Nothing else matters.
With that, one can achieve victory; lose everything, so as not to be afraid of losing something.
"…" As a child, Lahn said that butterflies could blind you if you looked directly at them; he said 'they are so beautiful that no filthy human should be able to see it'. And yet, even now, I still don't understand that analogy. "You are beautiful…" On my tentacle, that green-winged butterfly landed.
Perhaps my poison doesn't affect it?
"…"
So I simply continued drawing; using as inspiration those flowers that resemble bells, but are nevertheless white, and seeing them makes me feel a certain peace. I moved my brush across the paper, the black ink oozing from my tentacles helping me to shade, and finally, a greenish slime trickled from yet another tentacle; with that, I decided to paint that butterfly.
Such a beautiful being, who knows how many hours or days it has left to live, needs to be remembered. Just as Lahn would have wanted.
"Yumiku Enver."
A voice made me turn around.
"…Jeon Kwonoo."
I didn't think this would be so easy.
_
I never thought I'd see Enver so...ordinary?
Watching him paint made me feel that he wasn't really surprised or scared by the fact that July 14 brought us to his hideout.
Although, I must say I trusted him too much; along the way, we got lost several times, and on other occasions we simply ran into fast demons, forcing us to flee from them before we could kill them.
I would say it was my worst trip...and I will say it, yes, it was my worst trip. Enver stood up from the bench he was sitting on, retracting his tentacles and placing the paper and paintbrush back on the seat; a green butterfly flew towards the lilies that Enver was painting.
"We were about to pretend we kidnapped you to lure Anser and consequently you...I'm grateful you didn't force us to do that." His sincerity made me tremble. "Tell me, Jeon—have you finally realized that we're right? Will you give us the victory?"
"Never." Anser spoke before I did.
And that just made Enver smile. However, it soon faded, especially upon seeing July 14, who was behind Anser.
"…" I can't tell if he was upset, or surprised to see him alive, although, perhaps it was both. "I thought you were dead."
And I guessed right.
July 14 shuddered with fear, grabbing Anser's arm.
"I wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind…" And suddenly, Enver smiled; as if he already knew the reason for my visit.
"Of course. We both have a lot to talk about..." Then, he walked towards a cabin hidden among the trees. Immediately, the three of us started moving, until… "Just Jeon. You two, out."
Anser frowned suspiciously, about to say something, July 14 grabbed his arm tighter, scared, and then pulled him back. Anser looked at me, worried, "Okay, I won't be long. Why don't you take this opportunity to pick up some food for Mayu?"
And suddenly, Anser pouted.
"…Please." I patted him on the head, and July 14 too. "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
July 14 sighed, still holding onto Anser, while Anser simply nodded.
Finally, I entered the cabin; there were no beds, or any furniture, other than a table and six chairs. In addition to the pile of papers, jars, and precious stones on the table, there was also a piece of diamond floating in a glass of water.
"He is Hyung."
Enver's voice behind me made me turn to look at him, and then I looked back at the glass. "W-What?"
"A true magician doesn't die so easily; Hyung can regenerate as long as a piece of him remains intact, so we're simply helping him regenerate, although it will probably take a ages." Enver sat down in one of the chairs, arms crossed, and then looked at me. "Anyway...what do you want to know? About this world? Its rules? Or the fantastic way to travel from this world to another?"
It all sounds interesting, however I don't want to know that, at least not right now. "You're Lahn's brother, aren't you?"
Enver looked at me, with that smile. "…" Then he nodded. "Randy told you, right?" Suddenly, slowly, a tentacle emerged from behind him, dripping with venom. "Be honest, Jeon...did you come here of your own free will, or was it Randy who told you to? If it was the latter, I swear that—"
"Sh'ual."
And as if I had said the magic words, Enver's face, for the first time, seemed surprised. "…What?" And then, I placed in front of him that painting I had found. "…"
Enver's eyes analyzed it, saw the face of each person that was drawn, and then his gaze fell fixed on one in particular; to the man who was helping his tentacles emerge, Lahn.
