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♪ Re:ZERO ost : Fantasy Lied ♪
The #2 remembered something that happened a long time ago in his old life.
At the beginning, he realized that he was a lot more talented than his peers. However, all that did was bring nothing but isolation. No matter how hard he tried, the rest of the kids didn't want to be his friend — Possibly due to fear or envy.
For the ten-year old Kakine, he felt that he was on his own against the entire world. But he didn't want that. He wanted a connection. A bond — A friend — That's all he ever wanted.
Since angels are seen as guardians and a beacon of hope, he thought that looking like one would help gain what he wanted.
But that naïve mistake did the opposite. Causing the nation to react in the only way they knew how.
Perhaps it was his fate to be this way.
To stand alone. To close off his heart and not trust anyone.
To be known as Academy City's #2. Nothing more, nothing less.
A spare plan — A substitute for...
(Male voice: "Everything can be replaced. Nothing in this world has no substitute. Nothing is truly unique. Don't you think? Teitoku-san?")
(Kakine: "You don't know me... What makes you think that I'd agree with that?")
(Male voice: "Huh? I really, really, really thought you'd understand. I mean, after all...")
(Male voice: "...You're Accelerator's substitute.")
He hated it. He hated all of it.
But right now, Kakine ceased to be nothing more than just a "spare plan."
He acted to help. He wielded his power to not save one but many.
It wasn't about whether it was unlike him or not.
Far from it. If the people that knew him in his old world saw what he is currently doing, they'd think that something must be wrong with their eyes.
Perhaps they would scream out that this Kakine is a fraud.
After all... He was the one who would make someone suffer by creating something.
He was the one who wielded his power in the opposite direction of that power's initial image.
That's how people viewed him in his old world... It was the only viewpoint they had of him.
If they wanted a monster, he'll become that monster. That would be his new identity.
That is his only purpose.
His existence is bound to that singular function.
It is his fate to be the villain. Somebody that the hero has to put down in order to save the day and everyone goes home happy — Everyone except him.
But in this world, a difference has occurred and his true self seeped through.
There have been those in this new world that acknowledged him.
Not as some despicable villain, or some sort of "spare plan" or "substitute." Or simply a tool to use for his power.
— But as a person.
With an equal gaze, with no fear or envy. Something that he desperately wanted in his youth.
After discovering this, he realized that he had been embraced by something that he didn't want to lose.
(Kakine: "That aside... Something's definitely different. But what? What's going on with me?")
He finally figured it out. This is what his psyche's been trying to tell him.
This is the "difference" that he's been wondering about.
Alram Village ┃ Night ┃ Day 2
♪ Re:ZERO ost : Threads of Entwined Truth ♪
The esper arrived, and once he's in the village, he could immediately deduce that something is not right. He came to this conclusion as he sees the village adults scattered around with old fashioned wooden torches.
It was clear that they are looking for the children.
Rem: "Kakine!"
Kakine's train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice. He turned his head and saw that it was Rem. He is a bit surprised that Rem was able to chase after him with no signs of fatigue.
Rem: "I now know why you came to this place. I wanted to let you know that I came to help with those children."
Kakine: "...So you figured it out."
Villager: "Hey, did you guys say that you came to help??"
Suddenly, a resident of the village overheard their conversation and once he recognized that it was the two from the mansion, he went towards them.
Rem: "Yes. That's correct."
Villager: "Oh thank goodness... We don't know where all the children are and all of us are trying to find them. Have you seen them anywhere??"
Rem: "No. We've just arrived not too long ago, but Kakine and I will help you find them."
Kakine ignored their conversation as he got down on one knee and placed his hand onto the ground with closed eyes. Seeing this, both Rem and the villager looked at the esper with confused expressions.
Rem: "Kakine?"
Unbeknownst to the both of them, Kakine repeated the process he did back at the royal capital. He used his esper power and spread his Dark Matter along the various surfaces to gather information about what happened in the past.
Kakine: "They're not in the village."
Ram & the Villager: "". . . ??""
Rem: "How can you be so sure?"
He ignored her question. He knew that if he explained himself, it would just confuse her like it did with Emilia and Puck. Regarding the matter at hand, while he knew that the children aren't in the village, he did manage to gather a clue amongst the surfaces with his Dark Matter.
