Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Clang.

A burst of sound, inaudible to the human ear from afar, echoed through the air. And then something flew overhead and disappeared beyond the wall. Ah-eun briefly saw Changwon-gun, dragged away with a face of sheer terror as if mauled by a tiger.

Ah-eun immediately followed the presence.

Si-woo had entered the mountains as if searching for the place where he would bury Changwon-gun.

After running through the forest for an unknown time, Ah-eun vaguely saw Si-woo standing tall among the towering trees. Changwon-gun was trembling, lying fallen in front of him.

“Y-You, how….”

Changwon-gun’s face was one of seeing a vampire.

Ah-eun was struck by the realization of how quickly humans age. Just six years ago, Changwon-gun had looked so youthful, but now he seemed like a rather aged man. He looked as old as Si-woo, who had stopped aging six years ago.

Ah-eun ran and blocked the space between the two men.

“Master!”

Si-woo halted. His eyes, fierce and beast-like through his disheveled hair, flashed with malice.

Instinctively, Ah-eun knew that Si-woo was on the brink of crossing into the realm of a monster from his original self.

When she had genuinely felt malice before, Ah-eun had felt the presence of the fierce entity inside her more clearly than anyone else. She couldn’t let Si-woo be consumed by it and spoke with a desperate heart.

“Master, this is no different from what this man has done.”

Though she would prefer Changwon-gun to be dead, this was not good for Si-woo. She knew that if Si-woo saw blood, he would become a monster that only craved blood.

Without responding, Si-woo looked at Changwon-gun with burning eyes. Changwon-gun flailed his legs wildly, retreating and shouting.

“Get away! Go away…!”

What is this?

Si-woo thought.

It was like a dog or a cat. So weak and small that it seemed it would fall with just a kick, making it feel like it should be protected instead.

It was a being that wasn’t a match for him.

Just as Changwon-gun was no match for him, armed with power and violence, and was as insignificant as a scratch to him, Changwon-gun was more trivial than a creature in the face of this unknown, rising force.

It was no different from kicking a dog or a cat.

It wasn’t about violating a sense of justice. What Si-woo wanted Changwon-gun to feel was not the sensation of being crushed and dying like a victim under overwhelming power. He wanted him to experience the bitter realization that he was paying for his own evil deeds.

Si-woo shoved Ah-eun aside and grabbed Changwon-gun by the collar, lifting him effortlessly. Changwon-gun felt unusually light for an adult man.

“Uuugh!”

Changwon-gun screamed and struggled as if he had lost his mind, but Si-woo’s grip on his collar did not waver.

“Master, please…!”

In the moment Ah-eun cried out urgently, Si-woo bit into Changwon-gun’s neck. Blood and flesh splattered as if an enraged beast were tearing him apart.

“……!”

Si-woo’s eyes, glowing with a fierce light, reflected the rage of a beast. Ah-eun, horrified by the explosion of fury, swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe that this was a being born of her own blood, like her.

Changwon-gun emitted a horrific sound. Then Si-woo shoved his bloody fist into Changwon-gun’s mouth. Changwon-gun choked and writhed in agony.

Si-woo pulled Changwon-gun up by his collar.

“Crawl out of the pit. I’ll kill you for real then.”

With a snarl, he threw Changwon-gun away. Changwon-gun flew through the air like a piece of paper and rolled on the ground, moving in an unnatural position.

* * *

“Master.”

Ah-eun called out, but Si-woo didn’t respond. He was just staring at the rock blocking the entrance of the cave. He looked like a well-sharpened blade.

Ah-eun spoke.

“He’s probably already dead.”

It had been eight days. No one had ever endured the process of becoming a vampire for so long. Even if Changwon-gun had succeeded in becoming a vampire, he would have starved to death by now. Especially right after becoming a vampire, the immense hunger would have made survival slim.

Watching Si-woo’s back as he still didn’t answer, Ah-eun spoke cautiously.

“We need to bury the body.”

Si-woo turned his head slightly.

“He is not worthy of being buried.”

His voice was deep and growled like a beast. Ah-eun spoke desperately.

“But if Changwon-gun is found in such a state, it will cause trouble.”

Si-woo then looked at the rock blocking the cave. He turned away as if dismissing it. It seemed he had finally accepted that Changwon-gun was already dead.

With a sigh, Ah-eun moved the rock and entered the cave.

In the unventilated, confined space, there was a rancid and sour smell of decaying flesh. Even Ah-eun, accustomed to various foul odors, instinctively covered her nose. The smell alone was enough to make one feel like contracting a plague.

Looking down into the pit, she saw a lump of something collapsed in the corner.

Ah-eun lightly landed inside the pit. The wall behind Changwon-gun looked like it had been clawed out by an animal. The corpse’s hands were covered in dirt.

It seemed he had exhausted himself trying to dig through the wall of the cave, only to die from the hunger he experienced upon becoming a vampire. After all, trying to use strength while feeling the hunger of a newly turned vampire only hastened death.

