Born to be a prophet.
In this world, after the reboot, all those who were born with superhuman abilities were considered prophets.
No one knew how those abilities were obtained, but they felt safe with the prophets. Some had abilities that made them compatible with animals, others simply magical abilities...and others, unusual talents.
Yumiku Enver and Lahn were examples of 'prophets'.
However, after the death of Yumiku, and later that of Lahn, no other prophets were ever seen. Until those who would create the sects appeared…
Carl V. Clausewitz, better known as 'Mr. A' a magician of manipulation magic. The man who bequeathed his power to Joakim Hans after a 'deal'. Renato Doblevida, the man who used life magic, who was also a seer. And finally, Sherly's sect leader…■■■ was also a prophet like them.
It was assumed that in the original story, Sherly belonged to the same sect as Randy, hence their rivalry to be the heirs of Renato's sect.
"…"
However, I never imagined that in this version of the story, Sherly would have belonged to a different sect; one that could also control mana like Renato's. Until now, we all started reading the details of all the sects and leaders that are on record so far.
Thanks to Anser being Randy's 'son', we were able to obtain this information easily.
Besides...
Anser hasn't left me alone since I arrived…
"Jeon," Liam called me, and I turned to look at her. "Did you know about Miss Layla's dual personality?"
Oh, of course I knew that, I wrote her that way so she wouldn't be just a weak woman and—
"…" And that dual personality made her act...aggressively.
"When I confronted her..." Gene was the first to confirm that, anyway, she was the one who confronted that wild personality of Layla when she still belonged to the witches' side. "…She didn't seem to care if she left me dead."
"So, was Layla a prophet?" July 14 commented, while throwing Layla's personal information onto the table. It was a theory...but perhaps Layla was also a prophet; I already said that a prophet is determined by whether; she was like Yumiko Enver, Lahn, or like Mr. A and Renato… "She had an unusual talent; she had another person inside her, couldn't that count as one?"
Frederick snorted, setting his glass of beer aside to look at July 14, "Of course it's not an unusual talent; we all consider it more of a disease than a talent. So it's unlikely she was a prophet."
Liam nodded, in agreement with Frederick. "Besides, if she had been a prophet, none of your former mage colleagues would have dared to do anything to her, you know... Jeon said that prophets disappeared, and without a prophet in this world...wouldn't we already be lost?"
Of course, there were many things that made this theory that Layla was a prophet...false. Liam's logic was correct; if a prophet had been reborn, the world could have regained the course of history, even if I had reincarnated, history wouldn't have changed, since Layla's 'prophet' influence itself would have kept the original story as it was. But besides that, there was still something else that made my theory of 'a prophet capable of keeping history on its course' fail.
"Enver and Lahn were the first prophets, according to Lahn's scroll...Enver is dead, but we have already seen that he is still alive…" I took the paint I found a day ago out of my suit and placed it on the table. "…And yet, something happened in the past that even as a 'prophet', he could not be able to die as the Lahn parchment said."
"…"
We all looked at each other.
At least Liam and I were able to explain a little to Frederick and Gene what was happening; my mission, which Randy had given me, so that they could help me investigate everything about this world.
The only problem was that Anser seemed to be the only one who still couldn't understand what we had explained to him. "…" He's simply lying on my shoulder, with his tracking demon pet in his lap.
And according to what the others told me, Anser was still very depressed about what was happening.
"..."
And that was another serious problem to solve.
"Ah…" I lied to Randy that I had an ending, but really... I only used that excuse to keep his eyes off me for a moment and let me investigate alone what I found during my trip.
"That's right...Jeon, we haven't told you yet that Renato became human, have we?" Liam's voice made me turn to look at her. Human? Was Renato always...human?
"…What?"
Everyone nodded, and then a note passed from Liam's hand to mine. "Yes...but unfortunately, he has amnesia, so he said he couldn't give us much information about what happened with Mandeleine's death...despite being there…"
And yet, when I looked at Liam's note, I noticed that it was written in English. Not in Anarxie's language.
"…I see…" I read the note; 'Renato need to talk to you,' and double the note; I knew why Liam had given it to me, in case Randy was listening to us or reading our minds, especially mine, since I was now a demon. Upon folding the note, I noticed yet another message: 'Gene said that only you could understand him, since she couldn't.' "I'll have to go see him soon, otherwise it will be difficult to help him recover from amnesia."
Perhaps he said something to Gene that she interpreted as 'ink stains'? If so, perhaps it was because it was related to her existence.
Liam is right, I should...talk to him.
