Arc 8, Chapter 5 - 'Forgiveness”

Arc 8, Chapter 5 - “Forgiveness”

Todd: [――They’ve only recently turned into zombies. Some of them were alive just a few hours ago. Those who died in this battle are coming back to life one after another... But we can’t say for sure yet.]

Subaru: [But I understand what you mean about them having just turned into zombies. It’s like they don’t know what their own weaknesses are. We aren’t the only ones who don’t know much about zombies...]

Todd: [They themselves are the same. However, if they have a head to speak, they probably have a head to think as well. The more time we give them, the more they can fill in those unknown parts, and the more their possible weaknesses disappear.]

Subaru: [That’s why we need to strike before the enemy becomes fully prepared―― oh.]

Todd: [What? What did you notice?]

Subaru: [――――]

Todd: [Don’t be coy, just say it.]

Subaru: [I’m not being coy. It’s just that zombies don’t really understand their own bodies. So if we inform them instead――.]

△▼△▼△▼△

He let Louis cling to his back and squeezed Beatrice tightly against his chest.

The same basic position as when they were riding on the back of the Galewind Horse; however, the situation they were placed in was quite extreme, and he did not have time to worry about the girls.

The surrounding scenery changed in an instant, and soon after, beside a house that was shattered by a furious blow, Subaru and his allies appeared in the air, taking the back of the hostile zombie.

Tanza, who threw houses, and Idra, who threw rubble, attacked in waves―― it was a pretty funny warfare strategy when put into words, but it was not only the words that were funny, but the picture as well.

This was not about why the child was throwing the larger ones and not the adult. In the first place, the tactic of throwing a house itself was ridiculous.

Nevertheless――,

Tanza: [Since I am receiving Yorna-sama’s love, then I have to do at least this much.]

Since she reliably accepted it like this, the impact of the scene could be shelved for now.

In fact, the mysterious enhancement of the entire Pleiades Battalion applied to Idra as well, but it was not as good as Tanza, who had stacked Yorna’s as well. It was all about being the right person at the right place.

From that perspective, their opponent’s attention was drawn by the wave attacks using big and small tools―― once their focus was on Todd, Subaru and his allies made a surprise teleport attack.

Subaru: [――――]

The zombie twisted in mid-air; the enemy, with his distinctive one-eyed face, blackened the white part of the large eye in the center of his face, while his golden pupil glowed brightly.

A terribly cruel, blood-scented evil sneer was etched upon his mouth, sending shivers down Subaru’s spine.

Was he always the type of person who would laugh hysterically in the midst of battle? Or perhaps he had changed since he became a zombie; they did not know which one it was.

However――,

Beatrice & Subaru: [El――]

Quickly, Subaru and Beatrice simultaneously held up their hands and pointed them at the enemy in front of them.

If their opponent showed a move to avoid Subaru and Beatrice’s attack with the utmost effort and no hesitation, then their strategy would fail.

In that case then perhaps, even with their best efforts, they would not be able to surpass this enemy.

But that would not happen. Because Subaru―― no, because Subaru and his team forced them into this situation.

Izmail: [――Hk.]

Sure enough, the zombie turned around with a startling gait and, catching Subaru and the others in its large single eye, took a posture of swinging his battleaxe in his grip instead of taking evasive action.

It was a strategy that involved taking Subaru and crew’s attack, then defeating them with a counter attack―― the traditional tactic of incurring damage so as to inflict greater damage on your foe, but the desperation put into the attack here was different.

The zombie’s body regenerated inflicted wounds in little to no time.

That was why the enemy thought that they could take Subaru and his team’s attack with no risk, and then use it to launch their own counterattack.

Unfortunately――,

Beatrice & Subaru: [Minya――!!]

――Unbeknownst to them, that was the path to defeat that Subaru and his allies had carved out.

With his battleaxe swung to counter attack, the enemy took a serious hit from the purple arrows released from the hands held up by Subaru and Beatrice.

Three brightly shimmering, amethyst crystal arrows pierced the left half of the Cyclops’ body.

Izmail: [Brilliant tactic, but――]

Without paying attention to the purple arrows that had pierced him, the enemy bared his teeth and howled at his prey, Subaru and his friends.

A zombie’s body, oddly enough, broke in a brittle manner when it was shattered, much like pottery cracking, even though it retained some strength.

