Chapter 52: Greed vs Charity
"You two dare ruin a wedding, one that I was looking forward to until this bitch had ruined it by proving to be a selfish bitch. How dare you?! How dare you trample my rights! I don't care who you are, the fact that you all treat me as lower than human is revolting!"
"You are the one who is revolting for taking my girlfriend!"
Subaru shouted as he charged towards Regulus, ready to put the plan between himself, Sora, and Beatrice into action. Greed notices this and quickly grabs something, preparing to throw it at his opponent yet Sora quickly casted Gravity to pin the Sin Archbishop to the ground. Regulus notices this and questions what the Keyblade Master is trying to do. Emilia looks above Regulus and noticed a large dark sphere creating itself before spreading in a large circle surrounding them.
Emilia jumps out of the way while one of the wives alerts Regulus of the attack. Regulus was thrown off by this and quickly looked up yet he wasn't able to do anything. He felt his body be pinned to the ground, trapping him for a bit before he activates his authority to help him break through the attack. While that was going on, Subaru put away his keyblade and quickly ran towards Emilia, carrying her like if she was a princess before taking her away from the scene.
"S-Subaru, what are you doing?"
"It's all going according to plan, Emilia-tan."
"Plan?"
"Hey! Who gave you permission to get away? That's a violation of my action and authority!"
"Oh shut your fucking mouth!"
Regulus looked angrily at Subaru and quickly threw something at him, forcing Sora to jump in between the two and to quickly cast Reflega, creating a powerful shield bubble that just barely stopped the attack. As his shield barely was able to block off the attack, Sora looked at Regulus with a serious facial expression, knowing that Regulus is a dangerous opponent.
"You. Keyblade Wielder. How dare you stop my attack? Do you not know that it is a violation of my rights? Of my authority? You dare disrespect my rights!"
"No, I'm just protecting my friends!"
Sora charged at Regulus in incredible speeds, surprising the Sin Archbishop of Greed for a brief moment before he smiled as he makes sure that his authority is activated. Sora closed in before landing a few hits on Regulus before sending him flying into a wall. As Sora did this, Subaru took Emilia out of the building yet the half-elf was telling her knight to stop.
"Subaru, we can't leave just yet."
"Don't worry Emilia-tan, we can trust on Master Sora."
"I know we can but the women in there are in danger. The Sin Archbishop of Greed will harm them to get to Sora."
Subaru paused himself for a moment before stopping on his tracks to allow Emilia to stand on her own. As he does this, Beatrice approaches the two as she sees that getting Emilia out of the church was a success. As Beatrice was near her contractor and the half-elf, she crosses her arms and smugly speaks.
"We managed to rescue Emilia-sama, I suppose. I call this a success."
"Not quite Beatrice, we can't leave the women in there to suffer under Regulus."
"Hmm. They are not of importance to Betty or Betty's Subaru, in fact."
"Beako, we have to help them. Not to mention that we need to help Master Sora as well."
"Hmph."
Beatrice looked at her contractor with an annoyed and serious facial expression, not liking this since she is aware that facing the sin Archbishop of Greed is very dangerous for any of them. As she was going to be against it, she was annoyed at the fact that she can't let Sora fight on his own.
"Fine...we should help those women and the Keyblade Master, I suppose."
"That's the kind Beako I know!"
Subaru lifts Beatrice up in the air for a bit which causes her to fluster, telling her contractor to set her back down. Emilia smiled at this for a moment before the three returned their focus on the objective, being to get the women out of the church and away from Regulus.
"Emilia-tan, what exactly can you tell Beako and I about these women?"
"They seem to fear him, obeying any order he gives."
"Hmm I see...I think what we can do is force Regulus to leave them, giving you a chance to speak with them."
"I see but isn't that too risky?" Emilia asked with a concerned voice, concerned that Subaru might get himself killed yet the boy smiled with confidence.
"Don't worry, I will have Beako and Master Sora by my side. We just need to inform him of this plan as well."
"We will, just don't get to cocky in the fight, I suppose!"
Beatrice looked at Subaru with a cautious look, knowing how reckless her contractor is since she recalled the battle against the Great Rabbit. Subaru just nodded to ease Beatrice's fear before telling Emilia to be prepared, knowing that if Regulus notices her, it would probably put his girlfriend in grave danger. Emilia understood this and nodded before the three returned back in with Emilia going into hiding somewhere while Subaru and Beatrice both ran int the center of the church to meet up with Sora. Once inside, Subaru with keyblade in hand and Beatrice with her mana ready to be used, noticed that Sora was dodging a lot of random explosions, not being able to do anything but dodge.
"Beako, when I tell you, use E.M.M on me. I'm going to buy some time for Master Sora to land a blow on this bastard."
"Why do you always choose to be the bait, I suppose?!"
Beatrice was mad at this and preceded to punch her contractor in the arm as hard as she could. This is something Subaru noticed and quickly alerted Beatrice that this is the plan because out of the three of them, Sora had the best chance to land a deadly blow. Beatrice hated that Subaru was right, causing her to pout while complain that her contractor is an idiot.
"Haha I know I'm an idiot Beako but that's why I have you by my side, to always protect me when I do something stupid."
"Don't get too comfortable, I suppose! I won't always protect you if you keep these stupidities up!"
"Alright but for now let's do this plan. We have to hurry, I can see Master Sora starting to tire out."
Beatrice nodded despite not wanting to, understanding that she needs to focus on helping the Keyblade Master before the Sin Archbishop of Greed lands a deadly blow. Beatrice stays back as Subaru runs into the fight, carefully moving around.
'I must be extremely careful, it has been over a year since I had experience death and since I don't know where is my checkpoint...I would rather not spawn in the worst of places.'
Subaru waited for a moment before channeling the mana inside his gate and focusing it on his hand before casting Minya, forcing Regulus to turn his attention towards him. As the Sin Archbishop of Greed looks at Subaru with anger before throwing a bit of dust towards his position.
"Beako, now!"
Subaru stood still and waited until Beatrice casted their E.M.M. ability, knowing that it will protect him. After a few seconds, Subaru noticed that Regulus was a bit surprised by this which meant that it worked. The young boy looked around and noticed that his surroundings was destroyed. This distraction was enough to allow Sora to switch from Kingdom Key to Ultima Keyblade, knowing that he needs to end this fight quickly. As he closes in on Regulus, his keyblade was strong enough to break the odd barrier Regulus had, sending him flying outside of the church.
