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{3rd Pov}
“What do you think?~What do you think?~” the Witch of Pride asked cheerfully, her tone filled with excitement as she looked at the white-haired Witch standing in front of her, clearly expecting some kind of reaction.
“Hmm… you’ve created quite a mess,” Echidna replied in a calm and indifferent tone, showing little to no concern. Her gaze shifted toward the village around them, which was now nothing more than a scene of destruction, the ground littered with the corpses of villagers who had been judged and executed.
Those who had not been deemed guilty had already fled.
They had run for their lives without hesitation, abandoning the village entirely in their desperate attempt to survive, leaving everything behind without even looking back.
“The bad people were punished! Now there won’t be any more injustice in this village!” the Witch of Pride, Typhon said happily, as if she had accomplished something truly righteous.
“Oh dear… I doubt there will even be a village left to speak of,” Echidna giggled, amused by the situation rather than disturbed by it.
This was, after all, her first time meeting the Witch of Pride.
And, to her own surprise she was already finding the interaction rather interesting.
As someone whose thirst for knowledge and fascination with new and unusual events was practically endless, Echidna had made the deliberate decision to seek out the other so called Witches. Naturally, Typhon was among the first ones she chose to meet.
And so far, the encounter had not disappointed her in the slightest.
She was more than intrigued—she was genuinely exhilarated. Typhon was unlike anything she had expected. The way her sense of justice operated, combined with the nature of her abilities, made her an incredibly interesting subject of observation.
In fact, Echidna had already analyzed and deduced the general mechanics behind Typhon’s abilities. Within her mind, she had begun categorizing it, mentally placing it somewhere within her own internal ranking of Authorities that had existed since the very beginning of the Witch Factors.
Of course, it wasn’t just Typhon.
All of the Witches had caught her interest to some degree, and the rumors surrounding them only made things more compelling. Each one represented a different kind of anomaly, a different set of rules and powers that could not be easily explained.
Echidna wanted to understand them all.
She wanted to observe every possibility, to see what they were capable of, and more importantly, to determine how those abilities could be utilized or adapted for other purposes.
Her black eyes reflected that growing curiosity as they gleamed faintly with interest.
At that moment, she found herself wondering just how fascinating it would be to meet the remaining Witches as well.
“I see… so this is where you are.”
Echidna paused the moment she heard the unfamiliar voice. The tone was calm, yet carried a certain weight that immediately drew her attention. Without delay, her gaze shifted toward the source of the sound.
Standing there was a man with waist length fiery red hair and sharp sky blue eyes. He was dressed in a traditional knight uniform, his posture relaxed yet confident, as if he had no concern about the situation in front of him.
His eyes moved between Echidna and Typhon, openly scanning them with visible interest. There was nothing subtle about it. The way he observed them, combined with the faint motion of him licking his lips, would have made most people feel uneasy or even frightened.
However, neither of them were ordinary.
They were Witches.
“Ha… if this isn’t the prodigious swordsman, Reid Astrea,” Echidna said without hesitation, immediately identifying the man in front of her. There was no doubt in her voice, as if she had already known who he was the moment she saw him.
Reid casually cracked his neck, the sound echoing faintly in the otherwise quiet surroundings.
“So, you’re the so-called All-Knowing Witch, huh?” he said, his tone carrying a mix of curiosity and amusement. His gaze then shifted toward Typhon.
“And if I’m not mistaken… that’s the Witch who wiped out these villagers?” he added, looking directly at Typhon’s small figure with clear interest, as if evaluating her rather than judging her actions.
“I didn’t kill them. I only judged them. Their sins are what killed them, hehe~” Typhon said cheerfully, correcting him without the slightest awareness of the threat standing in front of her.
She then shifted her attention toward Reid Astrea, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.
“Mister, are you a good person?” she asked with a bright smile, as casually as if she were asking about the weather.
“Haha… why don’t you find out for yourself?” Reid replied, flexing his arm casually, as if inviting her to try.
However, at that moment, warning signals rang loudly in Echidna’s mind. Her gaze focused on the man who had been rumoured to reach the 'Heavenly Sword', her instincts telling her that this man was not something to take lightly.
At the same time, excitement stirred within her.
She wanted to understand it.
What exactly was the Heavenly Sword? How strong was Reid Astrea? What kind of abilities did he possess?
“Hehe~ then don’t mind if I do!” Typhon said without hesitation.
In the very next instant, she dashed forward, moving to judge him just as she had judged the villagers.
