Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu web novel

　--As Subaru heard the dry sound of footsteps hitting his eardrums, he felt something strange on his skin.

　The cool breeze that flows into the tomb is accompanied by an unpleasant sticky feeling. My feet feel as if they are glued to the ground as I run, and each step I take saps my energy.

　The sharp sensation felt on exposed skin hits your entire body as if protrusions were growing in the air itself. Overall, it's a sensation that makes you hesitate to move forward.

　--Subaru already knew a sensation very similar to this one.

　Driven by a bad feeling, Subaru headed towards the entrance of the tomb, consciously shaking off the unpleasant feeling that was clinging to his body.

　Subaru flew through the ivy-covered doorway, dappled with moonlight, and left the tomb, enjoying the illusion of breaking through the membrane of air.

　And then look.

"...You're kidding, hey."

　Subaru slammed on the brakes and his body dug into the earth beneath his feet, bringing him to a halt.

　Subaru looked as if he was about to fall over in an unsightly manner, but there was something resembling detachment in his eyes as he looked straight ahead.

　The scene before his eyes was so far removed from common sense.

"A shadow..."

　The mutter that escaped Subaru's mouth――that one word expressed it all.

　A shadow - that was the only way to describe the scene before his eyes.

　Subaru couldn't see the view of the Sanctuary from the entrance to the tomb. It was true that the tomb was located away from the area where the residents' homes were concentrated, but as far as Subaru knew, there was no way that he couldn't see a single building from this position.

　Above all, even though there was a full moon in the sky, shining a pale blue light onto the earth, the world before my eyes was too dark. It was as if it had fallen into darkness.

"――――"

　Taking a deep breath, Subaru steeled himself and stepped through the entrance to the tomb into the dark sanctuary. The soles of his feet passed through the stone floor and reached the earth and grass on the ground. --He had reached it, I think.

　Although I could feel the sensation of stepping on grass, I couldn't distinguish anything because everything below me was consumed in thick darkness. The sticky feeling on my skin was also unchanged.

"Eh, Emilia――!"

　Unable to bear the uncertainty of the world that should exist, Subaru called out the name that immediately came to his mind. And once he called out the name of the girl he remembered, his thoughts started racing and faces, names flashed through his mind one after another.

"Ram! Lewes! And also Otto! You're here, right? Come out!"

　If now had been right after the Trial, Ram and the others would have been in front of the Tomb, waiting for Emilia's results. Subaru would have ignored their protests and rushed in, and thus ended up being caught up in the Trial.

　After that, whenever he brought Emilia out, the same people were always there to greet them. This time too, there was no big difference and it was expected that it would be the same.

"It's not just that they're not there... What's with this gloomy feeling? It's nothing compared to the darkness of a country road."

　At night on the rice paddy roads where there are no electric lights, or on days when you cannot rely on starlight, veritable darkness falls.

　However, the current state of the Sanctuary was different from that instantaneous darkness. The moon was shining overhead, and its light was reaching at least as far as Subaru's body.

　And yet, the light dissipates before it reaches the ground, creating an ambiguous and unstable night. --It feels like a spotlight is shining only on me.

　All he could see was his own figure floating in the darkness. Turning around, he found that even the entrance to the tomb where Subaru had emerged from moments ago was swallowed up in the darkness.

　It brings back memories of wandering through the night fog created by the White Whale.

　I remember losing sight of the person I could rely on, being thrown out of the dragon carriage, and continuing to walk with my direction and even the meaning of life unclear, not knowing when the jaws of the white whale would close in on me from behind.

　That time, after just continuing to walk, he finally made it out of the mist and was picked up by Otto's beloved dragon, Furufoo.

　So, will I be saved this time too if I just keep walking blindly?

"Am I an idiot... No, I'm an idiot. What do you mean, passive, I have a loser mentality. If you don't know what's happened, doesn't that mean you don't know what's going to happen? Are you stupid to worry about yourself when you don't even know what happened to everyone else?"

