Chapter 16

Freezing Wrath

The night air was crisp, carrying with it the distant rustle of leaves swaying in the gentle breeze. The gazebo, bathed in soft moonlight, stood like an isolated sanctuary in the vast garden.

Subaru leaned against one of its pillars, arms crossed behind his head as he watched Emilia gaze out over the garden.

The way the moonlight caught the silver of her hair made her look almost otherworldly—too beautiful for reality.

But the worry in her eyes anchored her firmly in this world.

"You've been quiet," Subaru noted, tilting his head. "Something on your mind, Emilia-tan?"

Emilia fidgeted with the ends of her silver hair, hesitating before speaking. "…I'm worried."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

She exhaled slowly. "…Rem."

"As expected…" Subaru thought, closing his eyes.

"I don't like how she looks at you," Emilia admitted, gripping her hands tightly together. "It's not normal, Subaru. It's like she's waiting for the right moment to…" She trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.

Subaru's expression softened. He knew exactly what Emilia meant—the daggers in Rem's gaze every time he so much as breathed in her presence.

"It's annoying for me as well, but I guess I can get where it's coming from," he said, his voice calmer than he felt. "It's not something I did. It's what I remind her of."

Emilia tilted her head. "…What you remind her of?"

Subaru nodded. "The Witch Cult."

Emilia's expression darkened, her fingers curling instinctively. The name alone was enough to make her shoulders tense.

He sighed. "And that's worse in a way. Because if it's something I did, I could try and fix it. But here…"

"Mmm… I kept pretending I understand what that means, but the truth is, I don't. I've got no idea what the Witch Cult even does—besides being universally hated," Subaru admitted. He turned to her, his face unusually serious. "Can you tell me? Just how bad are they?"

Emilia hesitated, looking away as if weighing whether she should burden him with that. But she had made a promise to follow his lead.

"They're… beyond horrible, Subaru," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They don't just hurt people. They ruin entire lives. Villages, cities—sometimes entire regions—are destroyed because of them, in the name of the witch. Anyone suspected of being a member is slain on sight. That's how much everyone fears them."

Subaru had thought the Witch Cult was bad, but this… this was worse than he imagined. No wonder Rem wanted to kill him.

"Who says 'slain' in this day and age…wait!" he stopped himself making the joke to lighten up the mood, feeling something sink inside him as he realized the sheer precarity of his situation.

"Would I get killed on sight by some passers-by just because of my smell?! Damn… what's wrong with my luck?" If— no. When he meets others like Rem in this world, how should he deal with them?

But his worries dissipated by the sight of Emilia's expression. She looked… so sorrowful.

"…Has the Witch Cult ever hurt you?" Subaru hesitantly prodded.

Emilia's lips parted, but she didn't answer right away. Her grip on her dress tightened.

"I…" She swallowed. "…Yes."

For a moment, Subaru could swear he saw something flicker in her expression—something painful, old, and deeply buried.

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "A long time ago."

He didn't press her. Not yet. But a fleeting, yet strong thought echoed in his mind as he clenched his jaw. "Those bastards!"

Instead, he exhaled and leaned back against the bench rail, staring up at the night sky. "If Rem really was hurt by that cult, it makes sense she'd react like this," he admitted. "It's… sad."

Emilia nodded. "It is… She's probably been carrying that pain for a long time."

Then, as if shaking herself free of the memory, she forced a small smile. "Still… If you think you can do something about it, I'll trust you, Subaru. I'll follow your lead, like we agreed."

A strange warmth spread in Subaru's chest. He grinned. "Hehe, you make it sound like I'm the leader of some grand operation."

Emilia smiled faintly. "But you do have a plan, right?"

"Of course," Subaru said, straightening up with mock importance. "Let's lay it out."

Emilia nodded, her expression serious.

"Alright," Subaru began, ticking off his fingers, "what we know about the curse user."

"They act only when Emilia-tan isn't visibly present."

"They need three days before they strike."

"They know Emilia-tan by sight"

"They aren't targeting me specifically—just anyone around Arlam village."

"They might be trying to discredit Emilia-tan, or Roswaal before the Royal Selection; this one is actually just a theory."

Emilia frowned, resting her chin in her hand. "That last one is really concerning," she admitted.

"True. If it's really about damaging your reputation, we could stop them by doing what we did in the third loop," Subaru mused. "We just send you and Puck on patrols. That should scare the shaman off."

Emilia frowned. "Yes, but if we do that, wouldn't they just come back after we leave?"

"…Yeah." Subaru sighed. "And we can't just sit around waiting to react every time they strike. If they're after Emilia's status, they won't stop with this."

