...
{3rd Pov}
The battlefield, already filled with terror and confusion, suddenly went silent.
The stillness was so severe that even Zero's latest insane outburst seemed to freeze in mid-air.
But that silence didn't last long.
It was shattered not by more of Zero's ranting, but by a sudden explosion of magic.
"AL HUMA!!!"
Emilia had completely lost her composure.
She unleashed a massive spell of elemental fire—mixed with ice, as only her half-elf nature could produce—creating a gigantic pillar of ice-infused flame.
She took direct aim at the Witch of Envy, her rage so intense that her magic output spiked dramatically.
A thunderous boom followed as the projectile blasted forward, breaking the sound barrier and sending out a pressure shockwave that rattled debris, windows, and even the air around them.
The attack streaked toward Satella at terrifying speed.
But the Witch of Envy remained motionless. Instead, countless shadow hands erupted from behind her, meeting the magic attack head-on.
The collision created a violent explosion of frost and shadow, the blast dispersing into the air.
Emilia's massive spell was completely shredded and destroyed in seconds, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Even Subaru—who had witnessed Satella's overwhelming power up close—blinked in surprise.
Zero, despite all his exaggerated reactions so far, was actually taken aback as well. Emilia had clearly been holding back before.
That attack was no fluke; it was powerful enough to obliterate most large-scale threats.
Subaru immediately looked in the direction the attack came from and saw Emilia, her face red, her cheeks puffed, and her expression twisted in furious jealousy.
She was trembling, not from fear, but from pure emotional overload as she glared daggers at the Witch of Envy herself.
"You Witch! Get away from my Subaru!" Emilia screamed at the top of her voice, her tone full of hatred, anger, and an emotion that the panicked survivors from far away instantly recognized: jealousy.
Subaru's entire body stiffened.
His lips twitched so hard that he looked like he might have a stroke.
If earlier he had only wanted to die from embarrassment, now he wanted to vanish from reality entirely.
He couldn't believe this was happening in front of the whole world.
The plan was supposed to be dramatic: Subaru returning from another dimension with Satella beside him, ready to destroy the Witch Cult and end the chaos once and for all. It was meant to be a serious, intimidating moment.
But instead, his own allies were now launching attacks at their newest, extremely crucial partner—directly in front of the enemy they were supposed to crush.
Yes, Subaru understood the problem.
The Witch of Envy was, technically, the literal goddess the Witch Cult worshipped. To everyone except him, she was a monster who just slaughtered half a city.
However, after everything Zero had already broadcasted—after all the insane drama, embarrassment, and world-shaking announcements—Subaru had honestly believed that everyone would try to restrain Zero instead of immediately trying to murder the person they now desperately needed alive.
Instead, the first thing that happened was Emilia firing a magical nuke at Satella the moment she laid eyes on her.
Subaru stood there with a dead-eyed expression, wondering how in the world everything had gone wrong so quickly, and how he was supposed to salvage the plan now that his own comrade had opened fire on their supposedly indispensable ally.
"Emilia! What are you doing?!" Subaru shouted at the top of his voice, unable to control the panic flooding his chest.
"Satella is with us! She's helping me deal with Zero!" His voice echoed through the ruined streets as he stared at Emilia in disbelief, utterly baffled that she was attacking the strongest ally he had supposedly managed to acquire.
Emilia whipped her head toward him, her expression a mess of betrayal, fury, and pain.
"Subaru! How can you say that?!" she yelled back while conjuring even more enormous pillars of ice and elemental magic around her.
"There is no way the Witch of Envy is with us! She is obviously manipulating you—and she must be acting with Zero!"
Watching her magic intensify made Subaru's heart nearly stop.
"W-Wait, Emilia!" he cried, raising his hands in alarm.
In his mind, he felt exactly like a boyfriend who had somehow been caught in the world's most impossible and insane situation—like someone who had accidentally been found on top of another woman who looked exactly like his girlfriend but couldn't explain it without sounding like a lunatic.
Emilia's voice cracked as she saw Subaru sprinting forward, spreading his arms wide to shield the Witch of Envy standing behind him.
"Subaru-kun! You're protecting her?!" she shouted in utter disbelief.
She could no longer tell if she was angrier, heartbroken, or terrified as she watched him defend the very being she believed had destroyed everything.
The scene was completely insane from the outside. Subaru—someone whose physical abilities were pitiful even by normal human standards—was now willingly throwing himself in front of one of the strongest beings in the world as if he could shield her from harm with his body alone.
Anyone watching would think he had finally lost it.
But in Subaru's mind, it was simple: he cared for Satella, he trusted her, and he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, not even Emilia.
The world's weakest knight standing as a shield for the feared Demon King while being challenged by the woman he loved was nothing short of absurd.
*Ahem*
If someone wrote it in a story, readers would assume the author had gone insane.
Yet somehow, this was exactly the kind of ridiculous scenario that only Subaru could end up in.
Even Emilia, through her anger and tears, began to notice something.
Subaru wasn't acting like someone brainwashed or manipulated.
He wasn't dazed, empty-eyed, or speaking like a puppet.
He was acting completely out of his own will.
He was throwing himself between a goddess of destruction and a raging half-elf because that was what he wanted to do—and that realization hit Emilia so hard her knees almost buckled.
She didn't want to believe it.
She didn't want to accept that Satella hadn't twisted his mind, but that Subaru had chosen this on his own.
And the moment that understanding hit her, Emilia felt her entire worldview crack.
For the first time, she realized that maybe—just maybe—Subaru didn't need saving from Satella.
He had chosen to stand there.
And that terrified her far more than the Witch of Envy ever could.
The massive ice pillars hovering in the air around Emilia began to lose form, cracking and collapsing into glittering shards as her concentration broke.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Subaru—her Subaru—had chosen to stand in front of the Witch of Envy, protecting that monster instead of trusting her.
For Emilia, who had already been overwhelmed with fear and exhaustion, it felt like the ground beneath her feet was crumbling just as quickly as her magic.
Emilia hated the Witch of Envy—truly, deeply hated her.
Satella might have been the only individual in the entire world that Emilia could say she despised with her whole heart, and it wasn't because Satella had ever done anything directly to her in person.
It was because despite Emilia being a kind girl, someone who wanted nothing more than to help others, Satella's existence had destroyed her life long before she was even born.
This Witch was the reason Emilia had grown up under constant rejection, unable to live normally.
People had always glared at her, avoided her, whispered about her in fear.
They didn't see Emilia the girl—they saw the shadow of the Witch of Envy in her silver hair and violet eyes.
Satella was the reason why the Witch Cult existed in the world at all, the root cause of so many tragedies.
