Julius made his way toward the rendezvous point he and Subaru had agreed upon, but from the moment he stepped into the area, he sensed it—an unnatural weight pressing down on the world. The air was thick, heavy with tension that clung to his skin. The sky had darkened into a lifeless, ashen hue, veiled in swirling gray mist that seemed to choke out the sun. Even the breeze, normally a source of comfort, drifted in hushed whispers, as if afraid to disturb something lurking in the shadows.
The city itself seemed to hold its breath. Whispers carried through the streets like frightened prayers. People moved with the wary hesitance of those expecting disaster. Near a building reduced to rubble, a crowd had formed. Children sobbed into their mothers' skirts, the elderly knelt in trembling prayer, and the middle-aged whispered to one another, clutching each other's hands as though touch alone could ward off whatever evil had passed through. Fear wore many faces—but all shared the same haunted expression.
With the composure expected of a knight yet his heart gripped by unease, Julius pushed through the crowd. His eyes swept over the scene, absorbing the details. The building hadn't merely collapsed; it had been ravaged. Walls were torn asunder, furniture splintered, and the air was thick with the acrid tang of scorched wood. Blood had dried into the cracks of the pavement. Yet something far more disturbing gnawed at Julius's thoughts—there were no signs of a struggle. No corpses. No wounded. Not even a single weapon. It was as if the battle had occurred between phantoms, leaving destruction but no trace of their existence.
A chill crawled down his spine. Was Subaru here? And if he was... what happened to him?
The question lingered like a curse. Just as Julius was about to turn and rush back toward Anastasia, a woman stepped into his path. Her black hair clung to her face, and her skin was ghostly pale, but her eyes—her eyes were alive with purpose.
"Sir Knight! Please, forgive my interruption! I have something urgent to tell you. Please, you must hear me out!"
Julius, mindful of time and the importance of his mission, started to decline. "I'm sorry, madam, but I'm in the midst of a critical investigation. Perhaps another time—"
"Wait! There was a battle here! A man... he called himself the Archbishop of Lust. And another man... his name was Subaru. The entire house was destroyed because of them!"
Her voice sliced through his refusal like a blade. Julius halted mid-step. His entire body tensed as if struck by lightning. He turned slowly, eyes sharpening like twin blades.
"You said... Subaru? That's a name I know well. He is a trusted comrade of mine. Tell me—everything you saw. Spare no detail. Anything could be important."
The woman introduced herself, trembling. Her name was Maria. Her voice faltered as she began her tale, but emotion soon overtook fear. She recounted the terror that had unfolded—the blinding flashes of light, the violent tremors shaking the ground, and above all, the young man who'd stood between them and the end. Her eyes welled with tears as she described Subaru's bravery. How he stood alone, shielding innocents with nothing but willpower and desperation.
Julius listened without blinking, his jaw clenched, his heart caught between admiration and dread.
There's no mistaking it. That was Subaru. Always charging forward, no matter the odds...
When she finished, Julius gave her a short, solemn bow. "Your words have been invaluable, Lady Maria. I thank you for your courage in speaking up. We will handle this. I swear it. Please, take care and stay somewhere safe."
With those words, he turned on his heel, unsheathed his sword, and dashed away with renewed urgency. Each step carried the weight of growing fear. Subaru was somewhere out there—possibly wounded, possibly worse. Julius didn't intend to waste another second.
At that moment...
Subaru's eyes locked onto a silhouette speeding away from the outskirts of Kararagi. Even at that distance, blurred and half-hidden by swirling dust and fading light, he recognized him instantly. Regulus Corneas. And in Regulus's arms—Subaru's heart lurched painfully at the sight—was Hikari. His own sister. Her limp form dangled like a discarded doll, unconscious and utterly defenseless.
For Subaru, time shattered. The world blurred into static noise, fading into nonexistence until only that singular, harrowing image remained. The weight of countless loops and memories, failures and regrets pressed down on him like an avalanche, but none of that mattered right now. All that existed... was her.
Hikari's head lolled forward, her disheveled hair clinging to her pale face. Her small hands hung uselessly at her sides. There was no sign of awareness—just stillness, vulnerable and terrifying.
