...
{3rd Pov}
Emilia entered the meeting room first, her posture straight as she stepped inside, followed closely by Subaru and the rest of their group.
Reina trailed just behind Subaru, clad in her knight's uniform, her expression calm and disciplined.
Priscilla was already seated when they arrived, lounging confidently in her chair as if the room itself belonged to her.
Alderban stood nearby with his arms crossed, while Schult remained at her side, maintaining proper butler etiquette.
Emilia took her seat on the designated sofa, settling herself with composed dignity.
Geuse positioned himself beside her immediately, standing upright in clear display of his role as her attendant.
Subaru sat down next to Emilia without hesitation, his presence reinforcing the alliance between them.
Reina remained standing at his side, hands behind her back, her stance perfectly aligned with her role as his knight.
Across from them, Roswaal occupied a third sofa situated between Subaru's group and Priscilla's.
Unlike the others, he had no attendants standing behind him, his relaxed posture giving off an air of detached amusement.
The room fell briefly silent as all parties took in one another.
"It is about time you lot graced mine divine self with your presence," Priscilla finally spoke, crossing her legs with deliberate elegance.
Her tone dripped with arrogance, as though their arrival had been an inevitability rather than a courtesy.
The meeting had officially begun.
Aldebaran, standing beside Priscilla, was having a serious 'what the fuck' moment.
The instant his eyes landed on Geuse, something clicked in his mind—and not in a good way.
He stared a little longer than was polite, carefully examining the man's posture, expression, and presence.
The realization hit him hard, and his gaze flicked back toward Zero almost immediately.
For a brief, unsettling moment, Aldebaran wondered if Natsuki Subaru had somehow taken over the entire Witch Cult.
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
He observed Geuse more closely, expecting at any second for him to start twitching, muttering nonsense, or displaying that infamous obsession with silver-haired half-elf women.
But none of that happened. Geuse stood calmly, composed, and disturbingly normal.
There was no madness in his eyes, no erratic movements, and certainly no unhinged devotion leaking out of him.
That discrepancy forced Aldebaran to reconsider his initial assumption.
If this truly was Petelgeuse—and if Zero really was Natsuki Subaru—then the situation was far more complicated than a simple power grab or cult takeover.
Whatever the truth was, it clearly wasn't the one Aldebaran had first jumped to.
And somehow, that made things even more unsettling.
"Greetings to you, Lady Priscilla," Emilia replied politely, lifting her chin as she met the gaze of the most arrogant Royal Candidate head-on.
There was no hesitation in her eyes this time, only resolve.
Priscilla's lips curved upward in amusement.
"How interesting. It seems you have grown a spine since the last time we met," she remarked casually, clearly entertained by the fact that Emilia was holding her gaze seriously—like someone who finally understood the meaning of words such as responsibility and status.
Emilia didn't flinch.
"First of all, I always had a spine," she said evenly.
"After all, without one, I wouldn't be able to walk."
She paused only briefly before continuing, her expression turning serious.
"Secondly, we are here to conduct a very important meeting regarding the future of the Royal Selection."
Subaru had to fight with every fiber of his being not to facepalm on the spot.
She meant well.
She really did.
But even when she was being completely serious, Emilia's natural naivety still managed to slip through in ways that were both endearing and painfully ill-timed.
Subaru bit the inside of his cheek, suppressing a laugh that absolutely did not belong in a formal political meeting.
Aldebaran, standing nearby, also struggled to maintain composure.
Fortunately for him, he was wearing a helmet.
Hidden behind it, he was free to make whatever expression he wanted without anyone noticing—whether that was disbelief, amusement, or quiet admiration at Emilia's unintentional audacity.
The room's tension didn't break, but it certainly warped.
And Priscilla's smile only widened.
"I see," Priscilla said slowly, a confident grin spreading across her face.
"This proposal likely involves your partner, Zero, becoming my knight, worshipping my divine self, and you formally admitting your defeat in the Royal Selection. If that is the case, then count me in."
Her voice carried the absolute certainty of someone who genuinely believed the world revolved around her existence.
Subaru's eyes flicked briefly toward Reina.
