Under the shadows the forest's trees projected upon the land, a young man with black hair was running. Heading north, he was running like his life depended on it. As he was fleeing, he couldn't stop thinking about everyone he met in this world, and how every single one of them betrayed his trust.

"Sorry, live strong!" Said Felt, leaving Subaru to be mugged.

"Even if you leave, nothing will change. You'll be wasting your time." Felis ridiculed his efforts.

"Doing this to you of all people… I'm sorry bro. Your stars were just bad." The only one who could understand him put him into eternal torture.

I just wanted my dream isekai life. Being a hero, defeating the Demon King, having a harem… So, why? Why does everyone want to hurt me? His thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of a nearby bush. They're here.

Over the past three loops he learned what every cultist would do. The first one would cast Goa, if he dodged to the left another one would stab him with his dagger. He dodged to the right in the second loop, just to trip, fall to the ground, and end with a knife in his skull. He spent valuable seconds thinking if he should just run in another direction just to end running in the same direction as before. He kept running forward after the first cultists casted Goa and managed to see the mansion. However, the valuable seconds he lost thinking instead of running cost him his life in the end.

I'll reach it this time. Then, Emilia will protect me.

Subaru dashed forward, leaving the fireball behind to explode in some tree. He increased his pace and left his persecutors behind. That however, proved to be a fatal mistake. By the time he could see the mansion, he was out of breath. He leaned into a nearby tree to recover, but the moment he leaned onto it he heard a knife nailing the tree from the other side.

"They caught up already!?" He spoke to himself. If only that bastard Julius didn't break my gate… Having recovered a bit of stamina, he prepared to dash towards the mansion. I only need to get closer. Then, Emilia will protect me. Then, he heard a feminine voice he quickly recognized.

"Fula!"

"I finally found you. I won't let you get away." Wind was blowing around her, ready to kill him for the sin he didn't commit.

Sending a wind slash towards the wild, the pink-haired young caught one of the masked men by surprise, cutting him in half and taking the others by surprise. Taking her chance, she sent another wind slash, which decapitated another of the cultists. Seeing that they had no opportunity of winning, the ones who remained alive retreated into the forest, leaving the two young alone.

"Are you okay, Barusu?" Ram approached Subaru. She examined the few bruises on his arms. Are those… Why do you do this to yourself, Barusu? However, Subaru didn't react as she expected.

"Get away from me!" He recoiled back in fear, sliding down the tree's chunk until he was sitting on the ground. "Don't hurt me anymore!"

Ram's face was full of surprise. What did they do to you, Barusu? Her usual cold face was replaced by one of pity.

"See! That face, you're just thinking how to make me suffer!" He stood up, his legs still trembling. He turned back to run once again. I can't enter the manor. Not with everyone in there. The moment he did so, he felt his energy disappear as he fell into unconsciousness. Carrying his limp body, Ram returned to the mansion.

"What happened to you, Barusu?" She said, full of worry.

"Ram nee-sama? Subaru!" Welcoming Ram, Petra stood at the door. Seeing the sleeping young knight, she dashed to her senior, just to be interrupted.

"Petra. Tell everyone to meet in the dining room in 10 minutes. Where's Beatrice-sama?"

I can't let the others see him with these scars.

"Beatrice-sama? She was with Emilia-sama a moment ago."

Walking towards Emilia's room, Ram left the little maid behind. Luckily, she didn't meet anyone on her way, she didn't want to spoil the surprise after all.

"Emilia-sama? Is Beatrice-sama there?" Knocking on the door, she asked for the spirit's current whereabouts.

"I'm here, I suppose. What do you want, maid?"

"Heal Barusu's injuries." She didn't even finish the phrase before the door was flung open by the spirit. She walked in and gently dropped the unconscious boy in the bed.

"Subaru?" Rushing to her knight, Emilia saw all of the scars in his arms. "Why? Why do you do this to yourself?" Saddened, she started healing his injuries.

"Let Betty heal her contractor!" Rushing to his other side, she drained the mana she had been longing for. Then, she healed the scars in his right arm while Emilia did the same in his left arm.

"Emilia-sama, Beatrice-sama. I found Subaru running away from cultists in the nearby forest. He seemed traumatized, so I'll warn everyone about his return. I'm sure he'll get better if he sees you both." With a bow, she left the room. Petra must have told everyone by now, so she'll have to explain the situation.

Both girls felt anger at the very existence of the cult. For ruining her lives. For making everyone hate her appearance. For Geuse. For hurting her contractor. For hurting her knight. For manipulating everyone's memories and making her forget about a possible friend.

Once they stopped healing him, both girls snuggled up to him. They needed it. They had missed him for so long. After a few minutes of silence, they noticed him twitching, so they stood up and waited for him to wake up. Once he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Emilia's face.

