Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. Volume. 15.
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‘Chapter 5:- I LOVE YOU DOWN TO YOUR BLOOD AND GUTS.’
The scent of smoke and fire filling his nostrils stole Garfiel’s attention for only an instant.
He had a vague awareness of scorching heat in the distance. Slowly but surely, the burning was spreading, which meant the fire was gradually consuming the mansion. Just who had unleashed it?
“Getting distracted again?”
Not letting a single moment of stagnancy slip by, Elsa closed in and swung, pursuing Garfiel with her blade.
Seeking to take his life as the price of looking away was a rather greedy thing, even more so where Garfiel, onetime apostle of the Witch of Greed, was concerned.
But having severed all ties with the Witch of Greed, he was unmoved by such avarice.
“As if!!”
“That’s too bad.”
Once more, Garfiel caught a slashing knife by his fangs before biting down and shattering it.
Having lost her weapon to the power of his jaws, Elsa instantly let go of the handle and leaped backward. Garfiel remained planted at a medium distance as she put a fresh kukri into her hand, tilting her head.
“You pretended to be distracted. Quite an actor you are. Or perhaps that was an invitation?”
“You don’t need to make every single thing ya say suggestive… Would ya stop playin’ dumb already?”
“—? Hmm? About what…?”
The smile on Elsa’s glossy lips only deepened Garfiel’s suspicions. From her reaction, he concluded there was no connection between Elsa and the fire. The time they’d spent together in mortal combat had established she wasn’t one to rely on trickery or seduction.
In that case, the chance that someone on his side was responsible for the fire—probably spawning from one of Subaru’s plans—was high.
“That’s pretty extreme…but it sure as hell is effective. Way to go, General!”
“I am a little unsure what this is about, but don’t you put a little too much stock in him?”
“Ha, save the sour grapes. I told ya, those demon beasts standin’ in the way ain’t no match for the general! Piece of cake!”
If Subaru was the mastermind behind the fire, the objective was probably to drive off the demon beasts. Whether the proposal came from Subaru or Otto, it was exactly the kind of thing they would resort to.
Demon beasts feared fire, too. They’d probably succeeded in securing the escape route. Which meant—
“If I smash ya flat, that’ll complete our victory!”
“You certainly talk a good game—isn’t that easier said than done, though?”
As Garfiel psyched himself up, a bloody smile hovered in his field of vision as Elsa’s form grew indistinct.
As she entered the realm of pure speed in a single step, Garfiel opted to lower his stance and charge as well. With the space between them gone in a single instant, the two collided in the middle of the corridor—
“—!!”
—or rather, just before they were to do so, one kicked off the ceiling and the other from the floor as both respectively bounded away from that place.
The next moment, the wall facing the courtyard was destroyed by an impact that seemed to make the entire building shudder. The impact had struck the first-floor-turned-battlefield, but clearly the floor above was not spared as it began to cave in.
All this was due to the enormous, boulder-like demon beast that had so grandly crashed into the building.
Naturally, the appearance of a beast so huge that it shocked the imagination was an unexpected development even to Garfiel. This was followed by something more unexpected still—a cutesy voice levying objections from atop the mass of boulders.
“Awww, I can’t believe you’re doing this! Stand up, Rock Piggie! Quick!!”
“Ahhh? Some runt’s ridin’ that thing?”
The rambunctious voice he heard coming from atop the beast left Garfiel with a grimace. When he looked closer, there was a girl with blue hair in a braid straddling the back of the mass of boulders—so this was the Beast Master in the flesh?
And the reason this Beast Master was intruding here was—
“Garf! So this is where you were!”
“Sis?!”
With a flourish, a blond maid—Frederica—slipped through the shattered wall and landed in the half-destroyed corridor. The reunion with Frederica, who was supposedly fleeing, made Garfiel rush over, eyes bulging.
“What the hell are ya still doin’ here?! What happened to Ram’s sis, the general, and the rest?!”
“I fulfilled the duty entrusted to me. You understand the reason I remained behind, don’t you?”
Seeing Frederica close one eye as she spoke these words shut Garfiel right up.
He could see a number of wounds Frederica had sustained. Of course he could. In keeping the Beast Master at bay, she must have taken on countless demon beasts in the process.
Unlike Garfiel, who’d trained and trained as he kept struggling to become stronger, his elder sister had no doubt spent many days that had nothing to do with fighting. Just how deeply had this battle cut into his sister’s flesh and bones?
