Daniel's POV.
I spun around, my eyes widening in total shock. The woman who had dared to crash the wedding was none other than my waifu, Rem. She looked livid, her blue hair disheveled, clutching a spiked iron flail attached to a heavy, clanking chain.
"R-Re-Rem? Wait, how...?"
Panic erupted in the pews. A glowing horn manifested on Rem's forehead, and crackles of blue electricity surged around her like a storm. The chilling sound of her chains clattered against the marble floor as she began to march toward the altar.
"Liar! You will pay for your betrayal!" she roared, her voice vibrating through the floorboards.
"Betrayal? No, wait! You've got it all wrong!" I shouted, holding up my hands.
She swung the flail, smashing it into the floor beside a pew. The concrete shattered instantly, sending shards flying and triggering a frenzy of terror among the guests. Rem glared at the crowd, her eyes glowing with a demonic light.
"I will destroy anyone who tries to stop me from killing this traitor!"
"Huh? Wait, don't attack yet! Hold on, I'm leaving first!" Lea shouted frantically, her wedding veil snagging on a candle stand.
Without a second thought, my bride abandoned me at the altar, hitching up her gown and sprinting toward the side exit without a single care for her husband-to-be.
"Hey! You've got to be kidding me! Why are you leaving me here? I thought it was 'for better or worse, until death do us part'!" I yelled after her, my voice cracking.
She skidded to a stop for a split second. "Oh, come on, Daniel! What am I supposed to do against that? Besides, we were going to leave each other eventually anyway, so I'm just getting a head start!"
She vanished through the doors, followed by a stampede of screaming guests. No one stayed—even my own family chose their own lives over mine. Within seconds, the vast cathedral was empty.
I was left alone at the altar with my waifu. In any other context, this might have been a dream come true, if not for the fact that she was actively winding up a weapon to end my life.
The church fell silent, the only sound being the crackle of Rem's electricity and the heavy thud of her boots. Since I was her only target, she had let the others go.
"Wait, Rem, let me explain! Just listen to me for one second!"
Rem's face was twisted in pure, unadulterated loathing. She didn't give me a chance to speak. She swung her chain through the air with lethal, whistling intent.
"Die, you traitor!!"
I panicked, diving onto the cold floor just in time to hear the flail whistle over my head. I managed to avoid the first strike, but she was already retracting the chain for a vertical smash. Knowing I couldn't outrun the next one, I curled into a ball and covered my face, bracing for the impact.
"STOP!!! CUT IT OUT!!!" Lea's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.
I looked up in shock, blinking. Lea had come back. She stood by the side door, panting heavily, her dress torn at the hem, shielding me with her presence.
"Lea... you came back for me?" I whispered, a small, hopeful smile touching my lips.
She rushed toward me immediately, the silk of her wedding gown rustling against the stone floor. Before I could say a word, she threw her arms around me, burying her face against my chest. I stood there, stunned into a breathless silence, feeling the sudden weight of her leaning against me. The warmth of the embrace felt so real, so anchoring amidst the chaos of the crumbling cathedral.
"I won't let the most important thing in my life be taken from me," she whispered, her voice trembling with what I thought was pure devotion.
"Lea? ...Thank you for coming back for me," I replied, my own voice cracking. A lump formed in my throat, and I felt a stray tear prick at my eyes. Finally, a moment of true, cinematic loyalty.
"Wait... 'thing'?" I blinked, the word echoing strangely in my mind.
Suddenly, the romantic tension snapped. Her hands weren't clutching me in love; they were frantically patting down my suit jacket. She scavenged through my pockets until her fingers clamped onto the BL manga tucked into my waistband. She yanked it out with a triumphant gasp.
"I won't let my Eren and Levi yaoi manga disappear!"
She hugged the book to her chest like a long-lost child, gave me a quick, apologetic wave, and bolted toward the exit again. My heart didn't just sink; it plummeted. The crushing realization hit me like a physical weight: she hadn't come back for her groom. She had come back for her "boys."
"You're on your own! Good luck, Daniel! Don't let her dent the cover!" she yelled over her shoulder.
"Hey!! Lea!! Get back here!!" I screamed, my voice echoing uselessly off the high, vaulted ceiling.
She had abandoned me again, treating a mass-produced manga volume as if it were more precious than the life of the man she was supposed to marry. I stood there, a solitary figure in a tuxedo, wondering what the point even was. Marrying a fujoshi whose only goal was to have a legal roommate for her old age... it was as absurd as it was infuriating.
"Is that really how it's going to be?" I muttered to the empty pews.
The church fell into a heavy, suffocating silence after Lea's second departure. The only sound left was the slow, rhythmic clink-clink of metal. I had no choice but to turn back to Rem. I offered a weak, trembling smile, my knees shaking as I met her cold, piercing gaze.
She didn't waste another second. With a feral cry that sounded like tearing metal, she swung her chains through the air.
The iron morning star flew straight at me, a blur of black spikes. It slammed into my chest with a sickening thud that knocked the wind out of my lungs and sent me flying backward through the air.
In that instant, my vision fractured, and the world cut to black. I knew I was done for. For the second time in my life, I was being killed by my own waifu.
The shock of the blow caused my body to jerk upright with a violent start. I found myself sitting bolt upright in bed, my heart drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I was in my room. The air was still, smelling of stale sweat and the lingering heat of the afternoon. I was drenched, gasping for air as the adrenaline of the nightmare slowly began to ebb away.
I scanned my surroundings, my eyes darting from the pile of laundry in the corner to the digital clock on my desk. I sat there in the dim light, my brain struggling to bridge the gap between the cathedral and the reality of my cramped bedroom.
I instinctively clutched my chest, right where Rem's iron ball had struck. It didn't hurt, but the phantom sensation remained. I let out a long, shaky sigh of relief that evolved into a groan.
"Thank God... it was just a dream," I muttered, burying my face in my damp pillow.
The frustration bubbled up. I thrashed against the mattress, grabbed the pillow, and hurled it across the room with all my strength. It hit the wall with a soft whump, failing to provide the satisfaction I wanted. I cursed the woman who had become the recurring star of my matrimonial nightmarish visions.
"Damn it! Leave me alone, woman! I'm not even married!" I yelled at the empty air.