"E-Emilia?" His vision was still blurry, so he wasn't sure if it was truly her.

"Yes Subaru, it's me. Emilia."

"I'm… safe?"

"Yes, Subaru, you're safe now. You're with me, I won't let the cult hurt you any further."

Her words soothed his heart. I'm safe. Emilia will protect me. He hugged her, taking her by surprise. However, she corresponded to the hug, and he started crying into her soft embrace.

"It was hard… Everyone wanted to see me suffer, to hurt me, to kill me… But now I'm safe." Lifting his head, he met her eyes. What Emilia didn't see wasn't his soft yet hard gaze she loved, but instead two empty eyes in the edge of insanity. "You'll protect me, won't you Emilia? Like you've always done. You'll save me like always, right Emilia?"

"Don't forget about Betty, I suppose."

"You understand nothing. You understand nothing at all." She sent him directly to the green man dressed in black.

"Liar." Emilia was taken by surprise by his words and empty gaze, which now showed a small glint of fear and panic. "You lied to me. You said they won't hurt me. SO WHY IS SHE HERE!?"

"It's me, Subaru! I'm Betty!"

"Shut up! You just want to hurt me, like all the others!"

"Subaru…" Beatrice extended her arm towards Subaru, wanting to know what was going on with him. Seeing the little girl wanting to touch him, Subaru left Emilia's side and ran as far as he could from her. He tried opening the door, but his shaking hand struggled to grasp the knob. He slid down the door, breaking into a sobbing mess.

"Don't touch me." He said weakly in the middle of his sobs.

This world had ruined far too many things for him. Snow was now a prelude for terror and death, rabbits were no longer cute animals to pet and now even the simple motion of touching someone terrified him. He didn't want to think again about those dark times, where the blue-haired woman transformed his being into unrecognizable lumps of flesh for her amusement. Or was it a blond woman? Green-haired? Platinum?

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" As Beatrice slowly walked up to him, he screamed higher. Beatrice grabbed one of his hands and he panicked even more, reminiscing about the times where he was nothing but a lump of flesh who couldn't even think. He tried breaking free of her grip, but his eyelids felt heavier and heavier by the second.

"Beatrice! Leave Subaru!"

"Don't tell Betty what to do, half-elf. Betty needs to know."

"Know?"

"Betty needs to know what they did to her contractor, I suppose." Her tone clearly expressed her rage and anger towards whoever turned his brave contractor into the sobbing man in front of her. She sat beside him and prepared to dive into his memories.

"Hm. That might be problematic." An unknown female voice ringed in everyone's ears, yet no one paid any attention to it. From one of the room's corners, where she had been observing the situation, a woman moved to the sobbing man. Putting her hand on top of his head, she silently rearranged the man's memories, sinking his memories of her deep into his psyche. By the moment the spirit was ready to dive into his mind, her job had been finished. She retreated to the corner to observe the scene.

"You. Don't let anyone see Betty's contractor." She told the half-elf. After that, she put their foreheads together and closed her eyes.

Beatrice found herself in a shadowy void. Unable to see what surrounded her. Unable to feel anything. Unable to hear anyone. Was she conscious? Was she even alive? Despite being unable to feel anything, deprived of all her senses, being reduced to mere thought, she felt someone talking to her. A feminine figure dressed in shadows.

"Save him."

The next moment, she was able to move again. To see. To hear. To feel. Before she could think about what had happened, she found herself in Subaru's mind. She was floating in a mix of memories and thoughts.

"Like floating in space, but the stars are memories." would Subaru have described it. She observed her surroundings: Fragments of different memories were darting around and a massive beacon of light could be seen at the horizon. Moreover, she saw the multiple cracks surrounding everything. Those were the things she feared the most, the cracks in her mind.

She only saw them once when Mother was teaching her how to read someone's memories, and that person went insane not long after. Moreover, Subaru had far more cracks than him. Maybe double or triple the amount.

"Subaru…" She was so saddened at that sight. What made him have those? How was his mind still working? And, most importantly, what caused his mind to break like this? Was it all the times he had been at death's door, or was this caused by someone?

She decided to investigate the beam of light on the horizon. It didn't matter where she looked, all she could see were fake memories. The pink maid attempting to end his life. The blue maid torturing him for information. Herself sending him to die at her friend's hands. One of the royal candidates using him as a source of information. His merchant friend throwing him off the carriage so that he could live. The blonde demi-human murdering all of the Arlam villagers in front of him. The demi-human maid admitting she ordered the hit on the mansion as per Roswaal's orders. All of them were fake. They never happened.