"If people start thinking you can't protect them, that's not exactly great for your campaign. We need to get ahead of them."

Emilia thought for a moment. "I see… Then you plan to capture the shaman?"

"Bingo."

Subaru raised three fingers.

"One: You can't scare him off. No patrols. You haven't got that cool concealing cloak yet. If he thinks you're around, he won't show up, and we won't be able to catch him."

Emilia frowned. "That's risky."

"Two: I'll try to get cursed on purpose. That way, I can pinpoint exactly who's doing it."

A stunned "Eh?" escaped Emilia's lips.

Subaru continued, "I'll have to touch everyone… basically, I'll be baiting them into cursing me in real-time so we can find out who—"

"What?!" Emilia's eyes widened. "Subaru, NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"I knew you'd say that," Subaru said, rubbing the back of his head. "Look, I know it's dangerous. But I won't go there alone. If I borrow Puck's crystal, I can track the curse while it's happening, like you did."

Emilia stiffened. "…You want Puck's crystal?"

Subaru saw the flicker of hesitation in her eyes—saw how she instinctively gripped the small pendant resting against her chest.

He softened his voice. "I know you and Puck won't like this. You don't want me to put myself in danger, you don't want to leave Puck, and Puck sure as hell doesn't want to be separated from you. But this is the best way to find our guy before he can hurt anyone else."

Emilia looked down at her lap, biting her lip. "No, it's not like that. I can give you the magic stone, I trust you!"

"It's just… I don't like it," she admitted. "...I don't fully trust Puck, either."

Subaru blinked. "Ah…"

Emilia hesitated. "I've been feeling like… Puck doesn't want to help you. Or maybe he's just waiting for you to fail."

Subaru had his suspicions about Puck's hostility, but hearing Emilia say it outright wasn't making things easier.

"…That's why I need you to trust me, Emilia," he replied quietly. "We made a deal, right?"

Emilia exhaled. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Okay. But I want to be close by. I'll stay outside the village. Far enough not to scare the shaman, but close enough to help if something goes wrong. This way we can communicate through Puck, like in the capital."

Subaru grinned. "That's actually perfect. It comes to the last aspect of my plan. Three: backup in case the curse user panics and lashes out," he said raising his index finger upwards.

"I see," she smiled, closing her eyes. "You've really thought of everything, haven't you, Subaru?"

Emilia turned back to Subaru, pouting. "Just so you know, I still don't like it."

"Noted." Subaru grinned. "Still doing it, though."

After Emilia finally left to get some rest, Subaru found himself making one last stop before calling it a night: the Forbidden Library.

"Oi, Beako! Are you still up?"

A high-pitched, irritated voice answered from the darkened library. "Go away, I suppose."

"Beako," he called out. "There might be shamans in Arlam village. Wanna help me find them?"

"Not interested, I suppose. It's not my problem, in fact," she flatly answered.

Subaru, having expected this response, grinned. "You're cold… I could die out there, trying to save the villagers, you know? You don't mind if I get cursed?"

The blonde loli barely spared him a glance. "I have a library to protect, in fact. I have no interest in your foolishness."

Subaru pouted. "You'll regret this when I solve the mystery without you."

"Hmph." Beatrice waved a hand dismissively. "When you find the culprit, if they even exist, don't expect me to be impressed, I suppose."

A gust of wind promptly expelled him from the library.

As he walked away, Subaru smirked to himself. "Ouch… Well, I had to try."

Still, despite his bravado, as he lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, sleep wouldn't come easily.

Rooms away, Emilia wasn't faring much better. She lay curled beneath the blankets, staring at the dim glow of Puck's crystal.

Tomorrow, everything would be put to the test.

The warm morning sun bathed Arlam Village in golden light, the usual chatter of merchants and children filling the air.

Subaru walked beside Rem, a woven basket in hand, Puck hidden away in his crystal. They had been here for a while now, blending into the daily life of the villagers.

He had just finished introducing the beauty of radio-calisthenics to the villagers, touching as many people as possible in the process. But nothing.

No sign of a curse. No reaction from Puck.

He exhaled softly, feeling a small weight lift from his shoulders. "So, maybe he's not here yet…" he thought. "Maybe the curse user only arrives on the third day." If so, it bought them time. Time to prepare, to act. A rare relief in this merciless world.

"Well, just in case, I'll go to Beatrice to confirm that—"

Petra and the village children ran up to him, their eager faces lighting up the morning.

"Subaru-nii, Subaru-nii!" one of them called excitedly. "We have something to show you!"

Subaru smiled, ready for another dose of wholesome village fun. "Oh? What is it? If it's a surprise party for me, you should've given me a heads-up so I could dress up properly!"

