Chapter 34. Re: Starting a Life of Oboreru from Zero – Prologue.
~Inside, the Theater~
"Take a good look at the possibilities of other worlds/"
The familiar voice resounded in everyone's minds once again.
"This is... who!?"
Wilhelm had been paying attention to the words in his mind, but then sensed killing intent. However, he only saw a shadow.
Rather, it was good that Wilhelm, the aging Sword Demon, could see a shadow. This speed surpassed the reaction of many people present, meaning they couldn't even see a shadow.
"Hahaha, after our parting in the Empire, let me see how much your strength has grown!?"
It was a lightning bolt that dared to charge at the red-haired Superman.
Like a frozen frame, countless afterimages swirled around Reinhard.
And Reinhard, after a slight surprise, dealt with it easily.
"As expected, as expected, you're strong! Yes, this is how it should be, this is how it should be! Only then is there value in using my dream sword 'Masayume' and fiend sword 'Murasame'!"
"Although I don't know how you got here, I have no intention of fighting you."
"Shut up, shut up, aren't you going to show me the 'Dragon Sword'? If you don't, this stage will be very boring, the audience will get tired of watching! Watch me turn you into – Ugh!"
Reinhard's leg kicked the young swordsman in the neck, and the scene fell silent...
"How, how is it... the same as... back then..."
Cecilus rolled his eyes and fainted.
"Excuse... excuse me, who is he?"
Emilia asked, looking at the fainted swordsman boy.
"One of the Empire's generals, 'Blue Lightning' Cecilus Segmunt."
Julius replied while frowning, recalling their encounter in the Empire back then.
"Hmm..."
Wilhelm was silent.
He had long heard of the fame of Blue Lightning, who could be said to be the next Kurgan.
The Sword Demon could probably imagine what it would have been like if his younger self had challenged Reinhard. It would probably be like this... no, perhaps even worse, after all, in terms of swordsmanship alone, the Sword Demon and Blue Lightning were close in strength, but Blue Lightning's weapon was superior.
"Wait, this is..."
On the other side, Ram looked at the screen in surprise –
[[ "—What's, so strange?" In the picture, the pink-haired maid Ram was riding on Subaru, using her hands to fully choke Subaru's neck.
And this was a world of ice and snow.
"—What's, so strange?"
That Ram repeated again.
And Subaru looked calm and composed, as if he had accepted the fact of his impending death.
"—What's, so strange?"
Ram repeated once more.
"—What's, so..."
During the final repetition, Ram collapsed, unable to bear the burden, but her eyes were still filled with intense hatred.
Subaru weakly stood up and picked up a stone –
"—Absolutely, I will kill you."
This was the last sentence before the screen darkened. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Hmm..."
Ram was silent.
Absolutely, I will kill you.
This was what Ram said when she chased Subaru in the loop, where she misunderstood Rem's death and thought it was related to Subaru.
Was Barusu picking up a stone to smash Ram to death?
...That's fine too.
I misunderstood him and wanted to kill him, so it's normal for him to kill me.
"...From the sentence that appeared in my mind, it can be seen that this is indeed – another worldline."
Roswaal, outside the screen, his mismatched eyes glinting with calculated intrigue.
Roswaal found some kind of pattern. It seemed that every time a breakthrough was about to be made, the sentence "Take a good look at the possibilities of other worlds/" would sound.
If that was indeed the case, then there was only one possibility: after Rem's death, facing Ram's pursuit, Subaru did not choose to die but escaped.
..... .....
"Ah... this! You bastard, how dare you do that to my sister!
"Calm down, Garfiel... Roswaal-sama?!"
Garfiel, angered by the scene he had just seen on the screen, glared at Pack, but was advised to calm down by Ram.
But Ram discovered something that shocked her even more –
[[ Roswaal was slumped in a wheelchair, lifeless, looking like a complete invalid.
On the other side, Frederica and Pack were confronting each other.
"Great Spirit...-sama."
"I'm sorry, Frederica. You are not wrong – it's just that I want to protect what I value most, and this is the most correct way to do it."
"Why, do you have to do this..."
"I told you, didn't I? All my actions are for Lia – I was wrong about Roswaal, he is just a pitiful person."
"—As a maid, I cannot tolerate your insult to the head of the family, to the master."
"No, you are also a pitiful child. Only you are still desperately protecting this place that is already at its end."
"Emilia-sama will be sad."
"Unfortunately, I am very fond of Lia. After all, I am a parent cat who cannot be without my child."
Then, Pack froze Frederica, and not only that, it seemed that Roswaal's entire territory was frozen.
And Roswaal looked at Frederica, reaching out to cast magic, as if to protect her –
Swish!
Roswaal narrowly dodged the sword strike at the cost of losing his left arm.
"Oh, the move just now is not something just anyone can do. I was truly impressed."
The one who attacked Roswaal was the Blue Lightning, Cecilus, who had suddenly rushed out earlier to challenge Reinhard to a duel.
"Cecilus Segmunt, the head of the Nine Divine Generals of the Empire."
Roswaal recognized him.
"That is truly a great honor."
"However, how did this happen~ again? Could it be that during the time when Lugnica is deciding the next king, the Empire is going to violate the treaty and commit such violence?" ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"This..."
Otto desperately thought, but couldn't figure out a single thing.
The amount of information was simply too large.
"Why is Roswaal-sama like this..."
Ram was heartbroken by Roswaal's decadence.
"The hell's with Boss causin' a damn ruckus the second he hops worldlines?! And where's this timeline's version of him even at?!"
Garfiel asked while looking at the screen again, hoping the screen could provide an answer.
[[ "Ah, this is a misunderstanding. I am currently on leave from the Nine Divine Generals... I should say retired, and it has nothing to do with the Empire. I am not playing with you, the Empire knows nothing about my actions. Of course, my loyalty to His Majesty is still in my heart... However, I also have my own reasons."
The Cecilus in the picture clarified that it had nothing to do with the Empire.
"Then, it is even stranger. You are willing~ to give up your position as a general of the Empire to come here~. What reason could possibly make you do this~?"
"It's simple. Someone promised to show me the way to the Heavenly Sword."
"Heavenly Sword? That's unexpected. You don't seem like the kind of person who would be willing to be someone else's puppet."
Upon hearing this, Cecilus explained his view on life as protagonists, supporting characters, actors, and audience, and then said:
"I probably don't dislike people like you; in fact, I admire you, but this is my duty. Court Magician of the Kingdom of Lugnica, Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers, your head, I will take it."
Cecilus drew a sword.
"Can I ask you a question? What is your employer's name?"
Roswaal seemed to accept the fact that he was about to die and made a final request to Blue Lightning.
"Ordinary citizens call him a villain and a heretic. He earned his bad reputation for his incredibly evil and tyrannical actions – the 'Purge King'.
But, he himself told me to tell you his real name... Natsuki Subaru." ]]