Chapter 12: Salutations to you, my brutal king! (Patreon)

Elsa stood opposite him, her blood-stained scimitar still in hand. When she caught sight of the crimson smear across Natsuki Subaru's palm, the smile on her face faltered, just slightly.

The blood was smoking.

The droplets clinging between his fingers turned into tiny sparks, scorching black marks spreading rapidly wherever they struck the ground. The wound at his side kept bleeding, and every drop that fell carried a wave of searing heat with it — as though it wasn't blood at all, but molten magma.

Elsa took an involuntary half-step back.

It wasn't a conscious choice — her body had simply sensed the danger on instinct!

"Subaru-kun!"

At the entrance to the Loot House, Emilia's face had gone pale.

Felt, clutching the insignia, stared at Subaru in a daze.

Old Man Rom stood in front of them, wooden cudgel in hand, his weathered fingers gripping the shaft tight, his face taking on a grave cast.

He had lived through the Demi-Human War, had even crossed blades a few times with Wilhelm the Sword Devil, the hero who ended it — yet the aura rolling off the boy before him still sent a chill down his spine.

"Kid..."

Old Man Rom started to say something more, but then he saw Natsuki Subaru's body curl slightly forward, one hand pressed against the wound at his side, the other clenched into a fist so tight it looked like he was struggling to hold something back.

Pain!

Anger!

Inside his head, that furious voice grew clear again.

— That lowly insect wounded us.

— Kill her!

— Tear her apart!

Natsuki Subaru clenched his jaw.

"Shut up."

He didn't know who he was talking to.

Elsa heard it, though.

She watched Subaru, the brief flicker of fear in her eyes slowly swallowed by infatuation.

"How beautiful..." she murmured. "Even the blood pouring out of you is alive."

Just then, the few drops of blood that had splattered onto her cloak when she'd stabbed him suddenly began to stir.

Then flames burst upward.

"What?!"

Elsa's expression changed in an instant.

The cloak she wore was no ordinary garment.

It was part of the payment her employer had given her in advance — enchanted with sun magic, able to gradually dissolve any magical attack that struck it and keep the wearer unharmed.

The effect was only good for a single use, but it shouldn't have failed against mere fire — except the flames those few drops of blood had ignited were nothing ordinary. The the Destroyer's blood carried enough fury and hatred to burn away all creation, and in the span of a blink the flames had already spread across the entire cloak.

The cloak first gave off a faint glow, trying to seal that power out, but it held for only an instant before its resistance collapsed entirely. It didn't even vanish cleanly the way it normally would after spending its effect — instead it burned away bit by bit, turning to ash that scattered on the wind.

Elsa immediately tore the cloak off and flung it to the ground. Even after burning it completely away, the flames kept going, scorching the surrounding dirt black.

"That was part of my employer's advance payment, you know."

She looked at the utterly ruined cloak, a trace of genuine regret finally creeping into her voice.

Natsuki Subaru slowly raised his head — his eyes, once clear and golden, had turned a burning, dark crimson.

Watching him now, Elsa's breathing quickened.

"Still... getting to see you like this — I suppose that's not such a bad trade after all."

"You shut your mouth."

Natsuki Subaru's voice didn't rise.

But the temperature across the clearing spiked all the same.

Emilia instinctively began chanting a protective spell, summoning several walls of ice crystal to shield everyone at the center.

Felt hunched her shoulders, and even Old Man Rom brought his cudgel up in front of himself.

Natsuki Subaru knew he shouldn't move.

Just a little more pressure.

Just one more step forward.

And the door held shut at the deepest part of his soul might swing wide open for good.

But the the Destroyer's wrath wasn't something that could be suppressed so easily.

"Die!"

Amid a low, guttural snarl, Natsuki Subaru vanished.

Elsa's pupils contracted sharply. She swung her blade to the left at once.

The blade cut through empty air — nothing there.

Right side?

Behind her?

Overhead?

Her killer's instincts screamed in alarm.

But the scorching presence was already bearing down on her — from directly ahead.

Natsuki Subaru emerged from the shadow right in front of her.

He was close enough that Elsa had no time to change her stance.

The Bent Light War Blade flared to life on his right arm.

But this time, the faint green glow was streaked with an unnatural crimson.

Elsa looked down to find the blade already buried deep in her stomach.

She meant to laugh, but blood surging up from her throat filled her mouth first.

