--The golden tiger was in a low stance, glaring at its surroundings with a sharp gaze.
The tiger's body length was roughly four meters. As a quadruped, it boasted a size that was at least one size larger than the lions, tigers and other wild beasts Subaru knew.
It had thick arms and legs, and from its closed mouth were fangs that were too big to fit inside its mouth, and it waved them from side to side as if to show them off, with the tips stained slimy red with blood.
"Oh, that's..."
Before anyone could ask what was going on, the dragon carriage was thrown up and fell to the ground. The sound of destruction echoed around the room, wood flying everywhere, and screams echoed.
The passengers were engulfed in the impact and thrown to the ground, those who were conscious groaning in pain, while those who were unconscious lay motionless in pools of blood overflowing from their bodies.
--Subaru's mind immediately thought that he must help those who were injured.
However, before he could put it into action, Subaru was thrown around by violent movements.
Ignoring Subaru, who spun around and cried out in surprise, Patrasche broke into a run, scraping the ground and trying to escape the beast by heading straight through the forest.
"Wha--! Hey, Patrasche?!"
Subaru calls out to the rider, who seems to be ignoring his will, but just like on their journey so far, there is no sign of her understanding his intentions.
Leaving behind the other carriage passengers and Otto, who were too stunned to move, Patrasche, with Subaru on board, steadily increased their speed. However,
「――――!!」
A roar rang out, cutting through the forest as it chased after Subaru and the others.
A torrent of rage and bestial hostility surged through the road, finally overwhelming Patrasche's instinct to retreat.
The feeling of being targeted by a powerful presence, with the power to threaten one's life. Subaru had experienced that feeling countless times before, and fear and dread ran down his spine. Subaru knew that feeling so well, and it was precisely because he felt that he could not bring himself to blame Patrasche for stopping in her tracks at the last moment. Even though he could not bring himself to blame her, the outcome was clear.
"--ah"
Turning around, Subaru saw the source of the fear and witnessed atrocities.
The front paws swung as if to sweep the carriage away, easily flipping it over like a toy box, and it slammed into the forest trees, scattering its contents. If the sound of chopsticks being broken was multiplied by a hundred times, it would sound like wood and human bones were cracking together.
Faced with a literal monster, no one can move, knowing that if they do nothing, their lives will be taken.
They fear that moving will provoke the beast and expose its claws and fangs.
Even though I instinctively knew that it was just a change in order.
"Could that have been the reason why Sanctuary was deserted...?"
Teeth trembling as he stood on the cowering dragon, Subaru burned the beast into his eyes with a desperate resolve.
Its golden fur is beautiful, and while its face is violent, it also has a fearless and dignified air. Its sharp eyes shine with hostility and rage, and its clashing fangs are so sharp they could only be likened to blades. --What if this was something attacking the Sanctuary?
"--picture?"
Subaru, squinting his eyes at the tiger's movements, posture, and every other aspect of its behavior, noticed something odd about the tiger as it slowly advanced. Squinting his one eye to try and understand what this strange sensation was, he realized what it was causing.
--Something was sticking out from the left side of the tiger's back.
Considering his size and boundless stamina, the damage would be minimal. As he walked, he didn't even seem aware of his injury, so it was likely nothing more than a scratch.
But it held great significance to Subaru. Not the wound itself, but the fact that the object that had inflicted it seemed familiar.
--That was Ram's favorite walking stick, the one she was supposed to be holding in her hand.
The small one was what Ram used to cast spells, and at the very least, he had never seen her use any other medium for casting magic. It was the same one she had held when facing Garfiel just a moment ago, so there was no way he could have mistaken it.
There was no way he could have mistaken it for something else, so why was it piercing the flesh of the great tiger? The answer was――
"Ancestor..."
Suddenly, a scene from some time ago flashed across Subaru's mind.
It was the day that Garfiel told Subaru a part of his origin and showed him the unique features of his body. At that time, he only transformed a part of himself, specifically his arm, into a beast, showing that he was half human and half beastman, but
"If that's what the Were Tiger is..."
This ferocious beast turns out to be Garfiel, whose entire body has transformed into a beast.
