Chapter 4.1 - The end and the beginning
'I'm finally going to find out what's behind all this.'
As he approached the door, feeling a slight shiver down the spine.
A drop of sweat could be seen on his face, as he swallowed his saliva, clearly apprehensive.
Afraid of what would come next.
Every moment that he approached the door, his heart raced faster and faster.
Despite his apparent fear, Subaru knew he could not turn back, he needed to put an end to this loop.
Through past events, knowing that if he did nothing, inevitably, the beast would wake up, no longer giving him any way to escape, this time he had either to face the beast or die running.
Even if there was the remote possibility of his death, he couldn't give in to his fear and leave everything he'd fought so far in vain, making a lot of sacrifices to get there, therefore he couldn't back away, not now!
Even if, internally, his animal side begged him to escape from there.
Even if he could be wrong in his deductions.
Even though the place looked like a perfect scene for yet another one of his deaths.
Still, he couldn't just run away.
He couldn't give in to the animal side and let this opportunity slip away.
The opportunity to finally know what caused the beast to appear upon the city.
Whatever was inside, Subaru knew that danger lurked.
By feeling as if the danger watched him, the very impression the place had gave it upon him.
When he got close enough from the door, slightly raised his hands to knock on the door.
…
While the knocks echoed over the place, yet nothing answered.
The sound of the knocks heard by no one, making it seem as not a single soul inside the house at all.
Realizing that no one had actually responded, he tried again, this time with much more intensity.
…
Once again, Subaru had no response.
He began to wonder if there really was anyone inside.
Had he really been right in his deductions?
What if, perhaps, Subaru deduced wrong about the events that happened to the Elven girl and the thief were somehow connected with the beast's appearing?
But then, that would not only mean that all his sacrifice had been in vain, but also his imminent death.
After all, if indeed the place that Subaru wrongly deduced to be the trigger for the beast's appearing, it could only mean that, inevitably, the monster would appear, and nothing could be done.
Even though he had partially lost his hopes of finally finding an end to the whole mystery, he couldn't leave without at least making sure what was really inside.
Silence was not the best answer.
The vague silence couldn't give a definitive answer to the questions, he needed to examine further.
'Come on Subaru, I'm going to enter this house and put an end to this story! However, if my deductions are wrong, then I will die, once again…'
'Well, it's not like doing anything now it will help', he sighed, while trying to calm the heart, by gathering all the courage as much as he could in order to face that challenge.
By putting his hand on the door handle, turning it hard, perhaps, thinking that it might be locked.
But apparently that wasn't the case, as his efforts to turn the door handle were more than enough.
Realizing the unlocked door, his eyes narrowed, starting to wonder why about the opened door.
A mixture of surprise and fear filled his chest.
Surprised, because there was no apparent reason to leave a house in the middle of the slums, unlocked.
Even more so when there didn't seem to be anyone inside.
With each passing moment, his suspicions only grew, as the apprehension grew as well.
In an attempt to mask his fears, Subaru forced a determined look on his face, while the strength to held the door handle only increased.
Turning it to the end.
Until hearing a click, indicating that the door has finally opened.
And with one last breath, he pushed, with all his force.
At first glance, the place was partially dark.
His eyes began to get used to the surroundings, and in less than a second, the whole place could now be seen clearly.
In addition to the vision, he could smell.
The smell…
Although, primarily, it was a predominant smell of mold and old furniture, still he could smell a metallic scent in the background.
A metallic taste that started to pop up at the back of his mouth.
All his senses pointing to only one thing.
Death…
The atmosphere that hung over the place, no other words could be better to explain than death.
The killing intent was huge, while it seemed to permeate the entire place.
Sensing the enormous killing intent and the scent of blood, his eyes widened considerably, in an expression of shock.
Surprised that he didn't think anyone was inside, but the scent of blood put him on high alert.
Despite the initial shock, he continued to get even deeper into the place.
By turning to his right, he could see a person.
A man.
A huge man, a big wooden stick beside him, while wearing old black clothes, his skin was dark and his fur white, yes fur, because he didn't even seem to have any hair.
