The battlefield was a mess of torn earth and blood-stained grass, the heavy scent of the White Whale still lingering in the air. Around the carcass, the surviving soldiers gathered in a weary circle. They looked exhausted, but there was a new energy in the way they stood—the hollowed-out look of men who had actually survived a nightmare.
Crusch Carsten stepped to the center of the camp.Her voice was steady, carrying easily over the wind.
"Let it be known that Natsuki Subaru and Satoru Gojo are the ones who felled the White Whale!"
A long silence followed. Then came the whispers, the stunned nods, and finally, a deep sense of respect that hadn't been there before.
Subaru stood nearby, his tracksuit tattered and fluttering in the breeze.
Gojo leaned against a nearby rock, looking relaxed but keeping his eyes sharp.
Rem, Wilhelm, and Ferris stood close by, all eyes on Subaru as he prepared to speak.
"We're heading to the Mathers Domain next..." Subaru said, his voice dropping into a grave tone."The Witch's Cult is waiting in the forest. And it's not just a few fanatics——we're dealing with two Sin Archbishops."
A visible chill went through the soldiers. Facing the Whale was one thing, but Sin Archbishops were a different kind of horror.
"What about the villagers?" someone called out from the back.
Subaru's gaze hardened.
"They've already been warned. By the time the Cult strikes, they'll be gone."
He laced his fingers together, his knuckles turning white.
There was a quiet, vibrating fury in his posture——the look of someone who had seen too much and was done playing games.
Both Wilhelm and Gojo noticed it immediately.
Subaru turned to the old swordsman.
"Wilhelm. I know I'm asking for a lot, but I want you with me. I need you to help me kill an Archbishop."
——Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti.
Wilhelm didn't hesitate. For a second, he looked surprised, but then the steel returned to his eyes.
"I owe you an immeasurable debt, Natsuki Subaru," Wilhelm said. "If this pays back even a fragment of it, I'll follow you into Hell." A small, weathered smile touched his face.
Subaru let out a breath, the tension in his shoulders easing just a bit.
"Good. That's very good, thanks a bunch."
As the camp bustled with preparations—men loading supply carts and dragons snorting in the dust—Gojo stood off to the side, staring at the horizon. The wind tugged at his long black coat.
Subaru walked up behind him.
"Crusch and the army won't reach the forest for hours..."
Gojo gave a playful grin without turning around.
"Oh? Sounds like you're worried about me. You do remember I'm basically untouchable, right? Infinity is staying up. Nothing's getting near me."
But Subaru didn't bite. His expression stayed grim.
"You know a lot more than you're letting on, don't you?"
Gojo noted, his smile finally dropping.
Subaru didn't deny it.
"There's someone else coming... the other Archbishop. I've seen what he can do. Either he's like you... or he's worse."
A flash of memory crossed Subaru's mind: a suffocating snowstorm and a figure in white with a golden, indifferent stare. A man who looked like a devil that remained spotless in the middle of a slaughter.
Gojo raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, is that so?"
"It is. So please—Satoru—don't play around. If you do, you'll regret it."
The way Subaru said it—so final, so certain—caught Gojo off guard. It was like the boy was reading from a script he'd already finished.
Gojo chuckled, trying to shake the sudden chill at the back of his neck.
None of it made sense.
How could Subaru know the timing of the Whale or the specific power of an Archbishop of Sin?
And yet, Gojo believed him.
"Alright..." Gojo said, scanning the horizon one last time. "Consider it a promise. I won't mess around."
With a casual gesture, he pressed his hands together. Space shimmered, the air rippled, and Gojo vanished.
Subaru stared at the empty space, his fists clenching at his sides.
"If you fail…I'll just do this all over again. As many times as it takes. Until you survive."
———————————————
He appeared like a distortion in the world—one moment, silence; the next, Satoru Gojo was just there.
The air rippled around him as he scanned the landscape. A small, quiet village sat a few hundred meters away.
"Shucks... guess my internal GPS was a little off."
Then, he vanished again.
