Team "Non-Combatants" unanimously decided to head left at the crossroads.
Taking the right path meant being swallowed by miasma, and discord would inevitably escalate into a kill-or-be-killed situation. That much was obvious. So choosing the left path was the most natural choice—they weren't wrong.
For Subaru, this was a question with a known answer. But that didn't mean the left path was the safe option. The person posing this question was simply cruel.
If the right path was a mental trap, then what awaited them on the left was a physical trap.
That abominable Mabeast wreathed in flame—the Centaur—he wanted to avoid encountering it if at all possible.
It wasn't just the obvious disparity in combat strength that made fighting it a losing proposition. The real reason was that, in his current state of mind, he couldn't be confident that he would truly cooperate with
"So, like, I once caught a glimpse of an insanely huge Mabeast from a sand dune. From the neck down, it had a body like
"Ugh, what the hell... That's so gross..."
"Honestly, I'm out."
Following the flow of the previous Mabeast discussion, Subaru smoothly transitioned into explaining the Centaur's ecology. The reactions from the two women—including Patrasche, making it three—were suitably repulsed.
Subaru didn't particularly want to give this explanation either. But if they were going to keep heading down the left path, they should assume there was roughly a seventy percent chance of encountering it.
"I expected you to be put off, but this thing is seriously dangerous. I'm calling it a Centaur for now, but it's not just the gross appearance—the mane growing from its back was blazing with fire... It looked terrifyingly strong. To put it mildly, I don't think we can win."
"Then why did you spot that Mabeast and just leave it there? Are you suicidal?"
"Huh?"
He'd tried to explain without getting emotional, but Ram's usual barbed remark immediately provoked a surge of anger. After he'd gone out of his way to warn them, who did she think she was?
Always acting superior and looking down on people—he could feel his resentment curdling into hatred, and Subaru took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm his fury.
"Damn... This place is the worst."
"You're difficult. Ram believes she's been relatively careful with her words."
"If that's what careful looks like, then it's probably useless no matter what you say."
Ram's voice and gaze carried a hint of sympathy toward Subaru, who was struggling to contain his emotions.
The problem was that being pitied only made Subaru even more irritated. No matter what he did, it only made things worse.
"You could chalk it up to the effects of the miasma, but that's only part of what's scary about this place. In reality, neither I nor Ram-san have been affected."
"What's that supposed to mean? If you think you're fine and everyone else is being paranoid, you should stop right now. Scratch the surface and we're all the same kind of human."
"What a prickly way to put it. I don't exactly have boundless confidence in myself either. Judgment and decision-making are one thing, but mental and physical resilience are separate issues. ...It's just that blaming everything on the miasma's danger is a bit too reductive, isn't it?"
Anastasia's deliberately obtuse phrasing took Subaru to task.
Her words were rational, but their vagueness annoyed him. Leading the group, Subaru trudged through the sand of the corridor and gestured with his attitude for her to continue.
Anastasia gave a small cough and then said: "I'm not an expert on miasma, so please don't expect a detailed explanation—just what I've picked up here and there?"
"The truly knowledgeable ones would probably be the
"That's right, but there are people in this world who go out of their way to study things others would rather avoid. Weirdos who research miasma, for example. My knowledge comes from... well, hearsay of hearsay of hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt."
What Anastasia was referring to was essentially a researcher of Witches.
The term sounded odd, but thinking about it, it was unreasonable to assume zero such people existed in this world. There would be scholar-type individuals, and not every one of them would be rational enough to avoid pursuing forbidden knowledge in step with the world's currents.
In any world, in any era, there were always those who embodied an unclassifiable curiosity.
"So, to start from the beginning of that hearsay knowledge—what exactly is 'miasma'?"
"That would be... contaminated Mana released by Witches and Mabeasts, right? I've heard that Witch Cult members emit the same substance."
"That's the mainstream answer. Miasma is something Witches put out, and Mabeasts created by Witches release the same filth... But have you heard this?"
"..."
"Turns out Witch Cult members and Mabeasts actually hate each other's guts."
Anastasia's speech flowed without pause.
While Subaru had this impression, Ram's eyes widened at Anastasia's words.
Witch Cult members and Mabeasts—both were thought to be allies serving the
"I find that hard to believe... Is it true?"
"Unfortunately, I don't exactly have Witch Cult members or Mabeasts as acquaintances, so I can't say for sure. That's why I prefaced it as hearsay. But don't you think it's interesting, if it's true?"
"Interesting...?"
Subaru reacted to a word that shouldn't have been used in this context. At his reaction, Anastasia gave a short nod.
"Everyone in the world thinks the Witch, the Witch Cult, and Mabeasts are all buddy-buddy, right? But in reality, the last two are at each other's throats, and nobody knows. That misunderstanding has persisted for four hundred years... and no one knows the truth."
"That's... certainly..."
"I'm sorry this is just hearsay, but apparently there are also a lot of misconceptions about miasma. For instance, the relationship between Mabeasts and miasma is actually the opposite of what people think—Mabeasts hate miasma. And about the Witch, it's said that they secretly despise her."
