"Oh my... so tense." Elsa keenly caught the change in Natsuki Subaru's expression, her eyes narrowing with delight,
"It seems you have more important things to worry about..."
"Then let me see, just how far you can go for those you cherish!"
Before Elsa's words faded, her figure had already, like a phantom, darted towards the unconscious Rem and the others.
"Stop!!!"
Veins bulged on Natsuki Subaru's temples as he pushed himself to his limits to catch up.
However, Elsa's speed was terrifyingly fast, leaving only a series of blurred afterimages in the moonlight.
"I must be faster than her, otherwise Rem..."
In that life-or-death moment, Natsuki Subaru's gaze suddenly caught the flickering of the system panel.
It was the reward for completing the emergency quest: the Blessing of the Great Witch God Kandiaru and 10 unallocated attribute points, glowing faintly.
"Claim everything... 10 attribute points all into Agility!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Natsuki Subaru's thoughts flashed, and he invested all attribute points into Agility.
In an instant, the world in his eyes seemed to slow down dramatically.
At the same time, the third reward, the Blessing of the Great Witch God Kandiaru, automatically activated, a warm current swiftly flowing throughout his body.
There was no time to check the detailed explanation...
Because in that critical instant—
Elsa's curved blade had already cut through the night sky, its icy edge mere inches from the unconscious Rem!
"Stop it!"
With a furious roar, Natsuki Subaru flashed forward at astonishing speed, his dagger precisely parrying Elsa's attack.
Clang—!!!
The crisp sound of metal clashing was exceptionally jarring in the silent night.
"Hmm?" Elsa's eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of surprise, "Your speed suddenly increased, little brother~"
"Less nonsense!" Natsuki Subaru, leveraging his newfound speed advantage, his black dagger flashing a silver light, slashed towards Elsa with incredible speed,
"I will absolutely not let you succeed!"
"Hehe... This is getting more and more interesting~" Elsa's smile suddenly turned dangerous, the Kukri knife in her hand erupting with an eerie cold light,
"But to act to protect others during a fight is still too foolish!"
The curved blade slashed towards Natsuki Subaru's ribs at a tricky angle, but just as it was about to hit, a precise parry deflected it.
"Die!"
A cold glint flashed in Natsuki Subaru's eyes. Aided by his boosted agility, he leaped back at the moment the blade was about to touch him.
Furthermore, upon landing, his knees bent slightly, and then, like a coiled spring, he suddenly pushed off, his entire body transforming into a black bolt of lightning. He once again swung his dagger and charged towards Elsa with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, leaving only a series of blurred afterimages in the air.
Clang clang clang clang—!
The crisp sound of metal clashing exploded in the night sky, sparks flying as the two blades met.
Every fatal slash from Elsa carried a sharp whistling sound, yet each was precisely parried by Natsuki Subaru at the last possible moment.
Their figures moved at high speed across the flat grassland, every collision kicking up dust.
"Wonderful... This is truly wonderful!"
Elsa, her face flushed with excitement, suddenly changed her attack. The curved blade drew a bizarre arc, aimed straight for Natsuki Subaru's throat.
"Dangerous!"
Natsuki Subaru's pupils constricted.
In the nick of time—
Natsuki Subaru, relying on his enhanced agility, ducked sharply. The blade grazed his hair, and a few strands of black hair drifted slowly down.
"Take this!"
Furthermore, seizing this fleeting opportunity, Natsuki Subaru spun around, his dagger striking like lightning towards Elsa's chest.
However—
"Clang—!"
Elsa's other hand, at some point, had drawn a second curved blade from her leg, crossing both to parry the fatal blow.
"Too naive."
Elsa chuckled lightly, then delivered a swift roundhouse kick, heavily striking Natsuki Subaru's abdomen.
Immediately after—
Natsuki Subaru let out a muffled grunt, his body flying backward uncontrollably like a broken kite, heavily crashing into a thick tree trunk, which even snapped from the impact.
"Cough..."
