His partner was an origin vampire.

Jisoo wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Of course, he had known that Seungcheol was a strong Being. He was the leader of a unit and he had killed other Beings without breaking a sweat. But having a strong Being that preyed on Humans for a partner was somewhat unsettling. No, maybe even more than only somewhat; it was downright unsettling.

The monk chewed on his lip, his chest constricting painfully. Would his future consist of him having to be scared whenever he faced his partner?

Peeking through the leaves, he examined the stoic face of the leader of Unit S. Seungcheol seemed to be a perfectionist, a stickler for rules. It was highly unlikely that he would go rogue and kill a member of his unit – even if that member was a species he considered prey. But then again, according to Jihoon, the leader had killed the third skinwalker instead of capturing it... The monk decided not to dwell on that thought; it wasn't good for his mental health. In any case, they were lucky that Seungcheol was on par with the Being he was fighting against; otherwise, they both would be having a rather serious problem with their assignment right now.

Outside his hiding place, nothing was happening and the quiet tension put Jisoo on edge. The two vampires kept standing a few meters apart from each other, staring each other down. Seungcheol's face was still expressionless while Isaiah's eyes twinkled with barely concealed mockery. It felt like the calm before the storm.

He didn’t know what to expect. The fight with the other vampires had been over so quickly, it basically didn’t count as a fight – but these were two class one vampires. A different league. And based on what Isaiah had said, it wasn’t the first time they were clashing.

A sudden crack rang through the darkening street like a gunshot. The monk jumped, a yelp smothered by his hands. The two opponents stood in the same place, unmoving, and Jisoo couldn't figure out where the sound had come from. Looking around also brought no explanation so he focused back on the Beings.

He flinched when another crack filled the air but while the vampires still stood motionless, seemingly composed, Seungcheol's dark eyes had narrowed.

"You're too slow." Isaiah's gleeful grin once again revealed his long canines. "Isn’t that nostalgic? Just like the old times. Does it hurt?"

"Shut up."

Red flickered through Isaiah's eyes but his smile only widened while he drawled, "Is that a way to talk to your big brother? Maybe I should break your legs next."

The monk's heart skipped a beat. So the sound he had heard was the snapping of bones? A sick feeling rose in his stomach and he carefully examined his partner, who wasn't showing any signs of pain, but what Jisoo had taken as a somewhat relaxed stance - arms loosely hanging at his sides, feet slightly apart - looked terrifying all of a sudden. Was Seungcheol unable to use his arms because his brother had broken them? Had he broken anything else? Didn't that mean that his partner was completely defenceless now?

Jisoo had personally witnessed how Seungcheol had easily decapitated two vampires and he had not the shadow of a doubt that Isaiah was able to do the same just as easily. Whether he would kill his own brother was a different story but right now, it didn't seem like there was much brotherly love between them.

Jisoo's whole body began to shake when Isaiah strode towards his brother, turning his back to the monk. Seungcheol's stiff expression scared him more than anything. It wasn't one he had seen on his partner's face before but he knew it all too well from the monks that had been prepared to give it their all in their fight against the ghouls.

He had to help. He couldn't just sit by and watch as his partner got torn to shreds. If he could distract Isaiah, even if it was only for a few seconds, it should be enough to give Seungcheol an opening to attack - or flee, but that wasn't something Jisoo wanted to think about right now. His brain was working frantically to come up with a plan while Isaiah kept taunting his brother without getting any reaction in return. Based on the way his voice turned sharper with every word, he wasn't pleased with the lack of response.

Jisoo closed his eyes in order to concentrate. Seungcheol had said that vampires saw Humans as prey. As dinner. The other two vampires had easily made out his scent between all the scents lingering in the area. They were fine-tuned on Humans, on hunting their prey. If he could use that instinct to his advantage, it should be enough to distract the undead Beings. And how would he get them to notice him the most? Probably by spilling human blood.

As soon as Jisoo had come to that conclusion, he looked up and reached for the silver dagger strapped to his belt. But before he was able to touch it, his gaze got caught by blood-red eyes.

Seungcheol was staring straight at him, over the shoulder of his brother, his crimson irises reflecting the light and the monk felt himself get into the colour, a sea of red engulfing him, drowning him. He tried to struggle against it but his body grew heavy and cold, his limbs stiffened. Regardless how much he tried, it was impossible to move.

"Are you done?"

Isaiah's voice rang through the silence and Jisoo focused back on Seungcheol, whose gaze had returned to the face of his brother.

"I was planning to simply ignore his presence but now that you went through the effort of hypnotizing him, I'm curious. What is that Human to you?"

The monk immediately ceased his futile struggle and tensed. What had given him away? Had Seungcheol's coat not masked his scent as well as he had thought?

Coldness engulfed his chest. It was one thing to willingly decide to do something as reckless as getting the attention of a class one vampire - he was very much aware that it was a stupid thing to do; hell, he hadn't even been able to see how Isaiah had broken Seungcheol's arms - but it was something else entirely to get noticed while he was unable to move. Sweat was trickling down his chin, cooling uncomfortably in the cold air, while fear spread its tendrils further and further through his body.

Was Seungcheol going to sacrifice him? He wouldn't, would he? They were partners. And he was the unit leader...

"To think I wouldn't notice him - aren't you underestimating me a bit too much, dear brother?" Isaiah purred, his voice like sugar syrup, sticky and sickly-sweet.

Another crack rang through the air and although Jisoo wanted to turn away, he was unable to do so.

They had changed positions in the milliseconds it had taken them to attack. Seungcheol was crouching in front of the bushes Jisoo was hiding in, his back turned towards the monk, while Isaiah was standing upright a few meters away, holding his wrist. His face was distorted into a grimace. "So he's important enough to harm your own kin?" he snarled, the saliva on his fangs glistening.

"He's certainly more important than you. Don’t try to attack him again." Seungcheol's voice held enough suppressed anger to make Jisoo shiver.

Realization dawned that he had very closely escaped death just now, thanks to his partner, and adrenalin flooded him while his heart picked up speed at once.

It fastened even further when Isaiah stared at the bushes he was hiding in, a horrifying smirk pulling at his lips. "Can you hear his heartbeat? Your Human is scared."

He could hear his heartbeat?! From several meters away? How was something like that even possible? That guy was a monster.

Jisoo felt faint. But he wouldn't lose consciousness now, not here, not in front of these Beings. Still unable to move, he began to pray.

"Leave," Seungcheol ordered after a few beats of silence.

"Or what, Seungcheol? You can't even stop me from breaking your bones and now you're trying to threaten me? I'll get rid of this Human just like I got rid of-"

"I’ll kill you if you dare to say her name," Seungcheol growled, all muscles in his back tensing. He sounded enraged, a complete 180 to his former cold self.

Isaiah sneered and his eyes began to glow dimly while he taunted, "Give it a try. Let's see who dies first: you or the Human."

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