The heat rising inside Subaru wasn't mere anger. It wasn't even hatred. It was a venomous, all-consuming madness that made his skin prickle and his vision warp at the edges.
"Letting Regulus turn Hikari into one of his so-called 'wives'... Allowing that..." His voice trembled as it escaped him, low and seething. "...Just thinking about it makes me sick. Absolutely repulsive."
His lips quivered with barely contained rage. Teeth clenched until they creaked. Magic, thick and volatile, surged like molten fire through every vein in his body. His lungs burned from shallow, rapid breaths, but he didn't stop.
"I'd rather die right here and now than let that happen. Even if this world burns... even if I have to fight fate itself... I'll protect her."
With that, he kicked off the ground, pouring every ounce of mana he could muster into his legs. The air around him shimmered with Yang magic. Each stride became a shockwave, shaking the dirt beneath him. Regulus still hadn't noticed. Subaru gritted his teeth, knowing that window of opportunity was closing fast.
Up ahead, a dense forest emerged, its towering trees weaving into a shadowed labyrinth. Subaru's mind raced. He'd use the tangled paths and thick foliage to his advantage—lure Regulus in, cut off his options, strike when least expected.
Pushing himself harder, Subaru felt the strain tear through muscle and bone. His breaths turned ragged; each inhalation scraped his throat like sandpaper. His vision blurred with the beginnings of tunnel vision, but he pressed on, forcing one leg after another until, finally, the forest's entrance swallowed him whole.
Landing heavily, Subaru immediately canceled his magic, staggering to stay upright. The second his feet hit solid earth, his legs crumpled beneath him like paper.
Pain screamed through his body. Exhaustion, raw and merciless, dragged at his limbs. His heart battered against his ribs like a caged beast, and black spots flickered across his sight. Every instinct told him to stay down—to surrender to the aching pull of unconsciousness—but he refused.
"Hikari... This time... I won't leave you behind. Not now. Not ever."
Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, he steadied himself. The damp, mossy scent of the earth filled his lungs. Leaves rustled overhead, whispering with the wind as if the forest itself held its breath. The silence that followed wasn't peace—it was tension, coiled tight and ready to snap.
Then came the voice—a low, distant echo in the corners of his mind. Flugel.
"Do you still remember Regulus?"
Subaru's breath hitched. Images, fragmented and bloodied, scattered across his mind. Memories of failed confrontations, deaths too numerous to count, and each unbearable loop clawed at the edges of his sanity. Despite it all, a bitter, almost mocking grin stretched across his face.
"Yes... Little King... But to be honest..." He laughed breathlessly, half mad, half mocking. "...I've always wondered if his real 'little' side is not his title, but what's inside his pants."
(A/N: AYYOOO!!)
Flugel chuckled—a sharp, brief noise with no real humor. His tone darkened, weightier than usual.
"Joking's fine... but don't let that mouth of yours get you killed. Regulus isn't just strong. He's... wrong. Fundamentally dangerous. One mistake... just one... and you're done. There's no retry after him. Understand that, Subaru."
Subaru nodded, his expression tightening. No room for jokes now.
Closing his eyes once more, he reached into the darkness and summoned Etherfang. The shadows shifted, swirling like liquid night, before coalescing into twin daggers that slid into his waiting hands. Cold. Solid. Familiar.
"This time... will be different," he whispered, tightening his grip. "But first... we need him to notice me."
In the distance, dust clouds stirred again. And from within them, Regulus emerged—his stride slow, methodical, unhurried. Each step seemed to shake the ground, carrying an air of absolute entitlement. Subaru's gaze sharpened, meeting Regulus's golden eyes the moment they aligned.
For a breathless second, neither moved. Two forces on a collision course, meeting with silent, suffocating intensity.
Subaru exhaled, low and resigned. "I really don't want to do this but..."
"I'LL RETURN BY DEA—" Then—the world stopped.
A choking stillness swept over everything. Sound vanished. Motion froze. Color drained from the edges of Subaru's vision. The cold, invisible hands of the Witch of Envy reached out once again, wrapping around him like iron chains. His body refused to move, locked in place by a force beyond comprehension. But inside... his soul writhed and screamed, thrashing against invisible walls.
By the time reality reasserted itself, the air was thick with miasma—dark, toxic, and suffocating.