"Good job Master Sora! Now we need to keep him away from here!"
"Are you sure, Subaru?"
"Yes, just trust me on this."
"Okay."
Sora nodded at Subaru, seeing that the plan now requires to get the Sin Archbishop of Greed away from the area. As Sora goes to follow Regulus, Subaru looks around to see that the wives of Regulus were taking cover underneath the church seats. This made him feel bad for them before turning towards Emilia's direction.
"Emilia-tan, it's safe to come on out now."
Emilia waited a few seconds before leaving from her hiding spot with Beatrice standing next to her in the case she needs to be protected. As Emilia and Beatrice approach Subaru, the wives all pop out and start to get mad at the half-elf, blaming her that their husband is now angry.
"Hey! Stop treating Emilia-tan with disrespect!"
"You don't know the trouble we are at now!"
One of the wives spoke out in fear since they all know what is going to happen now that Regulus has been pissed. Before they could do anything, Subaru pulled out his keyblade once more to get their attention before saying,
"This weapon is known as a Keyblade, the boy who was fighting your horrible husband is the original wielder of the weapon. Although it is a weird looking weapon, it does have the capability of defeating that bastard because Master Sora has already defeated both Sloth and Wrath."
There was a pause in the air for a moment has the wives discuss among themselves about the information they had learn, all of them aware of the status their shared husband has. As they discussed of the information they got, one of the wives looked at Emilia and started to question her,
"Is what this boy saying is true?"
"I wasn't there for Sora's accomplishments, but I know Subaru wouldn't lie about this."
"Subaru...is that your boyfriend that-"
"Th-There is no need to talk about it!"
Emilia was flustered by this since she didn't want Subaru to know what she said yet Subaru noticed her flustering, catching his interest.
"What happened? Why are you all flustered up, Emilia-tan?"
"I-It's nothing! Let's just get back to focus."
"Wait but your face is red-"
"Not important!" Emilia shouted in embarrassment before turning towards the woman who approached her and continued the conversation with her. "A-Aside from that, is there anything that we should know about Regulus Corneas?"
"Hmm. The only thing is that he always keeps some if not all of us close by. He never goes to one place on his own or too far away from us."
"Is that right?"
Subaru asked himself this while thinking about how this could connect in defeating the Sin Archbishop of Greed. As Subaru was thinking and both Emilia and Beatrice were keeping the wives from trying to do anything reckless, Sora with his Ultima weapon out jumped into the hole he created to continue his fight with Regulus. As he was outside the church, Regulus looked at Sora with a bit of annoyance as he stood standing like nothing ever happened.
"Is that really all you got? For someone who wields and interesting weapon, you are not troubling. You are a nuisance if anything but one who dares to violate my rights. You want to take away my life, my rights! You are quite the annoying opponent."
"I won't let you harm anybody else!"
Sora spoke with a serious voice before he started to glow, catching Regulus' attention and interest. After a few seconds, Sora revealed to Regulus that he was in his double form with Oathkeeper and Oblivion in each of his hands. Regulus looked at the two keyblades and was more impressed by the Oblivion design than the Oathkeeper yet his focus was still on getting rid of Sora. He looked around and grabbed some dust from the ground, preparing to throw it directly at the Keyblade Wielder until a corridor of darkness appears in between the two.
"Now who is this? Who dares to interfere with my battle? That is a violation of my rights! Those who violate my rights must be exterminated."
"Ah yes, I see you haven't change."
Sora was on high alert when he heard the voice of older Xehanort while Regulus was a bit stunned by this, not recognizing who it is. Regulus looked with curiosity towards the corridor of darkness before seeing an old man walking side by side with Reinhard van Astrea, the current Sword Saint.
"Reinhard!"
"Sora, it is good to see you again."
The two friends nod at each other before turning their attention towards Regulus. The Sin Archbishop of Greed looked at Xehanort with curiosity, wanting to know where he met the old Keyblade Master yet he couldn't tell.
"Old man! As an elder, you must know that one's rights are important, so why are you not introducing yourself. You speak as if we know each other yet you don't say who you are. That is a violation of my rights! I, Regulus Corneas, am the perfect human being compared to all of you imperfect worms."
"Ah yes, you speak so highly and yet I had stopped you before from forcing a girl from being a part of your perverted group of wives."
"What did you just say? There has been two wives I lost out on, 79 and 187. 79 was on the forest...wait, come to think of it, that Emilia girl looks a lot like that whiny brat from before. Anyway the 187 was stopped because of someone wielding a weird weapon and was called..."
Regulus had paused himself for a moment before looking at the old man once again, seeing that this is an older version of Xehanort. He looked at Xehanort with intense anger once he recognized the old Keyblade Master, causing him to quickly grab the dust in his hand with a tight grip before throwing it with intensity while shouting Xehanort's name in hatred.
"XEHANORT!"
The old Keyblade Master stood still for a moment before both himself and Reinhard jumped out of Regulus' attack, managing to dodge the large explosion created by the Sin Archbishop's attack. As both Xehanort and Reinhard land next to Sora, Reinhard holds the Dragon Sword Reid with a tight grip while Xehanort summons his keyblade.
"This time you will fall by my hand."
"Ha! I will not fall, you old prick! I, Archbishop of the witch cult representing Greed, Regulus Corneas, can never be defeated! Many tried but they all fail because none are perfect humans like me! Hell I can even take on the Sword Saint or the divine dragon without a problem! What will be happening you old fucker is that I will make you pay for violating my rights all those years ago and for violating my rights here!"
Xehanort and Regulus both just stared each other down, having a deep hatred towards each other but that stare would break when Sora looks at the old Keyblade wielder to ask him about their hatred.
"What exactly is going on? How do you know the Sin Archbishop of Greed, Xehanort?"
"That story was from a life time ago..."
Xehanort paused himself as he quickly answered Sora's question with a blank expression, having his eyes focus on the Sin Archbishop.
