I stared at my reflection from the window. As if it was a trick of the light, the golden hue in my left iris disappeared. I blinked a few times to make sure that I wasn’t hallucinating or anything like that. But my eyes remained the same color. I brushed it off, thinking that it was probably an optical illusion that caused my eye to change color for a moment, coupled with my exhaustion and lack of sleep, it made me more susceptible to the illusion.

But the image of my gold eye still unnerved me. Was it because of the nightmare I had? Even after all these years, I was still haunted by that night. The words that vampire said echoed in my mind. A one-eyed hunter? What was that supposed to mean? Besides, the only ones who could possess gold eyes were the pureblood vampires. Clearly, I’m still human.

I sighed, and continued to stare outside the window, not paying attention at all to the lesson being taught as my thoughts swirled around in my head. A chill suddenly ran along my spine. I had the feeling that someone was staring at me. I looked around the class until my eyes met the warm brown eyes of the student president. I gulped. I felt uncomfortable with the attention she was giving me. Something flashed in her eyes as I met her gaze, her expression morphed into one of sorrow, and she looked away, leaving me confused.

For some reason, at that sight, I felt my heart breaking a little.

OOOOO

ARTEMIS Headquarters.

“Captain Im Nayoung reporting for duty.” Nayoung stood rigidly.

“We can drop the formalities Nayoung. We’ve known each other long enough, so speak comfortably.” Kahi smiled.

“Yes, as you wish.” Nayoung bowed stiffly.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Both turned their attention to the sound. Kahi raised her eyebrow.

“You may enter.”

A girl with long black hair and bangs appeared. She bowed deeply once she entered the room.

“Lieutenant Colonel Kang Seulgi has just arrived.”

Amusement flickered in Kahi’s eyes. “Is that so? Very well, send her in. That will be all, Raina.”

“Yes, President Park.” She bowed once again, and then quietly closed the door behind her with a soft click.

“Oh? Nayoung?” Seulgi walked into the room with a surprised look on her face.

“Unnie…” Nayoung stared at her wide-eyed.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?” Seulgi looked at Nayoung with worry. “I heard that you’ve been taking the lead on quite a few extermination missions.”

Nayoung nodded mutely.

“Don’t push yourself too much Nayoung-ah.” Seulgi rested her hand on Nayoung’s shoulder. “It’s okay to take a break. Don’t overwork yourself.”

Under Seulgi’s comforting touch, Nayoung felt herself relaxing. Despite knowing the President for so long, Nayoung still felt uncomfortable around her. She had always hated coming to HQ, even as a child. But now she was forced to go to HQ (more often than necessary in Nayoung’s opinion) to report directly to Park Kahi. As the leader of ARTEMIS, she was pragmatic and insistent on the complete elimination of the vampires. Nayoung didn’t appreciate the woman trying to keep her shackled to the organization, she suspected that Kahi was trying to keep tabs on her this way.

Now, as an adult, she had come to despise their organization. It was nothing more than an organization set on the complete extermination of the vampire race. Despite knowing this… Nayoung still stayed. Even if she didn’t necessarily agree with their methods and ideology. She still hated vampires to the core, but she did believe that there were some out there who wished for a peaceful co-existence—after all, there were those who abstained from drinking human blood. The establishment of the so-called organization: “Middle Earth” was proof of that.

But, there was something Nayoung was looking for. ARTEMIS could provide her with the necessary tools for her revenge. But for now, she would play her part well. She would obey and allow Park Kahi to believe that she would be the organization’s faithful hunting dog.

“President, what was so urgent that you had to summon me here?” Seulgi asked frowning.

Kahi seemed annoyed by this and simply gave her a cold look. Any trace of the supposed “warmth” she had with Nayoung disappeared immediately.

“I want you to be stationed here in Seoul, Seulgi—permanently. I know you’ve done great work in Daegu, Seulgi, but we need more manpower here in the capital. It doesn’t make sense to keep one of our most talented hunters all the way out there.” Kahi leaned back in her chair. “And I want you two to hunt as a pair again. Like you used to before.”

Nayoung widened her eyes in surprise, then whipped her head to gauge Seulgi’s reaction. “I don’t mind partnering up with Seulgi-unnie, but…” She trailed off, and faced Kahi.

Kahi cut her off. “I’m not asking you to swear an oath and create the Hunter’s Bond.”

