Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Vampire
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I've loved visiting old art museums ever since I was very young.
The interior walls of the buildings were covered in marks left by the passage of time, and they carried that musty smell unique to aged structures, but even so, I cherished going to those old museums more than anything else.
Wandering through the exhibitions, admiring the paintings.
Stopping by the nearby tteokbokki place for a bite.
Chatting directly with the artists who created the works, sharing stories big and small.
I adored everything about old art museums, but what I loved most of all was...
The way my estranged parents, who never got along, would hold my hand without arguing for once, as we strolled through the galleries.
That love for old museums stayed with me from childhood into adulthood, and even after graduating university and before becoming an illustrator, I'd visit them now and then.
At one point, I'd gone to a museum with a girl named Han Seo-ah.
Han Seo-ah had been my friend since elementary school.
She was the first person after my parents to truly appreciate my drawings, and she became a steadfast pillar of support for me during my tough early years—a true benefactor.
Of course, her antics were always so unpredictable that they left me exhausted, and she talked endlessly, which made my mind wander during our conversations.
But thanks to Seo-ah, I could say I became an illustrator. She was my closest friend, the one who'd influenced my life the most.
It must have been high school...
She'd tailed me to the museum when I was going alone, popped up out of nowhere, and scared me half to death.
I, who was usually such a scaredy-cat, nearly fainted on the spot. When I came to, I was furious at her prank, but since it was a quiet museum, I couldn't yell—vivid memories of that frustration.
Anyway, after calming down, I'd toured the museum with Seo-ah.
The exhibition hall brimmed with countless paintings.
There, gazing at the artwork together, we'd talked...
And for some reason, that conversation stuck in my mind all these years.
"Stories are the creators' worlds incarnate, after all."
"Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah. Just looking at a painting tells you so much—what the artist was thinking, how they lived, what they knew, their skill. It's all there."
Back then, I thought Han Seo-ah was just showing off.
What did some random high schooler know about art criticism?
I scratched my ear with a bored expression, and she smirked at me.
"Someday, I'll show you my world too."
Why was I remembering that conversation now, of all times?
Was it because Red Ark, the game we'd created together, had become reality?
No, that wasn't it.
In my mind, the real reason I was recalling this moment was...
My dear friend, looking just as I remembered her, was silently mouthing at me to snap out of it.
Her desperate lip shape pierced through my haze, slowly clearing my foggy mind. It pulled me from the nightmare woven by hallucination and virus.
When I came to, Yubyeol-ha lay before me.
For some reason, she was breathing raggedly, her face flushed with tears pooling in her eyes.
Sharp fang marks from my canines marred her nape, and I had her wrists pinned, straddling her.
"Huh?"
The dumb sound escaped my lips just as a flash erupted. My body flew backward limply from the explosion.
Before I could even recover, Yubyeol-ha was mercilessly kicking my crumpled form on the ground.
"Die, die, die, die!!"
What the hell was going on? Protecting my head with my arms from her sudden violent onslaught, I racked my brain.
I'd clearly inhaled a massive dose of Experimental Awake to beat Lee Gyeo-ul, my mind had gone blank, and when it cleared, I was crushing Yubyeol-ha beneath me.
The scene in my vision was total chaos, and my opponent, Lee Gyeo-ul, was gone.
I didn't remember the process, but somehow, I'd handled it.
"Pervert! Trash! Mosquito! Just die already!"
So why was Yubyeol-ha beating and insulting me right now...?
"W-Wait, this really hurts! Stop hitting me...!"
"Then it hurts because I'm hitting you! You think I hit you so it won't hurt!?"
At this rate, her kicks might actually kill me, so I scrambled away.
Yubyeol-ha still glared at me, nostrils flaring with unresolved anger.
I held out both hands in a calming gesture.
"There might be a misunderstanding, so let me explain upfront: I truly blacked out until just now. Could you please tell me what rudeness I committed...?"
Despite my polite demeanor, dangerous flashes gathered in her palms.
Hmm, what to do?
How could I escape this crisis?
For survival's sake, I dropped to my knees. Drawing inspiration from how I'd cower as a kid getting scolded by teachers, I raised my hands above my head.
"......"
The universal "hands up" surrender pose softened Yubyeol-ha's resolve.
The flashes in her hands faded.
Her glare lingered, but the killing intent eased.
"You dog..."
Sorry, whatever it was.
"F-Fuck..."
"Please, stop with the cursing and just tell me why."
"You just jumped me and sucked my blood, you mutt!"
I glanced at the bite marks on her nape.
Ah.
Irrefutable evidence. I bowed my head.
"I really wasn't in my right mind just now... I'm truly sorry......"
Yubyeol-ha crossed her arms and haughtily turned away.
"Hmph......"
"I don't know how to repay your kindness with this blood donation. How about some choco pies and movie tickets later as thanks?"
"I don't want them—put your hands down!"
I lowered my hands and slowly stood.
Alright, time for the main topic.
Her presence here meant things had wrapped up smoothly.
I briefed her on the overall results.
"My side ended pretty well overall. The 'data' the Society was after didn't fall into their hands—couldn't ask for better. Experimental Awake's handled too, right?"
"Antonio's caught, and we secured all the users safely. No casualties. Perfect."
I offered her a fist, and she bumped it back.
A light tap said "good work" just fine.
Yubyeol-ha gazed at the sky and murmured softly.
"Only worry is what happens next... No telling how the Federal Guidance Bureau and Academy City will stance on the monsters and the Society."
The goat's remains had gone to the Federal Guidance Bureau.
That could mean the 'monsters' lurking behind the world stage might finally hit public discourse.
Just looking at the half-destroyed school around me, quietly sweeping it under the rug with Cleaners was off the table.
The plan to redirect eyes to 'Dimensional Beast Awakenings' backfired with Antonio's capture.
As Yubyeol-ha said, the future was uncertain.
"We'll watch and see."
The Secret Society wasn't some pushover that'd just take this lying down.
Led by Zero One, they'd scramble to turn the tables.
The real story twist started now.
Mid-conversation, blaring sirens echoed. Time to flee the scene.
"Details later... I'm out first."
"Got it."
Yubyeol-ha waved as I ran, vanishing into Academy City's shadows.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Aria Blood von Direwolf staggered forward.
Her sturdy werebeast body was slowly regenerating the wounds from Lee Gyeo-ul, and the bleeding had stopped, but the damage and shock lingered.
Amid excruciating pain ripping through her entire form, she desperately pressed on.
She didn't know why.
Aria, the wolf born on the plains, had known nothing but charging ahead since forever.
Even now, racing down a path others had arbitrarily set for her, she couldn't stop moving forward.
But even that had reached its limit.
Aria was utterly exhausted, mentally and physically.
Her body, barely clinging to the alley wall, finally pitched forward.
As she fell, she thought,
Yeah. This is enough...
Recalling the witch who once extended a saving hand to a mere wounded wolf like her, Aria closed her eyes.
In that moment of surrender, a warm presence enveloped her.
Aria wasn't against the cold ground—she leaned against someone's broad back. He slowly hoisted her up.
"......Who."
The man carrying Aria wordlessly moved forward.
Feeling the long-lost warmth of another person, she deemed it comforting, then slipped into unconsciousness.