Frederick stopped halfway when he heard the explosion; the mana regulator colliding with his boot...made him...fear.
"But what the…"
"FREDERICK!" His name being shouted by Anser made him turn immediately towards where he was. "BRING GENE AND LIAM, NOW!"
Frederick nodded, then ran through the woods.
Meanwhile, Anser held Astral in his hand, squeezing it tightly.
He knew Ji Noo would regenerate.
But what were the chances that when he regenerated...he would still be himself? What if Raum now possessed his body? What if...
…Would Ji Noo ever be Jeon again?
On the floor, the bloodstains were beginning to merge. Ji Noo's body began to regenerate, but feathers also formed from it, and Ji Noo's tail began to fill with feathers.
And on July 14's side, his body was regenerating, darkness. That was his body. The flames regenerated with him, and when he was able to stand in front of Ji Noo, he let out something similar to a stifled laugh.
"Has no one told you not to use such absurd amounts of energy?" He snorted. "Moron."
But before he could attack Ji Noo, Ji Noo used his tail, sending him flying and crashing into a tree trunk.
Slowly, Ji Noo stood up, rising from his knees where he had been standing.
Slowly, Anser decided to approach him.
"Jeon Kwonoo…" He murmured, while holding Astral in front of him.
In response, Ji Noo slowly turned to look at him. Her face was partially covered in feathers, and her red eyes, now dull, stared at him.
"What?" And despite the initial scare that Ji Noo was possessed by Raum, it was quickly dismissed by Anser, who let out a long sigh of relief.
"I thought Raum...had possessed you..."
Ji Noo snorted, then shook his head. "No, and that's what scares me the most."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's like..." He sighed. "He is no longer in my body."
Anser blinked, confused. What did he mean by that?
Soon, in front of them, trees began to catch fire, of course, all because of July 14, which was surely heading in their direction.
Anser merely frowned, thinking of some way to get closer without being burned alive like those bullets Frederick had fired earlier.
"I just noticed that he uses too much energy," Ji Noo began to speak. "He reached 50% energy a while ago, and now he must be around 60% or 70% of it."
Anser looked at Ji Noo, then looked at the burning trees again.
"What's your plan?"
"To push him to his limit, of course, apparently... he doesn't know how to get rid of all that energy, so he'll be on fire for a long time while he figures out how to remove all that energy."
Anser looked at him again, "They are green flames, Jeon...those flames are more powerful than normal flames, both for the environment and for our souls."
"I know," Then he looked at Anser. "When Liam comes, repeat to her what I'm going to tell you. Letter for letter, word for word..."
Anser swallowed, worried, and then nodded slightly.
"What is your message?"
_
My ears hurt.
An unbearable noise coming from them woke me up. My right arm hurt; I feel as if I've already died. But I'm still alive.
I slowly got up.
I was in an alley, as usual.
I had injected drugs into my arm.
I think I passed out from...an overdose? I don't really care, I just want to die.
But still, why is everyone shouting?
I left the alley. That's when I noticed destroyed houses, fire, buildings collapsing...and dead people in the rubble.
"What…"
I walked through the streets, weak, and it was there, that I looked up at the sky, at the sky...
There was a red glow, from which meteorites were emerging? Fireballs? I can't see it clearly right now.
Children crying, people praying for their salvation...
Will that work?
We have all sinned. I always believed I would go to heaven when the apocalypse came, but...
This isn't the apocalypse, isn't that right? That's not how it is in the Bible.
What is that supposed to be?!
"Liam."
Huh?
Who is Liam? That's not my name, but I read it in a novel.
Ah, right, that novel...
Something like this happened when the world 'rebooted.'
Wait...like in the novel?
Don't tell me that...
"Liam!"
Is the novel coming true?
"LIAM!"
Liam's eyes opened, and quickly, she stood up from the chair where she had been sitting.
She looked around; Gene and Randy were by her side, while Joakim Hans held Renato in his hand.
But that didn't matter to her now, since she had remembered something else from her past.
Quickly, she ran to the window, Gene running after her.
"Liam! Wait, you must be weak!"
She looked up at the sky, the crimson sky reminding her that she no longer lived in the same world as before.
The sun is no longer spherical, but broken.
"…" Perhaps she was wrong, but she felt that this world was...similar to her previous world. But she didn't know how to verify it.
As she looked out the window, she noticed someone running towards her.
"Isn't that Frederick over there?" Gene commented, going to the window beside her. "I thought they were still in the third world..."
It didn't take long for Joakim to start talking. "It's definitely bad news; there's no reason he would come in such a hurry."
On the other hand, Randy put a hand on both of their shoulders. "It might be an emergency, I'll take care of Layla, go with him."
