In the afternoon at the Roswaal Mansion, the originally clear sky had been cast over by a gray shadow at some unknown point.
Ram stood on the high corridor of the mansion, her short pink hair swaying slightly in the wind. She smelled a scent that she, as an Oni, found utterly repulsive. It was the stench of the Witch Cult believers—a rotting odor like corpses fermented for days—spreading from the direction of the Elior Forest.
"This timing is truly terrible..." Ram muttered to herself, her hand subconsciously pressing against her chest. That was the source of her magic as an Oni, but having lost her horn, there was only a hollow echo of mana remaining.
Lady Emilia and Rem had gone to the Royal Capital, and Lord Roswaal had not yet returned. In the current Roswaal Mansion, she was, in a sense, the only effective combat power.
Meanwhile, in the shadows deep within the woods near the mansion in the Mathers domain.
Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti was frantically banging his head against a withered tree. With every impact, blood splattered from his forehead, yet the smile on his face grew increasingly twisted.
"Diligent! How truly diligent! All preparations are in place; the time for the trial is finally approaching!"
He stopped abruptly, his gaze falling upon the Gospel in his hands. According to the original script, he should have continued to lurk. He was to begin the operation only after that half-elf returned from the Royal Capital to the Mathers domain. The gathering of the Witch Cultists was not yet complete either.
He had intended to wait until both the manpower and his 'Fingers' were fully assembled, then bloodbath that village of mortals as an opening sacrifice, before finally entertaining the half-elf who bore the same face as the Lady Witch he worshipped.
But at this very moment, the pitch-black ink on the pages of the Gospel writhed madly. The text seemed to be modified in real-time, even emitting a harsh friction sound.
[Abandon waiting for the half-elf Emilia's return.]
[Abandon waiting for the gathering of believers to complete.]
[All units, immediately assault the Roswaal Mansion.]
[An anomalous factor is surging.]
Petelgeuse's bulging eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. He stared dead at the line "anomalous factor," blood mixed with saliva drooling from the corner of his mouth.
"Not wait for the half-elf's return? To deal with an anomaly?"
The man who was the Sin Archbishop representing [Sloth] could not understand the Gospel's intent. After all, they, the Witch Cultists, had gathered precisely for the existence of that half-elf. However, it didn't matter. Petelgeuse convinced himself in a moment—since it was the guidance of the Gospel, he, who deeply believed in and loved the Lady Witch, only needed to obey!
"Ahhhhh! This is love! Is this an extra test from Lady Witch for my 'diligence'?"
He turned abruptly, seven "Unseen Hands" lashing out violently in the air, shattering the surrounding rocks.
"Fingers! Did you hear that! Lady Witch is urging us! Immediately bloodbath the Roswaal Mansion before that half-elf returns! Let us prepare a surprise for her!"
Inside the mansion, Ram had finished her final instructions.
"Listen well. Hide in the cellar here until Ram comes back to call for you."
She looked at the trembling servants, her tone as cold and haughty as ever.
"Don't waste words. This is Ram's final order as the Head Maid."
The heavy secret door closed. Ram turned and walked toward the front courtyard. In the shadows of the grass and trees in the front yard, figures wrapped in black robes with unseen faces emerged one after another.
And located in the very center, at the highest point, was the [Sloth] Archbishop, Petelgeuse. He stood exaggeratedly on a stone statue used for decoration in the courtyard, his neck crooked like a broken pendulum.
It seemed he had waited for a long time before finally letting his gaze fall upon Ram, who had appeared in his field of vision.
"Oh my... is it only an Oni who has lost her horn? This is truly... slothful."
Petelgeuse appeared extremely disappointed. He had intended to prepare an immense surprise for the half-elf who would return shortly. But looking at it now, the weight of the surprise might be lower than he thought.
Ram did not answer. She simply lightly adjusted her maid outfit, which had never had a wrinkle. Immediately in the next moment, a gale rose abruptly!
