The battlefield was a mess of torn earth and blood-stained grass, the heavy scent of the White Whale still lingering in the air. Around the carcass, the surviving soldiers gathered in a weary circle. They looked exhausted, but there was a new energy in the way they stood—the hollowed-out look of men who had actually survived a nightmare.
Crusch Carsten stepped to the center of the camp.Her voice was steady, carrying easily over the wind.
"Let it be known that Natsuki Subaru and Satoru Gojo are the ones who felled the White Whale!"
A long silence followed. Then came the whispers, the stunned nods, and finally, a deep sense of respect that hadn't been there before.
Subaru stood nearby, his tracksuit tattered and fluttering in the breeze.
Gojo leaned against a nearby rock, looking relaxed but keeping his eyes sharp.
Rem, Wilhelm, and Ferris stood close by, all eyes on Subaru as he prepared to speak.
"We're heading to the Mathers Domain next..." Subaru said, his voice dropping into a grave tone."The Witch's Cult is waiting in the forest. And it's not just a few fanatics——we're dealing with two Sin Archbishops."
A visible chill went through the soldiers. Facing the Whale was one thing, but Sin Archbishops were a different kind of horror.
"What about the villagers?" someone called out from the back.
Subaru's gaze hardened.
"They've already been warned. By the time the Cult strikes, they'll be gone."
He laced his fingers together, his knuckles turning white.
There was a quiet, vibrating fury in his posture——the look of someone who had seen too much and was done playing games.
Both Wilhelm and Gojo noticed it immediately.
Subaru turned to the old swordsman.
"Wilhelm. I know I'm asking for a lot, but I want you with me. I need you to help me kill an Archbishop."
——Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti.
Wilhelm didn't hesitate. For a second, he looked surprised, but then the steel returned to his eyes.
"I owe you an immeasurable debt, Natsuki Subaru," Wilhelm said. "If this pays back even a fragment of it, I'll follow you into Hell." A small, weathered smile touched his face.
Subaru let out a breath, the tension in his shoulders easing just a bit.
"Good. That's very good, thanks a bunch."
As the camp bustled with preparations—men loading supply carts and dragons snorting in the dust—Gojo stood off to the side, staring at the horizon. The wind tugged at his long black coat.
Subaru walked up behind him.
"Crusch and the army won't reach the forest for hours..."
Gojo gave a playful grin without turning around.
"Oh? Sounds like you're worried about me. You do remember I'm basically untouchable, right? Infinity is staying up. Nothing's getting near me."
But Subaru didn't bite. His expression stayed grim.
"You know a lot more than you're letting on, don't you?"
Gojo noted, his smile finally dropping.
Subaru didn't deny it.
"There's someone else coming... the other Archbishop. I've seen what he can do. Either he's like you... or he's worse."
A flash of memory crossed Subaru's mind: a suffocating snowstorm and a figure in white with a golden, indifferent stare. A man who looked like a devil that remained spotless in the middle of a slaughter.
Gojo raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, is that so?"
"It is. So please—Satoru—don't play around. If you do, you'll regret it."
The way Subaru said it—so final, so certain—caught Gojo off guard. It was like the boy was reading from a script he'd already finished.
Gojo chuckled, trying to shake the sudden chill at the back of his neck.
None of it made sense.
How could Subaru know the timing of the Whale or the specific power of an Archbishop of Sin?
And yet, Gojo believed him.
"Alright..." Gojo said, scanning the horizon one last time. "Consider it a promise. I won't mess around."
With a casual gesture, he pressed his hands together. Space shimmered, the air rippled, and Gojo vanished.
Subaru stared at the empty space, his fists clenching at his sides.
"If you fail…I'll just do this all over again. As many times as it takes. Until you survive."
———————————————
He appeared like a distortion in the world—one moment, silence; the next, Satoru Gojo was just there.
The air rippled around him as he scanned the landscape. A small, quiet village sat a few hundred meters away.
"Shucks... guess my internal GPS was a little off."
Then, he vanished again.