They looked at each other and then quickly left the room.
Randy and Joakim were the only ones left alone, besides Renato.
"…"
Joakim looked at Randy.
"If you had offered from the beginning, Layla's status wouldn't have increased so much, you know?" Joakim said, leaving Renato in his cage, then sat down next to Layla and took her hand, noticing that her skin was completely rotten now.
Randy looked at him, with a guilty expression, and at the same time...another expression that was hard to guess.
"I know...I'm really not...thinking straight since what happened with Sherly...maybe that's why I didn't notice that someone murdered Mandeleine."
"I still think your logic is stupid." Joakim assured, then looked at Randy, angry. "But, as long as Layla survives..."
Randy sighed, then went towards her, and raised both his hands, bright particles coming out of them, settling on Layla's body.
They both remained silent for a while, but both were burdened with guilt and worry about what if Layla didn't survive? But they both knew they had to trust that they would make it.
They had to have...faith.
***
"Energy usage: 70%!" A burst of fire struck Ji Noo's body.
The flames quickly died down upon contact with his body.
Slowly, July 14 straightened up, holding a green flame in his hand. "Huh? Where did your friend go? Did he abandon you so quickly? Ha! What a coward!"
On the battlefield, there was only Ji Noo; he didn't need Anser, at least not now when the flames made him unable to attack at close range.
"I can stop you myself, you don't need him…" He said this, and then plucked a feather from his arm. "Energy usage: 10%..."
Soon, the pen turned into a blade, and then he threw it at July 14, who dodged it. "Is that all the mighty Raum has? Ha!"
But soon, the blade flew back towards him, burying itself in his back.
July 14 turned around, annoyed.
"How could you not dodge something from behind? Ha," Ji Noo replied, using the same tone of voice that July 14 used with him.
And that only made July 14 angrier.
"Energy usage: 80%!" The flames intensified, everything around them beginning to be enveloped in those green flames.
Ji Noo frowned, noticing that his feathers were burning.
"You'd better be afraid, Jeon! My flames will take your soul in less than five minutes!" He said, confidently. Too confidently.
"I just need a minute."
Ji Noo's provocations worked all too well.
"Energy Usage: 90%!" The fire intensified, the green flames taking on a blue hue, and soon, the flames began to burn all the trees around them more rapidly.
Ji Noo remained serious, as always, thinking of a way to push him to the limit, while using his sharp ears to find out where Frederick, Gene, and Liam were coming from.
Anyway, they needed them.
Quickly, July 14 appeared in front of Ji Noo, punching him in the face with fire, burning him, but he soon regenerated. "I hate arrogant people! You're a lucky human! You're not a demon, you're not, you're not!!" Then he went towards him again, punching and kicking him more. "I am a demon, I was created with demon blood, I was treated like a demon...for you to take that title is ridiculous! I am a demon, a demon!"
Ji Noo received the blows, returning some and blocking others. But always keeping him in the center of the place, something that July 14 did not notice.
Amidst all the chaos, Frederick and company soon arrived at the scene, staying outside the area of burned trees.
"Shit...!" Frederick murmured, looking around for something.
"I can see Anser, Ji Noo, and..." Gene said, raising her hand, then frowning, confused. "What is that thing that's on fire?"
"A demon…" Frederick answered, walking towards her. "That bastard followed us here after that Enver and Hyung guy attacked us."
"He's not a demon."
Frederick seemed surprised, but more so, confused.
"His energy...is not similar to that of a demon," Then, she lowered her hand, and instead, she created a bubble around her. "Come with me, I'll take you to where Anser is."
Frederick entered with her, pulling Liam along with him, who had remained silent since they had left The Wisdom and Redemption Sect base.
He knew he should ask what had happened with her, but with everything that was going on...first they had to deal with the threat.
After dodging a few logs that were starting to fall, they soon arrived behind a thick, old trunk, which Anser was hiding behind.
"Mr. Detective!" Liam and Gene said, going towards him, putting him in the bubble, soon, Liam took out regeneration potions to help Anser's burned skin.
Anser turned to look at Liam, then cleared his throat.
"He told me to give you a message…" He began to say. "He wants you to give me fire resistance potions and mana amplification potions."
Liam heard it, and soon, she nodded, quickly, she looked at Gene, who, took out of the air the potions that Anser asked for.
"What are you planning to do?" Frederick asked.
Anser drank the potions, then looked at Frederick. "Give Frederick and Gene the same options...could you create something with magic so Frederick can help?"
Gene looked surprised for a moment, then nodded, giving Frederick the two options and then opening a grimoire in mid-air. "Of course."
And soon, from Frederick's missing right arm, a dark mana arm was born.
"Point to the blade that is buried July 14," Anser said, then got up and ran towards the fire.
