Chapter 44 — The Cruelty of Greed

RATATATATATATATATA!!!!

The commander and his twenty men continued firing. Countless glowing blue Stellar Energy bullets streaked through the air, hurtling toward the swarm of black goblins.

PSSSHHH! PSSSHHH! PSSSHHH!

One after another, the goblins vanished into clouds of dark particles.

The Stellar Energy rifles were proving their worth. The moment a bullet struck a goblin's body, the creature exploded into dark particles and disappeared.

RATATATATATAT!

"Keep firing!"

The commander shouted as the soldiers continued their relentless barrage. Their bullets tore through the advancing swarm, slaughtering the goblins as they rushed toward them.

For a moment, it seemed to be working.

The number of goblins approaching them began to decrease, and their advance appeared to slow.

"...Oh my! You're doing great! Let's bring out some more, then!"

Greed exclaimed enthusiastically as she began clapping her hands.

Clap! Clap!

"!!!????"

The moment she clapped, the soldiers watched in horror as the swarm suddenly grew larger.

RATATATATATATATATAT!!!!

"There are too many!"

The commander and his men continued firing, but their expressions quickly turned to horror as the swarm drew closer and closer.

For every goblin they killed, five more took its place.

It was like an endless black wave of death, relentlessly advancing toward them.

And eventually, it reached them.

"ARGHHHHHH!"

The commander and his men screamed as the swarm of goblins descended upon them.

SCRATCH! SCRATCH! SCRATCH!

The commander's rifle slipped from his hands as he fell to the ground, curling into a defensive position. Hundreds of tiny black claws mercilessly scratched at his body.

Behind him, he could hear his men screaming in agony as the goblins swarmed over them.

Clap! Clap!

SCRATCH! SCRATCH—

"...!???"

However, when Greed clapped her hands again, the goblins immediately stopped attacking.

The commander slowly raised his bloodied face, staring in confusion as the creatures began to retreat slightly.

Meanwhile, Greed cheerfully strolled toward the wounded soldiers. She bent down and picked up one of the Stellar Energy rifles.

"...Oh dear! Look at this!"

She murmured, examining the weapon with her delighted, narrowed crimson eyes as though it were an interesting toy.

"...Hehehehe! My, my! Gero really outdid himself, didn't he? Making so many of these cute little toys in such a short time..."

She giggled before casually tossing the rifle aside.

Then, right before the wounded soldiers and the thousands of motionless black goblins, Greed began twirling and dancing playfully.

"Isn't it lovely? What humans can accomplish when they're constantly on the verge of death!"

She skipped across the floor with exaggerated steps, her disturbing grin stretching even wider.

"...Even when they know they'll lose, humans always cling to hope..."

Greed tilted her head, her crimson eyes gleaming with amusement.

"...That's why making them suffer is sooooooo muuuuuch fun!"

Despite his terrible injuries, the commander's bloodied face twisted with anger as he stared at the crimson-haired girl dancing before him.

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Her long crimson twin ponytails swayed with every movement, while her black sailor-style uniform fluttered as she skipped around, openly mocking humanity.

The commander gritted his teeth.

"!!! TAICHI KONOHA !!!"

He shouted the name with all the strength he could muster.

Greed's body suddenly froze.

For a brief moment, her playful movements came to a complete halt.

"..."

The commander glared at her.

"TAICHI KONOHA! THE RED BRAVER! THAT'S WHO YOU USED TO BE!"

He shouted, recognizing the girl before him as one of the missing Bravers. He was one of the many soldiers at the base who knew the truth about the Witches of Sin.

"Hmmmm???"

Greed slowly turned her head toward him. Her narrowed crimson eyes rested on the wounded commander, a faint glimmer of curiosity appearing in her expression.

"...You were humanity's greatest hero! You saved the world!"

The commander shouted, his voice trembling with anger and disgust.

"...How could you betray humanity?! How can you smile while killing the very people you swore to protect?!"

Suddenly, Greed covered her face with both hands.

Her shoulders began to tremble.

"...!?"

The commander stared at her in confusion.

For a fraction of a second, a flicker of hope appeared in his heart.

Perhaps... perhaps there's still a little humanity left inside the former Red Braver.

Perhaps his words had reached whatever remained of Taichi Konoha.

"...Pfft!"

Greed's shoulders shook harder.

Then—

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She burst into laughter.

Greed laughed so hard that she doubled over, clutching her stomach as tears welled up in her crimson eyes.

"...Hahahaha! Ohhhhh, humans really are the best!"

She gasped between fits of laughter, struggling to catch her breath.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!"

The commander roared furiously.

Greed wiped the tears from her eyes before looking down at him with her familiar, disturbingly delighted smile.

