"What do you mean by Mandeleine being…dead?" Ji Noo repeated, the surprise evident on his face.
The next few minutes were spent by Liam and Gene explaining the situation while they were gone.
Everyone was incredulous at the news of Mandeleine's assassination.
"It's strange, how could he have been murdered without Randy noticing?" Frederick said, crossing his arms. "Furthermore, why didn't he reincarnate?"
Liam and Gene looked at each other, neither of them knowing. "The best thing to do is go back, give Miss Layla the cure...and maybe Randy can explain the situation better."
The three nodded, while July 14 tried to tear off his back skin where Anser touched him, without any success.
"The cure is safe with me," Frederick said, taking out of his pants pocket the vial of blood that the woman they had found had given them earlier. "We will follow you. We still have a wild demon with us."
As soon as he finished speaking, July 14 tried to take the vial of blood away from Frederick. But Frederick reacted faster, creating a shield around it.
July 14's hand creaked from the impact of the sudden shield, making him stumble back.
"Don't go too far, we still don't know if there are demons in this part of the forest..." Gene said, making a mana broom appear in the air, then she and Liam climbed on it.
And then Gene accelerated, leaving blue particles behind them.
Ji Noo, who had remained thoughtful, suddenly went towards where July 14 was, his hand slowly regenerating.
"You won't attack us, will you?" He said, although he already knew that no matter how much July 14 wanted to, he could not directly attack his sect.
July 14 snorted, annoyed by the comment. "Are you making fun of me?"
Anser and Frederick went ahead, running through the forest following the trail of particles. Ji Noo looked back, seeing that they had already left...
"…You caused Mandeleine's death, didn't you?" Straight to the point.
July 14 got up from the ground, looking at him, offended.
"I only regained consciousness three days ago. How could I know?"
And Ji Noo found the answer interesting.
"You know you live in a novel, right? Enver should have told you that."
"For us, 'this' that we are experiencing is not just a simple novel." He answered, a little more wildly than he expected. "Every story is a world, and right now, this is a world," Then, walking beside Ji Noo, he seemed carefree. "So don't try to scare me with that. If anything, you and those guys are the ones who should be scared…"
Ji Noo turned to look at him, slowly. "Scared?"
He nodded. "Something as serious as death, especially murder, means that the killer saw something in that Mandeleine guy that you didn't see," Then he snorted. "Or was he simply a psychopath like Master Marco..."
Ji Noo raised an eyebrow upon hearing the new name. "Marco?"
July 14 looked at him, confused, and then smiled. "Huh?" He turned his gaze forward, watching the particles begin to disappear. "Haven't you gotten to this part of the story yet?" Ji Noo's eyes opened, incredulous. "My bad."
That same phrase...Enver said it when…
Ji Noo's chest glowed again, causing him to fall to his knees, clutching his chest.
July 14 looked at him, surprised, quickly, then went down to his side.
"Jeon Kwonoo! What's wrong with you?!" He frowned, then grabbed his arm and pulled him along, dragging him to where the others had gone. "This is bad, this is bad...!"
It was logical that July 14 was worried, after all, what was happening to Ji Noo would become a more serious problem if it wasn't addressed immediately.
And not for his health, but for the story.
***
The universe has always been fantastic.
Amina saw it that way. She lives in outer space, after all.
She was just a star, but soon she noticed an 'irregularity', she decided to go down, and observe what happened.
She began to get to know the humans of each irregular world he traveled to. She created a human body to travel without problems, until, soon, she noticed that irregularities were 'hidden'.
No matter how much he searched, they were always hidden, until she realized that perhaps she was looking in the wrong world.
She was never a reader, because she had more experiences and didn't want to live any more.
But, knowing that humans created stories, they created 'worlds', and those worlds come to life once letters are transplanted onto the pages. Although not many knew it, once created, once planned, they were already alive, they already existed.
That's how she came to enter the world of books; literally, she entered a book. She continued traveling and traveling, from book to book, looking for irregularities.
"Brothers, sisters..." she looked at the sky, the crimson sky. "Let's make this story one free of irregularities..."
She said those same words when she found this group of magicians; Enver Yumi, the leader, and belonging to a draft of a story, Hyung, belonging to an unfinished story, Yanshan, the villain of a story that no one ever managed to read.
Why not mention his other three teammates? Huoho Marco, Ballerina, and July 14 are those 'irregularities' that she calls.
And the regularities must disappear.
But she doesn't have the courage to do it.
But her colleagues do have it.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the small cabin. Amina turned around and saw Yanshan and Enver enter.
"Huh?" She looked for Hyung, but he… "Where is Hyung?"
Enver looked at her, then took a piece of diamond from his hanfu, showing it to Amina.
She didn't need any more explanation. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she knew.
"…Who did it?" She collapsed to the floor, her metal prosthetics clanging as they fell, and soon, she broke down in tears, her blue hair covering her face. "He was the only one from his story who remained conscious...why? Why?! We're not bad people! Why do they have to kill him?!"
