Chapter 33 :

<33>

"Kwaaaak!"

However, the Corrupted did not care about the police sirens and lunged forward. In any case, a Corrupted could not live long. Whether the police intervened or not was a problem for the vampires and hunters who would continue living in this world afterward—it was not the Corrupted’s problem.

"You rotten bastard! Do you even have a brain?"

Song Deok-yeon felt his head spin as anger surged upward. Charging more aggressively at the sound of sirens meant he intended to exploit the pressure of the police. If he could show such intent, then that much reason still remained.

"You son of a bitch! I’ll sink you for good!"

Song Deok-yeon avoided the Corrupted’s advancing assault and threw himself toward the SM5 sedan behind him. The Corrupted then rammed the SM5 with its head.

"Don’t get excited! Not this way!"

Se-gun shouted in a strained voice, unable to scream properly. The police were probably responding toward Sylvester’s side. But whether Song Deok-yeon heard him or not, he fired the shotgun wildly in a frenzy.

Boom, boom, boom!

Blood burst like a fountain from the torso of the Corrupted as it lifted its head from the crumpled SM5. Startled, the Corrupted bit down on the front bumper and heaved its body up, lifting the entire vehicle. The blaring theft alarm suddenly fell silent, and the car flipped forward onto its back.

"Kak!"

At that moment, Se-gun’s Tokarev spat fire. The distance between Se-gun and the Corrupted—who had just lifted its head—was about fifty meters. With the Tokarev’s accuracy, it would have been difficult to hit at that range. But Se-gun, having taken Psychedelic Moon, had senses sharpened to a terrifying degree. Despite the distance, the bullet struck the Corrupted’s left eye precisely, tearing through its face.

Se-gun hurriedly tucked the Tokarev into his waistband and grabbed the gas pipe Song Deok-yeon had used, descending.

"You bastard!"

Song Deok-yeon leapt onto the overturned car and kicked the Corrupted’s jaw. The heavy combat boot buried itself deep, shattering the jawbone into pieces. The kick that crushed bone and severed muscle was powerful enough that even a vampire with supernatural abilities would struggle to endure it.

"Since it’s come to this, I’ll kill you with my own hands!"

Song Deok-yeon shouted at the top of his lungs and drew out his shotgun. Just then, windows of nearby houses opened, and people began poking their heads out one by one. Gunshots had echoed through the alley, and a car alarm had blared before suddenly dying—who could possibly sleep peacefully through that?

But instead of avoiding people’s eyes, Song Deok-yeon thundered in a booming voice.

"Get your heads back inside!"

Bang!

He fired his pistol at the Corrupted while threatening the onlookers.

"Hiiik!"

The people’s heads disappeared from the windows all at once. With bullets flying like rain, who would stand by the window and stare blankly? It was only a temporary measure; a report would soon be made. A vampire could kill the police and escape if reported, but if Song Deok-yeon killed a police officer, the situation would become far more serious. Forcing down his unease, Song Deok-yeon focused on the Corrupted.

"Kuuu..."

The Corrupted, its momentum completely broken, turned to flee. Song Deok-yeon quickly raised his shotgun, but the Corrupted dashed down the alley in a single burst. Though a variant of a vampire, the Corrupted possessed reflexes beyond human limits; its running speed was impossible to chase with human legs.

Song Deok-yeon immediately slung the shotgun and pursued it.

"Se-gun! Block the way!"

"Yes!"

Se-gun immediately jumped down to the street and looked around. Since it was a residential area, he spotted a motorcycle parked along the roadside. Once fashionable but now quite worn, it was a Ninja (Kawasaki). Judging by the many repaired parts, it seemed quite old and likely resold secondhand multiple times. Still, as a motorcycle, it had a locking metal bar on the handle.

Se-gun shot the lock precisely with the Tokarev, smashed the front key slot, and pulled out the wiring. Perhaps because it had already been damaged once before, the wires were exposed easily.

"Damn. The thing I hate most."

Muttering, Se-gun started the engine. Though the old Ninja’s exhaust note wasn’t impressive, once it moved, its power was unmistakable.

Vroooom!

Recalling the nearby alleys he had seen from the rooftop, Se-gun chose a detour to intercept the Corrupted. Cars parked along every alley would have made it nearly impossible for a car to maneuver properly, but the motorcycle slipped through nimbly. Se-gun skillfully exited the alleys and arrived first at the crossroad, coming to a stop.

Grrrrrr!

Each time the Corrupted passed, neighborhood dogs barked furiously. Se-gun let out a breath, pulled out his knuckles, fitted them onto his hand, and loaded a shell into the shotgun.

