Arc 5, Chapter 35 – “Ambushes and Surprises”

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All rights belong to Tappei Nagatsuki, the original author of the Re:Zero series. This is an English translation of the free web novel which is available at:

http://ncode.syosetu.com/N2267BE/

Translated by:

• Nanashi-tan
• Phantaminum

Proofread by:

• Phantaminum
• SSCaide

Art Source:

• Sakana Jiru
• Setowi

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Subaru’s first merciless strike had been blocked by teeth.

Subaru: [————]

Biting the front end of the whip, dancing as if deliberately intending to infuriate, was Roy Alphard of Gluttony.

Alphard, too, was a sound Subaru was familiar with.

Subaru: [This bastard also shares the name of a star—— Hk!]

Crusch: [Subaru-sama, that topic is over! Allow me to engage him!]

As Subaru raised his arm for another brutal blow of his whip, Alphard drew his own weapon. At the same time, Crusch unleashed her Hundred Man Strike. A frenzied blade of wind instantly swept through the lobby of the City Hall, bisecting chairs and the reception desk.

Of course, the cut should also have ruthlessly sliced up Alphard, but——

Roy: [Wow, awesome! But although this one looks tough…]

Crusch: [——Eh!?]

The boy, as if seeing the invisible blade of wind, bent over backward to avoid it. Like a bridge, his head rested on the floor briefly, before he flipped backward.

With that action, he assumed a battle-ready pose, crouching with his face raised.

Roy: [As an attack, since allies’d be caught up in it, that was a rather third-rate tactic. It doesn’t seem all that delicious!]

With that, Alphard kicked the ground, his body flying forward like a bullet.

His mouth opened to expose rows of sharp teeth resembling a hound’s. Coupled with his appearance, people would mistakenly think he was a straggly wild dog. Only, a wild dog’s danger level could never compare.

Crusch brought her sword up to meet him, attempting to behead him with a downward slash, but――

Roy: [Good muscles, but not polished enough! To us, you’re not even a beginner!]

Crusch: [—―Ah!]

As he waved his right hand, Crusch’s sword bounced away with a sharp sound. At a closer look, there was a cloth wrapped around Alphard’s wrists, and tangled up in those were twin daggers, one in each hand. Weapons that took advantage of the speed and flexibility of his thin, small body to fight.

The one dagger that had parried away her sword, the left one, swept towards Crusch’s throat. Although she immediately twisted her body to avoid it, Alphard flipped through the air around her shoulder, and kicked her in midair to blow her away.

Crusch: [Wha——!]

Subaru: [Crusch-san!]

Roy: [It’s not the time for you to be looking over your shoulder. In fact, you’re the easiest target!]

Alphard stomped on the ground, flying at Subaru, who was still distracted by the sight of Crusch sliding on the floor. In the dim lighting, the thin figure of Gluttony, wrapped in rags, disappeared in the darkness, and Subaru lost sight of his figure—

Subaru: [Not good…]

Julius: [The perfect decoy, as evidenced by his track record with Sloth.]

Roy: [Wha――!?]

Aiming at Subaru, who was full of openings, Alphard had revealed an opening of his own.

Subaru, keenly aware of his own powerlessness, had once sworn to himself that no matter the situation, he would not let his blood rush to his head and act hastily. Biting his lip, he grounded himself with the pain, giving their most powerful party member an opportunity to strike.

And Julius’s piercing strike silently approached that small body.

Alphard immediately managed to twist in midair to evade, but his body was still cut down by the Finest of Knights, red blood spraying out, Gluttony’s body rolling onto the floor.

Roy: [Ugh! Woah, surprising——]

Julius: [Then, how about another surprise. Bloom, my buds!]

As Julius spoke, his Quasi Spirits began another barrage of attacks as Alphard bounced back to his feet, then darted away. At that moment, rainbow iridescence filled the dim hall, an aurora blossoming forth from Julius’s back, aiming at Gluttony.

