◈ Episode 251 The truth of the day (1)
Riding on Hans, who had transformed into a wolf, Ludger landed in front of the entrance of an abandoned coal mine.
Near the entrance, there was a steam car that had just passed by.
Besides that, a truck was also seen.
“Something is certain to be here. Hans. take it.”
Rudger handed Hans a neutralizer, and Hans immediately stuck it into his forearm.
Returning to human form, Hans put on his coat again and grunted.
“That’s true. It’s not like I’m raising a dog.”
“Normal people don’t ride dogs, so it can be said that they are treated more specially.”
“That’s a comfort that I’m grateful for, bringing tears to my eyes.”
Rudger and Hans slowly made their way into the mineshaft.
The shaft was dark with no light coming through, but it didn’t matter to Ludger and Hans.
Hans could see as clearly as daylight even in the dark because of the feral nature that remained right after his transformation, and Ludger also saw through the darkness by focusing his magic into his eyes.
That was when the two went deep into the tunnel.
A light began to be seen in the distance, and then a large space appeared.
“The lights are on in an abandoned coal mine.”
Rudger saw footprints on the floor.
There must have been at least 5 people who had just gotten out of the car, but there were far more footprints than that.
“twenty. No, over thirty.”
“older brother. What will you do?”
“From here on, we are torn apart from each other. Hans. I’ll see if there’s another important place.”
“What about your brother?”
“I will enter along the main road.”
“It is dangerous.”
“So shouldn’t I go?”
Hans was speechless at Ludger’s reply.
Come to think of it, if a battle broke out here, the best survivor would be Ludger.
“… … Be careful.”
“I will.”
Rudger walked along the path of footprints.
How long did he walk along the sparsely connected lights?
Before long, an empty lot that could have been the size of a warehouse appeared.
Dozens of people gathered in the center of a space filled with wooden boxes and steel utensils.
All of them were yarders in navy blue uniforms.
Among them was the cop Ludger had been chasing a moment ago.
They were gathering and talking about something, but in Rudger’s eyes it seemed like they were talking and laughing at each other.
In fact, the cops were laughing as if they were having fun.
When Rudger strained his eyes, they could see them more clearly.
“… … .”
And saw.
The center of the place surrounded by police.
The figure of a child lying there bleeding.
Upon closer inspection, the policeman’s hand was holding a club, and blood was dripping along the club.
The figure of a child who had collapsed covered in blood.
Something familiar.
“uh? what.”
“Who is it?”
Belatedly, the police noticed Ludger’s existence.
But Rudger couldn’t take his eyes off the child even when he was caught.
“Arte… … .”
The name of the fallen child flowed from Rudger’s mouth.
The name of his personal student who disappeared hours ago.
* * *
After Celie disappeared, Arte was so anxious that things got out of hand.
The tough but foolish owner told Arte to take a break today, but Arte rather refused the offer.
“I still have to do my job.”
Seeing Arte’s forced smile, the owner had no choice but to nod his head saying he knew.
Just in case, I took a closer look at Arte.
It was because I was thinking of somehow forcing him to rest if he showed even the slightest oddity.
The disappearance of Sally was a pity for the owner as well.
I was sorry that young Arte kept worrying, so I thought of stopping at the police station while going to the grocery store during break later.
But was it just a whim?
Arte’s appearance afterwards was the same as usual.
‘You look fine. I was worried for nothing.’
The owner was relieved there, but he should have been suspicious of Arte’s appearance.
The moment the owner was relieved and looked away from Arte, Arte seized the opportunity and sneaked out.
‘We need to find Sally. My country too.’
Arte thought.
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Where can I find the missing Sally?
‘The incident continued. If that’s the case, there might still be a criminal trying to catch the child around here.’
There was no guarantee that that would necessarily happen today.
But Arte had no other place to lean on.
‘If I were the culprit, where would I kidnap the child? A place where people’s eyes can’t reach, a place where no one will know if they disappear.’
ghetto.
An area passed through Arte’s mind.
Arte headed straight to the slums.
On a dark night, the slums where even the lights didn’t come on were pitch-black, but Arte, who came and went often, did not get lost.