Yanshan approached her, placing his clawed hand on her shoulder. "A survivor of Vulpecula, star magic."
Slowly, Amina looked at Yanshan, and then her gaze fell on Enver, who seemed so full of anger that she could barely see his eyes through his long bangs.
"Was she...one of my sisters?" she looked at Yanshan. Enver's gaze, as it moved towards her, seemed to say, 'Do it again, perform a divination of the future.' "My last sister..."
Similar spells neutralize each other.
But there are also similar kinds of magic; they are families.
Amina slowly lowered her gaze, and soon, she raised it again. The constellations drawn on her face shone on her skin. "Constellation Magic: Universal Connection."
Her eyes sparkled, and then she closed them.
Enver slowly approached her. "What did you see?"
Slowly, Amina turned to look at him.
"My brother will come, and he will save this story."
Suddenly, Marco appeared behind Enver. "Your brother? Do you mean Anser?"
She denied it. "Anser Ciro has moon magic..." She smiled, almost psychopathically, although in reality she was very happy; she hadn't seen her brother for millennia. "My brother has universe magic."
Marco looked at Yanshan, who soon returned his gaze.
"Marco, how much time do you estimate we had before reaching the end?" Yanshan said.
And then, Marco smiled.
"If we get rid of the irregularities in time, two years."
Enver looked at Amina, who raised her hand in the direction of Marco. "Thank you for your help, but this story isn't yours, Marco."
Marco opened his eyes, surprised, before he could flee, his body disintegrated. "Constellation Magic: Return to the Universe."
Then, Enver walked towards a desk in the middle of the cabin.
"Without Sherly and Layla, everything will be easier to return to normal," He began to explain. "Yanshan, look for the culprit behind the irregularity in this story…we have to hurry, before he arrives, and everything repeats itself."
Yanshan nodded, disappearing into thin air, while Amina looked out the window.
"And Amina..." Enver turned to look at her. "It continues to haunt Jeon Kwonoo; we cannot allow his memories to fully return."
Amina nodded, closing her eyes, and her skin glowed again.
In any case, his only goal was simple: to get the original story back on track, and to eliminate the one responsible for all the irregularities in this story.
And at least he...would have the ending he always should have had.
_
"Good afternoon Mr. Cocoa…" A woman and her son crossed the street.
An old man, who was holding his back as he walked, looked at him and smiled. "Good afternoon…"
"It's been a long time since we've seen demons attack the city; it's a relief that everything is calmer, isn't it?"
The old man sighed. "That's what we saw 70 years ago, now look where we are…"
The woman sighed, looking at her son, and then at the old man. "But—"
"Excuse me!" Gene and Liam flew past on a broomstick between the woman with her son and the old man.
But they only looked at them; behind them, two men ran past at full speed. "Excuse me." Frederick said, with Anser behind him.
"H-Huh?"
And soon...
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" The three of them looked towards Anarxie's entrance, and saw a horned man running towards them, with another man pulling him behind...
They quickly hid, letting them pass.
Seeing them run towards the large tree at the top of Anarxie, they knew they were demon hunters...maybe.
"H-Huh??"
Crossing trees and obstacles, Gene and Liam reached the base entrance, opening the door wide.
Frederick and Anser ran in, quickly going up the stairs.
"Where are July and Ji Noo?" Liam asked, looking at Gene, but soon the aforementioned ran past them. "Oh, there they are..."
By this point in the chaos, Ji Noo had already woken up. Confused, he looked around, noticing he was being dragged by him. "W-What…" Then he looked at him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I'M SAVING YOUR LIFE, YOU IDIOT!" he shouted back as he started to climb the stairs.
"YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH IF YOU KEEP GOING THAT FAST!"
"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO CRASH!"
After climbing the stairs, Anser and Frederick soon found Layla's room. Frederick opened the door, letting Anser in.
Anser went in, and then Frederick followed him in.
Randy and Joakim were inside. Randy was tending to Layla, while Joakim looked out the window.
"Until you finally arrive…" Joakim turned to look at them. He analyzed them, and seeing neither his commander nor Ji Noo, he frowned. "What the hell happened to them?"
"Jeon—"
But soon, entered through the door July 14, still dragging Ji Noo along.
"AAAAAH!" They both screamed when they realized they couldn't stop, July 14 crashing into the wall, Ji Noo hitting July 14.
Randy and Joakim turned to look at them.
"Who is—" Just as he was about to draw his sword, Randy stopped him.
"Joakim, that doesn't matter, we need the cure now."
Frederick reacted immediately, taking out the vial of blood and giving it to Randy. "There it is. We found a star magic user."
Anser nodded, frowning, depressed, as he recalled what had happened. "She was also from the Vulpecula Clan..." Randy stopped just before opening the vial. "…So she was naturally strong."
