The night didn't change.
The stars stayed frozen above, watching like indifferent spectators.
And every time Subaru opened her eyes, she found herself standing again, same dirt underfoot, same bloody boy lying ahead.
Her fingers tightened around the axe. Her lips quivered. She didn't want to speak—didn't want to move—but the silence pressed so hard against her chest it hurt.
Maybe… maybe words could work this time.
"Hey," she said softly, voice trembling. "You're hurt… I don't wanna fight. I'm not— I'm not a demon, okay? I'm just confused. I don't even know where I am."
He lifted his head, eyes barely open.
"Demons…" he whispered.
Subaru swallowed. "Please… no, listen, I'm not—"
He coughed blood, fingers clutching his weapon. "Must die."
Her heart sank. "No, no, no, wait—just listen!"
The axe swung.
And she died again.
Pain, then dark.
When she opened her eyes again, her throat was already sore from screaming. She didn't scream this time. She just stared. The same moon. The same forest.
She took one step forward, voice shaking. "Please… please just listen this time, okay? I don't want to fight. I don't even know you."
"Demons…"
Subaru's eyes watered. "Stop saying that. I'm not a demon! Look at me!"
He rose, trembling, bleeding, but still lifted that damned axe.
"Die…"
Her legs failed her. "Why? Why won't you—"
Steel met flesh.
Darkness again.
Third time.
She knelt by him instead. Didn't even hold the axe this time. Maybe he just needed kindness.
"Hey, hey," she said, voice hoarse. "I'm not your enemy, okay? I just wanna help."
He stirred, coughed again.
"Demons…"
She gritted her teeth. "No, not demons! Human! Or—whatever this is, I'm still me!"
The sound of metal.
Subaru tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough.
The world spun. Her vision went red, then black.
Fourth time.
She woke up sobbing, clawing the dirt. "I don't wanna do this anymore!"
She sat there until she heard his voice again.
"Demons…"
Subaru forced a smile. "Yeah, yeah, demons. Sure. Whatever. But you don't have to kill me. You could just… y'know, not?"
He stumbled to his feet. "Die…"
She lifted her arms weakly. "I give up, okay? I surrender—"
The axe fell.
Darkness again.
Fifth.
"Please stop," she begged, tears streaming down her face. "Please. I just want to go home. You don't even know me!"
"Demons…"
Her grip tightened. "You're not even listening, are you?"
He swung.
She screamed until she couldn't.
Sixth.
She tried shouting before he could even move.
"HEY, RED-HAIR! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"
He twitched, startled. For a moment, she thought—maybe this time—
Then: "Demons must die."
Her laughter cracked as she stumbled back. "Of course. Of course that's what you'd say."
She swung back out of reflex, their axes clashing—his strength overwhelming hers.
The impact threw her down. The second blow silenced her.
Seventh.
Subaru just sat cross-legged, watching him.
He stirred.
She didn't move.
"Demons…"
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "Go ahead. I'll be here."
He rose, limping, bloody, but still raised that stupid weapon.
She didn't flinch when it hit.
Eighth.
She woke with bloodshot eyes, laughter spilling from her lips before she could stop it. "Oh, this is rich! You're my personal tutorial, aren't you? My respawn boss!"
Her laugh turned manic.
He moved again.
"Demons…"
She snorted. "Say something new, damn it!"
He didn't.
He killed her again.
Ninth.
Her hands shook violently now. She crawled away before he could rise. Maybe if she hid—
The forest went quiet.
Her breath hitched.
And then he was behind her.
"You must die."
"No—!"
Pain tore her in two.
Tenth.
Her throat burned from crying. She slapped her cheeks hard, leaving red marks. "Okay, Subaru. Okay. Think. Think, idiot. You can figure this out. You've done worse. You can—"
"Demons…"
Her stomach twisted. "Oh god, not again."
She ran.
Didn't even look back.
He caught up.
He always caught up.
