Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu web novel

　He sinks his fangs into the green tail that passes in front of him and frantically eats it apart.

　Purple bodily fluids splattered everywhere, and a tremendous amount of fresh blood soaked his face, but he didn't care. His left eye had already been covered in poisonous fluid and was already blocked.

　He roared to hide the burning pain and slammed his arm into the snake, killing it. He kicked the corpse and stepped back while keeping the front in check, then instantly leaned back in reaction to the chill that ran up his spine.

　The sinister looking blade was swept away, grazing the tip of his chin.

　Every bit of the beast's flesh that was on the diagonal line of the blade fell prey to the fang-like blade. Flesh was torn, fresh blood was spurting out, and the blade pierced and tore through the curtain of scattered organs, slamming both of its arms into the torso of the woman, revealing the scene of devastation.

"----!"

　She felt the right shield pierce her chest, and the left shield pierce her side, making the sound of bone and flesh crushing.

　The cries of beasts, screams, his own roars, sounds of impacts, and the grinding of steel against steel all mixed together in his ears, in front of him, above, below, left and right, making it impossible for him to properly perceive the world through sound alone.

　It doesn't matter. Only the world in front of me, reflected by my right eye, is real.

　The voluptuous woman's chest is twisted and dented, and the force of the blows that squeeze out her internal organs causes her to cough up blood. Her lips, already blood-colored, turn darker, and even in the midst of the excruciating pain that threatens her life, the pleasure on her face never fades.

　Or perhaps, rather than their fighting power or ability to continue fighting, it was their mentality that was the most troublesome thing.

"--Shh!"

"GAAAHH!!"

　A short exhale and a roar in response.

　The woman's left arm swung forward from behind, and a high-pitched sound echoed behind her. The slash bounced off the wall, ricocheted off the ceiling, hit the floor, and aimed for the back of her head.

"――――"

　He looked back and the option of avoiding it disappeared from his mind.

　The woman in front of me waved her left hand, tensed her right arm, and was ready to unleash a black blade with the fangs of a beast. If I dodged the blade behind me, the fatal blow on my right would slice through my head, or perhaps my throat.

　He tilted his body diagonally and forcibly removed his head from the path of the blade that was about to pierce the back of his head.

　A dull sound resounded from around his right shoulder blade, and he clicked his tongue as he felt the tip of the blade reflecting off the gap in the bone and biting into it - the blade sunk into the joint, and the movement of his right arm stopped for a moment.

"R, iii――!"

"Shhhhh!"

　The drawn blade was unleashed with such violence that even sound was drowned out.

　A blow from the blade, delivered without any restraint, is more like a frighteningly sharp blow, more like a blade than a slash.

　The force of the blow would have blown his head off if it had hit him directly, leaving no trace of its original shape—he quickly raised his left arm to interrupt the attack's trajectory, but his posture was poor and the damage to his right shoulder had not been completely negated.

　There was a momentary creak of metal being bitten by a beast, and the raised arm was easily knocked away.

　At the same time, the black blade, with a slight decrease in speed, advanced towards my head again, with enough force to blow half of my skull off in the blink of an eye.

　That,

"---!?"

　He kicked the dead body of the demon beast, wedging it between the side of his head and the blade.

　The feeling of a foreign object, like a vegetable with a hard skin on your cheek, and the poisonous fluid that causes a burn-like inflammation on the skin it touches. Even though you take the risk of being exposed to it, you pick up the benefit of avoiding fatal injury.

　The blade bites into the corpse of the demonic beast, and the force of the blow goes through the side of the face.

　From left to right, he was hit in the face and the impact made him spin around, he took one step, then two, mustering his willpower he pressed his foot on the floor and flew backwards.

　The 『Divine Protection of the Earth Spirit』 was activated, and the floor I stepped on exploded as if to fly away according to my intention.

　The force of the explosion sent his body flying backwards, and he pressed down on the woman, who had her back turned. The white blade the woman had swung was still stuck in his right shoulder.

"--!"

　The moment the blade made contact, the woman pulled back slightly.

　Even though he knew that it was Mine who was touching his body, his sudden movement caused him to over-judge.

　With his right shoulder still against the woman's body, he widened his stance and lowered his center of gravity.

　At that, the woman took a step back to put some distance between them, but at that moment a left arm reached out from a low trajectory and grabbed her face.

"-Partial beast transformation!"

　Immediately after she screamed, something changed in the left arm that was clutching the woman's face.

　His muscles swell and his left arm grows explosively - golden fur grows back in the blink of an eye, transforming it into the left arm of a beast as big as a log.