Natsuki Subaru painfully spat out a mouthful of blood, but quickly performed a kip-up to stand, his eyes burning with an unyielding flame. The dagger in his hand drew a sharp silver arc under the moonlight.
"Again!"
"Still so stubborn..."
Elsa raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of amusement in her tone.
The two clashed again.
This time, Natsuki Subaru fully utilized his speed advantage, no longer meeting attacks head-on, but constantly weaving with agile footwork, searching for an opportunity to counterattack.
"Little brother, are you trying to play hide-and-seek?"
Elsa's twin blades became a blur of silver light, every swing carrying deadly intent.
In this fierce exchange, Natsuki Subaru's movements faltered for an instant.
"Got you～"
Elsa seized this opening in Natsuki Subaru.
The blade flashed, and blood instantly gushed from Natsuki Subaru's left arm. But he gritted his teeth against the pain, a smirk of a successful ploy playing on his lips:
"It's me who got you!"
The black dagger suddenly erupted with a dazzling cold light, striking Elsa's throat with lightning speed.
Even though Elsa reacted with incredible speed, a bloody gash was still drawn across her collarbone, crimson blood slowly trickling down her snow-white skin.
"Too bad..."
Natsuki Subaru sighed inwardly.
He knew better than anyone that against a top-tier assassin like Elsa, only close-quarters combat offered a chance.
For this, he had not hesitated to intentionally reveal an opening, even taking that blow. But even so, he had failed to deliver a fatal strike.
"Is it still not enough..."
Although he could keep up with Elsa's pace thanks to the system's speed boost, this woman's combat intuition was terrifyingly sharp.
Even with his enhanced strength, his current self was still no match for her.
"Little brother, that last one... really felt good."
Elsa extended her tongue and lightly licked the blood from her collarbone. In her black eyes, a morbid excitement flickered.
"This woman... Has she awakened some strange attribute?"
Facing Elsa's fiery gaze, Natsuki Subaru secretly complained, unable to stop a shiver.
"Someone like you, the color of your intestines must be very beautiful!"
Elsa's voice was as soft as a lover's whisper, but her words were chilling to the bone.
"You crazy woman! Why don't you play with your own intestines!"
Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but roar, subconsciously tensing his abdominal muscles, his whole body on high alert as he adjusted his defensive stance.
As the Bowel Hunter, Elsa's specialty was disemboweling her opponents.
This terrifying title was not for show.
"I have played with them, but it wasn't very interesting."
Unexpectedly, Elsa replied so casually.
"......"
Facing Elsa, Natsuki Subaru was utterly speechless.
Damn it, Elsa's level of perversion was completely beyond his comprehension.
You know, Elsa's favorite thing to do was to admire colorful intestines and caress those warm innards. When fighting and eliminating an opponent, Elsa derived pleasure from cutting open their abdomen and pulling out their intestines. By disemboweling and then playing with those steaming intestines, she gained some sort of unexplainable joy.
So, whenever she encountered a worthy opponent, Elsa would become incredibly excited, anticipating disemboweling them, wondering about various things like what color their intestines would be.
In short, this was an out-and-out perverted woman!
......
The battle continued, the concept of time long since blurred.
At this moment, Natsuki Subaru's mind held only one obsession—he had to eliminate Elsa.
Relying on his enhanced speed and Advanced Dagger Arts, he barely fought this formidable enemy to a standstill.
However, the prolonged high-intensity battle caused Natsuki Subaru's breathing to become ragged.
"This isn't good..."
Natsuki Subaru thought to himself.
After all, Elsa possessed a form of immortality; her regenerative abilities and vitality far surpassed those of ordinary humans.
"We can't drag this on any longer, little brother～"
Elsa suddenly spoke, her offensive abruptly becoming exceptionally fierce.
"This woman!"
Natsuki Subaru gritted his teeth, dealing with the increasingly sharp attacks, but found that his opponent had completely abandoned defense, pouring all her energy into attacking.
This desperate, life-for-life fighting style put immense pressure on him.
"What a complete madwoman!"
In a gap between parries, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He knew better than anyone that Elsa, this battle maniac, relying on her astonishing self-healing ability, would even resort to trading injuries for injuries just for a thrilling fight with a strong opponent.
