Hide and Seek, Senator
Dohyun gave the girl's words a lukewarm reaction.
What a tiresome expression.
Inferior breeds, worth less than livestock. That was how the Outers — vampires and the rest of the otherkin — looked upon humanity.
Well, it wasn't entirely wrong. Compared to the residents of the Outer Land, humans really did possess pitifully meager power.
But Dohyun had, in every single cycle, climbed to a realm equal to the Demon Kings of the other world. The posturing of some "low-ranking noble" like this was nothing short of laughable.
"You'd be a baronet, then — the very bottom rung of the nobility. Quite the superior attitude for someone who can't even be called a proper noble, wouldn't you say?"
"!!"
The otherkin followed a caste system much like the old aristocracy of Earth. Dohyun didn't know the details, but apparently the two dimensions had influenced each other without ever making contact — or so the story went.
Demon Elves, vampires, Dark Fairies, Hell Dwarfs. The reason the otherkin resembled the races of Earth's myths and legends supposedly stemmed from the same thing.
Not that any of it mattered right now.
"······How do you know of us? Whose slave are you, wretch? Which Kin do you serve? Don't tell me you belong to those long-eared freaks? They were told this territory belongs to us Blood Nobles, were they not?"
Long-eared freaks. A slur for the Demon Elves.
So the Demon Elves are hiding in America too? Just how deep does the rot go in this country?
A sigh escaped him. It made sense, really — the US hadn't collapsed the moment Phase 1 began for nothing.
Then Hollywood is where the Demon Elves are hiding?
A handful of suspicious Hollywood superstars came to mind. Beings with unnatural beauty and inexplicable popularity.
"If you are a slave to another Kin, I shall grant you a chance. Beg forgiveness now, and perhaps······."
"What, is that your way of saying I scare you?"
Dohyun flashed a bright smile.
"You are scared right now, aren't you? Hmm?"
"You dare, you lowly slave!! I will show you what true greatness looks like!!"
Fwoooosh!
Blood surged up from the empty air and twisted into the shape of a spear — Blood Spear, one of the offensive branches of blood magic.
Its aura was incomparable to anything the Bloody Gentleman, an S-rank Lv. 7 villain in his day, had ever produced.
Well, vampires were the originators of blood magic in the first place. Of course they'd wield it well.
And here lay the crucial difference from the Bloody Gentleman: willpower and Soul Force were woven into the attack.
"Hmph, regret will come too late. Before the power of a great soul······!"
"Isn't that a bit much for you? The tip of your spear is trembling. You look like you're struggling."
"Die, you ingraaaate!!! Die!"
Fwaaaash!!
The Blood Spear came hurtling at him — the most powerful attack of anyone Dohyun had fought since this cycle began.
But.
Your willpower is unstable.
Dohyun unfolded his own blood magic. The very same Blood Spear.
In every measurable respect — proficiency, the energy laced through it — his appeared inferior to the vampire girl's. His didn't even carry any willpower at all.
And it was absolute law that a skill without willpower could never withstand one that bore it.
And yet —
CRACK-BOOOOM!
The girl's Blood Spear shattered into mist mid-flight.
"Wh-what?"
"You're looking a little wobbly. Care to give it another push?"
Dohyun grinned, baring his teeth.
"I had such high hopes for today. If this is all there is, I'm afraid I'll be rather disappointed."
"SILENCE!!!"
Shaaaaaak!
This time, three Blood Spears rose into the air, each blazing with even fiercer intensity than before. But the vampire girl had overextended herself; her face had drained to a deathly pallor.
Dohyun unfurled three Blood Spears of his own, perfectly matched. The only difference was that he still looked utterly at ease — as if this were nothing more than a game.
"DIE!!!"
Three willpower-laden spears shot forward in unison.
But —
How tedious.
Crack!
The instant they collided with Dohyun's spears, all three burst apart and scattered into the air.
