Not the End

Before the words had even faded, the thrusting sword shot out like a snake, swift and deadly. Its edge sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.

It was hard to imagine a body like that producing such strength. This time, his target was Eve. He was going to take back his Lucky Coin.

The hallucinations were interfering with Lorenzo, and for a moment he couldn't keep up with Sabo. The girl simply watched Sabo approach, then raised the revolver in her hand.

It was the revolver called Death Knell. The world was just as distorted in Eve's eyes, but that didn't mean she would sit back and wait to die.

She pulled the trigger, but the death knell she expected to hear never rang.

Eve froze for a moment, then suddenly understood everything. She really wanted to curse Lorenzo out. The man truly was a scumbag. From the beginning, the revolver had only had five bullets in it. Just like when he'd used a ladder at Phoenix Manor, he'd taken advantage of people's "common sense."

That was why he'd been so confident. That bastard had known from the start that the cylinder was empty. What a load of crap about him being a gambler. It had all been a trick.

The sharp thrusting sword was upon her in an instant. Its blade skimmed Eve's cheek, carried on the whistling wind. The Goddess of Luck hadn't favored anyone. Sabo's attack had also missed, thanks to his blood loss and the hallucinations. Then the sharp Cane Sword pierced his body and burst out through his back, like a spear used for an execution, pinning Sabo firmly to the ground.

"Eve! Don't just stand there!"

Lorenzo didn't seem interested in explaining his terrible trick. Instead, he shouted at her.

Eve hadn't understood what Lorenzo was doing, but then she heard it: the sounds coming from every direction.

They were hurried footsteps, thudding against the stone bricks. Alongside them, the groaning of heaven and a low, murmuring whisper filled her ears.

She looked down from the raised platform. The people who had fallen there were getting back up in a strange manner, twisting themselves upright in ways no human could manage. Their eyes were a ghastly, solid white as they wandered about like the walking dead.

"Is this an illusion...?"

Eve's newly fortified resolve nearly crumbled again. Under the effects of the hallucinogen, she was gradually losing the ability to tell hallucinations from reality.

"I don't know. I only know we need to leave."

Lorenzo put a cigarette in his mouth and drew on it hard. The mind-clearing herb was taking effect, and his vision began to sharpen.

"Then... what about... Lorenzo!"

Eve had been about to ask what they should do with Sabo. After all, they still hadn't gotten many clues. But as she turned her gaze toward him, the body that should have been dead moved again.

That was no longer the vitality of a mortal. It was an eerie sight straight out of a grotesque legend. He gripped the blade and slowly lifted himself off the ground. His blood had run dry; all that showed through the ruined wound was pale bone. There was no cry of pain, only a whimpering laugh.

"Death... isn't the end."

Lorenzo murmured, remembering what Sabo had said earlier.

"It's the coin!" Eve cried, clearly realizing something.

Sabo's bizarre body slowly stood up. In his ruined hand was his Lucky Coin. Then the hideous iron mask slowly split open, and its pitch-black maw swallowed the coin along with his hand. Misaligned canine teeth tore at flesh and bone, making a sound that chilled the blood.

"Is this... an illusion?"

The girl gripped her sword and gun tightly. At the edge of madness, it was the only way she could keep herself calm.

"That doesn't matter," Lorenzo said coldly.

A strange standoff followed, but suddenly a much louder rumble rang out. The entire hall trembled along with it. The gorgeous chandelier swung violently, its crystal pieces clinking against one another before an endless shower of dust fell from above.

It sounded as though a giant were stomping on the ground. Then the noise came again and again. Only then did Eve realize it was clearly the sound of shells exploding.

What was happening on the surface?

Before they could even think about it, the violent shaking made the lights in the hall flicker. In the instant they went dark, then bright again, Sabo's twisted body had vanished.

Perhaps she'd been exposed to so many bizarre shocks that Eve managed to calm down a little.

"He's gone."

"I know."

Lorenzo's voice was very calm. There was something hard to describe about the great detective at that moment. He stared fixedly at the spot where Sabo had disappeared, lost in thought.

But then the sound of countless footsteps rang out again. At some point, the dance floor had filled with guards carrying firearms. Under the effects of the hallucinogen, every one of them looked utterly frenzied.

The lift. This place had once been an arena. Back then, the gladiators had waited beneath the dance floor, which was also the arena. When the cheers began, they'd emerged from the lift below. The guards had all been hiding down there.

Trouble followed trouble. Wild gunfire sent bullets sweeping across the raised platform.

He grabbed the Shotgun and fired at the stained-glass window behind him. The glass shattered and scattered, revealing a small room beyond. Just as Lorenzo had suspected, Sabo had been watching him from there the whole time.

He pulled Eve inside with him. A strange feeling filled the room.

"Eve, hold this place. We've got the high ground, so they can't get up here for now."

He tossed his Winchester over to her and strode into the room.

"What are you going to do?"

Only after catching the Shotgun did Eve realize how heavy it was. In Lorenzo's hands, it had seemed so light. It was hard to imagine how strong the detective's arms were.

"Clues. Sabo hasn't told us enough."

The brass mask held a complicated expression. Lorenzo had seemed a little off ever since Sabo disappeared.

"What then? How do we get out?"

Eve shouted. She was more concerned about how to leave. Everything that had happened that night was a tremendous shock to her.

"That depends on you," Lorenzo said casually.

"Me?"

Eve couldn't understand what she had to do with it.

Lorenzo glanced back at the hall. The hallucinogen was spreading through it, but this room hadn't been contaminated. Lorenzo's mind was gradually clearing.

"I don't know how many guards are outside. The surest way isn't for us to fight our way out. It's to get someone else to come rescue us."

As he spoke, Lorenzo rummaged through the room.

