Chapter 19 : Confrontation

Another Tarot Club passed by and Klein still didn't know that Miss Devil was Xin Jian. To reduce the odds of Sharon being recognized by Klein, Sharon made her grand entry one week after Medici. Even if she was recognized in the end, the chance of Xin Jian being recognized as Miss Devil would decrease since Sharon did not join immediately after Xin Jian met her but one week later.

Royal Museum, Emperor Roselle Memorial Exhibition :

Klein sneaked into the Museum and went to the second floor.

He arrived right above the restored study, spread his arms wide, fell forward, and silently lay on the ground.

His illusory and transparent figure quickly faded into the ground.

On the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling on the first floor, a faintly discernible human face suddenly appeared.

The strange face overlooked the exhibition hall, its eyes constantly moving, taking in the scenery of every corner in the area.

After checking that there weren't any Beyonders or security personnel in the room, Klein penetrated the ceiling and descended in front of Roselle's glass-covered desk.

He glanced at it, and without hesitation, he reached out with both hands to grab the bookmark in the manuscript of creativity and the bookmark which looked like child's graffiti.

He passed through the glass case and steadily held the two bookmarks, then he wrapped them within his spirit body.

After finishing this step, Klein's heart calmed down, no longer having any obvious nervousness or tension.

He stretched out his hands again, reaching out for the other bookmarks.

« Waaa ! Waaa ! Waaa ! »

The loud and shrill cry of a baby suddenly reverberated within the exhibition hall.

It was so illusory, as though it came from far, far away.

Klein's body stiffened, freezing all of a sudden like a lake encountering extreme coldness.

In his spirit body state, he appeared to have been frozen !

« Waaa ! Waaa ! Waaa ! »

Along with the cries of the baby were fine black rifts that surrounded Klein like a discontinuous iron fence.

In the blink of an eye, one of the black rifts cracked open, revealing an eyeball filled with blood strands. In the center of the eyeball was a deep pupil, and in it, countless tiny white worms were crawling and squirming.

Black rifts opened successively, and one by one, the bizarre eyeballs were exposed in midair. They stared at Klein in a cold and merciless manner.

As they appeared, everything around them froze in place. Even the illusory spirits were unable to penetrate through them.

It even became hard for Klein to sense the existence of the spirit world. He found it difficult to see the translucent figures that were located infinitely high. He found it hard to see the different colors, the lustrous splendors which contained various types of knowledge.

« Why did you only take the bookmarks ? » A soft but unemotional female voice entered Klein's ear.

He froze on the spot and saw a tall bookcase, divided into two levels. The top level almost reached the ceiling, with a staircase and a passage surrounding countless books.

At the top of the stairs sat a figure shrouded by the darkness.

The figure's feet, which wore black leather boots, hung from the wooden stairs as they were suspended in midair.

With his sharp spiritual intuition, Klein was surprised that he didn't notice her. He deduced that the person facing him may be above sequence 4.

(Spiritual intuition of a sequence 5 Beyonder ability at the angel level ≈ spiritual intuition of a sequence 4. So the opponent is above sequence 4.)

Klein didn't answer; instead, he narrowed his eyes.

« Why did you only take the bookmarks ? Where did you learn to only take the bookmarks ? »

The figure asked once more. The gentleness had a hint of sternness, and the bloodshot eyeballs surrounding him rapidly widened, as though they wanted to occupy the entire space.

Before she could finish her sentence, Klein revealed a wide smile on his face.

His illusory, nearly translucent figure instantly disappeared, leaving his whereabouts unknown !

Bernadette, who tried to look at Klein with her Beyonder abilities while they were talking, bent down.

Her eyes were bleeding.

Even if he only unlocked up to sequence 5 and didn't have divinity, Klein still had the Beyonder characteristics of a sequence 1 and the gray fog.

Above the gray fog, within the majestic ancient palace :

*Mr. Fool making Himself invisible*

Klein's figure suddenly appeared at the top of the long, mottled table.

He leaned back into his chair and said with a chuckle :

« Fortunately, I was prepared. »

18 King's Avenue, in a certain wealthy merchant's storage room :

Klein's eyes lit up again, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

He left the bookmarks above the gray fog and didn't waste time to return to his body.

