Mingling with Freaks
Half a Day since the Last Death (Fifty Deaths)
No matter where he placed his eyes, all he could see were shadows. This was by no means the first time Subaru had been in such a somber landscape. Yet, the truth was that every time he returned to his "reality", the memories of having been there would always fade away; just as the deepest dreams were forgotten. Subaru grunted, annoyed, and scanned the surroundings with his eyes; he quickly gave up, considering his efforts futile. In that world of darkness there was no such thing as a landmark to be found.
Determined not to waste energy unnecessarily, Subaru sat down on the jet black surface. Thereafter, he closed his eyes and silently began to ponder on how he had ended up in that place. He had no recollection of dying or teetering on the brink, between life and death, recently; from what he remembered of the previous occasions he had ended up in that place, that was the ticket in.
The limbo, that was the best way Subaru could define that place. The limbo of the witch, the limbo of jealousy, the limbo of envy, a shadowy world, ruled by toxic corrosive emotions... What was the last thing he remembered? The beating of his heart... His heart was beating particularly fast. Had he died of a heart attack? No, that seemed not to be the case. Subaru squeezed his eyelids tightly shut, thus attempting to dive deeper into the sea of his memories.
All of a sudden, Anastasia's face popped up in the darkness of his mind. True, the last thing he remembered was Anastasia and him sharing a room, but not only that, they were sharing a bed. The girl seemed to be perfectly calm despite having a man beside her in bed, but the same could not be said for Subaru, who had been overwhelmed from nervousness. He had struggled to fall asleep at first, but eventually fatigue caught up with him and he fell into dreamland.
Sleep; the very last thing he remembered was how his consciousness faded and he finally fell asleep. Had he been murdered while he was dreaming? Did that mean that Anastasia had been murdered. No, Subaru did not believe that to be true. In his body, in his mind, the unpleasant, yet familiar, feeling of death's embrace did not prevail. What had occurred?
Subaru was still deep in his thoughts, when he perceived how a malicious amalgam of negative emotions swirled around him. The black, misshapen mass was crawling to his right and left, it was approaching him, it was creeping up to him, it was stalking him. The pulsating envy sought to devour him, so that he could never leave that world again. It had become habitual for Subaru that his body reacted instinctively to the presence of such a creature of envy.
Wrath usually welled up inside him, hatred and rejection of the pleading shadow filled his spirit. And this time was no different; there was indeed something different, nonetheless. Subaru in that world was nothing but prey, helpless prey that could do nothing but flail and scream, waiting for "reality" to call him back. But Subaru was no longer a powerless being.
It happened abruptly, like the eruption of a sleeping volcano. Subaru, who had stayed seated, failed while trying to stand up and toppled over onto his knees. Raucous ghoulish retching made him bend his body and writhe. Resting his hands on the black surface, Subaru opened his mouth waiting for the contents of his stomach to be expelled. To his surprise, the world of darkness then began to glow crimson red.
That was not the first time he had witnessed bioluminescent blood staining the surfaces of that shadowy world, but the brightness of the reddish glow was like nothing he had ever seen before. The blood, however, did not come from his "sins," but from himself. Blood kept flowing from his mouth, as if it were a river of death... And yet, he felt not the least bit of pain.
The shadows encircling him began to writhe in agony, at the same time the anger in his heart swelled higher and higher as the blood oozed out of his mouth. The jealous shadows that had begun to surround him recoiled, shrieking in pain. And the bloody vomit ceased just as abruptly as it began. Subaru, feeling as if the spilled blood was never really his, was finally able to get to his feet, only to witness the dramatic change in the landscape.
Red and black now clashed and intermingled, in a never-ending battle in a quest to overtake the opposing hue. The shadowy creatures that had prowled him watched him from a distance, their jealousy rising. And Subaru, who could feel his rage threatening to spill out of his body once again, chose to direct it at these.