"…Where...did you find it?" For the first time, his voice sounded...weak.
"It was in a dojo; when I was leaving the third world, I went through several doors, and as my final destination, it was that town called 'Sh'ual'…" Then I looked at Enver. "Everything was destroyed and deteriorated...but surprisingly, that remained intact."
Enver looked at me, and soon, his face hardened again. "…" Slowly, his irises shifted to the right. "Yes, both I and Lahn were from Sh'ual," So, I was right. "But, Sh'ual is now simply a forbidden word for me; tell me, Jeon..." And slowly, he bowed in front of me. "My town didn't exist, did it? You never created it...right?"
Instead of being threatening, his tone felt harsh and desperate; perhaps what he was really looking for was explanations; just like Randy. "…Yes. It didn't exist. Sh'ual was originally Anser's true name."
"I already know that."
Ah, that's right...I just remembered that Enver called Anser that the first time he saw him. "…How did you know? Did you also know when...you traveled from reality?"
And suddenly, a smile reappeared on Enver's face. "No," he stated. "I know it because Anser's mother was the one who killed the people of Sh'ual."
…
"…What?"
Anser's mother...a murderer? No, no, that was impossible...
"…" And yet, Enver's face showed not a hint that he was lying, or provoking me; he seemed genuinely sure of what he was saying. "It's strange that you're surprised; wasn't Anser's mother supposed to be a murderer when you created her? Tell me…Jeon Kwonoo…" He stood up from his chair suddenly, this time, angry. I could see the force with which he clenched his teeth to avoid charging at me and killing me… "Was Lahn supposed to be murdered by the people of Vulpecula? Or that all my brothers, my people, my father, or my mother were unjustly killed when we offered to protect them from the demons? Tell me, Jeon Kwonoo...what the hell is happening? What will happen to me?! Will I die like them too? Did you prepare an end for me like the antagonist of this story?! Did you ever even think of creating me?! Tell me what the hell is going on! Why do I have to be the one to fix this mess?! I...I..."
"…"
"I just wanted to be an exorcist alongside Lahn."
So that's how he feels; although he's right about one thing, and that is that I never made his existence possible. And although it may sound cruel, sometimes I think that most people who aren't characters are useless to me; because I'm looking to save the story, not background characters.
Right now I even feel a little sorry for Enver; I never contemplated his existence, and he'll probably have a 'natural' death in this world, not one where everyone remembers him, or gives him some kind of recognition. Just like what happened with the members of Sherly's sect; they were only mentioned at the funeral, and the only ones who seemed to suffer were Anser and Frederick.
"I'm sorry, Enver, but..." But what can I say? 'But you won't live to find out what happens'? Should I even say that? "The story has been so altered that I can't even guess what will happen next...that's why I'm investigating; investigating this new world to find out what's going on!"
Perhaps I'm giving him hope for a better world, and I know that's bad for a character who should already be dead.
"…"
And his silence made me understand that he didn't trust me.
"…Exorcists don't dream," He said suddenly. "You know that, right?"
Of course I know, I created that concept. "Yes."
"And if an exorcist were to dream, what would happen?"
"…"
I don't know. I can't remember…
Huh?
I can't remember? But I perfectly remember my life before I got here; it's impossible that I would forget such a basic concept that I put in my very long, multi-volume novel…
It was in high school that I started writing and then I met...who?
"…"
Why can't I remember? I swore I hadn't lost any of my memories when I transmigrated—no, reincarnated.
Because if Eiram's logic is correct...
If I reincarnated, would that mean my memories are only just forming? Even so, with Liam, if she reincarnated too, she's already recovered hers, so why haven't I?
"You don't know that, do you?" Enver sighed, then turned his back on me. "Before we died, the last night we truly slept peacefully, Lahn and I dreamed," What? Dreaming?
