...
{3rd Pov}
Meanwhile, after Subaru departed from the Sanctuary, Roswaal wasted no time putting his elaborate and malicious plans into motion.
The first step in his scheme was to invite Garfield for a private discussion under the pretense of sharing critical information.
With a masterful deception, Roswaal began spinning a convincing lie, painting Zero as a sinister enemy—a Witch Cultist of the highest order. Not only that, but he accused Zero of holding the terrifying position of Sin Archbishop, instilling immediate suspicion and hostility.
"He's not just any cultist," Roswaal said with a grave, slow tone, "he's an Archbishop… one of the worst kinds. He's come to annihilate everything."
Garfield's expression twisted with fury as he clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging under the pressure.
"Damn it! I knew something was off when Grandma Ryuzu said he reeked of a Witch Cultist!" Garfield growled, clenching his fists tightly.
Roswaal, speaking with a dramatic flair and a hidden smirk, continued to weave lies without hesitation. "Unnnnnfortunately, the Evil Swooooord Saint is alwaaaays by his side, so I couldn't move freely untiiil nowwww…" His words dripped with falsehood, carefully crafted to manipulate.
In fact, labeling the Sword Saint as evil was a stretch by any measure—but unfortunately, the blonde beastman wasn't exactly known for his intelligence. To make matters worse, Subaru's previous headbutt seemed to have knocked out whatever little common sense he had left.
(A/N: This guy can literally become the idioticy Cosmic God in Marvel)
"But do not fret, Garfiel," Roswaal added, his voice slowing into an eerie, melodic drawl. "Their presence has unwittingly drawn in the Greeeeat Rabbit, and so now the opportunity arises. All the blame can fall on Zerooo… so while the Sword Saint is preoccupied with dealing with that monstrosity, yooooou must strike and destroy them."
The flames of hatred ignited in Garfiel's eyes, his body trembling with rage. He was now more than convinced that he needed to eliminate what he believed to be a grave threat—witch cultists who had infiltrated his home.
Roswaal's manipulation had worked flawlessly.
Inwardly, Roswaal chuckled. His mind danced with satisfaction, his plan unfolding step by step. The strategy was beautifully chaotic.
He would keep everyone occupied: with the Sin Archbishop of Lust and Elsa launching a brutal assault on the mansion, and with the Great Rabbit now running rampant in the Sanctuary. Garfiel, filled with righteous anger, would unknowingly help orchestrate the chaos.
Roswaal's intentions were far darker than anyone realized. He had no qualms about eliminating Rem and Ram, treating them as mere pawns in his larger game.
The ultimate goal was clear: to break Subaru's spirit completely.
He wanted Subaru to reach such a low, such a point of despair and helplessness, that in a future loop, the boy would have no choice but to make a binding contract with him.
A contract to do whatever it takes—even if it meant sacrificing his soul—to crown Emilia as queen.
Yes, Emilia's position in the Royal Selection had improved significantly. With Subaru's heroic feats—defeating the White Whale and slaying multiple Sin Archbishops—the public would soon regard him as a legend.
News of his accomplishments should be beginning to spread among the populace.
But unfortunately, achievements alone were not enough. If Emilia belonged to any other race, their side would already be celebrating a landslide victory.
Yet, she bore the burden of her lineage—being a half-elf, a painful reminder to the world of the Witch of Envy.
The prejudice was deep-rooted. No matter her strength or intentions, many refused to accept her as the rightful ruler. Winning the throne wouldn't be simple.
And so the pieces moved. The plan unfolded.
As Garfiel stormed off to confront Emilia, determined to purge the false cultists, the Great Rabbit—a magical calamity—was unleashed to keep Reina occupied. The stage was set for madness and bloodshed.
Soon, Roswaal would have Subaru wrapped around his finger.
Or so he thought.
...
Subaru returned to the Sanctuary alongside his three spirits, but almost immediately, he felt something was off. A chill crept through his spine, and he instinctively closed his eyes, expanding his senses outward.
Then he felt it.
'The Great Rabbit… it's here!' Subaru's expression hardened as he sensed thousands—no, tens of thousands—of sinister, pulsating auras converging at one point. Without hesitation, he teleported to the source of the menace.
What he saw sent a jolt through his chest.
Reina stood defiantly, her sword still sheathed, yet wreaking utter devastation. With each powerful swing, she carved the monstrous Great Rabbits into grotesque chunks, their blood spraying into the air like crimson mist.
The ground was littered with mangled bodies, but the horror had only just begun.
Despite Reina's overwhelming strength, the Great Rabbits were recovering at a terrifying pace. Worse still, their numbers seemed to double the more she slaughtered them. It was an endless tide of death.
Floating beside Subaru, Echidna's soul shimmered with amusement and curiosity as she observed the chaos. Her calm, analytical demeanor stood in stark contrast to the slaughter below.
'Oh my,' she murmured with a wicked smirk, 'it seems she's activated the full potential of the Great Rabbit.'
Subaru turned to her, eyes narrowed in confusion. 'Full potential? What are you talking about?'