"I suspect Randy of Mandeleine's death," Frederick suddenly said, drawing Anser's attention to the accusation. "…No offense, Anser, but if Randy is always communicating telepathically with his members, how did he not notice that someone murdered him?"
And well, that...was true.
"Joakim said the same thing..." Gene said. "He said that Randy could sense each time his members died, only to be reincarnated; and so far, Mandeleine has not reincarnated."
They all looked at each other; they knew Randy was the most suspicious person on their entire list of possible culprits.
"Perhaps Randy isn't lying entirely..." I calmed the tension at the table, and I could feel Anser's gaze now upon me.
"What?" Frederick snorted, offended. "Are you going to defend him now just because he's your father-in-law?"
July 14 burst out laughing, however nobody cared about that now.
"Frederick." Gene scolded, then looked at me and nodded for me to continue my explanation.
Anyway, I wrote him, and if my memory isn't really that bad...
"Frederick, when Sherly died...you lost the skills from his sect, didn't you?" Frederick nodded, then looked to the side; we all noticed that even he was still hurt by it. "Randy felt the same way you felt when all your abilities were gone; he tried to force Sherly to reincarnate, joining him to his sect."
Everyone looked at me, surprised. And I expected it...only Karmen and I witnessed that scene...
"And according to the trust Randy had with his cult members...the signal of his power is momentarily lost," I took a sheet of paper and started drawing two circles; one in each corner, one was Sherly, the other was Randy. Then, I joined them with a straight line. "When Mandeleine was killed, it was during the time frame that Randy's signal among his members was lost." And then I draw a black dot in the middle of that line. "That's why, when we met with him, he didn't seem very confident when Frederick asked him about Mandeleine, was he?"
Frederick thought, remembering that indeed; he felt Randy hesitate, and that made him distrust him at that moment. "…I see."
However, now with that explanation...
"Are you saying the killer took advantage of Randy's inability to communicate with his sect members...and killed Mandeleine during that time?" Anser asked.
And everyone looked at me.
And the answer was obvious.
"Yes."
"And is there anyone else, besides you, who knows about Randy's signal loss?" Gene asked.
And I... I really can't know for sure; I doubt Randy had ever experienced something like that before, or at least not with Sherly...
"No, nobody else should know...not even Randy should know."
So Randy was now ruled out as a suspect, but now, instead of suspects, there were more unknowns.
"Damn..." Frederick slammed his fist on the table, making it wobble. "If we continue like this, I doubt we'll ever solve Mandeleine's murder..."
And Frederick was right.
"…"
We had nothing; no clues, no murder weapon...it all seemed to have been caused by a 'wild animal' according to Liam and Gene.
"…"
It looked more like it was made by a demon than a human...
"And what if it was the unusual talent of that woman, Layla?" July 14's voice made us turn to look at him. "So...Layla's split personality killed Mandeleine?"
"…"
It was...
"But Layla was too weak to even get out of bed..."
"But Mandeleine was the first to be sent to look after her…" Frederick collaborated, looking at July 14. "Perhaps Randy was informed that Mandeleine was no longer with Layla when he urgently called us at that meeting...and that's why he asked Gene and Liam to look after her in Mandeleine's absence."
"I found Mandeleine's body crucified! Without a heart even! Inside Layla's closet!! Do you think she would have done that?!" Liam said, getting up from the table, incredulous.
"Perhaps it was because she only killed; but she didn't treat the body herself…" Suggested July 14. "Just like you said...maybe it was Huoho who hid the body...anyway, that's usually his modus operandi…"
Frederick looked at July 14, suspicious of him. "You mean you knew it was one of your colleagues and you didn't tell us?"
"No! No!" He cleared his throat, annoyed by the mistrust... "At that time, I still couldn't move my limbs myself, however, I always heard Enver complaining to Huoho for 'making crime scenes too exaggerated' and on that occasion, I knew that he had removed the heart, and he ripped open a woman's stomach, leaving her crucified on a tree to be eaten by fairies..."
And suddenly, everything started to make sense...
"But why did he do that? Why did he hide the body in a closet instead of stealing it?" I asked, perhaps there was something more to that action that we couldn't see...
July 14 snorted, as if he had asked the obvious. "He probably hid it there when he saw Renato looking at him," He thought for a moment. "Huoho is clever, so I guess he thought something like, 'A surprise like that will send everyone into despair, and that bird will be the only witness to what happened'."
"You say that Layla killed Mandeleine, but who manipulated the crime scene...was your former partner?" Gene asked, surprised by the sudden revelation. And yet, it didn't seem strange to her; they...seemed to want something that had nothing to do with fame, money, or even power... "What would he gain from that? Besides the confusion of thinking Jeon was the one who killed Mandeleine..."
