Chapter 12 :

<12>

The occult shop Arjuna was still standing in front of the neighborhood park even now, a year later. Although it did not seem to get many customers, the shop was still clean, and the interior was changed regularly whenever it started to feel dull.

A young man entered the entrance of Arjuna. Still wearing his inline skates, the young man came inside with his baseball cap turned backward and a piece of bubble gum in his mouth.

"Nothing’s changed, after all."

Muttering that, he looked toward the counter. Even though the CCTV was running, there was no one at the register. If a thief were to come in, it seemed like they could simply take the entire cash register and walk out.

But this Arjuna was no ordinary shop. It handled everything from ordinary occult hobby goods to items with truly proven effects, and even illegal goods. As such, the shop’s defensive measures were anything but ordinary.

"Oh?"

As if he had noticed something, the young man in the baseball cap slowly blew his gum and looked around. Anyone who tried to rob this place recklessly would be dead before taking a few steps. And even if that were not the case, it was better not to mess with Arjuna. This was an unspoken rule in the underworld.

"Huh? Ah, a customer…"

The owner of this small yet intense occult shop, Arjuna, Kim Seong-hee, greeted him in her beautiful voice as always. Her refined appearance, reminiscent of a high-end casino dealer, had not changed either. What man would not have his heart stirred by a woman like her?

However, the young man in the baseball cap raised his hand and pointed at the ceiling instead.

"You’re raising something like that? The Ministry of Health and Welfare wouldn’t allow it, you know?"

There was a red fly up there. This fly, called a tsetse fly, was a host that carried sleeping sickness, which still had a fatality rate of ninety percent, and it was trapped inside a small glass tube.

Because the glass tube was so small and the inside of Arjuna was dark, it was hard to see, but if someone even touched the counter while the security system was activated, the tsetse fly would be released immediately, and at the same time a sound of a specific frequency that made the fly aggressive would be emitted.

It was an excessively harsh punishment for a thief who was simply after cash.

"Oh my, are you Se-geon by any chance?"

Only then did she recognize Se-geon. It was not that she had never seen him since he had been brought along by Sylvester, but because Se-geon had drastically built up his body through growth hormone treatment, his appearance and atmosphere had changed enough that it was only natural she failed to recognize him at first.

Although Se-geon was still in his growth period and therefore did not use steroids that could stop growth, he had nevertheless been steadily given small amounts of growth hormone. Deok-yeon’s training, combined with growth hormone and physical conditioning, had transformed Se-geon astonishingly in a short period of time.

Yet the person who had undergone the change spoke as if it were no big deal, blowing his bubble gum.

"Yeah. It’s been a while, right? About four months?"

As Se-geon said that, he took off his cap. Seong-hee smiled and spoke.

"You’ve become a good man. You’ve really grown a lot."

"I took growth hormone injections."

Saying that, Se-geon casually sat down on the sofa. Kim Seong-hee examined his body. The training combined with growth hormone treatment had explosively strengthened Se-geon’s body, which was already in its growth phase.

But there were always side effects to match, and even aside from that, fighting vampires was dangerous work where you never knew when you might die.

Looking at Se-geon, she asked cautiously.

"So? How have things been since then?"

"You already know, don’t you?"

Se-geon looked at her as he spoke. Of course, he was talking about parting ways with Deok-yeon. Although Deok-yeon was not particularly tight-lipped, he was not the type to go around spreading rumors either. She smiled and deactivated the security system.

"Mr. Song Deok-yeon raised you at the request of Father Sylvester, and I’m the representative of the true vampire hunters in Korea. I do receive reports. But it doesn’t seem like you came here because of that. What’s going on?"

"Obviously, I’m here to buy something. I heard there’s a tool that can detect vampires?"

As Se-geon said that and looked at her, Kim Seong-hee put on a troubled expression.

‘Well, there is one. And it’s also considered standard equipment for vampire hunters. But it’s not as amazing as you’re expecting.’

Saying that, she took out a small case from the display window. Like a skilled dealer, she presented the product and added a word.

"Of course, the price is just as amazing as you’d expect."