Eleventh.
Subaru screamed before he even spoke. "STOP SAYING THAT!"
Her voice echoed through the forest. "STOP CALLING ME THAT! I'M NOT A DEMON! I'M NOT!"
He didn't stop.
When he lifted the axe, she didn't resist this time.
"Fine," she whispered. "Go ahead. I'll just come back anyway."
She smiled through tears as the blade fell.
Twelfth.
She woke up humming. The tune cracked halfway through. "La-la-la… murder forest, round twelve… can't wait to die again…"
Her laughter was hollow.
The boy stirred.
"Demons…"
Her smile faltered. "Yeah, I know the script."
He swung.
She welcomed it.
Thirteenth.
Her hands were trembling uncontrollably now. Every breath felt sharp.
"Maybe I am a demon," she muttered to herself. "Maybe that's why this keeps happening. Maybe I deserve it."
She looked up. "Hey, Red. You ever think maybe you're the one who's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
He cut her throat open.
Fourteenth.
When Subaru came back, she just lay there. Didn't move. Didn't breathe. Just stared up at the stars.
When he stirred, she whispered, "I hate you."
He said, "Demons must die."
She smiled weakly. "Yeah, I figured."
He didn't hesitate.
Fifteenth.
Subaru laughed so hard she cried. "Okay, okay, fine, you win. Let's make it quick this time."
She waved at him like an old friend. "Come on, don't be shy. Same move, right? Overhead swing, maybe a decapitation?"
He lunged.
She didn't even try to dodge.
Sixteenth.
When she opened her eyes again, her smile was gone.
Her face was blank.
Her eyes dull.
She looked at the boy, still bleeding, still alive in that cursed loop.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "You're not real, are you?"
He lifted his head. "Demons…"
Subaru tilted her head slightly, expression numb. "Right."
When he raised his axe again, she didn't even watch. She just closed her eyes, let the sound of the blade coming closer mix with the sound of her heartbeat.
And when it struck, she didn't scream. She just sighed.
Darkness again.
And again.
And again.
The wind was the same, cold and sharp. The smell of blood, bark, and damp soil clung to everything. Subaru had stopped counting how long she'd been stuck in this endless night. But after the eighteenth time of watching her own death fade into darkness, something in her cracked—then clicked.
She crouched low, clutching her axe tight. Her breath came out white and steady.
Alright… maybe crying and begging wouldn't do jack. Maybe reasoning was useless. Maybe this world only listened to one language: violence.
Her gaze flicked to the boy lying in the dirt again, the faint rasp of his breath, the glint of his bloodied axe. Same spot. Same everything. But this time, Subaru wasn't shaking.
Her hands—small, pale, deceptively delicate—gripped the weapon like it was made for her. She could feel power humming in her muscles, a strange energy rushing through her veins. Her balance was sharper. Her stance more grounded. Maybe this body was different… maybe this body could fight.
"Okay," she whispered to herself. "If dying doesn't help, maybe killing will."
The boy stirred, coughing blood. His eyes flicked up, hollow and cold.
"Demons…" he rasped.
Subaru didn't move.
"Must die."
He pushed himself to his feet, wobbly but still dangerous. His axe lifted.
Subaru raised hers. Their eyes met—hers trembling, his lifeless.
The clash came fast.
Metal against metal. Sparks burst between them. The impact rang through the forest, echoing between the trees. Subaru's hands vibrated, but she held her ground. The force of his swing would've shattered her bones before—but now, her new body absorbed it. Her grip was strong, her arms steady.
For the first time since this nightmare began, she didn't fall.
Her heart pounded.
Holy crap. She blocked it.
A grin crept across her face—half disbelief, half exhilaration. "Oh… oh hell yeah! You feel that?! I blocked your damn—"
She barely finished the sentence before he twisted his stance.