"Nothing. And perhaps that's why he did it..."
Frederick looked at him. "July…what were you really looking for? Why did you kill Sherly?" Suddenly, he stood up. "Why did you curse Layla? Why all of this?"
"Hah?" July 14 was about to make a sarcastic comment...until he noticed we were all looking at him; waiting for him to respond. "…" He was now...our ally, in a way... "…They just want...for this world to take its natural course."
None of us said anything.
But perhaps...could there be a possibility that Enver was also searching for an ending to this story? Or perhaps searching for an explanation of why he is still alive? Unless, like Randy, he noticed that he wasn't real...
"Was it necessary to murder Sherly, then?" Anser suddenly said, letting go of his pet, and getting up from the chair where he was sitting next to me. He was angry, we could all see it; and he wasn't the only one. "Why did they do it? Why did they curse Layla too?"
"H-Huh…" He noticed the tension, and looked at Frederick, waiting for him to say something...but he didn't. He looked at me, and I didn't say anything either. Both Sherly and Layla were invaluable allies, as well as important characters in the story, so why were they murdered? "I…I don't know...I don't know why they did it...I still...I still couldn't think for myself..."
He was scared.
Just like all of us at this table.
From now on, our future was uncertain, and perhaps...placing all the responsibility for the deaths of our allies on a demon that was artificially created...was a cruel thing to do.
"…"
And I think Frederick and Anser realized that, so they just sat back down. "…"
At least July 14 helped us solve the mystery of Mandeleine's death, but still, there was one more thing to figure out.
"…Will Mandeleine reincarnate?" Liam said out loud what I was thinking. "Will we ever see him alive again?"
No, I don't even know if...that's possible...
"…I don't know," Since I came into this world, I have never seen any member of Randy's cult die, much less reincarnate. I wrote that reincarnations were instantaneous; so Mandeleine should be alive, however, why wasn't he alive yet? "Perhaps...something else must happen for him to reincarnate."
They all had complicated, troubled faces...
Even me.
"Like what?"
"Like—" A pain in my chest made me stop talking. Quickly, I looked at my chest; it was glowing again.
「You haven't forgotten my words, have you?」
"Jeon!" Liam's voice made me turn to look at her, however, I stopped listening when I started hearing several voices in my ears; it was strange, I'd never felt anything like this before...
All those voices are calling by a different name.
「Ori.」
But I could clearly hear that same demon's voice from before.
It's true.
He also said something interesting earlier...
「"I cannot do it until my prince stops using my power."」
There is someone in this world with a similar ability to that demon; who says that he never stops using his power…
Who?
BONK!
A vase crashed into my head, bringing me back to normal. And I couldn't help but have a déjà vu…
"Jeon!" Liam looked at me, worried; I was on the floor, apparently having fallen off the chair while suffering from chest pain.
On my other side was Anser; I noticed how worried he was. "I thought the same thing would happen to you as when Ryuka saved us…"
"Huh?" Ryuka? What was that name again? "Who is Ryuka?"
"..." Anser seemed surprised, momentarily speechless, he looked to one side, then to the other...and then he looked at me again. "…Let's go tell Renato about our discovery."
"Hmm?" Frederick looked at us, "I thought you were going to tell Randy first."
Anser shook his head, helping me up, and then pointed to July 14. "You, come with us." July 14 swallowed, then nodded. "Frederick, you're in charge. Continue investigating the files of every sect in this world, including wizards and witches."
And for the first time, that sounded like a real cult leader, which even made Frederick tremble, regaining his composure, and nod. "Understood."
Gene and Liam looked at us, and soon, the door closed, and Anser, July 14 and I left.
***
The spoon tapped gently against the corner of the bowl, then slowly brought the spoon towards a man lying in bed; Joakim Hans. "Open wide..." Renato said, however, his hand with the spoon was hit by Joakim's hand, who seemed irritated as always. "…"
"…I warned you; I'm just pretending to be sick, you don't need to be my nurse." Instead, he grabbed the bowl of soup with one hand and drank from it as if it were a glass of water.
Renato sighed in defeat...
He knew that he was the one who suggested to Joakim that he pretend to be sick so they could investigate Randy together, but...
Randy's people kept a close eye on them, and it was difficult for them to escape in order to gather some information.
After their fight, Renato confessed to Joakim everything that happened with Mandeleine; Joakim seemed incredulous, he seemed...sad, disappointed. However, he could not doubt Renato; knowing that he was the only witness who saw the entire crime. Furthermore, Renato assured that it was only a matter of time before Ji Noo came and confirmed his testimony.
And he hoped it would be soon...
