NAPE - 5

There were two ways to test if a vampire of unknown origin was a pureblood or not. The first was to observe their high regenerative abilities, and the second was to note their reaction to poison. Specifically, whether they could recover from a silver bullet wound, and whether they could turn a bitten rat into a vampire. Generally, the latter was chosen, but… in the current situation where communication was impossible, the former would be quicker.

Doyoon pondered, feeling the weight of the gun tucked inside his jacket. Should he just check quickly and kill her if she wasn’t? That would be convenient in many ways.

“Senior. What are you going to do?”

Just then, Namwon asked from the doorway with a displeased expression.

“About what?”

“Does it make sense for a hunter to feed a vampire brat and raise it? It’s been fifteen days already. Isn’t your sympathy a bit excessive?”

“Sympathy?”

Doyoon looked bewildered and chuckled dryly. He was utterly dumbfounded by the ridiculous word. He had simply been acting according to profit and rules.

“Did what I’m doing look like sympathy to you?”

“Ah, of course not. Hmm… Or do you perhaps like that woman? …No, that makes even less sense. Forget I said anything. Anyway, we don’t have time to waste like this. I’m swamped with things to do. I need to head up to Seoul soon.”

“Let’s deal with her right away, then.”

“Ah… Really?”

“What are you asking again for? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

At Doyoon’s question, Namwon hesitated. He must have grown attached after seeing her for a few days. He was a softie the more you looked at him. That was part of why Doyoon kept him around. Doyoon coldly raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a hassle. Too much work. And she’s the real culprit in the old man’s murder.”

“No… Ha, but still, it feels wrong to just deal with her. She probably didn’t know what she was doing. Judging by her appearance, wasn’t she just used by those rotten bastards?”

Namwon inhaled sharply, sounding uneasy. That was actually the part Doyoon was also feeling uneasy about. Doyoon had no qualms about killing vampires, but he wasn’t a indiscriminate slaughterer. He pulled the trigger based on justification.

He immediately killed hybrid vampires who caused direct problems, but this case was a bit ambiguous. If she had been forced to hunt humans by her owner’s orders, not by her own will… and if she had cognitive abilities and a chance for rehabilitation… then the situation was a bit different.

“Let’s meet the client first. Detective Kim, was it?”

Doyoon, having reserved his judgment, slowly grabbed his coat and nodded towards the front door. Namwon wore a slightly anxious expression.

“But can we leave her alone…?”

“She’s weak, and the cuff chain is tied up. And… look at her.”

Doyoon and Namwon stared silently at Bibi. She had drunk her fill of blood and burrowed deep into the blankets she had made into a cocoon, dozing off.

“Her adaptability is amazing. She’s quite the queen. Let’s go. Nothing will happen.”

Namwon made a dumbfounded face.

The two men left the room with peace of mind. After the front door closed, the sound of the car engine faded away from the villa. Bibi, who had been pretending to sleep, abruptly opened her eyes.

________________________________________

The client for this case was Detective Kim. While investigating a series of missing elderly people in the Buyeo area, he had heard rumors that it might be the work of vampires and had hesitantly visited the association. Intrigued, Doyoon had taken on the case and found the bodies and the culprit in just two days.

“All that… was the work of a, a hybrid vampire. I still can’t believe it.”

Despite the immediate resolution of a case that had been dragging on for a year, Detective Kim was not pleased. In front of the police station, he looked haggard and overwhelmed by confusion. He had come to the Hunter Association of his own accord, yet his astonishment was quite a sight to behold. Well, that was the usual reaction for ordinary humans.

“How do you plan to wrap up the investigation?”

Namwon asked, handing Detective Kim a Bacchus energy drink.

“Since it happened in the countryside, it didn’t attract much attention anyway. We’ll have to conclude it by saying the culprit who murdered the elderly with dementia committed suicide. We can’t say it was the work of vampires. Aside from not wanting to look crazy, we can’t present a culprit because of the skeletal remains. It just so happens that the chief recommended the association… so it’ll probably be wrapped up smoothly somehow. All the bereaved families are also turning a blind eye.”

“We’ll chase down the one who escaped, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yes… but I’m still… confused. There have been a lot of missing person cases lately, and I can’t help but suspect they’re all the work of vampires.”