Parts of the dirt terrain had been recently pushed down as if a group of people stepped on it. However, most would chop this up to the village adults being the ones that treaded on this soil, but his Dark Matter was telling him that the size of these footprints is small.
Small enough to belong to a child.
And this was creating a trail leading to somewhere.
After realizing this, Kakine got up and began following this trail post haste, with Rem and the villager following behind.
Rem: "What is it? Did you find something??"
After following this trail, Kakine halted his run as he took in his current location. Once he did, he saw that he is at the outskirts of the Village of Alram, which meant that if he were to pass this point, he would be entering the forest.
However, he noticed something as he's looking around.
The esper sees eight lanterns that illuminate emerald coloured lights. Eight of these lanterns are positioned onto various trees. However, one looked to be unlike the others as it's the only one that's not casting any light.
Kakine: "That doesn't look right..."
Rem: "The barrier is broken."
Kakine: "Broken?"
The esper turned to look at the maid as she lifted her arm and pointed at the broken barrier. Hearing this caused Kakine to think about why would a village need a barrier. Is this land that dangerous?
Rem: "It means that mabeasts can cross the barrier and enter the village."
Kakine: "I heard that Beatrice girl mention that term, but I assume they're monsters or something?"
Rem: "Mabeasts are creatures of the witch's creation. They're enemies of humanity that have magic powers."
Kakine: (...Witch? Is she referring to the Witch of Envy?)
The term "Witch" was seen in one of the folktale stories he read earlier. Was this just a coincidence? After giving it some further thought, another idea appeared in his head. Why would anyone build a human settlement within a forest holding many unknown dangers? He wasn't sure, but he didn't have time to waste on such thoughts as it's not the main concern right now.
Kakine: "There's no doubt about it. They're definitely out there... I'm going in. And you."
Villager: "M—Me??"
The #2 esper spoke to him like he was one of his SCHOOL subordinates. Harking back to his old days of being a leader.
Kakine: "Scram and tell the others that the children are in the forest. Round up a group to collect them."
Villager: "R—Right!"
The villager did what he instructed. After he was gone, Kakine was about to pass through the threshold between the village and the forest but was halted by the blue-haired maid.
Rem: "Wait! There are mabeasts in that forest. It's too dangerous!"
Kakine: "You think that's enough to convince me to stop and stay behind? I'm already at death's door because of this curse."
Rem: "But why... Alternatively for you, we could have convinced Miss Beatrice to remove it, but instead you came running out here for the sake of the children. So why go so far just for them?"
It wasn't that Rem disagreed with the act of saving the village children. In fact, she has her reasons for doing so. It was for the sake of her master. If this situation was left alone, then Roswaal's high reputation would collapse and his plans of getting Emilia to sit at the throne would fail.
But for her, she couldn't comprehend why Kakine felt so adamant on saving them.
Kakine: "My life doesn't matter to me. I'm doing this the way I want to. They..."
He said, as if cutting himself off from something. He still flashes back to his own childhood. The village kids don't deserve to be placed in dire situations like he once was.
Kakine: "...I refuse to accept that fate for those kids."
Rem was actually at a loss for words as she didn't know how to respond to that. He used the same tone that he used when he told her that these kids are "innocent". Once again, it reminded her that there was some hidden context that she wasn't able to decipher.
Rem: "Very well... The last thing that Lord Roswaal instructed me to do is to look after you when he is absent. It wouldn't be right if I failed to do so."
━━*Chain Rattle*
She then pulled out a handle connected to a very long chain. On the other end of the chain was a large spiked metal ball attached to it. In short, a Flail. A combat weapon that the blue-haired maid specialized in using.
Kakine: "Fine. If you're going follow, I suggest that you do not fall behind."
The esper leaped over the wooden fence that acts as the threshold between the village and the forest. Followed by Rem as she mentally prepares for the dangers that lurk within the unknown forest.
Territory of Roswaal : Forest ┃ Night ┃ Day 2
♪ Re:ZERO ost : Time of Trepidation ♪
Both Rem and Kakine are running through the forest. However, Kakine was the one leading the charge.
The moment they entered within the forest, Rem used her nose the differentiate the smell of living things and animals, while Kakine had spread and stretched out his Dark Matter across the land in order to gather further information from its surfaces.
