"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Rista asked. "The Witches of Sin, even individually, are very unpredictable and destructive, despite their looks."
"Yeah, but the Witch of Gluttony is the only one who can give us the lowdown on Caerbannog's twin brother." DJ said. "We'll just have to play nice and walk on eggshells."
"Hope we know what we're getting ourselves into." Nemo said.
"If you are sure about this, fine. But first some rules. Never release Daphne's restraints. Also, never touch her and avoid eye contact with her." Echidna said.
"Daphne?" Ethox said.
"That's her name. The witch of Gluttony." Ivy said.
"Doesn't really sound like a threatening name to me. You sure she's destructive and evil?" Ethox asked.
"And this is why we should have met sooner." Ivy sighed. "Alright. Let's get on with it."
"Very best of luck to you." Echidna said as she suddenly vanished. However, in her place was a young girl in a white dress with green.
"Finally, we meet at last!" she said cheerfully.
"O-kay…. Wasn't really expecting Daphne to be a little girl." Ethox said.
"Her appearance is…" Ivy said. "Oh god. This is not Daphne."
"Hey…there's something I've been wondering…are you guys bad?" the girl asked as she held her hand out.
"Uh…okay…" Subaru said as he reached out to it.
"Oh wow…you aren't bad at all. You didn't feel any pain." the girl said as she now held Subaru's entire arm as it had been ripped from his body.
"Huh….ah!" Subaru cried out upon seeing his arm gone.
"What the hell?!" Grantz asked in shock.
"The heck just…" Theo said.
"Like I said. She's not Daphne. She's Typhon…the Witch of Pride." Ivy said.
"And I'm assuming she's known for…that?" Tanya asked, gesturing to the girl holding Subaru's arm.
"She has a very… different sense of right and wrong." Ivy answered.
"Uh…she can put that back on, right?" Nemo asked.
"No…in fact…it's more than just his arm." Ivy said as Subaru fell to pieces while going for his arm.
"You see yourself as a sinner even though you aren't a bad person. You have such a good heart, Baru." Typhon said, she then looked to the others.
"She's looking at us! I think we're next!" Nemo said. "Everybody back away!"
"Hey, why are you acting like that? You're being really rude!" Typhon said in a huff.
"Uh, sorry, we just…where we come from, people…can't really do that." Ultra said. "It's a little surprising."
"...Oh, okay! So…are you all bad guys?" Typhon asked.
Ethox, unafraid, stepped forward. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure. But I try to be." he said calmly. "And I can vouch for the rest of these guys. And anyway…it's nice to meet you, Typhon!" the Nobody smiled.
"(How can be be so calm around her?!)" Ivy thought in shock. "(Typhon might be a child, but shes conducted hundreds of massacres!)"
Typhon stared at Ethox for a moment before she smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too! You have a good heart!" she said.
"Thank you!" Ethox said. "Anyway, I don't suppose you could put Subaru back together? He's a good person, after all."
"Put him back together? I've never tried to do that." Typhon said, pondering for a moment before she got an idea. "Oh! But I do know someone who can! That would be…" she said, before she disappeared in a flash of light.
"Hey, come back!" Ty said. "Great… who exactly is supposed to put Subaru back together?"
"First! To strike all that defies reason!" a voice called out from the heavens. "Second! Who cares about committing every evil action! Third! If you're here in this bleeding world, don't ever expect to make it back unscathed!"
"What the…?" Ty asked as a shadow loomed over them.
"Incoming!" Maple called.
Crashing down nearby was a girl in white with long blond hair in a ponytail.
"The strike of my fists will restore the world, my anger following behind and cleanse it. The strikes of my two fists, my frenzy of my rage, it'll cure it all!" she said as she rapidly punched Subaru's pieces before he was put back together.
"Such impressive healing. Ah…that means she's Minerva, the Witch of Wrath." Ivy said.
"What?! How did you know my name?!" Minerva demanded, with tears in her eyes.
