Audrey sat in her cell with hollow eyes.
She didn't know how much time had passed since she was kept here.
At the beginning, she had cried, her heart throbbing. After days of crying, tears didn't even come out anymore.
Communication with the observers was also difficult as they had been warned she could attempt to manipulate them even without her Beyonder powers.
It would have been easier if she had been able to use placate on herself.
Then, one day, something changed.
"Audrey."
Audrey weakly raised her head, finding the voice familiar, until her eyes opened in shock.
Then, a fire of determination appeared in her gaze once more.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come to you earlier. I used Psychological Invisibility to come here, but it was hard to bypass the security." Susie explained, "At least, since I'm a dog, they didn't suspect I have Beyonder abilities."
Belatedly, Audrey recalled something and glanced toward the observer. That person's eyes were closed.
"I used Hypnosis to make her fall asleep so we could have a conversation." Susie supplemented, "Although I'm not able to free you now, we can still make a plan-"
Relieved after hearing the confirmation, Audrey was overcome by joy. She stood up and ran toward Susie, hugging the dog through the bars.
"Susie, I missed you…"
Now, there was finally hope.
The Church believed that she was completely broken and had relaxed their surveillance. They wouldn't even think she was preparing to escape.
As long as she could go outside, she could try to fix the situation. Even if she needed to live in hiding, she would eventually find a way. Maybe she could also reconcile with her family without having to resort to Hypnosis.
The dog paused. Then, she raised her front paws, awkwardly trying to return Audrey's hug.
"I missed you too, Audrey."
The next few days, Audrey concealed her change, pretending to still be broken.
Then, the day of her escape came.
Clang.
The sound of a door opening.
Audrey got up and finally stepped past the bars.
"Here, I found the 'key' that can open that Beyonder item."
The handcuffs were broken.
Audrey took the robe Susie had brought and put it on, pulling the hood over her face. Then, she followed her companion to the exit.
She was barefoot and wore indoor clothes, but it didn't matter. The robe hid it anyway.
Along the corridors, they barely met anyone. Even the ones she passed by didn't notice her due to her Psychological Invisibility. However, Audrey wasn't surprised at the lack of security. That had been part of their plan.
For that reason, they only had one attempt.
At last, Audrey stepped outside.
"Ah."
She had escaped.
She was out of the cell now.
The red moon shone in the sky, barely visible through Backlund's fog. Despite being awake in the middle of the night, Audrey didn't feel tired.
Even such a foggy view could be pleasant to see.
Taking a breath to calm herself, she recalled her next plan.
First, she should visit the other Tarot Club members. Even though the Tarot gatherings had stopped, she could still find Fors and Xio.
It wasn't simple to find their current residence since they moved out often. Thus, Audrey painstakingly started searching through others' dreams.
"…"
83 minutes after her escape, Audrey discovered that her two friends were dead.
Audrey clenched her hands and turned back. Then, she started leaving Backlund immediately. She didn't have any reason to stay in the city any longer at the moment.
"Mystery weakens, and reality is strengthened."
Hearing the sudden words, Audrey's heart skipped a beat.
"Psychological Invisibility is prohibited here."
As her invisibility lifted, Audrey turned to the side. A person holding a Beyonder item—most likely from the Arbiter Pathway—and pointing it toward her was standing there.
At the same time, she felt other presences encircling her.
97 minutes after her escape, Audrey Hall was found by the official Beyonders.
'How? I left the handcuffs there to be sure they wouldn't be able to track me with it.'
However, Audrey was unaware that, no matter where she hid, it would have been useless.
As an Evernight Goddess believer, Audrey had often prayed to the goddess. Thus, Amanises had the opportunity to mark her as a Blessed.
Finding an ordinary believer among thousands was difficult, but if it was a Blessed, there was no problem.
As soon as they found Audrey's cell empty, they had prayed to the goddess who had provided the young lady's location.