Seulgi’s eyes narrowed. Just what was Kahi planning?

“But, I am asking for two of our most talented hunters to work together so that we can be more efficient. There’s been a growing trend of vampire activity in the capital. Something has the purebloods all worked up.” Kahi leaned forward. “According to our intel, there’s been an attempt at a coup-d’état in the Kim family about 10 years ago. Since then, there’s been a power struggle between the main and branch house. Kim Seolhyun has done her best to quell down the rebellion as the current head of the main house, but it seems the tables have turned.”

“Yes, I’ve heard whispers about this…” Seulgi knitted her eyesbrows, “it seems that the branch house is holding one of the twins’ hostage.”

Kahi’s lips curved upward. “Precisely. We must take full advantage of this opportunity. The other pureblood families are very interested in this matter as well, and therefore we can expect their presence in the capital. This is a chance to turn the tide of the war.”

“According to reports, there has been more F-level vampires running rampant in Seoul. I suppose this would explain why.” Seulgi nodded.

“The purebloods and the aristocrats are too busy dealing with their own civil war to weed out the F-levels.” Nayoung mumbled under her breath.

“I guess this means more work for us…” Seulgi grumbled.

“For now, focus on eradicating the F-level epidemic. We will gather more intel in the meantime, so that we can decide on the best course of action. Speak with your contacts, see what you can dig up.” Kahi dismissed them with a wave of her hand. “You’re both dismissed. Raina will be waiting outside with a mission for you two. No need for backup or other hunters, now that we have you two. I am expecting good results from the two of you. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Here is the report we’ve received from one of our scouts.” Raina handed Seulgi and Nayoung a folder. “A flock of level Fs have appeared. They are hiding at an abandoned villa deep in the woods. Eradicate them, and leave nothing behind.”

“Very well, we accept this mission. We’ll leave now.” Nayoung handed back the folder to Raina. “We’ll report back when we’re finished.”

OOOOO

There more vampires than Nayoung expected. Driven by their bloodlust, they attacked the duo immediately once they crossed the front lawn. Their red eyes pierced through the cloudy night. Nayoung looked around. They were surrounded.

“Nayoung! There’s too many of them! Retreat for now!” Seulgi yelled over the vampires’ snarls.

Nayoung was focused on the vampires that surrounded her in a circle. “Damn. I didn’t think there’d be so many hiding out in this place...”

Nayoung pulled out a pen from the inside of her coat pocket. She spun the pen over her thumb, and whispered: “Wake up from your slumber, Shiki.” The silver pen became surrounded by purple flames, which grew as the pen spun, until the pen quickly morphed into a large black scythe with green markings. The scythe was covered in the purple flames, and caused the vampires to hiss in fear.

“It’s the Goddess of Death!” One of them howled.

Nayoung felt her lips curving downwards at hearing her nickname. She sighed, “it’s such an unattractive name.” She spun the scythe skillfully, and with each spin left a trail of purple flames, causing the vampires to dodge and move backwards. Nayoung pointed the scythe at a vampire who was facing her. “Your coven is found guilty by the order of ARTEMIS, for the murder of civilians and the forceful turning of humans,” Nayoung paused.

 Seulgi appeared behind Nayoung, with her back facing Nayoung’s. “And the punishment for that is death.” Seulgi reached behind, and pulled out a longsword from its sheath. It was a silver sword with a black trim along the serrated edge of the sword, the handguard was smaller, allowing for easier movement. “What a pain.” She sighed, “there’s so many of them.”

“Unnie. I’m leaving my back to you.” Nayoung gripped her scythe tightly, she suddenly charged forward and swung it in an arc.

 “Just like old times, huh?” Seulgi smiled.

Nayoung’s sudden charge surprised the vampires, some of them not being able to react to her speed and were caught by the blade. They instantly decapitated, and their bodies turned to ashes. Blood stained the blade of the scythe, as more blood dripped along the edge of the blade. Nayoung stood there motionless, as she took in her surroundings.

A female vampire took the opportunity to attack Nayoung as her back was exposed. She leapt with her fangs bared, and her nails ready to tears through the vampire hunter. Suddenly, Seulgi’s sword pierced through her heart, her body went limp against the blade and she soon disappeared into ashes.

