They rushed to the village, seeing people in black cloaks killing people left and right as Ram and Rem's eyes filled with rage.
Ram: [The Witch...]
Rem: [...Cult.]
Ram and Rem: (It's them!!!)
Kiyotaka: (These people... this might be a difficult fight.)
A man with green hair, not wearing the hood of his cloak, walked over with a deranged smile, scratching his head to the point where it bled.
Emilia: [Who are you and what are you doing here!?]
Emilia: (Why does his face seem... familiar?)
???: [I am a『Sin Archbishop』Of The Witch's Cult representing『Sloth』Petelguese Romanée-Conti.]
Emilia: [Huma!]
An Ice spike shot at Peterlguese when a cultist stood in the way, taking the attack for him.
Emilia: [That's enough, villain. I won't allow you to do such wicked things!]
Petelguese began crying.
Petelguese: (To meet her already...)
Petelguese: [How grand! What a grand day! What a lucky day! What a grand destiny!]
An attack rushed at Emilia, who jumped away, creating an ice tree to stand on.
Kiyotaka: (An instinct, huh? But what was it that hit that area?)
Petelguese: [My witch! My love's guide.]
Kiyotaka: [Emilia. Leave him to me. Try to clear out the other cultists.]
Emilia nodded as the four of them began fighting the Witch Cult, with Kiyotaka facing Petelguese directly as the others fought the witch cultists. Kiyotaka swung his blade as Petelguese jumped back.
Kiyotaka: (He's not as fast as Elsa. I can definitely kill him.)
Petelguese: [My brain trembles.]
Suddenly, Rem coughed up blood as a hole was punched through her body, and Kiyotaka's eyes widened.
Ram: [Rem!]
Ram: (No! No! No!)
Kiyotaka: [What the?]
Kiyotaka rushed in, cutting off Petelguese's head.
Kiyotaka: [What happened? How did he?]
Kiyotaka looked around to see the Witch Cultists gathering.
Kiyotaka: [Damn these people.]
Ram: [Sister. Oh god, no. Please.]
She held her, trying to wake her up.
Emilia: (Rem is... dead?)
Emilia: [How could this happen?]
Kiyotaka reached out to inspect Rem's corpse.
Kiyotaka: [Like a hand burst through her.]
Ram: [Rem!!!]
Ram wailed out in pain as she held her sister to her chest.
Kiyotaka: (Do I reset now? No. First, let's play things out and make sure there aren't any nasty surprises waiting for me after the defeat of the Cultists.)
Kiyotaka looked to the Cultists.
Kiyotaka: [Ram. Right now. What do you want? Do you want to run away? If that's what you want, Emilia and I can cover your escape.]
Emilia nodded.
Emilia: (Right now Ram is...)
Ram: [I'll kill them. I'll kill them all!!!]
Kiyotaka nodded as they began killing the Cultists one after another. Suddenly, Kiyotaka pushed Ram down as a gash appeared on his body.
Kiyotaka: [Ugh!]
Ram: [Ayanotaka?]
Ram: (The same as Rem?)
Kiyotaka: [An invisible hand...]
Kiyotaka looked at the last Cultist.
Kiyotaka: (An ability they all possess?)
Kiyotaka: [Who are you?]
???: [I am a『Sin Archbishop』Of The Witch's Cult representing『Sloth』Petelguese Romanée-Conti.]
She smiled in a deranged way, biting her own fingers.
Kiyotaka: (Body possession!?)
Petelgeuse: [Ai ai ai ai ai ai!]
Kiyotaka moved out of the way as a mark, like a handprint was left on the ground.
Kiyotaka: (Just one hand?)
Petelguese: [『Authority Of Sloth』... 『Unseen Hand.』]
Kiyotaka jumped to the side and then, imbuing himself with Yang magic, rushed at Petelguese, cutting their head off.
Kiyotaka: [A possession-type ability. Well, it doesn't help if all your subordinates are...]
Kiyotaka felt a disgusting feeling in his body as he fell to his knees.
Emilia: [Kiyotaka?]
Emilia: (He doesn't look well.)
Kiyotaka: [Why? Why can you...]
Emilia: [Kiyotaka, what's wrong?]
Kiyotaka: [He's possessing my body.]
Emilia: [Possessing?]
Ram: [What?]
