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{3rd Person POV}
'Damn it! Don't tell me the Witch of Envy is going to flip out over this…' Subaru thought, his heart racing.
Though he was indeed Natsuki Subaru, he had become something far more complex. His soul had fused with another—an entity possessing knowledge of events yet to come. This fusion made him a walking contradiction, an anomaly. To any observer, it would appear as if the real Natsuki Subaru had been consumed by this foreign presence—a parasite masquerading in his skin.
"It seems Mister Natsuki Subaru has already grasped the gravity of our situation," Sekhmet remarked in her languid tone, watching his blank, unreadable expression.
Suddenly, the entire realm trembled violently.
All the Witches reacted instantly. Their expressions morphed—some with fear, others with dread.
"No! Not again!" cried Carmilla, who instinctively hid behind Sekhmet, trembling.
The once-bright sky blackened ominously. A figure cloaked entirely in darkness appeared in the distance, its very presence warping the air with an oppressive pressure.
"Is that Tella... or the Witch?" Typhon wondered aloud, tilting her head curiously.
"She doesn't look too happy," Echidna muttered with a gleam of amusement that masked her concern. Subaru, on the other hand, was silently spiraling into a mental breakdown.
Am I really Natsuki Subaru? Or just a fraud? Someone who hijacked his memories, his body... his life?
Before the thought could solidify, dozens of shadowy arms erupted from behind the blackened figure. They shot forward with terrifying speed—each targeting the Witches like javelins made of hatred.
"Well... I guess that answers our question," Echidna quipped dryly as all the Witches immediately scattered, distancing themselves from Subaru.
Sekhmet responded first, unleashing her own Authority. A wave of power rippled outward as she shielded Typhon and Carmilla from the incoming barrage, meeting the Witch of Envy's attack head-on.
"Satella! Fight it! Don't let her consume you!" Minerva yelled desperately—but her cries were met with a fresh volley of shadowy appendages.
Meanwhile, Subaru exhaled deeply. None of the attacks had been aimed at him. It was almost as if the Witch of Envy—no, Satella—was actively trying to push the others away from him, rather than hurt him directly.
'Fuck it! If things go to hell, I'm not dying without dragging her down with me!'Subaru resolved, his eyes narrowing with determination.
Then came a wave of raw, malevolent energy. A black aura thundered down from above like a collapsing stormcloud.
"Shield yourselves!" Minerva shouted, but it was too late. The blast flung the Witches through the air like ragdolls.
Minerva and Sekhmet recovered mid-air, landing with elegance and composure. Daphne and Typhon, despite the chaos, managed to land on their feet effortlessly.
Carmilla, however, crashed hard, and as for Echidna—she landed face-first in the dirt, her legs awkwardly in the air, backside prominent.
"Damn it... you absolute bitch..." Echidna groaned, spitting out artificial soil. Her pride had taken more damage than her body.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you..." the Witch of Envy repeated the mantra over and over, each word soaked in obsession, as she slowly floated toward Subaru.
"Stop," he said.
No response.
"I said stop," he growled, louder.
Still nothing.
"I SAID STOP!" Subaru roared, his voice infused with raw emotion.
In that moment, his aura exploded into view. A kaleidoscope of colors swirled around him before settling into a radiant blue hue—a shimmering shield that deflected the encroaching miasma.
Finally, she stopped.
"Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me..." she chanted, her words shifting, now tinged with hurt. She interpreted his rejection as betrayal.
"YAHOO! Are you sure he's your lover?!" Echidna suddenly shouted from the side, unable to resist poking the bear.
Instant silence.
The Witch of Envy's head slowly turned. Her miasma thickened into a suffocating haze. The temperature dropped. Even the ground began to warp.
"You had to do it, huh?" Sekhmet muttered, disappointed but not surprised.
Echidna's eyebrows twitched. Despite her arrogance, a sliver of regret crept into her heart. She had done many things she wasn't proud of, but this? This might just be the one that cost her everything.
For the Witch of Greed, there were things she had done that she still regretted to this day. However, after this, whether she would even have the chance to regret anything again was highly uncertain.
Thousands of shadow hands erupted from the sky, blotting out what little light remained. Spiked tendrils of shadow burst from the earth like fangs.
The Witch of Greed was royally, unquestionably screwed.
In simple words, she fucked up.