Many years ago:
A young Xehanort and a Young Eraqus had managed to find a way back into the world for a second visit, both wishing to check on their old friends. As they arrived from a portal similar to how they arrived to the world previously, young Eraqus looked around to see if there is anybody around.
"Seems like it's just the two of us here, Xehanort."
"It's fine, we will find Wil and Theresia. I wonder how they have been?"
"Do you think that they have children by this time?"
"Maybe, who knows. We are unsure how much time has passed here."
"Fair."
Eraqus and Xehanort both walked around the world for a bit, surprised that the amount of heartless from last time are extremely low, giving the two keyblade wielders a bit of relief that they don't need to do much other than finding their friends. As they walked around for a while, both Xehanort and Eraqus noticed a village burning in the background.
"We need to do something!"
"I know, do you think it's the heartless?"
"I don't know Xehanort but we need to move fast."
"Agreed."
Young Xehanort and Young Eraqus nodded at each other before pulling out their keyblades, knowing that a fight is going to happen. As they approach the village, they notice that there are men in dark coats with some red. Although they weren't heartless, they can sense darkness in them which caused the two keyblade wielders to be on their guard. The unknown threat notice them and quickly create fire balls to throw at the pair, causing both Xehanort and Eraqus to charge at them.
As the two close in, the unknown threat start to throw knives and fireballs at the pair. Xehanort and Eraqus take note of this and quickly deflect off each attack thrown at them before closing in. As they close in, Xehanort goes on the offensive first by taking down each opponent in one hit, showing no mercy while Eraqus uses a couple of hits to make sure that the one he attacks stays down. As the two keyblade wielders easily took down the threat, a large amount of heartless started to pop out of nowhere.
"Well, seems like they finally appeared, Xehanort."
"I mean, sooner or later we were going to encounter them."
The two nodded and before they were going to attack the heartless together, Xehanort looked to his left side and noticed someone in white walking towards a burned house.
'What is he doing?'
Xehanort questioned this and knew that either him or his best friend needed to check out what the person in white was up to. He turned towards his best friend to let him know what he just saw, causing Eraqus to have a bad feeling.
"Xehanort, go and check what that person is up to. I'll catch up with you shortly."
"Just be careful Eraqus, you never know with these heartless."
Eraqus nodded before charging at the heartless on his own, having confidence in his abilities while Xehanort quickly went after the person in all white. As he was going at it alone, Xehanort could only think about how the people in the weird dark coats are responsible for causing so much destruction to the village. As he entered the building the person in white entered, the keyblade wielder put away his keyblade and slowly moved around the burning building with caution. As he was walking around the building, he could hear a voice of an arrogant person.
"You don't need to be scared. I, Regulus Corneas, is here for you. I am here to make you my 187th wife. These people from the village are not worthy of you."
Xehanort waited until he noticed the person who called himself Regulus to close in on the girl who was looking at Regulus with a blank facial expression. Once he was getting close, Xehanort managed to charge at Regulus without him being aware that he was there. As he got closer, Xehanort managed to land a powerful hit to the face which caused Regulus to be send flying into a wall. He quickly approached the girl, noticing the shock look in her face yet he quickly wanted to make sure she was alright.
"Are you hurt? Did that man do anything to you?"
"N-No...I-I'm okay."
Xehanort looked over the girl to make sure she really is okay before he looked at the wall Regulus went into before noticing the man speaking as he returned back into the building.
"You dare attack an unarmed man in such a brutal way, you dare attack me in such an unhuman way! That is a violation of my rights! You dare attack me in such a way, I should kill you right here on the spot, you imperfect fool!"
Regulus kicks dust towards Xehanort, causing the keyblade wielder to move towards his right side, just barely dodging the large destruction the person in white caused. The Keyblade Wielder looked at Regulus with a shocked expression, never having faced such a dangerous opponent yet before he could do anything, he noticed that he needs to get the girl out of harm's way first.
'Darn, I wish Eraqus could give me a bit of a hand here yet that ability...it's to dangerous to face it head on. Hmm, I wonder what he really did.'
Xehanort thinks for a moment before putting away his keyblade and quickly picking up the girl, knowing that his priority is to get the girl to safety from the person in all white. As Xehanort quickly left the area, Regulus looked at the keyblade wielder annoyed and angry.
"Now who told you that you may leave or that you may take my 187th wife? That is a violation of my authority as a human, a violation of my rights!"
As Regulus increased his voice to extreme anger, he throws everything he got and Xehanort in an attempt to kill the keyblade wielder yet he was able to escape the attack, barely managing to escape the larger destruction. This destruction was strong enough to catch Eraqus' attention since he just finished taking down the remaining heartless.
'What is going on?'
Eraqus thought has he started to worry for his friend only to notice that Xehanort was on the air, approaching his location with some girl in his arms. Once Xehanort landed on the floor, he allowed the girl to stand on her own before pulling out his keyblade.
"Xehanort, what is going on?"
"There is this man, Regulus or whatever he calls himself. He is a threat and maybe the one responsible for destroying the village."
"Really?"
"Maybe but do me a favor and get this girl out of here. I will buy you some time."
"Are you sure, Xehanort? I can help take down this Regulus with you."
"I know Eraqus but I trust you in keeping the girl safe."
Eraqus looked at Xehanort and gave a simple nod, understanding that they need to keep the girl safe from the threat. He quickly asks the girl if she is alright before taking her away from the area, trusting that his best friend can handle himself. As Eraqus took the girl away, Regulus appeared from the smoke, looking angrily at Xehanort.
"What makes you think that you have authority over me?! Who the fuck are you to disrespect, to ignore, to dismiss my authority, my rights?! You treat me as if I'm an imperfect being when in fact I, Regulus Corneas, am the perfect human who respects others rights but you, you don't respect my rights! State your name!"
Xehanort looked at his opponent with a serious facial expression, sensing a dangerous dark aura around Regulus yet he answered Regulus' demand for his name. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pointing his keyblade directly at the person in all white before finally answering in a confident tone of voice,
"My name is Xehanort, Keyblade Wielder and future Keyblade Master! Whatever you did to this village, you will pay!"
"Is that so? You do not realize just how much that violates my rights with just that statement but seeing that you don't truly know who I am, I will introduce myself like a perfect human being. Sin Archbishop of the Witch's cult, representing Greed. Regulus Corneas."