"I'm a witch myself so I know of the history behind the Witches of Sin." Ivy said.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ultra asked. "Why are you crying?"
"I-I'm not crying!" Minerva said.
"Your tear ducts are leaking." Ty said.
"I'm just really really angry at what Typhon did! Stupid Typhon! I hate the world for making her do that! I hate it, hate it, hate it!" Minerva said, stomping her foot as the ground shook.
"Whyyy is the earth shaaaaaking?!" Michiru asked as the ground shook.
"She doesnt know her own Strength!" Ivy said. "Out of all the witches, besides Satella, she's the one who caused the most damage."
"Hey, hey, hey, easy! Settle down!" Ty said.
"Then I hope you all learned your lesson and won't be so trusting next time!" Minerva said as she was consumed in a bright light.
"Typhon, Minerva….this is not in our agreement." Subaru said before a strange looking coffin appeared next. It slowly opened to show a girl completely restrained and blindfolded.
"Ivy? Tell me this is the witch we're looking for." Grantz said. "I'm not sure how many more of these Witches of Sin my head can take now."
"Yes…this is her. Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony." Ivy said.
"Phew. Guess the third time's the charm." Koenig said.
"...has arrived. What would you like to ask me?" Daphne asked. "I'm here because Chid-Chid asked me to come, but I don't want to be awake for longer than I have to."
"Let's make it quick then. We need info on one of the Demon Beasts you cooked up." Ty said.
"Which one?"
"The Great Rabbit. Endless horde of man-eating rabbits that would be right at home in…actually, you wouldn't get that last part." DJ said. "We need info on it."
"Oh, you mean the bunny." Daphne said. "It can copy itself forever. With it around, people can eat and eat, no one goes hungry."
"Wait, hold up. You made it to feed people?" Kazuma asked. "But then why would you make it eat everything?"
"Isn't that a little presumptuous? All things need to eat. The appetite is what makes all creatures. Even if the heart is full and the mind is at ease, you still need to eat to survive. That's the world me and my bunny live in." Daphne said.
"Well… she's not wrong." Sally said.
"Okay, we can see your viewpoint." Tanya nodded. "That being said, if someone wished to hunt the Great Rabbit, how would one go about it?"
"The Great Rabbit relies on its ability to track mana to find its prey." Daphne said.
"(Oh yeah… right before they went on a feeding frenzy of me and Subaru, it was snowing. Somebody must've cast a huge spell that did that.)" Kazuma thought.
"If you had a powerful magic user, you could use them as bait to lure them all in one place, then wipe them all out with a single attack." Daphne said.
"What kind of attack would do that?" Tida asked.
"I'm not sure." Daphne said. "Chid-Chid would know more about spells than me. Are you done now? I'm sleepy."
"Yeah, we're good. Thanks for your help, Daph." Ethox thanked the witch.
"D-Daph?" Daphne said, slightly taken aback.
"Did you just give her a nickname?!" the group said in unified disbelief.
"I mean…she helped us out, and she doesn't really seem like a bad person to me." Ethox said. "I didn't get a bad vibe off Typhon or Minerva either."
"How do you function?!" Aqua asked.
"Uh…well, I think my organs have something to do with that…" Ethox started.
"Not what I meant!"
"You can leave now." Kazuma said to Daphne with a flat expression on his face.
"R-Right." Daphne said as she faded into light and vanished. "(Such a wonderful scent…)"
"That went… surprisingly easy." Subaru said.
"You gotta know how to talk to people." Ty said. "Otherwise, it'll just go in circles."
"Glad you guys were here then. If it was me alone talking to her, I'd get the sense we wouldn't get nearly as far." Subaru said as Echidna appeared.
"Apologies. When I was getting Daphne, Typhon jumped in at the chance and Minerva soon after." Echidna said.
"It's okay. Your fellow witches seem like nice girls." Ethox said.