A violet blur streaked across the plains. Pressure waves flattened the grass in his wake as he moved like a bullet. Subaru had said the Cult shouldn't have hit yet——that the village should be evacuated. Gojo was just here to double-check.
Can't have civilians around for the fireworks, right?
He slowed as he reached the village edge, casually brushing his white hair back and sliding his hands into his pockets. He stepped into the center of the square and stopped.
It wasn't peaceful. It was the kind of silence that stared back at you.
Gojo's grin slipped away. Beside a wooden hut, a group of women stood huddled together. Their eyes were wide, their shoulders locked, their gazes fixed on the dirt. It wasn't just them—every person in sight was a woman, frozen in place, staring at nothing.
"...Only women?" Gojo muttered. "Why——"
"Why yes, of course."
The voice was silken, cold, and heavy with self-importance.
"What kind of man do you take me for? Some barbarian grunting over the flesh of his own gender like a Witchbeast in heat? That's repulsive. Unspeakably uncultured."
Gojo tensed, his instincts flaring. He turned toward the voice, and every woman in the square flinched at the same time.
Then he saw him.
A man in an immaculate white suit, shoes untouched by dust. He looked like a statue carved by a god, standing with his hands laced behind his back. He had a serene smile and golden eyes——eyes that didn't just look at you, but through you..
Gojo scanned him with the Six Eyes. His stomach dropped. There was nothing. No hidden power, no suppressed energy, no flow of mana. Just a void. It was like looking into a black hole.
"…What the hell are you?" Gojo asked.
The man bowed slightly.
"Regulus Corneas. Sin Archbishop of Greed. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I loathe false courtesy… Satoru Gojo."
Gojo's eyes narrowed.
"You know my name?"
"Of course," Regulus said, his expression unnervingly calm. "It would be unjust to act without knowing the name of the one who dares obstruct me. I take responsibility for my actions. I know exactly who you are."
He glanced at the trembling women nearby.
"Honestly, this is such a bother. I don't enjoy violence. A man like myself—someone who understands true love and justice—shouldn't have to dirty his hands. Don't you agree?"
A door creaked open behind him. A dozen villagers were dragged out——tied, gagged, and terrified. Gojo's jaw tightened.
Dammit, Subaru. Either your timing is off, or this guy decided to show up early just for me.
"Alright then, Regulus Corny-ass," Gojo said, his voice flat. "Sounds like you're just begging for an ass-whooping."
The silence returned for a heartbeat. Then, Regulus twitched.
The veins in his temples bulged as his face flushed with rage. His calm mask cracked.
"You…? You dare…?! What did you just say to me? You think you're clever? Mocking a man who has lived justly and virtuously? Do you think that makes you impressive? Huh!?"
He stepped forward, the movement light but dangerous.
"I have never harmed anyone without cause! Every action I've taken has been measured and morally correct! Unlike people like you, who think strength gives you license to do whatever you please!"
His wives shrank back. One of them accidentally met his eye. Regulus snapped his gaze to her.
"You! Why are you looking at me like that? I haven't done anything wrong, so don't you dare look at me like I'm a monster! That face… it's insulting."
"——Die!"
It happened too fast.
Regulus's boot merely touched the earth. Then, blood sprayed.
The woman's body ruptured. No warning, no buildup——just a brutal erasure. She fell in ruined pieces, her torso split and her life gone. There was no sound of an attack, only the wet thud of her remains hitting the dirt.
What was that? Even with the Six Eyes, I didn't see it coming. I could only see the shape of the air moving!
Regulus's breathing was already steady again.
"This is your fault. All of it. If she had stayed grateful and obedient, this wouldn't have happened. But she chose defiance."
He inhaled slowly, calming himself.
"Bring one out. A child."
A trembling wife obeyed. She led out a small, crying girl with orange hair and a bright red bow.
Petra... Subaru's friend.
Regulus lifted her by the collar like a doll. Petra dangled helplessly, her muffled sobs echoing through the gag. He grinned.
"Now then, Satoru Gojo. If you don't want to see this girl become a red paste… then you'll stand right there and receive one of my attacks. That's fair, isn't it?"