　Naturally, at the end of its arms were the blade-like claws characteristic of beasts;

"Ki, aaahh――!"

　The thick claws dug into the woman's face, causing her to recoil, blood spurting out.

　The wounds and pain were as if the five blades had been carved into her head from the outside to the inside. Even the woman stepped back, clutching her face, and screamed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Rua!!"

　A direct kick pierces his torso, sending him flying backwards.

　The force of the blow hitting the center of the torso was enough to further rupture and shatter the already shattered sternum and internal organs.

　The woman collapses, drops her weapon, coughs up bright red blood, and lets out a broken laugh.

　It was so unpleasant that I wanted to jump in to interrupt it, but

"Tch! One after the other!"

　As Garfiel tries to pursue him, the monsters rush in, weaving their way through the gaps in the offense and defense.

　Rats with black wings, rats whose bodies swell in proportion to their anger, Madarao dogs that had been gathered from throughout the mansion, and then the resurrected giant - the Rock Pig - stormed in.

　He cuts through the swarm of black-winged rats with his claws, steps into an expanding pouched rat and blows it away with a single blow, kicks the neck of the Madaraoh dog that is about to bite him, and then faces the charging Rock Pig head-on.

"Don't be crushed!!"

「How dare you, you idiot!!」

　A mass of several tons approaches with an explosive charging force.

　Rather than the striking force of an animal, it was a bullet with the mass equivalent of a building falling from the sky.

　Even Garfiel would not survive if he were to take it head on. He would not be able to withstand it for even a moment, and at best he would be blown away and crushed.

　but,

「That's why it's fun――」

　I planted both my feet firmly and released the 『Protection of the Earth Spirit』 to its fullest extent.

　The protection of the earth transmitted through the soles of your feet and the dynamism of your muscles as they swell.

　His golden eyes were dripping with a belligerent light, Garfiel bared his fangs, and laughed viciously, erupting the blood hidden inside him.

"--Whoooooaaa!!"

　The strangled roar was not a call out to the outside world, but rather a call within itself.

　The bloodline within him that he found difficult to accept and never liked ran throughout his entire body. He called out to that bloodline that usually lurks within him, feeling goosebumps on his skin and making his soul tremble.

　Just like the left arm that had ripped the woman's face, her right arm explodes in size.

　Starting from his arms, his shoulders, torso, neck, and head, his skeleton transforms with a sound, and Garfiel's face changes shape from that of a human to that of a wild feline beast - a great tiger.

　As his torso, waist and legs swelled, his clothes could no longer withstand the pressure from the inside and began to burst. He was wearing only scraps of cloth, and the shields equipped on both his arms were barely holding his swollen wrists in place like bracelets - in terms of his physique alone, a beast that was no match for the approaching rock pig appeared on the spot.

「――――!!」

　The floor creaks and a large cave-in occurs beneath my feet.

　The mansion's durability, which should have been solidly built, could not keep up with the two giant beasts. The giant's body, which could not fit into the hallway, pulverized the wall, and the decorations on the ceiling that rubbed against its back fell to the ground with a loud noise.

"--Wag Pig!!"

　The girl riding the beast's back lets out a high-pitched cry at Garfiel's transformation.

　The scream was like the name of a demonic beast. In response to the call of its master, the rock pig let out a roar that sounded like it would crush rocks, and leapt forward, opening its mouth filled with teeth like millstones.

　The demonic beast puts its weight on its hind legs and lifts its front legs, approaching, ready to crush its prey.

　The ferocious tiger, its golden eyes shining brilliantly, exploded its hind legs and intervened just before the stomp of its massive body collided, digging its claws into the thick, rock-like skin.

　The sound of the blade being slashed into the bedrock echoed, and the tiger's claws were torn off at the base. The blade could not penetrate the rock surface, and the giant beast's front paws slammed into the tiger, who had missed the first strike with the force of his charge.

　A stomp came from above, crushing both of the tiger's shoulders. His upper body was pressed to the floor, and the tiger's throat erupted in a scream as the merciless force of the force impacted it.

"Wag Pig, don't stop!!"

　Even as he heard the sounds of bones shattering and flesh being crushed, the beast's master did not let his guard down.

　Hearing the crying voice of its master, the Rock Pig roared and raised both of its front paws again, stomping on the big tiger's head for a second time.

　However,

「――――!!」

　If the claws are out of reach and the attack is blocked, the tiger has only one weapon to choose from.

