“SO, are you going with me?”

Minjoo jerked when she felt the hold of Yujin to her hand tightened. She turned to the other girl who seemed to be waiting for her response.

“Sorry, Yujin. Are you saying something?” Minjoo asked, as she was immersed in the performance of her seniors.

Yujin let out a sigh. She looked really shy to repeat what she had said.

“I thought you guys had some good hearing abilities?” She rolled her eyes and bashfully moved closer to Minjoo and by her ear, she softly whispered.

“In our chat… I asked you to come by our place on our birthday… You said you were going to think about it…”

Minjoo had to gulp. She was taken aback with that sudden move from the other girl.

After knowing that Yujin is indeed a honhyeol, they became really close and talk almost everyday through chats. When they are together during practice it always seems like they aren’t practising at all but just playing around. (Well, they do practice but the atmosphere between them is much, much better than when they first met.) Even Wonyoung noticed the change.

Was it because Minjoo’s father always talked badly about inter-racial marriage and honhyeols that she found it really amazing to meet a real life honyeol who ended up being just as normal as everyone else who is purebred?

Ever since she was young she has been really curious about why her father passionately hates those kinds of stuff. She thinks that there isn’t really anything wrong with it if both parties do love each other. It won’t even hurt her father at the very least.

There was a point in time that she thought maybe her father is just really concerned about the future of the honhyeols since they are getting targeted and such but honhyeols are rare to begin with. Most inter-racial marriages are child-free.

In the middle of her father’s unreasonable hate towards that kind of marriage, she met Yujin. A very sweet and charming girl despite her being a tsundere. There is something in her that attracts her and invites her to treat her well. They might have had a bad beginning but the moment she saw her on her half-transformed appearance, she found her undeniably striking. She got to know her more with their interactions and thought that she is really cute.

“Ah… about the ball?” Minjoo asked, her face a bit red because Yujin is really close.

“Yeah… Are you coming?” Yujin asked again.

Well, the reason that Minjoo is hesitating about it is because she asked Minjoo to come not just as an ordinary guest but her date. Lycans celebrate their coming of the age by organising a ball and having the celebrant bring their date. A tradition that the young lycans are a bit awkward about. Most lycans think that their date is their possible eternal mate.

And yes, Yujin thought of bringing Minjoo. Minjoo is confused whether the other girl is confessing to her or is just a pure daredevil for asking her despite her father’s beliefs.

“W-Well… Who is Wonyoung bringing with?”

“She hasn’t decided yet.” Yujin answered, her eyes slightly looking away. “I believe she is planning to ask one of our cousins or something.”

“One of your cousins?” Minjoo hissed. “You guys can present your cousins as your potential mate!?”

“Huh? No, no! As far as possible, we lycans avoid inbreeding contrary to the misconception of others. We’re not really thinking of presenting a poten--” The look on Yujin’s face turned mischievous when she realised something. “Wait, Sunbae… Are you actually thinking of--”

“NO!” Minjoo frantically shook her head. “It’s not the case! I just saw it while studying about other kingdoms--Yujin?”

Minjoo was taken aback yet again when Yujin suddenly looked really tense. Fear filled her face. She started looking around as if searching for something. “Y-Yujin, are you okay? Yujin--”

“DANGER! EVERYONE DOCK!”

And everything happened so fast. Minjoo just found herself wrapped in the arms of the half-transformed lycan after a series of laser blasts. Scent of blood filled the whole arena at a terrible speed and floating in mid-air is a popular shaman face. Someone they all knew was already dead.

“Are you okay, Sunbae-nim?” Yujin asked. Minjoo was so startled that she could only nod. She was about to ask Yujin but the other girl went to check on her sister.

“Wonyoung-ah, are you fine?” Yujin asked the also half-transformed girl.

“Yeah, thanks for the quick notice!”

Minjoo then looked at her sister and her friend and thankfully both of them were safe. All eyes are on that particular shaman.

“T-This can’t be real…” Yujin murmured. “There… There’s something more. I can feel something bigger.”

“LET’S GO. I came to save you.”

Seulgi was dumbfounded when her brother stretched his arm towards her. She was doubting what she had heard. Euigeon said that he came to save her. He came to save her with those hands that he also used to shoot their father and many other people in the stadium.

Euigeon’s cold expression turned into a worried one when he saw how his sister reacted to him. Seulgi got even more confused.

“I’m sorry, Seulgi…” He said as he slowly lowered down on Seulgi’s level but his feet didn’t touch the ground. “I’m really sorry that Oppa took this long to save you. I didn’t expect that he would give you to those monsters.”

“W-What… What are you talking about?” Seulgi asked, finally finding her voice.

Euigeon shook his head as he pitied Seulgi’s situation. “I didn’t think that they would even use you just to have that pathetic marriage take place even though you were proclaimed as a zero. They are all desperate for a non-existent ideal.”

