Witch Cult

The Witch Cult (魔女教) is an organization that allegedly worships the Witch of Envy. It was co-founded by Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, alongside another unnamed individual.

History
The Witch Cult has existed for over 400 years since the times when the witches were active. It is shrouded in secrecy and mystery thus little is know of the organizational structure and other specifics like their doctrine beyond rumors as a result. They are evil enough that knights are ordered to annihilate them immediately should they appear. Followers are elusive, their means of hiding unknown, allowing them to survive until the current time. Their purpose is rumored to be the resurrection of the Witch of Envy.

100 years ago, the Witch Cult consisted of a moderate side, led by Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, and a radical side, led by Regulus Corneas. The two factions seemed to have been in a rather hostile relationship to each other as they entered an all-out combat during the attack on the Elior Forest.

Information
The Witch Cult is a secret organisation in Re:Zero world, shrouded in utmost secrecy and ambiguity. It exists for well over 400 years, originating from the times when the Witches were freely roaming around the world. They seemingly operate at random, appearing out of thin air and causing damage of catastrophical proportions. They're always seen wearing jet black clerical robes with triangular hoods which have two red cutouts for the eyes and a large red symbol resembling an eye, located on their forehead. Each individual can also be seen wearing the Cult's coat of arms around their neck which takes shape of twin gold swords crossing each other on a red background, surrounded by a gold circle. They don't speak and show just the bare minimum of movements, effectively giving off a sense of distortion and abnormality; almost like a group of walking dolls. That being said, we know of some cases when regular members of the cult made their appearances as normal citizens or merchants and even interacted with Subaru and other members of the main cast.

Their numbers are unknown, just like their ultimate goal. They usually launch attacks in smaller groups, resorting to ambushes rather than outright announcing their attacks, which allows them to quickly dispatch several times larger and more skilled groups than theirs, with relative ease and minimum causalities; that being said, normal members of the Witch Cult are as expendable as the lowest ranking members of the Imperial Army. They often employ suicidal tactics, lunging themselves towards an enemy just so one would manage to avoid the incoming attacks and land a single killing blow. As opposed to their leaders, the Sin Archbishops, regular members also don't appear to be as mentally damaged and unstable, in some cases even showing some prejudice and fear when being subjected to tantrums and outbursts of anger from the likes of Sloth and Greed, respectfully. While we don't know if there are designated groups working under each of the Sin Archbishops (apart from Sloth), they do acknowledge them with the highest level of respect and are very often employed by them, even used as sacrificial pawns.

As mentioned above, Petelgeuse was the only known Sin Archbishop who organised and led a larger force, totaling a couple of hundred members. To keep their element of surprise, the Cultists were split into ten groups, each harboring about twelve members with "a finger" or ringleader being put in charge of the group. These so-called fingers were physically stronger than normal Cult members, being capable of taking on Rem solo and fighting on pretty much equal grounds. The fingers' main purpose however, was to serve as spare bodies for Sloth, in case his main body was slain. Accordingly, all 10 fingers had to be Spirit Arts users and were given a small part of the Witch Factor of Sloth through a complex ritual which allowed Petelgeuse to continue using Sloth when in their bodies. After the events of the 3rd arc, all surviving fingers were slaughtered and "opened up" by Sirius who was searching for Petelgeuse's spirit, effectively marking the end of Petelgeuse's faction.

The Cult is made up of followers at the bottom and a group of members at the top known as Sin Archbishops (大罪司教). The Sin Archbishops each govern over one of the seven sins other than Envy that the other six witches were said to represent. They are selected based on whether they are compatible with Witch Factors, and currently the representatives for Pride, Sloth and Greed are vacant. Also, each member owns a book known as the Witch Cult's Gospel (魔女教徒の福音), which shows the members a route to a future they desire through vague details. These books can only be read by the holder and appear to be incomprehensible to others. Despite their recent appearances in the Kingdom of Lugnica, the cult is actually active throughout the world with members spread out across various countries.

Regular cult members are often known to commit suicide when faced with the prospect of capture, by using mana stones embedded in their bodies to trigger poisons to keep information about the cult from leaking out. This makes them notoriously difficult to take alive without risks. Petelgeuse's fingers are an exception as they have an explosion ritual instead that only activates when they kill themselves in an effort to take out all nearby enemies with them when Petelgeuse needs to swap to a different body.

