At the spire near the park, the moment Shendu heard Sirius' words, she realized that the situation was unfolding exactly as she had anticipated—moving in the worst possible direction.
However, this was also the best opportunity to eliminate the Witch Cult. If they missed this chance, there was no guarantee they would ever be able to completely wipe them out.
The citizens who had been driven here earlier were now scattered throughout nearby houses, peering outside with fearful eyes as they watched what was happening.
Not far away, Sirius, the Archbishop of Wrath, unleashed the power of her Authority. A sea of flames surged toward them, threatening to swallow everything whole if they so much as let their guard down.
At that critical moment, a stream of white air swept in and instantly snuffed out the blaze. The scorching heat vanished in the blink of an eye.
"What's going on? Who's helping us?"
Emilia looked puzzled, a faint sense of unease rising within her.
"Hmm. Be careful. It's most likely someone from the Witch Cult."
Shendu made a subtle gesture for caution, speaking with measured calm.
"Hahaha! I finally made it in time! According to my agreement with them, you will become my seventy-ninth and eightieth wives!"
"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself again. My name is Regulus. I am the representative of Greed in the Witch Cult!"
Regulus performed a gentlemanly bow, speaking with exaggerated politeness. The way he looked at them carried absolute certainty, as though they already belonged to him.
"Tch. Trash. I couldn't care less about whatever agreement you're talking about. Since you're with the Witch Cult, you're not leaving here alive."
Recognizing the Archbishop of Greed, Regulus, Shendu immediately drew the Amaterasu Sword and unleashed a slash of compressed sword pressure.
Yet when it struck Regulus, the attack simply dissipated, as if it had never possessed any force at all.
"Oh dear! I was genuinely concerned about you. You are my brides, after all. I rushed here thinking you were about to burn to ashes. And yet, my brides are so ill-tempered. It seems I'll need to discipline you properly."
The moment he appeared, Regulus began rambling nonstop, his voice like countless flies buzzing around their ears.
"Hey, what's your goal? Forcing these people to gather here—don't you think that's going too far?"
Seeing that their plan had succeeded and there were no more stray civilians nearby, Natsuki Subaru suddenly realized that those citizens had been deliberately driven here.
Naturally, he had no good feelings toward the Archbishop of Greed who orchestrated it. In fact, he was furious.
"I beg your pardon? You are being terribly disrespectful. I came here to help, and yet you speak to me like this. It wounds me deeply. Your selfishness is overwhelming. If calamity is meant to befall you, why struggle so desperately to avoid it?"
Regulus spoke one sentence after another. Though Natsuki Subaru burned with anger, he knew that fighting this man was far from wise.
It wasn't as though they had never fought before. The results back then had been negligible, leaving him with no real solution.
Upon noticing that Regulus intended to kill the one she wanted dead, Sirius flew into a rage. With a forceful wave of her arms, a massive cluster of flames shot toward Regulus.
Whoosh!
The instant the fire reached him, he snapped his fingers. The flames shattered into fragments, scattering like an illusion breaking apart.
"Honestly, attacking without a word? We are both Sin Archbishops. Our status should be equal. However, my patience has limits. Do not attempt to provoke me."
Regulus' arrogant tone only made Sirius more furious. She gripped her chains tightly yet hesitated to charge forward.
As the strongest of the Sin Archbishops, Regulus truly lived up to his title. His combat power was overwhelming—far beyond ordinary imagination.
Hundreds of years ago, the Sin Archbishops had once ranked their strength. The one who emerged victorious had been Regulus. Since then, every Archbishop had regarded him with caution.
"Hmph. Self-righteous bastard."
Sirius glared at him viciously.
After hesitating for a few seconds, malice overcame her fear. She raised her chain and lashed it toward Regulus, the links blazing with enchantments.
Yet Regulus did not move at all. He stood there calmly, allowing the flaming chain to strike him without the slightest reaction.
"Disappear, disappear—everyone disappear! That worthless half-devil included. It would be best if she vanished completely!"
As expected, Sirius and Regulus fell into internal conflict.
"I think it's about time you faced reality. With your strength, you cannot inflict any meaningful damage on me. I am a reasonable man. If you continue like this, you make things difficult for me."
Regulus' expression darkened gradually, though his gaze frequently drifted toward Shendu.
As long as Shendu and Emilia—his future wives in his mind—did not flee, he did not care about anything else.
While the two Archbishops were clashing, Shendu did not attempt to escape. Instead, she beckoned lightly. Beatrice, Akane, Emilia, and Natsuki Subaru gathered at her side.
Once assembled, Shendu established a spiritual connection and began communicating directly with them.
"Emilia, the situation is worse than expected. Just as I thought—the Archbishop of Greed has arrived."