The countless deaths, the destroyed families, the bloodshed—those could all be traced back to her.
Emilia had lost everything because of the legacy Satella left behind.
She had never known her real parents.
She had no single memory of her biological mother or father.
To Emilia, Mama Fortuna and Papa Geuse had been her true parents—the ones who comforted her, protected her, and gave her warmth.
And yet even they were ripped away by the Witch Cult, the fanatics who worshipped Satella.
And then Puck, the one who had sworn to be with her longer than anyone else, had vanished almost a year ago.
One by one, everyone Emilia loved had been taken away because of Satella's shadow.
Even the people around her now—yes, many of them were friends, but they were still influenced by her position, her status as a royal candidate, or their own circumstances.
They respected her, but a lot of them never truly saw her.
Only Subaru had looked at her without fear, without prejudice, without seeing a monster or a cursed resemblance.
Only Subaru had looked into her eyes and seen a girl—a scared girl who wanted to be happy and wanted to protect others.
He never saw her as the Witch's reincarnation or the cause of all evil.
He saw Emilia as someone precious.
Someone worth fighting for.
And now, the only person who saw her that way was standing in front of the very Witch whose existence had ruined everything about her life, shielding Satella with his own body.
The realization hit Emilia like a punch to the chest, stealing the breath out of her lungs.
For the first time ever, she felt something worse than fear—she felt that even Subaru might be slipping away from her.
After Zero forced her to confront the truth, after he made her face how terribly she had been treating Subaru all this time, Emilia finally accepted something she had been running away from for far too long.
She realized that she had fallen in love with Natsuki Subaru.
It wasn't something that happened suddenly at that exact moment—it was a feeling that had been growing quietly inside her heart, slowly building through every moment Subaru stood by her side, no matter how much she pushed him away or hurt him without even realizing.
It was only now, when everything was falling apart, that she understood how deeply she cared for him.
Back then, when she chose Subaru over her Royal Selection responsibilities, Emilia wasn't being impulsive.
She understood perfectly well what that meant.
If she chose his side, she would be abandoning everything—her dream of becoming the ruler of Lugunica, the duty she had been preparing for, the expectations everyone put on her.
But she accepted that loss, because she knew Subaru had already abandoned everything he had for her sake.
He had risked his life, suffered deaths she could never imagine, and endured unbearable pain simply because he chose to love her.
So what would she do next?
Emilia had already found her answer long before this moment.
If it came down to it—if the choice was between the world and Subaru—she would run away with him.
She would leave the Royal Selection behind, leave the throne, leave the Kingdom and all the political burdens that came with it.
She would take Subaru's hand and return to the Elior Forest, her home, and live there together.
Not as a royal candidate, not as a symbol of the Witch, not as someone the world judged or feared… but as Emilia, the girl who simply wanted a peaceful life with the man she loved.
She had imagined it so clearly.
The two of them living together in a quiet home beneath the great trees, free from expectations and pressure.
No royal obligations, no citizens whispering behind her back, no Witch Cult or throne.
Just the two of them, living happily and raising a future together.
It was the earnest, innocent wish of a girl who had never been allowed to dream freely.
But now… that dream had been shattered before it could even begin.
Subaru had been taken away from her, right when she had finally understood what he meant to her and what she wanted for the rest of her life.
Emilia glared at the Witch of Envy with raw, overwhelming hatred burning in her eyes.
"You!" she spat, her voice shaking with rage and hostility, every syllable dripping with venom.
"After taking everything from me, after destroying everything I had—was that still not enough for you?" she demanded.
Deep down she already knew that asking the Witch of Envy anything was pointless, that Satella was beyond reason and logic, but Emilia needed to voice her anger, her grief, and her wounded heart.
It was not a question meant to be answered, but one meant to release the emotions boiling inside her.
"You had to steal him! Subaru! You dared take my Subaru from me!" she screamed.
Her magic reacted instantly to her emotions, and ice began to surge outward from beneath her feet.
The temperature around her plunged sharply as the ground was consumed by frost.
She wasn't just upset—she was furious, trembling with the overwhelming need to strike, to destroy, to reclaim what mattered most to her.
Even if she had to fight the Witch of Envy to the death, even if she shattered her own limits and pushed her body beyond the edge, Emilia was ready.
She would do whatever it took to bring Subaru back.
Subaru belonged with her and only her.
Not with Satella, not with Priscilla, and definitely not with that blue-haired girl.
He was hers, and she would not allow anyone to take him away.
"GIVE BACK MY SUBARU!" Emilia roared, her eyes filled with a dangerous glow.
Her magic exploded outward in response, and ice surged in every direction.
In an instant, an entire area spanning hundreds of meters was flash-frozen, the landscape transformed into a lethal ice field.
Sharp, crystalline flowers of ice bloomed across the frozen ground, growing with frightening speed and precision.
Anyone who stepped into this territory now would face a terrible and unavoidable death as these ice blossoms spread through their body, freezing them from the inside out and turning them into a horrifying monument of ice.
Zero, watching the situation unfold and realizing that the scene which should have wrapped up in maybe two chapters was now being stretched into several unnecessarily long ones, immediately sent a telepathic message to Subaru.
'Subaru, listen—this is getting out of hand. For the next phase of the plan, if Emilia intervenes, everything will become a mess. It'll be hard to act properly, so stop her.'
Subaru almost choked on air at that.
'How the hell am I supposed to stop her!?' he shot back telepathically, making absolutely sure that his eyes didn't wander toward Zero and expose that they were having a mental conversation in the middle of a tense battlefield.
'Bro… you just have to unless you're willing to drag this whole Final Act into a chaotic three-way fight with who knows how many extra chapters tacked on!' Zero replied, exasperated.
Subaru froze.
Zero was right, and that was the worst part.
Their entire structured plan of Subaru confronting Zero, the dramatic clash and development, was supposed to play out over two chapters.
Two simple, manageable chapters.
And they were still on the very first chapter of that plan.
If Emilia barged in right now and started blasting away with her magic, everything would go off-script.
The pacing would collapse, the story would spiral into confusion, and they would be forced to stretch it into a multi-chapter disaster scenario.
On top of that, Subaru didn't have any strength or patience left to deal with another layer of chaos.
He was mentally and physically at his limit already.
So, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to do something he absolutely didn't want to do, Subaru turned his head toward Emilia.
The air around him felt ice-cold, sharp enough to sting his lungs as he inhaled.
Hardening his heart, clenching his hands, and gathering every ounce of determination he had left, he took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs—
"EMILIA!!!!!!!!"
His voice ripped painfully from his throat, echoing across the battlefield and reaching Emilia clearly.
The sheer rawness of the shout was enough to make her stop in her tracks, freezing her where she stood.
