—Return by Death.

If what he's thinking is correct, then every time he suffers a death-like state, time around him will rewind and send him back to a very specific point in time. It reminds him of a save point in a video game.

For a guy like him, it was quite fitting.

Beyond that, the biggest issue right now was not his messed-up superpower, but instead how the hell he was supposed to catch up to Satella and that thief. With how agile the thief was and how quick Satella was, there's just no way a normal guy like him was going to catch up anytime soon even if he had to run for his life with adrenaline coursing through him.

Exasperated at this unchangeable fact, Subaru saved his energy and stopped running. Neither two were even in sight anymore, and chasing them by their own means would only bring him nowhere. Although he's able to somewhat remember his "first loop", if he followed the same route as back then, he would end up not making it back in time. Satella would probably be able to closely follow the thief, but he's unable to do so very conveniently. And even if he did save Satella first, if that thief goes back to that loot cellar, then…

Images of seeing that dead man flashed through his mind. Coupled with that, the feeling of being gutted made him feel like hurling.

Subaru grit his teeth. Dying was not a fun experience. It hurt like hell. But, with this kind of ability, if he can do something good for once in his life… at the very least, he'll try for the first time.

Natsuki Subaru realized he made a fatal mistake—forgetting about that dangerous shadow that nearly swallowed up a quarter of the capital.

With how big and menacing that thing was, as well as killing him and Satella once with ease, how did he think that it would become irrelevant for any length of time? That thing didn't exist on the first loop, then appeared on the second, but on the third… the rate of its growth seemed to speed up exponentially.

"Satella… you're not in this, right?" Subaru muttered to himself, staring at the slums which were infected briefly by the shadowy substance he fears so much.

Staring forward, Subaru noted that the shadows had also appeared in this area. This happenstance was also not involved in his first go-around, but it was also thankfully much less severe than at the capital. There, it was a large shadow with hands of destruction that covered the entire end of the road. Although many people escaped, surely some would've died from it just by the sheer randomness that it appeared by.

Now, there was a stark difference. Instead of being a large substance of death, it was much less in contrast. Although generally still large enough to consume a house, the shadows were more spread out as singular blots. The shadow hands were also much less dangerous, not being as erratic as previous loops.

Every time he was forced to go around a blot, chills ran down his spine. If those hands decided to ever reach out and grab his foot, it would surely be game over before he even properly started.

"I said this before, but this is definitely like walking into a dragon's nest," Subaru joked, but that immediately reminded him of the events that followed after saying that line, making him hold his stomach cautiously. Slowly, Subaru looked on ahead and started walking through the dragon's nest, being careful not to make a single mistake—any would surely cost his life.

As he walked through the slums, he started to think back at his first loop. In truth, he had no idea what that second danger could possibly be, with the only notable thing about his first death being a woman's erotic (yet dangerous) voice and the feeling of his guts being slashed with tremendous strength (it sent him tumbling).

What he could guess, however, was that the weapon he had been killed by would certainly have been a dagger of sorts. Something small, nimble, and allowing for silent killings, as a sword would certainly whoosh through the air. Even if that weren't the case, it wouldn't be very convenient to use a sword to gut him.

"Perhaps it's like, a trademark. Psychopaths usually do this kind of thing."

By the way, considering these shadow blots would certainly hinder the natural mobility of the thief and Satella's monstrous speed (probably stemming from her natural strength rather than being an ability), there's a chance that if the two got ahead of him, then he would be able to catch up relatively quickly. With this in mind, Subaru started to hasten in his footsteps, still cautious of the shadows, and tried to quickly find out where the two could be.

As Subaru sped carefully through the slums, a loud noise of crashing caught his attention quickly.

All five of his senses turned their attention to the direction of the noise.

Subaru peeked over a house, having detected the noise from its general direction. What he witnessed from something out of an anime—a woman in black and purple cloth standing atop a wooden club. The crazy thing about it, was that club was being held mid-air by what looked to be a giant! What kind of…

"I can only do this because you're so strong, you know?" the woman sneered at the giant mockingly.

The giant's expression held one of fear, and the woman's smile only grew more sinister. Raising a blade in the air, the dangerous woman showed her murderous intent and made It quite clear that she was going to kill somebody right now. The giant, that is.

