In an instant, her eyes widened with a flash of alarm. With a swiftness that defied the laws of physics, she reacted. Her hand shot out and grabbed Jin-ha, pulling her behind her with a protective instinct that had become second nature. The air around her seemed to crackle with energy as a long blade, forged from pure ice, materialized in her grasp.
With a single fluid motion, Esdeath swung the frigid blade at the source of the disturbance. It cleaved through the air with a deadly precision, aimed at the intruder who had dared to disrupt their peace.
But the blade met an unexpected obstacle, one that halted its advance with effortless ease. Jin's finger, delicate and unharmed, had intercepted the deadly swipe. He had appeared out of nowhere, his presence manifesting as if from thin air.
Esdeath's eyes met his, a mixture of relief and frustration coursing through her. She sighed, her rigid posture relaxing as her blade dissipated into icy mist. "How many times have I told you, babe, not to teleport near me?"
Jin chuckled, his expression one of fond exasperation. "I can't help it, love. You're just too tempting to resist."
Their playful banter was a familiar melody, a dance they had performed countless times before. With an affectionate smile, Jin closed the gap between them, and their lips met in a passionate kiss. It was a display of affection that neither of them shied away from, regardless of who might be watching.
Jin-ha, who had witnessed this scene more times than she could count, simply sighed, a resigned smile playing on her lips. It was a familiar routine in their household, one that spoke of a love that was unapologetically passionate and unrestrained.
As they broke the kiss, Esdeath and Jin exchanged a knowing look, their love and devotion evident in their eyes. They had a connection that transcended the ordinary, and they cherished every moment they had together.
And in that moment, as they stood together, their love on full display, they knew that nothing could ever come between them.
Jin's and Esdeath's eyes narrowed to a slit. His gaze shifted toward the front door.
'I am right on time he is coming this way. What are the odds'
Jin-Ah also noticed her brother's tense aura. She asked, sounding a little anxious.
"Oppa?"
""Nothing much, why don't both of you dig into this?" Jin suggested, handing her a bag brimming with a delightful assortment of chicken wings, burgers, and pizza. As he did so, he excused himself to check on the door.
"What's the matter?"
A presence walking through the garden was walking straight to here now.
The not so suspicious presence emitted a thin and weak magic energy. Jin couldn't sense any hostile intentions from this presence so he knew who it was.
Didn't matter which was which – Jin wasn't a gracious enough person to accept with a smile an uninvited guest trying to invade the privacy of his home, when the hour was already well past ten in the evening.
Jin stood before the door.
Jin slightly loosened his muscles. He tilted his head left and right, and his neck issued a cracking noise.
And, as he expected….
Thud, thud.
As a sudden knock echoed at the door, it startled Jin-Ah, prompting her to scurry into her room, taken aback by the unexpected interruption. Esdeath, noticing Jin-Ah's reaction, swiftly seized the opportunity to grab a slice of pizza from her designated area. She did so casually, seemingly unperturbed by the indignant glare Jin-Ah shot her way. Esdeath simply continued to savor the pizza.
Meanwhile, Jin calmly approached the door, ready to address the visitor.
Clang.
And from the slowly-widening gap of the door, a familiar face of a man could be seen. The man spoke.
"Hyunnng-nim…."
He was even sniffling, too.
Yoo Jin-Ho and his reddened nose were standing in front of the door, sniffling like a little kid.
"….."
Jin was so dumbstruck that he stood there in a total daze, prompting Yoo Jin-Ho to tearfully speak up.
"Hyung-nim. I got kicked out of the house. Dad kicked me out."
"…"
Now that Jin took another look, there was a backpack as big as Yoo Jin-Ho slung on his back. He was even carrying quite a lot of luggage in both of his hands, too.
"…..Wait, didn't you live alone already?"
"Well, that…."
Sniff.
"The villa I was living in was under my father's name, and he took it away. He even blocked all my bank accounts."
A father blocking his son's bank accounts. All of them. What a movie-like situation that was, but well, this being the top businessman in South Korea, Chairman Yoo Myung-Hwan, it sounded rather plausible and in this Asia anything less than 100% is failure for them.
When Jin started with a pair of questioning gaze, Yoo Jin-Ho spoke up, his voice trembling.
"So, like, I was wondering, Hyung-nim. Can I impose on you for the time being?"
Creaaak….
Clank.
Jin quietly closed the door, and even proceeded to lock it.
Click.