Among them, Arte arrived near the beggars’ den where children were gathered.
‘If the culprit is really targeting children, it’s only here.’
Arte appropriately hid himself near the abandoned rubbish.
It was then.
A group of people holding lanterns appeared in the distance.
‘Those people… … .’
It was still far away, so I couldn’t see it well, but it looked pretty suspicious.
In the first place, there was no reason for people to come to these slums with lanterns.
Arte held his breath and carefully watched their actions.
Those who held the lanterns looked around lightly and then entered the beggar’s den.
Right after that, there were several clashes, and the fainted children were dragged out in sacks.
Arte opened his eyes.
‘The real kidnapper!’
Arte was troubled.
Should I go after them here or report them to the police?
But in the meantime, with the fainted beggar children on their shoulders, they were quickly moving away from the slums.
Arte gritted his teeth and chased after them.
The image of Sally, who had disappeared to the point of being patient, flickered in his mind.
‘Sally. wait. My brother will definitely go find it.’
Arte moved carefully so as not to be noticed by the criminals.
The perpetrators loaded the stunned children into a truck and boarded them inside.
Arte hurriedly ran and clung to the end of the truck before it left.
At the moment, the truck started and almost fell outside, but I clenched my teeth and gave strength to my arms.
The truck drove out of town and headed out.
A more deserted and quiet place.
Eventually, when the truck stopped in front of a coal mine.
Areth hurriedly got out of the truck and threw herself into a nearby bush.
“hey. Move slowly.”
“Oh smell. Did you really have to bring the beggars?”
“What can I do? They’re the only ones who won’t show even if they disappear right away.”
The kidnappers moved the batteries one by one, chattering among themselves.
Arte was troubled.
Should I follow them into the mine or go back to the city and call someone?
‘Don’t be in a hurry. Even if I go inside right now, there’s nothing I can do. It’s better to ask for help.’
I don’t know what the inside of the coal mine will be like, but unlike the slums that know the geography, the inside of that coal mine is rather a den of kidnappers.
Even if Arte, still a child, entered, there was no guarantee that he would not be caught.
Arte was clearly aware of that.
‘I have to call the police.’
Now that we know the location, if we just go back to the city.
As I thought so, a black steam car approached from a distance.
Arte held his breath again, crouching in the grass.
The number of people who got out of the car was five, and Areth’s eyes lit up as she looked at them.
‘It’s the police!’
A person wearing a dark blue uniform and wearing a club at the waist.
It must have been the city police.
Seeing that, Arte ran out of the grass.
“Who are you!”
The police glared at Arte.
“Wow, police officer! here it is! There is a kidnapper here!”
“kid?”
“Suspicious people kidnapped children with that truck a while ago… … .”
“What did the guys inside do? Why is one guy out?”
The moment you hear someone muttering among the police.
Arte, who was about to run to the police, stopped.
I don’t know why the police suddenly said that.
However, Arte quickly turned around and tried to run away.
“Oops. You can’t do that.”
At that time, a police officer with a mustache came and grabbed Arte by the back.
Arte tried to struggle, but the police’s attitude was ruthless.
f*ck!
The police hit Arte on the head with a club in his hand.
Arte drooping.
The police exchanged glances and dragged Arte into the mine.
Arte, who had been hit on the head, did not faint completely.
He stared at the interior of the mine and the flirtatious cops with a blurry gaze.
Eventually, when a large space appeared, the police threw Arte into the center.
“Ugh.”
“This is amazing. I never thought a kid like this would come here.”
Arte slowly raised his upper body.
he asked, looking at the policeman who had just brandished a truncheon at him.
“Uh, why… … ?”
“her. look at this guy Are you still fine after being hit by one?”
“My little brother. my brother… … give it back… … .”
When Arte said that, the policeman tutted and clicked his tongue, then chinned to the people around him.
Then, as if they had been waiting, other policemen came out and beat Arte.
“Hey. Don’t kill them outright. Because he has to be used as a test subject too.”
One beating ended.
Arte, covered in blood, looked up at the policeman who gave the order.
Even though he was full of bruises and his lips were bursting with blood, the flame in Arte’s gaze did not go out.
