Chapter 35- The Witch of Gluttony

Gluttony's eyes snapped open. She was back inside the apartment bathroom.

But...

The girl who opened her eyes...

Was no longer Saki.

There was no trace of hesitation. No trace of guilt. No trace of sadness. Only hunger. Her bright yellow eyes stared blankly ahead, her pupils unnaturally round. The black-and-yellow living uniform completely covered her body. She looked like a young girl with long, messy blonde hair tied into a high ponytail, enormous glowing yellow. She wore a cropped black sailor-style uniform with golden-yellow trim and a large yellow ribbon tied at the front, along with a black pleated skirt, yellow gloves, and oversized white high-top platform shoes with yellow detailing.

As she slowly stood up, a grin spread across her face.

Wider...

Wider...

Wider...

Until it revealed rows of enormous, inhuman triangular teeth resembling those of a shark. It was an unnaturally wide grin that expressed her bottomless hunger.

"...Grrrr..."

A low, hungry growl escaped her throat. Her glowing yellow eyes searched the room, as though instinctively looking for something.

Something...to eat.

Beside her, Sloth watched nervously in silence. Her tired, nervous eyes remained fixed on the transformed girl.

"...H-Hi..."

"...Gluttony."

Sloth greeted her as she swallowed nervously.

Gluttony slowly turned her head toward her. Sloth became extremely frightened as Gluttony stared at her with her head tilted to the side, her wide, feral grin never disappearing. Then Gluttony muttered the only word occupying her mind.

"...Eat..."

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Outside Saki's apartment building, an uneasy silence hung over the battlefield. Military vehicles surrounded every entrance, while floodlights illuminated the building despite the daylight. Hundreds of soldiers stood with their rifles raised, but no one had heard from the teams inside for several minutes.

The commander lowered his radio.

"...Still no response."

His expression hardened.

"Everyone."

"Prepare your weapons."

The soldiers tightened their grips. The commander had every exit covered, and their priority was to keep the Yellow Braver safe. However, he couldn't recklessly send his men inside without knowing what was happening.

Then...

Movement.

The main entrance doors of the building slowly creaked open, and a figure stepped out from the darkness. It was a small, fragile-looking girl with short, bob-cut green hair. She wore an oversized black sweater with long sleeves and a green ribbon at the collar. Her mismatched eyes—one emerald green and the other glowing yellow with a strange star-shaped pupil—looked timidly toward the soldiers.

Sloth.

She looked around nervously before quietly muttering,

"...There are..."

"...a lot of..."

"...people..."

"...outside..."

The general and the soldiers' blood ran cold. They immediately recognized her from the information they had been given. There was no doubt.

This was the Witch identified as Sloth, the same Witch who had appeared at Starlight Stadium.

"Enemy contact!"

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"Prepare to shoot!"

Every soldier raised their rifle, hundreds of fingers resting against their triggers. The commander was about to give the order to fire, but his eyes suddenly caught another shadow behind Sloth.

Walking a few steps behind her...

Another figure emerged.

Slow.

Unsteady.

Her arms dangled loosely at her sides, almost as if she were walking like a mindless zombie. It was the figure of a girl wearing a cropped black sailor-style uniform with yellow trim and a large yellow ribbon tied at the front.

The sunlight revealed her face. Gigantic, round yellow eyes stared blankly ahead, empty of any trace of reason. A disturbingly wide grin stretched across her face, revealing rows of enormous triangular teeth, while drool slowly dripped onto the pavement below.

The soldiers instinctively froze.

"…"

For a brief moment, the commander thought he recognized something about her: the blonde ponytail, the familiar build.

"...Yellow Braver...?"

He immediately shook his head.

Impossible.

That creature, with that frightening smile and feral expression, couldn't possibly be the Yellow Braver.

Besides, he had his orders. Any unidentified hostile was to be eliminated immediately.

The commander's hand fell, and he gave the order to fire.

"Fire!"

Hundreds of rifles erupted simultaneously.

RATATATATATATATAT!!

Bullets flooded the street. Before they could reach the two Witches, six enormous wooden puppet hands materialized from the ground and formed a wall, causing thousands of bullets to bury themselves harmlessly into the wood.

Sloth looked genuinely saddened, almost ready to cry.

"...That's..."

"...very rude..."

The soldiers stared in disbelief.

Then Gluttony stepped forward, her head slowly tilting to the side as her glowing yellow eyes fixed upon the soldiers. Drool continued dripping from her enormous grin, and a low growl escaped her throat.

