The red eyes gleamed ominously as they stared at Yan’s lips. Only then did Yan realize his lips were bleeding.
Yan hurriedly licked his lips. They tasted like rusty metal. While the taste was unsettling, the stranger was staring at him as if craving it.
The man had brown skin, likely of Latin descent. Simultaneously, a pale gray aura surrounded him.
The way he had concealed himself then suddenly appeared, those eyes fixated on blood, and above all, that pallid skin.
There was no need for further explanation. A vampire.
“Why…?”
Just as Yan opened his mouth to demand why the vampire was causing trouble in a populated area, another figure appeared behind the vampire. He too seemed to be a vampire—despite his large build, his movements were silent.
“It smells delicious.”
The Latin vampire nodded at the second vampire’s comment. Even while remaining tense, Yan found it absurd. The blood from his lips amounted to just a few drops—how could that possibly smell so appetizing?
“Something our king would appreciate… the scent of a traitor.”
But the words that followed differed from Yan’s assumptions. The scent of a traitor? Wasn’t he referring to the blood? And who exactly was this traitor…?
“Good, let’s take him.”
“A gift carrying the traitor’s scent.”
The two vampires muttered these puzzling words. Yan wanted to demand what they were conspiring about, but couldn’t. In an instant, there was a flash before his eyes, and his legs buckled.
“…Ah.”
A beat late, Yan realized his stomach had been pierced. As he curled up and wrapped his arms around himself, he could see his intestines spilling out. Simultaneously, excruciating pain hit him.
“Ah…”
He couldn’t even manage to scream. Yan collapsed onto the asphalt. His vision was rapidly darkening.
Yan instinctively realized this wasn’t because it was night. He was dying.
‘So this is how meaningless it is.’
Given the dangers of his profession, he had imagined such an end before, but experiencing it was different. His consciousness was fading quickly, making it impossible to maintain coherent thoughts.
They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die, or you see things you loved, but Yan experienced none of that. Only darkness—as dense as the darkness that had settled over the entire street—enveloped Yan’s eyes.
***
“Is he dead?”
“If you were worried about that, you shouldn’t have stabbed him so hard.”
“I didn’t know he’d be this weak.”
You were human yourself not long ago, and you didn’t know? Vampire-Raul clicked his tongue in disbelief. Dealing with newly bonded people was exhausting—they had unnecessary excess strength.
“Carry him.”
At Raul’s command, the man lifted Yan. Though his intestines were spilling out, they hadn’t completely fallen out, so it seemed fine. The large man hoisted Yan onto his shoulder.
“Listen. I’m tired of giving this advice, but please stop acting recklessly.”
“I appreciate your concern, but—”
“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about the Master who bonded with someone as half-witted as you.”
Vampires were certainly among the stronger species, but they had several fatal weaknesses. To overcome these, they often formed bonds with other species. It was an alliance that shared strengths and minimized weaknesses.
Having a bond had many advantages. Most notably, it reduced the vampire’s bloodlust. Despite this, their vampire abilities became more stable, and they could function without issue during the day.
Meanwhile, the bonded individual could enjoy the benefits of being linked to a vampire. They gained vampiric super-strength and healing abilities. Occasionally, people volunteered to become vampire bonds for these advantages, but it wasn’t an easy process.
“When will you understand that if you get hurt, the Master also suffers?”
Nothing in this world could be purely beneficial. Vampires with bonds became more stable in many ways, but if they lost their bond, they suffered severe shock.
In other words, the bonding ritual was a double-edged sword. With clear advantages but fatal disadvantages, vampires chose their bonds carefully.
“If you were chosen by the Master, be grateful and careful.”
With those final words, Raul ended his lecture. He wondered if that thick-headed oaf understood anything he’d said. But knowing further words would only wear out his own mouth, Raul chose to back down for now.
“Luci caught him. She must have returned by now. Let’s head back.”
It was regrettable to have given Luci the chance to demonstrate her skills, but they hadn’t returned empty-handed—they’d captured a human carrying the traitor’s scent. A faint smell of blood wafted through the air like a celebration of victory. It came from several injured people on the street and from Yan.
