Hiss… hiss…
The Witch of Envy's appearance instantly made the atmosphere extremely tense. Not only the other witches she had once slain—even Lillian could feel the aura of destruction emanating from her.
If the sight of the sun filled people with thoughts of hope and beauty, then the feeling she evoked was endless chaos—an overwhelming despair devoid of any future, inspiring nothing but hatred and revulsion. Ironically, such a being possessed the Authority of Return by Death, which could reverse time and continuously seek a better future.
"Satella! Long time no see!"
Only one person greeted her—the short-haired girl Typhon, the Witch of Pride.
The other witches showed varied reactions: some frowned, some stepped back in fear, some sighed silently, while others wore smiles that held not the slightest warmth, their eyes cold and empty.
"Passing through the Sanctuary's barrier to come here must have taken quite some effort. You've worked hard."
Faced with Echidna's sarcastic words, the Witch of Envy remained silent and motionless, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Lillian was not particularly surprised by the sudden appearance of this overwhelming being. Since all the witches had gathered, the most infamous among them would naturally not be absent. Moreover, her relationship with Subaru likely already involved some form of "contract." If he were to form another contract with Echidna, unforeseen problems might arise.
Looking at that pitch-black shadow—one of the world's top powers—Lillian clearly felt the pressure she radiated. Even in this mental world, where he did not need to worry about being killed, an inexplicable sense of dread still lingered in his heart.
"…"
The scene fell into a brief silence. No one made any move.
Originally, Lillian had intended to leave, but now he wanted to see how the situation would unfold.
According to legend, the six witches of the past had all died—directly or indirectly—because of the Witch of Envy. Now, after several centuries had passed, they met once again, all existing only as souls, including Envy herself. If a battle were to break out under such circumstances, could the six of them working together truly stand against Envy?
Lillian thought it unlikely.
Setting aside everything else, aside from Echidna's obvious hostility, the other witches showed no desire to fight. The Witch of Lust, Carmilla, who had initially kept her distance, was now observing Envy with curiosity. The Witch of Pride, Typhon, had even greeted her happily when she appeared. As for Wrath, Sloth, and Gluttony, none showed any significant reaction either. The whole situation was extremely strange.
"Y-you…"
Subaru stammered, unable to form complete words. This was the first time he had seen the one who granted him his power. During his previous deaths, he had only vaguely glimpsed a shadow. But this time, he clearly saw the silver hair—aside from the hidden face—and a height nearly identical to Emilia's.
He finally understood more deeply why others treated Emilia so poorly. Truly… if one ignored the face and removed the shroud of black shadows, the two were almost identical in build and hair color—like twins carved from the same mold.
"…"
The Witch of Envy remained silent. However, her shadow-covered face tilted slightly, shifting her gaze from Subaru to Lillian.
Being stared at by such a being made Lillian uneasy. After all, he had once killed Subaru before. Subaru himself did not know this, but Envy very likely did. If so, her hostility toward him might run deep.
Fortunately, she merely glanced at him before looking away, once again focusing on Subaru.
"What exactly is going on right now? Someone—anyone—say something!"
Subaru looked around at the silent crowd, unable to endure the oppressive atmosphere. His eyes finally turned toward the only person present who seemed normal besides himself.
"Lillian, you're really alive, right?"
"…Yes."
Seeing him nod, Subaru relaxed slightly. At least among all these witches, there was still one normal person, which somehow gave him a sense of relief.
"Then do you know what's happening here? Wait—how did you end up here? Your body is also in the Sanctuary, right? Could it be—"
Though not exceptionally quick-witted, Subaru was not foolish either. He finally realized something.
"Could it be that you're the masked person, Lillian?!"
It was a logical conclusion. That would explain why he appeared here. Any other human would easily be discovered in the Sanctuary, which was filled with half-bloods. After all, even if the barrier did not restrict humans from entering or leaving, it did not mean anyone could simply take a casual tour of the Sanctuary.
The clones of Ryuzu Meyer—the so-called "Eyes of the Sanctuary"—were constantly watching. Any human who accidentally wandered in would be discovered and either frightened away or lured outside the barrier.
Thinking it through, Lillian could only be that masked individual. And the reason he wore a mask was because others believed him dead—revealing himself would cause unnecessary complications. That was precisely his explanation.
"I didn't want to answer questions like 'why are you still alive,' so wearing a mask was simply more convenient."
Subaru froze for a moment, unable to understand why Lillian wished to hide the fact that he was alive. At that moment, Carmilla's timid voice suddenly rang out. Despite her timid appearance, she actually took the initiative to speak to Envy.
"Is… is it Sister Satella?"
The Witch of Envy—Satella. Who else could it be?
Lillian looked at the Witch of Lust in confusion. Seeing this, Echidna immediately seemed to understand his doubt and let out a cold laugh.
"The Witch of Envy and Satella—those are two entirely different existences."
"…Huh?"
This unexpected statement greatly expanded the amount of information at once. Typhon then took over the explanation.
"That's right, that's right! Envy is the one who killed everyone! But Satella is a very kind big sister!"
"A split personality?"
That seemed to be the only explanation. Seeing Echidna nod slightly, Lillian was completely taken aback. If that were the case, then the one who destroyed the world was "Envy," and it had nothing to do with… Satella?
Lillian found the logic difficult to grasp. He could not determine whether this split personality meant one soul divided into different personas, or different souls sharing a single body.
If it was the former, then the argument resembled saying that a mentally ill murderer should not be held responsible because the crime was committed during an episode—a line of reasoning Lillian could not accept. From the victim's perspective, such reasoning held no meaning whatsoever. In a normal society, the law might punish the guardian of such a patient or confine them to a special institution for years to prevent the victims' families from taking private revenge.
If it was the latter—if two souls shared one body—then Satella would indeed be completely innocent. The logical course would be to separate Envy's soul from her body and then punish it.
However, judging from the current situation, it seemed to be the former—Envy and Satella were different personalities born from the same soul. From the witches' attitudes, aside from Echidna, the others did not appear to hate Satella, only Envy.
That would explain why no one had taken action or displayed hostility—because they could not determine whether the one before them was Envy or Satella.