“…Don’t make such a pathetic face.”
Noticing Garfiel’s gloomy expression, Frederica landed an open-palm chop right on his wide-open forehead. Though it didn’t hurt, Garfiel let out a reflexive “ow,” glaring at his older sister.
“Garf, I understand you are being considerate, but I, too, am a servant of the Mathers family… For better or worse, I have had the fundamentals of self-defense drilled into me.”
“Ya say that but… Ah, then again, Ram’s damn strong. Aight, you’ve convinced me.”
“The fact that you chose her as the most relevant point of comparison puts me in a slightly awkward position…”
Frederica put a hand to her forehead as she clacked her fangs, seeming a little troubled. Perhaps it could be chalked up to them being siblings, but Garfiel and Frederica were exactly alike in certain habits.
And apparently, Garfiel and Frederica weren’t the only ones around with this kind of relationship.
“Meili, are you all right? I hope you’re safe, but I do wish you didn’t interfere.”
“Sheesh, Elsa, you’re so self-centered! The main reason I have to work this hard is because you ran off ahead! You’d better reflect on that!”
“Once we’re done here, I’ll make it up to you—now, do your job.”
Elsa’s reply made Meili pout as she obediently got to work. The moment the young girl clapped her hands, the boulder-like creature instantly swung its body around and then slowly turned its head toward Garfiel and Frederica.
Garfiel sensed other demon beasts drawing near from both inside and outside the mansion. She truly was a Beast Master.
However, Elsa quizzically cocked her head to the side with a questioning look.
“The number of demon beasts seems rather low…”
“The big maid nailed a bunch of them before we got here! Besides, the mansion’s been set on fire. On top of that, it seems like the shadow lion died.”
Meili, answering Elsa’s question with a sour look on her face, continued:
“It was a rare one that obeyed me despite still having its horn, but its short temper was the flaw in that jewel. And it failed me right when I needed it most…!”
“I have trouble understanding why you brought such a difficult demon beast along to begin with.”
“Because no one else could keep the others in line! …Anyway, Elsa, what about your opponent?”
Looking down at the corridor from atop the demon beast, Meili caught sight of Garfiel. “Hmm,” she went, letting out a breath of deep interest with a passionate smile that was extremely strange for a girl of her age on numerous levels.
“Elsa has her eyes on you, Mr. Scary Face. You poor, poor thing.”
“If it’s a nasty face you want, there’s no topping the general. So what, you sisters gonna come at me together?”
Garfiel’s reply earned him a look of surprise not only on Meili’s face but Elsa’s as well.
They weren’t shocked at being called sisters. Certainly, the two didn’t seem connected by blood. The pair might have been similar in appearance, but it was far more difficult to claim a family resemblance.
But they were most definitely sisters—that was what Garfiel’s intuition told him.
“Sisters? Yes, I suppose you’re right… So now that we have sisters gathered on one side and siblings on the other, I think it’s time we got back to business. Don’t you?”
Standing beside the demon beast, Elsa posed the question as she pointed the tip of her kukri toward him.
With a quick glance, Garfiel checked on Frederica’s state as she stood beside him. Her breathing was ragged, her face was pale from blood loss, and her visible wounds were, on average, ones that could not simply be shrugged off.
“Garf.”
Noticing his gaze, Frederica called out to him. Garfiel could not help but force out a smile at the emotions infused within her simple mention of his name—Don’t be disappointed in me, Frederica’s gaze begged.
Quietly, Garfiel stepped forward—this was where everything would be settled.
“The mansion’s on fire, we got a horde o’ demon beasts outside, and my older sister behind me is tryin’ to put up a strong front, as battered as she is.”
“—?”
“Got a bunch of people I gotta save and some powerful enemies whose teeth I gotta kick in. The general said he’s counting on me. And the girl I love chewed me out real good, too.”
“What in the world is Mr. Scary Face getting at…?”
“Ain’t it obvious?!”
Strangely, Elsa and Meili both had their heads tilted at the exact same angle. In contrast to their questioning looks, Garfiel clacked his fangs with a radiant look on his face.
“With a situation like this, what man in the world wouldn’t be burnin’ up?! It’s time to do this! This is basically before the Dragon, Sword Saint Reid drew his sword and laughed!”
“That’s an idiom for someone who’s seriously messed up in the head, you know?”
