Re:Zero Flaw If

They arrived at an inn. "Why are we stopping?" Subaru demanded.

"I'm sorry, Subaru. This is as far as the ground dragon can go," Rem replied.

They checked into the inn, and Subaru went to his room. 'I can't sleep,' he thought to himself. He heard a knock on his door and sat up.

"Subaru, are you awake?"

"Y-yeah, I am."

Rem came in and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come in and chat."

"You too, huh?" Subaru replied.

Rem sat next to him, and they started talking. Rem reassured him, telling him what he wanted to hear, and she got closer. "I'm sure Emilia will forgive you as long as you speak the truth to her. After all, you are a super amazing person."

"I-I am, huh?" Subaru said sleepily.

Rem was pressed against his back now, healing his gate. Subaru slowly drifted to sleep.

He awoke to the light shining through his window. 'SHIT!'

"REM, WE OVERSLEPT!" he shouted, bursting into her room, but she was not there. He ran downstairs.

"Well, good morning," said the kind innkeeper.

Subaru grabbed him and demanded, "WHERE'S THAT BLUE-HAIRED GIRL WHO CHECKED IN WITH ME!?"

"She checked out this morning. She left you this," he said, holding up a bag.

Subaru set him down and read the note:

"Subaru, I left this morning. I won't ask you to forgive me for leaving you behind to go to the mansion, but please understand—it would be dangerous for you to go now, so please be patient and wait for me here."

Subaru asked around until he found his way to Otto, a drunken carriage driver. He slammed a sack of gold in front of him and asked to be taken to the Mathers domain.

Much later, they arrived outside the village, and the ground dragon ground to a halt.

"Mr. Natsuki?"

"Hmm?"

"Please, let's turn around now!"

"After coming all this way? Where are we?"

"My ground dragon knows it is too dangerous to keep going. Please, we are just outside the village."

"Okay, Otto. Feel free to take my things. This is close enough."

"Natsuki, WAIT!"

Subaru jumped out and ran toward the village. As he cleared the forest, he suddenly noticed how quiet it had become.

'Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?' he thought to himself.

Suddenly, from nowhere, a black-robed man appeared in front of him. Then he disappeared, and several dozen more surrounded him. They ran around quickly before looking at him, bowing, and disappearing faster than he could see.

'Just what the hell was that?'

He ran to the village as fast as possible, but when he arrived, the smell of burning filled the air, as well as a much fouler, unfamiliar scent.

Inside the village, he opened a door and saw a family killed at their dinner table. He stepped outside and opened another—

a body blocked the door.

He ran to the center, where a stack of burned corpses lay. He gagged and took a step backward, tripping over a body. Looking at his blood-covered hand, he screamed.

He made his way up to the mansion and through the front gate. A bloody chain with a spiked ball at the end lay on the ground. Following the chain with his eyes, he saw the body of the blue-haired maid.

Then he collapsed.

When he awoke, he stumbled toward a shed in the corner of the lot. He opened it, and the contents made him empty his stomach.

Inside the mansion, he opened a door. Ram and Petra's bodies fell to the ground, Petra face-first.

"Petra?" Subaru asked. He flipped her over—to see gouged-out eyes.

"AGH!" He fell backward, crying.

Searching further, he found Emilia's hairpin, along with a trail of blood leading down into the cold cellar. He shivered and touched the handle of the cellar door—it was so cold it felt like it burned him at the touch.

"AGH!" He looked down to see he was missing three fingers. He turned to the side and saw the frozen body of one of the hooded men. He fell backward and heard a stomach-wrenching snap.

He looked down—

he had lost a leg.

"You're too late, Subaru..."

That was the last thing he heard.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Subaru replied.

"Don't you 'Huh' me."

"Subaru, what's wrong?" asked Rem.

Subaru looked over at her and fell to his knees. She rushed over, asking, "Do you feel ill?"

He hugged her tightly.

"Hey! Not in front of my shop, man," said the Appa guy.

"Subaru, whoa, calm down," said Rem, blushing.

Subaru was crying hysterically into her. Rem's face went from embarrassed to worried, and she asked, "A-are you okay?"

There was no response.

She took him back to Crusch's mansion.

"He collapsed out there?" asked Crusch.

"Out of nowhere?" asked Felix.

Rem nodded, and Crusch put her head down in thought. "Maybe we call Los, and he can help somehow. He's known Subaru longer than any of us."

Los

At the same time, Los was completing a mission Anastasia had given him. The cargo had been stolen by a group of bandits, and he had tracked them to their camp.