Roy: [A Spiritual Arts User!]

Julius: [I hope one such as you, who appreciates gourmet, will enjoy. No matter which bud, I am proud to enjoy the bloom of these child flowers.]

Roy: [Awful, they’re pretentious, we don’t like them!]

Seeing the world burning in the aurora, Alphard spoke as he escaped high. Julius’s thin sword followed his back, hunting down Alphard with a flurry of sword strikes from all directions, who attempted to escape with a sideways jump.

Julius: [——Lolimancer!]

Subaru: [Don’t call me by that name! Juli!]

Julius: [Take Valkyrie[1] with you to the top floor! Stop the broadcast!]

Hiding away each other’s names, Julius declared that he would hold off Alphard.

While supporting a wheezing Crusch, Subaru judged this as the most reasonable course of action, but he could not quite agree with it.

That boy, mocking them as he darted around was, after all, Gluttony. The enemy who Subaru had pursued for over a year. Saying that defeating him was one of Subaru’s top priorities would be no exaggeration.

And even though he was right there——

Crusch: [I-I understand. Juli-sama, I will pray for your blade to be swift and true.]

Subaru: [――Hk.]

However, before Subaru could protest, Crusch climbed to her feet and gave her response to Julius. Subaru suddenly raised his face, seeing hers full of resolve.

Crusch was another victim of Gluttony, having been robbed of her memories. Of course, she had also wanted to seize this chance to retrieve her memories. Even so, she assumed her own responsibility and entrusted the fight against Gluttony to others.

Even setting aside those feelings, she was also well-aware of her own lack of strength. Ironically enough, both Subaru and Crusch were being pressed for choice at the same time as they stood up.

Roy: [So what’s going to happen? How are we doing it? Are we all going together? Even the disappointing woman and scummy man can be served as appetizer. Then, Juli-sama, we’ll eat him, swallow him, nibble him, lick him, taste him, swallow him, bite him, bite him into pieces, into pieces, and devour! Gluttony-!]

Julius: [Don’t say anything unnecessary. I didn’t become Juli in vain!]

Alphard still wore a smile and a relaxed attitude, in the narrow space limited by that aurora. Julius pursued victory, the dancing strikes of their swords producing steel sounds.

But during all of that, Julius’s and Subaru’s eyes caught for a moment. That gaze did not convey anything to Subaru by itself, but——

Subaru: [Ah, fuck it! Listen! Bastard, you absolutely can’t lose!]

Julius: [That is what I should say. Losing is not acceptable, and neither is dying. No, you absolutely cannot die here.]

Crusch: [Let’s go, Lolimancer-sama!]

Scratching his head, Subaru set aside his feelings for the time being and started running. Although he should have at least sprinted in front of Crusch, in truth, and much to his own shame, she could react to any surprise attack much faster than he could.

Subaru chased behind the still-wounded Crusch, and they both sprinted up the next flight of stairs. Before leaving, he took one last look at Julius’s and Alphard’s fight in the lobby. Julius seemed to have the advantage, but he could not let his guard down.

Julius: [Go!]

Subaru: [——Crap!]

Aware of Subaru’s gaze, Julius did not permit him to worry about his own status.

Although he was incredibly annoying, the idea of something happening to him was troublesome. Subaru turned to follow Crusch, bounding up the stairs in one breath.

Knowing that something might be lying in ambush, they immediately took another flight of stairs, heading towards the topmost room. And on the way there,

Crusch: [Subaru-sama, I must apologize. If I am not mistaken, your priority should be Gluttony…]

Subaru: [Stop it, Crusch-san. Nobody thinks it’s your fault.]

While keeping watch on the situation upstairs, Crusch softly let out an apology. However, Crusch should have also been frustrated. Being apologized to would not heal the wounds either of them had. And he did not want to blame himself, if he were apologized to.