Lying on the floor while the old man's back rested on the bar of the place.
A red liquid could be seen around his body.
And with his belly opened, Subaru knew, in fact, that the man was already dead.
The horrific sight shocked Subaru, in which he had a reflux and an overwhelming urge to vomit. While trying to hold back the vomit with great difficulty, knowing exactly what it meant.
His heart now beating fast, as it looked, he shook like a leaf.
He could clearly hear every beat of the heart.
By approaching the dead man's body lightly, he could see, in front of the body, another person.
Her white dress that now appeared to be decorated with red patches all over it.
A gash could be seen running the full length of her belly, as parts of her vitals organs were out of the body, in a scene that looked like it came out straight out of a horror movie.
Subaru knew exactly who she was, as he instantly recognized her, her pointed ears, her silver hair, were unmistakable.
Despite this, a crystal, which hung in the middle of her neck, glowed, in a light that pulsed stronger and stronger.
A light that conveyed hate.
Subaru could feel the anger.
Anger.
Rage of a being, who was about to destroy everything and everyone.
Anger emanating from that crystal, which Subaru could feel in a mystical way.
Leaving the shock aside, when realizing what had actually happened.
Turning to his left side.
He could see a blonde girl, which Subaru knew exactly who she was.
"F-felt", he sighed, inaudible.
All the corpses in the place had one thing in common.
In addition to their wounds, which indicated clear signs of battle, cuts ran the length of their bodies, but there was a common cut across all of them.
The cut was clean, it stretched the entire length of their belly into their lower half, a perfect cut from someone who knew exactly where to find their victim's intestines…
'What the hell is this!? I need to get out of here!'
Knowing he couldn't risk staying there any longer.
For there was still a great possibility that the killer be on the scene.
Turning towards the door, he began to run desperately.
Completely ignoring the pain in his legs, the adrenaline that had already returned, numbed the pain and propelled him, gave him the energy he needed to escape that terrible place.
As he approached the exit, a figure appeared in the corner of his eye.
A black shadow, swiftly passing in front of Subaru at a speed that seemed to approach lightning.
In an action of pure reflex, he threw his body to the side as he used his arms trying to shield himself from the figure.
The impact caused him to be thrown away, going in the same direction in which he initially ran.
For Subaru the whole world seemed to be spinning, as he exited through the door, while rolling from the balcony to the stairs, finally falling to the floor in front of the house.
His vision blurred for a moment.
His vision around his surroundings darkened by the intensity of the impact, and he could only see a small fraction of it.
Initially stunned by the impact, he began to gain strength again to get up, trying to use his arms for support, until realizing something missed.
Still lying on the floor, he realized that he couldn't use his right arm for support.
His right hand could no longer be felt, not even his forearm, it felt like an anesthetic effect, a psychological pain began to be felt, while physical pain started to appear.
Initially non-existent, the pulse grew periodically.
With each pulse, the pain increased.
The eyes widened in shock to see that his entire forearm laid on the floor, away from the body.
Raising the right arm, he could clearly see what he felt missing, and that was half of his arm.
"Aaaaaaaaagh", he cried, desperately, realizing that he had lost half of his right arm.
In an attempt to stop the wound using his other hand, a pool of blood slowly formed around him, while the blood spurted freely into the air, falling to the ground.
"Ara ara~"
A silhouette appeared in front of the door, what was once a shadow, became more and more light, until being completely visible in the daylight.
A beautiful woman, she was tall, had purple eyes and wavy hair from the same black shade as Subaru's hair, her hair braided into a long tail on the left side of her head that descended to her hips. Her clothes consisted of a set of black capes decorated with purple threads, and a purple flower on the left side of the head.
Her face was one of pure malice and lust. She seemed to be slightly surprised, as if she hadn't expected Subaru to appear.
Although, slight excitement could be seen in her eyes, while her cheeks were rosy.
"Looks like you managed to dodge my attack, what a lucky boy...", a mischievous smile appeared on her face as she licked her lips in a show of pure lust.