By the time she reached the beam of light, she had seen everyone Subaru had met betray and hurt him. All of these memories had to be fake, she thought. Fake memories implanted on him by that witch. Once she reached her destination, she realized why his mind was still working. Inside the light were his memories of Emilia, absent from the sea of fake memories. Emilia saving him from some thugs.

Giving him a lap pillow. Their meeting after their fight at the capital. Both of them kissing in her Mother's tomb. It was her, Emilia, the one who kept her mind working. That witch broke his mind, made him scared of everyone but Emilia and made him depend on her for everything. And she had a feeling of why she did all of this.

Leaving Subaru's mind, Beatrice met Emilia's worried gaze.

"Stay here with Subaru, I suppose."

"What did you see, Beatrice?"

"I'll explain it later, I suppose. The others must be worried about Subaru." She left to explain the situation to the others, leaving the half-elf and her sleeping contractor alone in the room.

"WHERE'S MA CAP'N!?"

"Garf! How many times do I have to tell you not to open the door like that?" Frederica scolded her brother,who had just thrown open the door aggressively. It was a miracle it hadn't been sent flying.

"Ram-san, when is Subaru coming?" Otto, which entered the dining room while Frederica scolded Garfiel, asked the maid sitting at the left of her master.

"How shameful of you, Otto. Can't even wait for your friend to wake up."

"Why did I even ask…" Otto experienced her usual insults once more. Even if it had no bite.

"Everyone's here, I suppose." After a short moment of chit-chat, Beatrice entered the room.

"Wheeeeeere's our dear knight, Beatrice?"

"Subaru won't come, I suppose."

"Why won't Subaru come?"

"What happened to Natsuki-san?"

"WHERE'S MA CAP'N!?"

"Garf!"

"LET ME EXPLAIN, I SUPPOSE!" Everyone shut up at the spirit's words. "That witch has changed Subaru's memories, I suppose. I checked it with Mother's mind reading, in fact. It lets me know about the first memories that come to someone's mind when thinking about someone. That woman changed Subaru's memories of us for fake memories where we're hurting or betraying him, I suppose."

"What does that mean, Beatrice sama?" Ram inquired to the spirit. Is that why…?

"When someone thinks or sees someone else, usually he'll remember good things about him, I suppose. But that woman changed it all. When Subaru looks at us, he doesn't see who we are, in fact. Instead, he remembers fake memories of us hurting him."

"And that woman you spoke of did that to Natsuki-san? Why?"

"Betty doesn't know. But Betty has an idea, I suppose."

"And whaaaat would that be?" Fake memories? Could she be using his memories of past loops against him? But, if they're truly real, why didn't he hate us before?

"She made him fear everyone but the half-elf, making him dependent on her, I suppose. She must plan to make him think that even she betrayed him. That would break Betty's Subaru,in fact."

Everyone was angry at her words. That woman planned to make their friend hate every single one of them just to break him for her amusement. Everyone present swore to protect Subaru.

"We can't let her get close to Subaru."

"I agree with my sister. We'll protect Barusu."

"I'll beat her this time!" Frederica nodded at his brother's words.

"Hm… We'll need to make Natsuki-san trust us again."

"How can we do that, Otto onii~san?" Meili, who was playing with Louis and Petra, joined the conversation. She took pride in showing Louis who was the big sister. She joked about it once, and Rem blushed so much her face looked like her sister's hair. Everyone was dazzled with Louis' cuteness, even if they didn't know who she was. The oni twins kept her real identity a secret.

"It's simple. If Natsuki-san now has bad memories of us, we just need to make it so that he has good memories of us again."

"That won't work, I suppose."

"What does that mean, Beatrice-sama?"

"Suuuuuubaru-kun is too scared of us. Only Emiiiilia-sama can help him."

Gazing at the sleeping young man on her lap, Emilia couldn't help but feel even angrier at Pandora. Destroying her forest, killing her family and kidnapping her lover wasn't enough. Now she traumatized him to the point he was scared of anyone but her. She wanted, no, needed to know what she had done. She pouted at the fact that Beatrice went to tell the others instead of her. I'll play with her drills as punishment, hmph!

After a short while, Emilia noticed Subaru squirming around in her lap before opening his eyes. In his still blurry vision, he saw someone he couldn't recognize. The young man was ready to run away until a voice like a silver bell calmed him.

"Subaru? It's me, Emilia."

"Emilia-tan?" He called, the familiar name soothing his weary mind.

"Ah, it's embarrassing so don't look." She pushed his head to the side.

I don't like his eyes. She thought to herself.

They weren't his usual eyes filled with love towards her despite the glare they gave, but empty and hollow, devoid of life. "S-Subaru." She stuttered.

"Yes, Emilia-tan!" The tone of his voice was cheerful. Too cheerful. It sounded artificial as if forcing himself to sound happy.