His broken body would then be repaired like a video played backwards, and the zombie would attack as if nothing had happened――,

Izmail: [Wh, at...?]

――But he could not do it.

The amethyst arrows that had pierced the zombie’s body did not shatter its body from there, but rather remade the body into the same amethyst crystals as the arrow. The crystallized part of the zombie’s body then cracked, and this time the zombie’s body shattered, but the parts did not regenerate.

The particular effectiveness of Yin Magic against zombies―― that was the enemy’s weakness that had been identified during their retreat up to this point.

――Although there was not an abundance of opportunities to check over a long period of time, several common characteristics were observed in the zombies.

For example, a zombie’s fatal wound was closer to the heart than the head.

However, since piercing their chest would not kill them, fatal may not be the right word. Nevertheless, it was a fact that zombies, which regenerated wounds on their bodies with abnormal resilience, healed more slowly when the wounds were close to their heart.

Since blood did not flow when an arm or leg was lost, it seemed that the heart probably no longer served to pump blood to the body, but it had not lost its function as a vital part of the human body.

As those characteristics of zombies that could not be beaten were revealed, it was Beatrice’s Yin Magic that was recognized to be effective at defeating zombies.

Beatrice explained that the Yin Magic “Minya” had the effect of freezing the time of the target, which was a kind of instant death magic, and it seemed to be especially effective against zombies, who relied on their regeneration.

According to Todd, if one burned a zombie’s body down to ashes, they could stop the enemy from regenerating just as if they had hit them with Minya, but there was no use in asking for something one did not have.

Subaru: [This is the strongest use of the hand we have!]

Regardless of the strength of the enemy zombies, they could be defeated if they were hit with Beatrice’s Minya.

In that case, the result of thinking about a strategy to hit it was to make the enemy, who continued to demonstrate its ability in life, understand the merit of becoming a zombie.

Beatrice: [They are not damaged by attacks. If one gets attacked and finds that they can heal quickly, anyone would contemplate relying on that power, I suppose.]

Subaru: [Before he turned into a zombie, I’m sure he would have easily avoided that.]

Louis: [Au!]

It was a declaration of victory for Subaru, Beatrice, and Louis―― or rather, both admiration and pity for their enemy.

This warrior who came back to life as a zombie was undoubtedly quite the skilled warrior in life. Even as a zombie, there was no discernible change in his fighting ability, but there was a distortion in the ideology with which he approached battle.

If only he had not been so arrogant as to think that receiving an attack would not be a problem.

Subaru: [There was no way he could have seriously taken that shot.]

Izmail: [――――]

The zombie’s eye widened as it spun with the shock of the magic he was exposed to.

The look in his eye was a whirlpool of mixed emotions, a mixture of astonishment and understanding as he realized his defeat; Subaru bit his lower lip and cursed the unreasonable fate that had befallen this warrior.

Even if Subaru was cursed at for crystalizing the left half of his body and making him taste death for the second time――,

Tanza: [――Schwartz-sama!]

Immediately after a moment of sentimentality washed over his heart.

Subaru was called by Tanza in an urgent voice, and he suddenly realized the truth of the situation. Spinning in the air, turning away, and then turning back to face him, the look in the enemy zombie’s eye had changed color.

It was not as if the color of the dead’s distinctive golden eye had changed.

But the astonishment and understanding that had been floating in it had faded, and it had been replaced by an intense hostility.

At one point, the enemy almost accepted his defeat along with the impact.

That had changed the complexion of his eye. ――Perhaps Subaru’s last word was the catalyst.

Izmail: [Not yet.]

Subaru: [――He’s not dead!]

In front of Subaru, who gasped at the sight in front of him, the enemy, whose crystallization was advancing across the left side of his body, kicked something into the air.

It was a fragment of a shattered house-cannonball. Even though it was just a fragment, it was as big as a person’s head. Kicking it into the air, the impact shattered the zombie’s left arm from the shoulder and blew it away.

In return, the flying debris instead flew straight at Subaru’s face――

Louis: [Uau!]

Just before he was hit, Subaru had a vision of his skull being shattered by the fragment.

It would have been a fatal blow, but it did not reach Subaru. Because a figure, Louis, intervened before it hit Subaru, and took his place.