If that's the case, it would explain why Ram's staff, which was left to hold Garfiel back, was driven into the tiger's body. However, that also means something paradoxical.
--Ram, having lost her staff, had failed to stop Garfiel, who had turned into a tiger.
"Garfiel, you bastard... what did you do to Ram?"
"――――"
"Answer me, hey! What did you do to Ram, Garfiel?!"
The beast just grimaces when called out to, and makes no reply.
However, at Subaru's voice, she shook her head in annoyance and shook her front paws up and down, showing off her claws. A piece of black fabric that was all too familiar to look at was caught on the tip of her claw, and with that alone, Subaru understood the pink-haired girl's fate.
"Garfielllll!!"
Shouting in anger, Subaru let go of the reins and jumped off Patrasche. He landed haphazardly and fell, rolling around on all fours and glaring ahead.
The man and the animal faced each other with their limbs on the ground, keeping some distance between them. The difference in strength was clear, there was no chance of victory, and probably no room for any mutual understanding.
"Do you hate me that much...?"
"――――"
"You don't like me that much..."
"――――"
「If you want to kill me that badly, then just target me!!」
「――――!!」
In response to Subaru's angry shout, the wild beast looked up to the sky and let out a roar.
The air rumbled, the forest trembled in fear, and every living thing trembled in fear. But Subaru brushed them aside and bared his fangs.
"You even raised your hand to the woman you loved. What kind of fang is this ``Sanctuary''? Don't make me laugh!!"
「――――!!」
In the next moment, the great tiger reacted to Subaru's taunt and charged forward.
The remains of the dragon carriage between Subaru and the beast were blown away with tremendous force, and the golden beast charged forward, splattering wood shards and fresh blood everywhere.
Its speed is high and its mass is enormous, so a direct hit would be comparable to that of a large truck, likely resulting in instant death without even time to catch one's breath.
Death was approaching before his eyes. Sensing it as something unavoidable and close, Subaru's brain began to work at an unprecedented speed. His brain cells burned, connecting directly to rage, and his emotions exploded.
Something dark wriggled in his chest, then spread throughout his body on the currents of his blood. Something hot, black, dark, pale, murky, hollow, insubstantial, horrible - he could grasp it.
Subaru opened his one eye wide and felt something grab hold of inside of him.
He looked ahead. The fangs of the beast were so close he could almost feel its breathing. With the entrance to death right before his eyes, from the back of its gaping mouth to the dark red esophagus where he could see right through, Subaru's body reacted beyond its limits. That is to say, he lifted his arm and wedged it between his fangs and his chest,
"---!?"
In an instant, a wind blew up and the beast's body disappeared before Subaru's eyes.
No, vanishing is not correct. The tiger's body spins in the air, spinning with its head as the starting point, before being slammed onto the ground on its back. It howls in pain and incomprehension as its massive mass bounces off the ground, creating a strong impact and sending it flying high.
"what...!?"
Subaru looked behind him and couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the ferocious tiger thrashing about and rolling about. He was half convinced that his life had just been taken.
The same shock comes over the beast, which falls to the ground with a look on its face as if it cannot comprehend what has happened to it, and as it tries to push itself up by shaking its head, its vestibular canals cannot keep up and it collapses again.
Neither of them knew what had happened, and they gasped in confusion. Subaru, however, suddenly felt fatigue and his upper body slumped, while Ohtora shook his head in irritation and stood up.
After just one encounter, it was clear as day which side had the upper hand. I couldn't understand what had just happened, but...
"If he took the bait... then it must be Garfiel."
Encouraging his trembling arms and raising his torso, Subaru bit the corner of his lip to stay conscious. In front of him, the giant beast was swaying its body slowly from side to side, wary of them. It was probably trying to fathom the mysterious phenomenon that had occurred during that brief exchange of force.
It's a strange feeling, one that makes me feel like even if I were told to do it again, I don't know how I could do it again.
I don't even feel like I've gotten my revenge.
The other person's wariness was laughable, but Subaru, who had lost even a reason to laugh at it, was nothing more than a clown.
