01. Encounter

The Hunting Dog’s Principles

1. A hunting dog cannot speak.

2. A hunting dog unconditionally obeys its master’s commands.

3. A hunting dog does not eat humans it has hunted without its master’s permission.

4. A hunting dog protects its master from vampire hunters.

5. A hunting dog does not disclose information about its kennel.

A hunting dog that violates these principles will be shot by the trainer.

A torrential downpour threatened to swallow the earth. The sky, draped in dark clouds, devoured all light, and the streetlights near the reservoir, bound by a greenbelt, were buried in fog and rendered useless.

On a pitch-black night with less than two meters of visibility, the only thing a lost outsider could rely on was the headlight of his motorcycle. The night forest was no longer just a collection of trees. It was a black den where monsters crouched, holding their breath, waiting to snatch a life.

“Damn it, if I had known it would be like this, I would have just driven the car.”

Namwon muttered a curse under his breath, throwing off his soaking wet raincoat. The thin piece of vinyl could only handle a drizzle at best. It was no match for the waterfall-like rain. The rustling sound unique to vinyl irritated his nerves.

A sense of unease washed over him. Making such noise in the dark reed beds was like advertising, “I’m here.” It increased the probability of him becoming prey rather than a hunter. Unfortunately, in terms of the food chain, they were much stronger and more advantageous predators.

Namwon composed himself and tried to retrace his steps. However, the more he pushed aside the stiff reed leaves and stubbornly moved forward on his bike, the greater his confusion grew. He had no idea where he was. Even looking at the map app on his phone was useless. The red marker indicating his location floated in the middle of the reservoir. According to the map, he was a water ghost.

“Still, I’m almost there now. I’ll find it if I search carefully.”

Namwon started the engine of his bike and surveyed his surroundings. The wide, soaked reed field swayed back and forth in the wind. Every time the brown waves rippled to either side, he had the illusion that a wild beast was approaching step by step.

A chilling coldness seeped into his bones, making his hair stand on end. He felt a shiver. A familiar voice echoed a warning in his mind.

“Remember. Vampires are a strong race with the eyesight of an eagle, the biting force of a crocodile, the nose of a shark, and the legs of a cheetah.”

“Remember. If you encounter a vampire alone, never try to fight it.”

“Remember. For them, humans are always ‘food’.”

Vampires. A race that sucked blood. Intelligent beings with immense power and a hunger for blood. An immortal calamity that had always been beside humanity since the dawn of civilization.

Vampires had their own world, culture, and principles. They operated in the shadows, regulated their own population, and maintained close relationships with the political and business circles of various countries, secretly helping each other.

Namwon stroked the vampire countermeasures strapped to his thigh. This gun loaded with silver bullets was the only poison that worked on vampires. A blessing that destroyed their terrifying regenerative abilities and ended their near-eternal lives. Something not granted to just anyone, only something a vampire hunter could possess. At the same time, it was a symbol of being human.

“Just one cigarette.”

The voice of the person who had been sending warnings into his mind now spoke in his ear. Namwon turned his head and stared at the colleague standing next to him. A man wearing a black mustang jacket without a raincoat casually shook the rainwater from his hair.

How can he still look handsome even when he’s rained on?

Namwon felt inexplicably annoyed. Unlike himself, who was turning into a wet rag, that guy looked like he was posing for a photoshoot.

“Senior. How can you be thinking about cigarette smoke going down your throat in this situation? What if they smell it over there?”

“It’s raining.”

“Of course, the rain might have dulled their sense of smell… but still, it can’t hurt to be careful, right?”

“Yeah. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”

Still the same. This inconsiderate senior bastard.

Namwon glared at the black-brown head of his senior, who calmly put a cigarette in his mouth.

Kwon Doyoon. Age and nationality unknown. The best vampire hunter in the country, with striking looks. However, he had the worst personality, barely maintaining a balance of human decency.

He was a monster who not only dealt with vampires begging for their lives without batting an eye but would even hum a dirge with a smile.

He also had a nasty habit of causing trouble for the Hunter Association with his arrogant attitude and unpredictable behavior. But none of the higher-ups could restrain the eccentricities of Hunter Kwon Doyoon. Why? Because his skills were overwhelming.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Doyoon, having finished his cigarette, started his motorcycle.

“No, Senior, wait a minute!”

Namwon instinctively grabbed his senior’s arm to stop him, then released it in surprise. The muscles under his palm were incredibly hard and solid. It felt less like touching a person and more like touching a rock.

“What.”

“No, shouldn’t we walk from now on? No matter how hard it rains, those guys have sensitive ears, so they’ll notice the engine sound right away. Riding the bike is the same as announcing our location to the enemy. We’ll miss our chance to ambush!”

