Sloth VS Otaku
At first, there was nothing.
When they reached the village, it was peaceful. No terrorists to be seen.
However, peace is a rather temporary term.
"For our beloved!" Someone yelled.
Emilia immediately froze the man.
However, he obviously wasn't alone.
More came out of hiding and Puck with Rosewall engaged with them.
Subaru observed them from afar, while trying to keep civilians out of the way. So far, she was doing great.
"Help!"
Subaru's breath hitched as she spotted a green-haired cultist sprinting away, a small child struggling in his grip. Damn it! Puck and Rosewall were too busy dealing with the other cultists. There was no time to call for help.
Her grip tightened on Aqua's staff as she bolted after him. A single cultist shouldn't be too much trouble—she could handle this.
The chase led them through the outskirts of the village and into a dense clearing. Moonlight barely filtered through the thick canopy above, casting eerie shadows on the ground. The cultist finally stopped, his arms wrapped tightly around the trembling child.
Subaru skidded to a halt, ice already forming at the tip of her staff. "Let the kid go," she ordered, voice sharp and unwavering.
The cultist twisted his head unnaturally, his body remaining still while his neck craned toward her in an almost sickening manner. His lips stretched into a twisted grin.
"All this time, the seat was empty… My, my, my head trembles!" His body quivered in what seemed to be excitement. "Are you Pride?"
Pride? What the hell was he talking about? The words meant nothing to her.
She ignored his ramblings, pointing the staff directly at him. Ice crackled in the air as razor-sharp icicles materialized, glinting in the dim light.
"Last warning," Subaru said, her silver hair whipping in the cold wind. "Let. The. Kid. Go."
The cultist's eyes widened as if seeing her for the first time. His grip on the child loosened, though not enough to let go completely. Instead, his expression twisted into something resembling awe.
"My head… my head trembles!" he gasped, his whole body shuddering violently. "You're not Pride! But you feel like one of us! Yet… yet… you are her!"
His gaze locked onto her, or rather, onto her pointed elf ears peeking through her windswept hair. His breathing grew erratic, his fingers twitching against the child's clothes.
"Who are you?! Who are you?!"
Subaru had enough of his nonsense.
She flicked her wrist, sending the ice spikes hurtling toward him.
Shatter!
Her attack never landed.
The icicles broke apart midair, as if something invisible had swatted them away.
The cultist barely reacted. His ranting continued, his eyes wild with mania.
The child whimpered, tears streaming down his dirt-streaked face.
Subaru's fingers curled tighter around the staff. She fired another volley of ice—larger, faster. But again, they shattered before making contact.
Something unseen was intercepting her attacks.
An ability? Some kind of magic?
Her heart pounded against her ribs. She needed to end this now.
She took a step forward, preparing to conjure an even stronger spell—
Something grabbed her arm.
A hand. An invisible, ice-cold hand.
It yanked the staff from her grip.
"The hell—?!" Subaru gasped, instinctively reaching out to snatch it back.
The staff hovered in the air for a second before being tossed aside, clattering against the dirt.
The cultist cackled, his voice high-pitched and feverish.
"That is a nasty staff, missy! Nasty staff! You shouldn't be using that, no, no, no." His head twitched to the side. "You should… die for the sake of our Witch of Envy."
Subaru's blood ran cold.
Before she could react, before she could move, before she could even scream—
Snap.
Her neck twisted violently.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
And just like that, she died.
Again.
Û~Û
Subaru woke up gasping, her eyes wide as she found herself standing in the same clearing, the same cold wind biting against her skin. The green-haired cultist was right in front of her, just about to yank her staff away—again.
Not this time.
She leaped backward, barely avoiding something brushing past her face. Though she couldn't see it, she felt it—a presence, a force, an unnatural hand trying to grab her.
The cultist's lips curled into a demented grin.
"Ah, my head trembles! My head trembles!" he screeched, his body convulsing. "You see my invisible hands?! Impossible!"
Subaru narrowed her eyes.
So that was his power. He had invisible hands. Plural.
More than one, then. But how many?
Judging by how erratic and distinct he was from the other cultists, it was clear—he wasn't just another fanatic. He was the leader here.
Yet, despite standing before a man who had already killed her twice, Subaru felt... calm.
Too calm.
Was this what happened when you died enough times? Nerves of steel, forged in the fires of agony and terror? That wasn't healthy. But at least she wasn't puking every time she reset. That was an improvement.
No time to dwell on it.
She swung Aqua's staff in a wide arc, channeling whatever power the useless goddess had left behind. A divine aura erupted from its tip, spilling light into the clearing like a crack in reality had been torn open.
The effect was immediate.
The cultist's face contorted in disgust, his manic grin twisting into a pained grimace.
"Ngh—! Stop it! Stop it!" he howled, blood trickling from his nostrils. He clutched his head, his body shaking violently.
For the first time, he looked vulnerable.
But before Subaru could capitalize on it, he did something unexpected.
With a wild, desperate look in his eyes, he threw the child at her.
Subaru's heart skipped a beat.
Shit—!
She barely had time to react, lunging forward to catch the kid before he hit the ground. She braced herself for impact—
And then she felt it.
A hand.
An unseen, crushing force wrapping around her neck.
