Explanation
Chapter - 19
Meanwhile, the fake Dave standing beside Zavi burst into loud laughter, turning the once-silent narrow corridor into a noisy space, and he realized that his disguise had failed.
“I’ve been found out…” He turned his head, staring at Zavi’s face, which was filled with confusion over the current situation.
The rumble of thunder echoed again, this time extremely loud, strong enough to make the ground tremble violently. And the sun had vanished from the horizon, completely swallowed by the gray sky.
Meanwhile, the three of them exchanged sharp looks. After that, the fake Dave grabbed the teenage boy standing beside him, and the boy’s body dissolved into a mass of black smoke.
Not long after, a neatly black-haired man appeared, wearing a brown shirt beneath a long black coat. His blue eyes flicked left and right, carefully observing the three of them.
Zavi’s eyes widened, as did Dave’s and the teenage boy on his shoulder.
Click…
The man snapped his fingers and said, “No need to stare at me like that!” He paused briefly to take a breath. “Besides, I’m an acquaintance of yours, right, Zavi?”
He turned his head and looked at Zavi, who stared back at him in confusion.
Huh, who is he? I don’t remember having an acquaintance like him?
Zavi stayed silent, closing his eyes as he tried to recall the man standing in front of him. A few seconds later, he gave up, unable to remember who he really was.
Strangely, he did not recall that the man was Karl Vairanz, the person he had shot the previous night and briefly spoken with.
“So, who are you? I don’t know you!” Zavi asked, unable to remember him clearly.
Karl let out a slow sigh, thinking that the older brother he knew and his younger brother were no different from each other. Both were strange, unable to remember him properly.
He stepped closer to Zavi, stopping just inches away, intending to tell him something.
“The person you shot that night… don’t you remember?” he whispered.
Zavi frowned, turned his head, and stared intensely at Karl face amid the rolling thunder and the darkening clouds.
“Where are your glasses?” Zavi realized after hearing that, recognizing that he could not identify Karl without them.
From Zavi’s point of view, he could not recognize Karl true appearance, because Karl was extremely clever at disguising himself and acting convincingly, just like when he had previously played the role of a hooded man.
Hearing this, Karl realized his mistake and took his glasses out of his coat pocket.
“Thanks for reminding me.” Karl cleaned his glasses with a cloth before putting them on.
Zavi let out a soft laugh and said, “In that case, I can remember your face, even if I don’t know your name.”
Meanwhile, Dave watched their casual conversation, aware that Zavi was not cautious around people who suddenly appeared and could change into his likeness.
He walked steadily toward where the two of them were standing.
“Ah… Karl Vairanz, nice to meet you,” Dave said with a friendly smile as he extended his hand.
The thunder roared louder than before, signaling that rain was about to fall.
The wind blew fiercely, sending trash such as cardboard, scraps of cloth, and dry leaves in the corridor flying in all directions.
All four of their hair swayed like waves under the strong wind, and dust from the narrow passage scattered and clung to their bodies.
Dave looked up at the sun that had disappeared from the horizon, replaced by gray clouds covering the sky. “Huh, the weather today is really awful,” he muttered.
“It’s going to rain,” the teenage boy said in a low voice.
“I know,” Dave replied, looking at the two of them as they approached.
“So… what are we going to do?” Zavi asked in confusion, shielding his face from the dust blowing toward him.
“This is bad…” Karl held Zavi’s shoulder, telling them to raise their hands in front.
Not long after that, the sound of raindrops fell from above, wetting the roof tiles and the surrounding buildings.
A light drizzle fell, droplets landing on their hands, the rhythm rising and falling in silence.
Thunder boomed three times, and a few seconds later, the rain suddenly poured down heavily, soaking all four of them in an instant.
Seeing this, they panicked and ran out of the narrow alley to find shelter while waiting for the rain to subside.
In front of a drink stall, they took cover near the door, choosing not to enter because their clothes were already drenched and they did not want to trouble the owner.
They were forced to stay there and wait for the rain to ease. However, unexpectedly, the stall owner came out, gestured for them to come inside, and offered them cups of hot tea.
After that, they entered the shop, leaving trails of water on the floor.
They all asked at the same time to be sure, “Is this free?”
The shop manager, a neatly dressed old man, shook his head and said with a businessman’s smile, “No…”
“What?” All of them were shocked, not expecting to be tricked by an old man.
A lamp with five candles hung from the shop’s ceiling, making the room feel calm and cozy. However, that comfort did not last long. Cold air from outside seeped in through the ventilation gaps, its draft brushing against anyone inside.
Inside the shop were about ten people, including the owner, two employees, the four of them, and three other customers sheltering from the rain.
They had remained there for more than eight hours, ordering drinks and snacks while hoping the rain would stop.
But waiting for the rain to ease was a waste of time, because the longer it went on, the heavier it became.
Dave let out a deep sigh, thinking that this rain had made him completely unlucky. He looked at the other three with a cynical gaze.
“I even asked for my pay in advance, and now it’s all gone?” Dave grumbled irritably, opening his wallet while looking at they.
In the right corner of the shop, Dave and the teenage boy sat side by side on a long, soft sofa, with a round table in front of them.
Meanwhile, Zavi and Karl coccupied single cushioned chairs facing each other. One of them faced a wall decorated with a tree-trunk pattern. Behind where Dave and the teenage boy sat, there was a large glass window displaying tall grass decorations in long pots, adding an aesthetic touch to the view.
