The city was on edge.
The citizens had known that their capital had been infiltrated, but on some level, it must not have sunk in. They had continued living their lives, sparing only the occasional anxious thought for the murders hidden in their midst.
Until now.
Smoke plumes were rising silently over the city, not the least of which was the one behind Subaru. They reached up like hulking titans, promising to bestow ruin upon all who witnessed them.
Subaru had seen more than one shocked look as someone spotted them for the first time, the sight rendering them pale-faced and speechless. Though, that had mostly been in the early stages of the attack. Now they all kept their gazes low, uneasily eyeing everyone they passed on their way back to their homes or families.
Subaru had wandered through the city under attack once before, all the way back in the time before he knew the scale of the threat he faced. Then, the invasion had been met with confusion and fear.
But this time, there was a marked difference. Now, there was certainty. Certainty, and a deep, all-consuming dread.
The Witch Cult had come for Lugunica. And woe betide any who stood in their way.
"My, it is an appa!" a voice called out, her cheerful voice cutting through the terrible atmosphere.
Subaru slowed his steps.
He was in the right place, but that voice…
They were clearly in the middle of an invasion. Wasn't she too relaxed?
"Yes, princess," Subaru heard a gruff older man said in response. "Usually, either I or the servants peel them for you, so you've never seen the skin."
There was a rustle, and the faint clink of a disturbed helmet. "But if you're satisfied, can we start moving back to the estate? I don't like the look of things here. It's making me jumpy."
Subaru glanced over to Huginn, and whispered, "Is that her?"
Huginn bobbed. Red hair. Red-black cloth.
"Dress," Subaru corrected. "The word is 'dress'."
He glanced around to take stock of the layout of the surrounding streets. "Keep an eye on them, I'm going to try and go around so I stay ahead of them. Tell me immediately if a boy in cultist colours approaches."
Huginn bobbed, and flickered out of sight, going to orbit far above their targets' heads.
Subaru backtracked far enough that he'd be out of sight of the candidate and her entourage, then started circling around through the back streets. In better times, it would be dangerous to try and go off the beaten path this far close to the city walls, but with the threat of the cult hanging overhead, even lowlifes and thugs had retreated to their nooks and crannies.
Not that would help them. The cult was planning on being especially destructive to draw the upper strata's defenders out of their shell.
As if to punctuate Subaru's point, there was a low rumble, and a flash of light from the east.
That's in the direction of the gate. Looks like everything's on schedule.
He cast his mind out through his contract with Huginn, and called out, How are they? Have they made any moves?
Huginn seemed exasperated. Denial. Red-black troublesome.
Some of Huginn's thoughts were leaking through the connection, and Subaru caught a glimpse of the red-haired candidate, surrounded by armoured figures.
Just city guards, Subaru guessed. They weren't wearing the white cloaks of the kingdom's knighthood, and from what he knew, the best combatants in this world eschewed armour. He counted five of them surrounding the red-haired candidate, all standing alert as they scanned their surroundings.
All except one, a scruffy-looking man in ragged clothes, who looked more like a bandit than a knight or royal candidate's attendant. He was standing right next to said candidate, and seemed to be paying as little attention to their surroundings as she was.
Huginn seemed to like him, though Subaru didn't get why before the image faded from his mind.
He crossed his arms, and leaned back against the wall of the alley. He felt a bit impatient, despite knowing full well that there was no reason for it. He wanted to witness Gluttony's attack on this candidate, and maybe learn even the tiniest bit more about his skills so as to properly inform Marcos how to deal with him.
It would be ideal if he could find the Captain of the Knights and test him to make absolutely sure that he could reliably kill Gluttony if Sloth didn't interfere. That, however, was a secondary objective. He was already sure that the knight had the strength to kill the Archbishop, given the way the fight had turned out in the previous loop.
No, what he needed to learn from Gluttony was not his combat power or ability, but rather, his methodology. His mindset. How would he act, what choices did he make, and where did he plan to be?
All the things Subaru could use to plot an ambush in his next life. The things that would require Subaru to engage the killer child in conversation, and try to get into his psycho head and see how he ticked.
It almost made his other two goals look simple by comparison. At least he'd be able to rely on his observational skills for those.
Figuring out Petelgeuse's immortality was obviously the one he placed most importance on, but the last was going to be tricky in its own right.
He needed to learn everything he could about the Sin Archbishop of Wrath. The elusive last member of the assault team was responsible for the fear spe— authority, but apart from that, Subaru knew nothing about her. He wasn't even sure if the fear spell was going to be the entirety of her contribution to the upcoming battle.
He strained his eyes to see if there was any noticeable miasma around, but he couldn't make out any apart from his own. Well, he didn't feel any unnatural emotions yet, so perhaps it just wasn't active yet. He didn't know for a fact that her Authority would come with a tide of the Mark of the Witch, but it seemed like a safe bet, and there was no harm in looking for it.
He supposed he could spend a few hours searching through the city for her, but he didn't think that was going to be a productive use of his time, not when he still had to figure out Petelguese.
Moving.
Huginn's report brought Subaru out of his deliberations, and he perked up.
He watched through Huginn's vision as the candidate and her escort began to move, headed towards the palace. It seemed her bandit had managed to persuade her.
Subaru began moving, keeping himself close to the group, but not so close that he'd be detected.
Not that he had to be that careful.
They were in a city. Detecting him though buildings couldn't be easy, even for the superhumans who inhabited this world.
If Spirit Arts Users were more common, there might be a need to keep a greater distance, but as is, he felt safe with only two streets between him and the group.
Even that felt like overkill. Depending on where they were in the city, it might take a couple of minutes for Subaru to make his way over to them if something happened, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
He still had Huginn watch the group like a hawk, ready to inform Subaru if they so much as glanced in his direction, a task that Huginn executed with gusto.
It made Subaru feel a bit guilty. The fire spirit was determined not to show it, but Subaru could tell that he was tired after the battle with the escorting cultists.
But Huginn knew how important this task was, and he could still keep going. He wouldn't falter.