Through the swirling fog, Regulus now stood barely feet away, appearing as if summoned by Subaru's own dread. Hikari remained cradled in his arms, her form as lifeless and fragile as before. Stray strands of her hair clung to her face, and her lips were drained of all color.
Regulus's voice cut through the air like a blade of ice—low, venomous, and soaked with disgust:
"Hey. You there... fallen, filthy, worthless creature... What right do you think you have to stand before me? What delusion makes you think you can obstruct the path of someone as immaculate and superior as I am? Just the act of looking at you feels like an insult to my existence. Yet still... I extend mercy. Because even your repulsive, miserable life is overshadowed by the limitless grandeur of mine. So now... crawl away and disappear. The road I walk... is sanctified by my very being. It's no place for trash like you to stain with their presence."
Subaru's lips curled into a crooked, defiant smirk. His heart pounded, but his voice stayed steady.
"Funny... I was about to say the exact same thing to you." He lifted the daggers, shadows dancing along their edges. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Regulus stepped forward, his posture swelling with imperious confidence. Sunlight cascaded over his immaculate white robes, casting dazzling reflections as though the very heavens sought to honor his presence. The arrogance on his face burned as brightly as the sun itself, as though he were a celestial being gracing the mortal world.
"I am the mighty Regulus Corneas, Archbishop of the Sin of Greed! Carve my name into the sacred depths of your memory, for in all your days, you shall never behold another being as pure, immaculate, magnificent, and utterly flawless as me! My presence in your insignificant life is a miracle beyond measure, a gift so precious that even your ancestors would weep in gratitude. Denying this truth would be blasphemy!"
He leaned closer, his voice echoing like a sermon. "Now—step aside! Even sharing this air with me is a vile offense. For you to delay me any longer… it's nothing less than an insult to the grand tapestry of reality itself! Time, space, destiny—all shudder before my magnificence. Understand this: my existence is beyond price, and fools like you are blind to its brilliance. Therefore, perform the only worthy act left to you—move aside!"
Subaru glared, lifting one dagger and aiming it steadily at Regulus. "I want the girl you're holding. Give her to me, and I'll walk away before this turns into a full-blown disaster."
Regulus's forehead twitched as a vein bulged visibly, his eyes blazing like wildfire. His tone grew colder, crueler, every syllable steeped in venom. "That girl will become one of my wives. It is my divine right and desire that elevates her above the worthless masses. She is destined to be an ornament to my greatness—the Church's shining jewel, embodying purity, obedience, and transcendent beauty. To imagine that I'd simply hand her over to a wretch like you… it's not merely foolish—it's a vile affront to sanctity itself. To grant your request would be to defile the very face of the Witch! Therefore… you will vanish. Immediately. Utterly. Without so much as dust left in your place."
He raised his foot and tapped the ground ever so lightly. Despite the gentleness of the motion, the impact was titanic.
Subaru hurled himself backward just in time. A split second later, the tree behind him erupted as though torn apart by a titan's fist. Splinters flew like deadly shrapnel, and the echo of the explosion rolled across the forest like a mountain crumbling into the sea. His heart thundered wildly, his eyes stretched wide in disbelief.
"Seriously… how the hell is this guy so ridiculously OP? Sure, he's got insane moves, but why's he acting like he's starring in some over-the-top stage play? He's soaking up all the spotlight for himself!"
[Yin Step - Active]
A surge of darkness curled around Subaru, swallowing him whole. In a blink, he phased through the shadows and reappeared behind Regulus. He channeled every drop of mana he possessed into Etherfang. The blades quivered, hairline cracks glimmering as they struggled to endure the violent surge of power coursing through them.
[Mana Blade - High Intensity]
An image of Hikari's gentle face pierced Subaru's thoughts. He clenched his teeth, refusing to let fear consume him. He had to finish this in one shot—he owed her that much. He couldn't allow any harm to reach her. Every moment felt like a lifetime ticking away.
Gritting his teeth, Subaru swung both daggers in an arc that screamed desperation and fury. He aimed for a strike that could end it all. But the blades met no resistance. Instead, they shattered spectacularly in his hands, exploding into a violent detonation of energy. The shockwave blasted him backward, slamming him against a distant tree with brutal force. Pain tore through his chest as if his ribs had splintered like dry twigs.