Subaru panicked upon seeing that blade, not knowing what to do. Normally, this would be the time to run, but if he were to see that man get killed by this evil woman, then..!

"I'm glad we could have this dance," the woman smiled softly, crouching down and preparing her next move. "Now, goodbye," she finished, and lunged forward, lopping off the giant's head in a clean—

"Mm… this development… this is quite annoying, you know?"

—is what would have happened, but what Subaru saw was inexplicable. Although he had come to accept that these shadow things would pretty much never leave his sight in his time in this world, now they were attacking the woman clothed in black, hands of darkness grabbing onto her ankles and launching her down to the ground, away from the stumbling giant.

"Enough of this farce," the woman in black pulled out a hidden blade and slashed at the shadow hands, causing the limbs to dissipate as they disconnected from the main body. Twirling kukri daggers in hand, with a calm yet pissed expression, the woman crouched down in preparation.

Subaru swallowed. Covering his mouth in hopes his sounds of cowardice wouldn't be heard, the gears in his head started to shift.

"Ah—"

It was at that moment, that an idea popped up in his head. It wasn't bound to work, but with his crystal-clear memory of his previous loop, it wasn't the most insane idea. I mean, it's a fantasy world, isn't it..?!

With a "chink!", Subaru watched the woman flip her blade in her hand and once again make her to the man who had also been caught off guard by the shadows temporarily. Subaru noted that it was pretty much now or never.

"S.." Subaru choked on his voice, becoming unsure. But, he had no choice. By now, even if that man was killed and he tried running, that woman would surely notice him. —That fear, that sole reason…

With an inhale, Subaru finally screamed out, revealing his location in earnest.

"Satella!"

—Following, screeches of death filled the air and an earthquake resonated through the slums immediate vicinity.

Subaru toppled over, not having expected his plan to work. As he thought: the word, or name, "Satella", is what causes this rage to ensue. He couldn't quite understand it since it was the name of his once-upon-a-time companion, but for now he wouldn't think anything of it.

As the world shook, so did the shadows thrash. Destroying buildings in sight and all the shadow spaces slowly increasing in volume, the slums as an area would surely no longer be inhabitable after this event. Silently, Subaru apologized for destroying their world as soon as he arrived, but this was a situation that required this.

"Hmm..." the woman in black silently muttered, glancing murderously at Subaru as she tried her best to back off from the shadows, only to be chased indiscriminately.

The giant had been in a lucky spot to where all of the attention was on the woman, and thus had decided to get up and start an escape. The man hadn't paid much mind to Subaru, but to be frank it was probably too dangerous for a conversation. Subaru decided it was time to leave too, as neither Satella nor the thief seemed to be around here.

Maybe they never came to the slums at all, and he had been mistaken?

Subaru turned around, ready to book it from the chaos (that he caused) ensuing behind him, Subaru bounced off the wall he had been leaning on for support and tried running through the earthquake but found himself stumbling too much. And even in moments where he managed to get a footing—he found himself nearly being snatched up by the shadows. The worst part of it was that he knew if those things grabbed him, a Return by Death would be inevitable.

"What the hell is up with these things...!" Subaru croaked, kicking at one of the shadows that nearly grazed him.

—Ah. Perhaps that was a mistake.

The shadow grabbed onto his shoe and began to pull him hard, causing him to stumble over completely and become subject to this hand's whims.

"Fu—," Subaru cried, digging his nails into the ground in hopes it would add friction. Pain seered through his fingers, and the grip on his leg made him think his foot could pop out at any moment. "Hk.. it hurts…!"

That was it, huh? He was going to die here and turn back again. If he returns by death right now, he doesn't know how these shadows will change. Maybe he won't even be able to save Satella…

"Not like this…!"

Nails chipping and teeth gritting, Subaru struggled endlessly. Seconds seemed to last longer than they truly were.

But it wasn't long before he heard the sharp sound of glass crashing together, and the whooshing of the air made him perk up and lose his strength momentarily. Yet, strangely, that action bore no consequence. As he followed the distorted air with his eyes, he saw that his feet had been freed by a white, crystalline substance.