"If you leave out the part where Typhon almost left Subaru in a million pieces forever." Kazuma said.
"You can speak to those who have committed unimaginable atrocities so well…" Echidna said to Ethox.
"I'm a Nobody. I'm getting good at reading hearts." Ethox said. "None of them struck me as evil. They just look at the world in a different way."
"Hmm…that's one way to look at it, I suppose." Echidna acquiesced. "Is that why you want to heal a certain someone so badly?"
Ethox then remembered. "Yeah, that's right! I need to ask you, is it possible for me to get the Power of Waking?"
"Ah…is that all. Well…that's easy. The answer is no." Echidna said.
"Wh-What? Come again?" Ethox asked, not believing what he just heard.
"Allow me to explain. You are a Nobody, someone who was originally born without a heart. You were pulled into a cult who worshiped a false god. Your heart, while developing, has become irreversibly dark from all the acts you committed. I'm afraid learning the Power of Waking will never happen." Echidna said.
"No way…" Ethox said.
"Wait, so it's impossible for him to learn the Power of Waking? But why? I heard Sora was able to learn it and he had no problem even if there was darkness in his heart." Aqua noted.
"But Sora…didn't have any darkness in his heart." Theo said. "Plus he had Ven's heart. That's why he was able to." Theo said.
"So it was an impossibility from the very start." Tanya said. "Ethox has a heart filled with darkness, and he doesn't possess Sioux's heart. The Power of Waking…it can only be used by those who have a heart of light, either from birth or by coming back from darkness. But his heart follows different rules from a human heart. His has been, and always will be, dark."
"But that means…Sioux will…" Ethox realized in distress.
"Now, now, I didn't say that." Echidna said with a smile. "I could show you how to save him. And all you would have to do is-"
The group then felt a jolt, as if something were pulling on their souls.
"What..the…?!" Ty said.
"This sensation… no!" Ivy realized. "She's here as well?!"
"She? Whose she?" Nemo asked.
"We have to get out of here! NOW!" Ivy said.
"What are you…" Subaru said.
"And to think I was so close…" Echidna huffed. "It looks like a certain someone doesn't want you to be here any longer."
"Are you talking about Emilia? She's the only other person at the Sanctuary right now." Kazuma pointed out.
"We do not have time to discuss this!" Ivy said, on the verge of panic. "Echidna, send us out right now!"
"Wait, we haven't even asked her how we're supposed to drag the Great Rabbit out and vaporize it!" Megumin said.
"Oh, is that what you wanted to ask me? Well before you go, I'll give you a quick hint: I taught all the magic I know to my daughter." Echidna said.
"Your…daughter?" Subaru asked, confused, before another jolt occurred. "Crap, I'm starting to feel lightheaded…"
"We'll continue this conversation if you attend the tea party a third time." Echidna said as the whole faded to white. "There's something I'd like to ask you then…"
The group soon reawakened within the ruins.
"Ugh, my head…" Ethox said.
"Ivy, why did you have a panic attack all of a sudden?" Aqua asked.
"Look. There isn't much time. We need to get as far from here as possible." Ivy said.
"Alright, alright, no need to be pushy…" Nemo said. "Let's just get back to the base and…" he said as he stood in the doorway. "Uh…guys? Where's the ground?"
The group joined the pirate at the door, seeing that the whole area was covered in a blanket of inky shadow.
"Nononononono…we're too late!" Ivy said.
"A shadow?" Subaru said. "Emilia? Ram? Otto? Is anyone there, say something!" he called out, receiving no answer.
"She's here… we're all going to…"
"What the hell are you on about…?" Tanya began to ask, before something began to emerge from the shadow. "Arms up! Unknown individual!" she said, aiming her gun at the newcomer.
"Major…I don't think your guns are gonna help…" Rista said nervously. "That's…That's…"
"I know you…!" Subaru realized in horror.
"You should, Subaru… it's Satella!" Aqua shrieked as she shrank back in terror.