"[Fura] (Wind Blade)!"
The air condensed into translucent sharp blades, instantly slicing through the throats of several cultists in the front row. Ram's figure turned into a bolt of pink lightning, shuttling through the crowd.
This was a semi-self-destructive style of combat. Every time Ram squeezed out her mana, the burden on her body intensified. But her eyes never wavered, because behind her was Lord Roswaal's mansion, and the home of Lady Emilia.
"Die, scum of the Witch Cult!"
Ram unleashed a large-scale gale once more, lifting the entire layer of stone bricks in the courtyard. But this was already the limit of what the girl named Ram could do against a Sin Archbishop.
"Boom——!"
Three Unseen Hands precisely caught the moment of her magic's recovery lag and slammed heavily into her abdomen.
"Guuugh—!"
Ram was like a butterfly with broken wings; she smashed through the heavy main door of the mansion and collapsed in a pool of blood. Blood flowed from the corner of her lips, staining her pure white apron red. Ram tried to move her limbs, but she felt only icy numbness.
The might of the Witch Cult was displayed before the Oni girl once again. Just like the village massacre she experienced in her childhood—before anyone could even react, everyone was killed and destroyed.
"A truly splendid struggle, but this is the very height of 'Sloth'!"
Petelgeuse walked slowly out of the shadows. He raised his right hand, and seven Unseen Hands condensed above Ram's head. That posture seemed intended to tear her body, which still had a breath of life, into pieces!
"Let this love thoroughly end your insignificant—"
The voice came to an abrupt halt.
The Gospel in Petelgeuse's arms suddenly burned violently. It floated up into the air on its own, its pages flapping open. As if to reveal the final divine oracle to Petelgeuse, the original text on the pages was covered by a layer of blood-red.
Brand new characters surged forth, nearly piercing through the cover of the book:
[She has come.]
[Time and Space are collapsing.]
[That is the primordial prototype of all 'Witches of Sin'.]
[It is an existence far greater than what we worship.]
[Run, run quickly——]
[Before you thoroughly degenerate into her kin and forsake the love.]
"What kind of joke are you making?!" Petelgeuse shrieked. For the first time, he felt unprecedented incomprehension toward the 'love' revealed by the Gospel.
"Run? Ordering us to run?! This is absolutely—"
At that moment. Densely packed footsteps came from the half-destroyed courtyard gate of the mansion. Figures of Witch Cultists with eyes glowing with an eerie blue light rushed into the courtyard first, confronting the Witch Cultists led by the [Sloth] Archbishop.
Their numbers were even greater than those Petelgeuse led. It was as if they did not recognize Petelgeuse, the Sin Archbishop, and displayed hostility toward him.
"This is... You have such great audacity! How dare you forsake Lady Witch's love——!"
Petelgeuse, eyes wide and bulging, bit his fingers. Seeing that the cultists had apostatized, his anger was unprecedented. Seven Unseen Hands danced madly behind him, desiring to tear these traitors apart one by one!
However, just then, the ranks of the blue-eyed Witch Cultists suddenly parted neatly. As if welcoming some important existence, they knelt on the ground one after another, as if in prayer. They displayed a sycophancy far more pious than their original worship of the Witch.
Clack, clack...
That was the sound of a girl's round-toed leather shoes stepping on gravel. A golden-haired girl carrying a Teddy Bear surveyed the surroundings of the courtyard with great interest.
"Is this the new meeting point Brother Suke mentioned?"
"It looks quite pretty. It must be the residence of some wealthy and influential family, right?"
As if she didn't see Petelgeuse at all, Abigail looked around the front courtyard of the Roswaal Mansion on her own. She even trotted to a flower bed not far away, leaning in to admire the different varieties of blooming flowers, wanting to pick them but hesitating slightly.
Sloth, how truly slothful—!
The Gospel had turned to ash along with the last characters it revealed. Although Petelgeuse still did not understand who this golden-haired girl appearing before him was, her demeanor of completely disregarding him, a Sin Archbishop, fully displayed that the other party's "Sloth" was beyond extraordinary!
