章 29: A very bad feeling
Igarashi only made the third chapter exclusively for Chongyun and Xingqiu, as such, they are the only ones that have it. He wants to first test out how they would react to a sudden turn of events like Subaru dying and going back in time.
It was a bizarre and brutal ability. An ability that Subaru calls 'Return by Death' which takes him back to a certain point in time whenever he dies. Although, the time periods he goes back in changes as the story progresses.
This, and another element is what makes Re:Zero a popular light novel. It is different from the rest of the rising isekai genre which has the harem genre in it and a dense protagonist that ignores all the beauties falling for him like an absolute idiot. I mean, seriously, take a look at the new anime popping up.
Tropes such as this infuriate Igarashi. So when he discovered Re:Zero, which has a completely fresh story about Natsuki Subaru not expecting his isekai life, he immediately liked it. It tells how not everything goes according to your way and Subaru learns that by dying more than he could ever count.
He saw his closest friends die one by one, while he, who keeps returning to the past, tries his best to prevent his and their deaths.
Subaru has been tortured so many times, that it even surprises Igarashi how a man like that could still simp for Emilia.
'Though, to be fair, Emilia does look beautiful.' Igarashi admits. 'However, beauty is nothing compared to the loyalty that Rem presents.'
As much as he supports Subaru's decision of chasing after his savior, he still found it stupid of him to say the iconic line: "I love Emilia."
Igarashi shook his head and sighed. His inner ranting was just an old habit of his, so he stopped doing it.
He then sat down in front of his desk and continued drawing his next series, Avatar.
'Now, I just need to wait for the two of them to finish reading and see how many System credits I'll get...' He thought.
* * *
Xingqiu was really nervous. And it was not just him, Chongyun too was a bit hesitant to read.
To tell the truth, he and Chongyun didn't immediately take the initiative to read the third chapter. They just waited for Igarashi to walk away and discuss some things.
Xingqiu looked around before whispering to Chongyun. "Hey... So, what do you think?"
Chongyun gulped a bit and replied to Xingqiu while his eyes stared at the book in front of them. "To be honest... I feel scared..."
Xingqiu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, from the way Boss Yunru spoke, this chapter is definitely bad news..."
However, as much as they don't like where things are going, the urge to know what will happen is still present. It was difficult to contain their curiosity about what will happen to the main character. Especially since the author himself kept hinting something bad will happen.
The two of them looked at each other for a bit before nodding. Without speaking, the two of them made a silent agreement without anyone talking.
Chongyun was the first to pick up his book followed by Xingqiu. The two counted to three in their heads before opening the manga synchronously.
The chapter started where it left off in the previous chapter. Subaru, along with Emilia, went to a place in the slums because of the information that they obtained from the father of the child they saved.
It was said in the info that the person running the shop they were heading to was notorious for stealing items and selling them in the black market.
And since Emilia was also finding an item she lost, she trusted this information and went to the location with Subaru.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Chongyun muttered with nervousness
"Same here..." Xingqiu replied.
Weirdly, the two of them are reading the book synchronously. No one was being left behind and no one was getting ahead. The other was reading the part the other was also reading.
This, of course, was a skill the two of them mastered when they were young whenever Xingqiu wanted to read something with Chongyun.
They flipped each page and continued reading.
As they progress through each chapter, they found out that the cat spirit Emilia summoned was named Puck. Puck wanted to rest, so, it left Emilia with Subaru as her guard. To which the latter agreed cheerfully, being the simp he is.
"That spirit summon is cute." Xingqiu said with a smile, trying to distract himself from the approaching possibility.
"Y-Yeah... The magic in this world... Is... Interesting..." Chongyun replied. In his eyes, a spirit and a ghost are the same things. However, since ghosts run away or get destroyed before even getting near him, he still hasn't seen a legitimate ghost.
As such, a spirit in Igarashi's manga gave him some sort of like to how they act. 'They float...' He thought.
They continued reading and the duo finally arrived at the location that was mentioned.
"I-It's here... You feel it too, don't you?" Chongyun said
"Yeah... That ominous feeling... Something is definitely wrong inside..." Xingqiu gave his speculation.
They both felt like something horrible was about to happen. However, the suspense is killing them. So, out of pure curiosity, they kept reading.
Subaru volunteered to enter inside first before Emilia for her safety, for which the latter was really grateful for. As a result, he was given a glowing stone to help him see in the dark. Subaru thanked her and she smiled at him which he found really beautiful and charming.
Xingqiu seemed to notice something and expressed his thought. "Hey, is it possible that... Emilia knows something bad will happen?"