Regulus remained perfectly untouched. Not even a speck of dust dared cling to his spotless white robes.
"You… you dare to betray my mercy? I granted you an escape out of the sheer generosity of my boundless spirit! And yet you skulk behind me, attacking me like some craven vermin? How unspeakably ungrateful—how utterly detestable! I… I am Regulus Corneas! The very balance of justice, the embodiment of freedom, the measure by which all things are judged! For a divine being such as myself to even lay a finger upon a creature as wretched as you is a violation of cosmic law in itself! And yet, look at the mercy I show… for I shall commit that violation with my own two hands. Because you… you have earned nothing less than destruction."
Regulus carefully laid Hikari on the ground, almost as if placing down a fragile artifact he intended to reclaim later. Her unconscious form trembled slightly, caught in that terrifying space between life and death. Though her chest still rose and fell with faint, shallow breaths, her pale, almost ghostly complexion betrayed just how close she hovered to the edge of existence. Loose strands of hair clung to her sweat-slicked face, her lips drained of color, her limbs lifeless.
With slow, methodical steps, Regulus turned his full attention to Subaru. Each of his footsteps struck the earth with an ominous weight, like the tolling of a funeral bell. The air seemed to constrict around them with every stride he took, suffocating, inevitable. When he reached Subaru, without ceremony, he wrapped a single hand around Subaru's torso and ripped him free from the tree trunk where he'd been impaled moments earlier. The splintered wood cracked and crumbled like dried paper.
Then, with terrifying ease, Regulus's pale fingers closed around Subaru's throat. In one fluid motion, he hoisted him high into the air, as though lifting a broken doll.
"To be killed by a being as magnificent, as flawless, as utterly transcendent as myself... just imagine what an honor that is for someone like you," Regulus sneered, every syllable dripping with venomous pride and theatrical malice. "Under normal circumstances, merely making contact with you would be a violation of my personal rights, a stain on my purity. And yet... behold the measure of my boundless generosity! I am willing to dirty my own hands to deliver justice—MY justice—upon your pathetic existence! Now... face this divine punishment. Bask in the privilege... and die with gratitude!"
The grip on Subaru's neck tightened, cutting off his air with brutal efficiency. His vision began to collapse inward, darkness creeping along the edges like ink spilling across paper. Black spots danced like fireflies before his dimming eyes. The air itself seemed to thin, slipping away from his lungs with every desperate, futile gasp. Once again... death stood at his doorstep, whispering cold promises in his ear.
But even through the haze of suffocating pain, Subaru summoned the strength for one final, crooked smile. His entire body felt scorched, as if he'd been caught at the heart of an explosion. Burns marred nearly every inch of his flesh. Skin cracked and peeled away at places, leaving raw, blistered wounds beneath. Every breath sent new waves of agony surging through him. His vision trembled, on the verge of going dark for good.
Yet... there it was. That stubborn ember of defiance. Flickering, but not extinguished.
Just as Regulus cocked his arm back, ready to fling him aside like discarded garbage, something unexpected happened. Subaru's hair—soaked with sweat and matted against his head—began to lose its color. Strand by strand, it paled, draining of life until it turned a stark, unnatural white. From within the fading locks, an ominous black mist began to seep outward, curling around him like a living shadow.
Slowly, deliberately, Subaru's hand twitched. Then it moved with unexpected strength, latching onto Regulus's wrist. The grip was iron-tight, a sudden burst of force that made Regulus's golden eyes widen in stunned disbelief.
And in one swift, fluid motion, Subaru slipped free from the death hold.
"I couldn't care less about your so-called rights," said Flugel, his voice now emanating from Subaru's mouth—low, cold, and absolutely merciless. Each word rang out like the toll of an execution bell.
Before Regulus could process what had happened, Flugel moved. A single punch—sharp, fast, and delivered with devastating precision.
The impact sent Regulus hurtling through the air like a shooting star gone rogue. His body tore through the forest, reducing massive trees to splinters. The ground shook with every collision as dust and debris billowed up in thick clouds. Splintered wood and shards of rock flew like shrapnel, turning the entire area into a chaotic battlefield of destruction.