Xehanort looked at Regulus with a serious facial expression before setting himself into his fighting stance, showing that he is ready to fight. Regulus looked at Xehanort angrily before starting to attack the Keyblade Wielder. Xehanort having paid attention to the way the Sin Archbishop of Greed attacks, he was able to easily move out of the way from the dust, seeing that they do more damage than they would normal do. As the landscape was starting to get destroyed more and more as Regulus keeps throwing more dirt and dust at the keyblade wielder, making Xehanort realize that he needs to end this fight soon before Regulus ends up doing even worse damage.
'I better come up with an attack powerful enough to take this guy down before he destroys this place even more than it already is. That and to make sure he never harms anybody else again.'
Xehanort continues to dodge and dodge until he finally closed in, having his keyblade glow for a bit before landing a decisive blow on Regulus, sending him flying across the field for a moment. As Regulus hits the ground, Xehanort quickly points his keyblade directly at the Sin Archbishop before casting the most powerful attack he had in his arsenal.
"Mega Flare!"
Xehanort created a small yet extremely powerful fireball that was rapidly approaching Regulus' location. The Sin Archbishop of Greed got up and noticed this yet he was not worried about it. He just got up and smiled before the attack reached him, managing to cause a large explosion surrounding the area with Regulus in the center of the explosion.
"That should take care of-"
Before Xehanort could finish the thought, he noticed Regulus' voice speak with slight disappointment.
"You call that an attack. You are trying to kill me which is fair since we are in battle but this kind of attack seems to invoke that I'm not worthy to facing man to man rather than your little tricks. This violates my rights! My human rights! How dare you look down on me?!"
"You are such an annoying person!"
Xehanort says this as he lands on the ground. Once his feet hit the ground, he charges at Regulus with everything he got, managing to approach the Sin Archbishop of Greed with immense speed. As Xehanort got close, he used all of his immense strength to attack Regulus yet as he hit him, he felt something push him back easily. Regulus looked at the Keyblade Wielder with a sinister smile before attempting to destroy his opponent with one hit. As Regulus' attack was going to hit the keyblade wielder, Xehanort quickly sensed it and managed to jump high enough to dodge the fatal attack. As he jumps high, he was about to send a blizzard attack only for Eraqus to do it before him. Regulus was not prepared to deal with the other keyblade wielder, causing him to get hit by the attack and get temporarily frozen. Xehanort landed next to Eraqus before questioning his friend.
"Why are you here? Where is the girl?"
"Don't worry Xehanort, she is safe with some merchants that were nearby. I told them to get out of here as fast as possible while I help you buy them time."
Xehanort didn't like this but he couldn't do much about it now, causing him to just give his best friend a nod before the two focused their attention towards Regulus. The Sin Archbishop of Greed broke free from the frozen prison with his ability and looked at Eraqus with anger.
"You dare attack me?! You dare infringe on my rights?! You all are the scum of scums, attacking a perfect human such as myself! I will rid you all of your kind before any more can spawn!"
Regulus without any warning attacks the two with his authority, attempting to kill the two in one hit yet the keyblade wielders were quick enough to dodge the attack before they got caught in the blast. As the two were closing in, Xehanort used Fira on Regulus yet the Sin Archbishop was not affected by it. Eraqus attempted to use Thundera but it also did no effect on him. The two continued to attack with everything they had in them until they noticed how all their efforts were gone to waste. The both looked at each other and knew that they had to use a combined powerful attack if they wished to take the Sin Archbishop of Greed down. The two quickly jumped extremely high to avoid getting caught in the blast before the two started to create the strongest version of Mega flare, knowing that their combined attack could cause such an enormous amount of damage to the land.
"Hm. What are you two doing? Do you think this attack will do anything to me, Regulus, Sin Archbishop of Greed? You two are nothing more than imperfect creations-"
"Just shut up already and take this hit!"
Eraqus interrupts Regulus as he along with Xehanort finally fire their mega flare ability in its most powerful form. As they send it towards Regulus, the two noticed a random woman appearing on the scene. The two keyblade wielders tried to stop her from getting closer yet they weren't able to as Regulus attempted to stop the duo's attacks, only to end up causing the largest explosion of fire to set off to early. Regulus turned and attempted to save one of his wives he had ordered to stay close yet nothing could be done. Regulus' wife was turned into a pile of ash with both Xehanort and Eraqus feeling an immense amount of guilt.
"Wh-What have we done...?" Eraqus questions himself as he starts to look down with tears in his eyes. Xehanort on the other hand feels a darkness in his heart, a darkness spawned by a hatred for himself. Before the two could process to what happened, they could hear Regulus approaching them with a powerful and angered aura immersing from his body. The two keyblade wielders got themselves ready for a fight yet they could see the immense anger in Regulus' eyes has he speaks to the two,
"Xehanort, I shall remember that name and your lackey right there. What you did today is more than infringing upon my rights but you killed my property, one of my many wives who had done nothing wrong, who had been listening to every command I have given her. Although she was one of the witch cult type, she still obeyed me. She was a beauty like no other but you two...you two deserve a fate worse than hell!"
As Regulus finished speaking, his aura grew strong enough to start sending powerful attacks towards the two, forcing them to create shields to protect themselves. As their shields were able to keep Regulus' attacks at bay, the two keyblade wielders noticed that their shields were beginning to crack by the immense strength of Regulus' attack. The two looked at their star shards, seeing that this is the only way to escape the situation they find themselves in. Before quickly leaving the area in hopes of making it to Lugnica kingdom, Xehanort looked at Regulus and started to say to himself,
"I swear Regulus Corneas, I will defeat you for the death you caused here and for what you were going to do to that woman I saved. Mark my words, I will take you down."
As Xehanort's thought finished, both himself and Eraqus used the star shard to escape the dire situation, leaving Regulus bitter has he also thought of the day he can exact his revenge on the keyblade wielder.
Xehanort looks at Regulus many years later in a fake body, now having the chance to make true on his promise to the Sin Archbishop of Greed. Xehanort looks at Regulus as he points his keyblade directly at him.
"You are going to fall here, Regulus Corneas."
"Is that so? And who gives you the right over my life? Who gives you the authority to end my life when you are the most imperfect human?!"