“Ah… didn’t you know that you shouldn’t leave your back open to attacks, Nayoung?” Seulgi teased.

“I knew you’d have my back anyways, unnie.” Nayoung retorted. “I trust you.”

Nayoung tilted her head towards the crowd of vampires. Her eyes darkened and her face was devoid of any emotion. Her gaze focused on the glowing red eyes in front of her. “It’s time to meet your death, you bastards.”

The grass was drenched in blood. The light from the moon showered the scene. The two hunters were covered in red. Seulgi flicked her wrist to get rid of the blood that had accumulated on her sword. Nayoung used her purple flames to evaporate the blood on her blade.

“So, this is the work you’ve been doing here all this time?” Seulgi stabbed her sword into the ground and leaned against it.  

“More or less. You heard Kahi. There’s been a lot of F-levels showing up lately. There’s been a sharp increase in those who’ve turned.”

“They keep sending you out on these extermination missions knowing full well that you guys are pretty much overwhelmed. The senior members of the Council could give us a hand, you know. They’re just a bunch lazy ex-hunters.” Seulgi groaned.

“Well, you know how they are.” Nayoung chuckled. “Now all they want to do is to just stay safe behind the organization’s walls. Supposedly, they are the ones who strategize after all.”

“I hate to admit it, but if the aristocrats were here, we’d have less work to do. The F-levels are like weeds who’ve grown out of control. At least if they were present, we’d have less to weed out.”

“That’s why they’re calling back many of those who’ve left. I wonder if I’ll be able to see Yoona-unnie this time, she’s been gone for so long…”

“Tsk, this is a problem. It means that I’ll have a harder time moving around. But if your oldest sister is coming back, then maybe she can help us. After all, she’s been following the same trail as I have.”

“Yoona-unnie should be coming back within the week…”

“I expect that she’ll have to attend the council meeting that’s set to be held in three days. After all, even I received an invitation to attend...”

“Will you go?” asked Nayoung.

“Naturally. The invitation is only a formality after all. I’ll take this opportunity to meet with her.” Seulgi stood up. “In any case, according to Minhyun, it seems that she is planning something. I have my suspicions, but I’ll need to investigate some more before I can make any conclusions.”

Nayoung narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know how long I can bear not doing anything.” She clenched her fists tightly.

Seulgi looked at Nayoung empathetically, “we’ll get our revenge, Nayoung. We will. We’ll kill her this time. She won’t be able to walk away with just a scar.”

OOOOO

Why did she look so sad? I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see her sorrowful expression. And for some reason, I wanted to reach out and hold her. I didn’t want to see that look on her beautiful face.

I sighed. “Why did she make my heart ache?” I rested my hand over my heart and closed my eyes.

OOOOO

“Kyungwon-unnie?” Yewon knocked on the door lightly. She opened the door slightly.

I grunted in response and reached for my glasses. I had fallen asleep. “What is it Yewon-ah?”

“I was wondering if you’d accompany me on a patrol tonight?” Yewon fiddled with her fingers in anticipation.

I put on my glasses which hung lazily on the bridge of my nose. “Ah… sorry Yewon-ah. Maybe another time…” I gave her an apologetic smile. My fingers instinctively went to the necklace Binnie gave me.

Yewon looked disappointed, but she quickly covered it up with a bright smile. “It’s okay. Well then, I’ll be heading out. Goodnight unnie!”

“Goodnight sunshine.” I smiled back. “Stay safe okay? Be careful out there.”

“I will, don’t worry!”

OOOOO

I opened my eyes to the warm touch of someone brushing my bangs aside. A hooded woman appeared beside me. There was something etched on the right side of her cloak. “You’ll catch a cold if you keep falling asleep like this.” She whispered. Her voice was soft, making me relax. Her fingers traced patterns along my left cheek, until she stopped to cup my cheek.

“It’s fine…” I leaned into her touch.

“Don’t you have training today? Don’t tell me you’re playing hooky.” She smiled teasingly.

“No… my cousins are out of town with my mom, and dad is busy teaching my younger sister now.” I pouted.

“Is that so?” She chuckled. “I have a present for you.” She reached behind and pulled out a small box.

“What is it?” I asked, curiously taking the box.

“It’s a surprise. You’ll know when to open it.” She petted my hair softly.

