"S-Someone...someone help me!" The screams of a girl could be heard. Even though she was running through the wrecked streets, surrounded by the bodies of people with their throats cut, she still believed she could be heard and saved. "Help!"
The girl was barefoot; she lost her shoes when a demon chased her after finding her hiding place where she slept. In addition to that, her arm wasn't responding.
Why? Because she injected herself with drugs.
"H-Help me…please…" Nobody wanted to die, however, she saw many people die. Even now, she was worried about her mother...although they didn't have a good relationship, and it was because of her that she had become a drug addict, she still worried about her; she was weak, foolish, and helpless... "S-Sorry…"
And she should be there for her mother; helping her and running away together.
But life isn't that beautiful for her.
"Shem! Yesh shem ben adam!"
A voice was heard behind her, and when she turned around, she saw witches flying towards her.
"AAAAH!"
So she fled.
She ran among dead bodies, rubble, and the remains of collapsed buildings, until finally, she managed to hide inside one; books lying around, some covered in blood, but in good condition. And among those books on the floor, she managed to identify one in front of her; Mr. Detective. A book written by the author Jeon Kwonoo.
"…"
She stretched out the only hand she could move and took the book; she remembered her mother giving it to her as a birthday present; she had never been a fan of books or even reading Asian books.
But the way the author wrote everything about the protagonist; perhaps no one else paid attention to it, but she could see how, in the end, each volume became more like a letter, a hate letter. And yet, she couldn't say exactly who the letter was for.
"…Ah." And when she opened the book, she stopped at the prologue; there wasn't a single letter besides the title. "W-What?"
At first, when she noticed all the chaos that was happening, she couldn't help but think about the book she had read; for a moment she believed that the novel was becoming reality.
"T-This has to be a joke... where..."
But it was impossible. It was simply an absurd novel.
"W-Where are the words?!"
And yet, this absurd novel was a dangerous piece of shit if it came true.
So when she got to the epilogue, and saw the letters come out of the book, and, like bloodstains, flow across the floor, that's when she knew that what she was seeing was real. They were no longer hallucinations from the drugs she was taking; she wished they were. But no. It was real.
Very realistic.
"N-No…"
And if that was real, it meant they were now in the prologue; when the world would reset to make way for the world where the story would begin.
"N-NOO■O■■■■!"
The story would begin.
「Congratulations, you got the l■■d role.」
"…huh…?"
And suddenly, when she opened her eyes, she saw letters slowly being written in front of her.
"L-Lead role?" She looked at her hands; no more scars, no more needle marks or prominent veins. "T-This..."
「Don't die.」
"H-Hah?" And as she stretched out her hand, she saw how her surroundings began to form with letters, and her body felt light.
And so it was, when she arrived in Anarxie's world. As the second protagonist of the story; Liam Yoon Hee.
"Ah!" Her eyes opened; she had fallen asleep while reading the sect files that Anser had commissioned them to read. She looked around, and met Gene's worried gaze, and then Frederick's.
"Liam! Are you okay?" Gene said, worried, putting the paper she was holding aside. "You fell asleep suddenly, and...since you hadn't been able to sleep because of Anser, Jeon and...we decided to let you sleep a little...did you have a nightmare?"
Could it even be considered a nightmare? "…I…" No, it wasn't a nightmare. They were just memories. Memories of his past life, even worse...how she came to that world, memories she thought she would never recover now— "I remembered...things...I thought...my memories were blocked...but…"
"Memories? Did you also have amnesia?" Frederick asked suddenly. No one knew that Liam couldn't remember things. "Do you want us to take you to Randy so—"
"No," For some strange reason, she didn't want to see a character. "I want to see...Jeon Kwonoo."
Jeon Kwonoo was always the writer, the author of this story...how come she didn't connect the dots once she heard Ji Noo's real name? What was happening that even the author himself couldn't put an end to his own story?
And besides...why didn't he tell her before?
"…"
If only he had told her...
…
What? What could they have done?