They led both Rem and Subaru to a small hut at the forest's edge.

"It's a puppy!" another child beamed, and they parted to reveal a small, fluffy creature cradled in Meili's arms. Its tiny tail wagged, ears perked up in curiosity as it stared at Subaru with round, dark eyes.

"Oh? Ah yes, I remember that event." Subaru mused inwardly as he recognized the pet. But even before he could add anything else, a voice echoed in his mind, sharp and urgent.

"Subaru. That thing's a wolgarm." Puck's telepathic voice shot through his head like a dagger. "A witchbeast."

Subaru's blood ran cold.

"It can curse people by biting them. And it feeds on mana."

A slow, creeping dread curled around his spine, but outwardly, Subaru remained composed, careful not to startle the children.

"Oh? You found a little rascal, huh?"

The children beamed. "Isn't he cute?"

"Yes, he is," Subaru agreed, forcing his voice to remain steady.

"You could've told me sooner." Subaru's voice in his mind was steady. Too steady.

"I told you the moment I noticed it." Puck responded neutrally.

But Subaru barely heard him.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears as a horrifying realization settled over him like a suffocating blanket.

His thoughts raced, remembering Emilia's selfless act against the wolgarms days ago. They had bit her arm when she tried to protect him.

"So Emilia was cursed by one of these wolf-like monsters." His voice was eerily calm. "Puck, you knew, didn't you?"

There was no immediate response.

"You knew, and you didn't say anything. Worse, while the whole point of this is to find the source of a curse, you continued to keep it to yourself."

Subaru swallowed thickly, his throat dry. His chest felt like it was caving in.

For days, loop after loop, they had been thinking a person was behind this. They had been trying to hunt a shaman.

And all this time… It was just a mindless beast. Puck had let them believe otherwise.

"Answer me, Puck."

A slow exhale. Then, Puck finally spoke.

"Yes. I knew."

A dull ringing filled Subaru's ears. "Wow. Why?"

"Because protecting Lia comes before anything else." Puck's tone was utterly indifferent. "Even before telling you some data."

Subaru's grip on the basket tightened.

His demeanor hadn't changed much. On the outside, he still looked like the friendly big brother figure, chatting and laughing with the kids. But Rem, watching his every move carefully, noticed the shift.

A split-second hesitation. A subtle change in posture. The faintest tension in his shoulders. Something was wrong.

Of course, Puck had also noticed, sensing the shift of composure directly from his mind.

"There it is." Puck's voice was almost amused. "Your real face. You're angry, aren't you?"

Subaru inhaled slowly. "Hah? Of course I am."

"You told me yesterday you didn't hate me for what I did." Puck mused. "And now, before the fact, you change your mind? You humans really are fickle creatures."

Subaru's mind snapped.

"Puck, I don't give a damn if you tried to kill me." His voice was ice. "I accept that. If you think I'm a genuine threat to Emilia, then by all means, come for me. Tear me apart. I won't mind."

"Oh?"

He saw Meili giggle as the puppy licked her fingers, utterly oblivious to the monster in her arms. The sight made something snap inside him.

"But what I can't accept, what makes me want to rip you out of that crystal and throw you into the slums' garbage pits—" Subaru's breathing was slow, controlled, deadly. "—is that you let that thing near these kids. Just to get rid of me?"

"You saw that monster in their hands, and you did nothing. You let innocent children hold a death sentence all because you wanted me out of Emilia's life?"

Subaru's chest tightened with sheer, overwhelming fury. But he barely let it show outside, as he continued playing with the children. "—Where did you guys find him though?"

Meili beamed, hugging the tiny beast against her chest. "Isn't he cute? I found him near the forest! He's all alone, so I thought… maybe I could take care of him!"

"Heh! I protect Lia. That is my only concern. If I had to remove you for Lia's sake, I wouldn't hesitate," Puck admitted without shame. "You should already know that."

"And here you are, wondering why Emilia doesn't trust you anymore, why she's keeping her distance," Subaru's voice turned mocking, cold.

"Maybe it's because she can finally see you for what you are—nothing but an overgrown house cat who plays god with people's lives."

The crystal tucked in his pocket was becoming colder and colder. "You better watch your words, brat."

Subaru silently clenched his jaw and, in response, a fist reached for the crystal and clenched it with all his strength, without reacting to the icy pain.

"Puck. If you ever pull this kind of shit again just to get to me— I don't care if you're Emilia's precious family."

"I will make you pay."

Puck's voice was mocking, but there was a sharp edge beneath it. "Do you even realize who you're talking to? Measure your words, human—"

In a voice that was void of warmth, void of fear, Subaru cut him off without hesitation, and issued his command.

