Arc 5, Chapter 50 – “The Shackles of Love”

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Translated By:

• Nanashi-tan
• Ice (/u/Ice_Occultism)

Contributions By:

• Furuta (/u/GracedHarperd)

Proofread By:

• Fr
• Ice
• SSCaide
• Phantaminum

Art Source:

• ZeynepOzelAlt

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ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO STARTING A LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISH

JAPANESE WEB NOVEL SOURCE

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——When the aurora faded and Subaru’s vision returned to him, the state of the cathedral had completely changed.

Subaru: [Though I know I’ve said this before…]

Witnessing that scene with his own eyes, Subaru took a soft breath.

In order to avoid inhaling the scattered dust particles and wood chips, he covered his mouth with his sleeve. Standing inside the church, now exposed to the air outside, bathed in the evening breeze, Subaru stomped on the floor and jabbed a finger at the man in front of him.

Subaru: [Sure enough, this guy’s a damn monster!]

Reinhard: [Though I have said this before, how depressing. Even my heart would be hurt by such words.]

Subaru: [Is this really an occasion to complain about heartache!? Your physical wounds are obviously the bigger issue here! The hell do you think this is!?]

In the face of Reinhard’s apparent aberrance, Subaru could not help but frustratedly bury his face in his hands.

Reinhard returned him a wry smile, as the sword of ice in his right hand shattered and dissipated. Although it had only been swung once, being able to withstand the Sword Saint’s might indicated that its durability was deserving of praise.

The one who had made that sword, Emilia, was currently being embraced by Reinhard’s left arm.

In that instant, he had freed Emilia’s neck from Regulus’s grasp, keeping her safe. As a result, Regulus was the only one who had suffered that bombardment.

Aside from that initial blow, everything seemed to have worked out——

Subaru: [On that note, what a close call we had. Hey, are you okay?]

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [————]

The object of his concern was the woman he had yanked out of danger, just as Reinhard had, before chaos had fallen. Although the golden-haired woman was rather beautiful, her empty eyes and expressionless face gave off a foreboding air.

Sure enough, the shock of the situation had gotten to her, was Subaru’s thought, and so he met the eyes of the woman as she sat.

Subaru: [Sorry if we surprised you, but in order to take advantage of his weaknesses, we didn’t really have any other choice. If you’re hurt anywhere, tell us and we can help fix you up.]

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [————]

Although Subaru called out to her, she still gave no reaction.

Although this situation was worrying indeed, he could not worry about just her and her alone. Leaving the woman sitting still on the spot, he strode toward the altar—— Or, rather, where the altar had once stood.

This place, which strongly resembled what Subaru knew as a church, had been completely desecrated by Reinhard.

The front of the building—— where the altar and the corridor leading to a side room had been located, had all been demolished in the wake of the supernova. All that had barely survived were the very edges and the back of the building. Fortunately, due to the protection of Emilia’s wall of ice, the seated women had remained untouched.

Subaru ran where Emilia and Reinhard were standing near the crumbling altar. Stepping out of Reinhard’s arms, Emilia immediately gave a pained cough.

Subaru: [Emilia-tan, are you okay?]

Emilia: [——Coughcough… Ah, I’m fine. It’s just that my throat feels itchy…]

Subaru: [How are you? Did anything strange happen? Did that creep lick your face or anything? And this wedding dress is spectacular… Did he put it on you? Damn, that fucker, I won’t let him go. But this dress truly is amazing. No matter what you wear, you look cute, Emilia-tan.]

Emilia: [Subaru, calm down a bit. I can’t quite figure out what you want to say.]

Faced with the frantically concerned Subaru, Emilia retreated gently.

Looking at his distressed appearance as he carefully ascertained that she was safe and sound, Emilia sighed with a smile.

Emilia: [Right, thank you for coming to save me. I knew all along that you’d come.]

Subaru: [I also knew that Emilia-tan’d believe in me and wait for rescue. But if I’d crashed the wedding even a little later, who knows what could’ve…]

Emilia: [It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t have married him. If I were to marry, it would have to be someone I like.]

Subaru: [That, that’s great! Really reassuring. Then, this person you like…]

Emilia: [Ah! Reinhard! Your injury, how is it!?]

Just as Subaru prepared to go on an offensive strike, Emilia caught sight of Reinhard and cried out at him. Seeing Emilia’s interest in Reinhard where it mattered, Subaru paused and scowled.

Reinhard, who had saved Emilia—— unexpectedly, he had sustained quite the heavy injury.

The front of the white clothes had been almost exaggeratedly torn and stained entirely with red. Witnessing this explosive scene, Emilia sucked in a cold breath.

Subaru: [Ack, how brutal! Are you sure this is fine!?]

Emilia: [Yes, what a grievous wound! Let me take a look, I’ll heal you!]

Reinhard: [Thank you. But do not worry about it. The wound has begun to heal.]

Responding to the fretting, flustered pair with a smile, Reinhard wiped at the blood with his own white sleeves. And on his clean chest, the traces of the injury were indeed disappearing. In moments the wound was completely gone, leaving only Reinhard’s pristine skin.

Subaru: [The wound’s… vanished… Hey, what happened just now? You hid it even from me. Did you sneakily hide some blood packets on your person or something?]