Worried Jin-Ah had been observing the situation from the hall, and once Jin turned away from the door, she quickly jogged next to him and asked while a chicken wing in her hands.
"Oppa, who was that? Do you know him?"
Jin shook his head.
"Nope. Never met him before."
"You really don't know him? After all, he came here many times looking for you? But, why did he come to our place, then?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he got the wrong address."
"…..Really?"
But, it sure didn't look like that, though.
As Jin gently but firmly pushed his still-suspicious little sister back into her hall, Yoo Jin-Ho's sorrowful voice continued to ring out behind him.
Thud, thud!!
"Hyuuung-niiim!! Hyung-niiiiim!!"
***
"Dear, don't you think you were being too harsh on Jin-Hoo earlier today?"
"Hmph."
Yoo Myung-Hwan roughly yanked at his tie.
What an insolent little child.
He was about to be gifted with the Yujin Guild, which would no doubt become Yujin Construction's core business in the future, yet he dared to answer like that?
["I've decided to work for Hyung-nim's Guild."]
What?
Follow 'Hyung-nim', right?
"That fool deserved it."
Yoo Myung-Han snorted derisively.
If the boy wished to stand on his two feet, then he should do so on his own power, too.
The father thought that he'd teach his son about every choice being accompanied by responsibilities and consequences.
Was it because he was far too agitated? For some reason, it felt like his d*mn tie just didn't want to come undone. His clumsy and hasty hands caused the tie to be tangled up even more instead, prompting the lady of the Yoo family to reach out with her hands.
"Let me do it for you."
Soon enough, the tie was easily loosened. Yoo Myung-Han entrusted himself to his wife's skilful hands.
However….
The wife began giggling while holding his tie.
"What's the matter, dear?"
Yoo Myung-Han was confused. She had been doing his ties for as long as they were together. So, she shouldn't have found his tangled up tie all that funny by now.
"My dear. Are you sure you're really angry?"
"Mm….??"
Did she eat something wrong? Why was she saying something so nonsensical?
Yoo Myung-Han tilted his head slightly and took a look at his own reflection in the mirror.
'What the….'
He was surprised by what he saw.
Why did he look so pleased in the reflection, even though his mouth was busy spewing out complaints only until a second ago?
Feeling embarrassed now, Yoo Myung-Han began rubbing his cheeks and chin.
"Today was the first time, wasn't it, dear?"
"What do you mean?"
"Jin-Hoo rebelling against you."
"…."
That was why he was angry.
Just like how water flowed from the top to bottom, a large corporation would not be able to sustain its massive self if the orders from the top didn't get delivered to the rest. He believed it was the same story for running a family, as well.
That was why he maintained the exact same type of attitude he'd have when at work while he was home with his family, and he did not accept anyone going against his decisions.
However….
Even though he was feeling angry today, why didn't he feel bad about it, either?
'I'm angry, but not unhappy at the same time?'
This situation made no sense when he thought about it.
The madam spoke gently like a mother pacifying a child, as if she had already read everything in her husband's mind.
"Jin-Hoo is trying to do something he feels passionate about for the first time in his life. So, how about cooling your anger a little and cheering him on from the side?"
"….."
Yoo Myung-Han shut his mouth tight.
He found it a bit hard to decipher his own head at the moment.
"For the time being… I shall keep an eye on him."
"Of course."
The madam formed a sweet smile and received his jacket as he took it off. However, something happened then.
Yoo Myung-Han stared at his wife's face.
"But, this is quite strange."
"What is strange, dear?"
"I can see two of your faces."
"Pardon?"
Just as the madam's eyes widened, Yoo Myung-Han lost his balance and staggered unsteadily.
"Dear?!"
The frightened madam hurriedly tried to support Yoo Myung-Han. He shook his head continuously, heavily gasping, escaping from his mouth.
"Pant, pant….."
The madam's eyes opened wider.
'Why is there so much cold sweat?!'
Yoo Myung-Han tried to keep his eyes wide open to forcefully beat back the sudden feeling of sleepiness, but in the end, lost his consciousness.
***
Yoo Myung-Han reopened his eyes inside the VVIP room located in the country's top university hospital.
One of the doctors in charge approached him to check up on Yoo Myung-Han's complexion. They had been working in a 24-hour rotation schedule to keep an eye on his condition.
"Can you hear me, Chairman?"
"…."
Yoo Myung-Han took a quick look around him, and immediately figured out where he was.