"Because you are even worse than me."
Xehanort charged at Regulus and surprised the Sin Archbishop of Greed as he was send up to the sky. As Regulus was on the air, Xehanort with his keyblade fired a barrage of darkness towards him. All of the attacks hit the Sin Archbishop of Greed with extreme force, causing large explosions of darkness. As the dust cleared, Regulus fell towards the ground and landed unscathed.
"Is that all? How pathetic. All those years and you haven't been able to do anything to me. That shows how pathetic you are and imperfect you-"
"I haven't showed my trump card."
Sora, Subaru, and Reinhard all looked at Xehanort with some concern while Regulus was curious on what could his opponent's trump card is. The four of them waited until Xehanort all of a sudden put away his keyblade. He turned towards Reinhard to ask the Sword Saint if he had an ability to move while time stopped.
"I'm unsure what you mean by this."
"Hm. Hold on to Sora's arm then."
Reinhard looked at Xehanort with a confused facial expression yet he knew that something was going to happen, prompting him to do what the old Keyblade Master said. As Reinhard grabs Sora's shoulder, the two looked behind as they sense Subaru and Beatrice arriving at the scene. Regulus noticed this and quickly shifted his anger towards Subaru.
"Ah, if it isn't the wife stealer, Natsuki Subaru was it? Doesn't matter, you are going to die just like Xehanort here but first, let us see this so called trump card you have in stored against me, Regulus Corneas, Sin Archbishop of the witch's cult."
"You talk all prideful but the moment I break that ability of yours, you will cower in fear just like every weakling."
Xehanort spoke with confidence has he was setting up his attack, with both Subaru and Beatrice on guard since they are not informed of what was going on. Seeing Reinhard grabbing Sora's shoulder, the two proceed to do the same just as Xehanort casts Stopza, immediately causing the entire city to stop in time. The only people unaffected by this is Sora, Subaru, Reinhard, and Beatrice. The four of them look to see that Regulus was also unaffected by it and showing a bit of confusion on what Xehanort did.
"Was that suppose to do anything to me, old man? If anything, you just annoyed me and made me believe that you had some kind of attack up your sleeve but yet again I'm dealing with someone who thinks themselves higher than me. That is a violation of my rights!"
"Well, if you had paid attention, you would have been prepared for this attack."
Xehanort smiled has he charged at Regulus without warning, managing to land a couple of hits on the Sin Archbishop of Greed. Unlike before, Regulus this time could feel these hits and was in pain while he ended up getting sent flying straight into a wall. As he crashed into the wall, he got up with his clothes damaged and his facial expression being one of pain as for the first time in many centuries he feels pain.
"What the hell is this? What is this?! What the fuck did you do to me?! You fucking prick!"
"Hm. I'm showing you the pain of your own sins. I'm showing you the pain you have been avoiding for over a long time. When my younger self faced you a little over a year ago, he was able to do damage to you, giving me the pathway in your defeat."
"You motherfucker!"
Regulus looked at Xehanort with a hatred gaze, wanting nothing more than to kill the old man with his bare hands. He quickly grabbed parts of the broken building near him and decided to throw it directly at Xehanort, hoping that his authority still works yet the old Keyblade Wielder was able to easily deflect off the attack without even moving from his spot. The Sin Archbishop of Greed started to walk back with fear in his eyes. He could not believe that his authority is being ignored and he is going to end up being killed.
"Wh-What are you? What the hell are you?!"
"My name is Xehanort, Keyblade Master, Seeker of Darkness."
"..."
Regulus was completely silent by this, scared of Xehanort has he doesn't stand a chance to survive in the stopped world they are in. He tries to run away yet Subaru and Sora both got in his way.
"Let me leave and I will spare your life!"
"Why should we? Master Sora and I can beat you here."
"You son of a-"
Subaru using his invisible providence, he shut Regulus up by punching him straight in the mouth, resulting in the Sin Archbishop of Greed being sent back into another building's wall. As he hits and breaks it, he was a bit surprised by what he just saw. He got up while in pain and started to say,
"The hell? Since when did you received the sloth witch factor? Are you fucking Petelguese?!"
"Sorry but I ain't that crazy man. As I said before, my name is Natsuki Subaru! I'm the Keyblade Master's apprentice and Emilia's one and only knight!"
"...this is all your fault!"
Regulus charges at Subaru and Sora with his intent being to kill the knight, blaming him that everything is going wrong since his gospel foretold something else for him. Subaru and Sora noticed this, yet they were not afraid. Subaru charged at Regulus with his master backing him up, both of them wanting a chance to fight the Sin Archbishop of Greed. Regulus threw some bricks at Subaru yet with his skills he was able to deflect each and every one of them while Sora with Kingdom Key in hand landed a devastating blow, sending Regulus flying up in the sky. As Regulus was flying up, Reinhard quickly jumped up towards him and with a kick, he sent the Sin Archbishop of Greed straight to the ground. As Regulus hit the ground, he created a large crater with his entire body in pain. Reinhard landed nearby with his Dragon Sword Reid pointed directly at the Sin Archbishop of Greed's face.
"Stand down now, there is no point in fighting anymore."
"Get that damn thing away from me! You are violating my rights, Sword Saint! I do what I want!"
Reinhard looked at Regulus with a disappointed look before helping Regulus up, knowing that this is his chance to arrest him. Before he could do that, the world suddenly started to move again which caught Sora and Xehanort's attention. Regulus realized that the world had returned to normal movement, meaning that his authority should be working once again. Without any hesitation he quickly attacked Reinhard, forcing the Sword Saint to quickly jump back to evade the attack. As Reinhard evaded, Subaru and Beatrice together used Minya on Regulus to get his attention while Sora quickly prepares to create a Stopza spell similar to Xehanort's in order to finish the Sin Archbishop of Greed off.
"Hey asshole, focus on us!"
"Yes, in fact!"
Regulus looked at Subaru and Beatrice, annoyed of their attack and quickly started attacking the pair while Sora prepared to stop time just like Xehanort did. Just has he was about to do it, Xehanort grabbed his keyblade to stop him.
"Hold on Sora, I have another idea to beat Regulus Corneas."
"What is it?"
"Just watch."