But before she could even complete her action her body suddenly dropped.
She hit the ground with a heavy thud.
“Huh…?” she let out a confused sound, unable to understand what had just happened.
Then, in the next moment, thin red lines appeared across both of her knees and instantly blood burst out.
Her legs had already been cleanly sliced apart.
‘So strong…!’ Echidna thought, her expression shifting into something almost feverish as she carefully analyzed the Sword Saint in front of her. No matter how much she focused, her eyes had not been able to perceive the exact moment he made his move, nor how he had executed such a precise attack so effortlessly.
There had been no visible motion, no clear indication yet the result was undeniable.
“Ohhh… so this is what happened. Anyway, are you guilty?” Typhon said casually, as if nothing significant had occurred. Completely ignoring the severity of her injuries, she slowly dragged her body forward using her arms, trying to reach Reid despite the condition she was in.
However, before she could even get close her hands were severed as well.
The cuts were instantaneous, clean, and absolute.
Throughout all of this, Reid Astrea had not even moved from his position. He remained exactly where he stood, his expression calm and almost bored, as if the entire situation failed to interest him in the slightest.
In his hand, he casually held a leaf.
Without any urgency, he crushed it between his fingers.
“Oi… is that really all you’ve got?” Reid said with a sigh, clearly unimpressed.
“You’re so weak that I don’t even feel like wasting another leaf on you.”
His disappointment was obvious, as if he had expected something more entertaining.
“This hurts… ouch… this really hurts…” Typhon murmured softly, her voice finally reflecting the pain as she lay on the ground, unable to move any further.
It was only then that Echidna fully grasped what had just happened.
‘He did all of that… with a leaf?!’
The realization struck her immediately.
Reid Astrea hadn’t used a sword, or any proper weapon, infact he had used nothing more than a single leaf to sever Typhon’s limbs.
“Hey, you—do you have any tricks up your sleeve, or are you just another disappointment like her?” Reid Astrea said bluntly, his tone completely unapologetic as his gaze shifted toward the Witch of Greed.
Echidna smiled in response, her lips curving into a crescent shape that clearly revealed how intrigued she was by the current situation. There was no fear in her expression, only curiosity and interest.
“I believe I might have more to offer,” she replied calmly, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Of course… that depends on whether you’re willing to give me the chance.”
Her grin widened slightly as she spoke, which made Reid raise an eyebrow in mild interest. Without saying anything further, he began walking toward her at an unhurried pace.
As he moved, he casually kicked Typhon aside, treating her like nothing more than an obstacle in his path. There wasn’t even a trace of concern in his actions, as if her condition didn’t matter to him at all.
Echidna remained where she stood, preparing herself mentally as she readied her spells, anticipating an exchange.
But then she felt something unexpected.
A sudden sensation assaulted her chest, as Reid Astrea groped her without any shame.
Her body stiffened slightly as she realized what had just happened.
“What shape… what softness… truly fitting for a Witch,” Reid said, his tone filled with crude admiration as he leaned in closer, clearly unbothered by boundaries.
For a brief moment, Echidna didn’t react.
She simply looked at him, her expression shifting into something that was a mix of mild surprise and analytical curiosity, as if she was more interested in understanding his behavior than being offended by it.
“Have you finished ogling at me, or should I begin demonstrating what I’m capable of?” Echidna asked, her voice calm but clearly interested as she looked directly at the Sword Saint, showing neither fear nor hesitation.
“Forget it,” Reid Astrea replied casually, his tone lacking any real interest. “The fact that I was able to close the distance between us so easily already proves it. Fighting you would be pointless.”
His words were blunt, dismissive, and carried a sense of finality.
At that moment, something inside Echidna snapped, as her curiosity sharpened rather than faded and she could feel something... perhaps anger?
“Of course… you are quite the beauty,” Reid continued without any shame, his gaze still fixed on her. “It would be a waste to kill you. Warm my bed tonight, and I’ll spare your life for now.”
There was no subtlety in his words, nor any attempt to hide his intentions.
Meanwhile, Subaru had finally arrived at the scene.
What he saw left him completely speechless for a moment.
His eyes moved across the situation the destroyed village, Typhon lying injured on the ground, and the man standing before Echidna with a rough, almost wild presence, paired with completely shameless behavior.
There was no need for confirmation.
Without hesitation, Subaru immediately recognized who he was looking at.
That man was the First Sword Saint.
