The Ruined World, At Some Point
The scream tore down the hallway like a siren from hell.
[Kiiiieeeeeeek!]
Heavy footsteps pounded after it, slamming against the floor with brutal force.
Thud. Thud. Thud—
I couldn’t tell if the sound was coming from the monsters that had probably overrun the entire school—hell, the entire world beyond what I could see—or if it was just my own heart trying to hammer its way out of my chest.
I had no idea.
I didn’t even know how the hell I’d ended up in this situation.
“…….”
Wait. Now that I thought about it, the second option felt a little more likely. After all, I wasn’t alone in this room I’d hidden inside. More accurately, I was the one being pinned underneath someone.
“Hyunwoo, I’m going to bite you.”
The woman leaning lightly against me spoke in a breathless voice.
Here I was, in an unfamiliar student council room, with a stunning woman who had white hair and captivating red eyes positioned over me in what looked like a craving, almost hungry pose.
If this had happened back in the old days, I would’ve been embarrassed, sure—but I also would’ve welcomed it with open arms and a racing heart. Now, though, the reality of countless monsters roaming just outside the door dragged me straight back down to earth.
Those zombies—or whatever they were—were shrieking about how this was their world now. It felt like they could smash through the sturdy door at any second. Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me if they did exactly that right this moment.
Because of that, there wasn’t a single shred of romantic tension or throat-tightening excitement in the air. All we had were desperate movements born purely from the need to survive.
This whole thing felt like a dream. A really, really nasty nightmare.
Also, it was pretty weird hearing a girl say she was going to “bite” me like that.
“……Do you really have to phrase it that way?”
I glanced at the pile of random junk we’d stacked in front of the door as a makeshift barricade. The monsters outside didn’t seem to find the firmly shut door suspicious enough to investigate. At least not yet.
“It’s my first time, so it might hurt a little.”
The woman who hadn’t taken her eyes off me since the moment we’d burst into this room. She turned my head to the side, exposing my neck, and said those words.
“I’m asking why you have to say it like that.”
“Haa… I’m nervous.”
She muttered to herself, clenching and unclenching her fists as if she couldn’t even hear me.
She was the precious friend who had saved me right before a zombie could take a chunk out of me.
A woman with the mysterious ability to manipulate blood.
A vampire who needed blood to regain her strength.
My head was a complete mess. I’d always woken up to the same ordinary mornings, expecting the same ordinary nights. Who could’ve guessed the entire world would collapse like this in a single instant?
“You’re not even listening to me, are you?”
I swallowed a sigh and let my body go limp, deciding to just let whatever happened happen. At this point, this was the only way I could survive.
I couldn’t think of a better option anyway. Might as well go all in.
The moment I relaxed, she seemed to take it as permission. Her sharp fangs drew closer and closer. Not long after, they sank into my neck.
Crunch—
How should I describe it?
The feeling of fangs piercing skin and drawing blood was like getting a slightly stinging shot.
It didn’t hurt nearly as much as I’d feared. That was a relief, at least.