A violet blur streaked across the plains. Pressure waves flattened the grass in his wake as he moved like a bullet. Subaru had said the Cult shouldn't have hit yet——that the village should be evacuated. Gojo was just here to double-check.
Can't have civilians around for the fireworks, right?
He slowed as he reached the village edge, casually brushing his white hair back and sliding his hands into his pockets. He stepped into the center of the square and stopped.
It wasn't peaceful. It was the kind of silence that stared back at you.
Gojo's grin slipped away. Beside a wooden hut, a group of women stood huddled together. Their eyes were wide, their shoulders locked, their gazes fixed on the dirt. It wasn't just them—every person in sight was a woman, frozen in place, staring at nothing.
"...Only women?" Gojo muttered. "Why——"
"Why yes, of course."
The voice was silken, cold, and heavy with self-importance.
"What kind of man do you take me for? Some barbarian grunting over the flesh of his own gender like a Witchbeast in heat? That's repulsive. Unspeakably uncultured."
Gojo tensed, his instincts flaring. He turned toward the voice, and every woman in the square flinched at the same time.
Then he saw him.
A man in an immaculate white suit, shoes untouched by dust. He looked like a statue carved by a god, standing with his hands laced behind his back. He had a serene smile and golden eyes——eyes that didn't just look at you, but through you..
Gojo scanned him with the Six Eyes. His stomach dropped. There was nothing. No hidden power, no suppressed energy, no flow of mana. Just a void. It was like looking into a black hole.
"…What the hell are you?" Gojo asked.
The man bowed slightly.
"Regulus Corneas. Sin Archbishop of Greed. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I loathe false courtesy… Satoru Gojo."
Gojo's eyes narrowed.
"You know my name?"
"Of course," Regulus said, his expression unnervingly calm. "It would be unjust to act without knowing the name of the one who dares obstruct me. I take responsibility for my actions. I know exactly who you are."
He glanced at the trembling women nearby.
"Honestly, this is such a bother. I don't enjoy violence. A man like myself—someone who understands true love and justice—shouldn't have to dirty his hands. Don't you agree?"
A door creaked open behind him. A dozen villagers were dragged out——tied, gagged, and terrified. Gojo's jaw tightened.
Dammit, Subaru. Either your timing is off, or this guy decided to show up early just for me.
"Alright then, Regulus Corny-ass," Gojo said, his voice flat. "Sounds like you're just begging for an ass-whooping."
The silence returned for a heartbeat. Then, Regulus twitched.
The veins in his temples bulged as his face flushed with rage. His calm mask cracked.
"You…? You dare…?! What did you just say to me? You think you're clever? Mocking a man who has lived justly and virtuously? Do you think that makes you impressive? Huh!?"
He stepped forward, the movement light but dangerous.
"I have never harmed anyone without cause! Every action I've taken has been measured and morally correct! Unlike people like you, who think strength gives you license to do whatever you please!"
His wives shrank back. One of them accidentally met his eye. Regulus snapped his gaze to her.
"You! Why are you looking at me like that? I haven't done anything wrong, so don't you dare look at me like I'm a monster! That face… it's insulting."
"——Die!"
It happened too fast.
Regulus's boot merely touched the earth. Then, blood sprayed.
The woman's body ruptured. No warning, no buildup——just a brutal erasure. She fell in ruined pieces, her torso split and her life gone. There was no sound of an attack, only the wet thud of her remains hitting the dirt.
What was that? Even with the Six Eyes, I didn't see it coming. I could only see the shape of the air moving!
Regulus's breathing was already steady again.
"This is your fault. All of it. If she had stayed grateful and obedient, this wouldn't have happened. But she chose defiance."
He inhaled slowly, calming himself.
"Bring one out. A child."
A trembling wife obeyed. She led out a small, crying girl with orange hair and a bright red bow.
Petra... Subaru's friend.
Regulus lifted her by the collar like a doll. Petra dangled helplessly, her muffled sobs echoing through the gag. He grinned.