Clouds of fire erupted in the skies and fields of ice sprung up on the surface. The dark landscape began to tear apart, and from the rips in the shadows, blood began to pour forth. As never before, his presence was fragmenting the fabric of the space of that world. The hatred that he had previously only been able to put into empty words was now spreading to the entirety of that black world, as if it were a disease. From the clouds of fire, solid drops of sharp steel began to rain down, causing the shrieks of the shadows to increase in loudness.
Astonished, Subaru gawked at the chaos born from his unintentional display of power. Was he capable of doing something similar in "reality"? If such was the case, then he had no doubt that defeating Gluttony and Lust would prove to be a walk in the park. Or so his renewed self-confidence was leading Subaru to believe, until the rain of steel began to descend upon him, cutting into his flesh, the fire from the sky began to scorch his skin and the icy layer of ice began to freeze his blood.
Subaru fell to the ground, a victim of his own power. And while his consciousness once again began to fade into nothingness, he finally understood the disadvantage attached to his new Authority. If he got carried away, he and his allies could well become victims of it. Or perhaps the message being conveyed to him was not so literal; yet it was true that it would be a mistake to forget that nothing in life was so convenient as to be without flaw...
"Hnk!" Subaru jolted awake, his breathing labored, and his face drenched in cold sweat.
Having realized that he had "returned", Subaru did not take long to start inspecting his body in search of any injury. His body was the same as it had been before he had gone to bed; he could not claim to be without any scratches, but he certainly did not have any wounds that he had not had before returning to the mansion. Had it all been a simple dream?
Even so, he could not dismiss the fact that the burning in his wounds had returned. Was it because whatever Pandora had done to him had lost its effect? Or was it related to what he had dreamed...? Dreamed? Subaru mused to himself. His dream was the reason he had woken up so alarmed, yet he was unable to remember anything about it. Annoyed by his poor memory, Subaru dropped his head on his pillow.
The room was still shrouded in darkness, so he could still sleep for a while longer... It was then that Subaru suddenly remembered, and therefore sprang upright, his eyes wide open. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to meet one of the Sin Archbishops on the outskirts of the city at dawn. What time was it? He really prayed it was not too late.
Wasting no more time, Subaru threw off the sheets that covered him, got out of bed and put on a black hooded jacket over the white shirt he had slept in. He took his Gospel, which was lying on his work desk, and was about to take his weapon, which was resting on the wooden chair in front of the desk, but ultimately decided against it; his intention was not to fight if it was not necessary, and if he did, then he would use Kuro and his authority.
Once he deemed he had everything he would need, Subaru turned to head for the door, but stopped in his tracks as he caught a glimpse of a girl's pale face lying on his bed. He had forgotten... Why was this making him feel déjà vu? Thanks to the little light filtering through his bedroom window, Subaru could see the girl squirm slightly and bring one of her hands to her face.
"N-Natsuki-kun?" She asked sleepily.
"Sorry if I woke ya up." Subaru apologized, taking a step towards the bed. "I'm on my way out to the meeting with the Sin Archbishop, wish me luck."
"Um..." The girl seemed at a loss; something that made perfect sense, given that she remained half asleep. "Ah!" She exclaimed after a couple of seconds. "Right! The best of luck, Natsuki-kun. Avoid getting into trouble, especially if you meet with one of the archbishops you don't plan on confronting."
"Yeah, I'm gonna be careful, promise." Subaru replied, as he made his way to the door. He carefully took hold of the knob and turned it gently. But before Subaru could leave the room, Anastasia added.
"Natsuki-kun, you must return to my side alive, that's an order. Without ya, I won't be able to regain any of what has been so unjustly taken from me." Anastasia's request might have sounded selfish, but Subaru sensed true emotion in her words; the girl genuinely cared about him, and that made him feel warm inside.
"I will. I don't plan to die before seeing you sitting on the throne of this kingdom." Subaru had opted to give her a chivalrous reply, however, it had caused a pained expression to surface on Anastasia's face. But before Subaru had a chance to apologize for saying whatever it was that might have hurt her, Anastasia's composed expression returned.