Gojo's eyes narrowed, but a slight smirk returned to his face.
"Suit yourself. But don't come crying when I'm standing here without a scratch. And you'll release the villagers afterward, right?"
Regulus laughed politely.
"You have my word."
He raised a hand and flicked his wrist. Gojo's instincts screamed at him to dodge, but he stayed still.
I'll just block it with Infinity, grab Petra, and put this guy down.
But then——agony.
A hurricane of pure destruction shattered through him. Flesh peeled like paper; muscle was torn by an unstoppable slash. An arm flew, then a leg. Blood painted the dirt. The world stopped.
Gojo's body fell, eyes open and lifeless. Satoru Gojo was dead.
Petra squealed in shock at the sight of the corpse. Regulus scoffed, tossing the girl aside like trash.
"They're all the same," he said, shaking his head. "So convinced they're unstoppable until they meet me."
He turned away, casting a cold glance at the body before looking at his wives.
"Make sure every villager is dead by the time I return. I have business with that fractured soul of Sloth."
The wives didn't say a word. As Regulus walked away, the heavy, suffocating silence returned to the village.
——————————————
Suguru used to talk about it endlessly.
"To protect the weak..."
He'd say, always with that calm, infuriating confidence.
Gojo never saw it that way. He didn't have to.
He was born a miracle——blessed, gifted, perfect.
He never had to attempt to be the best, therefore he didn't.
That was why he still hadn't learned Red.
It wasn't that he couldn't; it was just that he'd never needed to.
Then came the shift. One blink and the world changed.
He wasn't in Japan anymore. A medieval metropolis sprawled under a strange sun, filled with beast-kin and joy.
He felt bewildered, but not precisely upset.
No more Gojo clan, no more elders, no more oppressive regulations.
——He was finally free.
But the bitterness persisted. He'd never see Suguru again. He'd never hear Shoko call him an idiot due of his shenanigans.
That stillness plagued him more than any curse ever could.
Then he met that person. Japanese, like him, but extremely weak. Embarrassingly so.
Yet, there was something there——potential. Maybe, just maybe, that guy may ultimately reach the location where Gojo stood.
Of course, he'd never say that out loud. It wouldn't be very cool, would it?
As the weeks went, Gojo transformed. A new mindset started to evolve, something near to Suguru's, but different. It wasn't only about the weak anymore.
It was about what he genuinely wanted to be strong for.
Then came the quiet. The death.
The globe began to glow a vivid blue. Pure Cursed Energy, swirling like a storm——angry, confused, and very much alive.
Fragments of past lessons flowed across his mind:
"Negative energy destroys."
"Positive reverses."
"Life born from death."
Life born from death...
"Don't think. Feel."
The blue twisted and deepened, flowing into Red. It wasn't just a hue anymore; it was a notion. The rejection of emptiness. The flat-out refusal to stay dead.
His mind went quiet. The pain was still there—he remembered his body shattering like glass—but behind the agony, something else was moving.
——Reconstruction.
A twitch. A flash in a finger on an arm that had been eviscerated seconds ago. Blood pulled back; muscle rethreaded itself; bone snapped back into place.
He sucked in a sharp, jagged breath.
Satoru Gojo was back. Awoken.
I'm not done just yet.
—————————————
Subaru Natsuki walked beyond the treeline, the heavy forest air giving way to a clearing dominated by a stone monolith. Standing before the cave entrance was a guy who appeared like he'd been carved out of a fever dream——pale green skin, bloodshot eyes, and a stance that contradicted human anatomy.
"Aaaahhhh..! I've been waiting for you... believer in love!"
Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti didn't just speak; his voice fractured, leaping from a whisper to a screech as his arms flailed.
He looked like a marionette with cut strings. "I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult... the embodiment of Sloth... Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti!!"
He began to scratch at his own cheeks, tugging the skin down until it seemed ready to tear.
"I welcome you... O' blessed child whose pangs of love drip so deliciously... SO MAGNIFICENTLY!!"
