Chapter 33 : Madness

« Why are you always active around the cathedral ? Why don't you go further to carry out the investigations ? » Daly asked Leonard.

Leonard thought and said frankly and seriously :

« Awaiting news. »

Daly nodded in thought without prying further.

She turned silent, no longer playing jokes on Leonard. It was as though she was waiting for something as well.

Suddenly, Leonard's spiritual perception was triggered as he turned to look left.

As a Gatekeeper, Daly had already cast her eyes in that direction.

A letter had appeared at some point in time, landing underneath a gas street lamp.

Leonard didn't avoid Daly as he hurriedly picked up the envelope and opened it.

The content of the letter was very simple. There was only one line :

« West Balam, Northern State, Cookawa, Revival Square. Coordinates… »

Leonard's expression turned heavy as he turned to Daly and said :

« Ma'am, please help me to cover my tracks. »

Daly fell silent for a second and said extremely seriously :

« Bring me along.

Back then, you managed to at least fight, but I didn't have the time to do anything. »

Leonard's expression changed as his mouth gaped slightly. Finally, without saying a word, they left together.

—————— I am the dividing line~

Leonard and Daly arrived to West Balam, Northern State, Cookawa City.

It is funny how they will fight in the same place in the end.

Ince Zangwill's goal this time also seems to be the same. He wants to hunt a high ranking member of the Evernight Church to use her Beyonder characteristics to advance.

From the gray fog, I didn't see Adam on the scene but I knew that He should also be watching from somewhere.

I thought while talking out loud :

« In the previous rounds, to win against Ince Zangwill, Klein first used bad luck against him with the help of the Evernight Goddess, then the Sea God Scepter, then the Fate Siphon Charm, then the Beyonder revolver. (Of course, I said that by memory so it's not necessarily accurate…) However, Klein doesn't know that he is the blessed of the Amanises (I think), so we will have to make the goddess give bad luck to Ince Zangwill on our side… »

Hearing this, Mr. Fool made the goddess come.

« Amanises~! »

I jumped into Her arms.

« Right, right, I knew that you would make me work right after I finished accommodating the Uniqueness of the Death Pathway. » She said while patting my head.

« Secondly, even if has the Sea God Scepter and his Beyonder revolver… »

(Mr. Fool : Death Knell.)

« He shouldn't have the Fate Siphon Charm (so he couldn't give it Leonard either) because he didn't fight against Amon. Third, since the battle takes place one month earlier, Leonard and Daly should be slightly weaker, while Klein's abilities are at the angel-level. Klein should come above the gray fog soon. Now the question is, what changes will there be in his preparations ? »

Mr. Fool interrupted me :

« Why are you thinking out loud ? »

I answered as if it was obvious :

« To not forget what I'm thinking about in the middle. I'm also open to suggestions. »

« Why do you even care how he will fight Ince Zangwill ? »

« Because I'm bored. »

Mr. Fool deadpanned.

At that moment, Klein appeared in Sefirah Castle. We used the gray fog to cover ourselves before he could see us and began to watch the drama.

As for Amanises, instead of staying to watch, She gave since Zangwill bad luck and left.

Amanises is busy.jpg

(Xin Jian : Seriously, why is Amanises busy ?

Author : For the plot.

Amanises, who got a lot of things to do because of the plot : …)

Klein picked up the Sea God Scepter and repeatedly attacked Ince Zangwill.

However, Ince Zangwill wasn't hit by the attacks.

Leonard and Daly also tried to attack him but, even though he was busy evading the lightning, he was still stronger than them.

Compared to the last rounds, Klein had a lot more spirituality but still couldn't hit him, so he decreased the intensity of the attacks to exhaust Ince Zangwill's energy.

After that, he finally went down the gray fog and used Creeping Hunger to give him a spiritual piercing.

He continued to attack again and again while Ince Zangwill increasingly began to feel a sense of crisis.

So he picked up 008, used it to write in the air, and made a creature from the spirit world come and help him.

However, Reinette Tinekerr had made all of the creatures in the area leave.

So Ince Zangwill made an even stronger spirit come and the later bypassed Reinette Tinekerr.

Seeing the spirit appear, Daly reacted and took a potion before making a contract with it.

Desperate, Ince Zangwill transformed into his mythological creature form while Leonard had to close his eyes, unable to do anything to help once like that day in the Blackthorn security company.