"Thanks, Natsuki-kun. Take care." And with such words as farewell, Subaru closed the door behind him and headed off towards the living room of the mansion...
"Ya got up in the nick o' time, Su-san! For a moment I contemplated goin' ta wake ya up myself, I'm glad it wasn't necessary." As Subaru had expected, Halibel was already waiting for him in the hall, ready to leave.
"I almost didn't make it… I'm glad you didn't though, you could've found me in a compromising scene." Subaru commented, trying to lighten the tension brought on by the impending danger. However, the words came out of his mouth lacking energy, and this only contributed to an awkward silence taking place. Realizing that perhaps he had said too much, Subaru cleared his throat and added. "How long until sunrise?"
"An hour, maybe." Halibel replied, ignoring the implications of what Subaru had said; not like he and Anastasia really did anything else in bed other than sleep, anyhow. "I'd one of the guards go get yer new earth dragon from the stables like ya asked me to last night, so we can leave right away."
"Well done." Without so much as pausing and having congratulated his most faithful subordinate, Subaru immediately strode towards the exit of the mansion. The beast-man understood Subaru's desire to leave as soon as possible and began to follow him without comment regarding his, perhaps needless, haste.
The pair left the mansion, to emerge into the darkened garden. Subaru looked up, seeking to confirm that dawn was not yet approaching; in fact, there was still no sign of the first rays of dawn light. The sky was as black as the last time he saw it. Since the moon had been swallowed up by a gargantuan cumulus of clouds, only a little filtered light illuminated the area. Perhaps this would have been insufficient by itself to allow navigating the mansion garden without stumbling around, however, a large magic stone, which had been placed at the top of the fountain in the middle of the garden, served as a beacon of light.
Subaru and Halibel carefully walked down the steps that led to the path that ran through the garden. There, in front of the white fountain, a guard was waiting for them. The demi-human, noting Subaru's arrival, beckoned to him with the lamp he carried in one of his hands; the lamp was not much unlike the old gas lamps of his world, but unlike these, the source of light was not the product of the combustion of a gas, but, once again, a small Lagmite.
An ordinary person in that world could never afford such a luxury, the norm would be the use of oil lamps. However, Anastasia was not an ordinary person; therefore, exceedingly valuable fixtures and tools such as metias of different styles were in regular use in her manor. Subaru thanked the guard, took the reins of his earth dragon, who greeted him by rubbing its scaly muzzle against his face, and then proceeded to hop on its back.
"Halibel," Subaru said, once he settled in the saddle, which had provided by the mansion's stable attendant. "Do you think this boy can carry both of us? You're pretty big, so I don't know if he can." Subaru's question was answered by the dragon, rather than Halibel. Patrasche jerked its head and looked intently at Subaru, as if to indicate to him that he ought not to underestimate it.
"Keh, heh, heh. It won't be necessary to put 'im to a test, I can move on my own. 'Sides, we agreed that it'd be better if I keep an eye on ya from the shadows, didn't we? That way, they won't see me comin' with ya."
"Hmm... Yes, I guess you're right..." Subaru conceded, as he stroked Patrasche's head to calm it down. "Well then, let's get going." He then instructed, tightly gripping the reins that encased the earth dragon's face.
"Subaru-sama, I've already informed the guards at the gate of your departure." The guard reported. Subaru acknowledged him by nodding and then pulled Patrasche's reins. Just before Subaru could get too far away, the guard added. "One last thing, Subaru-sama. It seems to me that you think your dragon's male, if so, you're confused. That earth dragon is a girl."
"Oh..." Subaru exclaimed, his gaze and Patrasche's meeting; Subaru swore he could glean a burning resentment in his dragon... dragoness' eyes.
With the gender of his earth dragon now clarified, there was nothing else that could stop Subaru on his way. With Halibel following him from the rooftops of the city, the black-haired began to navigate what only a day ago had been a city teeming with life. As expected, the streets and avenues were desolate, there was nary a single person around.