‘So that’s my Gian?’ Subaru thought, his lips twitching slightly as he took in the sight in front of him. Without rushing, he casually walked toward Typhon, who had already lost consciousness and was lying off to the side, limbless and on the verge of death.
“Gian, I don’t think your mother taught you to treat children like this,” Subaru said calmly as he began picking up Typhon’s severed limbs from the ground, his tone carrying a hint of dry sarcasm.
At those words, Reid Astrea stopped what he was doing. His attention shifted away from Echidna, and both of them turned their focus toward Subaru.
“Oi, You’re so weak that I didn’t even notice you were there,” Reid said mockingly, showing no hesitation in belittling him.
“Also, what’s the point of collecting those?” he added, glancing at the limbs in Subaru’s hands. “She’s already dead anyway.”
Subaru didn’t respond to the provocation.
Instead, he continued walking until he reached Typhon’s body. With careful movements, he placed each severed limb back in its original position, aligning them precisely as they had been before.
Then, without hesitation, he activated his magic.
A soft glow enveloped Typhon’s body, spreading across her wounds. The effect was immediate. The severed limbs reattached seamlessly, as if they had never been cut apart in the first place. Her pale, lifeless complexion gradually returned to a healthier tone, and her breathing stabilized.
Within moments, the fatal damage had been completely undone.
Both Reid and Echidna watched the scene unfold in silence, stunned beyond any measure, even Reid's mouth opened slightly from the shock.
In this era, where magic itself was rare and most of them were performed by the Spirits.
In fact, magicians during this era were so feared and despised that even the use of a simple spell was enough to earn someone the label of an abomination or a Witch. The general population had little understanding of magic, and what they did not understand, they rejected and feared.
Even Echidna, who possessed extensive knowledge, was limited in practice. While she was familiar with healing magic, it was nowhere near the level required to bring someone back from the brink of death so effortlessly. What Subaru had just performed was far beyond what could be considered normal, even by her standards.
“Wait a minute… who exactly are you?” Reid Astrea asked, his tone shifting noticeably as he finally began to take the man in front of him seriously. His gaze sharpened as he examined Subaru more carefully now.
Subaru stood there with long white hair and golden eyes, his appearance already unusual enough to draw attention, but it was his actions that had truly set him apart.
Although Subaru could not use most of his Authorities or access other forms of energy aside from mana due to the restrictions placed upon him, that did not mean he was completely powerless. He still retained partial access to the Authorities he had copied, as the suppression affecting them was significantly weaker compared to his original abilities.
So he was able to change his face to match his Flugel Persona.
On top of that, he could still freely use magic, along with the Authorities that aligned more closely with his identity as Natsuki Subaru. Those abilities remained functional, without any restrictions.
And that alone was more than enough to make him dangerous.
“Me? I am just a simple traveler, someone on a journey to save the world,” Subaru said with a faint smile, his tone calm and composed as if he were stating something completely ordinary.
After a brief pause, he added, “Name's Flugel.”
“Oh… is that so?” Reid Astrea responded, his interest clearly piqued now. His gaze shifted briefly toward Typhon before returning to Subaru.
“Then tell me, Flugel… how exactly did you heal her like that?”
Reid’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Typhon more carefully. There was no doubt about it, she was alive. Although she appeared somewhat weakened due to the blood she had lost earlier, her condition had stabilized completely, something that should not have been possible under normal circumstances.
“Indeed, Sir Flugel, the method you used for healing is truly remarkable,” Echidna said, stepping in with clear interest.
Her expression had changed noticeably, her curiosity now fully engaged.
“It is so refined that I cannot help but feel… intrigued by it,” she continued, her tone soft yet filled with genuine fascination.
“To think such a level of magic is even possible…”
Her appearance contrasted sharply with the situation around her. With a faint blush on her cheeks and her eyes shining with curiosity, she looked almost like an innocent maiden captivated by something new, despite the context of the destruction surrounding them.
And yet, the interest in her gaze was unmistakably real.
‘Look at her bullshit…’ Subaru thought to himself, though his face revealed none of it. Outwardly, he remained completely composed, but internally, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of amusement at how convincingly Echidna imitated human emotions.
He understood the difference clearly.
The more mature version of Echidna might have been somewhat capable of empathy, or at least able to simulate concern in a more refined way. But the current Echidna standing before him was still the Witch of Greed in her purest form, almost identical to the version that existed within the Castle of Dreams.
In simple terms, she did not truly possess a full range of emotions.
Her core was made up of greed, an insatiable desire for knowledge, and the capacity for hatred or anger when things did not go her way. However, she was exceptionally skilled at suppressing or masking those aspects, especially when doing so helped her pursue what she wanted.
That was why she maintained the image of a gentle and beautiful maiden.
But Subaru could see through it.
It was obvious when you looked at her actions. She had come here to observe Typhon purely out of curiosity, to satisfy her own desire for knowledge. And yet, when Typhon was on the verge of death, Echidna had not shown even the slightest concern.
The same applied to Reid Astrea.
Her interest in him had nothing to do with who he was as a person. It was entirely focused on understanding his strength, his abilities, and what made him so powerful.
Even when Reid behaved inappropriately, she had not reacted in any meaningful way.
The only moment that seemed to truly bother her was when he dismissed the idea of fighting her and instead made a comment about sparing her.
And even then, Subaru could tell it wasn’t even the order to sleep with her itself that had irritated her.
It was the fact that Reid had decided she wasn’t worth the effort of a fight.
That, more than anything else, was what had actually gotten under her skin.
“An ability like that… I’ve never seen anything like it,” Reid Astrea said, his tone carrying genuine interest now. “So tell me, lad, how about working for me? My old man’s in pretty bad shape and could use someone like you to fix him.”
Despite his crude behavior and rough attitude, there was a clear hint of sincerity behind his words. For all his flaws, he still cared about his family. The Heavenly Sword could not heal his father, and recognizing Subaru’s ability, Reid had immediately decided that bringing Flugel along might be the only solution.
“Lord Flugel, you must not listen to this man,” Echidna interjected without hesitation, her tone smooth but firm as she stepped in.
“His words may sound appealing, but as you have already witnessed, his actions reveal his true nature.”
She paused briefly, her expression shifting just enough to reinforce her point.
“He attempted to violate my maidenly self without the slightest hesitation. A man like that cannot be trusted. Someone so crude and impulsive would have no issue taking advantage of you as well,” she continued, clearly trying to steer the situation in her favor.
Her intent was obvious.
She did not want Flugel to accept Reid’s invitation.
Reid Astrea did not even bother responding to her words. Instead, he casually reached out and grabbed Echidna by the throat, lifting her slightly as if it required no effort at all.
“Shut up, Witch,” he said flatly, his grip tightening as he prepared to snap her neck without hesitation.
“Perhaps you should let go of her throat,” Subaru spoke calmly, his voice cutting through the tension without any urgency.
“It would be troublesome to revive her if she were to die.”
That single sentence was enough to freeze both of them in place.
For individuals like them, beings who stood at the peak of their respective fields, such words were not something to be taken lightly. Reid, who had reached the level of the Heavenly Sword, and Echidna, the Witch of Greed and one of the most capable magicians of her time, both immediately understood the implication behind those words.
Subaru had not said it would be impossible.
He had said it would be troublesome.
That meant only one thing.
He knew how to bring her back.
“W Wait… you… you can revive people?” Echidna managed to speak despite Reid’s grip around her throat. Her voice was strained, but her eyes were no longer focused on the danger she was in.
Instead, they were filled with pure, undeniable excitement as she stared directly at Flugel.
For her, that single possibility outweighed everything else.
“Interesting… I don’t sense any lies from you,” Reid Astrea said with a grin, his tone carrying both curiosity and amusement.
“Which means either you’re telling the truth… or you’re just incredibly arrogant to think you can resurrect people.”
He tilted his head slightly, his smile widening.
“So why don’t we find out which one it is?”
Before anyone could respond in the very next moment, he snapped Echidna’s neck.
The sound was sharp and final.
Her body went limp instantly.
“…”
For a brief moment, Subaru was completely speechless.
This was the first time he had encountered both his so called 'Gian' and the Witch of Greed in person and within seconds, it had become painfully clear that both of them were completely unhinged.
‘No wonder the moral standards of the world 400 years later are so messed up,’ Subaru thought, trying to process what he had just witnessed.
Of course, he was well aware that he himself was not exactly a saint either. If anything, the closest title that could describe him now would be something like a Demon King.
After all, he was the Great Sage, someone who reigned over the Witches of Sin.
And yet even for someone like him, what he was seeing right now was on another level.
These people were crazy as fuck.
‘And this is supposed to be considered normal in this era…’ Subaru sighed internally, coming to terms with the reality in front of him. It made sense now why so many versions of Subaru ended up being treated so poorly in this world.
At its core, the world almost resembled a twisted version of a Japanese cultivation setting, mixed with elements of an otome villainess story, all layered with the presence of transgressor who could loop back through time and disrupt everything.