　Hadn't he only just made up his mind during the tea party with Echidna inside the tomb?

　No matter what happened, no matter how much hardship Subaru faced, if the only price he had to pay was his own life, then it would be a good deal.

　Compared to a future in which someone important to us gets hurt and things cannot be undone, the present situation in which we can start over at the cost of our own lives is a great blessing.

　Therefore, what Subaru needed was not to struggle in fear of an incomprehensible situation, being tossed around without being able to properly grasp it and losing his life, which would be humiliating.

　It's about boldly taking on an incomprehensible situation, and even if you don't arrive at the correct answer, you'll have gained a foothold on the way there and be able to die a meaningful death that will allow you to get revenge next time.

"Anyway, what I need to confirm right now is..."

　To find out where Emilia, Ram, and everyone else had gone.

　When he couldn't find Emilia inside the tomb, Subaru wondered for a moment if she had passed the Trial, woken up on her own, and left. However, that idea was quickly denied. If Emilia had passed the Trial on her own, and had managed to wake up safely, there would have been no reason for her not to awaken Subaru.

　Subaru knew from his own experience with Emilia that being touched or called out to during the Trial would cause it to be interrupted.

　Strictly speaking, at that point, Subaru's mind was on the tea party with Echidna, not the Trial, so it's possible that the current premise doesn't apply.

"Still, it's not like Emilia to just leave me there."

　Surely she could have dealt with the situation in her own way, such as taking the unawakened Subaru outside, or at the very least, having him lie down against the wall. It was hard to imagine her going outside without doing that.

　And, although this may seem like an extreme conclusion, Subaru did not think that Emilia would be able to pass the first Trial on the first try.

　Knowing that she had continued to have difficulty with the same Trials, starting with the first day, I was skeptical from the start of the theory that she had cleared the Trials on her own and left the tomb.

　Therefore, Subaru thought, it was highly likely that Emilia's disappearance from the tomb was not of her own volition. She had been taken away by someone, or perhaps--

"If she had returned from the Trial in a daze, so careless that she didn't even notice me leaving the tomb... then it's not impossible."

　But that doesn't explain the abnormality of the situation, with the outside world now plunged into darkness.

　It's possible to make sense of Emilia's disappearance from the tomb, but there's been no development in the speculation about the reason, cause, or future of this scene.

　At the very least, in Subaru's experience, the Sanctuary had never experienced such an abnormal situation during a Trial.

　Regarding the fact that the people he was waiting for were not there, what made Subaru's heart flutter was the threat of the ferocious white rabbit. However, Subaru shook his head and denied the hasty conclusion he had come to.

　According to Subaru's calculations, the Great Rabbit's attack would occur on the night of the sixth day in the Sanctuary - in other words, five days from now. No matter how soon it came, he hoped it wouldn't be brought forward to the first night of the Trial.

　--He purposely turned a blind eye to the mystery of why Elsa had changed the date for the mansion attack.

　That was yet another mystery that Subaru had yet to find an answer to. But if the rabbit's attacks were also random, just like Elsa's, and the number of days they occurred varied, then that meant that the situation was beyond repair.

　The only adverse environment that Subaru couldn't avoid even by making full use of "Return by Death" was one that there was nothing Subaru could do other than believe that it didn't exist.

"What I can do now is... search for Emilia and the others while shouting, and head to the Cathedral to make sure the people of Arlam Village are safe, right?"

　Staring straight ahead, Subaru was troubled by the improbability of what he had just said. Though he had the rough map of the Sanctuary in his head, it wasn't sophisticated enough that he could walk around it with his eyes closed.

　And now, that level of memory is what you need to roam this place.

　Even just arriving at his destination safely was an extremely difficult task for Subaru right now. That being said, it would be difficult to unconditionally adopt the idea of ​​searching for people by shouting.

"If this situation, this pitch darkness, is the work of someone... then there's a high probability that it's not a friendly enemy."

　As a burning sense of impatience slowly burned through him, Subaru continued to think about the best course of action he should take.