“Yeah, and? I’m about to take on the both of ya, so how’s that the wrong thing to say?”
Garfiel bluntly acknowledged the level of his own recklessness.
Elsa blinked hard, temporarily at a loss. However, this lasted for only a few moments.
Elsa broke into a smile as the light of madness flared in her eyes. She licked her lips in anticipation.
“Yes. You’re absolutely right.”
Garfiel slammed his shields together as he prepared to face his eager opponent.
“Wait a second, Elsa—have you already forgotten what we came here to do? Mama’s gonna scold us.”
“I suppose so. You deal with the other one, then. I want to focus on this child.”
“Boo. You always do this, asking me to do stuff at the drop of a hat. I mean, really—”
Meili complained about how Elsa was abandoning the job, but before she could finish her thought, Garfiel drove home why it was important to not get distracted.
“—Oooaaah!”
Suddenly raising a battle cry, Garfiel poured his strength into the sole of his foot. Instantly, it punched through the half-destroyed mansion and straight into the ground, kicking up a square of soil. Thus, he launched it forward with a tremendous kick.
“—?!”
Elsa dropped into a low stance that verged on crawling on all fours as she evaded the hurtling missile of packed earth. But the boulder-like demon beast behind her, unable to dodge as quickly with its enormous frame, sustained a direct hit. The impact bowled it over, sending it spinning and crashing into the wall.
“Ahhhhh!”
Meili, who had been riding said demon beast, was thrown off it by the sheer force. Elsa slid in to catch her just before she would have hit the ground headfirst.
“G-Garf, what in the world did you do just now?”
“That’s the power of my blessing, As long as my feet are planted on the ground, I can hit whatever I can see. I’ll say this only once: I won’t let ya interfere with this fight. Not you, and not the little sister over there, either.”
Garfiel bared his fangs as he made his declaration. But the blessing of the earth spirit wasn’t nearly as potent as he claimed.
Beyond heightening his healing abilities, his power was fully capable of churning up the ground or causing it to cave in. However, the range of this was limited to where his limbs could reach.
In other words, he was bluffing. But precisely because it was a bluff, Garfiel smugly smiled. He had learned from Subaru and Otto these were the times where a smile was absolutely necessary.
“—Meili. Leave the bare minimum outside to maintain the perimeter. Call the others and rouse that demon beast over there.”
“…You’re gonna make Mama angry.”
Freed from Elsa’s arms, Meili murmured in a low voice. However, she had already grasped that the situation didn’t leave them with many options. Sighing, Meili blew a finger whistle.
She quietly waited as the shrill, high-pitched sound echoed throughout the manor grounds. The demon beasts would be coming. A large force was on its way, gathering to crush Garfiel and Frederica.
His lust for battle flared even brighter. His soul howled he could not lose here.
“I will pluck your limbs off to lighten you and take you home with me. I will love you longer than your cherished person.”
“Ain’t there even one option to make ya give up on the whole bowel thing?”
Speaking in exasperation as he cracked his neck, Garfiel adopted a forward-leaning stance as he prepared to intercept his foe.
Her upper body swaying, Elsa lowered both hands and let her kukri knives fall to the floor. In their place, she held a pair of vile, malevolent blades—one white, one black, both gleaming in the moonlight.
“Sis, just focus on protectin’ yourself.”
“Meili, you mustn’t move a single step forward.”
Without any signal, they clashed head-on, leaving their respective sisters behind.
The battle between the Bowel Hunter and the Sanctuary’s Shield entered its final scene.
Then the corridor of the mansion exploded into a confused, chaotic battle, a banquet of blood, flesh, and bloodlust.
“—!!”
When a green tail passed before his eyes, Garfiel opened his fangs and bit down without a second thought.
Purple fluid sprayed, and the noxious liquid burned as it spattered across his flesh. But he cared not. With a mighty swipe of his arm, he smashed both of the two-headed snake’s skulls.
An instant later, malevolent death in the form of a curved blade grazed just past the tip of his chin.
Following in the wake of that slash, a gust blew the remains of the ruined demon beast away. After his momentary brush with death, Garfiel advanced instead of giving ground, smacking the face of impending doom away.
Both his arms were spread out wide, catching his opponent by the torso and flank. Her bones and viscera squelched as powerful hands twisted wherever they found purchase.
