I waited for Yubyeol-ha in front of the school gate, taking in the sights of Arcana.
As the city that claimed the biggest slice of Academy City, Arcana came damn close to perfecting that near-futuristic aesthetic.
The main building at Arcana's heart stretched out in neat white concrete walls shaped like a sharp zigzag.
Machines mounted on the outer walls beamed slogans into the air—"World Freedom Guardian Dedication" and "Who Dares Wins."
Even at this hour, when most students should've already headed home, the lights showed no sign of dimming.
Flanking the main building were two standout modern structures that immediately caught the eye.
Those were the annexes, the ones that popped up all the time in the story.
Cutting-edge training rooms where you could battle holographic dimensional beasts or virtual ones. Gyms loaded with the latest gear, lounges, and more—the annex was packed with facilities tailored for Arcana cadets.
It was the spot where Yubyeol-ha and Kim Si-hu always hung out after classes in the story. Absent any curveballs, she'd probably be grinding away in the training room right about now.
A model student, the kind who inspired her peers.
A royal pain in my ass, though.
I'd been checking my smartphone for thirty minutes when Yubyeol-ha finally showed.
She emerged from the annex, not in the uniform from this morning but in training gear.
Rubbing her eyes, Yubyeol-ha walked right up to me.
"Never thought you'd walk right up to me on your own. Gotta say, I'm shocked."
The hostility rolling off Yubyeol-ha was crystal clear.
Her glare was so vicious it made my body shake on instinct.
That's when I got what real killing intent felt like.
Like a tiny critter staring down some massive predator.
"Gotta hand it to you for the balls and backbone. But fuck... you ready to pay for screwing around with a student from another school?"
Yubyeol-ha looked one second from smashing her fist into my face.
Tinderbox situation.
I shoved down the fear exploding inside me and kept talking.
"Wanna move somewhere else? Looks like we've both got plenty to say. Might as well find a quiet spot, right?"
Yubyeol-ha glanced around for a second, then started walking without a word. We ended up in a quiet alley.
Shadows stretched long under the sinking sun.
Tension hung thick in the air.
In the suffocating silence, Yubyeol-ha broke it first.
"I got the full story from your little lackey. Handing out sketchy drugs, passing 'em off as doping agents, telling him to peddle them to students—all you, Baek Do-hyun."
She jabbed my chest with her index finger.
"I know a ton about that drug."
"Curious just how much."
"It's the shit that jacks up your erosion rate by force, turns people into monsters. You fucking bastard!"
My body got shoved back.
Yubyeol-ha had palm-struck my chest.
"You know your stuff about the drug."
I brushed off my chest, playing it cool as I stared her down.
She locked eyes with me, her golden irises blazing.
"Then you know plenty. And that's not even the half of it."
Yubyeol-ha whipped out a pistol from inside her clothes and jammed it against my forehead.
"You know why I didn't rat you out to the Federal Guidance Bureau?"
I knew.
Because reporting it meant she couldn't claim her prey herself.
"I know the real identities of the monsters sneaking into Academy City. And that you're one of 'em? Yeah, I know that too."
Yubyeol-ha bared her teeth.
Those chompers looked sharp enough to shred my flesh.
Twisted smile on her face, Yubyeol-ha kept going.
"Hey, monster. Bet you've had a blast blending in with humans, playing pretend. But game's up."
She pressed the barrel right up to my forehead, finger itching on the trigger.
"I've already bagged four anomalies myself. I don't pass my kills off to anyone. Gonna set a new record today. Got any last words?"
Yubyeol-ha meant every bit of it.
Her hatred for anomalies, her bloodlust for me—it was all real.
A few seconds from now, she'd pull the trigger, and I'd have a gaping hole between my eyes.
With her powers, covering up the kill would be a breeze. Even if she got caught, her squeaky-clean rep would make faking an alibi child's play.
Just like those four kills weren't flukes—this sharp hunter didn't bluff.
The prey had walked right up to the hunter.
