Daylight (4)

Splash.

The shoe stepped into the red puddle that had begun to form.

The man holding a greatsword in his hand looked at his satisfying handiwork with a fishy smile.

One woman and a child, leaning against the wall, sitting and trembling.

On the body of the woman, presumed to be the child’s mother, countless vivid red knife marks were visible.

“You should have been more careful. You bitches. Who told you to wander outside in the middle of the night?”

“P-Please spare us….. At, at least the child, please…. Aah!”

The man kicked away the woman who had grabbed his pant leg with trembling hands, and began wiping his knife with a red cloth again.

“Fucking bitch with your uneducated behavior….. I’ll fuck you and then kill you, so wait.”

It’s quite a good harvest.

For him, who had spent the past few months in pleasure and amusement, preying on non-awakened and newly awakened low-level individuals, he particularly loved the emotion of fear turning into resignation.

Especially weak ones, like women and children – the rawness that could be seen in their eyes when tormenting them gave an indescribable pleasure.

“Wow, quite a pretty face too.”

To the extent that he looked forward to the thrilling ecstasy when killing them.

“M-Mommy…..”

“Haeun…..”

The woman slightly pushed the child’s back towards the alley exit, trying somehow to draw the man’s attention to herself instead.

But it was useless.

“This bitch, where do you think…..”

“Ugh! Aaagh!”

“L-Let go! Please, please!”

Slap –

After slapping the woman’s cheek who had grabbed his collar again, he exhaled roughly and threw the child down on the ground by her hair.

“Ugh, ha, uuugh…..”

“Fucking bitches, this won’t do.”

He hastily threw off his clothes, which might have seemed urgent at a glance, and was about to approach them, who had fallen to the ground and were constantly groaning, with the knife in his mouth.

If only there hadn’t been a voice that caught attention.

“Hello.”

In this clearly chaotic situation, a calm tone that seemed to echo in the ears.

The man, who felt suspicious beyond just strange, immediately turned his face and looked for the source of the sound.

It was a girl in the dim alley. Something else seemed to be visible for a moment, but what stood out were her dark blue eyes.

“What? What’s that…..”

Gulp.

What he felt at that moment was a strange sensation. The feeling of liquid-like substance spewing out of his mouth along with expelled breath.

And immediately after, a dizzying pain striking his whole body.

“Ugh, uhuk, kuhuk. Urp- Puhwaaak!”

His body felt heavy. The air he suddenly felt was also heavy and cool. Too cold.

The last thing he saw in his shaking vision was his own abdomen, slashed countless times by a blood-colored blade, and the face of a girl with an indescribable, distant smile.

Terror.

Fundamental fear began to devour him.

Endless screams strike my ears.

They gather together and make my whole body boil.

As if mocking me, who can’t escape from ecstasy, desperately and fervently.

At times like this, it becomes a night when I want to see Erica again.

“I-It’s okay….. Haeun….. it’s okay…..”

“M-Mo, Mommy….. Hic, hic.”

As I kept stabbing the man’s abdomen, I could see the child and woman, presumably non-awakened individuals the man had been tormenting, hugging each other and trembling.

[How pitiful.]

“Not particularly.”

I answered roughly and cut off the man’s finger joints. Once again, a breath, and another round of screams echoed to the other side.

“Kyaaak, ahuk, ugh, huk, p-please spare…..”

“Please be quiet.”

I cut his throat deeply because it was noisy. His breathing subsided and small groans began to be heard.

Well, these things happen sometimes. Finding out he was a wanted awakened individual after stabbing him in the heart, or using such evil power in a place like this.

Seeing this doesn’t make me feel anger or sadness. It just happened that way. That’s how familiarity works.

“Ha, haha.”

With an empty laugh, I alternately looked at the blood on my hands and the man who had collapsed, clutching his abdomen.

Anyway, it’s great progress. My life of killing only 3 people a day has now decreased to one person every few days, or a week.

My reddened vision began to clear. As my breathing calmed down, it really felt comfortable.

I lowered my gaze for a moment. A species slowly heading towards death.

Man, no, at this point, should I consider him a male?

Since he’s not human. Then I’m not human either.

An existence that deserves to die. What was it? Dhampir, was it?

Nausea swept over me. I helplessly opened my mouth and vomited. It’s dirty.

“Hic! Hihic….”

With regained reason, I looked at the woman and child and put a cigarette in my mouth.

“Wow, hello. You’ve managed to survive well.”

“P-P-Please spare us….. Pl-Please….. I’ll do anything….”

I don’t particularly intend to kill them. After all, they’re just a woman and a child. I don’t think their blood would be of good quality.

Hmm.

I wonder.

Pretending to be merciful when you’re not even human.

It’s utterly disgusting. Yeah. Since when did you pretend to be human?

Should I just kill them?

[Aureli.]

“Excuse me.”

“Hic!”

Their trembling appearance was quite pitiful.

“What do I look like to you?”

“Wh… What?”

“I mean me. What do I seem like?”