"It makes me even more excited to know what your insides are like~"
Despite the throbbing pain that took over his entire body, Subaru struggled to his feet as he tried to use his coat to staunch the wound in his arm, preparing to wield his blade with his left hand
"Yo-you bitch! You're the one summoning that horrible beast over here!?", even with the pain, his blood boiled with hatred, for the woman, who apparently seemed to be responsible for the onset of the calamity.
"Beast? I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just doing my job."
"Ag-ah Y-you're not going to get away with it, motherfucker!"
His legs were trembling, his strength to stand already wearing thin, his coat now fully covered the exposed wound on his right arm, as he wielded one of the blades in his single hand, pointing it straight at the assassin.
The hellish pain, that it seemed to rip through his entire body every time it pulsed.
But, Subaru's rationality could no longer be achieved, only guided by his animal instincts now.
"Yes! Show me everything you have! I'd love to see your face of defeat when I see your bowels", the assassin's eyes narrowed as she started to position herself in a clear battle stance, wielding a black blade.
She looked at Subaru as a prey about to be hunted by the predator, her eyes transmitted pure ecstasy in anticipation, wondering what the boy's bowels would be like.
Despite being extremely injured, Subaru still stood with one of his blades, and even being in that state, he went into battle position to attack the assassin.
As he was about to attack her, a loud bang could be heard from inside the house, alerting both combatants that an explosion has occurred.
A beam of light hovered over the place, the light stealing all the glare from the sun that now seemed to be completely dark all around.
The wind that the explosion generated created huge avalanches of air that nearly knocked Subaru down.
The assassin who previously interested in the boy quickly turned around to see what had caused that explosion.
She had her arms covering her face trying to protect from the wind, despite being clearly craving to kill the boy, clearly the new situation required her much greater attention.
The whole warm place, started to cool down quickly, the old man Rom's house had been completely destroyed around it and its roof opened.
The trees were covered in thin layers of ice, while the snow increased as the beast sucked mana from the place.
The beast sucked the mana out of the place so fast, that the temperature dropped exponentially.
Feeling the extreme freeze again, Subaru knew very well who was responsible for it all.
The hellish beast that tormented him in his previous loops had awakened again.
The beast that enraged, seemed to be with the sole purpose of destroying everything.
Even in shock, Subaru could only stare at the monster in front of him, asking internally once again if this was the end.
Once again he failed…
Once again he had to die at the hands of that hellish beast…
Was that it?
How foolish he had been, to think that he could prevent the calamity alone without any help…
Subaru cursed himself internally for being so naive, he could do nothing, it would have been better if he had fled from the capital, surely he would have had more than enough time for that…
It was obvious that what awakened the beast was too dangerous for Subaru to face alone.
But, now, he had no time to regret, the choice had already been made, and Subaru needed to face it.
The beast's eyes once again stared at him and seemed to look straight into his soul, the surrounding atmosphere was frightening.
When will this nightmare end?
Why did this have to happen?
Subaru, paralyzed by his self-defeating thoughts as he faced the beast with a defeated expression, as if accepting the fact that he would once again die. Even though he wasn't sure if he would go back in time again.
On the other hand, the assassin amazed, that the same spirit as before, which despite having given her some difficulties in her previous battle, was back and this time, at another level of power.
Wasting no time, trying to hit the unsuspecting creature, thinking she could surprise it with her speed, the assassin sneaked by the creature, by stealthily attacking, her attacks were so fast that Subaru couldn't keep up with his eyes.
However, the efforts were in vain, as the same creature did not even feel the attacks.
Turning to the assassin, the beast softly whispered, "Sleep, just like my daughter…"
And in a brief moment after the whisper, her head had been completely ripped from her body in a blow that Subaru could not even see where it came from.
Despite the apparent death, in a brief moment, the woman returned intact.
This shocked Subaru, as he would never have guessed that the woman had such miraculous healing abilities.
Even though the assassin could regenerate with each beast's attack, which was surreal for Subaru to think such a feat could be possible.
Yet, even with her skills and regeneration at incredible levels, she couldn't even stand a chance against the beast, which every moment she returned from what seemed like an inevitable death, angered the monster even more.
After countless attempts, the assassin, now, completely destroyed, even the smallest particle of her body destroyed.