Minerva leapt in front of Echidna, summoning her own power to shield her—only to be ripped apart by a swarm of shadow claws.
Sekhmet summoned a battalion of her own shadow limbs, clashing violently with Envy's—chaos against chaos, hatred against indifference.
Typhon tried to protect herself, but her Authority faltered. Even she, the Witch of Pride, was overwhelmed.
Subaru had seen enough.
He stepped forward, his aura flaring to its peak. With a single swing of his hand, a wave of energy pulsed outward—obliterating the incoming attacks.
The shadow hands disintegrated, and the sky cleared just enough to reveal her.
Her veil was blown away.
There she stood—a breathtaking woman with pale lavender skin, haunting purple eyes, and a curvaceous figure. Subaru froze.
Subaru silently offered a prayer to every god he could think of, then reached out and gently patted her head.
Then, silently, he raised his hand—and gently placed it on her head.
To everyone's astonishment, the miasma around her instantly began to dissipate. Her body shimmered, transforming. Her skin brightened to a healthy white, her hair turned silver, and her figure slimmed slightly.
"M-My love..." she whispered.
It was Satella. Not the Witch of Envy.
"Wait, did he just calm her down?! With a freaking headpat?!" Minerva gawked, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.
"I'd like to understand this myself..." Sekhmet yawned, though her tone hinted at curiosity more than boredom.
Subaru exhaled in relief, the crushing pressure finally lifting. "A-Are you Satella?" he asked, his voice soft and unsure.
"Yes..." she replied, bowing her head, ashamed to meet his eyes.
"Your other self-caused quite a mess, you know," Sekhmet said, crossing her arms. "I'm pretty sure Echidna would be dead meat right now if you hadn't intervened."
"I didn't take over," Satella said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "She willingly gave up control."
Her words surprised everyone present.
"D-Did... did the power of love actually win?!" Minerva stammered, her usual confidence shaken. Even she couldn't fully believe what she was witnessing—this wasn't just any villainess. This was the Witch of Envy, the very embodiment of obsessive madness.
"S-She seems... rather docile in his presence," Satella continued quietly, as if speaking the thought out loud confirmed it for herself.
"W-Wait a second! Are we absolutely sure we're talking about the same person here?" Subaru asked, disbelief painted across his face. In his mind, the Witch of Envy was anything but submissive. The contrast was so jarring, he could barely reconcile the two images.
"I-I think she... she might have realized the true value of love," Carmilla offered timidly, her voice barely audible.
Everyone turned toward her, stared for a long moment—and then promptly rolled their eyes.
As if? What does she think this is? Disney?
"This is what I truly believe," Carmilla murmured, even as they ignored her.
"Wait. Let's ask the real question now," Echidna interjected, her tone suddenly serious. "Is the Witch of Envy being controlled by someone?"
A heavy silence followed her words, the air thick with tension.
"W-What?! How can she be controlled?!" Minerva blurted out, clearly agitated. "She overcame Pandora, remember?! The Witch of Vainglory couldn't manipulate her!"
"Still," Sekhmet said, eyes half-lidded as always but voice sharp with insight, "it would explain a lot. Especially the fact that the Subaru standing before us... isn't entirely the real Subaru."
Subaru clenched his fists, his frustration boiling over. "You know what? I should've let her wipe the floor with all of you," he growled through gritted teeth.
"Love is love," Satella said firmly, stepping forward. Her voice had lost all its earlier softness—it rang with conviction. "He is not a fake."
"But his soul... it has two colors," Echidna argued, her eyes narrowing.
"He's always had a two-colored soul," Satella replied without hesitation.
That statement sent a wave of unease through the Witches. Their expressions twisted in alarm, and almost in unison, they stepped back from Subaru.
"Are you really Satella?" Daphne asked cautiously as Satella gently reached out and took Subaru's hand.
"I'm sorry," Satella said, her voice trembling as she pressed her cheek against his palm. "You had to die so many times… and I couldn't stop it."
Sekhmet's usual lethargy vanished in an instant. Her demeanor turned sharp and focused.
Something wasn't right—terribly not right.
The Witch of Envy had never been this passive, never this composed in Subaru's presence. And Satella? She had always been kind, yes—but not bold. Certainly not this bold. It felt as though their very personalities had been rewritten.
"I won't let them hurt you," Satella declared, turning toward the other Witches, her voice calm yet threatening.
