Whoosh…
A fireball streaked across the dark night sky like a burning comet, rippling the air with its intense heat.
Lucien Graves withdrew his right hand, balled it into a fist, and struck the blazing meteor mid‑air.
The instant his fist met the fireball, the air tore apart, forming a shockwave that collided with the blaze. The impact fractured it into a shower of burning fragments that lit the entire sky with blazing sparks.
"Oh, you actually managed to dodge that move," a familiar voice spoke calmly through the chaos.
Emilia, who had been clutched in Lucien's arm, had already slipped away on the wind. Lucien turned to look at the figure hovering before him, a man dressed in bizarre clown‑like attire, one eye yellow, the other blue, with long dark indigo hair cascading over his shoulders, pale skin, and eerie makeup.
This was Roswaal L. Mathers, a very dangerous mage.
"Emilia."
On the ground below, Subaru Natsuki and Puck watched in despair as Emilia's dress spiraled down through falling ash.
Roar…
The wind howled, sharp and cold, as heavy snow began to fall. Puck's body expanded wildly, transforming into a monstrous form, his snarling fangs exhaling icy breath. The temperature dropped to freezing in seconds.
Subaru remained frozen still, clutching Emilia's dress, his body rigid, unable to form a word.
Rem lay collapsed in the snow, her body shattered like glass, fragments glinting coldly in the dim light.
"Oh dear, looks like the Beast of the End is going to destroy the world," Roswaal said offhandedly, his cape fluttering in the snowstorm as he watched Puck rampage, casually picking at his ear.
Lucien was enveloped in white flame, fire burning along his aura as his Ki flared intensely.
The surrounding air continued to chill. Subaru Natsuki lay broken on the ground, motionless.
"We will meet again very soon," Roswaal murmured, his lips framing those words to Lucien in the final moment.
Without any warning, Lucien in the tavern opened his eyes, stood by the window, and lit a cigarette. The memory of Roswaal's eerie smile had stuck with him.
Could it be that this man was unaffected by Return by Death? Or perhaps, like Lucien, he retained his memories across resets?
Because Lucien had only watched the first season of the anime, he did not yet know Roswaal's full identity — only that this clown‑like figure possessed terrifying power.
Just the movement of his aura stirred something deep within Lucien.
Smoking his cigar, Lucien watched the street below, his expression twitching occasionally.
At that same moment, in Roswaal's Mansion, Subaru Natsuki woke up. The exhaustion in his eyes was impossible to hide.
He was so, very tired.
His body, mind, and spirit felt as if they had been drained of breath.
At the foot of the bed, Ram and Rem clung to each other. Though their expressions remained as cold as ever, their eyes betrayed resentment and hatred toward Subaru.
Unseen by ordinary eyes, a thick Witch's Scent — like black mist — seeped from Subaru's body, a dark aura of turmoil and dread.
In another room of the mansion, Roswaal stood by a window, looking toward the distant forest with a book in hand, murmuring to himself.
"This cannot continue. He must be made to move forward."
The next day, Roswaal departed the mansion alone.
At the same time, Lucien also left the tavern and set his sights on the village.
However, this time something unexpected occurred — someone was already waiting.
Lucien, still in the body of a seven or eight‑year‑old child, looked at Roswaal, who hovered three feet off the ground, narrowing his eyes slightly in surprise.
This man was clearly waiting for him.
Could it really be that Roswaal's memories were also unaffected by Return by Death?
"Were you also transported from another world by a certain Witch?"
When they met, Roswaal did not hesitate, speaking with suspicion in his gaze as he studied Lucien.
"You truly have not lost your memories, and it seems you even know the origin of Subaru Natsuki."
At those words, Lucien's heart skipped a beat. The implication was unmistakable: this strange clown‑like man not only retained the memories, but also knew Subaru's secret.
In truth, the details revealed in the first season of the anime were just the surface.
Roswaal's story went far deeper.
Roswaal's history and abilities
Roswaal was born over 400 years ago. He became the disciple of the Witch of Greed, Echidna, and fell deeply in love with her. After her death, he devoted his existence to finding ways to bring her back, even transferring his consciousness into his descendants to cheat death and continue his ambitions. His body used over generations was a vessel for the same soul trying to achieve that goal.
Roswaal's magical ability was legendary. He could master all six forms of magical attributes — fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, yin, and yang — with overwhelming mana capacity and incredible skill. This vast control made him one of the most powerful magicians alive, capable of feats that far surpassed ordinary mages of the kingdom.
"Your target is Subaru Natsuki, isn't it!" Roswaal chuckled, though something about his smile made the atmosphere unsettling.
Lucien shrugged, and a frying pan appeared in his hand as though materialized from nothing.
His aura surged, white flames burning fiercely around his form as he prepared to test the strength within himself.
Roswaal maintained his serene smile, but four fireballs appeared, glowing on his shoulders as his presence rumbled like an abyss stirring the winds and clouds above.
Whoosh…
As Roswaal pointed his finger, the four fireballs plunged earthward with sonic booms, rippling the air. Before they even struck the ground, the earth shuddered and cracked, and trees withered from the force.
Lucien gripped the frying pan and swung it through the air. With the wind behind it, the pan expanded like a black storm cloud, smashing far ahead, blasting the fireballs aside. Its momentum remained undiminished as it hurtled toward Roswaal.
Roswaal's gentle chuckle vanished. As the shadow of the frying pan loomed, he raised his right hand to the sky. A column of flame the size of a small house shot upward and descended with crushing force.
A mushroom‑shaped burst of fire erupted, and rolling cascades of flame ripped through the earth. The frying pan shattered into fragments.
Though the pan's material was not exceptionally hard, its ability to change size and repair itself had made it formidable until this moment.
Still, this did not matter. Hardening crystals spread outward under the sun, turning the fragments translucent and beautiful. With another strike, the crystalline debris crushed down like a mountain.
Roswaal remained unfazed. Raising both hands, four towering pillars burst from the earth and slammed against Lucien's assault.
The ground tremored violently, cracks spidering outward in every direction.
The clash between them was enormous, a battle shaking the field so violently that Betty, Emilia, and others within the mansion turned to look in that direction.
At the center of the upheaval, sand and stones flew as Lucien tested two strikes casually before retracting the frying pan.
In this world, magical powers were divided into the basic elements — fire, water, wind, earth — plus yin and yang, six in total.
Roswaal's mastery over all six magical attributes, combined with his immense training and wisdom, made him incredibly powerful, which was precisely why the kingdom entrusted him with guarding its borders and recognized him as one of its greatest mages.