Chapter 14 – Come at me!

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I couldn’t understand why I was this thirsty for blood. Hadn’t I suppressed my vampire traits with the choker?

Shouldn’t that suppression also reduce my blood consumption?

Wait—did it mean that even if the vampire elements were suppressed, the blood still drained as usual? Ah, seriously. I wish I had some kind of user manual.

Someone like me—unprecedented even in this world, let alone the original story—had no one to ask for guidance.

Even the Monster Association, which could be considered my creator, probably had no idea what I really was. I had escaped before they could even figure it out…

Since not even I, the one who should know best, fully understood what I was, I had no choice but to discover things one by one—like a blind person feeling out an elephant.

That meant… no matter how much I suppressed my vampire traits, my blood consumption remained unchanged. Wow, what terrible fuel efficiency.

Just a week without blood, and I was already losing my mind.

Or maybe… was my fuel efficiency actually good? At least I wasn’t experiencing any severe physical consequences from the lack of blood. I had no idea—I didn’t know what was normal for a vampire.

As I analyzed my body, another wave of dizziness struck me.

Regardless, I needed blood. Now. Even the filthy blood of monsters would do. Blood. I needed blood.

I instinctively prepared to take flight but quickly remembered why I was being hunted in Romania and clicked my tongue.

I had no desire to fight a magical girl here.

I didn’t really have a plan, but I wanted my debut as a villain to be in Seoul.

More importantly, if I made a spectacle here, White might meet Suhyeok earlier than expected, or another magical girl might show up. So flying was out of the question.

…But I really didn’t want to resort to running like some low-level thug.

I crossed my arms and tapped my fingers impatiently when my eyes landed on the old transmission tower I’d been using as a landmark.

The power lines had long been severed—no danger in climbing it.

Kicking off the metal framework, I swiftly ascended to the top and gazed down at the ruined city.

Scattered lights and bursts of fire flickered in the darkness, evidence that battles continued even at this late hour.

Which meant things were looking good for me.

Spreading my wings wide, I gave them an experimental flap.

The force I generated was enough to stir up strong winds, but not quite enough to lift my body.

Was it simply impossible? Or was I just lacking technique?

…Still, my wings weren’t exactly small, so gliding should be possible, right?

They might exist purely for aesthetics, but they had to be at least that functional.

Holding onto that thought, I leaped forward and unfurled my wings.

For the first few seconds, I wobbled slightly, but they worked well enough.

A quick glance at my wings reassured me—no ominous red glow like last time. Good. No magic activation.

Another note to add to my mental log, I thought as I leisurely soared through the air.

The closer I got, the clearer the sounds of battle became.

Gunfire, explosions—perhaps human screams and monstrous roars. Or maybe the other way around. Who cared?

All of them were my prey.

All of them were beneath me.

There was nothing to fear. My only concern was accidentally running into Suhyeok… but what were the odds?

Confident that such an encounter was unlikely, I dove swiftly toward the heart of the battlefield, where the gunfire and roars were the most intense.

I descended with brutal force, stomping down on the head of a nameless monster that was being riddled with bullets, splattering its green blood everywhere.

The humans who had been firing at it hesitated, thrown off by the sudden interruption.

I licked the blood near my lips—disgusting. Worse than worthless.

So, the blood of actual monsters—not villains—was off the menu. Another note to add.

Shifting my attention, I examined the people who had been firing their weapons. Hmm. Just a bunch of criminals, by the looks of them.

“Be grateful. Even worthless creatures like you have found a purpose, thanks to my generosity.”

I sentence you to the role of sustenance.

Matching their numbers, I lifted drops of blood into the air. Even these idiots weren’t completely clueless—they pointed their guns at me, sensing the danger.

But before they could pull the trigger, my blood bullets pierced their throats.

The blood drops shot through their necks, cutting through bone and severing their spinal cords before looping back through the wounds to return to me.

I had mimicked the blood magic I’d seen other vampires use. If I could copy it this easily after seeing it once, maybe I have some talent.

They collapsed instantly, but they weren’t dead.

Their nervous systems and arteries had been severed—they’d be dead within minutes—but biologically, they were still alive.

I had left them in this state for one reason:

Fresh, living blood tasted far better than dead blood.

By now, I was quite used to blood magic, so I easily manipulated the streams gushing from their necks and absorbed them.

The moment the blood touched my hands, an indescribable satisfaction and euphoria washed over me—I almost let out an embarrassing sound.