If they hadn't thought about reporting it to the Evernight Goddess so soon due to Audrey being directly related to one of the Goddess's oracles, Audrey could have been free for a while longer. It was unfortunate for Backlund's Most Dazzling Gem.
However, eventually, she would have still been caught.
Finding a breach though the encirclement, Audrey ran as fast as she could.
Her feet hurt.
"Catch her!"
She was out of breath.
Behind her, a pained howl resounded.
"Susie!"
The dog had taken an attack for her and fell to the ground.
Her most faithful companion, the only one she had left, her friend hurt by her fault.
She was bleeding too much.
Audrey's pupils were shaking.
"R-run…" Susie urged.
What had she done so wrong to deserve this?
Now out of the Church's basement, she prayed once more.
Maybe the Church's environment had isolated her prayers so the Fool hadn't heard her.
Maybe the dots didn't work for some reason.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era…"
She repressed her sobs, running toward Susie.
Then, she kicked the official Beyonder approaching her friend and picked up the dog before sprinting in a random direction.
No. No. No.
Susie's wound was too big, she had lost consciousness.
Despite reciting the honorific name, there was still no answer from the Fool.
Her heart was racing.
Audrey used placate on herself, her hands trembling.
It was cold.
She used her Beyonder abilities to Hypnotize the official Beyonders behind her to fight each other.
Susie's body was so cold.
The smell of blood reached her nose, and Audrey choked. However, she didn't look down at the creature in her arms.
Her pupils turned reptilian as she met the gaze of another official Beyonder. Before she could use Hypnosis, a wave of Psychic Piercing assaulted her.
Audrey fell in pain.
As mystery was weakened and reality strengthened, even Psychic Piercing could greatly harm a demigod.
Then, the Church's reinforcements came.
Audrey saw blood.
Was it Susie's? Someone else's? Or was it hers?
What did she do that was so wrong? How did it come to this?
Mr. Fool, save me.
Her mind was buzzing, a ringing sound in her ears as people moved around her.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
Was this what they called 'seeing one's life flash before their eyes'?
"Sir, how should we address you?"
It seemed as if she were back to sitting in that space above the gray fog.
"I've decided. My designation shall be 'Justice'!"
When she founded the Tarot Club with Mr. Hanged Man, and the gathering was still only composed of three members.
"…Ah. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I have a bit of difficulty focusing."
'Mr. Fool seems quite forgetful… Stop, Audrey, it's rude!'
"Mr. Fool, what do you wish for us to do?"
"Sacrifice a meal to me."
Mr. Fool's voice echoed in her ears.
"This is a simple problem."
"It was a very common system in my hometown."
The long bronze table, the high-backed chairs, and the fog swirling around her.
"Mr. Fool, did you like the food?"
"If I may ask, what was your favorite dish? Knowing your tastes would help me know what to sacrifice next time."
The Fool wasn't offended and calmly answered, "Desi pie."
"This question is free, but until what Sequence do you want to know the potions' name? Is Sequence 5 enough or do you want to know more?"
"Can you sell the Sequence 8 Telepathist potion formula to me? What do you want in exchange?"
"A pocket watch with Backlund's time."
Yes.
"You may address me as…"
Being a Tarot Club member was fun.
"The Fool."
Audrey blinked her eyes slowly, brought back to reality.
"An evil god."
She exhaled with difficulty. Was it because she was lightly dressed? She felt so cold.
Despite the wounds she had incurred, she didn't feel pain. She didn't feel anything but the freezing air of Backlund at night.
Audrey mentally apologized to the Fool.
Unfortunately, the Tarot Club may be missing one more member again after today.
The god would probably be saddened by the news.
Across from her, Audrey's blurry mind saw Susie. She weakly reached out toward her friend.
Evil gods don't save people.
Just a little more strength, one more centimeter…
Evil gods cause people's deaths instead.
Evil god believers often meet tragic fates.
Audrey's hand fell, her chest still as she stopped breathing.
And Their believers die due to their faith.
Miss Justice's lifeless corpse lay on the ground.
End.