01
He didn't want to die.
The feeling of fingers clawing at his life and grabbing at his soul quickly became very unpleasant. With the witch's hold on his core and the self he had built up till now, he didn't want to die.
The very illusion he had managed to create from the bottom up started to break apart and come crashing down.
He didn't want that to disappear.
Why had his life been something he held dear to his heart ? Natsuki Subaru, the man who had seen hell and managed to overcome it. The knight that had been corrupted by despair and drowned in darkness. There should be no reason for it but, for him, he had feared death the most.
Throughout all his experiences and his close calls with death. He still had not grown accustomed to having his life sucked away.
Echidna, the witch of greed, had discovered immortality to keep her soul in the living world and feared death so much that she had found a way to cheat it. Even If only partially she had not feared death so much as Natsuki Subaru did.
Natsuki Subaru felt like his entire world was crashing down. He felt inhuman and vile, he didn't understand how evil he had become.
When Subaru managed to recover from the attack he held his head high and voiced his tongue in a way that only the rotting air could leak from his mouth. The dust from the surrounding debris had already been a cloud of suffrage for him. If he had been a second late his lungs would've been savagely assaulted by the cloud of death that had yet to subdue.
Rocky soil and cement spoiled the air. Broken buildings had looked as if a bomb had exploded and nothing in the surrounding area had been slightly usable. Even with all this destruction Natsuki Subaru had been the one to be caught right in the middle of it. Chaos was everywhere, and carnage followed after.
Bodies everywhere, the smell of blood filling the air. Natsuki Subaru had felt a pain circulating his nose. Before he could question why he quickly understood why had that been. To his left, right, and in the center of this hellish cloud filled with dust something had poked out at him.
It was the corpse of a girl. Her body had been riddled with holes and from head to toe she had looked as if her body was mutilated by a strong inhuman force. Subaru shook his head and turned away. It was a gruesome sight he felt like puking.
"This can't be right ? What kind of attack could manage all this ? Was I wrong in pursuing ?"
Subaru thought to himself. He pushed up against the side of a mailbox you'd see anywhere and lifted his left leg which had been soiled in dirt and debris. Then with the same movement, he had lifted his right leg from beneath the contents of the mounted dirt pile. For some reason, it was weird for him not to feel the pain in his right leg.
He took a second glance not only was Natuski Subaru's leg covered in dirt and debris it had also been dyed in the color red which also connected with the dark warm liquid found in the body of all living things. He was bleeding out and it was only a matter of time before the blood from his leg, or lack of blood stopped Subaru's body from functioning much longer.
The time limit had been set but something still crossed his mind.
How did this happen ?
Hadn't the witch only been in front of him ?
How did she cause this cloud of dust ?
Why had that girl been riddled with holes from head to toe ?
With so many questions and no answers Subaru's head felt like it was going to explode from the overwhelming thoughts. As if they were attacking his nervous system Subaru clutched his head.
Echidna had done this; there had been no other possible scenario. Echidna the witch of greed had managed to take a shot and destroy countless buildings. He was in trouble. What had she done to cause all this ?
He managed to stop those glowing yellow triangles from taking his head but had that been a fluke ?
Subaru couldn't stop his face from forming into a sinister grin.
"That bitch."
It then clicked.
Subaru clenched his fist as hard as he could and turned his head to the left. He felt a large amount of hate in his heart what she had done was something unforgivable. He did not make a face or even a voice it had quickly become known to him why that girl had been pelted with holes. Face to face Subaru saw what it was. The cloud of dust had not been formed from the debris of the buildings or the dirt on the ground.
The entirety of the dust cloud had not even been dust in the first place. Subaru reached his left arm out his arm still covered in dirt and blood and it became clear. Subaru was worn out but as he stuck his arm out the cloud moved.
Just as he expected because the cloud had not been a cloud but several small needles that joined up together to give the appearance of a cloud of dust. Echidna did fire off an attack beside the triangle lights as a backup. Echidna was smart, the smartest witch. She had known how to fight.
But something was still confusing why had the needles not targeteded Natsuki Subaru ?
Had they been designed not to attack him ? That shouldn't be the case she had killed him in many other loops so preserving his life had not been a goal of hers.
Why did these needles not fight against Natsuki Subaru ?
He racked his brain.
He had not felt pain but he knew if nothing was done about it his life would be the very thing at risk as of now.
Then he figured it out.
An authority.
One that he could not have known of why had an authority like that suddenly manifested. The air in his voice became hollow and his eyes widened in shock. Subaru reached out towards the nonmoving needles and like the stars had sensed this movement they allumnated.
Subaru felt like he could almost cry his tears fell from his face.
It was Pandora's doing.
The stars that had moved became aligned with his desires and became brighter than ever. Subaru didn't notice but up behind him several lights gathered around brightening the sky as its form became that of a constellation that did not exist.
Underneath all that light was Natsuki Subaru.
"~Ugh? That thing!"
Natsuki Subaru held the witch factor of vainglory in his system and with that so did an authority form. Not that Subaru had understood in the moment but the stars had heard his call and so they brought forth his desire once more.
Omega, the witch of greed, had lost her magic.
The dust that had enveloped the sky had become no more. It was as clear as day and the almost dark sky could be seen as bright as they came. The building had mostly been destroyed and everything around was dyed red in blood it was hell. Nearby people who had managed to escape this onslaught either ran to preserve themselves or cried out in shock.
But for Natsuki Subaru, he had one more thing left for him to do. The dust had parted and The knight of vainglory had a clear sight of what he needed to do. In front of him the witch of greed stood.
Staff in hand she had no way of stopping Subaru from attacking.
She was defenseless and so was Subaru with all his injuries. But that didn't stop him. He wiped away all of his tears and took a stance.
"Echidna!"
"-tch."
Without a single thought and the stars being aligned with Subaru's wishes, he stood up from the rubble and dashed towards Omega. The stained look on her face gave the impression she had been running out of tricks.
The sunset had been Subaru's spotlight and the sounds of his feet beneath him had been his music. He was going to attack the witch of greed this was his final chance to do so. He was going to put a stop to her attack even if Colette decided to jump in to protect her master Subaru wouldn't show any mercy.
He vowed to himself if anyone were to try and take his life away he promise he'll do the same back to them. He didn't want to die anymore, he didn't want to be a pawn for everyone else to use. Natsuki Subaru was his own person.
The impact of his fist striking Omega's face could be heard around the world. Just like a doll with no weight to its name Omega took the full force and flew several feet back as Subaru's fist made contact with her face.
The dust had flown as Omega found herself buried in the ground just underneath her. She lay like a starfish and just stared at the starry sky that suddenly changed to the will of the one who defeated her. She gave an uninterested "hmmph" and did not give an expression.
Omega was defeated.