Chapter 17:Jack the Slaughterer
Diko placed the meat beside Rahel and left her nearly empty room. He glanced at the old clock and saw that it was a quarter past seven in the evening. Letting out a light sigh, he said,
"I'm still not done yet. I still have to cook..."
Before Diko could finish his sigh, a pair of feet appeared before him—a young woman wearing a black dress. He raised his head and noticed a blue rose pinned to her chestnut-colored hair.
The moment he recognized her identity, he respectfully exclaimed,
"Lady Toria!"
Toria ignored Diko's display of respect and, as she did with everyone except her husband, looked at him with disdain and said arrogantly,
"That whore downstairs is close to death."
Under her gaze, Diko's body froze and his pupils widened. Before he could fully process what he had just heard, the floating spirit vanished from before him, her body blending into the air.
..
A few days later, Lumin returned to the city after bidding farewell to old Valjan and his son Jan beside the western gate. Before parting ways, he agreed to meet old Valjan again in two weeks at the Silver Tavern in Hansan.
...
During the past few days, he had remained at the center as he was supposed to. He had also met the timid young man, Lart. Although Lumin already possessed a solid understanding of the Soldier Path, he still listened to Lart's description.
Lumin had grown accustomed to gathering information from multiple sources and was not content with relying solely on old Valjan's explanation.
After Lart finished describing his Station, Lumin asked him to stand by the tent entrance and keep watch.
Once Lart left the tent, Lumin let out a quiet sigh and thought,
'Fortunately, I improved my image in front of her. Now that I think about it, I almost landed myself in trouble. Mr. Castleman told me about Walkers, but I have no right to pass on his knowledge...'
'As for me, I have no problem with it. In fact, it would make it easier to investigate Hedavin and his group. But she might know certain things... My sister may have become a Walker through those gatherings, and Kristy was the one who brought her in. But why did she hide the existence of Walkers from me? If her feelings were genuine, why keep something like that from me?...'
'Ah, this is complicated. Looking at it from my perspective, I hid my sister's transformation from her as well. She would definitely be shocked if she learned about it, and things could easily escalate into something bad. I had my reasons...'
'She might not even be a Walker anymore. She left them two years ago, and once she left, she lost contact with them. But where do they go?'
'Castleman knew about my sister's condition, and he's the one who gave me hope that she could be restored. I should ask him. He might know where they are. But his card has disappeared...'
'...I woke up from the coma and forgot about its disappearance. No, I simply ignored it. Since it's gone, I'll have to enter the Red Mist to meet him.'
After finishing his thoughts, Lumin called out,
"Lart, don't let anyone inside. I'm going to take a short nap."
..
Once again, Lumin tried searching for Castleman's card within the Red Mist, but he failed.
Day after day passed. No matter how hard he searched, he could not find the slightest trace of the card. During those days, he considered the potential dangers and gradually abandoned the idea of venturing outside.
Instead of leaving, he decided to conduct various experiments and investigate the side effects of the transition. Yet all his experiments ended in failure and yielded no useful results...
Except for one discovery he made by accident.
One night, after an exhausting day spent helping the injured, he returned to his tent and fell asleep normally. Not long after appearing in the Red Mist and beginning his experiments, he felt his body shaking violently, as though someone was trying to wake him up in the real world.
Leaning against a wall, he tried to sleep and return to reality, but he failed. His body continued trembling too violently for him to fall asleep.
After some time, the shaking finally stopped, and Lumin's body returned to normal. He attempted to return to the real world to find out what was happening.
When he woke up, he immediately sensed a difference.
All his fatigue had vanished without a trace.
From that moment, he arrived at a single conclusion:
"Transitioning restores my energy..."
That was the only meaningful result he obtained from all his experiments.
Of course, he learned some information, such as the synchronization of time between the two worlds. He also noticed differences compared to his first transitions—for example, he no longer suffered headaches upon waking.
But those were merely observations and pieces of information that offered him no real benefit.
...
While Lumin was on his way home, a young man with red hair and a white suit stepped into his path.
The young man's expression froze for a moment before he spoke.
"Lumin... we need to talk about that day. Could you follow me to the inn?"
Lumin stared at the young man's face for a second before replying,
"Charney, it's been a long time!!"
When Charney tried to answer, Lumin interrupted him and continued,
"I know, I know. You want the money for the cold coffee, right?"
Charney closed his mouth and simply nodded before turning toward the inn.
As Lumin followed him there, he heard Charney mutter,
"It was hot coffee."
...
Charney brought over two cups of wine and handed one to Lumin.
"To be honest, I'm not interested in the coffee. It wasn't mine."
Lumin looked at him with a faint smile before speaking.
"So, I wasn't the only one being watched?"
"Tsk."
Charney smiled and took a sip of wine before replying,
"Watching you? Sorry, but no. We weren't watching you. We were watching Lumit."
Lumin raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Lumit? Then why did you run when you saw me? And at the time, you were alone. Where was the other person? And why—"
Before he could finish, Charney interrupted him.
"Do you know about Jack's Crew?"
Lumin replied,
"Isn't that the gang in Hansan? I've heard of them."
Charney nodded.
"Tell me everything you know."
Lumin sighed lightly.
"Fine. But interrupt me again and this conversation is over. Understood?"
Charney's lips twitched for a moment before he laughed.