The teenage boy sitting beside Dave overheard his muttering and grew curious, choosing to ask, “Are you angry at those two?” He pointed toward Zavi and Karl, who were talking to each other.
Dave turned and replied with a forced friendly smile, “No, I’m smiling.” He stretched his smile with his hands.
The boy nodded innocently, believing him.
“All right,” he said. “But… are you sure it’s okay to give me all this food and drink for free?” he asked curiously, as this was the first time he had been treated this way by someone he had just met.
Dave’s mood slowly improved after hearing the boy’s words.
“It’s fine,” Dave replied with a genuine smile. “Don’t hesitate. If you need more, just tell me, and those two will pay for it,” he said with a slightly pressured tone while pointing at they both.
After being in the shop for more than eight hours, Dave finally realized that he had never introduced himself to the teenage boy, ever since saving him from the mob earlier.
He also did not know what kind of trouble the boy had caused to be beaten by around ten adults, leaving bruises on parts of his body, including the back of his head from hitting the wall, being struck repeatedly, and a sharp cut on his arm that had stained his ragged clothes with splattered blood, still leaving marks.
Dave looked at him with pity, unsure whether this question would hurt him and worried that the boy might not answer. After thinking for a moment, he finally gathered the courage to ask.
“There’s something I want to ask. Will you answer me honestly?”
The teenage boy, who had just put a piece of dry bread into his mouth and was about to swallow, was startled. He choked when he heard the question.
Cough…
He immediately grabbed a glass of warm water from the table and drank quickly to soothe his throat.
Ah…
“What is it?” the boy asked nervously, fidgeting with his fingers under the table.
Cough…
Dave placed his right hand on the table and tapped it three times.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
The boy looked at Dave with a nervous expression, unsure of what he was thinking.
Dave cleared his throat softly. “What’s your name? And did you really steal anything from the people who beat you up?”
The boy felt awkward, not knowing where to begin. After thinking for a moment, he let out a slow breath to calm his thoughts and the pain throughout his body.
“My name is Han Sarana. And that beating had nothing to do with theft at all,” he answered calmly.
Cough…
Dave’s eyes widened, retracting the words he had once said earlier.
“I’m sorry for accusing you of being a thief.” He lowered his head in guilt.
“It’s okay. I should be the one apologizing for getting you involved,” Han said with a smile, telling Dave to lift his head.
But Dave stubbornly kept his head lowered. Seeing this, Han chose to continue with what he had prepared to say.
“But if you’re really that curious, I’ll tell you from the beginning, up until the moment I was beaten,” he said with a smile, even though behind it, he was enduring indescribable pain.
Hearing that, Dave immediately lifted his head, turning to listen with great enthusiasm.
Han saw this and let out a small laugh.
“All right, if you want to hear it.”
“Can I keep it short?” he asked flatly.
Dave only nodded and waited for him to continue.
“Hmmm. It was Monday morning. My mother took me to the market at the city square. It was really crowded there, especially on a Monday.”
“Not long after, two strangely dressed people came over to us. They told my mother to come with them, without any clear reason, and kept telling me to stay where I was. I gathered my courage and asked, ‘Why should I obey?’”
“One of them immediately came up to me, slapped my left cheek, and knocked me down in the middle of the crowd. I wasn’t angry because of the pain, but because the people around me just didn’t seem to care and kept walking. I know they were busy, but there’s nothing wrong with helping someone, right?”
Han took a deep breath before continuing. “I got up and saw my mother being held by one of them. Their clothes looked like your friend’s,” Han pointed at Karl.
Dave thought, “Oh, maybe that was Zavi? But why would clothes like that be considered strange?”
Dave continued listening to Han’s story and ignored the matter of the clothing.
“After that, I was chased by people controlled using some strange artifact. I couldn’t see its shape clearly, but it was definitely something horrifying. They chased me until this morning, and I couldn’t save my mother…”
Han stopped, his body no longer able to endure it. The injuries and exhaustion made it impossible for him to focus. He growled in frustration.
He never expected that carelessness and hesitation would put his mother in danger.
“Do you know those two people?” he asked curiously, then continued, “And I’m curious about that person over there. He can change his form however he wants. Is he some kind of powerful person?”
Hearing that, Dave chuckled softly. He formed a gun shape with his fingers and tapped Han’s forehead with his index finger.
“Bang,” he said quietly, then added, “If I said I was shooting you with this, would you believe it?” Dave smiled mockingly.
Han brushed Dave’s hand away and replied with a confused expression, “No. How could your hand fire a bullet?”
“Hahahaha, there’s no such thing in this world. At least, I think so. I don’t believe that one of the people you met could control others,” Dave said, raising his hand and placing it on Han’s head, gently ruffling his hair.
“Your future is still long, Han,” Dave said with a smile, thinking that his words just now sounded pretty cool.
Han nodded slightly. “All right.”
Not long after that, the two of them saw Zavi and Karl stand up from their seats and walk toward them with serious expressions.
Zavi slipped his hand into his coat pocket, then took out around twelve banknotes and handed them to Dave.
Without saying a single word, they left the two of them behind, walking with heavy steps toward the shop door.
They exited the shop and headed somewhere. The heavy rain and cold wind did not stop them. They kept walking, as if there was a purpose they had yet to finish.
