Gasp!
With a sharp inhale, Subaru's eyes flew open, wide with surprise. The world around him came into focus, colors, and shapes rushing back as he took in the scene before him. The pain from being stabbed in the chest still lingers as if he is being stabbed again and again.
He's just returned from death. Again.
The memories, the scene where he witnessed his sister's death replayed inside his head. He hugged himself and refused to believe his sister was dead in front of him.
His sister is dead.
Even though she has arguments with him, she trying to protect him.
She was killed, by a witch.
"Subaru-kun?"
His eyes turned to the familiar voice beside him. The same girl, a blue-haired girl who always stayed beside him every time he had a hard time, Rem, looked at him with concern. The same girl who always protects him every time death tries to reach him.
She is still alive.
Rem is alive.
If she still breathing beside him, that's means he truly comes back from death. Again, and again.
"Hey, Rem... What are we doing just now?"
"Mm? Subaru-kun just finishing persuading Anastasia-sama to help us," Rem answered in a gentle tone, handling the ground dragon to carry the carriage.
'The save points are changed. Good. At least I don't need to deal with Anastasia again.' He thought.
"That means we still have time. We're going to Astrea's manor now!"
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As they approached, the sight of the manor consumed by flames loomed before them, a fiery beacon casting an ominous glow against the sunset. The screams mixed with the weapon clashing filled the chaos.
'What? The manor shouldn't be burned.'
Subaru grabbed one of the young butler's arms and ran to save himself, "Oi!! What's happening here!!!?"
"I-I don't know!! Someone said the Witch Cult attacked us!! The witch inside there and Lady Kyoko just have an intense fight!!" Said the young man before pulling his arms and running for his life.
'What the hell!!? This shouldn't be happening!! Am I too late!?'
"Subaru-kun, look."
The man turned towards the way Rem pointing. He saw an unreasonable amount of witchbeasts, preying and chasing their prey. A hundred innocent life being their victims, lost against death.
"Rem! Help them! I will search for my sister!" Subaru opened his steps, running using all his strength towards the main door of the manor.
"Wait, Subaru-kun----!!!" Before Rem could call him, one of the witch beasts bore its fangs and attacked her ruthlessly. Their eyes filled with hunger and threatened their prey to surrender.
Thanks to her reflex, Rem immediately swings her metal spiked balls named Morningstar and slams against the witch beasts. Those mindless monster locked their instincts against her.
"This is bad...."
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[Meanwhile, inside the Astrea's manor]
Clash!!
Kyoko countered the attack from the Cultists, instantly taking the free chance to chop off their head. The crimson liquid splashed against her cheek, yet she remained stoic and unfazed by those deaths.
The main entrance was filled with lifeless bodies. Kyoko is already out of breath. She's tired and lost too much energy as she carries an unconscious blonde-haired woman over her shoulder, Reinhard's mother, Louanna Astrea.
She can't leave this woman behind while others run away for their life. If she leaves her, how she can face Reinhard? This woman is more important than any jewelry in this world.
"Hey, little motherfucker---Listen, I don't know how many members you have, but take a five-minute break before we continue our fight," Kyoko stated her tone a mix of seriousness and mockery, continuing to block the attack against herself.
Despite hearing her words, the Witch cultists kept attacking her from different sides and ended up losing their heads.
Bang!!!
The door opened with a loud creak. The entire fight paused for a moment as their eyes turned to the first arrival in the manor. Subaru's presence left Kyoko flabbergasted because HE SHOULDN'T BE THERE IN FIRST PLACE!!!
"What the fuck are you doing here----"
"Shamack!!!"
A black mist filled the whole hall, blinding the enemies. In the silence, Subaru grabbed his sister's arms and dragged her out of the chaos.
But, It's not that easy.
The black mist disappeared in one swift.
"Looks like we have uninvited guests for our tea party, Tiamat."
Both Kyoko and Subaru turned around and looked at the gentle voice. They found a beautiful young woman with a delicate body and stunning beauty, alluring their prey into the trap before eating it, standing on the rail on the second floor.
Subaru remembers that woman.
The same witch that kills him and his sister.
"Kyoko, we need to run now----" Suddenly, the body of a gorgeous woman landed on top of Subaru, making the man almost stumble. Thanks to his strength, he managed to catch her.
"Take that woman out."
"What!!?" He was shocked by his sister's order, "I'm not going to leave you!!"
"Ha! That's the last thing I wanted to hear from you." Kyoko positioned herself in a combat stance.
The white-haired girl, or Pandora, smiled, summoning a hundred varieties of witchbeasts inside the Astrea's manor entrance. Every single of these mindless monsters bared their fangs, to feel the pleasure of meat their prey.