There was no way she could have survived that attack, at least Subaru thought.
And once again, the attention now came back on him.
He could only stare in disbelief, accepting his death once more.
His strengths to stand ran out.
He dropped his single blade to the ground as the ice began to take over his body.
The beast once again turned to Subaru, his hatred was such that Subaru didn't even want to face him, he just looked down with a blank look on his face.
As a last desperate measure, he said, "W-why… Why are you… Doing this…", Subaru could only ask himself at the moment, even though he had no clearly signs of wanting to fight back, as if had already accepted his death once again.
Despite having asked the monster, the question seemed to turn more internally than externally...
Even whispering, the creature could clearly hear what Subaru said, and he only added, "Lia is everything to me… It makes no sense to live in a world where Lia does not exist, as it makes no sense for me to continue living, just as it makes no sense this world exists without her presence! So, for killing my daughter, all of you worms shall be perished."
"Then… Die… Sleep like my daughter."
Using what appeared to be invisible blades, they slashed through the air towards Subaru at what appeared to be instantaneous speed, cutting off his head without any difficulty.
And darkness took over his body once again, his head being dropped from his body to the floor, while his expression locked in complete disbelief.
Darkness.
His body was… In fact, he didn't even have a body, he didn't have ears to hear, he didn't have eyes to see, he didn't have a body to feel.
It seemed to be a soul, hovering over a place that had no floor and no ceiling.
It had no end and no beginning.
He didn't have enough words to describe the darkness, maybe because he couldn't…
Even though he didn't have eyes to see, he could still feel the floating sensation of the place.
Subaru wondered if this was indeed his ultimate end.
Perhaps the return by death has exceeded its limit?
Maybe this was hell? But then, why, even though it was hell, did he feel a strange feeling in his chest?
A strange sensation, but strong enough for Subaru to wonder about. Even if he tried to deny those feelings at first.
Subaru couldn't explain, couldn't explain…
He couldn't get out of there without first fully understanding who caused those feelings on him.
He couldn't get out of there until his doubts were resolved.
No! Furthermore, he needed to see… he needed to hear… he needed to understand that place, to understand those feelings, he needed to understand….
He fought the whole nature of the place, against his own conditions to see whatever was there, because he could feel it… It was cold… It was possessive… But at the same time, it loved him.
Even though he didn't have eyes to see, he needed to see, his sheer strength of determination refused not to see... Refused not to hear...
With so many efforts, it seemed to be fighting against his own nature, and what was once nothing, became.
What did not exist before, came to exist, through his own will.
What was once darkness, began to illuminate, until seeing.
Although still with a very blurry vision, a silhouette.
The silhouette had a humanoid shape, although he couldn't describe exactly what it was, Subaru knew that the source of all those feelings came from this being.
His ears began to pop up, his hearing began to pick up, as the background hum left to give way to a voice that said.
"-love"
Hearing a very distant voice, even though he didn't hear it in its fullness, Subaru tried to raise his hands to reach it, but his arms didn't exist in that reality, despite his efforts to understand that being.
His consciousness faded again, as did his voice, while he left the place, back into the darkness, this time empty and without warmth.
"Hey! Boy! Are you going to buy something or keep staring at me with that weird face?"
He lifted his head as he surveyed the place once more.
His arm…
Quickly, he moved his right arm to see if it was back in place.
Relief, there could be no other sensation that better described his feeling.
He held his right arm with the left hand while thanking any God he knew for turning back time again.
He couldn't bear the thought of living without his arm, as for Subaru it was unthinkable.
Calming down again after a moment of pure relief, he started to look around to understand what had happened.
The initial euphoria of having regained his arm was replaced by a feeling of emptiness and sadness at the knowledge that he had died once more, and that he had come back again in death.
This hell didn't seem to end… His expression became sad again as he remembered, once again, that he died at the hands of the beast.
'Same checkpoint as before…'
With a sigh, he started to think again, although he seemed to be tired and giving up.
Quitting trying to resolve a condition that seemed to be impossible to solve.
Anger at feeling too weak to overcome that problem.
