I had accidentally posted both chapter 20 and 21 together in one post. TwT....

So I separated them...

Greedy Man

The crowd—

The raging, rabid, murderous mob—

Went silent.

Their glowing red eyes dulled.

Their expressions slackened.

And then—

Like a damn miracle—

They all tilted their heads.

Mesmerized.

Absolutely enchanted.

Some of them even swayed gently to the rhythm.

One guy in the back sniffled, wiping his eyes.

"That was beautiful," someone whispered.

Subaru, still standing on the fountain, was panting heavily.

Her lungs burned.

Her soul burned.

But most importantly—

The mob was not attacking anymore.

She let out a long, exhausted sigh—

And then—

A furious scream pierced through the silence.

Sirius—

Absolutely raging.

Her bandaged body trembled violently atop the tower.

Her eyes—blazing wild with anger.

Her mouth twisted into a snarl.

"YOU. ABSOLUTE. HERETIC!"

Subaru sighed.

"Of course you’re mad about this," she muttered.

And of course Sirius lunged at Subaru.

Because obviously, a woman screaming about the love of the Witch of Wrath couldn’t possibly handle a lighthearted performance about not stabbing people.

Golden chains shot from her sleeves, the ends adorned with gleaming fish hooks, whistling through the air as they tore toward Subaru.

Subaru barely had time to dodge, leaping from the fountain in a desperate roll, feeling the rush of metal slicing just millimeters from her neck.

She popped up to her feet, scowling.

This was annoying.

No—

This was bullshit.

This was almost as annoying as Wilhelm trying to flirt with her, which was saying a lot.

And at this rate, she was seriously considering just drawing Excalibur from her shadow inventory and ending this before Sirius could start one of her incoherent cultist rants.

She turned to Reinhard, already throwing out her hand.

"Oi, Hero-man! Go handle her!"

Reinhard—

Her so-called grandson—

The Almighty Sword Saint—

Tilted his head.

Sirius snorted.

"A fight between women," she sneered. "You better not interrupt!"

Subaru blinked.

Reinhard nodded.

He then casually adjusted his grip on the child in his arms, settling in like a father taking his kid to the zoo to watch two chimpanzees go at it.

Traitor!

"EXCUSE ME?" Subaru barked, but she didn’t get a chance to argue because—

The chains came again.

Subaru backflipped, barely evading the whip-like strikes as they tore into the cobblestone, shattering the ground where she had just stood.

Sirius giggled.

Oh.

Oh, that was fucking it.

Subaru landed, gritting her teeth.

"Alright," she muttered. "Fine. You wanna play it that way? Let’s fucking go."

She cracked her knuckles.

And charged.

Sirius’s grin widened as she flung her chains again, but Subaru—

Ducked.

She slid beneath them, twisting at the last second, and—

Grabbed one.

Sirius’s eyes widened in shock as Subaru yanked, using the force of her slide to whip the chain right back at its owner.

It slammed into Sirius’s side, sending her skidding backward across the rooftop.

Subaru stood up, dusting herself off.

"Well?" she drawled. "You started this, Fishhook-chan. Is that all you’ve got?"

Sirius screamed.

Her chains whipped around wildly, thrashing in all directions as she launched herself at Subaru, her movements erratic and furious.

Subaru braced herself.

This was going to be one long-ass fight.

The moment Subaru drew Excalibur, the entire atmosphere shifted.

The onlookers—many of whom had been recovering from their hypnosis—gasped in awe. The golden blade gleamed in the sunlight, its mere presence exuding an overwhelming authority. Even the cobblestones beneath Subaru’s feet seemed to quiver beneath its weight.

And Sirius?

Sirius stopped.

Her chains froze mid-air, her body going rigid as her wide, crazed eyes zeroed in on the sword. Her lip twitched.

Then—

She laughed.

She cackled, throwing her head back like she had just heard the world’s funniest joke.

"Haaaah?!" she screeched. "That sword?!"

Her laughter abruptly cut off.

"You—" she hissed, her expression darkening. "I knew there was something off about you, but now it makes sense! You—" she pointed a shaking finger at Subaru, "—you're the one who took my beloved Petelgeuse away, aren’t you?!"

Subaru blinked.

"Wait, what?"

Sirius’s breath hitched.

"You defeated him, didn’t you?!" she shrieked. "You stole him! You imprisoned him! You—you wanted him for yourself!"

…

Subaru’s entire soul left her body.

"Ew."

Sirius twitched.

"Ew?!"

"EW," Subaru repeated, deeply offended. "Why the fuck would I want Petelgeuse?! Genuine question. Like, I need you to answer this because I cannot fathom the levels of mental gymnastics you just performed to reach that conclusion."

Sirius growled, her chains rattling again.

"BECAUSE HE’S PERFECT!"

"Perfectly fucking insane, maybe—"

"You don’t understand," Sirius hissed, her fingers digging into her scalp. "His devotion, his love—"

"His body count," Subaru added. "His fingernail collection."

Sirius’s breath hitched, and for a second, Subaru swore she saw actual tears glistening in her eyes.

"You just don’t get it..."

Subaru rubbed her temples.

"I don’t damn want to get it," she muttered. "Can we please just fight so I can knock your ass out and go home?"

That seemed to snap Sirius back into focus.

"Fine."

Her chains whipped through the air, slamming against the cobblestones with an ear-splitting crack.