Flexing his fingers experimentally, Flugel tightened and then relaxed his fist, testing the responsiveness of the borrowed vessel he now occupied. "Not as good as my original body," he muttered with mild irritation, rolling his shoulders as if loosening tight muscles. "But... it'll do for now."
From somewhere deep within, Subaru's mind howled in protest: "Hey! Could you please treat my body with a little more care?! I still need it, you know!"
A golden flash erupted from the distance. Without warning, Regulus reappeared, moving faster than lightning, his entire form a blur of pure, furious momentum. His golden eyes burned with disbelief, outrage, and wounded pride. He landed like a thunderclap, kicking up a new wave of debris as his feet struck the ground.
Flugel stood his ground, unflinching. Their gazes locked, two forces of overwhelming will crashing together in silent defiance.
"What's wrong, Little King?" Flugel called out, flashing a mocking grin that practically radiated contempt. "Feeling cornered already? Your ego not big enough to handle a little resistance?"
Roaring with fury, Regulus lunged again. His movements blurred with impossible speed. But before his fingers could even graze Flugel, a second strike met him mid-charge. The blow landed square in Regulus's midsection, launching him backwards with catastrophic force. Another line of trees collapsed like dominos, their trunks shattered into thousands of splinters.
Amid the raining debris and swirling clouds of dust, Regulus's voice tore out, raw and livid:
"YOU... YOU'RE NOT THE SAME AS BEFORE! THIS IS A DECEPTION! A TRAP! AN UNFORGIVABLE INSULT TO MY EXISTENCE, MY HONOR, MY INALIENABLE RIGHTS! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO STEAL HER FROM ME! THIS—THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST EVERYTHING I AM! AGAINST MY FREEDOM! MY WILL! MY VERY IDENTITY! THIS IS AN AFFRONT TO THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF!"
Flugel inhaled deeply and exhaled, slow and steady. A small, knowing smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Straightening his back, he rose to his full height with a poise that exuded utter, unshakable dominance. Beads of sweat glistened on his brow, each droplet reflecting the carnage around him like tiny shards of broken glass.
Then, with grand theatrical flair, Flugel threw his arms wide open. His shoulders squared. His chest pushed out in open challenge. It was the classic villain's stance—the unmistakable, iconic "T-pose" of absolute power and control. But coming from Flugel, it was far more than showmanship. It was a reality-defying declaration.
His gaze sharpened, voice deepening to a thunderous roar:
"Then come, Greed! Come and defend those so-called rights of yours... your imagined entitlements... your delusional self-importance! Everything you think belongs to you... I will strip it away, piece by pathetic piece! Show me your strength—prove to me that you're worthy of all that arrogance! Because this time... it's not just a single miko I'm taking from you... it's your pride, your greed, and every last trace of that fake divinity you wrap yourself in! Now... let's see what you really have!"
Regulus hurled himself forward once more, this time wielding jagged, splintered wooden stakes torn from the devastated trees around them. The crude but deadly weapons were clutched tightly in both hands, their sharp ends gleaming menacingly. Without hesitation, he launched them with ruthless velocity, each projectile screaming through the air, aimed at both Flugel and the still-unconscious Hikari lying defenseless on the forest floor.
Flugel could have easily avoided the attack. Dodging Regulus's brutish yet lethal assault was well within his reflexes and experience. But protecting Hikari… that was a responsibility he wouldn't forsake. Without a moment's pause, Flugel stepped in front of her, positioning himself as a living bulwark.
The wooden stakes splintered and exploded upon impact with Flugel's reinforced body. They cracked and shattered against him with sharp, echoing snaps that resonated through the battered forest clearing. Dust, bark, and wood particles erupted like shrapnel, but Hikari remained untouched, shielded by Flugel's steadfast defense.
Seeing his opening, Regulus lunged forward with inhuman speed. In the fraction of a second afforded by Flugel's protective stance, he surged closer, thrusting out a single hand and making contact with Flugel's side.
"Fall to the sky!" Regulus bellowed, his voice trembling with manic triumph, every syllable dripping with deranged authority.