“Trash… … . Criminals kidnapping children. Give me back my brother, my brother… … !”
“… … this bastard.”
The police officer who gave the order contorted his face and grabbed a club and swung it at Arte.
f*ck! puck! puck!
“this! An orphan baby! dare! to whom! Raise your eyes!”
blah blah
When the club he wielded hit Arte’s temple, Arte’s body disintegrated like a doll with a thread cut off.
“Huh. Huh.”
“Now, wait. Aren’t you dead?”
“What’s wrong? Orphans anyway, what does it matter if one or two die?”
“That’s right.”
“Miss Ha. There was blood on your dirty uniform.”
The police were worried.
I had to figure out what to do with this bloody kid.
However, most of the opinions flowed in the direction of leaving it as it is.
He was bleeding profusely anyway, so it was obvious that he would die soon if he let it go.
At that time, the police turned to one side at once.
I don’t know why.
However, at the same time, I felt a sense of crisis that if I didn’t look there right now, there would be a big problem.
“uh? what.”
“Who is it?”
Police found a man.
A black Inverness coat, white gloves, a black cane in his hand, and a gentleman’s hat on his head.
When the distinctive sharp impression was added to the outfit, he looked like a high-ranking person somewhere.
“Arte… … .”
The uninvited guest muttered as he looked at the fallen child.
The moment they saw it, the police realized.
─This man. It’s not ours.
“I don’t know how the hell they got here, but no luck.”
“… … .”
Rudger did not respond to the police.
Instead, he only moved slowly, moving towards Arte, who was covered in blood.
“What, what is it?”
The police unwittingly moved out of the way as Rudger approached in silence.
I should have stopped him, but I instinctively felt that I shouldn’t.
In the meantime, Rudger knelt in front of Arte and checked his condition.
He didn’t care if the white gloves on his hands were stained with blood.
“teacher… … sir?”
“Arte.”
Arte stared at Rudger with hard eyes.
“Come on… … You did.”
“Save your words.”
“I just… … crowd.”
“I told you to save your words.”
“sorry… … do.”
A tear fell down Arte’s cheek.
“Because I’m a bad kid… … I didn’t listen… … sorry. excellent… … I wanted to become a scholar.”
“Arte. I am… … .”
The moment Rudger was about to say something, Arte squeezed his remaining strength and opened my mouth.
“Mrs. Moriarty. My brother, please.”
Right after that, Arte’s head fell helplessly to the side.
“Arte.”
I shake my body, but Arte doesn’t wake up.
stopped breathing. blood flowing. body cooling down.
It all meant one thing.
Rudger slowly laid Arte’s body on the floor.
He silently looked down at Arte, whose eyes were closed as if he was asleep.
In the now dead boy, Rudger saw his past self.
My childhood self, waiting for death without doing anything.
There was a hand that saved him then.
But now there was no hand of salvation for this child.
Rudger slowly rose from his seat.
“this. I asked who it was and it was him. Professor James Moriarty.”
The police officer who recognized Rudger grinned and stroked his mustache.
“Why did a person who is doing well in the fortress society come all the way here?”
“… … .”
“Well, I guess I could have come to this place because I’m so smart. It’s more sad than that. The fact that such a famous person will not be seen from tomorrow.”
Rudger looked back at him wordlessly.
At that moment, the mustachioed cop trembled involuntarily.
His inorganic gaze directed this way.
And an irresistible energy flowing from him.
All of that was telling me something was wrong.
“Today, here, I will declare one.”
“What, what! hit! Run all at once!”
Another police officer, realizing that something was dangerous, rushed at Rudgar.
Even in that situation, Rudger stood firmly on his feet and opened his mouth quietly.
“Those who are related to this matter. Whoever it is, I will uproot it.”
The shadow under Ludger’s feet wriggled.
Sharp spikes protruded from the shimmering shadows and pierced all the cops who tried to attack Rudger.
Not only that, but also those who spread out throughout the space and watched the situation.
I was not safe from the thorns of the shadows.
Black thorns and red blood.
Dizzy shadows reflected in the light.
A coal mine full of screams and death.
At the center of it, a man who would later be called a hotbed of criminals declared.
“Not a single thing left.”
