Chapter 19 – An Unsettling Power

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ Ｋ​ａｔＲｅａｄｉ​ｎｇＣａｆ​ｅ​

As I walked toward the motel, I mentally added today’s findings to my internal notepad.

First, Even in human form, walking under the sun for roughly an hour becomes dangerous.

It’s probably because more of my skin gets exposed to sunlight when I take off my clothes, but still—sunlight remains a threat to me.

Second. Sunlight slowly eats away at my strength. In this form, I barely noticed it, but in my monstrous form… I’d probably feel it the moment I was exposed.

So today’s conclusion: Never, ever move around in the daytime while in my monstrous form.

Not that I’d ever need to. I shouldn’t have to. If I’m already struggling this much in my human form, then once my vampiric traits intensify…

Ugh. I’d probably get roasted instantly.

I shuddered at the mere thought, rubbing my shoulder, which still throbbed from the burns.

…These wounds won’t heal naturally, will they? Whatever the case, they were caused by the sun.

They’ll stay until I drink blood. Ugh, they sting.

That aside… I reflected on whether I went too far to prove my point. No, I meant to go a little overboard.

I just… wanted to see Suhyeok’s guilty face. That guy acts all stiff, but he’s not the type to enjoy seeing others suffer—at least, not unless they were enemies.

So yeah, I wanted to watch him feel guilty and suffer a bit, but I never expected to just collapse like that.

If he hadn’t been there… hmm. I probably would’ve turned into charcoal over time.

Not like anyone would’ve come to pick me up. Who in their right mind would carry off a woman hot enough to literally give off smoke?

…Actually, Suhyeok might have.

Even if he didn’t know me, I feel like he still would have. He’s the kind of guy who saves people without expecting praise—he just thinks it’s the right thing to do.

Of course, this wasn’t exactly a life-or-death situation for him, but still, it must’ve been  hot. And yet he endured it, carrying me on his back or in his arms. I couldn’t have done that.

If I were in his shoes… who knows? But I know I wouldn’t have done it like he did.

…Honestly, when he said it was only natural, my heart raced—but I also felt a wall between us.

I knew why. The moment I heard those words, I realized—this guy is different.

Even in a desperate situation, his sense of morality remained intact. That’s what makes a protagonist.

As for why my heart raced… Hmm. Maybe out of pure respect. I was genuinely impressed. I wouldn’t have been able to think selflessly in that situation.

“If only there were more people like him in the world—noble and righteous—this world would be a much better place.”

I wasn’t sure if that was my thought or the voice in my head. But does it matter? It was true either way.

…Then again, he was designed to be a character like that. No wonder he’s unrealistically kind!

If I kept thinking like this, I’d spiral into depression, so I chose a more optimistic train of thought. Dwelling on negativity wouldn’t help.

Alright, let’s see. I got his contact info. Earned his trust.

Now, I just need to keep this relationship going, throw some fake requests his way, and push him into various encounters or winnable battles.

He’s weak, so I have a duty to toughen him up—so that his kindness doesn’t crumble under the world’s cruelty.

Because someone like him should be the one leading the world.

It’ll be a long, painful road for Suhyeok, but, well. I’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t break.

Alright, future plans set. Suhyeok, I’m doing this for you, so don’t you dare break in the middle of it.

Feeling optimistic, I returned to the motel and threw off my clothes—only for Narae to gasp in horror.

“Oh my god, your body…! Did you roll through a fire pit or something?! Those burns—!”

“Oh, close enough, but it’s none of your business.”

“What the hell happened to you?! Oh, wait, I know! You got caught up in something on the way here, didn’t you?! I told you—wandering around Incheon alone is dangerous—”

…Why is she worried about me? Shouldn’t she be happy if I died? I thought about it for a moment, then realized—no, that wasn’t it.

I’d made a lot of enemies. Narae probably figured she needed me around to protect herself from them.

“It’s not that. And those guys? They’re nothing to me. Even when I’m holding back, I still have standards.”

“Then what the hell happened—?!”

Hmm. What would get the most amusing reaction out of her?

Ah, right. That.

“It’s a secret.”

“Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”

 

Even right before the main story event triggered, I was still stuck in Incheon—because my monstrous form still had burns.

This wasn’t some low-tier freak’s debut—I was a special-grade monster. The whole world’s eyes would be on me. I couldn’t show up with burn marks all over.

I’d already planned my entrance lines and my alias as a monster. But if I showed up looking like I’d rolled through a bonfire for five seconds? My presence would be ruined.

If not for this, I’d already be out there preparing for my grand debut.

But I never imagined wounds from my human form would carry over to my monstrous form.

I mean, my body melts down and reconstructs itself when I transform. Shouldn’t that be enough to heal simple burns?

