DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Re:Zero and other products related to the this series are all owned by Tappei Nagatsuki.

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Interlude 3: A Storm Approaches

If one was to say that Elsa trusted people that sounded insane more than sane people, then they would be correct.

The reason why this notion came to be was one that she completely forgot about, but it was enough to make her listen to Subaru's panicked motivation on why he tried to have a scout party look beyond the border for any 'whale sighting'. It was a bit preposterous for the local garrison to expect something like that and the manpower was too thinned within other chores to prepare an expedition based on 'concerns alone'.

But where the guards reasonably rejected this request, Elsa saw no issue in completing it herself. It was a bit silly, truth be told, but the way Subaru spoke, the desperation and dread in his throat... it was too lucid to be mere insanity. It was more. He had seen something that made him quite certain that the whale was soon to strike.

Elsa was not sure if he was right or not, maybe he just had a nightmare or some indigestion which made him unable to think straight for a while and think there was going to be an attack, but as someone that had many times invested in understanding her target's habits and mindset, Elsa could tell that Subaru was completely sure of this. Something which was telling considering the fact the boy was not an idiot when it came to real issues such as that.

And Elsa wasn't up to say no to the chance to stretch her legs. She had been put on a single place for a bit too long, and while the former assassin didn't exactly have much of a choice about it, the opportunity to go and check for any potential danger coming their way was enough to make her scatter and see if there was a genuine and tangible reason to prepare defenses. The trip through the forest was quite smooth- too smooth actually.

One thing that instantly caught her attention and had her look around for trouble as she moved deeper through the area near the border was the lack of animals. Elsa had long learned through Meili that this detail was never good news. Animals could perceive threats, and only a handful would brave the storm. In that moment, as she ventured in what clearly felt like a trap, there was no sound of life within the forest. Even the trees felt dead to her as they grew colder and more distant.

Whoever was responsible for this, whale-controller or not, was dangerous enough to leave her on the edge. This was no normal sorcerer, and she was given proof of that when she finally found her. Many times she had been before the presence of Mama, but this situation was even worse: the oppressive energy within the childish form of that angelic entity was quite ironic as she was truly seeing a demon.

Weapons were deployed and she eyed the innocent-looking monster for any signs for weakness of a potential attack aimed at her. She was greeted by silence, the white-haired girl merely smiled as her blue eyes showed nothing but an immoral amusement against her. Vicious and childish, quite the dreadful combo to provide in personality to someone that had quite the magical potential at first glance.

"As I suspected. He knew and he sent you," The 'angel' muttered. "Still, let's see what happens when his little mutt is deprived of something. Knowledge always has a toll on people, trust me... my creator learned of that."

The mysterious white-haired child then raised her hand and while Elsa couldn't pick up the proper chant, she recognized some of the magic behind it. Turning and rushing away, Elsa's quick-thinking spared her from a quick death as she felt something rush and grasp at her right arm as it was once aimed at her head.

One moment she was holding two daggers, the next she was holding a single one as her right arm had gone missing- torn apart by a magic-enhanced move. Sudden, but the pain was negligible as she shifted and bolted out of sight. The child-like entity merely smiled, clearly aware of the chances of killing her with ease, but she didn't do so and let Elsa run.

Many would be frustrated by this unpleasant skirmish, but Elsa's experience had long taught her to cherish the small victories. Such as survival since she doubted she would have survived. Her legs were burning with how quickly she was moving, her eyes stuck and fixed on making sure she didn't miss any step in her retreat, uncaring of the chances of a chase. Not when her opponent smugly knew that there would be no real match. Not when she felt it, the particular stench of darkness rushing from beyond the border-

The whale was coming, and it was clearly being directed there by external order. The abnormal child, was she a witch or... worse? Was there even something worse than a witch? Elsa was not thinking straight as she would have liked, especially when she could feel her expected wound over her missing limb to be bleeding at this point when it wasn't. It felt like her body had entirely forgotten she once had a right arm entirely. And it was all because of a mere 'pull spell'.

Despite her growing panic, she could tell one thing: Subaru was right, and they needed to get the city prepared for a real siege.

AN

Elsa came close to getting Bad End'd by Pandora, but she is a tough killer. What she bears now is a bit of a curse as she rushes to tell Subaru and provide proof that a big threat is on the horizon. Will this matter? After all, Pandora is lurking and she is clearly curious to see if Subaru can be a threat or not to her plans and current status quo.

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