(Arc 1 : The raven and the dragon) 

Thanks to a mirror on his left, Gwenval could see the syringe in the stranger’s hand.

The needle came close to his neck as the knife moved slightly away from him.

In a flash, Gwenval took his chance and dropped down abruptly to give a circular kick at the man's feet. Caught off guard, the man fell heavily to the ground, dropping the syringe as it rolled away with the knife.

After getting to his feet, Gwenval assumed a fighting posture. He could finally see his assailant. Even if he was masked, the musician had the feeling he had seen him before.

The man rose up with difficulty. He was panting heavily and staggering. He was clearly not in a normal state.

In a fit of rage, he threw himself again on the musician to hit him. Gwenval didn’t hesitate for a second and punched him in the face, then kicked him hard in the stomach.

The man was thrown against the wall behind him. His nose was broken.

"It is time to end this show. I can’t forgive you for trying to hurt one of my close friend to get to me."

Gwenval’s face was dark. He moved dangerously close to the dying man who had a hand on his nose.

Gwenval reached out to remove the man’s mask. However, the latter smashed a vase that had been on the table, over his head. Gwenval instinctively protect himself, blocking the attack with his arms. He took a few steps back, wiping the water from his eyes.

The dangerous stranger seized the opportunity to pick up his knife and strike back. He lunged at Gwenval and tried to stab him in the stomach, but was quickly blocked.

____

Ashlay and the others reached the 10th floor. They spread out to knock on the doors of the rooms and see if anyone answered. If not, they would use the passageway.

"I hope Gwenval is all right." Ashlay was anxiously worried.

"Don’t worry about Gwen, he’ll be fine. But I hope the ambulance arrives soon." Reassured Kaelan.

"Why?" Asks Hao Ming.

"Knowing Gwen, it is the kidnapper who needs to be transported urgently."

Hao Ming and Ashlay exchange a questioning look.

"Sir!" Shouted a security guard who heard a commotion after knocking on the door of room 1005.

Everyone rushed to this room and used the master key to open it.

----

The stalker was distracted by the voices outside and the sudden banging on the door. Gwenval used it to deflect the knife, ensuring that the blade would be lodged in the couch on which he was struggling. He then threw a knee into the man’s stomach. The man collapsed to the floor again, in pain. Gwenval sits on him and grabbed his left arm. A very clear crackling sound was heard.

As the “rescue team” entered the suite, the man’s scream resounded. Everyone was frightened and worried about the musician.

Someone turned on the light. To everyone’s surprise, the musician was different from usual.

Before them, the look of burning rage. Gwenval's shirt was half soaked with water and blood. Ashlay stopped for a second, then rushed to help Gwenval.

"Gwenval. Nothing broken?" He asked quickly, looking at the musician.

"Just a scratch. It’s nothing serious."

While observing the stalker’s condition, Ashlay took off his jacket. He quickly put it on the musician’s shoulders while the security guards grabbed the assailant.

"Gwen Gwen really did this to him?"

For a moment, Ashlay seemed to see something through the musician's wet shirt, but when the latter felt the gaze of the person next to him, he quickly pulled the jacket over his shoulders and stood up. 

Despite his suffering, the stalker still struggled as if he felt nothing.

"Stop fighting! It’s over for you!" A guard shouted.

"It’s time to find out who’s been tormenting Gwen for the past few weeks." Kaelan announced.

The artist approached the man and immediately removed his mask.

 With his face finally uncovered, it could be assumed that he was a man in his fifties. His features were distorted with pain and rage. Blood was flowing from his mouth and nose. He also seemed completely crazy and disoriented. Had he ingested something?

"So, Gwen..."Ashlay asked.

"Hmmm..."

For the moment, Gwenval had no reaction when he saw the man’s face. He dug deep into his memory to find out where he might have seen him.

Cautiously, he stepped forward to examine the stranger’s face more closely.

The man had calmed down a bit and quietly repeated the word “die” in a loop.

"Ah! Park Dae Jung?" Gwenval suddenly remembered.

"Do you know him, Gwen?" Asked Kaelan.

"He is also a pianist. But we have never spoken."

Gwenval took a closer look at Park Dae Jung's features.  

"Yes, it’s him, I’m not wrong. Why would he want to hurt me? We have no relationship."

"IT’S YOUR FAULT!" The senior musician suddenly shouted.

Surprised, Gwenval took a few steps back. Park Dae Jung began to struggle again. Seeing that the man was in no condition to answer, Ashlay ordered some security to escort him to the police. They must have arrived. The hotel clerk also left with them.

"Kae, are you okay?" Gwenval asked.

" Thanks to Bai, I am in one piece. " Kaelan replied with a smile.

Gwenval examined his friend carefully to make sure he was really all real right. His blood pressure rose up when the lamp fell on Kaelan earlier. He turned to Hao Ming.

"Thank you, Bai. I'll return the favor!" Gwenval promised.

"I have only done my duty." Hao Ming replied rather vaguely.

Kaelan and Hao Ming stared at each other for a few seconds. Hao Ming looked away first.

"By the way, you have got this man under control very fast." Hao Ming remarked.

"Besides music, I have several years of taekwondo behind me." Gwenval revealed.