Echidna's voice took on a more instructive tone, as if she were giving a lecture rather than watching a battle. 'Each of the Great Mabeasts has a hidden trait. If they suffer tremendous damage over a short period of time, they don't just become harder to kill… they adapt. The best strategy is to drain them of their mana and vitality, then strike with a single, final blow.'
The realization dawned on Subaru like a flash of lightning. 'So that's why the White Whale had been so impossibly difficult to defeat…'
'Why don't you experiment a little?' Echidna asked with a greedy gleam in her eye. 'I've always been curious about the Authority of Lust. You tend to acquire fascinating abilities after all.'
Indeed, Subaru's powers had grown immensely—frighteningly so. Between the Authority of Envy, which had granted him the cruel gift of Return by Death, and the Authorities of Greed and Sloth, he had gained abilities that transcended human limits.
His shadow hands could phase through matter, while his greed can replicate others' skills... even the authorities themselves.
Driven by urgency and curiosity alike, Subaru didn't hesitate.
He activated his Authority of Lust.
In an instant, the world around him changed. His vision shifted into a kaleidoscope of vibrant color and dark intent. The aura surrounding the Great Rabbits burned a deep, violent red. And then… a sensation welled up from within him.
An overwhelming urge to kill.
'Die.'
The word echoed through Subaru's mind like the toll of a divine bell, sharp and absolute. As soon as the thought crystallized in his mind, his Authority of Lust surged forth.
In an instant, all of the Great Rabbits within his line of focus abruptly halted, as though some unseen puppeteer had severed the strings that held them aloft.
The eerie stillness that followed was unnatural—an abrupt end to a frenzied storm of violence.
Then, without warning, their bodies collapsed in unison.
A sickening thud echoed across the battlefield as hundreds—no, thousands—of the monstrous creatures fell lifeless to the bloodstained ground, their grotesque eyes frozen in a final moment of madness.
"My Liege!" Reina's voice rang out through the smoky air, filled with a mixture of awe and reverence. She had instantly noticed the sudden collapse of a massive portion of the white rabbit swarm. Her sharp instincts led her gaze straight to Subaru, the source of the miracle.
Without hesitation, she teleported to his side, reappearing with a graceful burst of wind. Dropping to one knee, she bowed deeply in respect.
"Lord Zero," she addressed him formally, her voice tinged with both pride and frustration, "I have been holding the Great Rabbits at bay. But the more I slay, the more they spawn… and each time, they return in even greater numbers."
Her frustration was palpable. Reina, the Sword Saint, was a being of unparalleled strength. But now, she found herself in an infuriating stalemate.
Her power was tremendous—perhaps even beyond comprehension—but only when her sword, Reid, deemed an enemy worthy could it be unsheathed. In that state, Reina was invincible. She could vanquish almost any foe with a single, decisive stroke.
But there in lay the problem.
There existed loopholes in the criteria that dictated Reid's awakening. Against opponents with broken, reality-defying abilities—like Regulus Corneas, whose Authority made him untouchable, or the Great Rabbit, which functioned in a strange metaphysical limbo—Reid refused to acknowledge them as individuals worthy of battle.
The Great Rabbit, specifically, was an anomaly.
It was a paradoxical existence: simultaneously a collective of separate creatures and a single entity with a shared consciousness. Neither fully one individual nor multiple beings with distinct minds. This confusing nature made it fall through the cracks of Reid's perception.
And so, the sword remained dormant. Sheathed. Silent.
Because of this, Reina could not finish them with one stroke. She was forced into a repetitive cycle—slaying the beasts only for them to multiply in grotesque excess. Every death brought more life. A twisted reproduction fueled by violence.
It was an endless loop. A gruesome draw.
And to Reina, a being who prided herself on unshakable dominance in battle, the realization filled her with shame.
"You're unable to draw Reid, aren't you?" Subaru asked quietly, watching her bowed form with understanding rather than judgment.
As if summoned by his presence, the three spirits—Beatrice, Gloria, and Aqua—materialized outside of his body, surrounding him.
Reina lowered her head further in acknowledgment. "Yes… they defy my judgement. They counter my abilities."
She could, in theory, fight them forever—her stamina, regeneration, and skills were godlike. But ultimate victory came at a catastrophic cost. If she were to unleash her full power indiscriminately, the result would be nothing less than the destruction of the entire world.
"Hmph! If we could trap those abominations in another dimension or toss them off the Great Waterfall, we could rid ourselves of them permanently, I suppose" Beatrice said sharply, floating slightly above the ground, her small arms crossed defiantly. Her twintails bobbed with each word.
Then she added with unmistakable pride, "Buuut worry not! Betty's contractor need not trouble himself too much. Betty can contain them. I shall open a separate dimension to trap those pests inside."
"Father!" Gloria interjected passionately, stepping forward while glowing and burning determination. "This humble concubine can obliterate them in one strike with Al Jiwald, provided they are cornered and have nowhere to escape!"
"You two are still bickering like children?" Aqua said with a light laugh, amused by their rivalry.
