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{Subaru Pov}
"It's quite a pleasure to see you again, darling," Echidna said in a teasing, sly tone as she casually slurped her tea—thankfully, not laced with any of her bodily fluids this time.
She sat across the table, her gaze flicking over a series of notes, scribbled theorems, and arcane formulas I had previously handed over. Her attention was clearly divided—half on me, half on the knowledge I had given her.
"Did you come to visit me because you were missing me?" she asked, her voice dripping with amusement.
I didn't dance around the question or try to dodge the implication. I met her gaze and answered with frank honesty.
"I did come to see you," I admitted, tone even. "But there's something important we need to talk about."
Without asking for permission or waiting for any dramatic buildup, I summoned a shadowy hand visible only to me from my side and used it to pull a chair from the corner of the room. It floated gently to the other side of the round table, directly opposite her seat. Once it settled, I sat down and made myself comfortable.
Echidna paused in her reading, her eyes leaving the notes, and turned her full attention to me. She smiled—pleasantly, maybe even warmly.
"Oh my, are you here to spend some romantic time with me then?" she asked, tilting her head and tapping her finger to her lips in an exaggeratedly coy manner. "Perhaps to spoil me a little? Or maybe," she added with a sly grin, "you're here to be intimate with me?"
Her eyelid fluttered in a mockingly innocent way as she closed one eye playfully.
I didn't flinch or blush. I gave her a flat and composed response.
"None of that."
Her smile quickly turned into a pout, and she let out a disappointed sigh, exaggerating it for effect.
"Here I thought we were finally getting closer," she said with mock frustration.
I leaned forward slightly, my voice steady and firm. "Because of you, I had to deal with a deranged maniac in clown makeup—someone obsessed beyond reason. And let's not forget how you tried to rope me into a contract where I'd become nothing more than a puppet for your amusement."
Her expression shifted slightly. For a brief moment, she looked genuinely guilty. She slammed her hand down on the table, lightly, but with enough force to show her frustration.
"That was only because of my incomplete Operational Drive!" she protested. "It was my younger self—my less developed, immature version! That wasn't me me! I am the fully evolved, mature, and totally self-aware version of Echidna now. I'm the MILF version!"
She pouted again after her declaration, arms crossed as if trying to emphasize her seriousness.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Leaving aside the disturbing fact that you even know what the term 'MILF' means, the reality doesn't change—it was still you. Just a different part of you, but still you."
She sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping just a bit.
Then she looked back up at me, something almost soft behind her expression. "All my attempts to seduce you—ahem, I mean, to make you fall in love with me—they've all failed, haven't they?" she asked, not really expecting denial.
"You know, seeing you all lovey-dovey with that Sword Saint of yours? It really makes me jealous."
I didn't respond immediately. Her words were edged with emotion, but I knew better than to trust every word.
"Perhaps that's what excites you?" she added quickly, as if trying to turn the tables.
"Watching a maiden like me chase after you, completely helpless, while you deliberately choose another—just so you can feel the thrill of betraying someone who genuinely wants your heart?"
Again, I didn't reply. With Echidna, responding to provocation often played directly into her game. Twisting truth into lies—or worse, lies into truths—was second nature to her.
She was, after all, the Witch of Greed.
But then, she asked something that genuinely caught me off guard.
"Tell me—how can I make you fall in love with me?" she asked bluntly, looking straight at me.
I froze momentarily, surprised by how direct she was being. But I didn't look away. I met her gaze, dead serious.
"That's not something I can answer," I said after a pause. "Because if I could answer that—if I knew what triggers that feeling within me—then I wouldn't be human. I'd be a machine, following a predictable algorithm."
She nodded slowly, her expression losing some of its teasing sharpness. For once, she seemed to understand the weight behind what I was saying.
After a beat, she smiled again—not seductively, but almost gently.
"Well then, Master," she began, switching gears slightly, "how about this—we play a little game. I'll ask you some questions. After that, you can tell me whatever serious thing you came here to talk about."
She raised a finger, wagging it playfully. "And I do know I'm technically your servant or slave—or whatever title fits this bizarre power dynamic between us—but for the sake of this maiden's peace of mind, will you indulge me just a little and answer my questions? Think of it as a form of 'knowledge exchange.' That's your thing, right, it's even in our contract?"
I rolled my eyes slightly but gave in.
"Fine," I said.
Her response was immediate. A radiant smile bloomed across her face, so dazzling it could've made the sun feel insecure.
Seriously? How could a Witch—an inhuman, immortal, manipulative monster—manage to look this cute?
She leaned forward, her expression curious, almost eager.
"Okay then, first question," she began, sounding like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Tell me—why do you respect Reina so much? And don't just say it's because she's your lover. I want to hear something deeper."
She was testing the waters, clearly. But I had no reason to hide the truth. There was nothing to fear from it.
"It's simple," I said, meeting her eyes with confidence. "She's the one who saved me."
Echidna tilted her head. "Saved you? You mean from all your near-deaths and impossible battles?"
I shook my head. "No. Not from death."
She blinked.
"She saved me… from myself."
My words immediately caught her attention.
"From yourself?" she repeated, tilting her head, her voice laced with curiosity.
"Yes, that's right," I confirmed with a nod.
"Echidna, let's just be honest with each other for a moment. Back when I first arrived in this world… I had absolutely nothing. I'm not exaggerating when I say that."
"My mana reserves were practically nonexistent—barely above that of a squib. My physical strength? Comparable to that of a malnourished farmer. My overall knowledge of this world? Equivalent to a toddler stumbling through their first few steps. I had no advantages, no talents, no backing, and certainly no protection. I was alone and powerless."