Kiyotaka: [Ram, you need to kill me right now!]
Emilia: [Huh? No!]
Ram: [Ayanotaka I...]
Ram: (I'm not going to do that. Absolutely not!)
Kiyotaka: [It's because of the『Witch's Scent』. Damn it...]
Kiyotaka's voice went silent.
Emilia: [Kiyotaka?]
Kiyotaka: [I am a『Sin Archbishop』Of The Witch's Cult representing『Sloth』Petelguese Romanée-Conti.]
They looked shocked.
Ram: [Damn it. Why?]
Ram: (Why can Ayanotaka get possessed?)
Emilia: [Kiyotaka...]
Petelguese: [Let us now reciprocate Love!]
Kiyotaka struggled to regain control.
Kiyotaka: [No!]
Emilia: (Kiyotaka is fighting...)
Emilia: [How do we help him?]
Ran: [I don't know!]
Petleguse: [Ai!]
Kiyotaka: [Nooooo!!!! Get out of my skiiiin!!!!] (Please Tell Me Someone Gets This Joke.)
Ram: [Ayanotaka! There has to be a way to...]
Kiyotaka: [Kill me. Please... I don't want to be a tool. Not again...]
Ram: [Ayanotaka. I can't...]
Emilia: [Kiyotaka. There has to be a way...]
Kiyotaka stabbed himself in the throat.
Emilia: [No!]
Ram: [Ayanotaka!]
Kiyotaka: (I won't be a tool for anyone! Not ever again! If this kills me permanently, so be it!)
Emilia: [His wound. Ram, I can't close it!]
Ram: [Damn it! No!]
Emilia: (My healing isn't working. Why!!!)
※※※※※※ Re:Birth ※※※※※※
Kiyotaka's eyes opened as he sprang up from his bed, falling to the floor and vomited onto the floor.
Kiyotaka: [Ugh! My throat... I...]
Sweat dropped from Kiyotaka's forehead to the floor.
Kiyotaka: [I can breathe...]
Kiyotaka held his throat, confirming it. He regulated his breathing, slowing it down until he was calm.
Kiyotaka: (Today is... only a day prior to Petelguese's arrival! Only a day to prepare... Not good.)
Kiyotaka got a mop to clean up after himself before anyone noticed, and then he sat down at his desk. Kiyotaka looked and listened around, checking for any insects in the room.
Kiyotaka: (Not one huh? Looks like Ram trusts me. If it's Emilia, I'll be able to convince her with this much.)
Kiyotaka began writing a short and punctual letter.
Kiyotaka: (Now I have to get to the mail area.)
Kiyotaka slipped the letter into his sleeve and walked out of his room
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka entered the mail room to see Ram.
Ram: [Hm? What are you doing here, Ayanotaka?]
Kiyotaka: [I'm expecting mail from my sister.]
Ram: (His sister... the lord of chaos, as he calls her.)
Ram: [Ah, yes. Rem told me you met her.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
He walked over to the message box as he feigned the action of taking the letter out of the mail area by sticking his hand in the box and slipping the letter down his sleeve into the box out of Ram's sight and into his hand. He then took his hand out of the box.
Kiyotaka: [This doesn't have an official seal. Are you or Rem expecting mail?]
Ram shook her head.
Ram: [It must be for you.]
Kiyotaka opened the letter with the nearby letter opener and thus began his act.
Kiyotaka: [Witch Cult?]
Ram: (What?)
Ram turned to him.
Ram: [Ayanotaka. What did you say?]
Kiyotaka: [The letter here says an attack from the Witch Cult is imminent.]
Ram: [What?]
Ram walked over.
Ram: [Let me read it.]
Dear Roswal L. Mathers
I'm repaying that favour I owe to you now. The Witch Cult is going to attack your estate. Evacuate the estate along with Emilia-Sama. They will arrive in a few days. I'm leaving my name blank as I don't want to reveal my identity to your staff.
Sincerely, ----------
Ram: [A favour from an unknown person.]
Kiyotaka: [What do you think?]
Ram: (Who could have sent this?)
Ram: [Roswaal-Sama isn't here, so we'll have to show this letter to Emilia-Sama.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: (Any problems I can cause to Roswaal, like cracks in Ram's complete trust, will work well. If she's able to separate her will from his slightly, she'll be a valuable ally in settling the score with him. Also, his reaction to the news of such a letter will be interesting as well. From his expression, I'll be able to tell if he caught on to my ploy, if he has people like this that owe him favours or if he's completely bewildered by the situation. It'll allow me a proper analysis of the man known as Roswaal L. Mathers.)
