Chapter 21: The One Beyond Common Sense
"Watch out!"
The voice breaking through the chaos was Subaru's.
Suddenly appearing, Elsa had chosen this exact moment to attack.
She had seized the opportunity when everyone in the warehouse was thrown into disarray due to Reinhild's presence.
She had aimed at the most dangerous person—Reinhild—who had lowered her head in guilt.
It was the perfect moment. Elsa's curved blade slashed toward her neck.
But one person noticed her—Subaru, who had been on constant alert for Elsa's reappearance.
The moment he shouted, Reinhild reacted instantly.
She shoved Emilia away with her hand, her silver hair flying with a trace of blood.
As she stood, she caught her mid-air in a princess carry and leapt backward at lightning speed.
However, Elsa was no ordinary opponent.
The moment her full-power strike missed, she drew another curved blade from her waist with her other hand and slashed at the retreating Reinhild, who couldn't counter while carrying Emilia.
—Use Emilia as a shield, or at worst, abandon her and dodge.
Such cowardly, yet viable, thoughts flashed through Subaru's mind.
But Reinhild made no such move.
Her arms stayed firmly around Emilia.
Subaru understood the girl's decision.
The "life-flashing-before-your-eyes" moment that hadn't come when Subaru himself died now suddenly appeared—memories of his past two days with Reinhild.
His heart ached.
In that instant, Subaru realized that he had fallen for Reinhild.
Then came hatred for his own helplessness and regret for asking her for help.
He could only watch helplessly as the blade approached Reinhild's neck.
He had no way to stop it.
Subaru lost all hope of survival and silently vowed that in his next loop, he'd never make the mistake of asking Reinhild for help again.
"Reinhard...t?"
Subaru's frantic cry transformed into confusion.
Reinhild had landed safely beside him and gently laid the lightly wounded Emilia down.
Subaru was stunned, then threw his arms around Reinhild.
"I'm so glad you're alive. If you died because of me, I really..."
"It's okay. I'm Reinhild, after all!"
She stroked Subaru's head as he cried into her shoulder.
It was the first time someone had worried for her this deeply.
Moved by the emotion, Reinhild nevertheless knew this wasn't the time for sentiment.
"Thank you for your concern. Let me take care of this swiftly—may I, Lady Emilia?"
She gently pushed away Subaru, who had somewhat calmed down, and looked to Emilia for permission.
"Just explain it properly later, okay?"
"Be careful. That woman is a real monster."
"Don't worry. Hunting monsters is my specialty."
Reinhild nodded, her movements flawless as she turned to face the woman in black—Elsa—who stared at her with overwhelming hostility.
Then, Reinhild's azure eyes narrowed slightly, as if recalling something.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Black hair, black clothes, northern-region curved blades... No doubt about it. You're the Bowel Hunter, aren't you?"
"Yes. Then, can you tell me—why did I miss just now? I don't believe I'm clumsy enough to throw a blade poorly."
Elsa asked.
At that moment, Subaru also sensed something odd.
From what he saw, Elsa's blade had just barely missed Reinhild. Then she had thrown it—but maybe too hastily, and it went off course.
Still, Subaru thought, there's no way someone like her would make such a rookie mistake...
"I have the Divine Protection of First Sight—any visible attack will never hit me the first time. I also have the Divine Protection of Arrow Evasion—ranged attacks can't hit me.
Oh, and I have the Divine Protection of Afterglow—if I can see it, even second or third attacks won't hit me either."
For the first time, Subaru saw Elsa's face contort into speechlessness.
Hearing Reinhild's explanation, it wasn't hard to understand why.
It was basically like saying, "I'm invincible."
"Reinhild... Oh, right. The Knight among Knights. Heir to the Sword Saint's bloodline. Just like the rumors—no, even beyond them."
Elsa smiled as she spoke.
"Can't you just surrender quietly?"
Reinhild asked, hands empty.
"Of course not. On the contrary, this is wonderful. A delightful opponent like this—I must thank my employer.
A prime prey dripping blood stands before a starving beast—how could I possibly hold back?"
Licking her lips with a crimson tongue, Elsa gazed at Reinhild with a dazed expression, aroused by the unprecedentedly powerful opponent.
Reinhild met her gaze head-on.
Then—Elsa vanished.
"If you can't see the attack, it should hit, right?"
Elsa's voice echoed in the warehouse.
"—Tch!"
She reappeared in Reinhild's blind spot, her blade flashing toward the nape of Reinhild's neck.
It was the same merciless slash she had used against Emilia in a previous loop—a strike sharp enough to cut the air itself.
Yet Reinhild made no move to evade or defend.
Subaru's heart leapt into his throat once more.
And then—Reinhild sighed.
"As a fellow woman, I really didn't want to be too rough."
With what looked like a simple front kick, she generated a gust powerful enough to shake the building.
Elsa, who took the full force of it, flew like a leaf, finally stopping herself by kicking off the walls.
With a defensive stance, her face twisted in disbelief.
"N-no way... You're kidding, right? This is what you call a slight amount of power? A bit stronger?"
"'Slight' is accurate. I'm just a bit stronger than Julius, who's ranked third in the knights. I'm ranked first, after all."
The girl answered Subaru's question with slight embarrassment—but Subaru was speechless.
Though he had used the term "beyond reason" many times since arriving in this world, it was now that he truly understood its meaning.
In this world, only two beings truly deserved that title: the absurdly powerful spirit beast Puck, and the red-haired girl standing before him, embodying the very legend of heroism—Reinhild.