A Night of Demonic Possession [1]

Its scales were like plates of iron armor, and its enormous body was like a living bulldozer. Standing in front of it, Subaru couldn't even see the moon.

It was in a completely different league from the Witchbeasts he had encountered before. Subaru understood that he stood no chance against it.

The only emotion he felt from Antares was the purest terror.

"This is even more ridiculous than the one in Resident Evil 2... Am I dreaming?!"

"Roar-!!!"

"My god!!"

The roar made Subaru's ears ring in an instant, and then he couldn't hear a thing. Without stopping to check whether his ears were still working, he grabbed Rem and turned to run.

"Please, Anta! I'll make it up to you however you want when we get back! Please, give it a little more!"

Antares strained to absorb the free-floating mana in the air, pouring a constant stream of energy into Subaru's body. Stimulated by the mana, his muscle fibers broke past their limits again and again, and he ran faster and faster.

But even so, racing the giant beast behind them, he could only barely keep from being swallowed.

That huge maw was never far behind them, and with every breath, they could smell the bloody stench blasting from it.

"Subaru... are we going to die?"

"Idiot! Don't say that now!"

A deafening crash came from behind them as the giant crocodile plowed through everything in its path. It charged again, and Subaru grabbed Rem and desperately swerved through the dense forest.

The giant crocodile's head slammed squarely into several great trees they had just passed, uprooting them.

"You've got to be kidding me! How can there be a crocodile this big in a forest?! According to the laws of nature, there's no way this thing could grow that huge!"

"Witchbeasts can survive on the mana in the air... They can live without hunting..."

"If it can live just by absorbing air, why is it chasing us?!"

"The mana in people's bodies... is part of their diet too. I'm sorry... Rem has dragged you down, Subaru..."

"Huh?!"

Subaru didn't have time to think about what she meant. Behind them came that creepy sound of something heavy crushing the ground again. The beast was charging once more.

"Ugh-!"

Although Subaru had sped up in advance, the edge of that enormous body still grazed him hard before he could burst into full speed.

Subaru was sent flying backward, Rem in his arms. In midair, he desperately adjusted his position, keeping Rem above him as he slammed into the ground.

Loose stones and dead branches on the ground tore into his back, and the impact knocked all the air from his lungs. Seeing stars, Subaru raised his head and saw a broad patch of slippery moss ahead.

He decided to try the same trick again. But the moment he gritted his teeth and took a step, a piercing pain shot through his leg, making him suck in a sharp breath.

He looked down and saw that one of his lower legs had been scraped bloody and raw by the impact, blood running down his trouser leg.

Fortunately, no bones were broken. But that meant the rest of their escape would depend entirely on his willpower.

Subaru forced himself to run despite the searing pain in his leg, drawing the handgun at his waist as he did.

"Anta!"

Ice magic spread across the ground, instantly freezing it into a smooth, mirrorlike sheet.

The giant crocodile stepped onto the ice mid-charge, its enormous body as impossible to stop as a sports car out of control. Its huge head swung violently to one side as it skidded, finally turning away from Subaru and Rem.

Seizing that split-second opening, Subaru dragged his injured leg and sprinted madly to the side. Then he spotted a natural cave in the forest.

Judging by the size of the entrance, there was no way the giant crocodile could squeeze inside.

Subaru pulled Rem in with him.

"...Sss... Ow, ow, ow... Suck it up, Natsuki Subaru. It's not like you haven't been through worse."

Subaru leaned against the cave wall, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and muttered to himself.

Just then, he felt a strange sensation at his side. He looked down and found that Rem hadn't rested after letting go of his hand. Instead, she had crouched down, scooped up the damp, cool mud in the cave with both little hands, and started smearing it on him. She worked quickly, urgently.

"What is it, Rem? Oh-I get it! Is this some kind of magical otherworld mud that can heal wounds? But I only hurt my leg. You don't need to put it all over me."

"With this on you, when we go out, Rem will draw the big crocodile away. Subaru, hurry back to the village."

"...What?"

Rem looked up. Her large blue eyes were brimming with tears. They didn't fall, but trembled at the edges of her eyes, holding all her grief and reluctance to part.

"It's all Rem's fault. Rem was too useless, and that's why Subaru got hurt. That big crocodile is probably after Rem. Rem is the one who got you into this."

