(Thank You Aaron, Kizarat, Roanz, Kam, Nero, Vimal, Axl, Chris, Soriosh, Fox, Ben, Sude for helping me with proofreading on the Live Draft! <3)
********** ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISH JAPANESE WEB NOVEL SOURCE:
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It was a murky voice.
A sound so indistinct that Subaru couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman's.
Compared to a voice passing through a voice changer or one muffled by a cloth, it was more ambiguous and opaque, as if obscured by some invisible power operating on his perceptions.
But even so, the instant Subaru heard those words―― those whispers of love, he instinctively understood who the shadow before him was. And shuddered.
Thinking back, Subaru had already vaguely sensed it before coming out of the Tomb.
The feeling of the thick Miasma stinging his skin. The sight of the Sanctuary submerged in shadows. The stifling pressure engulfing his surroundings. And the world that fundamentally lost its life.
It was every bit a reenactment of the time-stopped reality brought about by the uttering of the forbidden words, where Subaru met the Witch.
That is to say, the one standing before him was,
[Subaru: Wh..y……!?]
There was no answer. But there was also no doubt that it was right in front of him.
Subaru twitched his fingers, checked that he was still breathing, and confirmed that time hadn't stopped. The second-hand of the world was definitely ticking as it should. And yet the Witch was standing right before him.
Faced with a threat beyond his imaginations, Subaru's mind was painted over with complete white.
The oath which he had sworn only moments before, to uncover the details no matter what happens without letting a single second go to waste, all vanished in the face of that shock.
So unexpected was Subaru's encounter with the Witch at this point in time.
His throat rapidly drying up, Subaru's body stiffened as he forgot how to breathe. Bound by the overwhelming pressure, Subaru turned as rigid as a frog being stared down by a snake.
Becoming immobile now would no doubt only make the situation worse. But, even understanding this, Subaru's limbs gave no indication of obeying the blaring alarms.
It was a matter far beyond what Subaru's heart and mind could handle.
Subaru's heart did not falter, and his mind was blazing with the need to do something, but his body and the deep-rooted faculties governing it only calmly looked on.
Because――regardless of whether he moved or not, the result would be exactly the same.
There was no hostility emanating from the shadow before his eyes. Nor did it seem to have any intention to hurt him.
But that is not to say that it was uninterested in Subaru.
Quite the opposite.
The entity before his eyes was instilling him with so much interest that it sent chills running down his spine.
It was blind, obsessive passion, overwhelming to the point of making him wonder why, binding him so tightly as if to never let him escape.
――The shadow had no interest in anything other than Subaru.
In that shadow, there was only Subaru. Only Subaru. Only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru only Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru Subaru――
{???: ――I love you I love you I love you}
The voice echoed, spiraling in his mind.
His thoughts were thrown into chaos, unable to even recognize what he was seeing before his eyes. Was he standing, or sitting? Was he breathing? Was he conscious? Was he alive? Or was he dead? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure. He was becoming less and less sure.
A fingertip reached for him.
The surrounding shadows rose, expanding to envelop Subaru's body from all directions.
He had no strength left to oppose it. No reason to oppose it. Resist, don't resist, let himself be swallowed, what will happen then? It was too tiresome to think about. And――
{???: I love you I love you I love you――}
[????: Quit fuckin' around! KkkrrraaAAAHHH――!!]
――The next instant, terrifying destruction descended on the space between Subaru and the shadow.
Inches from his eyes, the impact crashed into the shadow, shattering the invisible ground in a swirl of darkness as it sent Subaru flying backwards.
[Subaru: uUoOOaa――!?]
Tumbling while being bumped by hard objects all over, Subaru finally came to a stop when his whole body was soaked in shadow. Giving his head a shake, his rigid body and thoughts simultaneously broke free.
With the noise filling his mind somewhat clearing up, and despite the lingering heaviness that felt like his head was stuffed with sand, the weight had considerably lightened.
Spitting out the mud in his mouth while looking back towards the direction he tumbled from, Subaru's eyes widened at the sight.
[Garfiel: Can't get much worse than this, oy. Can y'move or not?]
With his back to Subaru, the person facing against the shadow snapped impatiently.
His stature was rather small for a man. With short, golden hair, and a rude way of speaking. He kept his posture low, readied for combat, with his legs drawn back and his fangs bared in caution.
[Subaru: Why……would y…me… Garfiel……]
[Garfiel: Hah? Ain't time t'be jokin' around, can't y'see what's happenin' right now?]
Answering Subaru's voice still trembling in shock, Garfiel sounded somewhat annoyed. While keeping his eyes fixed on the shadow in front of him, bit by bit, Garfiel edged closer to Subaru,
[Garfiel: I'm gonna grab yer collar 'n jump. Might break yer neck, so pull up some backbone n' bear it]
[Subaru: I don't have the kind of special characteristic where I can use backbone to increase health-points in my neck――uwa!?]