She stood perfectly still at his side, her expression flawlessly neutral, but he could practically feel the killing intent simmering beneath the surface.
One wrong word, one wrong demand, and the Vollachian Princess would be reduced to pieces before anyone could react.
'I mean… the actual person the world revolves around is already in this room,' Subaru thought dryly.
Turning his attention back to Priscilla, Subaru spoke calmly, his tone firm but controlled.
"No, Lady Priscilla. I believe you are mistaken."
The grin on her face paused—just slightly.
"That is not the reason we invited you here," Subaru continued evenly.
"In fact, the proposal is much simpler than that."
He met her gaze without flinching.
"I want you to withdraw from the Royal Selection."
The room went quiet.
Even Priscilla's confidence froze for a heartbeat.
A thick, oppressive silence instantly swallowed the room.
Aldebaran's body twitched in pure exasperation, his reaction completely visible despite his face being hidden behind his helmet.
If anyone could read the expression beneath it, it would have been screaming "Are you serious right now?" at the top of its lungs.
Even Schult froze, eyes widening as the weight of Subaru's words finally sank in.
He simply couldn't believe that someone had the sheer audacity to stand before Priscilla Barielle and openly tell her to admit defeat and withdraw from the Royal Selection—to her face.
Predictably, Priscilla's response was immediate.
A blazing sword formed in her hand, radiating intense heat and light as if a fragment of the sun itself had condensed into steel.
Without hesitation, she swung the Yang Sword straight toward Subaru's neck, the strike clean, lethal, and overflowing with killing intent.
The blade stopped.
It was halted by two fingers.
Reina had moved faster than anyone could track.
She caught the edge of the blazing sword between her index and middle finger, completely unfazed.
Her posture remained relaxed, her expression unchanged, as if she had intercepted nothing more than a child's tantrum.
Priscilla's eyes narrowed sharply.
The sofa beneath her shattered as she kicked it away, planting her foot firmly onto the floor.
The stone beneath cracked and sank under the sheer force as she poured her full strength into the Yang Sword.
Veins bulged along her arm as she pushed harder, power surging through her body.
The sword didn't move an inch.
Reina didn't flinch.
The room creaked under the pressure, and for the first time since the meeting began, Priscilla's confidence showed a visible fracture.
"Perhaps you should listen to my full proposal first," Subaru said calmly, crossing his legs as he spoke.
His tone was sly, casual, as if the situation weren't seconds away from turning lethal.
At that moment, he was farming aura simply by sitting there.
The contrast was impossible to ignore: Reina effortlessly holding back a sword brimming with destructive power using only two fingers, while Priscilla strained with visible effort.
The gap in strength between the two sides was on full display, silent yet overwhelming.
"Shut up!" Priscilla snapped, fury finally cracking through her usual composure.
"For this insolence, I will take your head!"
It was the first time genuine anger had crossed her face, and everyone in the room felt it.
By now, she had already realized the truth—they weren't here to beg, negotiate favors, and instead offer her something in exchange for withdrawing from the Royal Selection.
They genuinely believed they could make her step aside and that realization was utterly unacceptable to her.
Because in her mind, Priscilla Barielle was not someone who could be bought, pressured, or dismissed.
And the very idea that they thought otherwise was an insult she would not forgive.
Aldebaran let out a long, tired sigh as he took in the scene before him, his gaze moving from the immobilized Yang Sword to the sheer gap in power on display.
To force someone like him who can rewind time to admit defeat, it would normally require nothing less than the Sword Saint himself.
And even then, Aldebaran knew from experience that time rewinding wouldn't help much if the difference was this overwhelming.
But this wasn't just one monster standing against them.
There was Zero, whose strength remained mysterious and deeply unsettling.
There was Reina, casually blocking a divine sword with two fingers like it was nothing.
On top of that stood the Sin Archbishop of Sloth—alive, sane, and cooperative, which again was fucking absurd even for the guy who had died million times.
Add Red, aka Roswaal, Emilia as a Royal Candidate backed by terrifying forces, and a Great Spirit of Fire to the mix, and the outcome became painfully obvious.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a slaughter waiting to happen.