"…Damn it…"
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Even if he had known, he knew that once the novel became reality, everything written in it would come true.
However, if there was a possibility that Ji Noo had written an ending that was never revealed...that means they could now know what would happen, and even better, prepare themselves!
Perhaps they could avoid a bad ending...
So now she needed to talk to Ji Noo, she needed an answer to that ending Randy had longed for so much.
But, she can't help but wonder if...
What if Ji Noo also had amnesia like she did? Has he also recovered his memories?
_
"Achoo!"
"Bless you."
"Ah, thank you Anser."
For some reason, I sneezed, however, there's nothing that makes me sneeze...maybe someone is talking about me somewhere?
I'd prefer it to be someone I've already met...and not that kind of demon who tried to kill me...
"Why is the way back always so long?" Yawned July 14. "We could have taken...I don't know, Gene's broom, that witch is quick with that thing and the three of us would have fit."
"That's Gene's vehicle, I doubt it would have worked for demons like the two of us, July." I replied. Although it wasn't a bad idea, it would still be impossible for us to pilot something that used magic and not cursed energy. Although, perhaps Anser could have…
But I doubt he knows how to handle those things.
"Did you two at least get the information you wanted?" July 14 said.
And I nodded. Although it was...too much information to process, I suppose so.
Something I want to do is investigate that lost village, 'Sh'ual,' which has Anser's real name—wait, does that mean...Anser...doesn't use that name now? Maybe his mother never…
"Anser, do you have another name?"
"…" Anser seemed confused, then denied it. "Anser Ciro."
So no...that means it's impossible for Sh'ual and Anser to be related.
But perhaps for his mother it was not impossible.
Randy hasn't allowed anyone to go to the ruins that was La Vie en Rose, maybe out of respect for Anser, but...maybe there might be something there related to that.
Anyway, 'Sh'ual' belongs to a way of saying 'fox' in the language of La Vie en Rose. It is unique, the only place that speaks Hebrew and not Anarxie's language.
"Jeon."
Anser's voice made me turn to look at him.
"How long were you in the third world?"
Eh? Why did he want to know?
"Uh…" I didn't even bother to keep track of time; in the third world, time is difficult to calculate, since clocks usually don't work because of the erratic magnetic waves of the third world. "I think that's the equivalent of half a day..." But why did he want to know? "Why?"
Anser shook his head, and simply continued walking in silence.
Again, playing the mysterious one...
"Jeon, what was your world like before you came here?" July 14's question made me feel...out of place for a moment.
"How do y—" Ah, never mind. I forgot that July 14th was surrounded by those wizards, and those wizards know my true self...or at least that's what I want to assume; based on Enver, at least. "It was very noisy, lots of people were rushing around...and time was passing very quickly. In addition, the people were difficult to deal with."
July 14 snorted and crossed his arms. "And? Technology? Were there...flying brooms capable of being used underwater?"
That's an innocent thought.
"Rather, there were...uh, how to put it...large machines capable of transporting people underwater; we called them submarines."
"Woah! It sounds...pathetic…"
Why did I expect something normal from him?
"Ha…whatever..." But, it was curious to me that he suddenly wanted to know about my world. "Why do you ask? Do you want to visit it?"
July 14 snorted and crossed his arms. "No," Then he pointed at me. "It's just that I feel like if your world was really interesting, I don't understand why you ended up here."
Well, it's not like I got to choose it...
"Well, when I got here my first thought was to stay as a ghost, but things got complicated and I had to intervene myself..."
"It sounds pathetic."
"…"
I can't talk to him without wanting to strangle him first...
And then, I looked at the silent Anser.
I know he probably doesn't know anything about what we're talking about, since of course, he doesn't know that I'm not actually a character like him.
Perhaps, if he were real...
"Jeon…" And strangely enough, he turned to look at me. "Let's go out."
"Huh?"
July 14 looked at us for the first time, stopping halfway. "W-What?"
"I want us to go out together."
And clarifying it made it...worse...
"Where?"
"To the city."
