Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (LN) - Volume 25 - Chapter 7.5

5

It wasn’t fatal.

But it wasn’t so light that she could be optimistic, either.

Her brain had been rattled, and there was blood trickling from her nose.

Ram knew she had taken a tremendous amount of damage. Her wobbly legs made that painfully obvious.

And the one who had hurt her was the sweet, blue-haired girl with a gentle smile. By virtue of some sick joke, there were three identical faces in the room.

“Cry, Sister.”

There was a trace of a plea in her voice and a tear in her faint blue eyes as the fist came down. Ram felt every blow in the marrow of her bones, or perhaps it reached somewhere deeper, like her soul.

“Rage, Sister.”

When she bent over after a hit to her stomach, Rem was perfectly lined up for the uppercut that landed on her jaw. She managed to not bite her tongue, but then another punch caught her in the stomach. As she reeled from this hit, she caught an elbow to the head.

“Laugh, Sister.”

The affection in that voice tore at Ram’s heart with every word.

The only Rem that Ram knew had always been sleeping. The stolen sister who should have been by her side her entire life and yet was nowhere to be found because her memories had been erased.

Ram had looked forward to hearing her voice for the first time when she finally woke up. She didn’t know if her memories of her younger sister would return when that time came. Whether they had or not, those first words would have been special to her.

But now…

“Cry.” “Rage.” “Laugh.” “Suffer.” “Smile.” “Ache.” “Pout.” “Thrill.” “Blush.” “Snooze.” “Itch.” “Marvel.” “Celebrate.” “—Sister.”

“Don’t…”

Call me that was what she was about to scream until her mouth was blocked by a palm thrust and she couldn’t say anything.

The newly born monster cornered Ram—its power was overwhelming.

There was no hesitation. No limit on the moves it pulled out. No recognition that it was losing itself in the process. And at no point did its face shift. It still looked just like Ram’s precious other half.

With both the sun and moon in shadow, darkness had completely cloaked Gluttony’s features.

“Sister, Sister, that face isn’t like you at all.”

Her mistake was corrected by her younger sister, who was wearing a pouting, pleading expression as she struck Ram with her fist. Helpless to stop it from connecting with her chest, Ram felt her ribs creak as she slammed into the wall.

The sturdy stone wall of the Pleiades Watchtower crumbled, and Ram slumped to the ground on the other side.

Rubble filled the air around her, and when she coughed, a dusty, bloody taste filled her mouth. Suddenly, her broken bones and mangled flesh began to shriek.

She spun her head, trying to see where she had ended up.

“…ah.”

It was a short, raspy sound.

It was disappointment, or perhaps sentimentality after having an unsatisfying realization.

Ram could see Patrasche and Rem down the hall from where she had fallen. They were separated by maybe a few dozen feet—the time she had bought them was no more than a few scant moments; the pain she had experienced had merely made it feel so much longer.

“Sister, Sister, are you safe?” Lye asked disingenuously.

She could hear Lye’s footsteps from the other side of the smoke.

In that moment, Ram coughed up some blood and exchanged a glance with the battered Patrasche.

“—Tsss.”

“…Yes, I know. When this is over, let’s scold Barusu together.”

The truth was that she didn’t know what Patrasche had said.

However, it seemed like she had gotten the gist of it, since the black ground dragon didn’t correct her.

“ ”

Ram had to acknowledge that her judgment had been wrong.

She had played every card and been betrayed by the hand she had drawn.

Ram was aware that she was superior in every regard, but there was one point that she also knew she was lacking—luck.

That was as true now as it was the day her horn was broken and her life as an Oni was also broken.

She had not been especially attached to that way of life. The reason she had considered the white horn growing from her forehead the most unpleasant thing in this world was because it had been a part of her.

And yet here she was, thinking of what she could’ve done if she still had that horn.

—No, that wasn’t exactly it. She did still have the horn.

In fact, it was within reach right now. The wand she always carried with her—its core was Ram’s broken horn.

Mana was required to sustain sturdy musculature of the Oni, and their horns were crucial organs for efficiently gathering it.

As a catalyst for magic, there was nothing better for Ram.

Roswaal had gone out of his way to retrieve it and had the wand made special-order for her.

Just by being in a slightly different location, the difference was…

“ ”

Suddenly, a thought crossed Ram’s mind. The result of thinking of her horn and the fact that she had overwhelmed Lye once before. Mustering every bit of her knowledge to find a thread of possibility.

Ram with her broken horn, and the sleeping Rem. Roswaal had taken in both of them.

Why had he taken in both Ram and Rem?

“ ”

Ram knew the role that Roswaal wanted her to play.

And she knew of the plan that Roswaal was attempting to carry out.

She had heard that she was a critical part of it, and that she would recognize how when the time came.

So she had no intention of probing until the time she was needed came.

However, in this moment, a certain thought crossed her mind. It was an idea that was crucial to her survival, the survival of the sleeping Rem, and the survival of Patrasche, who had fought for the both of them to live.

It was terribly absurd, but at the same time, comprehension filled her breast.

If it was Ram’s beloved Roswaal L Mathers…

“He would do it, with the resolve to be called an inhuman monster.”

Ram pulled out the wand on her thigh with a trembling hand.

Looking at the wand she had used for ten years, she slammed it against the wall. Out of the crumbling wand tumbled something she had not seen for a long time.

Spinning unpleasantly, just like the last time.