Aldebaran mentally ran through every possible scenario, every escape route, every miracle intervention—and came up empty.
Unless the Divine Dragon himself decided to intervene on Priscilla's behalf, there was no realistic path to victory here.
Yeah… they were completely screwed.
And Aldebaran hated how clear that fact was.
"Priscilla, you should understand one thing," Subaru said casually as he looked straight at her.
"In this world, only those who are strong have the right to speak."
For the first time since the clash began, the strength in Priscilla's arm faltered.
The blazing Yang Sword shimmered for a moment before dissipating completely as she unsummoned it, finally freeing it from Reina's grip.
The pressure in the room eased slightly, though the tension remained thick enough to cut.
"Indeed," Priscilla replied coldly, lifting her chin as her eyes burned with defiance.
"My divine self shall hear your proposal—but only if you defeat me. Remember this well: this battle will not end until one of us is no longer capable of fighting."
Her gaze never left Subaru, daring him to accept.
Aldebaran rubbed his temple beneath his helmet, already feeling a headache coming on.
'I should prepare to deploy my domain,' he thought grimly, 'just in case this goes completely off the rails.'
"Very well," Subaru said calmly.
He brushed imaginary dust from his lap as he rose to his feet, his movements unhurried and deliberate.
"Let's do this the Vollachian way."
The meeting had officially turned into a duel.
Emilia also rose from her seat, clearly unsettled by how quickly the situation had escalated.
"Lady Priscilla," she said earnestly, concern visible on her face, "I hate unnecessary violence. Why don't you simply admit defeat? You will lose anyway."
Her words were meant to de-escalate the situation, but instead they only provoked a reaction.
Priscilla's eyebrows twitched sharply, irritation flashing across her face.
"Shut up, half-elf!" she snapped without restraint.
"This has nothing to do with you. This is not a matter between you and me."
Her blazing gaze shifted back to Subaru.
"This is between me and him."
The room went quiet again, the hostility thick enough to make the air feel heavy.
"We will require an open space for this battle," Roswaal said calmly, his tone neutral and measured.
His gaze lingered on Priscilla for a brief moment, and there was unmistakable pity in his eyes.
He already knew the outcome—this confrontation was hopelessly one-sided.
The Vollachian princess was walking straight toward an inevitable defeat.
And yet, she showed no sign of backing down.
"Princess, perhaps we should withdraw," Aldebaran finally said, fully aware that his suggestion would likely ignite her temper.
"There is no need to listen to them or entertain any of their proposals."
"Aldebaran." Priscilla's face twisted sharply with fury as she turned toward him.
"Do you truly believe I will lose? Or do you think my divine self is even capable of defeat?"
Her eyes burned with rage.
"You expect me to walk away after enduring such an insult to my face?" Her voice dropped dangerously.
"Watch your tongue, or your head will be rolling on the ground in the next second."
Aldebaran stiffened.
Behind his helmet, he let out a quiet sigh, knowing better than to argue further.
"As you say, Princess," he replied flatly, accepting that reason would get him nowhere.
With that, the decision was made.
The meeting was effectively over.
Both parties prepared to leave the hotel, agreeing—if it could even be called agreement—to move the confrontation away from public view.
The outskirts of Rimpleton City would serve as the stage for their decisive battle, far from civilians and fragile structures.
There, with no walls to restrain them and no witnesses to interfere, the clash between Zero and the Vollachian Princess would finally be settled.
...
Subaru sent a brief telepathic message to his spirits, explaining the situation and outlining what was about to happen.
The response was immediate and unanimous.
Without hesitation, all of them decided to come along.
One by one, they shifted their presence and teleported back into Subaru's Spiritual Space as both camps exited the hotel and moved swiftly toward their respective carriages, preparing to head for the outskirts of the city.
Night had fully settled by then.
The dinner that was supposed to accompany diplomatic discussion had been completely ruined—food overturned, plates shattered, and the floor damaged during Priscilla's earlier outburst.
Whatever semblance of civility the meeting had once promised was long gone.
As the carriage rattled forward, Gloria manifested inside it, materializing across from Subaru.
Her golden eyes locked onto him immediately, sharp and intense.