"Kraa!"

Then the Corrupted appeared at the alley entrance. Blood poured continuously from the body of the decaying monster. Se-gun raised the Tokarev and aimed at the battered creature. At that moment, standing in the dark alley, the Corrupted suddenly gagged.

"Uweeeek!"

From the monster’s mouth, the bones of humans it had devoured earlier that night spilled out in chunks. To ordinary eyes, it would have been hard to see clearly, but to Se-gun—who had taken Psychedelic Moon—the stark white bone fragments stood out vividly.

Bang!

Se-gun fired the Tokarev reflexively. The light-triggered Tokarev burst with flame.

"Kwek..."

Struck by the bullet, the Corrupted collapsed face-first into its own vomit. Normally, a vampire should die upon being hit by a silver bullet. But the Corrupted, having devoured many humans and vampires, was astonishingly resilient.

"Huff… huff… huff!"

Wearing a heavy bulletproof vest, Song Deok-yeon ran into the alley, breathing roughly. In the meantime, the Corrupted lifted its head from the mixture of human bone fragments and partially dissolved flesh.

"So… so…"

Was it calling Song Deok-yeon’s name? The Corrupted continued speaking with a voice like air leaking from a punctured lung.

But even that was enough to stop Song Deok-yeon’s movement. Just as he was raising the shotgun, he nearly dropped it in shock.

"Lieutenant Jeong!"

"So, so… I…"

The Corrupted forced the words out with difficulty. Had it regained its senses briefly after vomiting up the human flesh?

Leaning against the motorcycle handle, Se-gun watched. The Corrupted was like a mayfly—there was no way to save it. Just as there was no way to turn a human who had become a vampire back. If such a method existed, Se-gun would have had no reason to kill Yong-jin. Perhaps Song Deok-yeon would have to kill that Corrupted with his own hands.

"This fucking… this is such a damn cruel joke…"

Song Deok-yeon stared at his former friend, Jeong Jun, now transformed into a monster, with wet eyes. The streetlight hanging from the utility pole flickered several times before going out, plunging the alley into silence. But Song Deok-yeon, injected with Psychedelic Moon, could clearly see Jeong Jun even in the darkness. Skin had melted away, flesh stripped off to expose bone. Jeong Jun, grievously wounded beyond what any living creature on earth could endure, looked up at Song Deok-yeon with sorrowful eyes. Yet it was less a living being and more something that belonged among monsters. It could also have been a projection of a vampire hunter’s future.

"……"

Se-gun, the Corrupted, and Song Deok-yeon stood in a line within the alley. Watching Song Deok-yeon, Se-gun nodded and then left the alley to return the motorcycle to its place. Stealing someone else’s property—especially a motorcycle—was not something Se-gun liked, nor did he wish to remain as a witness to Song Deok-yeon killing his friend.

"Kuuu…"

The Corrupted grew confused again. Was it because Se-gun had stepped aside, leaving space to flee?

Thud, thud!

In the narrow alley, the heavy sound of Song Deok-yeon’s boots echoed. It was a sound that overpowered even the distant sirens. It was also the sound tightening steadily around the Corrupted’s neck.

The handful of reason remaining in the Corrupted wished for everything to end here, but the dark-red desire boiling fiercely up its esophagus still craved blood. What urge is more powerful than hunger? And besides, Song Deok-yeon was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, his tension loosened.

If it simply turned and ran, human legs would never be able to catch the Corrupted.

"Krrrrrr!"

Bang.

But at that very moment, blood and flesh burst from the back of Jeong Jun’s head.

White smoke rose from Song Deok-yeon’s shotgun. The Corrupted rolled its remaining right eye toward Song Deok-yeon before collapsing forward. With a heavy thud, it fell and did not rise again. No matter how powerful a monster might be, once its brain is blown apart, it cannot continue to live.

"……"

Without a word, Song Deok-yeon mechanically lifted the blood extractor and stabbed it into the Corrupted’s head. With the skull already shattered, what little brain matter remained was drawn into the device. The reason a bounty was placed on a Corrupted’s brain matter was simple: once the brain was drained, no vampire could survive. And so Song Deok-yeon inserted the extractor into the head of his former friend—vampire, no, Corrupted—with an expressionless face.

"It seems vampires aren’t the only ones who can’t shed tears."

Song Deok-yeon muttered in a dry voice. Pale gray, translucent brain matter mixed with blood flowed into the plastic collection bag.

"Is it over?"

