灰色オオカミ「Grey Wolf」

Phase 8.1

Jimin's POV

"So Bang is on this train." I said to myself while talking a closer look at the chess doll. "What a weird face..." all of a sudden, the doll's hand moved and hit my head ."What's going on here?" It took me some minutes to get a hold of myself. How did the doll move? I opened the side doors to see if someone was in it. "Mechanical parts...Here, too... What kind of trick would make it move by itself?" Anyway, if Bang is here too... There's no mistake. Yoongi is definitely at this train's destination… I walked back to my cabin to get some sleep but I couldn’t.

The next morning, I walked to the restaurant car and sat at a table with Simon and two women I had not met yesterday. 'I couldn't find Bang'... I kept thinking about what I saw yesterday while staring my cup of tea. "'The Virgin Mary's Falling Ghost'?" I could hear Simon ask. "It happened ten years ago in 1914. At Beelzebub's Skull, during the German air bombings..." the older woman answered him.  "I know that one. A giant image of the Virgin Mary appeared in the sky and annihilated the bomber squadron. However, there are rumors that Crete's Science Academy used the place for their own construction activities." Simon said. Academy? Wasn't that the organization that opposed Marquis Kim's Ministry of the Occult? "Isn't it a cock-and-bull story? It wasn't something that science could explain." The woman said. "I see, I see..." Simon said in a some-what-mocking voice. "Sheesh..." I heard the woman say before everyone went quiet.  You think I'd care? I've come this far. No matter what's waiting for me, I'll definitely rescue you!

After hours of travel, I saw a huge structure near the sea. "Is that Beelzebub's Skull?" I asked. "Yes. Beelzebub’s Skull. Well? Can you see why they named it after Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies?" Simon asked. "Yes. It looks just like the head of a fly." I answered. And soon, we reached the station. "Thank you all for your patronage! This is the end of the line. The train will be back tomorrow at sunrise to pick you up, so please don't be late!" The conductor said as we all got off the train. "Boy, take a look at that. That sluice gate protects Beelzebub's Skull from the sea. If that were to open during tonight's high tide..." Simon said. "Finally... I can finally see my daughter again." I heard the old man mumble.

The huge gates of the Beelzebub's Skull opened and the visitors all queued up to get in. I waited till it got my turn to get my ticked stamped but I was thinking too much that I forgot to take out my ticket beforehand. "Oh, yes!" I took out the ticket from my pocket. "I've come to see a friend.  He's the son of the Marquis Kim Jungkook. His name is Yoongi..." The nun didn’t say anything and moved on after stamping my ticket. Strange… I took my suitcase and walked inside a huge tent. "Welcome to a night of magic! The party will begin soon!" I was welcomed by a girl dressed as a clown but she what she wore was a bit too revealing to be worn at a convent. I looked around to see people blowing out fire, doing various magic tricks. "Excuse me, but what is this?"

Bang Sihyuk's POV

"It's completely changed. The last time I was here was in 1914. It was during the Great War."

*Flashback to 1914*

"Bang Sihyuk, I presume?" a man asked me. "Yeah." "Welcome. I'm Park In Song, the president of the Kingdom of Crete Science Academy. From the Science Academy's perspective, this war isn't just a battle against an enemy country, but also against the Ministry of the Occult. For the sake of expanding our country, we're aggressively trying to adopt the new force that is science. In that regard, the Ministry of the Occult..." "Is trying to employ this continent's ancient power to cross swords with the new age." I finished what Park In Song was saying. "Young descendant of the Gray Wolves, are you from the Ministry of the Occult?" He asked. "The Ministry of the Occult is my enemy. I'll never forgive Kim Jungkook." I answered him. "Good. Please lend us your strength. We're thinking of using a conjuration to pull off an engineering feat." Park said "You're in luck. I happen to have just the right tool for the job. Gaze upon the war of Bang Sihyuk, greatest swindler of the century!" I said.

*End of flashback*

"But of course, that wasn't all Park was after. What the bastards at the academy truly wanted was...the memento box. The secret box that I brought back from that 'nameless village'. I swear I'll get it back. Even if I must endanger a frail wolf cub."

Jimin's POV

"Oh, boy... I can barely move around in this crowd." I pressed my back at the nearest wall trying to get a quick view of what was happening and how I should find Yoongi in this crowd. "It's starting! Phantasmagoria's signature opening!" some man shouted just before the fireworks went off. It was then… when I saw someone familiar standing in the crowd… staring at me. "Yoongi! Yoongi! Is that you?" I followed him through a crowd and saw him go into a tall tower… away from the crowd. I went inside the tower and kept following him. "Wait! Yoongi... why?" he didn’t stop and continued walking. "It's not an illusion! I'm sure that's..." but at the end of the stairs…"A dead end..."

I saw a door on the left. I climbed up the small hole to see someone sitting on a wooden bed wrapped in a blanket.  I knocked on it. "I'm coming in. Yoongi... is that you? Hey, it's me. It's me. Yoongi, come out of there." I shook his shoulders slowly. "Huh? You sneezed. You must be cold. Here, I have your things..." I said but remembered that I left the suitcase near the wall where I saw Yoongi for the first time. "You're late." "I-I'm sorry, but..." "Idiot! Die!" "W-What the heck?! I got here as fast as I could!" "Don't make excuses!" Yoongi yelled and came out of the blanket wrap with teary eyes. I smiled and hugged him. "But I found you as promised, didn't I?"

I went back the thousands of stairs and then back up with the luggage and took out the clothes I brought for him. "Jimin, get me that red-currant shirt." "This one?" "No! That's raspberry! Can't you even tell which color is which, idiot?!" "Okay, okay. My apologies." "Honestly, you're unbelievable. You're stupid as ever with no sense of refinement." "You're finally yourself again. But why were you running away from me?" I asked him. "Huh?" "What do you mean, 'Huh'? Weren't you in the courtyard? That's why I followed you." I told him. "Are you serious?! I was here the whole time. The person you saw wasn't me." "Then..." "That was probably my mother... Min Eunsong."

Third Person POV

"Well, the actors have assembled. The light of the moon will drive humans mad." Bang Sihyuk said as he stood on the tall tower. "The night of magic has only just begun." A voice behind him said as the person walked into the moonlight and stood beside Bang Sihyuk… and that was Min Eunsong.