You felt more and more powerless as your eyes started to close.

As you wondered what would become of you, you suddenly feel something in your mouth. You get the sensation that you jaw is being forced to chew something.

Suddenly, you felt rejuvenated. You sit up, now in control of your body. There's still some stuff in your mouth, so you swallow the rest of it.

You lift your head up, and see a worried Ram. "What happened?" you ask her.

"You went limp, and I saw that you were about to die from weakness." She pointed to the fruit on your desk, the fruit that Emilia gave to you after Subaru failed his spell. 

"When I saw the Bocco fruit, I gave you some, and now you are fine." She stood up. "Come. I will take you to Beatrice-sama. You must have been cursed from what I just saw."

She held out her hand, and you took it. 

As soon as you were up, she broke the contact. "Follow me."

She then took you somewhere unexpected. 

You arrived at Subaru's door. Ram knocked very hard, and after a few seconds, a sleepy Subaru came out.

"What?" He looked at you. "What did you do, (Y/N)? How did you mess up this time?"

"Barusu, (Y/N) almost died from weakness. Find Beatrice-sama's library. She should be able to remove the curse on (Y/N)."

"WHAT?!" He looked at you. "Wait... did she say you died from weakness? Did you feel naseous then all the energy just left you, and then you couldn't move anymore?"

"Yep." Subaru died by curse in his first loop here, so he knew exactly how it felt to die like that.

Ram poked Subaru. "Hurry up. Are you so pathetic that you can't hurry up when you're friend is in danger?"

She does care!

"I'm coming." grunted Subaru. He took the lead, and after a short time, he suddenly stopped and opened a random door. Sure enough, Beatrice was right behind it.

"I wonder why you are bothering me at such a late time, I suppose." She put her book down.

"Uh, apparently, I've been cursed, and I almost died from weakness." You step in front of Ram and Subaru.

Beatrice's eyes widened, if only slightly. "That is surprising. I will get rid of it, I suppose." She then examined your body for curses, and found one on your hand. You already knew about it, but nobody else did.

"(Y/N), isn't that where the dog bit you?" asked Subaru.

"Yeah, now that I think about it. You're right." This makes Subaru gasp. 

"Beako! Get rid of that curse as soon as you can! We need to head for the village right now!" Subaru began to run back and forth, beginning to panic.

As Beatrice quickly removed the dormant curse from your hand, Ram asked, "Why do you need to go the village?"

"Isn't that obvious? That little dog that put a curse on (Y/N) has been around that children and the other villages! They're in danger!"

Time skip

You, Subaru, Ram, and Rem were gathered at the entrance to the mansion. 

"Roswaal-sama asked us to take care of the mansion. Why do we need to go the village if they might not even be in trouble?" asked Rem.

"What if they are in trouble? Is it not our duty to protect the citizens of this domain? How will reflect on Emilia if a whole village dies under her watch?" Subaru argued.

"That is a valid point." You say, helping Subaru. "Besides, all of us don't need to go mayb-"

"(Y/N) is correct. Subaru, since you are so intent on going, you can go. I, along with my sister, will accompany you. (Y/N) will stay here." Ram said this with no room to argue.

"Why am I the only one that stays?" you ask.

"I agree, sister. Not all of us need to go, so I will go with Subaru. You can stay and protect the mansion." added Rem.

Ram thought for a moment. "Okay, sister. Barusu, if you do anything perverted to Rem, I will personally castrate you."

He nervously smiled. "You know that I won't try and pull anything." He turned to Rem. "Now let's get going!"

He turned and ran with Rem by his side.

Ram closed the massive mansion doors. "You didn't answer my question, Ram. Why couldn't I go to the village? I'm probably in better shape than Subaru is, and I'm definitely faster than him, so why him?"

She sighed. "You just recovered from almost dying. You need to rest before you do anything reckless." She looked away from you, and went away, presumably to her room, or wherever it was that she slept.

Alone again...

You decide that it would take too much effort to get back to your room, so you just lay down on one of the sofas in the lobby.

The Next Day

You're eyes snapped open as somebody forces the mansion doors open.

"(Y/N), wake up!" You recognize the person as one of the villagers.

