Lucas stood in place for a long moment. Then he moved, continuing his search.
He went to the store, bought another pack of cigarettes, and lit one.
"Lucas!"
He turned toward Miguel's voice, who was holding a bottle of water, with Jin walking beside him.
Lucas nodded:
"I didn't find anything."
Miguel replied casually:
"Neither did we. Tell me, are you thirsty?"
Lucas looked into his eyes and exhaled smoke from his mouth, extending his hand: "Yes."
He calmly opened the bottle. Miguel approached him exaggeratedly, pouring water over him, soaking his clothes.
Lucas's mouth opened in surprise. It was a poor act.
"Sorry… I didn't mean that."
Miguel pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began gently wiping the water from Lucas's clothes.
Lucas said:
"Don't worry, it's nothing."
He raised his eyes to Jin, who didn't move from his place.
Something felt strange; it was as if this was expected.
Miguel was touching areas the water hadn't reached, probing Lucas.
He realized what was happening.
Hours ago, Lucas had been talking to himself angrily—and now Miguel was using the water to search him.
"Why did you do this?"
Miguel laughed nervously, glancing at Jin casually:
"What do you mean?"
Lucas's expression changed, his eyes nearly popping out.
"Do you think I'm an informant? Looking for a microphone?"
He shrugged, signaling he didn't understand, then raised his hand toward Miguel:
"I'm not a spy."
Jin and Miguel exchanged surprised looks. No one had mentioned a spy.
Lucas turned away. Miguel said:
"No one gets angry without a reason… unless they're hiding something."
Jin whispered: "Enough."
Lucas exhaled sharply, clenched his right fist, turned, and punched Miguel in the face.
Miguel fell to the ground, blood pouring from his lip.
He put his hand in his mouth and spat out the blood along with his teeth.
Jin shouted:
"Hey! You have no right to hit him!"
Lucas kept looking at him, showing no trace of remorse.
He turned, leaving, then calmly pulled a knife from behind his back.
Jin ran screaming: "Nooo… stop!"
In an instant, the knife plunged into Lucas's neck from behind. It was a brutal strike, blood flowing endlessly.
He placed his right hand on the wound. The bleeding couldn't be stopped.
He turned to Miguel:
"You bastard… what did you do?"
Miguel tried to move closer, but his body didn't respond.
He collapsed to his knees, dying. Blood continued to pour.
Lucas stared at him, never flinching.
He fell to the ground.
Jin approached Miguel, gripping his clothes angrily:
"What are we going to tell Carlos now?"
Lucas calmly wiped the blood from the knife onto Miguel's clothes.
He said softly:
"We'll say he was an informant."
He lowered the hand that had held Miguel's clothes, stepping back slightly.
"But he wasn't."
He looked at the sky, waiting for his last breath. Under his body, blood flooded the ground.
A voice laughed inside him:
"What a funny death… your death, Arthur."
Before the sparkle left his eyes, the voice said:
"Don't worry… this is why the book exists… so you don't die so foolishly."
Lucas opened his eyes to the honk of a car.
He turned and found himself in the middle of the street, a car continuing down the road.
He stood there, screaming.
The driver shouted:
"Do you want to die? Get out of the way!"
Lucas looked at the burning cigarette in his hand, while the driver continued yelling.
Memories of his previous death returned. Anger surged in Lucas.
He moved toward the driver, standing beside the door, looking in through the window. His expression was so terrifying the driver swallowed hard.
All his anger vanished.
He asked calmly:
"What time is it?"
He quickly checked his phone.
"Ah… it's 4:30."
He threw the cigarette on the ground.
He asked voice:
"It's 4:30… and I died at 7:30. Three-hour difference."
Voice replied:
"I didn't know you were good at math."
Annoyed by the sarcasm, he stomped the ground furiously:
"You know what I mean? Last time I died, I went back a few minutes… but now… it's three hours!"
The voice answered calmly:
"Simple. The book decides when you return… it doesn't have to be minutes or three hours."
Lucas started thinking. He didn't want to, but he couldn't stop.
The book could take him back to the moment before Steve's death… and change his fate.
The thought saddened him… but he had no power over it now.
The voice shouted excitedly:
"Only two more chances for the mission!"
Lucas screamed, unleashing all his power:
"Shut up… shuutt up!"
The voice laughed, taunting him. People around stared.
A child with his mother by the roadside shivered and cried.
The mother lifted the child into her arms, looking at Lucas angrily, whispering:
"Sorry… I'm sorry."
Lucas placed his hand on his head…
Why does he have to apologize?
No one knew what he had been ordered to do.