"How are you feeling, Subaru?"

"I'm alone with Emilia-tan, so everything's okay!"

"Doesn't it hurt, Subaru? When… you hurt yourself."

"It does."

"Then why do you do it!?"

"Because it makes me feel alive. That what I'm seeing is real. That no one is hurting me and I'm safe with you." He answered with his fake happy voice. Taking his head away from Emilia's thighs, he sat in front of her and continued: "Let's run away, Emilia-tan! Everyone wants to hurt us, so we should run to where they won't find us!"

"Run? Subaru, we can't-" She shook her head at his words.

"Vollachia is closed so we can't go there, so choose between Kararagi or Gusteko. We can easily find a job in Kararagi but they might find us there. It's harder to live in Gusteko but no one will search for us there." He switched to a more desperate tone.

"Wait, Subaru. No one wants to hurt you. Everyone here likes you, so-"

"Don't lie! Everyone, everyone wants me dead! They've hurt me over and over, not even searching for me while she… she…" He hugged himself, trembling in fear, reminiscing what she did to him. Torturing him over and over, unable to die due to that cursed blood, having his mind broken into several small pieces…

"Calm down Subaru! You're here, safe with me." She hugged him, pulling him into her warm embrace until he calmed himself. She whispered her next words: "You can trust the others. I'm with you, so they can't hurt you."

"I-I can? You'll protect me if something happens."

"Yes, Subaru." She whispered her words with motherly care, yet her gaze was full of hate for the platinum haired witch who caused all of this.

"Bye, Subaru-sama! Sleep well!" Petra happily left the room. Despite Beatrice and Roswaal's words that only Emilia could help him, Emilia insisted on having Subaru meet everyone. If she was with him, he'd feel safe and then they could help him overcome his fears. As long as Emilia was near Subaru, he'd calm down eventually.

"See, Subaru? Everyone cares for you."

"Yes, I- I guess." Subaru answered, still slightly trembling.

Petra was the last one to see Subaru again. Starting with Beatrice, he met everyone in the mansion with Emilia at his side. His worst reaction had been Rem, not even Emilia could calm him once she saw her. Despite that incident with the oni maid, everything went well. As people entered and left, Subaru recoiled less and less in fear, to the point he felt comfortable talking with Petra without the constant reminder of Emilia's presence. At first, she needed to be at his side, speaking soothing words constantly. As the mansion residents came and left, she could afford to position herself further away from him, only returning to his side when he became too agitated.

"Now Subaru, I'll go get dinner so be nice and stay here." As she left the room, she turned back to see Subaru one last time. He looked scared of being without her presence.

It pained her heart to see her knight reduced to such a state, but it was her duty to save him this time. I'll get my Subaru back, Pandora.

Once Emilia left the bedroom, Subaru was left alone with nothing but his thoughts. The wait, despite being no longer than a few minutes, was eternal to him. What if she doesn't return? That thought crossed his mind, quickly developing into a spiral of negative thoughts.

Was I not good enough?

Does she not care about me?

Is she like the others?

Everyone wants to see me dead. Does Emilia too? She said she would protect me. So why is she gone?

Gone. Gone. Gone. She lied.

In his own state of mind, he didn't notice when Emilia returned with a plate of food for the two of them, or when she screamed when she saw him scratching her arms.

"Subaru! Subaru, stop!"

"Huh? Emilia?" She's back! He twisted his head to the left, seeing Emilia's face behind him. She was hugging him from the back, holding his left arm to heal the scratches on it.

"Why Subaru? Why do you hurt yourself like this?"

"I don't know." He wasn't lying. Subaru truly had no idea of why, or even when did he start scratching himself. "I thought you had abandoned me."

Emilia wasn't sure of what to feel. Sadness, for how her knight thought so lowly of himself that after even just a few minutes, he'd resort to self-harm? Or wrath, directed to the witch who made his knight like this?

"I won't leave you, Subaru. We'll be together, forever." She mixed in the words she wanted to tell him so much. How much she loved him. If only she hadn't appeared, both could be on a date right now, instead of her pacifying down a paranoiac Subaru.

"Together? You won't leave me?"

"I won't Subaru. I'll protect you forever." She hugged him once more. After a long minute she stood up to grab the dinner: Steamed tatoes. Rem was too busy crying because of what happened to Subaru to cook, so Ram cooked her specialty.

"Sleeping with Emilia-tan? No, no, no!" He blushed at her words. "Sleep with me." she said. "Not before marriage…" He whispered the last words, so low not even Emilia heard them.

"You'll do it, want it or not!" He can't sleep alone, can he? And why is he blushing? "Why are you blushing Subaru?"