　With its head raised and both shoulders crushed, the ferocious tiger uses its back muscles to pull itself up, lifts its front legs and bares its fangs at the pig, who has its belly exposed.

　Even if a magical beast's body is covered in rock-like skin, it's impossible for its entire body to be of the same hardness. Compared to the arms and back, there's no doubt that the areas known as weak spots have less protection.

　Therefore, the fierce tiger sunk its sharp fangs into the bare abdomen of the rock pig, which had its front legs raised.

"Rock Pig?!"

"--Grrrrr!!"

　The giant tiger's jaws are large enough to swallow a human whole, and it can fit nearly half of the boar's broad abdomen into its mouth.

　For a moment, the pig's skin resists the tiger's fangs, but just as the tip of a blade breaks through a fruit, the sharp tip of the blade breaks through the thin skin and easily penetrates it.

　The Iwabuta's scream intertwined with the momentum of the ferocious tiger, which had bitten into him, kicking the floor and spinning sideways.

　With its fangs still sunk, it turns around to tear the flesh of its prey - this is the predatory behaviour of a species of sub-dragon known as a water dragon that lives by rivers.

　If Natsuki Subaru had seen it, he would have judged it to be something akin to a death roll by a creature called a crocodile, which doesn't exist in this world.

　It slams its hind legs against the floor, gaining the power to rotate sideways and move forward while biting into the pig's torso.

　Inside the thick skin, the monster's massive body contained an enormous amount of internal organs and blood equal to its mass, which were mercilessly spilled out onto the mansion's corridor from the wounds caused by its fangs.

"----oh"

　With its eyes rolled up, the rock pig's body lets out a weak death throes and collapses.

　The fierce tiger spat out the bloody flesh of the pig it had torn apart, then kicked the giant with its hind legs, knocking it sideways. The girl, who had dismounted from the beast's back at the moment of the collision, was speechless, having witnessed the spectacular death of the beast she controlled.

"W-well... I can't believe it..."

　Stepping back, the girl glanced back at the rest of her men.

　Following her whistle, numerous magical beasts began to gather in the area one after another. However, they were small and medium-sized flocks, and there were no large magical beasts like the rock pigs.

"Oh! What the hell! Erza! Erza! Do something!"

"...How rude of you to treat people."

　Realizing that she was at a disadvantage, the girl called out the names of her companions while cursing the injustice of the situation. In response, a woman in jet black slowly crept out of the darkness.

　Her carved-out face has regenerated and she frets over her braids, which are soaked with fresh blood.

"You're really amazing, dear, how you can gouge out a woman's face without any hesitation."

"--Ahh! Aahh! Aahh!"

　The woman, covered in blood and laughing with a ferocious expression, made the great tiger, whose shoulders had been broken, roar in excitement.

　Shaking his huge body, he slammed his head against the fallen Rock Pig's body and began to vomit.

　The tiger continued to growl in pain, and gradually lost its bulk, its bloated body beginning to take on its original human form. After a few seconds, a half-naked boy stood up, shaking off the fallen golden hair.

"Ah... Shit, I'm back. My head hurts..."

"I see... so you're half beast. I thought you had a mean look in your eyes for a human."

"If that logic is valid, then my general isn't human either."

　Shaking his head, Garfiel checks the feel of his body returning to human form.

　As his skeleton returned to its human form, the bones of his shattered shoulders were reattached enough that he could still move them. However, every time he moved, a creaking pain ran through his body, and he could feel his thoughts going white-hot.

　It won't work perfectly for long.

　However, the same is likely true for the other party.

"I blew out the intestines of the demonic beast you were relying on on you for you. You can happily swim in that ocean of blood, you know?"

"I'll pass. Animal intestines are no substitute unless you're extremely hungry. Intestines are beautiful because they cut open a person's stomach."

"I don't understand that aesthetic."

　She stuck her pinky finger in her ear and scratched it roughly, letting her exasperation flow under her sigh.

　Before Garfiel's eyes, Elsa was at a huge disadvantage, yet she refused to budge.

　--Elsa's immortal constitution would last at most five times until it came to an end.

　Since making that decision, Garfiel has already dealt four fatal blows to his enemy. Five if you include the blow that dug a hole in his face. It's about time to see the limits of his regenerative power.

　In other words, Elsa's life reserves are practically exhausted. Garfiel is also injured, but he has no intention of falling behind in battle.

　With no hope of support from Meili's witchcraft, the situation was practically like they were holding blades to each other's throats――and yet, why was he acting so calmly?

"There's no special reason or anything. There's no need to be so scared."