“I don’t like walking.”

Doyoon raised one eyebrow with a serious expression. Namwon gaped at him in disbelief.

“This crazy senior bastard…”

“And who said anything about ambushing?”

“...You did!”

“When did I? I said I was going to do a surprise attack.”

“Yeah! To do a surprise attack, you need to ambush…”

“No. I’m just going to do a surprise attack, that’s it.”

Vroom!

Before Namwon could say anything, a loud engine sound erupted from Doyoon’s motorcycle. The front wheel lifted powerfully like a horse’s hoof. Doyoon fearlessly sped through the rain-soaked reed fields. To catch up, Namwon cursed and hurriedly got on his own bike.

“Damn it, I knew it would be like this. This is why I didn’t want to team up with that bastard!”

To start with a sudden surprise attack… Yeah, that guy might succeed, but the person who came with him could die. Charging in just because he doesn’t like walking. He’s like the only one who matters in the world! Once this is over, I will never work with him again.

Namwon made his fortieth resolution and chased after Doyoon.

#1

Drip… drip… drip.

The sound of liquid endlessly filled her eardrums. A fishy, earthy smell brushed past her nose. It seemed to be raining. Not the liquid flowing within a body, but clear water falling from the sky.

Bibi twitched her nose, greedily inhaling the scent. With her hands and feet bound, her vision obscured, and trapped within a cage that made it difficult even to steady herself, smelling the rain and hearing its patter was a special occurrence.

Bibi felt the change in the weather with her whole body. With her sight controlled, her other senses became ten times more acute. The sound of raindrops hitting the bars, the smell of earth, the faintly fishy taste of water, the damp air touching her skin…

“Ah! You son of a bitch. You should’ve shielded me there.”

“Why are you blaming me for your sudden rush, you bastard?”

The two owners, having drunk their fill of the human blood Bibi had hunted, were engrossed in a game, intoxicated.

“Hey, but does this hunting dog always bring back dying old people?”

One of the owners, annoyed by a lost game, turned to Bibi and grumbled with displeasure.

“It hasn’t been long since she became an adult. She’ll probably bring back a young one soon. Let’s wait and see.”

“Wait? We even took out our security deposit for this rental. Rewards and punishments have to be clear. Did you give her blood? Is just tying her up like that enough? They said we don’t need to feed her, right?”

“I gave her a spoonful of what was left over earlier. Just enough so she doesn’t die. And the trainer said to tie her up like that and blindfold her when she’s not hunting to block her senses. He said to only let her feel hunger.”

“Why?”

“So she can’t think for herself. They said making her only feel the thirst for blood makes her easier to handle.”

“Makes sense.”

Bibi, curled up, listened to the conversation between the two owners. One had a thick voice, the other a squeaky, hoarse one. She didn’t know their faces well.

From the moment she arrived here, Bibi’s eyes had been covered with a blindfold, her mouth gagged, and her hands and feet bound, preventing her from moving freely. In short, all her senses were blocked.

The only time her restraints were removed was when she hunted humans. Only when she was so hungry that she felt like she was going to die would the owners drag Bibi out of her cage.

It was always night. Once released, she didn’t even have a chance to properly look around. Overwhelmed by hunger, she would be fixated on finding a suitable human to hunt. Like a wild beast, she would lie in wait in the fields, and when a human appeared, Bibi would immediately rush and bite their neck. The prey was usually elderly, and she rarely failed.

But she couldn’t properly taste the blood of the humans she hunted. The owners took all the blood for themselves. They would only give Bibi a meager two sips before putting the muzzle and blindfold back on and throwing her back into the dark cage. Trapped inside the iron bars, Bibi had to endure hunger until the next hunt.

Vroom.

Amid the relentless downpour, a jarring mechanical sound mixed in. Bibi, sensitive due to hunger and the rain, noticed the change. A faint smell of smoke drifted in. It was getting closer and closer.

“Awooo…”

Bibi lifted her head and sent out a warning signal about the intruder. But the gag prevented any proper sound from coming out. In fact, this was the best she could do. Bibi was a hunting dog. A hunting dog cannot speak human words.

Vroooom!

The jarring sound now grew as loud as thunder. Bibi recognized the need for a more active warning signal.

“Woo!”

As she let out a louder howl, she heard the sound of a chair being pushed back and an owner approaching.

“What is it? Are you hungry?”

“Awoo!”

“What’s with that ‘woo’? It’s annoying. Can’t you be quiet?!”