Ji Noo blocked the blows that July 14 was giving him, his skin burning.
"Energy Usage: 100%!" And when he reached the part of his plan, Ji Noo moved away before July 14 could throw a punch with all his power. As soon as July 14 released all the flames from his body, he fell to his knees on the ground. "U-Ugh…"
From more than ten meters away, Ji Noo observed him. "I was right, your body still cannot withstand that much power…"
Ji Noo knew it, after all, in a draft of his story, July 14 existed, but died because of his own immaturity in believing he could withstand so much power.
"After all, they are the Flames of Life…" Then, with a small groan, he put his hand into his own chest, pulled out his heart, and threw it aside, while still standing. "…A heart of flames."
July 14 let out a cry of pain, and soon, Ji Noo ran towards him.
What they had to do was seal off all that power, and after that...they would keep July 14; he surely had important information that they needed.
Being close to him, he grabbed his arms, bringing them together, not caring that his body was starting to burn along with July 14's body or that his blood was vaporizing.
"Vulpecula: Nebular Cut!" Anser's scream made everything resound; he made a cut in the air, and then, from his sword, a powerful cut came out, extinguishing the fire of the trees in its path.
At the same time, Frederick emerged from the gunfire, a pistol appearing on his right arm, and without waiting any longer, he pointed at the blade that was on July 14's back and fired. The bullet made contact with the blade, causing the blade to sink even deeper.
"Witch's Heart: Reflection." Gene, in the distance, made shields appear in Frederick to protect himself from Anser's attack.
The attack hit both Ji Noo and July 14, splitting them in two, while when the cut reached Frederick, it vanished.
The flames had finally erupted; Ji Noo could not regenerate, not yet.
With his last bit of strength, he squeezed July 14 to prevent him from escaping.
And soon, Anser gave a skillful and sharp whistle.
"Frederick! Seal the flames!"
Frederick reloaded his pistol, and then fired again.
The bullet entered July 14's body before it had finished regenerating, and soon a circle of mana activated, all the flames suddenly extinguishing, and July 14's body fully regenerating.
On the other hand, Ji Noo's body fell to the ground, melted.
But from his shattered heart, it regenerated; from there, now, his body is returning to normal, his human body.
July 14 stood there, confused, staring at his hands, his body back to normal, but still retaining his horns and tail.
"What did you do to me?" He said, annoyed, then, raising his hand. "Energy Usage: 50%!" But the flames didn't ignite. Confused, he clenched his teeth, and then turned around, where Frederick, along with Gene and Liam, were approaching him.
"Without my authorization, you cannot use your power." Frederick said, watching his arm slowly disappear. "But...without my mana arm, it means you'll never be able to use your flames again."
July 14 glared angrily at Frederick, clenching his fist, and then looked at Gene. "You...! You damned witch, it was all your fucking fault!"
Frederick grabbed him before he could get close to Gene, and then he took off his cloak, putting it on July 14's naked body.
"You are the one to blame, demon."
July 14 cursed, then ran backwards to flee, but a hand on his back stopped him. It was Anser. "You will join the Sect of the Moon, which means, I will lend you my power, and you will lend me yours."
July 14 looked at him, frozen, still...
"WHAT THE FUCK?! I DON'T WANT TO! I AM A DEMON, A DEMON, A DEMON, NOT A HUMAN I'M NOT WEAK I AM A DEMON!"
But Anser, ignoring the shouts, went to where Frederick was.
"You must miss your arm."
That was all he could say. He didn't want to dwell any longer on the pain of losing Sherly; they both knew that.
"Hmph, of course, it's difficult to get used to those prostheses that are so hard to adapt to…"
For the first time, Frederick smiled, grateful.
Anser offered him his right hand, for him to take.
"That's why I looked for you earlier...but Sherly was right," He murmured, taking Anser's hand. "You are a smart boy."
And soon, Frederick's pure mana arm appeared, the arm by which Ji Noo, Anser, and Liam knew him, the same arm that Sherly had helped him perfect it...
Frederick stared at his new arm, amazed, then looked at Anser.
"Why is it the same as..."
"Anser is unable to lend his power directly," Ji Noo interrupted, as he put on Anser's coat. "But he can lend it to you; helping you regain the power you lost."
July 14 tried to hit Ji Noo, but Anser grabbed his arm, pulling him aside.
"And it also means he has more power over you..."
Liam gave a half-smile. "Will everything be chaotic from now on?" But soon, her smile faded. "Wait! Where are Joakim's people? And the cure?! Layla is very ill...ah! And on top of that! Something terrible has happened!"
The four boys looked at Liam, then Ji Noo asked...
"What do you mean by terrible?"