Ch.44The Aborix Chase

As I replenished my lost blood, my body began regenerating faster than before.

After extracting myself from between collapsed buildings, the devastating scene around me was revealed.

The 63 Building, which had been maintaining its form in a half-collapsed state from the explosion’s aftermath, was now completely shattered.

The fallen debris had also caused massive damage to the surroundings.

Not a single intact building could be found.

“Cough…!”

I spat out the dead blood remaining in my body through a light cough.

Dark blood mixed with pieces of internal organs fell to the ground.

“Huff…”

I caught my breath and brushed my hair back.

It took only about 30 seconds to recover from such a terrible, wound-covered state.

If I had been an ordinary vampire rather than myself, I would have disappeared without leaving even a drop of blood after being caught in this explosion.

“Charlotte!”

At that moment, a familiar voice called from the distance.

When I turned my head slightly, I saw Firin running toward me.

Though she was covered in blood from head to toe, the fact that she was running meant her life wasn’t in danger.

“A-are you okay…?”

Firin’s usually poker-faced expression trembled slightly.

If I were to answer that I wasn’t okay, would Firin cry for me?

Imagining the small girl crying while hugging a teddy bear sent a chill down my spine.

I sighed and nodded.

“I’m fine.”

“B-but your body…”

“It’s perfectly fine.”

I tried moving my leg as a test.

The bone that had been twisted and protruding now functioned perfectly, as if it had never been broken.

Next was my arm.

I wiggled my small fingers to confirm all sensations were properly connected.

Everything was perfectly fine.

I was in the same condition as before entering the building.

“What happened to your teddy bear?”

I asked while examining Firin’s appearance.

The palm-sized teddy bear she always carried was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, it’s gone…”

Firin answered with a small laugh, as if my question was absurd.

She must have been quite shocked in that brief moment.

It’s quite enjoyable to see new sides of this cute girl.

However, regardless of this feeling, I was very angry.

“It must have been the Aborix clan, right?”

“P-probably…”

I nodded at Firin’s answer.

If they weren’t traitors, there would have been no need to set up a trap like this and relocate their clan hideout.

“Should we go back right now…?”

“Why?”

“Why? Because we’ve found the culprits. We should tell the other clan leaders…”

“That would be too late.”

I answered while massaging my stiff shoulders.

Even as we would be telling the clan leaders that the Aborix clan were the traitors, those bastards would be fleeing far away from Seoul.

To catch them for certain, we need to pursue them now.

“Then what should we do…?”

“We chase them.”

“How…? Do you know where they’ve escaped to?”

I shook my head.

A vampire’s physical abilities and skills aren’t suitable for tracking those who have fled.

So I’ll get help from another race.

I closed my eyes and concentrated.

My consciousness began to sink slowly.

It felt like sinking deep into a black shadow.

The sounds around me disappeared. My bodily sensations grew faint.

As my mind continued to fall toward the depths…

A faint voice was heard.

More precisely, voices.

-Th-this crayon is mine…!

-Woof!

-I’ll just use it a little and give it back!

-Nooo!

Two little girls and a dog.

The voices of Aurel, Yeppi, and Hwang-gu.

‘Yeppi’

-Ch-Charlotte?

I couldn’t see their appearance.

All I could perceive was a blurry black shadow.

The shadow that appeared to be Yeppi rippled greatly as if surprised.

-Charlotte? Where? Where is she?

-Woof! Woof woof!

Through Yeppi, I could clearly hear Aurel and Hwang-gu’s voices.

I smiled lightly and spoke to Yeppi.

‘Yeppi. Come to me with the kids right now.’

-Gasp…! Ch-Charlotte’s voice is coming from inside my head!

-Head? Inside her head? Hwang-gu! Charlotte is inside Yeppi’s head!

-Woof! Woof woof!

-Eeeek…! No! Not in my head…!

‘It’s urgent. Come quickly.’

-Ch-Charlotte…! Ugh…! M-my head…!

-We need to open her head! Hwang-gu! Press harder!

I frowned at the children’s conversation.

What on earth were they doing…?

At this rate, something terrible would happen to Yeppi.

I concentrated my mind even more.

Swoosh-

Like rising to the surface from deep underwater, my bodily sensations became clear.

An unfamiliar sensation. It felt as if two people were using one body simultaneously.

That’s not actually wrong.

I had separated my mind from my body and entered Yeppi’s body.

-H-huh! Charlotte?

The control of the body completely transferred to me.

At that moment, some large furry mass pressed down hard on my body.

“Woof woof!”

“Good! Keep holding her down!”

The body pinned down, the heavy weight felt from above.

An ominous feeling approaching my head.

All these sensations were being applied to Yeppi’s body.

I blinked and looked up.

Then I met two pairs of eyes.

Aurel and Hwang-gu’s eyes.

“What are you doing…?”

“Huh…”

“Woof…”

Aurel gaped at me with her mouth open.