Sleepy…
Drowsy…
The same could not be said for two of Subaru's other spirits.
Muninn was tired, her boundless energy dampened by the strain of the spells Subaru had cast. She was only a young spirit, still inexperienced with magic and mana manipulation. It was only due to the fact that Subaru had been splitting the load between her and Huginn that she was able to remain active. They were fire spirits, so they would recover relatively fast in the warmth of the day.
Luna, on the other hand, was barely staying awake, and in fact, she had eventually dematerialised to conserve mana. It would be impossible for Subaru to cast spells using their contract while she was in that state, but there was no helping it.
She had single-handedly kept the Finger distracted while Subaru had been dealing with Griselda, and she had exhausted her reserves completely. Sol was doing his best to help her recover, but he too had strained himself.
They had salvaged what little mana they could from the location of their battle, but they had moved on quickly, and the bright sunlight was preventing Luna from drawing even a pittance from their current surroundings.
The fight had left all of them dangerously low on mana. If they got into another one soon, their chance of winning was so low it might as well be zero.
Subaru sighed. He had hoped to be able to try and defeat another Finger and get better information about Petelgeuse, but that would be impossible alone. He'd have to hurry up and find a group of defenders he could use. He'd probably be able to get some at Crusch's barricade, assuming she was still going to set that up like she had last time.
I've got a few hours before that stage of the attack begins anyway, Subaru thought, eyes drifting to the shadows of the buildings. The sun had reached its zenith, and the shadows had just begun to drift eastward, meaning it was just after noon.
But still, I don't want to spend too much time here. I'd rather face Wrath and Sloth separately. What's taking Gluttony so long? Is he not going after Priscilla? Is he not intending to attack, or did I make a mistake somewhere?
He focused his mind on Huginn's contract, intending to ask for an update, when suddenly…
"Enemy Attack!"
The gruff man's voice shouted, audible to Subaru even with the distance between them.
Huginn reached out a split second later, sharing his vision of the situation, but the spirit's confusion was evident in the communication. He was unable to sense anything, and the sight he projected only revealed the knights taking defensive positions around the candidate.
There was no sign of the small cultist boy.
"Be ready!" the man shouted, the voice echoing slightly as Subaru heard it from both his ears and Huginn's connection.
He brandished his sword in one hand, stepping out in front of the candidate. Now that he was in a combat stance, Subaru noticed another strange detail about the man. His left hand was missing. It was difficult to tell how much of the arm remained underneath the ragged mantle he wore, but it clearly wasn't much.
Subaru couldn't help but wonder at the sight.
Is he even a guard? It doesn't seem like he'd be all that good a fighter like that. Maybe he's just brought along since he can reason with the candidate?
The guards seemed to value his input though, they were tensed up and ready, swords in hand, surrounding the candidate.
She, for her part, simply pulled a fan out of her cleavage and unfolded it to cover her lower face. She didn't seem perturbed in the slightest, as if she were in no danger at all.
A single, tense moment passed.
Then Gluttony was in their midst.
He appeared as if out of nowhere between two of the guards, two daggers lashing out at one of them.
Subaru barely had time to think before the first blows of the battle were swung. The guard twirled his sword to deflect the boy's strikes, but Subaru saw a flash of red droplets.
He held back a curse and started running. If the Archbishop finished them off before Subaru had a chance to get there, he'd have missed his chance to talk to him, and all of Subaru's effort would have been wasted.
Huginn was moving frantically to get to cover, so the images he sent were blurry and incomplete, but Subaru could make out the gruff man lunging at the boy, and he was pretty sure Gluttony had leaped back to avoid his strike.
Perhaps the archbishop was toying with them? From what Subaru remembered, he had refrained from fighting Marcos seriously at first as well.
Huginn flashed a couple more images across, which Subaru couldn't properly make sense of while running, but it was clear the guards were holding on better than he had expected.
He heard the clashing of steel and slowed his pace right before rounding the last corner, and witnessing the scene with his own two eyes.
The first thing he saw was the dome.
His eyes widened, and he almost forgot to hide himself around the corner as he took in the sight.
A shadowy hemisphere surrounded the battle, encompassing the entire street, almost reaching Subaru's position. It shifted and roiled, as if attaching itself to the surrounding buildings.
What… what the hell is that?
Within the darkness, Gluttony darted to and fro, slashing with his daggers at any weak point in the guards' defences, his laughter and mocking words ringing out through the air.
"Ah~! It's a surprise, it's a shock, it's delightful, it's nice, ah~!" The expression he wore on his face could not be called anything but mad.
"We did not expect such resistance! Such drive! Such ferocity!" the Archbishop shouted. "We'll prepare you thoroughly, we'll tenderise, we'll garnish, we'll gnash, we'll chew! Ah~ what a feast!"
"Shut up, damned monster!" the bandit shouted. "Herrick, your left!"
Is the dome… some kind of Witch Cult technique? Is that how Gluttony is able to teleport like that? He uses the Mark of the Witch, like how regular cultists use it to shadow-walk?
That would be a terrifyingly useful ability to pick up if he could. But considering it seemed to be a technique unique to Gluttony, Subaru didn't think he was going to get a chance to learn it.
He shook his head, and dismissed the Mark from his vision, letting him get a better look at the battle itself.
Gluttony shifted again in midair, disappearing before one of the guards' swords could reach him, and reappearing beside one of the others.
But thanks to the bandit's warning, that guard was already moving, and Gluttony had to ward off his blow with a swipe of his hand and a ringing of steel.
"How are you doing that, ah~?" Gluttony said, cartwheeling away from the group between the blades that swiped out to take his head. "You don't look gourmet, you don't look interesting, and yet, and yet, and yet~! You see us coming!"
He stopped his movement a few metres away from the group, and slouched his shoulders, tilting his head as if in deep thought.
The guards took the opportunity to catch their breath, not daring to leave their defensive formation to launch an attack on the witch cultist.