“”
In his ears and before his eyes, a cacophony of bestial roars came from every direction. Anguished cries, screams, and his own yells mixed together. These overlapped with the sounds of metal crashing and scraping against steel. Sound and light were so muddled that it was hard to tell what was even happening.
But Garfiel didn’t care. The resistance he felt, his gnashing fangs, and the bloody smile he caught glimpses of were all genuine.
The brute force of his attacks were making the killer before him spit blood, staining her pleasant smile so much that it was more black than red. Yet, even as she weathered those brutal attacks meant to rob her of life, the pleasure never left the woman’s black eyes.
Garfiel instinctively felt that more than her combat ability, more than her vitality, it was her mind that was the most dangerous part of her nature.
“—Yah!” “Gaaaaah!!”
A short breath was answered by a howl.
The woman’s left arm was removed, and the wicked blade it held vanished from Garfiel’s field of view. Immediately after, there was a series of high-pitched sounds—first behind her, then reflecting off the wall, bouncing off the ceiling, striking the floor, and from there, the wicked blade flew right at Garfiel’s back.
After a moment of indecision, Garfiel decided against turning around as he focused his attention on the woman as she prepared to attack with her right arm—allowing the deadly blade to bury itself into his right shoulder, momentarily locking him in place.
The lethal attack was about to land.
“—?!!”
That was when he kicked up the remains of the two-headed snake between him and the blade aimed at the back of his head.
The corpse kept the keen edge from slicing into him, but the blunt force was still effective.
The blow dazed him and knocked him into a spin, creating a fatal opening—or at least it would have had he not poured all his strength into his feet beforehand. With the blessing of the earth spirit, he propelled himself off the floor in a single leap.
Garfiel’s unexpected behavior and counterattack caught the woman by surprise. In the span of a few moments, he swung his left arm in a low arc to grab the woman’s face—a left arm growing explosively as it became a monstrous limb.
Using partial transformation, he tore at her face as if to rip it right off.
“Gyahhhhh—!!”
The clawing left intense gouges, stronger and deeper than the one that had once smashed her face. The five finger-blades carved deep inside her skull, making even that woman scream and slowing the movements of her feet.
“Raaaagh!!”
The woman took a direct kick straight to the torso, sending her body flying backward with ease.
With her ribs already broken and her internal organs already crushed, it would not have been strange had she died from the pain from being slashed and pounded like that alone. But even as fresh blood coursed from the prone woman, a broken, laughing voice also escaped her.
—Her life had not been extinguished. Her fighting spirit was undiminished. Her nature was unsalvageable for all eternity.
“Tch! It’s just one thing after another!”
Just as Garfiel was preparing to launch a follow-up attack, demon beasts cut across the battlefield to bear down upon him.
Mice with black wings, large ferocious dogs with mottled patterns on their bodies, and a horde of two-headed snakes burning with rage for their slain kin—plus one back-in-action enormous pile of boulders aptly called a Rock Pig—all came rushing at him.
“Garf! I’ll handle those!”
Right as Garfiel braced himself against the demon beasts aiming to land a surprise attack, the monsters were ripped asunder somewhere behind him. There was no time to turn around, but he could still tell that Frederica’s ferocious attacks were mowing their foes down.
All that remained was for Garfiel to deal with the one charging at him with a frame large enough to rival the whole mansion.
“Get pancaked!!”
Receiving Meili’s command, the Rock Pig bounded forward with its woefully short four legs, leaping toward him. No longer was this simply a charging beast; it had transformed into a projectile with the mass of a falling building.
No single person had the power to withstand such a blow—which was precisely what the monster’s instincts cried out.
Spreading and firmly planting both feet, Garfiel called upon the full force of his blessing of the earth spirit. The blessing of the soil conveyed through the soles of his feet made the tendons and muscles of his entire body swell and throb—the blood lurking within him burst forth as his flesh changed form.
“—Ooooooo!!!”
The booming roar of his soul was not directed outward; it reverberated within his own flesh and blood.
His abominable, difficult-to-accept bloodline had been a constant and not always welcome part of his life. Now, of his own volition, he summoned it forth, seized control of it, and turned it into raw power to carve out his own destiny.
His skeleton creaked and groaned as it transformed. His neck, his torso, and his head were changing into those of a beast. A great golden tiger’s mane sprouted as his clothes burst apart, unable to withstand the pressure. But the shields attached to both his arms remained in place, now looking like bangles on swelling arms that appeared to be violence incarnate, rivaling even the Rock Pig in stature.