　Seeing Garfiel furrow his brow in confusion, Elsa spoke as if soothing a child.

　Garfiel wrinkles his nose at those words and lets out a beastly growl.

　As if to conceal the slight confusion that had arisen in his heart, he had been seen through.

"Don't make fun of me. You idiot, don't talk like you can see right through me."

"I can tell when I watch. Cutting open someone's stomach means facing that person before their stomach was cut open. Your face, too, is a familiar face."

"――――"

"The face of someone who cannot comprehend a freak"

　Garfiel felt as if his throat was blocked and he was at a loss for words, so Elsa put her hand over her mouth and laughed. Smiling faintly, she tilted her head,

"That's fine. I don't expect anyone to understand me. My happiness is mine, and it comes at the expense of others' lives. To live is to trample on death."

"...If I listened to it seriously, I realized it would make me go crazy."

　He lifted both his arms, clashed his shields together, and gave up understanding.

　It's not like I have the luxury of being concerned about the other person's circumstances. The reason to be concerned about such whims is all but gone now.

"I'll listen to you anyway... but if you promise never to do anything bad again and run away, I won't let you off the hook."

"You're such a cute girl."

　The signal for the clash was when he laughed and shook off the last bit of mercy.

　The step explodes, sending Garfiel's body flying straight. The white blade intercepts it, swinging vertically, hitting the ceiling, hitting the floor, and the spinning blade bounces off of it as it approaches Garfiel.

　The thick white blade that Elsa was holding was made up of multiple overlapping blades. The blades were joined at both ends in a staggered pattern, and the undulating blade, like a snake's bones, leapt around the hallway in all directions.

　Up, down, the blades flying around like white light at speeds far faster than the naked eye can see, Garfiel gives up dodging by raising both shields to cover his head. A blade leaps from above and pierces the upper arm of his left arm, and he continues to advance, feeling the pain of his bone being smashed into pieces.

"I was born in Gusteko in the north, a very, very cold place."

　On the battlefield where fleeting attacks and defenses were unfolding, the song-like female voice somehow smoothly crept into Garfiel's eardrums.

　There was no way that a voice could be heard. In the heat of consciousness and the exchange of deadly blows, there was no room for such a voice to intrude.

　And yet, the woman's voice somehow slipped through Garfiel's consciousness.

"In a country where the gap between rich and poor is huge, it's not uncommon for children to be abandoned among the poor. I was one of those children, and by the time I was old enough to understand, I had no parents and was surviving by drinking muddy water."

"--Rrrrr!!"

"I somehow got by day by stealing things and threatening people, and the people around me were constantly changing. What was the point of my life? What was happiness?... I had no time to think about such things."

　He swung his fist and tried to blow Erza's face away.

　However, the large swing was avoided by a leaning movement, and the black blade was swung up from below, making a shallow diagonal cut into Garfiel's torso.

　Elsa licked her lips as the beast's fangs took her flesh and covered her in fresh blood.

"That day was particularly cold."

"Shut up! I'm not listening to you!!"

"The wind that blew in from the high mountains was strong and cold, and the whole town froze that day. In the extreme cold, even my breath froze, and I committed a theft, but the store owner caught me."

　Letting out a heated sigh, Elsa spoke with a fascinated look on her face.

　The swung blade of death gained momentum, and with Garfiel's left side unable to keep up, cuts began to pile up on his body.

"I was in an environment where I wouldn't have been able to complain even if I'd been killed, but I was a woman. I can still remember the look on that man's face as he laughed vulgarly and tried to tear my clothes off."

"Gah..."

"In the cold wind, they took off my jacket and my underwear... I was starting to think that I would freeze to death rather than what they were going to do to me, when I happened to pick up a shard of glass."

　As the long legs reached out, aiming for the side of Elsa's head, Garfiel shot them down with a deliberate headbutt. The impact reverberated through her brain, causing her to recoil, but the top of Elsa's foot must have been shattered as well.

　Elsa drew her foot back, but her expression remained unchanged from that of ecstasy.

"I didn't do it with any real thought. I just picked up a shard of glass, stabbed it into her stomach, which was pressing down on me, moved it, and sliced ​​it open."

"――――"

"I didn't hear the man's screams, nor did I feel any emotion at having taken someone's life. But as I stood in the cold wind, I thought,

　As Garfiel held his breath, Elsa laughed dreamily.

"Blood and guts are so warm--"

　The blade was raised, approaching Garfiel's skull to be smashed open. He slid sideways, kicked the wall, and circled around to Erza's back, unleashing a kick aimed at shattering her spine, but as Erza turned, the ridge of the blade struck him in the shin, deflecting his trajectory.