I'd dug my own grave. But even if I hadn't come today, it was bound to happen eventually.
No regrets on my choice.
"You can't kill me."
Better to corner her one-on-one while I still had some leverage.
Yubyeol-ha shot me an incredulous look, then growled low.
"Some last words."
As Yubyeol-ha passed her death sentence, space warped.
The edges of everything in my vision blurred.
Like dumping a bunch of paints in a bucket and stirring—lights started blending together.
Yubyeol-ha's form dissolved into abstract strokes: points, lines, shapes, colors.
Her broken superpower, Ahura Mazda—total control over every light in her line of sight.
"Bye, trash."
All light in my vision vanished.
Stranded in pitch black where I couldn't see shit, I just stood there.
Bang—!
The gunshot rang out, bullet firing.
Even a vampire with superhuman physique dies from a special round designed to punch through dimensional beast barriers straight to the brain.
In Yubyeol-ha's eyes, she'd seen it clear: bullet tearing through my forehead, me crumpling.
But this clever hunter would clock the glitch any second.
Had to end it before then.
Or it was game over.
"Huh...?"
Right on cue, Yubyeol-ha sensed something off.
The moment she tried to back off, my hand clamped around her throat.
I'd never thrown a punch in my life, but vampire strength made it work somehow.
"Kkh...!"
"No funny business. I can snap your neck like that."
A vampire's grip could pulverize concrete walls.
She felt it real-time: no bullshit in my threat.
The barrier shielding her neck melted away in flames.
The smothering darkness finally lifted.
The crimson sky had turned to black canvas; streetlights and building glows ushered in evening, subbing for the sun.
That's when Yubyeol-ha finally saw it.
Why she'd ended up like this.
⚙ TRAIT ACTIVATED ⚙Level 1 - Hypnotic Eyes Eyes that delude people. Can show illusions to targets staring into the eyes. Evolution Conditions: Evolution Points 100, Establish alliance with Yubyeol-ha.
My eyes blazed with a vicious red glow.
Her golden eyes crossed with my crimson ones.
Yubyeol-ha and I had been locked eyes from the start.
Perfect setup to trigger the mystery trait. I'd fooled her completely.
"Gak... cheap... trick...!"
Even with her neck one squeeze from breaking, Yubyeol-ha's fire didn't break.
She rallied her power to activate her ability again.
Yubyeol-ha was heaven-blessed talent incarnate, but this vampire Baek Do-hyun packed equal heat.
Raw power that laughed at physics, plus senses sharp enough to sniff out danger from tiny air shifts or flickers of light in my vision.
"Told you no funny business."
I sensed the threat, hoisted her body to slam her down—but a flash exploded in the dark alley first.
The blast hurled my body backward.
Kaboom!
I flew powerless several meters.
Saw the sky flip upside down, then tumbled across the ground.
My full-body barrier kept major damage at bay, but it hit like a car wreck—couldn't get my shit together easy.
Blood trickled from my forehead.
Heart hammering.
No pain—adrenaline rush or numb to it—but my whole body shook.
Seeing my own blood made it hit: I could actually die here.
My opponent wasn't walking away clean either.
Yubyeol-ha staggered to her feet, blood dripping everywhere, barely holding up.
Her own blast had clipped her too.
Good thing I'd stripped her barrier first.
"Kaha..."
I braced against the wall and scrambled up too.
Yubyeol-ha wiped the blood trickling into her eyes with the back of her hand, grinning like it was fun.
"Yeah. They all dropped too easy till now... Hunting's supposed to be life-on-the-line shit. Let's play for real..."
Explosions and gunshots echoing in the alley, yet no footsteps, no voices.
Thanks to the iolite necklace glowing around Yubyeol-ha's neck.
Her parents' heirloom, with its space-isolating power.
This alley was cut off from the world—just her and me.
Which meant no leaving till one of us dropped.
Life never follows the script.
Trapped in this nightmare of bare-knuckle brawling with the hunter, I clenched my fists tight.