AT THE FACTORY – THE ELIMINATION OF SAMUEL
After Samuel's past flashed before his eyes, he swallowed hard and began to speak,"Leonard… Son of a bitch"Hearing this, Michael pulled back the gun he was holding to Samuel's head with a surprised look and turned to Leonard. Before Michael could say anything, Leonard spoke:"I killed the woman he loved, for my brother."Michael, utterly shocked, burst out laughing, "NO WAY!" and started cackling loudly. A few seconds later, Leonard threw his cigarette on the ground, crushed it under his foot, and said,"I need some fresh air," as he walked out toward the garden.
Michael once again pointed the gun at Samuel, preparing to pull the trigger. Just as he was about to fire, Samuel shouted helplessly:"The police will find you eventually, don't you know that?!"Michael first laughed, then leaned in close to Samuel's ear and whispered,"We already work for the police, dumbass."And with that, he pulled the trigger.
At that exact moment, Maki had come near the factory again, worried about Samuel. Upon hearing the gunshot, she understood what had happened... She turned around and began walking away from the factory. The tears that once streamed down her face had stopped—she was now enduring the pain.
THE NEXT DAY
"Biiiig bro, it's almost noon, wake uppp!"cried Natasha loudly at Dante. Hearing her voice, Dante snapped awake and jumped out of bed. Natasha, confused by her brother's sudden outburst, just watched him with her mouth open. Dante quickly got dressed, ran to the kitchen, and started preparing breakfast for Natasha. After finishing, he came to her and said,"I have to go. Be good and wait for me," and rushed out—only to remember he had forgotten the letter. He ran back in, grabbed the letter, and dashed out again.
He was so fixated on going to ShinyCafe that he wasn't thinking straight. Moving quickly, he suddenly slapped himself and shouted in the middle of the street,"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!"People around him stared in confusion. Embarrassed, Dante slowed down and, after a few seconds, fully collected himself.*Wait… Where even is that café?*he thought. He began asking people nearby until an old man finally told him the location. Dante ran there. Standing in front of the café, he felt a strange nostalgic feeling—but he didn't know why. Without thinking too much, he stepped inside…
Once inside, Dante took out the now-crumpled letter again. After seeing the words "Leonard" written three times, an idea struck him, and he shouted in the middle of the café:"LEONARD! LEONARD! LEONARD!"Most people in the café were probably thinking, "Is this kid an idiot?" But ten seconds later, Conjurer appeared from inside. He stopped the waiters who were about to intervene and signaled Dante to follow him. Dante swallowed nervously but followed him into what seemed to be Conjurer's private room.
Conjurer removed his hat, hung it up, and sat in his chair. Dante remained standing, staring deeply into Conjurer's eyes."Sit," Conjurer said with a smile. Dante, after looking a little longer, finally sat down.
"So you came... Marcus' son. Looking at a letter written to the dead, huh? Anyway, good thing I let your mother take and hide that letter back then… Otherwise, how would we have met?"
Dante listened carefully.*He let her take the letter...? Anyway, I can learn things about my father from this man… I was supposed to meet Selina too… Whatever, this is more important.*he thought. Then he asked,"Who are you?"
Conjurer smiled again."To put it simply, I was a friend of your father's. Until the day he died, in fact..."He then leaned in and whispered:"Your father was one of the key leaders of our gang… not just any guy. He was powerful. And about his debts—he loved to gamble. Even though we warned him over and over, he kept playing and of course lost a lot. Don't ever gamble, got it? We helped him pay off his debts… but hey, that's life. You never know when it'll end."
Dante was shocked. His father… a gang member? A gambler? He began to learn things he never knew.
He fell into deep thought, staring into space in silence. After a while, Conjurer spoke again:"Anyway, what's done is done. The real reason I wanted to meet you is because of your father's last wish."
Dante looked Conjurer in the eyes and said firmly,"I'm listening."
Conjurer began to explain Marcus' (Dante's father's) final request:
"Your father wanted you to join the gang like he did. If I die, tell him this, he said. But that wasn't the most important thing—just the simplest. What I'm about to say is much more significant. You had an older brother, born about two years before you. But while your mother was pregnant with you, your brother—still a baby—was murdered by the rival gang 'Just Fight.'
Your mother never told you. She was devastated… her son killed because of her husband's dirty dealings. Your father asked her not to speak of it and swore to get revenge. But he couldn't. He never found out who exactly killed your brother. From the day he met me, all he ever said was, 'I'll wipe out Just Fight!' One day, he said to me, 'If I can't finish it, my son will. I believe my son can avenge his brother.' He looked me in the eyes and said that… And now, I'm passing it on to you. I only wish your father had lived to do it himself."
Hearing this, tears welled up in Dante's eyes. He wiped them away and said with burning resolve:"I… I'll do it. Help me!"
At that moment, Conjurer's thoughts did not match the calm expression on his face:*Yes… yes. The vengeful gaze of the son of one of the world's seven strongest men. This is what I've been waiting for… the thrill I've wanted to feel for years…*
SELINA
*I wonder if Dante will come today...*