The giant beast, gradually closing in on him, seemed skeptical at the lack of action from Subaru, but suddenly stopped moving――
「――――!!」
"ah"
Roar.
Subaru covered his face, feeling as if he was being hit by a storm, and cowered. Taking advantage of this moment of stiffness, the sound of a stampede rang out.
Shattering the earth, the beast's body flew through the air and leapt towards Subaru.
I can't avoid the weight or the claws. This time, even the sensation of the tip slips through my fingertips and doesn't surface. It's over. The end is approaching. And then,
"----!!"
「――――!?」
Patrasche lunges in from the side and slams his head into the giant beast's torso. A cry of agony rises from the giant tiger, who collapses into a crooked, fainting in agony. Patrasche swings his tail, hitting the tiger in the face as it falls miserably, blinding it from sight.
Instantly turning around, Patrasche picked up the slumped Subaru and rode the wind to escape once again――,
"Patola--"
The call was interrupted by the sound of flesh being torn.
Subaru had Patrasche's mouth around his waist, but he was immediately swung around and thrown to the ground. Looking closer, Patrasche's tail, which had been trying to pull Subaru away, was caught in the fangs of the giant beast, and his body, which easily weighed over 400 kilograms, was being violently swung about like a piece of paper.
Patrasche's pained voice cried out. Flesh tore, blood splattered everywhere, and the moment her tail was torn off from its base, a spurt of fresh blood spurted out, staining half of Subaru's body bright red.
Patrasche was blown away and rolled about helplessly. Subaru watched her pitiful state as he glared at the approaching tiger, breathing heavily.
With hatred dwelling in his one eye, Subaru looked at the person he might have called a friend,
"Gaaah... Fiiiirrrrr..."
He called out its name, filled with endless hostility.
There was no reply. Perhaps it had lost its human vocal organs when it transformed into a beast, as the great tiger stretched out its mighty front paws towards me, but its throat did not voice any hostility or murderous intent.
They simply demonstrate that instinct through their actions.
--Will they break your neck, or bite your head off?
No matter what the pain, no matter what the end, I will swallow down 『death』.
I will swallow everything, use it as nourishment, and use it as a reason to win a righteous future.
"Do you think you'll be able to be part of that future?"
As he watched the claws slowly approach before his eyes, Subaru uttered a final sigh of resentment.
Then he closed his left eye, blocking his vision in darkness.
His only regret is that he was unable to save Patrasche through her dedication.
"---?"
Subaru waited for the end that was supposed to come, but it never came. Frowning suspiciously, Subaru felt annoyed inside that "death" was missing its timing. Then, he slowly opened his left eye,
"a?"
Before his eyes, the claws that should have been about to tear Subaru apart were removed, revealing the face of the beast that had possessed them. The reason why Subaru let out a stupid sound in his throat was because the face of the beast, which should have been glaring at Subaru with murderous intent, was instead staring somewhere else.
The giant beast averted its gaze from Subaru and headed to its left. As Subaru was drawn to look in that direction, he saw something flying towards it, hit the beast's body, and roll to the ground. --A stone.
It was just an ordinary stone lying around, the size of a palm. The stone traced a parabola when it was thrown, and when I turned my gaze towards it, it reached the figure standing at the edge of the forest.
Short hair, sunken cheeks, and long, lanky limbs. He wasn't a particularly eye-catching character, but Subaru knew him.
He was a villager of Arlam Village, a member of the village youth group, one of the refugees who had taken refuge in this "Sanctuary", someone who should have been on the carriage that had overturned, and even now he was staggering about with blood flowing from his forehead.
He bent down slowly, picked up a stone nearby, and weakly swung it up and hurled it at the beast's body. It hit. It had almost no power. But...
"Stay away from Baru-sama. You monster..."
Even though he was squeezing out his voice and groaning in pain, he still maintained a posture that showed his own will.
A tremor ran through Subaru's entire body the moment his words were spoken. The sensation reached his fingertips, leaving him speechless, and at a loss as to what to say, Subaru continued.
"――――"
From all around, stones, planks, branches, and shoes were hurled at the beast's body.
