"Are you pleasantry surprised?"
Klein's heart beat fast in his chest, refusing the reality in front of him.
'Shin Yoosoung.'
"What did you do to her?"
Was it a complete parasitization?
Could he save her?
He couldn't feel her soul through their constellation link either. Instead, it pointed him to Amon.
Instead of addressing his worries, Amon leisurely hummed, using Shin Yoosoung's voice. He seemed to be enjoying this situation.
Come to think of it, Fors had said she could come to this world because she belonged to one of the three pathways.
Amon was also from an adjacent pathway, so what prevented him from doing so?
No… The Disaster of Floods had stayed alive… So, ultimately, although Amon parasitized Shin Yoosoung now, in the future-
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."
At Amon's smile, Klein's heart sunk.
"Of course, when I stole this child's body, I also stole her fate so that it wouldn't interfere with the disconnected future. That way, although the Disaster of Floods didn't disappear in the past, her death now won't change it."
The equation 'Disaster of Floods didn't disappear = Shin Yoosoung stayed alive' was broken, bypassed by Amon's trick.
"I heard you became fond of this child recently."
'Shin Yoosoung' examined her arms, inspecting her body.
"I don't really understand why. But it's true that you've always tended to favor weaklings."
Amon chuckled.
The parasitized Shin Yoosoung stood up, a monocle on her face.
"I have the answers you're seeking for."
Did he know how to go back to his world?
"However, I know you won't believe me so easily, so I'll wait."
Patience wasn't a problem for Amon.
"Until you're ready to hear the truth," he pointed at himself. "And if you want to get this child back."
He looked into Klein's eyes.
"Come find me."
After a brief wave, 'Shin Yoosoung' disappeared.
Klein was now alone in the room.
Amon hadn't even given him time to speak.
He hadn't told him where to find him either.
The 'truth' he had to tell was doubtful as well.
However, one thing was clear.
Amon had Shin Yoosoung.
Klein's gaze darkened.
***
Jung Heewon swung her sword, exhausted.
'They're endless.'
There was no end in sight.
Yet most of the main force had followed after Van?
A hollow laugh came out of her.
"Why are you doing this?"
The archangel facing her looked down on her.
[Incarnation of Eden. Your companion also angered the constellations quite a bit. You can only blame your connections for your death.]
The demon glanced toward Kim Dokja.
After Van, Kim Dokja was also a target.
[You can still change your fate. Turn your back on them and join our side.]
Instead of answering, she attacked the angel again.
[You will regret your choice.]
Unfortunately, she couldn't use her skill 'Time of Judgment' on angels.
Whoever decided that demons were evil and angels were necessarily good was stupid.
How much time had passed?
Jung Heewon wasn't sure.
"Kugh…"
[Give up, foolish incarnation.]
Jung Heewon fell.
Then, she stood up again.
She fell and rose again, repeating an endless circle.
Jung Heewon planted her sword into the ground, using it as support.
Her incarnation body was reaching its limit.
She knew everyone else was also busy fighting.
Clang!
Trying to stand up again for the nth time, she found out that she had no strength left in her legs.
[You have lost too much blood. You'll die at this rate. If you beg me, I'll give you a quick death.]
Jung Heewon gritted her teeth and glared.
'No.'
She couldn't fall here.
She had to continue.
"Kugh, ugh…"
She coughed blood.
Pushing herself beyond her limits, she stood and held her sword once more.
[Your struggles are futile.]
No one would come to save her.
She knew that.
So, gripping her sword tightly, she charged again.
She would protect her companions.
Stab!
A weapon pierced through her body.
Stab!
Then another.
[No one will know what you did.]
Stab!
"Ugh!"
[Nor remember your death.]
The angel clicked his tongue.
[Truly foolish.]
Stab!
Jung Heewon coughed more blood, her senses fading.
Now, she couldn't even feel the pain.
'Am I dying?'
She knew it was foolish.
She knew her efforts wouldn't be recognized even if she died here.
She knew her death wouldn't be meaningful.
She knew.
But, as usual, she just tried her best.
Jung Heewon's sight turned black.
She died protecting the people she loved.
***
The battle had raged on for quite a long time.
Although it couldn't really be called a 'battle' but a 'one-sided massacre'.
One constellation that didn't even have a modifier did all this.
Lenoch's magic power was finally calming down. He felt that his mana was nearly depleted.
Even without magic, he understood that he could defeat the constellations with the power of 'stories'.
Stories were the essence of the Star Stream.
At that moment, an archangel that seemed stronger than the others faced him.
[The constellation, 'Scribe of Heaven', looks at you.]
Metatron opened his mouth.
[Please stop. There is no need for unnecessary bloodshed.]