Sora stood back as he allowed Xehanort to take things from there, having his No Name Keyblade ready. He waited for a moment before regaining the attention of Regulus by firing a couple of dark fireballs directly at him. Regulus' authority allowed the attacks to not take effect yet the Sin Archbishop of Greed noticed this and quickly looked at Xehanort with distaste in his eyes.
"You dare!"
Regulus turned his attention in attacking the old Keyblade Master yet before being able to do anything, Xehanort fired a dark beam straight into Regulus' heart. Reinhard, Beatrice, Subaru, and Sora all noticed this and saw that this was a fatal attack and from the looks of things, it managed to actually hit the Sin Archbishop of Greed. They all stood there waiting before the Sin Archbishop of Greed looked at Xehanort with a disappointed facial expression,
"Was that suppose to do something?"
"Yes, it was considering that is where your heart is."
"Hmm."
Regulus smiled at this with Sora and Subaru both noticing that this attack was supposed to kill him yet it didn't. This made Subaru think carefully on this before turning towards Reinhard to ask him in order to confirm something.
"Rein, do you sense the Sin Archbishop here is a bit off?"
"Off? What do you mean by that?"
"Like does this Sin Archbishop seems a bit dead?"
"Hmm, now that you mention it, I can sense no life in him despite him being and looking to be alive."
Subaru crossed his arms and started puzzle everything together as he noticed how Xehanort's attack was fatal and how only in the stopped time area the Sin Archbishop of Greed can take real damage. There is also the factor that he has a lot of wives, meaning to Subaru that the wives are connected to his ability in some shape or form.
'But how? How can they be important unless...'
Xehanort's attack was targeted towards Regulus' heart and the fact that it didn't kill him means that his heart isn't there, making it fair to assume that Regulus is placing his heart in one of his many wives. This caused him to figure out the key to beating Regulus without the need of using so much power to cast another Stopza. He turned towards his master and quickly said to him,
"I think I solved the issue here, Master Sora. Can you hold him off until I get back?"
"Sure thing Subaru, just be careful."
"Alright. Come on Beako, we don't have much time to waste."
Beatrice noticed this and quickly followed Subaru back towards the church, asking Subaru what he found out.
"What is going on, I suppose?"
"I figured out his weakness. He always has wives around him because that is where he places his heart, making it hard for anybody to kill him."
"That's quite a convenient trick, I suppose. How do you propose we beat him?"
"We find the wife with his heart and then I will use Invisible Providence to take it out."
"That's an idea but how do you plan to find his heart, I suppose?"
"With your help of course."
Beatrice nodded at this, knowing that she was going to be a helping factor in finding the heart of the Sin Archbishop of Greed. As the two enter the church, they notice that most if not all the wives had been frozen.
"Emilia-tan? What exactly happened here?"
"I-I told them that you all were going to beat that man and for some reason they just started killing themselves."
"The hell..."
Subaru was disturbed by this for a moment before focusing on the reason why Beatrice and himself had returned to the church. He quickly asked Beatrice to use her specialty in Yin magic to find Regulus' heart. She nodded at her contractor before starting the process in searching for the Sin Archbishop of Greed's heart. She went to each and every frozen wife to check only to find nothing in the end. This confused Subaru since he was expecting at least one of the wives to hold Regulus' heart. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment before looking at Emilia, being slightly distracted by the wedding dress she is wearing.
"You really look beautiful, Emilia-tan."
"You dunderhead! S-Stay focus!"
Emilia's face turned red by Subaru's comment, causing her to turn her back towards him to not show just how much she is blushing. Subaru smiled at this before he ended up having a small hunch on where Regulus' heart could be located. He turned towards Beatrice and quickly told her,
"Beatrice, can you check Emilia real quick?"
"Wait, why?"
"It's just a hunch."
"If you say so, I suppose."
Beatrice approached Emilia and used her yin magic to check if there was something off for Emilia only to detect an odd thing in Emilia's heart. Beatrice alerted Subaru of this, causing him to understand that Emilia is currently holding Regulus' heart.
'That damn bastard, how dare you set your heart in my girlfriend's heart.'
Subaru quickly told Emilia to stand still while he prepared to use Invisible Providence to remove Regulus from Emilia's heart. Emilia didn't know what was going on yet she trusted Subaru. She stood still has Subaru sent his unseen hand towards Emilia's heart, sensing a dark presence surrounding it. He knew that he had to be careful when removing Regulus' heart since he doesn't want to crush Emilia's heart in the process. He carefully crushed the surroundings of Emilia's heart until he finally sensed that what he did was a success. Once he realized this, he smiled before falling to the ground, coughing some blood in the process.
"Subaru!"
Both Beatrice and Emilia shouted his name has they went to check up on him. Subaru looked at the two and smiled before slowly getting up, knowing that he can't use the Invisible Providence for the rest of the day without risking the chance of dying.
"Sorry to worry you both, I guess I reached the limits of Invisible Providence."
"You are a stupid contractor, I suppose!"
Beatrice slapped Subaru in the face, angry that he would put his life at high risk again. Emilia slapped the back of the head of Subaru before telling him that he shouldn't put himself at risk like that too. Subaru looked at the two girls and started to apologize, remembering how angry they were back when he used himself has bait in the battle against the Great Rabbit.
"You better be sorry, I suppose!"
"Well...let's check up with the others. I assume that they will have an easier time in beating Regulus now."
Emilia and Beatrice nodded at Subaru before the three started to make their way out of the church.
During the time Subaru and Beatrice left off to head into the church, Sora turned towards the battle to see that Regulus is about to attack everything in sight. Both Sora and Xehanort together with Reinhard behind the two, created a strong Reflega that is combined with a dark and light barrier. As the barrier was created, both Sora and Xehanort were doing their best to keep the shield up has Regulus' attack was powerful enough to start creating cracks on the shield. As the two keyblade masters were pushing Regulus' attack back, Reinhard quickly grabbed both Xehanort's left arm and Sora's right arm to pass his energy to them. This allowed the two to hold the barrier long enough until Regulus' attack had passed. The three looked around and noticed how much damage the Sin Archbishop of Greed had done. Many of the buildings nearby except the church was destroyed with lots of craters having been created around them.
"Do you see? You three stand no chance against me, Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed!"
