Re Zero DMMS 106 (Patreon)

After a long while, Al finally stood back up. He cast one final glance at the rubble covering the ground, a helpless smile appearing on the face hidden beneath his helmet.

"Echidna, you were right. Sometimes, people simply can't shake off their own mission. No matter what kind of struggles they make, they will always return to the starting point."

At that moment, he desperately wanted to laugh, mocking his entire life.

Abandoning his mission to follow Priscilla, he had ended up in such a state in the end, with nothing left at all.

In the end, was it all just for nothing?

If that's the case, then I should pick my mission back up.

Al strode away from the rubble-filled mansion without looking back, determined to sever everything from the past completely.

Power—he needed power to exact revenge, and enough power to fulfill his mission.

Then there was only one place left, the only way for him to rapidly increase his strength.

Head to the Pleiades Watchtower and usurp the divine dragon's empty shell.

...

Meanwhile, the Elior Forest.

"Puck! Look at this snowman!"

Amidst the white snow, a silver-haired girl in a dress was smiling and talking to a creature floating in midair.

Puck stared admiringly at the crooked snowman before him, not sparing any words of praise.

"Whoa. As expected of my daughter Lia, even the snowman she sculpted is so beautiful. It's simply amazing."

"Hehe, as long as Puck likes it."

Emilia squatted down, scooped up the snow from the ground again, and started shaping a new form little by little.

Watching his daughter play in the snow and giggle, Puck floated in midair, a helpless yet doting smile appearing on his face.

Ever since she renounced her status as a candidate for the Royal Selection some time ago, Emilia had brought Puck back to the Elior Forest.

To the young girl, this place was not just a simple large forest, it carried countless memories.

Her childhood memories were extremely hazy, as if they had been sealed away, she couldn't recall them at all. Yet Emilia understood that those lifelike ice sculptures standing within the forest had once been living people—they were all her family.

Back then, it was precisely to rescue the frozen people that she had left the forest with Roswaal. She searched for a way to thaw them and stumbled into becoming a candidate for the Royal Selection.

However, after she left the forest, the Emilia camp she had established had been completely destroyed.

Rem was dead, Ram was left helpless and isolated, even Roswaal had died, and Beatrice cared nothing for worldly affairs.

At this thought, her actions of playing in the snow unconsciously slowed down, and Emilia lowered her head sadly.

After a long while, she spoke up, her tone tinged with a hint of helplessness and choked sobs, "Puck... Do you think that if I hadn't chosen to leave the forest back then, Rem and Roswaal and the others wouldn't have died?"

Hearing this, Puck's expression changed. He floated above Emilia's head, patting her hair with his paws.

"Lia, none of this is your fault. It's okay, none of it is your fault."

Under his gentle comfort, Emilia gradually calmed down. She raised her head, having lost any interest in playing with snow. Just as she wanted to say something, she was interrupted by a voice.

"I'm telling you. What right does a woman like you have to sport white hair? You look quite young too—what qualifications do you have to share my wife's hair color? Do you know that this completely violates my wife's personal right to privacy?! Where do you place my wife's right to dignity?! Do you people even have the most basic principles of being human?!"

Hearing this sudden opening, Emilia turned her head in confusion, while Puck acted as if facing a formidable enemy, a look of disbelief flashing through his eyes.

"Are you kidding me..."

Looking at the two figures emerging into view, the knowledgeable Great Spirit Puck felt fear.

If these two fellows joined forces, even his true body might not necessarily be able to defeat them.

"That's way too unfair."

At this moment, Regulus, who had still been spouting nonsense, was suddenly held by the shoulder by a small hand.

"Honey, we should treat others with peace of mind and reduce some of our temper. After all, everyone has love in their hearts, and only love can soothe everything, just like the love between us."

Pandora looked gently at Regulus. Both her gaze and expression were full of lingering affection, just like a newlywed couple deeply in love.

Regulus, after being brainwashed, was most susceptible to this routine. His aggressive tone from just moments ago instantly softened as he coaxed her gently.

"I'm sorry, Pandora. I just saw that damned woman having the same hair as yours, and I kept thinking why—why should someone be allowed to possess the exact same trait as my wife? Such a wretch deserves to die. It was my lack of consideration, I'm sorry."

While Emilia was still wondering who the two people before her were, Puck had already turned his head abruptly and shouted sternly, "Lia, run! I'll hold them off!"

Damn it! Regulus and Pandora? What kind of fatal combination is this!

Regulus, who could destroy a country single-handedly, and Pandora, who could rewrite causality at will.

These two cheats had actually arrived together, it was definitely not going to be anything good.