"That's... even if I take your word for it—"
Ram was drawn into Anastasia's storytelling, pressing with follow-up questions.
As the two women's exchange continued behind him, Subaru understood that Anastasia Hoshin's words were built on a foundation that was difficult to refute.
The Witch and Mabeasts were actually hostile to each other, and Mabeasts despised the Witch.
This possibility was highly plausible to Subaru, who had exploited the Witch's Scent multiple times. Otherwise, why would Mabeasts chase him with such ferocious hatred whenever he carried the Witch's fragrance?
In addition to the Mabeast incidents shortly after his Otherworld Summoning, he had even used the scent as part of the strategy against the
With this much evidence, it was impossible to ignore the connection between the Witch's Scent and miasma.
The Witch's Scent that clung to Subaru—that was likely the miasma itself.
"It's not like every Mabeast has a yandere fixation like Petelgeuse. They can't stand the smell of the Witch on anyone else. It's like the scent of another woman."
That was a horrifying thought in its own right, but the theory above was the most logically consistent.
In other words, Mabeasts loathed the Witch's miasma and regarded it as a mortal enemy.
The fact that the rumor of the Witch of Envy creating Mabeasts was actually wrong—most people probably didn't know this.
Mabeasts weren't created by the Witch of Envy, but by the Witch of Gluttony.
That disconnect was likely why no one noticed the relationship between Mabeasts and miasma.
As for the source of Anastasia's knowledge—whether researchers of the Witch actually existed was unclear, but if they did, they'd identified a promising avenue of study.
"...What a brazen farce."
Thinking this far, Subaru sighed at his own naivety.
Rather than questioning whether such a researcher existed at all, it was more natural to assume that Anastasia Hoshin was simply sharing knowledge she'd possessed from the start.
This thought gradually kindled a different form of resentment in Subaru.
Why did Subaru have to go to such lengths to conceal the truth about Anastasia Hoshin? His consideration for Julius and the
Julius, in particular, was in a situation where his memories of the world had slipped through the cracks.
Julius was trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy, but even he had blind spots. Considering this, it was best to avoid adding unnecessary psychological burdens.
Best to avoid them—but why did Subaru have to bear that burden in his place?
"..."
Everyone was so selfish.
Why did Subaru alone have to scramble around cleaning up after all of them?
It was infuriating. Hateful. Maybe he should just throw it all out—every last thing. Anastasia's mental state, his own Return by Death, everything— "...Barusu, suddenly ramming your face into the sand is suspicious. Please stop."
"A defensive measure I'm taking on my own initiative to prevent further deterioration of our relationship. Ptoo."
On the verge of his anger reaching its limit, Subaru spat out before diving face-first into the sand wall. The wall was surprisingly brittle—he could practically dig through it with his hands.
As compensation for this discovery, Subaru spat out the sand that had gotten into his mouth. He had his grievances about Ram's white eyes, but since this was his own doing, he kept his resentment to himself.
"Is Natsuki-kun's strange behavior also caused by the miasma?"
"No, Barusu's behavior is innate."
"It's not innate. It's a secondary disaster from the miasma's influence."
"Well, regardless of the truth of that matter, let's get back to the topic—Mabeasts actually hate the Witch. If that's the case, the bad blood between the Witch Cult and Mabeasts makes sense, doesn't it?"
Anastasia deliberately lightened the mood with a joke before returning to the main topic, tilting her head. But Subaru couldn't keep up with the pace of her words. Ram nodded in his place.
"Whether they're on bad terms or not, I've never heard that Witch Cult members and Mabeasts operate together. Plus, the Witch Cult's rumors don't spread widely in the first place."
"Right... Turns out they're actually the type to work in the shadows as a secret organization. Why don't I have that impression at all?"
"That's because you and
The Witch Cult members Subaru knew were all narcissists with overwhelming egos.
Petelgeuse's activities had been anything but covert, and the other Archbishops of Sin had gone so far as to seize entire cities and broadcast their message.
How could anyone call these people a clandestine evil organization?
"Oh, but wait. What about the White Whale? That thing was cooperating with the Witch Cult... or at least that's what it seemed like at the time."
"Well? Even if it's true that Mabeasts hate the Witch Cult, I don't know much about whether the Witch Cult hates Mabeasts... But either way, it doesn't bother me."
"You're the one who brought it up..."
Subaru's retort was met with a casual dismissal, and Anastasia readily abandoned her own argument. Her lack of investment was, perhaps, consistent with the fact that she was relaying hearsay.
However, having used up her material as a conversation piece, Anastasia closed one eye and concluded: "In the end, this is just a story about how even miasma isn't fully understood. As Ram-san said, there's the theory that it's contaminated Mana, but... can anyone actually explain how Mana becomes contaminated?"
"..."
"Mana is Mana no matter whose body it passes through. You can alter its properties through magic or spirit stone craftsmanship for a purpose, but coloring the Mana itself is something no one can do."
"That's..."
"Why is it that only the Witch of Envy can contaminate Mana? And what exactly is the purpose of Witch Cult members who've adapted to this contaminated Mana?"