The bustling markets now lay in ruins, reduced to a pile of bloody rubble. The air in the city reeked of death. And it was evident that as the hours passed, the smell wafting on the wind would become more and more intense; the bodies of the victims of the Witch Cult would begin to rot, making it unbearable just to breathe in the city streets.
On rare occasions, Subaru caught a glimpse of the fearful face of a massacre survivor peeking out of the window of one of the houses that had not been touched by the cult. With horror in their eyes, they watched Subaru, hoping he was not one of the cultists. The dread and trepidation about a possible return of the Witch Cult had not vanished, most likely quite the contrary.
From that day on, that fear, that feeling of apprehension would remain ingrained in the hearts of the people of Lugnica, Subaru was convinced of it. And he, he had been the root cause of it all. Had he not arrived in that world, it was likely that the cultists' siege would never have taken place… Suppressing those thoughts, Subaru focused on reaching the crop fields outside the city before dawn.
Thirteen Hours since the Last Death (Fifty Deaths)
"I made it..." Subaru muttered, heaving a heavy sigh. When he was finally able to see the wide fields of crops stretching out past his field of vision, Subaru felt the tension in his body melt away. He had done it, he had made it to the rural area outside the city on time.
As he had done when leaving the mansion, Subaru raised his gaze to the skies above his head. The black blanket that had covered the world a little over an hour ago was no longer black at all, however, it was still far from being the sky blue blanket that could be seen on beautiful summer days. The first rays of sunrise had already begun to peek over the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful navy blue.
Some stars were still visible among the cumulus clouds, but the moon had already disappeared. After having hidden under the mantle that was its starry sky the crimes committed by the wicked Witch Cult, the moon had once again handed its place back to the sun, making it the only witness to the cruel deeds of those madmen who were not afraid to spread terror and havoc even in the light of day.
Within minutes, the first dawn would break after the Lugnica massacre, and the truth is, that promised to be an agonizing morning for everyone who lived in its capital. The world would not stop to mourn the dead, and therefore Subaru could not stop to contemplate the beauty of the sunrise. Frantically, he began to search with his eyes for someone who might appear to be a member of the cult.
Gone was the calm that only a moment ago had begun to wash over him, replaced once again by tension and uncertainty. Now that he was in the right place, what was he supposed to do? Pondering about this, Subaru took his Gospel out of one of the pockets of his jacket. After a quick inspection, however, he ascertained that its contents had not changed in the slightest since the night before.
Subaru cursed under his breath and put away the Gospel. What was he supposed to do? The Gospel was not precisely forthcoming about the specifics of where he would meet with one of his "comrades". Would it be a good idea to call Halibel and hold an emergency meeting. Subaru was in the middle of mulling over this idea, when he perceived how he was abruptly surrounded.
Had this exact same thing happened just the day before, no doubt Subaru's reaction would have been one of panic or resignation to death; nonetheless, this time that was not the case. Not that Subaru was overjoyed to see that group of silent hooded people again, but he did feel marginally relieved about it.
Gently patting Patrasche's neck, who had grown unnerved by the violent appearance of the cultists, Subaru eyed the hooded man directly in front of him. "Take me to your leader." Subaru could not help but entertain the thought that that phrase sounded like a cliché from a science fiction movie, however, at that moment he was unable to come up with any other way to ask for what he needed.
The cultists responded to his words by bowing deeply to Subaru, and then began to nimbly walk away from him. Understanding this as a signal to follow them, Subaru reached out his hand to take the reins of his mount again, but as he did so, he noticed that his hand was trembling. If he followed those hooded lunatics, he would be willingly stepping into the lion's den.
After a couple of seconds of staring blankly down at his hand, Subaru slowly began to shift his gaze up to his arms. They were not visible, but the searing pain from the burns was still present. That burning, that pain, symbolized his mortal sins. He had already gone too far, he had no choice but to move forward. Dismissing those misplaced doubts, Subaru ordered Patrasche to follow the shadowy cultists.