…Ah, yes. This was it.

Maybe it was my prolonged thirst, or maybe it was the sheer vitality of the blood I was drinking, but my head spun with pleasure.

I could get addicted to this.

A shiver of delight ran down my spine, and for a brief moment, I felt a pang of guilt for the vampires I had once tortured.

I had literally drank blood in front of them as they were dying of thirst. They must have been in unimaginable agony…

‘They were evil. It doesn’t matter.’

As I pitied them, an unfamiliar voice echoed in my head.

Whose voice was that? A magical girl’s? A vampire’s?

It was probably a vampire. Even Shining White, extreme as she was, wouldn’t say something like that about humans.

…Then again, the voice had a point.

Yeah. They should’ve lived better lives.

Chuckling, I was just starting to revel in my blood-drunk state when I heard a rustling sound.

Instantly, my drifting consciousness snapped back into focus. Who dared interrupt me?

Annoyed, I turned toward the source of the noise—too late, or maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right direction.

A scrawny boy, gun trembling in his hands, stood there, shaking.

A kid?

Before I could ask whether he was with the criminals, he panicked and pulled the trigger.

The moment I saw his finger tighten, I accelerated.

I had something I wanted to try.

Even in my heightened state, the bullet had already been fired, but it moved slow enough that I could dodge it.

I didn’t.

Instead, I reached out and caught it.

As I released my acceleration, heat flared against my palm, and I saw the kid’s eyes widen like a frightened rabbit.

“Hoh. Shooting without hesitation? You must not be an innocent civilian, then.”

If he had been, I might have spared him like Nare. But no—he was out.

I swatted the gun aside and grabbed his throat.

“You. Were you with those scum?”

He gasped, shaking his head frantically.

A lie? Maybe. His rapid heartbeat suggested deceit, but it could just be fear.

I couldn’t tell. But did it even matter? He shot first.

A rotten bud should be plucked early…

…

…But he’s just a kid.

Was killing him really the right move?

‘He’d just grow up to be another criminal.’

The voice in my head whispered, urging me to end him.

I hesitated, caught between instinct and reason—between hunger and morality—when a familiar yet twisted voice rang out.

“Release that boy.”

This voice—

No way.

Slowly, I turned my head.

And there he was.

Suhyeok.

In his monstrous form.

His head was engulfed in something between black smoke and black flames, with ghostly glowing eyes floating in the darkness.

Even his clothes seemed tainted by whatever dark force surrounded him—at first glance, they looked like an ordinary coat and shirt, but at the edges, the fabric flickered like fire or mist.

I had only ever seen this in descriptions and illustrations. Seeing it in person, it was even more ominous than I had imagined.

“Are you talking to me?”

I was less concerned about why he wanted me to let the kid go and more fixated on his choice of words.

Sure, running into Suhyuk in this form was surprising, but…

He was weaker than me.

And yet, a weaker being was giving me an order?

“…That boy is my prey. Whoever you are, I won’t let you snatch him from me.”

Even Suhyuk, reckless as he was, hesitated under my gaze, his words stretching out longer than usual.

Still… Prey? Suhyuk wouldn’t kill someone for a petty reason like I would—he must have had a reason for hunting this kid.

Was it because of the job I had requested? That was the only thing I could think of that would make Suhyuk take action.

Realizing this, I found it oddly endearing. He was risking his life, stubbornly standing against me, all because he was trying to carry out my request.

Alright, fine. I’ll let the disrespect slide just this once.

But that didn’t mean I was going to let the boy go.

No matter how much of a protagonist Suhyuk was, he was weaker than me.

I don’t take orders from those weaker than me. A request? Maybe.

“If you had asked nicely, I might have considered it… but an order? How arrogant. Know your place, you worm.”

I growled lowly, laced with irritation, trying to drive him away.

“Then, I take it you refuse to let him go.”

Yet even after all that, Suhyuk stood firm, summoning dark portals in the air as if ready to fight.

If he was this persistent, then the boy must be really important to him.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind just letting this go, but my pride wouldn’t allow it.

What to do, what to do…

I guess we had no choice but to fight.

I had been meaning to gain some real combat experience anyway, so why not now?

Didn’t expect to run into him here, but hey, life is full of surprises.

Even a passing encounter is fate, right? So, of course, we were bound to meet again.

Not that I was planning to fight him seriously. Just a light sparring match.

A simple test.

“If you want to take him, then take him by force!”

I conjured a spear of blood and called for him to come at me.