"We're dead…." Grantz squeaked.
"How the hell did she find us? Subaru didn't get penalized inside the witches domain!" Ty said.
"She's…manifested." Ivy croaked out. "She managed to make herself corporal, all to get to…"
"Ì͢ lo̷̧v͘͟͜e̶͝ ̷y̸͟ou." The Witch of Envy said as she moved, as if she were floating, towards Subaru. "I͏͜ l̶o͠v͡e̵ ̛͡ỳơư̸.I̡͟ ̴̡lo̴v̵̨́e̶̛ ́͏y̛o̕҉u̵.̷̸ I̢͟ lo̢̕v͢͜͏e̵ ͏̧y̴o҉u̵.͜͝I̶҉͡ ̵̴͡l̛͢ove͘͟ ̨̧y̧̨o̸ư͢͜.I͢ ̷͜l̷o̴v̴͘͝ȩ̀ ̢̡y͟͡҉o͝͏͢uI̢͝͞ ̛͢ĺ̀o̢͞ve̷ y͏ou.̶̧͞I̶͘ ̵͞l̶̨o͝v̵̧e̴̡ ̵͠҉y̨o̕͟͝I l̸͜o̵̴͞v̵̢͝e͢͞͝ ̴͏ý̛͜ou̵̧I͝͏ ͡l̴̵ov̷ȩ͜͡ ̷͟҉y̧͡Ì ͠͡l̨̛͝o͘͢v̡͘e͜ y̴͜ơu͜.̶̶͝"
"Uh… don't suppose she's saying that because she means it?" Ethox asked.
"Subaru…RUN!" Kazuma yelled as he drew his sword and charged. "Bring it on, you evil bitch-!"
It happened so fast, none of the group members could react. One moment, Kazuma Sato was prepared to swing his sword…
…then next, he was ripped to pieces, his bloody remains scattered across the steps of the ruins.
"Kazuma!" the group yelled in equal parts shock and anguish.
"Hey, you guys! Stop screwing around!" a voice said as Garfiel leapt down from above and grabbed a distraught Subaru. "We're gonna jump! Follow me!"
The mixed blood Beastman leapt up from the steps, followed close behind by the others until they reached the village.
"Garfiel? What happened? When did that shadow show up?" Ethox asked.
"It was ten minutes ago." Garfiel said. "That freaky looking stuff already got everyone else. Except me…and this weird doll." he said, pulling Rem out from his hair.
"Satella's already gotten everyone else. Damn, guess we're calling this one a lost cause." DJ said.
"What do we do? We can't fight her head on, we'll just end up like Kazuma… damn it, we should've stopped him!" Ethox said.
Satella was floating in place for a moment until she turned her head in their direction.
"She's looking right at us!" Aqua screamed.
"What? Why is she looking at us? What-?" Theo wondered until he glanced at Rem and made the connection. "Oh wait…she's the Witch of Envy."
"Exactly!" Ivy said. "She's in love with Subaru, so she's going to kill anyone who holds the same feelings!"
"And does that include us? Some of us don't swing that way." DJ pointed out.
"I don't wanna be around to find out." Ty said. "Unless we wanna end up like Kazuma, we gotta do something to get outta this! Subaru, I know we apologized about being jerks, but…"
"Yeah, I know!" Subaru said. "Gotta suicide out. Somebody kill me!"
Tanya aimed her gun at him and shot him multiple times.
"Ugh…wait…were you somehow looking forward to that?" Subaru asked.
"It's for the good of the mission." Tanya said as Subaru stumbled. "Just fall backwards already!" she said as Subaru did just that.
"Subaru! We'll find a way to do this right! We promise!" Ethox called out, just as a bunch of shadows rained down from the sky and impaled the entire group just as Subaru finally died, time about to reset.
"No…" he heard a voice say as someone held his body in their arms. Looking up as the light faded from his eyes, he beheld…Emilia? "Why do you…?"