“!!!!”
The two males—or rather, the beasts collided. The impact was felt across the mansion, spawning an explosive sound that ripped through the air.
The rocky demon beast’s ramming attack was stopped cold as the ferocious tiger pounded its greatsword-like claws into the pig’s face. Some of the claws were ripped off at their base by the thick, formidable hide; though not slain by the force of the charge, the great tiger was nonetheless forced back, reeling as its enormous opponent followed up by stomping down on its chest from straight above, driving the tiger into the floor and drawing sprays of blood.
“Keep it up, Rock Piggie!!”
Even though she heard the sounds of its bones breaking and its flesh being crushed, the demon beast’s master did not let her guard down.
Obeying its master’s almost-tearful command, the Rock Pig issued a roar as it raised both its front paws upward, coming down for a second stomp that was aimed at the great tiger’s skull.
—But before it could, the ferocious tiger used the strength of its abdominal muscles to launch its body upward; the demon beast took the blow straight in its wide-open gut.
The demon beast with boulder-like hide normally never revealed its belly, where its defenses were thin and fragile.
Sharp fangs pierced the tough skin, which the tiger’s claws had failed to penetrate, cutting deep into the flesh.
“Grrrraaaaggghhhh—!!”
While keeping its mouth lodged in the Rock Pig’s gut, the ferocious great tiger rolled its body sideways. This tore at the prey’s flesh, which was still caught on the fangs and was the predatory behavior characteristic of the water dragons.
The great tiger’s fangs rent flesh not to consume but to kill without mercy.
There was a vast amount of blood and viscera that poured out, proportional to its prey’s enormous frame. The gore flowed out in a veritable wave, flooding the mansion corridor.
“oo.”
The whites of its eyes bared, the Rock Pig uttered a frail death cry as it collapsed.
“No way… U-unbelievable… I don’t believe this!”
Meili backed away as Garfiel spat out blood and entrails, pushing the enormous corpse away.
She’d whistled with her fingers to gather a horde of demon beasts together, but now that all the big ones like Rock Piggie had been wiped out, only small- and medium-size ones were left to answer the call. Her advantage had crumbled in mere moments.
“Ughhh! Look what you’ve done! Elsa! Elsaaa! Do something!”
“…What a slave driver you are.”
Tousling her braid, the killer responded to Meili’s tearful cry for help. Slowly, Elsa Gramhilde’s raven-black hair swayed as she approached, her savage face having already regenerated.
Exuding seductive charm and a murderous beauty, she shot Garfiel a passionate glance.
“You tore into a woman’s face without hesitation. You truly are marvelous…”
“Gargh, raaagh…!!”
The smiling woman’s vile, blood-marred visage made the great tiger growl with a fierce shake of its broken shoulders. The trembling tiger’s massive frame grew taut as the enlarged flesh gradually returned to human form. A few seconds later, a half-naked boy reappeared on the field of battle.
“Argh… Crap, looks like I’m back. Head freakin’ hurts…”
“I see… So that makes you a half-beast. I thought you were merely a human with a foul look in his eyes.”
“Gotta say, if that was the rule, no way our general’d be human.”
Shaking his head, Garfiel checked how his body felt upon his returning to human form.
The process of compressing his skeleton back into a smaller body had joined his broken shoulders enough that they could move at least. That said, even slight movements made creaks and white-hot pain shoot through him. It would be a long time before he would move at full strength again.
“You said it didn’t bother you…but you must be thinking it is rather absurd by now?”
“”
“Even though you are injured all over, my wounds are simply healing. The gap between us grows greater as time passes… Do you not think it is unfair?”
There was not a single scratch to be seen on Elsa’s long, slender limbs. If the blood was wiped off, the luster of her white skin would be unmarred underneath. In contrast, Garfiel’s wounds were only becoming graver.
Perhaps it was logical to condemn that so-called immortality as an unfair advantage.
“Me, I ain’t ready to give up. And I ain’t takin’ back what I said.”
Shaking his head, he rejected such timid thoughts. He never needed them to begin with.
“You ain’t immortal. It’s that ya won’t die till someone kills ya, right? Ain’t that right, vampire?”
“…You knew.”
“I had a hunch. Me, I loved readin’ books since waaaay back. I knew there were special sorts like that. Didn’t think I’d meet one right after leavin’ home, though.”