Subaru stopped a meter away, his face a mask of strained politeness.
Deep down, he wanted to cave the man's chest in, but he held it together.
"I appreciate the welcome," Subaru remarked, his voice bland. "Though I'm not sure what to make of the love obsession."
"Ahhh... of COURSE~!" Betelgeuse shrieked, bouncing back and forth. "Everyone realizes they're LOVED... love, love, love——LOOOVE!!"
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "...Right. So what now?"
Betelgeuse's nostrils flared. He leaned in close, his neck twisted at a painful angle like a shattered doll.
"The love... it's so pungent. Could it be you're Pride? The seat that stays vacant...?" He sniffed the air, eyes unblinking. "You have the gospel, yes...?"
Subaru let his smile widen. "Yep. If you wanna see it, come a bit closer."
As Betelgeuse leaned closer, his expression full of frantic expectancy, Subaru's hand slipped inside his jacket.
And a book was definitely not the thing he'd pulled out.
Rather, his fist, flashing with a jagged purple force, caught Betelgeuse square in the jaw.
The impact was terrible. Teeth spewed into the air as the Archbishop was flung backward, his face bowing under the weight of the hit before he smacked into the rocky wall with a resounding boom.
"Here's my love, you asshole!"
Subaru sighed, but he didn't relax. "——WILHELM, NOW!"
On cue, the Sword Demon blurred from the trees.
Three cultists lunged from the cave, but they were dead before they struck the ground——Wilhelm's blade hummed through the air, three crisp slices destroying them in an instant.
From the sinking dust, a hissing murmur echoed: "Authority of Sloth... Unseen Hands..."
Purple, ethereal limbs began to writhe through the haze toward Wilhelm.
"Old man——dead ahead!" Subaru shouted.
Wilhelm didn't hesitate. He dived backward just as the unseen force tore through the place where he'd been standing. The hands froze mid-air, twitching.
"You... you can see them...?"
Betelgeuse limped out of the smoke, his visage a ruined mess. His maniacal grin faltered for the first time.
He sent the hands lunging—one from above, others from the flanks. "——DODGE!" Subaru roared.
He rolled forward, meeting a phantom hand with a cursed-infused fist.
The arm flashed and dissolved into nothing. "IMPOSSIBLE——IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Betelgeuse shrieked.
Wilhelm was back in motion, his blade cutting through the phantom limbs by mere intuition.
A hand grazed his shoulder, sending him back, and Subaru's teeth gritted.
"They're getting faster...!" Subaru muttered. "MY FINGERS!" Betelgeuse shouted toward the cave. "TEAR HIS BODY ASUNDER!!"
A swarm of cloaked fanatics surged out, eyes bulging with madness.
Wilhelm stepped into their path, his eyes sharp. "You're the match for the Archbishop, Subaru, leave these monsters... TO ME!!"
The old man became a cyclone of steel, keeping the cultists at bay while Betelgeuse began to bite into his own fingers, drawing blood.
"Ooooh, my brain, my brain trembles so so sooo!!"
Subaru didn't wait for the monologue to complete. He kicked off the ground, the soil breaking under his boot.
He was a whirl of violet energy, moving through a dozen Unseen Hands like a dancer. One hand screamed past his ear as he narrowly spun beneath it.
He sprang, spinning mid-air, his fist glowing with the dark, heavy fragrance of the Witch and raw cursed power.
He took a breath to slow his pulse, gaze fixated on the writhing swarm of purple serpents. "TAKE... THIIIS!!"
He slammed his fist downward and struck the air itself.
——BOOOOOM!
A blast of cursed energy surged outward. The Unseen Hands didn't just break but disappeared entirely under the overwhelming pressure.
Betelgeuse scrambled backward in shock.
"WHAT IS THISSSSSSS!?!?" he yelled. "Your hands... they must not overwhelm mine!! Unless... the Witch has given you her heart!?"
He sank on his knees, laughing and sobbing all at once.
"OOOOOH HOW JEALOUS I AM!! WRETCHEDLY ENVIOUS!!"