He couldn't really stop since his magic was out of control.
Van made a wry smile.
Weren't they the one who started it first?
"Weren't you my enemies?"
Metatron shook his head.
[Not everyone here is hostile to you. We already suffered a huge loss in this scenario.]
On the contrary, because they suffered such damage, wouldn't they want to achieve results even more?
Lenoch wouldn't believe it if that constellation said he didn't want anything. Did he come to make a deal?
"Get to the point."
[I came to offer information.]
"Information?"
He didn't have any reason to believe it, but he could at least hear him out first.
[You were searching for the one who made a deal with the Disaster of Floods and brought her to this worldline, right?]
At the constellation banquet, Lenoch had met the Monarch of Stars and Logic.
Buer, the 10th demon king. That was the constellation's identity.
When he asked him how to cross through worldlines, the Monarch of Stars and Logic mentioned the one who brought the Disaster of Floods to this timeline.
However, the demon king didn't know the identity of the being in question.
[I know their name. I can also tell you the different ways to contact Outer Gods that I know.]
Van crossed his arms.
"And what would you get in exchange?"
Metatron smiled self-deprecatingly.
[If you leave this worldline, it would benefit us too.]
Thus, he had no reason to stop Van.
On the contrary, helping Van may make him leave faster, which would be a suitable alternative to killing him. After all, whether he died or disappeared from this worldline, the result wasn't much different.
Lenoch understood and nodded.
Suddenly, he turned his head to the side.
In the distance, he felt a presence disappear.
Like a candle turning off, a familiar life sign couldn't be felt.
"…"
Once his conversation with Metatron ended, he scanned the battlefield, feeling the others fighting.
Gehrman was there. Shin Yoosoung was nowhere to be seen.
Lenoch quickly located the body of the missing person and headed there.
Then, he stopped.
In front of him, Jung Heewon's corpse, pierced and bleeding, lay there, barely recognizable.
Her heart had stopped beating.
"…"
***
Klein made up his mind.
After preparing himself for any traps and pulling out a historical projection as a stand-in, he followed his constellation link to Shin Yoosoung to find Amon.
'An abandoned warehouse? Is this an horror movie?'
Could there be any more cliche?
It led him to a rundown warehouse, barely standing, making the atmosphere eerie. Amon must have chosen such a place on purpose.
Opening the door, the place was shrouded in darkness.
Then, he met the eyes of Amon staring at him from inside.
"Mr. Fool, why don't you take a seat?"
Checking his means of escape, Klein cautiously entered and decided to lean against a wall instead of sitting down.
"Then, I will tell you the reality of this world."
His spirituality screamed danger.
Yet, his body was frozen in place, unable to leave or dispel the historical projection.
He couldn't speak either.
"Relax, I just want you to listen."
His various means of escape didn't work.
"First, should we start by the Tarot Club?"
Amon's lips curled into a smile, making the ominous feeling intensify.
Something he didn't want to hear.
"You must have noticed that your memory is missing parts. Where were you before you came here? What was your Sequence? Why can you remember knowledge you weren't supposed to know about?"
A guess formed.
Like how 'Gehrman' had been granted humanity…
"It has been millions of years since 'The Fool' became the Lord of Mysteries," Amon's voice resounded. "You are only a fragment that the original Fool separated, and…"
That was why his memory had problems.
It was intentionally tempered with by his future self.
"The Tarot Club is dead since long ago."
His heart beat slowly, loud and clear.
He wanted him to believe that?
He saw Fors not that long ago, in this world.
As if reading his thoughts, Amon continued.
"The Miss Magician sent here is a marionette created by your future self who was grafted humanity by Mr. Fool and came to assist you to preserve your humanity and so that you wouldn't feel lonely. She retains the personality you originally remembered and acts like a living being. Since it's a marionette created by the Lord of Mysteries Himself… it's normal you wouldn't see the difference."
He didn't want to believe him.
He was the Angel of Deceit. Where was the proof of his words?
Amon grinned.
"And, now that you realized the truth of your existence…"
Klein's consciousness was slowly fading.
"You, the 'fragment' will become unstable and disappear."
There were Outer Gods in the sky, like the Cosmos of his old world.
Wouldn't the Lord of Mysteries have the power to cross worldlines and rule over different dimensions?
Klein's consciousness flickered.
In the warehouse, Amon watched the 'fragment' dissipate like an illusion.
Then, still parasitizing Shin Yoosoung, he raised his head to the stars shining silently in the night sky.
"…It will soon be the end, Mr. Fool."
The Mr. Fool in question didn't answer.
Amon got up and left. His business here was over.
He only came here to mess with The Fool by making his fragment disappear. But in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't change much.
The Fool was already…