She was holding up her right hand, which was overflowing with red blood energy.

“That…”

“C-could it be Charlotte…?”

“Woof…”

I nodded.

Hwang-gu immediately backed away from on top of my body.

Aurel also withdrew the red blood energy back into her body.

-Ch-Charlotte! Those guys were trying to take my crayons!

Yeppi’s voice buzzed in my head.

When I carefully shifted my gaze, I saw Yeppi’s 48-color crayon set scattered on the floor.

Judging by the open sketchbook, it seemed the children had gathered to draw pictures.

“A-are you really Charlotte? But the body is Yeppi’s…?”

“Woof… woof…! Sniff sniff!”

“That’s right. I’m just borrowing her body for a moment.”

Aurel began examining Yeppi’s body with a doubtful expression.

Hwang-gu also started sniffing with a disbelieving look.

I looked down at the two children and spoke.

“Aurel. Hwang-gu.”

It wasn’t my usual voice but Yeppi’s.

However, Hwang-gu and Aurel raised their heads at my call, as if it were instinctively imprinted.

“I need both of you to come to where I am.”

“Gasp… Do you need us?”

“Woof…!”

“Yes. I need you. Especially Hwang-gu’s help.”

“Woof…!”

At my answer, Hwang-gu wagged his tail like a propeller, seemingly pleased.

“Yeppi will tell you the location… So…”

-What? Location? Where are you?

‘Yeouido. In front of the 63 Building.’

-Gasp…! Understood!

With those words, I dispersed my concentrated mind.

Moving consciousness through shadows.

I began returning from my deeply connected subordinate’s body back to my own.

Unlike moving my consciousness into Yeppi’s body, returning to my own body didn’t take much time.

Like waking from a deep sleep, my bodily sensations gradually became clearer.

The cold night breeze blowing from the Han River.

The feeling of clothes sticking to my skin.

Even the sound of Firin’s breathing as she sat right next to me.

Everything had returned to normal.

I slowly caught my breath.

“Huff…”

“Charlotte…?”

I nodded at Firin’s question and looked around.

A thinly spread curtain of flames was flickering, asserting its presence.

“This is…”

“Humans might try to snipe you…”

It seems Firin was trying to protect me in her own way.

I smiled lightly and stroked Firin’s hair.

At that moment, I froze as I realized what I was doing.

Her small and petite appearance had made my hand move without thinking.

Worried that my touch might be unpleasant, I carefully examined Firin’s expression.

But Firin didn’t look displeased at all.

Rather, she had her eyes slightly closed as if feeling my touch.

I cleared my throat and carefully stroked Firin’s soft red hair.

“So, what were you doing?”

Firin, who had been feeling my touch with her eyes closed, quietly opened her mouth.

“I called for some companions…”

“Companions?”

“The children who were with me before.”

I wonder where they are now…

I gazed at the distant bridge.

After some time had passed…

Something very small began sprinting across the bridge at an incredible speed.

“Is that…?”

Firin also seemed to notice the movement.

What was racing across the bridge at tremendous speed was Hwang-gu with two girls on his back.

It was a speed incomparable to his normal running pace.

Because of this, Aurel and Yeppi were dangerously bouncing on Hwang-gu’s back.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

Hwang-gu, who had covered the long distance in an instant, stopped in front of me with a gust of wind.

Immediately after, Aurel and Yeppi tumbled off Hwang-gu’s back.

“Eeek…!”

“Ugh…!”

I tossed a blood fruit to Hwang-gu, who must have been exhausted from running all the way here.

“Woof!”

“Th-this dog is…”

“Grrrr!”

Hwang-gu bared his teeth at Firin’s words.

It was as if he was saying he wasn’t a dog.

But to anyone looking, Hwang-gu was unmistakably a large dog.

I stroked Hwang-gu’s head and whispered in his ear.

“Hwang-gu.”

“Woof…!”

“Can you smell the vampires from inside there?”

“Woof, woof!”

“Human scents are good too. Anyway, we need to follow those scents.”

“Woof!”

Hwang-gu began wagging his tail vigorously at my request.

Then he fearlessly leaped into the ruins of the collapsed 63 Building.

“Sob, sob… Charlotte…”

While watching Hwang-gu, Yeppi crawled along the ground and grabbed my ankle.

Wondering why, I looked down to see her with tears streaming down her face.

“Sob, my, my crayons…!”

Yeppi began explaining why she was crying like this.

To be honest, what happened to Yeppi’s crayons wasn’t very important, but seeing my child crying like this made my heart ache too.

I stroked Yeppi’s head and said:

“I’ll get you better ones later.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes.”

“Sob…”

Yeppi nodded at my words.

After stopping her tears, she slipped into my shadow.

I let out a small laugh at the sight.

Even when she was using the name Cheon-hwi, she was always grumbling about everything, but when did she become so cute?

Not bad. It was a quite satisfying change.