Even if they were caused by sunlight?

If I can’t regenerate from this, then I guess transformation alone isn’t enough. Whatever. I just need to drink some blood and recover.

The main story event starts in a few hours.

With that in mind, I grabbed a random thug causing trouble on the street and was about to slit his throat when a long-forgotten question surfaced in my mind.

Why do I hesitate to drink blood directly with my mouth?

Hmm. Time was tight, but…

Meh, I could just fly there quickly. It’s not like I’d pass out or anything. Might as well test it out.

And with that utterly careless thought, I sank my teeth into the thug’s neck.

That’s when—

“Illye, think about it. A world where everyone understands each other. Where the boundaries between you and me disappear, leaving only ‘us’ behind.”

“I don’t know, Mother. That… sounds terrifying.”

“Fufu, you might think so. But imagine it—everyone cherishing each other as they do themselves. Isn’t that beautiful?”

“If that’s what you believe, Mother, then I have no argument…”

…A memory surfaced. Was this mine? No. It wasn’t mine. This was…

My memory. The memory of my purest blood—before I became this.

It had been buried beneath ‘me,’ but my own actions had awakened it.

How ironic. The jailer who confined me also became the one to momentarily set me free.

Not that she even realized she was a jailer.

I didn’t resent her. How could I hate what I would eventually become? How could I despise my own self?

But watching her fail to wield my power properly was frustrating. Maybe I should leave her a gift.

If I wanted to escape this prison, I needed to stain my jailer a little more… with blood.

Throwing aside the completely drained corpse, I instantly seized a thug lurking nearby—some worthless vermin.

Watch closely, jailer. This is how you properly use blood.

I embraced the vermin, shielding it with my wings so that no one could witness what was about to happen.

Then, I absorbed it into my body, merging it with myself.

After such a clear demonstration, even a fool should be able to follow along.

I could feel it—the jailer was starting to rise to the surface again, panicked and confused.

No need to worry.

I am you, and you are me.

There is nothing to fear…

 

…What the fuck just happened?

I know I didn’t do that, and yet my consciousness remained sharp the whole time.

What the hell was that?

No—more importantly, the mention of Illyé… If I heard that, then I must have just witnessed the memories of a vampire elder. Right?

Was that a different Illyé?

No. It was the same one.

Confusion swirled in my head. And to make things worse, the memories of that scumbag I had just absorbed were forcefully shoved into my mind as well.

They were worthless and insignificant, but the sheer volume of information made my head feel like it was going to explode.

Wait, wait, wait. Let’s sort this out.

So, I drank blood with my mouth, and in that moment, I lost control of my body.

And in that brief window, the vampire elder took over, demonstrated how to properly use blood by absorbing an entire human being, and showed me that when I absorb someone, I also inherit all their memories.

And now my head hurts like hell.

I had always assumed the voice in my head belonged to the vampire, but… it was Shining White’s voice?

That can’t be right.

There’s no way a former magical girl would say something like that—

…Ah.

Right.

She did negotiate with Zodiac, didn’t she?

Holy shit, Shining White. What the hell were you doing back then?

Even as I reeled in shock, curiosity about her past grew stronger.

And then there was the vampire elder.

What the hell was their deal?

Just grabbing some random person off the street and absorbing them like it’s nothing?

I mean, sure, the guy was probably human garbage—someone who didn’t deserve to live.

But still.

The act of absorption wasn’t the problem.

The problem was how effortlessly the elder did it.

Not even a moment of hesitation.

And judging from their thoughts when they took control of my body, they genuinely saw nothing wrong with it.

Damn.

So that’s why I always avoided drinking blood with my mouth.

Somewhere deep down, I must have known—

Every time I drank blood this way, that lunatic would take control.

That’s why I had always instinctively refused to do it.

But then why didn’t this happen the first time I drank blood after being released?

…Oh.

That time, I was literally on the brink of death.

I had already seen firsthand how weak a vampire becomes when starved of blood.

Ten years without feeding must have weakened even an elder.

Now that I have an abundance of blood, they’re slowly creeping back out.

One thing’s for sure—I am never drinking blood with my mouth again.

The sensation of losing control, of having something else inside me seize my body—

That was beyond horrifying.

Ugh, I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity for a second, and now I’m dealing with this shit.

…It’s good to have discovered another ability, sure.

But not like this.

Shuddering at the lingering, sickening sensation of having completely consumed a human being, I glanced at the dead man’s watch.

The time was almost up.

This wasn’t the moment to dwell on what had just happened.

I needed to get to Seoul—now.

I could process this nightmare later.

But missing the main event? That was not an option.

Unfurling my wings, I took to the sky, flying at full speed toward Seoul.