"You won't get away with this." Sora spoke with a serious tone of voice.
"Oh really? And what would a pathetic boy like you do to a perfect being such as myself? What can you possible do to me, the Sin Archbishop of Greed?"
"I don't have to do much. All I need is to keep you busy until Subaru pulls off his part of the plan."
As Sora finishes speaking, he smiles confidently has he charges at Regulus, knowing that he needs to keep the Sin Archbishop busy. Regulus looked at Sora annoyed and was about to attack yet he noticed Sora throwing his keyblade directly at him. Regulus smiled and took the hit, not feeling anything before getting ready to mock Sora for his efforts. He looks at the boy and can see that the keyblade returned to the boy's hand. This was surprised by this but before he could finish processing a thought, Sora got close enough to swing his keyblade directly towards Regulus. The Sin Archbishop of Greed took the hit and was quickly sent towards the sky, not looking phased at all. Sora looked up and quickly summed Thundaga to knock Regulus down, causing a powerful lighting to hit Regulus Corneas down. As the Sin Archbishop of Greed falls to the ground, he gets up from the crater and just brushes his sleeves before looking at the young Keyblade Master.
"I will say, should I been a regular, pathetic, imperfect excuse of a human, that would have killed me but for a perfect being such as myself, it doesn't do shit. But I will say, for a boy to violate my rights is not only disappointment but a real tragedy."
Sora and Regulus both looked at each other with Regulus having a sinister smile while Sora had a serious facial expression. The two looked at each other for a moment before all of a sudden Regulus started to cough for a moment. Sora, Xehanort and Reinhard all noticed this and were a bit unsure of what was going on. They watched Regulus fall to the ground for a moment while having one of his hands holding his chest, as if he was having a heart attack. Xehanort approached Regulus and had his No Name Keyblade near the Sin Archbishop of Greed's head while saying,
"This is just sad and pathetic."
Regulus looked at Xehanort for a moment and wanted to blame him of his heart hurting yet he started to think about something Sora told him. He recalls that Sora said that he is holding him off while the other keyblade wielder along with the little girl do something.
'What the hell did they do? Did they manage to find the weakness of my authority? No, I'm Regulus Corneas, I have no weaknesses...unless...'
Regulus started to recall that Subaru and the little girl he was with headed towards the church, causing him to see who he truly needs to blame for all of this. He manages to run towards a safe distance from Xehanort, looking at the old man with hate but before he could say anything, he notices Subaru with Emilia and Beatrice by his side. This greatly angers the Sin Archbishop, seeing the true cause of all the changes from what his gospel stated.
"Natsuki Subaru, you are going to die! You filthy, horrible, imperfect, pathetic excuse of a man! You are the cause of this mess and I will correct it. I, Regulus Corneas, will make sure you suffer before you met your end!"
Regulus used his authority of greed to the best of his ability in hopes of killing the man who ruined everything for him yet Subaru had a feeling that this would happen. He turned towards Beatrice and told her,
"Beako, E.M.M!"
Beatrice nodded and quickly created an invisible force field, allowing them to avoid Regulus' attack. As Regulus' attack didn't do anything to the three, Sora quickly charged at the Sin Archbishop of Greed before using Kingdom Key to hit him in the gut hard enough to send him high up on the sky. As Regulus was flying with fear in his eyes, afraid of dying since he attempts to use his Greed authority yet he can only do it for 5 seconds. As he was flying, Subaru pulled his keyblade has he noticed Xehanort, Reinhard, and Sora all three preparing their most powerful attack. Emilia and Beatrice encouraged Subaru to stay back yet the keyblade wielder just looked at the two and smiled confidently before joining in on the attack. He followed his master's footsteps in creating a powerful beam of light with his keyblade. Just as all four of them were going to take down the Sin Archbishop of Greed in one shot, Xehanort was the one to speak to Regulus.
"This is the end of you. No amount of power will save you from us!"
Regulus looked down to see Sora, Reinhard, Subaru, and Xehanort all charging their most powerful attacks. The Sin Archbishop of Greed for once in such a long time has never felt the amount of fear he is fearing now. He was realizing that this was the moment where he will die, with a Sword Saint and three Keyblade Wielders all working together to take him out. He looks at everyone of them and can only feel his fear changing to pure rage once his eyes gazed on Natsuki Subaru. This person had caused him all the trouble he was in by having interfered in his wedding, having been the one to take the woman's heart, and being the reason his authority isn't working like it usually does.
'I...I hate you, Natsuki Subaru!'
Regulus tried to do something yet he saw that all four warriors fired their most massive attacks with Sora and Xehanort's attack being relatively close in power and being stronger than both Subaru and Reinhard's attack combined. As the large beam went straight for the Sin Archbishop of Greed, all he could do is wait for the right moment to use his authority to avoid taking damage yet he subconsciously knew that this was going to fail and he was going to die right there. There was a moment before the beam hit him with Regulus trying has best as he can to survive the attack yet he couldn't hold his authority for long, eventually feeling the immense heat and hell of a combined attack of two Keyblade Masters, a Keyblade apprentice, and the Sword Saint. Emilia and Beatrice both watched has Regulus was being killed in what the two can say it being overkill. Regulus felt his entire body burning up, completely being in pain while trying to use his authority but his mind couldn't focus due to the pain being immense. Just as he was going to fully be disintegrated into oblivion, he shouted in both pain and full of hatred,
"NATSUKI SUBARU!"
As Regulus shouted his last words, he died in pain with all of his cells being destroyed. Subaru looked up after having heard his own name screamed, knowing that the Sin Archbishop of Greed hating him the most. As the attack continued with Subaru and Reinhard adding more force, Regulus' body disintegrated to oblivion, not standing a chance against the four. The four warriors all looked up at the sky to see that the Sin Archbishop of Greed is no longer alive. Xehanort smiled with satisfaction since he completed the promise his original self-made regarding Regulus. Emilia had recalled the damage Regulus did to her, Guese, and Mother Fortuna yet she did not felt joy or happiness by this. All she could feel is emptiness yet seeing Subaru reminded her something she told Regulus regarding her boyfriend and knight.
'I'm sure someday I will tell him. One day I will tell my b-boyfriend, Natsuki Subaru, my dunderhead knight, that I love him.'