She turned toward Subaru, only to see him glaring at her with genuine anger in his eyes, something she was almost never the target of. It was enough to make her body stiffen in shock.
"Are you stupid?!" Subaru shouted loudly, and the volume of his voice alone made her flinch on the spot.
The fury behind his words hit her harder than any magic attack could.
"I–I…" Emilia stammered, but the moment she met his eyes, all of that blazing rage she had been building up a moment ago collapsed completely.
She couldn't keep that level of hatred when Subaru was the one looking at her like that.
Subaru didn't give her time to regroup.
"I know this is confusing!" he yelled, voice full of strained emotion that had clearly been held back for a long time.
"I know you don't understand why Satella is with me right now! But just because you're upset doesn't mean you get to ignore an even bigger threat just to chase personal revenge!"
"She stole you from me! She stole everything from me!" Emilia shouted back, voice cracking as tears spilled out.
Her anger wasn't disappearing—it was turning into desperation.
"Emilia," Subaru said, his voice louder and clearer than before, and this time it hit her like a slap, "I was never yours to begin with."
Her entire body froze.
It felt as if someone had torn her heart out of her chest without warning.
Her blood ran cold, the strength in her knees evaporated, and she dropped to the ground as if her legs no longer obeyed her.
"W… Why…" Her lips trembled, struggling to even form words as her brain tried to process the shock.
Subaru looked down at her, not cruelly but with a seriousness she couldn't run from.
"I proposed to you," he said, finally speaking out loud a grievance he had buried deep for over a year, "and you kept me waiting. For an entire year."
He wasn't yelling now.
That only made it more painful.
"I did so many things for you. Every day, I tried to be there. I tried to support you. Was there ever a day when I didn't try to be close to you? But what did you do? You always pushed me away. Even after I confessed, even after I laid everything on the line for you, nothing changed."
Every sentence stabbed her in the chest because she knew, without any room for excuses, that he was telling the truth.
She had ignored him.
She had taken him for granted while he kept giving and giving.
"I still love you, Emilia," Subaru said at last.
Those five words instantly brought hope flooding into Emilia's heart again, like someone had ignited a light in a dark room.
Her eyes widened with relief—until she saw Subaru's expression.
His gaze was cold.
Not filled with hate, but cold in a way that showed he had reached a breaking point.
"But if you don't respect me anymore…" Subaru continued, looking directly at her with a seriousness that terrified her, "then I think it's time for me to let go of that feeling."
Panic hit her so hard her breath was almost knocked out of her.
She scrambled to her feet, legs shaking uncontrollably, and stepped toward him with tears streaming down her face.
"No—No! Subaru!" she cried, voice trembling as she completely broke down.
"I'm sorry! I apologize! Please, don't hate me! I don't want you to hate me!"
She was shaking like a frightened child, clasping her hands together as if begging for her life.
"I-I will never do something like this again!" Emilia promised desperately.
"I will respect your choices! I will listen to you, I swear! So please… please don't stop loving me…"
Her voice was raw, begging not as a royal candidate or a dignified leader, but simply as a girl terrified of losing the one person who always stood beside her.
For a brief moment, Subaru didn't speak.
He simply stood there, staring at Emilia with a complicated expression as the emotional storm around them settled slightly.
In that silence, he came to a painful realization: even now, despite everything, Emilia was still emotionally immature.
She was still a girl who hadn't grown into the woman she needed to become—not for Subaru's sake, but for her own.
He clenched his fists tightly, making a decision inside his heart.
'I will fix this,' Subaru promised himself quietly.
'I promise, Emilia… I will help you grow. I will turn you from a girl into a woman.'
(A/N: Ayoooooooooooo—)
Zero, who was hearing Subaru's internal thoughts through their telepathic connection, nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
Even though Subaru's intentions were meant in an emotional, supportive, and motivational sense, the wording was so questionable that Zero's dirty-minded interpretation instantly took over.
'Damn,' Zero thought, struggling not to grin too widely, 'that's what I get for being a degenerate.'
But he quickly pushed the thought aside and slipped fully back into character.
With theatrical flair, Zero began clapping slowly.
The sound echoed across the battlefield, and one by one, the figures of the Sin Archbishops began descending beside him, landing like villains arriving right on cue.
Then, a thunderous roar shook the sky.
A towering figure dropped from above—the clone of Reina that Zero had created for this very confrontation.
She slammed into the ground with such force that the ice beneath her shattered outward, sending shards flying in every direction.
"My, my, my! What a dramatic and heartwarming scene between two lovers!" Zero announced with a crazed showman's grin plastered across his face.
"Truly delightful! And I must personally thank Emilia for delaying things a little. If she hadn't taken up some of your time, I would've had a much harder situation on my hands facing the Witch of Envy head-on without my forces assembled."
He spread his arms wide, as if presenting a twisted grand performance.
"Now then, Natsuki Subaru," Zero continued, voice turning darker and more unhinged, "listen well. I am going to take the Witch of Envy for myself. Even if I have to break her, bind her, and enslave her, I will make her mine!"
His grin widened, eyes shining with chaotic glee.
"And then," he said, cackling like a madman, "I will let you be killed… by the woman who loves you most! Hahahaha!"
"Oy," Subaru said flatly, his expression completely neutral. "Shut up."
Zero, remaining fully committed to his dramatic villain persona, instantly twisted his face into a look of exaggerated fury, as if he had just been deeply insulted.
"Don't get cocky just because you have the Witch of Envy with you!" Zero roared, trying to sound intimidating and furious, though Subaru was far past being impressed by the theatrics.
Subaru smirked and shook his head.
"Man, you really had us scared for a moment. Showing off multiple Authority-like abilities, and especially that move that was practically a one-to-one copy of my Invisible Providence…"
Then Subaru lifted his arm and pointed directly at Zero, confidence shining in his eyes.
"But I've already figured you out. You're a fraud. You only possess the Authority of Pride and Life-and-Death Manipulation."
Subaru's grin widened into something sharp and triumphant.
"All the other Authority-like abilities were never yours. You gained them by using special metia equipped on your body—devices specifically crafted to replicate the functions of different Authorities. Even that telepathic broadcasting ability you used to speak into everyone's minds is nothing but another metia."
Subaru declared, voice loud and steady.
"And I've already damaged that metia along with several of the others you rely on."
At that exact moment, an audible shock spread through the minds of everyone listening across the world.
People far away from Priestella—villagers, soldiers, nobles, refugees, citizens who were still fleeing and still grieving—were hearing every word broadcast directly into their thoughts.
Emilia's shouts, Subaru's accusations, Zero's ranting; they were all echoing through the consciousness of the entire population.
This was all part of Zero's master plan.
