Bang.
BANG—!
Natsuki Subaru sat astride the giant wolf’s back, drenched in blood.
PUNCH after punch rained down, slamming hard onto the wolf’s head with dull, bone-crunching cracks.
The skin over his bare knuckles was scraped raw, blood and wolf fur sticking to his palms in a messy sludge.
The cloth wrapped around his right fist was dripping wet by now as well.
“Die!
Die!
Just die already!” A raspy roar tore from his throat.
His eyes were bloodshot, his glare so vicious he looked ready to devour a person whole.
Why?
Why did it have to be him who was this damn unlucky?
Other people got transported to another world and lived the high life, embraced by beautiful girls on both sides, surrounded by reliable companions and gentle cuties.
And what about him?!
The moment he landed, he got kicked to death twice in broad daylight, dragged headfirst into a web of schemes, and now he was getting chased and bitten by a pack of beasts.
“Damn it!” His fists slammed down even harder.
So what if he had actively jumped into these messes himself?
He had been transmigrated, for crying out loud!
If he didn’t aim to pull off something huge, what was the damn point of being transmigrated in the first place?
What main character?
What “Foreseeing the Future”?
If Boss hadn’t been there to cover his ass, he wouldn’t even have enough fingers on two hands to count the number of times he’d died.
If he really was the protagonist, then this was nothing but pure, unadulterated torture porn.
“AWOOO—!” The giant wolf beneath him let out a agonizing howl, practically weeping in pain.
Yet the sound didn’t soften Subaru’s heart in the slightest.
If anything, it only stoked his fury higher.
“Shut your damn mouth!” He slammed two more brutal punches down.
“Did you think about the consequences when you were chasing me down to bite me?!
Giving you two corpses to eat wasn’t enough?!
You greedy bastards wanted to eat me too?!
Ending up like this serves you damn beasts right!” His fists didn’t stop, and the wolf’s howls gradually faded away.
Finally, the giant wolf’s four limbs twitched violently before going completely still.
Subaru added two more punches just to make sure it was dead through and through before rolling off the wolf’s corpse, gasping heavily for air.
The surroundings were dead silent.
The wolf pack that had previously swarmed and cornered him was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a field scattered with wolf corpses lying every which way.
“…Did I shake them off?” He rested his hands on his knees, panting in deep, ragged breaths, his tightly wound nerves finally slackening a fraction.
Thank goodness these beasts weren’t endless.
At least they knew fear and knew when to tuck tail and hide.
Otherwise, he might really have breathed his last here today.
Stumbling over to a massive tree, he slumped against it.
With his back pressed against the rough bark, his vigilant gaze kept sweeping over the surroundings.
After resting for a moment, his brows knit tightly into a knot, and he muttered to himself: “Boss, things are probably gonna get tricky next.
The mansion is so isolated; even if those guys’ corpses aren’t found right away, our time is likely running out.” Crouched by the roots of the tree, Subaru had a face full of gloom.
“The absolute worst part is that this place is too far from the Royal Capital.
We can’t possibly make it back, and with no place to stay, we might actually end up left to rot in these woods.” His gaze swept over the wolf corpses nearby as he was already calculating how to process the meat.
Diavolo’s expression remained serene, devoid of panic: “Brat, disposing of the corpses is enough.” “It’s hard to say whether the half-elf in the mansion heard anything, but the outcome is favorable.
Even if she senses something is amiss, she will only assume an intruder broke into the mansion, a battle broke out, and a few people went missing.” “Given the remote location, even if she reports it, it will take time for the local law enforcers to arrive.
We still have time.” “Rest first.” He paused, then added: “When you were chatting with that half-elf last night, she mentioned a village near the mansion.
We will head there next and change out of these clothes.” “Oh right!
There’s a village nearby!” Subaru’s eyes instantly lit up.
A village meant carriages and food.
He wouldn’t have to travel on foot, let alone chew on wolf meat.
“Then when do we leave?” He could no longer sit still.
“No rush.” Diavolo’s gaze turned deep and penetrating.
“While we have a moment, I will share my deductions with you.
I have roughly pieced together our predicament.” “Boss, you figured it all out?!” Subaru’s eyes snapped wide open.
How long had it been?
In just this short span of time, he had connected all the causes and effects?
“Consider it a hypothesis, but it shouldn’t be far off the mark.” Diavolo’s voice was firm and resolute: “Since this is another world, if you possess the ability of ‘Foreseeing the Future,’ it is not impossible for others to have similar powers.” Hearing this sent a cold shiver straight down Subaru’s spine.
If someone like that was truly lurking in the shadows, keeping eyes on him, he wouldn’t even know how he died.
“Do you still remember what that clown Margrave said?” Diavolo said slowly: “The moment I intended to use my ability, what he said was, [Subaru-kun, what are you planning to do?].
Yet right after that, he asked, [What, pray tell, was that bizarre ability of yours just now?].” “This proves that while he knew of my existence, he was entirely ignorant of my ability.” “Therefore, the first sentence was directed at you, while the second sentence was directed at me.” “Combining this with his unnatural actions, it can be concluded that he knows about your ability of ‘Foreseeing the Future’ and possesses some powerful means of detection.” “Everything before was an attempt to force you to trigger your ability and return to the past.” “What!” Subaru gasped audibly.
“It’s just that he likely doesn’t know the specific trigger for your ability.
That is why he used force to push you, yet didn’t dare to truly kill you.” “My intervention caused his plan to fall through for the time being.” “Furthermore, he seemed utterly confident that even if he died, he had backup measures prepared to force you into triggering your ability.” Diavolo spoke in an unhurried manner, but every single sentence struck heavy against Subaru’s heart.
“Then those wolves just now…
were they that clown Margrave’s backup plan?” Subaru asked hesitantly.
“Those beasts were merely an accident.
Far too weak.” Diavolo shook his head.
“After witnessing my strength, it is impossible for him to be that arrogant.” “What is about to happen next is likely his true backup measure.” “So…
that’s how it is?” Subaru stood dazed.
The more he pondered it, the more he felt Diavolo was right.
As the two continued to sort through the details, the entire outline became increasingly clear.
Simply put, Roswaal needed Subaru’s ability for a certain goal.
After Subaru moved into the mansion, Roswaal likely investigated something, realized matters weren’t proceeding according to plan, and tried to force Subaru to rewind time to set everything back on track.
As for what had deviated from the plan to make a rewind necessary…
The only thing Diavolo could think of were those two corpses back in the loot house.
However, none of that mattered anymore.
From here on out, as long as they stayed alive, they could break Roswaal’s scheme wide open.
Once all his contingency plans failed, Subaru would be able to break entirely free from his grasp.
Minutes and seconds ticked away.
Six fifty-five.
A dark shadow landed silently upon the roof of the mansion.
The Bowel Hunter, Elsa.