Only then could he deliver the fatal blow to Petelgeuse.
It was crucial to remember that as the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse not only possessed the terrifying ability to summon dozens of Unseen Hands—each one containing enough power to tear an adult ground dragon to pieces—but he also had a more frightening ability: he could possess his cultists, known as "Fingers," to resurrect himself.
As long as a single "Finger" remained alive, Petelgeuse could return.
Therefore, to completely eliminate Petelgeuse, all his "Fingers" had to be wiped out.
Come to think of it, old man Wilhelm's group should be about done... Natsuki Subaru calculated the time internally.
At that moment, the chain of Rem's morningstar clinked as she glared at Petelgeuse. "As a Sin Archbishop, how dare you be so arrogant! As a high-ranking leader of the Witch Cult, how much innocent blood is on your hands?!"
"Innocent blood?" Hearing Rem's accusation, Petelgeuse tilted his head pathologically and pulled out his Gospel. "You should call it a holy sacrifice. It is the price that must be paid to earn the great Witch's love, a most glorious thing... All of this is recorded clearly in the Gospel! It is the necessary path to ultimate bliss!"
As he spoke, Petelgeuse's expression suddenly twisted. "The great Witch does not wish to see such a slothful conclusion! Therefore, I will use my diligence to utterly annihilate you!"
"El Huma!"
Emilia suddenly raised her hand, and six ice pikes with rounded tips shot from her palm, carving a chilling arc through the air.
"How despicable! What an outrage!" Petelgeuse, reacting instantly, swung his Unseen Hands to easily block the ice pikes. His face contorted in fury as he shrieked hysterically at Emilia, "To attack so suddenly without a greeting, how utterly despicable and shameless! Such an attitude is the very definition of sloth! Sloth, slothslothslothslothsloth—"
Imposing his own brand of sloth on others while pretending to be diligent... Unforgivable. You're the truly evil one here.
A muscle in Natsuki Subaru's cheek twitched.
"Ngh..." Beside him, Emilia frowned slightly and looked at Petelgeuse with sincerity. "You're saying such horrible things, I can't listen anymore. Of course, it was wrong of me to attack you suddenly..."
"Honestly, Emilia, you're actually admitting you were wrong?!" Natsuki Subaru looked at her helplessly. "Now's not the time for self-reflection!"
Emilia is just too kind, still critiquing herself at a time like this. But you can't reason with a psychopath like Petelgeuse.
"But..." After hearing Subaru's words, Emilia came to her senses. Her amethyst eyes locked onto Petelgeuse. "Aren't you also preparing to harm everyone? If we're talking about right and wrong, aren't we both about the same?"
Just then, Puck floated in mid-air, adding coldly, "Besides, as a member of the Witch Cult, you have no right to speak of reason with us. Look at the situation. Do you really want to continue this fight?"
"There it is again, that kind of thinking-has-stopped talk..." Petelgeuse shook his head frantically, his green hair dancing like venomous snakes. The bloody scratches from his earlier agitation were faintly visible between the strands. "Again and again... you truly are the embodiment of sloth!"
"You lunatic, you have the nerve to call others slothful?" Natsuki Subaru took a step forward, pointing his Kasaka's Venom Fang at the Archbishop. "Petelgeuse, today is the day you die."
"Being accused of sloth by someone like him is something Rem cannot accept." Rem tightened her grip on her morningstar, a cold glint in her blue eyes. "After all, those who do not work shall not eat. That is the most basic principle."
"Me too..." Emilia nodded gently, her silver hair stirring in the breeze. "Although Ram and Rem usually take care of me, I always do what I can for myself."
"How should I put this... the 'sloth' that guy talks about is different from the sloth you're all talking about. Hmm... I should have realized it sooner. Trying to reason with someone like him is a complete waste of breath.
The faith of these Witch Cultists is completely twisted," Natsuki Subaru paused, then continued speaking to Emilia and the others, "They see their mad prayers as trials, deluding themselves into thinking they can find salvation through such pathological means.
We can never understand that kind of logic."
"Subaru is right." Rem took a fighting stance, the chain of her morningstar rattling in her hands. "Continuing to argue is just a waste of time... Besides, I will not allow a cultist to belittle Lady Emilia with such venomous words."
