Re:Zero Flaw If

Flashback to the Previous Day

After everyone had gone to bed, Los and Sekhmet had to speak. They met outside the building where Los was staying.

Seeing her, Los asked, "So where have you been staying this whole time?"

Sekhmet pointed behind her at a stable. Looking at her closely, Los could indeed see some hay in her hair. Los looked back at her face with a 'Bruh' expression.

Sekhmet coughed into her hand before saying, "Anyway, we must get to the root of the matter."

Los nodded, and she continued, "The Sanctuary is not what it sounds like."

Los looked confused and asked, "What is the sanctuary?"

Sekhmet's face hardened, and she replied, "You will find this out tomorrow, but first, we must designate roles."

"Roles?" a now even more confused Los asked.

Sekhmet held up a finger and said, "One of us should stay back and protect the mansion, and the other should go with Subaru to try and assist with any major problems. However, this is a delicate situation, and only threats on Subaru and Emilia's lives should be dealt with."

Los put his head down in thought and asked, "So you are saying I can help, but not help with everything? Also, how do you know any of this? What does the mansion need protection from?"

Sekhmet nodded and replied, "Roswaal Mathers possesses a complete copy of the gospel, the same thing Petelgeuse possessed. I know of this because he has been alive for a long time and possesses the body of his descendants. The plans are detailed in this gospel."

As for his second question, she added, "The mansion is going to be attacked by assassins contracted by a leader known as 'Mother.' I know this because I snooped around and saw a certain scantily clad woman you might know."

Los looked surprised. "Elsa? I didn't think I would see her again."

"Who is her target?"

Sekhmet nodded and replied, "I used the unseen hand to take a letter off her person. It seems she has merely been contracted to kill two maids at the mansion."

Los looked confused about what this could mean, but before he could speak, Sekhmet jumped in.

"We must choose roles now."

Los nodded and replied, "I will go to the sanctuary, no question about it."

Sekhmet was about to respond, but Los looked her dead in the eye and said, "But you must understand, I have no idea of your abilities, and I'm trusting you to take care of my closest allies and friends. I will need some proof of capability."

Sekhmet laughed and replied, "Follow me."

With that, she disappeared. Los saw her flying away rapidly, so he followed.

The Test

The two arrived at the place where the 'Star' had landed. The surrounding area was a charred mess, and closer to the point of impact, the ground was entirely glassed from the heat, creating a wondrous scene reflecting the moonlight.

In the center, Sekhmet waited for Los. When he landed across from her, he asked, "So how will we determine this?"

Sekhmet simply smiled and telepathically told him,

'You will need everything at your disposal, so I suggest a no-holds-barred fight for ten seconds.'

Los smiled back and entered a fighting stance.

Sekhmet pointed her hand up and prepared a small orb of energy. "When this orb lands, ten seconds will have elapsed."

Los nodded, and Sekhmet shot the orb straight up into the sky.

Instantly, Los shot across the distance, but before he could reach Sekhmet, a massive weight seemed to push him down, fracturing the glass beneath him.

He resisted it but was unable to move beyond looking up to see a smiling, unmoving Sekhmet. He crackled with red and black energy, giving him enough strength to reach for his sword and draw it.

He thrust the blade in the opposite direction of where he felt the force coming from.

(0.25 seconds have elapsed.)

The force seemed to lift, and he shot back. He could somewhat negate whatever it was, but it was still a huge debuff.

With this thought, he realized a possible solution.

He imagined the shifting, infinite mass of his blade transforming and melding itself to his body to armor him. It did just that, and he shot forward once again.

(0.50 seconds have elapsed.)

The force was exerted once again, but it had little effect on Los. He closed into melee range and swung a fist at Sekhmet.

An off-guard Sekhmet barely managed to dodge the attack, which shot a blast of wind that destroyed the area behind them.

Sekhmet swiftly countered, punching Los, who was sent flying and skidding across the glass.

(1 second has elapsed.)

Los stood up, bleeding. He negated the damage done to himself, and the glass shards popped out of him.

He darted in again, this time prepared for the counter. He feinted one way, and it seemed to work as Sekhmet turned to face the direction he had feinted, revealing her flank.

