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3rd Person POV
Regulus' wives lived in an ancient, crumbling castle, secluded from the world, where they carried out every task by themselves.
Cleaning? Sewing clothes? Farming for food? Trading goods?
All of it—they did alone, day after day, while their so-called husband treated them with utmost cruelty.
"Subaru—no, Zero—before we go looking for them, can you show me your Authority?" Beatrice suddenly asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
Things had happened so fast, he hadn't yet taken the time to properly examine his new Authority of sloth that he acquired from Petelgeuse.
He had felt something latch onto him the moment Sloth's Authority was torn apart—but he hadn't tested it until now.
"Sure," he shrugged, then concentrated. Using an Authority was instinctual—it required focus, an inner guidance to fully manifest.
Slowly, several spectral hands emerged from in front of him… It felt weird to him.
He tested them one by one. With a single hand, he grasped a nearby boulder and hurled it. It rocketed through the air, smashing through several trees before finally stopping. He then summoned more hands, experimenting. When he exceeded sixty-four, a sharp pain pierced through his skull—an apparent limit.
"So? Can you see them—the Unseen Hands?" he asked Beatrice.
"No… and Authorities often differ between users. You should test what unique trait yours possesses, I suppose," she replied thoughtfully.
He nodded and attempted to mimic the ability of the Envy Natsuki Subaru—phasing the hands through matter.
To his surprise and delight, it worked. If he willed it, the hands could pass through solid objects and directly touch their intended target.
The realization exhilarated him. These were invisible hands capable of lifting dozens of tons each, and they could phase through matter with ease.
Compared to the standard Unseen Hands, these were vastly more powerful.
"Invisible Providence," he murmured, smiling. "Let's name this Authority Invisible Providence."
With this Authority, his combat abilities had taken another significant leap forward.
Now, he wouldn't need to waste Psychic energy on moving things—this power could handle it. He could reserve his Psychic energy solely for telepathy and teleportation.
"Now that the test is complete, let's see if we can find Regulus' wives," he said, activating Aura in his eyes to gain Aura Vision. He grabbed Regulus bag using Invisible Providence and scanned the area.
"Hm… About a kilometer from here, I can see several Aura signatures—dozens, actually," he reported.
"This new ability of yours is most impressive. You must explain it in detail when we return, I suppose!" Beatrice said, clearly fascinated.
"Sure," he replied, starting to run toward the cluster of Auras at a slow pace. He soon reached the location, startling a woman in the process.
"Who are you?" the woman asked, her voice devoid of emotion. Her face was a mask of indifference, as though nothing could faze her.
"You're one of Regulus' wives, aren't you?" he asked. She simply stared at him, her expression unchanged.
"Yes," she admitted. "If you value your life, I suggest you leave immediately. If my husband returns, he'll kill you without hesitation."
Subaru chuckled, as if he'd heard a good joke. The woman, however, remained silent. His laugh had drawn the attention of other women nearby. They approached, their eyes fixed on the unfamiliar man.
"Who is it, Number 187?" asked one of them.
"An outsider," 187 replied coldly.
Two additional women joined the group, though they too remained silent.
"Shall we inform Number 184?" asked 187.
"Oh man, it kinda hurts my heart hearing you refer to each other by the numbers Regulus assigned you," Subaru said, tossing the floating bag in front of them.
They stared at the bag, then back at him, expressionless.
"Go on. Open it. I guarantee you'll be surprised," he said, and 187 hesitantly stepped forward to inspect the bag's contents.
"A-Ahh!!" she cried out, recoiling in horror. Her emotionless mask shattered as she fell backward in shock. The other women gasped, their expressions breaking for the first time as they gazed upon the dismembered remains of Regulus.
"I-Impossible… Husband-sama?" one woman whispered in disbelief.
"It must be a fake," another said quickly, trying to regain composure.
"It isn't, ladies," Subaru said confidently. "That man is indeed Regulus Corneas. And he was defeated—by yours truly."
They stared at him, unable to comprehend that Regulus could actually lose.
"How about you gather the rest of the women in the castle?" he asked calmly.
'Could it be… Is that really his corpse?' 187 thought. She stared at the remains, the reality dawning on her.
"Very well. I shall gather them," she said, much to the shock of the others.
'If that really is him… then we might finally be free. And if not? Well, death wouldn't be worse than this hell we live in,' she thought grimly.
Before long, all of Regulus' wives had assembled in the castle's grand hall.
"Is it true? That body… is that our husband?" asked Number 184—her name was Sylphy.
"Yes," Subaru replied. "He's still technically alive, though—just in a coma."
Several women shrieked at the revelation.
"Will he kill us when he wakes?"
"We disobeyed his will, didn't we?"
"Then I guess I will die…"
They began muttering disturbing things.
"Ladies! Chill out! Why are you all assuming you're going to die?!" Subaru shouted, snapping them out of their spiraling thoughts.
