―This is really bad.

He felt the hard floor against his cheek, and realized that he had collapsed onto his face.

His strength was completely gone, and he had already lost sensation in his fingers.

The heat from his core was so excruciating it made him want to tear his throat out.

―Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.

The moment he opened his mouth to scream, what spilled forth was no shriek, it was a clump of blood.

He vomited up large quantities of his lifeblood as he coughed. Frothy blood started foaming up at the corners of his mouth as he gurgled. Within his dim field of view, the ground had been dyed red.

―Aah, this is all, my blood?

There was enough to soak his fallen body. Blood comprises about 8% of the human body, and it is said that losing about a third of that would be life-threatening, but ― It seemed to him that he'd already lost just about all of it.

He had stopped vomiting blood, but the 'heat' that felt as though it would incinerate him still persisted. He moved his hand toward his abdomen with great difficulty, and having felt an impossible sensation there, he understood.

―My stomach's been torn open, huh.

It was no wonder he felt so hot. It seemed his brain had confused 'pain' for 'heat'.

He was almost torn in half, only a bit of skin at his back held him together.

In short, it seemed that this was 'checkmate' for him.

The moment he realized this, his consciousness started fading.

Even the heat which was making him writhe in agony had disappeared, Even the unpleasant feeling of blood and the sensation in the hand he'd used to feel his organs, it was all fading away along with his consciousness.

All that was left was his body, which would not be able to accompany his soul.

This body used the last of its disappearing consciousness to move just a little. It turned its head upward.

Black shoes formed ripples in the pool of blood before his eyes. There was someone there. And that someone was most likely the one who killed him.

Strangely, he didn't feel like looking at their face. This person was the one who took his life, and yet he still decided to simply remain a spectator to his own demise. He had no clue who they were, but right now he didn't really care about that.

He only wished for the girl's safety.

"―Baru?"

He felt like he heard a voice like the chime of a bell.

He was beyond the point where he could even differentiate his senses, so he probably just imagined it.

Despite that, even supposing it wasn't real, he found it extremely comforting.

So―

"―!"

A short scream, and then the carpet of blood welcomed yet another person.

She had fallen right next to him, exactly where his arm was.

Her fair hand dropped powerlessly, and intertwined with his.

―Probably just a coincidence.

He felt her fingers move slightly, as if squeezing his hand.

"…ait"

He forced his disappearing consciousness to return for a moment. The pain and the heat, everything had faded away. It was a meaningless effort, nothing but a loser wasting time.

But even so―

"I will, definitely―"

―Save you.

At that moment, Natsuki Subaru lost his life.