And even though it's something I probably shouldn't delve into so much so as not to hurt Enver, I still couldn't help but ask. "And what... did you dream about?"
"…I dreamt that Lahn murdered me, after transforming myself completely into a demon."
"…" If I remember correctly, Randy told me that in Lahn's scroll, he mentioned that when Enver became a demon, Lahn was forced to kill him to protect the others; however— "Wait...if Lahn died first...how did his parchment survive? How did they find it in such a hidden place as Sh'ual?"
"Parchment?" And Enver's question suddenly made me freeze. "He never wrote anything," Then the parchment that Randy showed me... "Our sensei even forbade us from writing down our exorcism techniques so no one would steal them. Was such a thing even necessary in the original story?"
"…Yes," Indeed, yes; because if Lahn never wrote a parchment...then...that parchment...who wrote it? "In that parchment, it says that you were dead; and you died just as you dreamed..."
And Enver seemed surprised, then sighed.
"I don't know, the only thing I know is that when an exorcist dreams, it means that something bad will happen."
And using that theory of Enver, perhaps that's why both of them, as exorcists, dreamed; perhaps their senses already foretold what would happen.
"And how are you so sure that Anser's mother did it?" I never wrote down the identity of Anser's mother. She was dying anyway; however, even so, being from Vulpecula, from a clan that no woman left, it was impossible for her to organize anything. Much less a genocide.
"…"
But, if that was really the case, it meant that the genocide of La Vie en Rose was caused by Enver as revenge for the genocide of his own home, and not really from a demon attack.
"I was in charge of exploring the Third World," He began to tell his story. "But, I realized that being part demon, only hours passed before my body began to lose its human consciousness…"
…Huh?
Didn't that happen to me...when I went to the Third World?
"My team was wiped out; only I survived. As soon as I escaped and made it back to my village, I saw the same hooded figure that Anser's mother had worn that time…" Did Enver meet Anser's mother face to face?
"How did you manage to meet her in person?" I noticed his curious face, so I decided to explain a little to him… "She was from the Vulpecula clan! That is, they...live and die in La Vie en Rose, their home; they are supposed to never leave their place…"
And Enver frowned. "Are you an idiot?" huh. "No human is capable of living and dying in the same place without putting up a fight; that's obviously a lie."
"…A lie?" Are you trying to imply that I'm lying? Me? The author? Me, who created this world? "But I—"
"Yeah, but this world is no longer your creation."
And that's true.
However, I want to have some control over what used to be part of my daily life; the only thing that made me feel like I was good for something. "Does that mean...you annihilated her clan in revenge?"
"No," That's what he said, and that made me... curious. "I was never able to find out where she was hiding, until about thirty years ago."
That means...it was two years before Anser was born.
"And what did you do when you saw her?"
Did he yell at her? Insult her? Did he try to kill her or threaten to kill Anser? What did he do?
Although, if I had been in his position...
Perhaps I would have made her spit out the truth.
"…"
And yet, he said nothing.
A few minutes passed before he spoke again: "Enough."
"Eh?" But when I recognized Enver's voice, I immediately got up from my chair and went to the door, in case I had to flee. "So...you won't tell me what you did when you found Anser's mother?" I know I shouldn't insist, but perhaps Enver is the only one who knows what was happening before her clan was eliminated.
"Get out," And he glared at me. "Before I regret breaking our little peace agreement."
Perhaps the wisest thing is to leave Enver alone...perhaps I can speak with him another day, when I can find another way to question him...
Perhaps he's not ready.
"Jeon. Wait."
Eh? I thought he told me to leave a few minutes ago...
"There's something you need to see."
***
Among giant trees, rose bushes surrounded a specific place; a village. Beneath their feet lay old rails, however, they had never seen a train, much less a rail, so it was impossible for them to know what they were stepping on.
"…"
Enver held an oil lamp in one of his tentacles, while behind him stood a dark-skinned man; Hyung.