"Interesting..."

" Gwen Gwen, you are full of surprises." Ashlay said admiringly.

After this statement, Gwenval, who was about to leave, was quickly stopped by Ashlay. Although it was still hard to believe that the musician had beaten his attacker, he looked like a victim at the moment.

"You should change your clothes, Gwen Gwen. You risk catching a cold, and it is not ideal for your “image” to appear like this in front of everyone. There’s probably a bunch of reporters downstairs. One last thing, are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?"

Gwenval looked at himself and realized that he was indeed not very presentable.

"It’s okay. I just have to disinfect the wound. It’s not very deep. Let’s not waste any time. The police will need our statements as soon as possible. Also..."

The musician started to look around for something. His eyes fell on a glass ashtray. He picked it up and placed it upside down over the syringe that had rolled past a piece of furniture. He wrote “syringe, unknown substance, evidence” on a piece of paper and placed it on the ashtray.

Ashlay, Hao Ming and Kaelan were terrified when they saw the syringe. What was this Park Dae Jung going to do with Gwenval? They were scared to death just thinking about it. But once again, Ashlay was amazed at how Gwenval handled the situation. He clearly seemed familiar with police methods.

"Gwen Gwen, who are you really?"

Afterwards, Gwenval went to change his clothes accompanied by Kaelan, while Hao Ming and Ashlay returned to the hotel lobby. A security guard stood outside the door of the room to “protect the crime scene”.

The police arrived quickly and helped stabilize the situation. Many officers were scattered around, questioning staff and guests. The area where the installation had fallen was marked with police tape, and a forensic team was taking pictures.

As Ashlay suspected, journalists were also present. Looking for the scoop of the year, they waited for the right moment to immortalize the event.

"Sir!" Exclaimed Secretary Shin as he approached Ashlay and Hao Ming. "Just you ? Where are Mr. Altaha and Mr. Monroe?"

"Gwen Gwen and Monroe have gone to change, they will be here in a few minutes."

"What happened?" Secretary Shin was worried.

"I would like to know as well."

A tall man came up behind the secretary and overheard their conversation. He was not wearing a uniform and had two large scars close to his right eye.

"Inspector Kang Atlas. I was told you were in charge here."  He stepped forward and held out his badge.

After a quick change of clothes, Gwenval put his damaged shirt into a cardboard bag and went into the hall with Kaelan. Strangely, the musician was suddenly apprehensive. He had a bad feeling.

"Gwen?"

"Kea... Do you think I could sneak out?"

"Uh... Considering the situation, it’s going to be complicated. The hotel must be surrounded. Do you think "he’s" there?"

"I don’t know. But if "he" is, I’d rather avoid him."

Arriving in the hall, Gwenval immediately spotted Ashlay and Hao Ming talking to someone with Secretary Shin.

Ashlay also noticed the artists and went straight to them. When Gwenval saw Inspector Kang’s face, he stopped.

"Gwen Gwen? Are you all right?"

Ashlay realized immediately that something was wrong. Inspector Kang nodded to Gwenval. They knew each other. Then the inspector’s eyes went to another person behind the musician and the painter. Gwenval had shivers.

"Altaha Gwenval. Is this what you call “the routine of a musician”?"

The newcomer’s voice was especially cold. There was a sense of anger and betrayal in the atmosphere.

Gwenval, who had been worried about the situation, slowly turned to face his interlocutor.

"Good evening, Lio hyung." Gwenval smiled nervously.

“Hyung”? Ashlay looked at the person in front of Gwenval. It was true that he had a family resemblance.

He looked like an older, colder version of Gwenval. His older brother was taller. His hair was slicked back and he wore a navy blue suit. It was easy to guess that this was someone strict who used to take care of his appearance.

"Gwen, what is this?! What are you doing here?! Can you imagine how I felt when I was told that my little brother had been attacked?"

"I can well imagine." Gwenval thought.

"Hyung, let’s talk somewhere else. Nienrao, can you find a room for us, please ?"

"Yes! Right away."

Understanding that the situation was tense, Ashlay hurried to find a room where Gwen and his brother could talk.

At the door of the room, Gwenval’s brother stopped everyone, even Inspector Kang who had followed the group. He insisted on talking to his brother alone. His request was granted. So only the two brothers entered.

Outside, Ashlay and Hao Ming didn’t really know how to react and instinctively turned to Kaelan, hoping for answers.

The artist sighed and smiled.

"Prosecutor Altaha Lioren. He is Gwenval’s older brother. He is part of a special investigation unit that brings together prosecutors and police officers. Inspector Kang is the captain of this unit."

"A prosecutor? " 

Ashlay remembered Gwenval’s expression when he saw Inspector Kang, then his brother. He finally understood why the musician was so reluctant to call the police to solve his problem. He didn’t want his brother to find out.

" While Prosecutor Altaha is talking to his brother, would it be possible for you to clarify the situation with me? You will also have to go to the police station to make written statements."  Inspector Kang asked, taking out a notebook and pen from his jacket. 

While Hao Ming, Kaelan and Secretary Shin took turns explaining the facts, Ashlay kept his gaze fixed on the door of the room where Gwenval was.