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka and Ram arrived at Emilia's room, knocking on the door as she opened the door.
Emilia: [What's going on?]
Ram handed her the letter, and Emilia looked at it with a shocked expression. They ran out of the mansion to Arlam Village as they began guiding the Arlam Villagers away through a safe route, when the Witch Cultists surrounded the group.
Kiyotaka: (How did they... A spy.)
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (There must be some kind of way to kill them that will allow me to end this. Calculating it in my head, accounting for killing them in a sequential order, groups and all at once... There are 39, 916, 800 options. There's no way I'm going to die that many times. I'd go crazy long before that. There's also no guarantee that this ability I have will save me twice in a row, let alone that many times.)
Kiyotaka considered interrogation, but shook his head.
Kiyotaka: (They're too crazy to interrogate...)
Kiyotaka took out his sword as he dived into combat with the Witch Cult.
Petelguese: [My brain trembles!]
Ram: [Witch Cultist!]
Kiyotaka: [Don't.]
Ram clicked her tongue but knew he was right.
Kiyotaka: (Those invisible hands are a real threat.)
Petelguese bowed.
Petelguese: [I am a『Sin Archbishop』Of The Witch's Cult representing『Sloth』Petelguese Romanée-Conti.]
Kiyotaka: [Is there any way you can let us through without a fight?]
Petelguese smiled and pointed to him.
Petelguese: [That's quite slothful of you.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Petelguese: [『Authority Of Sloth』... 『Unseen Hand.』]
Kiyotaka's eyes widened as he could see purple hands rushing at Rem, and Kiyotaka jumped, knocking her to the ground as the attack missed.
Rem: [Kiyotaka-Kun!?]
Kiyotaka: (Best thing to say would be...)
Kiyotaka: [You can't see those purple hands coming out of him?]
Petelguese: [What!? Why! Why! Why! Why!]
He began tearing at his own flesh as Ram and Rem looked at him with disgust.
Ram: (What on earth is he doing?)
Rem: (Disgusting Witch Cultist.)
Petelguese: [Why can you see my『Unseen Hand?』Why are you so loved!?]
Kiyotaka: [How would I know? I didn't ask to be loved.]
Emilia looked a bit concerned by that statement.
Emilia: (Loved? By who?)
She refocused, knowing that she couldn't lose focus right now.
Kiyotaka: (This is good. At the very least, I can see it.)
Kiyotaka was internally annoyed to a small degree.
Kiyotaka: (If only I also had Yin Magic. If I did, I could use Nect and share my sight with everyone else.)
Kiyotaka and his group gathered the civilians in the middle and formed a protective circle around them.
Kiyotaka: (Protecting people... doesn't suit me.)
Kiyotaka: [Someone fill my spot. I'm the only one who can see Petelguese's『Unseen Hand』so I need to be the one to face him.
Emilia: [There are too many. I can't.]
Ram: [I don't have an opening, Ayanotaka.]
Rem: [I'm sorry, Kiyotaka-kun. I can't.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (I'll do the best, but I'm not sure if this will work.)
Kiyotaka: [Brace yourselves!]
The civilians kneeled down, rolling their bodies into a ball to try to protect themselves, and Kiyotaka lifted his hand into the air.
Kiyotaka: [Ul Gona!]
Ram: [Two-Fold... no, the size of the boulders and flames are too high for just that. Yang Magic? Ayanotaka... is using... Three-fold casting?]
Ram: (How did he manage to learn that?)
Several huge stones on fire hit the area in a circle, killing several cultists and giving Kiyotaka an opening, as Kiyotaka had left a straight line of sight for Petelguese as Kiyotaka raised his hand, pointing at Petelguese.
Kiyotaka: [El Dona!]
Kiyotaka let loose a rapid fire of stone shards.
Petelguese: [My brain... trembles?]
His figure was shredded to pieces as he died. Kiyotaka fell to his knees, gripping his shirt near his chest.
Ram: [Ayanotaka!]