Earlier, he had explained the setup to Subaru.
He intended to broadcast their final battle to the entire world, not just for drama, but also to create a narrative explanation that made sense to future audiences.
After all, Zero didn't want people to wonder how or why he broadcast information to everyone's minds while being at such a disadvantage, nor did he want confusion about his supposed Authorities after his eventual death.
So he had created real metia—functional devices capable of imitating the effects of genuine Divine Authorities.
None of them were overpowered or world-breaking, but they were powerful enough to serve as an alibi.
With them, Zero could excuse everything: the mind broadcasts, the visible powers, and the abilities he displayed in front of countless witnesses.
When Zero died later, the metia themselves would stand as proof, closing every plot hole, explaining every inconsistency, and covering all possible blind spots.
Zero had created the metia and the clone of Reina using his second acquired Authority of Lust, Black Mud, the copied Authority stolen from Capella, along with several other abilities he possessed.
This level of preparation was exactly why Subaru had been genuinely shocked by how perfectly Zero had planned everything ahead of time.
"The fact that you didn't teleport your troops here already proves that several of your Authority-based metia are damaged," Subaru continued, smirking with confidence.
Then he added sharply, "None of your subordinates can win against the Witch of Envy and—"
Subaru deliberately paused, letting the weight of his words build before finishing.
"You said yourself that the Witch of Envy is immortal. Even if you use your Life-and-Death Authority, the most you can do is kill her temporarily. Eventually she'll adapt and become immune to your power entirely. And we both know why that same ability is useless against me."
Subaru's demeanor changed—his expression hardened, and true hatred surfaced in his eyes.
"You caused my friends to die, Zero. So regardless of what happens from this point forward, even if the entire world stands as your hostage… I'll end the Witch Cult today."
"FUCK YOU, NATSUKI SUBARU!" Zero screamed in rage, perfectly selling his role.
Inside, however, he was quietly impressed by Subaru's delivery.
Since Subaru's hatred for Zero after losing his friends was real, he didn't have to fake a single line.
He simply projected his genuine emotions, making the performance flawless.
In this way, even Divine Protections designed to detect lies or illusions would never realize that this battle was partially an act.
Because nothing looks more convincing than a performance built on real emotions.
"Emilia." Subaru finally turned toward the white-haired half-elf, who had only moments ago stopped crying.
His voice was firm but carried a certain gentleness that cut through the chaos around them.
"Please, just trust me, alright? I need you to protect everyone else while I handle this fight. I promise I'll explain everything when it's over."
Emilia inhaled shakily but nodded.
She respected Subaru's decision, even if she didn't fully understand it.
Whether Subaru had abandoned his confession of love, whether he had chosen Satella over her, whether his heart now belonged to another woman entirely—it didn't matter.
She would support him regardless of how painful it might be.
Because, in Emilia's mind, she had already made up her resolve:
'If Subaru really chooses Satella as his first wife, then I only need to become second. Even if I'm not the first woman in his heart, even if I'm the second wife, as long as I can stay beside Subaru and share his life, I will be happy!' she thought with shocking determination.
Subaru had, unknowingly and unintentionally, activated a full harem route that his own "main heroine" was now actively supporting.
…Ahem.
And at that exact moment, Zero roared from across the battlefield with theatrical fury, "Attack!"
Instantly, the sky darkened as shadow and magic clashed.
The Witch of Envy moved first.
Her figure vanished and then reappeared as her voice erupted through the battlefield—and through the minds of everyone in the world—carried by a distorted, buzzing broadcast.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY SUBARU!!!"
Her enraged cry wasn't transmitted through Zero's Authority this time, but through an actual metia device—damaged, cracked, and unstable—which Zero had deliberately prepared beforehand.
Even as the static crackled and the broadcast wavered, the emotional force behind Satella's voice shook countless listeners across the world.
After all, even if the entire confrontation was partially orchestrated, even if Zero and Subaru's duel had layers of planning behind it, the emotions were real.
The fight was real.
The destruction was real.
And nothing about the battle unfolding in Priestella could be dismissed as fake or exaggerated.
Every attack, every scream, every clash—was genuine.
In the next moment, the brainwashed Sin Archbishops launched their assault without hesitation, their movements jerky and unstable from Zero's forceful manipulation.
The Witch of Envy's countless shadow hands erupted outward like a tidal surge, lunging at every Archbishop in sight.
At the same time, the soulless copy of Reina, created as a disposable puppet, remained standing firmly in front of Zero, positioning herself as a shield as though her only remaining purpose was to protect him from incoming attacks.
The Archbishops narrowly managed to evade the first barrage of shadow limbs, their twisted bodies leaping, crawling, and contorting with everything they had.
However, their brief escape didn't last long.
Thousands more shadow hands descended all at once, saturating the battlefield in a carpet of black limbs.
This time, their mobility meant nothing.
Each Archbishop was grabbed, overwhelmed, and dragged into the darkness.
The instant the shadow hands touched their bodies, rapid corruption spread through them.
Their flesh withered, decayed, and collapsed like leaves rotting the moment they touched the ground in late autumn.
"Again!" Zero screamed, activating his Authority with wild desperation.
A pulse of energy spread outward, and the broken Archbishops suddenly regenerated, their warped bodies resurrected by Zero's power.
However, something was visibly wrong. Zero's eyes bulged with pain, and he clutched his head as if something was tearing into his mind.
"Too bad for you, Zero," Subaru shouted back with a sharp grin, refusing to miss the opportunity.
"Satella doesn't just kill. She corrupts anything and everything she destroys. That includes your brainwashed subordinates. So even if you resurrect them, they're not yours anymore. They belong to her shadow now."
Across the world, millions of listeners froze in collective shock as the transmission continued broadcasting.
People were already struggling to comprehend the situation.
Citizens who had moments earlier been mourning their dead, packing belongings, or frantically trying to flee now stood still, overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity and fear of the moment.
What were they supposed to do now?
Should they run? Hide? Pray? Prepare for war?
Even if they gathered their courage and decided to fight—who were they supposed to support?
Were they meant to side with Zero, the Witch Cult leader who claimed to be their savior through fear and overwhelming might?
Or Subaru, who had somehow seduced—yes, seduced—the Witch of Envy, leading to her fighting on humanity's side?
Countless people refused to believe it.
Some shouted at the sky that it was fake.
Others tried to block the broadcast, hiding inside their homes or covering their ears, hoping it would make the insanity disappear.
Many ordinary citizens who lived in forgotten villages, small tribal settlements, or faraway kingdoms even insisted that everything they were hearing must be nothing more than hallucination or magical misinformation.
But then, reality forced itself upon them.
