Fire, all around her, the raging inferno was the only thing her eyes could see, and her body could reach.

And yet, she did not die.

She had given it her all to help kindle that fire. The fire that engulfed a nation. The fire that would destroy a Hero. The fire that she would give her life to create.

Still, she did not die.

She had returned one last time to protect someone who could be said to have stolen her heart, returned to face the corpse of what once had been a Hero, now nothing more than… Death.

A merciless Death. A horrific Death. A relentless Death. An unopposable Death. True Death. Her Death.

She had experienced 'death' plenty of times to understand that her body could mend even the most unthinkable of wounds. That her body could keep fighting, even if her mind had expired long ago. That no matter how much blood her own body shed, she could continue to spill the blood of others almost immediately. Oh, how she loved that…

But this was different. Against that Death, there would be no coming back. Her body would not mend, if there was any body left anyway. In the last moments before her final, true oblivion, she understood that she was about to experience her own slaughter, and she could do nothing to stop it.

And she… hated it.

Was it because she feared for her life for the first time in nearly forever? Was it because, no matter how hard she tried, she could not shed even a drop of his blood? Was it because she no longer cared about doing so, but about protecting someone else?

Even as her own life was about to be extinguished, she could only fixate her eyes on him, as he miraculously made his escape. And so, when she knew that the strike that would deliver her Death was near, she could at least die happy, a luxury she had denied countless others.

And so, Elsa Granhiert finally died.

And yet, she had not died.

It should have been impossible for her to be walking, running, on her own two legs. For her to be seeing the dense forest. To be able to breathe at all.

And yet, here she was. This was no dream or delusion. She was alive once more.

Had he planned this? When he set the whole of Lugunica ablaze, had she been counted on to survive the ordeal?

No, he did not. She would have been insulted if he did.

Then how? How was she alive and running through these unburnt woods unharmed?

Perhaps it had been a dream. Or a nightmare, rather. She never would have expected to call what would most likely amount to the most intense and brutal fight in her life something she would rather forget…

This fear was a somewhat alien feeling to her, so she was glad to let it fester for a little while. After all, it was being replaced by excitement and joy even now. It had been a most delightful battle, between Death and herself… The destruction, the brutality, the dead body of Meili-

She stopped dead in her tracks. Was that it? Had the vision of her lifeless body left her so unwell? She knew that her feelings for her and for him had grown, so that grim vision of her…

Only then did she realize that she had been running without direction or destination in her mind. A part of it was maybe the instinctual part of her mind that forced her body to move just to confirm to itself that indeed, she had not died.

She stood there unmoving, thinking of where to go. That was a mistake, she mused. Thinking was never her strong suit, and going by instinct was where she shined best.

And so she resumed her aimless stroll through the greenwood, hoping that all her running would deliver her somewhere.

It had not, but it had done something better. It delivered her to someone.

Even as she jumped out of the thicket to meet him, her instincts screamed that something was amiss.

He was wearing entirely different clothes, and while he tended to do that, she would never have thought that he'd ever wear such a tacky and high-class suit. As he turned to her, she could see a curious pendant hanging from his chest.

Despite all of that, she was relieved to hear his voice once more. She had so much to say to him, to attempt to understand the situation, but even now she felt as if in a daze. All she could make out was that he was as surprised by the situation as she was.

It was only then that she scanned his face. The first thing she noticed were the large dark bags under his eyes. They weren't too apparent, but to Elsa's eyes, they stood out incredibly.

His smile was fake. That was something new. At least with her and Meili, he never kept his feelings to himself, be it his desires or his hatred—he expressed them all freely. And even with everyone else, he was always direct, even to the point of being crass, although Elsa liked that part about him.

Nevertheless, there was nothing wrong with him faking a smile.

And then she looked directly into his eyes. They were certainly different from normal, that much she could tell. They looked tired and almost dead in a way, but she could still identify his feelings reflected through his eyes.