"Now then, Satoru Gojo. If you don't want to see this girl become a red paste… then you'll stand right there and receive one of my attacks. That's fair, isn't it?"
Gojo's eyes narrowed, but a slight smirk returned to his face.
"Suit yourself. But don't come crying when I'm standing here without a scratch. And you'll release the villagers afterward, right?"
Regulus laughed politely.
"You have my word."
He raised a hand and flicked his wrist. Gojo's instincts screamed at him to dodge, but he stayed still.
I'll just block it with Infinity, grab Petra, and put this guy down.
But then——agony.
A hurricane of pure destruction shattered through him. Flesh peeled like paper; muscle was torn by an unstoppable slash. An arm flew, then a leg. Blood painted the dirt. The world stopped.
Gojo's body fell, eyes open and lifeless. Satoru Gojo was dead.
Petra squealed in shock at the sight of the corpse. Regulus scoffed, tossing the girl aside like trash.
"They're all the same," he said, shaking his head. "So convinced they're unstoppable until they meet me."
He turned away, casting a cold glance at the body before looking at his wives.
"Make sure every villager is dead by the time I return. I have business with that fractured soul of Sloth."
The wives didn't say a word. As Regulus walked away, the heavy, suffocating silence returned to the village.
——————————————
Suguru used to talk about it endlessly.
"To protect the weak..."
He'd say, always with that calm, annoying certainty.
Gojo never saw it that way. He didn't have to.
He was born a miracle——blessed, talented, perfect.
He never had to try to be the best, so he didn't.
That was why he still hadn't learned Red.
It wasn't that he couldn't; it was just that he'd never needed to.
Then came the shift. One blink and the world changed.
He wasn't in Japan anymore. A medieval city sprawled under a strange sun, filled with beast-kin and laughter.
He was confused, but not exactly unhappy.
No more Gojo clan, no more elders, no more stifling rules.
——He was finally free.
But the bitterness stayed. He'd never see Suguru again. He'd never hear Shoko call him an idiot because of his antics.
That silence haunted him more than any curse ever could.
Then he met that guy. Japanese, like him, but painfully weak. Embarrassingly so.
Yet, there was something there——potential. Maybe, just maybe, that guy could eventually reach the place where Gojo stood.
Of course, he'd never say that out loud. It wouldn't be very cool, would it?
As the weeks passed, Gojo changed. A new mindset started to form, something close to Suguru's, but different. It wasn't just about the weak anymore.
It was about what he actually wanted to be strong for.
Then came the silence. The death.
The world began to glow a violent blue. It wasn't light or flame; it was pure Cursed Energy, swirling like a storm—angry, confused, and very much alive. Fragments of old lessons drifted through his mind:
"Negative energy destroys."
"Positive reverses."
"Life born from death."
Life born from death...
"Don't think. Feel."
The blue twisted and darkened, bleeding into Red. It wasn't just a color anymore; it was a concept. The rejection of nothingness. The flat-out refusal to stay dead.
His mind went quiet. The pain was still there—he remembered his body shattering like glass—but beneath the agony, something else was moving.
——Reconstruction.
A twitch. A flicker in a finger on an arm that had been eviscerated seconds ago. Blood pulled back; muscle rethreaded itself; bone snapped back into place.
He sucked in a sharp, jagged breath. A real one.
Satoru Gojo was back. He was awakened.
I'm not done just yet.
—————————————
Subaru Natsuki stepped from the treeline, the heavy forest air giving way to a clearing dominated by a rocky monolith. Standing before the cave entrance was a man who looked like he'd been carved out of a fever dream—pale green skin, bloodshot eyes, and a posture that defied human anatomy.
"Aaaahhhh..! I've been waiting for you... believer in love!"
Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti didn't just speak; his voice shattered, jumping from a whisper to a screech as his arms flailed. He looked like a puppet with cut strings.
"I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult... the embodiment of Sloth... Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti!!"
He began to claw at his own cheeks, dragging the skin down until it looked ready to tear.
"I welcome you... O' blessed child whose pangs of love drip so deliciously... SO MAGNIFICENTLY!!"
