I love time travel the most!

Elsa felt a burning sensation on the left side of her neck. Instead of tending to the bleeding wound, she looked at the departing Merry.

Exhaling a relaxed breath, he silently watched Gafil, who was carrying the massive, rock-like body of a monster.

"Go to hell, you scum!"

Amid the orc boy's vicious curses, the rock flew toward her in an arc, and Elsa did not dodge until the very last moment.

The terrifying weight crushed the woman, the cursed doll, and the gut hunter, leaving them utterly mangled!

The blood that had seeped out from the monster's bodily fluids showed no signs of resurrection.

—The taste of death.

Jafiel roared, his voice deafening and echoing throughout the burning mansion.

The battle has now been decided!

...Is that all?

"Hey, Jiafeier, your voice is too loud. What if you disturb the other people?"

"Boss?! What are you doing here? Where are the people in the house? Weren't we supposed to be evacuating? Besides, this place is about to collapse, it's very dangerous."

Upon seeing Subaru Natsuki, who was picking his ear with a fierce look just like his own, Garfield couldn't help but shout out.

"That matter has been taken care of, don't worry. I'm here because I have something to take care of."

Natsuki Subaru waved his hand dismissively, ignoring the falling objects as if everything was under his control. There was an almost uncanny sense of leisurely strolling through the collapsed corridor.

"Something wrong?" Jiafeier asked, puzzled, but quickly added boastfully, "Compared to that, I am...!"

“Compared to that, Gafil, the battle is far from over.”

"……Aha?!"

The interrupted orc boy stared at Subaru Natsuki with his mouth agape in surprise, but Subaru's gaze was not on him, but rather directed towards a shadowy corner deep in the corridor.

With the sound of footsteps, a tall figure appeared in the firelight.

"Even if I get rid of the detachment of watching movies, it quickly becomes boring once I know what's going to happen. If I use this ability too often, I might lose my sense of anticipation for the future, which is really unacceptable. Don't you think so, Natsuki-kun?"

"If I had that ability without having to die to experience the pain, I would be extremely grateful. How many times do you think I died to get to this point, you bastard!"

Natsuki Subaru glared at the man in front of him, his eyes filled with resentment and anger, and shouted:

"I need an explanation, Kobayashi!"

Chapter 401 is both the most sincere blessing and the most vicious curse.

Natsuki Subaru believes he has the right to be angry.

First of all, Elsa was taken away by Kobayashi and Reinhard. The heinous Bowel Hunter fell into the hands of the Kingdom's knights. Even if she wasn't executed, she should have been imprisoned for life.

Now, not only have the Bowel Hunters not received the punishment they deserved, but they have even brought Beastmasters to attack them.

Secondly, Subaru Natsuki died a total of 8 times! If you add the 4 times he liberated the Sanctuary, he actually died 12 times to successfully defeat the Bowel Hunter and get to this point, more than any time before!

It was as if they felt he hadn't died enough in his battles against the White Whale and the Bishop of Sloth, and were determined to make him endlessly cycle between life and death, to make up for the number of deaths he owed.

Why!

Aren’t you bullying honest people?

Coupled with Kobayashi's seemingly precognitive remarks, his anger and resentment were instantly ignited.

"Say something, Kobayashi!"

"...What's with the comments that sound like you desperately want to know your husband's true feelings after he cheated? Are you a vulnerable wife who has been hurt?"

Faced with the triangular-eyed boy's urging, Kobayashi pouted and complained helplessly, as if he were the mastermind behind everything.

Perhaps I should also be considered a victim? I kept playing the emotional card, thinking I could use family ties to change the mind of the gut hunter, but in the end I was still fooled by a few words from others.

Besides, is it really a good idea to waste time under these circumstances?

The fire continued to spread, engulfing the corridor; roof beams collapsed and the mansion continued to crumble; in a few minutes, everyone would be buried underneath.

"Stop nagging! If I don't ask you now, you'll slip away later. Besides, I know you would never let me die, Kobayashi. You were secretly protecting me when I came over, weren't you?"

Natsuki Subaru clearly didn't want to let Kobayashi off the hook, and was certain that the other party would agree to his capricious question.

The basis for this is that he encountered no danger on his way here. He certainly didn't want to die, and this outcome was also what Kobayashi hoped for.

"Is that why you're so fearless?"

In just a moment, Kobayashi saw through his thoughts.

Conversely, they use themselves to achieve their goals.

It seems that this method brought him considerable success in the battles against the White Whale and the Bishop of Sloth, which led to his arrogance.

Okay, let's consider this the last lesson.