"No… no… no… can't be… not that…" he said in a sing-song tone, counting off his fingers as if running down a list. "Ah~! Maybe an Asura? That might be nice, we'll have to see~. You might be gourmet after all!"
Subaru stood stock still as the battle resumed, eyes locked onto the Archbishop, taking note of every action he took.
By no means was Subaru a master of the blade, but the training Reinhard had imparted on him in the previous loop had granted him some insight into the movements of combatants. It was with that training that he analysed the fight.
Gluttony was a nightmare to behold. He moved fast, struck hard, and was able to attack the guards from any direction due to the strange warping ability he possessed.
It was almost as if they were under assault from a dozen enemies at once.
But Subaru could see that Gluttony was toying with them. His strikes seemed more focused on testing his opponent's guards, his parries were light enough to allow the guards to get back into position quickly, and he was laughing the entire time.
He fought with restraint, striking just hard enough to break through their defences, exposing himself just enough that would be able to land a blow if they exerted themselves.
Perhaps that was an indication that Gluttony was trying to conserve his strength, but Subaru didn't think that was the case. He saw too many times the Archbishop moved on to another knight when he had the upper hand with one of them, when he could have finished them off. No, to Subaru, it looked like he was training them.
But for what reason, Subaru couldn't fathom.
There was a shift in the battle, and the guards suddenly began to falter, as Gluttony increased the number and strength of his attacks, pushing them to the brink of defeat.
But despite that, they held out. Every time Gluttony warped to a new target, the bandit would shout a warning, sometimes before the murderous child had even moved.
"Sal, above!"
"Lokk, front!"
Then a ringing of steel as the bandit blocked Gluttony with his blade.
"Ah~ what is that?" The Archbishop said as he launched a flurry of strikes. "You see right through us, ah~! It can't be, you can't be an Asura, none have ever done that!"
"I don't even know what that word means," the bandit ground out. "Princess, we could use a little help."
"Can you not even take on this small child without help from mine own self?" the candidate responded. "One might think you are nothing but a worthless excuse for a swordsman."
"Yeah, well, I'm just not that great, you know?" the bandit said, making several wide swipes, forcing Gluttony to dance backwards, the two guards at his side charging in to surround the Archbishop.
Gluttony traded a handful of blows with them, but even against two, his defence didn't falter. He countered every strike flawlessly, and then, before they could adapt, he wasn't there anymore.
"Behind!"
The two guards behind the group shifted at the bandit's warning, and managed to block both of Gluttony's daggers.
But whatever enthusiasm Gluttony had possessed had faded, and now he wore a bored expression as his arms flicked to and fro as his blades warded off those of his opponents'.
"You… are not gourmet," he said with an air of disappointment.
Subaru felt a shiver down his spine. The words had been spoken with such finality, it was as if the Archbishop was speaking their obituaries. As if their entire lives had been worth nothing but a substandard fight.
He almost felt the need to cry out, to warn the swordsmen of their impending doom, but there was nothing they could do. Their fate was already set in stone.
Gluttony stepped into their guards, his feet dancing across the pavement, his body twirling between the knights' retaliatory strikes, and stopping directly between them.
He hopped up, so that the height of his jump left his head level with theirs. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Then he spoke. "Carnivorous Beast."
He spun in midair, lashing out with his daggers, and the two guards died.
They had been overextended, they had been worn down from the extended fight, and they had misjudged the reach Gluttony could attack from.
But what they underestimated most of all was the frightening power of Gluttony's movements, which allowed his daggers to cut right through their metal chainmail.
Their throats were slit without them even realising what had happened.
"Run!" one of the other guards shouted, charging forwards before his comrades' bodies had even collapsed. "Take the princess and go! I'll hold him—"
Then Gluttony was in his path, one leg flying upwards and connecting with the knight's jaw, cutting his declaration short, and exposing his throat.
"Fura."
Gluttony spoke only one word, and a blade of wind shot out from the sole of his foot, slicing the knight's head off.
The last remaining guard lunged at Gluttony, throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to stop him from harming the one he was protecting, but the Archbishop was finished playing around.
He met the sword with his dagger, and then he punched the knight in the middle of his armour. The armour was dented under the force of the blow, and the knight was flung back into a wall.
He fell to the ground, unmoving. And then there was one.
There was a moment of silence, and Subaru swallowed. It had taken Gluttony an instant to finish the fight. It only reinforced the fact that he needed to get Marcos to defeat him.
"But you~" Gluttony said, turning his face towards his last opponent, the bandit, a renewed enthusiasm in his eyes. "You might be gourmet! Let's see, we want to see, do let us see, ah~!"
He raised a hand so that his dagger pointed at the bandit, and took a combat stance. "We are the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos."
He gave his name, the traditional mark of respect between warriors. Why the dreadful archbishop bothered with it, Subaru couldn't understand.
"Piss off with that," the bandit responded. "I'm nobody important."
He stood between the candidate and Gluttony, his blade raised defensively, but Subaru didn't see a way for him to win. Gluttony had fought five knights to a standstill, and now that the bandit's support had been eliminated, he was utterly outmatched.
"Princess…" the bandit muttered, trailing off. He seemed to agree with Subaru's assessment, but seemed unwilling to move away from the candidate.
For her part, the candidate did nothing but tilt her head and lower her fan. But her eyes were blazing now, and her gaze was locked on Gluttony.
"You won't name yourself?" Gluttony asked. "That's wrong, that's mean. You're being really rude."
"Yeah, well, I guess I'm just a rude guy," the bandit answered. He didn't seem repentant in the slightest, not that Subaru blamed him. He wouldn't go out of his way to respect a Sin Archbishop either.
Gluttony tilted his head. "Hmm? Is that right? You don't look gourmet, but you might be, but you won't give us your name…"
He fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "Then we'll prepare you first! You might not even be gourmet, ah~!"
He lunged forward, daggers aimed at the bandit's bare chest.
But they never reached him.
A flash of red swung down in front of the Sin Archbishop, cutting off his approach, and filling the air with flames.
"Al, this no longer interests me."