'Again… Again I died, how stupid I was, what was I thinking when I decided to investigate that beast? It was obvious that the beast's appearance related to something dangerous, and I didn't even have enough time to save whoever was called Lia.'
Recalling what the beast had told him, Subaru knew that in order to avoid the beast, he must avoid the death of a person named Lia, even if he had no idea who it was.
'At first, the person who awakened the beast could only be inside old Rom's house, but there were only three people there, and Lia is a female name, and the only two women who were there, one of them was called Felt, and the other one…'
'The spirit-bearing girl…'
Through his momentary deductions, an epiphany filled his mind, discovering the reason behind all those events.
All his deaths…
The elven girl, the trigger that awakened the monster, the girl's feline spirit transformed every time she died, and it destroyed the entire city, this is the cause of the events of all that hell.
"Hey! Boy, didn't you hear what I said, or did you pretend you didn't? If you're going to buy something, it's fine, but if not, it's better to get out of here", as he said, placing his hands in front of Subaru, in an attempt to get him out of his inner thoughts and make him pay more attention to his surroundings.
"I don't want anyone pushing my clients away, let alone a strange person like you."
"I-I'm sorry… I had a bad headache and I ended up wasting your time…", he spoke with a tired expression on his face, his eyes partially empty.
"Look, Kadomon, I don't have time for these things right now... I'm sorry, but I have to go, see you", turning to the side, leaving the merchant startled by the sudden change in the boy's temper, who now seemed to be completely giving up and without motivation for nothing.
"Even... Hey... How the hell do you know my name?", that strange boy... Who looked like he knew him, even though Kadomon had never seen him in his life, how the hell did that boy know his name?
Despite Kadomon's attempt to keep the conversation going, the boy had already gone, quickly blending into the crowd.
It was expected that the previous events had left marks on him, after all this is the price that his powers requested for.
Even if he was emotionally tired.
While walking, not even paying attention to see which way he went, perhaps, he didn't have the slightest concern for his surroundings.
People around him passed by in his field of vision like shapes, even though he could clearly see them with his eyes, he had his full attention on his thoughts, walking with his head down without even looking in the direction.
'Honestly, I'm fed up with all of this, what a wretched world, my desire to go back home has only increased...'
His home... Even though Subaru had never paid so much attention to his parents, the lack of them made Subaru feel lonely which he had never felt before, as his parents were the only human contact Subaru had in his old life since he became hikikomori.
Maybe he should have listened to his parents when he had the chance?
Was all this God's punishment for his carelessness about it?
Even if feelings of regret entered his mind, he couldn't do anything but accept them, as it was the unvarnished truth.
There was still the remote possibility of him never seeing them again, although such thoughts were quickly buried in his subconscious, as the prospect that he would never return to his world was a non-existent option for Subaru even if he had to pay with his own life…
How ironic… Well, in fact, he had already paid with his life, at least three times since he arrived in this world.
Subaru knew he couldn't go back any longer to try to correct everything he had done in his past in his old world.
But he knew It could be different the next time he saw them.
Perhaps, valuing them, listening more to their advice, trying to improve every day.
'Do not be stupid! I'm going back home… Even if I lose all my strength trying, the moment I remember my parents, I'll recover, and I'll move on, I can't give up now! Even now, I still have the impression that my journey in this world is just beginning…'
Completely trapped in his inner thoughts, he hadn't realized by walking towards a place, a place that he would have tried to avoid in all the previous loops, of course, as he had completely forgotten about a very common problem.
Emotionally tired to continue walking, Subaru decided to enter one of the alleys leading to the main street, sitting on the stairs at the back of the alley.
He leaned his back against the alley's wall while sighing.
He looked up, wondering once again, exhausted, from what had been like a hell of events.
His expression that conveyed tiredness.
The return by death was indeed a heavy burden, but one that Subaru would carry if that would be the cost of going back home.
He turned to the side, looking at the alley entrance, seeing the pedestrians passing in front of the alley, while meditating on everything that had happened.
'Perhaps I underestimated my time too much… I would have had more than enough time to run away from the capital before the beast appeared, if I hadn't faced those bandits…'
Through the realization that he had forgotten about the bandits, Subaru sighed, opening up his eyes once more, as he placed one of the hands on the forehead, knowing that once again he would have to face them.
