(Rem x Reader) Re:Reader - Starting YOUR New Life in Another World

Chapter 163: Priestella Calling

Chapter 163: Priestella Calling

In an instant, YN's heart rate spiked so violently it felt as though it might burst free of his chest.

The world sharpened all at once, —the echo of rushing water beneath the bridges, the muted murmur of the city beyond, the oppressive sense that something had gone catastrophically wrong.

YN: A-Algol!

He reached out without hesitation, grabbing her beneath the arms and lifting her light frame from the ground. She barely weighed anything in his grasp as he turned and broke into a run, boots striking stone as he retraced the path they had taken only moments ago.

Algol: A-Aniki?!

Her small hands instinctively clutched at his coat as the sudden motion jostled her. Held tightly against his chest, she was little more than a bundle of warmth as he ran.

Something is wrong. Something is very wrong!

His mind raced with what could have happened, as a nearly endless slew of possibilities eclipsed his deepest fears. All of those then branched into a thousand dreadful outcomes, each one worse than the last.

Priscilla or Anastasia's Camps didn't have anything to do with this, did they?

With as famous as Subaru had become due to his exploits, YN didn't want to think it wasn't out of the question another Camp may try and eliminate him to harm Emilia's growing popularity.

He rounded a corner sharply, stone blurring in his peripheral vision, and skidded to a halt. A roadblock.

YN: Damn it!

Blocking the canal crossing ahead was a ground dragon and its carriage, —the same one he and Algol had waited for just before everything reset. The massive beast stood stubbornly in place, reins taut as its handler argued with someone unseen on the opposite side.

The bridge was completely impassable.

YN clicked his tongue, head snapping left and right as he searched for an alternate route, —another crossing, an alley, anything.

In his arms, Algol finally found her voice again.

Algol: A-Aniki? What is the problem? Why are we running around like this?

Her confusion was genuine; wide-eyed and unguarded. It twisted something in his chest to see her at such a categorical loss of understanding to his own actions. More than any time before, YN wanted to tell her the truth, —to explain why his heart felt like it was tearing itself apart.

He wanted to say Subaru had died, and that time had rewound, —and how that this moment shouldn't exist.

But, he couldn't.

Swallowing hard, YN forced himself, like always, to carry the burden of being able to recall Return By Death alongside his fellow wayward traveling companion. For all the hell it wrought, he was once more subject to its sporadic placement and timing of its Return points.

YN: —Tsk. Listen to me, Algol. Subaru is in danger. And if Subaru is in danger, that means Emilia-sama—

Algol: —Senpai too.

Gaining an air of seriousness from the confusion she had, Algol's expression matched her tone. To her quick take up, YN nodded sharply.

YN: Exactly. All of them. We have to meet back up with them, now. Time is really of the essence.

Too much time had already passed.

This Return had sent them back only a handful of minutes. It was by far, the shortest reset they'd ever experienced, and that terrified YN more than any long rewind ever had.