Into the Creations

"Damn it! Just kill him! He's not someone we can capture alive! Shoot him!"

Im Bu-jeon's judgment was swift and accurate. 

However, no matter how well-trained they were, they were still just ordinary humans. They couldn't hit me while I was using acceleration. Plus, the place was littered with exercise equipment and corpses, which made for convenient shields.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was no way I'd get hit by bullets. I already knew the positions of all the guys with guns. To hit me, they'd have to pull the trigger from outside my line of sight.

"..."

I swung my sword almost unconsciously.

Perhaps due to the influence of the Level 5 Yeongcheon Style, I could naturally use its combat techniques without having to think about it. 

I wasn't swinging the sword after thinking. I just followed what I saw, guided by the Yeongcheon Style.

Ratatatatat!

The assault rifle spat fire. I dodged the bullets, ran along the wall, and beheaded the guy holding the rifle. Blood spurted out. 

The red sword didn't stop. Every time a red trajectory was drawn in the air, red liquid followed. 

Kill. Kill. Kill.

"..."

Suddenly, when I came to my senses, there was no one standing around me except myself. The surroundings were filled with blood and entrails.

"You… crazy monster bastard…!"

In front of me, Im Bu-jeon, with both legs severed, cursed at me with a twisted face. His body trembled as he feared me. 

Im Bu-jeon threw the hatchet in his hand at me. I deflected it with my sword.

"Ah!"

Combat Awakening.

An experience that hunters of D-rank or higher have gone through at least once. 
It's a different kind of pleasure from sex. There's a reason why some hunters push themselves too hard during battles to experience Combat Awakening again, even if it kills them.

"I don't have time for this."

I stabbed Im Bu-jeon's heart with my slightly trembling sword. My mind was calm, but my body was excited. 

The total number of people I killed today was 28. I repeated that number in my head as I went upstairs. 

The upper floor was an armoury. The iron door was wide open as if they had hastily taken out weapons.

"Oh!"

As I entered the armoury, I let out a small exclamation of admiration and smashed the camera on the ceiling. 

From cold weapons to firearms, as seen in dramas, various weapons were prepared. I grinned as I looked at the guns.

"Even hunters in reality have a hard time getting guns."

In Korea, hunters cannot own regular firearms. The weapons hunters can own are cold weapons. 

The firearms hunters use are specially made for hunting monsters, and only with the association's permission can they own special firearms. 

South Korea is pathologically strict about guns.

"The cold weapons here are all trash."

The cold weapons used by hunters, in reality, are made from monster byproducts. Because of this, they sometimes have special abilities and most boast durability beyond steel. The cold weapons here didn't meet my standards. 

I brought a box from reality, filled it with firearms, and took it back to reality.

'There's a ton of bullets here! Must be tens of thousands.'

I packed the ammunition boxes as they were.

"Is this a sniper rifle? Is this really South Korea?"

Of course, I took the sniper rifle too. 

The main method vampire hunters use to hunt vampires is long-range sniping. During the day, vampires are manageable, but at night, their physical abilities become too much for humans to handle, so sniping is the safest way to hunt them. 

However, vampires know this too. They avoid places where they can be easily sniped.

"I've seen this in games… what was it? M24?"

I'm not good at games, but I've always liked sniper rifles. I know they're hard to handle, but the thrill of a successful snipe is irresistible. 

Thinking about it, I've always liked assassin characters.

"Let's gooooo!"

After packing all the firearms, I shouted loudly, went downstairs, and jumped out of the third-floor window. With my physical abilities, a three-story jump is nothing.

Crash!

I landed on a parked truck.

"Ahhhhh!"

People around me screamed and ran away in panic. 

My body was covered in blood. My white shirt had already turned bright red, and my black suit was soaked in blood. Plus, I was holding a sword and a scabbard in both hands.

'I must look like a crazy murderer.'

I shrugged my shoulders and ran to the car I had come in. Just in case someone tried to attack me, I put the sword I was holding into my inventory.

"Time to speed."

I turned up the volume of a popular girl group's song and stepped on the accelerator as hard as I could. I ignored all traffic signals and cut through traffic as easily as breathing. Speed limit? I don't have a license, so I don't know about that.

'Since rush hour is over, the roads aren't too crowded.'

Beep beep beep beep! 

Soon, police cars appeared chasing me. The siren was so loud that I turned up the music even louder.

[I want to meet you~]

I remember playing cops and robbers with neighbourhood friends when I was a kid. I didn't like that game much. If I were the robber, I would get caught quickly, and if I were the cop, I would just suffer without catching anyone. I preferred hide and seek.

"Oops..."

There was a group of police blocking the road ahead. They had predicted my route and set up a barricade with police cars and a police bus.

"My car won't stop even at a barricade~"

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack the police bus for 1 minute and 30 seconds.] 

The police bus moved, pushing aside nearby police cars to create space. The police panicked and moved away from the bus. 

I leisurely passed through the barricade through the empty space. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw the police frantically chasing me.

"The targeted alley area is coming up…. Should I shake them off?"

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack the traffic light for 5 minutes and 12 seconds.]

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack the traffic light for 4 minutes and 28 seconds.]

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack the traffic light for 3 minutes and 41 seconds.] 
...

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack the traffic light for 12 seconds.] 

I hacked over ten traffic lights while speeding down the road. Turning all the red lights to green caused chaos on the roads. Especially the intersections I passed through were a mess. 

No matter how skilled a driver is, it's impossible to chase me through such chaotic roads. 

I abandoned the car at my destination and ran into the alley area. There are fewer CCTV cameras here. I quickly went into a store, wiped my body with a wet towel I brought from reality, and changed clothes. The inventory was useful for times like this.