No one knew what was going on inside his mind.
There was a war in his head.
More than three hours had passed.
Lucas stood in front of the restaurant.
A cigarette between his lips.
Watching people eat.
He couldn't eat a thing.
Inside him… was empty.
The voice… gnawing at his skull.
It didn't fade from his ears.
The image of Steve…
The dirt on his face…
And the features of the homeless man.
How could he eat?
He heard someone calling him.
He looked.
Miguel was carrying a bottle of water,
and Lucas walked toward them with Jin, calmly,
without haste.
Cold expressions… as if he hadn't killed.
Miguel smiled:
"Did you find anything?"
Lucas tilted his head.
No words came out.
As before,
Miguel tossed the bottle of water on him,
soaking Lucas's clothes.
He took out a handkerchief,
wiping his clothes while simultaneously searching him quite obviously.
He continued like this until he was done.
Lucas smiled:
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
Miguel laughed nervously, throwing the handkerchief on the ground.
"What do you mean?"
"You heard me talking to myself before…
and deduced, with the help of the marijuana,
that I'm an informant…
and under my shirt… a microphone."
He put his hand in his pocket.
"That's why I asked you…
did you find what you were looking for?"
Miguel scratched his neck.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lucas noticed Miguel's hand touching his neck.
He felt a sting in the same place he had been stabbed.
Lucas smiled.
He placed his hand on Miguel's shoulder.
"Sorry… it's my fault."
Miguel smiled too.
He opened his mouth to respond…
Bam!
Lucas headbutted Miguel's nose.
Miguel fell to the ground.
He screamed:
"What the hell are you doing?"
Lucas didn't just stop at staring.
He put all his weight on Miguel's stomach,
raised his right hand forcefully…
and slammed it down on Miguel's face.
Jin shouted:
"Hey! Stop!"
Lucas struck him again.
Jin intervened:
"Please stop… he's a reckless fool… I know.
He doesn't deserve all this violence."
Miguel's eyes welled up.
He covered his mouth and nose.
"Sorry… sorry."
Lucas stood up, looked at the back of his hand.
His wounds.
He turned…
Without a word…
and walked away.
At that moment…
he stopped again, smiling.
He drew a knife.
Pushed Jin aside.
He began to run toward him.
Lucas could have…
penetrated any part of his body.
But he loved his knife…
slicing throats.
He waved it toward his neck.
He didn't turn or glance back.
He dodged a strike from behind.
Jin froze in place.
"How did he dodge a strike from a blind spot?"
Miguel threw his full weight into the strike,
lost balance, and fell to the ground.
He turned toward Lucas quickly,
attacked again.
But Lucas was ready.
A gun in his hands,
aimed directly above Miguel's head.
Miguel panicked, threw the knife.
His lips trembled.
Jin didn't understand a thing.
Every C-rank…
had no right to carry a gun without permission from a higher rank.
But… on his first day, he was armed.
A voice in his head:
"Go on… do it, Arthur.
I know you want it."
His hands trembled.
His nose bled.
"Please… don't."
The voice answered:
"What are you afraid of?
It won't be the first person you kill… nor the last."
His fingers on the trigger.
The voice whispered:
"Well done… it's nothing.
You are greater than him, Arthur."
Jin approached slowly:
"Lucas… Lucas… please… calm down!"
The voice screamed:
"Come on, Arthur… blow his head off… let's see what's inside!"
But Lucas was calm.
He lowered the gun to the ground.
Fired. Baah!
Miguel was close.
He kicked the knife with his foot.
Lucas returned the gun to its place,
placed his hand on his hair,
stepped back.
He didn't look at them.
He looked ahead, completely calm.
He extended his hand toward Miguel:
"The handkerchief."
Miguel obeyed immediately,
handing it over with his head bowed.
Lucas whispered:
"Search is over for today…
we'll continue tomorrow."
He left the place,
taking with him all the fear and terror.
He went toward the restaurant.
Entered boldly.
Sat in his seat.
The waitress took his order.
The voice laughed at him:
"Do you think not killing that person makes you in control?"
She placed a beef burger in front of him.
He took the first bite.
Chewed with difficulty.
He didn't give up.
He swallowed everything.
He remembered Steve again.
He heard the voice's taunt…
but continued eating.
He defeated his urge to vomit.
Accepted all the tragedies that had happened to him.
(Either he lives with it… or he goes insane.)
He looked toward the street.
"I will finish the mission… and return home."
The voice laughed again.
But Lucas didn't care.
He kept eating,
as if he hadn't eaten for weeks.
A hint of happiness began to appear on his face.