"Father," she asked coldly, "who is this mongrel that believes she can challenge you?"
"She is one of the Royal Candidates, I suppose," Beatrice replied matter-of-factly, her tone carrying mild annoyance rather than surprise.
Reina let out a restrained sigh, her hand tightening slightly at her side.
"She is unbearably insolent," she said flatly.
"To dare raise her weapon against my liege… She is fortunate that my liege's orders restrained me. Otherwise, I would have already separated her filthy neck from her shoulders."
Subaru glanced at the three women beside him, who normally couldn't go five minutes without snapping at one another, now casually united in verbally tearing Priscilla apart.
His eyebrow twitched as a familiar realization hit him.
'It really is true,' he thought dryly.
'Everyone stays divided until they find a common person to bully.'
"She is actually an honorable woman," Subaru said after a brief pause, well as honorable someone with Minor God-complex, or perhaps limited world view can be.
"It's just that her personality is… somewhat difficult to understand."
The moment the words left his mouth, all three of them froze.
Gloria, Beatrice, and Reina turned their attention toward him at the same time, clearly stunned that Subaru was offering praise instead of condemnation.
There was a short, awkward silence.
"In simple words," Gloria said flatly, "a slut."
Subaru went completely speechless.
No rebuttal came to mind fast enough, and for once, even he had no idea how to respond.
He simply stared ahead, choosing silence over digging himself into a deeper hole.
Not long after, the carriages finally reached the outskirts of Rimpleton City.
The environment shifted dramatically as the city lights faded behind them.
The distant sound of waves from the river flowing past the city echoed through the night, and pale moonlight washed over the open terrain, casting long shadows across the ground.
It was quiet.
The perfect place for an inevitable clash to begin.
They stepped out of their respective carriages one after another.
Subaru exited first, calm and unhurried, followed closely by Reina, Beatrice, and Gloria from his carriage.
From the second carriage, Geuse, Emilia, and Roswaal disembarked in turn, positioning themselves slightly left of Subaru's group as observers rather than direct participants.
A short distance away, Aldebaran and Schult remained near their carriage, watching the situation unfold with very different expectations.
Priscilla finally stepped forward, her presence commanding attention the moment her feet touched the ground.
"Lady Priscilla, you can do it!" Schult shouted enthusiastically, fists clenched in encouragement.
He genuinely believed she would win, his faith in her absolute and unwavering.
Aldebaran, however, stayed silent.
Inside his helmet, he let out a mental sigh as he watched Priscilla walk toward Subaru with absolute confidence.
'Yeah, kid… I really don't think that's how this is going to end,' he thought grimly.
The distance between the two sides slowly closed, the air growing heavier with every step Priscilla took forward.
"The rules of this bout are clear," Roswaal announced calmly, his voice carrying across the open ground.
"Sir Zero and Lady Priscilla shall clash until one party is no longer capable of continuing the battle. The victor will then have the right to impose their terms upon the defeated."
Priscilla raised both of her hands toward the sky without hesitation.
In response, a blazing golden sword materialized in her grasp, radiating intense heat and light as if forged from condensed sunlight itself.
The Yang Sword hummed with power, its presence alone enough to make the air around it shimmer.
Subaru, meanwhile, did not rush.
He slowly lowered his hand toward the ground, his posture relaxed and careless.
The shadows around him suddenly deepened, turning pitch black as if swallowing the moonlight itself.
A faint cracking sound echoed outward as something began to emerge from within the darkness.
The hilt of a sword slowly revealed itself, rising upward from the shadow as if being pulled from another world.
Inch by inch, the blade followed, until Subaru's hand closed firmly around the hilt.
Without ceremony, he lifted the weapon and gave it a casual swing, as though testing its weight rather than preparing for a decisive battle.
The contrast between them was unmistakable.
One stood blazing like the sun itself.
The other wielded darkness as if it were second nature.
"That's interesting, isn't it?" Geuse remarked as he observed the two weapons carefully.
"Lady Priscilla wields the Yang Sword, while Lord Zero holds the Yin Sword." After a brief pause, his eyes narrowed.
"The reaction has already begun."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Yang Sword flared violently.