After extinguishing the candles and ending the ritual, Klein cleaned up the scene. After doing all of this, he dispelled the wall of spirituality, allowing the wind to blow away the remaining traces.

Next, he took out his Master Key and used his cane to determine his direction to prevent himself from getting lost.

After walking in a straight line for a while, he suddenly felt like he was unable to determine his position.

(Author : I'm suddenly beginning to think that Xin Jian's bad sense of direction may be a side effect of one of the abilities of the Door pathway from the gray fog. But in that case her bad memory is a side effect of the ability to steal thoughts from the Error pathway… And what is the side effect of the Fool pathway ? Her strange ideas because of the sequence 4 Bizarro Sorcerer ? Wait, this theory is extremely reasonable…

Mr. Fool, looking at the script : …Indeed, this theory is extremely reasonable.

Xin Jian : Wait, guys. Why are you making my character settings become strange ? And why would I be influenced by the gray fog before my physical body made of fog was created ?

Author : That's in the script too.

Xin Jian, the only person who didn't bother reading the script : …)

Klein decided to continue going through buildings and suddenly smelled a strong stench of blood.

Klein frowned. He looked up and saw a lady laid out in the living room ahead of him.

The woman's expression was filled with pain. There was a large wound at her abdomen, and her internal organs seemed to have disappeared.

At the same time, Klein heard grunting noises.

The moment he saw the corpse and heard the sound, Klein's hair stood on end. He knew that he had encountered a bad situation.

On the side of the wound on the female corpse's abdomen, which was completely empty, sat a large sized black dog.

At this moment, the large black dog's teeth were still wrapped around blood-red small intestines, as well as bits and pieces of raw meat.

Its head turned over, and its eyes which resembled magma reflected Klein, who was dressed as a worker, and his disguised face.

Klein made a feint and ran.

Out in the streets, He shouted at the top of his lungs.

« Murder ! Save me ! Murder ! Save me ! »

The Devil dog didn't chase him and Klein escaped in another direction.

After using a few drops of Amantha extract on himself to cover up his scent because the Devil dog probably had scent-tracking abilities, Klein continued to go through buildings before stopping and hiring a carriage.

It was only after the carriage had traveled a certain distance in the night when Klein finally heave a breath of relief. He knew that the Devil wouldn't catch up to him.

All sorts of thoughts and questions appeared in Klein's mind as the carriage drove along the deserted road.

Suddenly, Klein's heart skipped a beat, and an image naturally appeared in his mind.

Pea vines drooped down from the sky and interweaved to form a dense forest. However, the carriage driver didn't seem to notice and continued to drive the carriage across the green vegetation.

Without hesitation, Klein lunged for the window, about to jump into the street.

Bang !

The carriage shook, and he was flung backward.

At the same time, those pea vines really drooped down !

Klein tried his best to calm himself down as he looked out the window and saw that the carriage had been driven into the air, following the road of pea vines.

At this moment, the carriage stopped. Outside the window, the pea vines had formed a hammock in the air.

A pair of feet in black leather boots drooped down, and a gentle but emotionless voice entered Klein's ears.

« What were you doing ? »

It was the same woman from the museum.

He deliberately gulped and said :

« I'm a private detective. Many friends and I are investigating the recent serial murders.

I have a mystical item called the "Master Key." It can open doors and let me pass through walls, but it will cause the holder to get lost.

It was during this process that I ran into the scene of the crime. Because I wasn't the murderer's opponent, I could only shout for help while running. »

Now that he thought about it, he was at the top of sequence 5. Maybe he would have been able to kill that Devil dog.

However, it was too late to think about it now.

After he finished speaking, there was temporarily no response from the outside.

However, he felt that a gaze had penetrated the carriage, passed through the obstructions, and was directly inspecting the items on his body.

Outside the carriage, Bernadette's eyes suddenly began to bleed (again).

While Klein was feeling glad that he left the bookmarks above the gray fog, Bernadette had already recognized him.

« You… » She said.