Subaru's heart rate hastened, not from adrenaline, but for a different reason. He felt like he was getting nervous and quickly put his head down. He got to properly observe the work his nails did on the ground—not particularly damaging, but it did create a nice paintjob. But man, if that girl is here, then isn't this a really shitty situation? Rather, if he were to meet here, why like this, in this position…?

He saw white shoes step in front of him, and he knew he had to man up. Moving his body into a less… uh… compromising position, he looked up at the girl in white and purple strands, clothing that looked loose yet perfectly fitting, and silver hair that stretched down to her back. Swallowing, he forced a laugh.

"H-Hey," Subaru said.

"Are you alright? You're the one from earlier, right?" Satella said, her hands were still in a clapping position, preparing to use her magic at any given moment.

"Yeah... uh, thanks, there," Subaru stood up and looked at the waning shadows. "You really saved my ass."

Satella shook her head, "This is the least I could do. If I had known you died soon after you saved my life…"

"Is that so...?" Subaru's head drooped confusedly but he didn't push the manner further. "Right, what happened to that thief?"

"Ah, that?" Satella dug in her breast pocket and pulled out a small, triangular object with a purple coloring and a red orb in the center. The red orb shined brightly in her palm, and Subaru felt mesmerized by its glow. "Well, after I got here I found her trapped in the shadows, so.."

Satella had been running after this thief for ages. Back at the capital, the thief had outrun her in a very timely manner, but Satella was quick to ask around for assistance.

She felt bad for the boy she had to leave behind, who had seemed like he was new to the area, but she was so caught off guard that she forgot about him for a split second. Leaving behind Ram was a horrible mistake. Speaking of which, she should really find her, right?

Regardless, whilst she had been out and bout asking for instructions, it took her a while to gain proper information.

Sometimes when she asked for help, people ignored her outright. If someone did reply, then she would be waved off as being a half-elf and given reasons of "Get lost." And if that wasn't bad enough, some people even straight up blamed her for the situation that happened earlier. All-in-all, it was not beneficial to the girl in the slightest, and it made her feel hopeless.

It wasn't until, though, that she overheard passing royal guards talking about a blonde-haired thief who had been running on the rooftops. Not particularly saying anything about the girl's actions, they seemed to be mentioning how annoying it was for her to not use the ground, and some more things about the inconvenience of work… well, to be frank, she didn't quite understand.

"Hey, can you tell me where that girl went?" she had asked back then.

"The slums, probably? People like that…"

Satella had quickly cut them off with a 'thank you' and made her way in the direction. It made her feel good to get a lead through all the insults and backlash, but something about it all really left a bad taste in her mouth.

Thankfully, Puck was so kind to reassure her insecurities before they got too deep, being her companion through-and-through.

When she got to the slums, she witnessed the horrible, shadow-infested state it found itself in. Realizing that this place as a whole would probably not be inhabitable ever again, she looked out in pity, slowly making her way through the area, being extremely careful with every step she made.

It didn't take for long before she heard the loud calls for help, causing her to run over to the source out of the kindness of her heart. And as luck would've had it, there it was where she found the blonde thief, desperately trying to escape the grasp of a shadow. A small knife had been deployed, stuck into the ground, being the only thing that prevented her consumption.

Without thinking too deeply, Satella had fired ice at the shadows, making a sharp tip so that in collision, the hands would be sliced off and free the girl immediately. As it would have it, that idea had worked without issue, slicing through the shadows as if they lacked depth in the first place.

With a cry, the blonde thief retreated forward, heaving heavily as she sat in relief. Though that relief was quickly turned away as Satella stood over the blonde thief, a pout on her face.

"Are you alright, first off?"

The thief was taken aback, a drop of sweat dripping down her face. "Uhm… uh, yeah, I-I am.. thank you…"

Satella smiled, "That's good. I'm glad."

"…"

"But," Satella started, and the thief immediately knew. "I would now like for you to return it."

The thief looked away from the girl, digging into her breast pocket without much thought and pulled out the object in question and reached out. In turn, Satella grabbed the item, smiling once more. "Okay. Now be a good girl and get out of here, this place is very dangerous."

Shaking her head, the thief seemed to deny that request. "I have to make sure Old Man Rom is okay.."

Satella had no idea who that was. "Then, would you allow me to follow you?"