"Don't misunderstand, Natsuki-kun. Your advantage is that it can be maximized when others are unaware of your abilities, but it doesn't work at all against me. Most importantly, it doesn't work all the time. For example, right now, if you continue to be willful, you'll be the one who gets hurt in the end."

Kobayashi's reminder sent a chill down Subaru's spine.

He's right.

Liberating the Sanctuary and defeating the Bowel Hunters—this is the outcome Subaru and his friends wanted to see.

Even if both parties hope for the same result, if they fail, he will have to go through the whole process again, while the other party doesn't have to pay anything and just waits for the result.

Damn it, so cunning!

"I'm so glad that Natsuki-kun understands."

Seeing the triangular-eyed boy's hesitant, sweaty, and fearful expression, Xiaolin knew that he understood the implications.

"The means of countermeasures also depend on the people involved..."

"It's so annoying how long-winded it is! Why do you have to spout such obscure and difficult-to-understand道理 (principles/truths)?"

"Jiafeier!"

Ignoring his sister's advice, the blond orc boy grinned, baring his sharp teeth, looking impatient and on the verge of losing his temper.

Then he turned to the hesitant Subaru Natsuki and shouted, "Boss, if you want to know the answer to the question, why don't you just capture him too?"

He lowered his body, his beast-like limbs bulging, his taut muscles and powerful waistline clearly indicating what he intended to do.

Subaru Natsuki quickly stopped him.

"Wait, Gafil!"

"No problem, this is my specialty. I'll break his limbs but not his life...?!"

The impatient, beast-like boy wore a bloodthirsty smile. He stomped his legs on the floor, bringing the collapsing corridor to a breaking point, and then his body shot out like a cannonball!

The figure blurred, traversing the distance between the crater where Elsa had been thrown and approaching Kobayashi, but stopped just before touching her.

No, it's that we had to stop.

The two were less than 30 centimeters apart, but this short distance felt like an insurmountable chasm, impossible to touch.

Because a gleaming sickle lay across his neck.

Despite the raging fires all around, a chilling aura of death enveloped Jafiel, causing his body to tremble involuntarily.

quick! It's so fast!

It's as if it transcends space and time!

Forget about seeing, I couldn't even smell it! If I hadn't stopped in time, I'd be dead by now!

"You bastard..."

The beast-like boy glared at the elegant maid who had somehow appeared beside him, his twisted expression a clear sign of rage.

After all, it's understandable to be angry when faced with a counterattack that feels like a joke.

Nevertheless, the target audience was wrong.

Kobayashi asked knowingly, "I thought Natsuki-kun was already brainless enough, but whose subordinate is this?"

"His name is Gafil. Don't let his recklessness fool you, he's very determined, and he's also the man with the cool title of 'Shield of the Sanctuary'! Besides, he's my little brother."

"You said all that just to emphasize that he's your underling, didn't you?"

"Hahaha, have we been exposed?"

Natsuki Subaru chuckled and scratched his head.

Jiafeier retreated, and Liu Zi did not continue to pursue.

"Boss, what's going on? Aren't you guys enemies?"

"No, I didn't! Don't talk nonsense! Xiaolin and I are best friends, the closest of friends!"

Subaru Natsuki's goofy and exaggerated antics made the boy from the Sanctuary begin to doubt whether making him his boss was the right choice.

However, that expressionless maid was truly terrifying. Although she had no scent or even a human aura, her hidden strength frightened him, and his body involuntarily trembled with excitement.

"Don't worry about it, Gafil."

"Boss?"

"Don't even mention your current injury, even in your prime... I should say, even if everyone combined, you still couldn't beat her. Miss Ryuu-zu has that kind of strength."

"Is this supposed to be comforting? At least have some backbone!"

Hearing his younger brother's complaints, Natsuki Subaru shook his head helplessly.

He had witnessed it firsthand. Not only did the opponent escape from Parker after he returned to his original form, but he also managed to escape with ease while being pursued by the White Whale, even managing to take several burdens with him. He even managed to find and kill the many fingers that the Archbishop of Sloth had hidden.

Sorry, being able to pause time means you can do whatever you want.

Even if you add up everyone in Emilia's faction, they still can't do anything to the seemingly weak maid in front of you.

"At least I understand one thing."

Natsuki Subaru stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Kobayashi, you didn't intend to kill me, right? To be honest, I'm really relieved. I don't know what I would have done if I had you as my opponent."

The explanation he wanted, or rather, this was what he wanted to know.

Just as Garfield treated him like an older brother, Subaru Natsuki also always regarded Kobayashi as an older brother. He pulled Kobayashi back from the brink of disaster several times, and helped and saved those he cherished on numerous occasions. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a godfather.