Subaru stopped a meter away, his face a mask of strained politeness.
Deep down, he wanted to cave the man's chest in, but he held it together.
"I appreciate the welcome," Subaru said, his voice flat. "Though I'm not sure what to make of the love obsession."
"Ahhh... of COURSE~!" Betelgeuse squealed, rocking back and forth. "Everyone realizes they're LOVED... love, love, love——LOOOVE!!"
Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"Right. So what now?"
Betelgeuse's nostrils flared. He leaned in close, his neck twisting at a sickening angle like a broken doll.
"The love... it's so pungent. Could it be you're Pride? The seat that remains vacant...?" He sniffed the air, eyes unblinking. "You have the gospel, yes...?"
Subaru let his smile widen.
"Yep. If you wanna see it, come a little closer."
As Betelgeuse leaned in, his face full of feverish anticipation, Subaru's hand slipped inside his jacket. He didn't pull out a book.
His fist, glowing with a jagged purple energy, caught Betelgeuse square in the jaw.
The impact was brutal. Teeth sprayed into the air as the Archbishop was launched backward, his face collapsing under the weight of the blow before he slammed into the rocky wall with a heavy crash.
"Here's my love, you asshole!"
Subaru exhaled, but he didn't relax.
"——WILHELM, NOW!"
On cue, the Sword Demon blurred from the trees.
Three cultists lunged from the cave, but they were dead before they hit the ground——Wilhelm's blade sang through the air, three clean slashes ending them in an instant.
From the settling dust, a hissed whisper echoed: "Authority of Sloth... Unseen Hands..."
Purple, spectral limbs began to snake through the haze toward Wilhelm.
"Old man——dead ahead!" Subaru yelled.
Wilhelm didn't hesitate. He dived backward just as the invisible force tore through the space where he'd been standing. The hands froze mid-air, twitching.
"You... you can see them...?"
Betelgeuse staggered out of the smoke, his face a ruined mess. His manic grin faltered for the first time.
He sent the hands lunging—one from above, others from the flanks.
"——DODGE!" Subaru barked. He rolled forward, meeting a spectral hand with a cursed-infused punch. The limb flickered and burst into nothing.
"IMPOSSIBLE——IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Betelgeuse shrieked.
Wilhelm was back in motion, his sword cutting through the phantom limbs by sheer intuition. A hand grazed his shoulder, throwing him back, and Subaru's teeth gritted.
"They're getting faster...!" Subaru muttered.
"MY FINGERS!" Betelgeuse roared toward the cave. "TEAR HIS BODY ASUNDER!!"
A swarm of hooded fanatics poured out, eyes wide with madness. Wilhelm stepped into their path, his eyes sharp.
"You're the match for the Archbishop, Subaru, leave these... TO ME!!"
The old man became a whirlwind of steel, keeping the cultists at bay while Betelgeuse began to bite into his own fingers, drawing blood.
"Ooooh, my brain, my brain trembles so so sooo!!"
Subaru didn't wait for the monologue to finish. He kicked off the ground, the earth cracking under his boot.
He was a blur of violet energy, weaving through a dozen Unseen Hands like a dancer. One hand screamed past his ear; he spun under a second.
He leapt, twisting mid-air, his fist glowing with the dark, heavy scent of the Witch and raw cursed power.
He took a breath to steady his pulse, eyes locked on the writhing mass of purple serpents.
"TAKE... THIIIS!!"
He slammed his fist downward. He didn't hit the Archbishop—he hit the air itself.
——BOOOOOM!
A shockwave of cursed energy exploded outward. The Unseen Hands didn't just break; they evaporated under the sheer pressure.
Betelgeuse scrambled backward in shock.
"WHAT IS THISSSSSSS!?!?" he screamed. "Your hands... they must not overtake mine!! Unless... the Witch has given you her heart!?"
He collapsed to his knees, laughing and sobbing all at once.
"OOOOOH HOW JEALOUS I AM!! WRETCHEDLY ENVIOUS!!"