Anastasia fired off question after question. Ram, unusually, fell silent.
The fact that she had no rebuttal and chose silence was rare. At the same time, Subaru felt a sense of déjà vu and revulsion at Anastasia's manner of speaking.
Its vagueness, and the way conclusions were left ambiguous.
Her entire evasive demeanor reminded him of
"Oh my, it seems we've gone off on a tangent."
Ignoring both Ram's silence and Subaru's thoughts, Anastasia suddenly changed the subject.
Her voice tone shifted completely, and the abrupt topic change left both of them behind. Leaving them in the dust, Anastasia illuminated the passage ahead with the lantern in her hand.
Subaru followed suit, stopping and raising his lantern as he noticed— "..."
Ahead, the passage curved gently to the left, and a faint breeze drifted through.
The walls on every side were unremarkable sand, but that sudden curve, combined with a "burnt smell" carried on the wind, triggered a powerful sense of familiarity.
"It smells burnt. Like meat being roasted."
Ram's concise observation came on a wave of faintly warm air.
The stench of overcooked, charred meat was wafting from deep within the passage.
The idea that this scent might mean someone was cooking and a friendly approach might be possible—thinking that, even in ignorance, was quite the leap. If anything, Subaru's mind had probably been in a worse state back then than it was now.
"Could Emilia-sama and the others have carelessly started a fire to rest? Is that a possibility?"
"The part about Emilia being the type to carelessly start a fire, I agree with. But since I'm the one who told you about the Centaur, I can't imagine I'd think that way. You don't believe your own head is made of flowers either, do you?"
"I'll look forward to hearing your excuse for that insult after the miasma clears."
Ram's retort was as cutting as Subaru's had been sharp.
Snorting, Subaru told himself he was directing his hostility at the wrong person.
By now, there was no room for doubt.
At the end of this burnt-smelling wind lay a vast cavern, and within it lurked a blasphemous Mabeast wreathed in flame.
The time it had taken to reach this point was somewhat shorter than before. But even so, the encounter was likely inevitable—and the cavern was probably the beast's lair.
He couldn't harbor any faint hope that the beast would conveniently move out of the way. Which meant— "Kill it and push through?"
"Ram thinks it would be more constructive to list options that are feasible with our current combat strength."
"If we used our trump card, we wouldn't have to fight at all, but... I'd rather not put our bodies on the line unless it's the absolute last resort. The consequences would be irreversible."
Both Ram and Anastasia opposed Subaru's grim proposal.
Subaru was irritated at being shot down, but he had no intention of pushing his current idea either.
In truth, it was a reckless plan. The name Team "Non-Combatants" wasn't just for show. Engaging the Mabeast head-on was something they should write off as foolhardy.
"That said, going back and taking the right path isn't an option."
"After seeing the hundred faces you've made getting here, Barusu, you clearly lack the composure for the right path."
"But then we're completely boxed in. We can't possibly go back to the starting point and wait for the others to come find us... that would be far too humble of us."
Ram's quip aside, Anastasia's point was valid. If they were going to turn back out of fear of a Mabeast, they would have used their words to stay behind at the start.
Since they hadn't, Subaru's only option was to get past the Mabeast.
And for that, there was indeed a method—not completely hopeless.
"First, we need information on our opponent. If my hypothesis is correct, there's a possibility."
Subaru stated his conclusion before the two who were still deliberating.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Subaru knew virtually nothing about the ecology of the Centaur Mabeast.
After all, their relationship amounted to nothing more than a chance encounter followed by death by immolation in a matter of seconds.
His visceral revulsion at its grotesque appearance and the terrifying intensity of its flames were the only things seared into his soul as firsthand experience.
By conventional thinking, it was understandable to write it off as a meaningless death.
But you shouldn't presume to measure
When it came to sudden, unexpected "death," Natsuki Subaru was a veteran of a hundred battles. He had accumulated enough experience to know that "death" was never just "death."
"First, what we need to focus on is the Centaur's visual appearance."
Once seen, its hideous visage was impossible to forget.
He had only laid eyes on it for a few seconds, but its unnatural appearance was precisely what made it so vividly imprinted on his memory, aiding his analysis.
The lower half of a horse, a human torso, a head transformed into a horn, and a massive maw split open in the torso.
Each element was as crude as if a child had shaped it from clay, but if he observed his memory without looking away, there was one thing he noticed.
"Specifically, it has no eyes."
There was no head where a head should have been. As a result, there was no doubt that the Mabeast's body lacked any organ for vision.
Or perhaps, operating underground in this sand sea with no light sources at all had caused its vision to atrophy.
"Like a mole. It adapted so much to the underground that it lost its sight."
Or maybe it never had eyes in the first place—he couldn't say for sure. But at minimum, the Mabeast probably wasn't relying on sight.
When it happened, the Mabeast hadn't noticed Subaru's presence through the lantern's light. It had noticed him only because of the sound and presence he emitted through his own carelessness.
In other words, what the Mabeast had developed in place of eyes was either its sense of smell or its sense of hearing.
"I'm pretty sure I heard that moles have great hearing but their sense of smell is terrible."