Suddenly, Flugel's body began to lift, almost lazily at first, then accelerating rapidly. Gravity twisted and contorted as if reality itself had decided to betray him. An invisible force dragged him upward at an alarming pace, faster and faster, ripping him away from the ground, away from the earthbound battlefield. The forest canopy rushed past in a blur of green and gold, and within seconds, the breathable air thinned, turning cold and distant.
Seizing this fleeting moment, Regulus leapt into the air with every ounce of his monstrous strength and delivered a savage punch mid-flight. The blow connected with brutal precision, amplifying Flugel's trajectory and sending him hurtling toward the upper reaches of the atmosphere—past the clouds, past the blue sky, past the very boundaries of where human life could exist.
Suspended in the vacuum of near-space, Flugel's body floated amidst an endless sea of stars. The planet below seemed small and remote, a swirling orb of blue, green, and white. The silence was absolute, oppressive, the weightlessness unfamiliar yet strangely liberating. A cold, humorless chuckle escaped Flugel's lips.
"So... this is how Reinhard must have felt back then," he mused aloud, his words inaudible in the void but crystal clear in the fortress of his mind. "Strange… almost surreal."
With a flick of his wrist and a casual snap of his fingers, Flugel dispelled the Greed Authority's influence that bound his body. The unseen force holding him aloft shattered like glass underfoot. Gravity reclaimed him in an instant, and he began plummeting back toward the earth at terminal velocity. The atmosphere welcomed him like a furnace. Friction ignited the air around him in waves of red and orange, painting him as a falling star streaking across the heavens. Skin blistered, clothes burned, but Flugel's focus never wavered.
With determination hardened like steel, he clenched his fist. The surrounding atmosphere crackled, charged with magnetic energy and latent mana. He funneled it all, every vibrating particle, every spark of raw potential, concentrating it into a singular, devastating point within his palm. The air warped with pressure. Mana particles, glowing like fireflies caught in a storm, swirled around him, forming a spiraling halo of impending destruction.
On the ground far below, Regulus stood frozen, his gaze fixed upward. His golden eyes widened with something he had rarely felt in his existence—fear. Confusion and outrage contorted his features, but the terror beneath the surface was unmistakable.
"My rights...!" Regulus began to shout, but the declaration was cut short, drowned by the roar of incoming cataclysm.
Like a divine hammer swung down from the heavens, Flugel slammed into Regulus with unimaginable force. His fist pierced straight through the air and buried itself deep into Regulus's chest with the wrath of a falling star. The ground beneath them gave way, cracking, splitting, and buckling under the sheer impact. The resulting explosion of kinetic energy radiated outward in a devastating shockwave, flattening trees, pulverizing boulders, and sending a pulse through the earth that could be felt miles away.
The very sky trembled, its clouds displaced, scattering as if fleeing the violence below. Trees within a wide radius were uprooted and hurled aside like twigs in a storm. The ozone itself seemed to burn, leaving the air thick with the acrid tang of ionized particles.
Regulus's body was propelled into the horizon with such speed that he disappeared from sight within seconds, vanishing beyond hills, valleys, and distant forests. The trajectory suggested that it wouldn't be mere minutes before his return... it might take hours—or longer.
Below, the crater left by Flugel's descent was enormous—wide, deep, and charred black. Smoke rose in lazy columns from its jagged edges. The earth continued to tremble with lingering aftershocks, and heat distorted the air, creating a wavering mirage above the crater's rim.
Flugel stood at the edge, gazing down at the obliteration he had caused. With a small, almost sheepish shrug, he let out a low, thoughtful murmur. "Did I... overdo it?"
Inside the mental space they shared, Subaru's voice responded, dripping with dry sarcasm and lingering disbelief. "Overdo it? Seriously?! That's the understatement of the century. But fine… whatever. Let's just check on Hikari already."
Flugel exhaled a tired sigh and gave a small, weary nod to himself. Turning away from the crater, he started toward Hikari's unconscious form. The thunderous chaos of moments before faded into a haunting stillness. The air grew heavy, dense with unspoken tension. The battered forest, though scorched and broken, stood eerily quiet.
But just as Flugel took his first step, a cold, unmistakable sensation crept along his spine. A paralyzing chill settled over him like a suffocating shroud. Time itself seemed to hiccup, lagging like a broken reel of film. The air thickened with invisible pressure. It was as though the entire world had stopped breathing.
