Chapter 15: The God Sethan
Inside the tavern, a drunkard slammed his beer mug down and pointed a grimy finger at the photograph of Enya's son.
"This guy! I've seen him," he slurred. "Just a glimpse, you understand, but you don't forget a detail like that. The two right hands... sticks in your mind."
According to the drunk, Jonas finally had a solid lead. The man's name was J. Geil. The drunkard had seen him at an underground club, indulging in... illicit substances.
Jonas, his left arm carefully supported, leaned in. "And do you know where he is now?"
To avoid drawing attention, he had kept his reattached arm hidden within the loose sleeve of his shirt. A casual observer would never know the extent of his injuries.
"Nah, no idea," the drunkard waved his hand dismissively. "That was over a month ago. I'm a drunk, mon ami, not a historian. It's a miracle I remember him at all."
So, J. Geil's current whereabouts were still a mystery. But at least Jonas had a name. He was on the right path.
The drunkard drained his glass and looked at Jonas with hopeful, bloodshot eyes. "I can have another, right? You said you'd cover me 'til I was full."
Jonas sighed and signaled the bartender for another beer, his mind sinking back into strategic thought.
Just then, a small boy walked into the tavern, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present. It wasn't entirely unusual for kids to try and sneak in for a drink, but this boy was... tiny. He was practically swimming in a set of adult-sized clothes, which hung from his small frame in loose folds, threatening to fall off at any moment. He clutched the oversized shirt with both hands, a look of profound embarrassment on his face as he tried to keep himself decent.
"Hey, kid! This is no place for you!" the bartender barked, his voice sharp.
But the boy didn't seem to hear him. He walked straight through the tavern, his eyes locked on a single target. He stopped directly in front of Jonas, held out a small hand, and presented him with a crumpled-up ball of paper.
Jonas's face was a mask of confusion. What in the world was this? He hesitantly took the note.
His task complete, the boy turned and wordlessly walked out of the tavern. Jonas watched him go, a deep sense of unease settling in. He looked down at the paper in his hand.
The drunkard at his side chuckled. "Well, well. Is that a lover's quarrel? Did your secret son finally track you down?"
"I'm very careful about that sort of thing," Jonas replied flatly, silencing him.
The drunkard just shook his head and returned to his new beer. Jonas smoothed out the crumpled note. Written in a messy, childish scrawl were the words: If you want to know about J. Geil, come outside.
Jonas's eyes hardened. He crushed the note in his fist, stuffed it into his pocket, and stood up. He had no idea who sent this, but he couldn't ignore a lead. If it was a trap... then he'd just have to serve up some righteous judgment.
He stepped outside the tavern and immediately spotted a man with a wretched, cowardly face beckoning to him from the mouth of a nearby alley. Jonas scanned the street. No one else. No obvious signs of an ambush. He walked into the alley.
The man, Alessi, let out a sigh of relief. He'd been waiting outside that damned tavern for hours, but his target never came out. He couldn't exactly attack him in a crowded room, so he'd been forced to lure him out.
"You know where J. Geil is," Jonas stated, his voice a low growl.
A slimy, grotesque grin spread across Alessi's face. "Hiii... You're a brave one, aren't you? Tracking him all by yourself. That old hag Enya was right. You've got guts... guts that are about to be spilled!"
Jonas's pupils contracted. This worm had just revealed his allegiance. He was one of Enya's lackeys, an assassin.
Jonas instantly moved to summon his Stand, but at that exact moment, he saw it. The shadow he was standing on... it suddenly grew a pair of eyes.
A Stand attack!
He reacted on pure instinct. He didn't know what the ability was, but his gut screamed at him: Do not touch that shadow!
He leaped backward, clearing the shadow's area.
"Too late!" Alessi shrieked, pointing a trembling finger. "You've already stepped on my Stand, the great god [SETHAN]!"
Jonas suddenly felt a bizarre, shrinking sensation all over his body. The world around him seemed to grow larger. He looked down and saw, to his utter disbelief, that he had been transformed into a twelve-year-old boy. His clothes, which had fit him perfectly moments ago, now hung off him like a curtain.
But strangest of all... the throbbing pain in his left arm was gone. He glanced at it. The arm, which had been crudely reattached, was now perfectly healed. Even the scars were gone.
His ability... heals me?
No. That couldn't be it. That wasn't this creature's goal. It was just a side effect. Combining this with his current state, Jonas began to understand.
But he wasn't one to stand idly by. He tried to summon his Stand to annihilate this cowardly fool, but... his mind was blank. It was as if a huge chunk of his memory had been snipped away with a pair of scissors. He knew he had a power, a way to fight back, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was.
"What did you do to me?!" Jonas-kun demanded, his voice now a higher pitch.
Alessi stuck his tongue out, a disgusting "Pelololololopelopelope..." sound bubbling from his lips.
"That's the power of my Stand, [Sethan]! It reverts you to your past! Your big adult brain has been de-aged into a tiny, stupid kid's brain! You've already forgotten everything that's happened in the last few years, haven't you? You don't even remember your own Stand! You're completely helpless against me!"
He cackled and began to advance on Jonas-kun, already savoring the "game" he was about to play. See that! he thought. I, the great Alessi, can defeat him all by myself! Who needs that stupid partner?!
But Alessi had made one fatal miscalculation. He didn't know that Jonas was a transmigrator. Even as a child, he had possessed the mind and resolve of a mature adult. So while his recent memories were gone, his core intellect remained untouched.
"Good grief," Jonas-kun muttered, rolling up the ridiculously long sleeves of his shirt. "To think I'd get tricked by a bottom-feeder like you."
He clenched his small fists. Just as Alessi was about to grab him, Jonas-kun exploded upward, launching himself into the air and driving a small, hard fist directly into the assassin's ugly face.
...
...
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Stand User: Alessi
Stand Name: [Sethan]
Destructive Power: D
Speed: D
Range: E
Stamina: C
Precision: D
Developmental Potential: D