Chapter 24
Awaking in the back of the carriage, Itsuki gasped as he rubbed his throat, only to find the wound had vanished.
"Itsuki?" Rem said softly. "What's wrong?"
Quickly coming to the realization of what's to come, Itsuki tried to lurch to his feet, only to fall back as the pain in his broken foot flared. Grabbing his ankle, Itsuki let out a groan.
"Damnit!" He growled.
Rem, worried about Itsuki, cringed as a loud pop echoed in the carriage as Itsuki did his best to pop his foot into place.
Wiggling it around a bit, the pain still lingered, but Itsuki ignored it as he stood up.
"You might wanna sit back down, Itsuki." Crusch told him.
"Crusch, we have to find another route now!" Itsuki shouted. "Before-"
Itsuki was cut off as a loud boom echoed.
His heart skipped a beat as Itsuki looked ahead to see the front carriage get blasted into splinters.
"Enemy attack! To arms, now!" Crusch shouted as she, and everyone else, got to their feet, weapons in hand.
Seeing the man in all white standing in the center of the road, Crusch ordered the driver to run him over.
"No, wait!"
It was too late to warn her, and Rem knew it.
Pushing Itsuki out of the carriage like in the previous loop, she quickly grabbed Crusch and jumped out of harms way.
Rolling to a stop, Itsuki tried to stand but the pain was too much, forcing Itsuki to fall to one knee.
Everything played out the exact same as last time. Crusch lost an arm, Rem healed her as best she could, then-
"Damnit!" He grit his teeth as he tried to push himself up again. "Damnit! God fuckin' damnit!"
Haaaah!"
Hearing the sound of Lye sighing, Itsuki looked back to see him approach them, the destruction and death behind him.
"I keep eating and eating but it's never enough!" Lye said. "I eat! I devour! I chew! I bite! I gorge! I gnaw! I munch! I crunch! I savour! Pure Gluttony! Aaaah, thank you for the feast!"
Knowing how this will play out, Itsuki turned and limped towards Rem.
"Subaru..." Itsuki thought to himself. "This is fucked up, but I'ma need you to die and reset everything if I fuck this up. I just hope I can manage a solution before then!"
Making his way to Rem as quickly as possible, Lye jumped over and knocked Itsuki to the ground. Landing on his stomach, Itsuki heard Lye approach. Grabbing his dagger, Itsuki rolled onto his back just as Lye attacked.
Blocking one of the Archbishop's blades, Lye inched his face closer to Itsuki's.
"Get away from him!" Rem screeched as she lashed at Lye with her morningstar.
Jumping back to avoid the attack, Itsuki tried to stand but was knocked over by wind as the man in white flicked his wrist.
"Aaaaah, a fighter!" Lye said, ecstatically.
"Don't you fuckin' touch 'er!" Itsuki growled as he rose to his feet.
Lye, ignoring Itsuki now, walked passed him and towards Rem.
"Hey!" Itsuki tried to slash Lye but was knocked down by the man in white.
"Don't you lay a finger on him!" Rem growled, her demon horn emerging from her forehead. "Don't lay a single finger on Itsuki!"
In a fit of rage, Rem spawned countless icicles pointed at both Lye and the man in white. Attacking the two simultaneously, the man in white didn't move as he blocked Rem's attack with his own magic. As for Lye, he burst into a sprint to dodge the icicles, closing in on Rem but being forced to jump when she attacked.
Continuing her barrage of strikes at the Archbishop while he was in the air, Itsuki could see that Rem was keeping Lye from reaching her but he was still slowly drawing closer.
With only a matter of time before Lye reached Rem, Itsuki, ignoring the pain in his leg, forced himself into a sprint. With Lye getting closer and closer, Itsuki pushed himself faster, reaching Rem just as the man in white hit her with wind magic.
Now, without resistance, Lye closed in on Rem, his mouth open for his meal. However, just as he bit down, Itsuki, doing what he had done in the forest, shoved Rem out of the way, taking the attack that was meant for her.