"Because… you said that…" He was too embarrassed to finish.

"What's wrong with sleeping together? Petra and Meili do it all the time." She tilted her head at his knight's reaction. "Now, come!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her king-sized bed.

"Emilia-tan!? We can't do this!"

"What, sleep? Don't be a dunderhead Subaru!"

"Who even says dunderhead anymore!?" Despite this being a regular interaction between the two of them, Emilia wished this could happen with anyone aside from her. She hoped she could help Subaru soon. Meanwhile, Subaru tried to leave her ironclad grab, not wanting to taint his pure Emilia-tan. He surrendered once she grabbed him like a teddy bear, he had no hope to escape now.

A knock on the door distracted the three girls playing together.

"Frederica nee-sama?" Petra looked at the pyroxene crystal in one of the walls: It was now water time. Around this hour, Frederica came to tell her to go to sleep in her room instead of Meili's. "I'll go back to my room now!"

"Uah?" Louis stared at the door for a few seconds. Then, she started growling like a wild animal.

"What's wrong Louis-chan?" Louis growled higher.

"My, it seems I've been found." Meili instantly recognized the door and fell to the ground in fear. No. It can't be her. Petra, unaware of the danger behind the door, opened it expecting to see Frederica. However, what she saw was a short blonde human, dressed in the skimpiest clothes she had ever seen. She couldn't even say a single word, as the young grabbed her neck and lifted her off the ground with a strength no woman should have.

Louis jumped towards the blonde, biting her ankles, before being kicked into the wall.

"Ma-Mama." Meili did nothing but murmur her name.

"Wanting to adopt one of my lovely children, what a wonderful pet I've found." She tossed Petra to the ground as she gasped her air, unable to breathe due to her crushed windpipe. On her way to Meili she crushed her head, killing the young maid.

"Why? Why a-are you here, Ma-Mama?" She stuttered in absolute fear. The woman she feared the most was back for her, after running from her there was no way the punishment she'll inflict would be light.

"Something told me I could find one of my lovely children and my new pet here."

Now in front of Meili, she bent down until she was at Meili's height. Looking at her straight in the eyes with a sadistic smile, she continued: "Haven't you been a bad girl? Running from your mother and being adopted by someone else…"

"..." Meili couldn't answer. The woman in front of her inflicted too much fear for her to do anything but squeal under her gaze.

Frederica glanced at the clock on the wall. She had finished washing the dishes, and even sneaked into Emilia's room as she forgot to return them. The sight of the two lovebirds sleeping together brought a temporary calm to her heart. Seeing as it was time to sleep, she walked to Meili's room. After she returned from the tower, Petra spent the time between dinner and sleeping time playing with her in her room, and now Louis joined too. As she turned into the hallway, she heard a loud thump resonate through the entire interior. As she approached the door of Meili's room, she thought of how she could scold Petra for making so much noise when everyone was preparing to sleep. Sadly, she would never get to scold Petra again. Or pat her head for making a good job. Nor would she ever see her smiling face again.

Turning the door, she was met by a horrific sight. An unknown woman was taunting Meili while Louis was bleeding near the wall beside her. The worst was Petra's corpse, her head crushed under the blonde's heel. Losing her control, her arms grew bigger as fur quickly expanded through them. Growling at the unknown woman, she was ready to pounce on her until a child-like familiar voice called her out of her anger.

"Stand down, maid. Go and warn Roswaal, I suppose."

"Beatrice-sama?" Looking at her left, Frederica saw Beatrice approaching the room.

"She smells like the witch, I suppose. Are you an archbishop?"

"Why should I answer an insect such as yourself, you petite miserable worm? However, I dare say introductions are necessary. I am the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica. All this world's love belongs to me, and I find one of my adorable children having fled from my caring embrace."

"Sin Archbishop!" Frederica raged with anger once more. The Witch Cult that attacked the village of her coworkers, erased their memories of Rem and captured their friend, now dared to attack her home and kill her apprentice.

"Betty has no idea why she didn't detect you. But Betty could sense the young girl die, I suppose. Leave, maid." Beatrice's words carried an uncharacteristic coldness.

"But, Beat-"

"Betty has enough mana, I suppose. Now, go." Seeing the demi-human maid run towards Roswaal's office, Beatrice turned back to the room. She couldn't find the mabeast girl no matter where she looked. All she could see were Capella, the fresh corpse of Petra and the injured blonde hair that came with Rem and Garfiel, bleeding from her forehead while growling at the archbishop.

"Are you the one who hurt Betty's Subaru?" She asked with a piercing gaze, raising her hand and summoning a dozen purple crystals.

"That meatbag refused my love. I was just making sure he could love me and no one else, hahaha!"