Reinhard: [And by ‘just now’, you mean…]

Subaru: [Stop putting on airs, or are you being for real right now…? Just now with Regulus’s hostage situation, I didn’t know how you planned to deal with it, so I just watched silently. But how did you survive? Ah, just tell me already!]

Reinhard: [Let me put it this way, watching silently was a huge help. Thanks for taking care not to set him off.]

Even faced with Subaru’s impatience, Reinhard responded in an even tone. Thinking that he was just trying to maintain a lighter atmosphere, Subaru sighed.

Subaru: [I just thought that since it’s you, there must have been some trick up your sleeve. But seeing you fall in that shower of blood had me thinking you really were dead, how terrifying…]

Reinhard: [Even so, you reacted in time. I am very happy you had such faith in me.]

Subaru: [Who told you to give this dramatic speech on shortcomings and whatnot?]

He lightly knocked Reinhard’s shoulders, responding to that guilelessness with coarse words. Listening to their conversation, Emilia’s eyes widened with surprise.

Emilia: [Only with those words, you worked that entire scheme out?]

Subaru: [Emilia-tan, you passed Reinhard the ice sword to Reinhard too, didn’t you?]

Reinhard: [That really was a huge help. Not having a weapon on hand and having to strike his body directly was an uneasy notion, for some reason. But I am glad that it worked out.]

Subaru: [Yep, it ended with half the building collapsing. Please take responsibility for that. Well, this also counts as a survival flag.]

Having had numerous encounter with Elsa in the past, Subaru could not be too optimistic. Now, while talking like this, his Regulus alarm was not slacking around.

Subaru: [So, Reinhard, the correct answer to the mystery of that scene is…? Did you use an avatar? It could not be some kind of cloning technique. Please don’t tell me that in addition to being a Knight, you’re a Ninja as well.]

Reinhard: [Although I do not know what an Ninja is, I am sure it is not such a huge mystery. This Divine Protection of the Phoenix is just a blessing that can be used to revive the dead. So, your observation that I looked like I was dead was correct, I was just a little bit dead.]

Subaru: [Just a little bit dead, my ass! Did that mess you up, or are you just an idiot?]

Being met with such an unexpected answer sent Subaru into another frenzy.

Dying under the Divine Protection of the Phoenix or whatnot, wasn’t that just making a mockery of death? Those were words better left unsaid to Subaru—— Or, rather, perhaps it was better to say that only Subaru could speak like that.

Subaru: [What are you doing, stealing my niche and all that…]

Reinhard: [——? My apologies, but at the time, I felt that it was the most effective way to deal with the Sin Archbishop. And it did in fact work rather smoothly. Ah, but, if possible, I would prefer to avoid dying again.]

Emilia: [Dying in order to save only me, I can’t help but feel guilty…]

Subaru: [——Guh.]

Emilia: [Subaru? What’s with that painful expression?]

Struck by the force of her reply, the psychological burden of those words was quite something. Moreover, it seems that this dialogue could continue no further.

Reinhard: [——Subaru.]

Subaru: [Understood.]

Narrowing his blue eyes, Reinhard called for Subaru. The latter raised his head at the call, and Emilia glanced towards the place Reinhard was looking.

——The predator, emitting an ominous aura, filled their line of sight.

He stood atop the collapsed remains of the church, overlooking the other three. White hair, white clothes, and a blank expression; this predator, made of white, snorted and spoke,

Regulus: [Leaving me out, and just bantering and laughing in a place like this. Speaking of which, how can you stand to maintain an air of normalcy, isn’t that too inhumane? Unless, you felt like you’ve just stepped on an ant or something? Is blowing me away no different from stepping on a bug? What’s up with that!?]

As he fanned the flames of his own exaggerated outrage, Regulus leapt from the smoldering wreckage to the remains of the cathedral. As he landed, he straightened out the coat of his white suit, brushed at the sleeves of his shirt, and readjusted the legs of his matching trousers, before turning his narrowed gaze upon them.

His body was unchanged from Reinhard’s blow. Whether injury or filthiness, neither showed even a trace on his form.

Reinhard: [I see. As I had heard from Subaru, you truly are a strange opponent.]

Emilia: [Just now, the Sin Archbishop that had you mentioned, Subaru… he’s the one?]

Regarding him, Reinhard and Emilia each offered their own input. Hearing this, Regulus turned a spiteful glare upon Emilia.

Regulus: [Ah, that’s right. I’m a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Greed, Regulus Corneas… Speaking of which, you tried to go through a wedding ceremony without knowing even the identity of the one you’re marrying. This is a problem that precedes not having an awareness of being a wife. Impudent, immoral, incompetent! Really, your deficiency as a woman knows no bounds, honestly!]

Emilia: [Incompetent and whatnot, you didn’t tell me anything at all. Impudent and immoral are also groundless. And you’re from the Witch Cult… Witch Cult, Witch Cult…]

Faced with the resentfully cursing Regulus, Emilia was about to refute his points before she suddenly sank into silence. Her hand on her head, Emilia’s eyebrows lifted as if she were thinking hard.

Emilia: [A Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult… You, have you met me before?]

Regulus: [Huh? How would I know? Although, right now, if you were to say that our meeting was fate, that would just be a ridiculous farce. Such a face of rare sweetness, but in spirit you’re such a degenerate woman who cheats on her man in her mind, how endlessly infuriating… Uwah!]

