Chapter 30 (30) Nah, I’d Win: 04

The mattress was too soft.

Or maybe it was her body that felt wrong against it.

Subaru lay on her back in the dimly lit inn room, staring at the ceiling beams as moonlight slipped through the thin curtains. The unfamiliar weight of her longer hair pooled across the pillow like spilled ink. Every time she shifted, strands brushed against her shoulders, tickled her cheek, reminded her of what she was.

What she wasn't.

She lifted one hand slowly and let it hover above her chest, fingers curling experimentally as if she might wake from this at any moment.

Different proportions. Different center of gravity. Different breathing. Different everything.

It had been long enough that she could move without stumbling. Long enough that she no longer startled at the pitch of her own voice.

But acceptance? That was another matter entirely. And then there were the horns.

She turned her head slightly, catching the faint outline of them in the mirror across the room. Curved, dark, unmistakable.

No hiding those.

They weren't just physical changes. They were declarations. You are not human. Her gaze drifted sideways.

Übel slept beside her, sprawled without care, one arm thrown lazily across the space Subaru had occupied moments ago. Her breathing was slow, even. Peaceful.

Moonlight painted her neck in pale silver. Soft and exposed. Subaru felt it before she could stop it. That pull. That instinct.

Her lips parted slightly. If she leaned forward… If she sank her teeth into that soft skin—

Her fingers twitched. She could almost imagine the warmth. The taste. The rush of—

Subaru jerked upright violently. "Nope."

Her breath came faster than it should have.

She dragged both hands through her hair, gripping tight near the roots, grounding herself.

"I am not doing that," she muttered under her breath.

She swung her legs off the bed carefully, making sure not to disturb Übel, and stood. The wooden floor creaked faintly beneath her bare feet.

She crossed the small room quietly and climbed onto the windowsill, pushing the curtain aside just enough to peer outside.

The night greeted her in silence.

Stars scattered across a velvet sky. The moon hung large and serene, bathing rooftops in silver light. The world looked gentle from up here.

Peaceful.

"Huh," Subaru whispered softly. "Beautiful."

It was strange how calm things looked when you weren't being hunted. When you weren't bleeding out on cobblestones. When a red-haired boy wasn't slicing you apart with terrifying precision.

Her lips trembled at the memory. Loop after loop. Death after death.

She hadn't used any powers at first. Not until around the hundredth loop or so. And even then, it had been instinct. Levitation. No wings. No chanting. Just rising. Like gravity had suddenly decided she no longer belonged to it.

Apparently demons did that. Flew like it was nothing.

Good to know.

She rested her chin on her knees, staring at the moon.

But Erafassen…

That hadn't come until much later. Past one hundred and forty loops. She still remembered the moment. She had been dying again. Blood in her lungs. Vision fading. And then… A whisper. Not audible. Not external. Just… there.

Erfassen.

The word had echoed through her mind like something ancient had grown tired of watching her fail. And suddenly she understood. Understood structure. Understood imitation.

Understood how to grasp the concept of something and replicate its shape, its presence, its essence—

—imperfectly But sufficiently.

As if someone or something had decided she'd suffered enough.

Subaru exhaled slowly. She raised her right hand in front of her. Focused. Imagined. Weight. Metal. Power condensed into form. A pulse of mana shimmered.

And in her palm… A hammer materialized.

Mjölnir.

Solid. Not as heavy as one might think. Intricately carved. She blinked at it. Then barked out a soft, awkward laugh.

"This is so stupid…"

She shifted her grip and hopped down from the windowsill, landing lightly. She planted one foot forward and raised the hammer dramatically.

"Behold!" she whispered loudly. "I'm Thor Odinson, the King of Asgard and the strongest Avenger—"

She froze mid-pose. Slowly, Very slowly, She turned her head toward the bed.

Übel hadn't moved. Still asleep.

Subaru exhaled in relief. "Okay. Good. Good."

She straightened awkwardly and willed the hammer away.

It dissolved into flickers of mana, fading like embers in reverse.

From what she understood, Erafassen could copy anything she imagined.

Anything.

Weapons.

Spells.

Powers.

But there was a catch.

It was inferior.

Always inferior.

A shadow of the original.

A replica built from understanding rather than authenticity.

If she imagined a legendary weapon, she could manifest it, but it would never carry the full authority of the original.

Still.

Even an inferior copy of something broken was dangerous.

She rested her back against the wall beside the window.

She didn't fully know this world's power scale yet.

Didn't know who sat at the top.

Didn't know what counted as "untouchable."

But she knew one thing.

If she ever imagined something like Ea…

She let out a low whistle.

No way anyone here was surviving that.

Her biggest weakness wasn't strength.

It was information.

Knowledge.

She couldn't counter what she didn't understand. Couldn't imagine what she'd never seen.

Which was why Übel was useful. Subaru's eyes drifted back to the bed. Übel wasn't just a potential threat.

She was a library. A walking database of how magic worked here. How people thought. How this world operated. And she was curious enough to stick around.

That curiosity might be Subaru's greatest advantage.

Subaru flexed her fingers slowly. She had levitation. She had Erafassen.

She had survived over a hundred and fifty deaths. Pain didn't scare her anymore. Fear didn't paralyze her anymore. If anything, it sharpened her. Her gaze hardened slightly. She was ready.

Let this world throw its strongest. Let its greatest mage step forward. Let its so-called legends test her.

Would she lose? A slow grin tugged at her lips.

"Nah," she murmured quietly to herself. "I'd win."

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