Chapter 126: i-Mu TV Officially Premieres

On the screen, the images began to flash by rapidly—Natsuki Subaru dying over and over, and starting all over again, again and again.

The reason it was skipped over like this was perhaps because this wasn't any particularly important part of the story, or perhaps because it was interwoven with far too many meaningless, repetitive deaths.

But none of the people seated in the viewing seats could be counted as ordinary.

So even with these rapidly flashing images, it was enough for them to make out the text attached to them and to understand what had happened.

[Time and again, over and over.

Natsuki Subaru tried every method he could think of to carry the wounded, dying Ram out of the snow, and this alone had already cost him what little strength of heart he had left.

Heart and mind worn to exhaustion, body drained utterly.

So miserable that he wished he could close his eyes forever and simply sink into an eternal sleep.

The Natsuki Subaru who carried the unconscious Ram out of the snow was in exactly that state!

But the cruel reality was this—the elder sister he had once cared for, and who was now the person he cared about most—Ram, had once again handed him an impossible problem.

As though the curse of the manor had followed after him once more, no matter how many times he restarted, Ram would grow too weak and die right before his eyes.

Still, in the end, he managed to find the reason.

All of this was because the horn atop Ram's head—the thing most vital to the oni race—had been broken, so ordinarily she needed a constant, steady replenishment of vast amounts of mana.

During the earlier pursuit in which she had hunted him all the way, Ram's mana had long since been drained completely dry.

Yet of all things, Natsuki Subaru himself knew nothing whatsoever about magic, and had no way—much less any knowledge—of how to replenish Ram's mana.

And so, at this moment he was forced to confront one grave problem—to find a way to save Ram's life.

For that he went to the town to seek help from the guards, anxiously begging passersby in the streets, and even entering every place he thought might hold a way to save Ram, searching for a solution.

Countless restarts, countless deaths, and throughout that process he suffered deceptions and betrayals beyond counting.

But with each death, those who had deceived and betrayed him became the very steps by which he climbed toward a higher position.

In the end, he did find the way to keep Ram alive—a kind of mana crystal—and in order to continuously gather these magic stones, he founded a secret society, the 'Pleiades.'

But the price was that his heart had long since become riddled with holes, covered all over in cracks.

Sensitive, irritable, suspicious—that was his image in the eyes of the world.

The petty merchants called him a villain, a heretic, and because of his unspeakably twisted and tyrannical methods, he earned an infamous title—the 'Purge King'!

The images on the screen at last froze upon the grim, oppressive Pandaemonium.

Seated high upon the throne, Natsuki Subaru wore a set of pitch-black, solemn kimono, and around his neck, as if concealing something, was tightly wound an orange scarf.

Beneath his weary, deathly still eyes lay heavy dark circles, and his brow seemed forever tightly knit, wary yet at the same time as though enduring some kind of mental anguish.

Standing to his left and right respectively were the 'Blue Lightning' Cecilus Segmunt and 'the Admirer' Halibel.

There were these two and only these two, and this left nearly everyone in the viewing seats stunned.

Because they had never expected that at the side of the Natsuki Subaru of that other world stood not a single one of them, but rather two unfamiliar figures who hadn't even appeared in this viewing space.

True, they had heard of the reputations of these two celebrities from other nations.

But to take on companions of such unknown origins couldn't help but make one wonder and worry—were they really trustworthy?

No matter how you looked at it, wouldn't they, the people who knew Subaru, be better suited?

Ah—though at that time, some of them didn't actually know Subaru yet.

Otto, for example, felt in his heart at this moment even greater respect and admiration for Natsuki Subaru.

To think that even in such a mental state, Mr. Natsuki had been able to build a vast organization from nothing, all on his own, and had even recruited so many reliable powerhouses as his helpers.

Truly worthy of Mr. Natsuki!

And just as everyone was silently pondering, each with their own thoughts, a discordant note suddenly rang out.

A slender figure rose to her feet, silver hair spilling loose, and strode quickly toward Ram.

At last, she came to a stop, looming over Ram from above.

"Lady Emilia, what is it you intend to do? Please, do not act rashly!"

Rem reacted at once—seeing Emilia march two thudding steps up to her elder sister with such fierce momentum, she realized Lady Emilia was angry because of the images on the screen.

So she immediately stood up to shield Ram, throwing her arms wide with a flustered expression.

"Don't blame my sister, it's all because of me…"

Rem wanted to shoulder all the blame herself—whether it was her sister or Lady Emilia, she felt guilt toward them both and did not want them to be hurt.

But in the very next second—

Accompanied by a crisp smack, and under everyone's shocked, turning gazes, Rem was struck to one side by a merciless swing of Emilia's hand, and one could clearly see her cheek swell up red in that instant.

In this viewing space where everyone's strength was suppressed, Rem's constitution at this moment was no different from an ordinary person's.

Yet strangely, the rule of this space that forbade the use of any form of force seemed at this moment to have no effect on Emilia at all.

"Indeed, it is you who should be blamed—and after I learned everything that happened afterward, I became all the more certain of it."

"So watching you put on that act, pretending your heart aches for Subaru, is truly nauseating, Rem!"