"...You little dummy! Humans are the very epitome of hypocrisy! It's impossible not to laugh at you!"

She giggled, leaning closer to the commander's bloodied face.

"...Humans loooooove placing impossible expectations on others... and on themselves..."

Greed tilted her head, her crimson eyes glimmering as she spoke.

"...I know that because I used to be human, too."

She playfully twirled one of her long crimson twin ponytails around her finger, her expression briefly becoming distant as though she were reminiscing about her days as Taichi Konoha.

"...Promises to the dead... Protecting the world... Keeping everyone safe..."

Her grin widened.

"Hehehehe... They're such silly, hilarious things to believe in!"

Greed pressed one hand against her cheek, her expression overflowing with twisted delight.

She thought of the parents she had lost as Taichi Konoha.

Oh, how she wished they were still alive.

She wanted them to see what she had become. She wanted to watch their faces crumble into despair as she destroyed the very world she had once sworn to protect in their memory.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Wouldn't it be hilarious?

"...YOU!"

The commander snarled, desperately trying to force himself back to his feet.

However, as he struggled to rise, something hanging around his neck slipped free and fell to the floor.

CLANK!

"...Ohhh! What's this?"

Greed's attention immediately shifted to the object.

She bent down and picked it up, examining the small pendant with genuine curiosity.

"...GIVE IT BACK!"

The commander shouted, reaching toward her with a trembling hand.

Greed completely ignored him.

Instead, she opened the pendant.

The moment she saw what was inside, her eyes widened theatrically.

"...Ohhh! How lovely! Is this your wife?"

She exclaimed excitedly.

Inside the pendant was a photograph of the commander standing beside a beautiful woman. Judging by the way they stood together, it wasn't difficult to guess that she was his wife.

"Kyaaaaah! ♥ What a lovely thing to have!"

Greed clasped her hands together, practically bouncing with delight.

"No wonder you're so passionate about protecting people! You have someone you love!"

She spun around, her crimson twin ponytails sweeping through the air.

"Hey, hey! I totally understand! I also have someone I love!"

Greed exclaimed enthusiastically.

She reached beneath her uniform and pulled out a pendant of her own.

After opening it, she held the photograph up for the commander to see, practically shoving it into his face.

The photograph showed a girl with long, messy black hair streaked with pink. Only one of her crimson eyes was visible, and her expression was unmistakably irritated.

It was Wrath.

Right beside her was Greed herself, grinning happily as she attempted to plant a kiss on Wrath's cheek.

Wrath, however, looked absolutely furious. A blurred fist could be seen flying straight toward Greed's face.

It wasn't difficult to imagine what had happened immediately after the photograph was taken.

Greed gazed lovingly at the picture, her eyes sparkling.

"MY DARLING! ♥ Isn't she just the sweetest?!"

She hugged the pendant against her chest.

"Do you know what she told me yesterday? I asked her if we could hold hands..."

Greed paused dramatically, pressing both hands against her cheeks.

"...And she said, 'EAT SHIT AND DIE!'"

"Kyaaaaaah! ♥ She's such a charmer!"

Greed swooned, placing her hands beneath her chin as she gazed dreamily at the photograph.

For a moment, she looked like an ordinary girl hopelessly in love, completely lost in her own romantic fantasies.

The commander could only stare at her in furious silence.

How could someone like this exist?

How could the former Red Braver, the hero who had once helped save humanity, become such a monster?

Greed continued daydreaming, her imagination running wild.

However, her romantic reverie was abruptly interrupted when one of the black goblins scurried toward her and whispered something into her ear.

"...Oh!"

Greed's expression immediately brightened.

"...It seems Yuki is about to meet Gluttony!"

She giggled, carefully tucking her pendant back beneath her uniform.

Then she turned away from the wounded commander and began strolling toward the end of the hallway.

"...Bye-bye, sir! It was such a pleasure meeting you!"

Greed cheerfully waved over her shoulder.

Then, with a playful smile, she snapped her fingers.

SNAP!

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The commander and his men screamed as the black goblins immediately resumed their vicious assault.

Greed didn't even bother looking back.

Instead, she continued walking, her cheerful laughter echoing through the hallway as the soldiers' screams gradually faded behind her.

"...Hehehehe! Yuki..."

She murmured dreamily.

"...I can't wait to bring you over to our side! I'd loooooove to have a little girls' night where we can talk about our crushes!"

Greed giggled, her crimson eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Hehehehehehe!"

Her laughter echoed through the base as she disappeared into the distance, leaving the horrifying screams of the commander and his men behind her.

And somewhere deeper within Military Base Delta 55, another Witch of Sin was waiting for her next victim.