This almost pathological obsession was her most terrifying aspect.
In this round of fierce exchange, both sides paid a price—
Natsuki Subaru sustained new wounds, while a large chunk of flesh was sliced from Elsa's right arm. Although she promptly contracted her muscles to stop the bleeding, her mobility was clearly affected.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." Elsa said, but her face showed no sign of pain, instead, a morbid flush appeared,
"Ahhh, this is wonderful... wonderful—my body is trembling～"
Before her voice faded, she used her left hand to twirl the bizarrely shaped beloved blade in her hand. This curved knife, contrary to conventional blades, had an abnormal arc. With exquisite skill, she could apply just the right amount of weight to the tip, achieving the power of a one-hit kill.
"Little brother, you're really amazing～"
Elsa's voice carried a morbid delight. Even though severely injured, her fighting spirit hadn't diminished in the slightest, her black eyes burning with a crazed flame.
"......"
Natsuki Subaru tightly gripped his dagger, warily watching the dangerous opponent before him.
"Hoho, ahahahaha—!"
Facing the stubbornly resisting prey, Elsa responded in the most extreme way.
Every swing of her curved blade carried a twisted affection, every slash made her feel moved by the impending fall of life.
Blood, flesh, broken bones, life, intestines—at this moment, these were all Elsa craved.
She trembled in ecstasy, her heated breath filled with the desire for slaughter, her pupils glinting with a chillingly fervent light.
However.
Elsa's injured arm clearly affected her attack speed, and Natsuki Subaru keenly noticed this.
"Her movements have slowed..."
Natsuki Subaru knew that due to the Cursed Doll, Elsa possessed astonishing regenerative abilities; such an injury would heal quickly.
So, the opportunity was now!
He had to act fast!
He absolutely couldn't give her a chance to breathe!
Thinking this, Natsuki Subaru unhesitatingly gripped his black blade and charged Elsa with all his might.
"Haaah!"
"Little brother, you really know how to seize an opportunity～"
Unexpectedly, facing the unfavorable situation, Elsa became even more excited. An unnatural flush appeared on her cheeks, and her body, beneath the thin clothes, was radiating astonishing heat.
In that electrifying instant—
Elsa made a move that shocked Natsuki Subaru; she actually moved to meet the incoming black blade!
"What?!"
Natsuki Subaru's pupils suddenly constricted, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
Puchi!
The black blade plunged deeply into Elsa's body, blood spraying out.
But at the same time—
Puchi!
A sharp pain erupted from his chest; Elsa's curved blade had likewise pierced Natsuki Subaru's body.
He had anticipated Elsa would resort to such an extreme tactic, but even with preparation, he still couldn't completely avoid the fatal blow.
"Cough... Damn it!"
Natsuki Subaru knelt on one knee, his right hand desperately pressing the gruesome wound on his chest. Warm blood continuously seeped through his fingers, forming a shocking pool on the ground.
"Am I really going to die here...?"
Gritting his teeth, Natsuki Subaru felt his life rapidly draining away with the blood. The health bar on the system panel was rapidly depleting, and his vision began to blur.
"Little brother, you can't give up so quickly..." Though also covered in blood, Elsa stood there elegantly as if nothing had happened, even having the leisure to tidy her messy hair,
"Such a performance isn't worthy of being my opponent, oh～"
"You... how..."
Suddenly, Natsuki Subaru's pupils constricted sharply.
He noticed that the wounds he had inflicted on Elsa with all his might were healing at a visible rate.
In the blink of an eye, Elsa's skin was smooth as new, glowing like porcelain under the moonlight.
"Surprised?" Elsa's slender fingers gently brushed over her chest where the wound should have been. "Actually... my body's recovery speed depends entirely on my mood～"
"I see..."
Natsuki Subaru's heart pounded.
He finally understood that those seemingly successful attacks earlier were merely traps meticulously set by Elsa.