Well... I have to go investigate what I promised today, so I doubt I can go with him…
"…" But if only he didn't give me that lost puppy face...it would be easy for me to reject him. "Fine. But first, let's get July 14 to base."
"Oi…"
"I'll tell Frederick to take care of him." Anser said, walking beside me.
"…Oi. Why do I feel like a little kid?"
_
What seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the base.
July 14 was the first to open the door and enter, running to throw himself onto the couch. "I'm never going with them again, I got hurt!"
Anser closed the door behind us, and then I saw Frederick walk towards July 14, and then he sat on top of him.
"A-Ack! Get out!" July 14 cried. "Heavy!"
Frederick just snorted, and to annoy him even more, he didn't get up. "An couch is for sitting, not for lying down."
"Ahh! Jeon! Anser! Frederick is bothering me!"
Better...let's leave them alone.
But just as I was about to leave again with Anser, a hand grabbed my arm, so I turned around; it was Liam.
"Eh? Liam—"
"You're the author, right?" And I froze. I looked at her face, and noticed that her usual cheerful expression was gone, replaced by a serious one. I thought she already knew, so I didn't tell her...but maybe...she didn't really know? "Don't lie to me, just answer..."
"…" Yes...I couldn't lie to her anymore when my name was obvious. "I am."
And I could see how she let out the air she had been holding in; her face seemed to calm down momentarily before hardening again.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"…Well, you see, my old name...'Ji Noo' didn't help me much in terms of revealing my identity..." If a guy with a strange name came along and said he was...I don't know, Shakespeare, that would be suspicious, wouldn't it? That was my logic back then.
"…"
But I don't think my logic seemed logical enough to fill the answers Liam wanted.
I sighed, and without further ado, I knew I had to tell her the truth… "You see, I know that...I should have trusted you enough to tell you, however...I didn't think it was necessary—"
"Jeon, I really don't mind that you didn't tell me at first; that's not what really bothers me." And for the first time, I could truly see her; far from seeing her as the possessor of the body of one of my characters, I see her as she really is; a person. She also feels, she also worries, she also cries, she also feels happy about her achievements. "I remembered my past life a few moments ago...and I feel that, really, there is an ending that even you don't know exists."
"Huh?" 'An ending that even I don't know exists'? "What do you mean? What exactly did you remember?"
I could see her confused face for a moment.
I know that perhaps she doesn't understand either why even I can't know if I wrote an ending or not before I died...however, I am still unable to delve even into my own memories, and I don't know exactly why.
"It's just that..." She looked around, as if looking for something to give me an example, but that wasn't necessary. "…If the novel came true, it was because it already had an ending...right? Otherwise, how could a story without an ending become reality?"
So, she simply followed her logic.
"…" So, I thought, did I actually write an ending? I remember making suggestions to my editor, but we never agreed on anything specific... "Perhaps you're right..." Perhaps the way to find out the end of this story is if I recover my memories; perhaps if...if I can investigate what the world was like, I can solve the clues I myself left behind to be resolved in the grand finale. "Liam, when I was away... I found an interesting place, and I'd like you to go and see it in person."
Liam blinked, surprised, "What do you mean by 'interesting'?"
"Do you remember Anser's birth name?"
"Sh'ual?"
"Yes!" Then, I took Liam's Identifier. "This is the address of the place; it might scare you, so ask Frederick or Gene to go with you, so—"
"Wait…" Then she put her hand on mine, to stop me. "But...why me, Jeon? I'm not...smart enough to know what I have to do..."
Why does she suddenly despise herself? "What do you mean?"
"…In my past life...I wasn't so smart..." She began to tell her story, her gaze turning melancholic. "Not even a good person...I made so many mistakes in my life that even now I feel sorry for them…how is it that even someone like me, who made mistake after mistake...and ruined his own life...could solve something so important to someone; to you?"
"…"
So, that's how she feels.