Subaru: [The hell are you rambling on about aimlessly, you moron?]

Aiming at the face of Regulus, endlessly-ranting, Subaru flicked his whip. Under that impact, Regulus’s face snapped to the side, and he snarled with fury.

Unsurprisingly, his face bore no trace of the blow.

Subaru: [At this point, for real, if we can’t solve the mystery of his invincibility, we won’t be able to win this…]

Reinhard: [Whether at close range or from afar, every attack is negated. Even Emilia-sama’s magic does nothing to stop him. There has to be some kind of trick to defeating him… Subaru, watch out for yourself, alright?]

Subaru: [Why does it sound like you’re saying something messed up…!?]

Reinhard patted that confused Subaru’s shoulder briefly—— Then, he vanished.

In the next moment, Reinhard slammed directly into the predator’s torso, sending him sprawling backward.

Regulus: [Huh, ah——!?]

With a cry, Regulus, who had had no time to brace himself, flew backward and slammed into a mountain of debris, causing it to collapse further and disintegrate.

Reinhard: [His opponent will be me. Hopefully you can solve the mystery of his invincibility as quickly as you can. I shall buy time for you.]

Subaru: [Right, buying time’s nice and all… But wouldn’t it be better to just defeat him in one fell swoop?]

Reinhard: [If I could, I would have done so already. Take these women to safety. If they remain here, they will be dragged into the battlefield.]

Emilia: [Wait, Reinhard. Although you might not be able to use it a lot, take this.]

Calling out to stop Reinhard in his tracks was Emilia, holding a sword of ice, freshly shaped by magic.

Emilia: [I’ve been concentrating reaaally hard to make this, so it should be a little more durable than the last one.]

Reinhard: [My thanks are inexpressible.]

Accepting her proffered blade, Reinhard offered her his ceremonious gratitude in return.

Then he turned and leapt away from the ruins of the church, following Regulus. In a single step, he vanished from Subaru’s field of vision, crossing an impossible distance. Immediately following his disappearance, a shock wave slammed into Subaru’s skin.

As he bathed in this feeling, he turned to look at Emilia.

Subaru: [Emilia-tan! So they avoid getting caught up in Reinhard’s battle, for the time being, please help get these women somewhere safe. They all have to leave… speaking of which, are they all Regulus’s wives?]

Both now and before, the uniformity of the women trapped in the wall of ice felt unnatural.

Did their status as Regulus’s wives make all of them members of the Witch Cult? At a glance, there were more or less fifty of them. If they attacked as one, how could Subaru handle them without Beatrice’s help? Only now had he begun to worry.

However, Emilia shook her head, denying Subaru’s anxiety.

Emilia: [It’s fine. Although they’re his wives, I think most of them are only here through force and coercion. So don’t worry.]

Subaru: [Yeah, that’s alright then. If they were a threat, Reinhard wouldn’t have overlooked… Gah, watch out! Just now, flying missiles have started attacking us! How dangerous!]

Outside the cathedral, Reinhard and Regulus had engaged in a battle that resided far beyond the limits of humanity. The wreckage and stone fragments, swept away by various impacts, flew with the momentum of a bullet. If he were to be struck by one, there was no guarantee that he would stay intact.

Although Reinhard had an overwhelming advantage when it came to offense, as long as the nature of Regulus’s Authority remained a mystery, that advantage would amount to naught. Subaru needed to come up with a countermeasure before the villain changed aims——

Emilia: [Hey, are you okay? You’re not injured anywhere, are you?]

During his moment of reflection, Emilia had started shaking the blonde woman by the shoulders.

That was the same woman Subaru had rescued earlier using his whip. Based on her position in front of the altar, she seemed to have a unique status among the others. However, her expression was just as blank, bearing not even the faintest trace of emotion.

Looking up at Emilia, the woman shook her head slowly.

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [I… We must stay here. If you want to escape, please take care.]

Emilia: [Stay, why? Are your legs injured? Then I’ll heal you right away. Just this wall of ice isn’t enough to keep you all safe. We have to leave soon!]

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [Please allow me to refuse. Only you can leave this place.]

Emilia: [Why!? You’ll be caught in the battle if you stay here! Regulus will attack anything he wants to, regardless of your presence. Please, hurry and come with us…]

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [——Husband-sama did not instruct us to leave.]

Emilia’s desperate persuasion was interrupted by the woman’s cold voice, conveying her feelings, equally devoid of warmth. Her cold, frozen gaze met Emilia’s own amethyst eyes.

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [Not listening to Husband-sama will make him angry. If that happens, there will be only one possible result.]

Emilia: [That’s… not…]

Subaru shared Emilia’s exasperation.

To call the woman determined would be wrong, for she had no selfhood. To call the woman unwavering would be wrong, for she had no resolve. Her speech and attitude spoke of a resignation that had long become inescapable.

She—— or rather, they, had given up long ago.

Those hearts, shattered by Regulus, could no longer consider anything other than him. This was a cursed brutality which no longer required words or actions.

Subaru: [Regulus’s opponent is the Sword Saint Reinhard. I know you’re terrified of Regulus, but Reinhard’s not going to have any issue killing him. So, don’t stay here. There’s no need to endanger your lives.]

Number one hundred and eighty-four: [It does not matter who the opponent is. Sword Saint? Please, do not make me laugh. How could anyone match Husband-sama… match Regulus Corneas?]