Dozens more hands burst from his shadow, furious and aggressive, tearing up stone and mud as they raced at Subaru.
"COME THEN——PRIDE! SHOW ME YOUR LOVE!!"
Subaru tensed, his breath raspy but his gaze focused. "All right then!"
He thrust himself forward, a violet flash of light, engaging the maelstrom of invisible hands head-on.
Subaru's fists were a blur, each strike meeting a phantom hand and crushing it into nothing.
But there were too many. "Urgkk—!!"
A spectral limb looped around his guard and fastened into his side.
The strength was enormous, teeth-grinding. It tore through his tracksuit and into the muscle.
Subaru didn't hesitate——he pushed his elbow down with a resounding bang, breaking the grasp, and stumbled back.
He was heaving, eyes probing the treeline.
This isn't working. If I keep trading blows, I'm dead.
Subaru surged backward, his feet striking the soil as he zigzagged between the trees. The Unseen Hands tracked him like heat-seeking missiles, splintering trunks and smashing the earth where he'd stood a heartbeat before.
He slipped on the dirt, looked up just in time to see a gigantic shadow looming over him.
A tree, chopped clean at the base, was coming down.
"Hoomph—!!"
With no room to a void, Subaru launched a desperate fist upward, breaking through the descending trunk in an explosion of splinters.
Wood punctured his skin and slashed his arm, yet he didn't stop moving.
"Only I am worthy enough for her love, not you——not you, not you not you!!"
Betelgeuse's voice was a piercing screech in the tumult.
"——!!"
An invisible hand grasped Subaru's shin. The hold was overwhelming as he was hoisted like a ragdoll and tossed through the air.
"AHHHKK——!!"
His back smashed into a tree, then another, then another, until he collapsed into a trail of shattered bark and disturbed ground.
He collapsed to one knee, lungs seizing, vision swimming in a blur.
But behind the ache, the wrath was sharpening into a blade.
Is this it? Is this all I can do?
He slammed a bloodied fist on the ground.
No. I refuse. This bastard... this cult... they took Rem. They took Emilia. They took everything!
Slowly, his spine cracking, Subaru stood up. Blood streamed from his mouth and spread across his brow, but his eyes were set forward. "I'll beat you...!"
Betelgeuse laughed like a madman. "YESSS!! THAT IS LOVE!! THE SUFFERING! THE DESPAIR!!"
The Archbishop was hovering now, pulled off the earth from the unseen hands, soaked in blood, his face a mask of joyful lunacy.
Subaru wiped his lip.
"Shut your blasted mouth for just a second..."
The cursed aura around him began to pulse, dense and irregular. The aroma of the Witch soared so high even Betelgeuse paused. Subaru didn't wait. With a roar that tore his throat, he charged.
His limbs burned with violet electricity. Hook, jab, kick——he met every Unseen Hand in a torrent of wrath.
They were getting faster. A hand grasped his ribs from behind.
He spat blood, wobbling, but stayed on his feet. Another hand curled around his arm, bones creaking under the pressure.
Subaru screamed, a surge of cursed strength erupting from his flesh and shattering the phantom limb like glass.
"Beautiful, magnificent, it's magnificent! Your display of love and diligence!"
"Shut the hell up, you bastard!"
Subaru leapt, ignoring the anguish in his joints. He whirled mid-air, cursing strength coiling around his thigh like a spring——He kicked a hand so hard it collapsed, the shockwave carving a hole in the woodland floor.
But then——
A dozen hands sprang from the darkness, latching onto his ankles, wrists, waist, and throat. He was trapped in place, suspended in the air.
"NNGHK——!!"
Betelgeuse glided forward with a sweet, crazed smile. "I will embrace you completely..." He raised a hand, and the crushing began.
Subaru's side shouted in agony as his body began to break. "AAAAAAAGHHHH—!!"
He arched in anguish, tendons straining to the breaking point. And still, his terrible energy surged. He gazed down at the Archbishop with pure, undiluted anger.
This anguish... utilise it.
The ground began to vibrate. The energy encircling Subaru stopped flickering; it began to swirl, squeezing into a dense, scary point.
Betelgeuse's eye twitched. "...What...?"
Subaru's voice was a low, guttural growl. With every ounce of strength left, he pulled. Tendons screamed, bones crunched together, yet he forced his limbs free, tearing through the unseen constraints until he plummeted to the dirt in a blood-soaked stagger. .
Blood flowed into his eyes, yet his gaze was unwavering.
Focus it. Everything. The hurt, the hate, the memories.
He moved. His body warned him to halt, but he did not listen.
"BLACK——"
He stepped forward, arm drew back, tensed.
His hand clenched, palm grasping the blackness.
Another stride, then a lunge——he became a bullet of pure wrath.
Betelgeuse's eyes widened.
"A-Ah... that love... so pure..."
His voice trailed off.
"——FLAAAAASH!!!"
The world faded behind a shock of black lightning. Subaru's fist drove point-blank through the Archbishop's chest.
A crater tore open behind them. Trees disintegrated. Stone reduced to dust.
Betelgeuse's body spasmed as the blow eviscerated his torso, blood flowing in curtains onto the dirt.
His mouth opened, but just blood gushed out.
Then, he fell.
Silence returned to the woodland. Subaru stood there, chest heaving, staring at the ruin of the man. A lengthy moment passed.
Subaru's boot slammed down, slamming the Archbishop's head into the soil. He didn't flinch. He didn't feel a thing. This man was the exception.
Afterwards, he said nothing. He just turned away, limping, hand clutched to his side as he left a trail of blood with every step.
———————————————
The woodland reverted to a spooky silence, the smoke of the conflict wafting through the torn trees.
Wilhelm stood at the edge of the clearing, his blade pouring crimson. Around him lay the silent forms of the cultists, each brought down with a single, precision strike. He didn't say anything at firsat, and merely regarded Subaru with a calm, enquiring stare.
Subaru stepped forward, his motions slow but certain.
Their eyes met, and Subaru gave a quick, exhausted nod. "It's done," he muttered. "Yeah."
The words had hardly left his lips when a sound ripped through the air——a sharp swipe followed by a heavy, oppressive weight that settled over the area.
Wilhelm's grip tightened. His sword hand jerked.
From the treeline, reality seemed to shimmer and then break. And then, he was just there.
A man in an impossibly clean white suit. Not a single wrinkle ruined the cloth. Not a spot of blood touched his sleeves. His shoes were polished like mirrors, reflecting the gore on the woodland floor. He had a youthful, haughty face that looked constantly offended by the simple act of existing.
He didn't emerge from the shadows——he simply arrived, standing amid the bodies as if he'd always been there, absolutely undisturbed by the horror.
Subaru's eyes became wide. Panic and realization warred in his thoughts, followed swiftly by a nauseating disorientation.
If this man—if Regulus Corneas was here—then where was...
"Where is Gojo-sensei?" Subaru's voice was barely a whisper.
Regulus chuckled, a low, mocking sound. He raised a neatly groomed hand, palm open.
"Why, he's been reduced to a bloodied husk..."
Regulus said smoothly.
"A desperate attempt to save some little girl he'd never even met. As foolish, as nonsensical as it is, it certainly tugs at a soul as kind as mine."
His pale eyes sparkled with a cold, hollow delight.
"Although Satoru Gojo is dead, I'm sure he lives on in you," he added, a nasty, predatory grin twisting his lips. "Which is why I'm here. To eliminate the blight completely."
Subaru's heart beat against his ribs. Beside him, Wilhelm stepped forward like a shield, his knuckles white on his hilt.
"You...!" Wilhelm grumbled.
Regulus inclined his head, seeming pleasantly amused.
"Ah, where are my manners——"
"——Regulus Corneas!"
Subaru's voice pierced through the air, sharp and steady. He didn't back down. His stare burned with an iron resolve that seemed to ignore the blood soaking his own garments.
"If it's the last thing I do... I will make sure you die!!"