Subaru: […I’m sorry, Rem. Please wait a little longer.]

Voicing the name of the girl who was still sleeping in the mansion, Subaru let out a heartfelt expression of regret.

In fact, he would like to run back right now and tear that sneering, malicious Sin Archbishop limb from limb. If that brought her back, what would be wrong with it?

The turmoil that would ensue would shake up the lives and deaths of many people. The consequences would be much easier to take in if he were a simple-minded person, unable to think ahead about these issues.

Although, he knew that if he did that, Rem would probably be angry with him upon waking up.

Crusch: [――――]

Crusch said nothing to Subaru, who held his breath and repressed the emotions building up inside him. He just closed his eyes, expressing regret for his own apology, and they resumed their march with her at the forefront.

The City Hall was a five-story building, and Subaru and Crusch were already on the fourth floor. There were conference rooms and archive rooms for paperwork on the middle floors, and from a quick check on the information displayed at each landing, it was safe to assume that the broadcasting room was located on the top floor. In other words――

Subaru: [Lust is also gonna be there…]

Crusch: [Yes, that is true. But, considering the size of this corridor, would she really…?]

Peeking into the corridor on the fourth floor, Crusch raised her eyebrows in suspicion. Her question was natural, and Subaru held the same question.

The corridor of the fourth floor was only wide enough for four people to walk side-by-side, at most. Albeit a guess taken at a distance, the black dragon looking down at the square seemed to be as large as an elephant. It was very hard to imagine that it would be able to fit into the corridors in the building.

Of course, there was the possibility that, instead of ascending through the corridors, it had just destroyed the wall and forced its body into the room.

Crusch: [What do you think?]

Subaru: [At least, I don’t think there’s gonna be an ambush in the corridors. Crusch-san, do you agree with this? I think the real problem is an ambush at the broadcasting room, but… it’s been so long since they went inside. I’m sure that they’re setting something up.]

Crusch: […Yes, I agree with you. I am certain that they are preparing an ambush in the broadcasting room.]

Subaru: [There’s no doubt that’s where they’ll be. However, the people who were supposed to be in the City Hall have not been found so far. If we’re not careful, then this hostage situation will…]

The more he thought about it, the number of bad situations coming to his mind increased.

It was not the kind of problem that would be solved with just martial prowess. Crusch’s fighting power was, as stated by herself, average, and she could not be relied upon to use magic. Subaru’s ability was also decreased because of Beatrice’s departure from the frontlines. And, upon closer inspection, it was clear that a lot of blood was pouring from his right leg, to boot.

Subaru: [You can’t call yourself brave until you plunge into the tiger’s den. Once the battle taking place outside finishes, we should be able to join them down there and the situation will change quickly…]

Crusch: [In that case, there is no reason for Lust to postpone the broadcast any further. In the end, Subaru-sama and I have no option other than acting to prevent it.]

Subaru: [The best way to deal with an ambush…]

Crusch asserted, and stared at Subaru. Feeling himself overpowered by that passionate gaze, Subaru gulped.

Subaru: [Uh, Crusch-san?]

Crusch: [I have heard from Wilhelm, that Subaru-sama is the one able to come up with the optimal solution to these situations. And so, I believe it as well.]

Subaru: [That’s some heavy trust!]

Wilhelm’s overestimation of Subaru’s performance was compounded even further by Crusch’s own expectations, who had forgotten the times when Subaru had been underrated by everyone.

Feeling as if he were about to be crushed by the weight of the expectations being placed on him, Subaru mused about it as much as he could in the short time he had left. And, even although he was not completely sure of it, he came to a decision.

Subaru: [What can we do to deal with an ambush…]

Crusch: [Yes?]

Subaru: [If someone’s going to wait for us as a matter of course… Let’s break that course.]

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――There were several important factors in an ambush.

First of all, the location. Ambushes were a tactic that consisted of a person waiting for the opportunity to attack their enemy from a dominant location. That was the most essential element.

