As he wrote, Ren couldn't help but laugh.
The members of Two-Mix were truly unlucky. They went out seeking inspiration during New Year and ended up recording the sound of a murder, even using it as background in their new song.
Singers really did disregard everything when chasing inspiration.
But after this, Ren believed they would probably never dare to record casually again.
[Of course, compared to those two popular singers, Edogawa Conan, who helped his classmates take the blame, might be even unluckier.]
[Using Professor Agasa's tracker, he took Ayumi's place and delivered the tape to the kidnappers.]
[His plan was to go himself, while having the Junior Detective League deliver the tracking glasses to Inspector Megure, allowing them to follow and arrest the kidnappers.]
[But he didn't expect that the Junior Detective League he trusted would refuse to let him take all the credit, and they followed with the glasses themselves.]
[Pfft~ When I divined this and saw the source of the misfortune, I almost couldn't stop laughing.]
[He guarded against enemies in front, but forgot about the people behind him.]
[I imagine that after this, besides being careful about dangers ahead, he'll be paying attention to whether the ones behind him are trustworthy.]
After finishing this, Ren stopped his pen.
Actually, once he saw Conan get involved, he hadn't wanted to bother anymore.
Respecting others' fates was his creed.
But his purpose that day was to attend a concert with the Miyano sisters. If something happened to the main performer, it would betray that purpose.
So he had asked Miwako for help.
But besides the concert, another thing had pleased him.
The collapse of the Junior Detective League.
That group of elementary students only had value with Edogawa Conan.
Once Conan was detached, the League lost the foundation to cause trouble.
And that was very important to Ren.
Destroying a group tied deeply to the original fate might bring considerable gains.
Now it was time to see the result.
[The Lord of Mysteries.]
[Obtained Sefirot: City of Calamity.]
…!?
Seeing the prompt for City of Calamity, Ren was slightly startled.
He subconsciously covered his mouth, exhaled lightly, and calmed his mood.
It seems my guess was right.
Affecting certain characters influences my gains, and destroying tightly bound groups in fate strengthens them.
As expected, Conan's reaction was exactly as I imagined. Being betrayed like that, his resentment was deep, to the point where his bond with those children was directly severed.
But thinking further, Ren paused.
No, not a complete severance. More likely, those children had lost their original place in the story.
As I wrote earlier, Conan now needs to consider whether those behind him are truly trustworthy.
Once such caution appears, their bond will never be as strong again.
From members of the Junior Detective League, they became only ordinary classmates.
There would be no other connection.
Although it wasn't a complete severance, the outcome was almost the same.
From this result, the fate between Conan and those children was more important than I thought.
But in this incident, they themselves had chosen to cut ties.
Hmm, not a bad outcome.
Ren was satisfied with this harvest.
The Sefirot City of Calamity was already worth it.
Closing his eyes, pounding drumbeats shook his ears, and the world turned blood red.
The sky was stained crimson, like a setting sun, carrying a hint of the end.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a desolate, abandoned city.
Drumming filled the air, stirring the desire for battle in his heart.
Black winds swept through the ruins. In the city center, a once-grand bonfire had collapsed, yet black flames still burned within it.
A sense of danger and ruin spread through the city, proclaiming destruction and the coming apocalypse.
Ren stood in the city's center, sweeping his gaze around.
Mirrors, huh.
Crack, crack, crack.
As his perception spread, the space around him shattered like broken glass.
The red sunset still lingered on the edge of the sky, ready to fall.
The ruined city suddenly gained life. Beautiful women appeared everywhere, each seemingly real.
Demoness.
All the women froze instantly, then knelt before Ren.
It truly carried the traits of both Demoness and Red Priests.
The outside of the city was like a Red Priest, but inside, everything was Witch-like.
Ren's gaze locked onto one of them.
The Witch he looked at appeared before him in an instant.
She was quiet, like a lotus without threat.
Ren reached out and lifted her chin. She was like a normal woman, with an incredibly beautiful face.
Joy, pain, despair, immortality, calamity, and apocalypse.
They were the symbols of Demoness in different stages.
Withdrawing his hand, Ren saw their essence instantly. They were sources of corruption, the most turbid part of the Sefirot, and also its infection.
Red Priests who craved war, and Demoness who craved chaos.
A perfect match.
Ren had only this thought.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)