He was then about to reach out to Seulgi but the latter immediately stepped back. She won’t let herself get touched by those hands. Euigeon seemed like he was terribly hurt by the way Seulgi reacted towards him. If you look at him closely, you can see that he is on the verge of crying.

“They have completely brain-washed you, right, my sister?” he painfully said as he retreated his arm back. “Trust me, Seulgi. Come with Oppa and I will tell you all the truth that this false King has kept from me and you.”

“Are you—”

“SEULGI-YA!!!”

Their attention was then caught by Irene who is still at the field. She actually went back to the field after she was pushed by all the people who were escaping the scene. She just can’t leave her wife behind right after witnessing how her father-in-law was shot.

“Seulgi-ya, you saw what happened! Don’t listen to him!”

Thanks to her amazing hearing and her heart that is attentive to Seulgi’s feelings, Irene could hear what Euigeon was saying and she could feel that Seulgi was in deep confusion. She can feel that Euigeon is trying to hypnotise Seulgi for some reason.

Recognizing who the girl is and hearing everything that she said, Euigeon’s expression drastically changed. His eyes are unentertained and he is ready to kill again. Seulgi immediately noticed it.

“This monster…” She heard Euigeon despicably uttering. “You were given to this monster, right? I will never forgive her.”

“EUIGEON-OPPA!” Seulgi shouted as Euigeon raised his hand. She tried to stop her but with one quick sway of his hand, he made a huge wave of wind that directly blew in Irene's direction that sent the girl away. It was so powerful that Irene hit the fence. Seulgi’s heart crushed after hearing Irene yelp in pain.

Euigeon gave out a deep sigh before turning back to Seulgi, that worried expression back on his face.

“Let’s go now, Seulgi. We are wasti—” Euigeon was cut when he noticed how Seulgi was shaking and he knows well that it is because of anger. She’s gritting her teeth and her fists are clenched. “Don’t tell me you are mad because I dusted off a monster?” He asked in a soft voice as if he was talking to a small child. “Come, Seulgi. Trust me—”

“…top…” Seulgi gritted. Her voice wasn’t properly coming out at first. “Stop…”

“Seulgi…” Euigeon called out. “You have to trust me. I will wake you up from this brainwash.”

“Stop… I said STOP!” Seulgi lifted her head, her eyes seemed to be burning in blue flame.

“Seulgi.” Although he was surprised by what is happening, he has to fulfill his purpose of coming. Offer the King as a sacrifice and save his sister from the false idea of peace and treaty. He doesn’t want to pour all the information on her in just one go but if it is what will convince her to come with him then he won’t give second thoughts on doing it.

Euigeon took a deep breath, his eyes not backing down to those flaming blue eyes.

“Seulgi…” he started. “Do you want to stay with the monster whose breed killed your own mother?”

The flame on Seulgi’s eyes immediately disappeared after what she heard. Her eyes turned back to normal and Euigeon knew that he already won.

“The vampires killed our mother, Seulgi! She was killed because she has a very special blood that that certain vampire enjoyed a lot. She was killed by that vampire but the people they call King turned his blind eye to it and pushed this wedding through. He even kept everything a secret and made it seem like our mother died of disease but in fact she was killed by a vampire! This King is a puppet of the vampires! He has been fooling his people. He—”

“STOP!” Seulgi shouted and Euigeon felt a weak shockwave hit him. “I ING SAID THAT YOU SHUT YOUR ING MOUTH UP! ENOUGH!!!”

Seulgi swayed her hand away and Euigeon was blown by a huge gust of wind. It was so powerful that it effortlessly blew him off to hit the huge screen monitor. He was shocked to see blood coming out of his mouth. “How did this…” He looked back at Seulgi and saw that her eyes were flaming once more.

“GET AWAY FROM US!” Seulgi growled as her feet slowly lifted from the ground. “You cry for someone’s murder when you just murdered innocent lives here!”

Seulgi shouted in anger and the whole arena was suddenly covered by another shock wave. Euigeon tried to stand up thinking that he can still levitate but to his shock, he fell straight to the benches. After giving out a huge amount of energy that the sky even turned into shades of pink and blue, Seulgi fell to her knees. Though weakened, she immediately went to her father.

“Jaewook!” She called out in a shaky voice. She held her father in her arms and tried to have him stay awake. “Jaewook, you have to stay awake! Just stay awake until help comes!”

Blood is flowing non-stop from the wound made by the beam. Seulgi tore her sleeve to somehow stop the bleeding but it was pointless since the beam literally made a hole on his father’s body.

Tears once more wet Seulgi’s face. “Appa…” she called out. “Appa… please don’t leave me like this. Appa…”

The King slowly opened his eyes and uttered under his breath, “Did my team win?” More blood came flowing out of his mouth but he still tried to speak. “W-Why are you calling me Appa as if you lost the bet?”

