Satou Kazuma had almost forgotten his previous nightmare. But when Natsuki Subaru made a sound behind him, the terrifying memory flooded back, and his body reacted instinctively.
"Hey, Subaru, really, what are you doing?"
Satou Kazuma quickly turned around to check on Natsuki Subaru, who had been knocked to the ground.
"Kazuma... quick, kill me?!"
Natsuki Subaru opened his eyes with difficulty, looking incredibly tired.
"That guy...entered my body..."
"What are you talking about, Subaru? Only Kazuma would make such a silly joke!"
Aqua crossed her arms, frowning at Natsuki Subaru.
"I wouldn't joke at a time like this... I can't hold on much longer..."
Natsuki Subaru had barely finished speaking when his expression suddenly twisted and he burst into maniacal laughter.
"What a truly perfect body!"
This was the power of Sloth Bishop Petelgeuse as a minor spirit.
The current body was just a shell for him. Petelgeuse could leave magic formulas on some of his subordinates in advance. He called these followers his fingertips, and could transfer his soul directly into their bodies.
As long as there was a suitable body nearby, Petelgeuse could essentially not die.
But even without fingers, Petelgeuse could forcibly possess people with a high affinity for spirits.
Natsuki Subaru was the perfect target.
"All for love, affection, romance, friendship, all for love love love love love love—"
At this moment, Petelgeuse, controlling Natsuki Subaru's body, let out a wildly excited laugh, drool even dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"Such dull acting, Subaru."
Satou Kazuma sighed, his eyes full of disgust.
"While I can understand that teenagers in their 'chuuni' phase might imagine they have multiple personalities, at least pick a slightly more normal one! I hate those romance-obsessed types."
"I am the Witch Cult's Great Sin Archbishop, in charge of Sloth, Petelgeuse..."
"Enough, enough!"
"I am I am the Witch Cult's Great Sin Archbishop, in charge of Sloth, Petelgeuse!!!!"
Petelgeuse's voice seemed to increase several decibels, and his neck instantly twisted ninety degrees, the bones making a crisp sound.
"Amazing, Subaru! You can do that too? I'll try it! Performing this at the next party will definitely impress everyone."
Watching Natsuki Subaru's action, Aqua tried it herself.
Satou Kazuma finally realized that something was wrong.
This was definitely not something a normal human could do!
Could it be that Natsuki Subaru had really been possessed by Petelgeuse?
He secretly activated his Enemy Detection skill.
There was an incredibly terrifying hostility in front of him, and it seemed to be growing stronger.
Wait, wait, is this for real?
Is this guy in front of him really Petelgeuse?
Does this person also have the ability to possess?
"This person in front of us is no longer Subaru!"
Beatrice looked at Natsuki Subaru with a serious expression. She could sense that Petelgeuse's main self had transferred to Natsuki Subaru's body.
The current Natsuki Subaru had become Petelgeuse's new shell.
"Huh? No way?"
Surprise appeared on Aqua's face as she was still trying to twist her neck.
"This is love—"
Petelgeuse had just let out a shout when Satou Kazuma slapped him directly across the face, forcibly interrupting his spell.
Beatrice looked at Satou Kazuma in shock. She hadn't expected him to do something like that.
Satou Kazuma's thinking was simple.
In the plots of those anime and novels, sometimes characters would lose their true selves, and they would need a 'stimulus' from their companions to restore them.
The most classic method was a slap in the face.
"Wake up, Subaru!"
Satou Kazuma shouted loudly, then slapped Petelgeuse's body again, stunning him.
"I am—"
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Satou Kazuma's hands moved like machine guns, striking Petelgeuse – or rather, Natsuki Subaru's face.
"Sl—"
"Pull yourself together, Subaru! Aaaaaaaah!"
Satou Kazuma sped up, turning to shout at Aqua,
"Aqua, help me! Bring Subaru back!!!!"
"Coming!"
Although Aqua didn't understand what Satou Kazuma was trying to do, she felt that he must have his reasons.
And it looked pretty interesting.
Aqua also followed Satou Kazuma, slapping Satou Kazuma's face.
A quick motion with the left hand, a quick motion with the right hand!
Right hand, left hand, quick motion replay, replay, replay, replay, replay!
Although Petelgeuse was a person who craved pain, pain gave him the feeling of being alive, he had never experienced anything like this before.
He was completely stunned by the two people's rapid-fire slaps.
Shouldn't normal people feel panicked when they see their companion possessed?
What was wrong with these two?
Petelgeuse was a crazy guy, but in reality, he was a very cunning and calm person, who always made thorough preparations for everything.
But even he couldn't understand why these two people were acting this way.
They could attack their companions without hesitation?!
He was having trouble even maintaining his thoughts, and there was no chance to use his authority.
"Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!"
"Muda muda muda muda muda muda!"
Looking at the two people in front of her who seemed to be having a great time, Beatrice couldn't help but take a step back.
This, this situation isn't normal, right?
It looked like...
Those two seemed more like crazy Witch Cult members!
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Even the crazy Petelgeuse finally couldn't take it anymore and had to temporarily return control of the body to Natsuki Subaru.
Let this guy take the beating!
The madness in Natsuki Subaru's eyes had completely faded. He didn't know what had happened, only that his soul had lost the battle against Petelgeuse, and then he had lost consciousness.
Why does my face hurt so much?
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!