Secondly, it was necessary to be certain that the enemy would indeed appear at the set location. If the key opponent were missing, it would render the ambush completely pointless.

Moreover, it was also necessary to correctly estimate the time of arrival of the enemy at the location of the ambush. Spending too much time lying in wait would make the one setting the ambush lose their focus, and the ambush would not have the maximum effect.

So, assuming that Lust was setting an ambush, all three of these conditions had been fulfilled.

No matter what, they needed to break into the broadcast room within a set amount of time. From their enemy’s perspective, there was no easier situation to hunt their prey than this.

Subaru: [Therefore, we must first destroy this situation.]

Crusch: [Got it… No, I am of nobility. I decided once to believe in Subaru-sama, so I will never change that. I will leave it to you.]

The broadcasting room located on the top floor―― No, one floor above that.

Earlier, Capella had appeared on the rooftop through the top floor, and that was exactly where Subaru and Crusch were preparing to execute their plan to defeat their opponent’s strategy. Crusch, who had been initially puzzled by Subaru’s proposal, seemed determined. This way of doing things was her invariable merit, both before and after losing her memory.

Crusch: [Honestly, I wish to see how the battle in the square is faring…]

Subaru: [But if we go check on them, then our actions will be meaningless.]

Even at this height, they could hear swords clashing, as well as Garfiel’s cursing. In other words, that fight was still ongoing, so no aid from that front could be expected.

Subaru: [Anyway…]

Looking around, Subaru examined the roof. Claw marks had been left here and there on the ground, probably traces of the black dragon walking around. The railings and fences that looked over the square had disappeared due to the magic damage caused by Julius.

Subaru thought of that tremendous power as he went around the rooftop, heading to the side opposite to the square. Assuming that the floor layout was correct, they were indeed just above the broadcasting room.

Naturally, Capella would be lying in ambush there, waiting for Subaru and Crusch.

Crusch: […Subaru-sama.]

Subaru: [What happened? Please take a moment if you’re unprepared.]

Crusch: [I am sorry, but just now, I noticed something.]

Subaru: […?]

Crusch spoke rather weakly as Subaru busied himself with an iron fence. Subaru looked at her with surprise, and she looked back at him with a stiff expression.

Crusch: [I seem to have a certain fear of heights, so let us hurry.]

Subaru: [An unexpected weakness… Got it. Ready!]

Confirming that the fence was firmly fixed, Subaru nodded to Crusch. She returned a stiff nod of her own, and stepped meekly into Subaru’s chest with arms outstretched.

Crusch: [——Please do not let go.]

Subaru: [Crusch-san, there are many men who would misunderstand, so it’s better if you don’t say those kinds of words often.]

Crusch: [——?]

Subaru turned his head towards Crusch, a wry smile plastered all over his face. Then, with Crusch nestled in his arms, clinging to him, he swung loose from the iron fence with great force.

Naturally, their bodies were drawn downwards by gravity, heading straight towards the ground, the wall of the building at their side―― and as they fell, they reached the lowest point the whip wrapped around Subaru’s wrist would allow them to.

Subaru: [——Hk!]

Supporting the weight of two people at the same time, Subaru’s shoulders were in enough pain that it seemed his arms were about to come off. Twisting sideways, the two swung in an upward arc, reaching the outer wall of the City Hall. Seeing the window of the broadcasting room approaching, Subaru stretched out his feet and shattered it.

Crusch: [Gah—— Hk!]

Subaru: [Wha——!?]

As shards of glass fell onto the floor, Subaru and Crusch rolled into the broadcast room. For a moment, Crusch seemed like she had released a small cry, but Subaru pretended not to hear it as he released her from his arms.

Both climbed to their feet, immediately looked around, and found that inside the room.

???: [——Hk.]

Staring blankly at the two who had just jumped in, with eyes wide open, was a black dragon sitting in a stiff posture.

