Subaru kept walking.
She went through streets, alleys, marketplaces—wherever there were people.
And every time, it was the same reaction.
Screaming. Running. Doors slamming. Windows shutting.
She walked through a bustling town square, and within seconds, it turned into a ghost town.
Merchants abandoned their stalls, dropping goods as they fled.
People trampled over one another to get away.
Mothers scooped up their children and ran like she was the plague itself.
Even the guards—actual trained fighters—took one look at her and decided, nope, not worth dying today, before turning and bolting.
It was frustrating.
Annoying.
She hadn't done anything. She wasn't attacking anyone. She wasn't burning down villages or unleashing a horde of monsters.
She just existed, and that was enough to make people flee in terror.
Still, she kept going.
Because why not?
And eventually—
She met some fun kids.
Because kids? Kids were stupid.
They weren't informed enough about Satella to run away screaming.
To them, she was just a weird lady with cool magic.
One group of children spotted her from a distance, watching curiously as she walked past.
They didn't run.
They didn't cry or scream.
One of them—a girl with messy brown hair and a ripped dress—tilted her head.
"Hey, why does the sky look all funny around you?"
Subaru blinked.
A boy with missing front teeth squinted. "Whoa, the grass turned all black!"
Another kid poked a stick into the withered dirt at her feet.
"Cool! Are you a wizard?"
Subaru crossed her arms. "I'm a Witch."
The kids all oohed in fascination.
"A real Witch?!"
"That's so cool!"
"Can you turn people into frogs?"
"Do you eat children?"
Subaru frowned. "No. Well, maybe. I mean I can but I'd rather not."
The smallest of the group, a toddler barely old enough to speak, waddled up and poked her dress.
The other kids gasped.
Subaru looked down at him. "Yes?"
The toddler grinned. "Soft!"
The other kids immediately ran over to poke her dress too.
She just stood there, arms crossed, staring down at these weird, fearless children.
Finally, she sighed.
"You kids are idiots."
They beamed.
Subaru sighed as the kids poked at her dress, wide-eyed and completely oblivious to the fact that every adult within a five-mile radius would have been pissing themselves in terror by now.
"Makes me want to chew you."
They beamed.
One of them—a scrappy-looking girl with torn sleeves—grinned up at her. "Are you a nice Witch or an evil Witch?"
Subaru paused.
Good question.
She honestly didn't know.
She had eaten thousands of rabbits. She had wiped out an entire forest. She was leading a literal death cult.
But at the same time, she was also standing here, letting a bunch of snot-nosed brats poke her dress instead of disintegrating them on instinct.
So, you know. Mixed results.
"I don't know," she finally said. "What do you think?"
The kids huddled together, murmuring amongst themselves.
She overheard bits and pieces.
"She didn't eat us."
"Her dress is soft."
"But the ground dies when she walks."
"Yeah, but the sky looks cool."
"She made a magic ball for Timmy, remember?"
"Oh yeah! That was sick!"
Finally, they turned back to her.
The scrappy girl put her hands on her hips. "You're a cool Witch."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "That's not an answer to the question."
The gap-toothed boy grinned. "Yeah, but it's true!"
The others nodded in agreement.
"Super cool!"
"You even smell cool!"
Subaru blinked. "…I smell cool?"
A small boy with wild curls sniffed the air. "Yeah! Like… dark stuff!"
Subaru was pretty sure that was just the smell of "general existential dread" mixed with whatever weird death aura she constantly radiated but… okay.
Then, one of them—a chubby-cheeked girl holding a bruised apple—stepped forward.
She held it up to Subaru.
"Here! A gift!"
Subaru stared at the apple in her outstretched hands.
She didn't move.
Didn't reach for it.
Didn't touch it.
Because she already knew what would happen.
The girl frowned. "You don't like apples?"
Subaru exhaled slowly. "It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
Subaru looked down at them.
At these weird little gremlins who weren't scared of her, who weren't running, screaming, or throwing holy water at her feet.
And for some reason, she felt like she owed them the truth.
Even if they didn't understand it.
"Plants die around me," she said simply.
The kids blinked.
They looked at each other.
Then back at her.
The curly-haired boy nodded sagely. "That sucks."
Subaru's lips twitched.
"Yeah. It does."
The girl holding the apple lowered it slightly, processing. "So… you can't eat fruit?"
"No."
"Or veggies?"
"No."
The gap-toothed boy looked horrified. "Wait. You don't eat carrots?"
Subaru gave him a flat stare. "I think I'll survive."
The scrappy girl tapped her chin. "Then what do you eat?"
Subaru hesitated.
She couldn't exactly say, "Oh, I consume existence itself. It's kind of a hobby."
"…Stuff."
They ooh'd like that was some deep, mysterious answer.
Then, the curly-haired boy suddenly perked up.
"Wait! I have an idea!"
He grabbed something from his pocket and held it out.
A single wrapped piece of candy.
"This isn't a plant!" he said proudly. "It's candy! You can eat candy, right?!"
Subaru stared at the tiny piece of wrapped sugar.
She hadn't tried eating candy yet.
Didn't know if it would rot in her hands like everything else.
And for the first time in a long time—
She kind of wanted to try.
She reached out—
But before she could even touch it—
"TOMMY! GET AWAY FROM HER!"