"...E..."

"...EAAAAT..."

Black tendrils suddenly erupted from beneath her uniform. Dozens, then hundreds, spread across the battlefield like a living tide.

The commander shouted desperately.

"Keep firing!"

The gunfire intensified, but the bullets vanished beneath the sea of black approaching them. Within seconds, the black tendrils wrapped around every nearby soldier and lifted them helplessly into the air.

"AAAAAHHH!!"

"Help!"

"Get these things off me!"

Gluttony never moved.

She simply watched.

Then the screams changed as the soldiers' bodies began transforming.

"MY... My body..."

"Someone... he... help..."

Their armor softened, their weapons disappeared, and their skin changed color. One after another, human beings became giant gummy bears of different colors: red, yellow, green, blue, pink, and orange.

Hundreds of oversized gummy bears floated helplessly within the black tendrils.

Silence fell.

Gluttony slowly opened her mouth.

It stretched impossibly wide, far beyond what should have been possible, revealing a monstrous, cartoonish maw lined entirely with enormous triangular teeth.

The gummy bears suddenly flew toward her, as though pulled by an invisible vacuum.

WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Gluttony's mouth sucked in the human-sized gummy bears like a tornado pulling everything into its center. Within moments, every gummy bear disappeared into her mouth, causing her cheeks to puff outward.

MUNCH!

MUNCH!

MUNCH!

After several horrible sounds of chewing, she slowly swallowed.

Gulp.

Her mouth returned to its normal size, but the same unsettling grin remained.

"...Eaaatt..."

Sloth quietly approached and looked at Gluttony nervously.

"...I-I'm glad..."

"...you're not..."

"...in pain..."

"...anymore..."

"...Gluttony..."

Sloth said, a faint, nervous smile appearing on her face. She was genuinely glad that her old friend had finally accepted despair and found peace within it.

Lick.

Lick.

Lick.

Gluttony, on the other hand, remained completely vacant. She slowly licked her cheeks, savoring the last traces of the human gummy bears that remained around her mouth.

"...It's..."

"...time to..."

"...leave..."

"...Greed..."

"...must be..."

"...waiting..."

Sloth muttered as she gently grabbed Gluttony's hand and began walking ahead, guiding her away from the battlefield.

"...Eaaat..."

Gluttony muttered as she followed Sloth down the empty street. Her free arm dangled loosely at her side, while her vacant eyes stared endlessly ahead. She simply allowed herself to be guided by Sloth's small hand following her trembling steps.

After walking several meters, Sloth sighed quietly.

"...I hope..."

"...Greed doesn't..."

"...give me..."

"...more work..."

The two Witches disappeared into the distance, leaving behind only abandoned military vehicles and an empty battlefield.

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Meanwhile, inside the ruined shopping mall, the two Bravers, Endou and Yuki, confronted Wrath.

Yuki stared at Wrath in horror.

"...What... What did you do to Saki?!"

Wrath laughed quietly, still holding the unconscious Greed carefully in her arms.

"...Why ask... when you already know the answer?"

Her smile widened, and Yuki's hands trembled.

"...Saki..."

Yuki muttered as her expression became pale beneath her visor.

Endou clenched his teeth in frustration. All this... had been a distraction. From the beginning, their main objective had been Saki. The stronghold at the mall had only been a trap to separate them from her.

"...Sakura, this madness... ends now."

Endou muttered with a determined expression.

Without wasting another second, Endou and Yuki lunged forward together. No matter what, they had to stop her and capture them.

Wrath calmly raised one hand, and a storm of black cherry blossoms exploded toward them. Endou immediately summoned a wall of flowing water, and the shield intercepted the petals while Yuki reinforced it with freezing winds. Ice spread across the torrent, causing the dark blossoms to freeze instantly. One by one, they fell harmlessly onto the shattered floor.

When the frozen petals finally settled, the space where both Witches had been standing was empty, with only small particles of Darkness fading away.

Wrath...Was gone. So was Greed.

Only silence remained. Yuki stared at the empty floor.

"...Damn it!"

She slammed her fist into the broken tiles, causing cracks to spread beneath her hand.

"...Attention, team! Report the Yellow Braver's status immediately!"

Yuki spoke into the communicator in a hurry. However, Endou lowered his gaze in resignation. Deep down, they both knew what had happened to Saki.

Another failure and another friend lost.

Taichi... Roland... Sakura. And now... Saki.

Four Bravers had now vanished, and four Witches of Sin had taken their place.

The battle had ended. But the despair had only just begun.