The woman dismissed Subaru’s reassurances with naught but contempt.

That was the first time she had shown any sort of genuine emotion. The scornful dismissal of an adult, looking down upon a child’s ignorant delusion.

——Only then, did Subaru understand the true nature of this distorted relationship.

The wives of Regulus Corneas had absolute faith in their husband’s strength. The shackles of a curse that no one and no thing could remove, that unwavering trust. Even the knowledge that his opponent was the Sword Saint Reinhard did nothing.

The unparalleled, overwhelming power Regulus possessed held complete dominion over the hearts of his wives.

The wife trusted her husband, and the husband maintained a firm grip on his wife’s heart. In a sense, it was the ideal state of a relationship. But that serene surface gave way to permanent distortions of the deeper aspects.

Subaru: [Damnit…]

Subaru came to the painful realization that mere words would not move them.

The women before him all unanimously believed this; the lack of dissent and dead silence only served to prove so. To force them to leave would take nothing less thorough than knocking all of them out and moving them one-by-one, but they could not afford to undertake those actions.

Subaru: [——Reinhard! Change of plans! Execute Operation S!]

Dispelling the idea of persuading the women, Subaru climbed atop the collapsed altar and called out to Reinhard, who was currently defying the law of gravity as he dashed across the side of a building, in the streets of the city where night had begun to fall. He flicked his eyes to the side, towards Subaru.

Reinhard: 9Doing Operation S first? Subaru, have you ensured the women’s safety?0

Subaru: [——!? The hell!? Where’s this sound coming from!?]

Reinhard: [This is the Divine Protection of Telepathy, which can spread my voice to allies within a certain range.]

Subaru: [Could you stop being so superhuman!?]

To Subaru, who could not conceal the shivers it provoked in him, Reinhard’s behavior seemed beyond human understanding.

Running and kicking off from a wall, Reinhard flew into the air and spun rapidly. The instant before he landed, he allowed his clothing to spread, slowing down his momentum, and swung his slender legs to send a blade of wind slicing towards the ground.

Sweeping up both dust and bricks from the pavement, the wave slammed directly into the predator waiting at its destination—— Regulus’s figure, unable to stay standing, was blown away again.

Subaru: [That murder circus just now, what was it?]

Reinhard: [He attacks by throwing stones or sand. There is no gap of safety between the particles being scattered around, so I have to pass between them.]

Subaru: [To me, that sounds more like dodging rain—— More importantly, move the battlefield! Those women won’t move! They’re so terrified of Regulus, they don’t dare to!]

Reinhard: [I see, understood—— Then, allow me to try.]

Lowering his voice, Reinhard approached Regulus with a light jump.

Climbing to his feet once again, Regulus stomped on the ground, sending pieces of wood and grains of sand flying. However, with the most minimum of movements, Reinhard evaded and drew Emilia’s ice sword, using it to send Regulus’s body flying to the skies above once more.

The screaming of the villain and the crisp sound of the shattering ice blade overlapped.

Emilia: [Subaru! Wait, what are you planning to do?]

Subaru: [Lead that bastard away from here… Wow, Emilia-tan is bold.]

Emilia: [This dress is pretty, but really inconvenient…]

Standing in Subaru’s line of sight was Emilia, who had yanked away part of her dress.

The restrictive parts of the white wedding dress had been daringly torn open, revealing more of Emilia’s white thighs than should have been visible in an enticing sight. However, the difficulty of moving in that clothing had been lowered.

Emilia: [It doesn’t matter! Anyway, what do you want Reinhard to do?]

Subaru: [A plan we thought of before the battle, since we don’t know what the true extent of Regulus’s Authority is—— We’ll have to test possible weaknesses one by one.]

Emilia nodded as Subaru retrieved Reinhard’s beloved sword from one corner of the cathedral. Then, he and Emilia rushed straight towards Reinhard’s battlefield.

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Regulus: [Gah! Bastard, quit jumping up and down!]

Cursing loudly, Regulus waved both his arms up and down. His target was Reinhard, who zigzagged rapidly back and forth, and his weapon was the plentiful gravel laying about.

Normally, bits of gravel could only serve to blind an opponent and the character of those who used it as a weapon was unworthy of praise—— but if Regulus were the wielder, the power of this despicable tactic would skyrocket.

Buildings began to crumble where the gravel came into contact with them, and the surrounding scenery fell into ruination.

Reinhard: [——Tch.]

Watching the cataclysmic destruction unfolding in front of him, Reinhard launched into a dramatic evasion.

He lowered his body as if he were planning to drop into a crawl and sped into motion. Contrary to his seemingly unsightly appearance, he was moving so fast that he had ventured beyond the reach of ordinary people.

And thus, Regulus, who was no different from an ordinary person, had no way of catching up to Reinhard.

Regulus: [Damn… Hey! Where’d you run off to, looking like a bug!?]

Faced with the thread of losing his target, Regulus attacked all directions indiscriminately.

The rising of goosebumps on skin was a sure sign that whatever was approaching would be terribly dangerous—— a survival instinct everyone was born with, warning against enemies close at hand.

In actuality, that had little to do with the presence of a clear threat. Any living creature was susceptible to this feeling. Regulus was no exception; the tingling of his nerves, all throughout his body, tipped him off that something was wrong.