　If he wanted to hurry up and meet up with them, he should have raised his voice. If he was worried about Emilia and the others, that would be the best thing to do. However, he had already learned many times how foolish acting recklessly was. How many times had he lost his life in this world because of it?

"... Shit. I have to at least find out what's going on, otherwise I'll end up in a scary situation."

　After much deliberation, Subaru decided to take a more cautious approach.

　Keeping my voice down and holding my breath, I strained my eyes in the darkness, following as best I could the map, heading for the area where the residents should be concentrated.

　The sure feeling of the ground beneath his feet, and the certainty of the existence of the tomb Subaru had emerged from, were his only hopes in a world stained in darkness. Though he was plunged into darkness, the "Sanctuary" should still be there before his eyes.

"----cormorant?"

　Subaru stepped slowly, carefully, one step at a time, through the grass, but after only a few steps his feet stopped.

　The reason is the wind.

"---?"

　Lifting his head, Subaru looked around in the blinding darkness, knowing it was partially pointless, and his thoughts raced to the destination of the wind that had just brought that strange feeling.

　I felt it. The wind that had just blew past me gave me a unique sensation.

　It was not the cool breeze that blew through the grasslands, nor the dusty wind that blew into the tombs, nor the wind that flowed through a place of sorrow filled with the smell of blood; it was a unique rawness that only wind that had come into contact with living things could have.

"what--"

　Unsure of where the wind had come from, Subaru turned around in search of an answer.

　Behind me, if I went straight I knew the graveyard would be there, but after walking a little I could no longer even see its outline.

　--No, the reason why the tomb cannot be seen is something other than the darkness.

"----ah?"

"――――"

　Someone was standing right in front of me in the pitch black world, so close I could almost feel their breath.

　The person was blocking the view, making it impossible to see the entrance to the tomb.

　And the fact that he hadn't noticed someone approaching until they were that close, and why that person hadn't called out to him even though they were that close, a storm of questions raged in Subaru's mind in an instant.

　But the storm of questions soon dissipated with a clear answer.

　In a way that couldn't be easier to understand.

"--i love you"

　The shadow spoke to the Subaru in front of him with such love that it seemed to melt.

※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※

　It was a muffled voice.

　The voice was so unclear it was impossible to tell whether it was a man's or a woman's.

　It was not like a voice coming through a voice changer or a voice projected through thick cloth; it was a masked vagueness, as if a more opaque, invisible force was at work, influencing our perception.

　And yet, the moment Subaru heard those words - those whispers of love - he instinctively understood the true identity of the shadow standing before him. And he was terrified.

　Thinking about it, Subaru had been vaguely aware of that presence ever since he had left the tomb.

　A dense miasma that stings the skin. The Sanctuary is in shadow. A suffocating sense of oppression fills the surroundings, and the world has lost all vitality.

　These exactly recreated the situation of the rendezvous with the "Witch" in the place where time stood still, to which Subaru was invited when he uttered the forbidden words.

　That is to say, standing before me is

"why...!?"

"――――"

　There is no answer, but it is definitely here, right in front of us.

　Moving his fingertips and checking his own breathing, Subaru confirmed that time had not stopped. Right now, the world was ticking away correctly. And yet, the "Witch" was standing before him.

　Facing an unexpected threat, Subaru's thoughts went completely blank.

　The shock was so great that it left behind all the promise I had made just a moment ago: that no matter what happened, I would examine every detail and not waste a single second.

　That's how unexpected Subaru had been to come into contact with the Witch at this stage.

　His mouth went dry, and Subaru forgot to even catch his breath as his whole body stiffened. The overwhelming pressure entangled his entire body, and he stiffened like a frog caught in the glare of a snake.

　Not being able to move right now would undoubtedly make the situation worse. Despite knowing this, Subaru's limbs showed no sign of heeding the warning signals.

　This is a matter of a different dimension to Subaru's heart and thoughts.

　While Subaru's heart was refusing to give in and his thoughts were racing with the need to do something, his body and the deep part that controlled it were looking at the situation objectively with cool eyes.