Sin Archbishops
The Witch Cult was led by the Sin Archbishops who each represented one of the seven deadly sins with the exception of Envy itself. At the time of Natsuki Subaru's arrival, only the sin of Pride remained unrepresented by an Archbishop. Interestingly, most of the Sin Archbishops didn't feel any fealty towards the Witch of Envy, instead possessing their own reasons for working with the Witch Cult. Each Sin Archbishop possessed a mysterious source of power known as a Witch Factor that corelated to their respective sin. The Witch Factor would eventually blossom into a powerful ability known as an Authority which allowed its wielder to do various things depending on the sin they represented and their personality. For the most part, the Sin Archbishops despised one another and rarely if ever worked together. Each Archbishop was allowed to command lesser members of the Cult, although most of them chose to operate without support instead relying on their Authorities and wits in battle. The membership of the Sin Archbishops included Capella Emerada Lugunica of Lust, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti of Sloth, Regulus Corneas of Greed, Sirius of Wrath. The sin of Gluttony was represented by three siblings who each took on a different aspect of Gluttony: Louis Arneb of Satiation, Lye Batenkaitos of Gourmet, and Roy Alphard of Bizarre Eating. The sin of Pride was allegedly possessed by the Vollachia nobleman Stride Vollachia, although his Authority was never demonstrated and he perished around forty years ago at the hands of the evil Dragon Valgren.

Lin Archbishop of Gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos
Main article: Lye Batenkaitos One of the three Sin Archbishops who were jointly the most recent representatives of Gluttony. Like his little sister Louis, Lye was addicted to the consumption of human names and memories and cared little about the people his Authority hurt. His Authority of Gluttony functioned identically to his sister's, and although he wasn't incredibly powerful, Batenkaitos made up for his shortcomings with his versatile fighting style and unpredictable arsenal. Until his swan song, Lye was hesitant to use the aspect of his Authority that allowed him to transform into his victims, as he believed doing so harmed his individuality. With his Authority, Gluttony could control the powerful man-eating Demon beast known as the Hakugei and occasionally used it in his schemes. He was fond enough of the Whale to consider it a pet. Out of the three Sin Archbishops, Lye was the one who cared the most for his siblings. Although not too fond of Roy, he cared deeply for his younger sister Louis whom he genuinely sought to protect from harm.

Although his exact age and the amount of time he spent as a Sin Archbishop are unknown, Batenkaitos had the appearance and immature attitude of a youth in his mid teens. After devouring the name and memories of Rem, Lye garnered an obsession with the man she loved, Natsuki Subaru, hoping to one day devour his name and memories as well. Subaru, on the other hand, saw Batenkaitos as a mortal foe, due to his actions against Rem. However, Batenkaitos was never able to experience the feast he sought. During an incursion into the Pleiades Watchtower, Lye was confronted by Rem's elder twin sister Ram who proceeded to face him in a desperate and brutal battle. Eventually, Lye was beheaded by Ram, and the names and memories of his victims slowly began to return overtime.

Sin Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas
Main article: Regulus Corneas The most recent Sin Archbishop of Greed who was considered the most powerful known Archbishop ever. His Authority of Greed, which he gained after absorbing the Witch Factor of Greed from a box similar to Petelgeu se' s, allowed him to stop time in and around his body, making him utterly invincible against any kind of physical attack regardless of its raw strength. Because his body was in a sort of permanent temporal stasis, Regulus never aged and lived over a hundred years. During the attack on Elior Forest, Regulus acted as the leader of a radical faction that existed within the Witch Cult. He was a repulsive man who felt no remorse and firmly believed that he was in the right no matter what he did. He rarely tolerated people acting in contradiction to his twisted will, often murdering or mutilating innocent people for the slightest of slights. Despite his egotistical attitude, Regulus followed the commands of the Gospel unquestionably. He also showed respect towards Pandora and followed her orders if they didn't contradict his own will too much. Of the Sin Archbishops, Regulus was the most infamous alongside Sloth for the sheer magnitude of the few atrocities he committed. Among his attacks were the incursion into the elven village of Elior Forest that led to the freezing of the entire area and the desolation of the Vollachia Fortress City Garkla that resulted in the death of thousands of soldiers and the Vollachian War God Kurgan. It was Regulus' actions in Garkla that single-handedly taught the world to fear the Witch Cult. However, as powerful as he was, Regulus' arrogance and his over reliance on his Authority ultimately led to his downfall in the water gate city Priestella when Natsuki Subaru, Emilia, and the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea greatly weakened his power and subsequently killed him. His Witch Factor was inherited by Subaru.

Sin Archbishop of Wrath, Sirius
Main article: Sirius The current Sin Archbishop of Wrath who is the most physically formidable of the Sin Archbishops. Her Authority of Wrath allows her to manipulate the emotions and sensations of others, meaning she can amplify a person's hostility level and distribute damage dealt across multiple people. Alongside Petelgeuse and Regulus, Sirius is one of the three Sin Archbishops to have inhuman longevity. Although her past is wrapped in mystery, Sirius claimed that her hometown was destroyed by Witch Hunters. She was obsessively infatuated with Petelgeuse, making her the only known Sin Archbishop to view another amicably (with the exception of the Gluttony siblings). She spent a large part of her time stalking Petelgeuse and trying to earn his affection, although he seemed to never reciprocate her feelings. Like Petelgeuse, Sirius appeared to be completely insane and barely held a grasp on reality. She viewed the Witch of Envy as a hated love rival rather than a deific figure.

