400 loops

At that point, Petelgeuse's voice suddenly caught.

As though his own faith had moved him so deeply he could no longer breathe, he wrapped trembling hands around his shoulders and began writhing on the spot.

"Ahh... love! This is love itself! For the Witch, for that favor, for that diligence!"

He cried as he laughed.

Then, as though something had occurred to him, his expression abruptly darkened.

"But some are not diligent enough."

"Greed does not understand true loyalty."

"And between Wrath and me lies a lamentable obstacle."

"They don't understand! They don't understand at all! Love must be proven through diligence!"

Petelgeuse grew more and more agitated as he spoke, until he actually stuffed his fist into his mouth and bit down hard.

Blood ran from the corners of his mouth.

Yet he seemed unable to feel pain, sipping at the wound in even greater rapture.

Looking at him, it was impossible to tell whether he was suffering or enjoying himself.

Outside the screen of light, many fell silent.

He was not simply mad.

He was an aberration who treated madness as faith, self-mutilation as devotion, and slaughter as an offering.

Yet Natsuki Subaru, sitting before him, never looked away.

He was even smiling.

Petelgeuse was still dancing wildly.

With his back to Natsuki Subaru, he seemed to be offering prayers to a Witch who was not in the room.

At that very instant.

Natsuki Subaru moved.

Without a single wasted movement, his body moved in a seamless sequence, as though he had rehearsed it.

He rose from his chair, and the slender sword hidden in his sleeve slipped into his palm. The next instant, its point pierced Petelgeuse's back.

The slender blade passed through cloth, through flesh, and into his body.

Petelgeuse stopped moving.

For the first time, something else appeared in those eyes that had been wide with fervor.

Shock.

Confusion.

Conflict.

And a little disbelieving despair.

He seemed unable to understand why someone favored by the Witch would strike at him now.

Natsuki Subaru gave him no time to understand.

He stepped closer, pressing his other hand against Petelgeuse's shoulder from behind, his voice as soft as though he were soothing a disobedient child.

"Don't move."

"This time, I won't let you get away."

Petelgeuse's body began convulsing violently.

Invisible hands erupted through the room, tearing open walls and sending tables and chairs flying. Most of the candles went out in an instant.

But Natsuki Subaru seemed to know exactly where those hands would emerge.

He turned sideways.

Ducked.

Stepped half a pace back.

Then forward again.

Every step landed in an exquisitely precise position.

He had experienced scenes like this far too many times.

To learn Petelgeuse's Authority.

To find out where the [Unseen Hand] would emerge.

To confirm where his spare bodies, the [Fingers], were hidden.

To figure out how he would use [Possession] when near death.

To make this madman stand here today and die the way he wanted.

Natsuki Subaru had already lost count of how many times he had died.

Over four hundred loops.

Nearly four years.

He had wasted far too long on the same madman.

So long that Natsuki Subaru clearly remembered which hand Petelgeuse would raise each time he went mad, which finger he would bite open each time he wailed, and what struggle would flash through his eyes as he lay dying.

Petelgeuse thought himself chaotic and unpredictable.

But in Natsuki Subaru's eyes, his madness had long since been broken down into patterns that could be recorded, categorized, and exploited.

"You look like a madman."

Natsuki Subaru spoke quietly.

"But when you think things through, you're surprisingly bound by rules."

"Your attack routes, the timing of your sacrifices, the locations of your Fingers, the conditions for possession."

"Try a few more times, and you can figure it all out."

Broken sounds squeezed out of Petelgeuse's throat.

"You... what are you..."

Natsuki Subaru did not answer.

He merely pressed his hand down harder.

The next instant, a teeth-grating sound rang through the room.

Petelgeuse's body went rigid, then he collapsed to his knees as though his support had been pulled away.

Blood slowly spread beneath him.

The Sin Archbishop of Sloth lay in a pool of blood, life draining from his body little by little.

But he was not completely dead yet.

He was still struggling.

Still searching for one last chance to survive.

Just as Natsuki Subaru had seen countless times before.