　In other words - whether you move or not, the outcome will be the same.

"――――"

　The shadow in front of me emanated no hostility. I sensed no ill will.

　However, that doesn't mean she's indifferent towards Subaru.

　Actually the opposite is true.

"――――"

　The presence before me was focusing its attention on me with a chill that sent chills down my spine.

　Blindly, obsessively, to the point that it made people wonder what was going on, an overwhelming passion that strangled Subaru to the point that he could never escape.

　--Shadow now had no interest in anything other than Subaru.

　The only one in the shadow was Subaru. Only ...

"--I love you, I love you, I love you."

　A voice echoes around in my head.

　Your thoughts become a mess, and you can't recognize what's in front of you. You don't know if you're standing, sitting, breathing, conscious, alive, dead. You don't know. You don't know.

　The fingertips stretch out.

　The surrounding shadows rose, spreading out to completely cover Subaru's body on all sides.

　He had no energy to resist. No reason to resist. Resistance, non-resistance, being swallowed up, what would happen if it continued like that? It was too much trouble to even think about it, and then――

"I love you, I love you, love me--"

「Don't mess with me, I'm not kidding――!!」

　--The next moment, a destructive force fell with incredible force between Subaru and the shadow before him.

　Right in front of his eyes, shadow and impact crashed into each other, shattering the invisible earth and sending shadows spiraling out, and Subaru, who was close by, was blown backwards.

「Whoa――!?」

　Rolling, banging against hard objects here and there, his entire body was completely immersed in the shadow, and Subaru somehow managed to stop his momentum. He shook his head, freeing both his stiff body and his thoughts at the same time.

　My noisy thoughts had become somewhat clearer, and although my head still felt heavy as if it was filled with sand, it was somewhat better than the sluggishness I had felt just a moment ago.

　Then, spitting out the dirt in his mouth, Subaru raised his head and looked in the direction he had come from, his eyes widening in shock.

「The situation is terrible, hey. Can you move, you bastard?」

　A figure slowly turns away from the shadow.

　He was short for a man. He had short blonde hair and spoke in a blunt, rough manner. He was in a low stance, preparing for battle, his feet breaking the ground, his fangs bared in obvious alertness.

"Why... why did you have to do this to me, Garfiel..."

"What? Are you kidding me? Can't you see the situation?"

　Subaru's voice trembled with shock, to which Garfiel replied in an annoyed tone. Still cautious of the shadow before him, he slowly slid towards Subaru,

"I'm going to grab you by the scruff of your neck and jump. You might break your neck, but you'll have to persevere."

"You have a strange constitution where your neck's durability increases with sheer willpower---!?"

　In the middle of a rebuttal, Garfiel's body drops at high speed, literally snatching Subaru's body in the process. Just as he'd declared, he's grabbed by the back of his neck and pulled up, and Subaru cried out in pain as he lost his breath, "Guu!", but before he could complain,

"----!"

　--The ground swells up and the shadow explodes.

　The exploding black shadow created a wave that approached with incredible force, trying to crush the flying Subaru and Garfiel. In an instant, the surrounding darkness merged with the wave of shadow, and Garfiel, who had taken a step to retreat, clicked his tongue, his feet sinking into the shadow of the ground.

「Ah, damn it! With the ground like this, the 『Divine Protection of the Earth Spirit』 won't work――!」

"Garfiel, the ground is starting to sink beneath my feet too!"

"The whole area is like that! 'If you do bad things a witch will appear', huh, isn't that exactly what it is!!"

　As Subaru is dragged, the parts of his limbs that are in contact with the ground begin to be swallowed up by the shadow. It's an unknown sensation, different to sinking in water, or in mud or a swamp.

　The shadow is warm, and the soft, smooth fabric tries to wrap around your body. If you are at peace, you might feel like you can let yourself be embraced by that sensation.

　However, in this dire situation, such a decision is unacceptable.

"--Hey, don't bite your tongue!!"