Right in the middle of his rebuttal, Garfiel dived down with incredible speed, and, true to his word, hoisted Subaru up by the collar, prompting a strangled [Uegh!]. But, before Subaru could complain,
[Subaru: ――――!]
――The ground swelled up, and the shadow exploded.
Waves rolled out from the detonated shadow, lunging towards Subaru and Garfiel, threatening to crush them. In an instant, the surrounding shadows joined into the wave, prompting Garfiel to click his tongue as his feet sank into the black mire while trying to back away.
[Garfiel: Agh, fuck! Divine Protection o' Earth Spirits can't work when the ground's like this――!]
[Subaru: Garfiel, my legs are sinking too!]
[Garfiel: The whole damn place's like this! T's what they meant by "If yer bad the Witch gonna be comin'" ain't it!!]
Being dragged along, the parts of Subaru's limbs that were touching the ground were beginning to be swallowed by the shadow. It was an entirely different sensation from sinking into water or mud.
Warm, tender, and smooth, it was like silk trying to wrap around him and enshroud his body within. In a more peaceful setting, he might even have thought that it'd be rather nice to be embraced by that feeling.
But in these terrifying circumstances, he'd have to reject that idea.
[Garfiel: Tch, don't bite yer tongue!!]
With a snort, Garfiel scanned over his surroundings and shouted.
He bent his knees, and lightly leaped his sinking body off the ground. With the shadow tangling to his feet, the jump only managed a few meters, but, extending his legs the instant they made contact with the ground, he leaped again, and again, and again,
[Garfiel: There, we, are――!]
In a world concealed by night, Garfiel beautifully leapt his way to an area populated by buildings. Literally kicking his foot into a wall, he leaped up once again, and, landing on a roof, he tossed Subaru down with a sigh.
Being tossed like that, Subaru quickly grabbed onto some shingles so he wouldn't slide off, before glancing up at the side of the panting Garfiel's face―― faintly obscured by the darkness,
[Subaru: Th-thanks for saving me……!]
[Garfiel: Huh? Is that the face of someone feelin' thankful? Y'got a problem with me? Oy!]
[Subaru: Just something I haven't gotten over yet…… and.. I never thought you'd come to save me]
[Garfiel: How heartless did y'think I am? If y'got a problem with me savin' ya, feel free to jump right back into that shadow if y'want]
Subaru tersely replied [No thank you] to Garfiel's retort, and sighed.
Garfiel looked away, and Subaru, watching him from behind, felt a flood of complex emotions flowing through his chest.
There was the incomprehensible situation as well, but the biggest reason was why did Garfiel choose to save him. Before this, Subaru had considered him the greatest obstacle in the Sanctuary and a target of his resentment on par with Roswaal himself.
Although he was aware that the change in situation must have caused this change in behavior, the complete reversal nonetheless left Subaru unsure how to react.
But, paying no attention to Subaru's internal confusion, Garfiel only gazed down towards the ground with a bitter expression. Clicking his sharp canine teeth, [This 's bad……], he muttered under his breath,
[Garfiel: This goes without sayin', but, doesn't look like it's gonna let us off]
Sliding down to Garfiel's side, Subaru timidly peeked off of the roof.
Witnessing the sight before his eyes, an [u……] inadvertently slipped from his lips. The Sanctuary had transformed into a sea of shadow, with its majority swallowed by the pitch blackness, depriving him of all sense of height and perspective.
But even within that darkness, there was an even darker, writhing figure lurking at the center of the whirling shadows, inching closer at a crawling pace.
It was the one who just tried to swallow Subaru and Garfiel into the shadows, the one who flooded the Sanctuary under a sea of shade. It was――
[Subaru: Garfiel… You have any idea what that is?]
[Garfiel: I got "It's exactly what it looks like", "Ain't no chance it ain't what I think it is", and "It'd be goddamn wishful thinkin' t'say that ain't what that is". Which one y'wanna go with?]
[Subaru: Does which one even matter? They're pretty much the same thing… Oy, you're being way calmer in front of this thing than I th……]
Before he could finish his sentence, Subaru stopped when he saw the expression on the side of Garfiel's face.
Honestly, despite harboring some complicated feelings about how Garfiel saved him, Subaru was nonetheless calmly organizing the situation in his head.
Among them, was why Garfiel, who showed such displeasure at the scent of the Witch――and had turned hostile towards Subaru just because he picked up the scent from his body, was not losing his composure when the source of the scent was right before him.
And that was why, just when he was about to ask―― Subaru dropped the subject when he caught a glimpse of his face.
[Garfiel: What'd y'just say?]
Garfiel uttered, gazing down with his bloodshot eyes. Subaru might just be imagining this, but Garfiel's fangs seemed to be growing longer.
Anger. Rage. Wrath. Fury. His pupils had turned into slits, and one could see the pure-red emotions churning within. How could anyone call that calm?
At the same time, Subaru remembered that there was something he had to ask.
[Subaru: ――Garfiel. Th……Ram and the others, what happened to them?]
