Chapter 4 — The Witch of Greed

The first thing she heard was laughter. Soft. Cheerful. Playful. It echoed endlessly through the darkness.

"Hehehe... Hehehehehe..."

Greed slowly opened her eyes. The alley came back into focus as the cold night air brushed against her face and streetlights illuminated the cracked pavement beneath her. For a moment, everything was silent. Then she blinked.

"...Oh?"

Her voice was bright, light, almost musical. She looked down at herself. Instead of the crimson armor of the Red Braver, she wore a perfectly fitted black sailor-style uniform with a white-striped collar and a deep red ribbon tied neatly beneath it. Its long sleeves hugged her arms like a second skin, while the black pleated skirt swayed gently around her legs.

"...Hehehe... How cuuute!"

She happily spun once, making the skirt flare outward. Her long crimson twin ponytails danced behind her, reaching well past her waist before settling again. She grabbed one ponytail with both hands.

"So looong! I love it!"

She giggled and twirled another strand around one finger.

"So silky... so pretty..."

She skipped in a tiny circle, admiring herself from every angle as though she had completely forgotten there was anyone else present.

"Hehehe..."

The officers stood frozen.

"...R-Red Braver... Taichi...?"

The younger officer's voice shook.

"What... what happened?"

Greed tilted her head, her impossibly wide grin never fading as her narrow, delighted eyes curved even further.

"Taichi?"

She placed one finger against her cheek.

"Hmmm..."

She pretended to think, then clapped her hands together.

"Oh! I remember!"

She giggled.

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"He isn't here anymore."

She placed both hands over her chest and gave an exaggerated, elegant curtsy.

"My name is... Greed. The cutest Witch of Sin."

Her delighted laugh echoed through the alley.

"Hehehehehe!"

The younger officer unconsciously stepped backward.

"N-No..."

The older officer stared in disbelief.

"Taichi!..."

Greed pouted playfully.

"Awww... you keep calling me by someone else's name."

She skipped toward them.

"I told you... there isn't any Taichi anymore. Only cute little Greed."

Her cheerful tone somehow made every word even more disturbing. Behind her, the frightened child remained sitting against the wall, staring at her with trembling eyes.

"...R-Red Braver...?"

Greed stopped and slowly turned toward him. The enormous grin on her face somehow seemed even wider. She approached with tiny, graceful steps, her hands clasped behind her back. When she reached him, she crouched until they were face to face.

"My... you have the most adorable expression."

The boy couldn't stop shaking.

"N-Please..."

Greed leaned closer.

"So scared... so hopeless..."

She sighed dreamily.

"It's absolutely precious."

She gently pinched his cheek.

"I never imagined children could make such cute little frightened faces."

The child whimpered. Greed laughed.

"Hehehe..."

The older officer finally snapped out of his shock.

"Step away from him!"

Both officers rushed forward. Greed turned toward them.

"Oh? You want to play too?"

The fabric of her sleeves suddenly rippled, and from within them, thick black tendrils erupted outward. The officers barely had time to react.

"W-What—?!"

The shadows wrapped around both men completely. Their screams echoed through the alley as the darkness tightened around them. Their bodies shrank, bones cracked, uniforms dissolved into black slime, arms became short, and legs twisted beneath them. Their voices rose higher and higher until their screams became little more than frightened squeaks. Seconds later, the tendrils withdrew.

Where two police officers had stood, there were now two tiny black goblins, each barely reaching Greed's knees. Round glowing eyes blinked in confusion while small claws flexed uncertainly as they slowly looked up at her.

Greed gasped happily.

"They're adorable!"

She immediately knelt down and began patting one on the head.

"Hehehe! So much cuter than before!"

The goblin happily chirped, and the second quickly hurried beside her. Greed wrapped both of them in an enthusiastic hug.

"My very first little helpers!"

The goblins rubbed affectionately against her legs like loyal pets. She beamed.

"I think this suits you much better. Humans are always pretending to be something they're not."

She stroked one goblin's head.

"This reflects your true nature much more honestly."

The child stared in disbelief.

"They... they're... the officers..."

Greed looked toward him again.

"Oh! I almost forgot about you."

She stood gracefully before walking back over. The boy desperately tried to crawl away.

"P-Please... d-don't..."

Greed bent down and effortlessly lifted him into the air as though he weighed nothing. The child cried.

"Help!"

She held him at arm's length, studying his terrified expression with open fascination.

"Hmmmm..."

She nodded approvingly.

"Yes. I definitely want to keep this."

The child didn't understand.

"K-Keep...?"

Greed smiled brightly.

"I'd hate for such a wonderfully frightened face to disappear. So... I'll preserve it forever."

Black threads emerged gently from her sleeves. Unlike before, they moved slowly, almost tenderly, before wrapping themselves around the child.

He screamed.

"W-WAIT!"

The darkness covered his body. His cries became quieter and smaller as the black cocoon contracted around him, shrinking again and again until the tendrils finally withdrew. Greed caught something small as it fell into her hands.

A stuffed doll. It perfectly resembled the boy, even its stitched face preserving the exact same frightened expression he had worn moments before.

Greed's eyes sparkled.

"Awww!"

She hugged it tightly against her chest.

"So soft! So cuddly! And you still have your adorable scared little face."

She nuzzled the doll affectionately.

"I'll treasure you forever."

The two goblins gathered at her feet. Greed looked down at them before spinning happily on one foot.

"Come along, my little cuties!"

She pointed toward the dark city beyond the alley.

"There are sooo many people I want to meet."

Her grin stretched impossibly wide, and her delighted eyes narrowed into crescents.

"And... I simply can't wait... to see all my besties again."

Holding the frightened doll in one arm, Greed skipped happily into the night and disappeared into the darkness while the two goblins eagerly scampered after her. Behind them, the alley fell silent once more.

By morning, the newspapers would report only the two officers unexplained disappearance. No one yet knew the truth. The Red Braver—the hero who had once saved the world—was gone, and in his place, the first Witch of Sin had begun her joyful march toward an age of endless despair.