　The wall that was kicked to pieces spewed smoke, and Garfiel jumped back, clicking his tongue.

"If there is such thing as happiness in this world, it is the warmth and beauty that makes you forget the cold. It is the first tangible form of happiness I have ever found, after having nothing since being born. --You can't understand that, can you?"

"I don't want to."

"That's fine. I don't expect any sympathy from you."

"Then why did you tell me such a story? It's disgusting."

"I wonder why?"

　Elsa tilted her head in confusion at the hostile look on Garfiel's face.

　Then she narrowed her eyes lasciviously, seductively traced her lips with her red tongue,

"It's probably because I really love you."

"...Sorry, but there's a girl I've fallen in love with. I don't have time to date some crazy bitch."

"That's cold, isn't it? But it's alright. All I want is what's inside of you."

　It seems like we're on the same page, but we're not really on the same page at all.

　After his interactions with the woman up to this point, Garfiel finally understands this.

　There is no interest or sympathy for Elsa's life story.

　He had the potential to become like that, and after going through those experiences, he turned into this kind of monster.

　Garfiel's shield has already chosen what it must protect.

"--I'm going to kill you, Elsa Granhiert."

"For the first time since I killed you, I will love you. Garfiel Tinsel."

　Calling each other's names, the half-beast and the murderer unleash their violence.

　The white blade cuts through the darkness of the passageway in a flash of white light, and the drawn black blade is released to tear Garfiel's body vertically apart.

　The blades bounced around the edges of his vision, up, down, left and right. Garfiel once again gave up the option of dodging an attack he couldn't defend against. But if he couldn't parry it and his charging force was slashed, it would be a foolish move that would only lead to him making the same mistake twice.

"――――"

　A blade that cuts through sound and leaps down the passage.

　If you can't see the tip, you have no choice but to aim at the starting point.

　Stretching out his left arm, Garfiel throws the shield he had loosened.

　The blade had been loosened during the exchange, and when it was thrown, it hit Erza's left hand, eyes wide, head-on - there was the sound of it shattering, and she saw her fingers bend and drop the blade.

　The flying blade loses its controller, becomes stuck in the ceiling, and stops moving.

　A dark smile deepens, and a roar rises. The blade of death slashes down, killing the air, and slams into Garfiel's body as he moves straight ahead.

　He places his right arm directly above his head and takes a direct hit from the falling black blade.

　The shockwave pierces through the shield and shakes his head violently. His head becomes dizzy and he nearly falls forward, but he manages to keep himself up by stepping forward with his foot.

　He endured it - and immediately afterwards, the woman leapt up and crushed Garfiel's nose with her knee, as he looked down.

"Don't let your guard down thinking that you've defended against it."

　A chuckle was heard, and Elsa raised her leg to catch Garfiel as he leaned back.

　She raised the knee that had crushed Garfiel's nose high, and as she swung it down, the dull shine of a blade hidden in the heel of her shoe - the tip of the blade pierced Garfiel's throat,

"You're the one who overlooked my weapon---"

　The open mouth swallowed the heel, blade and all, biting into the slender leg.

　Erza's eyes widened as the blade was bitten through the bone up to her ankle.

"fault"

　Letting out a cry of surprise, Erza staggered and lost her balance, falling to a sitting position.

　Her right leg was crushed below the ankle and was no longer functional, and both of her arms were also crushed and useless from the recoil of her own attack. Using her left leg for support, Elsa looked at Garfiel from above his neck, the only part that was still intact, and

"--Ah."

　Taking a deep breath, Erza blushed like a girl in love.

　Her breath is so hot it's colored, and her wet eyes are filled with an indelible passion.

　--Right in front of Elsa, Garfiel lifted up the boulder's massive body and threw it away.

　Even though she knows that in the future she will be crushed by the parabolic mass bullet, Elsa doesn't take her eyes off Garfiel until the moment he is swallowed by the shadow.

　Breathing heavily, and baring his fangs, the blonde boy was filled with love――

"It's thrilling."

　The immense weight crushed the murderer, the vampire, and the gut hunter, utterly.

　The sound of flesh being crushed, fresh blood flowing out mixed with the beast's bodily fluids.

　Smelling the scent of death, Garfiel roars.

　A loud, booming roar echoed throughout the burning mansion.

　--The battle between Garfiel Tinsel, Shield of the Sanctuary, and Elsa Granhiert, the Intestine Hunter, has come to an end.