He'd heard this from Anastasia earlier, but this too was secondhand knowledge.
Still, it was far more useful to his analysis than having no basis at all. The Centaur's strength was its hearing—Subaru decided to proceed with this assumption.
Therefore— "..."
Without a word, Subaru swung his arm up and down as quietly as he could, in total silence.
He was careful to avoid the sound of particles grinding when his foot touched the sand, and at the tip of his descending arm, he hurled one of the water containers from his emergency supply bag.
It sailed true, flying straight toward the far end of the vast cavern—and drew the attention of the Mabeast, which was burning brightly in the center of the space, toward the point of impact.
"————!!"
When the water container hit the ground with a light sound, the Centaur reacted dramatically. Shaking its blazing mane, the beast leaped on its equine body and charged straight toward the source of the sound, slamming its full body into the spot without a moment's hesitation.
"————!!"
Sand exploded into the air, and sparks scattered throughout the cavern.
Thrashing in a fury, the Centaur leaped about, grinding the teeth inside its gaping maw and releasing a ceaseless, ear-piercing roar like countless wailing infants.
It then stomped on the flame-wrapped, crumpled water container repeatedly until no trace of its original form remained, letting the fire from its mane drip further onto the sand. Only when everything but the dry sand had been burned away did the beast finally stop, seemingly satisfied.
It seemed to have had enough.
Watching this from the side, Subaru jiggled the rope tied at his waist to signal movement. In a space filled with the Centaur's piercing cries, the careful sound of footsteps on sand was reduced to fragments.
With painstaking care, step by step, they advanced— "..."
He tugged the rope to signal "stop," halting the earth dragon's advance.
Patrasche, who shouldn't have understood human speech, obeyed with surprising discipline, carefully placing one massive foot onto the sand at a time.
—In the pitch-black cavern, they were conducting a death march.
The cavern was roughly the size of a school gymnasium.
In a space where the charred corpses of creatures burned by the Mabeast lay scattered everywhere, they crossed from one end to the other, suppressing their footsteps and breathing, trying to slip past the beast.
"..."
The silence wasn't total, but quiet had descended.
The Centaur's absurdly enormous mouth repeatedly drew ragged breaths, producing a sound like air escaping from a balloon.
Not just grotesque in appearance but grotesque in ecology—yet now, that simple, straightforward nature was a blessing. Thanks to it, they'd managed to put together a plan to avoid fighting.
"..."
Once again, Subaru raised another water canteen he held in his hand and threw it behind the Centaur. The single-celled Mabeast responded to the sound and once again lunged savagely at the empty container.
Fire and wailing infant cries filled the space. The massive heat caused the canteen to burst with a dry crack, transforming it into a blackened lump of charcoal.
During that time, Subaru and the others pressed forward, successfully reducing their distance to the passage.
—Having observed the Centaur's behavior, this was the conclusion Subaru had reached: a simple feint.
Reasoning that the beast lacked sight, Subaru determined it relied on hearing. Leaving Ram and Anastasia behind, he employed the same method of throwing objects to draw the Mabeast's attention, repeating it several times to confirm his theory.
The Centaur was a Mabeast that found its prey through hearing, and on top of that, it was a creature with such a simple brain that it fell for the same trick over and over.
Once he could confirm that, the rest was straightforward.
Gather materials for the feints. After slipping past the Mabeast, use the wind to have Ram locate the passage's position. Then thoroughly coach Patrasche on stealth, steel their hearts against the tension and anxiety, and face the challenge.
"..."
In fact, Subaru's plan was working better than expected.
They had already cleared about half the distance from the cavern to the passage. Despite the tension, the time spent wasn't that great. A Mabeast with no learning ability could be outmaneuvered with the same trick repeatedly—that much was entirely possible.
"..."
Of course, Subaru had extinguished his lantern. The only thing clearly visible to them at this distance was the Centaur's blazing mane, burning enthusiastically on the far side.
A Mabeast that didn't rely on sight probably wouldn't notice the lantern's light, but trimming unnecessary stimuli was the prudent course of action.
"..."
A tug on the rope pulled Subaru back from his thoughts.
Subaru had been given two ropes for the feint operation. One connected to Patrasche, the other to Ram, who was riding Patrasche.
The instructions for Patrasche were "advance" and "stop," but there was no formally established code between him and Ram. It was more of a calling-back-and-forth arrangement.
However, this silent bond of communication—without seeing each other's faces, without exchanging words, sharing only intentions—was surprisingly calming for Subaru in his current state.
At least this way, he could avoid harboring negative feelings toward both Ram and Anastasia. He hadn't realized how easy it was to be at peace simply by not looking anyone in the face.
On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about finding solace in this isolation.
He was half-convinced it was an effect of the miasma, but Anastasia's earlier explanation had cast doubt on exactly what "miasma" was. The uncertainty was significant.
Whether it would be cured once they left this place—even that was now in question.
If it wasn't cured—if he could no longer help but feel this contempt even toward Emilia and
A sudden, sharp tug on the rope snapped Subaru out of his stupor.
The rope connected to Patrasche—the earth dragon had forcibly signaled a halt.