"Shut it. Do your job."

The crystal vibrated in his grip.

"Kill the puppy."

Silence. Puck didn't say a word. Not a single snarky retort. Not a single laugh. Nothing.

Subaru silently reached out, ruffling Meili's hair with a soft, reassuring hand. She froze beneath his touch, startled.

"Hey," Subaru said gently, masking his fury beneath a warm smile. "Can you do me a favor and set the puppy down? Real slow."

Meili blinked up at him, confused and wary. "…Huh?"

She wasn't expecting this.

"I just wanna see something," Subaru added, voice light. "Promise it's nothing bad."

Meili hesitated, clutching the wolgarm a little tighter. "But why?"

"Just trust me."

The other children weren't suspicious yet, but Subaru could feel Rem's eyes on him now—subtle, sharp, analyzing. He kept his face steady.

Meili swallowed, then, with deliberate slowness, she lowered the puppy to the ground.

The very moment its tiny paws touched the dirt, Subaru's grip tightened around the crystal in his pocket.

"Now, Puck," he coldly commanded.

"Tch!" With a soft shimmer of blue light, Puck materialized from the crystal.

Meili jerked back instinctively, startled by the sudden presence of the cat spirit. Her reaction was genuine, convincing, just like the other children around her who gasped at the sight.

But unlike them, Meili knew exactly what Puck was.

"Shit." Her thoughts raced. "I had my doubts since the strange nii-chan came here, but if the floating cat is present as well, that means…"

"The half-elf nee-chan isn't far!"

Her instincts told her to run away at once, but running now would just blow her cover entirely. Still, her urge to flee was too intense to ignore.

"Damn it." She had to act fast.

Puck extended a paw, and a pulse of freezing mana surged toward the small puppy—

—only for the ground beneath them to explode.

Dirt and stone erupted like a geyser, sending dust flying. Subaru instinctively shielded his face as a gust of warm air countered Puck's freezing magic, neutralizing it completely.

And where there had been a tiny, harmless puppy… stood a towering, monstrous wolgarm.

Its fur darkened, bristling with thick, jagged spikes. Its claws sank into the dirt, sharp as knives.

Its eyes gleamed—not mindless, not wild, but intelligent. Cunning.

Subaru's breath hitched, not even registering the panicked screams of the children.

"No way," he whispered.

A giant wolgarm?! No, that wasn't even the scariest part.

He had thought this was just a mindless Witchbeast problem. He had thought the enemy was a wild animal.

But the way this monster moved, how it reacted, how it countered Puck's magic—

It's thinking.

And it was looking directly at Subaru.

Like it understood.

And, as if to confirm Subaru's fears, its tail whipped out, snagging Petra and Meili by their waists in an instant.

The two girls screamed.

Subaru lurched forward. "WAIT—"

The imposing beast sprinted toward the forest. But Rem's reaction was instant. Seizing her weapon, she projected a massive morningstar through the air, aiming straight for the creature's legs—

But before it could land, a swarm of wolgarms burst out from the trees, throwing themselves into the attack, sacrificing themselves to shield their leader.

Rem's attack crushed them down in an instant, but her main target was unharmed, lunging towards the forest and dragging Petra and Meili with it.

Time slowed down for Subaru whose mind was racing. Without thinking, his legs were already carrying him forward, facing the horde of wolgarms charging from the forest.

"Subaru-kun!" Rem's sharp voice snapped him back to reality.

Puck's fur bristled as he growled. "Tch. We don't have time for this."

Subaru's decision was instant. His voice wasn't a plea—it was a command. "DON'T STOP! We have to go after them NOW!"

Rem's eyes flickered with hesitation. "But—"

"No 'but'! If we let them get too far, we'll never see them again!"

Subaru's breath came fast. Too fast. His mind was racing.

"Petra and Meili are gone."

"That wolgarm… nah, that's a bossgarm at this point! It just took them."

"It didn't kill them immediately. Meaning they are hostages."

They were only alive because they still had value.

But if Subaru and the others wasted time fighting here—if they didn't chase immediately—then the wolgarm wouldn't need them alive anymore.

Puck gave a single, irritated sigh. "This is annoying." He then impaled the wolgarms lunging at the defenseless Subaru.

Rem exhaled sharply, then nodded.

The three of them charged into the forest, cutting through the wolgarm horde like a blade through flesh—not slowing down, not stopping, chasing the fading screams into the dark.

Right at the barrier, Subaru hesitated for a brief second.

He knew how strong the barrier stone was. He knew how stupid it was to go in unprotected.

His hand drifted to the barrier stones, but he stopped himself.

Taking one would weaken the protection around the village.