They both watched the town's activity from a tree; it was like any other morning in any city, except that it was night, and the moon was their only light. There were pregnant women chatting, among them some little girls picking up dried rose petals, but besides that...there were also tall, strong women training; they all used swords, and with perfect cuts, they could split a stone in two.
They were all women. In addition to that, they were all albinos. "It's here." All he had to do now was find the albino girl he was looking for.
Hyung silently looked at Enver.
He never heard him speak his reasons for seeking that magical town; La Vie en Rose. Hyung was from the city, and he remembered hearing stories as a child about that town of Vulpecula; however, entry was forbidden to anyone who was not a daughter of Vulpeculas or a man.
So, they knew that even where they were, they were in danger.
"Aah!" A small squeal made them both turn their heads sharply. It was an albino girl, wearing a white hood, with the same symbol as those who exterminated his people. Enver felt his blood boil with rage, however, she was a child, and no matter how much they had taken his family away, he was not capable of doing the same. "A-Are you…lost?"
The girl slowly approached them, and upon noticing Enver's tentacle, she covered her mouth. "Is that your pet, sir?"
Hyung glanced sideways at Enver, looking for the signal to attack, but seeing none, he lowered his guard for a moment.
"Ellie," Enver said, drawing the girl's attention. "Where is Ellie?"
The girl seemed confused, then smiled. "Ah! She was with me a moment ago...huh? Huh? Sister!" He turned around and ran towards the forest.
"…Weird,"Hyung sighed, then turned to look at Enver again. "Doesn't it give you a bad feeling that that girl ran away? What if she brings those warrior women with her?"
However, Enver didn't seem worried; he knew the nature of children, especially an innocent little girl. "She won't."
Hyung sighed, and upon hearing footsteps approaching, he instinctively raised his arm, but it was the little girl, pulling by her hand a pregnant woman who was also wearing a hood.
And it was then, when Enver's gaze hardened, tightening the corner of his hanfu with more force than normal.
The woman, on the other hand, upon seeing Enver, smiled and ran towards him. "Yumi!" Hyung couldn't even react; the woman's aura was...too peaceful.
And yet, Hyung couldn't believe that Enver would let the woman hug him, much less allow her to call him Yumi... "…Tell me the truth, you two are married…right?"
Enver glared at him, forcing him to be quiet, and then looked at Ellie. Four years had passed since they last saw each other, and since that catastrophe, much had happened. "…" And it irritated him that Ellie didn't seem guilty; it irritated him that she seemed genuinely happy that he had come to see her. And it was unfair, because that way it would be difficult for him to avenge his family. Just as it was difficult to think of stabbing her with that dagger he had cursed and specially prepared to kill Ellie.
"It's such a relief to see you again...it's been so long since I last saw you! You're so much bigger and stronger!" And Ellie just kept smiling, like an innocent child. "Why don't you come with us? Vulpecula isn't here right now, so you can come in!"
Enver hid his dagger in his hanfu, and then looked at it, with a slightly confused expression. "…We are men, you said before that men were not allowed to enter."
"Oh," She blinked, suddenly saddened. "Hehe, It's true...I forgot it in all the excitement of seeing you again..."
"…" What should he say? Tell her that he only came to get revenge? "…When you left Sh'ual...where did you go?"
Ellie seemed confused, taken aback by the question; she had expected something more...emotional at least. She released Enver and placed both hands on her swollen belly. "I came here directly because, being pregnant, I couldn't neglect my pregnancy too much and—"
"When you left, my entire village was murdered," She dropped the bombshell, and Ellie's smile vanished completely.
Perhaps it was a look that even Enver hadn't thought he'd seen before. She looked so...terrified. "Excuse me?"
Enver raised his hand and pulled down Ellie's hood, revealing her long, curly, albino hair, and then he pointed to the symbol of the hood. "They all had this symbol...they used...strange magic to kill them..." And he clutched the hood in his hands. "They killed them all...my brothers, my father, Lahn..." They were all dead.