The same massive body they had seen on the roof had been stuffed into that room. The black dragon had folded its wings and twisted its neck, apparently facing the door that led to the corridor. Presumably, it had originally intended to turn Subaru and Crusch to ash the moment they tried to enter, but that idea had been seen through.

Obstructed by that huge body, it was in a room that confined her movement greatly. Although the black dragon attempted to attack both of them, starting to spread its wings,

Subaru: [Crusch-san!]

Crusch: [Right!]

Released of her fear of heights, Crusch nodded a response, before shooting a slash. Her blade of wind sliced into the black dragon, damaging a wing, and rushing towards it, she slashed one of its front legs with a direct blow. Lust screamed loudly as dark blood began to spray.

Dragon: [AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!]

Subaru: [Watch out! Get down… Woah!?]

Capella writhed in pain as she flapped her wings and swung her neck wildly, destroying the room.

Although the room was rather larger than usual, its durability was not enough to withstand the rampage of an elephant-sized creature. In order to escape from this destruction, Subaru turned to run, but at that moment he noticed something.

——At the foot of the black dragon, a young girl trembled in desperation, bound in chains.

Girl: [——!]

Subaru met eyes with that tearful girl. Realizing that Lust had adopted a very effective hostage strategy should the initial ambush fail, he was filled with rage.

Focusing, Subaru’s body instinctively chose to move forward rather than escape.

Managing to dodge the tail that zipped over his head, he slid toward the little girl that was laying down next to the feet of the black dragon. Picking up that shuddering petite body, he flicked his whip fiercely at the back of the black dragon’s head. It did not seem to inflict too much damage, but it allowed Subaru to express his rage.

But Crusch’s strikes were not so powerless.

Dragon: [Wait! Wait! You’ve got the wrong… Hk!]

Crusch: [Nothing was asked to you! This is retribution for the chaos and turmoil you have wrought upon the city!]

Crusch’s blade did not forgive the black dragon, who held its head in a rather human-like manner.

With almost disappointing fragility, Capella bore no defense to that steel blade. Crusch cut the remaining wing, her slender legs kicking the dragon’s screaming body. How different it was from Subaru’s leg strength, as that huge body was shaken violently by the kick’s power, and Capella stumbled backwards to the opposite direction of the window Subaru had broken.

Both of the black dragon’s wings had yet to begin to regenerate. Although she had called her body immortal, if this was her rate of regeneration, then it could not be called a threat.

Crusch: [——It is over!]

Dragon: [Wai——]

Not allowing it to finish, Crusch ran as she let loose several successive attacks on the black dragon’s body, head, and wings. Its huge body slammed through the wall, smashing through the window frame and falling outside.

The black dragon, having been thrown off the building and began its descent immediately spread its wings―― Not. One of the wings had been torn away at its root, and the wing from the other side had been torn, now resembling a hook, so the dragon was unable to support flight.

Dragon: [——Hk.]

The black dragon, without a chance to regenerate, had no time to say anything, simply falling to the ground. A few seconds later, the noise of Lust hitting the ground arrived. It was the sound of meat slamming against a wall, or a wet towel being dropped on the floor.

Crusch: [I shall go and confirm the situation. Subaru-sama, can you take care of this child?]

Subaru: [R-right, I got it.]

Crusch walked up to the window from which the black dragon had fallen, ever vigilant. With heartfelt trust in her, Subaru gently released the girl who had been caught up in the current turmoil. She was still in a state of fear, confusion in her quivering gaze as she looked at Subaru. It was inevitable. It was natural that anyone experiencing being glared at by a dragon would be scared beyond their wits.

Subaru: [It’s okay, that bad dragon has been killed by the superheroine onee-chan over there just now, though not easily… Where’s everyone else?]

Girl: [Ah, eh…]

Subaru: [Although it’s hard to believe, we’re on your side. We’re to save you. We need to do some things before the bad guy comes back. Can you help me?]