Shendu spoke solemnly, her red eyes devoid of surprise.
"What should we do next? This disaster feels extremely dangerous."
Emilia frowned, clearly startled.
"Master, should we continue fighting?"
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Akane asked thoughtfully.
"Of course. Here's the plan. Emilia's current body is formed from shadow. When the time comes, you'll pretend to lose consciousness and let the Archbishop of Greed capture you. Akane and Beatrice will act with me. We'll make it convincing and let him take Emilia away smoothly."
Shendu analyzed calmly and quickly devised a solution.
Yes. She needed a spy hidden within the Witch Cult. Since the Archbishop of Greed already intended to take Emilia—and this was not Emilia's true body—the risk was acceptable.
"What about me?"
Seeing that the other girls had assignments, Natsuki Subaru wanted to contribute as well.
Unfortunately, his Authority was not offensive. It allowed him to return repeatedly, which was powerful in its own way, but not useful in direct combat.
"Oh? I have a new plan for you as well. Would you like to temporarily wield Geuse's Authority?"
Shendu smiled mysteriously. The expression sent a chill through Natsuki Subaru.
"Yes! Lady Shendu, can you alter the Authority within me?"
Natsuki Subaru's eyes lit up in surprise.
"I can. But the effect will only last ten minutes. The power of the Witch of Envy is stronger than you imagine."
Shendu narrowed her eyes as she explained.
Though they were conversing like this, their lips never moved. Mental communication was convenient and prevented any leakage of information.
"Then please, Lady Shendu. Let me be of help. That's my only wish."
Natsuki Subaru spoke firmly.
Shendu did not refuse. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she channeled her immense magical power into his Authority, modifying a portion of its structure.
Having spent time with Geuse, she understood the characteristics of his Authority well enough to reconstruct it temporarily.
Compared to the original timeline—where Natsuki Subaru could barely manifest a single unseen hand—he could now fully unleash Geuse's peak strength, controlling over twenty Invisible Hands with ease.
Once the plan was set, Regulus had nearly finished overwhelming Sirius. It was a one-sided beating that left her unable to retaliate.
At that crucial moment, Emilia rushed forward and thrust the ice sword in her hand straight through Sirius' shoulder.
"Hahaha! As expected of the bride I chose. To help me at a time like this!"
Regulus beamed with delight. Emilia's action only made him more satisfied.
"Ahhh! You detestable half-devil—burn to death!"
After being ambushed by Emilia, Sirius released a roaring sea of flames straight at her.
"Ice Shield!"
Noticing the incoming attack, Emilia stepped back and immediately erected an ice barrier to block it.
However, the flames were far too powerful. They shattered the shield and continued surging forward. Taking advantage of that moment, Emilia followed the plan and feigned unconsciousness.
Because this body was a shadow duplicate created by Shendu, she felt neither pain nor touch.
All in all, having Emilia use a duplicate in advance had truly been an excellent decision.
Seeing Emilia collapse, Regulus was in an exceptionally good mood. He had been considering knocking her out and taking her away as quickly as possible.
Now such a perfect opportunity had presented itself—of course he would seize it.
"Hahaha! Foolish half-devil, I finally knocked you unconscious. Now it's time to finish you completely."
As he spoke, Sirius gathered another mass of crimson hellfire, preparing to hurl it at Emilia.
But before she could, Regulus stepped forward and extinguished the flames beneath his foot.
"Honestly. This silver-haired half-elf is at least my future wife. Instead of offering blessings, you're trying to harm her? How utterly unreasonable."
With a light step, a surge of air blasted outward, sending Sirius flying over ten meters away.
Had Regulus not restrained part of his strength at the last moment, Sirius might have been killed outright. That was the terror of absolute power.
"Heh. Troublesome matters finally resolved. My personality truly is excellent. I always choose to forgive those who offend me. Such noble character—no wonder I am the strongest Sin Archbishop."
Regulus rambled narcissistically, brimming with arrogance.
"Shamak."
Taking advantage of the Archbishop of Greed's smugness, Shendu's contracted spirit, Beatrice, activated Yin magic. Black smoke surged toward him.
"Akane, Natsuki Subaru—prepare to give him a punch each."
As the smoke enveloped the area, Shendu gripped the Amaterasu Sword and activated the Divine Protection embedded within it.
One of the Divine Protections she had previously acquired was the Divine Protection of Holy Radiance. It could nullify the power of an Authority—but only once. Naturally, she had been waiting for the right moment.
Even as the black smoke surrounded him, Regulus showed no fear. Instead, a mocking smile curved his lips. He clearly thought such trivial visual obstruction was meaningless.
