In the bustling festival atmosphere, which continued to thrive in the heart of Vese, everything was filled with cheerful excitement, from vibrant shows to the circus performances.
Bakvik, who originally lived in the crowded District 3 of Vese, where living conditions were like a different world, sat on a public bench on a raised platform in a dark corner. From there, he could see the many people at the festival.
" I saw them ... the officers are walking past..." Anchis was crouched, secretly watching the officers from behind a tree.
Bakvik looked at the ground in front of him.
"I see them too... take it easy."
"This outfit suits you well..."
Anchis gave a sly glance from behind the tree, his smile filled with cunning and playfulness.
...Bakvik's clothes were full of holes. His long pants were uneven and tattered. In his hands, he clutched an old teddy bear.
"Just wait until this is over... I'm going to punch you for sure."
Bakvik lay down on the public bench. He lay on his side, hugging the teddy bear tightly with both hands, his face smiling with pure happiness, like a child.
Anchis, who was still sitting behind the tree, let out a small laugh. He looked at the ground and gave a faint smile.
"...I love you... you love me... you love me too."
Two officers were walking by, completely drunk. One was singing like a fool, while the other looked at his friend and smirked naively.
"Calm down... boss..."
"Oh, wow... is that Mr. Tomato himself?" The drunk officer smiled happily, but without a hint of sense.
"I'm not a tomato... I'm your partner!" The young officer grabbed his friend's shoulder and shook him to bring him back to his senses.
The senseless officer glanced over. He saw Bakvik, who was covered in dirt, lying there hugging a teddy bear. His friend also saw it.
"Let's hurry up... he's probably just a kid from District 3."
Anchis observed the situation from behind the tree. He scanned the officers from head to toe, their belts, pants, collars, and shoes.
Bakvik then threw the teddy bear in the direction where the officers were standing. At that moment, Anchis crept along the bushes until he was behind the officers. He shook the bushes violently.
"What's that..." The senseless officer slowly walked towards the sound with curiosity. The officers turned to look at the bushes, intrigued.
Bakvik slowly opened his eyes. His hands squeezed the bear violently. A mysterious blue liquid shot out of the bear, hitting the officers' backs. Anchis smirked. He grabbed a can with holes punched in the sides and immediately threw it at the officers. White powder flew out of the holes in the can. In a flash, a hissing sound filled the air. The officers were enveloped in a cloud of fog. As the fog slowly disappeared, the officers lay motionless on the ground. Anchis rushed over to them, and Bakvik followed.
"They're just unconscious... they're good people, so let's deal with this quickly."
Anchis checked the officers' bodies and searched them. He took the officer's gun and put it in his pocket.
"What is this..." Bakvik spoke, but then he fell silent in surprise. Anchis walked over to Bakvik, who was searching the other officer. In Bakvik's hand was something he had found.
They found a mysterious wooden carving. It was shaped like a person, and that was all.
"It's just... a wooden carving, isn't it?"
Anchis leaned over to look at the carving in Bakvik's hand.
It was as if everything had stopped. Only Bakvik was moving. Everything else had come to a halt, as if time had been temporarily frozen. Bakvik looked around in shock and panic. He stared at the carving and then threw it away. Everything went back to normal, as if the hallucination he had just experienced was all in his head.
"Damn it... I thought we'd get a key..." Anchis sighed, his eyes filled with disappointment.
While Anchis was complaining to Bakvik, Bakvik glanced up at a dark corner of the building. He looked around him. He said something so softly that even Anchis couldn't hear it. "Al..." It was as if he hadn't finished saying a word.
A mysterious bullet shot out from the dark corner. It flew at an incredible speed, soaring towards them. Anchis had no time to notice. The bullet was silent; it just flew without being perceived. Bakvik's eyes widened. He sensed the bullets hurtling towards them. He lunged forward, as if he had perceived the danger before anyone else, and pushed Anchis out of the bullets' path just in time.
Anchis's face was filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"...What are you doing?!"
The bullets hit the nearby wall. But instead of just stopping, they exploded in a 4-meter radius. The stone ground and the wall vanished instantly, leaving only small fragments behind.
"Oh my god... what is this?!" Anchis panicked, holding his head as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "...You saved my life!"
...Bakvik's eyes were wide, staring blankly ahead. His hands were shaking. He used both hands to clutch his head violently. Suddenly, he screamed wildly, "Ahhh!..." "Ah..." His hands moved to cover his eyes in pain. Anchis's eyes widened. He slowly backed away from Bakvik in shock.
In a dark corner of the building, the mysterious man in a black coat and a somber mask stood there. In his hand, he held the wooden carving that Bakvik had just held. He squeezed it until it was dust.
On top of the building, in a dark corner, a mysterious person held a sniper rifle. They wore a long coat that hid all their features and their face. They slowly raised the sniper rifle and rested it on their right shoulder. They looked up and stared at the mysterious masked man who was standing below.
Stay tuned for the next episode.