Throne of Radiance

"...I would like to remind citizens once again that the serial murderer "K" with thirteen lives in his hands is very likely to have sneaked into this city..."

"I hope all the citizens will protect themselves. Once you find something, you must report it in time..."

On the old TV screen on the wall, an urgent news is being broadcast temporarily.

The host's serious voice came out word by word from the TV, mixed with the sound of raindrops coming from outside the window, which seemed a bit distorted.

The rich night color dipped in.

The first floor of the small hotel was shrouded in dim light, and the light mixed with the night that seeped into the window to form a gloomy tone.

The man standing under the light gently put down the black umbrella in his hand, and the tip of the umbrella hit the ground with a "click".

Rainwater mixed with bright red liquid fell down the umbrella surface, and a faint bright red spread from the tip of the umbrella.

"The characteristics of the serial murderer "K" are: a medium-slender figure, about 1.8 meters tall, likes to haunt rainy nights, and holds a special weapon disguised as a black umbrella..."

"Enthusiastic about staying overnight in the name of a traveler, and then cruelly killing the head of the household..."

Snapped!

The light on the TV screen on the wall went out instantly, and the sound in the hotel completely disappeared, leaving only silence.

The sound of raindrops becoming more and more rapid outside the window became more obvious.

Throwing the remote control on the sofa next to him, the man looked down at the two corpses lying at his feet.

It was a young couple who were dressed in very ordinary clothes. The dim light shone on their stiff faces that were gradually losing their color, like two pale statues.

The two pairs of eyes that had lost their spirits still retained the shock and fear before death, and a tall and thin man in a black windbreaker was reflected in the dark pupils.

This small hotel, whose business is not doing well in the small town, welcomed a guest tonight after a long absence.

It is said that this guest who came here in a hurry and was going to visit the town for at least a week, was already the only business for them who had no customers for several days.

When the young couple was hit by a sudden surprise, the emergency news broke out suddenly.

The guest who looked tired but couldn't hide his elegant demeanor frowned slightly.

He raised his black umbrella gracefully and quickly.

The two living people quickly turned into corpses.

The light on the TV screen dimmed, and in the dim light of the light bulb, the wide-open eyes of the two corpses looked even more terrifying.

"...It was almost exposed. I didn't intend to make a move."

The man reflected in the two pairs of pupils frowned.His lowered gaze scanned the two stiff faces one by one.

The blood on the ground gradually began to dry up, and the man who purposely avoided all the blood stains turned his eyes away from the two corpses, and wandered around, trying to find a tool in his hand.

"It's a rare time for me to seriously stay overnight."

After all, he has investigated each target in detail and prepared all escape routes in advance.Instead of making a hasty shot without knowing anything like now, and almost being killed by the male master with good fighting experience.

Thinking of this, the man straightened his messy collar that was splashed with a few drops of blood: "It's really embarrassing..."

This sudden accident broke his original plan.Now, he had to tidy up everything, so as not to be tracked down by the group of trash police detectives who were only waiting for clues to emerge, and ruined the one-week vacation he should have enjoyed.

Sudden--

There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him, accompanied by the overwhelmed sound of the old wooden boards.

"Crack!"

It was as if someone had been frightened and stepped heavily on the plank.

The man's figure suddenly stopped.

Holding the handle of the umbrella with one hand, he turned quickly.

The blood-stained umbrella tip drew an extremely fast shadow in midair, shaking off a string of water droplets.

With the silent contraction of the gun, a black muzzle appeared at the original position of the umbrella tip, facing the person coming.

Then, he froze.

A small figure fell on the steps of the stairs, its blank and empty pupils met the man's deep gaze.

Reflected in the boy's pupils along with it, there are also the corpses belonging to his parents in the blood behind the man.

... In this hotel where there are no guests at all, the origin of the child who suddenly appeared is already clear at a glance.

It also seems obvious that the end is coming to meet him.

The man gently raised the tip of the umbrella.

"...Is it Dr. Felt?"

At this moment, the boy who fell on the steps suddenly groped for the wall next to him and stood up.

He looked around for a while with empty eyes, and finally looked in the direction of the man, only slightly off.

There was a bit of surprise in the boy's trembling voice, he almost stumbled and ran down the steps, almost fell down again, and finally stopped, holding the wall firmly with both hands.

His empty eyes kept looking at the man's side.

"Mom said, if anyone can cure my eyes, it must be you! Are you finally here?"

"Oh?" The umbrella tip pressed down, and the man slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if he had discovered something interesting, "How do you know it's me?"

The boy opened his eyes slightly, and smiled shyly: "I vaguely heard the voices of my parents and strangers talking upstairs. There have been no customers here for a long time. Yesterday, my mother said that she had contacted you..."

While the other party was listening silently, he spoke in an orderly manner, with an air of showing off his abilities in front of mature adults, and finally lifted his chin lightly, showing a big smile: "—so, I guess Guess it must be Dr. Felt who has arrived!"

"Snapped!"

"You guessed it right." The man suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly. The black umbrella that was originally held in his palm had returned to its original shape at some point, and the tip of the umbrella was lightly punched on the ground again.

He smiled softly: "Smart little guy."

The smile on the boy's face seemed to become brighter because of his praise, and his dull eyes seemed to be shining.

"Actually, I thought you would arrive in a few days, but I didn't expect you to come by car overnight..."

It wasn't until this moment that he seemed to suddenly realize that the hotel was really too quiet, and he couldn't help but glanced blankly to both sides with his empty eyes.He swept over the two corpses lying quietly on the ground again, and also swept over the man who dragged the two corpses aside and began to clean up the blood on the ground.

The boy who didn't know anything about it said with some doubts: "Huh? Where did Mom and Dad go? Why didn't they treat you well here? It's a little rude."

"No, no, no. You misunderstood. Your parents are really enthusiastic. Very enthusiastic." The man laughed, his tone was a little weird.

While speaking, he conveniently wiped off the last bloodstain on the ground with the mop he found.

"Probably because they saw me coming in the rain late at night, cold and hungry. They said they must treat me well, and then they went out in the rain. This is really... I didn't even have time to stop it."

While staring down at the corpse he dragged together, thinking about how to deal with it, he replied in a polite, gentle voice.

"...I think you'll see them soon. Soon, I promise."