Startled, Subaru looked up— "—Ugh!"
A fireball flew past, barely a step ahead of him.
About the size of a soccer ball, the mass of flame hurtled through the air trailing a heat wave, then smashed into the sand wall a few meters ahead with a deafening explosion.
The blast of hot air licked his chilled body, and Subaru barely suppressed a scream.
If Patrasche hadn't called him to a stop, he would have taken a direct hit.
He wasn't sure if it would have been lethal, but the firepower was enough to cause serious injury. Gritting his teeth at the narrow escape, a shudder raced up his spine.
Why had the fireball been thrown at him?
"..."
Subaru involuntarily looked behind him.
The Centaur should have been preoccupied with the feint on the opposite side of the cavern. But now, its horn-like head was turned toward them, growling low.
As though it was certain they were here.
"..."
That's impossible, Subaru shook his head.
He unclipped the throwing canteen from his waist and prepared it for another feint. The rope connecting him to Ram was frantically tugging, but he ignored it.
Right now, drawing the beast's attention away was the top priority.
He swung it high. The canteen arced through the air, falling far to the left of the Centaur and hitting the sand. Naturally, the beast's attention turned toward it, and the ugly creature lunged at the obvious feint.
Another burst of flame, the wailing of infants echoing through the air. And in the cavern where the piercing sounds reverberated, Subaru directed Patrasche to press toward the passage.
Again and again, executing the same procedure. That should have been enough to break through—but— "—!"
Once again, a fireball thrown by the Centaur flew past, right beside Subaru as he walked.
This time it was even closer—so accurate it nearly grazed his skin. Subaru held his breath and was buffeted by the heat wave from the explosion.
"..."
Illuminated by a newly born orange light source ahead, Subaru locked eyes with the beast standing at a distance. They didn't truly meet eyes—the phrasing was off.
But the Mabeast's attention was clearly directed at them. A creature that could only identify them through sound—why, amid its own cries, could it detect Subaru's group— "My... voice..."
"Barusu, the echo—"
In Subaru's mind, question and answer connected, and Ram's shouted warning through the rope finally reached him.
And the instant both arrived at the same conclusion, the Centaur kicked off the sand.
Its hooves struck the ground, and the towering Mabeast's massive body launched effortlessly into the cold air. The flames of its mane intensified as it charged, unleashing them in a single burst toward Subaru and the others.
The human torso attached to the horse's body raised its arms and tore free a piece of its own blazing mane. In its palms, it transformed into a fireball—and in the blink of an eye, an incendiary bomb was complete.
"—! Run, run, run, run!!"
At this point, a direct clash with the Centaur was unavoidable.
Abandoning all pretense of stealth, Subaru slapped Patrasche's flank and ordered the dragon to charge into the passage at once.
They were currently at the very center of the cavern—equidistant from both the original passage and the passage ahead, in the most advantageous position for the beast. Had they been played?
"Did it lure us in...!?"
"—!"
Subaru's consciousness was frozen in shock, but the beast didn't wait. The Centaur hurled its fireball, scattering sand and tormenting the fleeing Subaru and his companions.
Running straight for the passage was something it had predicted. Zigzagging to confuse it wouldn't work either—the beast's auditory senses, attuned to sound, were sharper than any trick they could manage.
"Whoa! Waaah!"
Fireballs rained down, barely scraping past his lowered head.
The blind Mabeast ran circles around him with its hooves, its huge legs covering enormous ground, firing explosive rounds in succession to blow him away.
"Gaaah—!?"
The ground at his feet exploded, and Subaru's body was tossed through the air by the heat wave.
He managed to shield his face with both arms, but the searing wind invaded his respiratory passages, lightly scorching his nasal cavity and throat. Breathing hurt, his mucous membranes melted, and his sense of smell was temporarily destroyed.
Convulsing in agony from the acute pain erupting from the center of his face, Subaru looked up with tear-filled eyes.
The Centaur's human torso had its mouth thrown wide open, and its fang-filled maw made a grating sound—it sounded almost as though it was laughing. No, it was laughing.
Laughing at the weakling human who had been beaten not only in a battle of wits but now toyed with through sheer force.
"Damn... it...!"
Hatred—it surged up, giving Subaru the strength to rise.
Compared to the paranoia and unnecessary discord, the hostility he felt toward this hostile beast was remarkably wholesome. Swallowed by the pitch-black emotion that had been stewing his fury, Subaru scoffed at the beast's self-satisfied thinking.
If it thought it had won, it was a joke.
For a mere Mabeast that despised miasma, what made it think it could defeat Natsuki Subaru?
"..."
He placed a hand on his waist and drew his whip.
Getting a feel for the grip, he lightly flicked the sand with its tip. The Centaur stopped its roaring and, with evident interest, pricked up its ears at the sound of the whip slicing through the air.
It was probably the first time the beast had heard this sound.
But Subaru's real weapon wasn't the whip. The whip was just a feint.
"—Invisible Providence."
The dark emotions festering in Subaru's chest, born from the Mabeast's savagery.