Klein waited for the end of her sentence.

« Who are you ? »

He froze.

Was it too late to run now ?

He controlled his expression with his clown abilities.

« I am a private detective, my name is Sherlock Moriarty and I live at Unit 5 in Minsk Street. »

But as Roselle Gustave's daughter, how could Bernadette not have heard of Sherlock Holmes' story ?

To her, Klein became even more suspicious.

« You're lying. »

Klein's lip twitched.

"How did she know ?!"

Klein calmed down and began to think of a countermeasure.

He realized that, even if the church thought that he was dead, the goddess should still know his whereabouts. It shouldn't be a problem to say that he belongs to the church.

« My name is Klein Moretti and I am known as Sherlock Moriarty in Backlund. I belong to the church of the goddess. »

"And I'm pretending to believe in another god…" Klein lampooned.

« …A member of the church of the goddess stole bookmarks at the Roselle Memorial Exhibition ? »

Klein deadpanned.

He didn't know how she recognized him.

"Is it a Beyonder ability ?"

Bernadette didn't seem to be waiting for an explanation from him and continued to ask :

« Your sequence ? »

Klein hesitated.

« …Sequence 5. »

She gave him a deep look and seemed to accept his explanation. She planned to investigate his identity afterwards.

« Don't use that key too much. It is cursed. »

She left.

Klein sighed.

He finally realized that he had successfully stolen the card of blasphemy.

After many detours, he arrived to Minsk Street. The lights were turned on even at this hour, it meant that Xin Jian was up.

Xin Jian, who felt a slight change in atmosphere these past few days, was lying on her bed, reading.

Even if Klein was good at managing his expressions, she knew him too well to not notice that something was wrong. That made her uneasy so she stayed up until later than usual these days.

Klein entered and arrived in front of Xin Jian's room.

He took a deep breath.

He had decided to confront Xin Jian once and for all.

He knocked on her door.

—————— I am the dividing line~

Warning ! It is Xin Jian's point of view, but the narration at the third person is by the author to explain Klein's thoughts. So it's a mix of 1st and 3rd person to not disrupt the atmosphere… Well, you will see :

I heard Klein knocking on my door.

That's unexpected.

Didn't he steal a card of blasphemy today ?

With how late it is and everything that happened to him, he should be quite tired.

(Xin Jian : *spied on him above the gray fog*

Author : Isn't that stalking ?

Mr. Fool, erasing his presence : *sips his tea peacefully and does as if he wasn't concerned*)

I put down the book in my hand and sent it above the gray fog before opening the door.

Seeing Klein's slightly solemn face, I lowered my gaze.

« …Let's talk in the living room. It'll be too cramped here. »

Did I do something wrong ?

We sat on the sofa.

« Do you want something to ea- »

Klein cut me off.

« Say, what did you think of Leonard ? »

It's unusual for you to cut off people.

Feeling awkward, I put on a smile.

« Hmm~. It was very fun to tease him ! »

« Strange, you don't smile often. » He remarked.

I froze.

Why did he say that out loud ? He usually keeps what he deduces in his head.

His questions are strange too…

Did I do something wrong ?

« And the church, what did you think of it ? »

He's definitely smiling, but why doesn't the conversation feel that casual…

My smile became wider.

« It was fun too~. »

The truth was that Klein currently had so much questions he wanted to ask.

He clenched and relaxed his fist before smiling brighter too.

« It's good that you found it fun since you're only attracted to fun things~. »

I stopped smiling and looked at him with my usual emotionless face.

That was mean.

After everything that happened that day, Klein was indeed quite tired. Right now, he couldn't help being more affected by his emotions.

Even if Klein was clear-headed, a tired person is often more irritable. The built-up stress from these past few days didn't help either.

Klein continued :

« And Dunn, what did you think of him ? »

I don't have any thoughts on the dead…

I couldn't answer so I just stared at him.

Klein stopped smiling.

He had made so many assumptions, he had even made divinations…

« Didn't you teach me that angels have more divinity than humanity ? »

But I'm not an angel.

I could see where this was going.