I swung my arm with an exaggerated gesture. The knife plunged down towards the man’s heart and a weak death rattle was heard.

“Y-You, ah, ugh, s-sorry!, I-I was wrong, please just spare my life…..”

“You’re trash, aren’t you, trash! You’re happily cutting off people’s breath!”

“I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! P-Please spare me!”

“Isn’t that right? Like this! Stabbing with a knife like this!”

His powerless arm fell towards the ground. The man groaned and then his head snapped with a thud.

“Shouldn’t I die too? No matter what kind of human or animal I was before, I’ve ended up becoming a bad woman! A crazy bitch! A psychopath! A murderer!”

My breathing is rough. It’s hard. My head hurts.

The noisy spirit beside me seems to be saying something.

“Here! Take this! I’ll give you the knife, so kill me with this! Come on!”

“Ah, ugh….. I was wrong…. I was wrong! Please….. Hic, huuk…..”

It’s stifling. My head is buzzing and my stomach is churning.

“Why? Why aren’t you stabbing me? Do I look pitiful to you? Am I pathetic? What am I? What on earth am I?”

There’s no strength in my arm. The knife falls and makes a clear sound.

I tried to protect my self. I tried to hold onto reason even while committing murder.

I wanted to know my own identity.

I wanted to realize it. I wanted to break the fear of the unknown. Even if it was derived from me.

Species.

Dhampir? Vampire? Human?

Or something else.

Mixed.

I agonized, pondered, and suffered.

But I couldn’t find the answer.

Then I met that girl.

Suddenly, it felt like she might be able to find me.

Evil, good, whatever, I wish she would give me a conclusion.

Although I’m spitting out words like trash and crazy bitch about myself.

Now I’m even tired of thinking that way.

“That’s enough.”

What? What should I stop?

Me approaching them with a knife? Or this useless struggle?

I turned my head to the side at the hardened voice.

The color of the street, as if embroidered with the universe, turned green and bloomed flowers.

Vines grew, filled the walls and ground, and soared into the sky.

And at the end, seemingly out of place with the changed surroundings – a man covered from head to toe in a dark, gloomy robe, flashed his eyes.

His vast gaze blurred the space.

“…They are merely weak species. It seems you are not from this side…..”

For a moment, I spat out the blood that spurted from my mouth and stood up.

“Wow, thank you for talking to someone like me. But who are you?”

Suddenly,

I felt like I had seen him somewhere before.

Our gazes met.

“Those eyes…..”

The robe fluttered and the man faltered.

“Could it be….. such an impossible…..”

All the flowers and vines began to wither. The ground cracked and dried up.

“No, if that were the case, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place…..”

“What did you say? I can’t hear you well from here!”

Red currents shook and a small spirit wrapped in a cloak floated.

[Aureli. It’s Seran.]

Ah, Seran.

It’s been a while since I heard that name.

Light footsteps approached and the rope dragged and swayed on the ground.

“It’s been a long time. Lord Aureli. I, Spirit King Seran, greet you.”

The cumbersome large sleeve folded. The man folded one arm and brought it to his chest, bowing his head.

“Your gender….. seems to have changed?”

I guess he’s still wearing the crown.

Red cubes piled up in a long glass bottle.

“Wow, is it okay to give this to me? Blood is precious in the spirit realm, isn’t it?”

“Haha. I would be more pleased if you accept it.”

“Then I won’t hesitate.”

Well, it’s a gift, and the more blood, the better.

“If I hadn’t seen the wings, I might not have recognized you.”

“Eck, the red and cumbersome ones? I’ve never taken them out though?”

“Still, I can see them.”

What is he talking about?

I ignored it and shook the glass bottle, examining the cubes.

[You’re still not dead? Why don’t you go get poisoned or something.]

“You still dislike me, I see.”

[It’s not so much dislike as physiological disgust. Would you want to face someone who caused a rebellion if you were me?]

“The extermination order was unavoidable. To crush all the corrupt higher-ups, I had to deal with the brainwashed legion first.”

This is nice. An iridescent color envelops my body. It’s pretty. I like it.

“Didn’t the princess actually want it too? He was no longer a king. He kept women close and kept alcohol close.”

“I don’t like alcohol.”

The two of them looked at me and then turned their gazes away again.

What, why are you ignoring me?

[That bastard did need to be crushed. But even if it was righteous, didn’t it almost endanger my life too!]

“I apologize for that again. I could only control up to my direct subordinate spirits. Fortunately, thanks to Lord Aureli bestowing salvation, the scenario of mere underlings killing the royal family and citizens didn’t unfold.”

Their gazes turned to me again.

Is it my turn to speak?

“Me? Well, I am an irregular. It was so hard trying to save Bloody back then.”

“You’re truly amazing. I want to emulate you. Please take me as your disciple.”

“Are you joking?”

“It’s a joke.”

“It’s as unfunny as that gloomy robe.”

“Haha.”

Ugh, I stuck out my tongue in disgust.