Chapter 24 :

<24>

An old tarp reading XX Construction Dream Town fluttered in the wind. Construction had stopped when the company went bankrupt, and after a fire broke out, the place had turned into nothing less than a gloomy black monster.

But demolition cost a great deal of money, and perhaps the landowner intended to wait until the land price rose—there was no sign of repairs, and the hideous structure remained exactly as it was.

A foreign boy was walking into that building. His disciplined footsteps, and the eyes that seemed to look down on everything around him, clearly carried a noble air.

He strode boldly into the dark, abandoned building. Even someone fairly courageous would hesitate to enter a structure that looked as though it might collapse at any moment, yet he stepped inside and surveyed his surroundings.

Shaaaaaaa.

A sound rose from the darkness, and eyes began to glow. The boy approached without the slightest hesitation. Then one of those eyes stepped forward.

Walking toward the outer wall where light streamed in, the figure revealed himself—unexpectedly, a neat young man with black hair. A cold wind tore through the skeletal frame of the ruined building, howling like a scream.

“You look quite human.”

The blond boy said this as he set down the bag he was holding. The black-haired young man gave a faint smirk and raised his hand. From the darkness, a human arm fell to the ground with a thud.

“A lapdog that strutted proudly in its master’s embrace doesn’t know its place. Your master as well—”

“I’ll give you one warning. If you so much as joke irreverently about my Master, I’ll blow this building away with a missile. Missile misfires seem fairly common in this country, after all.”

With that, the boy kicked the bag forward. The black-haired young man shrugged and accepted it.

“Is this supposed to be payment to make us disappear? The True Vampire Hunter killed our boss. Even if he died fighting Chang-un, taking on a bastard like that would be a loss.”

“Don’t be absurd. I don’t think you could even lay a hand on such a big fish. The one I want is far weaker than that. If you understand, perhaps you should gather up your fallen guts first.”

He flicked a photograph into the air. It flew with a sharp metallic sound, as if it were a steel plate, pierced a concrete pillar, and embedded itself deep within.

“Hm!”

The black-haired man did not bother hiding his surprise—rather, he exaggerated it as he examined the photograph. In it was a young man with green-bleached hair.

“So we just hunt this brat? That’s too easy.”

“He’s a disciple of Sylvester. He won’t be that simple. We don’t have detailed intel on him, but he’s somewhere near Gwanak-gu in Seoul, so look carefully. If he’s a Hunter, he might come to you first.”

“Hmph. What a pathetic client.”

The black-haired man looked the boy over carefully. The boy’s skin was so pale it seemed translucent, as though his veins might show through. Bathed in moonlight, he glowed faintly.

“Hm. If he’s received the blood of a True Vampire, his VT must be considerable?”

“Is that something to say in front of me?”

The boy turned away as he replied. To show his back before countless enemies who sought his life—such boldness bordered on arrogance.

“Very well. I expect good results.”

With that arrogant declaration, the boy vanished into the darkness. Red-eyed figures stirred within it, like a massive wave filled with crimson bioluminescence crashing upon the shore. Their overwhelming power, pressure, and killing intent were so dense they felt almost tangible.

“Stop.”

But the black-haired man who had accepted the deal restrained them. With a single word, he drove back the wave. He pulled the photograph free and tossed it toward his companions.

“We need money and power. It’s not wise to devour the subordinate of someone who possesses both. Now then—shall we get to work?”

The rich inhabit a different world from ordinary humans. Of course, Sylvester, the True Vampire Hunter, was wealthy as well… but unlike True Vampire Phantom, he was not so extravagant.

He certainly wouldn’t take an Airbus every time he went out.

“…”

Watching the Airbus descend over the hotel, Sylvester let out a low sigh. Anticipating Sylvester’s ambush, they had begun using helicopters instead.

“I suppose I should worry about Arjuna.”

He muttered this and tossed the rifle case behind his seat. Clouds were slowly rolling in from the west.

“It’ll rain again tomorrow.”

He looked up at the hotel as he murmured. A man in a pure white suit stood by one of the windows, and their eyes met. Judging by the fact that he was already there, the one using the helicopter must be his spawn.

True Vampire Phantom, gazing out the window, lifted a glass of champagne to his lips. Since the helicopter had returned safely, Wilhelm must have succeeded in negotiations. The children of Jeokyo had followed their parent to Korea, only to become stranded there when he died… There had been no choice but for them to accept the deal.

