12.4.7

—A finished world, an unreachable future, lost hopes, and trampled bonds: They all tasted of blood.

Upon those, Subaru bit down. He bit down on the rising bitterness. He bit down on his decision.

It was time. This time he would truly give up on this world, for it was time that he let go.

From hither and yonder, he heard the kichikichi sound of the monsters' fangs, captive to their own obsession with hunger.

The Sanctuary was no longer anything more than the Great Rabbit Horde's hunting grounds. Screams and angry shouts alike were drowned out by the demon beasts' cries and the sounds of their gnawing as countless cruel deaths were playing out across that powdery landscape.

Subaru single-mindedly raced past the horrors, running in a beeline to his destination. Surrounded by the sounds of fangs, the flesh-craving rabbits delighted at having new prey enter their feeding grounds. Subaru drew the crystal from his pocket and made one reckless prayer.

Employing his rights as an apostle, Subaru assembled the replicas remaining in the Sanctuary. Leaving it to them to leap in and intercept the demon beasts, Subaru somehow managed to escape with his life.

The remaining replicas dwindled even as he watched. A moment after Piko, the first to come to his side, was sacrificed to the rabbits and torn apart, they ceased being effective as expendable speed bumps. He made them fight until they were being shredded, finally causing them to self-destruct, taking as many as they could with them. This he repeated over and over—

"Ha-ha-ha-ha…"

Coming to a halt, a dry laugh trickled out. Before his eyes was a fire-enveloped building, burning with brilliant flames.

It was the Cathedral. Between the people of Earlham Village and the residents of the Sanctuary, there ought to have been nearly a hundred souls housed inside. Their bastion, the place where survivors should have been waiting for aid, was engulfed by flame.

Possessing nothing save hunger, the Great Rabbit lacked the presence of mind to set its prey on fire. Who, then, had set the fire? For what purpose had—? Without having to think about it, he knew.

The people inside had chosen suicide over being devoured by demon beasts. _______all.

Hell—this was a portrait of Hell itself. The people from the village, the residents of the Sanctuary, and even Ryuzu and Otto had probably all been inside. How could they do something so hasty?

But Subaru had no right to blame them. They had simply exercised a natural right. They had the right to choose their end—a right Subaru did not possess—and so they chose. _______all.

It was Subaru Natsuki who ought to be blamed. It was he who had made them choose how to end lives that, unlike his, would never return—this was the crime of Subaru Natsuki, a crime he could never undo.

"…Put yourselves on the line and protect me. Once I make it to the tomb, do what you want."

The Great Rabbit began to surround the Cathedral as it burned and collapsed. Sensing their approach, Subaru left only those orders to the remaining Ryuzu replicas—of which there were six.

Shifting his head, Subaru looked not at the scene of the fire but across the snow to where the tomb was supposed to be.

With one step and another, he walked, casting his hesitation aside as he broke into a run.

Behind him, the demon beasts identified the racing Subaru as more prey, their little bodies bounding in pursuit. The replicas did as ordered, fighting without self-regard as they protected him from the beasts.

He heard a chaotic mix of sound from the cries of demon beasts and of the horrifically wounded replicas turning into light and exploding.

Leaving all of it behind, Subaru covered his ears with his hands, continuing to run into the blowing snow.

Countless sounds reached the eardrums of Subaru Natsuki, berating him as they did. He did his best to ignore it and shook them off.

—He continued to run.