The cops had not given up their search for Snowflake. They had searched every corner of the city; each street had been thoroughly patrolled, but they found no trace of him. They were certain he hadn't left the city, so they limited their search to the city alone.
After a month of fruitless efforts, they decided to take a break and plan their next approach. However, on the same night they agreed to take a break, a very disheveled man, who looked no less than a beggar, barged into headquarters and called for help.
The young officers wanted to kick him out, thinking he had gone mad, but Sergeant Kim stepped forward and decided to listen to him.
The poor man claimed that he lived on the outskirts but made a living by singing and bringing news from the city to sell to the people in his area. He explained that he visited the city regularly for updates. He claimed that when he returned to the outskirts hours ago, he sensed something strange. The people were acting normal, but the atmosphere felt unusually tense.
Curious, he started looking around to figure out what was wrong. Then he found it: countless deadly weapons had been placed at every corner of the streets, shops, and alleys. When he asked the locals what was happening, nobody answered him. Fearing something bad was about to happen, he came to report it.
The cops were reluctant to believe his story, but with Sergeant Kim's insistence, he decided to take a few squads with him and follow the man to the outskirts—at night.
When they arrived, it was not what they expected.
Though the streets were silent, they knew something had gone terribly wrong. The air reeked of blood. They decided to proceed cautiously, avoiding any rash actions.
Then they heard a painful scream. Instinctively, they opened fire, but what followed next was the faint hum of a motorbike disappearing into the darkness.
"Follow them!"
Sergeant Kim commanded.
Half the cops chased after the fleeing bike while the other half stayed with Sergeant Kim. They began examining the street and soon discovered that a war had broken out.
"On the surface, it looks like a fight among the inhabitants,"
Sergeant Kim said as he stood up from examining a corpse.
"But it's not."
It became clear that not all the victims were killed. Many had been intentionally knocked unconscious, while only a few unfortunate ones were dead.
"The damage would be much worse if this were a fight between locals. Have you pinpointed where the scream came from?"
Sergeant Kim asked.
"Yes, but it seems the person crawled into one of the buildings. We'll go after them,"
One of the men replied.
Earlier, Sergeant Kim had ordered his men to locate the source of the scream, which coincided with the area where the biker had fled.
"Sir, come take a look. It's Snowflake!"
One of the men shouted from inside the building.
And just like that, the elusive Snowflake fell into the cops' hands—literally.
---
Several minutes later, Uche and Mira arrived home safely. Escaping the cops hadn't been a problem, so their journey was relatively easy. By the time they got back, Uche's injured eye had been successfully restored, but he had lost a lot of blood along the way. His wound wasn't healing, and the blood kept flowing relentlessly. He was barely conscious.
Mira quickly took him to the treatment room, tended to his wounds, and fed him some blood to replenish his strength and accelerate his healing. To her surprise, even after consuming more than half of her blood reserves, Uche showed no signs of satisfaction and seemed ready to consume everything.
"This guy is really a demon. He's ready to consume my entire reserve,"
Mira thought as she stared at him lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. His eye had returned to normal, so he no longer needed an eye patch.
After treating all his injuries and giving him enough blood to heal, Mira couldn't help but wonder what kind of sword Snowflake had used. Not only had it stopped Uche's healing ability, but it had also inflicted several deep cuts, each of which would have been fatal to an ordinary human—or even a regular vampire. Thankfully, Uche was far from ordinary, as far as she knew.
Mira gazed at him as he slept peacefully on the treatment bed.
"I guess you can now leave everything behind and move into the vampire world to start a new chapter in your life. I hope you'll live a low-key life and survive in our world. I can sense greatness in you,"
Mira muttered under her breath, her gaze still fixed on Uche.
She also hoped they wouldn't have to cross swords in the future, which was why she wished for him to live a quiet life.
---
Uche slept through the night and woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. His body had completely healed, and his vision was fully restored. He found himself alone in the treatment room, guessing that Mira had gone back to her work, piling up information to report to the vampire world.
"I guess she'll be pretty busy before we leave,"
He muttered to himself.
Just as he was about to get off the bed, the door slid open. Mira entered, her loose pajamas hanging off her shoulders. She seemed different today. The energy around her felt softer, almost alluring, and Uche had the strange urge to rush over and embrace her.
"Oh, you're awake,"
She said with a faint smile.
Uche nodded, still puzzled by the sudden shift in her demeanor. Mira usually carried a cold, indifferent expression and exuded a chilling aura, but beneath that exterior, she was warm and kind to those close to her. Uche knew this, despite the short time they had spent together.
Today, however, even the usual cold energy was absent, replaced by something more welcoming and charming.
"Let's go. I've prepared breakfast,"
Mira said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Huh? Yeah,"
Uche replied as he followed her.
The dining table had already been set. It seemed Mira had been busy preparing breakfast while he slept. They wasted no time digging in and chatting.
As they ate, Uche couldn't help but ask,
"You seem unusually happy today. Can I ask why?"
Mira raised an eyebrow, silently questioning, Me? Uche nodded, and she smiled in response. Swallowing a large chunk of meat without chewing, she replied,
"Nothing, really. I'm just happy about going back home after being away for more than a couple of years. It's always boring back there—apart from the constant fighting, nothing really compares to the human world. Still, it feels good to think of going back. Sweet home."
"Well, I don't feel the same. I'm not going back home; I'm heading into an unknown world. Not that I have a home to return to—after all, I've never been welcomed anywhere. But it still feels nice to go back with you. At least there'll be room for me to grow stronger,"
Uche said with a faint smile.
Mira stopped eating and stared directly into his eyes.
"Uche, it's better if you live a low-key life in the vampire world, just as you've done here. The more I get to know you, the more I realize how different you are. Your presence in the vampire world could cause disaster—and even lead to your death.
Just like here, there will be those who want you dead for being different, and others who will try to exploit you. I've been thinking about it for days but couldn't come up with a solution. The only way to avoid trouble is to maintain a low profile. Of course, you could stay here to avoid it altogether."
Mira's voice carried a note of sadness and concern.
Uche remained silent for a while, then shook his head.
"No, I'm not staying here anymore. Whatever awaits me out there, I'll endure it and try to avoid drawing attention. I'll uncover the truth about myself, find out who I really am, and see if there are others like me. You don't need to worry. You've done nothing but help me up to this point, and I'll find a way to repay you in the future."