Chongyun was a bit confused and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know... Based on their interaction, she doesn't seem to know anything too."
"Hmm..." Xingqiu hummed.
They flipped a page and Subaru found himself in a dark room. On the walls, some daggers were hanging which had price tags below which indicates that they are for sale.
"Why is it so dark? It doesn't even have a single shade of light inside except for Subaru's light source..." Chongyun said as he analyzed the situation.
"Yeah, I find it weird too... Could it be...—"
However, before Xingqiu could continue speaking, he noticed something in the next manga panel. Chongyun also noticed this and focused on the book.
On the floor, blood was everywhere, Subaru only found this when he illuminated the floor with his light source. He was greatly startled and pointed his light source in front of him to only see a man lying on his own blood his arms and legs were cut off.
It wasn't like this in the original, but Igarashi wanted to make the story much more brutal than the original. But only small details like this.
Seeing the man dying on the floor, Chongyun and Xingqiu's faces darkened. "This..."
"Who would do such a thing..." Xingqiu muttered as his eyes were full of anger. As someone that lives off a moral code, seeing this scene greatly infatuates him and stirs his emotion.
"I knew it, so is this what Boss Yunru is hinting all along?" Chongyun said.
Xingqiu shook his head in disagreement and replied. "No. Look at it more. If my prediction is correct, then..."
Xingqiu subconsciously gulped as he vaguely knows what will happen next. Chongyun also got the message and nodded.
The two of them continued reading and soon, a figure suddenly appeared behind Subaru. The latter tried to see who it was but was kicked to the wall.
Subaru tried getting up but was having great difficulty. He then noticed a warm sensation spreading beneath him. With his body laying flatly on the floor, he checked his body to see that he was covered in his own pool of blood.
"What the..." Chongyun felt a nauseating feeling.
"That's... A bit brutal... Isn't it?" Xingqiu said as his eyes were filled with sympathy.
However, the two of them soon stopped what they were thinking. Their eyes widened with disbelief as they looked at the next page.
While Subaru was thinking about who killed him, a figure suddenly entered the room. It was Emilia.
Subaru's eyes widened as he looked at the worried Emilia. She was about to ask something but was suddenly attacked by the shadowy figure that attacked Subaru.
"No... It can't be... Puck will save her, right?!" Chongyun started slightly panicking.
Xingqiu didn't know how to reply. As someone who had read many books before, he vaguely knows where this is going. He shook his head with uncertainty. "I-I don't know..."
The two of them felt nervous about flipping to the next page. Scared, even. However, they still need to know. They need to know what will happen to Subaru and Emilia.
Taking in deep breaths, the two of them flipped the page.
"..."
"..."
The two of them were dead silent. Eyes widened with disbelief.
"This... No way..."
On the next page, the dying bodies of Subaru and Emilia were laying down on the floor as blood oozed from their bodies.
"Isn't this... The same scene as on the first page...?" Chongyun said as he finally understands what that scene means.
Xingqiu nodded. "So Boss Yunru... Already hinted their deaths from the very start..."
'But where is the story going now? Is it really just a short story? Or...' Xingqiu was thinking of many possibilities but noticed something.
"Hey... Look. There are four more chapters." Xingqiu pointed
Chongyun also noticed this and asked Xingqiu. "Wait... Does that mean..."
The two of them looked at each for a moment before nodding. 'There must be more!'
Without spending any more time, they both flipped their manga, and they arrived at the page where Subaru was still conscious. Their killer already left.
With his last dying breath, Natsuki Subaru muttered: "Just you wait... I'll find a way... To save you..."
A dark manga panel came first before another panel came with words. On the next page, Subaru once again finds himself in the same spot where a person was selling a fruit to him.
He looked confused at first and didn't know what was happening. When he looked at the person selling the fruit, his eyes widened and his mouth widened in disbelief.
On the next page, only a few writings can be seen. Xingqiu and Chongyun felt like they needed to say this, so they did.
With their voices synchronized, they muttered the words: "The only ability Natsuki Subaru got when he was summoned to this world... Is going back to the past by dying."
"But to save her, he will die as many times it takes."
* * *
Meanwhile, with Igarashi.
[+10 System Credit]
[+5 System Credit]
[+5 System Credit]
[+10 System Credit]
[+10 System Credit]
[+5 System Credit]
[+10 System Credit]
[...]
Seeing the barrage of system credits he's farming from Chongyun and Xingqiu, Igarashi laughed. "Muahahaha!"
Mo Fan and Sasori just looked at him from the side and stayed silent. They just acted like: "Yup, this is a completely normal occurrence."
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