"So the performance doesn’t live up to it, but the price does. That’s a defective product. It’s not in the three-digit range, right?"

"Fortunately, it’s not that expensive. It’s something wealthy civilians occasionally buy."

Saying that, she opened the case. Inside the rather luxurious silk case was a dark red stone engraved with blood-colored ripples. Of course, there was a ring attached to the end of the stone, and a string with strange letters written on it was connected to it. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary item.

"It’s a Bloodstone Pendulum priced at eight hundred thousand won. It detects nearby vampires, but the range is limited to a radius of twenty meters. With this, it would be difficult to find vampires."

“.......”

Se-geon fell into thought for a moment. Since he had left Deok-yeon’s place, he also needed to find somewhere to live, and there was a lot of money he had to spend on motorcycle repairs and other things. These days, even with monthly rent, you had to pay a deposit, so he would continue to need a large sum of money. Was it really necessary to buy such an item with such limited effectiveness?

Unless you were a veteran like Deok-yeon, for a beginner like Se-geon who had just jumped into this line of work, making money by hunting vampires was not easy. Even if you fought vampires to the brink of death, in many cases it was better to do an ordinary job instead. In fact, it would be fair to say that was true in most cases.

"Well, when it comes to vampires, there are already some guys I know for sure. I’ll buy it now."

"Really? In that case, I won’t stop you, but it’s better to manage your funds carefully. There’s also a crossbow fitted with silver-chip quarrels. How about that?"

"I already have a weapon. But… in the true sense of the word, I don’t have a ‘weapon’."

Saying that, Se-geon took out a paper envelope from his pocket and counted out the money. Accepting it, she clicked her tongue.

"So Old Ju won’t sell it to you, huh? The Psychedelic Moon?"

"Yeah. Buying vampire blood isn’t a big problem even if the police find out, but selling drugs to a minor like me would be a serious crime. Old Ju is very strict about managing himself, so now that I’ve parted ways with my uncle, he won’t do business with me. But without it, I can’t keep fighting vampires from now on. Isn’t there any way to get it?"

"Hmm. Old Ju is the most trustworthy vampire dealer there is, but I suppose that also makes him a principled person."

Saying that, Seong-hee opened a drawer. Inside was a small glass bottle containing capsules.

"It’s only about Vamplic Transrate 13, but I do have a little. Want me to give you that instead? Since it doesn’t have cocaine mixed in, it probably won’t be suitable for combat use, but how about it?"

Psychedelic Moon is a special drug made by blending a transformation factor extracted from vampire blood with common narcotics such as cocaine or heroin, and if it is used as it is, its proper effect cannot be obtained.

In the worst case, the user can even become a vampire, but since VT 13 has low effectiveness, it is comparatively safe.

"VT 13, huh…… I probably haven’t built up drug tolerance yet, so I’ll use it. But what you said earlier. Does that mean there’s a vampire dealer other than Old Ju?"

Se-geon asked that as he received the bottle from her. At that moment, Kim Seong-hee opened her eyes wide in surprise. It seemed she had finally realized she had made quite a serious mistake. But words once spoken could not be taken back.

"There is. But that one isn’t actually in that line of work, he’s really just a drug dealer. And it seems he pays more than Old Ju."

"Could I find out their trading channel?"

"That side probably won’t deal with a minor like you either, you know?"

"At least until then, I’ll have to get by with this."

Se-geon said that and held up the medicine she had given him.

"All right. I’ll look into it, then. By the way, where have you been living lately?"

"I don’t really need to tell you that, do I?"

"It’s a good attitude. But you do know the Sang-dong faction is looking for you, right? I think it would be better not to come into the city for a while. Especially your motorcycle…… maybe you should just give up on it. It’s already pretty badly damaged anyway, isn’t it?"

She gave Se-geon that advice. Normally, she did not care whether vampire hunters lived or died, but when it came to Se-geon, she could not be so indifferent. Perhaps it was because he was still young.

But Se-geon left Arjuna without answering.

"Uh……"

From his stubborn retreating figure, she realized that even if it meant facing the Sang-dong faction head-on to obtain it, he would never easily give up RX-125, his older brother’s keepsake.

