Yellow smoke billowed forth. Through its hazy expanse, blood-red eyes gleamed.
It was too murky to be simply called red. Too grotesquely viscous to be dark crimson.
Hence, it was truly the color of blood.
An ominous hue. As he faced it, a metallic, sanguine scent seemed to seep into his nostrils.
‘That’s a vampire.’
In most fictional works, vampires are depicted as an exceptionally intellectual and aristocratic race. While they crave human blood, their methods are often portrayed as elegant or rational.
Though some might succumb to their urges and tear humans apart, the prevailing image in films, dramas, and novels tends to be one of beauty and ancient grace.
“Kyahhhk!!”
Reality, however, diverged sharply from such romanticized depictions.
Emaciated to the bone, its grayish skin stretched taut, revealing the stark outlines of its bones and organs beneath. Lacking lips, its sharp fangs were bared without obstruction, and its grotesquely elongated limbs were caked with dried blood.
It was a creature utterly devoid of reason, a perfect beast. It was no wonder hunters often characterized them as beings driven solely by primal instinct.
With not a sliver of rationality discernible in its gaze, only the raw instincts of a vampire could possibly remain.
It was, quite literally, a monster. There was no cause for hesitation, no room for mercy. Shin Ian immediately leveled his pistol at the vampire and squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
With a resounding crack, a silver bullet erupted from the muzzle of the pistol, spitting fire.
The bullet struck true, piercing the vampire’s ear. It was an injury, yet far from a fatal blow. He had aimed for the head, but his inexperience with the pistol had caused him to miss.
Next time, he would not miss. Shin Ian took a step back, held his breath, and settled his finger on the trigger.
In that instant, the vampire’s body disintegrated into ash, vanishing from the point where the silver bullet had struck.
“…What the—”
It was a far more anticlimactic exit than he had anticipated. As Shin Ian let out a hollow, dumbfounded laugh, Alpha grinned, grasping the two revolvers he had tucked into his waistband.
“This is a silver bullet specially crafted for vampires. You can kill them no matter where you strike.”
“…Even if it only grazes them?”
“If it grazes their upper body, it’s fatal. Limbs merely get severed.”
The moment he uttered those words, a liquor bottle hurtled toward Alpha. The elderly hunter, unfazed, squeezed the trigger and shattered the bottle mid-air.
Shards of glass rained down, mingling with the falling liquor. Alpha dipped a finger into the liquor lightly splashed on the railing, tasted it, then casually aimed his revolver at the vampire who had thrown the bottle.
“Le Pen, I see. That’s an expensive vintage. Don’t waste it by throwing; pour it into a glass and bring it here.”
“…Gyaahhhk!!”
Directly in front of the DJ booth. A vampire, hitherto camouflaged as a human, bared its fangs and extended its sharpened claws. Alpha offered a wide, unsettling smile at the sight.
“If you won’t bring it, I’ll simply come for it myself.”
Whoosh!
He launched himself over the railing, taking precise aim at the vampire before squeezing the trigger.
Thwack!
The hammer struck the primer, and a silver bullet flew forth. The vampire deftly evaded the bullet, then lashed out with an elongated arm toward the descending Alpha.
Crunch!
Alpha hurled one pistol, deflecting the arm’s trajectory. Then, with his finger already on the trigger of the revolver in his right hand, he continuously fanned the hammer with his empty hand.
Rat-a-tat-tat!!
For a moment, a deafening barrage of gunshots echoed through the air.
That was the signal. From all directions, hidden vampires began to reveal themselves, slowly emerging from the shadows.
Hmph…
Shin Ian tore his gaze from Alpha, turning his head toward the increasingly pungent scent of blood.
Beyond the thick, obscuring smoke, the sleek heads of two vampires ascending the basement stairs came into view.
It would have been impossible to see them through the smoke, yet his sunglasses cut through the haze, rendering their forms perfectly clear. This was the precise moment he understood why they had handed him the sunglasses.