Emilia's face turned red has she felt her heart race by the thought of telling Subaru her feelings towards her boyfriend. Subaru just look up at the sky and decided to comment on their success in killing Greed.
"I'm glad he is gone but Master Sora, Rein, don't you think it might have been a bit overkill to have all four of us attack the way we did?"
"I must agree Subaru, that may have been a bit much with all four of us but rest assure that the Sin Archbishop of Greed won't harm anyone else."
Reinhard spoke with confidence since now there is three sin archbishops dead. The only remaining ones is Gluttony and Lust to deal with, making him see that the peaceful future he wants is getting closer to becoming reality. He turns to Xehanort to see what the old Keyblade Master thinks of the situation to see a genuine smile from the old Keyblade Master.
"Seems like you were able to get your vengeance."
"Yes. Now that is accomplished, I shall resume with my original goal."
Sora noticed this and quickly prepared himself to face off Xehanort, not liking how easily the old Keyblade Master quickly turned from ally to enemy. Xehanort noticed this and quickly put away his keyblade to create a corridor of darkness, knowing that his business in Priestella is almost concluded. Before he left the area, he threw a card to Sora, one that is similar looking to Luxord's yet different.
"What is this?" Sora asked curiously.
"You helped me clear an old promise to my original self, so it is fair for me to help you with something. Once you are done here, use the card to reach the Pleiades tower. There you will find the missing memories of the girl with blue hair."
"Wait? Are you saying we can get Rem's memories back?!" Subaru said has he was listening in on the conversation. This also got Beatrice and Emilia's attention, knowing how important it is to help get Rem back her memories. Xehanort looked at Subaru with a blank expression before nodding, confirming Subaru's question. This caused both Sora and Subaru to both be happy by this, seeing that they can save Rem's memories and get back the Rem they lost. As they nod at each other, Sora proceeds to say before Xehanort left the scene.
"I know we will be enemies in the end but thank you, for helping us with this. Thank you, Master Xehanort."
Xehanort stopped at his tracks for a moment, noticing the respect Sora is giving to him. All he did was look at the boy and give a calm nod before returning his attention on leaving the area. As Xehanort left, Sora took a look at the card he was given and could see that it is similar in shape of Luxord's card yet that was all the similarities. He saw a picture of a tower, making believe that it is the Pleiades tower. He looked at the design and felt like it was familiar but he wasn't sure. As he inspected the card, Emilia and Beatrice both charged at Subaru, giving him a hug but also causing him to fall to the ground due to him not expecting this. As both Emilia and Beatrice were hugging the boy tightly, Beatrice slapped Subaru in the back of the head before saying,
"Don't be so reckless, stupid contractor of mine, I suppose!"
"Subaru, you dunderhead! Why do you put yourself in harm's way?"
Emilia also slapped the back of Subaru's head for not prioritizing his own health, causing the boy to think back on his choice, seeing how poorly that was yet he didn't regret it. Before anything can be said, he felt a darkness enter his heart similarly when both Petelguese and Sirius were defeated.
'What is this...feeling? Is it the witch factor?'
Subaru was unsure but he brushes this off has he ends up smiles at the two girls and quickly says to them in his calm voice,
"I had to help, though it was still overkill to have used that amount of power on him."
Sora and Reinhard both nodded at Subaru's statement, agreeing that the amount of power was a bit much in killing Regulus. As they watch Subaru getting hugged by his girlfriend and his spirit, both Sora and Reinhard can sense that there is a battle going on somewhere between two forces of darkness. As they sense this, Subaru got up and quickly spoke to the two,
"What is the plan now?"
"Hmm. I would need to check with Felt-sama...which reminds me. Sora, I want to know why you trust the Bowel hunter?"
Sora and the others noticed this question with Subaru worried that Reinhard will be mad at them for having had Elsa align with them. Sora was aware that at some point this would happen, causing him to look at his friend with a serious facial expression.
"There is a light within her, I just know I can reach it."
"That is very risky Sora. She is a danger to us all...but when she talks about you, it's as if she wants to impress you. I'm unsure on how frequent you both communicate but you do realize how bad it may look for Emilia-sama if people knew about you and the bowel hunter being in speaking terms."
"I am aware of this but it's not too late to save her from the dark path she could still end up."
Reinhard paused himself for a moment, knowing that Sora is doing his best to redeem someone evil like Elsa. Had the two not interacted, he would've tried to talk Sora out of this yet he saw a hint of light in her heart compared to the last time they interacted. Reinhard closed his eyes and took a deep breath before saying,
"I will stay silent about this but just be careful Sora, I do not trust her."
"I know but someday she will be a better person, I can promise you that."
"I believe that can happen; you are a pure hearted boy after all. You are capable of pulling this result."
Reinhard smiled and patted Sora in the shoulder has he was saying this, confident that such an impossible task can be accomplished by the Keyblade Master himself. Sora looked at the Sword Saint and nodded with a smile on his face. As the conversation finishes, they turn towards the others to check up on them. With all five alright, Subaru quickly says,
"We should probably regroup with the others. We need to inform everyone of what happened here and what is our next plan to take back the city."
"That is a good plan, Subaru." Reinhard says in a respectful manner.
The others agree to this and quickly start making their way towards the city in hopes of finding the others. As they all leave the area, someone watches from a distance. A certain petite girl with a cloth has clothing and having long and transparent platinum hair. She had tears in her eyes with a smile, indicating how her tears were once of joy.
"Magnificent...Keyblade Wielder Sora, you defeated Cardinal Regulus. You truly are a virtue one."
The petite girl looked at Sora specifically with joy in her eyes, finding someone she is interested in but before she left, she looked at Subaru. Somehow, she felt the same joy for the boy, noticing that he contains a few witch factors at this point.
"What an interesting boy."
She looked at the boy for a moment before noticing Emilia, starting to recall the events in Elior forest one hundred years ago.
"It has been a long time since we have interacted. I hope you don't hate me when we meet again soon."
The petite girl finishes speaking this thought before she finally decided to leave the area without a trace that she was around, curious to see what will happen next. As she disappeared, the mysterious figure looked from a distance. Although unable to see his face, he had one of disgust when seeing the petite girl.
"Disgusting."