La vie en Rose.
A rather peculiar city; there were no men, all its inhabitants were women, who followed their own goddess.
Vulpecula, daughters of Vulpecula, followers of the immortal moon.
They managed to achieve immortality, but at the cost of all of them being infertile.
Except for one. One of them was able to get pregnant by the moon.
The son of the moon.
The first male in the entire history of La vie en Rose to be a descendant of the Vulpecula.
He is.
But, in exchange for one man, all of Vulpecula's daughters would be attacked, captured, and...eliminated from this world.
"Randy! Where did you go?" A young man with long black hair, smoking a cigarette without caring that he was in the middle of the forest. "At this rate, we'll never get to La vie en Rose…"
Although, well, he, Sherly, already knew that his help would not be accepted by the women of La vie en Rose.
However, demon attacks were already too frequent in areas that Anarxie's demon hunters could not reach.
So, Randy and Sherly, two future sect leaders…they decided that would be their first mission.
But of course, Randy always liked to disappear.
And he…
Well, he wasn't very good with directions.
As he walked, a noise soon arose; he drew his sword. Was it a demon? A wild beast? A bear? Or worse...a—
Baby?
"Waah! Waah!" As soon as he turned around from a tree, he found a baby wrapped in a cloth full of blood and placenta, apparently a newborn.
He paused for a moment, then threw his sword aside and picked up the baby.
"Where is your mother?" He said, while cleaning the baby's placenta. It was then, after finishing cleaning him, that she noticed the baby's white hair, but in addition to that, on his back he had the mark of a moon. "Wait…"
It was then that he realized that the baby was from La Vie en Rose.
"Ra—" he was about to yell at him again, but reconsidered when he saw the baby so calm now. "That jerk makes me feel like a single mother..."
"Sherly."
Randy Bornman suddenly appeared behind him, startling him and causing his cigar to fall to the ground.
He turned to look at him immediately, angry.
"Stupid, wretched, damned bastard…" Sherly said, and then showed him the baby. "I found this child; apparently, he is the son of one of the women from La vie en Rose."
Randy looked at him, then sighed.
"Sherly..." Then Randy brought out a white dress; one typical of the women in La vie en Rose. "Something has happened in the village."
Sherly frowned, then held the baby tighter and followed Randy.
After dodging several rocks and trees, they soon reached the top of a mountain, and there, they saw everything that had happened in the village...
A thick smoke began to dissipate; noticing that it was poison, Sherly covered the baby with the piece of cloth. In addition to that, several demons fed on severed arms and legs lying on the ground. The poison killed the demons, yet they continued to devour the human parts.
It didn't take much research to know that someone had wiped out the entire village.
A genocide, from which only the baby in Sherly's arms had survived.
"There hadn't been a pregnancy among the women of La Vie en Rose for over ten centuries," Randy began to speak, turning to look at Sherly. "The pregnancy of a woman who is a daughter of Vulpecula lasts nine years; perhaps that child was the one who condemned them all for being the first male."
Sherly looked at him, then sighed.
"So...he's the last descendant?"
The word "last" made him feel something...weird.
"They were immortal, how could anyone have wiped them all out? And what about his mother? How could she have left him there and not been with him?" Sherly asked, "Is there really anyone capable of doing that?"
Randy turned to look at him, then sighed.
"That's what I don't understand," Then, he raised his hand, a dazzling light surrounding the demons, and then turned them into smoke. With all the space now clear, he then lifted a stuffed cat from under one of the pieces of rubble. "Who is capable of destroying immortality?"
Then Sherly took the stuffed animal.
"Perhaps..." Then he looked at the baby in his arms, now fast asleep. "Immortality does not exist."
Randy sighed, for the first time, at Sherly's words...
He felt that he got the right words.
And that made him afraid.
***
"Ciro…" Randy moved his hand towards him, but before he could do anything, Anser pulled him away.
This time, perhaps it was the first time he had seen him truly angry.
And for some reason, it reminded him of the fact that immortal blood still flowed in Anser, besides that...Vulpecula blood.
Anser spread his legs, then placed the sword in front of him.
"Vulpecula:…" As soon as he began to recite it, the moon peeked over the mountains, the smoke of the poison unable to cover the moon's brightness. And then, he raised his sword in the air, Astral shone, a blue glow, which made Randy back away. "Moonlight!"
And soon, he slashed with his sword.
The cut was powerful enough to slice through the poison in its path, including Randy's barrier, and more importantly...
Cut through the mountain.