Before she could struggle, before she could even think, the pressure snapped—
Darkness.
Another death.
Û~Û
Subaru was back.
The clearing stretched before her, untouched by the countless deaths that had stained it in her mind. The wind blew the same way, the same rustling of leaves whispered through the trees, and the same man stood before her, holding the same terrified child hostage.
She exhaled slowly, gripping Aqua's staff tighter.
The green-haired man cocked his head at her, his grin stretching unnaturally wide.
"Ahhh—! My head trembles, my head trembles!" he groaned, swaying where he stood. "Do you see it, do you feel it? The fate that binds us, the unseen hands of destiny closing around your throat?"
Subaru ignored his rambling and asked him, "What's your name?"
The cultist stopped swaying. His grin remained, but there was a flicker of interest in his bloodshot eyes.
"My name…? My name!" He pressed a trembling hand to his chest, breathing heavily. "You wish to know my name? A sign! A revelation! Could it be? Could it truly be? Have you been chosen? Ahh, my head trembles!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's about to pop off," Subaru muttered, unimpressed. "Just answer the question."
The man spread his arms wide, his long sleeves billowing.
"Betelgeuse Romanée-Conti!" he declared, voice ringing through the clearing. "The most faithful of the Witch's devoted! Sloth!"
Betelgeuse.
Why did that name sound so familiar?
She couldn't place it, but the nagging feeling in the back of her mind had to wait. She had more pressing matters.
"And why are you doing this?" Subaru asked, shifting her stance slightly.
Betelgeuse let out a breathy, almost reverent laugh.
"Because it will bring back the Great Witch of Envy, of course!"
Subaru narrowed her eyes.
"And why do you need to do that?"
A flash of pure devotion overtook his expression. His pupils dilated.
"She will cleanse the world," he whispered, voice trembling with emotion. "She will wipe away all impurity! Those who are worthy shall stand in her grace, and those who are not shall be consumed! Such is her love!"
Subaru wanted to roll her eyes.
So, a full-blown fanatic. Great.
Still, she had bought herself a little time. She had been memorizing him, studying him with every loop.
His ranting, his movements, the way he paced erratically yet with an odd precision—she was starting to see a pattern.
She had died twice more before fully understanding.
His hands.
There were at least twelve of them.
They moved in a set pattern, reaching, swiping, grasping, their origins seemingly from his torso. If she watched closely enough, she could predict when and where they would strike.
It wasn't perfect, but it was something.
Her grip tightened on the staff.
This was going to take a lot of mana.
She had to overpower him while dodging those hands and keeping the hostage safe.
She took a deep breath.
"Alright, Betelgeuse," Subaru said, leveling the staff at him. "Let's see if your Witch can protect you from this."
And she swung.
Subaru barely had time to react before something wrapped around her throat.
Her eyes bulged as she felt an invisible grip squeeze—tight, crushing, suffocating. Her hands clawed at the unseen force, her staff slipping from her grasp as her vision blurred. Her feet lifted off the ground, air refusing to enter her lungs.
Betelgeuse's grin widened as he trembled with delight.
"Sloth! Sloth! You are unworthy!" he shrieked. "Feel the embrace of our Witch!"
Spots danced in Subaru's eyes.
She kicked, struggled, but it was useless. The grip only tightened. Her lungs burned. The child, the staff, the battle—everything faded into the black void of unconsciousness as her body went limp.
And then—
Death.
—
She was back.
The clearing stretched before her. The wind blew the same way. The same terrified child was in Betelgeuse's grasp.
But this time, Subaru wasted no time.
She charged.
Her feet slammed against the ground as she gripped Aqua's staff tightly, mana surging through her body. She would not let this bastard throttle her again.
Betelgeuse's head snapped toward her, his lips parting in surprise.
"Hm? Hmmm? What is this?"
Subaru swung with everything she had.
The staff cracked against his skull.
A divine aura burst forth.
Betelgeuse screamed.
He gasped, his arms jerking, his grip on the child loosening.
Subaru barely managed to catch the girl, clutching her tightly as Betelgeuse fell to his knees. His hands shot to his temples, fingers clawing at his skin as he began to roll on the ground.
"Nnnhhh—GAAAHHH!"
His body convulsed as he shrieked, his voice tearing through the trees. He twisted, clutching his head, his back arching painfully.
"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!"
Subaru, panting, watching in disbelief.
The divine energy from Aqua's staff had done something to him.
It wasn't enough to kill, but—
Then. Suddenly.
He stopped.
His body went still.
His breathing slowed.
And when he lifted his head—
His face looked... normal.
No green tint. No bloodshot eyes. No erratic twitches.
He just stared, as if coming out of a deep trance.
Subaru, exhausted beyond belief, felt her legs give out.
She collapsed to her knees, the child still in her grasp.
And then—
"Nee, Subaru!"
Puck's voice rang out as he flew toward her.
She exhaled shakily.
She did it.
Mission successful.
Û~Û
Author Note: Hmm. Is it?
Coincidentally, my other story: 'Stone-Faced But Friendly' is also in the same arc. Check it out. Dattebayo.
Thanks for reading this chapter. Drop your thoughts in the review section. Your words motivate me to write better, larger and with more depth.
Catch you next time!