——Only, this incredible threat was approaching from all directions, an oppressive ring of menace.

Regulus: [You bastard, what in the world areeee——!?]

Reinhard: [I am but a Knight to Felt-sama, a Royal Candidate. Please also be sure to give her all your support.]

Regulus: [——!?]

A voice so steady, that might or might not have been a joke.

The shocked Regulus took a sharp impact on his head—— perhaps it was smashed by steel. The weapon had been bent completely out of shape, and a squeaking sound indicated that it had been cast aside.

Humiliated, Regulus glared at the ground as he bit his lip. With crisp footwork that prevented ease of attack, Reinhard assumed his stance.

The offensive and defensive abilities of both the Sword Saint and Greed, their superiority were clear to both parties in the confrontation.

Exerting conventional combat power, the strength of Reinhard, which could toy with even the deadliest of Sin Archbishops, could not be said to be of this world. But even so——

Regulus: [The one to win will be me, can’t you understand? Although I have no clue how well you’ve been doing with this violent power that can only think of oppressing others, you, whose happiness is built upon the sacrifice of others, will be stopped here! With this power, how many people’s lives have you trampled upon? That greed really is despicable.]

Reinhard: [——That really is distressing to hear. It is true that, because of me, some have lost sight of their happiness. Without question, the reason why I do what I do is none other than for the sake of atonement.]

In the face of Regulus’s ridiculous rhetoric, Reinhard’s eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing the Sword Saint’s responsive movement, Regulus widened his own.

Regulus: [The hell is this? Some kind of ‘you don’t need to say it because I already know’ ploy? “I’m aware of my own sins. I’m aware so I’m trying to fix my bad qualities, I tell you”, so it’s an attempt to let it all be water under the bridge? Jokes can only go so far. No one’s holding any expectations to what you’ll do in the future. All that matters is what you’ve done in the past. Your feet were trampling the ground, where someone licked your soles. To such a person, whether you help tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of people, it’s all meaningless. Sinner, just die. You, able only to beg of others, stop pretending to be a good person already.]

Reinhard: [I really do get the feeling of being shown a mirror when talking to you. This must be the reason why Subaru told me to avoid seriously lending an ear to you.]

Regulus: [Speaking of which… that guy over there, is that this Subaru? The rapist bastard who snatched my bride from me… Even if she ended up being a dirty whore, his transgression can never be forgiven. To those who try to take what belongs to others, due punishment is—— Wha!?]

Halfway through his tirade, Regulus’s world suddenly spun upside down.

At that moment, Reinhard had dropped his stance and grabbed Regulus’s left ankle, spinning him around. A rotating field of violent destruction, Regulus’s back hit a wall.

Under that impact, a shower of dust scattered as Regulus’s body, still being spun around by his momentum, crashed through and collapsed a building.

Reinhard: [Although direct contact with you feels rather dangerous, I’ll try to get it over with as soon as possible.]

Regulus: [What, are you doing this so you can call him a friend? What a nauseating fake show of hypocrisy… Your debased self naturally has no decent friends. With someone known as a rapist, sharing a friendship is——]

Reinhard: [Dealing with you really is unbearable—— doubly so when you slander my friends.]

The wind suddenly wrapped around their bodies, and the sense of rapid rising followed closely.

If you were to take a glimpse, the figures of the two would be suspended in the midst of the night sky, and right next to them, the full moon shone brightly. At that place, where the light of the moon lay within reach, Regulus clicked his tongue.

Regulus: [So, it’s not a matter of strength at all—— Dropping me from such a height will end this, you can’t be truly naive enough to believe that. Are you playing me for a fool?]

Reinhard: [Indeed, I could try slamming you down with force and lodging you in the earth… but you will have to deal with something else.]

Regulus: [What are you…]

In midair, without any foothold, Reinhard alternated between drifting up and down by shifting his body slightly. Regulus, still being gripped by his foot, was subjected to centrifugal force and, still being swung by Reinhard, his eyes widened as he glanced downward.

Regulus: [No way…]

Reinhard: [What’s coming seems to be known as ‘the first wave’—— I hope that I will not see you again afterwards.]

It was a rare sarcastic line from Reinhard, but Regulus had no leeway to pay attention to it.

Reinhard, with all his might, swung Regulus downward at once. Whipping through the air, Regulus’s dense form sped into the canal directly beneath him with the momentum of a bullet—— Regulus, bathed by the wind, could only watch as the surface of the canal approached.

Regulus: [The only threat is the water…!]

Rotating as he sailed downward, Regulus stretched out his hands, intending for them to slam into the water. The unprepared Reinhard, hovering defenselessly in the sky, would follow in a moment.

Then, that calm face of his could be shattered in a single blow. The idea was——

Subaru: [——Emilia, do it!]

Emilia: [Ul Huma——!]

Hearing the voices of that hateful man and woman, the corner of his eye barely caught a sight of that detestable pair. A black-haired boy gesturing with a finger, and a silver-haired girl who chanted quietly.

In the next moment, falling from above Regulus, were icicles shooting forward at a speed which matched his momentum.

The icicles caught his limb by way of the sleeves of his suit, accelerating his fall. Further, the last one slammed directly into Regulus’s back, freezing his body solid.