Sylvester, having somehow shaken off all the police, drove the wrecked Pride into the alley and met Se-gun. After roughly parking the Ninja by the roadside, Se-gun spoke.

"That’s for Song Deok-yeon to handle. But what about the vampires? Surely you didn’t take all of them out?"

However, as if there were no need to ask further about the Corrupted, Sylvester spun a circular chunk of the Pride’s cut-off roof on his fingertip like a tray and answered.

"The police found the bodies. It’s a headache, but it can’t be helped. By daylight, the corpses will be gone… After that, isn’t it the vampire clans who put up the bounties that should deal with it? You know, that good old thing—spontaneous human combustion."

Se-gun silently looked back. Police cars were entering the alley—someone in the residential area must have reported it. With cars parked everywhere and one vehicle overturned by the Corrupted, it wouldn’t be easy for patrol cars to enter. Even so, there wasn’t much time. If the road was blocked, they would naturally think to circle around.

And besides, who looked more suspicious than Se-gun, Song Deok-yeon, and Sylvester? The Pride Sylvester was driving had become a convertible, and the back seat was loaded with rifles the vampires had used. They wore various blades and bulletproof vests as well. The quickest way to avoid trouble was to leave immediately.

"How many do you want?"

On the main road where sirens wailed loudly, Sylvester boldly lifted a rifle and asked.

"I’d be grateful."

For Se-gun, who had been worrying about their inferior firepower, there could be no more welcome words. But would Song Deok-yeon really be all right? No sooner had Se-gun felt that concern than Song Deok-yeon emerged from the alley carrying the plastic bag.

"It used to be my car… but this is really bad."

"Get in."

Se-gun urged him, climbing onto the rifles piled in the back seat. Sitting atop blood-soaked guns was far from comfortable, but there was no time to worry about that with police potentially in pursuit.

"Don’t worry. I called him knowing this might happen."

Song Deok-yeon muttered to himself and pulled out his phone. Meanwhile, Sylvester took out his PDA and pulled up a map of Seoul. Police checkpoints were usually set up where cars naturally slowed—T-intersections, road entrances, and the like. The only option was to leave the car somewhere they could avoid inspection and lie low until things settled down.

"Ah, he says he’s nearby."

Closing his phone, Song Deok-yeon reported to Sylvester. Se-gun looked at him and asked,

"You really finished him off?"

"What, you think I fake it and drain the brain anyway? One hundred million. He had no family, so I’ll just think of it as inheriting his estate."

Muttering expressionlessly, Song Deok-yeon drove on. As they detoured around intersections to avoid police attention, they saw a large refrigerated truck parked by the roadside. The trailer was open, rails laid out so a vehicle could drive up. Beside it stood a man in a pulled-down cap, blowing bubble gum. When Song Deok-yeon’s Pride drove up onto the truck, the man approached, blowing a bubble.

"Hmm. Quite a mess. The fee?"

"Take this and get lost."

Song Deok-yeon handed over a wad of bills. The man flipped through it once, then his eyes gleamed as he glanced at the guns loaded in the Pride.

"Looks like they’re all dead."

"What?"

"No, nothing. I’ll escort you to the safe house. Get in."

The man knocked twice on the truck door and quickly scanned the three of them. Se-gun didn’t like the look in his eyes, but in a situation like this, even help bought with money was welcome. When Sylvester, Se-gun, and Song Deok-yeon climbed into the refrigerated compartment, the man smirked, shut the rear doors, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

Once inside the truck, Song Deok-yeon went to sit against a wall. It seemed the refrigeration had been on earlier; frost clung to parts of the interior. Leaning against the cold wall, he pulled out a syringe.

"Ah, wait!"

Se-gun tried to stop him from injecting drugs he didn’t even need. But Sylvester stopped Se-gun instead.

"Don’t meddle beyond your place, brat!"

"B-but…"

Quietly, Song Deok-yeon inserted the needle and injected the drug. Not a combat mixture, but pure Psychedelic Moon. As it entered his body, his vision blurred again, his sense of color unraveling. The heavy thoughts filling his head were swept away like fallen leaves carried off by rainwater.

"Aaaah!"

From Song Deok-yeon’s mouth came a sound that was neither quite a scream nor quite a groan.

"……"

When Se-gun killed Yong-jin, drained the vampire’s blood, and disposed of the body, he had drunk Psychedelic Moon for the first time. This situation was no different. Even Song Deok-yeon—who had survived so long in this underworld—had to borrow the power of drugs. Such was the karmic burden of a hunter.

Se-gun could only remain silent, watching Song Deok-yeon’s face twist as he sank into hallucinations.