With his eyes always fixed on the group of hooded men moving several meters ahead of him, and his hands clutching Patrasche's reins, Subaru rode down the lonely dirt road along which he was being led. The further they went, the farther they rode away from the wide crop fields. Subaru felt unsure whether to be relieved by this or not.
According to what he had heard from Halibel and Ricardo, the nobles of the capital had chosen to flee the city. The fact was that more than half a day had passed since Subaru had seen that convoy of nobles and politicians leave, nevertheless, he could not completely rule out that with the beginning of a new day, the evacuation work might be resumed well into the morning.
As for the reason he was unsure how to feel about it, it was because he feared both being spotted by some early morning citizen who might have decided to leave the city at the first rays of the sun, and being led into an ambush. He had good reason to dread the latter. Subaru might now be one of them, but it had not been more than a day since he had killed one of the Sin Archbishops and attacked another of them.
The Sin Archbishops had plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with his integration into the Witch Cult, the best he could do was to prepare for conflict. If, upon reaching the rendezvous point, he was attacked or encountered any of his targets, he would have no choice but to fight. He had not yet made enough use of his Authority, and he hardly felt prepared to perform well in combat...
However, I can always use Return by Death to learn how to use my Authority of Wrath on the fly, should it become necessary; Subaru reckoned, as he partially closed his eyes. He could feel it there, dwelling in a hidden corner of his chest, pulsing and threatening, like a dormant volcano, ready to explode at any moment. If he was not careful, it could very well turn against him. He had no idea how he knew it, he just... knew it.
Subaru was not yet done with his inner monologue, when he finally noticed that the cultists advancing in front of him had stopped. Subaru put an end to his ruminations and paid close attention to his surroundings. The scenery had changed. Now he found himself surrounded by forest, trees with foliage of a vivid green flanked him in all directions. He was in the middle of a narrow path that cut through a dense forest, and at the end of that path, there was a wooden house in very bad condition; just by looking at it, it was evident that it had been deserted for years.
He might not be Halibel, but Subaru was confident in his ability to sense death. He had died about fifty times, maybe more, maybe less, he had lost count, and because of this his ability to distinguish when a situation would devolve into a death event had been vastly enhanced; his sense of danger had been honed to perfection.
Subaru stood motionless, looking nowhere in particular; they could attack him from any side, and he had to be ready to react in time. Subaru waited, paying zero attention to the cultists watching him from a distance. Then, Subaru heard a branch snapping to the side of him and sharply spun around on top of Patrasche to look in that direction.
Wrath welled up in his body and his eyes took on a faint reddish hue, however, Subaru was forced to stop the flow of the Authority out of his body as abruptly as it was triggered. In front of him he now had three cultists who, like their companions, it was impossible to discern their identity.
These cultists, just as the first group that had led him there had done, gave him a deep bow. Had they been following him without him noticing? Had Halibel been exposed? Subaru's mind was awash with doubt. The newly arrived group of cultists did not appear to be hostile, but that could change at any moment, he had to stay alert.
"My Gospel has guided me here, so that I may welcome you into the Witch Cult. But... Well, well, well… well, well, well, well. So then you are the new representative of the sin of Wrath? It seems you finally come to understand the greatness of the witch."
An intense shiver ran down Subaru's spine, freezing him to the spot. He did not recall that voice, it did not seem in the least familiar to him. He was sure that even if he spent hours, even days, sifting through his memories, he would never find any trace of that voice. And yet, even without having turned to face the owner of that voice, Subaru could perceive so much familiarity in that presence.
"Who...?" Breaking out of the momentary paralysis, Subaru mumbled, unable to finish his question; his throat felt tight, as if it had a lump lodged in it.
Slowly, Subaru spun back on top of his earth dragon, which like him had been completely frozen due to the terror implanted in her heart by the presence of such a person. An animal with a strong instinct would definitely be capable of perceiving that it was before a being it could never overcome; an emissary of death. A monster had emerged from the abandoned house.