Subaru: [Louis――!]

Clinging to his back, Louis forcefully pushed Subaru’s body down, moving him out of the path of the debris and into the line of fire herself instead.

As a result, Louis caught the debris without protection, was torn from Subaru’s body, and was blown away.

Beatrice: [Subaru, don’t look away, in fact!]

Beatrice called out to the distracted Subaru as Louis was blown away. She kept her body in Subaru’s arms and reached out her hand to attack the enemy.

However, the opponent was not so simple-minded as to be fatally struck twice.

Izmail: [――Hk.]

With fragments of his arm flying through the air, the enemy skillfully read Beatrice’s pursuit with Minya and used what little remained of his left shoulder area to receive it.

He took on the damage in areas that were already crystallized, minimizing the progress of damage caused by the progression of the cracks.

It was truly the skill of an exceptional warrior――.

Louis: [Ua-]

As soon as he was awed by his skill, Subaru’s collar was grabbed by an outstretched arm.

He had abandoned his battleaxe―― No, after losing the ability to wield the battleaxe, he displayed his obsession to not let Subaru escape.

Izmail: [Ooooh!!]

Subaru: [Gah!]

Subaru’s body, which held Beatrice, was forcefully sent to the ground by the pull of the enemy’s arm. Choking from the pain of his back hitting the hard surface, Subaru saw the form of the enemy up close and tried to quickly raise his hand.

But, however, the opponent’s determined form met his gaze, and his movement stopped.

――The way he looked, full of ambition and the will to fight, it was hard to believe that it was from an already dead body.

Subaru: [――Hk.]

Beatrice: [Subaru!]

Tanza: [Schwartz-sama!]

Subaru’s neck was constricted and desperate voices struck his eardrums as he gasped.

Hearing those impatient voices and the sound of the bones in his neck fatally creaking, Subaru’s arms still did not rise. It was not that he was deprived of strength, but rather that his heart was no longer inspired.

Even though he knew that if he did not do it, he would die.

Even though he knew that if he did not kill, he would be killed.

Beatrice: [Minya!]

Subaru, unable to move, was supplanted by Beatrice, who had leaned in and fired her magic at the enemy.

Covering Subaru, resulted in also covering Beatrice, who was in his arms. Naturally, the magic reached the target from a distance that ought to have been called point-blank range.

However, the enemy endured. ――The right arm that had tightened around Subaru’s neck was defended to the death, and even if its torso was crystallized, the enemy at least tried to take him along with them.

Todd: [It’s because you are being strangely merciful.]

Immediately after such nonchalant words were spoken, the head of the enemy, which was trying to kill Subaru with its burning eye, was severed at the neck.

Instead, emerging on the other side of the vanished enemy’s head was a stone-cold-looking Todd.

Subaru: [――――]

Todd swung the axe in his hand and decapitated the zombie.

The head that was lopped off by Todd tried to turn its hatred toward him,

Tanza: [How dare you!]

And then Tanza’s diving kick ruthlessly blew its head away. As it was, the Cyclops’ head continued to bounce down the street like a soccer ball.

Then the torso, which was left behind by its head, slowly crumbled, turning entirely into deep purple crystals.

Tanza: [Are you all right, Schwartz-sama!]

Subaru: [...Cough, cough, I, I’m fine. Sorry, thanks for the help.]

Shaking off shards of the enemy’s collapsed torso, Subaru lifted his hand to Tanza, who was running toward him, assuring her that he was unharmed.

Tanza was relieved to hear Subaru’s response, and then Subaru’s face turned into an expression of sudden realization,

Subaru: [Louis! Where’s Louis? She covered me and...]

Idra: [It’s nothing serious, it seems. Although it looks like she got hit by a piece of debris and has a concussion.]

The hasty Subaru received an answer from Idra, who was crouched a short distance away.

At his feet lay Louis, her upper body propped up, blood streaming from her forehead, her head swaying unsteadily.

Subaru: [Her head isn’t looking good...! Beatrice, please!]

Beatrice: [――. Of course, I know, I suppose.]

Subaru: [Please...!]

Subaru took in Louis’s condition and rushed to his feet, pulling Beatrice’s arm. For a moment, there was hesitation in her demeanor, but Subaru did not notice it.