And today, unlike when against Ram, Subaru was not drowned by fear and wrath.

He clenched his fists.

"By the way… How did these monsters manage to go through the barrier in the first place? The bossgarm's influence?"

He looked back at Rem and Puck.

"I don't trust them. But… I'm going to trust them anyway."

So he ran forward without it, betting on his betrayers.

Their feet pounded against the forest floor, twigs snapping beneath them as they raced after the bossgarm.

The monstrous wolgarm wasn't running in a straight line—instead, it weaved in a curving, irregular path through the trees. Not a straight sprint. Not a wild dash for survival.

At first, Subaru didn't think much of it. But the longer they chased, the more deliberate the movements seemed.

His instincts screamed at him. "Something's wrong."

His breathing was ragged, heart hammering in his chest, but he forced himself to focus.

The bossgarm wasn't running away blindly. It was leading them somewhere.

He had used the same tactic against Ram the previous loop. His stomach clenched as the realization struck like a hammer to the chest.

"But we can't stop! What to do—"

Before he could finish thinking, the world collapsed beneath his feet.

Weightlessness. A moment of nothingness. Then, gravity seized him by the throat.

Subaru barely had time to flail before he hit the dirt with a bone-rattling thud, pain exploding up his spine. The impact stole the air from his lungs, his body half-buried in loose soil.

Somewhere to his right, he heard Rem land gracefully, and only then he had fully grasped what had happened.

A pitfall. A massive one.

Days before, after witnessing Emilia killing the wolgarms, Meili had thought about upgrading her escape plans thanks to the Earth magic abilities of her new pet.

Similar traps were scattered here and there in the forest, just waiting to be activated by Earth magic. They were deep enough to capture Emilia, but Meili was aware of one fact: they wouldn't be enough to kill or hurt her, just to buy time.

Still, it would be more effective to overwhelm Emilia this way rather than in an open space.

And now, Subaru, Rem, and Puck were buried beneath the earth, surrounded by high dirt walls on all sides.

A cruel realization settled in his gut. "It wasn't running away. It was leading us straight into a goddamn grave."

His horror only deepened when a long, chilling howl echoed from above.

A shadow loomed overhead. Then another. And another.

One by one, wolgarms rained from the surface, snarling, their red eyes gleaming with hunger as they descended into the pit.

"This is bad—this is really, really bad!" Subaru gasped, pushing himself up just in time to see more creatures pouring in.

His mind raced. He could already see the outcome.

"They're going to kill me here."

He shot a glance at Puck, who had already summoned shimmering ice spikes. Rem was even faster—her chains were already spinning, a blur of motion as she ripped through the first beast to lunge at her.

But Subaru? He was nothing. Just prey.

Panic clamped around his lungs like a vice. He turned toward Rem and Puck—would they even help him?

Would they just leave him here?

Would Rem take this chance to leave him behind?

Would Puck let him die here, thinking it was convenient?

"I shouldn't have trusted them. I—"

A wolgarm lunged straight for him.

"—SHIT!"

But before its fangs could sink into him, a blast of freezing air ripped through the pit.

The wolgarm froze solid mid-air—its body encased in jagged ice before it shattered into a hundred frozen shards.

Subaru's wide eyes snapped to Puck, floating in the air with an eerie glow radiating from his small frame. His blue eyes burned with cold fury.

"Hold it together! Lia would be sad if you died here!"

The temperature plummeted. The air crackled with mana.

FWOOOM! —A wave of freezing air blasted outward.

Puck shot ice spears impaling two wolgarms mid-air. Rem twisted gracefully, felling three beasts in one motion, her morningstar whipping through their skulls with sickening cracks.

They weren't just holding their own—they were winning.

They were fighting. Fighting to keep him alive.

His thoughts reeled.

"I—I misjudged them. They're not taking this chance to abandon me. They're actually… saving me?"

But before he could process it fully, a fourth wolgarm leaped from his blind spot.

Subaru barely had time to register what was happening before he felt a searing pain explode through his arm.

A wolgarm had sunk its fangs into him.

Pain. Burning, sharp, searing through his flesh— Subaru screamed.

Blood splattered onto the dirt. The wolgarm dug in deeper, its fangs locked into his skin like a vice.

The moment he staggered, his gaze met Rem's. And she hesitated.

Subaru saw it. The way her fingers tensed. The way she glanced at him, at his wound, then back at the remaining wolgarms.

She had a choice: leave him, or save him.

A whole second of searing pain for Subaru, and excruciating doubt for Rem, passed.

Then her grip tightened around her flail. With a Huma spell, she pierced the wolgarm through its flank, and, the instant it released his bite, blasted it away with her morningstar.