The candidate stood before the bandit, a red and black sword in her hand—wait, where did she get that?—and she stared down the archbishop.
"You, scum," she said, levelling her sword at Gluttony. "You killed mine own guards. I cannot forgive this waste."
"Ah~?" Gluttony said, inspecting his arms. The daggers he had wrapped around them were dripping molten metal onto the pavement below, though Subaru had no idea why.
Was it something the candidate did? And where did she pull that sword from? There's no way it could have fit under her dress, right? Did she magically pull it out of her cleavage or something?
There was a flash of blue, and the daggers hissed as ice formed around Gluttony's hands, steam filling the air as it vaporised. He then pulled the now ruined daggers off his arms, and let them clatter to the ground.
"We've never seen this before," he muttered, looking up at the candidate's face. "We've never seen a sword like that, we've never felt heat like this, ah~! The gospel told us that you were gourmet, but…"
He smiled widely, and drew in a ragged breath.
Then he laughed, a vicious, cruel sound. "This is beyond expectations! Ah~ thank you for this feast!"
"Be silent, wretch," the candidate said with a scowl. "I do not wish to sully my ears with your drivel. Be kind and impale yourself, and I will grant you a merciful death."
Gluttony smiled, flexing his hands. His nails elongated, growing thicker so they resembled claws.
"Leaper," he whispered, and then he was behind her, one hand outstretched for her back.
The candidate twirled, slashing out with the red blade in her hands, but Gluttony ducked under it.
Under it, and right into the bandit's strike.
The gruff man might have had only one arm, but he was capable of putting a great deal of force into it.
Gluttony was sent flying, crashing into the wall not far from Subaru. For a moment, he thought he might have been spotted, from the way the bandit tilted his head in his direction, but Gluttony's laugh drew his attention away again.
"Ah~! How interesting, how tasty! Leaper!"
Gluttony jumped to and fro, moving at a speed beyond the level he showed when he had been fighting the guards. It almost looked like he was fighting Marcos again.
But these two weren't equal to the Captain of the Knights.
Gluttony lunged between the strikes, sparks flying as his claws met the bandit's blade. For whatever reason, he still appeared to be cautious of the candidate's odd coloured sword, but the movements he took to avoid it were trivial for him in the end.
"Palm of the Fist King!" Gluttony cried, and the bandit was blasted backwards, his sword flying out of his hands.
The bandit rolled to a stop just past the edge of the intersection, and lay still.
But Subaru was too focused on the battle to pay attention to another casualty.
Is he just toying with her? It's so hard to tell, he doesn't move anything like how Reinhard showed me. But she's not hitting him, and he's still laughing. Is he just crazy, or—
The candidate chose that moment to swing at Gluttony, and he dodged with deft movements, closing the gap between them in an instant, his hand brushing against the candidate's stomach. Then he leaped backwards, landing a fair distance away.
Shit! Subaru swore. Did he get her? I don't see blood, but that dress is so red already…
"What?" the candidate asked. "You missed your chance, scum."
"Missed?" Gluttony said. "No, I didn't miss."
He lifted his palm to his mouth.
What? There's no blood on his hand though! Can he still use that ability?
"Priscilla Barielle," he whispered.
Then he twisted his face into a knowing smirk. "That is what you are known as. But that isn't your real name. You got the second half from the man no one liked."
He laughed. "We don't like marriage. It changes names, makes it hard to tell what we should be eating… but we know yours from when you crossed the border! Priscilla Pendleton!"
He licked his hand, jerking his head to the side like he was tearing a chunk of meat from a bone.
Subaru's eyes went to the candidate, waiting for her to collapse just as Marcos had, but…
She stood tall, seemingly unaffected by whatever the Sin Archbishop had done.
"Hgrk! Ugh, ghue!"
In fact, the complete opposite of Subaru's expectations had occurred. It was Gluttony that had collapsed to his hands and knees, and though he had not lost his consciousness, he was vomiting out his stomach onto the stone pavement.
Subaru had barely registered the sight before the candidate charged forward.
"How unsightly," she said, swinging her sword at the prone boy. "But, this was the expected result. This world works in my—"
"Ghehough!"
Even with his stomach emptying itself, Gluttony was a monster of a fighter. He kicked off the ground, spinning past the flaming sword and landing on his feet a short distance away.
The sword cut through the pavement like it was hot butter, setting the stone itself alight.
"...favour," the candidate finished, narrowing her eyes at the Sin Archbishop.
For his part, Gluttony just chuckled. He seemed unsteady on his feet, but the air of readiness around him had increased. Apparently the candidate agreed with Subaru, as she made no further move to try and keep him on the back foot.
"We never thought you would have such cleverness! Such craftiness! We were deceived!"
He paused, then shook his head. "No, we were all deceived! No one we've eaten today knows more than that! It was close and you almost got us, but we pulled through!"
"What are you saying?" the candidate asked. "I have deceived no one. I have no need to hide anything from the likes of you."
"Your name, your name!" Gluttony responded. "You used an alias, so we couldn't eat your name! How did you know, why did you work so hard to keep us all in the dark ~ah? For so long! For years and years, since you first came here, ah~!"
The candidate had gone still.
"My name?" she whispered, almost too quiet for Subaru to pick up. It was only the silence of the area that let him hear the faint words.
Then she shook her head. "My name is Priscilla Barielle. I need no other."
"Hmm?" Gluttony tilted his head, raising one hand to tap a finger against his chin. "No, no no no, that isn't your name either. You don't own it, it doesn't belong to you."
He began pacing around in circles, murmuring like a small child.
But the candidate didn't drop her guard for a second. Her eyes were fixated on the cultist, searching for some sign of weakness so slight that Subaru couldn't make it out.
After all, to his senses, Gluttony looked very vulnerable at that moment.
"You were from Vollachia, we think," he said in a sing-song voice. "But Pendleton… we've never eaten someone who knows that name… maybe brother knows…"
He broke off, still humming.
Then he suddenly fell silent, and stopped moving.