[Garfiel: …………]
[Subaru: When I came out of the Tomb, the Sanctuary was already submerged in the shadow. You seem to be alright and lively… so what about the others……?]
[Garfiel: ……in the shadow]
Subaru's repeated attempts at denial only received this cruel reply.
Hearing Subaru gulp down his breath, Garfiel grunted with a tinge of remorse,
[Garfiel: When we noticed somethin' was off, the ground's already turned into th'shade. If Ram hadn't blown me away with her wind, I woulda been swallowed too]
[Subaru: ……and Ram's swallowed just like that? And Lewes, and Otto?]
[Garfiel: Aah, yeah. Granny 'n the noisy lil'bro, all'n one go]
Looking down at the strange writhing of the undulating shadow, Subaru's thoughts couldn't help but take a pessimistic turn in regards to their chances of survival after being swallowed.
If they were being imprisoned in some alternate dimension, then there might still be hope. But, judging from the sensation of touching that shadow, it would be a far too optimistic possibility.
[Subaru: Wh-what is this, seriously, this…… why would that thing suddenly…….!]
Elsa, Great Rabbit, Garfiel.
He had only just sealed his resolve to repulse the threats facing the Sanctuary and the Mansion, to face down all obstacles and obtain the perfect future no matter the cost.
And yet, just when that resolve was sealed, this incomprehensible thing washed it all away.
Why on earth did this thing burst out all of a sudden?
[Subaru: Garfiel…… what happened to Emilia?]
[Garfiel: ――――]
[Subaru: I couldn't find Emilia in the Tomb. ……Was she, swallowed, too?]
[Garfiel: ――――]
Noticing that something was wrong when she woke, Emilia must have ran out of the Tomb.
After all, if she saw the Sanctuary being swallowed by shadow, there was no way she would just stand by and watch. She would have jumped in to save anyone she could with no regard for her own safety, and――
[Subaru: If the shadow…… then, she……!]
[Garfiel: After swallowin' Ram 'n the others, the shadow went into the Sanctuary and drank everythin' up. I chased after it and landed a few blows but it all did jack shit. Then the thing turned back all o' a sudden, I followed it, and there's that]
And that led to what happened just now, it seems.
The shadow was ravaging the Sanctuary, but when it sensed Subaru coming out of the Tomb, it immediately turned around. Then the shadow's objective was Subaru, after all.
An all-devouring shadow. Bearing whispers of love. And overwhelming power.
Its identity went without saying. But,
[Subaru: Why the hell is the Witch of Envy here……!!]
[Garfiel: Ain't the time to be askin' that, oy]
While Subaru wrenched out these words, beside him, a battle-hungry smile emerged on Garfiel's face. Taking care not to lose his balance, Subaru stood up as well, clenching his teeth as he locked his gaze onto the same thing as Garfiel.
A great mass of whirling shadow surrounded the building they were using as their foothold.
Everything caught in the cyclone's range was swallowed. Earth and structure alike were stripped away and forced into its swirling orbit.
[Subaru: Uu, ooOOAAAHH――!]
I was like a great tsunami or a large-scale flood carrying houses along with its current.
Experiencing the bizarre sensation of supposedly massless shadows uprooting the building beneath his feet, Subaru did all he could not to be flung off of the roof.
He tried, but that didn't solve the fundamental problem at all.
[Garfiel: Tch, I'm jumpin' again, grab on!]
[Subaru: ――――!]
Quickly grabbing onto the crouching Garfiel, they escaped the floating rooftop along with Garfiel's leap. Shooting out like a bullet without regards for target, they plunged right into a flock of trees, snapping branches on the way before slamming into a trunk.
[Garfiel: Ghagh――!]
Punching his arm into the trunk, with that inelegant gesture, Garfiel managed to stop himself from falling into the shadows. Subaru, who was clinging to his shirt, took hold of a branch and shifted himself over, maintaining his posture that way.
And just when they were finally allowed to catch their breath, they heard the loud crack of splintering wood behind them.
Quickly turning to look, they saw the building they had just been standing on being pulled into the center of the vortex, and crushed into thin, tiny pieces.
With the collapse of the building's structure, the shadowy vortex swallowed it into the true body of the shade―― into the heart of the writhing shadow, further enlarging its mass.
[Subaru: ――――]
Witnessing the devastating destruction, Subaru and Garfiel both fell at a loss for words.
Passing several seconds in that silence, the shadow's contours began to blur. And the next moment―― Subaru was certain that his eyes met the eyes of the murky, all-encompassing shadow.
{???: ――I love you}
[Subaru: Uu, a……]
{???: I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you}
[Subaru: ――――]
{???: I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you}
Swelling, boundless love. All he could see was black. Love in the form of a shadow, looming, and about to drown him.
Coming to drown him with love, the love of the Witch of Envy was approaching――
-=Chapter 49 End=-
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I decided to stick parts 2 and 3 together, hopefully the impact was better this way ❤
Let me know if you see any missing words or typos!
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