Its brightness tripled in an instant, the golden light surging outward as raw power flooded the blade, making the surrounding air tremble.
"What's happening?" Schult asked in surprise.
He had never seen the Yang Sword shine with such overwhelming intensity before, and the sudden escalation left him visibly shaken.
"Yin and Yang possess a dual nature," Aldebaran explained calmly, his tone measured.
"They both complement and repel one another. You could say these two blades are sibling weapons—Swords of Power born from the same principle."
Priscilla felt the surge through her grip and smiled broadly.
"It seems my weapon is eager to battle you as well," she said confidently, her eyes fixed on Subaru.
Subaru returned her gaze without hesitation.
"So am I, Princess," he replied simply.
The swords continued to resonate, their opposing energies clashing even before their wielders made a move.
In the very next moment, their figures blurred as they collided head-on.
The clash of their weapons cracked through the air, the impact shattering it as if it were fragile glass.
The shockwave rippled outward, distorting the space around them and forcing the spectators to brace themselves.
Priscilla moved with sharp, practiced grace, her swings precise and confident.
The Yang Sword blazed with terrifying heat, each arc threatening to incinerate Subaru where he stood.
Flames and light roared forward, powerful enough to turn stone to slag. Subaru met the attack head-on, blocking effortlessly with the Yin Sword.
The darkness of his blade swallowed the heat without resistance, as if the flames never existed in the first place.
Without wasting a second, Subaru counterattacked.
His movement was clean and restrained, yet the strike still slipped past Priscilla's defense and grazed her skin, drawing blood.
The cut was shallow, but the message behind it was unmistakable.
"You should give up, Priscilla," Subaru said calmly, his tone steady as he faced her.
"You can already see the difference in power between us."
He hadn't even begun to fight seriously.
Subaru was holding back deliberately.
If he chose not to, a single swing of the Yin Sword would have been enough to split her body into multiple pieces without effort.
After all, his weapon did not obey the normal rules of combat.
It could ignore space.
It could ignore time.
And that fact made the outcome painfully obvious.
"Silence!" Priscilla shouted, her voice sharp with fury.
"You will not insult me any further, peasant! I have already declared that this battle will continue until one of us is no longer able to fight, and I fully intend to honor that declaration. If you dare to dishonor this promise, I will hold you in contempt for the rest of my existence!"
Despite her fierce words, Priscilla had already realized the truth within just a few short seconds of combat.
Subaru's strength was far beyond her own, existing in a completely different league.
The gap between them was undeniable.
Even so, that realization did not mean she would surrender.
"I see," Subaru replied calmly.
A faint smile appeared on his face, not mocking, but genuinely appreciative.
"Princess of the Blazing Sun… you have earned my admiration. Prepare yourself, because from this point onward, I will fight you with my full strength."
The battlefield fell completely silent.
The air itself seemed to freeze at Subaru's declaration.
Gloria's lips curled into a wide, delighted grin.
Beatrice's eyes widened in shock, her breath catching as she realized what Subaru had just promised.
Reina, meanwhile, stared at him with eyes that had turned dangerously obsessive.
Without hesitation, she activated her Divine Protection, discreetly capturing the moment so she could later preserve it—etched permanently into her memory and, if possible, displayed proudly within her room.
The mood shifted instantly.
What had been a one-sided confrontation was about to become something far more terrifying.
"Emilia, quickly—move back!" Geuse shouted, already retreating several steps farther from the battlefield.
His voice carried urgency, and Emilia immediately understood the danger.
She nodded without hesitation and began moving away from the clash zone as fast as she could.
"Sis, let's fall back," Ram said sharply, grabbing Rem's arm as she pulled her along.
The two of them moved behind Reina and the gathered spirits, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the impending fight.
Aldebaran noticed the sudden reaction from Emilia's camp and didn't waste time questioning it.
He grabbed Schult firmly by the collar and sprinted backward, his mind racing as he wondered what kind of insanity was about to unfold.
If they were retreating this fast, then whatever was coming was far beyond normal combat.
Subaru watched as everyone cleared the area, ensuring there was no one left within range.
Satisfied, he calmly reached up, loosened his tie, and pulled it free.