But Klein didn't seem affected and fired Death Knell.

Bang !

« That shot was for Ma'am Daly. » Klein said in a deep voice as he snapped his fingers. Using the flames that burst up, he flashed to the side of Ince Zangwill.

Ince Zangwill's eyes protruded out. As he moved at high speeds, he released bad luck in a bid to influence Klein, but it was completely useless.

« This shot is for Leonard. »

All the Tarot cards were ignited at the same time, like bursting fireworks. Klein flashed behind Ince Zangwill, cocked the gun, and relying on his intuition, he pulled the trigger.

Bang !

Pale-white blood spurted out of Ince Zangwill's left leg as it broke.

His running came to an abrupt stop as he even failed to maintain his balance.

« This shot is for Megose. »

« This shot is for the Keepers. »

« This shot is for the destroyed Blackthorn Security Company. »

« This shot is for all the Nighthawks. »

« This shot is for me. »

Finally, Klein flashed in front of Ince Zangwill. He then held Death Knell to his face.

He thrust Death Knell forward and pulled the trigger.

Bang !

Ince Zangwill's head completely exploded, and like a smashed watermelon, the fragments and the juice splattered everywhere.

Death Knell had sounded the knell for him !

Klein raised his left hand and rubbed away his two eyes. The real eyes that hid beneath were moved back to their original spots.

His brown eyes had blurred up. He curled the corners of his mouth bit by bit and said to the already dead Ince Zangwill softly :

« This shot is for Captain. »

He then put an inverted The Star card on the scene while Adam (coming form somewhere unknown) picked up 008.

—————— I am the dividing line~

Through the crimson star, Daly's voice resounded. She said in a daze :

« I don't want to become a monster… »

« Alright… »

I turned my head to Fool. I felt all of his negative emotions at the moment.

I asked :

« Do you have a lot of humanity ? »

Surprised, he answered :

« Yes. »

I continued.

« Do you still wish to go back to your hometown as much as when your first life ? »

He nodded.

« Yes… »

I looked at Him into the eyes.

« You have a lot of humanity. Even after all this time, you still miss your hometown as much as some hundreds, maybe thousands of rounds ago, and, at that time, learning that you couldn't go back was enough to make you depressed. »

He looked at me.

« Have you been living while accumulating these feelings all this time ? » I asked.

He opened His mouth but I cut Him off.

« How is it possible to feel the same all this time ? Have you always lived in so much despair ? Have you been accumulating madness ? Do you really still think of yourself as a "normal" human being ? »

I exclaimed.

« But you can't return to your hometown ! It's impossible ! And you are not fine ! »

I lowered my gaze.

I have always denied that I am not well.

Maybe I am talking to myself ? I am not fine…

But I have always known that once I admit it I will break down, so Mr. Fool should know it well.

So I will take the initiative.

I…

« Admit it, Mr. Fool, like me, you are not alright ! »

…am not fine.

I admit it.

A tear rolled down my cheek. However, I didn't wipe it. Through my blurry eyes, I looked straight into Mr. Fool's eyes.

I am not fine.

« It is okay to break. »

Mr. Fool hesitated.

« But… »

« Who cares about losing control ? You can't die anyway. You are also inside Sefirah Castle and can't harm other people if you really lose control. It is not good for the health to bottle up your feelings so let them out. Everything will be fine. »

I reached out my hand.

« Let's break down together, Mr. Fool. It is okay to break. »

3rd point of view :

Mr. Fool hesitated.

Was He really not fine ?

Was it really alright to break down ?

He thought about it.

But Xin Jian was right.

He… wasn't okay.

He couldn't fool Himself anymore.

At the moment He admitted this, the madness accumulated during all these years resurfaced.

He struggled to restrain it.

Suddenly, Xin Jian pulled Him into a hug and softly patted His back.

« It's okay, it's okay. Everything will be alright. Don't restrain it, you don't have any reason to. »

Mr. Fool made a bitter smile and lampooned.

"Right, I must really be in a wrong state to listen to this crazy girl, whose thought process is rarely logical…"

However, He stopped suppressing the madness.

When Mr. Fool began to show signs of losing control, Xin Jian stepped back and let Him fall to His knees.

She squatted down.

