Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Ah-eun’s eyes emitted a fierce, cold blue glow that shone even in the overwhelming darkness. It was the first time she exuded such a chilling aura. It was obvious at a glance that she wasn’t in her right mind—those were not the eyes of a sane person.

As Ah-eun stood up, the child she held in her arms, Ha-yeon, became fully visible. Si-woo’s eyes twitched at the sight.

‘The leg….’

Ha-yeon’s right leg was twisted in an unnatural direction. Fury toward those who had already been reduced to unrecognizable remains flared in Si-woo’s chest like sharp glass.

“Is she the target?”

The soldiers, without lowering their guns aimed at Ah-eun, asked in low voices.

“No.”

Si-woo answered just as quietly.

“But don’t let your guard down.”

With that, Si-woo took a step forward.

“Ah-eun.”

Ah-eun didn’t respond. She simply watched him with her glowing, murderous eyes, not even blinking. She looked far worse than when Si-woo had succumbed to madness.

“Ah-eun, it’s okay.”

Si-woo said, but in that instant, Ah-eun lunged at him. No—no one had even noticed her move, and yet she was already standing in front of Si-woo.

“…!”

The soldiers flinched.

It seemed Si-woo was the only one who had been able to read Ah-eun’s movement. He drew his sword and swung it simultaneously. But Ah-eun dodged by bending backward so far that she nearly touched the ground, and then, in a swift, lizard-like movement, she widened the distance between them in an instant.

Several people, unable to believe what they had just seen, muttered under their breath with their mouths agape.

“What on earth…?”

Ah-eun seemed as though she had no bones. There appeared to be nothing that could hold her down—her body, like water, flowing purely on instinct.

The soldiers weren’t the only ones who were unnerved by the sight of her wide, glaring eyes. She was closer to a creature driven purely by destructive instinct, beyond any ability to distinguish friend from foe—a monster, more dangerous than a wild predator.

To be precise, she resembled a zombie more than a vampire, albeit one whose flesh had not yet rotted.

Si-woo looked at Ah-eun with serious eyes.

Thinking back, Ah-eun had always seemed excessively ‘human.’ When a person becomes a vampire, their body undergoes changes, which in turn affects their consciousness to some extent, but Ah-eun has never shown any typical vampire traits.

It made sense if the ‘vampire state’ existed as a separate personality within her, like a split identity—one too dangerous to let out under normal circumstances.

Suddenly, without any sign of preparation, Ah-eun closed the distance between them again. One of the soldiers, unable to react in time, was nearly attacked, but Si-woo intervened just in time, swinging his sword.

Ah-eun snarled, baring her teeth at Si-woo for interfering with her, while the soldiers aimed their guns at her.

At that moment, a voice cried out.

“Ah…!”

It was Ha-yeon.

As if responding to the sound, Ah-eun whipped her head around to look at the child.

If there was any reason Ah-eun had fallen into such a state of madness, it could only be one. It was because the people now lying dismembered on the ground had tried to harm Ha-yeon. Ah-eun losing her daughter, Haji, had been enough to drive her to madness. A similar situation with Ha-yeon now had surely shattered her sanity once again.

However, at that moment, even Ha-yeon was invisible to Ah-eun’s eyes.

In an instant, Ah-eun lunged toward Ha-yeon.

Crack!

The sound of bone and flesh being crushed echoed.

“…!”

Ha-yeon’s eyes widened in shock.

Si-woo had blocked Ah-eun’s path.

Ah-eun sank her teeth into Si-woo’s arm, growling low and ferociously. Despite the pain, Si-woo clenched his teeth but didn’t pull away.

In a quiet voice, Si-woo muttered.

“Drink it. You’ll need it.”

Then he raised his sword high.

The blade cut through the air so swiftly that the sound was almost inaudible.

Thunk.

His arm fell to the ground with an oddly light sound.

A heavy silence followed, and the pressure in Ah-eun’s jaw, which seemed poised to crush his arm, began to ease.

Slowly, Ah-eun raised her head. Though her appearance remained disheveled, her eyes had returned to normal. Realizing who was standing before her, she opened her mouth.

“Master Si-woo….”

Then, as if an overwhelming flood of pain surged through her, she gasped. She looked at her own arm, then down at Si-woo’s severed arm, and flinched. But before she could react further or express shock, she saw it all—everything. The horrific scene inside the container, a sight so terrifying that even the infamous Jack the Ripper would have screamed and run.

Ah-eun opened her mouth as if to scream, but instead, her gaze fell on Ha-yeon. Ha-yeon was staring at her with wide eyes, watching everything.

A strange sound, indescribable, rose from Ah-eun’s throat. She twisted and writhed like a dying animal impaled on countless spears, screaming in agony.

“Kill me…! Please, kill me…!”

Just then, the soldiers who had been approaching Ha-yeon paused. Ha-yeon had drawn a gun from behind her back and was aiming it at them.

However, the safety was still on.

One of the soldiers slowly extended his hand.

“It’s okay. We’re here to help. Please give that to me.”

In response, Ha-yeon deliberately flipped the safety off, as if to say she knew exactly how to shoot. The soldier flinched and froze in place.

At that moment, Si-woo stepped forward.

“Miss.”

As Si-woo approached, Ha-yeon instinctively recoiled, fear evident in her eyes. She was more afraid of him than anyone else.

