It had been a while since the curtains in the Fence Hotel’s manager’s office were fully open, allowing sunlight to penetrate through the window. Jurie grabbed a cup of coffee from her desk as she tapped on her smartphone and took a sip.
“Blegh! So bitter!”
It was nothing like the perfect balance of bitterness, nuttiness, and just the right amount of acidity she was used to. Jurie looked toward the couch where three women were—two were sitting, and one was lying down as if passed out.
Among them, a short-haired Asian woman in skinny jeans and a black windbreaker smiled and remarked, “What did you expect from a mannequin? A barista certification?”
She was Onie Yuki, who stared at Jurie teasingly.
“Even so, this is inedible, Yuki unnie. It’s practically poison!” Jurie complained.
“My mom brewed that coffee.”
Jurie’s eyes widened innocently as she looked behind her. A mannequin was moving around, its joints clacking. It was Onie Rikako, Yuki’s mother.
“M-mmm, now that I take another sip, it’s not so bad. Its bitterness is proof that the roasted beans’ depth of flavor has been extracted to its extreme,” Jurie blabbered random compliments as she sipped the coffee.
Yuki giggled and said to the woman beside her, “Isn’t she a cutie?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she be cute when she looks like a doll? Bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and flawless pale skin,” Sonya Gerhard said with a smirk.
“But you’re blonde, too,” Yuki remarked.
“I don’t blame an Asian for not being able to tell the difference, but Jurie Martin’s blonde hair is the real deal. Mine’s more pale, and it’s mixed with other colors,” Sonya said as she twirled the ends of her hair around her finger.
Yuki shook her head and said, “Blonde is blonde. What’s real and fake about it? They’re just different shades. Your hair is just as pretty.”
“Pfft! Thanks.”
“Urgh... Blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin are all recessive traits. Kant says that humanity is merely differences in adaptive responses to latitude[1],” mumbled a woman in a white gown, who had been lying on the couch, as she sat up and fixed her purple-rimmed glasses.
She was Lina Ahn, with black hair and eyes.
“Welcome back from the dead, Lina unnie,” Jurie said.
“Huuu, how long was I out for?”
“You slept for about seven hours.”
“Urrrhh, my body’s so sore. It doesn’t even feel like I slept for an hour. I would sleep better if I had my Thumper plushie... Where is he?”
“Thumper isn’t a plushie, you know? And he went to Carrot with Leo.”
“Did he?” Lina said as she scratched her disheveled head and looked beside her, seeing Yuki and Sonya staring at her as if she were an exotic animal. Lina asked, “Who are these ladies?”
“The one on your right is Onie Yuki, the number-five High Ranker. She owned about half of the dragon blood that you used.”
“Seong-Hwi was the one who used it, not me—”
“And the one on your left is Sonya Gerhard, the Witch of Winter Storm, and the leader of Black Market. You didn’t know about them since you’ve been in the lab this entire time.”
Seong-Hwi and Gerard had left the Capital a week ago. To persuade Gerard, who vehemently refused to leave Jurie’s side, Seong-Hwi had requested Yuki to protect Jurie and Lina in their absence.
“Black Market? That’s my favorite clan,” Lina said.
“Really? That’s great to hear,” Sonya replied, putting on her signature business smile.
“Unnie! What about our Fence for the Lambs?” Jurie shouted.
“That’s a clan?” Lina asked.
“Of course, it is! Do you have any idea how many people I’m responsible for? That’s one of your issues. You shouldn’t spend your life stuck in your lab and go for a walk now and then...”
Yuki watched Jurie nagging at Lina and mumbled, “She sure is bright and happy. It’s not easy being like that in the Mirror World.”
“Don’t underestimate her, Yuki. She’s one of the richest people in the Capital.” Sonya stared at the nagging Jurie with sunken eyes and continued, “Jurie Martin—the woman rumored to have started the Fence Hotel. She earned astronomical profit through the dwarven item intermediary business and used those Coins as seed money to make another haul in real estate.”
“Real estate?”
“The Nivalis invasion destroyed countless buildings, right? The fear of another invasion plummeted the Capital’s land value.”
“Then, she must have...” Yuki trailed off.