"How long have I been here?"
"You've been sleeping for the last two days."
Two days?
The person most likely to be picked as the role model for "hard working" would be Yoo Myung-Han. He had never slept for more than five hours in a day in his entire life, no matter how tired he was.
"….."
Yoo Myung-Han resolutely kept his mouth shut, before speaking up as if it was nothing.
"I guess I was quite tired, then."
He was indeed swarmed with various matters esspecally with that deal of unknown metal that kept him insanely busy recently. The sudden bout of vertigo and that unshakeable sleepiness were probably the side effects.
However, the doctor couldn't hide the seriousness from his expression.
Yoo Myung-Han was the owner of the country's top company that employed tens of thousands of people. So, he was already a master at reading people's expressions.
Seeing the stiffening face of the doctor, Yoo Myung-Han asked him.
"By any chance…. Have you discovered something wrong with my body?"
"Mister Chairman, by any chance, do you have anyone near you who is a Hunter, or someone who's not a Hunter yet but has been evaluated as an Awakened?"
The doctor suddenly asked about something rather strange.
Yoo Myung-Han asked if there was something wrong with his body, yet why was he talking about Hunters now?
Yoo Myung-Han asked back, feeling puzzled now.
"What are you talking about? Why Hunters, all of a sudden?"
"Have you heard of Eternal Sleep?"
Hearing the term "Eternal Sleep", Yoo Myung-Han finally lost his cool, and his eyes trembled.
The Eternal Sleep Disorder.
An endless slumber that no one could wake up from. Not only was it impossible to wake up from its death-like slumber, but the lifeforce of the sufferer would also decline quite sharply, so it was a necessity to use life support machines that utilised magic energy.
Appearing for the first time after the advent of the Gates, it was a terrifying illness that managed to kill scores of people who lacked the wherewithal to borrow one of those life support machines.
"It's an illness where you'd be assaulted often by drowsiness, and eventually, you'd be unable to wake up at all."
The doctor carried a complicated expression. There had not been a single case of the sufferer of the 'Eternal Sleep' waking up, so far.
Even if one's life was extended via machines, you'd still be unable to open your eyes. It was no different from a death sentence for the victims.
"…."
Yu Myung-Han waited for the doctor to finish explaining before asking his question.
"How does that relate to Hunters?"
"The 'Eternal Sleep' is widely believed to be deeply related to magic energy."
There were those people who, by nature, couldn't endure magic energy all that well. One of the abnormalities displayed by these people after being exposed to surrounding magic energy for a long time was this Eternal Sleep Disorder.
"Wait, isn't magic energy used to power the life support machines that supply lifeforce to the patients?"
"That is true, but…."
Just like how one could safely use the electricity generated by the dangerous material fuelling the nuclear reaction, the doctor explained, magical devices and magics utilising magic energy did not harm people.
"What you need to be careful with are the Magic Crystals, Mana Stones, as well as people possessing magic energy."
'People possessing magic energy…..'
Yoo Myung-Han immediately recalled the sole Awakened in his family, Yoo Jin-Ho. Meanwhile, the doctor cautiously carried on.
"I've heard that your second son is a Hunter, sir."
When Yoo Jin-Ho was mentioned, Yoo Myung-Han's face visibly hardened.
"So, the gist of it is… you want me to never meet my own son? Is that it?"
"If it's at all possible, that is indeed my recomm….."
"Don't make me laugh!!"
Yoo Myung-Han abruptly cut the doctor off and empathised with his point.
"Don't speak of nonsense."
And then, as if he was annoyed, he gestured to the doctor to leave.
"Chairman…."
The doctor hesitated, not knowing what to do, but he soon left the room as if he was being chased away after being glared at by Yoo Myung-Han's furious eyes.
He continued to glare at the door the doctor used to escape with barely concealed fury in his eyes.
'Distance oneself from one's son, just because one fears the illness getting worse? Is that something a father should even say??'
Sure, let's say that did happen.
What if Jin-Ho heard that news? What would that boy think of, then?
As a father, he could not bear to burden his son with something that heavy. At least, that's what Yoo Myung-Han believed.
'Not only that….'
With each passing day, people found more and more practical applications for magic energy, and the number of people innately possessing magic energy was steadily increasing, as well.
So, if you couldn't withstand magic energy when living in a world like this, didn't that already mean you had been eliminated from the natural selection?
