Under Creature Chapter 3.3

Plop.

Jooseungtae’s heart was pierced at once.

The man looked at him with a disgusted look.

“Why you.”

He thought he would quietly crawl into the warehouse and hide, but he would interfere like this.

Drip, drip.

Blood pooled at his feet.

“Don’t, don’t touch my friend!”

Yigeom doubted his ears for a moment. The voice of his friend he hears now, and the warm liquid pooling on the floor where his hand is placed.

“Ah….”

A futile sigh escaped.

He knows the identity of this dampness all too well. It’s a familiar sensation. Because it flowed out of his own body several times.

And he seemed to know the owner of this blood vaguely. No, he knows.

He wondered if it was a hallucination, but it was so vivid like reality that he didn’t know what to do.

“Jooseungtae…?”

“Y-Yigeom… Cough! Run, run away.”

His mind went blank.

Yigeom called out to someone in a trembling voice. A solution to help this situation, a savior and a rotten lifeline.

He had no choice but to desperately grab that rope.

“Seo Dohyun.”

“It’s okay.”

“How, this… What should I do….”

Seo Dohyun speaks softly as if patting and soothing a child who has just woken up from sleep and is whining.

“It’s okay. It’s a nightmare.”

It’s just a nightmare that will disappear when you open your eyes, a nightmare that will scatter like an illusion when you wake up.

Calm down, Gyeom-ah.

I’ll take care of everything. Don’t think about anything.

The second time was easy.

Yigeom dealt with the Blood Hunter with the ability to connect spaces before he could even come to his senses.

Anything gets easier the more you do it.

It was easier than the first time.

It was the second death that even he didn’t remember, and Yigeom’s second murder.

There was no excitement.

Because his mind was focused elsewhere. As a result, his heart was pounding.

Yigeom soon checked the slightly open warehouse of the pickup truck.

“Jooseungtae.”

He still couldn’t tell if what had just happened was a hallucination or real. But his intuition was telling him it was real.

Jooseungtae secretly watches the situation through the gap in the warehouse of the pickup truck, and if he gets hurt or in danger, he runs out without fail.

Originally, he came all the way here to save his friend, Jooseungtae, but if he is in danger, everything will be ruined. He could still feel his blood-soaked fingertips trembling.

Yigeom had one more mission.

He has to make sure he doesn’t have to step in. It might be better to just lock the warehouse door.

“How did you do that?”

Yigeom turned his gaze and looked at the person who spoke to him. He didn’t bother to answer.

Creature blood is close to poison to ordinary people.

He was disoriented due to the strange phantom pain.

Then he shouldn’t get stabbed…. Is there only one knife with poison on it?

What’s more, he’s been feeling a strange sense of incongruity since earlier.

‘It’s different from the plan! Stop! Kill him after it’s all over, but for now…’

They don’t seem to be trying to kill him.

Even the poison they used.

If they had used a deadly poison instead of just showing him phantom pain, they could have killed him in an instant from the beginning, but they didn’t.

‘Yet’, that is.

So, did the previous man just pretend to talk to him to buy time?

He thought he’d play along with the conversation and stall until Seo Dohyun arrived, but he ended up falling for their trick.

They, too, had an unspoken reason to stall for time.

What is it? Are they waiting for something? Do they need me for it? Is that why they can’t kill me? And… did they lure me in from the beginning?

He thought he came here on his own to save Jooseungtae. But… he might have been ‘guided’.

Suddenly, Jooseungtae came to mind. It was suspicion he shouldn’t have.

Why did he contact him directly instead of the police, even though he could use his cell phone?

Ordinary people don’t know what Blood Hunters are. Besides, if he thought his situation was a simple kidnapping, calling the police would have been the right choice.

Why? Why? When I tried to connect him to the police, the power suddenly went out… It wasn’t because the battery died….

‘Run away!!!!!!’

‘You idiot!! Run away if you don’t want to die!!!’

‘Don’t, don’t touch my friend!’

‘Y-Yigeom… Cough! Run, run away.’

No. It can’t be.

Yigeom denied it.

He, who shouted at him to run away with all his might, who shed blood in his place, couldn’t possibly be like that.

Jooseungtae was just another victim caught in their scheme.

It has to be. It has to be….

