Moonlight spilled through a side window, illuminating the standoff between the two.
From the corner of his eye, Subaru could see the corpses on the floor.
One was a hulking old man, missing a hand, his head cleaved completely open.
The other was a young girl with short blonde hair; her stomach had been sliced wide open, her intestines spilling across the floor.
That blonde girl was probably the person Satella was looking for…
Disgust, anger…
a chaotic mix of emotions swirled in Subaru’s chest, ultimately coalescing into a single, overriding thought—kill her!
If he didn’t finish this woman here and now, Satella, waiting outside, would absolutely fall victim to her blade.
Kill her!
“You seem a little nervous, boy~ Is this your first time on a battlefield?” Elsa’s face was flushed.
She spun her kukris in her hands like a juggler, drawing silver ripples through the air.
“How wonderful~”
Deep breath…
deep breath…
ignore her.
Subaru clenched his fists, his eyes locked onto the woman across from him.
Think…
Subaru Natsuki, think!
How did Dad fight?
Subaru couldn’t quite remember the details.
In his memories, his dad was always calm, collected, and unfathomably strong.
Every battle was an overwhelming display of absolute destruction.
No matter how dangerous the supervillain, they never lasted more than a few rounds against him.
Fly over, punch them in the front.
While they’re flying backward from the impact, dash behind them, punch them again…
Boom, fight’s over.
Pack it up and go home.
What else was there…
Right!
BOOM!!!
A sonic boom cracked the air.
With both arms outstretched, Subaru dove toward Elsa at extreme speed.
“Such a straightforward attack will never hit me~”
With a slight leap, Elsa effortlessly dodged Subaru’s charge…
or so she thought.
Grab!
A massive hand clamped around Elsa’s ankle, yanking her back down out of the air like a ragdoll.
Immediately after, his other hand gripped her calf.
He squeezed hard with both hands, and a stomach-churning crack of shattering bone echoed through the abandoned loot house.
“Raaagh—Haaah!!!” Spinning three and a half times in mid-air, Subaru hurled Elsa toward the adjacent wall like he was throwing a sandbag.
Blood sprayed wildly through the air.
Elsa’s entire right leg had been ripped clean off by Subaru’s sheer physical force.
The cross-section of the wound was jagged and uneven, the stark white pelvic bone clearly visible.
CRASH!
Elsa smashed straight through the wall of the abandoned building, her mangled body plowing a deep trench over ten meters long into the dirt outside.
With every word she spoke, bloody froth spilled from her lips.
“You really are strong, boy.”
Subaru flew out through the gaping hole Elsa had created, casually tossing her severed leg aside.
His face was ashen.
Disgusting.
That was so disgusting.
Bones, muscle, brain matter, intestines, blood…
a horrific assortment of human tissue was splattered everywhere.
Inside the abandoned building, the air had been stuffy and smelled mostly of dust.
But now, having stepped out into the crisp night air, the thick, cloying, metallic stench of blood rushed straight up Subaru’s nose.
So gross…
Subaru uncomfortably tried to wipe away the bits of viscera and blood splattered near his mouth.
But his hands were already completely soaked in Elsa’s blood; rather than wiping his face clean, he only managed to smear it further across his skin.
Disgusting.
The last time he had been in a fight was in elementary school.
The bloodiest thing he had ever seen prior to this was the aftermath of a car crash on the news.
For the first seventeen years of his life, Subaru Natsuki had been exceedingly ordinary.
To sum it up briefly: “A public high school student who refused to attend class in his third year.” If a footnote was required, it would be: “Also has a Superman for a father.”
But having a superhero dad hadn’t really impacted Subaru’s daily life.
Growing up, his father had never taught him anything about combat.
Instead, he had tirelessly guided Subaru through the study of astronomy and astrology.
Every day was just eating, going to school, sleeping…
exactly like any other ordinary student.
Until one day, Subaru suddenly didn’t want to go to school anymore.
It started with just the occasional day off, which escalated to missing several days a week, until finally, he was only showing his face at school once or twice a month.
By the time Subaru realized what was happening, he had become a complete shut-in.
Yet his father and mother never blamed him.
Instead, they doubled the warmth and affection they gave him.
I suddenly miss Mom and Dad…
Subaru pressed his lips into a thin line.
How are they doing back on Earth?
It had only been a day since he crossed over.
They probably just thought he had flown off to some remote, unpopulated area to test out his superpowers.
But what about in a few days?
What if he never went back?
Would they be angry?
Would they be worried?
Would they search for him?
His dad would probably fly all across the globe looking for him.
His mom would likely sit at home, crying silently, waiting for his dad to bring back good news.
…I really want to go home.
Swish!
Two cold flashes cut through the moonlight, flying straight for Subaru’s eyes and violently interrupting his thoughts.
Crap, I got distracted!
Subaru leaned back hard to avoid a fatal blow, but his face was still hit. Find the original chapter at g.com.
The blade shattered upon impact, leaving a faint white scratch across Subaru’s cheek.
“How can you get distracted during a massacre?” asked a dying Elsa, lying in the deep trench she had plowed.
Her blood seeped into the surrounding dirt, staining it an eerie, dark crimson.
That last strike was a desperate throw of her kukris using every remaining ounce of her strength, but it did little more than mildly inconvenience Subaru.
“You’re in this state…
and you still want to fight?” Subaru straightened his posture.
He clenched his fists so hard the surrounding air visibly distorted.
He floated into the air above Elsa, looking down at her.
“Why did you kill Felt?”
“Subaru!”
An anxious girl’s voice called out.
Subaru turned his head.
Satella was jogging toward him, her long silver hair swaying behind her, shining brighter than the full moon above.
Her blue-purple eyes were filled with anxiety…
Is she worried about me?
“Subaru, are you okay?!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, alive and kicking!” Subaru landed safely next to Satella, quietly hiding his blood-soaked hands behind his back.
He pointed at Elsa with his chin.
“This one is probably the mastermind behind everything…
Eh?”
Satella’s pale, clean fingers pressed against the scratch on Subaru’s face.
A soft light glowed as she activated her healing magic.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?
But Subaru is a good boy.
It’s okay now, it’s all okay.”
“…I literally mentioned it this morning, why are you still treating me like a kid?” Subaru grumbled softly.
Though, make no mistake, Subaru was only unhappy about being treated like a child; he was thoroughly enjoying Satella’s gentle healing.
Even if the scratch would have healed on its own in another minute anyway.
“Right after you went in, there was a massive bang from inside,” Satella said, withdrawing her fingers and clutching the emerald pendant at her chest.
“I was about to go in and help you, but then you came flying out through the wall.”
“That woman was ambushing people inside,” Subaru said, shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets to hide them.
“Felt and another big old man named Rom…
she killed them.”
“I see…”
Despite how brief the interaction was, Satella had still noticed the blood coating Subaru’s hands.
Her lips parted slightly, and she spoke in a voice so quiet Subaru could barely hear it: “I’m so sorry, truly…”
Subaru guessed Satella was apologizing to the murdered Felt and Old Man Rom.
Or perhaps, she was apologizing to him…
Both were possible.
That was the only answer.
“Oh my, you must be the target my employer ordered me to handle.
How gorgeous.”
The gentle atmosphere was shattered as Elsa, entirely immobilized on the ground, tilted her head and stared fixedly at Satella.