Kiyotaka: (I'm still an amateur, so I can't just use spells like that in quick succession after using an Ul spell I'm not experienced in, on top of using the said Ul spell in a threefold cast spell without severe consequences. If only I had a few months to train. Then I wouldn't suffer from backlash.)
Ram: (This fool isn't ready for using those kinds of spells one after the other.)
Kiyotaka took a deep breath.
Kiyotaka: (Let the mana slowly move in and out of my gate. Bear through the pain and slow the flow... Slow it... until I can ... stop it.)
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (At the very least, I've learned that a gate is like a muscle. If you're filled with adrenaline, you can use it for something more than it's capable of, but it'll need a second to recover.)
Kiyotaka was able to relax his gate, and the mana that had once stung his gate was now soothing his gate slowly.
Kiyotaka: (That's better.)
Emilia: [Are you alright, Kiyotaka?]
Kiyotaka: [Sorry. I'm still a bit inexperienced.]
Emilia nodded.
Emilia: [It's okay. Take a second.]
Kiyotaka: [I'm fine. Let's keep going.]
Emilia nodded as they continued fighting as the Witch Cultists flooded through the opening.
Emilia and Rem: [Huma!]
Kiyotaka: [Ram. Don't use your magic unless you have to.]
Ram: [I can't just...]
Kiyotaka: [If you become a liability because you don't have anymore mana, it'll be more problematic for us.]
Ram: (Damn it.)
Ram gritted her teeth, feeling useless, but she knew he was right.
Kiyotaka: (Just try to phase through the boulders, you idiots...)
Some cultists came through.
Kiyotaka: [El Dona!]
Spikes burst out of the ground, impaling them as soon as they rematerialised.
Kiyotaka: (Go on and waste your troops like this.)
Kiyotaka then pulled Emilia towards himself as an『Unseen Hand』missed her.
Kiyotaka: (That hand is still... where could it have come from?)
Emilia: [Thank you, Kiyo...]
Kiyotaka tuned out her voice as he tracked the possible trajectories.
Kiyotaka: (And... that's the one.)
Kiyotaka dismissed the flames and jumped onto the boulder, climbing up and standing on top of it and seeing the Cultist waiting below.
Kiyotaka: [There you are, Petelguese.]
Petelgeuse: [Oh? You found me just like that? How diligent! You've redeemed yourself!]
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
Kiyotaka fired a shot, perfectly predicting the way Petelguese would try to dodge as the shot rang true.
Kiyotaka: [Two down. 9 to go.]
The flood of Cultists stopped as only 9 were left over.
Emilia: [It's over.]
Emilia: (No more of them are coming through the opening.)
Rem: [I'll make this slow and painful.]
Kiyotaka: (Well, aren't you scary when you're riled up?)
Despite saying this, Emilia and Rem were tired. However, the way that the fight was centralised to a small entrance with Kiyotaka punishing cultists that decided to phase through the boulders, making it easier to handle them and protect the civilians and reduce fatigue, all to a significant degree.
Kiyotaka: (My plan worked to the highest degree I could hope for.)
Kiyotaka then looked to the 9 remaining Witch Cultists.
Kiyotaka: (Kill 8 of them and capture the last one. That's my goal.)
Kiyotaka rushed in, killing each of them in a different pattern from the one he had used to kill them in his last loop, leaving only one left.
Ram: [Last one!]
Kiyotaka: [No. Hold on.]
Ram: [What?]
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
Kiyotaka formed a box around him.
Petelguese: [Dona!]
Suddenly, the box was broken as Petelguese smirked.
Petelguese: [How.... slothful you are!]
Kiyotaka: (What?)
Kiyotaka gritted his teeth.
Kiyotaka: (Capture isn't an option either.)
Kiyotaka rushed in and chopped off his head.
Kiyotaka: (Please tell me it was the pattern that I got wrong, because otherwise this is an even worse failure.)
Kiyotaka felt that disturbing feeling as he attempted to resist Petelguese, but when that failed, he stabbed himself in the throat.
Kiyotaka: (I will not... be... a... tool.)
Emilia: [Kiyotaka, what are...?!]
Ram: [Ayanotaka!]
※※※※※※ Re:Birth ※※※※※※
Kiyotaka's eyes opened to a familiar ceiling. He felt like vomiting, but held it in, covering his mouth with his hand to stop himself.
Kiyotaka: [That's my second time in a row...]
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Part:
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