But just as he shot in to strike, he was pushed back by an invisible mass, throwing him far away.

This was different from the invisible force that had pushed him down earlier.

This felt like a physical object he simply couldn't see.

Knowing this, he put a finger over both of his eyes and crackled with black and white energy, negating his inability to perceive whatever had touched him.

(2 seconds have elapsed.)

Sekhmet smiled at this. 'Such ridiculous abilities.' She remarked telepathically.

Now, Los could see what had pushed him away—an inconceivable amount of unseen hands produced from Sekhmet's back like a massive billowing black cloak.

Sekhmet could tell he was surprised and telepathically told him,

'This is ten-thousand unseen hands. I was always better than Satella at this, and spending millennia on that star only improved my abilities.'

Los nodded and shot in again, undeterred.

A few stray hands flew at him, and he dodged and weaved. However, the unbelievable mass was soon before him. There was no way through, under, over, or around it.

So he did all he could think of—punching as hard as he could with the full power of the infinite mass cloaking his body.

He sent the mass flying.

Inside, Sekhmet laughed as she landed about 100 feet away before unfurling her hands and descending to the ground again.

(5 seconds have elapsed.)

Los prepared to attempt another offensive, but Sekhmet waved a finger.

'You have had your fun. Now, I'd say it's my turn for an offensive, wouldn't you?'

She did not wait for an answer.

The hands fanned out and shot toward Los at such speed that he only had time to raise a hand before they were all around him.

He crackled with red and black energy as the hands began to crush him.

Gasping and fading out of consciousness, he recalled when Subaru had shown him what had happened in the first loop—when he had destroyed the city.

Shouting with effort, Los raised his hand. The pure red energy expanded rapidly, burning the hands away.

Sekhmet shielded herself while leaping away, but she was still hit and blown back by the blast.

(7 seconds have elapsed.) 

Once again, he crackled with red and black energy and telepathically asked,

'Is this where we end things?'

Sekhmet shook her head.

'No.'

With that, the hands sprouted from her once again.

Los shot a fan-shaped blast that ripped up the earth, creating a wave-like effect that surged toward Sekhmet.

The hands shot out to meet the wave, and the two forces collided. The wave was ground to a halt, but not before it burned through most of the hands, leaving Sekhmet standing there once again.

(8 seconds have passed.)

'This is finished,' Los thought.

But to his surprise, Sekhmet smiled.

Then, he saw something he had overlooked previously—a single hand stretched out from the nape of her neck.

She had purposely thinned it so it would be nearly invisible next to the thousands of other hands.

Looking up, Los saw that it stretched into the sky, far out of view.

He wondered what this could accomplish—until he saw it.

A flash in the sky. Something was falling.

Instinctually, he prepared to shoot away as fast as he could.

(9 seconds have passed.)

From the sky, the lone hand was pulling a star down, accelerating its descent.

Los began to move, but once again, the force exerted itself, pushing him down.

He tried to focus, to get it to fade again, but before he could break free, the unseen hands were on him once more.

Just enough to hold his legs down.

It seemed, at the very least, that he had reduced her ability to create the unseen hands slightly.

However, with no way to move, he crackled with red energy—no black energy accompanied it this time.

He raised a hand straight up toward the falling star.

From his palm, a large ball of energy appeared.

It condensed into a small sphere, barely bigger than his hand, before shooting upward toward the star.

Before they collided, the intense heat between the two objects repelled them from each other.

For a brief moment, the space between them seemed to collapse in on itself—then, finally, the objects met.

The orb instantly burned into the star and traveled through it.

Halfway through, the orb exploded.

At first, the star seemed unaffected.

Then, cracks spread across its surface.

A moment later, it shattered apart, showering the surrounding area with flaming, multicolored debris.

Amongst the falling debris, Sekhmet's small energy orb—the one she had fired at the start—descended back to the ground, signifying that ten seconds had passed.

She smiled and asked, "Well? I guess I lost. You shut down my every attempt. So… am I not worthy to defend the mansion?"

Los shook his head, baffled.

"You'll do."