Seeing Ji Noo and Anser together despite all the mess they were in annoyed Randy.
Call him envious of their relationship, and you'd be right.
"..."
However, Randy was rather...puzzled by what Anser said before Ji Noo appeared.
Metraton.
Clearly, it was a name that didn't exist, at least not in Randy's world; however, Agares was able to recognize the name.
«You're not from this world, are you?»
The question Randy had written to Agares in his mind was the first thing that came.
Silence.
"I didn't know you could summon an entire moon, Anser!" That's what he heard in the distance instead.
"Even I didn't know..."
"Eh?"
«Annoying.»
Randy didn't wait for them to continue chatting; and he used one of his skills.
He snapped his fingers and suddenly all the fairies that had shot out earlier gathered in the sky; functioning like a giant spotlight in the middle of the artificial darkness created by Anser and his moon, making Mayu run.
Randy Bornman had hit the moon before...and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
Both Anser and Ji Noo raised their guards, Ji Noo wielding his dagger and Anser wielding Astral.
"I don't know why I bothered to go slowly with you..." Randy began to speak, a golden glow appearing on his right hand. "...Especially with you, Jeon Kwonoo—no, I should call you by the name you've had since you appeared in this story..." And he smiled; a sinisterly calm smile that hid Randy's annoyance. "Jeon Kwonoo."
Ji Noo frowned.
On the other hand, Anser took off his coat, throwing it aside so that it would not hinder him during the battle. "A provocation to Jeon is a direct provocation to me, Randy Bornman." Anser proclaimed, raising Astral in the direction of Randy.
Randy gave a small laugh. "Now you call me by my name? When you were a child you never stopped calling me Dad..."
"Right now, you're not my father," Anser's words seemed too much for himself, his voice breaking softly. "My father would never try to end it all..."
At that moment, Ji Noo realized that Renato had been right that time.
「"Do you think Anser would be willing to kill his own father?"」
The answer lay right in the way Anser was acting, even if he was trying to look tough; his hands were trembling, and it was obvious he didn't want to hurt Randy.
And on the other hand, Randy didn't seem to care.
In any case, his smile changed to a look of irritation, as if he had been reminded of a very embarrassing moment.
Ji Noo was surprised. Could it be, according to Sherly's words, that they hadn't raised him together? Randy...did he never truly love Anser as his son?
「"Randy will not be able to hurt his own son."」
No.
He is capable of doing it.
"What is wrong with you, Randy?" Ji Noo said through gritted teeth. "Didn't you love Anser the same way Sherly did? Didn't living as a family make you think even for a moment that this was the life you wanted?! Why do you continue to despise him?!"
This time, Randy looked at Ji Noo and smiled.
"Of course I thought about it, but I also thought...that once I died, the cycle would repeat itself, and Anser would kill me, without remembering that I was his 'father' in his previous life," That wasn't a provocation for Ji Noo; rather, it was the truth. "Understand this once and for all, Ji Noo, what I'm doing now is for everyone's benefit! If I manage to change this world for my next life...Sherly, Anser—we'll all live in a world like Jeon Kwonoo lived in!"
Ji Noo frowned, clutching the other Elmetron's dagger in his hand.
"A world free of demons...a world where...we can finally live free and happy! Without the fear of dying!"
His explanation was almost desperate.
Randy longed for the real world so much that he wasn't thinking about losing now.
He would win.
That was what Randy said to himself.
"..." Anser frowned, lowering his gaze slightly. A depressing view for this protagonist. "I wanted us to be a family in this life..."
And Randy simply brushed aside Anser's melancholy comment.
"It's impossible to do it in this world, Ciro...how many times do I have to tell you?" Randy said, walking towards them. "If you want a family so badly, forget about helping Ji Noo, and instead...give up..." Then, he stopped right in front of the sharp point of Anser's sword blade. And he smiled. "If I don't win, and you seal me away...you'll never die, Anser, you'll be left alone in this world..."
Anser opened his eyes, slowly, with each word Randy spoke.
«Alone?»
That was Anser's worst fear.
