I opened the door slowly… yet I couldn't believe what I saw. The girl who had spoken to me just a few hours ago was gone. The floor was covered in blood. I collapsed to my knees; sweat poured down my head, and I couldn't hold back my tears.
"How? How? How?…"
Just a few hours ago she was beside me, but now… time felt frozen. For several minutes I stayed there on my knees, begging for the blood not to belong to my sister. I tried to comfort myself, to convince myself it wasn't hers. I grabbed my cheeks and began scratching my skin down to my neck, tearing into my own flesh. In that dark moment, my phone rang. I didn't care—nothing mattered until that sound reached me.
Helen +1 message
The moment I heard the notification, I grabbed my phone. I was so frantic that it slipped from my hand and got damaged, but I didn't care. It wasn't important. The only thing that mattered now was my sister.
I opened the phone and began reading the message:
"We have your sister. Elm Street, 6th Alley. Come there. She's inside the big building. If you care about her, come alone. You have 1 hour."
I couldn't believe my eyes. My body was shaking, but I had no choice. I rushed out of the house. I didn't take a bus or taxi; it was close enough, so I ran. People on the street stared at me as if I were insane. I ran, ran… and ran even more. Finally, I arrived at the massive, hangar-like building.
I knocked, but no one answered. After knocking one, two, three times more, I used force and pushed the door open. The sound echoed through the hangar. I stepped inside; I was tense, dripping with sweat. I felt like I was about to lose myself—until a loud crash snapped me back to reality.
When I turned around, the door was closed.
And then—Tap. Tap. Tap.
I began hearing footsteps. My body screamed for me to run. Somehow, with great effort, I forced myself to turn toward the figure emerging from the darkness.
His head was bald, his body covered in burn scars, wearing a suit—a masked, mafia-like man. He began clapping at me. When he finished, a deep silence filled the room. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't. Just as I opened my mouth, he spoke first:
"Hello, Mr. Yhazem. I am Edward, founder of the Black Dawn Organization. What a pleasure it is to finally meet you… After all, you're the one who defeated Lucky Nowr. Welcoming you here is an honor. Ihihihii…"
My eyes widened.
"You… you? Who exactly are you?!"
The masked man removed his mask and tossed it aside.
"Oh, come on, Yhazem… Do you really think Lucky Nowr is a fighter who stands alone? Those who supported him were from our organization. And because of you, we suffered heavy losses."
My veins pulsed with anger, and I yelled:
"I was stronger! That's why I beat him! And what do you even know?! I'm here for my sister! So shut that filthy mouth, you rat bastard!"
"Rat, huh? Quite a radical choice of insult… Ihihi. Anyway, to answer your first question: Lucky Nowr losing to you isn't a problem. It was merely a challenge he needed to overcome to grow stronger."
He paused. His face sank into the shadows.
"But if he's not alive anymore… how is he supposed to overcome that challenge, hmm?"