"I managed to get in here undetected, Julian. Are you sure you'll be fine here alone?" Dr. Vaen asked me. We stood at the shore of western Anore.
"I'm sure."
"Well then, alright."
I turned around to start walking, but Rosette tapped my shoulder, pulling me by my shirt. If she had tried any harder, it would've ripped.
"You have to make sure to stay safe, alright?" she said, grabbing me by my collar.
"I understand, jeez!"
She hugged me. I smiled and waved them off. I don't know why they were getting so sentimental. It's not like I told them about my Velian or anything.
From my knowledge, I was pretty close to the castle. Based on the details of that book, he definitely wasn't someone that society would accept. A cruel man, to say the least.
So would he be in rural areas? It makes the most sense for him to be located there.
Couldn't they have dropped me off somewhere else? It's cold in the forest. Plus, it's nighttime. The noise of rustling was abundant.
There was a body hanging.
"Sorry that I'm in your way."
"It's alright."
I walked past.
Wait.
"What the hell!?" I yelped. I lit a lamp, illuminating the area. A black-haired boy with heavy eyebags and green eyes was hanging upside down. He seemed to be wearing some kind of military uniform.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?" he asked as if he wasn't hanging upside down. Some webs held him up. Something must've attacked him.
"Yes! What are you doing here!?" I helped him pull the webs off. It was tough, but I managed to do it.
"I was just walking into the forest and I got caught up in a web. Then, I was here for the entire night."
"You didn't think about calling for help, or something?"
"Ah. That's a good idea."
"Jeez... what's your name? I'm Julian."
"Kai."
The rustling intensified. We both turned our heads. From the looks of it, whatever was in front of us had to be the creator of those webs. A large spider, with purple glowing eyes. That was about it.
I'm scared! Damn it! A dragon was already bad enough, but a huge spider!?
"Yeah. That was the thing that webbed me up."
I was frozen in fear. I can't move my body, at all. Before I knew it, we were webbed up again.
[Cast: Ice Spear]
It was so fast. My eyes couldn't track it. Though, I remembered that familiar chill. It cut through the webs that bind us and the spider's head.
"You alright, Kai?" the voice called out. It could only be Oscar. Kai fell onto the ground as if he was a lifeless ragdoll, but slowly got up.
"Oscar?"
"Julian?"
"To think I'd see you again."
I dusted myself, standing up. Oscar showed a light smile, shaking my hand. I shook it, smiling.
To be honest, I didn't want to see this guy. I resented his strength. Of course, I wouldn't tell him that.
"You look... quite different from the last time I saw you, Julian."
He was referring to my stitches. I guess he wanted to say it in a way that didn't offend me, I assume?
"Yeah. I got into a... I got into an accident."
"Who's this guy, Oscar?" the boy behind him asked. He had dark green hair and black eyes, with a physique similar to Oscar's physique. I bet he was strong too. Damn it, I'm getting jealous already.
"Oh, this is Julian. An old friend. Julian, this is Lio."
I noticed Oscar kept on glancing at my hand. Strange.
"Everyone thinks you're dead, Julian."
"Really? Even Elyse?"
"Yeah. She was a lot less sad than I expected. She doesn't like you anymore."
"Are you... kidding me?"
"Nope. You might as well just give up."
"I was keeping myself since I thought someone was waiting for me. But damn it!"
"Well, the three of us have to go back. So, bye."
"Right. Bye."
They left me there in the forest. Right, who was I supposed to be looking for? Ah! That S.W.
I ended up sleeping in the forest, as I had no idea where to go. When I woke up, I was being gnawed at by several insects. I jumped in fear.
Now that I think about it... what am I? Am I even alive? Those insects must've been attracted to me because I seemed like a corpse.
Wait. No way. That can't be true, right? Could it be that... on that day, the "True" Julian died? I'm just a creature... with his memories?
That can't be. Am I even real? What the hell... am I? I'm just a clone. That's right. I'm just... a clone.
No! I have to be real! Yeah, that's right! I'm Julian! I'm Julian!
There was a sudden noise.
I looked up. It was a green-haired girl with cat-like ears and feline, green eyes. She was in a wheelchair, wearing a white tunic with black pants and a white eyepatch on her right eye.
It looked like she was sleeping, as her eyes were closed. So her eye color was a guess.
There was a man pushing her wheelchair, too. He was extremely pale with long, dark black hair, and red eyes. He wore only a large black shirt, with dark black pants.
"Hm? A potential part, I see. Once she wakes up, Evelyn will probably disagree with this."
"Huh?-"
[God Cast: Soul Drain]
I felt my consciousness slip in an instant. It wasn't a slow thing or anything. It just went black. Then I woke up. A dim room, being lit by only a single light.
"You're awake?" the man asked. His name was Sten, I believed.
"Where... am I?"
"You're in my personal dungeon. I fixed you up, a bit. Whoever patched you up didn't do quite well."
I looked at my body. It was just like it was before! Did I look like... a human?
"I was just about to kill you, but I realized you were a demon! What is a demon like you doing in Anore?"
"I'm... looking for someone."
"Ah. I see. Do you mind telling me who that is?"
"His name is S.W. That's all I know."
His expression changed from a happy one to a scary one. "S.W. You say? Where did you... find this name from?"
I took out my book and placed it in his hand.
"My journal... I'm glad it fell into the right hands."
"Y-You're S.W?!"
"Yes."