"Even so, it is a pity that the sin you have been so kindly granted is not that of Pride, it definitely fit perfectly with your rotten, conceited personality. I've been commanded to receive you after your baptism into the cult, and although I must admit that I'm not comfortable with it, I will never go against what is written in the gospel. I do not, however, intend to tolerate, accept, condone, pardon, forgive another offense towards the witch, her infinite love or the sacred Gospel."
"Hnk!" There was no doubt about it, before him stood that same Sin Archbishop whom he had insulted, attacked and stripped of his main finger. Once again, Pandora had not lied to him, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti was alive.
However, he had only been able to recognize him by the way he spoke, since his appearance was completely different. Effectively, Petelgeuse had changed his vessel; a young man, about twenty-five years old, with blue hair, green eyes and a slim build, had been the unfortunate victim of the monster that now dwelt within him.
"Don't just stand there, staring at me; come closer. Don't you agree that this is the least cordiality you can show me? If you remain there, static, you would be indulging in sloth, wouldn't you concur? You would be practicing sloth, and such a thing is unacceptable. Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable!" Petelgeuse exclaimed crazily, having beckoned him closer.
Subaru gulped loudly. One of the two possible scenarios of death had been ruled out, before him stood none of the Sin Archbishops he would hunt down. Certainly, to believe that such an outcome of events would take place had been naive on his part; when had things ever worked out so conveniently for him?
"Am I an idiot? No, I am an idiot." Subaru muttered in self-reproach.
Pandora undoubtedly influenced the writings of the Gospels, she was the one who issued the orders to the Sin Archbishops from within the shadows. Pandora, who controlled those monsters as if they were puppets, would never have made things so easy for Subaru. The Witch of Vanity knew what his goal was, his main reason for joining the Witch Cult; it was obvious that she would not hand him what he wanted on a silver platter.
Subaru lowered his head ever so slightly and looked down at the pocket in his coat where his Gospel was stored. He would have to obey the scriptures exactly to the letter if he was to have a chance of finding Capella and Gula. Cursing under his breath, Subaru hopped off Patrasche. Taking short strides, Subaru shortened the distance between himself and Sloth, while with his hand he signaled his dragon not to follow him.
"My brain... trembles... It appears that you're willing to heed my words and act with proper diligence at long last, you prideful anomaly. You would be proving ungrateful to that person who has spared your life and granted you your Gospel if you were to do otherwise."
"..." As per usual, Petelgeuse kept spouting nonsense nonstop. He was tempted to shut him up, but Subaru had already decided not to antagonize Sloth or Greed; both would easily become enemies too powerful to deal with if he was not careful when interacting with them.
"Well... Speaking of the Gospel, I would like you to show it to me; thereby, all doubt about love having reached your corrupted being will be dispelled." At Petelgeuse's request, Subaru did no more than return his gaze with one of annoyance. "Humu... You seem to have misunderstood my words, your judgment has proved faulty and therefore you have given me a look that I deem to be scandalously unfair, especially when I've been treating you so kindly. Don't you think I am deserving of similar treatment?"
"You aren't wrong, Archbishop Romanée-Conti, however, answer me this. Have I really misunderstood you? It seems to me that you distrust me."
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." Fervently denied the archbishop, rocking his head from side to side. "You are in error, you are terribly mistaken; it's plain to see that your corrupted spirit is incapable of seeing things in any other way than in a distorted and corrupted light. You see, my diligent spirit simply prevents me from taking for granted the things before me. To accept without observing any proof that you have been granted forgiveness for your sins would be to incur in sloth, don't you think so?"
"What are you on about? Pan-" Subaru cut himself off abruptly. Petelgeuse had never mentioned Pandora, in fact, no witch cultist had. Was it some sort of taboo? Subaru could not be sure, however, so for the sake of avoiding unnecessary conflict he decided to correct himself. "It should say in your Gospel that you would meet with me today, shouldn't it? So why do you doubt me? Do you doubt your Gospel?"