For some reason that even he didn't know, the idea of being alone in a world terrified him; whether it was full of demons, or without them.
Who could guarantee that in Randy's future world, Anser wouldn't feel as empty as he feels now?
That was what he feared; that in the next reincarnation, Anser would still be...flawed.
"...The moon never dies, she is always there...and until the moon dies, you will remain alive."
And those words, slowly dictated by Randy, ended up affecting Anser more than he had planned.
He broke him. Again.
"You're a liar!" Ji Noo was the one who lunged at Randy, bringing his dagger to Randy's neck, managing to make a cut and move him away from Anser, while he remained in the same place, frozen. "Anser will never be alone...if I am with him!"
Those were Ji Noo's words, which miraculously were a lifeline for Anser, who was sinking into his own being.
And fearing that he would remain in that darkness forever, he grabbed the life jacket that Ji Noo threw to him, and managed to regain consciousness.
When Randy stepped aside, his neck healed immediately.
He let out a long sigh afterward; he knew he had trusted his power of manipulation too much. Especially when his victim was someone in love, who saw his lover's words as his only correct guide in life.
However, Randy didn't see Ji Noo as someone so honest, especially since he was still using Anser in some way, even now.
"It's disgusting that you interfere like that in matters that don't concern you..." Randy murmured, and then a rose of light bloomed on his chest. "Pure Energy: Soul of Light."
And suddenly, his whole body lit up.
Anser and Ji Noo realized this, so they didn't waste any time.
If Randy gained much more power than he had before, it would be difficult for them to get a chance against him.
"Anser," Ji Noo called him, turning to look at him. "Do you remember that first spell you cast when we met?"
Anser looked back at him, blushing slightly... "..."
"I-I...I'm not saying this to embarrass you...I know it makes you shy to remember how you used to be..."
Anser began to think...if he wasn't mistaken...
"Supernova Remnants?"
Remnants of Supernova, a spell of Anser's specialty, which combined both his lunar energy and his unique abilities. Which was exactly that; explosions of powerful star energy.
Now with the moon on their side, literally, it would be a very powerful spell.
"I haven't practiced it for months, since when I failed it..." Anser murmured, somewhat nervously, as they watched Randy gather more power.
"Literally, you're now above Randy's level, you don't have to be afraid of failing, you'll make it."
Anser knew it, that's why he was nervous.
Ji Noo sighed, and smiled gently at him. "It'll be okay, I'll help you do it, us together."
And that was motivation enough for Anser.
On the other hand, once Randy finished gathering pure energy, his body took on the appearance of a shining armor, the fairies continuing to float above them.
Agares was the one who had called them.
"Supernova Remnants!"
Once Randy looked at Anser and Ji Noo; some feathers were embedded in his pure energy armor; they were from Ji Noo.
From the tip of Anser's sword, a few lights emerged; a brilliant blue that seemed to rival Randy's armor.
Randy immediately moved at full speed, however...one of the blue lights hit him.
"...!"
Following that, the light exploded, weakening the chest section of the armor, but he didn't have time to realize when more explosions occurred.
Randy had to expend pure energy to create a shield, so that the explosions would no longer destroy his armor.
"Damn it...!" While holding the shield with one hand, with the other he tore the black feathers from his armor. "Did he use the impure energy of the feathers to make those things haunt me?"
It was a clever move, Randy internally admitted.
However...now that he had discovered them, what will they do?
The mere thought made Randy angry.
"Agares," So, he would deal with the main problem first: Ji Noo. He was already fed up with him. "Wake up Raum."
A...'demonic' ability.
They would disturb Raum, who, unfortunately for Ji Noo, was not completely dead.
Anyway, to Ji Noo it feels like he's dead, but to another demon he's just 'asleep'.
Why would one demon tell another demon's vessel that that demon was still inside? Easily, to make him fall into despair and help the other demon take possession of the body.
That was exactly what Randy would do. Help Raum completely possess Ji Noo's body, and, just like he did with Enver, he would control him.
But first...he would distract them both.
