Hey, it's Rush. So just a heads up, this is like a non-canon spin-off to Reactionist's story. If you never read his story and want to fully understand what's going I'd suggest you give it a read. I know he's doing a rewrite and hasn't finished the first season so take this as a non-canon au of that story. I'm mostly doing this for fun and because I sort of got impatient and wanted the cast to meet Witches as soon as possible. That being said this isn't so much a reaction fic, more like them meeting the witches so consider like a series of interludes between arc 3 and 4. Without further ado enjoy.
Emilia let out a breath she hadn't been holding. She and all the other viewers had finally finished viewing Arc 3 of Subaru's journey. It had been a rough sitting, the fight had been as painful as she remembered, and even more so now that she knew what was going on for Subaru. Worst of all was watching as Subaru had been broken apart by the recent Arc only barely holding himself together thanks to Rem. He had been broken beyond recognition but he still pulled himself together to save everyone in the end. He truly was the best and she was forever grateful to have him. Still, she knew she had more to do if she ever hoped to be as deserving of him.
"So the next arc will show what happened to Lady Crusch and Rem," Wilhelm voiced. They had left it at the ambiguous 'who is Rem' comment and while it ended there, they were all aware of what was next. The Sanctuary was next and if Emilia recalled correctly they had several different challenges happening all at once. The Great Hare, the attack on the mansion, and the trials of the sanctuary itself were all contenders and all happened simultaneously. She would have liked to believe that Subaru hadn't died in there but it was obvious he did. There was just too much for him to face and figure out right away. She could only he died less painful deaths there.
"Yes, it will," The screen answered Wilhelm. "However before you progress I have decided to allow you all to rest for a while before we begin," The screen told them. "But I have something that I want you all to do first,"
"What exactly do desire of us?" Frederica asked the screen.
"You see here is the thing about Arc 4…it's…um…how do I put it?" The screen thought out loud.
"Is there something significant with Arc 4, I suppose," Betty wondered? She had made her contractor with Subaru during Sanctuary and they had recruited a few people into Emilia camp. Subaru had also damaged his gate and unlocked the Sloth Factor ability Invisible Providence.
"Well, you see Arc 4 can best be described as the Witches' Arc as much as it can be described as the Sanctuary," The screen explained.
"You mean the Witch of Envy will be the focus of the next Arc?" Crusch asked.
"Yes and no," The screen responded.
"What does that mean?" Anastasia asked aloud.
"When I said Witches' Arc I did not mean Witch's singular, I meant Witches' plural. There will be Witches besides Satella present." The screen explained.
"Wait…wait…other Witches were at Sanctuary?" Emilia asked worriedly. If she recalled, she met Echidna in the trial, she had also seen Pandora there…and she announced herself as the Witch of Frost. That last one may have been a really bad idea now that she thought about it.
"Yes…there are ten witches present in the Sanctuary arc…well nine witches and one warlock but you get the idea," The screen explained.
"TEN!" Everyone exclaimed in shock. One had been bad enough but ten. Many individuals all paled at the idea of witnessing the Witches in the Sanctuary. Now they wondered just what exactly did transpire with Subaru when he was there. Ten witches including the Witch of Envy was a nightmare most of them couldn't even begin to imagine.
"So what exactly do you want from us?" Priscilla asked. The screen had brought up the multiple Witches when it wanted a favor so she could only assume it had something to do with them. Regardless of whatever challenged the screen had, she was sure it would be nothing for someone like herself.
"Well simply put…I want you all to meet the Witches of the Deadly sins before we start. In other words, you will all meet and speak with The Witches of Envy, Pride, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, and Wrath, before we begin." The screen explained.
"My, my, this is a rather interesting request you have made," Roswaal said to himself. He may meet his master here of all places. He truly was fortunate now for Subaru. Unfortunately, the other audience members weren't as excited about the news as he was. It was quite obvious to the clown that several of the audience had been terrified about the idea from the nervous looks on their faces. How foolish they were, to believe the Witches as monsters. He supposed it was to be expected. Looking at Beatrice he could see her look conflicted at the idea. She could meet her mother finally after all these years but at what cost. As for his maids, Ram seemed indifferent but he could tell she might be worried on the inside however her sister was much more expressive in her view. She along with a few others were against the idea.
"Are we sure there isn't any other thing we can do?" Otto asked nervously. They had seen first-hand the power of the Archbishops who served the Witch could be. Now they would be tasked with meeting the Witches themselves. They had all talked big about wanting to help Subaru but they never imagined this would be where it led them. Still, the merchant looked at his bro, if this was what it took to help his brother then he would do it. Subaru had done so much for them and if they just coward now then how could they call themselves his friends.
