Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Eugene narrowed her eyes. In the middle of the hospital corridor stood a man. The reason she referred to him as ‘a man’ was that, no matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like someone who was trying to escape. Amid the thick black smoke, he stood alone, with an expression so blank it felt surreal.

Feeling uneasy, Eugene turned her body and moved to the side corridor. But before long, the man was standing in front of her again.

“……”

Even Heinrich seemed to sense something was off, his expression growing serious. They turned around and walked again, but once more, the man was in front of them. Just by this, it was clear that the man was not human. However, he did nothing but follow them like death itself.

In the end, Eugene asked.

“What do you want?”

But the man did not respond.

Even if he didn’t attack them now, the two of them, being just weak humans, would be done for if they inhaled a bit more smoke. It was as if he knew that for sure…….

‘He must be planning to kill us disguised as an accident.’

Eugene realized.

Even though the virus development project had been shut down, she couldn’t understand what benefit there would be in killing her. But one thing was clear: the man intended to eliminate her.

Then it happened.

Boom.

It wasn’t a sound-or rather, it was more of a beat that reverberated through the hospital the building shook as if someone had grabbed her by the hair and shaken her.

“Father!”

Eugene shouted with a voice sharper than she had ever used before and covered Heinrich.

* * *

Crackle.

Debris fell onto his cheek.

Finally regaining his senses, Heinrich couldn’t understand what had happened. He had been suddenly pushed and rolled over by Eugene, and despite looking around, he couldn’t see Eugene anywhere, only a pile of stones in front of him.

Heinrich strained to find Eugene, mumbling her name.

“Eugene…”

At that moment, he noticed a corner of Eugene’s clothes beneath the pile of stones. The bright green color was unmistakable.

“Eugene!”

Heinrich shouted without realizing it. Buried under the debris, Eugene vaguely heard the sound.

A rumbling noise filled her ears. It was unclear whether the building was collapsing or lightning was striking. The surroundings were hot and suffocating, making it hard to breathe.

Her body was already too heavy to move. Whether it was from the debris hitting her head or the warm liquid pooling beneath her head, it felt damp and uncomfortable.

At that moment, Heinrich saw the Luax still standing upright in the middle of the corridor. Although he hadn’t expected death since the disease outbreak, he hadn’t imagined dying like this, especially not taking Eugene along to the afterlife.

The Luax took a step forward. Heinrich was already in no condition to control his own body.

Clang!

At that moment, the window in the wall shattered, and a dark figure burst through.

“……!”

Heinrich widened his eyes.

The dark figure landed in the corridor, scattering the shards of the broken window. The Luax, who had been following Eugene and Heinrich and seemed to be taken aback by the unexpected appearance through the window, showed a hint of surprise.

Hisha, dressed in all black as if he had just come from a heist, pulled back his hood and eyed the man with a wary expression.

“Who are you?”

Suddenly, the man turned and started running away. Hisha instinctively tried to chase him but then remembered something more urgent when he saw Heinrich, and he asked urgently.

“Where is Eugene?”

Heinrich pointed to the pile of stones.

“Down there…”

“……!”

Hisha’s eyes widened, and he immediately rushed to move the stones away.

“Eugene!”

The pile of stones tumbled down. Hisha grabbed the largest stone, letting out a grunt as he exerted all his strength.

A muffled noise reached Eugene’s ears, and she tried to focus. But her body and head felt heavier than anything she had ever experienced.

‘I don’t want to die…’

Ironically, that thought came first. She was struck by the realization of how much she didn’t want to die.

Boom.

The heavy weight pressing down on her was removed with a loud noise. Light poured in, and a shadow calling out to her flickered through.

Eugene thought faintly one last time.

‘Hisha…’

* * *

Nasiri anxiously watched the scene before him. Firefighters wearing reinforced exoskeletons were clearing the debris. The reinforced exoskeletons allowed for more delicate work than regular cranes, making it more likely to find survivors, so he tried to reassure himself.

At least that’s what he told himself.

The thought that something might have happened to Eugene seemed absurd. She was someone who would rise from the ruins like a phoenix.

At that moment, there was a loud commotion from the collapsed hospital. Nasiri turned around urgently to see the firefighters bringing out a survivor. It was Heinrich.

Nasiri rushed over.

“Chairman!”

Heinrich, covered in so much dust that his original appearance was unrecognizable, looked at Nasiri. The expression on Heinrich’s face, which Nasiri had never seen before in his life, was not one of regret or sorrow but something close to despair.

“Eugene…”

As Heinrich’s voice cracked and he coughed harshly, the firefighters pushed Nasiri aside.

“Make way!”

As Nasiri was pushed aside, the firefighters took Heinrich away, and another firefighter shouted from the direction of the hospital.

