Re Zero DMMS 92 (Patreon)

Al was startled by the suddenly appearing Kenma.

After making out the other party's face and that iconic crimson armor, he patted his chest with lingering fear, a muffled sound coming from inside his helmet.

"You scared me to death, bro. So it's you. What's wrong, are you here to be a guest today?"

Kenma looked at the giggling Al before him, unable to help feeling a bit curious.

This guy's version of Return by Death... I wonder what its exact effects are.

Let's test it out.

Facing Al's inquiry, Kenma shrugged and nonchalantly uttered a mind-blowing sentence.

"I came here today mainly to kill Priscilla. If you can manage it, try to stop me."

Hearing this, the previously giggling Al froze in place, a gaze filled with murderous intent shooting out from the gap in his helmet.

"Bro... This is not something to joke about."

"Who the hell is joking with you?"

Kenma grabbed Al's head, and his figure vanished on the spot. When the two appeared again, they had entered a certain room in the mansion.

He threw the dumbfounded Al flying, pointed at the sealed doors and windows around them, and smiled.

"Oi, your Return by Death can only be performed in a closed space, right? I've created a pretty good environment for you. Come on, let me experience it."

Kenma pulled out the flesh greatsword from behind him, pointing the blade at Al, who had already assumed a defensive posture.

"If you can't satisfy me, I'll go kill Priscilla right now."

Al used his remaining arm to draw the longsword at his waist, staring straight at Kenma.

"You!"

His heart was filled with numerous doubts.

Why did this guy know that Priscilla was his biggest weakness?

Why did he know that he possessed the ability of Return by Death? Shouldn't that be his own power?

Could it be...

Seeming to have thought of something, Al gave a dry chuckle, his voice somewhat hoarse. "Buddy, you haven't already returned once, have you? What on earth did the me from the previous loop say to you?"

Al took a stride forward, and the longsword in his hand slashed out.

Even as fellow Return by Death users, within his domain, memories could not be retained.

So what if the person in front of him was strong?

Whether it's ten times.

Whether it's a hundred times.

Whether it's a thousand times.

Or ten thousand times! A hundred thousand times!

As long as this guy in front of him wanted to harm Priscilla, no matter how many times he looped, he would stop him.

...

First loop.

Al stepped forward, his longsword slashing toward Kenma's neck. The moment the sharp blade touched his skin, Kenma merely twisted his neck, and the longsword shattered into flying metal fragments.

Seeing this scene, Al stood dumbfounded in place, still gripping the hilt in his hand.

What the hell is there to fight! What kind of defense is this!

He felt an afterimage flash before his eyes, and before he could even react, his entire head was twisted off.

...

Tenth loop.

Facing Al, who was charging at him with a raised sword, Kenma raised the flesh greatsword high in his hand, then slashed out.

A crimson slash surged overwhelmingly, but the corners of Al's lips beneath the helmet curved upward.

This move... I already saw it in the previous two times!

He sidestepped to dodge, the edge of his helmet narrowly brushing past the crimson slash.

Seizing the momentum, he slashed at Kenma's lower body.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the longsword exploded into flying metal fragments.

Al: "..."

You even trained here?!

Before he could continue thinking, Kenma's punch had already struck.

Al raised his arms to block, only to experience what a true monster was in the next second.

The instant his fist and arms collided, the first thing shattered by that immense force was Al's arm muscles, and then the fist continued forward without hindrance, piercing straight through his bones all the way until it burst through his chest.

The immense power seemed to have finally found an outlet for release, erupting like a tsunami. Without even a chance to react, Al was blasted high into the sky.

Bang!

Accompanied by a muffled sound like a balloon bursting, Al exploded into a sky full of blood, leaving only the metal fragments of his helmet crashing to the ground.

...

100th loop.

"Damn it, it's all the stars' fault!!!"

Al howled, flipping over to dodge Kenma's powerful slash.

Next, facing the close-range Kenma, he was like someone who had practiced in advance, accurately dodging every single time.

Just like a Souls-game player who died repeatedly at the hands of a super-strong boss, barely dodging fatal damage through memorizing attack patterns.

But no matter how well he memorized patterns, what Al was facing was not a boss set by programming, but a living, breathing human who could change moves at any time.

Kenma raised the flesh greatsword high. The horizontal slash from Al's memory suddenly turned into a diagonal slash, and Kenma even deliberately paused for a second in mid-air before bringing it down.

Delayed slashes too?!

Al inwardly cried out in misery, he knew he was done for this time again.

The next second, a crimson slash pierced all the way from his left shoulder to his right waist, cutting him diagonally into two halves.

Falling in his own pool of blood, Al still retained a shred of vitality, cursing up a storm in his heart.

What kind of difficulty is this boss! He is actually this strong, how is anyone supposed to fight this!

From Al's perspective, he was dealing with an ultimate boss.

The defense was so high that hitting him only chipped away one point of damage, the damage was so high that touching it meant instant death, and on top of that, he used attacks with random patterns, could pull off large-area attacks, and had those damn delayed slashes.

We're both Return by Death users! It shouldn't be this vastly different!

Harboring such thoughts, the world before his eyes gradually plunged into darkness.

Al died once more.