While listening to the echoing voices, they suddenly realized that they hadn't noticed the passage of time.
Somehow, the sun had risen and moved across the sky without anyone's awareness.
And as they finally looked upward, they saw the world's light fading.
Morning's brightness dissolved gradually into pitch-black darkness, as though the heavens themselves were greeting the arrival of a being too overwhelming for nature to ignore.
Only then did they truly understand.
The Witch of Envy had escaped her eternal seal.
She was not destroying humanity.
She was fighting to protect it.
And the one she was fighting against—Zero—might be even more terrifying than the Witch herself.
However, despite everything happening on a global scale, most people still did not take any immediate action.
The nobles, after hurried meetings and heated discussions, decided that the safest choice was to order a complete lockdown of their territories while preparing their forces in case the battle somehow spread to their regions.
Even then, they had no confirmation whether the chaos unfolding would reach them or if the combatants would destroy each other before that.
The uncertainty only made the situation worse, and many nobles hesitated, unsure if they should interfere or simply wait and see.
Back in Priestella, Emilia and Zero stood frozen in disbelief as they witnessed what was happening right before their eyes.
The Witch of Envy, the being feared for four hundred years and believed to be unstoppable only in destruction, had annihilated the entire Witch Cult in less than a minute.
Every Sin Archbishop who attacked was erased, overcome by her powers without even having the chance to resist, and Zero's Authority over them had become completely ineffective.
It was a scene neither Emilia nor Zero had ever imagined they would live long enough to witness.
Emilia looked at Subaru one last time with a complicated expression before she quickly turned and began running.
She trusted Subaru—she always had.
Even if the situation involved Satella, the Witch of Envy herself, Emilia believed Subaru would not make a choice that would harm the world.
She accepted that trust fully and completely, just like she always did.
"Do you think I'm finished?!" Zero screamed, his voice cracking louder than before as hysteria took hold.
"I still have Reina! She was created using the powers of three legendary heroes, every ability possessed by the Sin Archbishops, and countless other special abilities merged into one! Reina is stronger than the Witch of Envy herself!"
Zero pointed forward and roared at the soulless doll standing loyally in front of him.
"Reina… don't hold back anymore! Kill Satella!"
Hearing that, Subaru reacted instantly.
"Tella!" Subaru shouted sharply.
"Head into the skies!"
"Okay, Subaru!" Satella answered without hesitation.
She understood the situation perfectly.
Even though she was playing along with Subaru's plan, she treated the battle seriously.
She knew better than anyone how dangerous Zero truly was.
The man had solved her crippling Envy problem in a matter of minutes—something even she had been unable to do for centuries.
That alone was enough to show that Zero was not someone they could underestimate, even for a second.
In the next moment, Subaru and Satella shot into the sky like a streak of pitch-black meteor fire, their speed so intense that the air cracked from the pressure alone.
Zero reacted instantly, activating the metia he wore—several ring-shaped devices that glowed before lifting him into the air.
Reina, the artificial creation made from countless powers fused together, followed immediately, and the two forces surged upward like missiles chasing their targets.
Within seconds, all four combatants had left the ground and blasted into the sky.
High above the clouds, far from the reach of ordinary eyes, the greatest battle so far began.
The Witch of Envy clashed head-on with Reina, and every single collision between them produced an explosion so destructive that it could be compared to a modern atomic detonation.
The air warped, space trembled, and the atmosphere itself shook from the impact.
If Satella had not been using her power to shield Subaru, he would have died instantly—smashed into unrecognizable meat paste, becoming a laughingstock of the most ridiculous death imaginable.
Thankfully, Zero had taken all variables into account when preparing for this confrontation.
He had known the battle would escalate to a catastrophic scale.
Even though the battlefield was high above the clouds, the shockwaves still crashed down to the ground, creating violent gusts that swept across entire regions.
In multiple cities and countryside areas around the world, people looked up and saw what seemed like two meteors—one glowing a deep purple and the other shining blinding white—colliding repeatedly in the heavens.
The sky flickered with bursts of energy, each impact lighting the horizon like a second sun.
The combatants did not remain in the air for long.
Their collisions rapidly sent them crashing back toward the ground like weapons of mass destruction.
Every impact blasted through valleys, shredded hillsides, and triggered earthquakes and landslides.
Villages shook violently, cities felt the tremors, and people across the world realized that even if they were not directly involved, the shock of the battle was strong enough to reach them no matter where they hid.
Then the four of them smashed down in the middle of Kararagi, hitting the city with the force of a meteor strike.
The impact completely erased an entire street, turning buildings into rubble and instantly causing the deaths of thousands.
Subaru understood that Zero would resurrect them later using his Authorities, but even with that knowledge, he couldn't stop the genuine anger boiling in him.
The fact that Zero treated mass death like something casual, something temporary and disposable, made Subaru furious on a real emotional level, not just as part of their act.
The people of Kararagi immediately panicked.
Civilians screamed, trampled over each other, and sprinted away in terror as the dust and debris filled the air.
Soldiers and shinobi units stationed in nearby districts rushed toward the battlefield, stopping dead in their tracks when they saw the destructive clash between the Witch of Envy and Reina.
They could feel the overwhelming killing intent and chaotic power pressing on them like a physical weight.
"Who do we even support?!" one soldier shouted, and it wasn't a foolish question.
Thanks to the telepathic broadcasts earlier, everyone already had some idea of what was happening—the Witch of Envy was fighting against the Witch Cult, Subaru was involved, and Zero was the source of everything going crazy.
"Support the Witch of Envy! She's on our side now!" a strong, confident voice called out from behind them.
Everyone turned to see Halibel, the strongest shinobi in all of Kararagi, standing there with his weapon drawn.
His declaration caused a ripple of determination through the soldiers.
They exchanged glances and nodded.
They had no intention of dying pointlessly or allowing their families to be caught in the destruction.
They might not be heroes, but they weren't going to sit still and let the chaos wipe them out.
Some of them still hadn't processed that their loved ones had already been crushed to death in the previous impact.
Some refused to accept it, still clinging to the hope that the tragedy hadn't struck their homes.
But regardless of whether they were in denial or desperate, they charged toward Reina together.
Zero didn't even show a hint of hesitation.
"Get away," he said coldly, snapping his fingers without expression.
In the next moment, every soldier and shinobi who rushed forward dropped dead instantly, their lives cut off before they even understood what had happened.
Their bodies slid across the ruined ground as Zero's group continued moving forward with the momentum of the crash.
From the distance, civilians who were watching the scene screamed in absolute horror.
Some began to lose the will to stand or speak, collapsing and sobbing right there in the streets.
Many instantly lost all hope the moment they saw Zero's power used so casually—he had just wiped out dozens of people as easily as swatting flies.