Who… is this woman? I don’t remember this. Is this from the past? I stared at the two figures in front of me. This younger me… looked much happier. I looked no more than eight years old, but there were signs of my training marked on my skin. Bruises littered my arms and legs, along with cuts that had scabbed.

I stepped forward. I couldn’t make out the woman’s face as the hood concealed her features. But I could tell that she was extremely beautiful. She had flawless pale skin, long jet black hair, and a defined jawline. Her smile was kind and one that made you feel warm inside.

I bent down to try and get a better look at her face, I wanted to get a clue as to my mysterious past, but the woman turned her head towards me before I could get closer.

“You should wake up now. Your sisters need you.” She spoke ominously.

“What do you mean?”

“Wake up from this dream that you are living in… That is the only way you’ll find yourself, and your past. Do not be fooled.” The scene faded away and we were shrouded in darkness. The woman got up and started to walk away.

I got up to chase after her. “Wait! Where are you going? What are you talking about?” But she vanished after taking a few steps.

OOOOO

I jolted awake from my dream, panting. I was covered in a thin layer of sweat. I examined my surroundings and got up from my bed. My heart was racing. I wore my glasses and checked the time. It was a few minutes after midnight. I drank a glass of water and willed my heart to stop pounding so quickly. I stared outside my window, it was a full moon. It seemed so peaceful and quiet, but I couldn’t shake off the bad feeling in my gut. Especially after the warning the hooded woman gave me. But there was so much that I didn’t understand. What did she mean?

I grunted and got up from the bed. I walked over to one of my drawers and pulled out a pair of socks and put them on. I dialed Yewon’s number, and waited for the call to go through. I clumsily put on a pair of shoes and ran out the door once the call went to her voicemail.

I had a bad feeling about this.

I followed her usual patrol routes, until I found her walking on an empty street, but there was a shadow trailing behind her. “Yewon!” I screamed. It was too late. The vampire was on her before she could react. I raced along the street, the fire burning in my lungs as I struggled to get to her. I was moving too slowly, I could see the sharp canines moving towards Yewon.

“No!!” I willed myself to move faster, until I suddenly appeared behind it. I pulled the vampire off Yewon, and she took the chance to recover from the attack. The bracelet on her right wrist started to glow, and it transformed into a silver whip which wrapped around her arm. With a flick of her wrist, the whip unraveled.

“Unnie!” She screamed. The vampire swung his arms to attack, and his nails dug into my chest causing me to tumble backwards. The cut was shallow, but it still hurt all the same. I felt the air get knocked out of my lungs, and the blood began to stain my white shirt. Yewon used her whip to trap the vampire by having it wrapped around his limbs, immobilizing him.

He stopped struggling, grabbed the whip and smirked as ice began to travel long the whip. Yewon quickly tried to unwrap her whip but it remained frozen, as the ice being to trail up along the whip until only the handle was not frozen. It forced Yewon to let go of her weapon. His smirked at Yewon, and his eyes glowed. Yewon took a step back and gasped, “those blue eyes… a noble?!”  

“.” I whispered under my breath. I struggled to get up as a piercing pain shot through my wounds. What was a noble doing here?

Yewon grabbed the handle, and at that moment, her whip began to glow brightly and she pulled the rope-like weapon upwards with force. The ice shattered instantly. “It’ll take more than that to stop me.” She growled.

She flicked her wrist, and the whip wrapped around the vampire’s arm. The whip began to pulsate and emanate a bright white light.

“What the—what is this?!” The vampire hissed in pain. He began to kneel and eventually fell to his knees, groaning. White cracks started crawl along his skin, starting from where the whip was securely wrapped around his arm. He started screaming as the cracks traveled toward his heart.

I stood there in shock. I squinted my eyes, the light was so blinding it made my eyes hurt. I walked toward Yewon. “What is this ability?” I rested my hand on Yewon’s shoulder and leaned on her for support.

“A trick I learned not too long ago…” Yewon trailed off.

I scoffed, then turned to the vampire. “How long have you been watching us?”

The vampire bared its teeth at me, his canines fully elongated. “Ever since you killed my minions three years ago. My mistress was not happy at the loss of so many of our own…”

“Well maybe she shouldn’t have sent them after me.” I bent down so that we were face to face. “Your mistress,” I seethed, “killed my best friend.” My ring started to pulsate. “I still haven’t gotten my revenge. So, tell me, who is this mistress of yours?”