Beatrice was the only one currently present who could use healing magic.

Todd: [Can you do it?]

Subaru: [――I’ll do it.]

Todd: [――――]

As soon as Subaru answered the question, Todd raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, and then sneered with a cruel twist at the corners of his mouth.

And then――,

Todd: [All right. ――I’ll follow your plan.]

△▼△▼△▼△

――As he chased after his fleeing targets, the “Giant Eye” Izmail’s thoughts had shattered to thousands of pieces.

Izmail: [――――]

With flickering vision and scattered thoughts, his boorish movements were far from refined.

With limbs of varying lengths scraping against the ground, with instability akin to a newborn beast, as he was crashing into walls and against the ground, he stretched his hands, his fingers, out towards those backs that were growing distant.

The reason for his obsession over those two fleeing enemies, was something Izmail could no longer recall.

Already, with the fact that it had once been Izmail fading into oblivion, the grotesque monster grew new limbs from the cracks that it sustained every time it fell, continuously furthering its repulsiveness.

――That was undoubtedly the obstreperous behavior of the regeneration ability that Beatrice had pointed out.

However, after being resurrected by the will of another, those mutations occurring in Izmail’s body, which had been exceptionally estranged from the concept of death, were something that not even the caster would be able to control.

Achieving its goal, slaughtering the two targets of its obsession, what would become of the monster thereafter?

Izmail: [O????????O???????o?????o?????o??????o?????...]

Eerily letting out hollow roars, that was something of no interest whatsoever to this monster.

Izmail: [――――]

The larger of his two targets was carrying the smaller one as they fled, and as soon as it seemed like he could seize their backs, they would pull away, and so the situation that forced him to repeat his unsuccessful strikes continued.

However, his opponents could not keep fleeing forever. Through continuing his unshapely sprint, limbs had grown all over his fallen body, to the point that Izmail could no longer fall.

And since he would not fall, it stood to reason that the one with more limbs would run faster.

Therefore, to his targets trying to escape, little by little, little by little by little by little, Izmail shortened the distance, shortening it and shortening it and shortening it――.

Izmail: [B???l??????u???????e????????!]

With a short roar, Izmail’s finger gouged his fleeing target’s back and shoulders.

Blood spurted, and a heinous smile appeared on Izmail’s face as he heard the screams of his enemy. It felt good. With incredible enjoyment, more and more blood, more and more screams, he wanted to hear.

Recklessly taking a turn onto another path, his opponents, unlike how they had been up to this point, gave off a sense of desperation.

Chased by Izmail, being caught up to by the monster, hating the idea of being torn to shreds, his targets desperately fled. Aiming for their limbs, especially those on their upper bodies, he would wound them.

If he aimed for their legs, his targets would no longer be able to escape. If that happened, then this would come to an end.

If it ended, he would be lonely. If it ended, he would be disappointed.

That was why, forever and ever, in order for it not to end――.

Izmail: [O???????O?????????O?????????O???????o???????o??????o??????o?????o????????n?????]

Raising a low war cry that caused the air to tremble, Izmail smashed into buildings and trampled the streets, kicking off the flooded ground in pursuit of his targets.

He closed the distance in an instant; perhaps the stamina of his fleeing enemy had finally been exhausted, and shedding blood, they clicked their tongue as they leapt into a nearby building.

With nowhere to run, they made the foolish choice to dive into a dead end.

Sensing the end of this hunting period, Izmail―― No, the monster that had ceased to be Izmail, tore down the closed door and slipped inside.

His limbs had multiplied, his body had swelled, and with a frame incomparably larger than his original body, he became unable to easily open the door and enter the building.

Then, entering the dim building into which his targets had fled, the monster looked around inside.

The sources of light were meager, but even if he had transformed into such a grotesque state, his special eye alone remained unchanged. With a blink, he switched the way he saw the world, and searched for the figures of his hidden prey.

As he searched, the monster realized.

Izmail: [――――]

――In the building it had entered, there was so much flour fluttering around that it was enough to stain the monster’s entire body white.

The darkness was not the only reason for his hazy vision, but also because the air inside of the building was filled with scattered flour. Looking around, he saw that the building was lined with shelves, and that each shelf had been lined with sacks filled to the extent of bursting.

Those sacks had been torn open and a large quantity of flour had been scattered throughout the building.