For them, this was no longer a battle between powerful individuals.
It was a nightmare made real, and they had no idea how or if it would ever end.
"Satella! Protect them!" Subaru shouted, hovering in the air while wrapped in Satella's corruption like an armored shell.
The black aura clung to him and shielded him from the insane power being unleashed all around.
Immediately, to the shock of every surviving civilian and soldier still watching, countless shadowy hands erupted from Satella's darkness.
Instead of attacking, they moved defensively—forming barriers, blocking debris, and stopping the destructive shockwaves that were still blasting through the ruined streets.
People who had accepted death seconds earlier stared wide-eyed as the Witch of Envy of all beings protected them.
"We need to get out of the city! Right now!" Subaru ordered again.
Satella didn't waste a moment.
Her power exploded outward, the pitch-black mass around her expanding sharply.
Shadow tendrils shot from her like the legs of some monstrous creature, reaching out and wrapping around Reina's soulless body.
Even with Reina's overwhelming strength, the tendrils managed to hold her in place for a single crucial second.
Satella didn't waste that second.
She vanished in a burst of speed and reappeared in front of Reina, her hands transforming into massive demonic claws made of pure shadow.
She slammed her fist directly into Reina's face with a violent impact that sent the artificial girl flying like a missile.
Reina smashed through the sky, blasting away from the city and into the open air above.
The sheer force of the punch created a shockwave spreading across the rubble below, and Subaru, Zero, and Satella immediately accelerated upward to keep the battle away from the civilians.
The entire world was still hearing everything—every shout, every word, every sound—through the telepathic broadcast that Zero had originally set up.
People across continent, who had been watching their skies darken and listening in stunned silence, now heard the battle continue.
The sky-high struggle was beyond anything they could compare to.
Satella didn't let up.
She reached Reina again and punched her repeatedly.
Each strike released shockwaves that were not just city-destroying but strong enough to be compared to hydrogen bomb-level blasts.
The pressure waves tore holes in the clouds and sent thunderclaps echoing across the horizon.
Anyone watching the sky from the ground could see massive bursts of white and black light every time the two forces clashed.
For many people, this was no longer a battle but a disaster surpassing anything in history.
And it was still just beginning.
Next moment, they were no longer anywhere near the ground.
Their battle had taken them all the way into outer space.
The speed and intensity of their clash were so extreme that the entire world below could see it with the naked eye.
Millions of people looked up from every nation, city, village, and continent, watching tiny streaks of black, white, and purple collide in the sky like stars going to war.
What should have been impossible was happening in front of every living being on the planet.
Subaru and Zero finally halted for a brief second, floating in silent emptiness, staring at the shining orbs scattered throughout the void.
Zero's world—flat and strange compared to Subaru's old home—didn't have normal stars. Instead, they were spheres of concentrated mana that illuminated the sky.
But now, in the shockwaves of their battle, one after another began to flicker and vanish.
Every time Satella and Reina's power collided, several of those stars winked out of existence completely, burned away by the sheer destructive force.
"Reina! END THIS!" Zero shouted with exaggerated fury, making sure the world and Subaru heard him clearly.
Reina's body reacted instantly.
Her Divine Sword, REID, shone with blinding brilliance, gathering a colossal amount of power.
A pure beam of focused energy blasted forward like a continent-crushing laser, shooting across space and striking Satella directly.
To anyone watching below, it looked like the Witch of Envy was erased from existence in a single hit.
Satella's entire body was incinerated in an instant, scattered into ash and black mist by the overwhelming attack.
But Zero had calculated everything beforehand.
Reina's attack was powerful, but Zero carefully limited the amount of power she was given.
The goal was to look devastating without actually ending the fight early.
So while Satella really did get obliterated, it wasn't even close to enough to permanently kill her.
Because Satella was no longer the unstable, self-destructive creature from hundreds of years ago.
Zero had erased her raw Envy, the source of her madness, meaning Satella now fought with full control and clarity for the first time in centuries.
Without the burden dragging her down, she was far stronger than she had ever been before.
And combined with her absurd level of immortality, killing her was nearly impossible.
Even the real Reina and Zero—not the clone, not the staged battle, but the actual top forces from Zero's original world—would need to take the fight seriously to truly eliminate this version of Satella.
That was how ridiculous her existence had become now.
And the craziest thing was that this world's Satella was still dozens of times weaker than the original one from Zero's timeline.
Which meant the battle happening right now, the fight the entire world was witnessing in fear and disbelief, was only the surface level of how strong things could actually get if either side decided to stop holding back.
So the battle was real—real enough that within the range Zero and Subaru had planned, no one in the world would ever suspect it was staged.
Every explosion, every surge of magic, every scream was genuine, just controlled so that the situation never spiraled beyond what they could contain.
And yet, despite being managed carefully, the power released by the fake Divine Sword REID was still terrifying.
Even though Reina's clone was only using a regulated portion of its power, the resulting attack was strong enough that, if fired toward the planet without restraint, it could have annihilated the entire world of Od Laguna in a single blow.
That was the scale of destruction they were playing with.
Across the continents, all the strongest individuals felt their blood run cold.
They stared up at the heavens as the sky turned white from the sheer intensity of the beam.
The terror that ran down their spines was unlike anything they had ever experienced.
Cecilus Segmunt, a man who lived for battle, found his body responding with instinctive caution as he sensed the overwhelming force.
Vincent Vollachia, hardened by politics and war, felt sweat forming as he understood just how powerless even an empire would be before such strength.
Arakiya, whose flames could scorch nations, stood in stunned silence, completely aware that the attack they were witnessing was not something any army, kingdom, or prepared defense could ever withstand.
People like them—seasoned fighters, leaders, and warriors who had seen horrors beyond the imagination—recognized instantly that the attack was capable of ending the entire world in one strike.
Whether they wanted to or not, their instincts screamed the truth.
One moment of miscalculation, one slip in Zero and Subaru's planned performance, and all life could have been extinguished without a chance to resist.
And as the light died down and the burning brilliance faded, the entire world held its breath.
Soldiers on walls, nobles in their mansions, villagers in remote mountain homes, adventurers stationed far from civilization—everyone looked upward in anticipation, waiting to see what remained once the blinding radiance cleared.
However, when the blinding light finally faded and the skies cleared, the entire world collectively paled.
To everyone watching, it clearly appeared that Zero had won the battle, that the Witch of Envy had finally been destroyed.
Nobles, soldiers, and ordinary citizens alike felt a shiver run through them, because if Zero had emerged victorious, nothing in the world would be left to stop him.
Their expressions turned grim, and many already began preparing for the worst.