He had being so absorbed in his inner thoughts, even if his reasons for doing so were reasonable, after all, the problems he had to face were such that he didn't even have room in his mind to worry about those imbeciles.
'Ton, Chin and Kan, how I hate you annoying bastards… I can't believe I am so careless.'
As he prepared to leave the alley, three silhouettes appeared at the entrance, quickly approaching Subaru, people that Subaru knew exactly who they were.
He started to grind his teeth, while he closed his eyes, his face with pure hate, being tired of having to deal with those idiots all the time.
Subaru remembered how much times he had to faced them.
Fighting them.
Bluffing.
Even getting help from other people like Reinhard and Lia.
Realizing that, in fact, only one thing in all the loops he hadn't tried, asking for help.
Even though it was unlikely that any guards would hear... It didn't hurt to try, after all, Subaru was too emotionally tired to have to physically deal with those thugs again.
He knew very well how stressful that task could be, because dealing with knife-wielding idiots could be dangerous and that would make him stay on the alert all the time, he would never admit to dying and having to use the return by death with a problem as ridiculous as this.
"Hey! You better give everything you have if you don't want to die!", once again that bandit spoke, only his voice was enough to boil Subaru's blood, who was already tired of that same thing repeated.
'Enough of these guys, I'll ask for help, but I doubt anyone will show up. The best thing to do is use the cell phone to run after, screaming for help...'
He walked away considerably from the bandits, while putting his hands between his mouth, indicating signs of shouting as loudly as possible.
"Help! Please! Help!"
His screams echoed in the place.
This obviously angered the bandits, but most of all, it made them apprehensive, afraid that in fact some guard would show up, and they would be arrested.
"H-hey! Stop it you bastard!", Chin said while trying to stop Subaru from screaming for help, until he heard footsteps at the entrance of the alley, which seemed to be someone approaching quickly.
Even though Chin now held him by the collar, Subaru couldn't help but be surprised to realize that his strategy of asking for help had indeed worked.
All of them turned towards the entrance of the place, waiting for the silhouette of the approaching person to emerge from the shadows, in order to know who it really was.
The silhouette that entered the alley left to make room for a young man with red hair and a white suit, his serious expression, with a gaze that conveyed determination, as if he was about to face the bandits immediately.
A young man that Subaru knew exactly who he was.
'What!? How the hell did he find me? Seriously, I just needed to ask for help, and he would show up? How convenient, so convenient, how on earth I would have known it could actually happen…'
Even though he internally wondered why the Sword Saint was there helping him, just when he thought no one would appear.
He couldn't help but feel relief.
Relief, knowing that he could finally escape all this without having to resort to more drastic measures as fighting the thugs again.
This time, Subaru knew that he wouldn't be so lucky to have stones to knock out Chin and would probably easily lose to the thugs, therefore Reinhard's appearance was an extremely pleasant and relieving surprise for Subaru.
The same could not be said for the bandits, as once they realized who it was, becoming slightly surprised.
Their surprise quickly gave way to their fear, as they knew that facing the Sword Saint was an impossible task, and they internally wondered why they were so unlucky.
Of all the people that could show up, did it have to be just him? Helping that damn boy with the mean eyes.
The bandits began to shake rapidly, their panting breaths could be identified by even the worst of the insightful.
"N-can't-can be!"
"Th-e Sword Saint!", while the smallest of the group spoke, the leader completed his sentence, which clearly indicated his apprehension, as he could not even express his thoughts properly without stuttering.
"Although, I find this title extremely exaggerated."
"I won't let any violence happen to the innocent, you've gone too far!", with a firm tone he spoke, as a person convinced of his ideals, could never let an innocent be a victim of such barbarism, not while he was in his duty as a knight.
It was the least Reinhard could do to make up for his past sins…
Subaru, who now showed a clear expression of victory on his face, clearly pleased that he had gotten away with that problem so easily.
Who could have imagined that Reinhard would appear there, of all people?