Dozens more hands erupted from his shadow, frenzied and violent, tearing up stone and soil as they surged toward Subaru.
"COME THEN——PRIDE! SHOW ME YOUR LOVE!!"
Subaru tensed, his breath ragged but his eyes focused.
"All right then!"
He launched himself forward, a violet streak of light, meeting the storm of invisible hands head-on.
Subaru's fists were a blur, each strike meeting an invisible hand and shattering it into nothing. But there were too many.
"Urgkk—!!"
A spectral limb hooked around his guard and clamped onto his side. The strength was monstrous, teeth-grinding. It tore through his tracksuit and into the muscle.
Subaru didn't hesitate——he slammed his elbow down with a heavy thud, breaking the grip, and stumbled back.
He was heaving, eyes scanning the treeline.
This isn't working. If I keep trading blows, I'm dead. He's not slowing down.
Subaru lunged backward, his feet hammering the dirt as he zigzagged through the trees. The Unseen Hands chased him like heat-seeking missiles, splintering trunks and crushing the earth where he'd stood a heartbeat before.
He skidded across the dirt, looking up just in time to see a massive shadow looming over him. A tree, sliced clean at the base, was coming down.
"Hoomph—!!"
No room to dodge. Subaru threw a desperate fist upward, smashing through the falling trunk in an explosion of splinters. Wood pierced his skin and sliced his arm, but he didn't stop moving.
"Only I am worthy enough for her love, not you——not you, not you not you!!"
Betelgeuse's voice was a jagged shriek in the chaos.
"——!!"
An invisible hand snagged Subaru's shin. The grip was overwhelming as he was hoisted like a ragdoll and hurled through the air.
"AHHHKK——!!"
His back slammed into a tree, then another, then another, until he collapsed into a trail of shattered bark and upturned earth. He dropped to one knee, lungs seizing, vision swimming in a daze.
But beneath the pain, the rage was sharpening into a blade.
Is this it? Is this all I can do?
He slammed a bloodied fist into the ground.
No. I refuse. This bastard... this cult... they took Rem. They took Emilia. They took everything!
Slowly, his spine cracking, Subaru stood up. Blood dripped from his mouth and smeared across his forehead, but his eyes were locked forward.
"I'll beat you...!"
Betelgeuse laughed like a madman.
"YESSS!! THAT IS LOVE!! THE SUFFERING! THE DESPAIR!!"
The Archbishop was hovering now, lifted off the ground from the unseen hands, drenched in blood, his face a mask of euphoric madness.
Subaru wiped his lip.
"Shut your damn mouth for just a second..."
The cursed aura around him began to pulse, thick and erratic. The scent of the Witch spiked so high even Betelgeuse hesitated. Subaru didn't wait. With a roar that tore his throat, he charged.
His limbs burned with violet energy. Hook, jab, kick, palm strike——he met every Unseen Hand in a storm of violence.
They were getting faster. A hand caught his ribs from behind.
He spat blood, swaying, but stayed on his feet. Another hand wrapped around his arm, bones creaking under the pressure.
Subaru screamed, a surge of cursed power flaring from his skin and shattering the spectral limb like glass.
"Beautiful, magnificent, it's magnificent! Your display of love and diligence!"
"Shut the hell up, you bastard!"
Subaru leapt, ignoring the agony in his joints. He spun mid-air, cursed power coiling around his leg like a spring—— He kicked a hand so hard it imploded, the shockwave carving a trench in the forest floor.
But then——
A dozen hands erupted from the shadows, latching onto his ankles, wrists, waist, and throat. He was locked in place, suspended in the air.
"NNGHK—!!"
Betelgeuse floated forward with a tender, deranged smile. "I will embrace you completely..." He raised a hand, and the crushing began.
Subaru's side screamed. His leg snapped tight. His shoulder popped.
"AAAAAAAGHHHH—!!"
He arched in agony, tendons straining to the breaking point. And still, his cursed energy pulsed. He glared down at the Archbishop with pure, unfiltered hatred.