"Listen carefully. I'm here to kill him for good. Regulus' Authority—the Authority of Greed—grants him invincibility for five seconds. However, he extended that time by sharing his heart with his wives," Subaru explained, shocking them all.
"Wait… So he was invincible… because of us?" Sylphy asked, lips trembling.
He nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes."
"That bastard was able to slaughter our families… because of us?!" she whispered, her voice cracking. Her life—everything—had become a twisted, cruel joke.
"You're not to blame. His Authority worked based on who he perceived as his wives. It had nothing to do with your own desires," Subaru said, bringing a small degree of relief to them.
"Currently…" he paused, pointing toward a woman. "She's the one carrying his heart."
Number 211's eyes widened in horror. "I-I'm carrying his heart?!"
All the women turned toward her in unison.
"If I die… then he dies as well!" she exclaimed, a manic smile forming on her face as she rushed toward a nearby knife.
Subaru intercepted her swiftly.
"Sigh… It's not your fault. Killing yourself won't solve anything—the heart would just transfer to someone else, Stand here I will fix it" he said firmly.
He used Telekinesis to gently lift her into the air, forming a cross-like pose.
Concentrating deeply, he released his psychic energy and merged it with aura, forming a detailed 3D map of her inner structure in his mind.
Then, using Invisible Providence, one spectral hand phased directly into her chest—crushing the second heart beating beside hers.
Splurt.
Regulus' corpse suddenly spewed blood, and the dim light in his eyes flickered out.
"H-Husband-sama… is dead?" one woman whispered, staring in disbelief.
At that moment, the Greed factor latched onto Subaru. He felt it—something new embedding itself alongside Sloth within him.
A new Authority began to form, rooted in the desires within the orange section of his soul.
'Using psychic energy and aura allows me to perceive souls… even my own,' Subaru thought, watching a dark, star-like fragment attach to his soul's orange aspect.
Sloth was attached to the pure white section—the part that was uniquely 'Subaru,' which seemed to be the reason why only he could use that Authority.
Finishing his soul observation, Subaru gently brought the still-floating woman back down.
"There it is—" he began, only to stop mid-sentence as he saw a woman kicking Regulus' corpse.
Another soon joined her, stomping repeatedly on one of the severed limbs.
"Die! Die! Die! DIE!" she screamed with hysterical laughter.
'Did she just go full psycho?' Subaru shuddered.
More women joined in—some spitting on the body, others smeared in blood, laughing through their pain.
Sylphy, especially—she was the most unhinged. She bit into a chunk of Regulus' flesh and spat it out.
"You fucker! How dare you kill my family! You deserve worse than this, scum!" she shouted.
"Zero, this is… revolting. He must have treated them like disposable pawns for them to become like this, I suppose," Beatrice said, her voice filled with disgust.
"Ah, Betty, should I let you out?" he asked, unsure, watching more women desecrate Regulus' remains.
"I'll stay inside, I suppose," she replied flatly. 'Not to mention… it's comfy here,' she thought, contentedly curling deeper into his soul.
He stayed quiet, waiting for the women to calm down. What began as hysterical rage soon gave way to something else—grief.
One woman suddenly broke down into tears. Then another. Soon, the room echoed with the sobs of dozens of women, crying like children.
'Previously they were acting like revenge maniacs… and now they are crying? Subaru didn't understand the complex emotions flowing through them.
However seeing them breaking down, made his heart clutch.
He walked over to the loudest girl—Sylphy—and gently wrapped his arms around her. She froze.
"There, there… He's gone now. He'll never hurt you again. Ever," he said softly, loudly enough for all of them to hear.
He gently patted her back, and she clung to his clothes, drenching them with her tears. Her cries slowly faded into quiet sobs.
As he tried to move, she held on tighter, her trembling hands refusing to let go, her face full of desperate reluctance.
He sighed, then stepped over to another crying woman, gently hugging her as well and patting her back.
"You're all safe now. I've killed him for good. So stop crying… and instead, let's laugh. Let's shout it together—Victory!"
"…"
Silence.
'Okay… I'm officially terrible at comforting women,' he thought, embarrassed.
Then—someone giggled. Another chuckled. Soon, laughter began to bubble up throughout the hall.
Dozens of women laughed, not mockingly, but freely—for the first time in who knows how long.
"You're horrible at comforting women," one of them said through her laughter.
'Ouch! Right in the heart…' he thought, an imaginary arrow piercing his soul.
To be continued…
(A/N: The proofreader hasn't contracted me yesterday so I had to edit with Ai, don't worry I proofreaded after editing the chap so there are no differences between this and the og chapter.
Amon said he was having a stomach ache, I just hope he is fine.
Let's see if he returns by tmrw.
Anyway, let's not disappoint him! And keep the powerstones rolling!)
4o