A total of five icicles restrained Regulus’s extremities, using his body as a freezing point as it plummeted into the canal. Immediately, a magical, freezing hand stretched forward, centering on where Regulus had fallen, tracing the flow of the water—— The canal was turned into an icy tomb, without so much as a single opening.

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Subaru: [――Operation Splash, nicknamed Operation S, was a complete success!]

Reinhard: [I hope this was effective.]

Next to Subaru, who gazed into the frozen waterway, landed Reinhard, cloaked in moonlight.

After having thrown Regulus from the sky, the trajectory of that fall should have meant that he would not be able to avoid the falling water, but in fact even a droplet brushing him would have been a miracle. That Reinhard could move so well in midair was hardly even surprising.

Emilia: [Sealing his range of movement and tossing him into water, freezing it afterward. There’s no way he’ll ever surface again, is there…]

From Reinhard’s other side, Emilia stared into the water.

The one who had drawn up the battle plans had been Subaru, and the one who had facilitated them had been Reinhard. However, Emilia had been the one who had pushed Regulus the most. Even if the other party had been an unreasonable murderer, Emilia still wore a rather timid expression.

If everything proceeded smoothly, he soon would be naught but a drowned corpse. Emilia felt that she had gone too far, and this feeling was not without reason.

Subaru: [————]

Gazing to his side at Emilia, Subaru crossed his arms in consideration. Though he felt rather sorry for her, to have Regulus drown was the best outcome. If that were not possible, leaving him in a state mirroring death would be best.

However, the worst possibility must also be expected. For example——

Subaru: [Reinhard!]

Reinhard: [——Tsk!]

——When, right in front of their eyes, the ice’s surface cracked. And immediately after, a jet of water spouted up, blasting straight towards them.

At the sight of gushing water, Reinhard grabbed both Emilia and Subaru as the jet of water closed in on them. His arms wrapped around their waists, he jumped backwards in one leap—— after they were well out of the reach of the droplets of water, Reinhard narrowed his eyes.

Reinhard: [It seems that it has yet to be settled.]

Subaru: [Right. On that note, this guy, he’s really bad news.]

Reinhard and Subaru had each fixated on something different.

Reinhard was watching the figure standing atop a drifting piece of ice, whereas Subaru was looking at the outcome that had been caused by the jet of water which that figure had capriciously unleashed.

Water droplets flew about, pouring down near where Subaru and the others were standing.

The outcome was nothing so charming as the pitter-patter stopping and just dampening the earth below; each part of the spray bored thoroughly into the earth, carving through the ground as if biting with the force of a gigantic beast.

Their destructive power was not inferior to that of the stones and sand thrown by Regulus. Which was to say, whether wielding solid or liquid, Regulus’s attack power stayed constant.

Emilia: […His body, it’s not frozen at all. Just like what happened at the church.]

Muttering this, Emilia looked at Regulus, still perched atop that piece of drifting ice.

Subaru had entrusted her with the task of freezing his body and limbs using magic. As per Subaru’s instructions to show no mercy, the icicle pierced right through Regulus’s limbs and the center of his body. Such an act should have left him more than half-dead.

However, when he had fallen into the water, the tip of the icicle had not penetrated his body, and so Regulus had been merely frozen on the surface, just as he had been in the church.

To Regulus, neither freezing nor magic was effective. Like slashes and blunt force blows, he could also invalidate those types of attacks.

Subaru: [Although, when he shrugged off Wrath’s flames, I did suspect this a little… I guess that basic idea of his invincibility being specialized in either physical or magical damage is out of the window, then.]

Emilia: [Were you able to confirm what you wanted with Operation S?]

Reinhard: [I will have to get a little closer for that…!?]

The moment Reinhard responded, there was a change in the surface of the canal.

A vortex appeared on the water’s frozen surface, a distance from where the crack was. Gradually, its momentum increased, pulling in the drifting ice which Regulus occupied. And then——

Subaru: [A water dragon——!]

Leaping from the heart of the maelstrom, the dragon bared its fangs at Regulus, who was standing on top of the ice.

Domesticated water dragons usually swam in the waterways surrounding the city. The water dragon, who should have been trained to not attack people, opened its jaws wide, aiming to lunge at Regulus’s slender back.

Perhaps, even that water dragon had been influenced by Wrath in no small measure, a tragedy that never should have taken place―― However, its jaws did not have a chance to close.

Subaru: [—―Hk.]

Subaru’s throat involuntarily clogged up at the gruesome spectacle unfolding before him. What happened in this moment, how could it even be described?

――The water dragon’s maw jerked out of place at the very moment it had clamped down onto Regulus.

As if in a game of Daruma Otoshi [1], the water dragon’s lower jaw was dislocated. Keeping its momentum as it flew toward Regulus, its mandible was displaced. A maw which should have dragged Regulus into the canal, unable to correct the dislocation, was split in two with a great shudder.

The halves of the bisected water dragon poured blood into the water as they were submerged. After a moment, an exaggerated amount of blood and viscera that had once been a water dragon floated to the surface. This had been its gruesome demise.

Reinhard: [Emilia-sama. If possible, could you make me a spear?]

Emilia: […Eh?]

Reinhard: [A spear. A spear of ice, please. I have troubled you.]

