"Janus. It's you. What are you doing here, little boy?" The blonde boy inquired with a curious gaze as he looked at the silver-haired boy who stood before him.
"Let me guess… You know this boy? That must be it. Were you helping the boy find the fragments? You were the one who gave the idea to toss everything aside. Was that all for this?" he further inquired.
'This boy is Janus? His voice does sound the same,' Ryder thought as he noticed that the voice of the Silver Haired Boy was the same as the one he had been hearing. Janus was actually here? And he really was a kid?
In any case, a smile was on Ryder's face. Finally, he had some support. He was sure that Janus would be able to support him against the Lord of Time. According to him, Janus wouldn't have even come here if he didn't have enough strength.
He opened his lips to speak something to Janus, but he couldn't say anything as he was taken aback by Janus's words.
"I'm not here for that. Don't worry. I don't even know the boy," Janus told the blonde boy.
"Hmm?"
The blonde boy looked at Janus curiously, whereas Ryder looked at Janus in shock.
What was he talking about? Was this a different Janus? Or was this guy throwing him under the bus because he couldn't face the Lord of Time?
The Lord of Time couldn't help but shake his head. "So you don't know him? Why are you here then?"
"Little Janus, don't tell me that you're here to meet me instead," he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I just came out. There's no way you could have known where I was," he further added.
"Do you really think I couldn't have known?" Janus let out as he rolled his eyes.
"You have stopped the time of not only this house but of this entire world. Do you really think I wouldn't know who would be behind it? It was obvious that it's you here," he continued.
"If I'm not wrong, more people will come here soon because of the commotion you have caused," Janus let out lazily.
'Hmm? Is this guy trying to act like a stranger? A way to help me? Could he be trying to help as a stranger without becoming the enemy of the Lord of Time?' Ryder wondered as he felt like he understood what Janus was trying to do.
"So you're really not here for him? Hahaha, Interesting. Then you wouldn't care about whatever happens to him, right?" The blonde boy inquired as he pointed towards Ryder.
"Why should I care?" Janus asked in return.
"Good. Then help me deal with the boy and prove it. Since you don't care, do it with your own hands. Get the bracelet for me," The blonde boy told Ryder as he smiled cheekily.
He placed both his hands behind his back as he casually commanded the boy.
"How?" Janus asked.
"Kill the boy or do whatever. I don't think I need to tell you what you can do. You're the reason this bracelet ended up here. So it's your responsibility to get this. That is… As long as you aren't related to the boy." The blonde-haired boy let out as he stood up.
"Fine. I'll cut his hand and get the bracelet for you," Janus let out as he nodded.
"Huh? What nonsense are you all talking about? Cutting my hand? Did you all lose your head?" Ryder blurted out furiously as he saw Janus agree. He still didn't expose that Janus knew him, but he did curse them both.
"Silence!" Janus shouted at Ryder.
As soon as his voice fell in Ryder's ears, Ryder felt a pain in his head. It felt as if his head was going to blow up. The nerves in his head were thumping.
A pressure was also falling on his body which made him feel like a mountain was placed on his shoulder. He had the urge to go down on his knees to give his body some relaxation from this stress. All of it because of a shout.
"You're lucky that we are only cutting your hand. It's better than losing your head," Janus told Ryder as he started walking towards Janus.
Janus reached Ryder, who was still resisting the pressure on his knees to stay standing.
"Don't do this! This bracelet can't be removed!" Ryder told Janus as he took a step back.
"Leave that to me. I'll get that bracelet off," Janus told Ryder as he reached out his hand. He caught the hand of Ryder right away using his left hand. His right hand was placed on Ryder's shoulder.
All of it happened so fast that Ryder couldn't even react before his right hand was torn off from his shoulder.
A pained scream left Ryder's lips as his hand was torn off. A soul stabbing pain moved through his entire body as he yelled.
"You Bastard! What the hell are you doing!" Ryder roared in pain.
Janus ignored Ryder's scream as he removed his hand from Ryder's shoulder. With Ryder's left hand in his hand, he turned back towards the blonde-haired boy.
"Here, take the bracelet along with the hand," Janus said as he tossed the arm towards the Lord of Time.
The Lord of Time caught the hand.
"I asked you for the bracelet, not the arm," the Lord of time let out as he tossed the arm back towards Janus. "This thing doesn't have the bracelet anymore."
Janus's eyes opened wide in surprise as he realized that the arm didn't have the bracelet of immortality.
He looked back at Ryder in surprise.
'I told you. It's impossible to take the bracelet. You think I didn't suffer this before? The bracelet disappears as soon as my hand is cut. And it will only appear when my hand appears again," Ryder declared as he held his bleeding shoulder with his left hand.
Fortunately, the bleeding seemed to have slowed down as his Healing of Nature took place. His face was still sweating profusely, though.
"As I expected, this is impossible through normal methods. We can only take some extra steps. Kill him and lose the bracelet forever or find when this boy got the bracelet and stop that moment from happening," the Lord of Time muttered as he rubbed his chin.
"No!" Janus straight away refused. "It's better to destroy him simply!"
Ryder's eyes opened wide in shock as he heard Janus's suggestion. It was confirmed. This guy had gone crazy. He was throwing Ryder under the bus to get himself rid of the responsibility.
Without giving the Lord of Time the opportunity to ask, Janus explained, "The other methods are too time-consuming. And you already know my stance on all this. I was against people possessing this bracelet. And I still don't want that. So I'll simply kill the boy to make sure that the bracelet never finds a way to return."
Ryder was getting more and more sure that Janus had betrayed him, but after seeing Janus suggest to kill him, Ryder realized that it wasn't right.
There was no way that Janus wouldn't know that he had the power of the bracelet. As long as he was killed, he was going to be sent back in time by a day. That acted as an opportunity for him to make different decisions. Was that what Janus was trying?
'No! This doesn't make sense either,' Ryder thought as he frowned.
This wasn't a normal person who wouldn't know the truth. This was the Lord of Time! Weren't they worried that the guy would know if they traveled in time? How was it possible that this person wouldn't know if Ryder was killed and traveled back in time because of the bracelet? The disturbance in time will still be there after all.
What was Janus trying to do then? Did he have a way to make sure that the Lord of Time didn't realize?
"That's true. Killing him would be better. Do it," the Lord of time nodded his head as he commanded Janus.
"No, I can't do it," Janus shook his head.
'This guy, just what is he trying to do?' Ryder was having a hard time understanding what was happening. What was the end goal? Just what exactly was happening here?
"So you do care for this boy?" The Lord of Time inquired.
"No. What I mean is something different. There's another reason I can't do it," Janus answered as he gazed back at Ryder.
"This bracelet was made by him. I know a lot about this bracelet. I'm sure this bracelet will help him if we kill him. The ability of time can clearly be felt in the bracelet. I'm sure he'll just go back in time if I kill him. That's why we don't need to kill him. Instead, we must destroy him!" Janus declared. A cruel smile was on his face.
"Your abilities are the ones that can destroy his soul from its core!" he continued.