"Vulpecula: Lunar Cut!" No sooner had he removed his shield than Anser greeted him with a powerful slash, so he quickly put it back up with both hands.
The power of the cut was so powerful that even Randy sank into the ground.
He didn't complain, as his armor helped him withstand the crushing pain.
"Vulpecula:..." But that other voice, unrelated to Anser's; Ji Noo, was what immediately put him on alert. "...Black Hole!"
«Oh. So they'll resort to sealing me off like that?»
Randy smiled.
He removed the shield that protected him, and instead, he dodged the cut and Ji Noo in the same movement.
Ji Noo hit the rock beneath him, and when he turned to the side, there was Randy; looking at him with a smile.
"That will never work against me...Ji Noo!" Randy raised a hand, bringing it closer to Ji Noo. "Pure Energy: Birth of a Rose!"
A rose immediately grew in his hand, about to absorb Ji Noo inside, Anser managed to grab Ji Noo's feathered tail.
With that grip, he pulled him back.
Instead of absorbing Ji Noo, Randy ended up absorbing Anser's sword, Astral.
The rose closed as it received the sword, and Randy slowly fell to the ground.
"Anser! Your sword!" That's what Ji Noo said, getting up from the ground.
"Is it worth sacrificing the last memory of your mother...for him?" Randy said too, smiling as he looked at his hand.
At least Anser would no longer have a way to attack him. Or so Randy deduced.
"Astral is just a sword of protection," Those words made Randy suddenly...stare at him. "If I want to kill you...I have to use my real sword."
Randy almost lost his temper when he heard that. The real sword? Astral...wasn't that his real sword?
Suddenly, from his angle...Randy saw Anser as a real threat; unlike in his previous lives...the man now standing before him...was more than just an assurance which he was now different from his previous lives.
Was he crazy? No, if not...he had simply been enlightened.
And he wasn't the only one; Ji Noo was just as surprised as Randy.
"I still don't understand you, Anser..." Randy walked around them, at a considerable distance of ten meters. "Ji Noo is nothing more than your penance...haven't you wondered...why your companions haven't contacted you?"
Anser maintained a steady gaze, but Ji Noo...
"Oh...Anser...if only you could see yourself from the point of view that I see you from...you would realize what Ji Noo has done..."
When Ji Noo tried to contact his companions...indeed, none of them answered.
And that suddenly frightened Ji Noo.
Not even Renato, or Joakim...none of them, in fact, where had Renato gone? They hadn't even seen his body before...
"They all failed, Ji Noo."
Randy's voice made Ji Noo turn to look at him, throwing the now useless Identifier to the ground.
"You killed them all."
The revelation was not only a bucket of ice water for Ji Noo, but also for Anser, who opened his eyes in surprise.
His companions? Them?
"Liar...they—" Anser murmured, but was interrupted by Randy.
"They are human, and well, a witch and a demon, but weak, with human minds," He stopped walking, right behind Ji Noo. "Because of those human feelings they developed...they were too weak to face me."
Anser clenched his teeth, and his fists.
On the other hand, every word Randy said seemed to create a new hole in Ji Noo's conscience.
Ji Noo was the one who planned everything, after all.
Now, their plan had failed. They had already lost since their companions died, since...since they lost contact with Renato.
"You said that Anser would never be alone if he stayed with you...didn't you, Ji Noo?" Randy gave a little laugh, which turned into a burst of laughter. "Look at you, now you're the one who would collapse without Anser...hypocritical."
«Hypocritical.»
The word 'hypocrite' was what bothered him the most.
Because it was the word that best described Jeon Kwonoo. And the same word that Ji Noo was now making his stand out even more.
Even though he didn't want to, he was doing it.
That's why he couldn't pretend he wasn't interested now.
Ji Noo's transformation contracted, returning to normal, as he stared at the ground where the Identifier lay discarded.
And Randy smiled broadly. "Exactly, Ji Noo, you killed them, it's your fault for being selfish and believing that human minds would have the strength to stand up to us..." Then, his smile faded, replaced by a serious face. "You and I were always the same, Ji Noo, we sacrificed everything for something, you sacrificed them for Anser...so, learn to live with the guilt, you already knew this would happen."