No one could, but that probability Subaru couldn't care less about It, as It seemed that he would finally overcome those bandits without much worry after all.
"If you guys run now, I might consider not arresting you..."
"But if you want to continue with your transgressions, then I shall be your opponent."
He spoke with a confident tone, in a firm posture, while facing the bandits with a serious look, however, serene, despite being humble, Reinhard knew that the bandits didn't have the chance to even touch him, but he couldn't leave the manners behind.
In an instant, the bandits began to run, as they had never run before in their lives, while screaming, making them resemble a bunch of madmen.
Sighing, Subaru slowly approached the knight, while a pleasant look could be seen on his face.
He knew that he had to try to be as genuine as possible, as given Reinhard's abilities, it had become clear to Subaru that he was more difficult to manipulate than he thought.
Still, even though Reinhard had the ability to read minds, or at least understand their inner, malicious emotions, Subaru knew that he only needed to speak his genuine desires, and perhaps, believe his own lies.
After all, if he believed his lies, he would somehow be genuine, and that could go unnoticed on the knight's radar.
"Are you alright citizen?" he spoke with a genuine expression of concern, really wanted to know if Subaru was in any way hurt.
"I mean, I think so, they didn't even touch me."
"That's very nice to hear, sir…", Seeing the Subaru safeness, his countenance changed from worry to happiness and relief, knowing that those individuals' violence hadn't gone far enough to hurt him.
"Subaru… Subaru Natsuki, but you can just call me Subaru."
"Perfect, Subaru! You can call me Reinhard."
'Right, you know what? I could use him to prevent that assassin from killing that person named Lia. I'm not sure if he can beat her, but it's my best chance.'
'Exactly! And by the time Reinhard investigates this, I could go sell my cell phone to Tobias again and then buy the services of some traveler or merchant to get me out of the capital, it would guarantee that even if Reinhard didn't take care of the murderer, I'd be fine far away.'
Reinhard, surprised to see the feelings and a glimpse of Subaru's inner thoughts, his divine protection of empathy and mind reading had already been triggered.
The boy seemed to be very worried about, as if he had been fearing for his life. Without wasting any time, he decided to ask the boy exactly what that was, which seemed to put him in complete fear.
"Subaru, forgive me if I'm invading your personal space, but do you need help with something?", even though he couldn't point out exactly what it was, Reinhard knew through Subaru's feelings that he feared death, therefore he could not stand still, and let an innocent person perish in the face of an imminent situation.
Not while he could help!
'Damn, does he really read people's thoughts? God, what else can this guy do? Walking on water!? Well… At least that gets my job done.'
"..."
"Actually, yes… I believe there is a murderer who intends to attack three innocent people by the late afternoon."
Even if he wanted to tell Reinhard everything, he couldn't help but be cautious with the knight. After all, if he gave too much specific information, wouldn't that put him under suspicion?
He could even be detained as a suspect, at least, his allegations could in fact put him as a suspect, as he had no proof of what he talked about other than his own words.
Even if the knight could internally ascertain his intentions and know that there was no malice towards the allegations, he still wouldn't know how to explain where such information came from.
Changing his countenance and posture completely, the knight started to face Subaru and in a firm tone said, "And could you tell me where it will take place and if you have any information about whom the assassin is?"
Even though Reinhard's divine protections couldn't go beyond a few small flashes of Subaru's inner emotions and thoughts, that was more than enough to deduce that, in fact, Subaru didn't seem to be in any way involved with the crime.
Well, such an idea could be easily dismissed from Reinhard's mind the moment he observed Subaru's concern, who really feared not only for his life, as if he actually faced a threat that he felt he didn't have the strength to fight against.
Despite the fact that Subaru had this information, his emotions told Reinhard that he held a genuine concern, although Subaru feared his life more than the others, still, it was nothing more than a genuine reaction, and that was enough for Reinhard to believe his words, trusting him.
For Subaru, having to remember again the terrible events that had passed not only with the assassin but with the beast, which seemed to plague him in every possible way.
A flash of strong emotions could be seen in his countenance, as he remembered all those events, gnawing his teeth until he finally sighed, and decided to speak.