"…"
Joakim noticed Randy, "What's wrong?"
Randy smiled, shaking his head. "No, it's not...nothing…" Then, he glanced sideways at Anser. "Did she tell you her name?"
Anser denied it. "No."
Frederick noticed something strange, instinctively standing in front of July 14, while Ji Noo got up from the ground. "She said she was expelled from the Clan...you and Sherly were in charge of investigating the Vulpecula Clan, do you know who she could be?"
Randy remained silent, too long to just think.
"Randy?" Ji Noo spoke, his voice serving to return Randy to normal.
"That investigation was never successful, so I can't know exactly who it is," It would be true, if only he hadn't completed the investigation without Sherly finding out. "But now, only Layla matters."
He opened the bottle of blood slowly, pouring it into Layla's mouth.
The blood fell into Layla's mouth, and its effect…
…
"…"
"When will it take effect?" Joakim murmured, somewhat impatiently.
Soon, Gene and Liam entered, Anser nodded, indicating to Gene to go check on Layla.
Gene nodded, and quickly went to where Layla was.
She quickly checked her pulse, and then, with her hand, she checked her mana.
Everyone watched in silence, waiting for news.
Even July 14, who was the most outrageous, couldn't help but feel some fear in Randy's presence, hiding behind Frederick.
And yet, the news they so desperately wanted to avoid arrived.
"She...is dead."
Time stood still, everyone present was surprised, but Joakim...
"…It's your fault."
Ji Noo looked at Joakim, confused for a moment. "What?"
"I gave you my best men to bring that cure back as soon as possible..." Slowly, he walked towards Ji Noo, pushing Anser aside and sending him crashing into Renato's cage, causing it to escape and run to where Layla was. "But despite that, you took your time, they took their time...every minute was precious, and I bet you and Anser were just messing around..."
"N-No, we were—"
"Joakim," Randy grabbed Joakim's arm, but Joakim removed his arm from Randy's grip. "Stop!"
"Ever since you arrived...everything went wrong, everyone died, you were the cause of that, Ji Noo…" Ji Noo swallowed hard. Joakim's words had cut through him more than he'd imagined. "After all, you're a demon. I don't know why everyone trusted you just because you knew things through 'magic'."
Everyone fell silent; after all, the tension was stronger than the presence of a demon.
"…It really makes me sick, those demon boys trying to play the hero."
And then, Joakim drew his sword, Scalybur, shining with incredible power.
"Wait, Joakim!" Randy raised his hand, trying to cast a spell, or an invocation, but his powers failed. "N-No…" And of all those present, Randy seemed the most desperate at the idea of Joakim ending his only hope of changing the history in which they lived.
The sword was aimed at Ji Noo's head, but before it could strike him, a mana shield was created in front of Ji Noo, causing the sword to bounce off.
"Frederick!" Liam shouted, already preparing some smoke potions to escape.
Soon, Anser rose, drawing his sword, and clashed with Joakim's one.
"I should have expected you to defend him…" Joakim muttered, then spat to the side. "Out of my way."
The floor shook, and suddenly, Anser fell to the ground, pressed down by something invisible.
Joakim's skill was not just the strength of thousands of men, rather, it was 'word magic' that evolved into 'leadership skill'.
It works on everyone allied to him, that includes the Sect leaders, even the Great Randy, he cannot escape Joakim Hans' leadership ability. However, it also has some limitations.
Ji Noo went to the window, ready to flee and get Joakim away from there. Once again, playing the 'hero'.
"Don't be a coward, and face your responsibility head-on!" Joakim screamed. "You are the cause of Sherly, Layla's, and Mandeleine's deaths!" Then, he moved his sword towards him again, in the direction of his neck. "I can't let a demon like you live among us!"
"Imitation Magic: Strings." Strings were tied to Joakim's arms, slowing his movement and giving Ji Noo time to dodge. It was Gene who did it.
Liam gave Gene a mana regeneration potion.
"Ji Noo!" Then, Liam threw a potion on the ground, creating smoke. Ji Noo covered his eyes, then felt someone grab his arm.
Was… "Anser?" Ji Noo murmured, seeing Anser's face…I knew that Anser didn't want Ji Noo to be blamed, whether he was guilty or not, Anser didn't want Ji Noo to leave him.
"I'm sorry…" The mere phrase made Ji Noo tremble.
Not out of fear, but rather...
Anser grabbed him by the shoulders, opened the window and threw Ji Noo out. She knew he would survive. They both knew it.
"…Why are you apologizing?" Ji Noo murmured, as he fell from the base, heading towards the forest below him, watching Anser restrain Joakim. "That should be me."
And he fell to the ground.
His body regenerated, and soon, he ran off into the forest. Upon reaching Anarxie's boundary barrier, he simply jumped over it, dodging a few demons outside the barrier, heading in the same direction he had come from.
The third world, hell.
Because, if Joakim was really right, it meant that he was a...demon.