"Then die, I suppose." Lowering her hand, she sent the crystal spikes towards Capella, who dashed towards her. Ducking under the barrage of attacks, she positioned herself just in front of Beatrice and extended her right arm toward her, ready to use her Authority. Beatrice retreated further into the hallway, leaving the room's entrance, but Capella transformed her right arm into something grotesque, a massive black limb covered in fur. Thanks to the extra length her arm now had, she managed to touch the spirit on her right shoulder and activate her authority.

To her surprise, she felt a tingle deep inside her, indicating her authority's failure to activate. A spirit?

Taking advantage of her momentaneous freeze, Beatrice tossed Capella's arm to the side, conjurating her characteristic spell and pierced the grotesque arm.

Observing her now completely purple arm, Capella transformed her remaining appendage into a sharp blade and cut the infected one off to prevent the spread of the purple corruption. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, breaking into several pieces and marking the start of the second assault.

"Are you a spirit? I'll have to kill you in front of my new pet then!" With a sadistic smile, Capella roamed down the hallways of the manor, following the retreating spirit. Beatrice stopped attacking after a short time, having run out of what little mana she could use for attacking, focusing instead on locating the other residents of the large building through their mana.

She sensed Frederica meeting with Ram and Rem in the kitchen before quickly moving towards Roswaal's office. Ram froze in place, using her synesthesia to locate both the aggressor and Beatrice while Rem dashed to heal Louis's injuries. Emilia and Subaru were still in the princess's room whereas both Garfiel and Otto were in the garden.

"Betty won't let you hurt her contractor anymore." She had bought enough time by now. Without more mana to fight and with Ram near the corner, she jumped from a window and forced herself to use her dwindling mana supply to reduce her weight and make the fall lighter. As expected, Capella followed her, destroying the wall and sending rubble all over the garden. The sin archbishops form could only be described as bizarre: The image of a girl now gone as it was replaced by a mix of different parts, as if she were a poorly assembled puzzle, a grotesque entity that should not exist in this world.

Her right arm had regenerated and was still the deformed black arm covered in fur. Her left hand was akin to the claw of a dragon and both legs were reminiscent of a goat's, but far bigger in size, easily giving her an extra foot of height.

Taking advantage of the fact that Beatrice was falling far slower than she otherwise should, Capella attempted to shred her to pieces with her left arm. The Spirit smirked at the rampaging woman, seeing Ram jump from the hole in the wall with her wand in hand.

"Fula!" Ram sent a blade of wind, making a deep cut on Capella's arm and causing her to miss her target by a few centimeters. Falling to the ground, she made a small crater before reverting to her previous figure, healing her injuries in the process. Beatrice was at her front, exhausted and deprived of mana, Ram behind her, ready to cast magic should she even twitch, and Garfiel and Otto were running towards them.

Beatrice-sama has chosen the perfect place to jump from. Thought Ram. Then, she screamed at Otto: "Otto! Warn Emilia-sama that an Archbishop is attacking us! Garfiel and I will stall her!" Hearing her words, Otto changed directions and dashed towards the mansion's door.

Capella recalled the words in her gospel. "Go to Roswaal's mansion and retrieve the mabeast user. Don't let the half-elf or the court magician fight you at all costs." She dashed towards the green merchant and ignored the spirit in her way, zigzagging to evade the blasts of wind the pink oni sent towards her.

Midway through, Garfiel caught up to her, sending a straight punch towards her stomach. Capella received, and transformed her stomach into tendrils of flesh that trapped Garfiel's arm, leaving him unable to flee. She then raised her right arm when a child-like voice warned everyone about the danger that being touched by her meant.

"Don't let her touch you!" Back at the start of the fight, when Capella managed to get the upper hand and tried to use her authority on her, she could feel something wanting to turn her flesh into something unrecognizable. Luckily, as she was a spirit made of mana, it had no effect on her.

"El Fula!" Ram sent another blade of wind against Capella, faster than the previous one, slicing through her arm with ease. Free of impending danger, Garfiel slashed the grotesque tendrils of flesh with his free arm, freeing himself from Capella's grasp, irritating her even further. She quickly glanced behind the trembling demi-human: The merchant was nowhere to be seen, he had retreated into the mansion.

"Beatrice-sama." Ram extended her arm towards the spirit. Taking the hint, Beatrice drained Ram's mana in order to fight again. She wouldn't be able to fight for more than a minute, but that's all the time they needed to buy. With her regenerative abilities, not even cutting her head off would kill her. They needed either Emilia's ice or Roswaal's fire to have even the slightest hope of defeating her.