"What is it?" you ask sluggishly.

"It's Subaru! He needs help! He got attacked by mabeasts and is in critical condition!"

This got rid of all of your fatigue. "Thanks for letting me know! Go back to the village. I'll send help right away!" The villager nodded his head and ran back to the village.

You raced up the stairs to where Emilia's room was. The sky outside was still dark, so nobody would be awake, so you have to wake them up.

Panting, you reached Emilia's room. You knock heavily on the door, and get an instant response. "What is it?"

"Emilia, Subaru went to the village last night, and got injured by mabeasts! We need to help him!"

You heard a thud, and some footsteps. Emilia opened the door. "WHAT?! Why did he go without telling me? Am I not important to him?"

"Actually, we didn't want to wake you up, and Rem went with him, so we-"

"WE?! Who else was in on this?" Emilia was enraged that nobody told her about what was happening in the village.

"Well..." You were unsure if you should tell her or try to calm her down.

"Emilia-sama, I see that you have been rudely awakened."

Once again, Ram had entered your conversation from nowhere.

Does she follow me or something, because she always seems to come in to my conversations...

"R-Ram! Did you know about Subaru and Rem going to the village?!"

"Yes." Ram just gave a short answer, but it was enough to shut Emilia up. 

"Emilia-sama, you should get dressed if you are going to go to the village. Now, I will get Beatrice-sama." Ram tugged your sleeve, so you followed her.

"Did you hear anything about my sister?" she asked you.

You shook your head. "The villager only mentioned Subaru being injured. I'm sure that Rem is fine."

This seemed to make her feel better, so you leave it at that.

Time Skip

You, Emilia, Ram, and Beatrice are at the village where a wounded Subaru is being tended to.

When you first saw him, you felt sorry for him. He was drenched in blood, and he had flesh wounds everywhere.

Now, he was being healed by both Emilia and Beatrice.

As they tended to him, you were left with your thoughts.

I wouldn't be much better off than him. Of course, I would regenerate, but that means that I would be mauled over and over. I have to learn some magic to be able to fight. I'm not going to let myself stay powerless.

Eventually. Subaru woke up. As he was scolded by Emilia, you walk out of the building and into the street, where several onlookers had gathered. 

"How is he?" one asked.

"He's fine now. We have some amazing healers, so they were able to fix him." You reassure them. "In fact, he will probably be coming out soon."

Right on cue, Subaru stepped outside. The villagers surrounded him, praising him and thanking him for his actions. 

You intervene. "Give him some space! He's probably still hurting, so leave him alone!" As the crowd dissipated, you put your arm under Subaru's shoulder and help him walk.

"Dude, thanks, but that's unnecessary." Subaru freed himself from your grasp. 

"Sorry..." you look at him, trying to figure out what to say. "Well, at least this means that you protected Rem, right? Along with those kids. Good job."

When you mentioned Rem, Subaru's eyes widened. "Where is Rem?" He turned to you.

Oh shoot. If I remember correctly, Rem is in the forest... fighting those mabeasts...

"Ummm... I have no idea. After we came, she just kind of left." 

Subaru ran back inside of the building where Beatrice and Emilia were still cleaning up.

You waited for him, and sure enough, he emerged a minute later. By his side was Emilia, who was arguing with him.

You know that Subaru's resolve is strong, so you intervene. "Emilia, whatever it is that Subaru is going to do, let him do it. Put some trust in him, okay?" 

"Trust...?" Emilia muttered. "Okay." She stepped back. "Prove to me that I can trust you. Come back, okay?"

Subaru smiled, and gave her a thumbs up. "That's what I plan to do." He put his arm down and started running towards the forest. 

You start to follow after him, but Emilia stopped you. "What happened to trusting him? If you trust him so much, why are you going after him?"

You shake your head. "I'm not chasing him because I don't trust him. I'm following him because I trust that he made the right choice." With that, you ran after Subaru.

When you caught up, you were surprised to see a certain someone with Subaru.

You guessed it. It's Ram. Again.

They looked surprised. "(Y/N), why are you here?" 