???: [The thing that beats you isn’t gonna be magic or a killer technique.]

At the same time the flour-covered monster had noticed the situation inside of the building, he heard that voice from behind. The monster turned around, and in his field of view, there was a small, bright-red silhouette.

It was one of the fleeing targets――No, at some point, the fleeing target had become just one person. Separated from the larger one, the smaller one that he had lost sight of now stood there.

And then――,

???: [Eat this, the soul of science—— Dust explosion!!]

Right after that shout, the small figure’s surroundings were also all dyed red in one fell swoop――,

――A tremendous explosion blew away the flour mill, and the monster was engulfed by a bright crimson lotus.

△▼△▼△▼△

Idra: [――Schwartz, look, let’s use that flour mill as a landmark. It’s the building with the waterwheel beside it.]

Idra, taking the non-combatants with him and staying vigilant of his surroundings while spurring on the Galewind Horse, was the son of a miller before he had been sent to the Gladiator Island.

Subaru had not known exactly what role a miller played, but he had been told that they used the power of a waterwheel to grind wheat into flour.

In other words――,

Subaru: [If we use the ingredients in that mill, we can make a dust explosion.]

A dust explosion was a phenomenon in which flammable powdery materials were scattered in the air, and when kindled, fire would spread in a chain reaction, igniting and exploding all at once.

In addition to the enclosed space of the flour mill, with a large amount of wheat flour fluttering about, if an incendiary material was dropped in with definite vigor――,

Subaru: [...I had no idea it would end up being this powerful.]

Leaning his back against the battered wall, Subaru muttered while coughing.

In front of Subaru’s eyes was the flour mill that had been blown to grains by the dust explosion that was triggered, and the charred remains of the monster that had been engulfed in it.

When he and Todd needed to bait and defeat the monster together, the plan that came to Subaru’s mind was to make a dust explosion using the flour mill.

Of course, a dust explosion was not something that was easy to pull off, and he had no confidence that he would be able to successfully lead his opponent there in the first place.

Therefore, it was not just Subaru’s strength that made the plan so successful.

Subaru: [...Are you alive, Todd?]

Blown away by the impact of the explosion, Subaru stood up, blinking his eyes while shaking his head.

After the division of roles, Todd took on the duty of drawing the monster’s attention and running away until the flour mill was ready while Subaru snuck into the mill and spread the dust aptly through the building.

Then, when Todd saw that the time was right, he burst into the mill, and threw an incendiary at the place where he guided the monster. It was also Todd who prepared that incendiary.

Subaru: [Todd, Todd...!]

Todd: [...You don’t have to call out to me so pathetically. I’m still alive.]

Subaru: [――Hk!]

Subaru, who had been calling out to the area around the epicenter of the explosion, evidenced by the many embers that remained, heard a slightly hoarse voice and turned to face in that direction.

Looking over, he spotted where the wall of the mill had blown down onto the destroyed street, and he saw Todd on one knee. When he saw Subaru walking towards him, he spat out the saliva in his mouth and said,

Todd: [You nearly got me killed there, man.]

Subaru: [...You’re making me look like the bad guy. After all, I told you it would be very powerful, yeah?]

Todd: [Occasionally, an accident like this happens, but when I heard the principle behind it, it made sense.]

As expected, Todd was breathing with difficulty as he fell back onto the street. Then, as he looked toward the blown-up mill,

Todd: [What happened to our opponent?]

Subaru: [He was blown away. Completely... Look.]

With that, Subaru pointed to a part of the blown-up monster that was just visible from their position. Then, a part that was seared by the embers crumbled like sand and lost its shape.

Like the dispersal of the other zombies, it was the result of completely crushing its regenerative abilities.

Subaru: [How’re your injuries?]

This time, confirming that they had defeated the formidable zombie, Subaru asked Todd a question.

When they were dividing their jobs, since they could not afford to be caught by the enemy, Todd, who could keep running away for a while, had no choice but to play the role of decoy. However, he had volunteered for the role himself.

It had defied Subaru’s expectations that Todd would absolutely avoid any plan that would endanger his own life.

Todd: [It wouldn’t be a good story if I easily lost my life while being unwilling to suffer fresh wounds. We both just did our required roles. Although...]