He gave them direction and converted them into power to tear apart the Centaur's limbs. A one-trick pony's approach, but he didn't care. It was a one-size-fits-all move.
"..."
He swung the whip above his head, letting the beast hear the high-speed sound of it cutting through the air.
Without the beast noticing, the invisible hand slipped silently through the darkness, slithered into the beast's shadow, and aimed for the horn on its human torso.
Between the human torso and the horse's body, he wasn't sure which held the vital organs. With the head being a horn, whether a brain was packed inside was anyone's guess. Still, it was safe to assume that a critically important organ existed there. Making that bet, he crushed the horn with his invisible palm.
If losing the horn made it compliant, he could simply finish it off. That would be far more satisfying— "—!? Guh, ah, gahh!?"
The thought had barely formed when the moment to execute his judgment arrived.
The instant Subaru focused on the Centaur and extended his "invisible hand" toward its head, an excruciating impact tore through his own skull. The pain was as if his scalp were being peeled back and a drill was being driven directly into his cranium. His eyes went white in an instant, and Subaru collapsed to his knees, foaming at the mouth.
"Gah, aahh!? Guh, agiih!"
Still on his knees, he reached both hands to his head and punched his temples to counter the sharp pain. Rubbing, pressing—nothing eased it. To fight the pain, he needed a sharper, stronger impact. So he punched and punched and punched, but the pain couldn't be overcome.
A spiky hell had erupted inside his skull, piercing his brain, and he writhed on the sand, biting into it without understanding why.
"It hurts! Aaah gahhh! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! It HURTS!!"
He screamed as if coughing up blood.
Stuffing his mouth full of sand, grinding it with his molars, Subaru thrashed about to keep the incomprehensible agony from choking his throat. He couldn't fight it. He was losing.
Naturally, Invisible Providence had vanished in an instant.
Dispersed, it could no longer interfere with the Centaur. The beast, somewhat disappointed by Subaru's condition, tried to incinerate him into a charred corpse with a fireball.
The massive fireball it generated drove back the cold air of the cavern, and a small-scale detonation of heat made the world scorching hot.
That would have reduced Natsuki Subaru to a pile of cinders— "———!!"
In that instant, a pitch-black earth dragon lunged forward and tore the beast's arm off with its jaws.
"..."
The earth dragon, whose coloring blended with the darkness, had crept up on the beast in total silence and delivered a devastating blow. Losing its arm threw the beast off balance, and it dropped the fireball it had raised overhead.
In other words, the Mabeast was caught in the blast of its own fireball at point-blank range and blown away.
Hit by the explosion, the beast was blasted apart, blood spurting from the stump of its severed arm as the Centaur toppled over. Without so much as glancing back, Patrasche sprinted across the sand, clamped its jaws around the thrashing Subaru's clothing, and bolted.
Dangling by his waist, swung back and forth, Subaru looked behind him with blood circulating poorly and a headache that wouldn't cease.
Behind Patrasche, the Centaur staggered to its feet.
The wound on its human torso was already foaming, and the severed left arm was regenerating in an instant. The monstrous regenerative ability worked on all its injuries—the wounds from the explosion moments ago were sealing one after another, and in a matter of seconds, the beast had returned to its full form.
Once that happened, there was nothing left to obstruct.
The Centaur shrieked at Patrasche for the ambush and accelerated in pursuit of the fleeing earth dragon, its mane blazing as it lunged.
Patrasche's running was masterful, adapting to any terrain, but it still couldn't match the speed of the Centaur, which had claimed this lair as its territory. The difference in their natural size, combined with the weight of Subaru in Patrasche's jaws, meant the beast pulled alongside the earth dragon.
A fireball formed in the beast's hand, this time elongated vertically. Subaru's eyes widened—the fireball reshaped itself in the beast's grasp into a long-handled weapon, and in the blink of an eye, what emerged was a spear wrapped in flame from tip to tail.
"———!!"
Raising the flame spear high, the Centaur drove its tip down toward Patrasche. The pitch-black earth dragon ducked the spear's swing with a low dodge—barely skimming the sand—and accelerated through the narrow gap.
But the instant it seemed to break free, the Centaur's hoof struck the earth dragon's flank from directly to the side. The force penetrated through the hard hide, and Patrasche groaned as its insides were squeezed. Still, it didn't drop the Subaru clenched in its teeth. The heat Subaru felt at his waist was blood—Patrasche was coughing up blood from damaged internal organs.
That alone told him how badly hurt it was.
But Patrasche wouldn't let go, and Subaru had no capacity to worry about his beloved dragon's injuries. All he had was the seemingly endless torment of his unrelenting headache.
"—El Fuura!!"
"Jiwald—!!"
A second strike of the flame spear was hurled at the clearly slowing Patrasche. But before it could reach the earth dragon, cross-attacks came from two directions simultaneously.
One was an invisible blade of wind. The other was a focused beam of white-hot thermal energy.
Both incantations came from voices he recognized, but the details escaped Subaru.
What he did understand was that both strikes hit the Mabeast directly, punching a hole through its torso and slicing the human portion at a diagonal.—And that the wound, too, sealed shut in the blink of an eye.
