028. A Night In Pangalengan

The sun began its descent to the west as Jalu arrived in Pangalengan. The four-wheel-drive SUV he drove navigated the rocky roads, ascending from Sunrise Point to a location impassable by car. Jalu exchanged pleasantries with the locals guarding a makeshift dirt field acting as a parking lot.
Introducing himself as an amateur photographer eager to capture the sunrise at Situ Cukul, Jalu's predictions proved correct as they directed him to an area near the European-themed villas there. It seemed these young men, besides overseeing the parking area, also rented out villas and tents. Citing a thin wallet, Jalu opted to rent a tent.
Before the young man set off for his destination, the locals candidly warned Jalu not to approach Situ Cukul after sunset. They claimed that some visitors had glimpsed the fleeting apparition of a woman with long hair inside the lake. Jalu's curiosity stirred upon hearing that information. However, he quickly dismissed it. He couldn't afford to be tempted to prove the truth of the apparition rumor at the lake.
After setting up his tent, Jalu surveyed the surrounding area, calculating the routes he would take, including escape routes if his plan failed. The workday worked in his favor as the natural spot for tourism was not as crowded as it was on weekends. There were only two tents belonging to four nature enthusiasts and a pair of young lovers, positioned at a considerable distance from each other.
Satisfied with the arrangements inside his tent, Jalu decided to take a nap while awaiting nightfall. Darkness, after all, was Division 96's most trusted ally. Through high-risk genetic engineering, each member had developed the ability to see with perfect clarity in the dark.
Jalu fell into a deep sleep, undisturbed even as, several dozen meters away, other campers were heard laughing and lighting a bonfire. However, at midnight, the atmosphere shifted into silence. Tents appeared dark, and the bonfire was reduced to ashes and charcoal. The entire universe seemed to be in a deep slumber, awaiting the dawn.
In the silence that began to dominate and the mist that began to envelop, Jalu's eyes opened wide. He gulped down the last drops of mineral water from the plastic bottle in his hand and then, soundlessly, he unzipped the tent and blended into the profound darkness of nature.
No Regime official traveled without an escort. Even a child would know that. Despite the presence of several villas in the tourist spot, without hesitation, Jalu hastened toward the only luxurious villa with five expensive-looking motorcycles in its yard. However, the grand structure before him was completely pitch-black, with not a single light turned on.
The young man casually attempted to open the gate, which, to his astonishment, was not locked. Quickly, he sharpened his vision and hearing. Yet, there were no suspicious movements or sounds in the area. Everything was too silent, dark, and unnervingly easy. His experience made Jalu realize that something was wrong.
He stood right in front of the villa's entrance. His hand moved to the door handle, half expecting guards to attack or reprimand him. However, only the sounds of crickets and the gentle mountain breeze could be heard. Wearing leather gloves, Jalu pushed the door, which, once again, was completely unlocked. Various questions surfaced in the young man's mind. A series of questions that were eventually answered when he saw the scene inside the villa.
The pitch-black darkness did not limit Jalu's vision. He found four men sprawled in a pool of blood in the disheveled living room. Despite wearing civilian clothes, their robust figures and military-style haircuts revealed their affiliation with the Darah Juang Force, an elite unit created by the Penyempurna Regime.
Careful not to leave any traces, Jalu navigated through the bloodstains on the floor and inspected every room in the luxurious villa. One by one, he opened each door until finally, in a spacious room on the second floor, he found the man he hunted, lying with disemboweled intestines and a head nearly severed. Dead.
Although the victim's face was smeared with blood, Jalu could easily recognize the man. Anton Legowo, a high-ranking member of the Gelombang Pembaharu Party, served as the Minister of Information and Anticipation. During his lifetime, no one could match Anton's skill in the art of persuasion. Ironically, he died with a severed tongue, bitten off in his demise.
Jalu's logic worked swiftly. He felt confident that whoever had massacred the party figure along with all his guards was not a former member of Division 96 or a trained killer. Everything was too chaotic. What he witnessed seemed more like the result of spontaneous rage.
Curiosity demanded answers. He wanted to uncover the identity of the person capable of killing four members of the Darah Juang Force in one go. The Penyempurna Regime selected the best members from every military branch and then indoctrinated them with the Party's ideology. Killing them was not an easy task.
From the pattern of blood splatters that seemed abruptly cut off on the floor, Jalu found a clue. The killer's body must have been bathed in blood while tearing apart the stout man. Jalu's eyes traced the floor and discovered several blood droplets in places that shouldn't have been splattered. These droplets led to the bathroom, revealing a fact that furrowed Jalu's brow.
Despite the brutality, it seemed the killer was remarkably composed, taking the time to immerse in a tub that looked red and smelled fishy. Jalu speculated that the open bathroom window served as the killer's escape route. It also indicated that the killer's body was slimmer than his own, allowing it to pass through the small window.
Swift yet cautious, Jalu hurriedly searched for the presence of CCTV or any surveillance devices in any form. However, the results were futile. It seemed that identifying the killer couldn't be done effortlessly. Jalu sighed. The man then looked at the blood-bathed corpses.
There was no point in concocting scenarios to obscure the murder facts. Their bodies had entered the rigor mortis phase. Even if they were detonated, forensic experts would reveal that the five men had been dead for quite some time.
After erasing any traces of his presence in the villa, Jalu followed the trail of the killer of the five men. His experience and keen eyes allowed him to distinguish between the grass that had been stepped on from the rest. Despite several hours passing since the murder occurred, footprints would remain before nature erased them.
The feet that tread on the grass were bare and wet. Yet, Jalu's sharp sense of smell allowed him to detect the lingering scent of blood, even after being washed away by water. Finally, his tracking led him to the lake known as Situ Cukul.
Jalu sighed as he gazed at the lake, resembling a moving black blanket beneath the floating layers of fog. Although reluctant to involve himself again with interdimensional matters, his conscience refused to let the people around that place remain in danger. Unconsciously, the hospitality of the locals in the parking lot had stirred his sense of responsibility.
He glanced briefly at the two distant tents near the lake's edge. Then, with vigilance, Jalu approached the lake's edge and squatted. The palms of his hands repeatedly patted the water's surface. The sharp focus of his eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for anything suspicious in the oppressive calm.
The ripples caused by Jalu's claps traveled away and expanded on the water's surface. Suddenly, Jalu's body swiftly stood up, accompanied by a metal spear shooting out from the water. If one second later, the sharp tip of the spear would have pierced his head. The highly focused and powerful attack confirmed that the opponent Jalu faced was a trained fighter.