That desire to manipulate and make use of her was as present as ever. For some, that might sound terrible, but to Elsa, it was the most basic proof of his appreciation towards her.

Although saying that, much of what she had grown used to seeing in his eyes was not there. It was natural that she would not see his eyes exuding his pride at a well-thought-out plan or his small warmth that he showed towards Meili, Blue, and sometimes her.

But him showing none of that wasn't strange at all. Nevertheless, Elsa still felt as if something important was missing…

He kept talking, and this time she even managed to answer some questions. Although being as clueless as him made her not useful in this regard, it at least presented her with the novel situation of seeing the rare clueless side of him, before he came up with a plan.

It was when he asked her for something that she finally realized what was missing. It was one of the most important things, so she felt that her edge was more diminished than usual to have missed it for so long.

His hatred, it was no longer there.

More specifically, his hatred for her was nowhere to be found in his eyes. His desire—his promise—to kill her, the wish that he and she both carried close to their hearts, and that ironically helped strengthen their relationship, it was no longer there.

She froze in place, and he took notice of this, sending a few worried words her way. None of them reached her. She could hardly remember a time when she was assaulted with such indecision. After all, her instincts usually did the heavy work.

And those same instincts were now telling her that this was not the man who had sworn to kill her. The man who had made true on his promise. The man she had followed unto death. This was not that Natsuki Subaru. This was not Natsuki Subaru at all.

She couldn't help but laugh at that moment. She did not know whether she was still dead or alive, awake or asleep, or what was real or what was fake.

This fake [Natsuki Subaru]; she wondered if his guts were fake too.

Oh well, there is only one way to find out~

"You… why are you here…?" Subaru heard another him say what he was thinking in his mind. He did not know which one.

After all, they all could identify the woman that stood before them. The Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert.

"B-but you… you're supposed to be dead!" This time he turned to see [Lust Subaru] speak. He had one hand glued to the scabbard of his sword.

To his surprise, the declaration from [Lust Subaru] managed to pause Elsa, and her face twisted in slight shock. But then her dangerous smile returned just as quickly, and she licked her lips.

"Huhu… As you can see, I didn't die." She flicked her knife playfully. "But you know about that huh~"

She licked her lips once more. "Right, let me try one more time." And then, with a bone-chilling glare, she pointed at them. "Let me find the real [Natsuki Subaru]."

"The real… Natsuki Subaru…"

Each of them looked at himself, and then at each other.

Still, taking advantage of their confusion, Elsa just pointed at [Sloth Subaru] with her knife.

"You're the least like him of them all. Different hair, different clothes… As for the other two, you both have his appearance nailed down but…" She pointed at [Lust Subaru]. "… he would never wear something like that."

Finally, she pointed at Subaru. "So that leaves us with you…" She approached them, and the three instinctively stepped back.

"So? Are you the true Natsuki Subaru?"

"…" Subaru didn't know how to answer. This Elsa was obviously not from his reality, and likely neither from the one of the other two [Subarus]. Not only that, but she apparently had not arrived with the [Natsuki Subaru] that had died, seeing how it was likely she who had killed him for not being the [Subaru] she hoped to find.

"I suppose that… Haah… You've got half of what makes him what he is but lack the other half, it seems," Elsa said with a mixture of mockery and real regret in her voice.

"Meanwhile, that one had what you don't, but lacked what you show me now." She pointed to the body of [Natsuki Subaru] slumped against the tree.

Subaru desperately tried to rack his brain for answers to her presence, her words, anything. The situation was as confusing as it was desperate. Since people from other realities began appearing, the appearance of Elsa was not something impossible. Of course, his Elsa had been killed; but maybe in an alternate universe, she had survived.

"I've been thinking that his death would turn out to be a great mistake…" She sent a glance at the corpse of [Natsuki Subaru]. "But now there are three more of you. How lucky~"

Elsa didn't move, yet the three took another step back.

