Chapter 21
Summary
The chapter opens with a brief summary of the town of Windnights and eventually it shows that Dio has taken refuge in a mansion near a graveyard where he has recovered from his burn wounds by feasting on hapless young women in secret with Jack the Ripper assisting him. Then Wang Chun walks in with the scar Jonathan made on his face and Dio's attention turns to the scar.
Elsewhere Jonathan, Zeppeli, and Speedwagon are taking a horse drawn carriage to Windnights based on street knowledge from Speedwagon that Wang Chun retreated there. The trio then concludes that Dio resides in Windnights. Zeppeli laments though that even though he let Wang Chun escape so they could learn Dios whereabouts, Dio most likely knows of the Ripple from Wang Chun. Zeppeli then asks Speedwagon for a corkscrew to open his wine bottle.
The carriage ride through Windnights tunnel goes smoothly for a while but it suddenly stops for some reason still inside the tunnel. Speedwagon puzzled by this goes out to ask the driver why he stopped but Jonathan warns him that Dios minions could be able to get to him more easily because they are in an enclosed dark tunnel with no light. Speedwagon undaunted goes out of the carriage anyway to ask the driver why he stopped. He finds out why. All of the horses have been killed and have had their heads removed and one of their heads has been shoved onto the stagecoach’s head, who has died from giant lacerations in his back.
Then something moves inside one of the horses necks and Zeppeli warns Speedwagon and Jonathan to get away from the horses. Suddenly Jack the Ripper crawls out of the horse’s body up through its neck. Jonathan and Speedwagon stand in awe at this as it seems that Jack had somehow created this atrocity while the wagon was moving. Zeppeli unfazed pokes a clean hole in the bottom of a wine bottle he had with him and he pours a glass of wine proclaiming he will fight Jack the Ripper as Jack emerges from the horse’s body.