Raul inhaled the scent with satisfaction and prepared to leave. His body began to blur, just as it had when he appeared.
“…Guk!”
The large man made an unpleasant sound. Raul turned to him in irritation.
“What? Stop doing stupid—”
He couldn’t finish his sentence. Because he saw the blade embedded in the big man’s stomach.
“…This is.”
A blade red as blood.
Recalling whose unique ability this was, Raul quickly adopted a defensive stance. But it was already too late.
“Ugh!”
The red blade pierced through Raul’s body. Even for a strong vampire like him, the pain was nearly enough to make him lose consciousness. Having been stabbed in the spine, it was difficult to stand. Raul collapsed like a fallen leaf and raised his head.
A man with a disturbingly relaxed expression was looking down at him.
“You… traitor!”
Procion made a slight movement with his hand. A relatively small blade lodged into Raul’s nape. Blood gushed forth. Raul thrashed, but Procion crushed his chest with his shoe.
“Win and you’re a victor; lose and you’re a traitor.”
By that logic, he was indeed a traitor. Though how long he’d remain one was uncertain.
“So, is this the method Alesha chose?”
Only harsh, gurgling breaths answered him.
“Killing all who desire peace…”
Typical of Alesha’s crude approach.
Procion clicked his tongue, thinking of his sister. Perhaps because she was classified as an ‘S-class’ powerful vampire, she tended to use force before intellect. Not because she was stupid, but because she was so strong that physical action was more effective than thinking. Until now, such crude methods might have brought her success, but sending out such incompetent subordinates was clearly a mistake.
Still, befitting his status as a high-ranking vampire, Raul continued to struggle despite being stabbed in two vital spots. Procion let him squirm briefly before lightly flicking his index finger.
“Aaaaargh!”
Needle-thin sharp blades pierced both of Raul’s eyes. An ordinary blade might have been quickly healed by his vampiric regeneration, but this was created through a unique ability. After confirming that Raul was screaming in agony, Procion removed his foot.
“…”
Turning around, he saw the large man who had been carrying Yan, now collapsed. Being a bond, he seemed to have suffered a fatal wound from just one attack. His breathing was weak, suggesting he would die soon. When that happened, his master would suffer tremendous shock.
‘This is why bonds shouldn’t be formed carelessly.’
The concerns of such fools weren’t Procion’s problem. He turned his gaze from the two dying men to look at Yan—specifically, at his torn stomach and the organs spilling out.
A moment later, a red spear-like blade erupted from the ground, impaling the bodies of Raul and the large man. A final “guk” of death rang out, but Procion didn’t even look back, much less savor this small victory.
“Yan.”
There was, of course, no answer. Procion could easily tell that he would die soon.
“I’d be disappointed if you died.”
“You were someone I rather liked,” Procion added. It was the kind of statement that would have made Yan both pleased and slightly uncomfortable had he heard it.
“What should I do?”
Knowing Yan couldn’t answer, Procion asked anyway. It was, in fact, a question directed at himself.
“What would be best, hmm?”
He murmured while pushing Yan’s intestines back in. He swallowed his regret at not having stayed by Yan’s side instead of chasing Luci.
Without even a gun, he should have just fled, but being a police officer, he probably got hurt trying to intervene—the circumstances were quite clear. Procion generally despised those who acted beyond their capabilities, but he didn’t feel that contempt toward Yan.
“Well, dogs are supposed to be stupid to be cute.”
Next time I should prepare ears and a tail, Procion murmured, laughing softly. Anyone watching would have thought him mad, but he was a vampire with the power to ensure there would be a “next time.”
“I never expected to perform my first bonding ritual like this.”
Muttering quietly, Procion wounded his own wrist and fed his blood to Yan.
***
Yan was deep in dreams. It was a sleep comparable to death. After lying motionless as if truly dead for some time, consciousness slowly returned. Yan gradually began to realize he was dreaming.
That didn’t mean he could open his eyes right away. He apparently hadn’t recovered enough to move yet. Yan tried to twitch his fingers, then gave up and relaxed. And once again, he was swept away into sleep like being carried away by a wave.
