The Pride IF route, canonically titled Ayamatsu (meaning "To Err" or "Mistake"), is a terrifying look at what happens when Subaru’s underlying arrogance, low self-esteem, and stubbornness completely override his humanity. If you are standing on the main route, this massive divergence occurs at the very absolute beginning of the story in Arc 1. In the main timeline, when Subaru is cornered by three thugs in a secluded alleyway in the Royal Capital, he swallows his pride and screams for help, bringing the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea, to his rescue. This single act of humility sets him on the path of the hero. However, on the Pride route, Subaru’s toxic ego takes over. He refuses to call for help, believing he can handle the situation himself or that begging is beneath him. This choice traps him in a horrific, agonizing loop. He dies a staggering 88 times in that alleyway alone, murdered repeatedly by the thugs or by the assassin Elsa Granhiert at the loot cellar, before he finally manages to manipulate the situation perfectly to survive. By the time he crawls out of Arc 1 alive, his psyche is completely shattered. The value of human life—including his own—has been reduced to absolutely nothing. Having survived the alleyway through sheer, bloody trial and error, Subaru becomes entirely obsessed with a single, twisted goal: making Emilia the Ruler of Lugnica. However, unlike the main timeline where he seeks to stand beside her as her knight, the Pride version of Subaru believes he is a worthless, contaminated piece of trash who can only serve her from the dark. He builds an alliance with Elsa Granhiert (the Bowowel Hunter) and her sister, Meili Portroute, utilizing their lethal skills to systematically erase any obstacles in Emilia's path. Because he possesses "Return by Death," Subaru functions as an invincible commander. He can throw Elsa into a fight, watch how she dies, loop back in time, and give her the exact tactical information needed to slaughter her opponents. Through this method, Subaru accomplishes terrifying feats, including the assassination of Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. After brutally torturing and killing the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Subaru absorbs his Witch Factor and unofficially takes his place within the Witch Cult as the Sin Archbishop of Pride, a title he wears not out of loyalty to the Witch, but as a tool to further his agenda. As the years progress, Subaru operates as an invisible, malevolent puppet master, orchestrating catastrophes just to let Emilia solve them and gain political favor. His body becomes a canvas of horrific scars from countless unrecorded deaths, and his mind grows entirely numb to torture and failure. To ensure Emilia’s victory in the Royal Selection, he systematically targets the other candidates. He manipulates events to eliminate Crusch Karsten, Priscilla Barielle, and Anastasia Hoshin from the board, leaving the kingdom with no choice but to look toward the silver-haired half-elf. His malice is entirely calculated, cold, and flawless, because every time a plan fails, he simply kills himself to reset the board and try again. He views the people of the world not as living beings, but as disposable chess pieces or obstacles to be cleared for his goddess. The climax of the Pride route is a grand, apocalyptic stage play engineered entirely by Subaru. He utilizes the Witch Cult to launch a massive, devastating siege on the Royal Capital of Lugnica, setting the entire city ablaze in a roaring sea of fire. He does this to create the ultimate villain for Emilia to defeat. As the capital burns, Subaru encounters Reinhard van Astrea. Because Reinhard is the unkillable "Sword Saint," protected by the world itself with an endless list of Divine Protections, Subaru realizes he cannot defeat Reinhard in a physical fight, even with infinite resets. Instead, Subaru decides to defeat Reinhard conceptually. He realizes that Reinhard’s entire identity is tied to being a flawless protector. By burning the capital to ash and murdering everyone Reinhard loves right in front of him, Subaru proves that the Sword Saint's power is useless. He breaks Reinhard’s spirit entirely, leaving the strongest man in the world weeping in despair amidst the flames. With Reinhard broken, Subaru retreats to the burning remnants of the loot cellar—the place where his loop originally began—to await his final destination. Emilia arrives, furious and determined to stop the evil Sin Archbishop of Pride. She does not recognize Subaru; to her, he is simply a faceless, psychotic monster who has ruined her kingdom. This is exactly what Subaru wanted. He deliberately allows her to strike him down, dying his final, permanent death by her hand. As his life fades, he feels an overwhelming sense of twisted satisfaction. He has eliminated her rivals, broken the world's strongest protector, and set the stage for Emilia to be hailed as the ultimate savior and hero of Lugnica. His final thoughts are entirely devoted to her, completely blind to the fact that he has left her traumatized, ruling over a hollow, ash-filled kingdom, entirely alone.