From time to time, books from the outside world found their way into the Sanctuary, though Garfiel had no idea who the sender might’ve been, nor could he tell from the types of books what they hoped he might learn from them.
Garfiel read anything he could, so that he might one day find a way to butcher whatever it was that saddened the woman he’d fallen for.
It was in the course of those studies that he had read somewhere that the beings known as vampires possessed special characteristics.
“Apparently, one of the old Witches was one, too. That Witch is dead. And that means you can die, too.”
Garfiel had already dealt Elsa what were supposed to be fatal wounds four times and counting. Even if she’d inherited that characteristic from an immortal monster of legend, her regenerative power had to have limits.
It’d take probably one or two more times, and that’d settle things. But before it came to that—
“…If your little sister swears to never do evil ever again, I ain’t unwillin’ to let her go.”
“…You truly are an adorable child.”
With a smile, she dashed the final bouquet of compassion he offered her. That was his signal.
With an explosive step, Garfiel leaped straight forward. A wicked blade sliced directly down to intercept him, aiming to cleave his head. The force of the attack tore the mansion corridor apart.
Catching the attack on his shield, the blade cut shallowly into his breast. Heedless of the spatter of blood, he pressed on, continuing to advance—
“Gusteko, where I was born, is a very, very cold land far to the north.”
They continued to exchange blows when suddenly, words woven like a song slipped into his eardrums.
He shouldn’t have heard it. His consciousness was ablaze, intercepting and dealing lethal strikes with every passing moment, leaving no room for such a voice to slip through. That should have been the case, but it sneaked in regardless.
“It is a country with a vast chasm between rich and poor. Children abandoned by the destitute are not a rarity. I was one myself, without parents for as long as I can remember, living off what stagnant water and scraps I could find.”
“—Raaagh!!”
“I stole, and I hurt people. Days spent like that blended together… What was I living for; what was happiness? In those days, I had no time to think about such things.”
Garfiel gave a mighty swing of his arm to blow Elsa’s face away. She sidestepped the attack. A silver arc flashed. He tilted his body to dodge it. Evasion became counterattack, only to be foiled. Distance opened between them.
“That day was a particularly cold day.”
“Shaddap! I ain’t listenin’!!”
“On that day, the wind blowing down from the sacred mountain was cold, and it was freezing inside the city. Amid raging snow so cold it froze even your breath, I was working as a thief when a shop owner caught me.”
Elsa let out a tender sigh, speaking as if she were watching a dream.
The fury of her blade grew wilder, carving into Garfiel as his shoulder injuries dulled his defenses.
“No one would have complained had he killed me then, but I was a woman. Even now, I remember the vulgar smile on that man’s face as he started to tear off my clothes.”
“Gaaagh…!”
“As that cold, freezing wind blew, he stripped off my tunic and even took my underwear… When I thought it was better to freeze to death than to suffer whatever indignities he would subject me to, I picked up a piece of glass that just happened to be close by.”
She raised one of her long legs and kicked at the side of Garfiel’s head, sending him crashing into the wall. The impact stunned him, rattling his brain, but he’d also shattered the arch of Elsa’s foot in the process. Her expression of ecstasy sent a shudder straight through him.
“It was not as if I meant to do it. It just so happened that I thrust the piece of glass into his belly.”
“”
“I felt no hesitation at taking another’s life. I felt nothing as I listened to the man’s scream. But in that cold wind, one thought occurred to me.”
As Garfiel’s breath caught, Elsa flashed a vacant, engrossed smile like a maiden in love.
“—Why are blood and intestines so warm?”
He escaped from the reach of the lashing blade, which practically crawled across the ground, nearly shearing off his ankles as he unleashed a kick. Elsa evaded his attack with a leap away. Garfiel clicked his tongue as the killer distanced herself.
He wasn’t simply irritated by the difficulty of taking her down.
“If there is anything that can be called true happiness in this world, it must be found in the warmth that lets you forget the cold. It was that day I, a person born with nothing, finally gained something that truly belonged to me. For the first time, I was happy. I suppose you cannot understand that?”
“I don’t wanna, either.”
“That’s fine. I wasn’t hoping for you to sympathize with me anyway.”
“Then why’d ya have to tell me all that crap? It’s disgustin’.”
“I wonder why myself.”
Looking at Garfiel, whose eyes contained nothing save hostility, Elsa curiously tilted her head. Then she narrowed her mystified eyes, her cheeks faintly blushing as she gazed at Garfiel.