Yes, Ji Noo already knew, but he trusted that it wouldn't happen.
A mistake.
Before Randy could speak further, Anser lunged at Randy, a fine silver sword appearing in his hands. And before Randy could even notice, Anser cut off Randy's head.
"...!"
Randy's long hair, the hair he took such good care of...was cut.
And not only that, but it made him remember...those past lives.
And he smiled.
His head fell to the ground, but his body remained standing, like a marble statue. "Apparently, you only care about Ji Noo...right?" That's what Randy said from the ground. "And I thought you were fragile-hearted, Anser, it seems I was wrong...in the end, you did inherit something from me while I was taking care of you, huh?"
Anser did not seem to agree, plunging his sword into Randy's body; right into his chest, into his heart.
As always, Randy didn't react, and instead, he just laughed when he saw Ji Noo on the ground, on his knees.
It was only a matter of minutes before Ji Noo stopped being himself.
Randy's hand moved, and using his own hand like a blade, he stabbed Anser in the ribs, causing him to stumble back before he could scrape him.
But he was slow, and Randy managed to hurt him in the left rib.
Soon, Randy's body began to glow, his head and body rising, and from his back, bright wings emerged.
Once his head was rejoined to his body, Randy looked at Anser, who went to Ji Noo's side, trying to bring him out of the trance, while holding his left rib.
"Resign yourself now, Anser...in the next life...Ji Noo will not be...as he is now."
But Anser did not leave Ji Noo's side until, seeing Randy raise his hand towards them, presumably to shoot them...that's when he acted.
He got up from the ground and stood in front of Ji Noo, holding the silver sword in his hand.
"All of you are my family, even you," Those words suddenly made Randy stop, listening for the first time, truly, to Anser. "But you...you were the one who finished them off, my family, so..." He gripped his sword with both hands. "...I'll have to stop you, so you don't take away the last person who belongs to my family!"
Randy didn't expect that.
He had sworn that Anser would be the one to start crying, to be torn apart upon learning that his companions had died, but instead...with sudden resilience, he is there, in front of Randy.
"..."
Interesting.
So, instead of ending things with both of them immediately...he decided...to spend a few more minutes with Anser.
It wouldn't be the same as the times Sherly spent with Anser, but...Randy would make this moment so disastrous in his farewell.
"So be it."
Randy conjured a spear in his hand, and then charged at Anser with it.
Anser dodged, and moved his sword to block the attack with it.
CLANK!
The sound of metal was present, both Randy and Anser exchanged attacks, without using their true power.
For some reason, something was stopping them both from killing each other.
Perhaps, without knowing it, Randy had also formed a family bond with Anser, but it was too late to redeem himself.
Agares' final attack was already half charged.
Randy couldn't stop him, he couldn't do anything...except force Anser to accept the fate Randy had created.
Suddenly, without realizing it while they were staring into each other's eyes, when Randy knocked Anser down with a kick, and lunged to drive the spear into his back, Anser raised his head and...
SLASH...
Instead of penetrating Anser's back, it pierced his right eye. His green eye.
Randy had finally truly hurt Anser, and it almost made him vomit.
«Why?»
That's what Randy asked himself at that moment; why did he feel such a strong urge to...run away knowing that he had just hurt his enemy?
But he couldn't stop.
Not now that it was so close.
"Aa...AAH!" Anser moved his sword upon noticing what Randy had done.
The sword struck Randy's spear so hard that it broke it in two, its pure energy shooting out into the air, towards the fairies above him.
Randy jumped back, but before he could escape, Anser moved his sword and stabbed him in the chest again.
Randy frowned, seeing the blood dripping from Anser's face, swallowed hard, then grabbed him by the neck and threw him aside.
Anser managed to plunge his sword into the ground, and then he ran towards him.
Randy created a shield of pure energy, then turned around, his wings of pure energy flapping as he took flight.
But Anser did not allow it.
He took a long leap, and plunged his sword into Randy's back, piercing the shield as if it were made of paper, and then, with his right hand, he grabbed Randy's right wing.
