expectant zealots.

An overwhelming sense of discomfort swept over Subaru's body; it was as if every glance from every cultist weighed a ton. The weight of the mute expectations of the group of fanatics constricted Subaru, making him feel as if he were short of breath. What do they want from me, he wondered. They had not uttered a word, and yet, by their behavior alone Subaru understood that they expected something from him.

The silence of their expectations, the heavy weight of their stares; Subaru just could not stand it a second longer. What did they expect from him? Why did they not kill him, as they had done with the guards? Why did they only favor him? Was he Pride? Subaru was really beginning to have doubts about it. The cultists wanted something from him, but he was unwilling to satisfy them. He needed to get away from them.

"Get the fuck out of the way!" He exclaimed authoritatively. If they truly considered him the missing Sin Archbishop, then Subaru would take advantage of such naivety. He would not be a piece on the Witch Cult's board, but that was no reason to throw away the cards fate had dealt him. "The Archbishop of Pride commands you to let him through! Don't you listen?" They would not check in a gospel, Subaru was convinced of this.

"..."

Without breaking the silence, the cultists made an exaggerated bow, and just as they appeared, they disappeared. The unchanged darkness once again became their abode, only Subaru remained under the reddish evening sun. As he had hoped, his plan took effect. Initially he had considered that he was being overly optimistic, however, he could no longer deny that the information he had acquired before his last death had proved vital.

"If only those idiots weren't so naive and stubborn..." He muttered, looking at the pool of blood spawned from the dead bodies of the guards; in his mind flashed his two friends and his bodyguard. If Leith was willing to abandon his family, if Otto wasn't so foolish and deluded, and if Utada had better control over his emotions... Maybe he would have managed to take them with him...

"It turns out I was right, Subaru-sama. Ya're one of 'em." Subaru was still deep in his musings, when a voice hoarse with anger reached his ears. "Ya deceived the lady, the captain and Julius-sama. Ya lived at their expense comfortably, while behind their backs ya actually served the damned witch!"

Subaru's heart skipped a beat. His blood chilled and he felt his spirit threatening to escape from his body. In front of him, with a gaze so piercingly sharp that it might as well slice him to the soul, stood Utada. With his huge claws poised to match his murderous gaze, his bodyguard slowly approached him.

"What're you doing here? I told you to stay with Leith and Otto." There was no doubt, Utada had seen him interact with the cult, it would prove useless to chalk it up to a simple misunderstanding; the events of the last loop were repeating themselves. If he told him the truth, would Utada believe him? No, Subaru had no way to explain the truth without breaking the taboo. There was no way he could explain how he knew the cult favored him without mentioning his time leaping ability; or at least at that tense moment he could not think of one. If anything, the only option he had left was to avoid the subject of his relationship with the cult.

"They went in search of Hendar-san's family, and I... I decided to tail ya, Subaru-sama. After all, how'd I trust the word of someone who reeks of the witch's miasma?" He had heard something really important. He reeked of the witch's miasma? That was the clue he was missing...

"I reek of miasma? What are you talking about, Utada?"

"Don't play dumb, Subaru-sama. I witnessed how ya got rid of that group of cultists just by orderin' it. I'm sure they wouldn't have obeyed ya, had ya not been someone important within the cult." Even though his eyes glowed with seething anger and hatred, Utada seemed willing to continue conversing with him. Could he even reason with Utada? Could he get him to listen to him?

"Since when did you notice the smell?" He needed to know, he needed to better understand the circumstances surrounding him.

"From the moment I rescued ya in Priestella, at that moment the stench exuded from yer body was unmistakable to me; the stench of a witch cultist." Clenching his fists tightly, to the point where the sound of his muscles flexing became audible, Utada revealed the truth that he had been concealing all this time.

"Since that time, huh..." Subaru whispered, quickly going over in his mind everything that had happened in Priestella. Nevertheless, he stopped that train of thought forcibly and, frowning, looked Utada straight in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell on me? You hate the cult, don't you? Then why did you put up with all that time in silence, when you had in your possession the information you needed to turn Anastasia against me?"

"Turn Anastasia-sama against ya? Ha!" Sneered the mercenary. "I thought ya knew her better, Subaru-sama. That woman lives by and for business; if somethin' makes her profit, she'd never risk losin' it. Ya, Subaru-sama... Ya're a cash cow for the Hoshin Tradin' Company. I've no doubt she would've accepted yer 'condition', if it meant continuin' to use ya; just as she acquiesced to so many of yer eccentricities."

"..." Having heard such a statement, Subaru could but remain silent; Utada was not telling outright lies.