“Exactly. She bought it all. Then, the land value skyrocketed once Cheon Seong-Hwi announced the plan for Together.”
If Together were successfully established, the Capital’s land would become even more expensive. Not only would the city be transported to the fourth zone at the very least, but it would become a Mecca of various races.
“Together? More like, To the Moon. She’s an extremely capable woman,” Sonya said.
“Hmm, is that so? How unexpected,” Yuki remarked, seeing Jurie in a different light.
She did not expect Jurie, who had a mysterious talent for brightening the mood of those around her, to be one of the richest individuals in the Capital. Sonya was quite rich herself as the leader of Black Market, but Yuki couldn’t even imagine how rich Jurie was if she were rich by even Sonya’s standards.
“That must be why Seong-Hwi asked me to protect her. I thought she was his girlfriend or something like that. I’ll just keep her safe to an extent, then.”
“What are you talking about, Yuki? Weren’t you listening to me?”
“Hm?”
“I said Jurie runs a dwarven item intermediary business. That means she has connections to dwarf artisans.” Sonya smiled and continued, “Do you think I’m here because I have nothing to do? If we develop a friendship with her, we should be able to ask her for favors. We may have handed over the blood, but we still have the bones, the skin, and the heart.”
“Hmmm?” Yuki expressed, smiling once she realized Sonya’s intentions.
Just then, she sensed a presence in front of her and looked forward.
“E-excuse me. Is that mannequin yours?” Lina asked shyly, swallowing her saliva as she stared at Onie Rikako.
“She is.”
“May I ask how they’re made?”
“With human corpses,” Yuki replied, expecting Lina to be shocked.
However, Lina wasn’t an average person either.
“That’s fascinating! Does that mean the bones inside and the skin outside were made from the real corpse?”
“They... are.”
“Then it must mean they can be modified as well, just like artificial cartilage implants, or prosthetic implants. The same should go for skin; it should be possible through dermabrasion. I have a portion of a dragon’s tail that Seong-Hwi brought me. If we can graft that dragon’s skin onto...”
Lina blurted out ideas one after another as if in a trance, and Yuki’s eyes widened the more she talked.
Yuki grabbed Lina’s hands and asked, “What was your name again?”
“Uhhh... It’s Lina Ahn.”
“Do you want to be my friend?”
***
Sanjay Dutt and members of Speed Racer bowed deeply toward the two men walking away.
“Please take care!”
“We wish you the best of luck!”
“We will be cheering for you!”
“Please call us at any time!”
The surroundings were dark, and the serene moonlight illuminated a dreary city.
“I wonder if Lady Jurie is okay... I should be looking after her,” the robed Gerard mumbled as he scanned Lunatic’s scenery.
“Jurie wants you to become a Daywalker, too. Stop your needless worrying and lead the way,” Seong-Hwi said.
“Lead the way? This is only my second time here.”
Seong-Hwi ignored Gerard as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and read the address written on it. “Vederian street, 99-52nd road.”
“Tsk. Unfortunately, I know where that is. This way,” Gerard remarked as he led the way.
***
“When the hell are we gonna attack if not now?!” shouted a middle-aged Asian woman, eyes filled with bloodlust and grey hairs mixed in her disheveled hair.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Madam Choi. We haven’t pinpointed their location yet,” said Park Tae-Jin, a robust man with a large chin and tied-back long hair, to calm Choi Hee-Gyeong down.
“No, she’s right this time. The Blood Castle opens tomorrow. Once they go in, we’re back to square one. We have to take a gamble,” remarked Hector Jameson, a slender white man with washed-out blond hair. “Those Blood Cross bastards kidnapped countless members of our kind and transported them here, to Lunatic. This might be our last chance.”
“I agree,” said Wang Chen, an Asian man with no nose and lips partially ripped off, with a wheezing voice.
“Grrr. What are they planning to do by kidnapping their own people? I don’t understand you humans,” said Tigrinus, a tiger beastfolk, as his striped tail spun like a whip.
The five of them had been destroying the bases of Clan Blood Cross and had pursued them all the way to Lunatic.
“Hmm,” Tae-Jin groaned and thought, They’re not wrong. We can’t wait any longer, Seong-Hwi. Sorry, but we have to save the ones that we can!