"N-No, I couldn't bother you with th—"

Before the thief could finish, a screech had echoed through the slums. It hadn't been too loud, but it was very obvious within the chaos.

The thief had looked over in that direction in fear, getting up quickly. "That direction..!"

"Okay, let's go," Satella said without thinking.

"H-Huh?"

Ignoring her voice of confusion, Satella quickly walked past her towards the source of the noise. As she walked further in, the screeches grew louder, but it had been bearable. The thief looked on in disbelief before finally getting up and walking side by side to the half-elf.

Initially, the two had been speed walking, but a few longer moments later, the thief suddenly broke out in a sprint.

Surprised, Satella reached out to stop her, but when she saw the girl jump into the arms of what looked to be an injured man, Satella realized her job was done. Now that she had been so deep into the slums however, she knew that she could at least do something to help the residents of this place get out of this danger zone.

—Somewhere along the way, she witnessed the pained determination of a familiar boy, nails bleeding as they dug deep into the earth, struggling against the unrelenting grip of the shadow's hands.

"Just like that?" Subaru felt conflicted. On one hand, he was glad the girl hadn't met the fate of meeting that woman in black, but on another… seriously, the suffering he's had to endure really does not out-weigh what his promise entailed.

"For now, I'll bring you and the people of this place someplace safe," Satella said with conviction, looking out to the slums. "If I can't do this much, then how would I ever..."

Subaru tilted his head at the last part, being unable to hear through her mumbles and the shadow screeches all around them.

"Just stay close behind me," the girl said again. "Puck, do you think you can stay a little longer?"

As she said that, a bright light emerged from thin air, revealing a small gray cat in place of it.

"Mhm. But not for long, so be quick, Lia," Puck said, staring at Subaru briefly before turning back to Satella, rubbing his eyes.

He had gotten his name from the first loop. Best he doesn't say anything about it though, unless he wants to be treated like a psychopath. Besides that though, why did he say 'Lia'..? In the name "Satella," there's no syllables that create "Lia". Could it be..

Satella nodded to her feline companion and started to run. Unlike before though, she was running much more steadily and slower, allowing him to reasonably catch up. If only she did this when he was in the capital, his nails might not be bleeding like this.

"Ah, wait..."

Now that he had properly acknowledged the state of his nails, the adrenaline quickly wore off and his hand muscles tensed at the growing pain. "Ah... Ghkk… Khh..!" As he started to contort, Subaru's conscience kept him from being too loud about it. He didn't want to burden Satella even after she had done so much for him. Although it was difficult to focus on running and his fingers at the same time.

The first to notice his soon-to-be loud yelling was Puck, as the small creature flew to him quickly and lifted his paw, a glow emanating forth. From there, Subaru's agony slowly died down, and he stared at awe once again at the magic. He noticed the pain had begun to wear off and that his nails, although they didn't particularly heal, slowly fixed themselves back onto his fingers properly. The blood didn't disappear, but he was glad that his fingers weren't going to be destroyed henceforth.

"Thanks… that might've not've killed me, but it definitely felt like it."

"Don't mention it," the cat smiled and flew back to the half-elf's side as Subaru's footsteps increased in tandem.

As Satella froze the areas over the shadows (though not being permanent solutions) and people of the slums slowly made their way away from the area, Subaru thought back to his first loop momentarily. In the loot house, right before being slashed, he recalls something small, yet important.

Right. He knew that giant was familiar, but it's no wonder his brain refused to connect the dots.

On his real first time in this parallel world, right before perishing to an unknown assailant, Subaru had witnessed his first corpse. A large man with graying hairs had been killed, throat agape and spilling blood. That same man—he was the one that was only moments from being killed by that woman in black.

..?

Hold on. If that man was meant to be killed even before the shadow's appearance… and he was fighting a woman with daggers as her main weapon..!

"—Ah... I've found you, boy..."

Subaru stopped and flicked his around to meet the owner of the voice. As his eyes bore witness, his stomach dropped, his entire soul filling with dread.

In the first loop, Subaru had been killed. He was killed. Fuck. Why didn't he consider this properly?! Him and Satella came to the slums and were killed! These shadows did not even exist in that first loop, so that means the only one who could've done it was not that giant, who was also dead... the one who did it was the woman that same giant was in combat with.