"Wh-wh-what? How?"
"Yaaawn. That's what happens when you handle Soul Force so clumsily. Be honest with me — you're not a proper noble at all, are you?"
"!!"
The vampire girl shrieked in desperation.
"What are you all doing?! Strike him down, all of you!!"
The vampires lurking in the darkness swarmed Dohyun.
But Dohyun simply beamed as though he'd been handed a gift.
"Thanks, I love it!"
- You have devoured a Wicked Vampire (Blood Noble Class)!
- You have devoured a Wicked Vampire (Blood Noble Class)!
- You have devoured a Wicked Vampire (Blood Noble Class)!
Every last vampire became nothing more than fodder to raise his blood magic proficiency.
"Th-this is impossible······? How can a human—?"
"Shall we play hide and seek?"
"Wh-what?"
The moment the girl sputtered her objection —
Whoosh—
Dohyun vanished from his spot, reappeared behind her, and drove a knife down into her back.
"GRUAAAAAAAAAAH─!!!!!"
The girl let out a horrific scream. It wasn't merely from physical pain.
Blood Drain. The knife Dohyun had plunged into her turned crimson as it drank in her blood and life force. The little girl's face aged at a horrifying speed, warping into the countenance of an old crone.
There it is — this thing's true face. It only looked young because it had been siphoning the blood and life of others.
He could have killed her then and there. He chose not to. Deliberately letting her wriggle free just enough, the girl — no, the vampire now wearing her true form as an old hag — scrambled away from him in a panic before turning back with a face full of terror.
"Hide and seek, in case you're wondering, is a lot like your little hunting games. I'll count to one hundred. You use that time to run as far as you can. Succeed, and I'll let you live."
The vampire ground its teeth in fury.
What Dohyun proposed was a ritual the residents of the Outer Land performed when they wanted to mock their prey before killing it. To a noble proud of his lineage, it was an unthinkable humiliation —
!!
The instant he met Dohyun's hollow, empty eyes, the vampire swallowed hard.
Wh-what is this human?
It was the dread of standing before a being of unfathomably lofty soul — the same terror it had felt only once in its long life, face to face with a Blood Monarch.
Impossible. A human could never—
The vampire forced itself to deny it, but the fear would not be shaken off.
"Counting, then? One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight······."
In the end, with a sharp fwap!, it transformed into a bat and chose flight.
Dohyun counted out one hundred as promised, then activated the Blood Chasing skill. Having devoured a decent number of vampires, his blood magic proficiency had surged enormously — and he could see, with perfect clarity, exactly where the thing had fled.
Let's see now.
He pulled out his phone and opened Google Maps, comparing the destination indicated by Blood Chasing against the map.
Bingo.
Where the vampire was hiding: the home of Senator Parks.
Kalorama Heights.
The most exclusive of exclusive neighborhoods, home to the titans of Washington D.C.'s political and financial elite.
It wasn't far from Dupont Circle, where the fight had taken place, so Dohyun strolled there at a leisurely pace.
A good hunting game requires giving your prey ample time to run.
About an hour?
That was all it took to arrive at Senator Parks's residence.
Even amid a street lined with mansions, this house stood apart in sheer grandeur — a medieval nobleman's estate, if one allowed a touch of exaggeration. A castle-like wall even rose around the grounds, and rather than climb it, Dohyun knocked on the thick iron gate built like a castle portcullis.
"Hello? Anybody home? Anybody home?"
A short while later, a man with a face frozen stiff swung the door open. It was Senator Parks.
"······What business do you have at this hour?"
Dohyun played it breezy.
"Oh — Senator, is it? What a fortunate coincidence. I was tracking a villain, and the trail led straight to this estate. Might I have a look inside?"
"I know nothing about it, so get the hell off my property. The moment you take a single step in, I'll turn you into a sieve."
Vmmm—
Red dot sights bloomed across Dohyun's body from every direction. Security guards inside the mansion had him in their sniper scopes.