The candidate chose that moment to lunge at him, her sword flickering out like a tongue of flame, but the archbishop was no longer there.
Her sword cut into empty pavement once again, and from the rooftop of the building behind her, Gluttony let out a peal of laughter.
"Count Pendleton! The coward! He was a noble, and he died right before you came here! It fits, it fits! You took his name as well!"
Then he paused, and put his hand back on his chin. "But wait… we don't remember a wife named Priscilla. The records say he was executed for treason… is there something there? A cover up? A conspiracy?"
His voice took on a sing-song note, as his fingers twirled through the air, as if turning the pages of a book only he could see. "Roy. Roy, Roy, dear brother Roy? Do you have anyone who worked there? There, in the household of Jorah Pendleton? We want one, we need one, we have…"
He paused, and then a sinister smile lit up his face.
"...one!"
Then he looked down at the candidate, and his smile became touched with kindness. It was the sentimental smile of a mother looking upon a favoured daughter.
Somehow, that was creepier than the cruelty.
"Princess," Gluttony said, seeming to almost choke up with emotion. "Oh, how much you've grown."
"Princess?" the candidate asked, her face going blank. "What farce is this?"
"Don't worry princess," Gluttony said warmly. "You don't remember this maid, this Cecelia, but we remember you."
He smiled, and the viciousness returned in full force.
"We remember!" he shouted. "We remember Prisca Benedict!"
Then he licked his hand.
The effect was immediate. The candidate swayed where she stood, then, with nothing holding her up, she fell sideways onto the ground. Her sword disintegrated into flames, leaving not a trace behind.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Gluttony cried. "What joy, what brilliance, what arrogance! Ah~ thank you for this feast! We love it, we desire it, we need it!"
Then he looked down and smiled.
"Ah? Who are you? You were hiding, not wanting to help us?"
"I didn't want to disturb your fun," Subaru replied, stepping out onto the street, not letting a trace of fear or anger cloud his face. He almost wanted to use an illusion, but Gluttony had seen right through Velia's, and she was far better at creating them than he was.
He was calm enough. His face was a mask. He could see himself through Huginn's vision. He looked fine.
And even if he wasn't, even if Gluttony decided to use his Elimination on him, Subaru still had enough mana to blow his own head off with a Goa. He was in no permanent danger.
So, the thundering in his heart was due only to the beginnings of Wrath's dreadful authority. If not for that, then surely Subaru would be calmer.
"Hmm?" Gluttony tilted his head, and suddenly, he had vanished from the rooftop.
Subaru didn't even need the sudden jolt of alarm from his spirits to know where he went.
He turned his head, and there, sure enough, was the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, hunched over in his rags, his wild eyes looking up at Subaru through his long hair.
"Our fun? Yes, it was fun! We had a lot of fun playing with them, ~ah!"
Subaru's blood ran cold. It sounded like such an innocent thing, coming from his lips, as if the Archbishop was merely a young child, acting the age he appeared to be.
It stood in such stark contrast to his actions up to this point, that Subaru had to suppress a shudder.
But he forced himself to conceal his fear and revulsion. He still had his mission.
So instead, Subaru stared down at the cultist.
"That took a long time," he said, with the hint of a frown, and the slightest pursing of his lips. The expression of mild disapproval, but nothing more. "If you had been serious from the start, you could have finished them much sooner."
"Hah?" Gluttony tilted his head to the side, drooping it so far that it practically touched his shoulder. "Sooner? Why would we want to do that? We need to prepare every meal, or it won't be properly gourmet. We don't care about that green-haired fool's stuff, ~ah."
He waved a hand dismissively at Subaru, as if lumping him in with Petelguese.
Then he turned on his heel and began walking away with exaggerated steps, his arms out wide, like a child walking on an imaginary tightrope.
"We're only here for the feast!" he went on. "Such fine delicacies, the kingdom's finest! We'll make sure they're gourmet, we'll prepare them, then we'll eat them! Ah~ such wonderful meals!"
"...you don't care?" Subaru murmured, barely listening to the second half.
"Then," he spoke up, and Gluttony turned to face him, "this whole 'trial', what do you think of it?"
Gluttony shrugged. "If we can't eat it, we don't care. We'll stay as long as there's food, and once there isn't, we'll leave. We don't care if he succeeds or if he fails."
He kept walking, and reached his destination, the bandit who still lay in the middle of the road.
"Hmm~?" the Archbishop said, leaning down to examine the man. "You're awake again? But you didn't get up?"
He sighed.
"It seems we were right. You are not gourmet."
He righted himself, and then swivelled around to face Subaru again.
"Well~? What are you here for? Don't you want to complete the trial~?"
Subaru snorted. "I can't say I'm particularly interested in that either."
He paused. It seemed unlikely to work, but he might as well try…
"Do you happen to know where Wrath is?"
Gluttony blinked in confusion. "Her? We don't know, we don't care. We don't work with her, we don't like her, she doesn't like us. She stays near Petelgeuse, always running around him like a dog."
"Really?" Subaru asked. "Well, I suppose that's a place to start."
Then he turned his eyes back to Gluttony.
I didn't get much from him… but if he really isn't here to kill Emilia, and he's just here to 'eat'... then maybe the key to luring him out is…
The aura around Gluttony shifted in an instant. He made no obvious movements, but goosebumps rose on Subaru's skin under the intensity of the Sin Archbishop's newfound anger.
"We know those eyes. Those scheming eyes, ready to take advantage of us! We won't allow that, ~ah!"
Subaru raised his hands.
"Hey, hey, peace. I'm not about to go threatening you, there's no need to worry about that."
He paused, then went on, "You know what, as a gesture of my sincerity, why don't I let you know a little secret?"
Gluttony didn't relax, but did appear curious.
"By now, the knight's plans must have changed just a little. The Captain of the Knights is leading a contingent through the city, and they're separated from the rest of their forces. If you really want 'gourmet' food, then you're unlikely to find any better than there."
Gluttony held his gaze for a moment longer.
Then he smiled.