His hair was disheveled like a prisoner’s, and his silk robe and shoes were smeared with dirt and blood. The skin exposed beneath his clothes was darkened, resembling severe burns, with prominent blue veins that made it harder to look at than that of a leper.

Even though Changwon-gun was an evil man, Ah-eun felt pity seeing him in such a state.

Where did all this misfortune begin?

Swallowing her bitter emotions, she approached Changwon-gun’s corpse.

But then the smell of blood took on a strangely fresh quality.

In that moment.

Crash!

Changwon-gun suddenly shoved Ah-eun against the wall. Gasping, Ah-eun stared in shock at him.

Changwon-gun, in his ghastly state, looked like he was neither dead nor alive.

‘He survived by eating his own flesh.’ 

Ah-eun realized, almost letting out a scream.

“Who am I…?”

Changwon-gun gasped with a foul breath, his tone uncertain like someone with a severed tongue. The shock of having died once and the extreme hunger seemed to have impaired his memory.

At that moment.

A blade sliced through the air—

Si-woo, moving so fast he appeared as a blurred afterimage, swung his sword at Changwon-gun.

“Don’t you remember who you are?”

Ah-eun shouted reflexively. In that instant, the sword paused.

Silence fell.

During this, Changwon-gun, with wide-open eyes, looked over his shoulder. Seeing his eyes, which were sneaking around like a servant trying to steal, Ah-eun realized.

It was an act.

“No…!”

As Ah-eun was about to speak again, Changwon-gun’s hand plunged into her abdomen. With a sickening squelch, he pulled out his bloodied hand. Ah-eun couldn’t even scream.

“Ah-eun!”

Si-woo shouted. Ironically, Ah-eun could tell that Si-woo had not completely lost his sanity.

At that moment, Changwon-gun shoved Si-woo aside and, with his last bit of strength, leaped out of the pit.

Si-woo spun around. Despite running at tremendous speed, he collided with the cave wall due to his unsteady legs, and Changwon-gun’s fleeing figure, bouncing out of the cave, was visible. Si-woo saw Ah-eun, her abdomen gaping open, spilling blood.

Grinding his teeth, Si-woo kicked off and rushed out of the cave. Torrential rain was pouring.

However, his steps faltered as he was about to leave the cave.

If he left Ah-eun behind, she would die.

Looking ahead, Changwon-gun’s presence was quickly fading away.

Si-woo slowly raised his voice, tilting his head back as he howled. The anguished sound echoed throughout the mountain.

In the distance, a villager clicked his tongue and muttered.

“What kind of beast’s cry is so filled with hatred…? Ugh, it’s eerie.”

He shivered and turned away.

* * *

Ah-eun briefly opened her eyes.

She saw the interior of a dilapidated thatched house. There was no sound of rain, and Si-woo was sitting beside her, looking out through an open door at a rectangular, desolate landscape.

Feeling her gaze, Si-woo turned around.

She expected him to say something reproachful. But instead, Si-woo just looked at her with the bright green fields beyond the door behind him. Though his appearance was unchanged, his eyes were clear and serene, like the sky after rain.

Si-woo then picked up a curved blade he had set aside and stood up. Ah-eun urgently tried to rise and called to him.

“Master…!”

“I have repaid the debt of saving me. Do not follow.”

Si-woo said this and left the house, his steps filled with a resolve never to stop again.

Ah-eun bit her lip hard.

If Ah-eun hadn’t been deceived, Si-woo would never have missed Changwon-gun, who was barely alive.

Ah-eun quickly threw off the covers and hurried to follow Si-woo. Beyond a shallow sloped field, an endless forest stretched out. She chased after him.

“Master, where are you going…!”

Si-woo paused for a moment.

“We cannot allow it to live and roam freely.”

Then he continued.

Afterward, Si-woo traveled all across the Joseon Eight Provinces in pursuit of Changwon-gun. He neglected everything else—eating, dressing, sleeping.

He wandered like a ghost without a body, consumed solely by his unfulfilled revenge.

While Ah-eun, having become a vampire, hid away from everyone’s eyes, Si-woo exuded an aura of inhumanity, searching for his kin. It was astonishing how many vampires were hiding throughout Joseon.

Si-woo reacted instinctively to injustice, but it was clear that his actions were not driven by a sense of justice or a desire to punish the guilty or help the weak. Instead, he was more like a beast with only instincts left, punishing evil-doers without any particular conviction.

He was more like a manifestation of accumulated resentment in the mortal world—a true embodiment of a “vampire.”

Because of Si-woo’s wild appearance, people avoided him on their own. Yet, the fact that he was not discovered to be non-human was largely due to Ah-eun, who continued to follow him and handle the aftermath.

In contrast, Si-woo showed no reaction to Ah-eun’s presence. It was almost as if he didn’t even notice she was following him.

Then one day, a blonde vampire from the western region appeared before them.