"W-Wait a minute!" Subaru cried out, taking a cautious step back. "Look, I don't like them either—especially that smug, white-haired bitch—but can someone please tell me what the actual hell is going on?!"
"Then first, tell us who you really are," Minerva demanded.
Subaru stared at them all for a moment, then exhaled sharply as he reached his breaking point.
"I am Natsuki Subaru," he said. Then, after a short pause, he continued, "I am also Ayan Ghosh. I am both of them."
There was no hesitation in his voice now. The truth was out.
"I admit, I have knowledge I shouldn't possess... but seriously, what the hell is going on?" he shouted, his voice echoing.
"A fusion of souls," Echidna muttered, her eyes gleaming with intellectual hunger. "That would explain everything..."
"Oh boy," Sekhmet said dryly, "he just spilled the beans."
"The Witch of Envy," Echidna began, "is a dangerously obsessive woman. She doesn't care about method—only outcome. She was never submissive. That's simply not who she is."
"And Satella..." Sekhmet added, "was never this assertive. She used to weep for her beloved. She would cry over being unable to help him, not stand tall and protect him."
"So you're saying..." Subaru began, eyes wide in disbelief. "You think she is the one being manipulated?"
"Yes. That's exactly what we're saying," Sekhmet confirmed. "You are the anomaly, so naturally, our suspicion falls on you."
"You're all wrong," Satella said suddenly, silencing them.
All eyes turned to her.
"I'm not the one being manipulated," she said. "You are."
The place fell completely silent.
Satella's words felt like an invisible shockwave. If they'd been playing cards, this was the equivalent of slapping down a glowing Uno Reverse.
"Subaru has always had a dual-colored soul," Satella continued. "He could teleport, speak telepathically, and manipulate unseen forces. He's always been strong... stronger than he knows. He can even erase the very concept of information itself."
Her last sentence caused even Echidna to stiffen.
Satella leaned closer to Subaru, clinging to his arm. He swallowed nervously but didn't pull away.
"In the darkest nights," she said, "when I had no one, no hope, no purpose... he held me. He comforted me. He kissed me. Even when I lost my mind, he stayed. He loved a useless girl like me and never gave up on me."
"I remember every single moment we shared. Every second. I can never forget them. And I will not allow you to tarnish his identity!"
For a moment, no one spoke.
"I guess... we are the ones being manipulated," Daphne murmured, her voice unsteady. "If Satella is truly stronger than any of us, it makes sense that she would be the only one unaffected."
"I think I know which woman is behind all this," Sekhmet said grimly.
"Pandora," Echidna hissed. Her usual smirk was gone. Her fists clenched tightly enough that blood began to trickle from her palms.
The realization had struck all of them like a bolt of lightning.
Pandora—the Witch of Vainglory.
The only one who could tamper with memories so intricately. The only one who could alter reality itself without anyone noticing. And if Satella was truly untouched, then it meant she alone retained the truth of what had really happened.
Subaru opened his mouth to speak, but the questions swarming his mind drowned out his voice.
He was in the middle of a full-blown existential crisis.
Finally, he turned to Satella.
"Can you... tell me the truth?" he asked gently.
Satella paused for a long moment, then replied with a faint smile, "You will know... when the time is right. Everything will become clear."
Subaru didn't press further. Instead, he turned to Minerva and the others.
"I have a few questions for you," he said. "First... Minerva, are you Emilia's mother?"
Minerva's eyes widened in shock, her jaw falling open.
"Well, yes. She is the mother of that child," Sekhmet casually replied.
"You weren't supposed to tell him!" Minerva shouted, stomping her foot in frustration.
Ignoring her tantrum, Subaru asked his next question.
"Second, how do I defeat the Black Serpent and the Great Rabbit?"
"The Great Rabbit," Daphne answered, "multiplies infinitely and is drawn to mana. To destroy it, you must lure them all to a single location and eliminate every last one in a single attack."
"As for the Black Serpent," she continued, "you don't need to kill it all at once, but you do have to destroy every part of it completely. If even a piece survives, it will regenerate."
Subaru nodded, satisfied with the answers.
"Well then," he said with a respectful bow, "thank you all for your help. I guess I'll be taking my leave now."
To be continued...
(A/N: Okay, if we can get it top 3 by tmrw, you will get two more bonus chaps, if we become number 1, you will get four bonus chaps.)