The stalemate continued for a long minute. Garfiel kept attacking Capella, while Beatrice restricted her movement with Minya and Ram cut her flesh every time she tried to counterattack Garfiel. However, that only made the situation worse. Garfiel was now kneeling on the ground, exhausted and unable to overcome the burning pain that Capella's blood inflicted on him. He managed to withstand it for a moment, but couldn't anymore.

Not letting her chance go by, Capella swiftly grabbed Garfiel's head with her monstrous arm and threw him towards Ram. She mocked Garfiel as he transformed into a small orange cat in the air.

"Gahahaha! That new form suits you, demi-human! How does it feel not being half animal?"

"Garfiel!" Ram managed to grab Garfiel before he fell to the ground. However, that left her wide open to Capella's onslaught. Looking down at Garfiel's new form, she saw the shadow of the massive, monstrous arm above her, ready to either crush her down or transform herself into an unrecognizable lump of flesh. Taking her sight off the ground, she saw Capella retreating thanks to a barrage of ice crystals.

Seeing Capella attacking Ram, Beatrice and… Garfiel? Made Emilia furious. Not only did she torture her Subaru, but now came to retrieve him just to further toy with him. Over and over, Satella screwed all over her life. She was hated for sharing an appearance with the witch, and the cult she ordered long after being sealed did nothing but destroy what little she had.

"Stop right there, villain." She conjured a barrage of ice crystals around her. "Are you the one who tortured my knight?"

"Your knight? Could you be talking about the meatbag that refused to love me?"

"So you did." Unfitting of her angelic appearance, Emilia threw a barrage of ice spikes towards Capella with a scowl. The Sin Archbishop dashed towards the half-elf, turning her left arm into a grotesque lump of flesh akin to a shield. The gospel warned me of someone so weak?

Having stopped the barrage of attacks, she mutated her other arm into a dragon claw, ready to slice the half-elf in two. She was stopped by a single purple crystal hitting her left leg, slowly expanding towards her thigh, threatening to freeze her forever. She swiftly cut her leg and regenerated it as fast as she could, the action proving to be a fatal mistake as a cold haze covered her being, quickly freezing her to death. Capella Emerada Lugunica, the Sin Archbishop of Lust, was now an ice statue with a shocked expression on her face.

"It seems I was not needed after aaaaall."

"Roswaal-sama!" Ram welcomed her master. With Frederica and Otto at his sides, Roswaal examined the statue while in deep thought. Can I really force him to reset now? With his mental state, would he care about anyone but Emilia dying? Can I truly risk this? A loud crack stopped his thoughts. He glanced at the ice statue, now filled with cracks, and saw a colossal black dragon beginning to emerge out of it.

The half-elf is dangerous. Flapping her wings, she threw everyone to the ground with the wind she moved. She took flight, her objective had been accomplished.

"You're too late now." With those last words, she took flight to the horizon.

"Hmm…" Seeing the massive black dragon fleeing his domain, Roswaal made his choice. Forcing Subaru to reset made no sense, not with his current mental state. Risking the lives of everyone for the slim chance he still loops for them wasn't worth it. Such a situation begged the question however; what would his looping accomplish now? Could he even prevent his imprisonment in his current state? "No one comes to my domain, kills my subjects and flees." He said with a stern tone. He started flying, and turned back a few meters high in the air. "Ram, take care of everything while I'm gone."

"Understood, Roswaal-sama." With that being said, Roswaal flew at incredible speed towards the dragon, high in the starless sky.

"I'll go see Subaru. He was reaaaally worried about me leaving." Said Emilia, trying to find the dragon and magician high in the clouded sky, to no avail.

"Are you worried about her words, Emilia-sama?" Asked Ram. The words the archbishop said before leaving rang in her mind. Her sister was at her left, taking care of the orange cat that Garfiel was now, affected by Capella's Authority.

"Betty will take care of the demi-human until Roswaal returns, I suppose. You must protect Betty's Subaru."

Nodding at Beatrice's words, Emilia dashed back in the mansion, running towards her room. Subaru looked so worried about her leaving for even a single minute, but she had to. She couldn't stand not being able to retaliate against the archbishop who tortured him. Reaching her room, she was met by a sight she thought was impossible: The love of her life resting his head on the lap of the one she hated the most.

"My, you're back so quick. It seems that Bishop Emerada is not the best at distractions."

Seeing Pandora being so close to his knight made Emilia forget everything about the recent events just to focus her rage on her.

"PANDORA!" She roared.

"It's been a long time, witch's daughter."

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" She barely stopped herself from impaling her with an ice spike. The memories of Geuse and Fortuna weighed on her mind.

"But why, Emilia? Pandora is not evil." Subaru's words made both Pandora's smirk wider and Emilia's rage subside.

"Subaru?" Those words pained her heart. It can't be too late...right?

"Pandora is a good person, Emilia. She's been protecting me too. I wouldn't have escaped without her." He said, convinced of that being the truth.