Faced with the same sight, Reinhard muttered this to the befuddled Emilia. Connecting the dots, Emilia hurriedly focused her Mana. After several unsuccessful attempts, eventually Emilia created an ice spear, and handed it over to Reinhard. After testing the feel of the weapon he had received,

Reinhard: [Excuse me.]

Grasping the ice spear, he drew his wrist back to aim Regulus, and let the missile fly.

The spear flew true—― however, it was not the sharp tip that had been pointed at Regulus. As it turned to its side, its shaft scored a direct hit. But what had happened, was that when the shaft of the spear crashed against Regulus, it fell straight into the waterway, broken into two.

Emilia: [What is the meaning of this…?]

Subaru: [I see… I get it, Reinhard.]

Seeing the state of the broken spear, Emilia tilted her head in confusion. From beside her, Subaru grasped the meaning behind why Reinhard had done this, shuddering at its outcome.

Hearing Subaru’s acknowledgement, Reinhard nodded and said,

Reinhard: [Emilia-sama, did you see what happened to the spear upon hitting him?]

Emilia: [It broke, right? A spear of ice is different from a real one, so it’s natural for it to have broken in two after it struck with that sort of force…]

Reinhard: [Not quite, the spear did not break. The part of the spear that hit him is missing. The part that hit him is missing, separated. The spear was broken not into two, but three.]

Reinhard’s explanation served as an answer to what had happened to the spear and with the water dragon.

Neither object, upon contact with Regulus, had managed to penetrate his body. With an ordinary barrier, the collision would have caused a projectile to bounce off or shatter from the impact, but neither had happened. Regulus’s body literally rejected anything that collided with it.

Regulus: [——What cluelessly naive expressions you’re all wearing. This is just how it is.]

Just as the three reached a consensus, Regulus’s voice suddenly reached them, from the ice.

That calm voice made it sound as if he were just whispering to himself. The instant Subaru thought that, an unpleasant shock hit him in the back.

Regulus: [Ununderstanding, ununderstandingununderstandingununderstanding. All of you, really, reallyreally understand nothing. It’s useless. You have no chance. No matter what you do, you can’t win. No matter how much you strain and struggle, you can’t reach me. Why can’t you understand that? I’ll say it to you, show it to you, force you to see… you could never understand.]

Regulus whispered to himself as he leapt from the ice. Having jumped forward only slightly, his body plummeted into the canal; for a moment, his figure vanished. However, with one hand on the edge of the canal, he pulled himself from the water, climbing back onto the street. Then, once again, he squared his gaze at those who were watching him.

Reinhard: [——His body isn’t wet in the slightest. His breathing remains unchanged. Naturally, the fragments of ice need not even a mention, nor has a single a drop of blood splashed onto him. His clothes are completely clean, and no water drips from him.]

Observing Regulus, Reinhard gave Subaru a quick report.

Upon hearing that, Subaru nodded and tried to think, even as he suppressed his horror. It seemed that everything he had intended to confirm with Operation S had been checked.

However, there was not a trace of good news. It was the worst forecast possible.

Reinhard: [Subaru, my sword.]

Subaru: [Oh, ah, right…]

At Reinhard’s request, Subaru quickly handed over the sword that he had been holding all along. As Reinhard gently tested the handle of his beloved sword, Emilia looked on from the side, wondering timidly,

Emilia: [Can the sword be unsheathed?]

Reinhard: [No, the handle is still fixed. It seems that it will not indulge me… but there is no other weapon that can be used to confront him.]

Emilia: [Since your sword can’t be drawn, what are you going to do? Attack him directly with the sheath?]

Reinhard: [Not exactly. But that’s not too far off.]

With nary a trace of tenseness in his voice, Reinhard stepped forward. He placed himself in front of Subaru and Emilia, shielding them from Regulus’s line of sight.

Reinhard: [Subaru, please allow the task of buying time to be handed over to me. You can continue to decipher his Authority.]

Subaru: [Feels like the difficulty just rose a level. But I’ll do my best.]

Emilia: [I-I’ll also do my best!]

Reinhard: [Then, I will also do my utmost—— Go!]

As soon as the sound of his voice fell, Reinhard flew forward. Regulus, who had been kept waiting, met him with only calmness.

Regulus: [I say, did you not see? If not the fate of that lizard, then the spear… Is your imagination truly so lacking?]

Reinhard: [Only paying attention to a coin by your foot will draw your attention away from what is important—— as my master once said.]

Regulus: [Is that so?]

Regulus’s sigh, deep and uninterested, overlapped with Reinhard’s opening strike.

The sound of muscles and bones being penetrated by something sharp reverberated through the air, and Subaru’s throat could not help but stiffen. He watched as Reinhard gripped the scabbard, slamming the hilt of the sword into Regulus.

Regulus: [——Oh, seems that you don’t even have a strategy.]

The sound of these blows was different from the fate of the water dragon and the ice spear. At least Reinhard’s beloved sword would not break upon hitting Regulus, no matter what he did. However, it did not seem that damage had been inflicted on Regulus. Reinhard’s previous attacks, although dealing no damage, had at least been enough to send him flying, but now, even that effect was lost.

Reinhard: [Feel free to brag. You are the second person to force me to use Dragon Sword Reid.]

Regulus: [I can’t hear anything but belittlement, you are making a complete fool of me, aren’t you? That isn’t what using a sword is supposed to mean? Such a denigrating gaze, such disparaging words, it’s only natural that much is obvious to those who understand!]