"Huh? Who are you? Get out of here," said a bandit.

Los calmly stated, "By order of Anastasia Hoshin, these supplies are to be taken to her as soon as possible. Forfeit them, or suffer the consequences."

The bandits looked at each other and drew weapons.

"Why would we do that? We outnumber you, and our leader is a capable magic user."

Los shrugged. "Would the leader please show himself?"

A large, muscular man stepped out from a tent. "Aye," he stated simply.

Before any of them could react, Los drew his blade. The bandit leader felt as if he were being crushed by a massive force for a fraction of a second—before he was turned into a red mist.

It took a moment for the other members to register what had just happened. Some screamed and ran, some froze, and some tried to fight.

The ones who fought suffered the same fate almost instantly.

The ones who froze soon found the strength to run, and the camp was deserted.

Los sheathed his blade and patted his hands dry. Memorizing the location, he returned to the Hoshin house.

"It's done?" Anastasia asked, amazed.

Los nodded and placed a marked location on her desk. "The supplies are there. Nobody will disturb them."

Anastasia nodded. "Thank you. We got word from the Karstein camp—Subaru seems to be in a bad state, and they need your assistance."

Los nodded. "So I'm free to go?"

Anastasia laughed. "Yep. Come back anytime."

Los shot off toward the capital at top speed.

He arrived in under a minute, asking a surprised pedestrian for directions before jumping over to the Karsten house. Once inside, he stepped forward as Felix turned to look at him. Los waved, and Felix pointed up the stairs.

Los ascended and opened a door to find a bedridden Subaru with Rem at his side. He greeted Rem and placed a hand on Subaru. Feeling no curses or poisons, he delved into his mind. Sure enough, Subaru had died. Los relived the horrifying events and shuddered.

"Clear the room," he ordered. Rem bowed and left.

"Subaru, I know that was bad, but you have to wake up. We can save them now."

Subaru gave no response.

Los shrugged. "I'll handle it myself then. Be back in a day or whatever."

Heading downstairs, he met Crusch, Felix, and Rem. "Well?" they asked expectantly.

Los saw no reason to explain, so he simply shrugged. "Seems I have to go to the Mathers domain. That's all I can say for now."

He stepped outside and shot off. Upon reaching the border, he decided to walk from there to lure the cultists. Sure enough, even though this was days early, they appeared—twenty of them, slashing at him instantly. Unfortunately for them, Los drew his sword, and they were all crushed in an instant.

He followed the lingering scent, which led him to a cavern. It appeared to be a dead end, but the scent persisted. Without hesitation, he blasted through the wall and walked into the newly revealed passage.

"Myyyyy brain! TREMBLES!" a man with a green bowl cut shrieked. "YOOOOU FOUND ME!"

Los suddenly felt the sensation of hundreds of hands grabbing him. Crackling with red and black energy, he unleashed an explosion that obliterated the entire cave.

Petelgeuse landed a hundred meters away, having shielded himself with unseen hands, but he was still badly damaged. From the dust and falling debris, Los emerged, sword drawn.

Petelgeuse began to speak, but his throat was crushed by a punch from Los. He gargled and gasped. The unseen hands pushed Los away, but with a single swing of his sword, Los obliterated the entire area again.

Petelgeuse was now crawling away. Los stepped on his back and hoisted his sword. With a final, decisive strike, he drove the blade through Petelgeuse's spine, reducing his body to red mist.

Back in Lugunica, Subaru unknowingly gained the Authority of Sloth. Meanwhile, Petelgeuse's spirit attempted to possess Los, only to find itself in an endless void. It looked around in confusion before Los emerged from the darkness, crackling with black and white energy. He extended a hand, and as soon as Petelgeuse took it, he was erased from existence.

Back at the Karsten household, Subaru and Rem were preparing to leave after failing to find a solution to Subaru's condition. From the sky, Los landed. Wilhelm instinctively drew his sword but quickly sheathed it upon recognizing him.

Los stood up and held out the severed head of one of the Witch Cultists. "These guys were attacking Mathers's domain."

"Witch Cultists..." Rem gasped.

"I knew I had to provide proof," Los stated, looking Crusch in the eye. "Now tell me—what are you preparing for?"

Crusch blushed slightly before replying, "Since you clearly know about me buying all the iron and dragon carriages from Anastasia, I might as well tell you."

She took a deep breath. "I am going to slay the White Whale—one of the three great Witchbeasts."