"Yea…"
"She is a tall, dark-haired woman who appears to be obsessed with the bowels of her victims. She intends to kill three innocent people later this afternoon."
Hearing about Subaru's description, Reinhard couldn't help but think of the bowel hunter, whose fame was heard even by the less fortunate knights, known for her sadistic obsession with dissecting her victims.
Seeing the seriousness of the circumstances, Reinhard said, "So this is more serious than I thought, this assassin has been wanted for a long time for her crimes."
This caught Subaru slightly surprised, who opened his eyes considerably while staring at Reinhard in deep thought.
'What would a famous assassin be doing in the slums hunting those people? Makes no sense, unless… Of course! Someone hired her and whoever hired her asked to eliminate everyone who was in there, but why, for what purpose?'
As he thought deeply about, trying to answer the impending questions he had regarding the events.
Once again, the conditions seemed to converge on the answer that someone was behind it all, not just hiring the killer, maybe even Felt seemed to be part of the game...
Reinhard saw that Subaru, now completely analytical in his deductions, while feeling glimpses of concern, but also with thoughts of doubts about it, as if he tried to answer questions that he couldn't find responses at the moment.
Not wanting to prolong the conversation any longer, Subaru lifted his head, putting his thoughts aside as he completed the information regarding the assassin and her location.
"The place where the assassin will appear will be in a house in the slums, whose owner is called Mr Rom, although I can't show you exactly where the house is."
In fact, Subaru said a truth, he hadn't memorized the exact location of the house, as he had much more concern with the whole situation at the moment, therefore he had no idea rather than remembering the house was in the middle of the slums.
Subaru's emotions seemed to confirm all of those claims, because he seemed to be convinced of what was going to happen, apart from the fact, of course, that the bowel hunter would attack.
For Reinhard, it was completely reasonable, at the very least, to investigate Subaru's claims further, because if he lied, he couldn't think of the only thing he would lose besides time.
However, if he was telling the truth, as his emotions indicated, it would mean that once again, because of his laziness, innocent people would die at the hands of evil.
His heroic instinct could not be silenced by this fact, the mere possibility that innocent citizens could be murdered under his radar, and the murderer get away with it, was unthinkable to Reinhard, and therefore, it was more than enough to act.
"Alright, Subaru, I will investigate this further and thank you immensely for your report."
"And don't worry, I won't let any citizens perish, thanks again Subaru, I hope we can meet each other once more."
After saying goodbye, he turned to the intended direction, leaving the place, but now with much more hurry, because in fact, he was determined to investigate that case and solve the problem.
Subaru, who now looked somewhat confident, even if Reinhard couldn't solve the problem, which was already unlikely, he now had the opportunity to escape the capital before late afternoon.
Once he hadn't wasted so much time with the thugs anymore, the only thing left for him was to sell his cell phone and buy a ride away from the capital, thus finally securing himself.
After much suffering, his victory.
A light breeze from the wind drifted over the place.
The wind that gently lifted the dust from the ground, while ruffling his hair.
The wind that seemed to restore his energy.
The wind, that looked like a sign that things would be different from now on.
His glance, now determined, as he faced the entrance of the alley, thinking.
Thinking maybe this time...
No! He assured at himself that this time, that infernal loop would end.
And Subaru would take another step, towards his world, towards his back straight home, where he should never have left.
Well, it's been a while since the last update, and the reason behind it was simply because I was having a writer's block, therefore I ended up delaying it a little bit.
The chapter four, which is really the last chapter of arc 1, ended up being extremely long, so I preferred to split it into two parts, to give more depth to the scenes. I believe I'll post the other one soon.
As expected, this version of Subaru doesn't have any motivation for Emilia, which means that there's no apparent reason for him to join her camp. I had a lot of things planned for arc 2, but I guess I'll have to wait a while to see the feedback because my biggest motivation in writing this was really the experience and seeking to improve my writing skills.
But anyway, comment what you've thought of the Shadow Garden scene. I found it very interesting, since this Subaru will have conflicting feelings towards Satella, due to his old self… Ah, leave it alone, spoilers.
Anyway, that's it for today, bye~