Rem's resolve

It was a beast's roar, carrying a long whale's cry with it.

"Am I having a nightmare right now?!"

Subaru cried out in despair. The Ground Dragon was racing through the forest for all it was worth.

"Boom-!!"

The Ground Dragon swerved sharply. In the fog-shrouded spot where it had been just before the turn, an entire row of trees was crushed in half by a tremendous force. Subaru looked back and saw exactly what was chasing them.

A gigantic head. It was a whale, the head of an enormous white whale. Judging by the length of its head, it was probably over fifty meters long-more than twice the size of the Shadow Crocodile King Subaru had encountered before.

A huge white horn rose from its forehead, and a pink halo of unknown purpose floated above its head.

Subaru remembered.

The story Rem had told him in the library, about the kingdom's greatest tragedy five years ago, about the previous Sword Saint dying in battle.

"...The White Whale."

The calamity he had read about in a book, one of the legendary three great Witchbeasts, the invincible creature that had devoured the previous Sword Saint, was right there before him.

There has to be a limit to bad luck!

Subaru genuinely didn't understand. Wasn't a calamity like this supposed to be a legend you could go your whole life without ever seeing? He had been in this world for only a little over a month, so why had he encountered a monster of this caliber?

The Ground Dragon kept making sharp turns through the forest, using the dense woods' complicated terrain and its own agility to try to shake off the death that followed close behind.

But before long, the White Whale's maddening howl came from behind them again. No matter what they did, they couldn't shake it.

The towering trees were no more than matchsticks before it. It didn't even have to deliberately ram them; as its body swept past, their crowns were crushed to powder.

"Does my rotten luck attract even something like this?!"

Remembering how he was attacked by Witchbeasts without fail every time he entered a forest, Subaru spoke in a voice full of despair.

At this rate, everyone will be swallowed by the White Whale!

"Subaru, please take care of my sister. Rem will stop it and lead it away."

Rem's voice came from behind him.

"Don't be stupid! I'm not agreeing to you throwing your life away!"

"Rem doesn't want to die! Right now, Rem wants to live more than she ever has before!"

"Then stay alive! If anyone's going to lead it away, I will!" Subaru grabbed Rem's arm, trying to push her back down onto the Ground Dragon's back.

But Rem didn't do as she was told. She lifted her head and looked Subaru straight in the eye.

"But if that happened, if Subaru were gone, Rem wouldn't be able to live."

"...What are you talking about?!"

"Rem is a very selfish person." Rem's voice was frighteningly calm.

"Rem will never accept a world without Subaru. Rem doesn't want a future like that, not even for a second."

"Please. Take care of my sister. Rem wants a future with Subaru, so Rem will do everything she can to stay alive."

The determination in the girl's eyes was entirely genuine. On the boundary between life and death, Subaru truly couldn't understand what it meant to fear a world without him more than death.

He didn't understand. How could someone value another person more than their own life? The weight of those feelings nearly took his breath away.

"Rem! Don't go!"

"Rem..."

Trembling violently all over, Ram strained to open her eyes and pleaded in a hoarse voice.

But Rem firmly pushed Ram into Subaru's arms, gave her sister's icy fingers a tight squeeze, and let go. She swung herself around and leaped off the Ground Dragon.

A white oni horn lit up in the thick fog.

"Antares! Please!!"

The red Lesser Spirit became a streak of light, following the blue-haired girl into the depths of the fog. Amid the rush of wind stirred up by the speeding Ground Dragon, Subaru could faintly hear the roar of magic and a girl shouting with all her might behind him.

What am I doing? There's no reason to keep going in this world anymore, is there?

Subaru wailed inwardly. That was right, wasn't it? He had to hurry and start over, return to a world where everyone was still alive.

He reached for the handgun at his waist with a trembling hand. That's right. I just have to pull the trigger, and everything can start over!

"...Re...m..."

A feeble cry of grief came from behind him. Ram lay on the Ground Dragon's back, without even the strength to lift her head, unconsciously calling her sister's name.

...Do I still have one last thing to do? Take Ram somewhere safe?

The White Whale didn't pursue them any farther. Yet Subaru couldn't feel the slightest bit of relief. He simply held Ram steady, watching the shadows of trees rush past ahead of them. He didn't know how long they had been running. One kilometer, or two?

Suddenly, the view opened up.

The trees appeared with perfect clarity. They had made it out.

The Ground Dragon came to an abrupt stop, its chest heaving wildly as white foam poured from the corners of its mouth.

"...Mm."

Ram let out a faint gasp behind him. She gripped the hem of Subaru's clothes, her fingers slowly tightening as she pushed herself upright bit by bit.

"The mana in the air is back to normal?"

Using the mana Antares had left inside him, Subaru could sense that the air here was unpolluted. It was clean. It was safe.

"Ram... got out?" Ram spoke slowly behind him, her voice hoarse and confused.

"Ram-you... have you recovered?!"

"...Mm. Don't be so loud. Let Ram recover her strength."

The horn Subaru knew so well appeared on Ram's forehead. The pure mana in the air was slowly absorbed, and the self-healing ability unique to the oni began to take effect.

Color gradually returned to her pale face, and her breathing grew steady and strong.

Subaru's heart began pounding. If this place was completely safe, if this unpolluted forest could serve as a refuge, then the route for escaping with the villagers was viable!

But there was something he cared about more than that.

"Then hurry and absorb the mana! We have to get back quickly!" Subaru urged her.

"...Go back?"

Ram frowned in confusion and glanced at him as though he were an idiot.

"Are you stupid, human? It's been so long already. The village... can't be saved anymore. Why go back and get yourself killed?"

"...Huh?"

Subaru's expression froze. A chilling dread crept over him.

"Wh-what are you talking about?! We have to go back and save Rem! If Rem hadn't stopped the White Whale, we would have been swallowed already!"

"Rem... who is that?"