"You faithless wretch..."

Petelgeuse stretched out a blood-soaked arm, a tearing roar rising from his throat.

"You'll die a horrible death!"

Natsuki Subaru stood before him, looking down at that face twisted with rage and pain.

Then he raised his foot and kicked down.

A dull impact sounded.

Petelgeuse's voice was cut short by force, and several bloody teeth flew from his mouth.

Natsuki Subaru bent down, as though he had finally lost patience with a child who stubbornly refused to listen.

"You're so noisy."

His voice remained very soft.

"You want to take my body, don't you?"

Petelgeuse's pupils abruptly contracted.

Natsuki Subaru watched him, the corners of his lips slowly rising.

"Possession."

"I've seen that life-extending trick plenty of times."

"The bodies you can use, the direction you want to escape in, the last chance you'll seize."

"I've tested them all."

As he spoke, he raised his hand.

A faint speck of light flashed past his fingertips.

It was a minor spirit.

"I've already formed a contract with minor spirits."

"You can't get in. You have no chance left."

Petelgeuse's eyes began shaking violently.

Natsuki Subaru continued:

"As for those Fingers of yours, don't bother waiting."

"Elsa will handle intercepting the ones she can kill."

"Meili will handle finding the ones hiding."

"Whether you want to transfer, have your subordinates prolong your life, or kill me with invisible hands."

"It's all over."

Petelgeuse opened his mouth.

But he could not form a complete sentence.

He could only fix his bloodshot eyes on Natsuki Subaru.

Yet Natsuki Subaru seemed not to see his hatred, his tone still gentle and tender.

"Come to think of it, we've known each other a long time."

"The first time you killed me, I hadn't even figured out what was happening."

"The second time, I thought I just needed to get away before your dying counterattack."

"The third time, I discovered you had spare bodies."

"After that, I started looking, one by one."

"For your Fingers."

"For your habits."

"For the patterns hidden in your madness."

"For every possible way you could drive Emilia into a dead end."

As Natsuki Subaru spoke, he reached out and straightened Petelgeuse's disheveled collar.

The gesture could even have been called considerate.

"I died many times to stop you."

"I died many more times to figure you out."

"And I died many more times to make sure you died here today."

"You're troublesome."

"Truly troublesome."

Watching the Sin Archbishop of Sloth's eyes gradually lose focus, Natsuki Subaru sighed softly.

"But you're pretty impressive, too."

Petelgeuse's eyes widened slightly.

"To kill Emilia, you actually managed to keep moving forward, single-mindedly, again and again."

"I've watched you over four hundred times, watched you persist in moving in the same direction over four hundred times."

"Honestly, sometimes even I felt moved."

Natsuki Subaru gave a low chuckle.

It was quiet, yet it sent a chill down one's spine.

"I suppose we're friends by now."

"Even if I'm the only one who thinks so."

Petelgeuse's lips trembled, as though he wanted to cry out the Witch's name.

But before the sound could escape, Natsuki Subaru picked up the longsword and set its point before his head.

"What a worthy opponent."

Natsuki Subaru spoke softly.

"I'll probably forget you tomorrow."

The next instant.

The longsword plunged in.

The grating screams finally ended.

Only the sound of dripping blood remained in the room.

Natsuki Subaru stood before the pool of blood, looking down at the completely motionless Sin Archbishop of Sloth, with little joy of victory in his eyes.

After enduring the longest three days, all he felt now was exhaustion.

Deep, deep exhaustion.

In the darkness, several black-robed figures silently knelt, as though waiting for his next command.

Natsuki Subaru did not turn around.

He simply looked at the corpse on the floor and said softly:

"Clean it up."

The black-robed figures lowered their heads.

"As you command, Lord Apostle."

Natsuki Subaru did not correct that form of address.

He no longer cared.

As long as Emilia would not be driven into a corner.

As long as she could keep advancing toward the throne.

As long as the things standing in her way disappeared one by one.

Then, no matter what he was called, it did not matter.