Growing up in a world where dangerous, bloodsucking immortals linger in every unlighted corners of the street, it's indispensable to learn how to survive, to fight, and to protect yourself from being slaughtered as if you're some kind of animal— as if you have existed in this world only to become their food. At a very young age, a girl's eyes were opened, and the environment she lived in and the past traumatic experiences that she had as the years passed made her realize that she was and never will be safe; that she had no other choices left but to live her life battling against the dark forces of the universe. 

If she wants to live, she must fight, under all circumstances. 

“Jiyeon, behind you!” 

“Crap,” she cursed underneath her heavy breaths. Jiyeon ran even faster as she tightly held on to her silver dagger. But her speed was no match for the person who was chasing her; lips covered in fresh blood, and eyes with the color of crimson, scintillating under the light of the full moon. “Chu Sojung, how much longer?!” 

“A little more!” 

The girl released countless of heavy sighs as she sprinted her way inside an abandoned building. She knew it was perilous to enter such a secluded place, and she would certainly be an easy prey if she messed things up. But she knew her friend had got her back, and she had also trained her whole life for this duty— she would never want to disappoint her family.

When there was nowhere else to run, Jiyeon turned around to face the monster that was trailing behind her the whole evening. It was so dark inside the building, and she could only see his eyes; they were raging. 

“Hunter, you're making me lose my patience,” he said, growling in between his quick breaths. “And not just that, you made me lose my delicious dessert too.” 

“Your kind is terrorizing the town and killing our people, and of course, I could not let that happen,” she replied, swinging the silver dagger close to the vampire. Jiyeon wasn't able to miss how he flinched at the sight, and it made her heart feel at ease because he could never harm her while her precious weapon was with her. “Any last words before I stab you and cut your chest open?” 

The vampire's demonic laugh echoed throughout the whole place, and it gave Jiyeon the shivers. 

“You're a funny girl, hunter. I would like to remind you that you're no match for me, and I have the power to break that attractive neck of yours whenever I want,” he proudly stated as she slowly walked towards the girl, razor-sharp fangs emerging with every step he made. “But since you're very pretty and you're making me want to take you home, I'd just choose to spare your life by turning you into one of us.” 

Jiyeon let out a soft chuckle as she looked the vampire in the eye. She could see her friend, Sojung, in her peripheral vision. The girl was hanging on the ceiling of the building using a rope while holding a potion bottle filled with holy water. 

“Oh, I would love to come home with you and see how wondrous your world is.” Jiyeon uttered in such a sweet tone, it almost sounded so real. “But that would only happen in your dreams.” 

On cue, Sojung let go of the rope and opened the potion bottle, pouring a huge amount of holy water on the vampire's face. He screamed in agonizing pain, trying to wipe the liquid off his face, but failed, since it was already burning up. Jiyeon immediately used all her strength to kick the vampire's leg, making him fall to the ground. On that very moment, the hunter jabbed her dagger deep into his chest, and that was where she watched as the monster's body slowly turned into ashes. 

“Nice swinging,” she complimented as she walked out of the building with her friend. Their duty for that night was done, but they knew there would be more of that coming up because of the amount of vampires roaming on every corner.

“Nice charm speaking, or whatever you call that act of yours. I can't believe he almost fell for what you said.” Sojung commented, and they both laughed the whole situation off as they drove their way towards the headquarters. Jiyeon expected that she would be able to get home after work to have a good rest, but they were surprisingly called by the other hunters for a very important meeting. 

When they reached the place, only four of the other hunters were inside the underground unit— Yeoreum, Soobin, Dawon, and the head hunter, Seulgi. It was a rare occurrence for Seulgi to be in the headquarters, unless of course it was for important matters, so Jiyeon couldn't help but feel nervous, especially when she gave her a serious look. 

“Okay everyone, listen up.” 

Jiyeon took the seat beside Yeoreum, since she was too shy to occupy the empty space beside Seulgi. She was close to the other vampire hunters, but since Seulgi hasn't been around much, it has been difficult for her to create a friendly bond towards the head hunter. Besides, it was said that Seulgi wasn't really the type to go around making friends, and that she only comes to the headquarters to talk about necessary things— mostly about work. 

“We're moving out tomorrow,” she informed, before pulling out a map from her duffel bag. There were already red marks on it, and Jiyeon guessed that Seulgi had already traveled around the place since a few parts of the village on the paper were encircled. “The reason why I called you guys out for a meeting, is because I'm gonna be needing a strong backup to be able to go back here. I've read reports about your performances as hunters for the past few years, and I've only chosen those who have the capabilities to hunt a certain vampire that has been a menace to this poor town for a long time already.” 

“Wait, what do you mean by 'moving out'?” Yeoreum questioned as she blankly stared at the map on the glass table. “And why do you need a backup? Is the vampire strong? Like, stronger than the other immortals we've battled?” 

Seulgi sighed before pulling out another piece of paper from her bag. This time, it was a newspaper page, and it was filled with horrifying pictures of dead people who were found behind trees, and in dark corners of the village. All of them died the same way— killed by a vicious bloodsucker. Jiyeon almost gagged at the sight of human organs and blood splattered everywhere, because the way the people were killed wasn't what she usually encounters. 

This vampire was strong and brutal, and the fact that this had been happening for a long time meant that it would be difficult for them to catch it. That's why Seulgi needed them on this mission. 

“Do you have any information about this... monster?” Yeonjung questioned, pushing the piece of paper away because she couldn't bear to look at such cruelty. “It would be dangerous to just go there without knowing anything about him.” 

“Her,” Seulgi corrected, and the other hunters couldn't believe it. “This vampire is a woman, and I suggest you not underestimate her because she's more powerful than you think. I've heard stories