‘Yigeom, are you really leaving? I have a bad feeling about this.’

‘…So Sanha hyung knew.’

Even if he didn’t know, he must have guessed.

Was it me who was so focused on the fact that my friend was in danger that I couldn’t make a rational judgment?

He suddenly felt self-reproach.

He needed to look at the situation more realistically. He should have seen the forest, not just the trees. It was his mistake to come all the way here instead of leaving it to the vigilantes.

What if Jooseungtae really….

“Who are you connected to with those earphones?”

The man asked.

“Just… music.”

— I’ll be there in 2 minutes.

“It was 3 minutes earlier.”

— I found a shortcut.

“Okay.”

Yigeom put aside his self-reflection and understanding of Jooseungtae, and decided to deal with the situation at hand first.

By now….

He twisted his waist in an instant. The knife stained with the creature’s blood whizzed past by a hair’s breadth.

Yigeom quickly snatched the handle and wiped the blood off the blade with his sleeve.

If there’s only one poisoned knife, he just has to be careful with this one. Then he won’t have to experience the phantom pain.

“……”

The man paused for a moment and stopped moving.

“Your fighting style is similar.”

“…Similar?”

“Yes. Just like that bastard. I think I understand what that means.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

His head was already so complicated that it felt like it would explode, and the man’s meaningless words only irritated him.

The man changed the subject as if he didn’t need to explain in detail.

“The vigilantes have resistance, so it doesn’t work on them.”

He cut his forearm with another knife and soaked it with blood.

The body of a Blood Hunter contains both human and creature blood.

Vigilantes constantly encounter Blood Hunters and fight while splashing blood, so they always carry antidotes, and later, whether they like it or not, they build up resistance.

But ordinary Hunters were different.

Even the creature’s blood diluted in human blood was enough to cause phantom pain. That’s why he dipped the knife in blood earlier. Even if Yoon Yigeom wiped the blood off the blade, there are countless ways to reapply it.

Because of this, ordinary Hunters are at a particularly disadvantageous position in battles against Blood Hunters.

The quick-witted Yigeom quickly realized what the man was trying to do, and where the blood on the knife he was holding came from. Then, it was only a matter of time before even a slight graze would put him in the same situation as before.

While pondering various solutions, Yigeom suddenly shouted.

“Sanha hyung!!”

When he was poisoned, Sanha appeared immediately and told him where the attacks were coming from.

Then he must be nearby.

“Yes!!!”

A small reply came from afar, as if he was coming up.

“I need an antidote!!”

“…Okay!!!”

Sanha hesitated for a moment, then understood the meaning of Yigeom’s cry and answered vigorously.

The trunk was loaded with various types of antidotes, but the opponent Yigeom was currently fighting was a Blood Hunter. It was obvious which antidote he would need.

Yigeom glared at the man. With this, the antidote was taken care of, and all he had to do was hold on until then. 1 minute until Seo Dohyun arrives.

It was clear. The man wouldn’t kill him. He didn’t know what his use was, but it was comforting to think he wouldn’t die.

But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be pain. Surely the man would attack him until he was exhausted and beat him to a pulp.

‘He’s coming…!’

He dodged the knife that flew towards him dizzyingly. But like a boomerang, it changed direction in the air and flew back at him.

Even a small scratch made his head spin.

Still, he could endure it for now.

Zing—.

At that moment, his body was unable to move, as if caught by something.

The man had used his ability.

A chilling blade approached right before his eyes. Yigeom squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the coming pain.

Vroom, vroom—.

—I told you not to close your eyes during battle.

Along with the sound of a motorcycle engine, Seo Dohyun’s voice came from nearby through his earphones.

“You look scared.”

A motorcycle appeared and mercilessly crushed the Blood Hunter’s head with its front wheel.

“Kuaaack!”

Dohyun, who lightly jumped off and landed, muttered.

“Idiot, you got hit twice. Do you have no learning ability?”

He sarcastically mocked the man about something he didn’t even remember.

At the same time, Yigeom, released from the man’s telekinesis, blinked blankly.

“…You said it would take 2 minutes.”

Dohyun, who arrived before 2 minutes, said proudly as if asking for praise.

“Yeah. I came quickly in case you were waiting.”