Subaru grinned.

And held Excalibur firmly in both hands.

Oh yeah.

This was going to be fun.

For someone called the Sin Archbishop of Wrath, Sirius fought like she was in the middle of a tantrum.

Her movements were frantic, wild, unpredictable—but not calculated. She flung her chains without aiming, striking anything and everything around her. Windows shattered, walls cracked, the ground splintered beneath her fury.

And Subaru?

Subaru danced through it.

She dodged every strike with just enough room to spare, weaving through the onslaught like she was in the middle of an intense game of Whack-A-Mole.

"Hold still!" Sirius screeched, her voice raw with frustration.

"Make me!" Subaru shot back, flipping over another incoming chain.

She could hear the crowd whispering now—murmuring in awe, watching as she fought against a Sin Archbishop with nothing but grace and a cocky grin.

She wasn’t even using Excalibur offensively.

Because let’s be real—

This was kinda entertaining.

And Subaru was holding back. Greatly.

Mostly because if she didn’t, there would be nothing left of Sirius but regret and a fine layer of ash.

Still—

She wasn’t above making this a little humiliating.

After all—

Sirius seriously pissed her off.

So when the Archbishop lunged at her again—her chains arcing toward Subaru’s legs—Subaru did something bold.

She planted one foot down—

And stomped on the incoming chain.

Sirius gasped, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief.

Then—

Subaru smirked.

And with a single swing of Excalibur—

She sliced the entire chain in half.

Sirius screamed.

"You—YOU—!"

"Me!" Subaru chirped, kicking the broken chain away.

Sirius flailed, now missing half her weapon, and Subaru could see her unraveling.

"How?! How are you doing this?!"

"Skill." Subaru spun Excalibur in her hand, casually resting it on her shoulder. "And, y’know. Not being fucking insane."

Sirius howled, and Subaru had to bite back a laugh.

This is fun.

"Reinhard!" she called, not taking her eyes off Sirius.

The Sword Saint, who had been standing there the entire time with his arms full of traumatized child, hummed.

"Yes, Grandmother?"

"I hate you."

"Understood, Grandmother."

Subaru sighed.

Then—

She leaped forward.

And aimed the hilt of Excalibur right at Sirius’s gut.

Subaru's grip on Excalibur tightened as she lunged—ready to end this damn fight with one well-placed smack to Sirius’s gut.

She could already picture it: Sirius flying through the air, bouncing off cobblestones like a particularly ugly rubber ball, maybe screaming something about Petelgeuse as she crashed through a fruit stand—

It would’ve been glorious.

Except.

Something stopped the legendary sword.

Subaru felt the impact before she saw what caused it, her entire arm jolting like she had just slammed into an invisible wall. Excalibur—the legendary blade, the indisputable peak of weaponry—had been halted mid-swing.

By what?

A pale hand.

Subaru’s breath hitched as she finally took in the man standing in front of her.

Tall. Eerily pristine. Dressed in a crisp, white wedding suit, as if he had just walked out of a funeral-themed wedding ceremony. His face? As expressionless as a mannequin. He had the aura of someone who would genuinely argue about taxes while committing arson.

And the worst part?

Subaru knew him.

She had met him before.

The very first time she arrived in this world—when she had nothing but her wits and a ridiculous amount of stubbornness—this man had been there.

And now?

Now, he was stopping her sword like it was an annoying fly buzzing near his head.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Sirius, who had been ready to start screeching again, had completely frozen. Her wide, bloodshot eyes fixated on the man in the suit like he had just insulted Petelgeuse’s entire existence.

And then, he spoke.

"She is mine."

The words were spoken so plainly, so matter-of-fact, that Subaru almost didn’t process them at first.

But when she did—

"EXCUSE ME?"

"Go away, insane woman," the man continued, addressing Sirius like one would a particularly persistent mosquito. "I have no interest in your childish outbursts. You are simply an eyesore."

Subaru had never seen someone deflate as fast as Sirius did in that moment.

The chains she had been frantically swinging around moments ago went completely slack.

Her mouth opened.

Then closed.

Then opened again.

"Wha—"

"I said, leave," the man cut her off, his voice still utterly devoid of emotion. "This woman is my wife. She is mine. Therefore, you are irrelevant."

Subaru’s soul left her body.

"WIFE?!"

"What?" Sirius finally managed to choke out, her entire existence visibly short-circuiting.

"My wife," the man repeated, nodding to himself like this was a completely normal conversation. "My property. My belonging. My everything. You are nothing. She is mine."

"Bitch, I don’t even know you!" Subaru yelled, wildly gesturing at him.

The man blinked.

"Incorrect."

Subaru gawked.

"No, it’s correct!"

"No."

"YES."

"No."

"FUCKING YES—"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"Regulus Corneas," the man finally introduced himself, his expression not changing once. "Sin Archbishop of Greed."

Oh.

…

Subaru sucked in a deep breath.

Then exhaled.

Then, calmly—

"ANYWAYS, DIE, FREAKS!"

She swung Excalibur—again.

Nothing.

Not a scratch.

Not even a dent on his suit. It was like her legendary, divine sword had grazed an untouchable object—like Regulus wasn’t even physically there.

The realization barely had time to sink in before—

Suddenly.

He was behind her.

"—Huh?!"

A sharp yank at her nape.

Then—

Everything went dark.