Yoo Myung-Han harrumphed unhappily.
'I, Yoo Myung-Han, have failed to make the cut?'
Such a thing could never happen.
'I will not submit.'
Even when everyone else ridiculed him and predicted his failure, he always managed to succeed so his detractors could take a good look at him.
He was the very person who, after inheriting the Yujin Construction that barely cracked the top 30 in the country, turned it into the number one corporation in South Korea.
'So, you think I'll kneel in defeat over a stupid illness like this?'
He wouldn't give up.
Yoo Myung-Han inwardly told himself this over and over again.
***
The underground bunker was a marvel of modern technology, hidden deep beneath the earth's surface. As the early morning light filtered through the narrow windows, Jin stepped out of the high-speed elevator and made his way to the heart of the facility. He approached a door secured by a password lock, his fingers swiftly dancing across the glass screen to enter the code. With a soft click, the door slid open, revealing a vast and awe-inspiring sight.
Inside the enormous research facility, the sprawling room seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. It was a labyrinthine expanse of scientific marvels, meticulously organized into sections, each dedicated to a specific field of study. Machines hummed with purpose, screens flickered with data, and the occasional whir of high-powered equipment punctuated the air. The atmosphere was filled with a heady mix of chemical scents and the ceaseless hum of scientific inquiry.
Shadow soldiers, clad in black, moved with precision amidst the array of machines, recording data in a language that had never before been seen on this plane of existence. This colossal room was a crossroads of scientific exploration, a place where the boundaries of knowledge were constantly pushed and where the future of science unfolded with each passing moment. It was a testament to human curiosity and ingenuity.
"It's quite fortunate that their intelligence remains intact even after their transformation into shadow soldiers. In fact, I've had a growing suspicion that their newfound awareness actually enhances their cognitive abilities. They not only grasp the intricacies of their roles but also possess knowledge about whom to follow.
They've gained an acute awareness of their own existence and developed a deep understanding of various concepts tied to shadows and death. It's as if their transformation has imbued them with an enhanced intelligence, making them even more effective in their duties."
As Jin entered, the activity came to a halt, and the shadow soldiers, with unwavering discipline, stood in perfect formation. At the center of the room, a shadow figure continued to work diligently, undisturbed by the sudden interruption.
Jin couldn't help but reflect on the precautions he had taken, securing equipment from Dr. Stylish's hidden labs across the empire before obliterating them. It had been a wise move.
"I hope they are ready, doctors," Jin said, addressing the shadow figure that had once been Dr. Stylish.
The shadow doctor, upon hearing Jin's voice, turned around and nodded. With a swift motion, he handed Jin a board filled with papers containing intricate data and findings.
As Jin scanned the documents, a grin of satisfaction crept onto his face. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his own ingenuity. "You've given me one more reason to be proud of myself that I didn't let you just vanish," Jin remarked to the shadow doctor.
"Why didn't you show me the results earlier?" Jin inquired, his curiosity piqued.
The doctor nodded once more and reached out to retrieve a small, inconspicuous box, measuring a mere 4 millimeters in size. Even with his super senses, Jin realized that if someone were not actively looking for it, they wouldn't have spotted the box. Inside were the lifeless bodies of six tiny mosquitoes, their corpses emitting a faint wisp of black smoke.
"So now they are ready," Jin mused, studying the lifeless insects. "They can not only store blood but also disperse it at incredible speeds, much like BloodThirsty Bats and Vampires, triggered by body heat."
"Great job, doctor," Jin praised, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Now, you've made this experiment even more fun."
Jin's experiment had a personal touch to it. He had been intrigued by the idea of creating miniature shadows, and after extensive research, he had determined that the smallest creatures with a penchant for blood were mosquitoes, specifically the Yellow Fever variety found in African soil.
However, there was a catch. Once a creature became a shadow, it could no longer reproduce or sustain itself, as it was essentially dead. This posed a significant challenge for Jin's experiment. Mosquitoes, in particular, had a limitation on how much blood they could consume, as they needed it for reproduction. As shadows, they couldn't drink twice, as they couldn't reproduce.
But there was a big answer for vampires : have you ever seen a vampire die by drinking blood?
Unlike Energy drains who could be overloaded with huge supplies of energy like electro or absorbing man there is a limit to them but there is no limit for blood suckers.
As it turns out their bodies heat up to burn away the excessive blood. So Jin next looked for any corpse of a vampire in the market but sadly it wasn't.