Taking off the clown mask and wearing jeans and a hoodie, I became an ordinary college student. I put my hands in my pockets and walked out of the alley. 

I blended into the crowd walking down the street, watching the police running around in a panic. 

Soon, three police officers blocked my path.

"Hold on. We need to check you." 

"Check me?" 

"Yes. Please show us your belongings and ID." 

"...Belongings? Why all of a sudden?" 

"The clown murderer ran this way. We need your cooperation." 

"...If that's the reason, I guess I have no choice."

I showed the police my wallet. It was all I had.

"Thank you for your cooperation. It's safer to go home quickly with a murderer on the loose." 

"A murderer…. Oh, that's scary. I should head back soon. Good luck."

I returned to Hera's apartment instead of Kang Eugene's place. 

My body, excited from slaughtering over 20 people, wouldn't calm down easily. It seems like only sex can relieve this. 

I desperately hoped Hera would come home quickly.

***

"..."

The atmosphere in the Black Cross Society headquarters meeting room was icy. 
No one spoke, and their eyes were cold and sunken. 

The headquarters chief, Lee Moon-hyun, along with the executives, were watching the footage on a large screen installed on one side of the wall.

The footage showed the carnage at 'Noel Fitness Club,' one of the vampire hunters' training centres, which had occurred just an hour ago. 

A red-haired clown in a suit was wielding a crimson sword, slaughtering vampire hunters.

Slaughter.

Literally, he alone killed 23 vampire hunters. The red trajectories created by the dancing sword were so fluid they seemed alive. 

Silver bullets, a vampire's weakness, didn't even graze his clothes. 

The blood-soaked clown's massacre ended with him stabbing Im Bu-jeon, who had lost his legs, through the chest.

Before heading upstairs, the clown smirked at the camera once, then looted the armoury. 

The clown left the cold weapons but took all the firearms. There were various speculations about how he took them, but the most mysterious was the possibility of a hidden accomplice. Smashing the armoury's camera seemed to be to hide this accomplice.

The problem was that no one around the Noel Fitness Club had seen any accomplice. This led the Black Cross Society to suspect that the clown and his accomplice might be vampire progenitors using supernatural abilities.

"...What's the clown's supernatural ability?"

After more than ten minutes of silence, Lee Moon-hyun finally spoke. Baek Ji-wook, the head of the investigation department, immediately answered.

"We're speculating it's machine manipulation. We confirmed he moved a stationary police bus and manipulated traffic lights to disrupt the control circuits." 

The traffic signal controllers were fine, but some parts of the traffic lights had to be replaced.

"So the bus terror from before was also the clown's doing. Damn bastard…. What are the limitations of his ability?" 

"He can't use it recklessly, the duration of machine manipulation is short, and there's a distance limit. Based on the footage of him manipulating the police bus, it's about 30 meters." 

"…I see. There must be limitations. But it's still a cheat-like ability. How do we counter it?" 

"It's simple. Don't bring any machines when dealing with him. Also, even if you bring machines, maintain a 50-meter distance, and you won't be manipulated. However…." 

"However, it's not certain. He might have intentionally set limitations to deceive us." 

"Yes. That's correct."

Tap tap!

Lee Moon-hyun's fingers tapped the desk rhythmically. Thinking of the clown made his anger rise, but now was the time to calmly assess the situation. 

"…Can we catch him?"

"We can catch him."

Ki Han-jun, the head of the combat department, answered firmly. His eyes were burning with determination.

He was the superior of the vampire hunters who died today. Training and managing them was his main job. He still vividly remembered the faces and voices of the dead vampire hunters.

"If we prepare thoroughly…! If we know where he is, we can definitely catch him!" 

"...."

Lee Moon-hyun fell into thought. 

He didn't underestimate South Korea's vampire hunters. However, as a peaceful country, South Korean hunters' lack of real combat experience was undeniable. 

Lee Moon-hyun was considering asking for help from the UK and US branches of the Black Cross Society. His pride might take a hit, but stopping the clown from causing more havoc was more important.

"...Can you do it?" 

"We will definitely do it." 

"If you fail, we'll immediately request support from the UK and US branches. Don't fail." 

"…Yes!"

Buzz buzz!

Lee Moon-hyun's smartphone vibrated. In the quiet meeting room, everyone heard the small vibration sound. 

Lee Moon-hyun checked the screen and let out a sigh.

"It's the Blue House." 

He gave a warning glance and answered the call.

"Yes. Chief of Staff... What do you mean? That's a bit different from our regulations... Understood. I'll be there soon." 

After hanging up, Lee Moon-hyun closed his eyes and sighed.

"..."

In the uncomfortable silence, Lee Moon-hyun stood up.

"Head of Support. We might have to cooperate with the police. Be aware." 

"…Huh? That's against our regulations."

The Black Cross Society doesn't cooperate with the military or police unless it's a special case. It's a regulation that's been in place since ancient times.

"Ah! Is it information exchange cooperation?"

That would be understandable. They had such relationships with several organizations, including the National Intelligence Service.

"No. Full-scale cooperation." 

"What…?" 

"The clown caused such a mess that the police couldn't do anything this time. They're furious. Plus, the clown is already known to the public. The police can't just sit back."

From the Black Cross Society's perspective, he's a vampire progenitor. But to the general public, the clown is just a crazy murderer. The police have no choice but to step in.

"The clown broke the unwritten rule."

The unwritten rule between vampires and vampire hunters: not revealing their existence to the general public. 

From the vampires' perspective, they don't want to turn all of humanity against them, and from the vampire hunters' perspective, they don't want to spread fear by revealing vampires' existence.

"We must find and kill him before he causes more trouble."

***

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