"Dare not to spout stupidity, nonsense, folly, idiocy, foolishness! I would never bring myself to doubt what's written in my Gospel, that's why I have to witness a proof that you are who you say you are. Your name remains unmentioned among the pages of the Gospel, and therefore, I've no other proof than your very presence that you're the one mentioned therein."
Thus, even when the writing involved his presence, the Gospel was not able to give any record of his existence. If anything, Petelgeuse's doubts were justified. All he would have to do to placate them, was to take his Gospel out and show it to him... If it sounded so simple, why was he finding it so difficult to carry it out? Perhaps because deep down in his soul, he knew that showing Petelgeuse his Gospel would imply that he would be accepting him as a comrade, and therefore condoning his abhorrent deeds.
"If my presence's absent from the pages of your Gospel, then how did you know that I'm the new Archbishop of Wrath?"
"Do you find that so difficult to infer? Aren't you indulging yourself, your very mind, in slothfulness?"
"..."
"It saddens me so greatly to be ignored! Nevertheless, I shall do according to what the diligence that stirs my very being dictates and answer your question... Listen, in my proof of love it was indicated to me that before me would appear my newest comrade and such an event would coincide with the demise of the, as of now, former representative of Wrath. One would've to possess a most indolent mind to be incapable of understanding the implications of such an event! Understanding what's written in our Gospels is but one more proof of our faithful diligence!" Answered Petelgeuse, beaming with pride at his ability to comprehend the messages of "love".
"... And... you're not upset?" Subaru asked out of the blue, prompting the ecstatic archbishop to furrow his brow sharply.
"Why should I be upset? Though of disdainful personality, before me has appeared a new comrade akin to the witch's love, a follower of her holly figure. I must always overflow with glee upon meeting new fellow followers of the witch!"
"But... I now hold the sin of Wrath... And y'know... Your wife..."
Subaru was well aware that he was stepping into a minefield by bringing up that subject, but he needed to make sure. If Petelgeuse held no grudge against him for what happened with Sirius, then he could start figuring out how to make him his ally and make use of him later on, when his help might prove necessary.
He hated to entertain the thought that he would eventually have to fight side by side with other Sin Archbishops, but to him, who was weak, something like this could spell the difference between victory or defeat, life or death. Not all Sin Archbishops were on good terms with their comrades, and taking advantage of that could give him the upper hand during a battle that might seem lost. Therefore, from that moment on it was necessary to determine whether he could use Sloth and Greed as circumstantial allies, or whether it would be best to stay away from them.
"Wife?" But contrary to what Subaru had expected, Petelgeuse seemed genuinely taken aback by his words, as if he was genuinely at a loss as to what he was getting at.
"Sirius...?" Subaru asked hesitantly, unsure if it was a good idea to do so. If he incurred Sloth's wrath and died, he would simply try again, and this time avoid mentioning the former Wrath.
"Huh?! Wife? My wife? That revolting woman?! Only in her corrupted mind would we've an unnatural relationship as such. Again and again and again she pestered me with her presence, as she spat words that made my blood boil. My loyalty and diligence were put to the test when I concurred with such a despicable person. She proclaimed herself my wife even when she was duly aware that in my heart there's only room for Satella. Satella! The Witch! The Jealous Witch! The Witch of Envy! My body, my flesh, my blood, my soul! I belong to her alone!"
"..." Faced with a dumbfounded Subaru, Petelgeuse jerked his robes madly as he contorted his head in wholly unnatural ways.
Eventually calming down, Petelgeuse looked Subaru in the eyes, his head wrapped around his arms. "Knowing that the flow of her ceaseless harassment and her words against the witch has been cut off, most definitely rejoices me."
"So that's how things were..." Subaru muttered, gaining a better understanding of what the relationship between Petelgeuse and Sirius was.
"It is certainly true that you and your allies fought against me and my fingers, severing two of them in the process. But I'm willing to overlook it, inasmuch as you took away the sin of Wrath from that blasphemous and inadequate woman. In addition... my followers fought diligently but in the end they failed, they're unable to prevent their lives from being completely taken away from them, and so they've ended up incurring in sloth. A purge entails disposing of that which is of no use, and therefore I cannot be more satisfied with the results of the Ordeal conducted yesterday."
