The moment Jenkins touched the man, an extreme black radiance flared to life on the gun's frame. Another bullet was fired, but before it could reach Jenkins, it was incinerated by the flames wreathing him.
Jenkins’s hand finally made contact with his vile attacker, and the fire instantly swarmed up his clothes. Jenkins had no intention of killing him just yet. He was going to make this man suffer, to make him regret ever being born.
But as if hearing his thoughts, the man decisively shot himself. Updates are released by n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
His Eye of Reality immediately perceived a different aura as an ancient soul drifted out of the young corpse. It wasn't the soul of Howard Link, Nolan City's midnight serial killer, at all. This soul belonged to the old key keeper from the mountain villa!
"I knew it," Jenkins snarled. "That attack wasn't a coincidence! You're here for revenge!"
He reached out to grab the soul, but the gun on the ground spun eerily and fired on its own. This time, it wasn't a normal brass bullet, but the same white, face-marked bullet that had killed Chocolate. The small projectile shot straight through the flames and struck Jenkins. In the instant he stumbled back, the old soul snatched up the gun and flew into the distance.
Jenkins cried out in anguish as he fell back into the alley. He had been too careless. That last bullet had entered his body like a living thing. His flames were already converging inside him, hunting for it, but for now, Jenkins had lost the ability to move.
"I will have my revenge! I swear, no matter where you go, I will have my revenge!"
He thought of Chocolate's body behind him, of all the time they had spent together. The white feather appeared in his hand, and fresh tears streamed from his eyes.
The small cat trotted to his side and patted his face a couple of times with its little paws, trying to wipe the tears away.
Jenkins’s expression froze.
It met his gaze under the brilliant sunset, the two remaining golden hairs behind its ears fluttering in the evening breeze.
The bullet that had pierced Jenkins’s body was eventually enveloped by the unquenchable flames and burned to ash. The terrible curse carried by the bullet itself was enough to kill most Enchanters. Had it hit anyone else, they might not have even had a chance to struggle.
If the cat hadn't kindly blocked the first special bullet, Jenkins would have been in serious trouble. Although the gun's unique properties had made him subconsciously ignore the information from the Oil Ink Mister Club, that gun truly wasn't a Cursed Item—it was something far more terrifying, at least to a degree his current physical body could not withstand.
A moment ago, Chocolate had only meant to help Jenkins while also showing him just how important it was. But seeing Jenkins cry, a rare sight, the cat began to regret its act. Forgetting all about the feather, it trotted over to comfort him.
And Chocolate’s "resurrection" absolutely electrified Jenkins. He vaguely remembered that when he saw the cat reappear, his face flushed, and he nearly fainted from the shock. It was clearly the golden hairs behind the cat's ears that had saved it; Jenkins was certain of it.
He left the alley, clutching his cat, his heart still racing. In that moment when he thought he had lost Chocolate, Jenkins finally understood just how important this cat was to him, a lonely traveler. Since arriving in this world, he had met countless people, and some had even found a place in his heart. But Chocolate was different. Jenkins knew Chocolate was different, the only one he could trust completely.
He held the cat tightly in his arms, ignoring the panicked crowd and the approaching police whistles that had followed the gunshots. He went straight back to his home on St. George Street. Then, clutching the metal block containing the godhead, he returned to the street, his face a mask of determination. He now remembered about the gun. With his own power, he might not be able to retaliate against it. Though only a single drop of divinity remained, Jenkins wouldn't be stingy about this.
If he had seen correctly, the soul that had floated out of Link's body and taken the gun was the old key keeper from the mountain villa, who should have been dead. Jenkins swore he was dead; that poorly aimed bullet had gone straight into the old man's head.
"Resurrection in another's body... possession?"
It wasn't impossible. Even an ordinary person could achieve such a thing if they obtained certain special items or if an Enchanter performed the appropriate ritual.
If that was the case, then the reason the serial killer had attacked him was clear. He wasn't trying to make a name for himself by killing Jenkins; he was seeking revenge. He and the key keeper wanted vengeance for that bullet in the mountain villa.
"I swear I'll kill you!"
He still hadn't recovered from the grief of nearly losing his cat. Fury and lingering fear were the primary drivers of his current actions.
Thinking back, the key keeper had dared to come for revenge probably because he hadn't known Jenkins was an Enchanter beforehand. Jenkins hadn't revealed his identity at the mountain villa, and in Nolan City, from the night of the attack until he had just now withstood the bullet, the killer would have had no way of knowing Jenkins's status as a Scribe.
The key keeper of the mountain villa likely knew very little about Jenkins. Now that he knew Jenkins was an extraordinary individual, the probability of him launching another immediate attack was low.
"But he definitely won't give up. Judging by how he rushed to get revenge as soon as he got a new body, he'll resort to other means."
It wasn't hard to guess what methods the vengeful key keeper would use: he would go after Jenkins's friends and family. But he couldn't possibly know the location of Maidenhaven Road, so it was more likely he would target the others from the mountain trip.
Of course, he would never find Miss Ricke or Garcia; right now, not even Jenkins could find them, which was a stroke of luck in its own way. But Jenkins had shown a special connection with Hathaway and Briny during the trip, and the two young women's movements weren't particularly secret. A determined person could easily find out where they were with a simple investigation.
Having figured this out, Jenkins didn't even stop for dinner before setting out to find his friends. As dusk settled, he found an empty alley, summoned his black robe, called forth his unicorn, and soared into the night sky.
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