He couldn't stand Joakim treating him so badly anymore…
"…Why are you so hard on me?" Renato said, then took a plate of vegetables, and grabbed a carrot, about to eat it, Joakim snatched it away. "Oh…"
"You're a man, aren't you? Suck it up." He said, eating the carrot he had snatched from him. "Besides, your stupid plan isn't working, and I'm already tired of the disgusting food they give me here…"
"But I cooked it all for you..."
"That's why I say it."
Renato's face saddened, a tear escaping from his eye.
"How dramatic, besides, I like the carrots…" But when he noticed Renato's face light up, he immediately changed his tone to a harsher one. "…But not yours!"
Again returned his sad face, and Joakim smiled, satisfied.
However, they were interrupted when Joakim's bedroom door opened; and surprisingly, it was Ji Noo, with Anser and...July 14.
"Renato, bring me my sword." He got out of bed, with one hand outstretched, waiting for him to obey him.
"N-No! You'll make our wait not worth it!" Renato said, grabbing Joakim's waist to try and pull him back down onto the bed, but Joakim swatted him aside, sending Renato crashing onto Joakim's desk and shattering it. "Ow!"
July 14 hid behind Anser, scared… "Damn it! Human, why are you always so defensive when I'm around?!"
"Don't you speak to me! You filthy demon!" However, Joakim wasn't attacking them; instead, he simply crossed his arms and sat on the corner of his bed. "What are you doing here?"
Ji Noo sighed... "…" Then he looked at Renato, and better stopped himself the comment about Joakim's dog-patterned lace pajamas. "We just solved Mandeleine's death, we came to see Renato so he could confirm our suspicions…"
Joakim's gaze hardened, then he looked to the side. "…Whatever, there's the idiot..." He said this, and then lay down on his bed, turning his back on them.
"…He's really bipolar…" July 14 murmured to Anser, who simply sighed.
Soon, Renato approached the three of them. "Yes?" He said, as he removed the pieces of wood from the desk from his wings.
"July 14 suggested that perhaps it was Layla who killed Mandeleine...and since Randy's telepathy was failing at that time...it was impossible for him to know that Layla was the one who murdered him," Renato listened attentively, as did Joakim, who upon hearing Layla's name...he simply closed his eyes. "He also said that a former partner of his was the one who was able to manipulate the crime scene."
And after a few seconds of silence, Renato nodded. "Yeah," Then he looked at Joakim, worried. "That's what happened..."
"YEPPY! I solved it!" July 14 jumped for joy, but was then knocked to the ground when Joakim threw a boot at his head.
"…"
And Anser simply held the unconscious July 14 by the arm.
"So, you're also saying that Randy didn't realize Mandeleine was murdered...huh?" Joakim said suddenly, turning to look at Ji Noo. "I still think it's stupid."
Ji Noo looked at Renato, and Renato sighed… "I know this is the first time we've met...in this way, Jeon Kwonoo..." He said, somewhat nervously. "It really is a long story..."
"But we can sum it up by saying that I accidentally turned him into a human, okay?" Joakim interrupted.
And Renato nodded in agreement with what he said...
Ji Noo gave a half-smile, somewhat nervously...anyway, he had never seen anyone who could handle the tense atmosphere around Joakim, not even Karmen, his sub leader, could…
"Liam told me you had amnesia, so..." But as soon as he said that, Renato grabbed him by the shoulders. "Eh?"
Renato's gaze pierced Ji Noo's, neither of them said anything■—Miss Gene must have told Miss Yoon about what I said, right? "…"
"…" And Ji Noo kept staring at him, intently■-I know Randy wants to find an end to this story, and, Jeon Kwonoo, don't do it, don't give that guy what he wants, what he wants—this is beyond a simple ending.
"Let go." Renato was pushed back by Anser, who then brought him closer to Ji Noo. "If you just wanted to see him up close…" And yet, he said nothing more.
Renato blinked, confused for a moment, then blushed. "Oh!"
"What's wrong now, dude?" Joakim said, looking at him from afar, disturbed by his expressiveness.
"I'm sorry, young Ciro! I didn't know you two..."
"D-Don't misunderstand...us…" Ji Noo murmured, suddenly embarrassed, then scratched his head. Now, what Renato 'told' him...left him even more confused. "Anyway...Renato, do you know how to write?"
Renato looked at him, confused for a moment. Write? Of course he knew how, but why so suddenly—"…Yes."
Joakim and Anser looked at each other, then glanced at Renato and Ji Noo murmuring to each other.
"…" Joakim was terrified to see Renato being so expressive.
"…" And Anser felt like hitting Renato for getting too close to Ji Noo.