"I'll make you pay for your stunt earlier," she spoke, her figure growing blurry in Subaru's eyes.

Without warning, the woman crouched and lunged at him. Inexperienced and weak, Subaru could only watch as the very life flashed from his eyes. Subaru's vision fixated on the blade making its way towards his gut, and he realized that his assumptions were correct in every single sense of the damn word.

In a moment of desperation, Subaru wanted to at least warn the girl behind him. Forgetting the consequences of his actions, Subaru yelled, "Run, Satella..!"

Hearing a name she cursed her entire life, the half-elf turned around with an expression of genuine confusion. But, from there, she realized that whatever issues she had with that name just now did not matter, and that a serious issue had arisen in mere moments.

And besides that—the ground rustled violently, moreso than before, and the screeches from the shadows drew out harshly, splitting Subaru's ears immediately.

A loud screech filled the air, making all three people stop dead in their tracks. The woman in black clicked her tongue, recoiling to hold her ears at the incomprehensible noise. Subaru, having no resistance at all to this kind of thing, could only fall to the ground helplessly as he held his ears in anguish. Satella, too, dropped to hold her ears. Puck, that bastard… can't he at least make it bearable for her...?

Immediately after, the ground began to violently shake. Much more than previously, if anybody had been still standing would've surely fallen regardless of who you were. Soon followed was the ominous sound of shadowy growth, and the screeches only getting louder and closer as time frivolously ticked by. Subaru's thoughts spun as he wondered if this would be a failure, too, but immediately he backtracked.

If I die here, I'm not sure I can save her again. From those shadows.

His vision started clouding in red, pure pain tracing the edges of his eyes. The rest of his body slowly began to grow in pain, and the boy's entire demeanor of toughness fell apart within mere seconds.

WIth tears in his eyes, Subaru made an effort to crawl to the suffering Satella. Noticing his efforts quickly, the silver-haired girl attempted to reach out to the boy, but retracted as the screeches immediately violated her ears without protection.

—And had she not moved, he wouldn't have noticed her own eyes and ears as well, painted red in earnest. Thankfully, that seemed to be the extent, though he lacked the X-Ray Vision required to truly see that kind of thing. At the very least, he hoped her elven body was more resilient than his own, since she had the strength to boot.

Guilt started to wash over Subaru as he kept crawling. Saying that name, it stopped his life from ending, but now he was forcing Satella to go through a painful experience. He wanted to cry out and apologize, but that would do nothing for anybody.

Subaru was close enough to Satella so that when he grabbed onto her foot, she could reach out to him and pull him over with her strength, to her own painful dismay. The action itself didn't have much meaning, but the girl was too kind for her own good to focus on preventing her own suffering. Immediately after pulling him, she went back to covering her ears.

Having spent a considerable amount of time in this girl's presence in a time that nobody else remembers, the ex-neet felt a large amount of comfort wash over him. Even in this moment of hell, she was a light for him. However, deep down, Subaru realized that this would not necessarily be the same for the girl in turn, and this hurt Subaru. It was unavoidable, however. That first day led to both of their untimely deaths, so a part of him was glad he was given the chance to restart it all. But, maybe, just a little bit, did it feel a little lonely for his heart.

Right now, the two's relationship was quite "I save, you save" in dynamic, although neither particularly realized this. Subaru having saved Satella, then Satella bringing Subaru to safety, then saving him again before he got swallowed by the shadows… seriously, it's almost comedic.

Unable to shut his eyes properly, Subaru looked at the girl beside him, shaking as she covered her ears. He disliked the sight of her being in so much pain. A small part of him cursed Puck the spirit, seemingly nonexistent out of nowhere. At the very least, couldn't that damned guy alleviate her pain if nothing else?

…

Gritting his teeth, Subaru decided that sitting here would bear no fruits. So using his brain, he thought up of the most improvised plan ever.

"...h..ey," he called out, blood spurting out from his mouth. "W..e.. Run…"

Satella stared at the boy. Their close proximity right now was the only thing allowing her to hear his quiet rounds of determination. Nodding slightly, she took one hand off her ears and reached for Subaru's tracksuit, picking him up with almost no struggle. She couldn't lift him up fully though, leaving Subaru to stand his own ground, leaning slightly on her shoulder.

