(A/N: Another edited chapter! After chap 25 or so the chaps have been proofreaded so editing is not required but for earlier chaps I am doing it alone! Throughout the Novels and Manga! I alone am the Editor!)
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(3rd Person POV)
Back at the starting point once again, Natsuki Subaru's face had gone ghostly pale. His entire body trembled slightly, and he could barely stop himself from vomiting on the spot.
'Why? Why? Why?! Why do I have to die again?!' his mind screamed in frustration, seething with unrestrained anger.
The thought lingered—should he have just let Emilia die and escaped? Would that have been easier? Was trying to help even worth it?
This time, his death had been far worse than the first.
Not because it was more gruesome—but because his consciousness had lasted longer, and that only made the pain stretch on. Every second felt like a minute. Every moment was hell.
Nothing, he realized, nothing was more torturous than a slow death.
A quick death was a blessing. A luxury he had been denied.
Taking several deep breaths, Subaru forced himself to calm down. He couldn't afford to panic again.
'If I follow the exact same actions from the last loop, I'll just die the same way again.' That much was clear.
He had to break the cycle. He needed a variable.
There was only one person in this world, right now, who could tip the scale in his favor.
Reinhardt.
The Sword Saint. The chosen one. The walking cheat code. Od Laguna's sugar child.
Subaru didn't care about pride or appearances anymore. He didn't care about looking weak.
Reinhardt was his only real option.
Whether Emilia lived or died in this loop no longer mattered as much as securing Reinhardt's help. That was Subaru's top priority now, he had failed two times before, but not this time, he needed some progress.
He made up his mind.
He immediately headed back to the same alley where he had first appeared. His reasoning was simple: in the original timeline, Reinhardt had shown up there eventually.
If luck existed, maybe it would smile on him this time too.
As he stepped into the narrow alley, the familiar voices rang out:
"Oh boys! Look what we've got! Fresh prey!"
Subaru sighed. Again? Of course, the same damn thugs. Without missing a beat, he shouted:
"REINHARDT! HELP ME!"
The three thieves instantly froze in place.
Their playful cruelty vanished. They stiffened, though not recognizing the name, and looked around nervously.
Two seconds passed.
Three seconds.
Four…
Five.
Nothing happened.
No divine entrance.
No Sword Saint descending from the rooftops.
No help.
Subaru's face turned bright red with sheer rage.
'Did Reinhardt lose all his Divine Protections or something?! Where the hell is he?!'
One of the thugs snarled.
"Trying to bluff your way out of this? Not gonna work!" he barked before lunging forward, brandishing two short knives.
But Subaru wasn't the same helpless victim from last time.
In one swift motion, he sidestepped the attack, ducked low, and kicked the man's legs out from under him.
The thug hit the ground with a grunt of pain.
"Let's get him!" shouted one of the others.
The remaining two attacked in tandem, but seconds later, they were the ones on the ground, groaning and clutching their ribs.
Subaru confiscated their weapons, tossing them aside with precision.
He blinked.
'Wait a second… Was that me? Did I actually just do that?!'
A strange realization dawned on him.
He was faster. Stronger. More alert. He could feel it.
As he focused, it was like time slowed down just a little—not dramatically, but enough for him to react faster than he should've.
His vision was clearer. His hearing sharper. Even his sense of smell was heightened. When he focused hard enough, he could even detect the distant scent of smoke from some food stall nearby.
Everything—his body, his mind, his senses—was noticeably better.
'This… is a cheat. Another cheat. But I'm supposed to only have Return by Death… So where is this coming from?'
Then it clicked.
'Wait. If Natsuki Subaru has Return by Death… then this second ability… could it be from Ayan Ghosh?'
It hit him like a lightning bolt.
Whether Ayan Ghosh was a past life of Subaru's, or if their souls had merged into a new, single being, wasn't clear. But it had to be related.
He couldn't explain how it happened, or why. But considering how insane this world already was, nothing seemed far-fetched anymore.
Some force had brought him here. Whatever that force was, maybe it didn't just give him one cheat—but two.
And like any good isekai protagonist, he had to check.
"System?" he muttered aloud.
Silence.
Nothing popped up.
He tried thinking it.
'System. Golden finger. Aladdin's lamp. Gamer Interface. Status screen?'
Still nothing.
'Damn. No system, huh?'
He sighed and shook his head.
So far, based on everything that had happened, he could draw only one conclusion:
"I get stronger every time I die."
His body and abilities improved with each death—his senses, speed, strength, possibly more.
