Re:Zero Watching Him Die Again and Again

Chapter 17: Season 2 Episode 1

Chapter 17: Season 2 Episode 1

Confusion clouded her mind, denying her any rest until she found her most cherished one.

He may not have been physically strong, and some might call him weak. But her love for him, her rider, let her look past such trivial matters as strength. His gifts lay in his sharp wit and mental resilience, and she was content with that. She could balance him—she was the strength where he was not.

A part of her strength was her fierce drive to protect, and she had always done her best to serve in that role.

Dragons of her kind bowed to no one.

But with him... Her pride meant nothing. Her honor meant nothing. Her bloodline meant nothing.

She, the proudest of all dragons, empress of the grass seas, the most honored among her kind, was never meant to be a mere companion to a human. She'd never let herself be seen as such.

Yet she hadn't anticipated the sight of his eyes that night.

When she saw him, her gaze widened. His eyes were so intense, so uniquely his own.

And then, at some point, the pain in those eyes became her only focus, overshadowing her bloodline, her rank, and even her mistrust of humans.

Nothing else mattered... For in those eyes, she saw death itself... and she was captivated.

She, the ground dragon Patrasche, named by him after she chose to become his one and only dragon. That name meant everything to her because it came from him, from the one whose eyes bore strength through the pain and shadows of death.

Before long, she found herself in the theater, moments before that flash of light stopped the ground carriage as they journeyed to Watergate City. She couldn't recall what happened next, but every beat of her heart distorted the sense of reality.

She'd been away from him far longer than those mere moments. She felt it in her bones. No, it had been days, not seconds, since that light had interrupted their journey since she'd been torn from his side.

"Kya..." Patrasche's snout nudged the empty seat where he should have been, filling her with a deep, aching emptiness.

She remembered finding him, unhurt and sleeping, and a surge of joy and love warmed her heart. Her first priority had been to wake him, see his playful smirk, and remind him to be less reckless.

And then, he was gone.

Once more, without reason, but this time, every beat of her dragon heart throbbed with urgency, pushing her into a relentless search.

With a slow, deliberate movement, she rose from the floor.

Patrasche's reptilian eyes narrowed with purpose, revealing nothing but the regal demeanor of one honored among all ground dragons.

Her gaze scanned the room.

Humans. Demihumans. Spirits taking on human forms. Other riders. Fox-shaped spirits hiding in the shadows. She saw them all, watching the loading window above with anxious faces as if anything there mattered.

But she would not leave her rider's fate to chance.

And so, with renewed determination, Patrasche's tail flicked as she summoned senses sharper than ever before.

The strain was immense, and she would have screeched from the pain if she'd believed anyone worthy of hearing it. She had to bring her rider back, to save herself by reaching him.

With one last look at the room's watchers, she turned, tail whipping the air, and dashed forward, swift enough to stir the air into a gust.

She heard their shouts to wait, but they meant nothing to her.