The vampire started to squirm, and struggled to speak. “You are not worthy to hear her name.”

The anger I had suppressed all the years began to leak out. I stood up, kicked his ribs and then stepped on his chest. I leaned my weight forward. “Who the is she?”

Yewon moved to stop me. “Unnie, stop.” Her voice was full of worry. She saw the wild, but slightly unfocused look in my eyes.

I shook her off me, and only concentrated on the vampire’s blue eyes. I summoned my katana and pointed the blade at his chest. “I said. Who. Is. She.” Its jet-black blade shimmered under the moonlight, it was a beautiful but menacing sight. “You see…” I started to smile, “she hasn’t tasted a vampire’s blood in so long that she’s dying for me to plunge the blade into your heart.” I inched the blade closer to the vampire’s chest. “Shall I give her the satisfaction? After all my katana is calling for your blood.”

“Kyungwon-unnie…” Yewon stared at me wide-eyed, “please stop…” Yewon had never seen me like this. Fear had immobilized her. She felt so dizzy. This wasn’t the Kyungwon she knew.

I ignored her. “If you really won’t tell me, I guess I have no choice but to kill you.” I laughed. “This is your last chance. Tell me who she is, and where I can find her. Or I’ll kill you slowly, you’ll wish you’d died when you were born.” The tip of the sword hovered dangerously over his chest.

The vampire’s eyes widened once he met my gaze, and he struggled as if he was turn in an internal conflict. For a few seconds his eyes began to look unfocused, as if he was under a spell, but then his body stiffened and he used his free hand to dig his nails into his leg to prevent himself from speaking. “N—no. I won’t… I won’t betray my mistress…” He managed to choke out.

“Then I guess this is your end.” I spoke monotonously, my face was empty of any emotion as I prepared to stab his heart.

He still struggled against himself, still digging his nails into his leg. “You hunter-scum.” He growled.

“I was going to give you a nice, easy, quick death, but…” I started to laugh uncontrollably. “Ah… you ing vampires…” I lifted my sword to prepare for the first cut. I tilted my head sideways and looked at Yewon. “Yewon, look away. I don’t want you to see this.”

She stared at me, frozen in place. She swore she saw something different in my eyes, but she was too consumed by fear to think more of it. “Please unnie, stop this. You don’t have to do this. We can take him to mom and dad,” she begged. I ignored the rational part of me, telling me to stop, and shook my head at Yewon’s insistence. There was no going back now.

“Turn around Yewon-ah. This will be ugly.” I inspected the vampire closely. I started with a shallow slice to his chest, deep enough to draw blood. “That’s one.” Then, I sliced his neck slowly, causing blood to pool in his mouth, he hissed in pain. “Two.” I moved to his stomach. “Three.” Just as I was about to cut somewhere else, something kicked me in the chest. I stumbled backward, forcing Yewon to catch me.

“What was that?” I growled.

I turned to look at the vampire laying on the floor, when I noticed a woman with long jet-black hair, a cloak and a hood covering her face.

“What?” I dropped my katana in shock.

The woman turned to look at me and stepped in front of the vampire on the ground.

“T—that insignia…” I stuttered. I had seen that exact symbol on the cloak of the woman in my dream.

She stepped forward. “There will be no more blood shed tonight.”

I couldn’t make out what she looked like under the hood, but her eyes were unmistakable—they were pure gold.

“A pureblood.” Yewon whispered.

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update... I know I said that I would post the new chapter last week, but some stuff unexpectedly came up and I had to deal with something personal this week.

But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know in the comments below! Your feedback is always appreciated.

Also, I'm so psyched for the new Pristin comeback! I loved the teasers, the girls look so pretty ;~;  Did you guys watch the new channel p video? 2kyung is real. Ah Kyungwon is so whipped for Minkyung haha. They're the cutest. <3 

Also this isn't really Pristin related, but Girls' Generation's new album is so lit... Their songs are so catchy, and I'm so sad that SM is ing the girls over. I read the news about Taeyeon in Indonesia :( I hope she's okay... Also I really like Wekki Mekki's debut song. A lot of people didn't seem to like it, but I thought the song was really fun. A little random blurb here but yeah. 

Thanks for supporting and reading the story ^^