Looking closely, it was a clumsy, weak and all too fleeting resistance from people who should have been overwhelmed by the enormous pressure unleashed by the behemoth.
"Y-yes..."
Subaru wondered vaguely what he was doing.
What was the point of doing something like that? Did he really think that such an action would do anything to this beast? Could his power penetrate the fur and reach the flesh underneath? Of course not. It wouldn't even leave a scratch, and would only result in futile resistance.
"Stop..."
The right thing to do, and the wisest thing to do, would be to hold our heads in our hands and run away together.
They should all board the safe dragon carriage and immediately turn around and flee the scene. Whether that be to flee to the Sanctuary or run through the forest, it doesn't matter. They should act in a way that gives them even the slightest chance of survival. And yet, why did they--
"Everyone, what are you doing?! Run away quickly..."
"Subaru-sama! That wouldn't be very convincing!"
Waving his arms, Subaru tried to communicate his thoughts but was cut off.
The one who cried out was an elderly man, who raised his dead-wood-like arm with all his might, and spun the branch vertically, striking the beast's nose. He looked over at me, breathing heavily,
"You abandoned your benefactor and fled to survive. How could you face your son and daughter like that? Especially since you came all the way here to help us."
"it is..."
"If you die, we will die here too. We have all discussed and decided this as the minimum condition for leaving here."
Shocked, Subaru's face stiffened.
For some reason, the man broke into a gentle smile at Subaru's shock, a smile so out of place that it seemed Hyuga had forgotten about the threat at hand.
The attack resumes. Everyone simultaneously hurls stones at the beast - Garfiel. As usual, the force of the stones does not frighten him, let alone irritate him.
Slowly lifting his massive body, Garfiel began to move. He ignored Subaru, who was in a position to tear him apart, and headed towards the forest - towards the injured young man who had been the first to start throwing.
"――――"
The beast and the young man faced each other. The young man was speechless in the face of the overwhelming intimidation, but he still did not stop his actions, drawing a dagger from his belt.
"Take this――"
The blade was thrust forward, the tip sinking into Garfiel's forehead - and immediately afterwards, with a high-pitched sound the blade broke in half.
The golden fur must be so strong that it cannot penetrate the poorly made blade.
And then, as the young man put up his final resistance, his front legs were raised and swung back,
"Stop――!!"
Subaru screamed. But even that sounded hollow in comparison to the result.
There was the sound of flesh being crushed, and the young man's slender body was crushed from head to toe by the force of the impact, turning into a mass of flesh. Blood spurted like a fountain from between Garfiel's fingers, and where his forelegs had been pushed aside, there was only a swirl of dark red flesh.
"――――"
This time, his throat roared in rage.
Letting out a shriek, Subaru clawed his way up from the ground and leapt onto the beast's back, but was hit in the torso by its hind legs, which had only been lightly raised, causing him to faint. The tail slammed into him with the force of its swing, sending Subaru flying like a rubber ball and crashing back into a large tree - his whole body creaking, and the sound of bones shattering could be heard.
"But, ah――!?"
He writhes on the ground, pain and blood rushing up his throat, spilling from his mouth. His whole body is unresponsive. His right arm is pointing in a strange direction from his shoulder. His spine has also lost its proper shape from the blow he just received. Weak, fragile, nothing can be changed.
"----!!"
"Ahhh――!!"
The beast roared. It leapt forward, fangs and claws swinging at the refugees standing nearby. Blood flew, screams rang out, and lives were being snatched away in places we couldn't see.
Someone screamed. An animal-like voice. An animal-like voice, but a human. Confusion ran through the wild animal. Whose voice was it? What kind of roar was it? Subaru, dealing with the serious error inside himself, didn't know.
"--Tsuki-san! Please stay alive!"
A voice called my name. It was someone I knew, but the path to my brain, which was trying to identify who it belonged to, was blocked by pain. My thoughts flickered, the world became hazy, my emotions became unclear, dreams and reality became blurred, and hatred and pain blew them away.
This is no time to sleep. You must stand up. Stand up, stand up, and if you are going to die, you must die before anyone else.