Without a second thought, he tossed it aside onto the ground.
Subaru took a deep, steady breath.
As he did, the golden hue in his eyes faded, shifting into a cold, sharp blue.
At the same time, his body became wrapped in a vivid, rainbow-like glow as his aura condensed tightly around him.
The pressure in the air spiked instantly.
That aura flowed from his body down his arm and into the Yin Sword, as if the weapon itself were drinking in his power.
The moment the energy fully connected, the surrounding area was swallowed by darkness.
Subaru's shadow expanded rapidly, stretching outward across the ground and covering dozens of meters in every direction.
Pitch-black darkness mixed into the Yin Sword, deepening its color until it became so utterly black that it no longer reflected light at all.
Instead, it began absorbing it, dragging every stray ray inward and refusing to let anything escape.
The temperature dropped.
The air felt heavy, suffocating.
Priscilla felt it immediately.
Her instincts screamed at her in pure, unfiltered panic.
Every warning sense she possessed was going berserk, telling her the same thing over and over again—that whatever attack Subaru was about to unleash was not something she could endure.
This wasn't a wound or a defeat waiting for her.
This was an attack where death was not a possibility.
It was a certainty.
Her grip on the Yang Sword tightened as she braced herself, fully aware that she was standing before something far beyond her control.
"Yang, heed the words of my divine self," Priscilla declared loudly, her voice cutting through the oppressive darkness.
"Let the world turn around me once more."
It was night—precisely the time when her Divine Protection was not supposed to function at full capacity.
By all logic and precedent, this was the hour when the Yang Sword should have been suppressed, weaker than its Yin counterpart.
Everything about the situation should have been working against her.
And yet, reality bent.
Instead of dimming, the Yang Sword erupted with light.
White flames burst forth from the blade, blazing brighter than they ever had before.
The intensity surged so suddenly that, for a brief moment, it blinded everyone watching from a distance.
The darkness pushed back under sheer force, the glow carving space out of Subaru's shadow.
"Move forward! Yang!" Priscilla shouted, her voice filled with absolute conviction.
The white flames spiraled violently around her body, twisting upward and outward until they formed a roaring tornado of light and heat.
The ground beneath her feet cracked under the pressure, and the air screamed as the opposing forces collided.
Even in the face of overwhelming disadvantage, Priscilla refused to yield.
She would force the world itself to acknowledge her.
And she would do it head-on.
'Her life was like a blazing sun.'
The thought surfaced in Subaru's mind as he watched her stand there, wrapped in light.
The line fit her too well to ignore.
She was the complete opposite of him in almost every way.
Subaru was supposed to be someone who will be broken countless times, someone who repeated failure after failure, someone who had started from zero again and again until he finally got things right through sheer persistence.
Priscilla, on the other hand, lived only once—and she lived it brightly.
Proudly and Loudly.
She never compromised, never bent herself to the expectations of others, and never looked back with regret.
She chose her path openly and walked it without hesitation, even when that path led straight into danger and she paid the price for it.
That was the difference between them.
Subaru survived by restarting and correcting his mistakes.
Priscilla burned forward without ever considering retreat.
Whether that made her admirable or foolish didn't matter in the end.
That was who Priscilla Barielle was.
A blazing sun.
Subaru smiled faintly.
"Heed my words… Yin."
The instant the words left his lips, the darkness around him reacted.
It twisted and surged, wrapping around his body as he launched himself forward in a straight charge toward Priscilla.
There was no hesitation in his movement, only intent.
Priscilla tightened her grip on her weapon, planting her feet firmly as she swung the Yang Sword with everything she had.
The blades met.
And then the light was swallowed.
All-consuming darkness crashed into her blazing strike, pressing down on the white flames and threatening to smother them entirely.
The force was overwhelming.
Priscilla gritted her teeth as she felt her mana being drained at an alarming rate, ripped away by the opposing power.
Pain shot through her body as the pressure cracked against her bones, sending tremors through her arms and shoulders.
Still, she did not yield.
She refused to admit defeat.
Instead, she poured everything she had into that single moment—her strength, her pride, her resolve.
More than that, she poured her heart into it.