I leaned back in my chair slightly as I continued.
"And then came your little pet project. Your obsessed student. Roswaal and his grand design. A man who had a plan so meticulous, so disturbingly precise, that if I deviated even slightly from his expectations, the outcome would be fatal for me. If I tried to step outside the box he had neatly placed me in, I would be butchered—killed—over and over again until either I got things 'right' or he simply realized I wasn't useful anymore and disposed of me."
Echidna gave me an awkward expression, as if someone had caught her red-handed. She let out a long, forced whistle and intentionally looked away, pretending to be distracted by something invisible, as though she had no idea who this "Roswaal" person was. Of course, it was all a farce. She was literally the one guiding him—the architect behind the madness.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Tell me something, Echidna. Hypothetically, if my Authority was different—if it didn't allow me to grow stronger with each reset, or grant me the edge I needed—what do you think would've happened to me?"
She became unusually quiet for a brief moment, almost contemplative. Then, with uncharacteristic seriousness, she answered.
"You would've been broken," she said bluntly. "Mentally and physically. Completely shattered. I imagine you'd have died countless times… perhaps even at the hands of that blue-haired maid alone, and that's not even including all the other instances where your utter lack of strength should've led to your early demise."
She paused for a second, letting her words settle before continuing.
"If you hadn't had that special ability of yours during your time in the Capital, and you'd just kept repeating the same foolish actions, I'm certain you would've been publicly humiliated, maybe labeled a fool. At best, people would've laughed you off as someone who didn't know his place. At worst? You'd have been executed. Or assassinated in the dark by noble families or the Royal Knights just because you dared to speak to them like an equal."
"Exactly!" I said, clapping my hands once, as if congratulating her for hitting the nail on the head. Then I stopped and leaned forward slightly, a strange smile creeping onto my face.
She visibly shuddered. I wonder what kind of expression I was making—probably something she wasn't expecting.
"Yes… but Reina? Reina saved me," I said, my voice quieter, but heavier. "Not once. Not twice. But multiple times. If not for her, I would've been stuck in an endless loop of pain and failure. I would've had to start over again and again, suffering through the same brutal trials without any progress."
"When I had nothing, she stood up for me. There were reasons, of course—some of them even kind of adorable in hindsight—but regardless of her motivations, she was there for me when no one else was."
"When I was truly at my lowest, when the world had nothing to offer me, I still had Reina. That's why I'll be there for her no matter what. Even if she's labeled a monster. Even if people claim she's nothing but a weapon of destruction. Even if they paint her as a threat and she's forced to wipe out entire armies… I'll remain by her side."
"Even if the entire world sees her as nothing but a beast," I said, my voice unwavering, "I'll still walk beside her."
"Maybe I came to realize, deep down, that she would do the same for me. Maybe that's what love really is. Maybe that's why… I've fallen for her."
I finished speaking and sat back in silence, letting the weight of my words fill the room. I knew what Echidna really wanted to know—what drew me to Reina, what made me commit to her so fiercely. And I had answered her fully, without hesitation.
Echidna smiled then, satisfied. She raised her teacup, drank the last few drops, and placed it back on the saucer with a soft clink.
Then, as if not entirely done, she looked at me and asked one more thing.
"Say… what would you have done if you didn't have your powers and Reina hadn't stood up for you either? You skipped over that part, didn't you?"
I smiled at her question. It wasn't unexpected, but it still stirred something in me.
"Like I said before… she saved me from myself," I answered, my tone becoming heavier with each word. "Because if I had been pushed far enough—cornered until there was no escape, treated like garbage, made to die just because someone felt like using me, killed because I wasn't good enough, insulted because I was weak, ignored because I wasn't trusted, beaten bloody because of someone's pride…"
I paused.
"Then—then…"
"I would've done anything. I'm not joking. I might've joined the Witch Cult. Or worse, I might've gathered the insane—the strongest and most unpredictable individuals in this world. Imagine a faction led by me, with Volcanica, Shaula, Cecilus, and Halibel all standing at my back. We could've turned this entire country into ashes."
"I might've gone on a bloody crusade and slaughtered every single Sin Archbishop one by one—stolen their Authorities for myself. Maybe I would've even gone so far as to free the Witch of Envy to destroy this pathetic world. Or maybe I would've just left it all behind, traveled across dimensions with Shaula and Satella at my side."
I let out a slow breath.
"Ah… the possibilities would've been endless."
"Because in the end… a man can only take so much before he snaps. Before he decides to burn the whole damn world down."
I went quiet, and for a long moment, so did she.
Her face slowly shifted into something eerie. Her expression was unreadable. She wore a wide, sly smile across her lips, yet her eyes were opened wide, glassy and glistening as if on the verge of tears. Her miasma began to leak from her body like mist, forming dense, dark shadows that slithered across her face. A sickening mix of purple and black aura enveloped her like a cloak.
"That answer…" she whispered with a chilling smile, "it satisfies my greed."
Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, her miasma receded. Her aura stabilized. She returned to her usual self as if nothing had happened.
I stared at her.
"If that had happened… if I had gone down that road… I would've done everything in my power to destroy you," I said coldly. "Not just you. I would've hunted down every last witch soul in existence and shattered them completely."
She didn't flinch. In fact, she smiled again—genuinely this time, her eyes soft, almost content. She tilted her head slightly, and in the most honest tone I'd ever heard from her, she replied:
"I wouldn't have minded… if it was you who ended me."
And for some inexplicable reason, that line—those simple, sincere words—made my heart skip a beat.
To be continued...
(A/N: Give me the Powerstones!)