Kakine: ". . ."
The esper stopped in his tracks which caused Rem to do the same. Kakine turned his head to the left.
Kakine: "Found them."
After hearing this, Rem used her nose in order to confirm his statement. Shortly after she was able to pick up the smell of the missing children. Because of this, Rem gained a sense of relief.
Rem: "Then let's go to them."
The two then continued to head towards the location of the village kids. The moment they got closer to the their whereabouts, Kakine and Rem ran through a forest exit and ended up in a visually different location.
Instead of bushes and trees obscuring the moonlight, the two are now running along grassy hills with a clear view of the night sky where the moon is seen floating over all the lands. Shortly after, the esper and the maid managed to spot the group of missing children.
They finally found them.
However, upon closer inspection, they looked to be in a state of unconsciousness. Seeing this caused a sense of worry to overtake them, but Kakine proceeded to assess the children's situation.
Shortly after he did, he discovered something that put him at ease. If only for a little bit.
Kakine: "They're still breathing."
Rem: "Yes that's true, but their breathing is shallow. If left alone then the curse will..."
Kakine: "Don't think about that. Just focus on the situation now."
Rem: "I'm going to try and comfort them with my healing magic and see if that'll help. Once they've calmed down, we can take them back to the village."
The blue-haired maid began to place her hands above one of the children and once she did, her hands emitted a familiar light glow. It reminded him of when Emilia attempted to do the same thing back at the thief's house. Because of this, he opted to repeat what he did as well.
Kakine: "Let me try."
Rem: "Try? Are you able to use healing magic as well?"
The #2 was a bit hesitant to answer that. Despite its physics defying nature, Kakine still found his Dark Matter ability to be based around concepts involving science rather than magic. So instead of giving a straight yes or no answer, he danced around her question.
Kakine: "I was able to treat Emilia back at the capital."
Hearing this, Rem didn't argue as she gave him a nod to proceed. He started to repeat the same process he did back at the thief's house and both he and Rem began healing the children together. After a short amount of time, Rem can see that their physical injuries are going away.
Rem: (They're calming down... Thank goodness...)
However, it became immediately apparent to Kakine that these children aren't suffering from physical pain or anything damaging their mental state. Aside from bruises caused by bite marks, the children are fine in the conventional sense.
Kakine: (Damn it all!)
The esper faced a problem that he couldn't solve directly.
Despite the flexibility of his Dark Matter, it still operates under principles found within the physical and mental world on a micro quantum scale.
But whatever this curse is, it seemed to operate under laws potentially found in the spiritual world.
Ironically enough, a place unknown to him as that exists outside of his scientific model of reality.
Petra: "M—Mister..."
He hears Petra's voice and saw that she was conscious, albeit slightly.
Petra: "O-One is... One is still... in the..."
The orange-haired girl fell unconscious after letting out her words weakly.
♪ Re:ZERO ost : Train of Thought ♪
This caused Kakine to look at her with confusion. After giving it some thought, the esper did a headcount of the children present and noticed something. Or rather, the absence of someone.
The Indigo-haired girl.
Kakine: "One is missing. Stay here and take care of them. Those villagers should be able to find this spot eventually."
The esper sternly instructed as he began to stand up. Rem on the other hand, already sensed that he was about to split off and decided to speak her opinion on the matter.
Rem: "What about you? What are you planning to do?"
Kakine: "What do you think."
The esper dismissed her question with a blunt and nonchalant answer, however as he treaded past her, Rem gently grabbed onto the sleeve cuff of his suit, halting his action.
Rem: "I hope you know, that regardless of what you think of your own life, there is someone back at the mansion that is worried about you."
Kakine: "...Emilia."
Rem: "Yes. So let me ask you again. What are you planning to do?"
Kakine: "...I'm going to get that girl out of this situation."
Omake !
We waited 8 years for this...
End of Arc 2 : Chapter 6
AN !
This one is a little shorter than the other chapters so apologizes for that, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless. Hoo boy, the next chapter is going to be a doozy. And not in the way you might think.
To Aru is created by author: Kazuma Kamachi.
Re:ZERO is created by author: Tappei Nagatsuki.
The art presented are created by their respective illustrators.
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