Liam Yoon Hee. A defenseless girl who fled her aunt's house when she and her cousins tried to kill her, that's when she found Anser, and took refuge in his sect. But then there's Liam Yoon Hee, just a girl trying to survive on her own, not trusting too much in the help her savior might offer...she is still just a timid girl, but she knows that in a world like this, so cruel and full of dangers, she has to manage to survive.
That's what I think of her, Liam.
"So what? They're just mistakes," I finished entering the address, and I handed her Identifier. "Mistakes don't mean you weren't intelligent, they're just mistakes, we all make them…" Even I made many mistakes in the interviews I was given. And yet, they are just mistakes that remain buried in thousands of memories. "You are smart; if you weren't, you wouldn't still be alive."
I could see her face; she was still scared, and timidly took out her Identifier. "B-But…"
"I'm not just saying this so you'll listen to me and go; really, if you don't want to go alone, we can go together once I finish researching other things. Anyway...the important thing is to know that I'm not the only one who reincarnated in this world. If we stand together, we can survive in this world, however, on this occasion...if I went too far, tell me, I'll fix it."
And perhaps those were the right words I chose so that Liam could answer me.
"Jeon…" And she suddenly smiled, determined. "I'll go investigate first, I'll go with Gene! Once I get a look at the place...we'll go together, okay?"
"Oh," So, she would go alone. "Okay." What a brave girl. "But be careful, okay? If it's too much for you...come back immediately, and Anser and I will come for you..."
Liam nodded, smiling, then ran to bring Gene by the arm. "Gene! We have a mission!"
"E-Eh?" Gene's confused voice echoed as they both went to find the things they would need.
And for some reason, even though I'm worried about sending them out alone... I'm still proud. Like when Liam and Gene looked after Layla; they were able to do it on their own, and maybe even give them more independence…It would make them feel capable of doing something for themselves, without our help, but with our support.
Finally, I turned around, and saw Anser's curious gaze.
"Ah…" That's right, I forgot that Anser couldn't hear our entire conversation...and besides that, I had plans to go out with him… "S-Sorry about that...now we can go..."
Was Anser watching us the whole time? How embarrassing, all of a sudden...
At least Frederick was distracted bothering July 14, while July was busy trying to get rid of him and Gene was arranging documents.
But Anser...
"Sh'ual," I immediately looked at Anser; he was standing in the doorway, still staring at me. "What do you mean by saying it was my real name?"
"…What?" Could he hear us? I mean...it's not that I thought he was deaf, it's just that neither Frederick nor Gene could hear us since they were characters like Anser. But if Anser listened to us...maybe he...wasn't just a character? "…How did you...hear us?"
No, that's...
…
Right now, I don't even know if that's impossible.
So many things have happened that the possibility that Anser also reincarnated is not low. However, he had no memories of his past life, nor any of his past life attitudes, like Liam or me. Right?
"I'm sorry..." He muttered, closing the door behind him as we both left the base. "I tried not to listen..."
"T-That's not what I mean..." And yet, talking to him is still... "I mean...were you able to hear everything? Perfectly clearly?" Gene and Frederick mentioned not hearing certain words Liam and I were saying, so Anser may not have heard some of them either...
I looked at Anser, and after a few seconds, he nodded.
"…Really?"
He nodded again.
So...is there a possibility that Anser is also...a reincarnation like Liam and me? Oh...
Every time I look at him, I feel like I understand him less...maybe I was wrong to say that being his creator, I knew him better than anyone else. I suppose it was never like that. And the real Anser has been altered, just like what happened with Liam and me, and perhaps...this Anser in front of me is more interesting than my Anser.
"It doesn't matter..." No, it did matter, but I can't overwhelm Anser with questions; unlike us, he doesn't seem to know he's a character. "Where did you want to take me?"
Anser seemed happier when the conversation changed direction, but I could still tell he was curious about what I talked about with Liam.
"There's a place I saw in the city while I was looking for you..." Ah, when he says it like that...it makes me feel guilty again for having to run away... "And I wanted to see it with you...if you want..."
And right now, he looks shy.
Well, at least things have changed for the better since we met when he seemed very defensive...
Now he's just shy, which doesn't bother me.