"I wonder, what are you supposed to be? Even though we killed mother, did she manage to pass her 'gift' to you all?"

"Mother? Gift? What are you-?"

"Haah… or maybe I really did die, and this is my personal hell. A hell were the only guts I'm allowed to spill are his." She closed her eyes, and then…

"Fufufufu~ If so then this is more like heaven to me!" With a hearty giggle, she took out her other knife, their wicked edges glittering under the moonlight.

"It doesn't matter which it is. Just like your friend over there said," she pointed at the dead [Natsuki Subaru] "The only thing that matters is finding out what is happening, no matter the cost, piece by piece if I need to. Fufu~ Not that doing so is a problem for me."

She turned her head and looked at the corpse of [Natsuki Subaru] one last time.

"So, since none of you seem to be the real [Natsuki Subaru], could you mind telling me what you are?"

The three looked between themselves in trepidation again. None of them really wanted to speak to Elsa, but not playing along with her could prove fatal.

"Well, we might not be your [Subaru], but we are also all Natsuki Subarus. And we—well…" [Lust Subaru] struggled to explain.

"Explaining it will be kind of complicated, but basically, we began appearing here all of a sudden. Though we don't know why either..." [Sloth Subaru] continued.

"Is that so… then is the true—Sorry, is my [Subaru] likely to be here somewhere?"

"Y-yes! W-we can help you find him if you want!" Subaru knew that Elsa was a dangerous person, but maybe this Elsa was different? Most of the unsettling qualities of her seemed to still be present, but if this [Natsuki Subaru] of hers had apparently managed to pacify her enough to the point she now followed him, then maybe she could be reasoned with.

"Oh? How kind of you. Yes, I would like that very much."

Subaru let out the breath he did not even realize he was holding.

"But… there is still one thing I have to know first."

"O-oh?"

"Well, since you still have not told me what you are, it's up to me to find out."

"F-find out?" [Sloth Subaru] asked meekly. Sensing things moving out of control, Subaru tried to explain to Elsa again, "We already told you! It's complicated—"

"Oh, it always is. It's why I rely so much on my instincts, you know? And those instincts are telling me that I should find exactly what you are, by inspecting your insides~"

Subaru instinctively reached for his whip while continuing to step back, and just as he did so, the sound of a sword being unsheathed came from [Lust Subaru]. Once more taking a defensive stance, he faced Elsa.

"There's no need to do that, you know. Why don't we all just take things nice and easy… Try talking things out without bloodshed?"

"Oh? Those words don't hold much weight when you have a sword pointed towards me."

"Come on! You've had those two knives out for our entire talk!" [Lust Subaru] said, although it was clear that he had not meant to get those words out.

"Oh my~ You're completely right. Still, doing things 'without bloodshed' is simply not my style. I hope you understand."

"But—But—"

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not doing this only because I want to sate my long-held curiosity." Elsa made small steps towards them, and they continued to slowly step back, even as they kept their guard up. "Rather, I felt like you weren't actually going to help me find [Subaru] after all, so you can think of this as a way to keep you in line."

Subaru bit his lip. He wanted to deny the accusation but couldn't. It was true a part of him, as foolish as it may sound, wanted to help Elsa despite the threat she posed. But there was one significant difference now compared to another time when he might have selflessly helped her.

[Natsuki Subaru] had died. His corpse lay there by Elsa, almost as if to flaunt of her kill. Something like seeing his own corpse was already reason enough to abhor any kind of partnership with Elsa. But that was not the biggest reason, no. It was the fact that it was HIS corpse. [Natsuki Subaru] had died, and nothing had happened.

Being reminded of his own mortality so suddenly, and then coming to face such danger immediately after, it was no surprise that he, and likely the others too, would want nothing more than to be as far as possible from Elsa.