“There’s another person here!”

Among the gathered firefighters, Hisha appeared, holding Eugene, who was also covered in dust, making it hard to tell if it was just dirt or if she was injured. The medical staff immediately brought a stretcher, and Hisha laid Eugene on it. Nasiri felt a deep sense of relief seeing this. After all, Eugene was someone who would survive any crisis…

Just then, Eugene’s hand fell limply from the stretcher.

A strange silence fell over the area as if everyone had instinctively realized a stark truth and were left speechless.

Hisha looked at Eugene, who was covered in dust and blood. The pillow she was lying on was damp with blood.

Heinrich, being helped by emergency responders as he was about to get into the ambulance, also glanced towards them. Hisha slowly called out to Eugene.

“Eugene…?”

In the meantime, a doctor checked Eugene’s pulse and then swallowed hard with a grim expression, shaking his head at the other medical staff. It seemed it was already too late.

Without hesitation, Hisha grabbed the doctor by the collar as he was about to move on to the next patient. The doctor, caught off guard and unable to react, looked at Hisha in shock.

Without taking his eyes off Eugene, Hisha said quietly.

“Do CPR.”

The doctor, barely regaining his composure, spoke.

“I’m sorry. She’s already deceased…”

“Do it!”

The voice from Hisha’s gut echoed loudly, shaking the area. The enormous noise swallowed all the sounds of the busy accident site, freezing everyone in their tracks. Ignoring everything, Hisha clutched the doctor’s collar and shouted.

“Do it!”

“Hisha!”

At that moment, Hisha was pulled strongly, causing him to turn around. It was Ha-yeon who was holding him.

Ha-yeon shook her head slowly.

“Her heart isn’t beating.”

She added, with a tone of sorrow.

“She’s not breathing. She hasn’t been since you brought her out.”

Upon hearing that, Hisha slowly turned to look at Eugene lying on the stretcher. No sound came from her chest.

Barely able to raise his voice as if someone were choking him.

“Eugene couldn’t die like this. So futilely…”

Ha-yeon could not respond to Hisha’s despairing words.

“I went to save Eugene. I went to save her. So why is Eugene dead?”

At that moment, Hisha pushed Ha-yeon away and started walking off.

“Hisha…”

Ha-yeon tried to grab him, but Hisha shoved her away.

Meanwhile, Heinrich, standing by the open ambulance doors, saw Hisha approaching him.

Bang!

Suddenly, Hisha’s fist punched through the ambulance door behind Heinrich. Heinrich, surprisingly unfazed, looked at Hisha with a pale face. Hisha spoke through gritted teeth.

“Are you watching closely? This is the result of your desire to live forever.”

Despite that, Heinrich seemed to have something to say.

“What do you know, born of immortality…”

“You killed the only person who loved you, no matter what happened. Even if you had a dozen affairs or were as devious and cruel as a person could be, the only person who never abandoned you…!”

Emotions welling up, Hisha swallowed once before continuing.

“Even someone like you, she calls you father… Eugene loved you.”

Then, before turning to leave, Hisha spoke in a low voice.

“Never give up your immortality. In the end, everyone will die, and you’ll be left standing alone.”

* * *

Hisha was sitting in the hospital corridor where Eugene had been transferred. Resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands, his eyes were red. Ha-yeon sat beside him, offering silent companionship without speaking.

Then, at some point, Ha-yeon sensed someone approaching and turned to look.

“Hisha.”

She called out softly.

Hisha, who had been sitting like a broken statue, turned to look at the source of the serious tone in her voice. Pierlu was approaching from the other side of the corridor, pushing Mirsi’s wheelchair.

A spark of recognition flickered in Hisha’s eyes.

“Mirsi.”

Mirsi looked unwell. The last time he had seen him, he seemed alive and well, but now his health appeared to have deteriorated; his eyes were darkened, and he looked barely able to sit. Hisha glanced at Pierlu as if asking why he had brought Mirsi, and Pierlu spoke with a hint of sadness.

“He knew.”

“Knew what…?”

Hisha realized what he was referring to and looked at Mirsi in surprise. Mirsi spoke slowly.

“Mother told me a long time ago. She urged me to keep it a secret. But she hoped that I would know the truth. About having… another family.”

Hisha was at a loss for words and could only stare at Mirsi. He continued.

“After hearing that from Mother, I searched the name on the internet. I was shocked. To think that this person is my sister…”

The term ‘sister’ seemed to feel awkward to him, and he paused slightly.

“But what surprised me more was that I had already met her.”

Hisha didn’t quite understand at first. He had met Eugene?

Seeing the confusion on Hisha’s face, Mirsi nodded sadly and began recounting his story from that day.