15. Close to Death

"What do you want from me exactly?" A girl turned her back on a strange man as she asked him a question.

"Nakamori. I just want to see you. Nothing else," the stranger said.

"Then from now on, you can stop bothering me. You should also stop bothering Saeran. Let that unemployed young man enjoy his life; leave him alone!" Nakamori told the stranger.

"I don't know. You two are so attractive to me, it's hard to let you go," the stranger said casually.

Nakamori tugged on the stranger's shirt collar. "STOP BOTHERING US FREAKS! IF YOU DARE COME NEAR US AGAIN, I WON'T HESITATE TO KILL YOU!" Nakamori shoved the stranger, causing him to almost fall over.

"Being born differently doesn't feel good.

The stranger hid a knife in his hand. After Nakamori left, he had a sad look on his face.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Irene," he said in a sad tone.

***

"She was murdered... I saw it with my own eyes. Her body was hanged just like a suicide," Fallen explained before she sipped her green tea. Today she met Regen to discuss a matter.

Regen frowned. "Are you sure it was him?"

Fallen smiled wryly. "Who else could have committed such a heinous act?"

Regen was silent. He tried to digest all the events that had happened. It felt like more and more people were being killed lately. The situation was getting tense, and he hated this situation. His sleep was getting worse, and his bowel movements were getting worse. Even the beautiful girls in his favorite porn magazines looked like Shrek.

"Do you think the demon is better killed or left alone?" Fallen looked at Regen meaningfully.

"Huh? Your question is very strange; of course, demons should not be left alone; if left alone, they will destroy everything," Regen replied.

Fallen chuckled at Regen's answer. "Naive," he muttered.

***

"At that time, he laughed sadly. I honestly miss her a bit. What do you think, Halb?" said Rain as she looked at the photo in her hand.

"What do you want to do, Rain?" asked Halb curiously. "The contents of your mind are getting messed up, I think. You've also gone too far. I wish you'd stop all this." Halb looked disappointed.

"I look pathetic in your eyes. But unfortunately, that's the way it is." Rain smiled widely.

Halb, who saw Rain like that, felt certain that things would never go well in the future.

***

"Saeran... Saeran... Saeran..." a woman called out to me.

I tried to find the origin of the voice, and once I found the source of the voice, I saw my mother crying in the middle of the flames.

"Mom!" I called. I ran, trying to reach her hand, but when I almost reached her hand, suddenly everything went dark again.

"Saeran." This time, a grown man's voice called out to me.

I turned my head and found an adult man with brown hair staring at me intently.

"Do you recognize me, Saeran?" he asked.

I furrowed my brow. This man in front of me looked very familiar. It was like I knew him but didn't remember him very well.

"You are me, and I am you," he said, pointing at his head. After saying that, there was a gunshot and a bullet whizzed by and perforated the man's head. The figure fell with a hole in his head that was bleeding profusely.

My body shook violently at the horrifying sight. I didn't know what to do. It was so horrible.

Something oozed from my forehead; the liquid was red and had a fishy smell. I was shocked to find it coming out of my limbs.

My breathing became heavier and heavier. My vision blurred, until everything went dark again.

***

"Huh?" I woke up and my body was drenched in cold sweat. The nightmare came back with me and this time it was even worse.

I don't know why I've been haunted by nightmares lately. Dreams about my past as well as the strange man who looks like me, always appear lately. I don't know who that man is, why he always appears in my dreams.

The dream this time felt much more real than before. I remembered my forehead and quickly checked it to confirm if there was a gunshot wound there.

I picked up a mirror and confirmed whether there was a gunshot wound there. But when I checked, I couldn't find anything at all. All of this was so horrible, why did it feel so real?

"What's going on?" I muttered in fear.

Today I had another unexpected visitor. Again, I was visited by a figure that I didn't recognize at all. I'm really curious, why are there so many strangers coming to see me these days? Thanks to the arrival of these strange people, I feel that my life is getting more unpredictable.