"Ah~? Yes, yes, that would be gourmet. We'll have to eat him, we'll eat his companions, we'll devour them all! Ah~!"
He chuckled. "We don't mind those schemes so much, ah~. Make sure you feed us well!"
Then he disappeared, leaving not a trace of his passing.
Subaru waited a few moments to be sure he was gone, his spirits flying around to check the surrounding blocks.
Once he was satisfied that he was truly alone, he let out a shaky breath and leaned down.
"It's okay Subaru," he whispered to himself. "Just talk to the tiny insane child. Just figure out how to predict his movements, no biggie. It's not like he could kill you with a wave of his hand, or that he'd do it just for staring at him."
He let out another breath.
Alright, calm down Subaru. Don't let Wrath's Authority get to you. Keep your anger and fear nice and locked up. But still… it was lucky that I remembered that Marcos was bringing a search party for Priscilla. Or Priskilla or Prissa or whatever her name is.
His breathing suitably slowed, he brought himself back upright, and looked up the city towards the palace and the upper strata.
But I guess that confirms my suspicion. Gluttony can be lured with strong opponents. So if I can get the best fighters together and let the cult know where they'll be, Gluttony will walk willingly into the trap.
He felt a slight smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
Well, that's going to be easier than I expected.
But then he frowned once more.
Of course, that's only one of three. I still don't have any idea how to take care of Petelguese, and I know nothing about Wrath.
He shook his head.
A problem for another time. First, I'll need to find Wrath. If Gluttony was right, and she's staying with Petelguese, then I might be able to meet her with him… but I did want to look for another finger first…
He considered his options for a moment.
Petelguese should still be trying to secure a route through the middle strata, which will keep him occupied for a few hours. I have time for some searching. Besides, he could have hidden Wrath somewhere else in the city.
He started walking, but then hesitated as his eyes landed on the prone forms of Gluttony's victims.
…I can't really help them. I might be able to carry Priscilla, but there's no way I can afford to bring her all the way to a guard station. And they won't exist past today anyway. I should just ignore them.
But he didn't move on. He stood there, paralysed by his indecision. His eyes lingered on their bodies, and he was unable to drag them away.
Well, I suppose I should check up on them, just in case we suffer casualties to Gluttony next time. It's not impossible that I'll be able to learn something. Maybe.
The bandit was closer, so he's the one Subaru went to check first.
As he approached, he heard a low rumbling sound, and he stopped, trying to figure out where it was coming from. After a moment, he realised it was coming from the man lying on the ground. He was murmuring something, so quietly as to be nearly inaudible.
"No way, you're awake!" Subaru cried, rushing to the bandit's side. "Wait, does that mean you really were pretending?"
It was shocking. He had fought so hard against Gluttony, and he had just given up after being knocked down? Even after Gluttony had called him out on it?
The bandit didn't respond to Subaru's comments. He didn't even seem to register his existence.
"Oh… did he get you too?" Subaru asked, kneeling down beside the man. "Can you hear me? Whatever he did, it's clearly different from what he did to Marcos and Priscilla. Your candidate."
The man did not react, continuing his murmuring.
Subaru eyed the man carefully, trying to judge if he was going to make any movements, then carefully leaned over, trying to make out the words.
"If you're going to suddenly grab me, now would be a great time," he joked, but still, the man didn't move.
Subaru sighed, and strained his ears.
"Why?" the man was asking. "Why? Why? Why?"
Subaru leaned back up, then gazed back down at the bandit in confusion.
"Why… what? Is this like… a confused condition? You don't seem to be randomly hurting yourself, so perhaps it's a feeblemind spell? I didn't think Gluttony did anything in particular to you though…"
Subaru cursed under his breath, and shook the man vigorously.
"Oi! Wake up! What's wrong with you? Why what? I'll answer you if you ask properly!"
But the man still did not respond.
"Tch. Huginn!"
The fire spirit popped into existence beside him, a little confused by his actions.
"We're going to need to use a little mana. I need to get this guy to talk."
This was a perfect chance to learn more about the full effects of Gluttony's power, if only he could pry some answers from the unresponsive man lying before him.
Huginn bobbed, and Subaru reached out a hand.
"Huma."
A crystal of ice appeared in mid-air, condensation misting the air around it as it radiated coldness.
"Alright, last chance!" he warned "Tell me what happened to you, or I'll make you tell me!"
The man did not cease his ramblings.
"Fine then."
Subaru lowered the shard of ice, and then pressed it against the man's bare chest, making him…
…do absolutely nothing. He didn't even flinch.
Subaru blinked, then leaned over again. The man's ramblings hadn't changed content in the slightest. It was only the endless, repeated question.
"Whywhywhywhywhywhy…"
That… threw a wrench in things. If bare-chested ice torture wasn't enough to get through to him, Subaru didn't think he had anything capable of snapping the man out of his stupor. Maybe a bucket of ice-cold water, to spread the cold out a bit more?
He shook his head.
No, the only other thing that could work would be healing magic, and even if I had time, I still can't carry him all the way to a healer. I'll have to give up on this piece of information.
He pursed his lips. He was reluctant to simply leave something unknown, but… Gluttony hadn't used his ability on him, so this must be something else. Some other magic, one a little less dangerous than his psuedo-Mist of Elimination. It didn't change Subaru's strategy for dealing with the Sin Archbishop.
He sighed, and got to his feet.
"I don't suppose you'll recover before the end," he said, talking down to the man. "But perhaps we'll meet again someday, in another life."
Then he turned, and started walking towards Priscilla.
She had fallen from a standing position, but for some reason, her body hadn't been damaged on her way down. It was odd, Subaru would have expected her head to crack from hitting the stone pavement. But then, what did he know? Perhaps her body was just naturally tougher than normal people's.
The very first thing Subaru did was roll the candidate onto her back to check the spot that Gluttony had touched.
Perhaps it was indecent of him to touch a lady's bare shoulders… but she was dead, and he needed to know more.