* * *

The leader of the Sang-dong faction, Jeong Sang-dong, had such a gentle-looking face that no one would believe he was a gangster at first glance. In fact, the building he used as his office had a sign that read “M High School Alumni Office”, and he hired only people with clean impressions, leaving a good image on the neighborhood as well.

Although people around regarded them as a gang of thugs, one of his prides was that he never lost the composure of a businessman.

But that was only true until today.

"So? You mean you all got beaten? Impressive!"

He caught his breath while returning the coat hanger to its place. The duralumin hanger was soaked in blood and had turned dark red, and the ones who had dyed the hanger with blood were writhing on the floor.

Cheon Yeong-hu twitched his broken forehead after taking several hits. When Jeong Sang-dong became angry, he was a typical short-fuse type who could not see anything, friend or foe.

"But…… who would have thought the bastard was a vampire hunter."

"Hmm."

At that single remark, Jeong Sang-dong calmed down.

If they had mixed in vampires and still lost, it meant the opponent was a professional hunter trained in anti-vampire tactics. No matter how well armed or how skilled in martial arts one might be, if you do not assume that your opponent is a superhuman being, you are bound to be taken down in an instant.

"This is becoming troublesome. Until now, no one had the guts to mess with the Sang-dong faction. Is this guy a newcomer?"

Jeong Sang-dong asked that while putting his suit jacket back on. Cheon Yeong-hu nodded. Every time he moved his head, blood poured down.

"He said he was a minor, so that must be correct. And apparently, he rides a motorcycle unbelievably well."

"Really? A motorcycle-riding minor, huh…… then the motorcycle gangs might know him well. You can scatter some pocket money among the kids, so make sure you find him and kill him!"

Saying that, Jeong Sang-dong opened the safe and took out bundles of cash. At a glance, there seemed to be at least twenty bundles of one-million-won notes.

Of course, compared to the money handled by organized crime groups such as Seongingeukhwa, twenty million won did not look like such a large sum, but even in the Republic of Korea, there were only a handful of organizations that could readily pay such a huge amount just to catch a single person.

"I-is that all right?"

Cheon Yeong-hu, a mid-level boss, trembled at the sight of such a large sum. As someone who knew well how the organization was run, he did not want to agree to spending that much money.

And Jeong Sang-dong felt the same way.

"Hm…… hm. Of course, use some of it for your medical expenses, and if possible, bring the rest back."

"……"

As his blood pressure went down, Jeong Sang-dong, who had quickly regained his fuse, showed a weak side unbefitting of a gang leader.

No one knew since when, but a romanticized image of gangsters had been imprinted almost like a faith among some kids who liked to hang out.

So when Cheon Yeong-hu’s black Grandeur entered the entrance of the construction site, the biker gang members who had been gathered in the empty lot practicing wheelies and Maxwell turns (a technique where you spin in place with the front wheel planted) all stopped at once. Of course, that was only because the biker gang took pride in themselves.

"Hmm."

Cheon Yeong-hu came forward in front of the kids, touching the bandage wrapped around his head. Then, two vampires who were his juniors followed behind him.

The biker gang were burning wooden planks left behind by construction workers in a drum can. The expressions of the biker gang illuminated by the firelight were not very friendly. Even though their opponents were gangsters, there were only three of them. The biker gang, who originally ran side by side with death, were fearless and rough.

"What’s this about, huh?"

They said that and approached Cheon Yeong-hu. Cheon Yeong-hu cautiously raised his left hand. With just that, his bodyguard standing beside him moved and grabbed one of the biker gang members by the side in an instant. Then the ribs began to scream.

"Kyaaaaaagh!"

The biker could not even finish his words and collapsed while gaping his mouth wide open. Cheon Yeong-hu quickly stopped the bodyguard. Although the sun had not completely set yet, the vampires still easily lost control of themselves and became violent.

Fortunately, they still retained a strong human consciousness and listened to Cheon Yeong-hu’s words, but no one knew how long they would continue to obey even such orders.

"This is troublesome. If only they could be controlled with crosses and garlic."