In turbulent times like these, it was common enough for public figures to keep armed guards — but this number was extraordinary. The dot sights alone on Dohyun's body numbered well past ten, meaning at least that many guards were stationed within.
Not just guards — villains who've committed unspeakable crimes.
Myeolak began seething with a ravenous appetite. Dohyun, synchronized with it, felt his mouth flood with saliva.
Hold it in. Just a few more minutes.
"You truly know nothing?"
"And if I say I don't? What exactly do you think a piece of trash like you can do about it?"
The senator smirked, clearly confident in his social power and political muscle.
"I'm only telling you this in case you feel like acting like a rabid dog — there's a police station one mile from here. Call it a hunch, but I asked for special patrols tonight, expecting thugs like you to come sniffing around. The moment you cause so much as a scene, the police will arrest you on the spot."
He had, in fact, passed multiple police cruisers on the way over. If trouble broke out, the police would swarm in within minutes.
"You understand as well as I do that merely being suspected of being a xenosider and being confirmed as one are entirely different things. You'll never plant your feet in American society again."
It was true. However warmly the public cheered for vigilantes, a villain was still a villain. Operating in the light of day would be impossible.
But —
"I'm afraid I don't follow, Senator. I'm not a xenosider. As it happens, I've come here tonight as a hero serving the United States."
"Ha. What kind of nonsense is that?"
Dohyun didn't stop there. He raised his phone and dialed 911.
"I've spotted a villain at 335 Q Street. Could you send someone right away? Yes, yes, that's correct. The residence of Senator Parks."
"What······ what are you doing right now?"
"Didn't I just tell you? I'm standing here tonight as a hero in service of America. So surely it's not so strange that I'd call upon the police for assistance?"
The police arrived promptly — not ordinary cops, but the HPD. Hero Police.
Roughly B-rank and C-rank awakeners; befitting the officers assigned to protect the wealthiest district, they were quite formidable.
"Did the Senator file the report?"
"Not me. He did."
"He goes by Kim. A recent naturalized citizen of the United States."
"Ah, the hero of Pearl Harbor! What seems to be the problem, sir?"
"I was pursuing a villain when I witnessed him enter this estate."
The Hero Police exchanged troubled glances at Senator Parks.
"Senator, did you witness anything yourself······?"
"I haven't seen a thing."
"······In that case, it's highly likely Hero Kim was simply mistaken. Since the Senator finds this troubling, it would be best if you headed home, sir."
"Even with bloodstains running all the way up like that?"
"!!"
Every face went rigid. A vivid trail of blood led from the street all the way to the fence of Senator Parks's mansion — the handiwork of Dohyun's blood magic, laid down while he'd kept the man talking.
"Th-that may be, but······ without a warrant, an investigation can't······"
"Understood. I completely appreciate the police's position."
"······We thank you for your understanding."
"In exchange, might I ask a few questions? Under the U.S. Federal Criminal Procedure Act, there is a statute stating that should the police be absent or lack sufficient capability, awakeners may respond to villain crimes in the police's stead — am I correct?"
"······That is correct."
"And likewise, under the same Criminal Procedure Act, any villain who has committed murder or a graver crime, or is suspected of doing so, may be executed on the spot if they resist arrest — is that also correct?"
"That is also correct."
The officers answered with puzzled tilts of their heads, and Dohyun broke into a radiant smile as he turned to Senator Parks.
"Well, there you have it, Senator? You do intend to come quietly, don't you?"
Under the gleam of Dohyun's eyes, a chill shot down the senator's spine.
"Wh-what are you planning to do?"
"Right — I'll take that as a refusal to be arrested. Now then, Hero Kim's campaign of justice begins here and now! Evidence must be preserved, officers, so please double-check that your bodycams are recording! Ready — go!"
FWAAAAASH-!!!
Blood sprayed into the air.