22. untouched hands
At the same time..
----------------
"Sorry Arthur, someone is after your life. But don't worry..."
Instantly he injected liquid anesthetic and put Arthur to sleep.
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Arthur woke up to hear the sound of the cruise ship vibrating non-stop. He was still in a semi-conscious state because he could still smell and also the effects of the anesthetic injection in his body.
(Where.. am I? I have to get out of here!)
Despite the confusion, he wanders around looking for clues around him. one by one, book by book, he saw and understood.
Unfortunately all he found was a record of the yacht's structure. like a map.
At first he was desperate because he found nothing. but when he tried to pick up the book on high ground, a slip of paper fell out of his right pocket.
"What's that?"
Feeling strange, he tried to check the paper.
it looks like empty.
"It doesn't look like an ordinary book."
But in a moment, he realized something.
"This smell, the smell of fruit. Could it be.."
Feeling that he has smelled fruit from a book, he tries to find it from another book on a shelf or wherever he can find it. He was absolutely certain that the book was somewhere nearby right now. And not long after, he finally found a book he had been thinking about.
"I shouldn't have missed the hidden scent. It would be weird if this was just a coincidence. Oh god! Why do I remember what Cassandra taught me? I hope she isn't mad."
He had regretted because what Cassandra taught him could be useful when he was desperate. Regardless, he tries to read the book. Each sheet he read quickly. He tries to find out the information contained in the book. every time he opened the sheet, the fruity smell grew stronger. Pretty weird for a book. At least that was what he thought while he was reading it.
But to his surprise, the book he found contained data in the form of a list of guests who had attended a party on the current cruise ship. Not only that, the book turned out to have symbols.
"Is this.. I should have known this earlier."
flowers and split wings. Like the letter he received at that time.
"All along, I should have known that something was wrong with this party. If only I could open up some access..."
Unfortunately, he smelled smoke instead. Instantly made him cough. And without thinking, he immediately ran to the locked door. Fortunately, he kept the lock-pit, a gift from his uncle. Even though every time he looked at the keyhole, every time, he remembered what his uncle had said back then.
----------------
12 years ago..
At that time, Dominic accompanied Arthur to learn to use the lock-pit for the first time. Spending time between uncle and nephew seems to be quite difficult for Dominic.
"Uncle, it's very difficult. If it's like this, it's impossible for me to catch up with my uncle and achieve my dream."
Dominic could only laugh when he saw Arthur who was exhausted and gave up because he still couldn't use the lock-pit. He then approached her.
"Arthur. The thing that is required to use the lock-pit is, you must be able to concentrate on your thoughts, as well as the slightest sound that will be heard later. It doesn't matter if you have to deal with thin air or cigarette smoke... as long as you focus on those two things , then you'll be able to unlock anything. Even so, you're not as good as my friend."
Hearing Dominic's explanation made Arthur wonder.
"Is he great?"
when he heard Arthur's question, it suddenly made him laugh. but he stopped laughing and he grabbed Arthur's shoulder.
"Not him (he). But her (she). If you study hard and always try hard. I'm sure, she will train you to be able to achieve what you dream of. Even though you are a man, you have abilities similar to her. To be honest, you have reminded me of my friends there."
"What do you mean.." he wondered.
"Not now arthur. I'll introduce them in another time. They'll be amazed by your talent."
"Really? promise, uncle?"
They clap holding hands.
"Promise!"
Their grip is strong enough for uncle and nephew. But, whenever they did that, they were like very close brothers.
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He tried to open the door like his uncle had taught him. Slow but sure. As long as he tried, he really didn't care about the smoke that slowly appeared and made him cough and hard to breathe.
----------------
Meanwhile...
Chris tried his best to attack the lickers to keep them from getting close to the others.
Even though his right hand was injured from pulling on Licker's tongue too hard, he ignored the wound and continued to attack and attack. He didn't even hesitate to punch Licker until his hands were covered in blood.
Even so, he has faced 6 Lickers. And he continued to fight resentfully.