Especially since the figure named Vatic Bless came here. That man told me various things that I didn't understand. To be honest, I wanted to get rid of him, but for some reason, it was hard for me to get rid of this stranger. This stranger seems to have such a strong attraction. He seems to lure you in with stories that I don't understand. The only reason I let him stay was because he wanted to tell me who the stranger who offered me the job of stalking Nakamori was.

"Saeran, the one who gave you the job to stalk a girl He's a serial killer."

"Serial killer?" I couldn't immediately believe his words just now.

"This is going to be a very long story. Now might not be the right time to tell you everything that happened. Right now, I can only warn you to stay away from that man. That man killed my friend as well as his nephew and my student, whom he also cruelly killed. I want you to stay away from that man!" pleaded Mr. Vatic.

Everything said by Mr. Vatic was really difficult for my tiny little brain to digest. Hearing the word murderer comes out of his mouth made me a little scared. Did that mean I was agreeing to a request from an assassin?

"I hope you can take good care of yourself. I just hope that you don't become the next victim of dealing with that man." Mr. Vatic took a sip from his teacup. "My student was murdered, and I don't know why I feel that soon something bad will happen to me." Mr. Vatic could sense the danger before his eyes.

"Are you not overreacting?" I think you might just be a little tired." I wasn't sure that the man would be killed; maybe it was just a suggestion.

"No. I think the current situation is indeed dangerous. I wanted you to keep this thing," Mr. Vatic said, then handed me the small black box.

"What's in here?" I asked curiously.

"It would be very difficult for me to explain it to you. But please keep it. I entrusted it to you," he told me.

I stared at the box for a long time. "Why would you go to this extent? I guess, we never had a close relationship before. But why are you ostensibly warning me and acting like someone who knows me well?" I was still struggling to understand the current situation.

"A man with distinctive brown hair appeared in my dream. That man asked me to meet you and warn you. I only did what he asked," said Mr. Vatic.

"Why would you do what that man asked? Even he was just your bed flower. I don't think you should just trust him," I retorted. I still doubted what Mr. Vatic believed.

Mr. Vatic smiled. "I believe in him. I think I can believe in that man even without a good reason." Mr. Vatic then looked at me for a long time. "Take care of yourself as well as the people around you. This is our last meeting, after this, we will never meet again. I hope you can make the wisest decision possible. I put my trust in you," he said with a face that looked full of confidence.

As Mr. Vatic said those words, I felt a little certain that he was indeed about to face danger in his life.

***

No, no, that darkness began to envelop my heart. I could see that darkness beginning to slowly wrap around my body.

"Do you know what it feels like to be loved in the dark?" the shadow whispered to me.

The sensation of terror filled me. The cold darkness and fear wrapped my skin. It was so terrifying that I couldn't even look into her eyes, which were filled with such terror.

"Darkness you hate. But the greatest love you can get is from there. You can't avoid that love unless you firmly reject it." The shadow was trying to make me look into her eyes.

I kept trying to avoid its eyes. If I looked into her eyes, I would lose myself. Those eyes implied death.

"Are you afraid to look into my eyes?" She tried to choke my neck firmly. "You're trying to avoid your death?"

My body trembled with fear. The terror was getting more and more intense. My mind and heart were filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. Everything was dark, as if tomorrow was gone and there was only nothingness waiting for me.

"If you continue to live in fear, then everything is clear for your death. But if you are willing to let the darkness rule your heart without trying to eliminate it, then death is your destined path." The shadowy hand touched my eyes, trying to force them open. "Behold the path of death for you!"

After he forcibly opened my eyes, I could see that death was waiting for me in front of me. Where hope had long gone. There was only emptiness stretching out before my eyes. All hope has long since disappeared. All that is here is vanity. I saw it... I saw clearly how Hell was drawn. The void absorbed my soul and left me lost and hopeless.

The shadow then kissed my forehead, saying goodbye, before finally piercing my heart with its sword.

***