“Most likely because I am quite fond of you.”
“…Sorry, but I’ve already fallen for a woman. I ain’t got time for some chick messed up in the head.”
“How cold. But that’s fine. I only have business with what’s inside you, after all.”
She almost seemed to make sense, but in the end, Garfiel couldn’t understand a single thing about her.
Having listened to Elsa’s personal tale, Garfiel came to one conclusion.
Of course, he had no intention of understanding her, nor did he intend to forgive her. The only thing he could do was end her.
“—I’m gonna kill ya, Elsa Gramhilde.”
“—It is because you will kill me that you are my first love, Garfiel Tinzel.”
Calling each other by name was the one and only connection they shared. The rest, they entrusted to violence.
The wicked blades became light, raging, carving, slicing the half-destroyed mansion corridor apart. Amid that shower of blades, Garfiel dodged—No, he defended with the minimum amount of movement with his shields, holding his ground.
Blood flowed as a blade nicked his shoulder, his belly, his leg, and his head, but Garfiel was unshaken.
The distance shrank to six paces. Garfiel swung his left arm, sending the shield atop it flying straight forward.
At five paces, the shield struck Elsa’s arm, shattering her fingers, causing her to drop the weapon in her left hand.
At four paces, countless slicing attacks came at the now-defenseless left side of his torso, drawing blood. He did not stop.
At three paces, he stomped with the sole of his foot. The ground exploded and rose up. The mansion uttered its death cry and broke apart.
At two paces, the Bowel Hunter struck with a spinning attack at maximum speed, which she aimed at his torso with more force than he’d ever witnessed in his entire life.
At one pace, he covered his chest with his right shield, the arm underneath breaking as he parried the Bowel Hunter’s blow.
“—Do you think you blocked it? Don’t be careless.”
Garfiel heard that laughter-filled voice as she dropped a long leg toward his face. The descending heel and the dully gleaming blade embedded within were aimed right at the center of Garfiel’s head—
“—Elsa!”
Suddenly, a shriek-like voice made Elsa leap back.
The east wing of the mansion, after being engulfed in flame and withstanding repeated blows, was finally collapsing. Meili, right under one of the falling fragments, clutched her head and called out to her elder sister.
It was there that Elsa leaped. She slammed her blade in, carving apart the falling rubble overhead. She sliced, gouged, and penetrated the plummeting pieces one after another. And yet, the cascade of debris never ceased—
Without warning, a gust rushed past her feet. The wind, sporting a beautiful and supple beast with a golden mane, grabbed the girl in danger of being crushed by falling rubble, carrying her to safety.
“Elsaaa!”
Whisked away by the beautiful four-legged beast, Meili desperately called out to Elsa as the creature leaped outside.
Elsa did not turn toward her. Garfiel had already come.
“—!!”
The blade in Elsa’s right hand clashed with the bestial claws of Garfiel’s left.
With a destructive sound, Garfiel’s left arm was ruined, while Elsa’s right wrist was left in ugly tatters. Fresh blood scattered all about as Elsa thrust her useless arm forward to shove Garfiel down.
They jostled, practically embracing each other as they bit into each other’s necks, then separated as if repelled.
“Urgh, nghhh…”
The left side of her neck was hot. Elsa was unable to even put a hand on the wound, which was bleeding freely, but her cheeks were flushed nonetheless.
Her breath was so hot that it almost seemed like it changed color. Her eyes were filled with unquenchable passion.
—Then she watched as Garfiel hoisted up the Rock Pig’s massive body and hurled it.
The boy’s eyes blazed with ferocious emotion even as his neck bled from the wound her teeth had left behind. Though she knew where the arc of the hurled mass of rock would end, Elsa continued to gaze at the man she longed for until the very end.
Her labored breaths came unsteadily. As she gazed at the golden-haired boy who aroused such excitement deep in her chest, she said only one thing.
“—So thrilling.”
The woman, the murderess, the vampire, the Bowel Hunter was completely and utterly crushed by the incredible mass.
Fresh blood splattered, mixing with the demon beast’s bodily fluids. There was no sign of revival—only the aroma of death.
Garfiel let up a war cry, one that reached high into the sky, reverberating throughout the burning and crumbling mansion.
—So ended the battle between the Bowel Hunter and the Sanctuary’s Shield.
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Diamond. Diamond. Diamond.
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