The owner, disturbed in his game by Bibi, was very angry. He took out an iron club that was leaning against one side of the container. Taking out his anger on the hunting dog whenever he was stressed or annoyed was his peculiar hobby.

“Hey. Take it easy. We still need to make her hunt again.”

The owner with the thick voice cautioned him.

“You just focus on the game, you idiot.”

“I am, hey, wait a minute… Shut up. Don’t you hear something?”

“What?”

Finally, the owners seemed to sense the danger that Bibi had felt. The cramped container was briefly filled with silence. No one was speaking, but they all felt something. Subtle vibrations and heat that human hearing could never detect, and the faint smell of cigarettes carried little by little on the wind and rain.

Realizing that an unusual situation was approaching, the owners exchanged meaningful glances. Like predators, they crouched down and bared their sharp fangs. They released adrenaline throughout their bodies and revealed their innate weapons, preparing for the enemy’s intrusion.

“Could our tail have been caught?”

“Maybe. We should prepare an escape route.”

Wham!

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a thunderous impact resounded. The container door was torn off in an instant.

Bibi abruptly raised her head. She couldn’t see in front of her due to the blindfold, but the hot air, the thick smell of fire, the unfamiliar scent… she could tell that whatever had been approaching from afar had suddenly arrived right in front of her.

Bibi’s tense owners stared blankly at the torn-off entrance. Against the backdrop of gray rain falling in straight lines, two large men slowly appeared. A burly, red-haired man, as big as a wild boar, took off his raincoat and menacingly aimed a gun.

“Y-you bastards… Hunters!”

“Since you recognize us, I guess there’s no need for introductions, oops.”

Namwon, looking around the inside of the container, suddenly ducked to avoid a flying computer desk and chair. Crash! The furniture shattered with a loud noise.

“You impudent humans… Do you know where you are?! Did you think we’d go down easily?!”

The vampires bared their white teeth and took an aggressive stance as if they would pounce at any moment.

“Wanna try?”

As soon as Namwon scoffed disdainfully, one of the vampires leaped into the air and charged.

Bang!

“Kuaaaak!”

With the gunshot, the vampire fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

Bibi, unable to see anything happening outside the cage, dug her claws into the ground and bit down hard on the gag with her fangs. The pungent smell of blood stabbed at her nose as if to paralyze it. Normally, it would have stimulated her appetite, but now, a stronger sense of crisis engulfed her entire body. Her heart pounded.

“That’s why you shouldn’t have acted up from the start. We could have finished this cleanly.”

Namwon spat out a curse and approached the bleeding vampire, holding the smoking gun. The silver bullet that had pierced its thigh blackened and corroded its flesh. Seeing this, the other vampire lost the will to resist and trembled in the corner.

“You guys. You know why we’re here, right?”

“W-we’re victims too!”

The vampire protested at Namwon’s question.

“Victims? That’s a load of crap. Victims coming from a vampire’s mouth?”

“We didn’t want to do it either! We were born as hybrids and got addicted to human blood, what else could we do?”

“Save us. We won’t do it again!”

The vampires, inexperienced in combat, completely surrendered and lay face down on the floor. They tried to evoke sympathy and begged for their lives. Faced with their sudden sob stories, Namwon frowned and warned them not to play any tricks.

Standing a step away from all the commotion, Doyoon nonchalantly looked around. A desolate and dirty container… A large box covered with cloth. Where could ‘it’ be?

Doyoon slowly walked towards a large cabinet. When he pulled the old handle, something tumbled out with a creaking noise. A sour and repulsive smell burst out. Looking down, he saw the vinyl bags filled with chunks of meat.

Ah, found it. Doyoon immediately recognized what it was.

“...Ugh, the smell… Is this it?”

Namwon, who had approached, grimaced fiercely. Doyoon, expressionless, rolled his tongue inside his mouth and counted. One, two, three, four…

“Nine bodies. Matches the number of missing elderly people.”

“You bastards! So it was you who caught all the old people around here and sucked their blood!”

Namwon shouted at the vampires. One of the vampires, with an unjustly accused look, raised both hands and shook his head vehemently, denying it.

“N-no, it’s not me! I didn’t do that…”

Bang!

Red blood splattered everywhere. One of the vampires who had vehemently denied it lost his words and collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud. Having been accurately shot in the heart with a silver bullet, the corpse soon turned to ashes and scattered.

Doyoon stared at the smoke rising from his gun barrel. His cold eyes held no emotion—no anger, no contempt. Only a chilling indifference flowed from him. To him, killing a vampire seemed no different from crushing an ant.

“One down.”

With a cold voice, the gun barrel turned towards the remaining vampires.