During the attack on Priestella, Sirius met Natsuki Subaru after he had killed Petelgeuse and absorbed the Witch Factor of Sloth. As she knew of Petelgeuse's nature as a spirit, Sirius, who could smell the Witch Factor's scent on Subaru, presumed Subaru was her beloved's latest body and refused to accept his attempts to deny her claim. She was later captured by the Priscilla Barielle during the attack. During a subsequent interrogation with Subaru, Sirius finally understood that he was not Petelgeuse, although she still believed that Sloth lived within Subaru and was waiting to emerge.

Stride Vollachia
Main article: Stride Vollachia

The most recent Sin Archbishop of Pride, Stride Vollachia was a man, hailing from the Sacred Empire of Vollachia. Unlike all other Sin Archbishops, Stride never demonstrated his Authority, meaning what its capabilities are unknown. Instead, he tended to fight using a set of Ten Cursed Rings which he used to inflict curses on people. Stride was the son of the Emperor of the Vollachia Empire and was supposed to succeed him on the throne, however he was betrayed and poisoned by his own father. He survived the asassinatipn and eventually joined the Witch Cult. Befitting his identity as the Archbishop of Pride, Stride held excessive pride in himself and always looked down on others. Like most Archbishops, he didn't care about the Witch of Envy, only joining the cult to further his own goals.

Four decades before Natsuki Subaru was transported to the Kingdom of Lugunica, Stride led several campaigns in the heart of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, wanting to destroy its covenant with the Divine Dragon and topple the whole country. During these attacks, Stride found an archenemy in the Sword Demon Wilhelm van Astrea, a nigh-unparalleled swordsman and the strongest warrior of the Kingdom. Eventually, Stride summoned the Black Dragon Valgren in the Lugunican city Picouttate, hoping the dreadful beast would decimate the entire kingdom. However, Valgren ironically devoured Stride and was defeated by the Divine Dragon Volcanica shortly there after. The status of the Witch Factor of Pride that presumably resided within Stride remains unknown.

Current

 * Roy Alphard (gluttony (bizarre eating))
 * Louis Arneb (gluttony (satiation))
 * Sirius (wrath)
 * Capella Emerada Lugnica (lust)

Former

 * Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti (sloth) (co-founder, leader of the moderate side)
 * Regulus Corneas (greed) (leader of the radical side)
 * Lye Batenkaitos (gluttony (gourmet))
 * Stride Vollachia (pride)

Former

 * Ketty Muttart
 * Faust
 * Sergei
 * Fogg
 * Sado
 * Dorkell

Associates

 * Pandora

Trivia

 * Louis described the Witch Cult as "a gathering of people loathed by the world" and the Sin Archbishops as "a gathering of people loathed by the world who are called differently, but they're the same as the Witch.
 * Louis also pointed out that the nature of the Witch of Envy is worse than that of the Sin Archbishops so they dislike being lumped together with her. In every other way however, the Sin Archbishops are the same as the Witch. The "good-for-nothings" compatible with the Witch Factors are just called differently due to different eras and positions.
 * Out of all the Sin Archbishops, Regulus is by far the strongest in all out combat and possesses the most powerful Authority while Sirius is noted to have the highest physical strength.
 * Regulus, Sirius and Petelgeuse are among the oldest Sin Archbishops; two of them being confirmed to have been occupying their positions for at least a decade, with Regulus governing over Greed for more than a century.
 * According to the author's very own words, the Sin Archbishops were created to be the biggest and the most irredeemable scums in the series.
 * According to Petelgeuse, the Sin Archbishops hold some kind of meetings in Church.
 * The Sin Archbishops themselves are not very fond of killing for various reasons, hence they'll avoid doing it, if given the chance to.
 * Pandora and the Sin Archbishops, with the exception of Stride Vollachia, all shared their names with a real life celestial body. Interestingly, Stride was also the only Witch Factor user to not display use of his Authority. These facts coupled together may imply that Stride was not actually the bearer of the Pride Witch Factor.
 * The star names of the Gluttony siblings were each linked to the Three Great Demon beast created by the Witch of Gluttony Daphne four hundred years ago. Louis (hare) represented the Great Rabbit, Lye (sea monster) represented the White Whale, and Roy (hydra) represented the Black Serpent.