He bent his knees, keeping their lines of sight level, and spoke with a gentle tone. This was the subconscious behavior he would use whenever speaking to someone younger, due to his fondness for children. She seemed to calm down slightly, taking deep breaths as if steeling herself before replying.

Girl: [There’s a room over there… Everyone’s, in there.]

Subaru: [Are they trapped there? That room…]

The girl pointed to a little room at the back of the broadcasting room.

Rather, this room was not the broadcast room. Although it was a large division, there was no broadcast equipment at all. Even if the radio were a magical device, Subaru could not find anything resembling one such thing in the room. Perhaps it was some kind of preparation room. So that meant that room that the girl was indicating was most likely the real broadcasting room.

As he turned his gaze over, Subaru hesitated. He wanted to inquire about the life or death of the people inside. However, asking the girl such a thing was far too cruel and inconsiderate.

Subaru pat the still shaking girl’s head, slowly making his way toward the room.

Girl: [————]

Heart beating hard and fast, Subaru felt sweat break out on his neck.

Suddenly, his throat felt parched and dry as well. Not even his voluntary Tarzan Jump had made him so nervous. This was the sense of a nasty premonition, a terror which preoccupied his mind.

Crusch: [Subaru-sama?]

Subaru: [Everything’s fine. I’m gonna check it right away. What happened to Lust?]

Crusch: […Everything is fine here as well. I do not know why she’s staying put, though.]

Crusch replied while still being wary of Lust under her gaze. Upon hearing that answer, Subaru took a deep breath and headed for the room, reaching out to brush the doorknob.

In the broadcasting room, there was a possibility that there were other Witch Cultists hiding. With that in mind, entering through the door to inspect what laid inside was not the better option for Subaru.

But, for some reason, that kind of worry seemed superfluous. In fact, this idea was right. Because, in reality, no Cultists occupied that room. Occupying it, was——

???: [————]

“————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————” “————”

With speechless gazes, they looked at Subaru with amazement.

No, maybe he just wanted to assume they were looking. Subaru had no way of understanding how they observed the world, and he did not particularly want to understand.

He simply felt dismay. His voice would not work. This was what it meant to be truly speechless. His thoughts froze, and he thought of nothing. However, there was something he finally did understand.

——The true nature of that irritating sound accompanying the jarring voice in the broadcast he had heard in the shelter.

Subaru: [——What, is this?]

In response to Subaru, that sound spoke. That sound was one which welcomed Subaru, a fearsome sound, a defiant sound, a joyful sound, a meaningless sound——

The sound of numerous beating wings echoed throughout the broadcasting room.

In the darkened room, countless blinking red compound eyes moved, as if staring at Subaru.

There were many, many flies crammed into one room. And all the flies were the same size as people, this one, that one too, all of them.

???: [——AAAHH!!]

Subaru: [——Eh!?]

Amidst the blank haze of his consciousness, Subaru registered a sudden pained cry.

Shocked into a sudden response, Subaru slammed the doors to that room, closing along with it the sound of a hundred beating wings. And Looking back, he found――

???: [Gahahahaha! Stupid, stupid! You dregs, the meat in your heads simply isn’t enough. You actually tried to match me in a battle of the wits? Who put sugar into your brain and made it into soup!? Kahahahaha!]

Under the heel of the girl who issued that sharp raucous laughter was Crusch, in agony.

There was no doubt that the familiar poisonous laughter――

Capella: [It’s me, Capella-chan! Gaahahahaha!]

As Capella winked and stuck out her tongue, Crusch vomited a large amount of blood, the whites of her eyes barely showing.

Translation Notes:

[1] – Kanji is literally “war” (戦) and “princess” (姫). Funnily enough, I can only find this combination of characters in the title of Symphogear (Senki Zesshou Symphogear), and the first two characters (戦姫) are romanized as “Valkyrie”.