Having claimed the title of strongest Sin Archbishop, he believed himself invincible. That confidence had long since turned into overbearing arrogance.
"Pointless. Obscuring vision is a child's trick."
With a light tap of his toe, the smoke dispersed instantly.
Yet the moment the darkness cleared, a golden blade shot toward his heart.
"Heh. My beautiful bride, do you really think such strength can touch me? It's completely useless."
Regulus remained supremely confident, utterly convinced no one could breach his defense.
"Divine Protection of Holy Radiance."
Shendu smiled coldly. The Amaterasu Sword erupted in dazzling brilliance. An invisible barrier was sliced open with a deep crack.
"Take this—Skyshatter Strike!"
Activating the Divine Protection, she negated nearly ninety percent of his Authority's power. Before Regulus could react, she unleashed her sword technique.
In an instant, spiraling sword energy tore through the remaining barrier. The shockwave forced Regulus to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Pfft!
"How is this possible?!"
Gravely injured, Regulus had never imagined Shendu possessed such a move. He had been caught completely off guard.
In hundreds of years, Regulus had never been wounded. Had his Authority not protected him, he might have died just now.
"It's not over yet."
Seizing the brief window in which his defense had been broken, Akane and Natsuki Subaru attacked with full force.
"Invisible Hands!"
"Take this!"
The two struck simultaneously from left and right, their fists smashing into Regulus' cheeks.
In that moment, Regulus was sent crashing to the ground like a rag doll, his condition visibly miserable.
Just as their attack succeeded, a wave of scorching flames shot toward them, forcing the two to retreat.
Shendu knew clearly that Regulus' Authority would reactivate in less than three seconds. They had only this single opportunity to strike.
"What's going on? That crazy woman again?"
Having been struck by the flames, Natsuki Subaru looked up in shock and saw Sirius staring at him with a mixture of agitation and fury.
"I see now... so you've been hiding inside this man's body. My dear, why won't you show yourself?"
Sirius spoke with obsessive affection, mistaking Natsuki Subaru for Geuse.
Natsuki Subaru suddenly understood. No wonder Shendu had temporarily altered his Authority to make it offensive—she had intended to see whether the Archbishop of Wrath could be manipulated.
"Yes, it's me! Then can you kill Regulus? He's extremely irritating."
Faced with Sirius' emotional outpouring, Natsuki Subaru attempted to exploit her feelings.
However, Sirius shook her head and replied in an extremely disgusted tone.
"Sorry. Even if it's your request, I won't agree so easily. Besides, you're an accomplice of that silver-haired half-devil. I can't trust you. Ever since I learned you were still alive, I've longed to see you. So now—die!"
Sirius' fury erupted completely. She hurled flames without restraint, and Natsuki Subaru hurried to defend himself.
After the two clashed for a short while, Regulus, having recovered, rose with a face full of rage. He scooped up the unconscious Emilia and glared viciously at Shendu.
"Damn woman. You have truly enraged me. I originally intended to make you my bride as well. Now that won't be necessary."
Fully restored, Regulus grabbed a handful of sand and flung it toward them.
"Angry?"
With a casual swing of her sword, Shendu blocked the power of his Authority. This was another demonstration of overwhelming strength.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Just as the battle began veering in an unpredictable direction, the city's bells rang out.
The previously enraged Archbishop of Greed revealed a sinister smile.
"I'm terribly sorry, but this city has already fallen into our hands. From the moment the Gospel guided us, everything has been under our control."
Regulus spoke with contempt.
"Hey, Sirius. It's time to withdraw. My task is complete. Though in pursuing that cursed Gospel, I found the bride I desired—and received quite a harsh lesson in the process."
Looking at Sirius, who was still locked in combat with Natsuki Subaru, Regulus reminded her impatiently.
"Oh? Right. It's almost time to regroup."
Sirius stepped back several paces, her expression cooling.
"Then let's go. No need to keep them waiting. Besides, these people aren't easy to deal with."
Having realized that Shendu possessed a weapon capable of countering them, Regulus reined in some of his previous arrogance.
As he finished speaking, numerous Witch Cultists appeared around them, dressed in black robes, rushing toward the area.
Taking advantage of the distraction, two Witch Cultists swiftly headed deeper into Watergate City without stopping.
Watching them leave, Natsuki Subaru clenched his fists in frustration. He had already used everything he had—yet he still couldn't defeat them.
"What do we do? It looks like the entire city is about to fall."
He felt a headache coming on. He had never expected such a deviation in the third loop.
"It's fine. Let's observe for now. The situation remains under control."
Shendu did not appear worried. After all, Emilia had successfully infiltrated them. Being able to gather crucial intelligence was already worthwhile.