　Garfiel snorted and swung his gaze around before yelling.

　He bent his knees and lightly jumped with his sinking body. His feet were caught in the shadow and he couldn't jump more than a few meters, but when he landed he quickly stretched his legs again and jumped, jump, jump, and jumped again.

"To, ho, rua――!"

　In a world shrouded in night and invisible, Garfiel successfully reaches the location of the building. He literally stabs his toe into the wall, using it as a foothold to jump again. He jumps onto the roof, throws Subaru, who he had been pulling all the way there, and takes a breather.

　Having been thrown out, Subaru grabbed a foothold to stop himself from slipping off, and glared at Garfiel's breathing heavily in profile - his face floating vaguely in the darkness,

"Thank you for helping me...!"

"What? You don't look like someone who would say thank you. Are you complaining, hey?"

"I still don't understand... I never thought you'd actually help me."

"You're treating me pretty cold-heartedly. If you're so upset about me helping you, you can just jump into the shadows right now."

　Subaru sighed and replied, "I'll pass on that," to Garfiel, who never stopped talking.

　Subaru, watching from behind Garfiel who refuses to look in his direction, feels extremely conflicted.

　The biggest reason was that Garfiel had helped Subaru here, not just because of the mysterious nature of the situation. Until that moment when they met again, he had been Subaru's greatest obstacle in Sanctuary, and someone who had competed with Roswaal as the object of his rage.

　I know that the reason they treat me differently is because our circumstances are different, but when they take such contrasting attitudes, I can't decide how to respond.

　Garfiel, glaring downwards with a bitter expression, ignored Subaru's inner confusion. He clicked his sharp canines and muttered softly, "This is bad..."

"Obviously, it seems you have no intention of letting us go."

　Subaru slides in next to him as he looks down at the shadows below, and timidly peers down as well.

　The sight made him let out a groan, "Ugh..." The Sanctuary had turned into a sea of ​​shadow, with most of it being consumed by pitch black, making it impossible to gauge distance or height.

　And yet even in the midst of all that, I could see an even darker black writhing within the black, swirling the shadows around it and moving towards me at a crawling speed.

　That person was the one who had earlier tried to engulf Subaru and the others in shadow, and was also the one who had filled the Sanctuary with a sea of ​​shadows. And his true identity was――,

"Garfiel, do you know what that is?"

"There's the part where you just conclude that it's terrible, the part where you think it's a possibility, and the part where you optimistically believe that there's no way that's the case. Which one are you going to go for?"

Subaru: "Whichever option you choose, I think they're all pretty close to the right answer. You're more calm than I thought you'd be in the face of that…"

　Subaru was about to say something when he saw Garfiel's profile and stopped short.

　To be honest, Subaru had mixed emotions about Garfiel having helped him, but he began to calmly sort out the situation.

　It was strange that Garfiel, who showed such discomfort at the witch's scent - in fact, Garfiel who had become so hostile when he had merely sensed the lingering scent of the witch on Subaru's body - had not lost his temper in the face of this source.

　That was why I had just said those words, but those words were erased when I saw his profile.

"Did you just say something?"

　Saying this, Garfiel looked down with bloodshot eyes, and it seemed as if his fangs were beginning to grow longer.

　Anger. Rage. Fury. Rage. Passion. How could you possibly call him calm when you saw the crimson swirl of emotion in his narrowed eyes?

　And at the same time, Subaru remembered there was something he needed to ask.

"--Garfiel. What happened to the others...Ram and the others?"

"..."

"By the time I left the tomb, the 'Sanctuary' had already sunk into shadow. You're alive and well here, but what about the others…?"

"...in the shadows."

　Subaru repeated the words, wanting them to be denied, but the answer he received was a cruel one.

　As Subaru held his breath, Garfiel cleared his throat in frustration, and,

Subaru: "By the time I noticed something was wrong, the ground had already turned into a sea of ​​shadows. If Ram hadn't blew me away with the wind, I would have been swallowed up as well."

"...So Ram was swallowed up? And Lewes-san and Otto too?"