Landing on her back, Rem looked to Lye to see him standing behind Itsuki.
"Aaaaah, thank you for the FEAST!"
Watching in horror, Itsuki slowly collapsed to the ground, his eyes closed.
Rem's horn vanished as disbelief and worry quickly set in.
Rushing over to Itsuki, she grabbed his motionless body, brushing hair out of his face before placing her ear against his chest. Hearing his heart still beating, Rem looked at Lye, her eyes filled with hatred.
"What did you do to him?!"
Lye replied with a chuckle before raising his blades to the maid.
"That's enough." The man in white said, halting Lye's actions. "We should hurry back to the others. Leave her be as is."
Without another word, the man in white and Lye vanished in the blink of an eye. Alone with Itsuki and a badly injured Crusch, Rem had no idea what to do.
Staring at Itsuki, she softly called his name, but there was no reply. His eyes remained closed and his lips were slightly parted. It was as if he were dead.
"Itsuki..?"
Hours later
Inside of a room back in the capital, Itsuki lay on a bed while Rem sat beside him, watching over him, hoping he would awaken.
It was silent. Until-
"Phew, that was more difficult than I thought!" Subaru said as he walked into the room. Seeing Itsuki lying motionless on the bed, Subaru quickly quieted down and backed his way out of the room. "Sorry. Didn't know he was asleep."
Rem stayed quiet, staring at Itsuki.
"Rem?" Subaru called her name, noticing she looked defeated. "Something wrong?"
Rem kept to her silence.
Just as he was about to press further, Puck appeared next to him.
"He won't wake up." Puck said.
"Huh?"
"Felix tried to help, but couldn't figure out a solution." Puck continued. "He said Itsuki has fallen under the Sleeping Beauty syndrome."
"What caused this?" Subaru asked.
"The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony." Puck replied. "He is able to devour one's name or memory. If he devours your name, everyone forgets about you. And if he devours your memories-"
"-you forget everything." Subaru said.
"Yes. But, if both your name and memories are devoured, you become an empty shell." Puck added. "You won't age, won't hunger, thirst or fall ill. You just sleep... forever."
"But... how do we all remember him then?" Subaru asked. "You, me, and Rem all seem to remember Itsuki."
Puck shrugged.
"I have no idea." The tiny cat looked at Itsuki and Rem before looking down the hall. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"
Subaru glanced at his unconscious friend before nodding.
"Yeah."
Alone with Itsuki, Rem couldn't do anything other than stare at him.
"I'm so sorry!" Rem folded her arms on the bed, burying her face into them as she began to sob. "This is all my fault!"
"...my fault..."
"...my fault..."
"...my fault..."
"This is all my fault!"
Itsuki sat on the curbside next to an ugly car accident, his arms wrapped around his knees as he cried.
But, standing a few feet away, was another Itsuki. Glaring at the pathetic man that sat on the curb, Itsuki turned around and began walking away. Taking a few steps, Itsuki looked back at the crash, his eyes growing soft as a single tear slid down his cheek.
"You deserve everything that happens to you." Itsuki said. Looking at the him who sat on the curbside, Itsuki's eyes narrowed in disgust.
The words he spoke were his true feelings about himself. Itsuki wished he was dead, yearned for it. He wanted to die, again and again. But he was too much of a coward to kill himself. When he was brought to this world, he immediately welcomed the escape from his previous life. His dead end job he had to get to support himself, his family having abandoned him, and a girlfriend who left him. All of these things contributed to him wanting to die in his previous life. And to also forget everything about that life when he was brought to this world.
And yet, here he was, watching his old life before his very eyes.
Approaching a building, Itsuki opened the door and walked inside, seeing a woman standing a few feet away, wearing a black dress.
"Satella." Itsuki said her name as he crossed his arms, unfazed by her being here. "This isn't the one."
End of chapter 24