"Alright. You're not acting like your usual self, but fair enough. Go ahead."
"Years ago, the slums of Hansan were filled with numerous gangs fighting for control of the area. Because of them, theft, fraud, rape, and murder became rampant."
"But then, shortly after the Count of Hansan died, a man named Jack appeared and began wiping out those gangs one after another."
"He killed their leaders and absorbed their followers into his own organization. His gang wasn't much different from the others. They stole and swindled people too. But once the gang wars disappeared, the area became somewhat stable."
"Even though he ruled the slums through his gang, and even though he still stole and deceived people, he forbade murder and rape."
"The Count wasn't pleased. Another man controlling such a vast territory? He outright rejected it."
"The Count gathered his soldiers and worked with the police. In a large-scale operation, they captured a significant portion of Jack's gang. It's said that Jack's wife died during that operation, and that the Count himself killed her."
"A few nights later, a massive fire broke out in the Count's mansion. Every resident died."
"His wife was found naked and violated. His eldest daughter took her own life before she could be violated, but the second daughter was not so fortunate. After enduring unimaginable suffering, her head was hung from the Count's banner atop the mansion."
"As for the Count himself, his second son, and his third daughter, there has been no trace of them to this day."
"Everyone else died in horrific ways. Even the servants had their heads mounted upon the walls. That mansion became infamous throughout the province and is now known as the Gate of Hell."
"There was one sentence written repeatedly on every wall inside the mansion:
'I can accept anything... but I will take what is mine.'"
Lumin sighed before continuing with an empty gaze.
"In truth, there's no evidence identifying the killer behind the incident. But the gang still exists to this day, and the new Count lacks the will to stand against Jack's gang and its influence over the slums."
"It was the most horrifying case in the entire province. Public suspicion points toward Jack, but there has never been any concrete evidence."
Charney sighed before speaking again. Lumin noticed that his voice had become noticeably heavier.
"Regardless of who the killer was, your information is accurate enough."
"Those rumors about the Unicorn eventually reached Jack's ears. Since the rumors began spreading, several leaders and I have been keeping an eye on the Hunting Club and Lumit..."
"That day, I was watching the club while speaking with Jack. During our conversation, I noticed you entering the club and remembered that you used to be a member."
'What?! So you're one of Jack's members—and even one of his leaders? You were relaxed enough to go drinking coffee with him. What rank do you hold within the gang?'
Lumin silently analyzed Charney's relationship with Jack without interrupting him. Yet from the few clues he had gathered, he could only grasp the surface of their connection.
"Jack noticed me watching you after you left the club and asked about our relationship. I answered him and told him we were friends who met at the inn. I also told him a few things, like your sister's disappearance..."
When Charney mentioned Rahel, he noticed the anger in Lumin's eyes.
He fell silent for a moment, showing sympathy before sighing and continuing,
"And I told him about the wild boar incident from a few years ago."
Lumin lightly tapped the table and said without hesitation,
"So you and Jack were watching the Hunting Club to find out the truth about the Unicorn, correct?"
Charney nodded.
Lumin continued,
"And then it just so happened that I entered the shop and asked Lumit to return to the club, right?"
Again, Charney nodded without speaking.
"And I can guess the rest. Jack sent some people, and they became members of that expedition. But when he learned that I was a former member, he immediately considered the possibility of me being promoted to leader, correct?"
Charney stared sharply at Lumin before answering,
"Yes."
Lumin took a drink of wine before asking,
"Did Jack ask you to recruit me into the crew?"
Charney shook his head.
"No. Jack asked me for something else. He wants to meet you in two days at Lont Café."
Lumin raised a hand and pressed his fingers against his forehead as he sighed.
After several seconds of silence, he asked,
"What if I refuse? You know he's a dangerous man..."
Charney raised a hand.
"If you refuse? I'll simply tell him that. But if you want my opinion, go meet him. He won't do anything. You have my word."
Lumin studied Charney's eyes before making his decision.
"Alright... I'll trust you. When exactly are we supposed to meet? At what hour?"
Charney pulled out a crumpled white sheet of paper and handed it to him as he stood up.
"I don't know when, but he wrote everything down on the paper."
Lumin took the paper and placed it on the table without opening it.
Before he could say anything else, Charney spoke again.
"Alright, I'm off to meet Jack. He asked me to inform him of the details if you agreed."
Lumin quickly stood and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Safe travels."
.
After Charney left the tavern, Lumin sat back down in his chair.
He picked up the letter from the table and thought,
'He'll travel to Hansan City, and in two days Jack will come after learning of my agreement... The trip from here to there takes a full day by carriage without stopping. That means Charney will arrive tomorrow, and Jack would have to depart on the same day. That doesn't make sense.'
'Could this be related to one of the Paths? Maybe Jac—'
While Lumin was thinking, he heard a young woman's voice behind him.
"Darling... is that you?"
Lumin turned toward the girl who had spoken to him.
Thanks to his exceptional hearing, he immediately detected profound sorrow in her voice.
The moment he heard her, countless conflicting emotions surged from deep within him—sadness and happiness, despair and hope, pain and comfort...
She was a young woman with sky-blue hair streaked with white. Her hair was neither long nor short.
She wore a blue dress whose quality matched the beauty of her hair, and she was only slightly shorter than Lumin.