The exact limits of this strange power were unknown.
He had no idea how much stronger he could get, or if there was a cap. He also didn't know whether the upgrades were permanent or if they'd fade later.
Too many unknowns.
But one thing was certain.
It still wasn't enough.
He might've defeated a few street thugs—but against Elsa?
He didn't stand a chance. Not yet.
"It doesn't matter right now. I still can't defeat her. I need to focus on finding Reinhardt. He's my only ticket out of this mess."
Subaru got to work immediately.
He asked around. Questioned bystanders. Described Reinhardt's appearance. Searched the area.
But every answer he got was more frustrating than the last:
"Don't know."
"Why do you think I'd know this 'Reinhardt' guy?"
"Never seen anyone like that before."
When Subaru decided to be more specific and started asking people about "Reinhardt, the Sword Saint," the reaction he got wasn't what he had hoped for.
Most people gave him strange, almost pitying looks, like he was a lunatic or a complete idiot. One man even snapped at him with a glare:
"Fuck off!"
Subaru clenched his jaw in frustration.
"Damn it! I don't get it! Where the hell is Reinhardt?!" he growled, anger bubbling up inside him.
And then a thought hit him—one that chilled him to the bone.
"Don't tell me... he's out of the Capital?"
His expression changed instantly. Fear crept into his heart.
'If Reinhardt's not in the Capital… then what the hell am I supposed to do?'
'How the fuck am I going to beat Elsa now?'
He knew the stakes too well. If he didn't stop Elsa, she was going to kill Emilia again—and this time, Puck wouldn't hold back. He had already seen what Puck was capable of when he lost control on screen and had no curiosity to see it live.
And if that happened again… everyone would die.
Subaru's hands trembled. His thoughts raced. He tried to piece together anything that could change the outcome.
Then a sudden idea crossed his mind—one so reckless and dangerous it made him hesitate.
"Can I kill her?" he asked himself aloud.
It sounded stupid even to his own ears.
But still… he had gotten stronger. He could feel it.
Thinking back now, he clearly remembered being significantly stronger after his second death compared to when he first arrived and got jumped by the thugs. Each time he died, it wasn't just trauma he gained—he was evolving. Physically, mentally. Little by little.
His mouth went dry. He stared up at the evening sky, the sun dipping low on the horizon, casting a crimson hue across the city.
"I don't have much time…" he muttered, forcing himself to stand tall. "Let's see if I can actually do something this time."
Without wasting another second, Subaru sprinted toward Old Man Rom's hideout.
But fate wasn't kind to him.
Because he had wasted so much time searching for Reinhardt, he had arrived too late.
His heart sank the moment he saw the scene.
Three bodies—Felt, Old Man Rom, and another—Emilia's lay sprawled out on the ground in a pool of blood.
And standing there, unfazed and terrifying as ever, was Elsa Granhiert—the Bowel Hunter.
She turned to look at him with a slight smile and tilted her head.
"You've seen this... so now I have to kill you too."
Without warning, she charged at him.
Subaru reacted on instinct, narrowly dodging her first strike. The speed surprised even her.
He managed to land a solid kick to her midsection, making her stumble slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make her eyes widen with slight amusement.
"Oh?" she purred.
But in the very next second, her blade flashed.
Subaru barely had time to blink before a sharp pain exploded in his leg.
He looked down, and horror overtook him.
His leg was gone.
"AGHHHHHHHH!!!!" he screamed in agony as he collapsed, blood gushing from the torn limb. Pain like he had never felt before ripped through his body.
"Fufu… what a delightful scream," Elsa said with a twisted smile. "I wonder… what color your guts are."
She approached him slowly, every step deliberate, every movement dripping with sadistic pleasure.
Subaru tried to crawl back, but the pain was too much. His vision blurred from the blood loss, and he could barely speak through the agony.
"P-Please… someone… anyone—"
His voice was cut off.
Quite literally.
With a single motion, Elsa slashed his throat open.
And then, she plunged her blade into his stomach, ripping him open with terrifying precision.
Subaru couldn't even scream anymore.
'It hurts… it hurts so much… please… someone… save me…' he cried out silently in his mind, tears slipping down his face as his body convulsed.
Elsa licked her lips, savoring every second of his suffering. A euphoric expression overtook her face as she watched him fade away.
Slowly… life left his eyes.
His body stopped twitching.
His final thought wasn't about himself.
It was about failure.
And about how, once again… he wasn't enough.
Natsuki Subaru has died for the third time. (*8)
To be continued...