Even though he was the one winning, Natsuki Subaru's arm was shaking violently.

"I told you," he said, staring at Elsa, an uncontainable violence roiling in his eyes. "Don't push me!"

Elsa lifted her head. Her face had gone pale with pain, yet her eyes burned with even more excitement than before.

"You're still... holding back."

Natsuki Subaru didn't answer. He pulled the blade free and drove a kick straight into Elsa's stomach.

Thud!

Elsa was sent flying backward.

She crashed through the stone wall bordering the clearing, and without slowing, slammed straight into the outer wall of the Loot House.

A thunderous crash—!

The wall shattered.

Wooden beams snapped.

The entire warehouse shook violently.

"Old Man Rom!"

Felt cried out.

Old Man Rom's face went white. He grabbed Felt and ran, pulling her out of the way.

The next instant, the warehouse roof caved in completely, sending rubble, splinters, and dust billowing into the sky.

Shielded behind her wall of ice, Emilia was, of course, unharmed. She immediately looked past the dust toward the other side, but all she could make out was a shadowy shape radiating scorching heat.

"Subaru-kun..."

Her voice trembled.

Natsuki Subaru still stood where he was. With its psionic link severed, the Bent Light War Blade had dissipated. His hand hung limp at his side, blood dripping from his fingertips, while the violent impulse inside him kept slamming against his mind.

— Kill her!

— Chase her down!

— Burn it all!

"Get out..."

Natsuki Subaru muttered to himself, staring at the ruins.

"I said get out!"

Boom!

A wave of scorching pressure burst outward from his body.

The rubble around him trembled faintly.

The surviving beams groaned under a strain they couldn't bear.

In the wreckage, a hand caked in blood pushed a broken beam aside.

Elsa staggered to her feet.

Her black hair hung in disarray, and her already-revealing dress had all but disintegrated. Her pale white body was streaked with blood, yet the wound in her stomach was closing at an impossible speed.

"Heh... heh heh heh heh..."

Elsa suddenly covered her face and burst into a bone-chilling fit of laughter. She stared at Subaru, a flush of intense excitement rising once more across her blood-streaked face, her legs trembling faintly with some twisted thrill.

"I understand now... I finally understand!"

Elsa stuck out her tongue and licked the blood from her lips with hungry relish, her eyes locked on Subaru with an almost worshipful gaze.

"What you're holding back isn't killing intent — it's something far more terrifying than that!"

In a way, she had finally gotten her wish and glimpsed what lay buried deep within Natsuki Subaru — and its horror far exceeded anything she'd imagined. Even that brief contact was enough; an absolute, soul-deep dominance of presence had every cell in her body screaming to run.

Yet at the same time, an unprecedented, twisted adoration and obsession was taking root and growing wild inside her.

"Ahh... how beautiful... what a terrifying power!"

Her legs went weak, and with a soft gasp she sank halfway to her knees. Gazing up at Subaru, whose eyes still burned crimson, she wore an expression of utter rapture.

"I take back what I said before... I'm not worthy of cutting open your belly. You... you're the very embodiment of slaughter itself!"

"Get out!"

Natsuki Subaru forced the word out through gritted teeth, and the pressure radiating from him swelled further still.

No matter how unwilling she was, Elsa had to admit that if she didn't leave now, that raging power would tear her to pieces — and not even her cursed doll constitution could save her.

"Heh heh... as you wish, my savage king."

She fixed one last, deep look on Subaru, as if trying to carve his image into her very soul.

"My name is Elsa Granhiert. Remember it — we... will meet again for certain!"

Elsa vanished in moments. Then, amid a swift, light whistle of air being cut, a striking streak of pure white and fiery red dropped like a shooting star to the edge of the ruins.

It was Reinhard, the Sword Saint, who had sensed the disturbance and raced here at full speed.

The air still carried that annihilating presence, one that seemed capable of burning straight through the world. His gaze swept over the collapsed warehouse, over the injured Subaru, and over the scorched marks left scattered around them — his deep blue eyes narrowed slightly.

The Dragon Sword Reid let out another uneasy, low hum.

Reinhard rested his hand on the hilt but made no move to draw.

He simply looked at Subaru and asked quietly:

"Lord Subaru, are you all right?"

"Not at all!"

Natsuki Subaru glanced up at him, then looked down at his ruined coat and let out a long sigh.

"This coat's about half ruined now."

"How am I supposed to explain this to Kafka?"