Subaru coughed more blood. He felt like all the organs in his body were being destroyed from the inside out.

"...your… ears…" Subaru pointed, prematurely letting his ears free in preparation for his plan. "I'll.. hold… you, run…"

It was simple. Subaru would be given a piggyback ride, and in doing so would cover the girl's ears for her. In part, Subaru wanted to relieve the girl of as much pain as possible, but he also acknowledged this as being efficient. No sane person would be able to properly control their body when it's undergoing such stress. At the very least, he wanted to give them both a chance—even if he goes deaf as a result.

Satella nodded slowly, her hands slowly releasing from her ears. In response, Subaru quickly wobbled over to her and cusped her ears as fast as he could, hoping she hadn't endured too much of the screeches in that small instance. The half-elf winced at the sudden increase then decrease in noise, but it was enough. Subaru's own expression, however, was uncontrollable. For now, he hid it in the girl's shoulder.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he noticed a dim light form. Before he knew it, both of his ears had decreased in temperature, and the sudden shift in sensory made Subaru's eyes water.

It took him a minute to understand what had happened. She really is too kind for her own good. It seemed that she had frozen his ears over to stop more pain. Well, it wasn't the most full-proof, but Subaru was grateful nonetheless. Seriously, this girl…

Thus, Satella began to walk slowly. This was expected. Having been at the heart of it all, she would only be able to run once they got a little more away from the immediate area. Nonetheless, Subaru disliked seeing her suffer so much. A part of him wanted to quickly die so that he could just prevent this event from happening in the first place, but he was quickly reminded that it was unsure if Satella was savable if he reset back at that apple man. The shadows were the only unpredictable variable in his time looping, and he wanted to decrease as much of that variable as he could.

—So, quietly and painfully, the half-elf girl and the disheveled NEET made their way away from the area.

As the screeches quieted down, Satella was given more freedom of movement. Subaru's ears felt more and more free from pressure, and his body had started to no longer pain. Although he had been barely holding on to consciousness, he managed to persevere as much as he could.

He's died twice now. If he was going to complain before death, then he might as well have died to that assassin earlier! …But even though he says that, Satella isn't looking too well either. And he knows that, regardless of his own extraordinary determination, if Satella falls then it wouldn't matter how long he stays alive.

With every breath, visibly cold air escaped from her lips. Trying to maintain the magic on Subaru's ears, as well as freeze the shadows behind (and around) them, she must be exerting herself, Subaru assumed.

Even along the way, if there had been any residents remaining that hadn't escaped during the initial evacuation, Satella would extend a healing hand. Unlike Subaru, those people were able to walk. So, she assisted them as much as she could by continuing to freeze as far ahead as possible. Everyone was taking the same road, anyway, so it was still beneficial to her as well. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let all these people get consumed here.

Subaru recalled the capital. Back then, the streets were narrow, but everyone was able to run as Subaru hadn't called out "the name" in that loop. So basically, all of this Hell was caused by himself. He hadn't meant for it to get this badly, but if he hadn't said anything back then, everything would've restarted. And besides that, he would have failed to keep his promise a third time.

—Before anything else, he prioritized her wellbeing. Even if she'll never understand why, Subaru will keep that promise.

No matter what.

…

Finally reaching a familiar bridge, one Subaru had passed many times already, Satella's movements instantly became jagged.

"…"

—Thud.

The two collapsed on the ground. Satella, exhausted, passed out. She had not been given the luxury to heal neither her nor the boy's injuries in a proper manner. That, coupled with the immense amount of mana it took to freeze the shadows even after they effortlessly broke her magic, the immense strain on her body became too much, despite her elven nature.

Subaru, although having not done much, his weak, human body from a mana-less world had been unable to have any sort of resistance to the (literal) organ-rupturing screeches. His only means of staying conscious was wanting to relieve as much of Satella's pain as possible. Now that he had been thrown to the ground, he could no longer keep his adrenaline pumping, and thus fell unconscious soon after. It was a cold, scary, and familiar feeling. And although he had the reassurance of death not being the end, he knew that this time, his ability would be put on the backburner.

…Hopefully.

—Silently, the two lay next to each other as their consciouses escaped them once again.
The first time, they had perished in cold blood. But now, the two had fought for their lives properly.