Looking at the fierce Satou Kazuma and Aqua, Natsuki Subaru immediately realized that something was wrong and quickly said:
"Wait, wait, I'm Subaru! I'm back!"
Aqua's arm, raised in mid-air, finally stopped.
"Phew..."
Just as Natsuki Subaru thought he had escaped danger and breathed a sigh of relief, Satou Kazuma's fist struck the next second.
"Don't use this kind of disguise! I know all about the methods you people use! Trying to pretend to be my companion to lower our guard! It won't work!"
Satou Kazuma turned to shout at Aqua,
"Aqua, don't stop!"
"As expected of Kazuma!"
The two's attacks fell like rain.
...
Five minutes later.
"I'm sorry, I'll heal you now."
Aqua knelt on the ground with a guilty look, smiling apologetically at Natsuki Subaru, whose face was swollen like a pig's head.
Thirty seconds before, Satou Kazuma had used Enemy Detection again to confirm that the real Natsuki Subaru had returned to his body, and he had pulled Aqua to stop.
"..."
Natsuki Subaru wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out.
After all...
Aqua and Satou Kazuma's actions didn't seem to be a problem.
If it weren't for the two of them, Sloth Bishop Petelgeuse might have completely gained control of his body.
"Is Petelgeuse still inside you?"
Satou Kazuma stared intently at Natsuki Subaru.
"I can feel his presence..."
Natsuki Subaru reached out and gently placed his hand on his chest.
"But right now... it seems like he can't come out for a while, and his will to resist is a little weakened."
Aqua and Satou Kazuma's combo attack seemed to have given the crazy Sloth Bishop a significant psychological blow.
"That's strange. It seems like this book moves with his main body."
Satou Kazuma was holding Petelgeuse's Gospel.
He had used his Steal skill to steal the book earlier.
But as Petelgeuse transfered his body, the Gospel was transported to Natsuki Subaru.
"Betty, do you know anything about this bootleg book?"
"This is just a poor imitation of Mother's Book of Wisdom, I suppose!"
Beatrice looked at the book, seeming a little angry.
"Is your mother related to the Witch of Envy?"
"Betty's mother... is someone who the world called the Witch of Greed."
"Another witch?"
"In the past, there were many witches, but they are gone now."
Beatrice shook her head, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes.
"Betty seems to know this guy."
"Well... a long, long time ago, his name was Geuse, and he was a teacher Mother arranged to teach Betty manners."
"Betty learned manners? Unbelievable!"
"What's so unbelievable!!!"
Beatrice glared at Satou Kazuma, then moved her gaze to Natsuki Subaru,
"But he wasn't like this before. Geuse used to be a very gentle person..."
"Most likely, it's the person who printed this bootleg book who is to blame. Maybe they used some method to make him go bad."
Satou Kazuma analyzed, thoughtfully silent for a moment, then looked at Natsuki Subaru
"But how do we deal with this guy? Even though he's hiding inside Subaru right now, he might suddenly attack when we lower our guard. We can't ignore it. Useless Goddess, do you have any ideas?"
"If it was a ghost or demon possession, I could handle it – but this skeleton-soldier-looking guy isn't undead, so I can't do anything!"
Aqua shrugged, indicating she was powerless.
"I think... just kill me!"
At that moment, Natsuki Subaru, as if he had made up his mind, said very seriously,
"If we don't do anything, it will put you all in danger later, and..."
Natsuki Subaru paused, seemingly thinking about how to word it, then continued,
"If something unexpected happens later, and this guy is still inside me, it will be bad news!"
Natsuki Subaru was worried that if he died again, and the save point refreshed to a time after he was possessed by Petelgeuse, it would be bad.
"What are you saying? I can't accept casually attacking comrades."
Satou Kazuma said, picking his nose.
But while he looked carefree, he was actually thinking about a solution.
"But if we do that, we might be in even more dangerous territory! And... we have the chance to make mistakes."
Natsuki Subaru's eyes became more firm.
Satou Kazuma looked into his eyes, squinting slightly, and confirmed Natsuki Subaru's will:
"In that case, let's try it! Betty, prepare to attack Subaru!"
"Huh?"
Beatrice looked at Satou Kazuma in confusion.
"If the host suffers a fatal blow, Petelgeuse probably won't be able to stay in Natsuki Subaru's body anymore – Useless Goddess, the rest is up to you! You should have a chance to save him from near death with your healing magic, right?"
"Yeah, leave it to me! Who do you think this goddess is?"
Aqua said with great confidence.
"There's no need to go to so much trouble, I've already steeled myself."
Natsuki Subaru said.
Previously, Satou Kazuma had sacrificed several lives to defeat the Witch Cult.
He should also be prepared.
Natsuki Subaru's revival was different from Satou Kazuma's. Time would reset, and if no one knew about the efforts he had made, his heart might bear a great burden.
But at least, in this world, there were people who knew what he was doing.
"What are you saying? You should cherish your life a little more."
Satou Kazuma patted Natsuki Subaru's shoulder, smiling.
"But you were..."
Natsuki Subaru was a little moved.
"Don't worry."
Satou Kazuma smiled.
After all, he couldn't tell them that he could be revived unconditionally after death and meet another super gentle goddess, or Natsuki Subaru would feel unbalanced.
He turned to Beatrice and said,
"Betty, are you ready?"
"Yeah!"
Beatrice nodded.
She still chose to trust Satou Kazuma unconditionally.
And she had seen Aqua's power before.
"Minya!"
"Healing!"
----
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