She forced her will into the Yang Sword, pushing past the pain and exhaustion.
If this was to be her strike, then it would be one she could never regret.
Even if it broke her.
Even if it ended everything.
She would make it count.
The Yang Sword answered her resolve.
In a single instant, every manifested clone of the Yang Sword scattered across the world vanished as if they had never existed.
All of that dispersed power collapsed inward, converging into one point.
Then, in Priscilla's grasp, the true blazing sun took form.
The blade shone with absolute authority.
It drove straight through the darkness, piercing it head-on.
The pitch-black void resisted violently, cracking under the pressure, but it was forced back regardless.
Subaru's eyes widened as the sheer force pushed against him, driving him a step backward despite his stance.
The shock was immediate—this was not an outcome he had expected.
The Yin Sword began to tremble in his hand.
The pressure intensified as the Yang's flames grew more violent, burning not just air but space itself.
The surrounding void warped and distorted as fire consumed it, eating through the darkness with relentless momentum.
The resistance finally reached its limit.
The Yin Sword was forced free.
The moment the flames licked across Subaru's palm, the connection between him and the Yin Sword was severed.
His grip failed, and the blade slipped from his hand, torn away by the overwhelming heat and force.
For the first time in the battle, Subaru had been disarmed.
Priscilla gasped sharply, her breath coming out ragged as the Yang Sword—still blazing moments ago—began to crack apart in her grasp.
Fractures raced along the blade, light leaking through the splits as its structure failed.
She forced herself to swing again in defiance, but Subaru moved first.
In an instant, a sword formed directly from his condensed aura.
With a single precise motion, he intercepted her attack and split the Yang Sword cleanly apart.
He did not pause.
His movements were fast, controlled, and utterly merciless.
In a blur of strikes, he severed her arms off her shoulders, them moved towards her legs, slicing them off from her body, destroying her ability to continue the fight before she could even process what had happened.
Priscilla could only stare in disbelief as her body failed her, falling apart and the strength draining away faster than she could comprehend.
Subaru didn't hesitate.
He teleported behind her in the same instant her balance collapsed, drove his blade forward and pierced it through her back, and then pushed her down into the ground with overwhelming force.
The impact ended the battle decisively.
The blazing white flames surrounding Priscilla flared violently, threatening to consume everything in reach—including Subaru himself.
But the moment they touched his body, his aura surged outward, burning the flames away instantly as if they had never existed.
The battlefield fell silent.
Priscilla Barielle had been defeated.
"Princess!" Aldebaran shouted in horror as he saw Priscilla collapse, her body failing under the aftermath of the battle.
He genuinely hadn't believed Subaru would go this far and kill her.
For the first time, real fear gripped him.
Instinctively, he decided to activate his Authority.
Nothing happened.
His entire body locked in place, frozen solid.
It wasn't just him—Schult was immobilized as well.
An overwhelming telepathic pressure had descended upon them both, crushing their ability to move or act.
Even their thoughts felt sluggish under the weight of it.
Subaru's aura-formed sword dissipated as he turned back toward Priscilla, who lay limbless, blood pooling down her body, barely conscious, gasping weakly for air.
Her condition made it clear that she could no longer fight.
"You lose," Subaru said flatly as he looked down at her broken form.
Priscilla tried to speak, but her body refused to cooperate.
She struggled just to breathe, coughing blood weakly as her strength drained away completely.
Her blazing presence was gone, replaced by silence and shallow breaths.
The battle was over.
"I see… you win, peasant," Priscilla said at last, a faint smile forming on her lips despite her condition.
There was no bitterness in her voice.
No regret.
She had poured everything she had into that final strike, holding nothing back.
Even the Yang Sword itself had cracked under the strain, which was proof enough of how far she had pushed herself.
Her breathing grew weaker as the strength drained from her body.
Slowly, her gaze shifted toward Schult and Aldebaran, lingering on them for a brief moment as if committing their faces to memory.
Then her vision blurred, and her consciousness finally slipped away.
…
"It seems you're awake."
The voice reached her first, pulling her back from the darkness.
Priscilla opened her eyes groggily, her vision unfocused as she tried to piece together where she was.