In one impossible motion, the boy spun the axe around, flipping the handle in his hand. His movement was too clean, too fast for his wounds. Subaru's eyes widened—
The next instant, her world exploded in agony.
Shhhk—!
The axe tore through her arm. Not a clean slice, but a brutal tear of flesh and bone. Her right arm fell before she even realised what happened. The axe in her hand dropped, clattering uselessly to the ground.
Her breath hitched—then came the pain.
Raw. Burning. All-consuming.
Her knees buckled, and she stared at the stump. Blood poured like a fountain, hot and thick, staining her dress, soaking into her stockings.
Her voice broke apart into a scream so shrill it didn't even sound human.
"AaaAAAHHH—!!!"
Her body convulsed. She stumbled backward, clutching at the wound, her other hand slipping in her own blood. Her mind couldn't process it. The world tilted. Her breath came in sharp, broken gasps.
"I—my arm—my—AAAHHHH! WHAT THE—STOP—!!!"
Her vision spun. The boy didn't hesitate. His eyes were blank, emotionless, like a puppet moving on instinct.
He raised his weapon again.
Subaru tried to crawl back, her voice cracking into hysterical shrieks. "NO! PLEASE! I CAN'T—STOP, STOP IT, I—!"
The blade flashed again.
Shhkk!
Her left arm hit the ground, rolling away from her body. Blood sprayed across the dirt in a sick arc. The pain was unbearable—blinding. She couldn't even scream anymore; her throat shredded itself raw.
Her mouth opened but no sound came. Only air. Only pain.
Her mind cracked. The agony wasn't quick or merciful this time—it was alive. Her nerves lit up, her brain refusing to shut down. Every pulse of her heartbeat was another explosion of suffering.
She could feel the warmth of her blood leaving her body, the world tilting sideways, fading at the edges. Her vision blurred with red and tears.
"P… please…" she whimpered. "It hurts… it hurts so much…"
The boy didn't answer. He lifted his axe one last time, his shadow falling over her trembling body.
Subaru looked up, shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lips quivered. She didn't even beg this time—just stared at him in disbelief, as if trying to understand what he was.
Then the axe fell.
She didn't feel the final blow—only the moment her body split, and her mind finally disconnected from it.
There was no time to think, no words left to scream. Just darkness swallowing her whole again.
And when she opened her eyes…
She was standing once more.
Same forest. Same cold air. Same boy bleeding in the dirt.
Subaru stared at her hands—both whole again. She trembled violently, the phantom pain still burning through her. Her breath hitched as she pressed her palms against her arms, as if to confirm they were back.
She could still feel it—the tearing, the pain, the warmth of her blood. It lingered like a cruel echo.
Her voice cracked as she whispered, "No more… please, no more…"
But even as she said it, her gaze drifted toward the boy again. The faint rise and fall of his chest. His limp hand twitching toward the axe.
And somewhere deep in her chest, between the fear and the madness, something else began to burn.
Resolve—or maybe just vengeance.
She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her trembling hand. "Fine…" she muttered, voice shaking. "You want a demon? You'll get one."
Her grip tightened around the axe.
She stepped forward.
By the forty-first time, Subaru didn't even flinch.
The sound of his boots crunching against the soil had once made her heart leap to her throat, had once filled her with a trembling kind of terror that set her body into fight or flight. But now—now her chest only felt hollow. Her fingers didn't even tighten around the axe anymore. They just trembled faintly, gripping air.
He stepped out of the shadows again, the same way he always did: his expression empty, eyes sharp, voice colder than iron. "Demons… must die."
There was no hesitation in his words. Never had been. Not once.
Subaru swallowed hard. Her throat was dry, rough like sandpaper, every breath scratching against her lungs. She wanted to speak, but her voice came out cracked. "I—I'm not even resisting anymore, you bastard… can't you see that?!"
He didn't answer. He never did. His face, his tone, his steps—everything about him followed the same script. He raised the axe.