And suddenly, he felt that murderous aura return to him.
"…This same damned symbol..." He was furious, but above all, sad. Not even that treacherous tear dared to linger in his eye, sliding down his cheek and brushing against his trembling lips.
It would be cruel to blame a pregnant woman for something like that, but if it wasn't her, whoelse could it have been?
And suddenly, Ellie hugged him again. This time tighter, as a consolation, as...an apology. She had no idea about that, and imagining all the pain Enver must be feeling even now...
"I assure you, I said nothing about Sh'ual..." She would swear on the name of her daughter in her womb, but she knew that swearing on the name of her future lifelong love was a different matter. Furthermore, if she swore, she could not prove it. "If you need my help, or even just my support, I'll do it. I'm so sorry for your loss..."
Both Hyung and the girl opened their mouths in surprise; they were hugging each other, and it didn't seem...anything bad, even if the Vulpecula clan forbade contact with men.
Enver, on the other hand, felt a sudden loss of words; he didn't know what to say or do...he should kill her, take revenge, but...she was being so kind to him right now, that it hurt him to think about killing her without seeing her fulfill her desire to be a mother.
"…"
So, for the first time in four years—four exhaustive years of searching for her to kill her—he decided to take a short break; before doing so, instead, he simply returned her embrace.
He rested his forehead on Ellie's shoulder; perhaps this was the first time that instead of seeking revenge, he sought comfort.
On one hand, he wanted Ellie to be innocent and for it to simply be some kind of misunderstanding; that was what he longed for with a small part of his heart during those four years.
"…If you weren't pregnant, I would have killed you already." He whispered. Of course, he knew that his compassion would take effect in a few years, but he still couldn't kill innocent people with his own hand.
And Ellie didn't seem surprised; in fact, she seemed to understand. "I know. And I'm sorry not being the person you're looking for."
Ah. Now, Enver didn't want to kill her.
"…"
So he simply hugged her a little tighter, without realizing it, even his tentacles contracted.
Noticing Hyung's surprised expression, who was sitting next to the girl, both observing the scene in amazement, Enver snorted. "What are you looking at, brat?"
Hyung raised his arms, in a gesture of innocence. "Nothing, nothing…" However, he continued to stare at the scene in amazement. "It's just that I thought you were a psychopath…"
"…" No, he wasn't, he was just angry. "Learn to choose your words if you don't want to lose your head, you idiot."
Ellie giggled, then turned to look at Enver. "Leave him alone, he's still young! All young people are like that."
Enver snorted, frowning, but said nothing, and instead simply went back to resting his forehead on Ellie's shoulder. "He's young and foolish. When your baby is born and grows up, you'll understand..."
"You talk like an old man! Enjoy this young man's youth; you two seem to be very good friends."
Yes...it was better that Ellie didn't know that they were partners in crime.
"Sister!" Suddenly, the girl approached Ellie, gently tugging at her dress. "The moon is getting closer here, we should leave now."
"Are you afraid of the moon, perhaps?" Hyung asked.
Ellie turned to look at Hyung, and suddenly, she seemed nervous. "No...it's just that tomorrow is our oracle reading, so we're working a little harder than usual today."
Slowly, Enver let go of her, and Ellie smiled at him.
"Why don't you come in three days? Preferably...at the new moon."
And without hesitation, Enver nodded, "I see…"
And then Ellie smiled, and with the little girl's hand in hers, they set off for the village. As the girl skipped between the tracks, Ellie walked with one hand on her back.
Once they left, Hyung stood behind Enver, staring at him intently. "…And I thought you were coming to take revenge, but in the end, it turned out to be a romantic reunion."
"…"
Why did he have to pick up a brat as a partner?
But anyway, he didn't care; if it was useful, he would keep it.
However, he decided to let him explore the area under the pretext of 'making sure no demons came' even though the La Vie en Rose settlement area was almost never inhabited by demons.