From deep within, buried memories surged to the surface. Echoes of a darker time clawed at his mind—fragments of nightmares long suppressed, horrors shoved into the furthest recesses of his consciousness. His heart, steady even in the face of Regulus, now pounded with raw terror. Breath caught painfully in his throat, freezing there like a lump of ice.
Before he could turn, he felt two slender arms wrap around him from behind. Their touch was unmistakably cold—unnaturally so, like icy tendrils coiling against his skin. Yet worse than the physical sensation was the psychic weight that followed: an oppressive emotional force, like hearing a melody laced with poison, seeping straight into his soul.
Then... that voice. "Found you~" Pandora's words drifted into his ear, soft as silk but lined with razor wire. The tone was affectionate, almost tender, yet laced with mockery and dark promise. Each syllable curled around his consciousness like a lover's whisper twisted into a curse.
Flugel's eyes widened in horror. That voice… that cursed, unforgettable voice. This wasn't just a person from his past—she was a scar, a wound etched into the marrow of his being. Pandora's presence was a melody of trauma, a dirge time itself couldn't erase.
For a long, heavy moment, Flugel closed his eyes. His face, usually unreadable, now bore the weight of centuries of regret, loss, and unresolved pain. The burdens of countless mistakes, broken promises, and ruined plans dragged at him like iron chains.
Drawing a slow, deliberate breath, Flugel reopened his eyes. But now they burned—not with fear, but with smoldering fury mixed with unbearable sorrow. Turning his gaze forward, he spoke aloud with chilling resolve:
"So... this was your plan all along, wasn't it, Pandora? To pull me back out... with your lies... your twisted games... and with her."
His voice dropped into a cold, monotone whisper—flat and emotionless on the surface, yet burning underneath with a heat that promised only destruction.
Pandora drifted away from Flugel, her motion slow and deliberate, until she stood directly before him. Her silver hair floated as though moved by an unseen force, shimmering strands seeming to whisper with the voices of long-forgotten spirits. Every movement carried the elegance of ancient power, and her ice-cold blue eyes locked onto Flugel's with an expression both tender and terrifying, like a mother addressing a wayward child while holding a dagger behind her back.
"Yes~. Even now, after all this time, you still can't bring yourself to let go," she said softly. Her voice was like a lullaby—sweet, calming, hypnotic—but every syllable dripped with lethal intent.
Flugel inhaled sharply, as though breathing in fire.
"This isn't your real body. I felt it in your touch. You're still in the church—but the church itself exists in a separate dimension. A sealed space. You can't step beyond it. Not truly."
Pandora's lips curled into a mischievous smirk, her eyes narrowing with delight.
"Hmhm~ Oh, you're clever as ever, Flugel. Just like me, I bound myself within the church... but my seal? Far more flexible than yours ever was. And this little projection... well, let's just say I wanted to see who you've decided to place your trust in."
Flugel's gaze dropped to the ground, heavy with questions he didn't want the answers to. His voice came quietly, edged with dread.
"Then... what about my sister?"
Pandora began to walk—no, she glided—across the battlefield, each step echoing like a ritual. The world around her seemed to hold its breath. Her gaze sparkled, harboring a storm of secrets, of truths that could unravel hearts and histories.
"Your sister is indeed a miko. A true one. Had she reached the church, we would have made her our saint, our holy vessel. She is not from this world—just like you. Just like the one whose body you now occupy. Another foreign soul drifting through the seams of existence."
Flugel's face darkened. His stoic demeanor cracked for just a moment, revealing a fury barely contained.
"No. I won't allow that. Not for her. Not for any of them. Leave, Vainglory. Now." His tone rang with finality, like a hammer striking stone. The quiet fury in his voice had the weight of a command passed down by fate itself.
Pandora giggled, a high-pitched sound like the ringing of a crystalline bell. But her amusement didn't reach her eyes. From her delicate hand materialized a dark crystal—Capella's prison. Inside, a noxious black mist swirled, pulsing like a heart made of malice.
"At the very least, I'll be taking this with me. Until next time, my dear Flugel~," she whispered. Then, with a final shimmer, her body dissipated into a vaporous fog that curled and vanished. All that remained was the chill of her departure and a residue of mana so thick it choked the air.