Unfortunately, it seems that Elsa took this reluctance of theirs as defiance to her request. And seeing as she already suspected them of something that only she knew meant they were already in big trouble.

"Y-you—you can't do that! You n-need us to find your [Subaru], remember?!" [Sloth Subaru] tried to reason with her.

"I don't need the three of you, do I? I'm sure I can work just fine with just two."

Subaru had many other things to say in hopes of stopping Elsa, but he could not get even a whimper out, as he was frozen in fear. [Sloth Subaru] was in a similar state, but at least [Lust Subaru] managed to keep his wits behind his sword.

"Fufu~ I've always wanted to know how his insides looked like. So even if you aren't truly him… Thanks for the opportunity~"

In the next instant, Elsa jumped forward towards the trio. She was so fast that it looked like she had disappeared from her place. She breached the gap between them in no time, passing [Lust Subaru] and reaching directly for [Sloth Subaru].

He closed his eyes. He would have done anything just to know he could come back. That he would not leave his family alone in this uncertain environment. He would've begged for help from anyone, even Satella, so that they could be safe. Alas, it appeared that he had no more time left.

Elsa swung her knife almost playfully as it reached for his abdomen, the sound of it parting the wind almost deafening to him… until he heard a clanging sound.

"Oh my~!"

[Sloth Subaru] opened his eyes, not having felt any pain. Instead, he saw [Lust Subaru] in front of him. He had intercepted the slash and forced Elsa to jump back.

"You—how—?"

"I told you guys—Don't underestimate a student of Reinhard!" [Lust Subaru] confidently reassured his older counterpart. "Now snap out of it!"

"Oh my. Truly, it's impossible that you are him. I guess I'll open up your guts then."

Undeterred, Elsa launched herself again, this time clearly aiming for the king. He, in turn, also launched himself towards her and met her blows with his sword.

"I—I don't suppose that—Hrg!—that you would be scared into standing down—Hah!—by this?!" [Lust Subaru] asked while parrying Elsa's blows.

"Certainly not! If anything, this has gotten me more excited to see the color of your insides!"

"F-figures."

Subaru and [Sloth Subaru] watched their little duel entranced. The king was somehow keeping up with Elsa, and even though he was completely on the defensive, he was managing to lead her away from them. Seeing this, they took the chance to try and get to the mansion for help.

Elsa seemed to notice because she stopped attacking [Lust Subaru] altogether. He still kept swinging at her to prevent her from disengaging, but she expertly dodged all his attacks.

"Oh yes, I've never seen him move like this. Totally different! I'd say you're as strong as one of the Kingdom Knights!" Elsa said, and her praise for him seemed genuine.

"Unfortunately for you… I've slaughtered the Knights of the Kingdom by the dozens!"

In less than a second Elsa masterfully slashed her knifes, easily blocking the sword and reaching his gut.

Subaru had turned just then, and he saw everything. There was no mistaking it, the knife had reached the king's abdomen, and that the Bowel Hunter had reached her objective.

They had only just met [Lust Subaru], yet he was already dying. And by the look of things, he would not be coming back. They didn't know much about him, but he had a family, a child on the way, he was the ruler of an entire nation. Yet he had died so suddenly.

And Subaru did not know if he could save him.

"C-come on, if we get to the mansion, we might be able to heal him!"

Emilia, Garfiel, Beatrice, and even Rem—if they were fast enough, perhaps his wound could be healed.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

Elsa appeared next to them despite being considerably far away just moments before, blocking the way forward.

"It's a shame you ran, I couldn't even begin to inspect his bowels… So could you please be kind enough to return over there?"

"A-at least let us find someone to help him!" [Sloth Subaru] pleaded.

"Hmm? And also, someone to face me, right?" Subaru bit his lip; that was exactly what they wanted. "Usually, I would not be opposed to the idea, but I can't afford distractions right now."

Just then, as it seemed they were completely cornered, [Sloth Subaru] grabbed him by the wrist and shouted, "Shamak!"