"You… You…" Emilia's wrath erupted once more. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO SUBARU!?"

"I did nothing. Perhaps you've been deceived?" She rustled Subaru's hair, without him rejecting it. Yes, that face. Rage more, until you can't control yourself.

"Subaru! She's lying to you!" Her anger was near her breaking point, despite that tears fell down her face, the entire situation breaking her heart.

"She's not!" Standing up and walking up to Emilia, he grabbed her shoulders and continued. "I don't know what got into you, but Pandora is a good person! She helped me escape and even offered her help. The three of us could run away and live as a family…"

"That's enough!" Those words were the final straw. Family? With her? Blinded by rage, she shook off Subaru's grasp and made an icicle on her hand. Aiming at Pandora, she threw it with all her elven strength. "JUST DIE, PANDORA!"

"You should have been more careful, witch's daughter." She said with a smirk.

Emilia stared at the Witch with a gaze that could kill, unfitting of her. She blinked, and then she saw the impossible. Instead of Pandora she was now staring at Subaru, her ice shard quickly approaching him. The next instant his heart was pierced.

"SUBARU!" Emilia ran to the dying man. She tried healing him to no avail, she wasn't skilled enough to repair a pierced heart.

"Emilia...?" He managed to say.

"My, what a coincidence. Your parents, Petelgeuse and now you… It seems like this family is fated to kill the ones they love." She said from the sides, smirking at the situation. He's mine.

"Subaru? Don't die Subaru!" She cried as much as she could. She had forgotten about Pandora, Capella, Roswaal, his suffering, everything. All that mattered now was healing him to the best of her abilities.

"You're… so cute… even… when… you… cry…" He raised his hand to clear her tears, just like he had done once. As he said his last words, his hand fell limp to the ground.

"Subaru? Subaru!? DON'T DIE SUBARU! SUBARU!"

He's mine now. Pandora glanced at the unconscious man at her front. The half-elf has now killed him. With that, everyone he knows has betrayed him. Echidna's lessons paid off in the end. She waited for him to wake up. The… checkpoint, as he called them was perfect. Near Roswaal's manor and with her nearby. He had no hope of evading her like this, not like he could anyways. Another checkpoint would have only made the entire process longer.

First, capture him. Then, have Capella torture him. Change his memories of everyone he knows. And then make the half-elf kill him. With no one at his side, he has no option but cling to me.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Subaru falling to his knees, his eyes clouded, empty, devoid of life.

"It seems you're back, Natsuki Subaru. How did your reunion go?" She approached him and whispered in his ear: "She doesn't love you, does she?"

"Emilia...Why?" He sounded desperate, begging for what happened to be fake.

"She doesn't love you." She repeated herself. "She allowed the others to hurt you."

"That can't be! She… She knew?" He muttered the last word, unwilling to believe it.

"She knew from the very start. She took you in just to see you suffer. Why would you help her after dying three times? She forced you."

"But… She…" Still in disbelief, Subaru tried to reject her words. But he couldn't, for some strange force made him believe and trust her. He was alone after all, and she was the only one who truly cared about him aside from her parents.

"I see you fail to trust me. Let me put it this way then." She bent down to his height and whispered in his ear. "Emilia hates you, Natsuki Subaru." Her words had a great effect. He no longer looked desperate for her words to be false, but instead fully accepted them. He stood up with renewed determination.

"Pandora. Thank you for showing me the truth. Now, can you help me?"

"To take revenge on those who hurt you? Yes, it would be my pleasure. Had that half-elf not caught you in her grasp, you would have been safe all time with me." I had to abuse my Authority to its limit, but he's finally mine. "Now, I'm saddened to admit that I can't give you a seat that honors your status. The title of Sin Archbishop of Envy doesn't exist. But, since you're loved by Satella herself, what do you think of being called Satella's Champion?"

"Satella's Champion? The Witch that gave me this cursed power?"

"It's not a cursed ability. You must exploit it to take revenge given your weakness and current state of the cult. And what's better than acting in Satella's name to make the half-witch suffer?"

"Then I'll take it."

"Very well. Then I, Pandora, under the name of the Witch of Vanity, hereby grant you the title of Satella's Champion. Come with me, Natsuki Subaru." She extended her hand towards him. "We have a lot of work to do."

Subaru grasped her hand. The two of them retreated deeper into the forest, without turning back, leaving those who waited for him to return.

AN: Sorry for the delay. Now that Arc 1 is done, this fic will be on hiatus since I have another fic I want to focus on. I'll return to it, don't worry. Thanks to Otey (Discordant Harmony, Re:Stalker) and Wombat (7 tales) for betaing this. And thanks for 10k views!