"Wait, wait, wait! Why are you suddenly saying all this? There's no proof of that, so you can't just take the blame for it!"

"That day... my sister killed one of its kind."

"So it's very possible it appeared because it smelled a scent similar to my sister's. This mud can hide your scent, Subaru, so Rem can draw it away. Subaru, you're amazing, much more capable than Rem. Rem is useless. Rem isn't worth dragging you down..."

"Take that!"

"Ow!"

Rem crouched down, clutching her forehead. She looked up, aggrieved, only to see Subaru glaring down at her. He looked genuinely angry.

Subaru shook the hand he had used to chop Rem on the forehead. But even with the little girl looking at him so aggrievedly, he had no intention of apologizing.

"Who's useless? You?"

"...Yes. That's the truth. Rem can't do anything right... It's always been that way..."

"Is that so?" Subaru lowered his hand and looked straight at the blue-haired girl crouching on the ground.

"Then if you're useless, what does that make me, the person you saved back then?"

"Subaru and Rem aren't the same. Subaru, you're amazing now. Rem only drags others down. Rem only causes trouble for her sister, and now she's even gotten you hurt..."

"I'm asking you! What about when I was still good for nothing? When you were taking care of me, I never once told you to leave me behind. I shamelessly kept sticking with you. That's the kind of person you are."

"No... that wasn't the real Rem..."

"I don't care what you think! You took care of me, and that's a fact!"

Subaru's voice suddenly rose. "Even though you had such a hard time yourself, you still cooked for me. You complained about the trouble, but you never missed a single day. Useless? You've got to be kidding! Even if you're trying to make me hate you, you're really underestimating me."

"Taking care of you only made Rem feel at ease... Can you accept a reason like that too...?"

"You think a reason like that will make me give up on you?"

A strange sense of familiarity suddenly flashed through Subaru's mind. This scene, this conversation, felt as though it had happened before. Words naturally rose to his lips.

"Rem. If you want me to stay away from you for good, you'll have to kill half the world's population, without any extenuating circumstances or the slightest room for redemption."

"Your reason would have to be something as lousy as 'the weather's bad today' or 'the convenience store ran out of bread.' Otherwise-forget it."

"...Is Rem worth that much patience?"

Rem's shoulders trembled slightly, and the dam in her voice was crumbling inch by inch.

"Even if you say that... but right now..."

"I won't let you die, Rem," Subaru said, enunciating every word. "I'll take you back. And-"

His tone suddenly softened, taking on the note of a petulant complaint.

"I'm so hungry. I haven't had dinner tonight, and I haven't had a meal you made yourself in days, Rem."

"...At a time like this, you're still thinking about food?"

"Can't help it. Food comes first, after all." Subaru grinned at her. "Your cooking is the best, Rem. I don't know how many times better it is than that greasy stuff at the tavern. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I have to make it back alive."

"...Is Rem... really that good? Can Rem really... go on living?"

"Of course. I've been looking forward to sitting in the kitchen when we get back, watching you steam sweet potatoes for me. I've even decided what side dishes I want. Since Ram's too busy to enjoy them, I'll happily have them all to myself."

Rem's body trembled slightly. Then, before Subaru could react, she threw herself at him, her little hands clutching the clothes on his back as she buried her face in his chest and nodded her little head vigorously, again and again.

Her breathing was broken by sobs, her shoulders shaking like leaves in the wind.

Subaru froze for a moment. Then his tense body slowly relaxed. He had just started to reach out to stroke Rem's hair.

"Boom!!!"

"Boom!!!"

"Boom!!!"

A tremendous crashing came from the cave entrance. The entire cave shook, and stones and dust poured down from the ceiling like a torrential rain.

Subaru jerked his head up. The giant crocodile was ramming its enormous head frantically against the entrance. The stone walls were cracking, fissures spreading across the rock like a spiderweb.

But it was simply too big. It could only thrust its mouth full of sharp teeth into the cave; no matter what it did, it couldn't squeeze its body inside.

"This thing! How did it know we were hiding here?!"

Gritting his teeth, Subaru pulled Rem to her feet. Ignoring the stones and dust covering them, he ran deeper into the cave without looking back.