"If that's the case, let's take him on together!"
Natsuki Subaru quickly scanned the battlefield, making a swift calculation in his head.
Rem, Emilia, plus myself and Puck... four against one. Hmm... the advantage is ours!
He just had to wait for old man Wilhelm to take care of the "Fingers" and sever Petelgeuse's path to resurrection, and victory would be his.
"Excellent! Bring it on!" Petelgeuse spread his arms, laughing maniacally. His bloodshot eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, his mouth twisted into an exaggerated arc. "I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, the one who presides over 'Sloth,' Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti! Come, my most diligent followers!"
Following his hysterical cry, a rustling, clattering sound suddenly echoed through the woods.
Immediately after, large groups of black-robed Witch Cultists swarmed in from all directions like a tide.
"To gather so many cultists in such a short time..." Natsuki Subaru scanned his surroundings warily. Hundreds of fanatics had already sealed off every escape route. "It seems they were lying in wait in the forest all along."
"That's right, I summoned them all!" Petelgeuse scratched his face excitedly, fresh blood dripping from his fingernails.
"Although it took some time, it was all under the guidance of the Gospel. No matter how desperate the situation, the Witch's love will always— And so I must repay this love, repay the great Witch's love with everything I have! Love! LOVE!"
After a slight pause, Petelgeuse's voice grew even more frantic. "This is it! A trial! A trial! THIS IS A TRIAL! Everything is a trial for us to repay her love! Guide us! Show us the way! Ahh, my brain TREMBLES—!"
At Petelgeuse's hysterical roar, the cultists, as if injected with fanatical power, brandished their short cross-daggers and charged at the group.
"Everyone, be careful!" Natsuki Subaru shouted a sharp warning, gripping his dagger and quickly assuming a defensive stance.
"Witch Cultists, prepare yourselves!" Rem's oni horn fully materialized. Her morningstar spun rapidly in her hand, letting out a sharp whistle as it cut through the air.
"El Huma!" Emilia pressed her hands together, and a powerful ice magic erupted instantly, sending countless ice shards raining down on the enemy.
"Looks like it's time to get serious." Puck floated in the air, his small body erupting with astonishing magical power as he fired off streams of crystal-clear ice pikes into the enemy ranks.
Just as his companions engaged in fierce battle with the cultists, Natsuki Subaru's gaze locked onto Petelgeuse like a hawk.
Fzzt!
Subaru's figure flickered, vanishing from his spot like a phantom and closing the distance to Petelgeuse with astonishing speed.
"Proof of love! The Authority of Sloth! Unseen Hand!" Petelgeuse let out a beastly roar, his face contorting into the predatory grin of an insect hunting its prey. The space behind his back suddenly exploded outward.
No, to be precise, it expanded rapidly like an explosion, transforming into dozens of jet-black demonic hands that stretched towards the sky. Each of these terrifying hands, invisible to the normal eye, contained enough horrifying power to easily crush a human body.
The jet-black palms rose high in the air, then, like vipers locking onto their prey, they all turned towards Natsuki Subaru. The shadowy hands twisted and deformed like whips, diving down with incredible speed, their sharp fingers aimed straight at him.
"I told you before," Natsuki Subaru sneered, his pace never slowing as he continued to charge forward. "If I can see it, it's not an unavoidable attack!"
"What did you say—?!" Petelgeuse's face froze. For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty appeared in his crazed eyes.
Why... why... why can this black-haired boy so easily evade my Unseen Hand?
Could it be... he can see them?
"No, no, IMPOSSIBLE! This is the great Witch's exclusive love, bestowed upon me... Love, love, love, love, love... How could an ordinary person possibly perceive it... How could they! LOVE—"
Petelgeuse shrieked hysterically, his bloodshot eyes locked on Natsuki Subaru's every move. His fingers frantically clawed at his cheeks, leaving shocking bloody streaks on his pale skin. The chaos in his mind twisted his expression further, his killing intent towards Subaru becoming almost palpable.
"Die! Die, die, die, die, DIE!"