A cloud of darkness erupted from his body, surprising Subaru. He felt his senses dampen but noticed how he was strung along. In a second, he was outside the cloud of darkness being led by [Sloth Subaru].

"Man, it's been such a long time since I had to use magic. But I'm glad I didn't forget how," [Sloth Subaru] said absentmindedly.

"Hey, the other guy… The other us, do you think that he—?"

Subaru saw his older counterpart harden his gaze. "That's two of us now, and nothing…"

It was only natural to expect the worst after what they had seen. Just then, Elsa jumped next to them once more.

"Ah, it's no good, huh?"

"It's only natural. I've seen that move more times than I can count." She giggled. "Now, will you two stop running? At this rate, I'll have to cut the legs off one of you and have the other carry them…"

Subaru gulped at the gruesome scene Elsa described but nevertheless put himself forward with his whip in hand, for whatever help it might be.

"Fufufu~ Defiant to the last! In that much, you and he are truly the same—Oh!"

Suddenly something appeared behind Elsa right through the now-disappearing cloud of black smoke, and she was forced to jump out of the way but not managing to dodge the incoming attack completely.

Everyone looked stunned at what happened, even Elsa herself, although she quickly regained her wicked smile. On the ground lay the severed fingers of Elsa's hand that was hit along with the knife they had been gripping.

"Oh, this is truly wonderful~"

"Usually hearing a girl say that would make me very happy, but right now it only makes me feel like puking." There, sword still in hand and completely unharmed, was [Lust Subaru], his eyes now surrounded with a blazing red fire.

"Are you guys—Hk!" Without saying another word, Elsa jumped and slashed once more at the king's abdomen with her knife, not giving him even a chance to block or parry.

"Arg!" [Lust Subaru] flinched in pain at the attack, but in just a second, he was back upright and slashed at Elsa.

"Yes, yes! How amazing!" She slashed against his abdomen. One slash, two slashes, three, four. No matter how many slashes she delivered, nothing could make the king back down. To the other two, it looked like he was completely invulnerable.

"I don't know what crazy technique that is but keep it up!" Subaru encouraged him.

"Ouch! Oww… It still hurts like a mother—Arg!" Another slash. This time he did stumble back, but once more, it did not seem like any wound was inflicted on his body.

"How magnificent~ He never had something like this either. In fact, you share more similarities with me in this regard." She showed her hand, the one that he had stabbed, now sporting all her fingers again. She moved them dexterously, as if nothing had happened to them.

"Heh, I don't remember what dark magic was at play with your body, but it's nothing like mine! Mine is proof of love!" [Lust Subaru] exclaimed boisterously. "That reminds me, I'll have to praise her wholeheartedly when I see her again…"

"Fufufu~ You're facing me yet thinking of another woman? How cold."

"Well, you're thinking of another man, aren't you?"

Elsa did not respond to his jab. Instead, she just sighed.

"Haah. Maybe this is my personal hell. A hell where I'm shown so many tantalizing bowels, his bowels, yet I'm not allowed to see a single one…" Elsa pitied herself for a moment, but then she just shrugged. "Oh well. That doesn't mean I'll stop trying."

Elsa leapt again and reached for the two of them. Guessing correctly that he was once again her target, [Sloth Subaru] pushed Subaru out of the way.

Subaru was forced to see the man he met just today faced with an unstoppable death. He couldn't stop it, although he had his whip—even if he was lucky and managed to hit her, her strength clearly overpowered his. But he had one last card up his sleeve.

"Invisible Providence!"

Just as Elsa was within striking distance of [Sloth Subaru], she was stopped in mid-air. It looked like she was floating in place until suddenly she was launched against a tree with such force the poor thing cracked under the pressure.

"Haah… haah… urg!" Subaru felt the drawback of using the authority, but he successfully managed to stop her attack.

