Re:Zero — What Is the Witch Cult?

With season 3 of Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World – well underway, and a brand-new, absolutely terrifying member of the Witch Cult introduced in the form of Sirius Romanée-Conti, it might be long overdue to learn more about the series’ antagonist group, the Witch Cult. Subaru has seen countless horrors at the hands of the Witch Cult’s high-ranking members, the Archbishops, who each bear a title based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

What exactly is the Witch Cult, which of the Archbishops have been introduced in the anime thus far, and what are their objectives?

An Organization That Has a Major Impact on The Lore

The Polarization of the Witch Cult

Centuries ago, there were individuals known as the Witches of Sin who were representatives of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Witch Cult is an organization that operates under the shroud of secrecy and has done so for over 400 years, since the time witches were active. There hasn’t been much revealed about the origins of the Witch Cult, but it is believed that its members worship Satella, the Witch of Envy. Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti was one of its founding members, and over 100 years prior to Subaru’s arrival in the central world of Re:Zero, he led the moderate side of the cult, while Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, led a more radical side.

These two factions would clash in an event that later came to be known as the Permafrost of Elior Forest. Due to how secretive the Witch Cult has been in history, there’s not much known about the organizational structure, objectives or values of the organization; however, they have been deemed such a threat that knights have been ordered to take out any members of the cult should they appear. Some believe that the cult aims to resurrect the Witch of Envy, but there’s no way to prove this rumour. Archbishops are chosen based on their level of compatibility with an aspect called a Witch Factor, which is why there are many Sins that are without a representative at the time of Subaru’s arrival in the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.

The Witch Cult is undoubtedly the main antagonist of Re:Zero because of the vast number of evil, plot-altering events that they caused for the sake of furthering their ambitions, which we learn in season 2 that they are tied to Permafrost of Elior Forest, a major event that took place 100 years prior to Subaru’s arrival. At some point, Pandora, the Witch of Pride, arrives in Elior Forest with Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, where they seek to undo its seal and release what was hidden there. Elior had been home to elves, including Emilia and her aunt and guardian Fortuna, who was also tasked with guarding the seal in the forest.

At the time, Petelgeuse, who knew Fortuna and Emilia very well, was not compatible with the Sloth Witch Factor. Taking it drove him mad, and he was tricked into murdering Fortuna by Pandora, whose alignment with the Witch Cult is not yet fully explained. Petelgeuse was driven mad and became how he was introduced in the series, while Emilia had to lose her mother figure, leading her to freezing the forest in grief, and even Subaru has history with them because it was the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony who ate Rem’s name, thus removing it from existence and leaving her in a state of suspended animation. Evidently, the Witch Cult is an organization with immense influence over the world of Re:Zero and its characters.

Known Members and Structure of the Witch Cult

Its High-Ranking Members Represent The Seven Deadly Sins

The exact number of members is unknown, nor do they seem to follow some kind of overarching scheme when they do operate, employing something more closely related to guerrilla tactics than anything else. The foot soldiers are considered to be expendable, and often are sacrificed for the sake of the desires of high-ranking members like the Archbishops of Sin. There is an Archbishop for each of the Seven Deadly Sins apart from Envy, and Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti was the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and was also the only Archbishop who had control of a larger force of over a hundred or so members. This force was split into ten groups of twelve members led by a designated leader or “Finger”. The Fingers had more power than the average member of the Witch Cult, and were capable of taking on even Rem in combat. The true reason for the Fingers was to serve as a back-up body for Petelgeuse if his main body were ever to expire.

With season 3 presenting the most Sin Archbishops of the series at once so far, there will definitely be a lot of expansion of their activities and their impact as Subaru and the others try to deal with them and the Royal Selection. In the city of Priestella, it is said that the remains of a witch are hidden there somewhere, so it is believed that the Witch Cult is there to retrieve them, although there’s no information as to which witch exactly.

Re:Zero is available to watch on Crunchyroll.

Based on Tappei Nagatsuki’s popular novel series, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World follows Subaru Natsuki, a directionless and self-conscious teenager who is summoned to a fantasy world and quickly becomes involved with a half-elf princess named Emilia. Blending action, horror, and comedy, Re:Zero is a challenging isekai anime that touches upon themes of perseverance, depression, and self-esteem.