A sharp, panicked voice cut through the moment.
Subaru sighed internally.
The boy's mother had arrived.
And unlike her son, she knew exactly who Subaru was.
The woman yanked her son back, clutching him tight, her eyes wild with fear.
"Don't touch her! Don't speak to her!"
Subaru let her hand drop.
Here we go again.
Other adults had noticed by now, creeping out of their homes, watching with pure horror.
The children's faces fell as their parents dragged them away, whispering warnings, clutching them protectively.
And just like that—
The moment was over.
Subaru turned.
And walked away.
Because there was nothing else she could do.
Ē~Ē
Subaru stood on the edge of a cliff, the wind whipping around her, her violet eyes scanning the kingdom below.
She could see everything.
Not just the cities, the streets, the castles—but the people.
The unrest.
The sheer, overwhelming tension hanging over the land like a storm about to break.
Because Satella was back.
She could see it in their faces.
The knights, preparing for a battle they knew they couldn't win.
The civilians, hoarding rations, locking their doors, bracing for the worst.
The nobles, the slum dwellers, the merchants, the rich, the brave, the cowards—every single soul in this kingdom was living in fear.
Of her.
Subaru's gaze drifted.
And then she saw him.
A red-haired, blue-eyed knight, standing in brilliant white armor, a massive sword strapped to his waist.
Even from this distance, he radiated protagonist energy.
Like the kind of guy who'd be on a fantasy game cover, striking a pose with his sword, ready to save the world.
Was he the hero?
Before she could even finish that thought—
He stopped.
Paused mid-motion.
Then, slowly, deliberately—he turned.
And looked directly at her.
From hundreds of miles away.
Subaru stiffened.
Oh, shit.
He could see her.
This guy—this hero-looking dude—was staring at her with absolute certainty.
Like he knew exactly who she was.
Like he knew exactly where she stood.
Act cool. Act cool.
Don't show nervousness.
Slowly, calmly, ominously, Subaru tilted her head to the side—
Like a creepy final boss.
The knight narrowed his eyes.
Then, his lips moved.
Even though there was no way she should have been able to hear him, his words rang in her head.
"If you step a foot in Lugunica, I shall end you."
Subaru blinked.
Damn.
That was… intense.
But also—
"Am I already not in Lugunica?"
She spoke without thinking, her voice carrying effortlessly across the impossible distance.
Because wasn't she?
The cult had been talking about Lugunica this, Lugunica that, for days now.
She was pretty sure this was the kingdom they were in.
The knight—definitely Reinhard, the one Pandora had warned about—looked momentarily thrown off.
A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
Then, after a brief pause, he cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and corrected himself.
"If you harm a soul, I shall end you."
Subaru decided to talk cool. "I ended four centuries ago. There is nothing left in me. There is nothing inside my heart, if you look close, you will see the abyss. Through pain and suffering men understands the value of peace. Those who do not know pain shall never understand true peace. I shall never forget what happened to Doraemon,"
"...Who is Doraemon?"
Her expression turned grim. "Someone who was there for me in my childhood yet was taken away by fate,"
"Is this why you are doing this? Is this why you are so evil?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
Subaru had to look cool. Act badass. "In the hands of an incompetent, power brings nothing but ruin. No one has ever stood atop the heavens before. Not you... or I... or even the fake gods. But the unbearable vacancy of heaven's throne ends now. From now on, I will stand at the top of all creations."
"Such arrogance," he said with a scowl. "You are a fool to think you'd win."
"Nah, I'd win." She said smoothly. "Fear is necessary for evolution. The fear that one could be destroyed at any moment."
"Madness," he sneered. "Why harm the weak?"
"Then I shall crush that madness and create a fair world, where the concept of inequality will be completely forgotten for all time. As for why kill the weak? These humans are complete idiots. Now, I want you to think as hard as those puny brains of yours can manage. Have you ever spared a pig or a cow? Weakness disgusts me. It's truly a disease. The only logical conclusion is that a life not worth saving is a life that can be extinguished."
He blinked, then clenched his fists. "Whatever you are scheming, it won't work. I shall make it impossible for you to win. Justice always prevails,"
"Scheming? It won't work" Subaru raised a hand, summoning black orbs of mist, letting them coil and swirl around her fingers. "Darling, you have no idea what is possible. You speak of justice, but what is justice to a truly liberated soul? All creatures want to believe in something bigger than themselves. They cannot live without blind obedience. And to escape the pressure of that trust, those in whom faith is placed in turn look for someone higher than themselves. And then those people in turn look for someone even stronger. That is how all Kings are born. That is how all those fake gods are born. There is one true God and I shall punish them all for defying him."
She had no idea what she was doing.
But damn it, she had to look powerful. "Funny, isn't it? How far we are in these human measurements? Distance only has meaning in a fight between equals. With you and I, distance holds no meaning at all."
She sure looked like a real villain.
She smirked slightly, tilting her hand just so, letting the mist flare outward.
"We'll see."
And with that, she mist-stepped away.
Vanished into the darkness.
Gone.
Yes. Nailed it.
She was bound to be doomed.
She knew that.
But if she was going to be the Final Boss of this story—
Then she was going to be the coolest, nicest villain ever.
TBC
You can find more Re:Zero fics on my .