"Barusu...! Ugh, seriously, if you're going to die, just say so!"
"That Mabeast is troublesome... It's not just that it's a bad match for me."
The voice of a girl, her tone carrying its usual sharpness but laced with urgency.
And conversely, the voice of a girl who, despite the desperate situation, somehow lacked a certain tension.
Feeling the earth dragon's labored breathing and the heat of its blood against his skin, Subaru's consciousness was about to slip away. If the pain and suffering were going to be this bad, maybe it would be better to just die— "Don't you dare die, Barusu!
"—oh."
The shout, delivered right at his ear, cut through the pain and reached his brain.
What it唤起was a fury that refused to be outmatched by his hatred of the Mabeast.
As if he could forget.
As if any of them could remember her.
—Don't you dare speak about me and Rem like you know anything.
"—Invisible Providence!!"
Releasing his emotions in a torrent of rage, Subaru hurled the pitch-black hand at the Mabeast in the periphery of his tear-blurred vision with force bordering on spite.
The instant he did, the spiking agony of having his skull crushed surged in waves—before it could swallow his consciousness entirely, Subaru's "invisible hand" smashed the beast's spear head-on, delivering a measure of payback.
—But that was the extent of his feeble resistance.
"———!!"
The reply to his counterattack was an even more devastating blow born of further fury.
The Centaur planted its forelegs into the sandy ground, used them as a pivot to forcibly spin its massive body, and launched its hind legs like a catapult.
The mineral-hard hooves, now imbued with weight and velocity, hurtled through the spray of sand toward Subaru and the others—toward Patrasche, and likely Ram and Anastasia nearby.
Leg power sufficient to blow away a section of the cavern detonated, and they were all scattered by the violent sandstorm. Subaru was finally dislodged from Patrasche's jaws and tumbled helplessly across the sand, colliding with the charred corpse of something that had collapsed from the shockwave.
"Ah, uh..."
Inarticulate groans wrung from a headache beyond description and a body battered by the Centaur's kick.
Assaulted by continuous pain from inside and out, Subaru could no longer maintain consciousness. Yet, as he lay there rolling aimlessly, he sensed the unmistakable approach of "death."
Annihilation. Total destruction. Meaningless death. A futile end.
Those merciless words circulated through his mind—but— "..."
In a state where even breathing felt forgotten, Subaru saw someone standing before him.
A small, fragile figure. In a world barely lit, the details were unclear. But he recognized it immediately. It was Ram. She was standing, swaying slightly.
With both arms spread wide, as if to shield Subaru.
—You fool, it's impossible, it's pointless, stop— He tried to call out, but his throat was dead. Packed with sand. —No, it was literally packed with sand. He'd swallowed a mouthful like an idiot, trying to crush the headache, and now he couldn't even produce a proper voice.
"...Why..."
He managed only a thin, strained whisper.
He had harbored so much resentment and anger toward Ram and the others, and they must have felt it too.
"—Because Rem would cry."
At Subaru's words, Ram answered quietly with just that.
Standing to protect her sister's beloved—a sister whose memory she didn't have—for the sake of a girl she couldn't even remember.
What drove her to this, Subaru couldn't understand.
But there was something he did understand.
Like this, Ram would die. And Subaru would die. That was unavoidable.
"..."
The Centaur roared, raising both arms to conjure two new swords of flame. Or perhaps they weren't swords at all—it might have intended them as maces or axes.
Either way, two weapons wreathed in fire. They would bisect the tiny Ram before it, and scorch Subaru to ash as well.
"...Come on, come on. There's got to be something."
With the certainty of approaching "death" before him, Subaru reached into the depths of his pain.
Moving against the pain, diving beneath it—it was an act of reaching inward. Reaching outward—to Ram, Patrasche, Anastasia—was not realistic.
So even if it meant being called a fool or a madman, Subaru sought a solution inside himself. Because this method, obviously unrealistic as it was, was still more realistic than anything else available.
He dove inward, reaching through his muddied body, pushing aside the writhing dark delusions, searching for a breakthrough. Not the overtaxed "invisible hand." Something else—something new, a way out of this nightmare.
But Subaru's desperate search— "—Ah"
Came up empty, and before him, the Mabeast raised both flaming swords overhead.
The flames crossed above the beast's head, paused for a fraction of a second, then launched toward Ram. Scorching the air, the descending strikes would mercilessly cleave the girl's slender body, blow her away, erase every step she'd walked and every feeling she'd held, reducing it all to nothing—turning her into black ash— Visualizing this, Subaru screamed in helpless despair— "———"
In the next instant, white light, launched at terrifying speed, obliterated the Centaur's upper body.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The Mabeast's body, swords raised, vanished from this world under the onslaught of terrible light.
This was no mere cutting or crushing. It was, in the truest sense, annihilation.
"..."
The Centaur was a monster that joined a horse's lower body to a human torso at the head.
And the light had blown away everything from the chest up on the human portion. Naturally, the arms from the shoulders, the horn where the human head should have been, and the fang-filled mouth in the chest—all of it.