"So, a few hours before we made our move, I gave a messenger boy a silver coin to deliver a letter for me."

He looked up at Eve's bewildered expression and continued.

"I actually knew where this place was. The Lower District isn't that big, and every gang's territory is fixed. So I wrote down this place's location and your name and sent it to Suaran Hall.

"Think about it. An anonymous letter tells them that the Phoenix family's princess has turned up in the Lower District—and that she's a detective with Suaran Hall. If I were the police chief, I'd bring every mounted officer I had and storm the Lower District. Otherwise, he'd have the Phoenix family's wrath to deal with."

Everything was under control. As soon as Lorenzo had learned Eve's true identity, he'd started making preparations. As long as Eve was with him, Suaran Hall would do whatever it took to get him out.

Lorenzo had kept checking his watch because he was waiting for this moment. Once Suaran Hall attacked, it would be time for him to retreat.

"Besides, it's easy to confirm whether the letter is telling the truth. All Suaran Hall has to do is call Phoenix Manor and ask if you're there."

Everything was precise, without a flaw.

Eve shot a guard in the head. His body tumbled down the stairs. After hearing all this, the girl suddenly looked dazed, then cursed at him.

"You used me!"

"It's a win-win!"

"Lorenzo, you're a scumbag!"

"And right now, this scumbag is the only one who can get you out of here alive!"

The Cane Sword slashed viciously at the wall. She couldn't tell what kind of metal its blade was made of, but it was both slender and light, yet incredibly hard.

Lorenzo's slash forcibly broke open a hidden door. A dark gap appeared behind the iron door, just wide enough for someone to squeeze through.

"It's all over!"

Eve came through, carrying the Shotgun. She was furious. She hadn't cried even when faced with that hellish scene earlier, but now her eyes were brimming with tears.

"They'll definitely use this to stop me from becoming a detective. It's all because of you!"

"Calm down, Detective! Do you think I didn't consider what would happen to you?"

Eve looked ready to open fire on Lorenzo at any moment. He was beginning to regret giving her the gun.

"As long as they can't catch you, none of this holds up! It's just an anonymous letter. It has no credibility. As long as you aren't caught, nobody will know you're here, and that letter won't have any effect!"

"You said they could confirm it with one phone call!"

"Right! But that can only confirm that you're not at Phoenix Manor. You could be anywhere tonight. You just can't be here!"

Even with all the suspicious circumstances that night, Suaran Hall could do nothing but swallow the insult, given Eve's identity.

As he spoke, Lorenzo grabbed Eve's skirt and yanked it open. There was no suggestive scene beneath it—just a fitted outfit and weapons. It was like magic: the delicate princess had transformed in an instant into a battle-hardened Valkyrie.

"Save the killing and punishment until after we get out, all right? You don't want tomorrow's Queen's Daily to carry some damned story about the Phoenix family's princess dying in the Lower District, do you?"

As he spoke, Lorenzo snatched the Shotgun from Eve and pulled the trigger. The guard on the raised platform fell, but even then, his body kept twitching. Under the effects of the hallucinogen, those people were seeing things Lorenzo couldn't understand.

They felt no pain, driven only by their purest desires.

In an instant, it seemed a bolt of lightning surged through Lorenzo. A chill rose from deep within him, like an animal's instinct. His nerves were pounding against his brain, warning him of what was about to happen.

He saw it.

It seemed that a thousand crows were circling through the cramped hall. Their miserable cries gathered together, rising and falling to form an obscure, incomprehensible chant. It was as if an ancient being were speaking a vile curse through the crows.

All the light vanished in an instant. His vision was swallowed by darkness. The sudden night reminded Lorenzo of his Spirit Sight. It was the same there: the light receded, and darkness swallowed everything.

Without hesitation, he shoved Eve through the hidden door, then followed her inside. At the same time, the Shotgun's muzzle spat a blinding flash. It was the only light in the darkness, lasting no more than an instant, but it illuminated a glimpse of something hideous.

Amid the whispering hatred, countless bloodstained hands reached over the edge of the raised platform. Their twisted, deformed joints hoisted up a bloated body. It was hard to describe the thing. At first glance, it looked like a gigantic, misshapen ball of flesh, as if hundreds of people had been shoved into a meat grinder and then pieced back together from their mangled bodies.

The flash of light vanished. The instant the door slammed shut, a tremendous impact struck from the other side. The sound made his skin crawl. A shrill, low wail scraped at his eardrums, as though countless fingernails were scratching at the door.

"What... was that...?"

In the darkness, the girl's voice sounded as if she were in a daze from terror. Lorenzo remained calm—or perhaps "experienced" was a better word. He knew this all too well. He even knew what would happen next.

"Is it an illusion?"

Eve's voice was full of fear. Lorenzo answered in a cold voice.

"An illusion acts directly on our minds. So, by nature, we can't see the same hallucination."

Can't see the same hallucination...

The girl seemed to understand. Her voice began to tremble.

"You mean... it's real?"

Hallucination and reality had overlapped. The nightmares of ancient legends had descended upon the world that night.

Lorenzo didn't answer Eve's question. Instead, he murmured words Sabo had said before.

"That which cannot be touched, cannot be understood, cannot be looked upon."

He pulled the trigger. The Shotgun's flash lit up the dark passage again. Dozens of bullet holes appeared in the iron door. Blood welled up through the hot holes. Flesh tried to squeeze through the gaps in the door—slender feelers swaying gently like hair in the moving air.

"Those who know of it either die... or go mad..."

Lorenzo's murmur turned into a shout. He grabbed Eve and ran deep into the passage. The iron door shattered behind them, and a tide of blood poured through, bringing with it a stench of blood and anguished wailing.