“Appa!” Seulgi cried even more. She hugged her father and the King wanted to hug her back but he couldn’t even move his arms anymore. He has lost sense with his lower body already and his other senses are already starting to shut down. His eyesight is slowly deteriorating… or was it because of the tears that are welling from his eyes.

One of the great elders was right with his words.

“You should be careful with your off-springs. They both have tremendous abilities. There’s a chance that you might lose your life in their hands.”

He was given the warning. For all his life he thought that there would be more chances that he would die in the hands of Seulgi since the girl hated him for everything that happened to her life. He brought Euigeon up to the customs of the shamans and trained him in the way a royal shaman should go--a crown prince to be exact. He had a hunch but he didn’t entertain them at all because Euigeon was a good son and he is loved by everyone. The entire shaman community may not know it but he mourned for the death of his son until there were no tears left from his eyes.

Who would’ve thought that the son that he loved and thought to be the future of the kingdom was the one taking his life away and the one that he thought would be a threat to him is the one crying her eyes out for him?

“Sorry, Seulgi-ya… Appa… didn’t trust you that much…”

“Appa, stop! Just stay awake until help comes! You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine!”

“Abeonim!” Irene jumped her way from the field towards Seulgi and her father-in-law. Behind her is her knight, Sakura, who ensured that she isn’t hurt. “Seulgi!”

Seulgi’s face crumpled once more at the sight of her wife. She looked like a young child telling someone how she was wronged by other people. “Joohyun-ah… Our Appa… Our Appa needs help!”

The King smiled. Hearing Seulgi call him Appa is like music to his ears. “I am happy…” he said before taking another deep breath. “In my last breaths… I heard my daughter call me Appa again… I can go in peace—”

“Shut up! You’re going to get well!” Seulgi burst into more tears. “You’re not going anywhere!”

“Abeonim, please don’t talk like that! You’re going to get well!” Irene cried. The pain in Seulgi’s heart is being relayed to her and it is crushing her heart as well. “Please don’t do this to us! You haven’t seen your grandchildren yet!”

Jaewook smiled. He then saw that there’s no mark on Seulgi’s shoulders but only bite marks on her arm. “Why are you two this slow? Please go and do the thing as soon as possible.”

The King coughed even more blood and the two cried out his name.

“My King!!!” Their attention was then caught by General Son and her men. Together with them is Sunmi. Together with the greatest physician in the kingdom, they made their way towards the injured King.

“Seulgi-ya…” The King called as his eyes started to get heavy. “I know… you have… a lot of questions now…”

“Appa, please… Just focus on getting healed.”

“Ask the Vampire King about everything… He knows…” His voice started fading away as his eyes closed. “…everything…”

“Appa!” Seulgi called. “APPA!”

Seungwan took her away to have the physician take care of the King. There might still be a chance that they might save him. Sunmi also made him drink a recovery potion but she’s afraid of the effect it will give since the King is really clinging on his last breaths.

“TCH.” Euigeon clicked his tongue as his beam was not coming out. He doesn’t know what is happening but he knows that Seulgi, somehow, has something to do with this. He tried to test his powers but none of them are currently working at the moment.

He then looked up and saw a forcefield that was covering the whole arena. He had the feeling that as long as he is inside this field, he won’t be able to use his powers. And he knows well that there are only two ways to activate his powers again—get out of the stadium or kill the very source of the forcefield.

“Are you telling me that I have to kill the person that I came to save?”

The man then tried to stand up, it is one of the rare times that he felt this much body pain. The last time he remembered having such pain was when he was under the strict training of his father. He didn't know that Seulgi could actually inflict such damage against him.

Knowing that he won't be able to escape by killing Seulgi and he's in danger of getting caught, he hurriedly went to escape through the exit but then--

"Surprise, m*th*rf*ck*r."

Euigeon felt a direct blow on his stomach right after being surprised by a girl with high ponytailed, long, black hair.

He coiled in pain but he managed to remain on his feet. He then looked at the said girl and he knew right away that she is a vampire in just one look, part of the royals to be exact, but she has never seen this vampire before.

"Who are you?" He asked, spitting the blood that's messing up with his taste buds.

"Have you forgotten about me already?" The girl asked before attacking him with a high kick that he immediately blocked with his arm but since he couldn't use his innate ability of enhancing his body's strength, the kick of the vampire surely cracked some of his bones. His left arm fell down and he couldn’t lift it up anymore.

The vampire just smirked at him. “This isn’t how I imagined our reunion would be. You’ve grown a lot but I really wonder if you have grown in accordance with their expectations.”

Euigeon remained composed as he eyed the vampire. He might be losing in combat now but he won’t lose in the staring contest. “I didn’t know that you were a vampire. I only know you because you are in the same group as that gullible vampire princess and I saw that your name is in the list of the ordinary humans that will attend the wedding.”

The girl’s smile widened. “Oh~ Yeah, you were supposed to be the original groom, right?” She then gave out a mocking sigh. “Original, we say.”

The Shaman Prince’s eyes narrowed. “Go straight