The beast bled soundlessly from the wound—then, moments later, the wound foamed and the same supernatural regeneration as before occurred.
Wriggling flesh surged upward. The lost human torso reformed. A human body was assembled in an instant, and new fireballs were already forming in its twin arms.
"———!!"
The Centaur howled, and countless infantile shrieks rang through the cold space.
Without sparing a glance at Subaru or Ram, the beast spun and charged headlong toward the entity that had blown away its upper half.
Generating a multitude of fireballs in its arms, the beast hurled them in rapid succession as it charged, screaming its own war cry through the explosive heat. But— "—!?"
Every single fireball the Mabeast created was intercepted head-on.
What accomplished this was a white light of terrifying accuracy that pierced each fireball dead center. The speed of the light was extraordinary, and its power clearly exceeded that of the fireballs.
The mass of flame was struck at its core, and the light's force drew the detonation back into the beast itself. The Mabeast became a white hedgehog of light for an instant before flames erupted across its entire body.
Its arms were blown off. Its mouth was torn away. The horse portion was scorched, and the Centaur collapsed. It crashed violently into the sandy ground and screamed in fury.
But its wounds writhed. The beast would not die. As if to say—if gouging and obliterating wasn't enough, then it would increase its strength, change its purpose, and evolve the very method of killing.
"..."
Regenerating its lost parts, the Mabeast's appearance transformed.
The human portion changed shape—two arms became four, and from the mouth in the torso, long, sharp fangs protruded. The horse's lower body also gained additional legs; eight legs meant twice the locomotive power by simple calculation.
Furthermore, its charred skin hardened into a glossy black substance—looking at it, one might mistake it for an entity clad in armor.
With a weapon in each of its newly multiplied arms—swords, spears, maces, axes—the beast underwent an unbelievable evolution in a short time, reshaping itself solely for the purpose of destroying the white light's source.
"..."
Raising its newly doubled forelegs, the Centaur let loose a thunderous roar. Clamping its forehooves together with a piercing clatter, it charged with all its might.
Its form, combined with its massive body, was the equal of an armored locomotive. Weight and acceleration would easily grind any target it struck into mincemeat, leaving a gruesome death in its wake.
Add fire to the killing blow, and the being that had humiliated the Mabeast would be completely annihilated.
"———!!"
Scattering sand in its wake, wreathed in the heat wave of its flames, the Mabeast charged forward with incomparably greater firepower than before. Its fire blazed with a ferocity that made hell's own flames pale in comparison—a grotesque and terrible form that would make any living thing tremble at a mere glance, the very King of the Sand Sea—white light pierced, white light pierced, white light pierced, white light pierce, white light pierce, white light pierce, white light pierc, white light pierc, white light pierc, white light pierc, white light piec, white light piec, white light piec, white light pie, white light pie, white light pie, white light pi, white light pi, white light pi, white light p, white light p, white light p, white light, white light, white light— ...
......
..........
.........
"..."
And in the instant after that tremendous outpouring of light, nothing remained.
The Mabeast that had displayed such ferocity—down to every last fragment of its flesh—had been blown away by the light, hurled to some place beyond this world.
What remained on the sand were the countless beams of light fired to obliterate the beast—its source, a slender white needle. Even that crumbled to dust almost immediately, as though weathering had set in.
"..."
Subaru stared at this in stunned silence, even his headache forgotten.
He realized that a hot, slender body had thrown itself into his arms. It was Ram. He had no memory of it, but apparently, in the final moment, he had pulled her close.
Of course, it probably meant nothing. And Ram seemed to have lost consciousness as well.
"..."
The sound of someone's footsteps on sand reached Subaru's ears.
Slowly, steadily, they were approaching—coming toward Subaru and the others.
As always, the cavern lay in cold silence and darkness.
The only sources of light were the remnants of fire that the Mabeast had so generously spewed out, scattered across the ground. A smoldering ember lay right beside Subaru, giving just enough illumination to see a few meters ahead.
At the very edge of that visibility, a pair of feet stepped into view.
"..."
Subaru raised his gaze to their owner—likely, the source of the white light.
Lifting his blurry vision, what came into focus was a human.
"..."
A woman.
A woman with a peculiar atmosphere about her.
She stood on the sand with legs boldly bare to mid-thigh, wearing pants cut scandalously short that barely protected her lower abdomen. Above them, her exposed waist and navel were on display, and a strip of cloth was wound around her narrow midsection in lieu of a breast covering.
She did wear something like a cloak draped over her shoulders, which barely sheltered her pale shoulders and most of her exposed body from the wind.
Her hair was a dark brown so close to black it almost blended into the shadows, tied back in a single long ponytail.
And the eyes she fixed on them were drenched in incredibly intense emotion.
Her thin lips split sideways into a smile, and the woman—bearing a feral quality—spoke.
"—Found you."
At least her words were understandable, Subaru thought.
That was as far as his thoughts went. His consciousness reached its limit.
Caught by the feel of sand beneath him, Subaru let go of consciousness without a word.
At the very least, he held tightly to the girl in his arms, determined not to let her go.
That was the extent of his stubbornness—the only grit he had left.