Subaru barely had time to register what happened before Rem's hands were suddenly on him, gripping his shoulders, hoisting him up.

"What the… She's carrying me?"

For a second, Subaru's mind blanked. She could have left him there. But she hadn't.

The blue-haired maid's mind was racing. "Why? Why am I saving him?"

"He reeks of the Witch. He's a danger. He could be our enemy."

"Then why does he keep risking his life for children?"

Her grip on him tightened.

"I don't understand you, Natsuki Subaru."

And then, with a burst of strength, she launched them out of the pit.

Subaru barely had time to react before they landed outside the hole, cold air biting against his skin.

A second later, Puck flew up behind them, a smug grin on his face. "We made it out," he declared, shaking his fur.

Subaru was still processing it all.

He had thought they would abandon him. He had thought trusting them was a mistake.

But now—

Now, Rem was kneeling in front of him, hands glowing as she gently healed his arm.

Her hands hovered carefully over his bleeding wound, soft blue light seeping into his torn flesh, knitting it back together.

He expected cold indifference. Maybe even an angry glare.

Instead, Rem's expression was thoughtful. Conflicted. She herself didn't understand why she saved him, but she had.

And Subaru softly smiled as his chest tightened. A strange but satisfying thought crossed his mind.

"Maybe… maybe I wasn't wrong to trust them after all, Emilia-tan."

The pain dulled considerably, but as Rem continued, he realized there was no time for this. He could still move. That was enough.

"Thank you, Rem, but that's fine," he murmured, shifting away from her touch.

Rem blinked, her hands still glowing. "I haven't finished."

"It's fine," Subaru insisted. "The bleeding slowed, and it hurt a lot less. We can't waste time."

For just a second, her hand hovered hesitantly in the air before she pulled it back. Subaru didn't miss the faint flicker of an internal struggle crossing her face—like she didn't know what to make of him.

But there was no time to dwell on that now. The bossgarm was still out there, with Petra and Meili.

Subaru forced himself up, his arm still tingling from Rem's healing magic. His gaze snapped to the tracks ahead—massive footprints embedded in the dirt, the crushed foliage betraying the bossgarm's direction.

He had made a mistake—thinking it was just an animal, thinking it would act on instinct alone. But this thing was smart. It wasn't just running.

The trap hole was just the beginning. But—

"No matter if it's leading us into something worse. We have to keep chasing them!" he declared, clenching his fists.

Subaru wiped his brow, sweat mixing with dirt. He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to think.

He couldn't afford to underestimate it again. He had to be sure. If the bossgarm could somehow alter its tracks with earth magic, then he needed something else to guide him than only the footprints.

With a deep breath, he stretched out his hand and focused. He had done this before—following Ram's movements in the last loop.

"Come on…" he muttered.

A faint shimmer flickered in the air—small glowing lights, lesser spirits, responding to his call.

Puck and Rem both turned to look at him.

"I'll be counting on you guys again," Subaru said, flashing a tired grin.

The little lights hovered uncertainly, flitting toward the ground as if whispering secrets only they could hear. Subaru felt his confidence rising, and started running towards the footprints, Rem and Puck following.

"They'll help us find the beast. It's not far—"

But then, without warning—they vanished.

"What—?" Subaru's stomach twisted.

Puck's tail flicked, ears twitching in amusement. "Oops. That's on me," he admitted with a chuckle.

Subaru turned to him, baffled. "Huh?"

"They're probably scared of me," Puck said, puffing out his chest. "I am a Great Spirit, after all."

Subaru groaned. "Oh, come on, how? While looking so cute?"

Puck gave him a pointed look. "You'd be surprised how many lesser spirits find my presence… overwhelming. But they might come back if I enter my crystal."

Before Subaru could respond, Puck's form dissolved into glowing particles, his entire being retreating into the green gem in Subaru's pocket.

Running around, the shimmering orbs appeared again, and they were all getting closer to their target.

Now that Puck was inside the crystal, Subaru hesitated, wondering if he should call her anyway.

He knew what Emilia was capable of. He knew she wasn't some fragile girl. In his opinion, if anything, she was probably stronger than him, Rem, and Puck combined in terms of fighting. But there was always that nagging feeling—that thought that she was safer out of this.

But they were running out of time. And she wasn't here yet.

A cold, unsettling realization struck Subaru.

"If I were that damn bossgarm… I would have sent some of my minions to the village to keep reinforcements occupied."

His breath caught.

"Emilia." His hands clenched into fists. He had no proof, but it made too much sense.

In any case, he had to call her to know more about the whole picture.

"Puck," Subaru said urgently, gripping the crystal. "Call Emilia."

Silence. The gem in his hand flickered faintly, but the presence inside remained still.

Subaru's grip tightened. "Puck? Call Emilia, now. We need her—"

"No." Puck's voice was calm—too calm. "We can handle this without putting her in danger."

Subaru gritted his teeth. "Danger? She's already in danger. You think she's just standing around doing nothing? If my hunch is right, she's already fighting off a bunch of wolgarms at the village. You're acting like she's some naive little girl, but—"

"Subaru." Puck's voice turned sharp, almost warning.

"No," Subaru snapped. His voice was rising now, his frustration bubbling over. "I understand that you want to protect her. But she's not some kind of glass doll! We need her here as soon as possible!"

As Puck didn't respond further, he inhaled sharply, his breath shaking. "You know what? It doesn't matter."

"Even if you don't call her. Even if you try to trick her, even if you try to keep her out of this. She'll come to us!"

A brief silence stretched between them.

"She'll come," Subaru repeated, quieter this time. His voice was steady, unwavering. "Because that's who she is. I trust her that much."

Rem had remained quiet the entire time, but Subaru could feel her eyes on him.

When he took off, sprinting deeper into the woods, she followed without hesitation.

But there was something different in the way she looked at him now—like she was trying to understand something.

Natsuki Subaru—a man who reeked of the Witch's stench, a supposed cultist, an enemy of all things good—was running ahead without hesitation, throwing himself deeper into the jaws of danger.

For what? To save children?

The very thought made her chest tighten.

Witch Cultists were evil. That was an absolute truth. She had seen it firsthand. So why?

Why was this man… nothing like them?

Rem clenched her weapon in her grip, her blue eyes lingering on Subaru's back as he ran.

Noting his contradictions.

The wind rushed past her pointy ears as she ran.

"Puck… answer me!" she called desperately through their link, but there was nothing. The silence gnawed at her.

Puck wasn't answering.

Her breath came short as she sprinted toward the village, silver hair whipping in her back.

"Why did I listen to Subaru?"

"Why did I let him go alone with them?"

Her stomach twisted. Why did I listen to him? Why did she let him go alone?

She told herself she would protect him. She promised to protect him. He left, believing she would save him if something went wrong.

"I have to find him! To save him!"

Her heart pounded with fear and fury. She had tried to trust them. Puck even had promised her to protect Subaru. And now, when that trust might have been betrayed, her thoughts spiraled into a suffocating loop of regret.

Rem, and Puck—she hadn't trusted them from the beginning. She had seen the way the maid looked at Subaru. She witnessed how Puck misled her. If Puck and Rem had abandoned him—if they had left him to die—

If they had dared to do so…

Her hands trembled. She clenched them harder. No. I can't think like that. I just have to hurry—

Then a snarl split the air, and she saw it. Wolgarms.

Five of them, their monstrous frames weaving through the village outskirts, tearing toward the people.

A sharp, suffocating frustration seized her chest.

"Not now. Not when I'm running out of time."

Her feet kept moving, her body instinctively closing the distance—but in the back of her mind, the thought gnawed at her:

"They need help… but what if Subaru is in danger right now, waiting for me?"

A woman clutched her child, stumbling backward. Another man grabbed a pitchfork with shaking hands, but his terror made it clear—he wouldn't be able to fight them off.

She raised a hand. Blue light crackled to life at her fingertips.

A wave of ice erupted from the ground, sharp crystalline shards impaling the beast mid-leap. The others turned toward her instantly, eyes narrowing.

One.

She didn't hesitate. She couldn't hesitate.

Another blast of frost surged forth, freezing a second wolgarm solid before it could react.

Two.

Emilia twisted mid-step, her footwork fluid and graceful as she conjured a set of razor-sharp icicles, launching them forward with deadly precision.

Three. Four.

The monsters collapsed, lifeless. One left. But the moment she turned back, her stomach dropped.

The villagers were staring at her. Not with relief. Not with gratitude.

With fear.

A man flinched as she met his gaze. A woman clutched her child and took a step away. An elder looked at her sternly.

Whisper reached her ears—soft, but sharp as a blade.

"Half-elf…" "The half-witch…"

It struck her harder than any wound ever could.

Of course, she had known this would happen. It had happened countless times before. In fact, she always thought it was well-deserved for a sinner like herself.

The Witch of Glaciation, the one who froze her people, deserves to be punished forever.

And yet—

"Why now?"

"Why now, of all times, does it hurt?"

A snarl behind her. Another wolgarm, rushing toward people, and here, Emilia hesitated.

She could leave it. She could go now. Subaru needed her.

Her legs tensed to move— And yet, her body betrayed her.

Before she even realized it, she had already turned, already acted, already saved them.

A blade of ice pierced through the beast's heart, freezing it over as it collapsed.

Unsurprisingly enough, there was a shudder. A flinch. The man she had just saved stepped back from her.

People staring at her as if they would rather die than be saved by her— That was nostalgic, and no more disturbing.

But this time, as fighting for them made her lose time… As rescuing them may have meant losing Subaru—the only one besides Puck who made her feel not like an evil witch—her chest burned with resentment.

She turned sharply and ran. Not toward them. Not toward the people who would never accept her.

She ran toward Subaru, and simply muttered, "At least he trusts me."

The temperature plummeted as she reached the edge of the forest, and, in seconds, an imposing barrier of ice grew out of the ground. She hadn't put too much thought into its shape, but unconsciously, she made it blunt and smooth at one side, jagged and spiky at the other.

It stretched as far as her vision would allow between the dense forest and Arlam's inhabitants, freezing even part of the streams and river.

And an unbearable pressure crashed over Puck like a tidal wave.

He barely kept himself together, unseen by others inside his home crystal.

"Damn it, Lia… why now?"

His contractee was losing control. And if he didn't do something fast, she was going to lose herself.

He clenched his fangs, his fur bristling as he tried his best to pull it back, to contain it.

The forest air felt wrong.

Each breath came out in cold puffs of mist, her mana crackling through the air like static electricity.

The first wolgarm that crossed her path lunged, making the mistake of its life.

She didn't dodge, but stepped forward.

A flash of silver—Elsa's dull kukri, now hers—crushed the beast's leg and repelled it.

Then something white bloomed from the wound.

An ice flower, beautiful but deadly, exploded outward, its sharp edges shredding the wolgarm before making it detonate in a shower of frost, flesh and blood.

Emilia didn't even blink.

"Who?"

Her grip on the kukri tightened as she ran forward, asking herself the same question again and again.

"Who's to blame for this?"

"Myself? That is my fault. Again, my carelessness— No."

Her and Subaru have made a deal. And she had simply followed his plans.

"I trust him to make it through. He had mastered his ability… It's not my fault..."

"So… The villagers? No."

They were helpless. They didn't matter.

"Rem and Puck? Why aren't they answering?"

Are they threatening Subaru? Are they hurting him? Her blood boiled even further at the thought. Then she peeked at reddish eyes in the shadows, and heard growls surrounding her.

"Wolgarms?"

Yes. It was because of them.

Because of them, she had been delayed.

Because of them, she wasn't with Subaru.

"I should have wiped them out of the whole forest the moment they had attacked us."

As she momentarily stopped in her tracks, four wolgarms lunged at once on her, before getting mercilessly pierced from everywhere by ice. Without even getting a glance from the furious half-elf.

Their corpses hadn't even hit the ground before her ice took hold, freezing it solid and shattering it to pieces.

She had held back for too long.

The next wave of wolgarms didn't get the chance to move.

Emilia threw her hand forward, and, without any prior incantation, countless ice spikes surged from thin air in a cascading wave, impaling them where they stood.

Her power kept growing, spilling out, forcing its way through the air. She could feel it now—something building inside her, something dangerous.

But she didn't care to stop it.

"Please. Where is Puck?" she asked.

Lesser spirits in the wind glowed, and immediately whispered in response; Puck's presence—far ahead. Near Subaru.

She clenched her fists and pushed forward, ice blooming at her feet with every step.

Subaru was waiting.

And this time, she would not let anything stop her.

=== END OF CHAPTER 16 ===

Author's Notes :

Subaru saying to Puck "I'd beat your ahh" — with that Wrathbaru intimidation aura — is one of the things I wanted to write the most in this arc ngl.

Bro has no chance whatsoever, unless dying God knows how many times. And he knows it. But he's not even afraid.

Puck submitted because he read Subaru's state of mind— Bro was deadass.

That whole thing with Ram was for this.

I didn't want him to go rogue and follow the wrath route. His impressive empathy is what makes him special as a character for me.

But I didn't want him to be exactly like Envybaru as well. Wrath is not purely evil. No. People SHOULD get wrathful when needed imo.

Ofc, Envybaru would've gotten mad (and crashed out) as well, but would he have threatened Puck like that? I think he wouldn't. We all know he wouldn't.

Not because he's a pussy. NOOOO. Because he's too patient with people. So people see him as a pussy. Remember when Roswaal had the gall to threaten Subaru with Emilia's camp lives after all of this Arc 4 shxt? I never fully recovered from that. Fck that…

DISCLAIMER : I don't own Re:Zero, it belongs to Tappei Nagatsuki the GOAT.