"No... If I'd told her 'bout yer stench, I'd most likely have been silenced; my only evidence, after all, was my sense of smell. Few are those capable of pickin' up the scent of the witch's miasma, so there would be no way to corroborate that what I said was real. Besides, ya saved the lady's life. And with that the high command of the Fang of Iron began to trust ya; there was no way I'd do anythin'... So I waited, I waited silently, patiently. Once ya showed yer true colors, I'd be the one to slay ya. Yer stench fluctuated over time, and for a while I became relaxed as it diminished greatly. However, today that smell has reached its peak, the day the Witch Cult has decided to attack the city, the day ya've met with yer cultist minions. So today's the day to fulfill my duty. Now's that moment I've been waitin' for so long! So it's a pleasure to meet ya, Subaru-sama! And farewell, good riddance!"

"Same to you, Utada..." With a crooked smile creeping onto his face, Subaru replied to Utada; he had gotten all the information he needed. However... that did not mean he would die without a fight. "Kuro! Shamak!"

Avoiding Utada's first attack, Subaru moved to the right. Where he had been seconds before, now a dense black cloud blanketed everything. Quickly Subaru's field of vision was covered by darkness, preventing him from seeing past his own nose. Nonetheless, Subaru had not completely wasted his time spent in training sessions and sparring with Julius.

Nimbly, Subaru set his gaze on a specific point in the pitch blackness and began to run towards it. In just a couple of seconds he found himself out of the cloud of darkness. Hastily inspecting his surroundings, and not noticing his bodyguard, he started running towards the same alley from which he had emerged shortly before running into the squad of guards. Without looking back, Subaru entered the alley and began to run with all his might.

He had gained extremely valuable information; his odor theory had been confirmed. What would he do with that information? As yet he did not know, however, he could feel an enormous weight being lifted from his shoulders. He was no longer completely lost in the darkness... The scent of the witch... A scent that fluctuated... It increased when he died and when he broke the taboo... It attracted those related to the witch... There was no longer any doubt about it, his presence in that world was somehow related to the Jealousy Witch. Again, what would he do with that information? Once again, he still did not know...

"Argh!" Stifling the urge to scream, Subaru fell to the ground. He did not need to look down at his feet to understand that they had been severed by a strong claw strike from Utada. Would he kill him using only his hands?

"Is that all ya're capable of, Subaru-sama? For a Sin Archbishop, ya're shockingly weak."

"I never said I was one... Shamak!" Once again he used the spell of darkness, but it was useless. His body was jerked into the air, and in what takes a blink of an eye, he found himself out of the cloud of darkness.

"I thought I'd enjoy toyin' with ya more... But it seems that, in my naivety, I actually came to believe that ya were someone innocent, someone who, by sheer bad luck, had ended up imbued by the witch's miasma. I'd like to say that I hate ya, but I can't seem to do that. I hate what ya're, make no doubt 'bout it; however, I don't hate ya as a person, Subaru-sama..." Listlessly, the mercenary sighed. "Be that as it may, that doesn't mean I'll forgive ya. Ya actually betrayed us, left us to our fate and escaped so that ya'd join your despicable allies. Therefore, I'll make sure to make your last moments of life extremely agonizin'."

Subaru's world was enveloped by a black mantle of suffering. Unable to respond to Utada's last words, Subaru could only utter bellows of pain. Using his powerful jaws, Utada crushed his enemy's left arm. His sharp fangs bore into Subaru's fragile flesh, reaching tendons and bone. A sound like something bursting flooded the atmosphere and then blood splattered all over the alley; the arm had been ripped from of his body, leaving behind only pieces of bone and shreds of sinew, flesh and skin.

Utada, spitting out the remnants of flesh that had remained in his mouth, tightened his grip on Subaru. His ten claws were buried in Subaru's back, while he applied force with his jaw to tear off the other arm. By this time, Subaru had already begun to lose consciousness, however, the violent waves of pain did not allow him to sink into the indulgent eternal sleep.

Once he forcibly ripped off both arms using his fangs, Utada swept his claws down to Subaru's sides, slicing flesh and skin from the spine outward. As he did this, Utada rotated Subaru's body and, with the full force of his arms, broke both of Subaru's feet, who was now hanging upside down. An electric wave of intense agonizing pain ran through Subaru's body, who was no longer able to even scream. With knee bones protruding from the skin and streams of blood flowing dangerously thick, Utada savagely shook Subaru's shattered body and slammed it against the nearest wall, scattering his brains all over the air. A final wave of numbing pain engulfed Subaru and then everything went out...