"Who are you? Why do you know about Carlisle?"
Rem's voice was cold as ice, and the chain of her morningstar was already wrapped tightly around her wrist.
The white clad girl's crystalline hair shimmered with an unnatural luster under the sunlight.
"Hmm... If I tell the oni girl, can you give me that sword?"
Her gaze casually swept over the weapon in Rem's hand.
"It seems not~"
In the next instant, the girl's figure appeared right in front of Rem, so close that she could count every eyelash.
"But I can still tell you. Nice to meet you, oni girl. I am the Witch of Vainglory."
"My name is Pandora."
Rem's pupils contracted sharply, and the morningstar nearly slipped from her grasp.
"Of course," Pandora stepped back half a step, "you probably do not know me..."
She slowly spread her arms.
"The Witch Cult... was founded by me."
Rem's breathing hitched.
"What do you mean?"
Pandora maintained that faint smile, speaking horrifying truths in a calm, almost gentle tone.
"It means destroying your village..."
"Cutting off your sister's horn..."
"And that knight's death..."
"All of it was done by my own hands."
"It was truly wonderful. That knight sacrificed his soul to save the one he loved. Every one of his actions was an expression of love."
Pandora began clapping softly, and tears even formed at the corners of her eyes.
Rem's single horn lit up with a brilliant glow, and her morningstar shot forward with thunderous force.
But it stopped instantly before reaching its target.
"The oni girl did nothing."
As her words fell, Rem froze. She then realized with horror that she was still standing in her original position. Her horn had vanished, as if the attack had never occurred.
Pandora's gaze slowly shifted toward Subaru behind her.
"Carlisle's death... was caused by you?"
Subaru's voice was terrifyingly low. Her fingers trembled slightly, yet her eyes remained locked onto Pandora.
"Hmm~"
Pandora chuckled and nodded, as casually as if commenting on the weather.
"El Minya!"
Subaru responded with a gaze filled with hatred, releasing three whistling amethyst arrows.
The arrows pierced straight through Pandora's body. Her figure began to corrode and shatter, vanishing into the air in an instant.
"...Did it work?"
Subaru's breathing was uneven.
However
"How wonderful~"
Pandora's voice echoed again from all directions.
"I have seen your love. So that is how it is. We are the same kind of people."
Ignoring Subaru's hateful stare, Pandora's form reassembled and appeared directly in front of her, within arm's reach.
"Tell me. Your Authority."
"..."
Subaru's throat tightened, unable to produce a sound.
"How strange. It has clearly already been activated..." Pandora tilted her head, her expression showing mild confusion. "Could it be... you do not even know your own Authority?"
"Do not touch her!!"
Rem's shout rang out as shards of ice shot toward Pandora in an instant.
However
Bang!!
Rem's body was suddenly slammed against a tree by an invisible force, as if gripped and crushed by an unseen hand.
"My brain... is trembling..."
From deep within the forest, a figure slowly emerged.
Subaru's gaze froze instantly. Horror, anger, and hatred surged all at once.
"Sloth... you are not dead?!"
The memory of Carlisle fighting Sloth flashed through her mind.
"Well done, Archbishop Petelgeuse," Pandora said calmly. "Love has witnessed your diligence."
Sloth's body trembled violently before twisting in unnatural motions.
"Ah ah ah!! Love! My diligence has been witnessed! This Authority!!"
His voice became increasingly hysterical, his hands clawing at his face as blood flowed from beneath his fingernails.
"I... I...! Ah ah ah! My brain is trembling! This joy! This..."
Pandora turned her gaze back to Subaru, a strange light swirling within her crystalline eyes.
"Your love is not wrong," she said, her voice as crisp as colliding ice. "That knight did indeed make a one sided promise with you. But..."
She stepped forward, her skirt perfectly still.
"Sometimes, breaking promises is the only way to fulfill true desires. Come, follow what your heart truly wants."
Just as her pale fingers were about to touch Subaru
Boom!
Crimson flames suddenly erupted from Subaru's chest. The sacred fire surged outward, taking the shape of a roaring fire dragon that engulfed Pandora completely. When the flames dissipated, nothing remained in that spot.
"How loyal you are."
Pandora's voice echoed once again from every direction.
"But... a sword from beyond the world..." Her figure reformed. "Come to my side."
Silence.
"It truly will not work?" Pandora sighed softly, disappointment coloring her tone. "How unfortunate."
At that moment, the sacred fire in front of Subaru surged violently, finally condensing into a physical form.
The Flame Sword Blaze materialized with a sharp metallic ring as it was drawn, the flames dancing along its blade reflecting Subaru's tear stained face.
This was Carlisle's final gift. As his soul faded, he had infused his will to protect into the sword, so that it would stand in his place when Subaru faced danger.
The sword suddenly turned and slashed toward Pandora at lightning speed. Blood splattered as the Witch's body was cut cleanly in half.
"How frightening. Why so sudden?" Pandora's voice appeared again.
The Flame Sword did not pause. It whistled through the air once more, and Pandora's reformed body was again consumed by blazing flames.
"Calm yourself, will you?" Her voice carried a faint note of complaint. "Perhaps we could come to an understanding."
The blade gave no reply. Only the roaring flames answered.
The third strike cut Pandora cleanly at the waist, and sacred fire burned fiercely over her severed form.
"Do you truly dislike me that much?" the Witch's voice echoed again. "But... you have done very well, fulfilling your master's promise without hesitation."
She turned her gaze toward Subaru, who stood frozen in place, and smiled faintly.
"So that is how it is."
Pandora's voice trembled with a strange excitement as she looked at the floating Flame Sword, the flickering firelight reflected in her eyes.
"You are erasing all malice directed toward her..."
She slowly spread her arms, as if embracing this obsession, her snow white sleeves completely still.
"This will to protect, unwavering even in death..."
A crystalline tear slid down her porcelain cheek.
"It truly is... beautiful."
...
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