Once he made up his resolve, the pounding of a door sounded from outside.
“Tig!” Tae-Jin called.
Tigrinus sniffed in the direction of the door and said, “This scent... It’s him!”
“Him? Who?” Hector asked.
Wang Chen walked toward the door and answered, “The Devil.”
He opened the door, and a robed man and a man in a hoodie entered.
Seong-Hwi looked around the room and saw Tae-Jin, Tigrinus, Hee-Gyeong, Wang Chen, and Hector. He mumbled, “Well, well... All familiar faces.”
It’s been a while, Hector, he said inwardly, his gaze remaining on Hector a little longer.
The back of the man from Nevada, shouting as he charged at the Dragon King, lingered in his mind.
“I’ll buy you some time, so take that and run! The destiny of humankind rests on your shoulders!”
***
“Blood Cross has gone all in on this matter,” Tae-Jin said, explaining everything that had happened to Seong-Hwi. “We didn’t even get a glimpse of the Peter Geraghty you had mentioned. He’s an extremely cautious man. One mistake, and he will probably burrow deep underground.”
“I’m sure he would,” Seong-Hwi said, recalling the fat white man he had captured in his past life.
Peter Geraghty, the leader of Blood Cross, was a traditional human traitor. He was capable enough to rake in Coins from places that the Union’s influence did not reach.
The incidents he had caused resulted in a hostile relationship between humans and vampires.
That was not necessarily true. Vampires had always treated humans like livestock, and Peter’s actions simply revealed their tendencies.
“The Blood Castle will open tomorrow. That dungeon is where the vampire aristocrats reside. Things will get much more difficult for us if the Blood Cross bastards enter the dungeon,” Tae-Jin said.
Seong-Hwi nodded and asked, “What about what I asked of you?”
“I did bring a few things,” Tae-Jin said as he took out various miscellaneous items from his pocket and placed them on the table—a brass cross necklace, a broken piece of an artificial nail, a tattered leather wallet, an unidentified sparkling powder, and more.
Seong-Hwi smiled at the items, his face filling with the desire to kill.
“It’s more than enough,” he said as he activated skills.
[Activating Unique Skill: Borrowing Destiny.]
[Devil of Los Angeles]
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Night Stalker.]
A .22-caliber handgun appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand.
“Kekekek! Let’s go, my friend! Go wild, just like last time!”
He ignored Richard Ramirez’s voice echoing in his head and was about to choose one of the miscellaneous items when the Wings of Evolution suddenly sprouted by themselves, resonating intensely.
“Hm? What the—”
It had been a while since Seong-Hwi had been truly confused. The wings had sprouted irrespective of his intention.
Is there something wrong with the wings? Seong-Hwi wondered.
If that were the case, it was no small issue. The Wings of Evolution were a key component of his power. Seong-Hwi quickly focused on the wings and sensed that one of the genes was more active than the others. A gene that resembled a rainbow jelly was pulsing like rough waves.
The fairy gene!
Seong-Hwi looked around, certain that something near him was stimulating the fairy gene. He then heard the conversation between Tigrinus and Tae-Jin.
“Growl? Was that thing always shining like that, Tae-Jin?”
“Huh? No, it wasn’t like that before.”
Seong-Hwi turned to the table that they were pointing at and saw a sparkling powder resonating with the wings as it shook.
“What is that, Tae-Jin?” he asked.
“That? Mmm... Oh! I grabbed it from a solitary cell at Jorge Newbery Airfield. It was sparkly, so I thought I should take it with me,” Tae-Jin answered.
Seong-Hwi gathered the powder scattered on the table, placed it on his palm, and said, “You’re the one who called me.”
“Seong-Hwi?” Tae-Jin called in confusion.
“What’s with him? Is he a little off in the head, too?” Hector asked, looking back and forth between Seong-Hwi and Hee-Gyeong.
Seong-Hwi tried activating the trait that he considered the most useless, but the most unique. A white light flashed in his eyes, and an Akasha Message appeared.
[Activating Trait: Savior’s Gaze.]
[Echo desperately desires salvation.]
1. I’m not sure if Immanuel Kant actually said that, so I just translated it as it is. ☜
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