"This is it—this is it—this is it—this is it—?!"
Petelgeuse's voice rose even higher. His body trembled more violently, and his hands waved wildly in front of him, as if conducting an invisible symphony orchestra.
"The Unseen Hand —it's invisible—it's invisible—it's invisible—! How could you possibly see it—how could you—how could you—how could you—!"
Because I'm stronger than you.
Higashino Makoto stretched out his hand, and a golden spear appeared in his palm.
"Again."
Petelgeuse gritted his teeth, and all the Unseen Hand attacked simultaneously.
More than a dozen transparent tentacles surged toward him from all directions, like an invisible net.
Higashino Makoto dodged a few, parried a few with his spear, and grabbed a few more.
The movements were fluid and graceful, without a single unnecessary element.
Those Unseen Hand were like paper before his spear.
Easily severed, casually scattered.
It turned into countless transparent fragments and dissipated in the air.
That's it?
He repeated it, his tone flat.
Petelgeuse froze. His hands hung at his sides, his green eyes wide open, his mouth agape, and he the Unassailable.
Then he smiled.
His smile was insane and twisted, and the sight of him sticking his entire finger into his brain made Higashino Makoto feel nauseous.
What a disgusting guy.
"Strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong... strong..."
He repeated the word over and over, his voice growing softer and softer.
"Strong... strong... strong... strong..."
That's enough.
Higashino Makoto interrupted him.
Petelgeuse shut his mouth.
"I've tested your Authority; now it's my turn."
Higashino Makoto raised his right hand, and a ball of purple-gold light appeared in his palm.
The "Garden" unfolds.
Light emanated from his palm and spread in all directions.
Wherever the purple-gold light passed, the air became clear, the water became calm, and even the wind became gentle.
Petelgeuse froze.
His hands!
Those Unseen Hand had vanished.
He tried to summon it again, but the power he called the witch's favor did not respond to him at all.
It was as if they had never existed.
"You—you—what have you done?!"
His voice was trembling.
"It's simple, just disable them."
Higashino Makoto withdrew his hand, and the purple-gold light dissipated.
What is Sin Archbishops who has no Authority?
Petelgeuse stood there, his hands hanging at his sides, his green eyes filled with madness.
His neck kept twisting, forming an odd angle of over 90 degrees.
"You actually—the witch's favor—gave—the witch's favor to—gave—"
Higashino Makoto answered for him.
He walked up to Petelgeuse, his eyes fixed on the trembling, crazed man.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Petelgeuse looked at him for a long time.
Then he smiled.
Perhaps it was the cutting off of the Witch Factor's influence that briefly restored his sanity, and his smile no longer carried its original madness.
It was a smile that looked like someone finally being free.
Higashino Makoto nodded and raised his hand.
A golden spear materialized in his palm, its tip pointing towards Petelgeuse's chest.
"Goodbye."
The spear thrust out and pierced Petelgeuse's heart.
His body swayed, then he collapsed.
The green eyes were still open, but the light had faded, and a smile still lingered on the corner of its mouth.
Higashino Makoto sheathed his spear and crouched down.
Petelgeuse's body began to glow.
Like ink spreading in water, light surged from his chest, condensing above his body into a spherical cloud of black mist.
The Sloth Witch Factor.
Higashino Makoto stretched out his hand, and the black mist swirled in his palm, as if hesitating, or as if confirming.
Then, it wanted to merge into his body.
Unlike the pride factor, the sloth factor did not merge with him; it merely entered his body and lay dormant, like a guest unwilling to linger.
Higashino Makoto closed his eyes, sensing the changes within his body.
Two types of Witch Factor.
Arrogance had completely merged with him; it had become a part of him.
Insomnia is only a temporary state.
"A person can possess multiple Witch Factor simultaneously."
He spoke in a low voice, as if confirming something.
"But capacity is limited."
He opened his eyes, a flash of understanding appearing in his golden pupils.
"If there are too many, the power of Authority will diminish."
He stood up, extracted the Sloth Witch Factor from his body, and looked at the swirling black mist in his palm.
"Therefore, you can't have it all."
He stored the inertia factor in a specially made crystal container.
The black mist churned and swirled within the crystal, like a trapped snake.
Reisen.
"Exist."
"Keep it safe. Take it back for the guardians to study."
Reisen took the crystal and carefully put it into her backpack, her crimson eyes fixed on him.
"Yes, Master, but are you not going to continue the fusion?"
"Don't bite off more than you can chew."
Higashino Makoto turned around and walked towards the stone bridge.
"I already have enough Authority of Pride. A few more would only lower my ceiling. What I want isn't more, but stronger."
Reisen watched his retreating figure, her crimson eyes gleaming brightly.
Higashino Makoto stepped onto the stone bridge.
"Let's go, it's time to head back."
Reisen lifted her skirt and followed.
The two walked across the stone bridge and into the night. Moonlight spilled onto the canal, turning everything silvery white.
In the distance, the lights of the Watergate City went out one by one, as if the city's eyes were slowly closing.
In that extinguished light, Petelgeuse Romani-Conti, the Sloth Sin Archbishop, was dead.
Speaking of which, the Bishop of Sloth seems to be the heroine's adoptive father, and he used to be a decent person.
But what does that have to do with Higashino Makoto?
He was too lazy to delve into his past, and wouldn't even consider the question of whether he could be turned back.
He merely killed a Sin Archbishops menace to the world, nothing more.