« Mr. Fool… If a Beyonder steals the madness of another person, they will definitely lose control. »

Mr. Fool struggled to raise His gaze while she continued :

« But I don't have any Beyonder characteristics. I'm just a Uniqueness. »

He saw that she was smiling gently.

« Stop struggling, Mr. Fool. Just give in. We'll share the madness together. »

Mr. Fool's sight began to blur as He completely gave up struggling. His consciousness was overwhelmed by madness, He didn't even really hear what she was saying.

« When you wake up, everything will be alright. » She ended.

Mr. Fool collapsed.

At the same time, Xin Jian, the Error Uniqueness, stole all of His madness.

She covered her mouth, repressing a scream.

Before her mind was completely drowned by madness, she had one last thought :

« Well, this isn't much different from usual… »

She made a bitter smile and also collapsed.

She had succeeded in "breaking" Mr. Fool, but at the price of her own sanity.

—————— I am the dividing line~

Daly smiled as her blurry gaze saw a

man in a black trench coat with a

receding hairline. He had dark gray eyes.

She watched as he pressed his hand to

his chest, bent down, and reached out his

palm to invite her to a dance.

She reached out her hand as her

thoughts turned sluggish.

The gray-eyed man in a black trench

coat pulled up Daly, whose mutation was

slowly fading away. As for Leonard, after the tension of the battle went away, he couldn't remain conscious anymore and fainted from exhaustion. He had overused his Beyonder abilities.

Amidst the beautiful dance, Daly

leaned forward gently, resting herself in

Dunn's embrace.

Like that, Daly died in Klein's arms.

At that moment, Klein felt his Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristics integrate his body. The ritual has been completed.

(Un)surprisingly, the Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristics entered his body as well. After all, that ritual was already done since a long time ago. However, Klein had a bad feeling when he felt this, because he only knew what the ritual to become a Scholar of Yore was, not the truth about his transmigration…

Normally, he should have lost control since it was equivalent to drinking a Sequence 4 and a 3 potion at the same time.

However, more than 80% of the Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristics were digested at the moment it began to integrate into his body and the Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristics were digested a little as well, which helped to reduce considerably the madness in the Beyonder characteristics and reduced the chance of losing control.

Exhausted physically and mentally after digesting so much at once and the fight from just now, Klein put Daly next to Leonard and slowly walked back to Dwayne's house.

—————— I am the dividing line~

Mr. Fool woke up.

It felt like not much time had passed since He lost consciousness.

His mind was a lot clearer than before, as if He had taken of a weight.

He felt something wet on His cheeks and touched His face.

« Am I crying… ? »

He ignored it and began to recall what had happened earlier.

Suddenly, His heart tightened.

Xin Jian !

He hurriedly looked around.

Xin Jian wasn't here !

« Ha ! »

Unexpectedly, Xin Jian had really succeeded in "breaking" Him.

However, she had disappeared…

Soon after Mr. Fool woke up, Klein went up to the gray fog.

After unlocking the Sequence 4 and 3 Beyonder characteristics earlier, he was finally able to see what was behind the door of light.

Slowly, he walked up the stairs of light and looked up.

Then, he saw the cocoons.

As he was frozen in place, a piece of paper fell to the ground.

On it was written : "This is Earth."

(Paper : Put there by Xin Jian before the fight began.)

Klein stood still.

He needed a psychiatrist.

The (W)orld needs (J)ustice !

—————— I am the dividing line~

West Balam, Northern State, Cookawa, Revival Square :

A girl with ordinary facial features walked next to Leonard.

She had dazed eyes and seemed to move with instinctual movements.

She glanced at Leonard, who was lying on the ground unconscious, and picked up Daly's corpse.

With slow steps, she went away, carrying Daly in her arms.

But was she still conscious or was she controlled by madness ?

After she left, Leonard, who had been, in fact, pretending to be unconscious when he saw the one who nearly caused his social death arrive, opened his eyes.

He looked in the direction where she left.

« Xin Jian… ? »

Later :

Realization coming to the brain : So, how can Klein be alive ?!

Sherlock's appearance was different from Klein's so Leonard's exceptional intelligence in lifting vests was not awoken this time. A shame.

(Leonard's conclusion from the fight : Klein's attitude towards me doesn't seem to have changed. I think he doesn't mind that I said all of that about my feelings towards him…

Author : Priorities.

Xin Jian : Too bad. No social death episode…

Leonard's external brain : *the culprit why there is no social death episode*)

—————— I am the dividing line~

Tap tap tap.