「Everyone, please... don't die... I'm the only one who should die... that's enough...!」
Squeezing blood and a groan from his throat, Subaru struggles to raise his body. His right arm is useless, so he desperately moves only his left arm. A red curtain covers his left eye, and he can see that his forehead is cracked and blood is pouring out. Roughly wiping the tops of his eyelids with his shoulder, he grits his teeth hard enough to crack them, and lifts his head.
"――――"
The devastation was spreading.
Every time the beast lashes out, people fly, blood splatters, and the flames of life are snuffed out.
Each and every one of them bravely and with a determination to die, they launch an act of defiance at the giant beast, knowing that it will never work. All that stains its golden fur is blood, and their deaths are meaningless.
It's just something to resist, and then it gets blown away. There's no point.
If anyone could give meaning to that death, it would be Subaru.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it... Stop it, please...!"
If you're going to kill someone, kill yourself before anyone else.
From the start, his target was surely himself. There was no reason for these brave, kind-hearted people to be hurt and their lives taken.
Or perhaps even the loss of their lives was the result of Subaru's foolishness. If so, then that was too――
"--Uh, ah!"
Subaru's body was being lifted up, his face already bowed, as he was being held in thrall.
Pulling up Subaru from behind, who had simply sat up in an unsightly manner, was Patrasche, bleeding profusely from all over her body. Despite being left half dead from Garfiel's fierce attack, she had desperately crawled her way to this point.
Seeing that horrible state, Subaru couldn't help but let the tears well up from the depths of his eyes,
"It's enough... it's enough. It's enough, Patrasche..."
Subaru called out, reaching out to touch Patrasche's blood-stained chin. However, she shook her head at his words, making a gesture that seemed to say, "There's nothing good to be done yet." Then, she slid her head under his stomach, and without giving Subaru any resistance, she put him on her back in one go.
Subaru cried out in surprise. With that on his mind, Patrasche took off running. His steps were so powerful that it made one wonder where he had left the strength.
It may have been the result of literally giving it all we've got.
"――――"
However, even though she was using up the remaining vitality in her body and exerting all her strength, she was still far from reaching her full potential. And she was also far from escaping the fangs of the beast.
The fangs sunk into Patrasche's hind legs, and a pained cry rose from her throat. Subaru was nearly thrown off again. He was lifted into the air, and just as Subaru thought he would be slammed to the ground, Patrasche stretched out her neck and caught him in the jaws.
Then she bent Subaru's neck with all her might, and using all her strength, hurled him deep into the group of trees.
"----!"
Subaru realized that this was Patrasche's attempt to distance him, even if just a little, from a deadly threat.
At the same time, he realizes why, after parting ways with Ram, she had cut across the road to take a shortcut and join up with the evacuees.
--Patrasche had noticed the presence of this wild beast.
He knew this and ran to this place, where there were many other prey, in order to increase Subaru's chances of survival even just a little. All for the purpose of protecting Subaru.
Slammed to the ground, Subaru's body bounced once, twice, and then, just after he groaned from the third bounce―― a feeling of floating took over his body.
"--ah"
A steep slope appeared in the mountain, and Subaru's body tumbled down it in one go. Without even the time to cry out, his skin was scraped over and over again by the gravel and branches, as he continued to bounce, tumbling down again and again.
"――――"
The light above him slid down, his vision swinging around, and Subaru just barely managed to catch a glimpse of it above him.
And then I see something I never wanted to see.
"--- Patrash."
Patrasche's torso was caught in the jaws of the great tiger, distorted by the tremendous force of the jaws, torn apart by the fangs, and pierced, splitting him in half as a huge amount of blood spurted out.
Without even being able to let out a death cry, Churyu died having served Subaru to the very end.
"――――"
My throat burns. My throat splits. My brain boils with rage, my blood burns.
Bouncing, rolling, sliding, tumbling and being scraped, the Subaru falls.
--A strong bounce and the feeling of floating again.
The impact of the slamming into him swallowed his consciousness.
His body still didn't stop. And yet, his consciousness left Subaru's body.
--Only the voice of resentment continued to swirl in his heart, refusing to go away.