“……”

“How is it? Did I appear at a good time? You look a bit better now.”

Did he mean that he looked better now than when he was struggling with the poison earlier?

Dohyun’s large hand covered Yigeom’s cold cheek.

“Are you okay? You must have been very surprised earlier.”

“……”

It was an uncharacteristically warm hand and kind comfort. Was he talking about Jooseungtae? Yigeom lowered his eyes and quietly accepted his comfort.

His complicated mind seemed to calm down a bit.

Dohyun stroked his cheek with his thumb and continued speaking softly.

“Still, you have to get used to it. You’ll experience things like that countless times in the future….”

“Get off me, you bastard.”

Yigeom rubbed his cheek where Dohyun had touched.

Damn, it’s creepy. I felt relieved for a second? That this guy came? Who is he anyway? And I thought he was trying to comfort me. What, even if he did comfort me? Would I feel better? Ah, annoying.

An even greater sense of self-reproach washed over him than before. This time, he was even ashamed. How many times has he been through this and still doesn’t know Seo Dohyun’s personality? Is he the type to comfort someone?

While Yigeom was disgusted, the man got up, clutching his head. With a low groan, he muttered while looking at Dohyun.

“…Seo Dohyun.”

Dohyun dashed out with a flash of his sword. It was at a speed so fast that a breeze seemed to blow where there was none, and dry leaves barely rustled.

“I have no business with you.”

The man hurriedly reached out his hand. His entire upper body transformed into a creature form, making his body more solid, and he controlled a sword from behind, aiming it at Dohyun.

“Seo Dohyun! Behind you!”

Despite Yoon Yigeom’s shout, Dohyun kept his gaze fixed.

It doesn’t matter.

A surprise attack or whatever. As long as it wasn’t a vital point, it didn’t matter. He had to finish this quickly and check on other matters.

There’s probably one more enemy.

He must be hiding somewhere beyond the forest, so he had to catch him before he escaped.

A dagger thrown from the air pierced his side. It was a sword stained with creature blood. Creature blood meant poison.

While there was a small amount, its concentration was high, and there was ‘high’ grade blood that caused severe phantom pain, whereas ‘low’ grade creature blood, even in large quantities, only caused simple dizziness. Among all these varieties, Dohyun had built up a resistance that was impervious even to the ‘high’ grade.

Having reached the man, Dohyun cut him down with a single stroke.

Yoon Yigeom blinked blankly. It was ridiculously easy, he was killed in a single blow, while Yigeom himself had struggled against the man.

Dohyun sheathed his sword and said casually,

“Hesitation is death.”

“I… was trying to hold on until you arrived….”

He muttered as if making an excuse.

“That’s a good method too. But still.”

He pulled out the sword stuck in his side.

“Offense is the best defense, right?”

“Ah.”

Was he so busy relying on Dohyun that he hadn’t realized that obvious fact?

Yigeom suddenly looked at the pickup truck on the road.

It’s all over.

Jooseungtae. Now all he had to do was save Jooseungtae, but the lingering suspicion had sprouted a seed.

Just as he was about to take a step toward the pickup truck, Dohyun whispered quietly with a wary look.

“Yoon Yigeom.”

“…Why?”

“There’s one more rat.”

Thump. His heart sank.

“…Rat?”

“Don’t look around. He’ll notice you’re aware of him.”

Dohyun watched Yigeom, who kept glancing towards the pickup truck.

‘Is he suspicious?’

The rat he mentioned referred to the one hiding in the forest, but it seemed Yoon Yigeom had someone else in mind. He came because his friend was in danger, but he seemed to be suspecting that very friend.

It was understandable.

There were more than a few strange things about the situation.

The reason Blood Hunters use pickup trucks is to transport large creatures. And when escorting them, they are always armed and move in groups of at least five.

But there were no creatures, just two Blood Hunters and one kidnapped person. No, three people, perhaps.

“Do you see him? He should be in the forest.”

“Ah, no. Didn’t he already run away?”

“That’s a possibility.”

But it was hard to believe they would retreat so easily. They also seemed to have some kind of plan… Did they already complete it? He couldn’t know yet.

He wondered if he should just shoot randomly like before.