« Why didn't you avenge captain ? »

Klein had tried so hard to convince himself that the first person he met here who also came from his world was innocent, that he mustn't suspect Her.

He wanted to return home so much.

Even though he was usually so careful, he didn't want to let go of the only person who also knew about his hometown… That desire surpassed his carefulness.

But if his assumptions were true…

Klein just wanted to clear things up.

Klein was tired, so he was even more angry because he cared about Her so much. It wasn't in the form of love or friendship, it was because She was the last thing that made him bear the desire to return to his hometown.

When his captain died, his uneasiness intensified and he began to rely more on Xin Jian since she was the only person still familiar to him. He had realized that he would truly be alone if Xin Jian were to leave. Maybe that's another one of Her traits that rubbed off on him ?

In this timeline, Klein didn't stay with his siblings in this unfamiliar world. Instead, Xin Jian and Leonard were his new home. (Of course, the Nighthaws too.)

In other words, Klein's mental state was worse than the other timelines, the madness in the Beyonder characteristics didn't help too and influenced his mental state even more.

« Why didn't you ? » He repeated.

I had no excuses.

After all, could I tell him that it would be better if he simply took revenge himself ?

Could I tell him that I wasn't able to do that at that time when I know so much people stronger than Ince Zangwill ?

Could I tell him that it's better for him to experience more hardships to be able to better resist the madness and complete all these rituals to unlock his Beyonder characteristics before they could integrate into his body without rituals ?

However, maybe it would have been better to say that at that time than say nothing.

Maybe it would have been better to say bullshit like I usually do.

« Was it the church's orders to spy on me ? Or are you not loyal to the church ?Did you know that captain would die ? Could you have saved him ? »

He wanted an answer, even if it was just a lie. Even if I lied now, he would have satisfied.

« Yes. » I answered.

Klein didn't know which question I was answering, but he figured that no matter which one it was, it would be bad for him.

So he asked the question he wanted to know the answer the most.

« All these times when you smiled, when you frowned or you seemed scared, when you angry and when you laughed… »

He looked at me in the eyes.

« …Your expressions, were they true ? »

I lowered my head.

That would decide our future from now on.

I knew that his questions had another meaning.

I knew that it would be better to lie here, but maybe I was too honest ?

« No. » I said.

I met his gaze.

In the end, Klein's captain was probably dead because of Xin Jian. The person he trusted the most, the only person he was still close to in this world probably collided with the enemy. She got close to him on purpose for an unknown reason and didn't even try to make excuses to defend Herself when he confronted Her.

Did he feel betrayed ?

Did he hate Her now ?

The intense emotions he was feeling were so complicated.

He was too tired to process all this.

Klein looked at me for a long time.

My face was still emotionless. My eyes were too.

It was true that I always put on these expressions on purpose. My feelings were not connected to my facial muscles so I used to show what I was supposed to show.

Most of my expressions were not even my real feelings and I just used them to obtain the reactions I wanted from others.

Is it called manipulation ?

Is showing anger to tease you so bad ?

Is showing sadness to prevent others from repeating situations that could be displeasing so bad ?

Is showing a smile to please others because I don't want to receive remarks that I'm always gloomy so bad ?

Even if my face is emotionless most of the time, is showing emotions depending on the situation to seem more normal so bad ?

I'm sorry.

My expressions were indeed fake, but I swear, I am on your side !

Maybe if I said this out loud, things could have been better.

But I stayed quiet.

Klein finally opened his mouth.

« …Leave. »

It was not loud but I still heard it clearly.

Everything seemed so unreal.

As I walked to the door, I didn't seem to realize that it was really the end.

I had nothing to pack up since everything was above the gray fog.

When I opened the door, I saw the empty streets at night and finally realized that I would be alone from now on.

What did I do wrong ?

I was scared and turned to Klein who looked at me with lifeless eyes, but his tone was firm and resolute as he repeated :

« Leave. »

It doesn't seem real.

It is a dream, right ? Everything will go back to what it was right ?

So I went out of the door, feeling the cold night, and closed it.

It was over.

I am alone now.

A tear fell to the floor as I looked at my feet.

I am fine.