Flugel exhaled heavily, exhaustion pulling at the edges of his frame. The fatigue was no longer just physical; it gnawed at his soul like rot.
"Seriously... this again? Ugh, whatever," he muttered. Slowly, the white strands in his hair faded back to black, and the shadows in his eyes began to recede. For a brief moment, almost imperceptible, there was a spark of something in his expression—hope, perhaps, or something desperately reaching for it.
Subaru returned to consciousness with the force of a drowning man breaching the surface. Control of his body snapped back into place, and yet he felt no relief. The pressure that had weighed down his soul had lifted, but in its place was a gnawing unease. Pandora's voice still echoed in his mind, each word a riddle left to fester. He had come back—but to what, and at what cost?
His eyes drifted toward Hikari. She hadn't changed. Her black, matte hair shimmered softly, her expression unreadable. It was the same face etched into his memory, untouched by time or sorrow. Or perhaps memory had lied—warped reality into something his heart needed to see. It was hard to tell where memory ended and truth began.
Subaru glanced down at himself, his body a ruin of flesh and pain. He tried to shift but agony screamed through every nerve. His skin was a patchwork of burns and bruises, some still seeping blood. Bones ground painfully against one another. Breathing alone felt like a punishment.
Yet the deepest wound was not physical. It was the relentless ache in his chest—a sorrow shaped like failure.
He bit down, hard. His teeth ground together, his jaw tight. Behind his closed lids, past the veil of blood and exhaustion, danced the ghosts of every loop he had failed. Every face lost. Every scream unanswered. Every choice that ended in death.
With hands trembling not from injury but from despair, he reached toward his sister. She was so close. Within reach, yet distant as a dream. Beside her lay Etherfang—his blade, his partner in survival, shattered beyond repair. Together, they had carved their story in steel. It had stood between him and oblivion more times than he could count. And now, it lay in ruins, just like the man who had wielded it.
A quiet grief stirred inside him. His gaze fell on the broken fragments. He touched one shard gently, as if afraid it might cut his already ruined hands. "Heh... Looks like it's time to find a new Daggers," he murmured. But the words weren't about the blade. They were for everything he had lost. Everything he had yet to regain.
His sigh echoed across the silent clearing, heavy not with defeat—but with all the fragility he could no longer pretend to hide.
Just then, echoing from the very depths of his consciousness, came that familiar voice—a voice that, no matter how many times he heard it, always sent a chill racing down his spine. It was Flugel's voice. Calm yet frigid, logical yet laced with an almost predatory patience:
"I spoke to you once about the existence of five cursed weapons hidden in this world. Do you recall? Four have been stolen by Pandora's hand. Only one remains, sealed away in Kararagi—a blade of immense power. And now that you've driven back the Archbishop… those who guard it might finally agree to place it in your hands. After all… there is no other who could ever hope to wield it."
Subaru stood frozen, his entire body trembling faintly as Flugel's words reverberated through his mind. Exhaustion weighed down his eyelids, and blood seeped from a cut at the corner of his lips, leaving a metallic tang on his tongue. Yet even amid the pain and fatigue, a sardonic, almost defeated grin slowly tugged at his lips.
"Well… maybe this time, it won't shatter like everything else," he croaked out, his voice raspy, each word scratching its way past his raw throat, yet tinged with grim humor.
Turning his gaze toward his sister, he staggered closer, blood smearing across his clothes as he wrapped his battered arms around her trembling form. Her slender figure felt heartbreakingly fragile against him, no different from how delicate she'd seemed in the fragments of happier memories. He lowered his head, inhaling the faint scent of her damp hair, a scent that conjured ghosts of warmth and laughter long since buried under fear and violence.
For a brief, precious heartbeat, it was as if all the agony and chaos that consumed his world simply evaporated. Everything stilled—the wind held its breath, the sun seemed frozen in the sky. Time itself ceased its relentless march. Subaru's eyelids drooped, his vision growing hazy, thoughts drifting like leaves scattered in a storm. Finally, with a quiet exhale, his battered consciousness surrendered to the encroaching darkness, leaving only silence in its wake.
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(A/N: This section may be one of the most challenging to write.
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