As Ellie had instructed, it was the next day, when the moon was hidden behind the clouds. He didn't know exactly why; Hyung had said that for him, the Vulpecula Clan, the moon was their god. Perhaps Ellie was afraid that her goddess could see her.
But, if he is their god...wouldn't it be unfair for him to deny them even having...friends?
"…" Enver hadn't thought of it that way. He hadn't thought of Ellie as a friend. So, how did he see her? He believed she was innocent, yet mysterious at the same time; perhaps it is that mysticism that makes him want to know a little about her, far from his suspicion that she is guilty in the death of his town. "…?"
Something shiny stuck to his hanfu; it wasn't a firefly, it was more like a fairy. Slowly his tentacle emerged from his back, but just as he was about to grab the fairy with it, something stopped him.
Or rather, someone.
"D-Don't kill her!" It was Ellie who grabbed the fairy in her hands. "We called them a few hours ago to ask them to make us candies."
"Hmm…really?" He said it even though he had been watching them since nightfall. Not because he's a weirdo...he was just looking after them, yeah.
"Yes, we offer demon blood to the fairies, and in return they bring us sweets…after all, fairies will do anything for demon blood."
That's why wherever there are fairies, there are demons...
"Where do they get demon blood? I've never seen a demon around here." He was curious; when he and Hyung entered the area, no demon dared to approach, something...strange.
"It is because of our goddess; the moon," She said, and then released the fairy. "She hates impurity, so she cleansed our settlement area, and besides that, she also protects us…well…"
"Well?"
"Well…It protects us, except when there are solar eclipses, or when the moon is hidden, like now."
Enver moved his head about ten degrees to the right, "Solar eclipses? What's that?" He had never heard anything like that before.
"Oh," And Ellie had forgotten that her clan was someone who was expert in astronomy. "It's when...the sun covers the moon."
Enver blinked, then nodded slightly. Yes, he understood...a little.
"Even so, we are not worried; we have enough strength and magical power so that no one, especially demons, can hurt us," And then, she smiled at Enver. "My baby is about to be born, he'll meet you, and who knows...you might be my nanny? Haha!"
"Nanny? Stupid." But the thought of a baby that looked just like Ellie...an exact copy... "Hmph." He said that, when in reality, he couldn't help but count down the days until he could see Ellie's son born.
And although Ellie promised that she wouldn't die...
"ELLIE!"
So why did the demons suddenly have to attack her clan?
He had already lost his, he didn't want to lose her; he didn't want her to lose hers. She was about to give birth! Oh my god...if Ellie couldn't escape in time, the baby—
"…"
It was already too late.
Among the women's bodies everywhere; someone hooded had caught Ellie. The same hood, which he saw when the same thing happened to him.
"…Who—" His voice caught the person's attention; he was covered in blood, and they noticed that in his arms he had a baby, who began to cry. Loud, and clear, loud enough to make Enver react and remember where they were. That baby was Ellie's, and now Ellie— "LET HER GO!"
And suddenly, he stopped caring whether that person was human or not; he would kill him.
Its tentacles shot swiftly from its back, at the same time as a thick smoke of poison was unleashed.
Ellie was weak, but not dead. With her last bit of strength, she managed to get up; her belly bleeding, and with a sword, Astral, she managed to wound the person's arm, and immediately, she managed to snatch the baby. Meanwhile, Enver took the opportunity to strangle the man with his tentacles, then released more of his venom, to the point that it was as dense as a cloud laden with rain.
He couldn't quite remember that person's face.
Just one thing; "Ha…ha…haha…" a damn smile, with a laugh that made him feel like throwingup.
And coincidentally, while taking Ji Noo to the ruins of La Vie en Rose, he didn't expect that this self-proclaimed 'hero'...
"…!"
He would have the same reaction and smile as Ellie's killer.
"Ha…ha…haha!"
It could be that...
…did he kill Ellie?