Sure enough, there wasn't a trace of blood on her. Her clothes weren't even damaged, her dress neat and orderly despite her battle with the Sin Archbishop. One of the jewels of her necklace had been cracked, but that was the only flaw in her otherwise immaculate form. It must have broken when she fell.
So he doesn't need blood, just contact? Subaru surmised. But that's not enough either. Why did he fail that first time? Why did he get sick all of a sudden?
Subaru closed his eyes in thought. The battle had been fast-paced, meaning he hadn't been able to fully focus on what had been happening, but…
"He mentioned an alias, and he went on about names a bit," he said. Then he looked down at the candidate's face. "And every time he licked his hand, he said a name. Marcos's, your fake one, and your real one. Apologies, but I don't remember that second one. I gather you were a princess though? From that country in the south, Vollachia?"
Unsurprisingly, the candidate's body made no response.
Subaru sighed.
But that does mean that maybe I know a weakness? He needs to know your real name before he can use the elimination ability on you? I suppose that would protect me from him, if I used some alias, but I don't think I'll be able to fake the names of all the most famous people in Lugunica.
He glanced at the candidate again.
He didn't know her name initially though, and seemed pretty off-balance when he tried to use his ability the first time. Maybe I could use that?
Subaru placed his hand on the ground to support himself as he got up, but then, by some stroke of fortune, he noticed something.
The candidate's chest rose and fell, so slightly that for a second Subaru thought he had imagined it.
He stared at her for a second, then picked up her hand and put a thumb to her wrist.
For a long moment, he felt nothing, and then…
Her wrist pulsed. She still had a heartbeat.
She's alive! Subaru thought, the shock rebounding inside him. Why? Why is she alive?
It made no sense. Gluttony's trump card, his one-shot kill… it didn't kill its target? How could that be?
He was half-tempted to try and shake her awake, but he suspected that would be pointless. Surely Gluttony's ability wasn't a simple one hit K.O, fixed by one measly trip to the Pokemon centre? It couldn't be.
"Muninn! And Huginn as well!"
The two fire spirits flickered into existence, and Subaru looked over to them.
"Can you two find a water spirit? Quickly, anyone will do. I just need to know if this person has anything wrong with them."
Huginn hesitated, but Muninn cried out with gusto.
Water friend! Help!
She shot off into the sky.
Subaru held up a hand before Huginn could chase after her to call her back.
"Keep an eye on her," he ordered. "If you can find a water spirit to help, bring them back here and learn all you can. I'm going to move on, so use the contract to find me when you're done."
Huginn projected his concerns. Luna was out of mana, and Sol didn't have enough to keep Subaru safe if they got into another battle. Not to mention, without either fire spirit, he wouldn't be able to use even the lowliest of his Ice Brand Arts techniques.
"Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble," Subaru promised. He couldn't hide his emotions from his spirits, but in this instance, it worked in his favour. He meant every word.
Huginn was still doubtful though. Subaru might mean to keep his promise, but reality could still intervene to make avoiding a fight impractical.
"Fine then," Subaru allowed. "Only stay half-an-hour, then come find us."
He paused.
"And don't worry if you can't find too much. We could still have a chance to have a healer study one of the victims before the day is out."
Huginn bobbed, satisfied with those conditions, and then raced after Muninn.
Subaru wished he could have stayed with the candidate to learn all he could first-hand, but he didn't have time. It was frustrating. He had spent so much of his time with the cult just waiting, and now he didn't have enough of it.
He felt Luna's presence at the back of his mind, the Yin spirit doing her best to rouse herself and help out.
"Go back to sleep," he told her. "Sol and I can look after ourselves. Right Sol?"
Sol winked into being, trying to disguise his own weariness with a front of resolve and strength.
"Well, hopefully we won't have to fight just yet," Subaru said. "Just focus on gathering mana, same as what you've been doing. We're going to need it before the end of the day."
Subaru trekked through the city, spending almost the entire half-hour he had allocated his fire spirits walking through the lower strata.
That wasn't due to the great area the lower city covered, however.
Subaru wasn't aiming to get to the palace just yet. He was travelling to various cultist hideouts in the city, the ones Mora had declared most defensible or hidden in his reports.
If the Sin Archbishop of Wrath was hiding somewhere away from Petelguese, surely those hideouts were the prime candidates.
Every time Subaru approached, he examined the area with his miasma-eyes technique—I really need to name that—but it was to no avail. The Mark of the Witch hung over the locations, but his own mark far overshadowed them. They weren't even as strong as Petelgeuse's. She couldn't be present in any of them.
Unless Wrath didn't have a mark nearly as strong as the other Sin Archbishops, in which case Subaru wasn't going to find her anyway.
Looks like I'm going to have to take Gluttony at his word, he thought. But if he was wrong, and Wrath isn't anywhere near Petelgeuse…?
He rubbed his head. Damn it, I don't have other options. I should have known about her before I tried to infiltrate the cult. Why did I waste my last life so much!? I should have made the kingdom do more! I should have made a team go and look for the 'fear spell'! I should have accepted that I was going to d—
A harsh light assaulted his eyes, and he clapped his hands over his face, stumbling as he walked.
"Gah! What was that? Are we being attacked?"
…no? Yes?
Sol's response was rather lacklustre, and as Subaru's vision cleared, he saw the Yang spirit hovering right in front of his face.
He was concerned, very much so, and even more surprising was the concern radiating from Luna.
She hadn't yet materialised, but she was struggling to work up the energy to try.
Trance! she cried out. Anger, anger, anger!
Subaru blinked, then suddenly became aware of that frightful presence, the shadow that had wormed its way into his heart, stoking the worst of his emotions.
"Wrath's Authority," he hissed, then winced and closed his eyes. He couldn't react with more anger now.
As his breathing slowed, and his heart grew slightly quieter, he looked up at Sol. "How long have I been letting it affect me?"
The Yang spirit gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. He had been paying more attention to their surroundings, and hadn't noticed Subaru until Luna had called out to him.
Don't know, came Luna's own response. Anger, awoke.
