The End

The massive horn broke off.

The giant crocodile's enormous body crashed to the ground like a skeleton stripped of everything holding it up. Dust flew, and its blood-red eyes were already glazing over. It would never stand again.

Rem stepped forward. Another icicle formed in her palm. She gripped it, aimed at the flesh exposed beneath the shattered scales, and stabbed down hard.

Once. Again. And again.

The crocodile's flesh peeled open beneath the icicle's fierce thrusts, revealing stark white bones and internal organs still twitching faintly.

Blood gushed out, staining her short blue hair a shocking dark red. The giant crocodile let out a mournful cry, but Rem's movements did not stop for an instant.

There was no mercy in Rem's eyes, only an obsession that would not let her rest.

She searched through this bloody hell, plunging both hands into the warm flesh, pushing aside slippery organs and digging deeper and deeper.

She was looking for Subaru. Even though she knew all she could find was, was scraps of flesh. If that was all she could find, then at least, at least she would give Subaru's remains a proper rest. It was the only thing she could still do for him.

Then her hands stopped. Rem's nose twitched.

Amid the overpowering smell of blood, Rem caught a particularly unpleasant odor.

Rem's breathing suddenly quickened. Something lit up again in eyes that had been filled with despair.

Humbler than hope, it was a "what if."

Rem did not dare dwell on that what-if. She was afraid that if she did and found it wasn't real, she would go completely mad.

But her hands were already frantically pushing the enormous organs aside, reaching farther down toward the source of the smell.

A huge, oval ball of ice appeared before her eyes.

And curled up at the very center of the ice was a figure she had thought she would never see again.

"...I... really thought I was going to die..."

A voice came from inside the ice. The voice she had thought she would never hear again was weak and hoarse, but to Rem, it was more beautiful than any music in the world.

She covered her mouth. She used all her strength to keep from making a sound. She was afraid. Afraid this was an illusion.

For the first time, Rem prayed so earnestly to the gods, begging that this was not a dream.

The ice began to melt under the control of someone inside. The thinnest part of the ice cracked, and a black-haired head poked out.

Subaru's little face was full of lingering fear that he was desperately trying and failing to suppress. He gasped for breath, his whole face scrunching up at the stench of stomach acid and blood.

"Rem... your horn awakened? I never expected it. Rem saved me again..."

His voice was still weak, but he forced a smile.

"...How is that possible... Subaru... is still alive? No... is Rem dreaming?"

"It's all thanks to Anta. I'll tell you about it when we get back. Everyone was doing everything they could to save me. I'm so touched."

Subaru clumsily climbed out of the melting ball of ice. He wanted to put the terrified Rem at ease, so he deliberately kept his tone light, hiding all his lingering fear behind his casual words.

But before he could find his footing, Rem lunged at him. Her little hands seized Subaru's arm, feeling her way from his shoulder down to his wrist.

She felt the warmth of his skin with her fingertips, checked the shape of his bones with her palms, and brought her nose close to his collar to smell the unpleasant odor on him.

"Wow, Rem, you smell really strong. I wonder what Ram will say when she sees you. But you're cute to me, Rem, so I don't mind."

"...Is that so... Subaru... Subaru is still alive..."

Rem did not respond to Subaru's joke. All her attention was focused on the warmth beneath her fingertips.

Subaru looked at the little hands still making sure he was there, his heart aching too much for words. She really had been terrified.

Still, that was pretty impressive. Rem had actually taken down the giant crocodile.

Rem's nose twitched again. As the giant beast's oppressive presence gradually faded, the beasts deep in the forest, which had been too suppressed to show themselves, were roused by the signal sent out by the predator's death.

They no longer hid. Following the thick scent of blood in the air, they gathered toward them, step by step.

In the darkness, pair after pair of blood-red eyes lit up, crowding the edges of the entire woodland.

"...You've got to be kidding. Wasn't this supposed to end after we beat the boss?"

Subaru's expression had not yet had time to shift from "survived by the skin of my teeth" to the despair of "here we go again."

Rem was already standing in front of him like a lioness protecting her cub. Her face, still smeared with blood, tightened once more, twisting into the fierce visage of a demon.

"Rem... will never let the same thing happen again! Rem won't let you take Subaru away from Rem!"

"Where did all that possessiveness suddenly come from? Can I be happy about it? But I can fight too..."

Subaru's words caught in his throat halfway through.

The Witchbeasts charged. Giant one-horned rats, bats with wingspans that blotted out the sky, venomous snakes springing from the grass, and packs of wolf Witchbeasts rushed toward the two of them like a black tide.

Rem roared and moved to meet them. She was utterly exhausted, but she still raised her fists.

The next moment.

"Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-"

The Witchbeasts all froze at the same instant. Immediately afterward, without any warning, their bodies dissolved into blood from the inside out, and a fine mist of blood drifted silently down from the sky.

Every threat vanished in an instant.

There was only one person capable of such overwhelming power, such strength.

"...Sister."

Short pink hair fluttered gently in the night breeze. A single horn growing from her forehead as well, she slowly descended from the air.

Ram landed in front of them, her usually lazy and impatient face now full of gravity and lingering fear.

"When we get back, Ram is going to give that stinking old man a proper scolding. But right now, Rem needs a proper scolding too. As for this human, Ram wants to hear what Rem has to say first."

Ram was indeed angry. She paid no attention to the fact that Rem's horn had awakened. There was only one thing she cared about: her little sister had been in danger.

"Ram? How come you're here?"

Still dazed by the sense of safety that overwhelming strength had brought, Subaru asked the question blankly.

"How could Ram not have sensed it? Stupid Rem is Ram's little sister. Of course Ram would come when she was in danger."

Subaru did not know that twins in this world shared a connection akin to telepathy.

When one was in danger, the other would feel a powerful sense of foreboding. It was an unbreakable bond of blood that had tied them together since birth.

Rem looked at her sister, a smile appearing on her face.

For the first time in her life, she smiled because of her sister's strength. Because with her sister there, the person behind her would be absolutely safe.

The moment that thought settled, her taut nerves finally snapped. Her small body pitched forward, beyond her control.

"Rem!!"