“Hybrid vampires have also become quite cunning lately. It’s rare for them to openly cause trouble. Most vampires who have infiltrated society buy blood packs or iron supplements from brokers.”

Namwon reassured Detective Kim with a friendly smile.

“Still, the fact that hunters are active means there are those who cause problems, right? Bad guys. Do they really have to harm people and drink their blood?”

At Detective Kim’s sharp words, Namwon couldn’t come up with anything more reassuring to say. He shrugged, implying that it was beyond his control.

“Special iron supplements, blood packs. They don’t taste good, but they’re disgustingly expensive.”

Doyoon, who had been silently smoking while listening to the conversation, finally spoke. Detective Kim, who had been venting his frustration, turned his gaze to him, who wore a relaxed smile.

“It seems nothing tastes as good as living human blood. Just like the difference in taste between canned tuna and high-grade tuna. Besides, when you eat sashimi, you want to eat freshly caught fish if possible. Fresh.”

Comparing human blood to sashimi. Detective Kim couldn’t maintain his composure. Doyoon smiled nonchalantly.

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping well. Make sure you keep the association’s number handy. You have a detective’s intuition, so if any strange cases come up, please contact us immediately. The more you hesitate, the faster the number of victims will increase.”

“Instead of the association, can’t I contact, uh, you directly?”

“Me? Why?”

Doyoon tilted his head.

“Well, the association seems to verify identities too thoroughly. I’m dying of urgency, and it’s unpleasant to be interrogated about this and that. More than anything, it would be good to keep in touch with someone I’ve already met. You also seem very efficient in handling things.”

Namwon glanced at Doyoon, looking slightly troubled. Doyoon dropped the cigarette he was holding on the ground. Phew, the last puff of smoke dissipated between the three of them.

“I only do what interests me.”

Doyoon spat out the words coldly. There was no sincere apology.

“Human lives are at stake, and you talk about interest! Honestly… this is why private organizations are…!”

Detective Kim flared up in anger. As a detective in the Republic of Korea, he couldn’t understand the mindset of taking on cases based on personal interest.

“Instead, I’ll allow you to use my name at the association. If you say you’re a friend of Kwon Doyoon, they’ll take your request quickly.”

At his seemingly generous compromise, Detective Kim’s expression softened slightly. He let out a deep sigh, shook his head, and turned away without saying goodbye.

“Ah, there’s something I wanted to ask the detective.”

Doyoon suddenly spoke again, as if something had just occurred to him. Detective Kim glanced back.

“What is it?”

“If young hybrid vampires born between humans and regular vampires don’t receive proper education, they’ll live their entire lives like beasts craving only blood. Not only is social interaction completely impossible, but they only recognize humans as food. Do you watch zombie movies? They become similar to that.”

“...Oh dear.”

Detective Kim frowned deeply at Doyoon’s words. He gripped the Bacchus bottle in his hand tightly, as if he might break it. Even without this, crime and accidents were constantly happening; zombie-like vampires? He was quite concerned about the public safety of Korean society.

“And sometimes, those hybrids are used like hunting dogs.”

At Doyoon’s words, Detective Kim’s mouth fell open. Vampire crimes were becoming more intelligent. He felt a sense of crisis, wondering if the government was just going to stand by like this, if no one was going to step up.

“So, what is it you wanted to ask, Hunter Kwon Doyoon?”

“I was wondering, if we were to apply human legal logic to a hybrid vampire that has become a hunting dog, what should we do?”

“...From a legal standpoint...”

Detective Kim looked back and forth between the two hunters and paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. After a brief silence, he slowly laid out his opinion.

“Since a being with a human form has serially killed humans… they can’t claim innocence. They must pay a reasonable price somehow. Vampires are a different species from us. They are no different from a hunting dog that bites and kills humans, so disposal would be unavoidable. Once they’ve tasted blood, they won’t be able to forget it.”

Raw meat and blood signify the wild. The awakened wild cannot be suppressed. At Detective Kim’s resolute expression, Doyoon nodded without argument, as if he had expected it. The solution to the issue the two had been pondering had emerged.

Even if the vampire asleep at home was a hybrid and had committed murder under her owner’s orders, not of her own will… dealing with her would be the right decision.