BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 245's

When he opened his eyes, Jose found himself on a long canoe that was paddled by a stranger younger than him. The young man was wearing a wide straw hat and a thin cotton suit. An oil lantern was placed near the paddler's feet as a lighting.

Jose looked left and right in surprise. The calm black water stretched as far as the eye could see. On top of it, the same dark color was slapped. A sky without stars or moon. The air was so cold that Jose grabbed the collar of his coat. He curled up in a corner, letting his body move in rhythm with the motion of the canoe. Left, right, left, right.

"Hey," Jose muttered softly, not understanding where he was going and where he was. "Hey, where is this?"

The young man turned his head, his face was invisible as it was covered in the shadow of the bamboo hat he was wearing. "You know."

"I don't know." Jose was feeling restless. He could not see through the surface of the water. His shadow was not reflected there and he was too afraid to touch the water. "Where are we going?"

"Crossed."

The young man's voice crept through the air in an odd way that made Jose shudder. "Crossing where?" As far as his sight was concerned, there was no visible land. He did not know why he could be on the canoe and for what. He couldn't even remember what happened all day. Jose was goosebumps from head to toe when he realized one of the most fatal things: he could not remember what his name was. Surprisingly, it didn't make him worry too much. The name doesn't seem too important to him right now. "Crossing where?" reworked.

The straw hated youth in front of him did not reply, instead back pedaling in silence. Jose got up from his seat, but instead made their canoe sway and almost overturned. Fortunately the young man was so quick to stabilize the boat.

"Sorry," said Jose quickly. He was still standing, his eyes were being circulated around, looking for signs. Seeking the existence of other creatures. No fish, no wind, no waves, no birds. "Where is this?"

"the river."

"Which river?" The short answer made Jose a bit upset.

"Bjork."

Jose frowned in astonishment. He had never heard that name before. His hand was put in a coat bag to look for coins, thinking when he would have to pay the paddler. He found no coins or gold. His finger felt something else. He took out the thing, which turned out to be a gold necklace.

I don't remember ever having this kind of necklace, she thought. Is this not my coat?

Jose flipped through the pieces of the necklace medallion, observing the engraving.

"Can't bring anything" said the young man in front of him, stopping the pole movement. His finger pointed at the surface of the water with an urgent gesture. "Down there."

Jose raised both eyebrows in surprise. "But it's not mine."

"More that's not yours."

"I mean, I didn't steal it. But this thing is in my coat. If the owner is looking, how?"

"His owner will not seek" said the indifferent young man. "Dispose of it."

Jose refused. He was even more fun researching the necklace in his hand. It was the only interesting thing he could observe in the midst of a sea of boring calm water.

Feeling opposed, the pedaling young man in front of him hooked the pole into place beside the canoe and walked over. Their boats swayed in rhythm with the gentle steps. Jose gripped the medallion and hid it behind his back. His heart was beating very fast. He was nervous, but his eyes were shining not to lose. Let the young man be angry. If they're gonna fight over this necklace, so be it. He was sure he could throw the young man in the water or crab him. Obviously, no one can rule it. No one should order Argent to do what they do not like.

Argent's?

Jose speechless. Something blazed inside his head, as if there was a thin membrane torn apart. Name is the key to the soul.

When the young man arrived in front of him, Jose had remembered what his name was, what had happened all day, what he wanted to do, and what had really happened. He drowned himself in the Bjork River. He wants to make an offer.

This place is not the real world.

The guardian was not a young man. Not human.

"I said throw it in the river!" he screamed, his voice breaking in the hoarse sound of an incompressible channel. Every scream shook the soul. "The dead have no name! There's no treasure! No personal items!"

As the figure approached with both hands outstretched threateningly, Jose reflexively beat the figure in front of him to a fall into the water. Unfortunately, the boat capsized and he also fell.

***

As soon as the strange skulls were wiped out from all over Bjork, Edgar and Greyland immediately hugged their horses away to the South. Robert was deliberately left to calm the citizens. His expertise is in mass communication.

Everyone had already walked out of their houses, gazing in amazement at the starry clear sky while gesturing, chatting loudly and frenziedly about what had just happened. Even without the need for an explanation, everyone already knew that they were safe. The cold and strange chill that enveloped Bjork no longer existed.

Humans also swarm beside the tax office. They all wanted to see firsthand the river that was rumored to have been colored like lightning. Everyone was curious to see what really happened. The crowd was so numerous and hard to disperse. Edgar got off his horse and ran down among the people, followed by Greyland.

The first thing he saw was the half-tipped Tin Lizzie. The river remained as usual colored, not bright and not purple. Next to the drowned black car were Mr. Stuart, Renata, and Albert Garnet.

As soon as he saw her, Renata immediately ran to greet and hugged tightly. Edgar returned the hug as warmly. He kissed the top of Renata's head, rubbing the woman's back to calm down. "Where's Jose?" tanyanya fast. "Marco's? Rolan?"

Renata shook his chest. The woman's embrace grew tighter.

Edgar looked at Mr. Stuart with a questioning look. The man also nodded slowly. Lady Chantall was also there, not far from them, surrounded by several people carrying various objects. There's hot teapots, lanterns, cloths, medicine boxes. Lady Chantall was sitting on a wooden chair that looked like someone had brought her from a country house. Her hair is soaking wet. A wide towel covered his shoulders. Both of his hands clasped onto the untouched cup of hot drink. The woman's eyes were empty.

Edgar can guess what happened, but he does not want to take it for granted. He did not want to accept that half of his life had collapsed. "Stuart!" fierce snaps, beating the whispers and frenzied around it. "Tell me what just happened!"

Mr. Stuart turned to Lady Chantall for clues, but the woman was still recovering from her shock.

"Jose drowned the chairman of Scholomance," Nolan broke the silence. The boy came out from a group of Southerners who were also huddled in the field next to the tax office. His eyes are red. His voice trembled, but he explained quite smoothly, "Marco Argent dismantled their base on the mountain there," he said while pointing at the forest. "So the leader of his sect was angry and called out to the demons to exterminate this city. Then everyone fought with the devil. I saw many become ashes. I saw Papa—I mean, I saw my father ..my father's spirit in our sacred river, helping Jose. And now he's drowning there."

Renata sobbed in Edgar's arms. People whispered to each other in amazement. Not a few are confused by Nolan's explanation.

"I saw it too" said one of the people from the crowd. His voice is full of spirit. That person pulled the crowd to come forward. He was forties. The man was still wearing a sleeping kimono, hugging a fat white cat that was trembling in fear. "I can see this place from my window. What happened was so. That man didn't die despite being shot and hit." He shuddered. "Then Jose Argent—"

"People were passing by this morning waving too, right?" interject someone.

The man who hugged the cat nodded, despite not knowing who was talking. "Yes, he drowned the man. The river then lights up!"

The last caption sparked other voices discussing the matter of light in Bjork and in the river.

"I saw it too!"

"They were right, I also saw the demon from my house!"

"All I saw was him dragging Marquis Argent!"

Stories began to emerge from eyewitnesses who witnessed what happened. The atmosphere back boisterous with the authenticity and the counterpart of the story version of each who saw.

Edgar looked at Greyland. "Check the river from upstream to downstream. I want my son found."

***