Reinhard: [That’s all rather—— Kh!]

As he provoked Regulus, Reinhard weaved in and out of super-close combat. Faced with those murderous fingertips, Reinhard evaded with even greater movements.

Suddenly, his legs stopped moving. No, they were kept from moving.

Reinhard collapsed onto his knees, kneeling in place. His right calf split open, spilling forth copious amounts of blood.

Subaru: [Were you hit!? What happened!?]

Subaru cried out, and Reinhard frowned through his confusion.

Neither Subaru, observing from a distance, nor Reinhard, the party concerned, could discern what had happened. The solution came from the other fighter, giving a failing mark.

Regulus: [With your inhuman eyesight and reactions, you were able to escape the bits of gravel and water. But you’re too naive, aren’t you? If you truly want to confront me, prevent me from sighing. You can’t, can you? Just now, I sighed.]

Reinhard: [Even breaths…]

Regulus’s relentless kick approached Reinhard, who had fallen to the ground.

A direct hit would be an attack enough to rend Reinhard’s torso into pieces. Faced with that attack, Reinhard no longer had any time to dodge. Hastily, he quickly lifted the sword in his arms, blocking the blow with its jet-black scabbard——

Reinhard: [Ugh…!]

Regulus: [Just what do you think you can do, with that annoying scabbard in the way? Clinging to something that you’re unworthy of, why do people like you do such things? I can’t understand at all.]

With this defensive action, Reinhard’s body was sent flying as if it were a toy ball.

Although protected from the fatal power of the kick, he crashed through the side of a building nearby, eventually rolling on the pavement. As Reinhard’s body rolled and rolled, the destruction only continued.

In that moment, Reinhard’s form, sent flying by a kick, became nothing but a bullet.

Regulus: [Right, and now——]

Subaru: [——!]

Seeing Reinhard off well into the distance, Regulus seemed to remember something as he turned around. Being firmly fixed by that gaze, Subaru immediately tensed. Emilia, from beside him, immediately chanted magic, and in an instant the sky was covered with a multitude of icicles, which ruthlessly flew toward Regulus.

However, the results spoke for themselves.

Regulus: [A woman who can’t read the situation is just the worst. Having to spend time on disciplining them is a lot of work. However, because women are just ignorant creatures, they must first be taught. That’s just how it is. They’re much better after they’ve been tamed, though.]

Slamming into his body and shattering into shards, those icicles were unable to even make him budge. Languidly, Regulus approached them.

Subaru: [Emilia! Trying to fight is useless right now! Anything we do before figuring out his trick won’t have any effect!]

Emilia: [But…!]

Subaru: [Right, for now, let’s just get the hell out of here!]

Seizing Emilia’s wrist as she tried to remain stubbornly, Subaru tried to pull her away from Regulus. But Subaru’s actions only served to excite Regulus further——

Regulus: [Haha, are you trying to flee? Well, that doesn’t surprise me. Now that the situation is like this, where you stand no chance against me, though you should have understood that well before you childishly knocked upon my door… If you want to flee, then flee.]

Just what was he thinking? Regulus watched Subaru and Emilia flee with nothing but smiles. However, given this chance to escape, they needed to capitalize on it. No matter what, right now, they had no time to even stop and think——

Regulus: [——But, you’d have to get away first.]

As he spoke, Regulus approached the canal. Leaning over, he grabbed and hoisted half of the water dragon’s corpse out of the surface of the water. Grabbing its tail, he looked back with a ferocious smile.

Emilia: [H-hey, Subaru… I have this feeling of foreboding.]

Subaru: [What a coincidence, so do I.]

As for what would Regulus do, neither had any clue. However, every unremarkable action he took had completely extraordinary results, that much was plain as day.

Therefore, Subaru and Emilia’s pace increased rapidly.

Taking his time, Regulus smiled pleasantly as he raised his head, before leaping into motion. He set foot on the roof of an adjacent building, then jumped over its upper floors, landing on another, taller structure, until he finally reached a building the height of a clock tower.

After that period, both parties now stood so far apart each other’s faces were the size of beans. However, despite the distance they had gained, Subaru could still make out Regulus’s face.

——He could see that murderous smirk so clearly.

Regulus: [Come, if you want to try to hide, see if you can—— Whore undeserving of becoming a bride, and the mentally-raping bastard that cherishes such a woman. For posterity, I’ll deliver to you a rain of blood!]

Regulus lifted the half of the water dragon with both hands, and squeezed the corpse mercilessly.

The dragon’s flesh split with an unpleasant squelch, all of its blood gushing forth, and Regulus swung the blood-soaked remains with glee from his perch up high.

He held the corpse’s tail, still drenched in blood, as if waving a wet towel. It rotated over his head, endlessly scattering blood in a halo.

Farther, farther, until its momentum brought it to where Subaru and Emilia had ran away to. Then, the result was——

Emilia: [——Subaru!]

Subaru: [Run run run runrunrun!]

The downpour of blood became a rain of destruction, further blighting the city, this carpet bombing chasing the pair’s figures, forcing them to flee further.

Translation Notes:

[1] – A children’s game, where one must use a small hammer to hit a Daruma doll in the form of a tower with five sections, with the objective of not letting the pieces fall. For more information, see here.