Shin Ian immediately aligned his sights and squeezed the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets accurately shattered the vampires’ shoulders and heads. As they dissolved into ash, scattering brains and gore, another vampire burst through the ceiling above them. It caught Shin Ian’s scent, immediately gaping its maw, and lunged.
A speed utterly impossible for any human to replicate. Shin Ian’s brow furrowed deeply; he gripped the railing, activating his magic.
Rumble!
As the word left his lips, the railing’s form distorted. The cylindrical iron mass, severed midway, tore into multiple jagged spikes, then surged forward like a volley of spears, positioning itself squarely in the path of the charging vampire.
“Gyaahhk?!”
Naturally, altering one’s trajectory mid-air proves challenging. The vampire was impaled by the improvised spear with a sickening *thud*.
“Gyahk… Gyaahhk…!”
Yet, it remained alive. It merely writhed in agony, its life force stubbornly clinging on. Shin Ian observed the gruesome spectacle with keen interest.
“It won’t die unless its weak points are struck? If its brain and heart have been pierced and it’s still alive, that’s the only logical explanation…”
Thwip!!
The moment he muttered those words, a silver arrow shot from his side, embedding itself directly into the vampire’s temple. He turned his head to see Beta reloading the wrist-mounted crossbow.
He retrieved the fallen silver arrow from the floor, tucked it into his pocket, then lightly tapped Shin Ian’s shoulder.
“I appreciate your fascination with vampires, but we are still in combat. Don’t let your guard down if you wish to remain among the living.”
“Right. My apologies. I’ll focus.”
Bang!
Shin Ian replied, burying a bullet squarely between the eyes of a charging vampire, just over Beta’s shoulder. Beta flinched violently, his brow furrowing at the gunshot that erupted right beside his ear.
“Ah, damn it! My eardrum almost burst! Didn’t you serve in the military?!”
“I’m an orphan, so I received an exemption.”
“You’ve had a difficult life. My apologies.”
Having swiftly shifted his demeanor, he drew the crossbow string, a stake appearing in his free hand as he spoke.
“I’ll handle the ones coming up to the second floor. You’ve dispatched three, I’ve taken five, so only six remain. We’ll deal with them, then link up with the old man. Understood?”
“…Didn’t I practically finish off that last vampire?”
“Don’t nitpick over such trivialities. This isn’t a competition, after all.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
Shin Ian nodded.
He gave Beta a light tap on the shoulder with his pistol, then fixed his gaze on the vampires whose heads were beginning to emerge through the gaping hole in the ceiling above.
“Let’s finish this swiftly and return.”
“Right. The after-party will be Seonjitguk (TL Note: A Korean soup made with congealed ox blood, often served with various vegetables and spices). No objections will be entertained.”
“You’re practically a vampire yourself.”
Shin Ian let out a small chuckle, then aimed his pistol.
And fired.
Rat-a-tat-tat!!
He unleashed all his remaining bullets, dispatching two more vampires. As they disintegrated into ash and vanished, a considerably larger one plummeted down between them.
“Kweo-eo-eok!”
Its cry was distinctly different from the others. It seemed to be regarded as a ‘superior specimen’ even among its own kind.
Shin Ian adjusted his slightly askew sunglasses, then shoved the now-empty pistol into his pocket.
Instead, he unfurled his grimoire.
With an empty hand, he touched the floor, activating the ‘Recreation’ spell.
Grrrk!
The tile beneath his touch warped, twisting into a slender arm that clamped firmly onto the vampire’s leg.
In the fleeting moment the vampire was startled by the sudden contact, Shin Ian yanked the arm backward. With a harsh scrape against the floor, the vampire’s body toppled forward.
“Kweo-eok!”
The vampire, having lost its balance, lay prone. Shin Ian recreated a nearby chair, reshaping it into a long, pointed stake, which he then plunged into the vampire’s elbow. Blood splattered from around the embedded stake, accompanied by the sickening sensation of rending flesh.