Yigeom was relieved to realize that the word “rat” didn’t refer to Jooseungtae. He still felt uneasy, but he wasn’t sure.

‘Y-Yigeom… Cough! Run, run away.’

Yigeom still believed him. He had no choice but to believe him.

“Yigeom!! I brought the antidote… It’s over? Dohyun is here too?”

“Yeah. Give me the antidote.”

Dohyun received the antidote and rolled up Yigeom’s sleeve. Yigeom, frightened by the sharp needle, hid his arm behind his back.

“Why? I’m fine.”

He had just been stabbed several times, yet he flinched at a small injection. It was good that he became bold during fights, but in everyday life, he was averse to even small injuries.

Dohyun suddenly imagined Yoon Yigeom in awakened battle mode and everyday coward mode alternately and chuckled to himself.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing. Still, you have a wound here. It’s just a graze, but you should get the shot just in case.”

Dohyun said, pointing to a small scratch.

“I’m fine now, so I’ll get it later. There’s no alcohol swab, and I don’t want to get a shot in a place like this.”

At Yigeom’s words, Dohyun finally gave in and put the antidote away.

Only then did Sanha approach roughly and check on Yigeom.

“Yigeom, are you hurt anywhere else? I’m sorry. I should have come earlier, but I heard a strange noise in the forest, so I was late because I went to check it out….”

“Which way was it?”

“Wh, what? Uh. If you go down, there’s my car, and the sound came from the right side of it. But I looked around and there was nothing there. So, exactly… 7 minutes ago?”

Dohyun clicked his tongue softly. 7 minutes ago was enough time for someone to leave. Or to hide somewhere else.

“Y-Yigeom.”

Jooseungtae, who had been hiding in the warehouse, cautiously came out and called Yoon Yigeom.

Beep, beep, beep.

Just then, the alarm went off, signaling that 5 minutes had passed.

And on the deserted road, two cars stopped next to the pickup truck.

Click, click.

Several people got out of the cars and moved with precision. Their first action was to restrain Jooseungtae.

Yigeom was startled and strode towards them.

“What are you doing?”

“We are the vigilantes. We will take over from here.”

“What does that…?”

Before Yigeom could protest, they had already started moving the two bodies of the Blood Hunters, now cold corpses.

The vigilantes were similar to the police in the creature world. They chased and caught villains. The difference was that no license was required, and anyone could join after passing a few screenings if they volunteered.

“No, but he…! He’s a victim. He was just kidnapped, so for now….”

“A victim? We are arresting him as a suspect. First of all, thank you for your hard work today. We will contact you later for a witness interview. If you don’t have a way to get back, we will escort you home.”

“…What? Wait, hold on. Do you have any evidence?”

“We’ll find out through the investigation. A blood test, for example.”

A blood test was the strongest evidence to distinguish between ordinary Hunters and Blood Hunters.

Yigeom tried to stop them from dragging Jooseungtae away, but it was useless. They kept giving the same answer. Investigation, investigation, investigation.

“Jooseungtae! Say something!”

“……”

Jooseungtae kept his lips tightly shut and avoided Yigeom’s gaze. He meekly allowed himself to be led by the vigilantes and boarded the car. Yigeom stared blankly at the scene. The anxiety in his heart grew, and now it surfaced, revealing its form.

Why? Why aren’t you saying anything? Give me an excuse. Or are you really… really in league with them?

He was short of breath. Why did I come all the way here, why was I stabbed, why….

What about Sanha hyung and Seo Dohyun, who came all the way here trusting me? Did you really betray me?

Yigeom shouted, hitting the window with his trembling hand. But the tinted windows were too dark to see through. He couldn’t even tell if Jooseungtae inside could hear him.

“Say something!”

“Yigeom… Just calm down for now….”

Namgoong Sanha hurriedly ran over and tried to stop him, but he didn’t listen.

Yigeom flung open the car door. As expected, it was firmly locked. Then….

With his fist clenched tightly, he punched the window.

Crack, the window cracked. Yigeom hit it again.

Crash—.

“Yoon Yigeom.”

He heard Seo Dohyun’s voice from behind, but he didn’t have time to answer.

Before the vigilantes came to stop him, quickly. On the third try, he finally succeeded in breaking the window.

He saw Jooseungtae looking at him with startled eyes.

