"Dr. Kyle!"
"Yes."
Kyle gave a brief nod to the factory security guards as he passed them. Most of them were stationed here by the League of Assassins, but they posed no real threat to him now. They were nothing more than ordinary personnel—background noise in a world he had already stepped beyond.
His footsteps echoed lightly against the cold concrete floor as he walked deeper inside. His mind, however, was anything but calm. It churned with possibilities, calculations, and a growing sense of anticipation.
Power.
He could feel it pulsing through his body, endless and intoxicating.
"Suppress bloodlust?" he muttered to himself with a faint chuckle. "Without feeding, how am I supposed to maintain this strength?"
The answer had already begun forming in his mind the moment he transformed. He understood now—blood wasn't just sustenance. It was fuel, evolution, a direct pathway to power.
As he recalled the surge of strength he had felt after feeding earlier, a trace of intoxication appeared in his eyes.
Despite being one of the League's top biogenetic researchers, he had never been granted access to their experimental enhancement serums. He had always been on the outside, observing, analyzing.
Now, he had surpassed all of it.
Stepping into the laboratory, his gaze landed on a small white mouse inside a cage. A thought crossed his mind, and without hesitation, he opened the cage.
The mouse darted out instantly, attempting to escape.
Kyle didn't even flinch.
His hand blurred into motion, catching the mouse by its tail with effortless precision. The panic that might have once stirred inside him was completely gone, replaced by cold curiosity.
He lifted the mouse, studying it carefully.
Then, slowly, he opened his mouth.
His teeth elongated, sharpening into fangs.
In the next moment, he bit down.
A faint squeaking sound echoed as he fed. When he pulled back, he wiped the blood from his lips and stared at the mouse expectantly.
Under his gaze, the mouse's body began to twitch violently.
Then—
A sharp, piercing squeal filled the room as the creature transformed. Its movements became erratic, aggressive. It snapped its jaws wildly, its tiny body filled with unnatural ferocity as it lashed out at anything within reach.
For a long moment, Kyle simply observed.
"…Why can't I control it?" he murmured, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he picked up a scalpel and dissected the mouse. The internal structure was… normal. No visible mutation, no clear difference from before.
Yet the behavior had changed completely.
Click… click…
Slow footsteps echoed behind him.
Kyle didn't turn around. His attention remained fixed on the dissected specimen, as if nothing else mattered.
"Dr. Kyle? Where did you go earlier?"
The voice came from behind, laced with suspicion.
Kyle turned abruptly, his expression calm, even carrying a faint smile.
"Dr. Lauren. What brings you here?"
"Me?" Lauren chuckled, though there was no warmth in it. "The organization isn't very satisfied with your recent work. It seems you've been conducting… personal experiments behind their backs."
Behind him stood two armed guards, their expressions cold and watchful as they fixed their gaze on Kyle.
"As long as you give me more time, I'll uncover the secrets of the blood," Kyle replied, his tone steady but slightly defensive. "There are elements within it that can't be explained through conventional science. Chemical equations alone aren't enough."
He wasn't lying.
Every time he thought he was close to uncovering the truth, something stopped him. It was as if the answers existed beyond the boundaries of science itself—governed by rules he couldn't yet define.
Especially after witnessing the Blood God's abilities…
A thought surfaced in his mind.
The end of science… is theology.
"Hah. Kyle, you've really gone backwards," Lauren sneered. "Mysterious factors? You're a scientist. Maybe you're not suited for this kind of research after all."
He gestured slightly.
The two guards stepped forward in unison, moving to restrain Kyle.
"The organization is disappointed in you," Lauren continued, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "From now on, I'll be taking over your work. All your research, your data… and everything inside that head of yours."
His eyes gleamed with ambition.
He had always envied Kyle's position—this project, this discovery. Now, it was finally his.
Immortality.
He would uncover it himself.
Hmph.
A muffled sound broke the moment.
The two guards suddenly froze.
Their bodies trembled as their hands shot up to their throats. Their fingers dug into their own flesh, nails piercing skin as bright red blood began to seep through.
Kyle stood between them, partially obscured by their larger frames. His eyes glowed faintly crimson as a subtle hunger stirred within him.
Even with his bloodlust suppressed, the instinct remained.
The desire to feed.
In the next instant, he moved.
His body blurred forward as he lunged at one of the guards, fangs sinking into the man's neck.
A wet choking sound echoed through the lab.
Lauren frowned, confused.
His gaze shifted downward—
And froze.
Kyle's boots stood right in front of the guard.
"Take him down!" Lauren shouted, panic creeping into his voice.
But it was too late.
His eyes widened in horror as Kyle's head slowly emerged from behind the guard's shoulder, fangs buried deep into flesh. The man's body remained upright, as if frozen, allowing the feeding to continue.
"…What the hell are you doing?!" Lauren stumbled back, his voice shaking.
He couldn't understand what he was seeing.
The guards hadn't moved. Kyle hadn't been restrained. Everything was wrong.
Plop.
The two bodies collapsed to the ground.
Only then did Lauren understand.
His eyes dropped to the torn flesh at their necks, then to the blood dripping from Kyle's mouth.
"Kyle… what are you—"
A crimson blur shot toward him.
Bang!
Lauren reacted instinctively, pulling out his gun and firing.
The bullet struck Kyle, forcing him to stagger slightly.
But there was no pain in his expression.
No hesitation.
In the next instant, Kyle was on him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More shots rang out, desperate and uncontrolled.
"Ah—!"
The scream was short.
Then—
Silence returned to the sealed laboratory.
....
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