“Still, I should praise him when he returns.”

He turned around. In the spacious suite’s living room lay Yoon Mi-hye, who had become almost like a ruin of a person, her eyes closed. She had barely eaten, and no one knew how much she had cried. After managing only a single “Thank you for caring about me”, she had broken down completely… There was nothing he could do.

“Did I seem like some wealthy playboy?”

Yoon Mi-hye’s face was swollen from crying. All the effort spent styling her at the beauty shop had become meaningless. He sighed.

“It wouldn’t be so bad to gift revenge to the child who will become the youngest of my bloodline.”

Besides, the opposing party had failed to bear responsibility simply because they were minors. They likely had no awareness that they had destroyed a person and shattered a family.

Of course, if asked whether that crime alone was grave enough to warrant a death sentence, the answer could not be an unconditional yes. But at the very least, Yoon Mi-hye had the right to revenge.

And affirming revenge was the code of the Clan of Phantasmagoria.

“…What is this ‘bloodline’ you’re talking about?”

Her voice suddenly broke the stillness of the room.

“Well now.”

True Vampire Phantom shrugged. How should he explain it? After living as a vampire for thousands of years, explaining what a vampire was felt trivial… Was there no better way?

As he pondered, the door opened and Wilhelm entered, slightly damp from the rain.

“It has been handled, Master.”

“Good. Well done, Wilhelm.”

With a broad smile, Phantom drew a finger across his own throat. With a sharp slicing sound, the blood vessels in his neck were severed. Wilhelm’s eyes flew wide.

“Master!”

“Come quickly, before I change my mind.”

Phantom removed his suit jacket as he spoke, then lay back on the plush sofa with a smile.

“Master… just what—”

But Wilhelm could not resist the temptation. He approached the reclining Phantom and threw himself into his arms. Like beasts licking one another’s wounds, he carefully licked Phantom’s neck. Only then did blood begin to flow from the wound.

“Ahahaha. That tickles.”

Phantom tossed his jacket aside and stroked Wilhelm’s hair as though he were his own child. Between cursed vampires, the act of blood-drinking carried an intense, decadent beauty. The emotion was so overwhelming it would suffocate an ordinary person.

“…”

But Yoon Mi-hye, already broken beyond repair, merely tilted her head once at the shocking sight and showed no further reaction. When Phantom extended his hand toward her with a smile, she took it without hesitation. Under the cold lighting, the fine hairs on his hand shimmered as he pulled her gently closer.

* * *

Se-gun was carrying crates while wearing a raincoat. He worked six hours a day for 30,000 won. At 5,000 won per hour, it wasn’t exactly cheap labor—but no matter how he thought about it, it still felt like exploitation. Yet today, something felt strange.

“Hey. It’s coming again. Don’t stop and rest!”

The section chief, who had the easiest sorting job inside the truck, barked the order impatiently. If you thought of it as exercise, it wasn’t all that painful—but ever since he started seeing Jin Yu-mi, Se-gun felt as though his heart was gradually becoming desolate.

He thought it had already been worn down as far as it could go, yet somehow it felt like there was still room left to wither.

“Tch. Useless sentiment.”

Muttering that, Se-gun received the incoming box. The moment he did, his expression froze.

“What’s wrong?”

Kim Sung-ju hurried over in surprise and pulled off Se-gun’s glove. One of his fingernails was broken, and blood was seeping out.

“What the hell is this?!”

“It’s nothing… I tried gripping it with just my fingers to train my grip strength… must’ve gotten it caught in there. Don’t worry about it.”

Se-gun said calmly and continued loading the truck with his injured hand. Watching him, the section chief muttered just one thing.

“Damn, you’re a tough bastard.”

He’d gotten hurt on the job, and instead of comfort, that was what he got. Kim Sung-ju made a displeased face, but Se-gun silently resumed working. Then suddenly, there was a sharp whirring sound in the air.

“Huh? A bat.”

“What?”

“I remember seeing lots of bats when I was a kid, but they’ve mostly disappeared lately… Huh. That’s strange. Are there still bats in this neighborhood?”

The section chief—who usually only nagged them to work—unexpectedly stopped and leaned his head out of the truck to look at the bat. Kim Sung-ju chuckled at the sight.