The values, the behavior, the way people acted it all was completely different from what he was used to.
As Reid Astrea casually tossed Echidna’s lifeless body onto the ground without a second thought, Subaru acted instantly.
In the very next moment, he teleported.
He appeared right beside her and caught her body in his arms before it could hit the ground, moving with precision and perfect timing.
“???!”
Reid’s expression changed immediately.
He had not seen Subaru move at all.
There had been no visible motion, no shift in stance, nothing that he could track with his eyes.
At most, he had sensed a faint fluctuation of mana.
But that alone did not explain what had just happened.
In this era, magic was still in a primitive state, barely developed compared to what it would become in the future. Teleportation magic did not exist as a known concept.
In fact, Reid himself had no understanding of teleportation at all.
From his perspective, it looked as if Subaru had moved faster than he could even perceive.
And that was what made it unsettling.
‘The wind didn’t even move… there were no shockwaves, no signs of movement… so how did he suddenly appear right next to me?’ Reid thought, genuinely shocked for the first time.
Wait was he shocked before Subaru healed that Witch of Pride?
Never mind, he was genuinely shocked for the second time since coming here in this village.
“I told you not to kill her… this is going to be troublesome,” Subaru said calmly, though there was a clear hint of annoyance in his voice.
His Authority of Lust, Life and Death Manipulation, was currently being heavily restricted by the time space continuity, making things far less straightforward than they should have been.
‘Let’s see if the Sacrament of the Immortal King works… if it fails, then I will have no choice but to restart the loop,’ Subaru thought with a quiet sigh, already preparing himself for the worst case scenario.
Without wasting any time, he began to act.
He immediately activated the most advanced form of healing magic he possessed. This was not ordinary magic, but a technique he had refined himself after learning it's other versions from Felix Argyle and Echidna into 400 years in the future, eventually developing it into his own unique version of the Sacrament of the Immortal King.
The effect was immediate.
Under Reid Astrea’s stunned gaze, Echidna’s broken neck snapped back into place with a faint sound. Her body, which had gone completely lifeless, began to recover rapidly.
Then her heart started beating again.
‘Well… I do have a ridiculous amount of luck stacked on my side… around 1024 times, if I remember correctly,’ Subaru muttered inwardly.
‘Though honestly, I sometimes wonder if that luck just alternates between good and bad outcomes.’
A moment later, Echidna’s eyes slowly opened.
The first thing she saw upon regaining consciousness was Subaru, holding her.
“You’ve been successfully revived,” Subaru said with a faint smile, his tone casual despite what he had just done.
“That method only has about a three percent success rate, so you were quite lucky this time.”
Meanwhile, Reid remained completely still.
For the first time, he was no longer treating Subaru as just another person.
He was staring at him as if he were looking at something that didn’t fit within his understanding at all.
Meanwhile, Echidna immediately spoke up the moment she fully regained awareness.
“Take me.”
“…”
“Take me as your disciple!” she said again quickly, her tone filled with excitement. This time, there was no act, no carefully constructed facade. Her emotions were genuine, driven entirely by her overwhelming greed for knowledge, especially the kind of magic that Flugel had just demonstrated.
‘Ah… so that’s what she meant. For a second, I thought she was trying to seduce me,’ Subaru thought to himself, coughing lightly in his mind at his own misunderstanding caused by him being a degenerate.
“My answer to that request is…” Subaru began, his expression calm as he gave her a small, composed smile.
Echidna’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
“No.”
“…”
For a moment, there was silence.
Echidna’s expression froze, she had been disappointed and her day had been ruined.
At this point, her day had officially been ruined, twice if we count what happened earlier with the Sword Saint.
Meanwhile, Takesi GoudaAhem Reid Astrea had finally come to terms with what he was witnessing. The man standing in front of him was not someone ordinary. In fact, he was likely someone whose strength and abilities were beyond anything Reid could fully comprehend.
And that realization only made him more interested.
Unable to suppress his urge any longer, Reid acted.
Without hesitation, he drew his sword.
In a single motion, he swung it.
Subaru’s neck was severed instantly.
At the same time, the strike carried the power of the Heavenly Sword, directly severing Subaru’s Od itself. Under normal circumstances, he might have resisted or even denied death using his Authority of Lust, but due to the restrictions placed upon him, that ability was not functioning at full capacity.
This time he could not stop it.
And so, he died.
Natsuki Subaru has died for the eleventh time (*2048).
To be continued...