Subaru raised a hand, commanding their attention. "No need for infighting!"
His voice was clear, authoritative, and commanding.
"Reina, I need you to help herd them together into one concentrated space. But don't kill them too quickly—it will only accelerate their replication. Control them. Stall them. Beatrice, use Minya to create a containment barrier to trap them. I want them cornered with no way to escape. Aqua, Gloria, both of you support Beatrice with your magic—focus on keeping the formation intact!"
There was no hesitation, no argument. They moved as one—subordinates answering the call of their king.
Reina nodded sharply and vanished in a flash of wind, diving headlong into the heart of the monstrous horde. With fluid, precise movements, she began corralling the rabbits, skillfully pushing them toward the trap zone.
Beatrice ascended high into the air, her hair whipping in the rising winds. She unleashed glowing mana projectiles that hovered, then exploded into crystalline formations to form the boundaries of the trap.
Gloria, though grudgingly helped her with Aqua.
A beautiful, chaotic symphony of light and elemental energy filled the battlefield.
In the midst of it all, Echidna floated just above Subaru's shoulder, watching the scene unfold. For once, her voice lacked its usual condescension or amusement. Her expression was serious.
'You've come to understand your power… and I can see exactly what you're planning,' Echidna said, her tone grave.
She narrowed her eyes, almost in reluctant admiration.
'There's no doubt—your Authority of Lust is truly...'
'The ability to kill anything I focus on… it's death manipulation,' Subaru finished Echidna's sentence, his voice calm but resolute.
Echidna laughed softly, a thrill running through her. 'Do you even realize how powerful that is? If it can bypass resurrection and immortality, then nothing is beyond your reach. You can kill anything.'
Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with sheer excitement.
Meanwhile, Subaru slowly began to lift off the ground, his body rising weightlessly into the air as if the laws of gravity no longer applied to him. Below, the Great Rabbits were being tightly corralled, the trap nearly complete.
'Reina, get out of there. They're all trapped now. Beatrice, Gloria, Aqua—stop firing your spells,' Subaru commanded telepathically, his voice ringing clear in their minds.
Reina vanished from the swarm in a flash, teleporting to safety without hesitation. The three spirits immediately halted their magical assault, allowing silence to fall over the battlefield.
Subaru simultaneously unleashed his aura and psychic abilities, locking onto every single cursed Great Rabbit within the line of sight of his Aura and Pyschic perception.
A moment passed. Then:
"I AM—"
"ZERO."
The effect was immediate and terrifying. Every single Great Rabbit froze mid-motion, as if time had stopped for them. Then, one by one, they collapsed to the ground, lifeless—stripped of all vitality in an instant.
It was utter annihilation.
A complete area-of-effect instant death ability—one that could not be dodged, countered, or nullified.
Too powerful. Too overwhelming. A broken ability, transcending logic and natural law.
As expected of a Sin Authority, it operated outside the boundaries set by Od Laguna, the divine system that governed the world itself.
Subaru gently descended back to the earth, the dust swirling around his feet. Reina stood nearby, visibly shaken by the spectacle she had just witnessed.
She had been locked in an endless struggle with those beasts, forced into a stalemate. Yet Subaru had wiped them out in a single breath, with no effort, no sword, and no blood spilled on his hands.
"What sort of power was that…? I suppose," Beatrice asked, her eyes gleaming as she looked up at him with awe and curiosity.
"It's the Authority of Lust," Subaru answered honestly, his voice composed. "It awakened within me after I acquired the Lust Factor by killing Capella."
"As expected of my contractor! I suppose!" Beatrice declared with amazement, pride brimming in her voice.
"Indeed… as expected of my Lord," Reina said softly, her lips curling into a gentle smile.
Her respect for him deepened. Her admiration grew. But more than anything—her love for him intensified.
She was truly happy. Her liege had become so powerful, so untouchable. With strength like this, he could protect himself. He would be safe, even without her.
But even if he were to be endangered again… it didn't matter.
Because if it came to that, she would simply lock him away somewhere safe—where only she could see him, only she could reach him.
(Ayoo, chill Reina!)
Reina smiled to herself.
*Yandere eyes*
To be continued...
(A/N: I have decided to give a random fact and a related knowledge to the chapter that you might have missed, let's see if I can follow this every chap.
In Hinduism, Brahma is the God of Creation, he created both man and woman, Gods and Demons.
He grew so arrogant that he thought as he was the creator, every living being must bow to him, every living being must submit to him- to the God.
To cure his arrogance and pride, Lord Shiva, the Destroyer of the Worlds tried to persuade him gently. But after being angered by Brahma, he pulled out his trident and chopped out one of his heads to punish him.
Just you know, things severed by Lord Shiva's Trishula cannot be healed.
Yeah, so don't grow arrogant due to your position and power, while everyone should give the respect you deserve for your deeds, never cloud it your mind.
Next, Subaru Authority for who still haven't guessed is Life and Death Manipulation.
While I cannot tell whether it can negate ressurection or not, but it can kill anything in Re Zero.
Even Reina isn't immune to it's abilities.
Okay that's all)