I am fine…

Everything's alright.

Yeah, everything will be alright…

I'm tired.

I rubbed my eyes.

Everything is always so tiring.

A faint smile appeared on my face.

What did I expect anyway ?

With slightly lifeless eyes, I moved my foot and began to walk aimlessly.

Haha. That's exactly the type of situation I hate.

That's why you shouldn't have expectations.

With a smirk at the corner of my lips, I mumbled :

« This one, I did not see it coming. »

That night, my mental state worsened again.

—————— I am the dividing line~

3rd point of view :

Klein watched Xin Jian leave.

When the door closed completely, there was a moment of silence.

He stayed still, without moving.

After a while, he opened his mouth.

« Ha. Haha… »

He laughed.

He began to laugh brightly, like a kid enjoying himself.

It was a bright laugh, a clown's laugh, a laugh that expressed emotions worse than crying.

He was torn between not wanting to hate her and hating her.

It's true that he felt betrayed, but he felt more angry.

Maybe it was at himself, maybe it was at Xin Jian. Who knows ?

He knew that everything would be different.

« Hahaha ! »

He showed an exaggerated smile.

Klein was on the verge of losing control.

(Author's note:

At the beginning of book two, it was showed that Klein didn't really hate Ince Zangwill. It said that he wasn't strong enough to kill him by himself so he would put it aside until he became stronger but if he saw him on the streets he wouldn't mind giving the information to the Nighthawks to finish him off. His hate for Ince Zangwill only deepened after…

Which means that Klein hating someone isn't reasonable… But if Klein liked Xin Jian that much all these feelings have to go somewhere, right ? And if Klein's mental state is worse and something else happens, even if all these feelings don't transform into hate, he will still want to take revenge, right ?

Originally, it wasn't supposed to be like this but Lanevus is already dead, Klein is already strong enough to kill Ince Zangwill and Xin Jian needs to part ways with Klein to make her realize crazier ideas. So unexpectedly Ince Zangwill took Lavenus' place and Xin Jian became the final boss ?

And now I have to look for a way to get them back together while I'm worsening their relationship ? Why is life so complicated ?

Also, I have to explain the reason why Xin Jian stayed quiet instead clarifying things.

It was mentioned casually in chapter 17 on AO3 or chapter 8 on Wattpad (since the length of the chapters isn't the same) that Xin Jian has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

To put it simply, it is a mental sickness.

There are four types of borderline personality disorder and it is possible to have more than one type of BPD at the same time. It's also possible to not fit into any one of these borderline personality categories.

- Impulsive BPD

Impulsive behavior is a primary symptom of BPD. A person with BPD can act in impulsive and often dangerous ways. They may do this without regard for others or possible consequences.

- Discouraged BPD

This is also known as quiet borderline personality disorder. People with this type are afraid of being abandoned. They may take extreme actions to prevent real or imagined abandonment.

Compared to people with other types of BPD, people with this type may keep their emotions inside. They also tend to blame themselves rather than others. 

Discouraged types may:

* Be perfectionists 

* Be very successful

* Be high functioning 

* Feel alienated and detached in groups

* Feel like they don't have real or strong bonds with others 

* Seek approval but also self-isolate

* Engage in self-harm or suicidal behavior

* Feel lonely and empty a lot of the time

- Self-Destructive BPD

People with this type of BPD struggle with self-hatred and often feel bitter.

- Petulant BPD

It corresponds the least so I won't waste your time here.

(Source : https://www.verywellhealth.com/types-of-bpd-5193843)

Well, I think you can recognize many of Xin Jian's traits here. The one who should correspond to her the most should be the discouraged BPD. Of course, Xin Jian may act on impulse but she always prepares safe plans before realizing her whims and still has regard about consequences. It's just that she thinks fast enough to think of the plan in one second. (She learnt to think fast to not forget what she was thinking about in the middle.)

But the characteristic that made her stay quiet is "self-destruction". She doesn't want to be alone but at a critical moment she did an action that would make be alone.

In the end, Klein and Xin Jian's separation was based on misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Okay, this author's note is dragging out. I'll stop here.)