Emilia loomed over her, a blue-violet glow radiating from the eyes that gazed down at Rem, her tone cold and chilling, so much so that nearly everyone present felt her utterly unfamiliar at this moment.

"Saying things like 'Subaru is my hero'? Don't make me laugh."

"You think you loved him enough, but do you even know how many times you hunted Subaru down? Every hammer you swung in those death loops was a blade thrust into your own self!

"You understand it yourself too, don't you? Mixed into this so-called love of yours is blood you'll never be able to wash away for the rest of your life!

"And that kind of love—Subaru does not need it!"

Emilia spoke with a mocking, malice-filled smile, and finally passed her cold, cruel verdict.

She recalled the memories that had been added to her mind after the last dungeon—memories from the perspective of the self on the Greed line.

At the end of the manor arc, the scene of Rem smiling as she discussed the future with Subaru.

And the scene of Rem falling victim to Gluttony's attack, visited by Subaru many times a day, cared for day and night.

Each and every one of them, one after another.

Jealousy, spite, envy, no…

The dependence and possessiveness toward Subaru brought by the Greed line memories interwove with the memories of the Wrath line—of being cast aside, abandoned by Subaru in the end.

They transformed into wave after wave of negative emotion crashing through Emilia's mind, plunging her into a state bordering on madness!

By what right?! What right do they have to—

Whether it was Ram or Rem, so long as they did something wrong they could be endlessly forgiven by Subaru, even saved by him!

And what about her?

She had confessed her love to Subaru, and what she received in return was his merciless abandonment!

So jealous, so jealous…

I love you so much, Subaru!!

Emilia lowered her head, and her wide, deep, dark eyes, her malice-laden words and tone, made Rem—who had slumped to the floor—shuffle back a step, her eyes filling with fear as well.

After hearing Emilia's words, she couldn't even spare the thought to ask how Lady Emilia had come to know of the words she would only say to Natsuki Subaru much later—for the memories of her hunting down Natsuki Subaru in the first several loops shown on the screen had already surfaced before her eyes once more.

In the corridor, she had smashed Natsuki Subaru into pieces, and the blood-stained eyeball seemed at this moment to roll right before her.

And the sound of chains in the forest…

"It's not like that, it's not like that, stop—!"

Rem clutched her head and curled up on the floor, shaking her head in tearful denial, breaking down into loud sobs.

But in the next second, her weeping was suddenly drowned out by an abrupt crisp sound.

"Smack!"

Rem looked up blankly, and saw that her elder sister, Ram, still holding the pose of having just delivered a slap, was standing between her and the danger.

And her Lady Emilia held her pose with her head turned to one side.

Yet, very strangely, Rem noticed that Lady Emilia was smiling—even after just being slapped by her sister, she was still smiling, and it looked eerie and deeply unsettling.

"Ram… you still have the nerve to hit me?"

Facing Emilia's question, Ram looked at her steadily for a moment with a cold face, then slowly spoke.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be someone from the same world as me, aren't you?"

"Don't act as though you believed in Barusu back then. The debt I owe him, I'll repay along with Rem's share as well—but that is no reason for you to go mad at Rem!"

"Settling old scores? Fine, then let's settle these old scores!"

Emilia suddenly stepped forward, the ample swell of her chest nearly pressing against Ram, the two of them locking eyes, neither willing to yield.

Toward this pink-haired maid who was even more favored by Subaru, the jealousy in Emilia's heart at this moment reached its peak—she almost wished she could kill her.

But before that, she wanted to crush her, to accuse her, until the other broke down psychologically and admitted defeat—only then could the hatred within her heart be slightly relieved!

"The day Rem died, you actually knew all along that it wasn't Subaru who killed Rem at all, didn't you?"

"Just think about it—an ordinary person without the strength to truss a chicken, who knew nothing of magic, somehow managed to silently kill a powerful oni, with not even the slightest trace of poison found on her body afterward."

"So even though your mouth said Subaru killed her, in truth even you—who hunted him down so desperately—probably didn't believe it in your own heart!!"

Emilia roared out through gritted teeth, her words like the sharpest spear, striking the most secret place within Ram's heart.

Ram's face turned pale in an instant, her right hand gripping the armrest of the seat beside her with all its might, barely managing to keep from stepping back or collapsing—yet her legs at this moment trembled honestly.

——Did she herself know this?

Ram silently asked herself in her heart, but she was destined to receive no answer at all.

It was then that Emilia spoke again, with mockery and a sigh, pressing down upon Ram:

"After so much time has passed, can't you even admit this one thing?"

"The fact is that you understood the one who killed Rem was not Subaru, yet you still chose to hunt him down, to take out your anger on him."

At last, Emilia coldly delivered her appraisal.

"Gave up, cast him away, felt fear, struggled…"

"Ram… you truly are 'Wrath,' aren't you."

____

👻🔥Walnut-chan ;) — P@tr3on🔥👻

🔥 New history: Zenless Zone Zero: Rewriting Fate in New Eridu — live on The_Mikudayo

📚 Tired of waiting? Walnut-chan puts you 40 chapters ahead and keeps the translations coming

Help smash these goals:

🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)