Mr. Fool tapped His index on the table.

His gaze was lowered.

The Tarot Club was about to begin.

Tap tap tap.

He was thinking.

Tap tap.

He had not seen Xin Jian since that day.

Tap.

Should He pull Xin Jian here or not ?

Hesitant, He reached out His hand to her crimson star then stopped.

He went back to tapping on the table.

Should He pull Xin Jian to the Tarot Club ? Or would she come by herself ?

As the hands of His pocket watch were a few seconds away from hitting 3 pm, Xin Jian appeared.

Surprised, He instinctively looked at the lower end of the long mottled table and analyzed her state.

She didn't move and had dazed eyes, looking at the empty air.

It was no unusual for Xin Jian to be this way. After all, she usually had nearly zero body language, which made her seem emotionless. That was the reason why she had to control her facial expressions herself to show emotions.

However, it was rare for her to not fiddle with something or move her hands.

She also often looked at the air when she was immersed in her thoughts, but the present Xin Jian looked like a doll.

And instead of crossing of her legs, she was sitting straight…

At that moment, the hands of His pocket watch hit 3 pm and He pulled up the members of the Tarot Club.

When she arrived, Miss Justice habitually greeted The Fool, sat down and looked around.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fool used the Thief pathway's abilities to read Xin Jian's thoughts.

His pupils constricted.

There was no thoughts !

Xin Jian's mind was empty !

Leodoro felt something (like, madness ?, an abnormal behavior ?) and glanced at Xin Jian. He frowned and looked at the other gods.

Amanises also looked at Xin Jian and covertly gave Mr. Fool (who had moved next to the table) an inquiring gaze.

Lilith, who was surprised that Xin Jian didn't act as usual, glanced at Xin Jian.

Of course, all of this was noticed by Justice Audrey.

She also discreetly looked at Miss Devil and saw that she seemed different from her usual self (at least from the illusion she showed of herself at the Tarot Club while playing cards).

Audrey took back her gaze and acted as if she didn't see anything.

Miss Devil looked at The Fool Klein and spoke in a monotone and emotionless voice.

« Mr. Fool, I have a page of diary. I wish to exchange it for contributions. »

Klein nodded.

She visualized the page and handed it to him.

Since nobody else had a page of diary, he began to read.

"December 29 :

It's almost a new year again.

All the mausoleums have been built. What's done cannot be undone.

[...]

I believe I'm not the only transmigrator in this world.

If there's anyone else who can read my diary, remember to carefully select your Beyonder pathway.

Once you choose this, it pretty much confirms your allies and your enemies.

I'm unable to give any actual suggestions because I myself can't see the true faces of the seven deities or those evil gods. This might be partially related to the second Blasphemy Slate that the ancient organization hides. Unfortunately, I only have a rough idea of the hidden parts, and I'm unable to verify them.

Similarly, I don't know what's written on the first Blasphemy Slate either.

A useful warning is to not choose pathways with Sequence 0s that are occupied, and also be careful of neighboring Sequence 0s and Sequence 1s. I've suffered tremendously on this aspect.

As for what Sequence 0 represents, search for my other diary pages if you aren't aware.

Heh heh, this page is equivalent to the afterword of my life. If I succeed, I'll be a god, and it will be another story. If I were to fail, there wouldn't be a future. Perhaps, well—you know.

Go, my friend who understands my diary, go seek out the secret of transmigration and the truth hidden within. I'll be watching you, if I'm still alive.

Finally, let me warn you that you have to remember : 

Be careful of the moon !"

The page of diary ended there.

It was probably the last page that Roselle had written before being assassinated.

Klein lowered his gaze.

These "last words" made him feel sad but he tried to show no sign of it.

It had reminded him that they were actually on Earth.

Did the emperor also know it… ?

He should have known since he went on the moon.

Klein remembered two prophecies he saw on internet before transmigrating.

The first one was :

"When the stars are right, Chaos will rise from underground, and the Great Oldest One will awaken."

The other was :

"Be careful of the moon !"

Is there something wrong on the moon ?

The Tarot Club members made some transactions and, soon, the Tarot meeting ended.

When Klein also left, Mr. Fool sat back down at the end of the long mottled table and looked at Xin Jian opposite with a complicated gaze.

« …Are you fine ? »