But those fearful conclusions lasted only a few seconds before the world was once again plunged into pitch-black darkness.
The air grew cold and heavy as Satella— the Witch of Envy— manifested once more, her presence painting the sky in shadows.
Subaru, who had been falling helplessly after the blinding blast, was suddenly enveloped by her corruption.
The black miasma wrapped around him like a protective blanket, not harming him but holding him gently, as if the darkness itself was concerned for him.
The corruption coated his body and boosted him upward, raising him back toward the altitude from where he had fallen.
Zero, refusing to lose momentum, directed another massive beam of energy from Reina's Divine Sword straight at Satella.
The attack slammed into her again, blowing the Witch apart and sending Subaru falling through the void a second time, only for her to regenerate moments later and catch him in the same corrupted embrace.
This cycle repeated several times in rapid succession—Subaru rising with Satella's power, another beam of destruction firing, Satella disintegrating, Subaru free-falling, and then her reappearing again to support him and reenter the fight.
The back-and-forth spectacle sent the entire world into shock, unable to understand how the Witch of Envy could keep returning after being completely annihilated over and over.
Subaru, however, felt his mind straining from the repeated whiplash of rising to the skies and then plummeting back down, again and again, as if stuck in the world's most nightmarish roller coaster.
His thoughts spun in circles, and he genuinely feared he would start screaming if the cycle continued any longer.
Only after several more exchanges did Satella finally manage to cancel out Reina's devastating beam before it reached her, ending the loop of death and resurrection.
The relief Subaru felt in that moment was immense.
He took a deep, steadying breath, trying to calm himself and keep his sanity intact.
Fortunately, Satella had already nullified her own sense of pain beforehand, ensuring that even when she was obliterated multiple times, she felt no suffering whatsoever.
And due to her absolute immortality—something so extreme that even Zero and a true hero like the real Reina would need to go all out to overcome her—she never truly died despite being destroyed repeatedly.
This allowed the battle to continue without her crumbling, and Subaru was spared the trauma of watching her suffer visibly.
Now, while Satella did not physically become stronger with every single destruction and regeneration, the situation was still extremely different from her original state.
After devouring Envy completely and merging with the Witch Factor in its entirety, Satella gained full, uninterrupted control over her own power for the first time in her existence.
She had no split personality holding her back, no uncontrollable instincts messing with her decisions, and no limitations caused by a lack of dominance over her Authorities.
Because of this, her base strength had already risen tremendously compared to the version of herself that once destroyed the world.
So even though Reina's repeated strikes did not increase Satella's raw power in the traditional sense, Satella's ability to adapt to the attacks and resist them improved every time she regenerated.
Each time the fake Reid's beam obliterated her, Satella figured out just a little more about the nature of the attack, how the energy worked, where it hit the hardest, and how to counter it.
Since she revived almost instantly, she had several opportunities within minutes to refine her defense and countermeasures.
The process was brutal, repetitive, and not something any normal being could endure, but Satella was immortal and fully capable of learning through death.
It also needed to be understood that this Reid—though created artificially—was not significantly weaker than the real Divine Sword used by Reinhardt.
Zero had constructed a replica powerful enough to challenge Satella on a world-ending scale.
And by enduring so many continuous attacks of this magnitude, Satella was essentially being forced into accelerated combat training.
By the end of the battle, her mastery of her power, understanding of destructive energy, and defensive efficiency would evolve to the point that she would surpass Reinhardt in sheer capability.
If Reinhardt was known as the man who could defeat the Sun, then Satella would become someone who could defeat Reinhardt himself in direct combat.
This meant the Witch of Envy would no longer be the second-strongest existence in this world.
She would rise to the absolute peak, surpassing all traditional limits.
Of course, this ranking excluded anomalies like Zero—Natsuki Subaru in disguise—or Reina from the alternate timeline, since they operated under different rules entirely.
But once the outsiders eventually left this world and later, once Reinhardt were resurrected or returned, Subaru would no longer be forced to live in fear of the Sword Saint.
With Satella by his side, Reinhardt would no longer be an undefeatable threat looming over their future.
Instead, Subaru would finally have an ally stronger than even the world's greatest hero.
"Damn it!" Zero shouted in disbelief as he watched Reina's continuous attacks fail one after another.
He simply could not accept that even with all that power and precision, nothing seemed to be working.
"You said it yourself," Subaru replied with a confident smirk, his expression calm despite the intensity of the situation.
"Satella is immortal, and every time she is destroyed, she simply reforms again, returning even stronger than before. That means no matter how much power you use right now, it's practically useless."
Subaru's explanation hit hard, not just for Zero but for everyone who could hear him.
Around the world, people collectively exhaled in relief, though the more intelligent and experienced individuals—nobles, seasoned warriors, knights, strategic commanders, and government officials—felt something entirely different.
They instantly understood how terrifying the true nature of the Witch of Envy was.
Until now, they had believed she was extremely strong, possibly beyond normal comprehension, but somewhere in their hearts there had still existed a lingering belief that if the Witch of Envy ever escaped completely, the combined strength of the world could still stop her somehow.
They believed that with heroes, holy relics, magical weapons, and prepared armies, she could be resisted.
But now they realized just how naïve and unrealistic that thinking was.
Seeing Satella take every attack, fall apart, and return stronger over and over again, they understood that the Witch of Envy was not merely powerful—she was an unstoppable existence who grew more capable with every defeat.
This was not a threat the world was prepared for, and the realization sent silent shockwaves through every nation and battlefield observer.
Finally, Satella's power surged beyond Reina's limit.
Satella overpowered her entirely, and massive shadow hands erupted from her body, piercing through Reina's form.
In that moment, Reina's body could no longer maintain itself and began to crumble apart like dry sand.
The fall of her body revealed the truth—this version of Reina had been artificial, a created body meant for temporary use, now reduced to dust as it scattered across the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the real Reina stood far away, hiding in a quiet and isolated forest, watching the entire scene through her projection.
She released a deep sigh, sounding more tired than upset.
'I really hope Lord is finished with this dramatic act soon… I just want to go back and snuggle with him already~ Hehe.'
Despite the destructive battle unfolding, Reina's thoughts remained focused on her personal desires, showing that she took things much less seriously than everyone else watching the world-threatening confrontation.
Zero roared in frustration and unwilling disbelief as Satella launched a devastating assault on him, her shadowy power tearing apart his three Metia one after another.
Even so, through sheer force and his potent Authority, Zero managed to kill her again, causing Satella's body to shatter and begin falling toward the ground.
However, the destruction of his Metia also meant he could no longer maintain his position in the air, and Zero started plummeting as well.
At the same time, Subaru, who had been airborne alongside them, lost his foothold and began falling too.