"Damnit," Subaru sighed, placing a hand on his forehead. "It's so easy to lose focus on it. I wish Alexander was here. But… it's pretty strong now, isn't it? Could I maybe…?"
He looked around, then activated his eyes.
The air was tainted black by his miasma, but he forced himself to look deeper. Surely if he was affected by the authority, he should be able to see the source of it? With even the faintest mist, even the thinnest line of miasma, he could follow it back to its source.
But he couldn't see anything in his surroundings. Perhaps the buildings looked a little darker than normal, but he couldn't tell if that was simply a consequence of his own aura of blackness.
But that didn't mean he saw nothing of value at all.
As he focused his sight on the surrounding city, he saw a flash of light from the middle strata, and then dirt and rock was thrown up in a massive plume, sending trees flying.
And perhaps it was just his imagination, but it looked like there was a shadow lying over the area, like an aura of evil intent.
Well, that's one Sin Archbishop at least. And given the size at this distance, it's probably two. I'll go check it out. It might be Wrath and Petelgeuse. Guess I'm going to be giving up on finding another finger.
Huginn and Muninn caught up with them well before he reached his destination. Muninn gave a long-winded explanation of who her new friend was and what they had played in the past, while Huginn gave a simple summary of what they had learned.
Which was to say, almost nothing.
The candidate was very healthy, the minor water spirit had said. She was in excellent shape, with no damage to her bones, nor any haemorrhaging in her body. It almost seemed like she was sleeping.
But that wasn't quite it.
She was sleeping too deeply, her breath was too slow, her heartbeat too faint. It was as if every bodily function she possessed had been shut down, leaving only the minimum required to keep her alive.
She didn't even seem to be dreaming.
"Well, even that's something," Subaru said. "I was half-expecting to learn nothing at all. But it's very strange. A magical sleep instead of instant death. What is the purpose of that?"
He shook his head. Ultimately, it wasn't something he could immediately use to his advantage, but perhaps he could be more willing to accept casualties in the eventual subjugation of Gluttony. After all, if they were alive, they could still be saved.
He made his way into the middle strata, casting glances around all the while.
The surroundings were quiet, a sure sign that this region had already fallen to the cult. If it hadn't, there would still be birdsong, and possibly even guard patrols.
He soon reached the spot he had seen the explosion, but all that could be found now was the vicious aftermath.
The broken bodies of knights lay strewn throughout the newly cleared field, the grass stained red by blood and viscera.
Around them lay twice their body count in cultists, many of whom had been sliced in twain. The cult hadn't bothered to perform any last rites for them before they moved on.
Some of the knights' limbs had been torn off their bodies, and from the splattering of blood surrounding the wounds, it didn't look like the culprit had waited until they were dead to do so.
Many others lay mostly unharmed in the midst of their dead brethren, as if in deep sleep.
"So, the two of them got you again, huh?"
Subaru asked of one such body, a tall, heavyset man with short green hair.
Marcos Gildark did not respond.
Subaru sighed. He had hoped for better, but now he was certain. Marcos could defeat the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony and Sloth one-on-one, but against both at once, his abilities were insufficient.
None of the cultists had Petelgeuse's distinctive green hair, so it seemed that Marcos hadn't managed to kill him even once this time.
Subaru looked up towards the palace, his mind running through the plans.
"They're ahead of schedule," he concluded, speaking to his spirits mostly for his own benefit. It let him clear his head, and they could point out if he was being an idiot. "Petelguese already has a path through the middle strata, and the guards don't seem to be doing that great a job at keeping the cultists occupied in the lower city."
He flicked his eyes to the right, towards the slope that led to the palace's plateau, the only entrance into the upper strata.
"I suppose Crusch will be preparing her defence around now. Petelgeuse won't wait long before cracking through it…"
He paused, considering his options.
"I don't think I'm going to have much luck out here, even if I do track down Wrath. I can't possibly defeat her as I am now if she's even half as competent as Petelgeuse. I need fighters to work with me. Luckily, I know just where to find some."
He nodded, his decision made, and he felt his spirits harden their own resolve.
"Alright then. Time to defect."
Subaru bolted up the hill, his legs pumping furiously, a trio of cultists hot on his tail.
Shit shit shit! This was a terrible plan! I hate this!
He heard the cry of his spirits, and Luna blared over their connection, Knife! Duck!
Subaru didn't take her advice, instead stepping slightly to the left as he ran, so the cross dagger sailed by his head.
Oh hell, I could have died from that! I'm so over running! I never want to do it again!
He was cycling his Ryuuhou technique as hard as he could through the third form, the one that focused on boosting endurance. But he was only a beginner, and he was straining his limits. If he didn't get to safety soon, he'd collapse, coughing up blood.
But that safety was in reach. Atop the incline he was running on, Crusch's garrison was waiting. He could already see people pointing at him, and armoured figures on land dragons had started charging down the hill towards him.
Seeing this, the cultists redoubled their efforts.
Subaru saw his own shadow on the ground in front of him, framed by red light, and felt a heat on his back.
Then Sol cried out, Akua!
He heard the thump of impact, and heard a sound like the shattering of glass as Sol's spell broke under the weight of the fireball.
"Help!" Subaru cried out once he judged the riders were in earshot. "Help me! They're going to kill me!"
The knights charged past him, the land dragons roaring war cries at the cultists.
Subaru slowed his steps, his legs burning in protest, and turned to watch as the riders fell upon the three cultists who had been pursuing him.
As he looked down at them, his eyes met the mask of the lead one. The cultist gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
And then a sword severed his head from his spine.
Subaru felt a sickness rising in his stomach. The sacrifice had been accepted. The plan had worked.
Now Subaru had to make the most of it.
...well, it has been a while, hasn't it?
I've had quite the eventful few months, in that I've finally been hired. Also, I'm easily distracted by side projects.
The first half of this next year promises to be quite eventful as well, so I'm not sure the situation will improve dramatically, but I do have most of the next chapter already done. It shouldn't be that long until the next update. (Famous last words, I know.)