Subaru: [Uh...]

Todd: [I was gouged out pretty much everywhere. I feel like I’m missing a lot of blood.]

As he said this, Todd raised a hand, and it was clear that his injury was quite severe.

Although he had no wounds that could be called deep, his shoulders and thighs were soaked with blood, and his face was pale from the amount of blood that he had lost.

If left unchecked, it would undoubtedly endanger his life.

Subaru: [I’ll immediately――]

Go and call Beatrice, Subaru tried to move with such intentions.

With Subaru and Todd’s separation, Beatrice would have surely been left in a panic. But, he was sure that she would prioritize Tanza’s treatment.

Louis and Tanza’s safety was also a concern, so they needed to hurry to meet up with Beatrice and the others.

And then――,

Todd: [――After all, if we’ve done this much, Katya won’t be able to complain.]

Subaru: [Huh?]

Todd: [We talked about this at the mansion, didn’t we? Because she seems to think I’m lazy. I helped us escape, defeated a really strong enemy, and even suffered honorable injuries. Don’t tell me you’re also going to take all the credit for yourself, huh?]

Todd said that with a shrug of his shoulders and a pale face that was drained of blood. For a moment, Subaru was taken aback before letting out a “Hah” and exhaling a weak breath.

Despite being in such a battered state, the one that still weighed on his mind was Katya. Perhaps he had also planned to untie Subaru’s mental tension, but either way.

Subaru: [Katya-san truly is important to you, huh.]

Todd: [That’s a given. She’s my fiancée. Katya is my very life.]

Todd declared this without any shame.

Upon hearing that response, Subaru took a deep breath, held it momentarily, and then by saying “Alright,” he fired himself up.

Even now, he was afraid of Todd. The things that man had done had left deep scars on his heart.

Still, the fact remained that they had cooperated to defeat that monster here. Even to the extent of getting completely battered, Todd had devoted himself to ensuring everyone, including Subaru and his friends, could get out of this alive.

If that was the case, then now it was Subaru’s turn.

Subaru: [Wait here... No, someone who heard the explosion might come here. For now, just return with me along the way. Once we find a suitable place, wait for me there.]

Todd: [Ahh, I understand. I’m counting on you, so please don’t leave me behind.]

Subaru: [I wouldn’t do that!]

Todd made Subaru think that it may have been possible to finish things without doing that.

However, even if Subaru had been in an hostile position towards Todd, he was unsure of whether he could have left him there on the verge of death.

Subaru: [No, if I overthink it, I’ll get stuck in a rut. Anyway――]

Even if he were to lend a shoulder to Todd, their height difference would make it difficult. Subaru looked around the blown-off mill, hoping to find something he could use as a makeshift cane.

Then, he found a support pole for a shelf that had been blown into the midst of the embers――

Subaru: [――――]

――At that moment, a hard sound rang out.

Subaru: [...Why.]

The moment the hard sound resounded, Subaru cast his eyes down and tightly clenched his fist. As his lips trembled, shoulders trembled in fear, and black eyes trembled, he muttered.

Subaru: [Why.]

Todd: [――――]

His question receiving no response, Subaru turned around as he exhaled.

Having turned around, before Subaru’s eyes was the blade of an axe that had been swung down, stopped just a hair’s breadth away from crushing his skull.

――For it was restrained by that which was visible to none but Subaru, the Unseen Hand.

Todd: [Tch, my bad, my bad.]

With a small click of his tongue, Todd released the axe from his hand and jumped backwards. His swift movements showing no signs of blood loss or injury, Subaru grit his teeth.

Even that had been an act. The pain from his injuries, the plea for help from Subaru, speaking of his feelings for Katya, which had softened Subaru’s heart, all of it was just an act.

Subaru: [WHY...?!]

Three times, Subaru had fired off the same question, glaring at Todd with a face that looked like it was about to cry.

While glaring at him, he felt tears welling up from the overwhelming frustration.

Subaru: [Up until now, you haven’t done anything. You haven’t killed anyone. I could have even forgiven you!!]

Todd: [Quietly, you’ve slowly damaged my trust in you.]

Listening to Subaru’s screams, drawing a knife in place of the axe he had released, Todd readied himself.

That had been the declaration of the irreparable separation between Natsuki Subaru and Todd Fang.