Blood dripped from his hand. He ignored it and muttered.

“Tell me. I’ll believe any excuse.”

“……”

“Tell me it’s not true. Tell me anything.”

You wouldn’t do that. You, who told me to run away, you, who stood in front of me, you wouldn’t do that.

The friend he trusted wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t lure him here. But because Jooseungtae kept choosing silence, his thoughts leaned towards the extreme.

Tears streamed down his cheeks.

Dohyun wiped his tears, telling him it was enough, turning Yigeom away from Jooseungtae.

Then Jooseungtae said mockingly,

“Yoon Yigeom. Still a sucker.”

“…What?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I pretended to be kidnapped to lure you in. It was kind of funny how you rushed over like a friend. I don’t consider you a friend. I’ve always found you annoying. Birds of a feather flock together, they say, and Kang Taeha, he acts like he knows everything even though he’s nothing special….”

After that, Jooseungtae continued to hurl hurtful words.

Yigeom listened calmly without getting excited. He couldn’t see Jooseungtae’s expression because Dohyun was blocking his view.

It might be better not to see. He leaned his head on Dohyun’s shoulder. He was exhausted.

He didn’t know what the truth was, but one thing was certain: he and Jooseungtae were friends.

Jooseungtae’s words didn’t sound sincere.

‘Don’t, don’t touch my friend!’

You’re saying you never considered me a friend? Why are you saying things you don’t mean? He was willing to believe even a clumsy excuse.

“Don’t listen.”

Dohyun covered Yigeom’s ears.

“You did nothing wrong. So don’t be discouraged.”

“…That’s not easy.”

“Then just listen to me, and believe me.”

Don’t listen to anyone else. I’ll only tell you things you want to hear.

Act like my words are everything.

It was like a devil’s whisper in the midst of adversity.

He was struggling, tired, and exhausted. What made Yigeom even more distressed was Jooseungtae’s sharp criticism.

He had no strength left to do anything.

Just as he was about to nod, listening to Dohyun’s words, someone grabbed and pulled him away.

Unlike the other vigilantes who revealed their faces, this person wore a mask.

“…Who…?”

“……”

The person just silently held Yigeom’s wrist without saying a word.

Plip, plop, plip.

Suddenly, as if washing everything away, raindrops began to fall one by one.

Yigeom quietly looked up at the sky.

‘Rain.’

Soon, it poured down heavily.

The masked man took off his coat and placed it over Yigeom.

One of the vigilantes approached the masked man and bowed his head.

“We’ve finished cleaning up. Mr. A.”

“A?”

Namgoong Sanha, who had been listening to the conversation, asked back. He knew A well. The leader of the vigilantes. It had been rumored that such a person existed, but A had rarely shown himself, so everyone assumed he was absent.

‘That person is that person?’

He had heard that the position of vigilante leader was hereditary. And all the previous As wore masks. Is it that mask?

Although his face couldn’t be seen, judging by his physique, he appeared young. At most in his 20s? Is he the son of the previous generation? Then there’s a high probability that he recently inherited the position.

And no one knew about the family that had maintained the A lineage for generations. Because it was kept strictly secret.

Some said that the family lived like ordinary people, not Hunters, and others claimed that A might be a single person.

This hypothesis stemmed from the similarity in habits and mannerisms of all the previous As.

This hypothesis was strengthened by the fact that no one knew the abilities of any of the As. It hadn’t been revealed because they only fought with their innate physical abilities.

A similar example was Seo Dohyun.

Based on these circumstances, Namgoong Sanha rashly presumed that A’s ability might be related to ‘time’.

While he was exploring A out of curiosity, the vigilantes led Latter’s group to another car.

“Since it’s raining, we’ll drive you to your destination. And that…”

The vigilante trailed off, looking at the broken window. It was the car Jooseungtae was in.

A silently shook his head at him.

“He says he won’t charge you for the repairs.”

Dohyun grabbed Yigeom’s shoulder and called Namgoong Sanha.

“Hyung, let’s get in the car. It’s raining.”

“Uh, yeah! I’m coming.”

Dohyun’s black pupils rested on A for a moment before moving away.

“…Wait.”

Yigeom hesitated as he was about to get into the car and stared beyond the forest.