The first thing she saw was Subaru's face hovering above her, calm and unreadable.
As her awareness returned, she realized her head was resting on his lap, supported gently despite everything that had happened.
For a brief moment, she simply stared, still too disoriented to speak.
"W-What happened…?" Priscilla asked, her voice unsteady as she slowly moved her hands, only to pause when she realized they were completely intact.
"Aqua healed you," Subaru replied calmly.
At his words, a blue sphere of water mana bounced lightly in the air nearby, almost as if it were dancing.
"Yo!" the spirit announced cheerfully.
"I'm Aqua—Father's one and only Spirit of Water!"
"I see," Priscilla said after a brief pause, finally understanding one important thing.
She hadn't died.
"Princess! You are finally awake!" Aldebaran shouted in relief as he rushed forward, attempting to hug her despite the fact that her head was still resting on Subaru's lap.
Priscilla's response was immediate.
"Who gave you permission to hug me?" she snapped, delivering a sharp kick without hesitation.
Aldebaran was sent flying several meters away, tumbling across the ground before coming to an undignified stop.
Schult chuckled quietly to himself, completely unsurprised.
This was exactly how Lady Priscilla behaved, awake or unconscious—it made no difference.
"I won, Lady Priscilla," Subaru said evenly, meeting her gaze.
"So you are obligated to agree to my terms."
Priscilla let out a tired sigh.
"You did win," she admitted reluctantly.
"Tell me, peas—" She stopped herself, clicked her tongue, and corrected her tone.
"No. Zero. What are your terms?"
Subaru didn't hesitate.
"You will withdraw from the Royal Selection," he said plainly.
"In return, I will help you claim the Vollachian throne."
"Huh?"
Priscilla stared at him, completely stunned.
Yes—this was not what she had expected at all.
To be continued...
(A/N: I have later chaps edited and proofreaded in a new way already, but if you guys want I will edit the currently updating chaps to remove extra flavour that Ai added. Especially how it broke my sentences to one words. Like I write 'no it won't happen considering this.' --> No. It won't happen. Considering this...
Also using co-pilot since someone recommended me for the false sage, only to realize instead of giving commands I can just berate Ai for the changes it make and it will stop doing that. Fuck all I needed to insult it lmao.
Anyways, your author is very poor rn. No shit sherlock income dropped, but that's not the worse point. Sister's surgery is delayed because of the case we are fighting against the builders who not only embezzled the money we gave, but also threatened to break our house. If i lose, I will be kinda homeless ngl.
I won't mind if some rich and handsome people *cough* would check out my patreon if they like my fanfics very much. If you are after a specific fanfic you can ask me on discord, I will tell u whether to join or not.
For now, VM people pls don't join(If you only want VM) Lemme stock like 10 chaps for you.
Re: Zero people you can join(I am updating bruh)
Danmachi people you can join if you haven't joined yet(First time), or had been away for two-three months. Or if you had been member last month, only join next month when I will start uploading the daily chapters spree for danmachi fanfic.
That way you can save your money.
Oh! And you can also re-read Fake Sage, Mushoku Tensei, and Dark Gathering fanfics which are currently put into draft. Fake Sage and Mushoku Tensei should come soon, Fake Sage will definetly come after all it's prequel to this fanfic and my original writing style is preserved so that's the plus.
Also I had been away for months, and I see the webnovel. Wtf is going on. I read two three fanfics, and I either see Readers accusing Author of using AI or Authors saying 'I hate AI and translations'.
Is this new wave of hate? Hmm, just like ao3 I guess?
Well I remember the EPIC which wasn't so EPIC, but damn man Einlion's was a damn android himself before AI existed. Also I can see some translators doing poor job, they just run chaps through AI and don't proofread, but I can definetly see good fanfics.
And there are those who either use AI as grammar tool like me due to English not being first language, (I am 19, what else you expect? Lemme me finish my college first bro).
Or those who become One Prompt Master, it is kinda funny ngl with the drama going here and there and people still reading everything they find, whether they say they like it or not.
Whatever, I will stay out. Also don't worry if a moderator comes here, I have connections hehe.)