“Kyahhhk!!”
The vampire shrieked in agony, extending its free hand to plunge toward Shin Ian’s heart. Shin Ian reflexively pulled the grimoire to his chest.
The moment its hand made contact with the grimoire.
Boom!!
With a tremendous explosion, the vampire’s entire arm burst apart.
The explosion was caused by a non-owner making unauthorized contact with the grimoire. Shin Ian seized the opportunity, dodging the gushing blood, and placed his hand on the vampire’s leg.
“Be reborn.”
Gurrrgle…!
The Recreation spell activated. The vampire’s flesh, centered around its leg, began to melt away like water. The vampire thrashed in terrible pain, but with its arm pinned by the stake, escape was impossible.
“Kh-heo-eo-eo—”
Ultimately, it couldn’t endure much longer and simply melted away. Shin Ian left the crimson-gray liquid pooling on the floor behind him, looking down at Alpha and the vampire leader battling on the first floor.
“You damned mosquito hag! You’re remarkably tenacious! It seems you received blood directly from a noble!”
“…Damn… you, human…!”
“Oh, so you’re even developing intelligence? It truly seems a noble has entered Korea. I’ll have to stay here for a while.”
Alpha remarked, skillfully reloading his revolver.
However, despite the confidence in his voice and actions, blood was gushing from his shoulder. It was a wound caused by the vampire’s claws.
The vampire was also far from unscathed. The parts struck directly by silver bullets had turned to ash and fallen to the floor, and a stake was impaled in its throat, bleeding profusely.
Shin Ian gazed at the vampire’s faintly pinkish blood, then checked on Beta, who had just impaled the vampire’s forehead with a silver arrow.
Having engaged in a fierce struggle, Beta was also bleeding heavily from his thigh. Judging by his frantic attempts to staunch the flow, a blood vessel must have been damaged. His wrist-mounted crossbow was also broken and lay discarded on the floor.
‘Looks like I’m the only one left to provide support.’
Ultimately, only Shin Ian remained. He immediately pulled a ring case from his pocket and opened the lid.
Inside the case was not a ring, but a fish eyeball carefully wrapped in cloth. Shin Ian quickly unwrapped the cloth, held the flat eyeball in his hand, and adjusted its angle so the vampire’s image would reflect in its retina.
…Click.
At some point, a sound as if something clicked into place echoed in his mind.
It meant the target had entered the retina. Shin Ian, just in case, checked the object reflected in the retina.
Fortunately, only the vampire’s form was clearly imprinted in the lifeless eye.
Without hesitation, he squeezed the eyeball in his hand, bursting it.
Crunch!
“…!”
Simultaneously with the eyeball being crushed, the vampire’s eye exploded. With a *thump*, blood and a transparent liquid streamed from the shattered orb.
“Kyahhhk!!!”
Unable to bear the agony of its eye being crushed alive, the vampire shrieked. Alpha let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
‘A spell to crush an eyeball from a distance. Terrifying.’
Such a thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly regained his composure, aimed his revolver precisely, and squeezed the trigger.
Crunch!
The bullet, having precisely shattered the raving vampire’s head, embedded itself in the wall. The vampire, its head demolished, trembled briefly in place, then dissolved into ash and vanished.
“It’s over.”
With that last one, all the vampires were gone. Alpha immediately pulled a small capsule from his pocket and threw it to the floor.
Shhh…
Sky-blue smoke began to spread thickly from the shattered capsule. Alpha left the smoke undisturbed, turned to Shin Ian, and shouted.
“We’re evacuating the premises! The cartel’s hired van should be here by now!”
“So, to the parking lot?”
Shin Ian asked, tucking his grimoire into his waistband.
Alpha chewed and swallowed a hemostatic agent, then nodded as he holstered his revolvers.
“Yes, let’s move quickly before the cops arrive! Run!”