First his Authority of Wrath and now the improvement in Petelgeuse's view of him. Apparently Subaru had not been wrong in thinking that fate was finally working in his favor. Assassinating Sirius had resulted in Petelgeuse not holding a grudge for the murder of two of his fingers, and that might open the door to a possible alliance. And Subaru believed he had something in mind that would facilitate the forging of it.
"I'm glad to hear I've been helpful. However, you're wrong about one thing, I'm not the Archbishop of Wrath, at least I don't only represent that sin."
"Eh?! My... My brain trembles! What kind of blasphemous statement is that?!" Petelgeuse exclaimed, bewildered.
"It's quite simple, Archbishop Romanée-Conti, I am the Sin Archbishop of Wrath... and of Envy." Petelgeuse was a faithful devotee of the Witch of Envy, to hear that he was facing the representative, the holder of that sin, would undoubtedly make him kneel before him. Or at least that is what Subaru had believed before revealing his full title. However, Subaru soon regretted doing so.
"You... You, you, you, you, you, you! What kind of heresies come out of your mouth?! Have you been feigning to have embraced the sacred, boundless love of the witch all this time, just to take advantage of her good will?!" Ultimately, Subaru had failed to avoid one of the two death events.
Three weeks, I know. But, in my defense, I did say that I'd be back in three weeks at most, and here I am. Still, I really wanna apologize for the huge hiatus and the few chapters I've been uploading. I finished arc 3 in October, and we're at the end of January and I've barely uploaded 3 chapters of arc 4. I know it's not that bad compared to other writers on the platform, but that doesn't make me feel more comfortable reducing the amount of chapters that much. And no, it's not because I don't have time, I was simply going through a terrible writer's block, one that I just couldn't get out of.
But enough excuses, I can finally say with confidence that I got my inspiration back. From a couple of weeks ago until now my head has been overflowing with ideas, and basically I have already planned all the important events from now until arc 7, which will be the last arc.
A kidnapping, the appearance of Re:Zero's best girl (which I had originally intended not to give a role in the story, but I changed my mind when I realized that she could be put to good use plot-wise), a war between two important countries, revenge and an inevitable fight against the final big boss, the one with whom it all started. Those are just some of the things that are gonna happen, I won't say more to avoid spoilers.
And if I had to thank anyone for that it would be Im The Person and Prophellwinter, for writing Sealed and Raven-Black And Emerald-Green respectively. Both are just the kind of fanfic I like to read, canon compliant but diverging from it enough so that it doesn't feel repetitive. Reading them got the ideas moving, and with that I got my motivation to write back. So, and I doubt they'll ever read this, I really appreciate it, you guys saved my life.
So I finally managed to get back to the old routine and the chapters are already coming out like hotcakes; in my opinion, some of my best work, I already want you to read them, too bad that's a few weeks away. So, in short, yes, the weekly updates are back.
But well, leaving all that aside, let's get back to the chapter. Yeah, the reunion between Subaru and Petelgeuse happened sooner than expected. Subaru was planning to make him his ally, but it seems that such a thing won't be possible. Or will it? Well, I won't leave you in suspense for too long.
Now, someone mentioned Cecilus and I just have to say... not yet ;). I also saw that someone asked about Emilia's relevance. And well, she's not going to be too relevant, of course she will appear from time to time, but not as to be a main character. You could well say that Subaru's feelings for Emilia died along with part of him when he became the Archbishop of Envy and Wrath. Is this going to be a good thing for him? Well, let's just say that in part yes, and in part no…?
Alright, that's it. I really appreciate your support, I never really felt pressured to keep updating weekly; at least not by you guys. But that's the kind of person I am, if someone doesn't put me under pressure, I put myself under pressure. Anyway, as always, thanks for your support and till next week.