Since she was so "Slothful," then he would—!
Seven Unseen Hands had already surged forth together, attacking Abigail's nonchalant figure with killing intent! But they were annihilated before they could even touch her.
Just by approaching the area around Abigail's body, those Unseen Hands, visible only to the [Sloth] Archbishop, were like shadows stepping into sunlight—they vanished into ash.
"Kuh-gawk——!"
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Petelgeuse's mouth. Having his Authority, granted by the Witch Factor, suffer sudden and heavy trauma, he finally realized the anomaly of the golden-haired girl.
He bulged his protruding eyes to look, but immediately after, he saw a keyhole that had appeared on the golden-haired girl's forehead at some unknown moment. And that eye which flashed within it for an instant, meeting his gaze.
And in the next moment, it was as if the veil of Vainglory that had deceived him for a hundred years finally faded. The reality he witnessed was...
"Ahhh... The genuine article... This is the... true... Lady Witch...!"
"I am... Archbishop [Sloth]? No, I am... Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti... I remember now, I am..."
"Emilia... Fortuna..."
Tears fell like a curtain of rain from between Petelgeuse's protruding eyeballs. Although his face was still haggard and terrifying, a certain madness that entwined his spirit dissipated with it. He knelt on the ground, trembling all over. After meeting the gaze of that eye, his spirit was crumbling and evaporating along with his soul.
But he did not feel regret, even if the price for this was paying with his life, which had long been unpardonably evil.
"I sincerely thank you, Lady Witch, for allowing this sinner laden with evil deeds to wake up at the very last moment before death..."
"Please, I beg you to forgive our foolish acts, forgive our abandonment of the doctrine. At least, apart from the Witch Cult, the people of this world are innocent..."
"At the final moment, allow me to offer immense joy for your arrival...!"
Petelgeuse looked up at the sky and opened his arms wide. Although in the brief glimpse of witnessing the truth he had retrieved the personality named "Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti," the physical instincts accumulated over a hundred years of deeds still made his movements appear slightly exaggerated.
He mobilized all the Witch Factors within himself, actively peeling out the Authority of [Sloth], condensing it into a dark glass ball free of any impurities, which fell. From this moment on, the Sin named [Sloth] was hereby missing.
"It's a shiny little thing. I wonder if Big Brother will like it..."
"Forget it. Go in peace, poor and involuntary soul. Even if the God of your world will not accept you, the chaos created by 'Uncle' has always refused no one."
Thus, it was enough. These were words Petelgeuse no longer had the strength to speak. The body of this man, who was once the leader of the moderate faction of the Witch Cult hundreds of years ago, disintegrated along with his soul.
All the Witch Cultists originally brought by Petelgeuse knelt on the ground in unison, the light in their eyes turning from red to blue.
A bizarre scene appeared in the front courtyard of the Roswaal Mansion. An unknown golden-haired girl stood amidst a cluster of Witch Cultists. Before her were the residues left by the Sin Archbishop [Sloth], who had just dissolved and collapsed as if "sacrificing" himself to her.
All of this was reflected in the eyes of the heavily injured Ram not far away, making her mood increasingly heavy! Could that girl... also be... a Sin Archbishop?
This level of oppressive feeling... was too strong. Countless times stronger than that man just now! The only thing Ram could think of now was that Rem and Emilia and the others must absolutely not return to the mansion!
But the heavily injured Ram did not know that, compared to her intuition of merely feeling danger without understanding the situation, the heart of the Spirit of the Forbidden Library, Beatrice—who had intended to act from the shadows of the mansion to save her and had witnessed all of this—was about to leap out of her chest!
She could be certain that was an aura she had only felt from her "Mother," the Witch of Greed, Echidna! That aura did not originate from a Witch Factor, but from some essence she still could not see clearly or fathom—
A "Witch"!
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