"However..." Elsa slowly approached, the curved blade in her hand drawing a cold arc in the moonlight, "Little brother, your reactions, and your combat intuition, are truly... incredibly fascinating～"
"Am I going to die? I still couldn't kill Elsa after all..."
Watching Elsa gradually approach, a wave of unwillingness surged in Natsuki Subaru's heart.
The power he had worked so hard to obtain, the point he had struggled so hard to reach.
How could he... here...
Just then.
[Passive Skill: Life Resilience activated]
[Health below 10%, damage reduction 50%, speed increased by 20%.]
"The game is over, little brother."
Elsa raised her curved blade high, its edge reflecting an icy glint.
Swish!
The blade cut through empty air, leaving only a sharp whistle.
Natsuki Subaru, with his enhanced speed, now saw the world in slow motion. He could clearly see every twitch of muscle, accurately predict every inch of the blade's trajectory.
Slap!
Not only did he perfectly dodge the fatal blow, but in that electrifying instant, he also slapped Elsa's weapon away.
The two wrestled fiercely on the ground, rolling and kicking up clouds of dust.
Ultimately, Elsa, with her superior stamina, pinned Natsuki Subaru beneath her, her slender yet powerful fingers clamping down on his knife-wielding right hand like iron.
"Still struggling needlessly?"
Looking at the black-haired youth beneath her, his wounds gushing blood, Elsa revealed a cat-playing-with-a-mouse smile.
In her eyes, such severe injuries would sooner or later drain his life; all resistance was futile.
"I... will not give up!"
Before his voice faded, the black blade in Natsuki Subaru's right hand suddenly vanished—
Puchi!
A cold light flashed! The black blade bizarrely reappeared in his left hand, aimed straight for Elsa's soft abdomen!
"Ugh?!"
Despite instinctively dodging, the sharp blade still sliced open Elsa's side, blood blooming like a red plum on her black dress.
Taking advantage of her cry of pain, Natsuki Subaru rolled away, escaping her grip.
"A bit faster... than before..." Elsa looked down at her wound, then her lifted eyes burned with a morbid fanaticism, "That last one... was truly heart-pounding～ However..."
The curved blade was raised again, her figure like a phantom once more襲向 (attacking/assaulting) Natsuki Subaru,
"Such a surprise... won't happen a second time!"
"That's enough!"
A voice, clear and pleasant as a mountain spring, suddenly cut through the night sky.
Emilia, her silver hair flowing, appeared from the darkness. Her slender fingers lifted lightly, and countless crystalline ice shards materialized in the air, transforming into a hail of ice awls whistling towards Elsa.
"Oh my—" Elsa nimbly dodged and weaved, her scarlet tongue licking her moist lips, "Interrupting someone's beautiful duet is very rude, you know."
"—!"
Ram's sharp cry rang out, and several wind blades formed by magic cut through the sky, leaving sharp trails in the night.
"How disappointing, so many uninvited guests..." Elsa dodged, sighing with an air of regret, but turned to Natsuki Subaru with a beautiful smile,
"Remember our promise, when we meet next time, you have to show me your most beautiful intestines..."
Before her words faded, Elsa's figure had already vanished into the night.
"Rem!"
Ram immediately rushed to her unconscious sister Rem, her trembling hands gently caressing her sister's pale face.
Emilia, on the other hand, ran to the swaying Natsuki Subaru:
"Subaru..."
"Rem and the others were bitten by Mabeasts, they're cursed..." Natsuki Subaru forced out his last breath, hand clutching his chest, blood continuously seeping through his fingers, forming a shocking pool on the ground,
"Find Beatrice... She can definitely remove the curse..."
"Subaru! Are you alright?"
Emilia hurriedly supported Natsuki Subaru's swaying body, asking with great concern.
"Do I look... like I'm alright..."
Natsuki Subaru managed a weak smile, his vision blurring.
The health bar on the system panel continued to drop; his brave performance moments ago was merely the false bravado of an arrow at the end of its flight.
Darkness surged like a tide, and in the last moment before his consciousness faded, Natsuki Subaru only felt himself fall into a soft, warm embrace.
______
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