A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 682 - Part 47

It seemed that everyone had gathered around the grave, which made the work much easier. Suddenly, I noticed something strange.

"That 's strange. Emilia should be here, keeping them in check. Why isn't she? And how come those animals didn't get into the tomb if she didn't stop them?"

Looking closely, I noticed a thick wall of ice blocking the entrance. That explained my second question, at least.

"Betty, I have to get rid of these little bastards. Do you think you could help me with that?"

The girl looked at me with a mixture of indignation and pride.

"Who do you take me for?! Of course I can!"

"Very well. I'll gather them up and you kill them."

I slowly lowered myself to the ground. The rabbits that were nearby tried to bite me, but I easily crushed them with my authority.

"Come on, come and get me!" I provoked them, releasing a large amount of miasma to attract them.

The strategy worked quite well, because the rabbits began to get desperate to devour me and piled up, forming a small white mountain.

Once I had gathered them all, I broke the ground beneath them to form a platform, which I then floated into the air. Next, I stepped back and left the rest in Betty's hands.

She had had enough time to prepare and didn't keep us waiting, unleashing a powerful yin magic that I was not yet able to perform on my own.

"Al Shamak!"

Darkness swallowed the Great Rabbit and brought this odyssey to an end. Although it only lasted a week in real time, the number of restarts I did was equivalent to almost two years to finish this story arc.

I stared into space for a few seconds, processing the fact that it was all over. I wanted to faint right then and there, but I still needed to check that everyone was okay. I knew I was overreacting, and yet I couldn't rest easy until I did.

However, the others shouldn't have had any problems with the plan. I approached the ice wall and destroyed it, revealing the interior of the tomb, which was packed with people.

"Oh, it's Mr. Leandro!" The villagers of Arlam came running when they saw me.

"Don't call me that." I complained under my breath.

"It's so good to have you back, young man!" Old Milde greeted me. "Has the storm passed? I'm worried about Lady Emilia."

"Isn't she with you?" I frowned.

"He left not long ago." She explained. "We haven't seen the Lord or the maids either..."

"Garfiel and the old lady haven't returned either." Said a demi-human with a serious expression.

What happened with Roswaal and the others made sense because the 'rebellion' I organized had to be kept secret, so obviously no one would know what was happening with him. But I didn't understand why Emilia separated herself from the others.

According to my calculations, she should have finished the trials and helped both villagers and residents take refuge in the tomb, staying with them to protect them. Meanwhile, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, and Ryuzu would quickly deal with Roswaal, taking advantage of his weakness from the weather spell.

Had I made a mistake? Had I misinterpreted things? Anxiety began to gnaw at my mind, and I was filled with remorse at the possibility of having made an error.

"I'll go look for them." I turned around and left.

Apparently, the storm had not stopped.

After flying for a while, I reached the settlement and stopped dead in my tracks. It didn't look good.

The land was surrounded by a wall of ice, and the buildings had been destroyed as if a war had been fought there.

"Shit."

Until that moment, I had thought I was being paranoid, that the plan to neutralize Roswaal couldn't have failed. At that moment, my insides felt heavy.

Did I really think it would be so easy to set a trap for the most powerful magician in humanity, a man with four hundred years of experience?

Suddenly, my plan seemed ridiculously naive and arrogant.

"Why was I so lazy as to plan such an important and dangerous move?! I put this whole damn loop at risk! That psychopath could have murdered any one of them just to force me to reset!"

I accelerated to the maximum, searching for any sign of my allies, or of Roswaal himself. The wall must have been built by Emilia when the rabbits arrived, so she couldn't be far away.

I wasn't wrong. I saw her in the distance with Rem and Ram. Garfiel and Ryuzu were behind them, while Roswaal stood at the opposite end, facing the rest of the group.

"I'm afraid you're late, Leandro." Said the magician when I got close enough. "But I applaud your effort: you came very close to beating me."

Confused, I looked closely at everyone. Then I noticed a terrifying detail.

A red stain was gradually spreading across the pure white of the snow. Although I was afraid of what I would see, I forced myself to follow the trail of blood to find its source.

Slowly, my eyes moved upwards, and then I saw what I didn't want to see.

Ram held Rem in his arms, staring at her in shock. She had a hole in her chest, a wound that was still bleeding. Her face was expressionless and motionless, and her eyes lacked the beautiful sparkle that had greeted me just a few hours earlier.

Rem, my Rem... She was dead.

I didn't know how it happened, but it didn't really matter. After all, I wouldn't want to live in a world without her.

"Haa..."

That was my last breath. With that slow, painful exhalation, I let go of my attachment to this cycle. I would have to redo everything, even if it meant suffering again or giving up some things.

As long as I could keep everyone I cared about alive, I'd be okay.

I closed my eyes and used my authority to crush my own heart, ending it all quickly.

"..."

The RBD experience was no different this time. My stomach churned with disgust, and I felt the lingering pain of my previous demise. I didn't pay much attention to it; I'd grown accustomed to it by now.

But when I opened my eyes, I refused to believe what I saw.

Snow, blood, pain... And Rem dead.

Everything remained the same.