In the next moment, Subaru's trajectory shifted midair, placing him directly above Zero.
Their final clash was something only the strongest individuals on the planet could properly witness—those with superhuman senses and peak-level combat perception.
Ordinary soldiers and civilians saw nothing but blurred streaks in the air, unable to comprehend the movements that were playing out at speeds beyond human ability.
Subaru appeared in front of Zero in the blink of an eye and immediately smashed his fist into Zero's face with explosive force. Zero's eyes widened in anger as he felt himself being overwhelmed.
"Damn it! If I kill you right now, everything will reset agai—" Zero stopped talking abruptly as his voice choked.
His expression shifted in shock when he realized that a gleaming blade had pierced straight through his chest from behind.
The weapon had stabbed so cleanly and powerfully that even he had not sensed it until too late.
Subaru looked at the sword with a sharp grin.
"Thanks, Priscilla," he said, not even trying to hide his satisfaction.
Priscilla, who stood behind Zero holding the Life Sword, returned the grin with clear pride.
"It took quite a while to track down this weapon, you know," she said, breathing heavily.
"And I had to burn through every single drop of my magic reserves just to fly into the perfect position and strike at the exact right moment. But at least the timing paid off."
This moment was the exact part of the plan where Priscilla's involvement became crucial.
She was the one responsible for obtaining the Life Sword, a rare and terrifying weapon capable not only of killing the body but directly damaging or destroying the soul itself.
Her sudden attack was intended to appear like a real and decisive finishing blow that would seemingly defeat Zero in front of everyone watching.
To the rest of the world, especially to the nations, armies, and powerful individuals witnessing the clash, it would look as though Priscilla had managed to end Zero's reign by piercing him with the one weapon capable of killing even his essence.
Whether Zero was truly defeated or not was irrelevant to the image—what mattered was that the world would believe he had been beaten, all according to the carefully constructed act that they had planned in advance.
Zero's pupils dimmed as the last traces of consciousness left him, his entire body destabilizing before rapidly crumbling into fragments of nothingness.
His destruction was complete, leaving no physical trace behind.
At that exact moment Satella revived once more, her immortality reasserting itself, and she wasted no time reacting.
Moving at extreme speed, she rushed through the air and grabbed both Subaru and Priscilla, just as their bodies were several kilometers above the ground and about to fall uncontrollably.
With firm control, Satella carried the two of them downward and safely landed on a high hill.
This hill was not just anywhere—it was located on the border lands between Kararagi and the Kingdom of Lugunica, a quiet region far from thick urban crowds.
Subaru collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath while adrenaline still rushed through him after the intense confrontation and the close call they barely survived.
"W-We did it…!" Subaru said between sharp breaths, slamming a fist into the ground in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
"Zero is dead! It's finally over!"
His voice was still being broadcast as clear as day, and not just locally.
The entire world was able to hear his words because the Metia communication system was still functioning.
People everywhere—from soldiers on the battlefield, nobles in government offices, common citizens in markets and homes, and travelers on the roads—heard Subaru's exhausted declaration in real time.
Priscilla, maintaining her role in the scenario, looked toward Subaru and spoke with a mix of grace and calculated professionalism.
"Subaru-kun, I believe one of the Metia devices you took from Zero is the one currently transmitting your voice across the entire world."
Her tone indicated that she "just realized" it, perfectly keeping in line with their plan.
Subaru's expression changed into genuine surprise.
"What?!" he blurted out, looking at the small device with shock.
He truly had no idea how this particular Metia survived the massive battle, especially since the fight between Satella and Zero had been real and not an illusion.
Logically speaking, the Metia should have shattered along with the others, yet here it was functioning perfectly.
"…If that's how it is," Subaru muttered after a moment of thought, sitting up and gripping the broadcasting Metia tightly, his expression becoming serious.
"Then I'll make an official announcement to everyone right now."
He stood up, taking a deep breath before speaking into the device with a tone that was confident and firm.
"The Six Cardinal Sin Archbishops," Subaru declared, "have been completely annihilated."
Those words echoed through the entire world, reaching cities, villages, capitals, strongholds, and military camps.
Everywhere, people began cheering in relief and celebration.
To them, the long-standing nightmare forces led by Zero had finally been destroyed, and peace seemed possible again.
All across the nations, people reacted with awe and disbelief.
The name "Natsuki Subaru," already spreading among the masses, now carried even greater weight.
The entire world acknowledged the achievement.
Natsuki Subaru—Great Sage Candidate, hero of the moment—had won.
Meanwhile, Zero and Reina were in a secluded space far away from the battlefield, and both of them let out long exhausted sighs.
Zero massaged his temples with both hands and muttered, "Damn, that was a whole lot of work," clearly tired from managing every detail of their massive staged confrontation that had taken place across the world.
He had personally controlled the power output, the timing, the attacks, and even ensured that the staged battle looked completely authentic, and now the mental strain was finally catching up to him.
Reina, standing beside him, approached with her usual affection and sweetness.
She gently took Zero's hand and provocatively guided it toward her soft chest, her voice sultry and eager.
"Lord, is there anything else left to do?" she asked, hoping that the exhausting act was over and her real intentions could begin.
It was obvious she had something entirely different in mind and was not even trying to hide her desire.
Zero's lips twitched in both amusement and helplessness at her obvious seduction.
"Of course there is," he replied, reminding her of the reality of their situation.
"The second chapter is still left."
His tone made it clear that the plan was only halfway complete.
The second chapter of the operation was just as important as the dramatic battle that shook the entire world.
This part involved resurrecting every single person who had died during the conflict.
Even though the casualties had been expected and would ultimately be undone, reviving an entire list of thousands was not a small task and required significant power and preparation.
Reina's expression instantly deflated when she heard this.
Her smile dropped and she looked visibly disappointed, because she had been hoping that after the intense performance they would immediately move on to making love without delay.
Beatrice, Gloria, and the rest of Zero's spirits gathered inside his soul space, watching the interaction.
All of them collectively sighed in resignation.
Even though they were incredibly powerful beings, they had not appeared at all in the outside battle due to the narrative they were following.
According to the storyline Zero intended to reveal to the world, Subaru and Satella had been responsible for confronting Gloria and Beatrice inside an alternate dimension or isolated space before Subaru and Zero came out with his spirits defeated, which explained why the spirits never appeared even once during the massive public clash.
They had simply been playing their assigned roles in the overall script.
Now that the first phase was complete and the world believed what they were supposed to believe, Zero began preparing himself for the second chapter.
The real work was about to begin, and despite his weariness and the lingering chaos outside, his expression became focused and serious as he prepared to bring back everyone who had lost their lives in the staged catastrophe.
To be continued...