Randy turned to look at him, taken by surprise.
Before he could pull Anser away from him, Anser tore off his wing.
The balance was gone, and before Randy could remove Anser from his back, Anser repeated the same thing with Randy's other wing, tearing it off.
Both Randy and Anser fell to the ground, and for the first time...blood was coming out of Randy.
Anser was filled with lunar energy, which meant that with that lunar energy throughout his body...his entire body was a weapon.
"Ha..." Randy smiled, not nervously, but...restlessly. "I will kill you."
This time, when Randy got up, he created a sword, running towards Anser, while Anser touched the hole where his eye was missing.
Right now, Randy knew that Anser would miss some good attacks thanks to the loss of his eye, so he took advantage of it.
When Randy clashed his sword with Anser's, he took advantage of his blind spot; he grabbed Anser's right hand and pulled it.
CRACK!
The sound of the joints separating made Anser move his sword again.
He moved it, cutting Randy's arm to separate him from him.
But Randy did not give up, and used his other arm to move his sword, and then bury it in Anser's stomach. His other arm was healthy, and he used it to grab Anser's neck, and then, raise the sword, penetrating further into Anser's body.
"Supernova Remnant...!" He managed to conjure, with little oxygen.
From his sword, the blue glow emerged again, and they exploded.
"...?!"
The explosions went straight to Randy's face, forcing him to separate, and on his chest...his organs were now exposed, impossible to heal quickly.
On the other hand, Anser had Randy's sword buried there.
Anser spat blood, then removed Randy's sword. "Kill me...?" He frowned, then gripped his sword with his left hand. "No...you won't..."
He said it, but fell to his knees on the ground.
Randy noticed; he noticed that it was Anser who was bleeding to death.
"..."
Just like her.
«...How nostalgic.»
Randy raised his right hand in front of Anser; he would finish him off, he would end his suffering.
"This ends here, Anser Ciro."
From his hand came a blinding gleam, a burst of light aimed at Anser.
But the light as it emerged was partially stopped by a shield, a shield that Randy recognized in an instant.
"...Sherly?"
When Anser slowly raised his head, and saw the shield, he was surprised.
Anser didn't know, but Randy did.
"..."
He closed his palm until it bled, while biting his lower lip.
It was a 'farewell' spell, or at least, that's what Sherly called it.
When a member of Sherly's sect died, and used all of his remaining power to protect his companions, Sherly adopted that spell as well.
「"What is that spell for, Sherly?" Randy had asked that time, holding a baby Anser in his arms.
"When I die, I want you and Anser to have lifelong protection."」
Randy thought Sherly was playing around that time, as usual, but when he saw the shield in Anser...
"..."
«He didn't lie.»
But when did he do it? Did he do it...before he died?
«Oh...Sherly...»
Randy swallowed hard, and without realizing it, a tear slid down his cheek to the floor.
«Why did you give up so quickly?»
That was 'Vanguard of a New Life.'
A life where...Sherly would no longer be.
Anser looked at the shield in front of him, and managed to notice that it was made of mana, the same mana that Frederick used, the same mana that Sherly used.
"..."
So, he smiled weakly.
His father was an idiot; Anser would have preferred that Sherly had been the one to provide him with the shield while he was alive.
On the other hand, Randy seemed more frustrated.
With a darkened face, and sunken in tears, Randy walked towards the sky, climbing imaginary stairs; he knew he couldn't kill Anser, so instead, he would wait for the wounds to do it.
Anser struggled to his feet, using his sword for support as he bled from his rib, his right eye, his stomach, and his left leg.
Four wings sprouted from Randy's back, causing Anser to frown, who this time went towards where Ji Noo was.
Randy didn't look at him anymore, and instead looked at the fairies, who suddenly vanished.
The fairies had helped to accumulate at that point the impure energy he needed. "Combined Energy: Angel Eye."
And suddenly, Randy was entangled between those four wings, forming the shape of an eye, Randy's body resembling a sharp pupil, and behind him, Agares' eyes opened.
This was the final step, Randy had already won.