You smirk. "Hey, is it a bad thing that I want in on the action? I'm tired of sitting back and being useless, so I'm coming with you!"

Subaru shrugged. "Just don't hold us back!"

It turns out that it was Subaru that held you back.

"Hurry up slowpoke." you chide. "What happened to 'don't hold u-"

"Watch out!" Ram pushed you out of the way, then yelled, "Fura!" 

The mabeast that was coming at you was suddenly sliced by wind.

You probably should have been disgusted or feel sick at seeing a dog monster that is sliced in half, but it doesn't affect you.

I guess that TV and video games really do numb kids.

You step around the blood and keep on searching for Rem.

After encountering no more mabeasts for a while, Subaru had an idea. 

"Hey guys, I have an idea. I have a way to get mabeasts to come here, which means that Rem will also come."

"Do it, Barusu. It is very unconventional, but finding my sister is the top priority," said Ram.

"I can Return b-" He gripped his chest, but sure enough, a large horde of monsters could be heard coming from behind. 

"Now we run!" He said. 

I am speed.

You sprint as fast as you can into a clearing that wasn't too far away. Ram came a little behind you, but it took the damaged Subaru a lot longer to get there. 

Once the three of you were together, you took a defensive position. It was then that you realized that neither you or Subaru could do anything offensive or defensive.

"Um..." you say. "What now? A bunch of monsters are about to rush us, but Ram's the only one that can kill them."

Subaru had an apologetic expression on his face.

Why is he looking at me like that?

"I'm sorry! Just hold out until Rem comes!" Subaru pushed you  into the oncoming mass, and you curse him.

"You little-" you were cut off. Literally.

Your throat was ripped out by the first mabeast that pounced on you.

You would cry, but your face was also being ripped apart by the increasing number of monsters that are feasting on you.

This pain... 

You are about to fade out of consciousness, but something is keeping you from being freed from the pain. 

My ability.

WHY?!

Why do I have to suffer like this?

You could feel every bite from the dozens of mabeasts, and as your body slowly healed around the chewing jaws that clamped around your muscles and your bones, you could feel every tooth that tore through your body. In fact, you could feel your body heal around the fur on their nuzzles, just for the sensation of wet fur to disappear once more as that peice of your body was devoured.

Unfortunately, your body refused to numb itself to the pain, since the nerves kept repairing themselves to a state before they were overloaded with the feeling of the gore that you were being turned into.

I can feel them digging around my insides!

Why do I have to feel so much pain?!

Once again, a mabeast clamped onto your throat, and your lungs started to buckle as blood gushed into your lungs, preventing you from breathing.

As your body stayed in a barely constant state, you were forced to feel every bit of pain that you were being subjected to. 

When your arms and legs healed for fractions of a moment, they convulsed as you fought for air that was not going to rush back into your lungs, but they were quickly ripped apart and the unbearably anguishing cycle continued over and over.

Why, Subaru?!

Why did you have to do this to me?!

Suddenly, amidst the pain, a thought fought its way into existence.

Wait... didn't I volunteer to help him?

Didn't I want to help?

Then why am I so angry that I'm useful?

It's because it hurts!

But shouldn't I bear this pain if it will help others?

What should I have done? 

Should I save myself, or save others?

What do I do?

Finally, the pain stopped.

You gasped as you could breathe again, but you couldn't move since you could still feel the shadow of the mauling etched into your body's memory.

But even without having to look up, you knew this: Subaru was luring the mabeasts away from you. He was helping you.

You tried to grin, but you were still slow to mentally recover from being eaten alive over and over. How does he do it? He can sacrifice himself over and over, but as soon as I get a taste of death, I can't move anymore... I'm so scared that I'm scared of how scared I am. How pathetic.

Around this time, you forced your neck to move up so you could assess the situation around you in case Subaru's distraction wasn't completely effective.

You look down, and encounter a problem that is just as bad as getting mauled.

The only remainders of your clothes were a few bloody threads. 

Yes. You are naked.

WHY ME?!

Hey guys, I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter!

I appreciate all of you who have read, favorited, and commented on this story. It's because of all of you that I keep on writing as often as I am!

Well, with all said and done, see you next time!