_
Shit, this is bad...
"I knew you guys would be easy, but not that easy..." The woman said, then moved towards me, and then, she grabbed my arm. "But that doesn't matter, only you matter to me."
Then, she snapped her fingers, a cloth flying in the direction of Mandeleine; however, Sherly's shield activated, disintegrating the cloth.
She looked angry.
"I should have known..." Then, she directed her hand towards my chest, but a shield protecting my heart activated, breaking her hand and causing her to back away. "Damn…whose the hell is that shield?"
Well, it's a normal reaction; any enemy would say that in response to Sherly's defensive mana.
Then she snapped her fingers again, several cloths descending from the sky, and then she hung from each one of them, while a humanoid shape formed from the cloths.
I don't know who she is, but...
If he's able to use that Neutralization magic and the cloths...right now, when neither Mandeleine nor I can move, it'll be a problem.
"Ji Noo…" I heard Mandeleine's voice, and that's when I noticed his hand starting to move. "I think we can go out..."
Then, he tried to move his limbs, and then managed to pull out a third of his body.
However, it was already too late, the fabric humanoid was already finished, which soon pointed a sword made of fabric at us.
"I don't need all of you if I can take your heart, meanwhile you..." She looked at Mandeleine, then smiled. "Kill him."
The monster obeyed, raised its great sword, and was about to strike Mandeleine or me...
SLASH
A great cut split the monster in two, and not only that, but the woman as well.
The woman opened her mouth, but when she noticed the blood coming out of it, she fell to the ground.
But that didn't end there.
We too fell to the ground after the cut tore through the monster that absorbed us.
The smoke dissipated, and soon the mountain began to tremble, on the verge of collapsing where it was penetrated by the cut.
Mandeleine quickly grabbed me and ran with me under the mountain, taking advantage of the fact that the poison had dissipated.
I don't know what caused it but...we were saved.
_
"Layla, Genesis! Look at that!" Liam, who was about to leave along with Sherly and the others, stopped, pointing at the bright cut seen in the sky. "Will Ji Noo have succeeded?"
The witch with light blue hair looked at the scene, then opened her eyes, surprised. "No…" she walked forward, limping slightly, passing by Joakim Hans. "He didn't do it, that was..."
"Astral."
Layla finished speaking, causing Liam to look at the scene in surprise.
"It's...beautiful in a way..." She said, looking at the tiny particles of glitter left by the cut, resembling stars. "This is the first time I've seen something like this…"
And perhaps it was the same for everyone else.
Layla, who always dedicated herself to alchemy, and to investigating the whereabouts of her lost master...she saw some hope in that beautiful cut.
Genesis, the witch who carries the burden of power and regret for her lack of control over her powers...was even reassured by it.
And even those who always complained that beauty lay in destruction were mesmerized by the sight of this image.
This was the end, and at the same time, the beginning of something good.
Because, after this, good things would come, right?
"Mr. Detective! Mandeleine, Ji Noo!" Liam ran towards them, hugging Anser and Ji Noo, who was being carried by Anser, still paralyzed.
"Liam, It's a relief that you're okay…" Ji Noo murmured, hugging her back with one arm.
Frederick simply sighed, staying by Sherly and Karmen's side.
"The area is safe now, Ji Noo?" Joakim Hans asked. "Had we known from the beginning, we should have sent Anser and not you…"
As always, negative, but that didn't matter.
"I suppose so." Ji Noo replied, smiling slightly.
"Sir, we should file a report," Mandeleine said, standing in front of the three guys. "A strange woman tried to steal Ji Noo's heart; if it weren't for Mr. Sherly's shield, who knows what would have happened."
Joakim, Layla, and Sherly looked at each other, trying to figure out who it was. But there wasn't a woman who wanted to steal a heart, especially one where a demon resided.
"I'll send my men to investigate, there's no need to worry," Joakim confirmed this, glancing at Karmen, who nodded and pulled out her Identifier. "Karmen, we'll leave now, we need to start the investigation."
And soon, they both left.
Sherly sighed, then walked towards Anser, Ji Noo and Liam. "So it was you who made that cut, huh, kid?" Sherly patted Anser on the head. "I'm proud, I taught you well."
Liam smiled at the tender scene.
Soon, she caught Gene's eye, who was watching them from afar.
"And what will happen to Genesis?" She asked Sherly, who lit a cigarette. "It's dangerous if we let her go free, but if she's free, maybe..."
"We can take care of her," Ji Noo called, surprising Sherly, Liam and Gene, who were listening to the conversation from afar. "She will be helpful to us later."
