Subaru was one second away from completely losing it.
Her insides were twisting, screaming, thrashing. Every inch of her body told her to run. Not in the cool, calculated, villainous way. No. Actually, literally run.
She wanted to tell Reinhard she wasn't evil. She wanted to tell him this was all a huge misunderstanding. That she didn't want to be here, that she had no interest in devouring anyone, least of all some random girl she had never even met.
But then he had to go and say it.
"I will end you. Right here. Right now."
And just like that, Subaru had ran her mouth too much and that was definitely a mistake.
Because holy hell, he was serious.
Reinhard van Astrea, the Sword Saint, the man whose very existence was an unfair cheat code to the world, had just declared his intent to murder her in the calmest, most absolute voice she had ever heard.
Pandora had warned her about him.
"He's stronger than you, but he can't defeat you. And you can't defeat him either. Eternal stalemate, how poetic."
But Subaru wasn't poetic.
And she definitely wasn't in the mood to test that theory.
Avoid him. That was the plan. Avoid him, get to Emilia, and—
Oh, right.
She wasn't actually going to eat her.
God, what was she doing?
She didn't have time to think.
The moment they reached the walls, all hell broke loose.
Regulus shot forward first, launching himself into the air with that unnatural, eerie grace of his, like a damn rocket made of smugness and narcissism. His foot collided with a knight's shield and sent the poor bastard flying into a wall like he'd been hit by a catapult.
Capella was next—splitting into thousands of black, chittering mice, scurrying through the gaps in armor, slipping into the cracks between shields, swarming the soldiers before they could react.
Then came the Gluttony brothers, leaping forward with sharp, gleeful grins, tearing into the nearest knights with movements too fast, too brutal to be human.
Sirius and Betelgeuse remained by her side, Sirius swaying like an unhinged marionette, Betelgeuse twitching, his hands moving in erratic, jerky motions.
The attack had begun.
And Subaru was completely useless.
She stood there, watching, stomach churning, bile rising in her throat.
People were dying.
Already.
Knights screaming, swords clashing, blood staining the ground.
She couldn't stop it.
If she played the villain, she was doomed.
If she ran away, she was doomed.
Well.
Might as well play the role well.
She raised her hand.
The ground shook.
The battlefield stilled for half a second—just long enough for the first dark, gnarled roots to burst from the earth.
They snaked through the bloodstained soil, twisting around knights, wrapping around their arms, their legs—lifting them high, pulling them away, out of reach of the cultists' blades.
The knights struggled, kicking and thrashing.
And Subaru prayed to every god that didn't exist that no one would question this too much.
It looked evil. That was the important part.
The ground cracked, split apart, more roots rising, forming a massive, jagged cage around the knights, keeping them trapped but alive.
And then, in the deepest, most ominous voice she could manage, she spoke.
"Do not touch them."
A shiver rippled through the battlefield.
The cultists hesitated, exchanging confused glances.
Sirius giggled. "Ohhh, how wicked! A prison of despair before the slaughter! You are truly—"
"Did I stutter?" Subaru cut in, sharp, cold.
Silence.
Sirius tilted her head, blinking.
Then, she grinned, wide and unhinged. "Ahhh, of course! Of course! How cruel of me to misunderstand! You want them to suffer first, don't you? Before we paint this land red!"
…
Sure.
Let's go with that.
Subaru clenched her fists, keeping her expression neutral, her posture strong.
The cultists backed away from the trapped knights, still clearly eager to kill something, but willing to obey—for now.
Her stomach twisted.
She couldn't keep this up forever.
She had to figure something out, fast.
And all the while—
Reinhard still hadn't moved.
He stood there, watching her, his sword still sheathed.
Waiting.
For what?
For her to make a move?
For her to prove she was a monster?
For the perfect moment to cut her down?
Her throat was dry.
Her hands were shaking.
She curled her fingers, clenching them tight, feeling the magic crackle around them, feeling the weight of her power pressing against her ribs.
There was still a chance.
A way out.
She just had to find it before it was too late.
The arrows fell like rain.
Subaru barely had time to react before they were upon her, a blackened storm blotting out the already darkened sky, metal tips gleaming with deadly intent. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
And then—
They vanished.
Erased.
Just gone.
Not deflected. Not dodged. Not blocked.
One second, they existed.
The next, they didn't.
Subaru blinked.
Oh.
Oh.
She was ridiculously OP.
Then came the cannons.
Loud, thunderous booms echoed across the battlefield as the artillery was fired, great iron balls hurtling toward her at devastating speeds—projectiles that should have crushed anything in their path, reduced bodies to pulp, shattered bones upon impact.
Erased.
They disappeared before they could even get close.
The boulders were next, flung by siege weapons, by magic, by men too desperate to rely on mere steel.
Erased.
One moment they were there, the next they simply weren't.
It was instant. Effortless.
Like they had never existed at all.
The battlefield fell silent.
Knights, soldiers, mages—all of them stared in stunned, horrified awe.
Some took hesitant steps backward.
Some clutched their weapons tighter.
Some whispered—prayers, curses, cries of disbelief.
And Subaru just… stood there.
Processing.
Realizing.
Understanding.
She wasn't just playing the villain.
She wasn't just acting powerful.
She was.
She was the Final Boss.
And if she wanted to?
No one here would survive.