With Petelgeuse's crazed roar, seven jet-black demonic hands lunged at Natsuki Subaru from different angles like enraged pythons. These hands, forged from pure malice, twisted and swarmed through the air, attacking from extremely tricky angles, each one holding the terrifying destructive power to tear this defiant prey to pieces.
"Hmph! A petty trick!"
Natsuki Subaru's eyes went cold. The moment the hands were about to touch him, he executed a clean, crisp backflip, putting several meters between himself and the enemy. His movements, though seemingly simple, were honed by the practical experience accumulated through countless deaths.
He not only had to precisely calculate the attack trajectory of each hand but also leave himself enough room to counterattack. As he landed, his knees bent slightly, maintaining a stance ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Petelgeuse's Unseen Hand is indeed a bit troublesome.
Natsuki Subaru analyzed quickly as he dodged. After all, Petelgeuse's Authority could unleash dozens of hands at once.
While their movement speed wasn't exceptionally fast, their destructive power was astonishing, enough to easily tear through steel. The trickiest part was that ordinary people couldn't perceive their existence at all, often being torn to shreds without any warning.
However, I can see them. This is my advantage.
Just then, the familiar sound of the system notification echoed in Natsuki Subaru's mind:
[NOTICE: EMERGENCY QUEST TRIGGERED.]
[QUEST REQUIREMENT: Enemies with killing intent towards the player are present. Eliminate all enemies to ensure your own safety.]
[WARNING: Failure to complete this quest will result in a corresponding penalty.]
[ENEMIES ELIMINATED: 0/1]
"Heh... even the System can't stand to watch anymore?" A cold smirk appeared on Natsuki Subaru's lips, a profound light glinting in his dark eyes. "It's rare that I want to properly thank this system. And now, I have one more reason why I absolutely have to kill you, Petelgeuse!"
"How is that possible?! How can you see the great Witch's love?! This is impossible!" Petelgeuse shrieked hysterically, finally convinced that his opponent could truly see his attacks as Subaru effortlessly dodged the Unseen Hands.
Natsuki Subaru ignored Petelgeuse's questioning, merely giving a cold laugh. With a clean backflip, he precisely dodged a hand lunging up from the ground, the dagger in his hand flashing with cold light.
Swish!
The blade flashed like lightning. Three of the formless hands were sliced apart, dissipating into black mist.
"In my eyes, they're as obvious as ink on white paper!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Rem and Emilia had successfully dealt with all the cultists and were now staring at the scene in shock.
From their perspective, Natsuki Subaru seemed to be fighting against empty air. But the distorted space and the eerie sound of something tearing through the air were undeniable proof of the Unseen Hands' existence.
"Subaru really can see his invisible attacks," Emilia murmured, her amethyst eyes filled with disbelief.
"As expected of Subaru-sama." Rem gripped her morningstar, her eyes a mixture of pride and worry.
She finally understood why Subaru had insisted on facing Sloth alone. This kind of deadly attack, which was imperceptible to ordinary people, could indeed only be handled perfectly by Natsuki Subaru.
"Impossible! Impossible, impossible, IMPOSSIBLE!" Petelgeuse's voice grew more frantic as even more Unseen Hands erupted madly from his back. "Accept the trial! Accept the love! Accept—"
"You talk too much."
Natsuki Subaru cut him off impatiently, his figure suddenly accelerating. His Level 37 physical abilities erupted completely, his speed so great that he left a trail of afterimages behind him. The Unseen Hands, powerful enough to shatter steel, repeatedly missed their target.
Watching from the dragon carriage, Otto's jaw dropped. "Mr. Natsuki is so strong... Just how powerful has he become? Not even a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult is a match for him."
Puck floated in mid-air, a rare serious expression on his small, furry face. "With Subaru's current strength, dealing with that guy is quite easy. It seems my help is no longer needed."
_____
🔥 40% OFF! THE TIME TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY IS NOW! 🔥
That's right: a special 40% OFF offer for you to become a member! We're celebrating the arrival of new stories and we want you to join us.
Besides securing your access at an incredible price, your support helps us unlock much more content for the entire community. Our goals are still active:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 🎯 5 Reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
🚀 And our main goal: 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Take advantage of the discount, support our work, and get access to everything! Secure your spot with 40% OFF now: 👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan