The tension in the room escalates as Subaru slowly loses his will to strive for what's good, reaching for a knife. Fortunately, Rem notices this immediately and pins him against the wall—her threat cutting through the air as she works to calm him down.
"Stop! You can't do that, sir… it's dangerous! Just relax…"
But it was too late. Subaru had already grabbed the knife and stabbed her in the back.
"…"
Silence fell over everything in an instant.
The air felt eerie, like stepping into a haunted mansion.
Loud, high-pitched screams echoed inside Subaru's head.
He knew he was losing his mind.
And he couldn't stop himself.
Raising the knife high in the air, he repeatedly plunged it into Rem's chest—dozens, then hundreds of times. Her organs were exposed, skin torn open to the point that stomach acid seared his hand, yet he didn't halt. He slashed vein after vein, cutting through major arteries one by one in his madness… until Ram walked in, her face pale and expression vacant.
"…"
"…"
Their eyes met. Ram's blank look quickly shifted to horror as she took in the scene. Subaru lunged at her without hesitation, but she reacted fast enough to knock him back—sending him crashing into the kitchen table where loaves of bread and other food sat. Everything tumbled to the floor one by one upon impact.
Filled with fury, Ram immediately ended Subaru's life with a powerful wind spell that severed his head from his neck.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
"..."
Once again, he returned by death. The two maids were holding hands as the cycle repeated itself. Subaru had made countless attempts to kill the twin sisters Rem and Ram, but to no avail—each time, one would die and the other would survive. He perished fifty-four times before finally succeeding on his fifty-fifth try.
Subaru had crafted a comprehensive plan to capture and eliminate both sisters, setting hundreds of traps throughout the mansion without anyone noticing. Emilia paid little attention, only growing curious about what Subaru was working on.
When the final contraption was in place, he calmly bid farewell to everyone at the mansion and left, leaving them wondering why he had chosen to depart at all. Then, with a single press of a button—
"––"
The mansion exploded.
Yet for some unknown reason, Emilia was the only one to survive—she had been thrown clear out of a window just before the mansion was consumed by a burning inferno. Every window was shattered, every door splintered, and every carpet ablaze; nothing inside remained intact. And it had all unfolded exactly as his deranged plan intended.
"I see, Emilia-tan... you survived."
Emilia whimpered, struggling to stand, but Puck intervened at once, his expression blazing with fury as he faced Subaru.
"Subaru. So this was all your doing? That's why Emilia was so aware and curious about what you were up to... You've been planning to blow everything to pieces this whole time, haven't you?"
Subaru smirked, his eyes hollow and devoid of reason or warmth—only deep-seated trauma and tangled emotions lurked within.
"Well, I haven't felt this good in a while, Puck."
The two faced off in a tense standoff. Puck stayed calm and vigilant, wary of any tricks Subaru might attempt at a moment's notice, while Subaru's gaze glinted with a fierce hunger for vengeance.
Emilia couldn't comprehend the drastic change Subaru had undergone. What could be the primary reason that led him to commit such a heinous act?
"Subaru! This isn't you!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with desperation.
Puck, ever vigilant, kept his guard up, his crystalline ice ready to unleash upon Subaru. But Subaru merely responded with a chilling laugh, eventually speaking, "Oh, Emilia-tan, I'm so sorry if I've changed so much… I must have gone completely mad seeing all that horrific shit happen! Do you know why? I've suffered enough!"
Puck and Emilia could sense the profound suffering Subaru was enduring, something they couldn't possibly fathom. The mansion behind them still blazed with destructive flames, a stark testament to the chaos that had unfolded.
"Subaru, I am truly disappointed in you. We shouldn't have trusted you in the first place," Puck's voice boomed, filled with a profound sense of betrayal.
Subaru simply scoffed, a sneer twisting his lips. "Try me, Puck."
A barrage of ice crystals, sharp and lethal, was unleashed toward Subaru at an alarming speed. Agile, he dodged most of the attacks, but one of Puck's crystals suddenly pierced his leg, making him wince in excruciating pain.
Emilia's eyes widened with worry.
"Subaru!–"
But Puck immediately silenced her. "Mili! Don't you realize what this man has done to the mansion? Do not show him sympathy! Show him remorse and–"
A knife, thrown with unexpected precision by Subaru, found its mark, piercing Puck's body. It seemed as though Subaru had perfect aim, though it was a cruel combination of pure luck and desperate effort.
"Puck!!" Emilia cried out, rushing toward him, but he lay motionless, seemingly no longer breathing. The pendant around her neck shattered into countless pieces, leaving behind a hollow emptiness.
"Puck…"
Subaru had already retreated inside, his laughter echoing through the air, a grotesque symphony played out before Emilia's horrified eyes.
"Oh, my goodness! Did you see his shocked face when I unexpectedly threw that tiny knife at him? And he couldn't even protect himself because it was so utterly oblivious! It's so twistedly funny somehow!…"
Suddenly, a piercing sensation ripped through his chest.
"Huh?…"
A relatively large crystal, fueled by Emilia's righteous anger, had impaled him.
"I hate you… I hate you!… I hate you!… Why would you do this, Subaru? Why!… Why!…"
In his final moments, a sinister smile stretched across his lips. "You are going to be my last target."
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
He restarted, finding himself back at the moment he destroyed the mansion. Emilia and Puck stood before him, maintaining a relatively safe distance.
'I see…' he thought, a grim realization dawning upon him. He prepared to flee, a twisted plan forming in his mind—a scheme that would plunge him further into depravity, an insanity that would corrupt his very soul.
"I feel… so insane!… It's so creepy… but so incredibly fun!…"
But then, just as before, a crystal pierced his chest—Puck's crystal.
'Damn… it…'
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
He restarted once more. This time, he attempted to escape into the woods, but his efforts were futile. He kept dying, over and over and over again.
'Hahaha… I HATE YOU, PUCK!!!…'
Hundreds of countless, endless loops of escaping from Puck and Emilia, yet every attempt at evasion sent him spiraling further downhill. But this time, a burning anger fueled him; he'd had enough of Puck's incessant trickery.
He first recreated the scene just before his death at Emilia's hands, successfully killing Puck once more. However, this time, he acted with swift, brutal efficiency, slashing Emilia's wrists to prevent her from casting any spells. He then took her captive.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
As morning dawned on his seemingly endless journey, Subaru found himself surrounded by a group of cultists. Their eyes, like his own, bore the same unsettling mixture of insanity and emptiness.
When they invited Subaru to join their ranks, he readily agreed, offering no resistance.
"So, who are you now?" Subaru asked, now clad in the cult's attire, though he had insisted on a full gray and black ensemble to better conceal his identity. He addressed a green-skinned man who appeared to be on the verge of madness, ceaselessly grinding his teeth.
"Huh?" Petelgeuse turned, his eyes alight with curiosity, and approached Subaru. "So, you're the new recruit, but you wouldn't happen to be Pride, would you?"
Subaru smirked at the mention of 'Pride,' yet he simply wanted the man to introduce himself. "Whatever that is, what are you, anyway?"
"Oh!—right, my apologies!" Petelgeuse bowed formally, his palm placed over his chest, as he prepared his elaborate introduction.
"I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witches' Cult, representing Sloth! Petelgeuse Romanée Conti…!"
Subaru entertained an intriguing thought of himself becoming a Sin Archbishop, though he knew it required becoming a powerful figure possessing something called an 'Authority'—the very essence of the power wielded by the Sin Archbishops.
"So, what exactly do you do?" Subaru inquired.
Petelgeuse responded with the most slothful statement imaginable. "I dedicate all my work to the cult! After all, I am Sloth, and are you more slothful than I?"
Subaru shook his head in denial.
"No, no! I wouldn't be as slothful as you! After all, you truly embody the very essence of sloth! Using the cult instead of exerting yourself? That's quite slothful, isn't it?"
Petelgeuse, already growing fond of Subaru after just a single day, replied, "Oh yes! It is very slothful… very, very, very, very, very… slothful!"
Subaru caught a glimpse of Emilia, still unconscious but appearing alive and, for once, safe. He had applied bandages to her wounds and disinfected them with rainwater during their journey, just before he was taken by the cult.
"Why is your plan…" He glanced at the paper in his hands. "…to evolve this half-elf girl?"
Petelgeuse responded once again.
"Ah yes! We had planned to abduct her and eventually subjugate her, turning her into something useful! But it seems you've already done a magnificent job of that, so we can cancel that particular objective!"
"...Will this kill her?" Subaru asked, a tense curiosity lacing his voice.
Petelgeuse responded, "Yes, the half-elf girl will indeed die in this scenario! However, if you become a Sin Archbishop after a year, you could potentially rewrite the rules of this plan! If… you so desire."
Subaru scoffed, maintaining direct eye contact with Petelgeuse. "Alright, I'll trust your words for once."
Despite his outward acceptance, Subaru remained doubtful, unsure if he could truly trust anything this man said. As he prepared to exit the cave where Petelgeuse resided—a place undeniably secretive yet strangely exposed—a thought crossed his mind: 'I doubt this can be hidden for a long time.'
He departed, leaving Emilia in the cave with Petelgeuse, who was likely engaged in whatever bizarre activities suited him, or perhaps just poring over his gospel.
Subaru journeyed to the city of Lugunica, seeking someone to recruit, someone who could help him rise through the ranks and eventually become a Sin Cardinal or even an Archbishop.
'So, this girl…'
He gazed at the portraits displayed throughout the city, showcasing the four major candidates for the Throne of Lugunica. However, since his fueled hatred and hollowed soul had already removed Emilia from contention, he no longer cared about her fate.
But the other three candidates presented an interesting prospect.
Priscilla, renowned for her beauty; Anastasia, praised for her honesty; and Crusch, celebrated for her bravery.
'This is certainly interesting to discover and observe… Let's see if any of them could pose a threat to me.'
His first target was Crusch. He immediately inquired about the location of the Karsten residence and arrived there without any significant issues.
The merchant, Otto Suwen, chatted with Subaru as they rode the ground dragon. "So! Let's talk for a while; I'm quite bored. My name is Otto Suwen! And what about you?"
Subaru remained silent, so Otto merely shrugged it off. "Oh… you're the silent type, huh? That's perfectly fine. I'll await your response, then."
Otto harbored an eerie feeling that this man might be involved with a cult or some organization that could potentially devastate the kingdom or claim countless lives. Yet, he dismissed the thought once again and continued riding.
Finally, they reached the estate.
"Thanks," Subaru muttered, paying Otto with a bag of gold coins. He then slowly walked toward the estate, pulling the hood of his cloak further down his head.
"Let's see what you can do… Duchess."