It's charming in a way.
Unless he knows it, who knows, maybe he'll want to jump for joy.
"And what is this place you want to take me to like?" I started walking.
"There are books..."
I turned to look at him, books? "A-Ah…" If they're in Anarxie's language, it will be difficult for me to read them... "I doubt I can read them...if they're in...this language..."
He shook his head. "I'll read the books that interest you."
"Oh," Suddenly, he's acting all nice to me, however, I'm not complaining, still, I feel some curiosity about how people write stories in this world. "Thank you."
Anser just nodded, and then we both walked towards the city.
Before the base disappeared behind us, I turned around; I hope Liam and Gene do well with their research...
And above all, that Liam can see more than I did, and that she...can help me remember that ending.
***
After Amina's disappearance, everything became a little more...complicated.
Yumi Enver developed the ability to travel through various versions of the world; that's how he recruited his mages, after all. However, repeating that entire process to replace his colleagues...
"…" No. He wouldn't do that. "Foolishness!" With one tentacle, he pulled down a tree trunk.
Behind him was Yanshan. "…"
Yanshan was always a man of few words; he was just a messenger, delivering the will of his god. This character also belongs to the original story of 'Mr. Detective,' where he was supposed to be one of the antagonist's friends, but without an antagonist, how would he fulfill his role?
That's why he joined Enver; to return to his path, to his purpose in life.
"Marco, Amina, Ballerina...why did they have to be killed so quickly?! Damn it!" And he threw another log.
Yanshan knew that interrupting his boss would be the equivalent of being left out in the cold. And he didn't want that; he had his boss.
According to what Enver said, his current wild 'self' is simply a consequence of having been hidden away in the third world for so long. And, for those who don't know, being in the third world for so long, being a half-demon hybrid, caused a loss of temper, especially memory. So, a human could go out and enter the third world unharmed, but it affected hybrids and demons much more. Yanshan was just a ghost, so that didn't affect him.
However, being a ghost meant that no one could easily see him.
And that was what bothered Enver about Yanshan; that he was a ghost. Whereas Enver liked to use intimidation as a way to demonstrate his superior power and intellect.
"Hyung is still alive, Boss, couldn't you wait for his regeneration?" And then he pointed inside his cabin; his base.
Indeed, Hyung had the power of the diamond, so his body was also a diamond, and for him to die...was impossible. But having been badly wounded in battle, his regeneration became slower, leaving him like a piece of diamond while he regenerated.
"No, I can't…" But of course, that took a long time, almost as long as it takes for a diamond to form naturally. "With Renato now in a human body, it will be difficult to move around…the only one who could kill him was Amina, but apparently that guy was smarter than her."
They hated blood, but the situation was dire, so they had to adjust to the few options they had, even if it included killing others.
"What are you planning to do next, Boss?"
Enver snorted. "We'll stick to the same plan... let's try to intimidate Joakim. Once he feels intimidated, it will be easier to distract Renato, and we'll be able to get into Randy Bornman's hideout."
Anyway, the big fish was closer than they expected. And that was a relief. "Everything is going according to plan...unless something happens that forces us to deviate from it."
Yanshan nodded, then jumped onto the roof of the cabin.
"Then I'll do my part of the plan…"
In any case, it would be Enver who would deliver the final blow; he would be the reason why Randy Bornman, the first and most powerful Sect in all of Anarxie and the world, would fall.
"We mustn't let him get away with it..." Even if that meant putting other people's lives at risk, and especially the lives of people close to Randy Bornman.
"So our goal is..."
"Anser Ciro."
Yanshan looked at Enver.
"If we attract him, it will be easier to attract Jeon Kwonoo."
Yanshan slumped, and with his target already marked, disappeared into the air. "Got it."
Right now, the second part of the plan would begin…
"Let's put Sincerity into action…" He frowned as he gave his monologue. "Randy Bornman...you will fall here and now…" The logs he had previously thrown down were beginning to disintegrate due to the poison dripping from his tentacles. "…by my hand."