"Yeah, that's right. The old hag and that annoying big bro, both at the same time."

　Seeing the mysterious waves of wriggling shadows below, Subaru was soon overcome with pessimistic thoughts about the chances of their survival after hearing the word "swallowed."

　There would be hope if it was the type that would trap anything it swallowed in a different dimension or something. But based on the sensations I got from actually interacting with it, that possibility seems far too optimistic.

"Wha, what was that, really, that... why did something like that happen all of a sudden...!"

　Elsa, the Great Rabbit, and Garfiel.

　Subaru came out prepared to face the threats that threatened the Sanctuary and the mansion. He was determined to face each and every obstacle with determination, sparing no effort to find the answer.

　That newly solidified resolve was swept away by something so incomprehensible.

　Why on earth has this suddenly emerged?

"Garfiel... Emilia, what happened?"

"――――"

"Emilia was nowhere to be found in the tomb. … Was she swallowed up as well?"

"――――"

　Emilia wakes up, notices something strange, and rushes out of the tomb.

　It was her. Seeing the Sanctuary sinking into shadow, there was no way she would sit back and do nothing. She would risk her life to save someone, and then...

"In the shadows...then he...!"

Subaru: "After Ram and the others were swallowed, he went into the Sanctuary and drank up everything in the shadows. I chased after him and kept attacking him, but he didn't even budge. Then he suddenly turned back, so I panicked and gave chase after him."

　It seems he came across the same scene from earlier.

　The shadow had wiped out the Sanctuary, but the moment it sensed Subaru leaving the tomb, it turned back. So, Subaru was the shadow's target after all.

　A shadow that consumes everything. A whisper of love. And this overwhelming power.

　It goes without saying what it really is. However,

"Why are you here...the Witch of Jealousy!!"

"This is not the time to be saying that."

　Beside Subaru, who had spat the words out in a choked voice, Garfiel stood on the roof with a belligerent smile on his face. Subaru stood next to him, carefully keeping his balance, and looked down at what Subaru was looking at as well, gritting his teeth.

　A huge amount of swirling shadows surrounded the building Subaru and his companions were using as their foothold.

　And as the vortex engulfed the building within its range of effect, it tore the building apart along with the earth it was on, and forcibly pulled it into the orbit of the whirlpool.

"Uh, ohhh――!"

　It felt like a huge tsunami or a massive flood sweeping away my whole house.

　It was a strange sensation to be hit by a shadow that shouldn't have mass, and as I experienced it, I managed to hold on so I didn't get thrown off the shaking roof.

　It's tolerable, but it's not a fundamental solution.

"Tch, he's flying again, catch him!"

"----!"

　They quickly grabbed hold of Garfiel's crouched body and escaped from the roof as he leapt. Their bodies were shot out at an angle like bullets, and they misjudged the distance and went straight into a group of trees, snapping many branches as they hit a thick trunk.

"Ugh――!"

　Garfiel's arm was thrust into the trunk, and he slammed into the brakes to avoid falling into the shadows. Subaru, clinging to his clothes, somehow managed to reach out and grab the branch, then shifted his body to maintain his position.

　And just as he managed to catch his breath, there was a loud noise behind him, as wood bent and shattered.

　Turning around in a panic, he saw the building that Subaru and his friends had been standing in being pulled into the center of the vortex and pulverized into tiny pieces.

　As the original shape of the building crumbled, the shadow vortex swallowed it and poured it into the main body of the shadow - the writhing shadow, further increasing its mass.

"――――"

　Witnessing the destruction and devastation, Subaru and Garfiel were rendered speechless.

　And in the brief silence that fell, the shadow's outline began to blur, and in the next moment - Subaru was certain that his eyes had met those of the shadow, whose entire figure was unclear.

"--i love you"

"Uh, ah..."

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you"

"――――"

"I love you I ...

　An immense amount of love, a visible, black, shadow-like love, threatening to drown me.

　The Witch of Jealousy draws closer, trying to make him drown in her love.