"Oh, this is truly, truly splendid~"

It seemed Elsa was not deterred even slightly by their efforts.

"Never did I think I would get to experience something like this~!"

The tree she crashed into fully cracked as she pushed herself off it. Elsa launched herself recklessly towards them again. [Lust Subaru] put himself between her and the others, but she stunningly dodged him without losing any speed.

Subaru attacked aimlessly with his whip, but it was too late.

"No!" [Sloth Subaru] reached for him, but he too realized he could not do anything.

"Ah…" Subaru slowly reached for his abdomen, his hand that just passed by the spot where he was struck was immediately covered in blood.

Subaru fell to the ground. Elsa just looked at his wound with a dreamy smile while she licked her lips. "Oh, after all this time, it's as beautiful as I ever imagined it~"

"You!" [Lust Subaru] pushed forward and once again engaged Elsa. She seemed content with allowing his attacks to go unpunished and backed away, giving [Sloth Subaru] a chance to approach the wounded Subaru.

"P-please tell me you also got another cheat ability like that guy…"

"I already told you… I'm not special like that at all…"

[Sloth Subaru] gripped him tight. It took Subaru a moment to realize he was hugging him.

"I-I'm sorry. A-at least you'll come back, r-right?"

"I… I don't know…"

He was dying. He was dying and didn't know if he would come back. Earlier, he had confirmed Satella still had a grip on him, but now he was uncertain of it. He felt regretful tears begin to form. He didn't want to die; he had so much more to give. He had struggled and fought so much, so he could not believe it could be all for naught.

Still…

"No, you'll be back. Natsuki Subaru the hero can't lose this…"

Even though he was in great pain, Subaru giggled at those words. His older self apparently had a lot of expectations for him, and he had failed to meet all of them, it seemed.

"T-take care of everyone… with that guy too…"

His mind wandered to [Lust Subaru], who was still fighting Elsa. He was strong, could fight, and was the ruler of an entire nation. If it was them, then maybe things would be alright.

[Sloth Subaru] said something to him, but he could no longer listen. He closed his eyes and let out his last breath.

And so, Natsuki Subaru died.

"I love you."

There it was, that familiar call of love.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

And once more, he heard it repeating over and over again. This always happened. Although he could feel it was different this time.

"I love you."

He heard it right in his ear, like she was whispering her love while lying next to him.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

But then, the flurry of love that followed seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once, just as it did when he tried testing the taboo.

"I love you."

In this place where the vile witch resided, he didn't know why he should expect things to be normal, but…

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

Something told him that something was different…

"I love you…"

"…"

Subaru heard a buzzing sound in his ears. Soon, it transformed into a voice. His voice, to be exact.

"Man, if we find another… another one of us, will we do this whole song and dance again?"

"If they are a proper [Natsuki Subaru], they better do." It was his voice again. Subaru opened his eyes, seeing both [Sloth Subaru] and [Lust Subaru] before him.

"Alright then. We can both talk all about this situation, about you and about… hmm?" [Sloth Subaru] noticed his shocked expression. "Hey, are you alright?"

Subaru scanned the faces of his two counterparts, analyzing them for reactions. Did they know?

"D-do you guys remember?" he asked tentatively.

"Remember? Man, we've only just met and…" [Lust Subaru] began but stopped once he looked closer at him.

Subaru inspected his hands and his body; they were completely untouched. He felt like laughing. Or like crying. Out of despair or relief, he didn't know which one. At the very least, he had to test if he could tell the others, if he could rely on them, and so, he spoke the taboo…

"I-I just Returned by Death."

Again, completely unopposed.

Finally, the first Return by Death. I really enjoyed the theories that were thrown around in the last chapter, so I held back from spoiling anything in the replies. The whole confrontation with Elsa is just the beginning of figuring out how RbD works now, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys make of it. Just know that everything will be clear after the fight with Elsa is done. In any case thanks for reading the chapter and I hope you enjoyed it!