Sherly looked at Layla, who nodded, and soon, she took Gene with them, in front of Anser.
"But to do so, Anser must unite her with his Sect, so that if she ever gets out of control again...he can neutralize her immediately."
Layla's words were serious. After what had happened to the other witches, and now Gene was the only witch left...
"If Ji Noo wants that, so be it," Anser responded, with one hand, to take her towards her, so that she would give him her hand. "You will join the Sect of the Moon, which means, I will lend you my power, and you will lend me yours."
With the deal up in the air, it was solely her decision whether to accept.
Gene looked at Liam, who, upon seeing her, only smiled slightly.
"We'll be two girls if you join~" She said, with a giggle.
And perhaps what Gene needed most now was not to work, or to redeem herself...only the company of more people whom she knew she would soon learn to trust and to earn their trust.
So, she took Anser's hand, giving it a sparkle, and soon, let go of his hand.
And despite believing she would feel something... she felt nothing, she felt the same, but, seeing Liam's anxious face...
"I feel lighter..." She said, looking at Liam, who gave a little laugh, and then put her sweater on Gene.
"I know! I felt that way too when I joined!" Liam said, grabbing her hand, and then giving her a regeneration potion. "You still look weak, drink it!"
Layla smiled, somewhat amused by how quickly Liam accepted her.
"You guys are really a sect full of weirdos..." Frederick commented, who then kicked Sherly in the ankle. "Let's go, old man, you have work to do, grandpa."
Sherly turned to look at him angrily, then followed Frederick, but not before turning back and saying; "See you tomorrow! Tell Randy to search about the woman and give me his report!"
Everyone nodded, and then the two of them left, leaving only Layla with them, along with Renato, her parrot.
"So, this is our first mission accomplished as the five sects united, huh?" She smiled, then floated into the air, Renato following her. "We have to do this again someday; but as a friendly outing! I'll be eagerly awaiting that day! See you later!"
And soon, Layla disappeared into the sky, heading towards her own sect.
And now, the sect of three, now had one more member.
"Let's go home... I'm starving..." Ji Noo said, while Anser helped him walk. "We should buy a car..."
"Car?" Anser said.
Oh right, Ji Noo forgot that didn't exist here.
"A carriage, I meant."
"Hm…"
Gene looked at them both, then Liam pulled her hand and led her along with them.
"There's no need to be so shy! Come on! I'll show you your new room, and we can decorate it together, or maybe even make potions together. You're a witch, aren't you? I want to be your apprentice!"
Is this what it felt like to have friends...?
It feels good.
"Okay…I will."
She hoped this lasts for a few more centuries so they can enjoy it forever.
Forever…
***
A black hallway.
A circular table, the discussion table...
"Ballerina was caught," a woman with skin as dark as the galaxy, blue eyes and hair as blue as a shooting star. "What will we do now?"
"One soul in exchange for another, easy," said the person in front of her, a man with a dark complexion, long black hair, and wearing a suit. "I can take care of it, you don't need to worry too much, Amina."
"But I also wanted to kill the person who murdered Ballerina..." Another person said, a female voice, but in a male body, with long hair, and dark eyes. "She was about to show me her dances on silks...Hyung shouldn't be so ambitious..."
"Silence."
And finally, next to an empty chair, stood a man with black hair, green eyes, and dressed in a hanfu, but, besides that, he had four tentacles behind him.
"Amina, Hyung, Huoho…" He called them over, and then placed a photo in the middle of the table. "We won't be able to reach Ji Noo if that guy with the shield continues to protect him."
The man, Hyung, smiled, knowing what it meant. "So you don't want revenge, you want us to go straight for the guy with the shield?"
The man nodded.
"You are capable of doing it, I will give you some of my poison, make sure you wipe out his mana."
Hyung smiled, then stood up, adjusting his glasses.
"Ready to serve as always, my lord Enver…"
Yumi Enver, the leader of this small agency that was looking for...
Ji Noo's heart.
"Don't let anyone find out about you."
"Got it."
And with that, he vanished into smoke.
"Huoho," Enver called, making Huoho smile. "How is July 14? When will it be used?"
Huoho chuckled, then crossed his arms.
"We just need Yanshan to arrive with the blood we need."
Enver smiled, pleased, then looked at the shy Amina. "Amina, your turn will come soon, don't worry about a few lives, she'll be fine."
Amina nodded, a tear falling from her eye…
"Thank you, Boss…"