"If talking with the Witches is what it takes to help Subaru, then I'll gladly take on the challenge," Emilia said. Subaru had died so many times for her. He had gone to hell and back for her. She wasn't going to let him suffer anymore. She had already faced Echidna before, the Witch of Greed while rude didn't seem all that evil, so perhaps the others weren't as well. She looked to her side to see Crusch and Rem were also sporting determined looks on their faces as were the other candidates and knights. They would face the Witches for Subaru.
"Well…it seems you all have made up your mind," The screen told them. "I guess all I can do now is to give you the select screen," The screen told them.
"The select screen?" Reinhard asked.
"Unlike you, all the Witches powers are too much for me to restrain, they are in a different league of their own," The screen explained. "As such, I was only able to reduce the effect were witnessing them will outright kill you, leaving them with all their other powers intact,"
"Um…did he say witnessing them can kill us?" Ricardo asked.
"Yes I did, the Witch of Greed alone was able to kill 30 men by just showing them her face for less than 30 seconds," The screen explained. "While some of you may be able to survive there is a high chance several of you would die under normal circumstance or just go insane,"
"If Cap'n can do it then so can my amazing self," Garfield declared. He will fight for his cool captain just like his cap'n did for them.
"Very well," The screen said. The screen went blank before it was divided into seven sections. The center was marked specifically for the Witch of Envy with the various other sections being for the other Witches. "To avoid you all being overwhelmed I have decided to limit your interactions, meeting all seven at once might be disastrous so instead I'll give you the choice on who to meet," The screen explained. The different sections merely had silhouettes of smoke figures similar to the story depiction of the Witch of Envy but each Witch had a different color highlighting their smoke. "If you desire I can give you a vague description of each Witch to help your choice,"
"That will be greatly appreciated," Emilia thanked the screen before turning to her fellow viewers. "So which one do we select first?" Emilia asked. Echidna might have been the best one to start but Emilia doubted she would be friendly with them. She might be angered on sight for Emilia choosing her and make things extra difficult for them.
"If we are going to meet the Witches then perhaps the Archbishops can be guided," Crusch said. The Archbishops represented the respective sins, so it was only fair to assume they might also represent the Witches. So far they had seen Sloth and Crusch herself had encountered Greed and Gluttony. "I don't think we'll get anywhere with Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony," Crusch informed. They had no desire to meet another Sloth user after Petelguese and if the Witch's still kept their power then they also did not desire to meet Greed and Gluttony, it was also obvious that they would leave Envy for last. It might be possible to convince the other witches to help them with Envy if need be. It was a slim chance but it was still a chance.
"I also don't feel like the Witch of Wrath would be someone should deal with just yet," Julius said. Wrath was a very violent sin and the Witch who represented it could very well be similar.
"So that leaves us with Pride and Lust," Wilhelm noted.
"If Pride is like Priscilla then I think we should pass," Felt retorted.
"As if a Witch could compare to me," Priscilla snorted. Al meanwhile was thankful his helmet his expression. He wondered how the originator of Pride would react to him.
"So that leaves Lust," Otto admitted. "What is the description for the Witch of Lust?" The merchant asked the screen.
"The Witch of Lust, Carmilla: the witch that granted emotions to non-human beings in an attempt to fill the world with love," the screen explained as the smoke image with pink highlights started moving. "Do you desire to meet the Witch of Lust?" The screen asked.
"Um, did we hear that right?" Several individuals thought as they stared at the image. Emilia was feeling a little uncomfortable at the mention of love, recalling quite vividly how Pandora had preached about it. The others more specifically the demi-humans were wondering just what exactly was meant by granting non-humans emotions. It took them a while to deliberate but eventually, they all decided that it would be best. They didn't have many other choices after all.
"Yes, we chose the Witch of Lust," Crusch told the screen.
"Very well," The screen said before light flashed in the theatre. When the light finally died down, the audience was finally allowed to see the Witch of Lust. To many, they all had one thought in their mind.
"Is that seriously the Witch?" Felt voiced as they stared at a very shy-looking young girl who looked to be around twenty if barely. Apart from the age, she didn't even look like a Witch, let alone the Witch of Lust. However even more surprising was the Witch's first reaction to them.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
So I know it's not lengthy or written as well as Reactionist but I do hope you all liked it. Please if you have any comments, leave me a review, follow and fav and I'll see about getting back to you in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and stay safe.