Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

Natsuki Subaru waved his hand, looking like he was being very reasonable.

"You dared to turn the tables on the Sword Saint that day, and you dare to come to me for a drink today. Such courage is rare in the world."

Elsa's smile softened.

"Hey buddy, you must have misunderstood something. I didn't come here to have a drink with you."

Her gaze slowly fell on Subaru Natsuki's abdomen.

"I'm here to take your intestines."

Rem tightened her grip on the flail slightly.

The chains made a very slight rubbing sound between her fingers.

She did not act immediately.

Because Subaru's reaction was too natural.

It was so natural, as if they really knew this gut hunter.

The gut hunter did not deny it.

This dangerous woman exudes an undisguised murderous intent.

Natsuki Subaru had that witch scent about him that she couldn't ignore again.

When the two stood together, the doubt in Rem's heart grew like thorns in the dark.

Could they have been accomplices all along?

Was the sneak attack just to lull me into a false sense of security?

The children are still behind us.

She cannot give up all her strength.

I can't entrust my back to Subaru Natsuki.

We must not let these children fall into the hands of gut hunters.

"We'll talk about the intestines another day."

Subaru Natsuki was still earnestly extending the invitation.

"Wine is like an old hero, the more you drink, the more vigorous you become. Today we meet again, how can we not first exchange large cups?"

"it's a pity."

Elsa moved her toes slightly.

"I'd rather see what's inside your belly now."

The moment the words left his mouth, the shadowy figure was already close to Subaru Natsuki.

The scimitar seemed to grow out of thin air, silently slicing towards his abdomen.

The smile on Natsuki Subaru's face did not completely disappear.

But his body had already moved first.

With his right hand, he formed a knife shape with his fingers together and made a diagonal cut on Elsa's wrist.

It's not a sword.

Yet the trajectory of a sword remains.

That was the Hate Heaven Sword Technique that Tian Feng taught him in prison.

Use your hand as a sword.

Use bone as a sharp point.

Hating that there was no way out, he used his own body to carve out a path.

Elsa shifted her wrist, and the blade grazed Natsuki Subaru's clothes.

At the same time, Rem's flail came crashing down from the side.

The heavy iron ball whistled through the air as it hurtled towards Elsa's waist.

Elsa bent backward, her body as supple as if she had no bones.

The iron ball grazed the hem of her clothes and crashed to the ground, scattering dirt everywhere.

"The little sister from the demon clan is very enthusiastic."

Elsa laughed.

"Your intestines must be very beautiful."

Rem did not respond.

With a flick of her wrist, the chain turned in mid-air, and the meteor hammer spun back from behind Elsa.

Subaru Natsuki then stepped forward.

His left hand thrusts straight forward with palms together, while his right hand slices horizontally, like two unsharpened but heavy short knives.

Elsa's twin blades are incredibly fast.

But it seemed like Natsuki Subaru had already figured out where she would strike.

It's not something you see with your eyes.

It is the body that remembers.

Those who have died from the blade a thousand times are most familiar not with victory.

Rather, it's about how the air will grow cold, how the skin will sting, and how the enemy's shoulder will move before the blade even strikes in the final moments before death arrives.

Elsa's three consecutive stabs were deflected by Subaru Natsuki using the back of his hand, his knuckles, and his elbow.

Her smile finally held a hint of genuine surprise.

"This is really troublesome."

"You have no weapon, yet you're harder to cut than many people with swords. Why can't you just obediently let your sister cut open your intestines?"

"You flatter me."

Natsuki Subaru raised his hand, the edge of his palm brushing against her blade, and then struck her shoulder with a palm strike.

"Although I, Natsuki Subaru, do not have a sword, my hands are not to be trifled with."

Rem's flail fell again.

The two stood one in front of the other.

One fast, one heavy.

Elsa was forced to retreat. She was outnumbered two to one, but she wasn't nervous.

She could sense that the two of them weren't working well together.

It could even be said that the blue-haired maid was deliberately holding back.

Every time she struck, she left herself room to retract her blow.

Every time she gets close to Subaru Natsuki, she instinctively avoids the position where she can turn her back to him.

Even so, Elsa was still suppressed.

Because Subaru Natsuki is too difficult to deal with.

He doesn't have a fancy posture.

His every dodge was small, and his every counterattack was very close. Rather than a skill, it was more like an instinct honed through countless battles.

Some of the movements were even described as awkward.

It may look ugly, but it's very practical.

Elsa's blade came close to his abdomen several times, but he always managed to deflect it in an almost unreasonable way.

The back of his hand struck the knife.

Tapping the wrist with knuckles.

Shoulder to elbow.

I stepped on the spot where she changed her steps with my toes.

In addition, Rem's meteor hammer blocked the way from the outside, and its speed was as fast as Elsa's, so for a while, they couldn't find a real gap to break through.

"Don't rush."

Natsuki Subaru struck down with a palm, but didn't forget to soothe Elsa's emotions.

Anger diminishes your wisdom.

Elsa dodged to the side, then reversed her blade.

"I won't get angry~ The more you resist, the more I want to see what your intestines look like~"

"Yearning? Even better."

Natsuki Subaru was completely serious.

"Thirst! That's a sign of drinking!"

Rem listened to their conversation, and her wariness only deepened.

too ripe.

They spoke as if they knew each other too well.

Is Subaru Natsuki really just talking nonsense?

Or is this method used to send some kind of signal to the gut hunters?

Doubt slowed her down a beat.

And it was in that split second that Meryl moved.

The little blue-haired girl had somehow retreated behind the children and let out a soft, almost inaudible whistle.

Suddenly, faint crawling sounds came from the shadows in the grass, behind the house, and beside the road.

One monster after another emerged.

Some of them resembled puppies, some resembled hunting dogs, and some had low-set bodies and dark eyes.

The children finally screamed.

Petra instinctively ran towards Rem, but was blocked by a monster.

Instead of rashly intervening in Elsa and her companions' battle, these monsters surrounded the children.

Mary, holding the puppy, stood among the children. Her tone, no longer reserved, had become somewhat like Elsa's, and she spoke to the other children with a slight smile:

"Don't move!"

"If you move around too much, you'll get bitten."

Rem's pupils suddenly contracted.

Beastmaster.

That child is also an enemy.

Why is this happening?

Have they also destroyed the barrier that prevented the monsters from entering?

Also, Natsuki Subaru was just close to her, talking to her, and touching her.

Why make jokes about hands and feet?

Did he really not notice?

Or was it all part of his plan?

The children's cries, Meryl's pale face, Elsa's smiling blade, and the faint witch scent emanating from Subaru Natsuki all pressed down on Rem in an instant.

The price she paid was that she became distracted.

"A great opportunity!"