Renato's hands moved quickly across the paper, writing with a feather of his that Layla had once given to Joakim. He was writing in English. Renato knew his English wasn't the best; anyway, he'd learned a little English after exploring all of Anarxie when he was still a bird and working for Layla.
Then, he passed on what he had written to Ji Noo.
"You have the handwriting...of a doctor…" Ji Noo murmured, as he read the note: 'I suggested to Joakim that he fake being sick so we could investigate Randy. But Randy has been keeping a close eye on us ever since, so this isn't working.'
"D-Doctor?" Of course, there were no doctors in that world, Ji Noo forgot…
Then he handed the paper back to him. "Forget it..."
Renato sighed, and read the note with the new message on it: 'Why are you investigating him? Does it have something to do with the ending he wants?' "Sometimes you say strange things...Jeon Kwonoo..." And he wrote something else.
The paper returned to Ji Noo. "I don't do it?" And the note said; 'He doesn't want an ending, he wants to become the creator of this story.' And that left Ji Noo frozen.
If Renato was right...then…
So why did Randy keep insisting that I find an ending to the story? Did he want to...distract him?
Anser was talking to Joakim, so Renato took the opportunity to look Ji Noo in the eyes again.
"…"
Jeon Kwonoo.
Ji Noo couldn't hear Renato's voice, but he saw letters slowly being written around him.
I know I'm not real. None of us...but it seems Randy wants to make us real. And if he succeeds...do you know what your world would be like, with an omniscient being as difficult to understand or predict as Randy Bornman?
Yes. Ji Noo always thought Randy Bornman was TERRIFYING. Not because of his power, or his ability to control demons; but because he seemed to be thinking of nothing. But at the same time, be planning something.
He'll do everything he can to become real; he's just using you as bait, remember, he's everything in this world, he even controls demons...it wasn't strange that Elmetron died? That, conveniently, you could possess his body?
"…."
However, how did Renato—■how did I know? That was my last premonition before Randy Bornman betrayed me.
Betray...
"…!" Ji Noo...had accomplished the objective of Elmetron, his antagonist. The Renato standing in front of him...was the same Renato Doblevida; his master, and prophet.
I reincarnated in this new world, but it seems Randy decided that my existence should not interfere with his. And although I was able to stay close to him as Layla's pet...if he finds out I'm Renato Doblevida…
He'll kill me. Again.
Perhaps his name 'Renato' was not a simple coincidence as Ji Noo believed a month ago.
And I agree with what those magicians do; however, there are things I don't understand...and I'm not able to figure them out for myself. Perhaps you can do it. You...seem to understand more about this story...and perhaps you're the only one who will live to find out.
"Oh...my head..." July 14's voice made them both turn around. "What?"
Ji Noo sighed, unaware of how much air he was holding in.
"I told Joakim earlier about Layla...and Mandeleine…" Renato began, crossing his arms. "He seemed...sad...so, I'll probably stay with him for a few more days...but I trust that you, Jeon Kwonoo, will be able to tell Randy about this, right?"
And immediately, Ji Noo understood. He, only he...could investigate what Randy was really planning.
"Yes, I will."
And with that, Renato smiled, relieved… "Thank you so much, really..."
"I just heard you want to stay with me a few more days, you feathered idiot?" Joakim's voice made Renato tremble with fear, and he immediately ran towards him, kneeling beside his bed.
"N-No...no! I was just telling him how terrifying you were...I swear!"
Ji Noo and July 14 looked at each other...
"That sounds weirder..." Joakim said, then crossed his arms. "Whatever it is...with so many idiots in my room, I feel like I'm going to get a headache…"
July 14 sighed, looking to the side. "I don't even know why I came... I'd barely said anything when that guy hit me with his boot..."
Then the door opened; Anser opened it, he was about to leave. "Thank you for listening, Mr. Joakim, and Mr. Renato for...listening to Jeon." He said it, although everyone could notice how forced he sounded when he said the last part to Renato, except for Renato...
"No need to thank us! Come back and visit Joakim soon~!"
Joakim grabbed Renato's head wings with one hand, then glared angrily at the four of them. "DON'T."
And with that, on July 14, Anser and Ji Noo left the room, leaving the two of them alone again.
Meanwhile...Ji Noo seemed to notice something was wrong with Anser. He knew he was talking to Joakim, and it made him feel somewhat curious; perhaps it was because of something Joakim said to him?
"Everything alright, Anser?" He dared to ask.
Anser looked at him, and after a few seconds of silence, nodded, and turned his gaze back ahead.
"It's just...you're not wearing the coat I lent you..."