Subaru's eyes welled up. Her lips trembled. "Please… I don't even know why this is happening. I don't even know where I am… I'm not a demon, I'm not—"
The blade came down, fast and merciless.
For the forty-first time, Subaru felt the world go white and soundless. No pain, not really—just a sudden emptiness, a cold rush of air, the faint feeling of falling apart before everything turned black.
Then she blinked.
The stars above her blinked back.
The boy lay there again, bloodied, gasping.
Her body shook. Her breath caught somewhere deep in her chest, and tears started running down her face before she could even stop them. "Please," she whispered to no one. "Please… just let it end."
When he rose again, she didn't even move. Didn't try to talk. Didn't try to run.
"Demons must die."
The same words. The same swing.
The forty-second reset ended in the same red flash.
By the forty-third, Subaru could barely bring herself to speak anymore. Her throat ached from screaming, from begging, from explaining. She'd tried every version of her story she could think of—told him she was human, that she was lost, that she'd just woken up here, that she'd never hurt anyone. She even tried lying, pretending she was a cursed villager or a summoned spirit, but it didn't matter. His axe didn't care.
She tried to talk calmly. Tried to cry. Tried to fight. Tried to surrender. Nothing changed.
Every time she woke up, her legs would shake when she stood. Sometimes she'd vomit, sometimes she'd laugh until her stomach cramped. Once, she sat for an hour, staring at her trembling hands, before he found her again.
Now… now she just stood there.
She didn't even bother picking up the axe lying beside her.
When she saw him approach again, her lips moved automatically. The same words left her mouth in a dead tone. "Demons must die, right? Go ahead, then. I get it. That's all you can say."
He looked at her, eyes as cold as ever, and swung.
Her head tilted back at the last second, eyes locked on the moon above—the same moon, always the same shape, same clouds drifting past it. A cruel, repetitive sky.
"I don't… I don't want this anymore," she whispered.
The forty-third ended.
And the forty-fourth began.
This time, Subaru didn't even cry. She didn't run. Didn't scream. She just stood there, staring up at the stars, her chest hollowed out, eyes lifeless.
When she blinked, the boy was there again, and her heart didn't even jump.
She couldn't remember how long she'd been doing this. Couldn't tell if she was actually breathing anymore. Couldn't tell if she was still Subaru—Subaru Natsuki, the idiot who once bought convenience store snacks and complained about games being pay-to-win. That felt like a dream now.
Now there was only this: the forest, the boy, the axe, the same words, the same pain.
"Demons must die."
"Yeah," Subaru whispered, almost smiling through the tears that never fully stopped. "Guess so."
And with that, she closed her eyes.
The sound of the axe splitting air came, and she welcomed it.
The forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth… they blurred together after that.
Each reset felt shorter, duller, emptier.
Once, she tried running again, half-heartedly, out of instinct—but tripped over her own foot, falling flat into the mud. She stayed there, sobbing quietly, waiting for him to find her. When the blow came, she didn't even raise her head.
Another time, she thought of her family—her mom humming while cooking, her dad joking about stupid things, the smell of the tatami in her room. The memories hit her like blades, cutting through the fog in her brain, and she cried until her chest hurt. When he came that time, she whispered through the tears, "I just want to go home."
He didn't pause.
The axe came down.
By the forty-ninth, her mind had started slipping. Sometimes she'd laugh at nothing, or whisper random words just to hear her own voice. Sometimes she'd talk to the trees. Sometimes she'd apologize to them.
And every single time—reset.
The fiftieth time she stood there, she didn't even notice the tears falling anymore.
The forest around her was quiet. The stars were exactly where they always were. The same hum of the wind. The same heartbeat in her ears.
"Demons must die."
She nodded faintly, voice hoarse, almost broken. "Then do it."
He did.
And as darkness took her again, she finally wondered if maybe—maybe she'd never stop seeing this place.
Maybe she'd already gone insane.
Maybe she already had.
To Be Continued