After all, she had witnessed what Ah-eun had done to the kidnappers and how Si-woo had subdued Ah-eun. It wasn’t the kidnapping itself, but what they had done to her that had shocked Ha-yeon beyond words.

Si-woo’s eyes darkened at the realization.

Nonetheless, Si-woo remained calm and spoke softly to soothe Ha-yeon.

“Miss, it’s me.”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Even though it had been fired by a child with no knowledge of how to shoot, Si-woo hadn’t dodged. The bullet struck him in the shoulder, the same arm that was already injured.

“CEO…!”

The soldiers, startled, tried to rush forward, but Si-woo raised his uninjured hand to signal that he was fine. He then quietly looked at Ha-yeon.

Breathing heavily, Ha-yeon stared at him, her eyes trembling as if she were beginning to recognize who he was. As her gaze shifted to the blood flowing from his shoulder, her breathing became even more labored.

Seeing that she was on the verge of panic, Si-woo extended his hand.

“It’s okay.”

His calm demeanor seemed to have a soothing effect on Ha-yeon, and slowly, she began to calm down.

Ha-yeon slowly reached out and grasped the bloodstained hand before her. The pain of such an innocent, small life made Si-woo’s eyes sting with emotion. As he held her small hand, he whispered again.

“It’s okay now.”

It was as if he were speaking to both Ha-yeon and himself at the same time. The soldiers silently observed the scene.

* * *

Ah-eun’s face looked haggard. Si-woo, dressed in a suit, sat across from her in the visitation room.

“How is your health?”

Ah-eun nodded in response.

[I’m managing better than I expected. I know you’ve made a lot of accommodations for me. Thank you.]

Si-woo had done his best, but according to the prison guards, there weren’t many vampires around these days who had killed twenty-one people, so the other inmates were too frightened of Ah-eun to bother her. Her kind and unassuming face only seemed to heighten that fear.

“The trial is being prepared well. There are plenty of mitigating circumstances, so there’s no need to worry.”

A silence fell between them.

[How is Miss Ha-yeon…?]

Ah-eun asked softly.

“She’s doing well.”

[Is she healthy…? Was she traumatized or…?]

Si-woo shook his head.

“She’s fine. Don’t worry.”

[It was me.]

Ah-eun suddenly spoke.

[The people who attacked the village… It was me.]

Si-woo looked at her, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

[I killed them. All of them.]

Si-woo’s fingers twitched slightly.

[I vaguely remembered, but I kept denying it. I couldn’t believe I had such power… I didn’t want to believe it.]

Without meeting his eyes, Ah-eun continued speaking.

[When I woke up surrounded by those people, dead with their eyes wide open, I remember a rage I had never felt before… A gut-wrenching, heart-crushing fury that I can’t even describe.]

Si-woo clenched his fist. It was almost identical to how he had felt when he first regained consciousness—an overwhelming anger that made it impossible to hold on to his sanity.

[I tore apart the ones who took Haji, my daughter, from me.]

Ah-eun looked down at her hands, though no one had asked her to.

[I ripped them apart with my bare hands.]

Her hands began to tremble.

[And then I forgot. Maybe the memory of killing them was too horrific, or maybe I convinced myself that someone else, someone who had turned me into this, had killed them all.]

Tears welled up in her large eyes.

[But I killed them. And I did it again this time.]

They had been born from anger. The blood coursing through their veins was fueled by a destructive hatred toward their enemies, and the energy that kept their hearts beating was the anticipation of sinking their teeth into their foes’ throats.

Si-woo stood up from his seat.

“Ah-eun.”

Ah-eun looked up at him through her tears.

“You did well. If you hadn’t done it, I would have.”

Leaving Ah-eun sobbing behind him, Si-woo turned to go, his face set in a terrifyingly hard expression.

* * *

Ha-yeon sat in a chair, sketching in her notebook.

“Miss.”

Sensing someone approach, Ha-yeon looked up at Si-woo. Her gaze traveled from his perfectly made-up face, down his curvaceous figure, skirt, and high heels. Having recently seen him in his male form, she looked more confused than ever.

Si-woo sat down beside her and asked.

“What are you drawing?”

Ha-yeon looked at him with her clear, innocent eyes and then asked.

“Is Selena a man?”

Si-woo smiled.

“Selena is just Selena.”

Despite everything, Ha-yeon’s mental state seemed better than expected.

Just then, footsteps approached, and as they both turned to look, Ha-yeon’s mother, Kyu-hwa, was boarding the plane.

Kyu-hwa glanced at Si-woo, seated in the private jet.

“We’re leaving now.”

Si-woo stood up from his seat. Kneeling on one knee beside Ha-yeon, he softly said.

“Take care.”

Her quiet eyes, staring at him, gave no clear indication of how much she understood the situation. She might not grasp it at all, or perhaps she was fully aware.

Could she be sensing their impending farewell?

They had decided to give her a life free from Luax’s dangers, the trauma of the kidnapping, and the threat of the Chun family’s dangerous bloodline.

Kyu-hwa, looking at Si-woo, spoke.

“Go. I’ll contact you once we arrive.”

“Be careful.”

Si-woo responded as he turned to leave.

But just as he was about to walk away, Ha-yeon grabbed the hem of his clothing.