This pain... use it.
The ground began to tremble. The energy surrounding Subaru stopped flickering; it began to spiral, compressing into a dense, terrifying point.
Betelgeuse's eye twitched.
"...What...?"
Subaru's voice was a low, guttural rasp. With every ounce of strength left, he pulled. Tendons screamed, bones ground together, but he forced his limbs free, tearing through the invisible restraints until he dropped to the earth in a blood-soaked stagger.
He didn't fall. He refused.
Blood ran into his eyes, but his gaze was unshakable.
Focus it. Everything. The pain, the hate, the memories.
He moved. His body told him to stop. He didn't listen.
"BLACK——"
He stepped forward, arm drawn back, coiled. His fist clenched, palm cupping the darkness. Another step, then a lunge—he became a bullet of pure rage.
Betelgeuse's eyes widened.
"A-Ah... that love... so pure..."
His voice trailed off.
"——FLAAAAASH!!!"
The world disappeared behind a jolt of black lightning. Subaru's fist drove point-blank through the Archbishop's chest.
BOOOOOM—!
A crater tore open behind them. Trees disintegrated. Stone turned to dust.
Betelgeuse's body spasmed as the impact eviscerated his torso, blood gushing in curtains onto the dirt. His mouth opened, but only blood came out.
Then, he fell.
Silence returned to the forest. Subaru stood there, chest heaving, staring at the ruin of the man. A long moment passed.
Subaru's boot slammed down, crushing the Archbishop's head into the earth. He didn't flinch. He didn't feel a thing. This man was the exception.
He said nothing. He just turned away, limping, hand pressed to his side as he left a trail of blood with every step.
———————————————
The forest returned to a haunting stillness, the smoke of the battle drifting through the mangled trees.
Wilhelm stood at the edge of the clearing, his blade dripping crimson. Around him lay the silent forms of the cultists, each taken down with a single, surgical strike. He didn't say anything; he just watched Subaru with a quiet, searching look.
Subaru stepped forward, his movements slow but certain. Their eyes met, and Subaru gave a short,tired nod.
"It's done," he said. "Yeah."
The words had barely left his lips when a sound cut through the air——a sharp swipe followed by a heavy, oppressive weight that settled over the clearing. It wasn't the sound of someone walking. it was the sound of a presence.
Wilhelm's grip tightened. His sword hand twitched.
From the treeline, reality seemed to shimmer and then shatter. And then, he was just there.
A man in an impossibly pristine white suit. Not a single wrinkle marred the fabric. Not a spot of blood touched his sleeves. His shoes were polished like mirrors, reflecting the gore on the forest floor. He had a boyish, smug face that looked eternally annoyed by the very act of existing.
He didn't emerge from the shadows; he simply appeared, standing among the corpses as if he'd always been there, completely untouched by the carnage.
Subaru's eyes went wide. Panic and realization warred in his head, followed quickly by a sickening confusion. If this man—if Regulus Corneas was here—then where was...
"Where is Gojo-sensei?" Subaru's voice was barely a whisper.
Regulus chuckled, a low, mocking sound. He raised a perfectly manicured hand, palm open.
"Why, he's been reduced to a bloodied husk..."
Regulus said smoothly.
"A desperate attempt to save some little girl he'd never even met. It really tugs at a soul as benevolent as mine."
His pale eyes gleamed with a cruel, flat satisfaction.
"Although Satoru Gojo is dead, I'm sure he lives on in you," he added, a cold, predatory grin twisting his lips. "Which is why I'm here. To remove the blight."
Subaru's heart hammered against his ribs. Beside him, Wilhelm stepped forward like a shield, his knuckles white on his hilt.
"You...!" Wilhelm growled.
Regulus tilted his head, looking mildly amused.
"Ah, where are my manners—"
"——Regulus Corneas!"
Subaru's voice cut through the air, sharp and steady.He didn't back down. His gaze burned with an iron resolve that seemed to ignore the blood soaking his own clothes.
"If it's the last thing I do... I will make sure you die!!"