"Run, Subaru, Run!!"
Right after Kyoko yelled, the whole enemy attacked her at the same time. Her Katana swings like a dance on the battlefield, cutting and slashing every single one of them mercilessly.
She stepped on one of the witch beast's faces to give a higher jump as she landed on the second floor, right on top of the same rail as Pandora. Her Katana insert back into their sheath and in one swift sound,
Click!
The whole witch beasts inside the entrance were slain in the second. An enormous amount of witch beasts' bodies flew around, painting the whole hall with their blood. This shows how fast Kyoko's attack was, making the witness fail to capture the attack scene.
She dashed towards her and spun her weapon to separate the witch's head from their body, "PANDORA!!!!"
SLASH!!
The red blood splattered everywhere like a fountain. With that vicious slice, Pandora lost her head on the floor while her body fell from the second floor instead. Suddenly,
BOOMM---!!!!
CRACKK!!!
The wall on the second floor was destroyed. A giant pig charging and ramming against Kyoko sends the girl flying back into the first with immense force.
"ARCKK—!!!" Blood spurting out from her mouth. She felt her ribs break as she tried to force herself to move. This whole attack isn't joking.
"Kyoko—"
"Don't come near!!! I told you to fucking run away!!" She said, wiping the bloodstained on her lips as she stood up.
"Are you fucking serious!!? There's no way I'm going leave my own sister behind!!!
"Ha! I thought you already abandoned me. You are the one who said that I'm not your sister anymore."
Kyoko's words pierced his heart. That's right, he is the one who claims that Kyoko isn't his sister; he is the one who abandons his sister. But, he never truly meant it. In this world, he still has many people he needs to protect, and one of them is his sister.
"That's a joke!! I'm not going to abandon you!!! SO, LET'S ESCAPE TOGETHER!!---!!"
STAB!!
The horrific ensnarement of fate tightened its grip, and once more, the scene played out like a macabre farce, echoing the torturous memories seared into Subaru's mind.
For Kyoko, everything unfolded with excruciating slowness. She felt her pulse quicken as her wide, terrified eyes grew impossibly round, her heart pounding in her chest like a frantic drum.
Reluctantly, her gaze descended to where the piercing chill of the icicle had found its mark, sinking cruelly into her own chest. The world around her blurred, and time seemed to freeze as crimson life surged forth, splattering against the pristine floor and pooling into dark, glistening puddles.
"You shouldn't let your guard down, Tiamat. Your soul is unprotected," A voice, chilling as the winter's bite, sliced through the air. It was Pandora, now appearing as if conjured by a malevolent spell, her figure emerging from the shadows behind Kyoko like a phantom draped in malice.
"PANDORA!!!!" The name escaped Kyoko's lips, a mixture of horror and rage, an invocation of the horrors that history carried forward with unyielding tenacity.
But before any response could form, despair struck again;
Stabb!!!
"ARCKK---!!!" Kyoko's scream shattered the oppressive silence, raw and unrestrained.
A seismic wave of agony coursed through her body as the cruel ice icicle expanded, its cruel tendrils burrowing deeper, tearing through flesh and sinew in its relentless pursuit of suffering. The icy grip seemed to twist and writhe within her, amplifying her torment with every heartbeat, each pang of suffering crafting a tapestry of pain that caught at her throat and poured forth in a torrent of bright, crimson blood.
Her eyes focused on Subaru, far from the scene, watching the death of his sister horrified. She raised her left hand, trembling by exhaustion and hopelessness, using all her last strength. Her heart beat more slowly than normal, giving a signal that her end of life was approaching.
"Teleportation."
Instantly, Subaru's presence disappeared along with Louanna's body, as if they had never existed, leaving no evidence behind.
"Oh? You were able to use that unique magic, Tiamat? I thought you had lost your powers as a witch," Pandora said calmly, stepping in front of the exhausted Kyoko. Her graceful voice could make anyone feel relaxed but not for her victim.
"Shut the fuck up, you witch. I don't know why you keep calling me Tiamat or witch, but let me remind your delusional, irrational brain that my name is Natsuki Kyoko."
Pandora stood there, her enchanting smile unwavering, as if she were blissfully oblivious to Kyoko's exasperated outburst. The hint of sarcasm in Kyoko's voice seemed to float right over her, leaving her untouched by the tension in the air.
"You never changed, Tiamat. You always protect them despite being betrayed by them. At this point, I wonder if all dragons love to protect the weak ones."
"Ha? I don't have time to play with your fairytales, Pandora."
"Is that so? How wasteful. I thought we going to have good tea party after 400 years."
"Stop talking like we're close...."
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