Aside from the piercings, he was a fairly handsome young man, but in a delivery company uniform, even his smile looked awkward.

“Heh. What if it’s a vampire bat? Like an actual vampire.”

“No. As far as I know, vampires like that don’t—”

Se-gun cut himself off and looked up at the sky in alarm. The gray sky was pouring down rain as if a hole had opened in it. In weather this heavy, a bat flying?

“Damn!”

Se-gun immediately ran toward the cabinet.

“Hey!”

“I’m leaving early!”

He shouted that, quickly changed clothes, and jumped onto his motorcycle. Before anyone could stop him, he sped off into the rain at a terrifying pace.

“Huh?”

Kim Sung-ju and the section chief stared at each other blankly. With a bright smile, Kim Sung-ju asked,

“Do I have to load all of that by myself?”

“Well, looks like it. Get moving.”

Clinging to the RX-125—his late brother’s keepsake—Se-gun lowered his body forward and twisted the throttle all the way.

Rain kept pouring down over his helmet, seeping through the visor and soaking his neck. But at least…

There weren’t many cars on the road during the day. As he rode, Se-gun heightened his senses. He could feel the Bloodstone Pendulum moving faintly.

“So there really are vampires that turn into bats!”

Until now, the ones he had faced were nothing more than monsters with no particular sorcery. But this enemy felt different. He should have pulled out the moment he heard that True Vampires were involved! Yet regretting it now meant nothing.

Thunk!

A sharp slicing sound cut through the rain and struck his helmet. It rang in his skull like he’d been hit by hail—this was no ordinary object. When Se-gun lifted his head, he saw something like a bird flying through the downpour. Of course, no ordinary bird could chase a motorcycle speeding through rain like that.

“Tch!”

Se-gun veered into a narrow road to evade the attack. No matter how much shooting practice he had done, he wasn’t confident he could hit a flying target with a Tokarev. So he chose a tight alley where the buildings created blind spots. Besides, that was the direction he needed to go anyway…

“Grrf!”

Suddenly, a large Tosa dog leapt out in front of him. A strange lump protruded from its forehead, and it charged at him like a mad beast, rushing into the middle of the road. But Se-gun gripped the handlebars tightly and rammed straight into it.

Crash!

The motorcycle crushed the dog beneath it, launching into the air before slamming back down onto the road. The rain caused it to spin and wobble from side to side, but with astonishing balance, Se-gun righted the falling bike and sped forward.

“Damn it! What is this leather carpet? Animal control?”

As he rode, he glanced back. The lump on the dog’s forehead was wriggling free. At least it hadn’t latched onto a human. Just as that thought crossed his mind, something dropped in front of him.

“Ugh!”

With a heavy impact, the front of his helmet dented inward. Se-gun immediately turned into the road leading toward Jin Yu-mi’s house.

Now that he thought about it, the sun was hidden behind the rain clouds today.

Not quite night, but perfect weather for vampires to roam. It was his mistake to let his guard down just because he was working a daytime job.

“Move!”

Se-gun kicked a garbage bag blocking his path aside and rounded the corner. At the entrance to the road leading to Jin Yu-mi’s house, several vampires were already waiting.

Had they underestimated him as a mere brat? They weren’t even pretending to be human. They simply stood there.

“Hm. For a brat, he’s got decent instincts.”

“Indeed.”

A pale man and woman exchanged those words while looking at each other. Though opposite in gender, they resembled twins—long hair hanging down, lifeless eyes staring ahead.

Monotone in appearance, they looked far more human than any vampires Se-gun had seen before—yet in another sense, far more vampiric. Se-gun instinctively felt danger and drew his Tokarev.

“Oh! My, my. Pulling out something so dangerous.”

“Hey now. South Korea has strict gun control laws. Put away that obvious illegal weapon—”

The vampires chattered as they approached him. But at that moment, Se-gun’s gun roared to life. Simultaneously, he twisted the throttle full. Like a crazed horse, the RX-125 reared forward, struck the stone wall beside the slope with its front wheel, then launched straight toward the female vampire’s face.

“My! What do you think you’re doing to a lady?”

But with astonishing strength, she caught the RX-125’s front wheel and halted the motorcycle midair. Still clinging to the bike, Se-gun aimed the Tokarev at her head.

“Drop dead, lady.”