The rain heightened his senses.

🦅࿐

Rustle, rustle—.

Hidden among the bushes in the pouring rain, the man muttered into the phone.

“Yeah. As Adam said, A appeared.”

—Then that confirms it.

“Right. Tell Adam. A’s identity is definitely….”

Bang—!

—Hey. What’s that commotion?

“……”

—Hello? Hey, is anyone there?

Crimson blood pooled around the fallen man.

There was no time to dodge, no time to block with creature transformation. A single bullet, a surprise attack at the moment of greatest vulnerability, when all plans were complete.

A single, deep gunshot wound marked the forehead of the man who died with his eyes wide open.

Yigeom hesitated, holding the gun Dohyun had handed him.

He had just been in battle, so his senses were incredibly sharp. So much so that he could see the person hiding in the bushes over there.

The gun was pointed at him. All he had to do was pull the trigger, but his hand wouldn’t move easily.

“I’ll take responsibility.”

Dohyun, who had coaxed Yigeom with the same sweet words as before, placed his hand over Yigeom’s on the trigger.

“Shoot.”

That was the trigger.

Bang—!

Dohyun quickly took the gun from Yigeom’s hand. The vigilantes became busy, and under A’s command, several of them ran towards where the gunshot had sounded.

“How was it?”

He answered Dohyun’s close-range question hesitantly.

“…I think he’s dead.”

Yigeom quietly looked at his hands. Shards of glass were embedded in them from breaking the window, along with small cuts. Was that why his hands were shaking?

He had killed someone with his own hands. An unpleasant feeling crept up from his toes.

Was he dazed because this had happened before Jooseungtae’s situation was resolved? It wasn’t that kind of trembling.

It wasn’t even his first time, so why now?

A large hand covered his again.

“It’s okay. You hesitated, I just pulled the trigger with you.”

Yigeom suddenly had a realization. This trembling wasn’t fear of killing, or the lingering anxiety from experiencing a difficult situation.

It was the trembling of a child running to his mother’s arms after facing danger, after recognizing fear for what it was, after having a nightmare.

The kind of trembling that finally allows for unrestrained crying….

Yigeom looked at Dohyun beside him.

“You did nothing wrong.”

“……”

“I did it all.”

It was always the devil, not an angel, who appeared in the most difficult times. And as if by magic, he solved every situation, and Yigeom fell for his tricks all too easily.

He quietly nodded his head against Dohyun’s patting hand on his shoulder.

“Okay.”

🦅࿐

Yigeom, Dohyun, and Sanha sat side by side in the back seat of the car. The front seats were filled with vigilantes.

A and one of the vigilantes were transporting Jooseungtae and the bodies of the Blood Hunters in another car.

“…Hyung, I’m sorry for overturning your car. Especially in this rain.”

“It’s okay! I was going to get rid of it anyway! I’ll just buy a new one since this happened!”

Buying a car was nothing for someone who had worked as a Hunter for several years.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You must be going through a lot with your friend.”

“Then I’ll at least contribute to the cost of buying a car….”

“No, no, no! You don’t have to. My vacation is ending soon anyway, and I have to return to the unit, and I can buy a car later, so don’t worry about it and get some rest!”

“…Thank you.”

Yigeom closed his stinging eyes. He had no energy left to talk. He felt so exhausted that he could probably sleep soundly even if someone threw him on the cold pavement right now.

Dohyun rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window at the drizzling rain, and Sanha, sitting in the middle, nudged the vigilante in the front seat.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes.”

“Excuse me for asking, but what kind of person is A?”

His inquisitive nature flared up again as he took out his phone’s notepad and his eyes sparkled.

“We don’t know much either.”

“What’s A’s name? How old is he?”

“We don’t know.”

“I heard that A appeared recently. Then that means you all saw A recently as well. Is there a reason why you follow his orders? Or is he incredibly strong and overpowered everyone?”

“…I don’t think we’re obligated to answer.”

The vigilante uncomfortably avoided the question. In fact, they didn’t know much about A, just like their previous answer. But the reason they followed him….

“It must be because of Uncle Sangwoo.”

Dohyun muttered, swinging his leg. Sanha’s head snapped around.

“Uncle Sangwoo? Who is he?”