Kang Jihan stood catching his breath, still looking at Ryu Seonyeon with that rare, almost childlike awe that needed no words.
— You just… that was incredible, — he breathed.
— I know, — Seonyeon replied with his usual cold smirk, but the moment the words left his lips he swayed.
A thin streak of blood ran from his nose. Jihan caught him at once, anxiety flashing in his eyes.
— Are you okay?
— For now. Just… too many people. Not sure how long I can keep control.
He looked burned out — body and soul. Jihan slipped an arm around his shoulders, refusing to let go.
— Then let's get out.
Their goals were met: confessions, footage, evidence — everything in their allies' hands. All that remained was to survive the way out. They hurried through the same corridors Lo Dan had once led them down. Ahead, a metal door shimmered faintly in the dust.
— There! — Jihan sprinted, grabbed the handle — it didn't budge.
— Why won't it open? — He rattled it furiously.
Seonyeon swiped the stolen card through the reader. A red light blinked. A short, sharp beep.
— Locked, — he rasped.
— Then I'll drag that short bastard here.
Moments later he returned with Lo Dan, whose eyes were still glazed under hypnosis. Even with his fingerprint and voice code the door stayed frozen.
— Damn it, — Jihan muttered through clenched teeth.
Lo Dan's voice wavered through the silence:
— Hyungnim, dawn is near. If you don't leave now, it's over. You might have to blow the wall.
— And the police? — Jihan turned instinctively toward the faint sky above Liren, as if he could summon help faster. — You said they were already coming.
So Raon's voice answered, low and strained:
— We tried hacking the system, but it's autonomous. The place is reinforced — a bunker. The police are stalling; someone bought them. But our people are close. Brace for a blast.
Before they could reply, a familiar, sticky laugh echoed behind them.
— Hee-hee-hee… so here you are.
Ryu Seonyeon turned. Mateo stood there — drenched, smeared with green fluid and blood, his face twisted into something barely human. He looked like a scarecrow come to life.
— No one leaves without my permission. The door listens only to its master.
Seonyeon's tone went cold.
— You're still alive?
— How could I die at the hands of things like you? — Mateo snarled, teeth flashing in a bloody grin.
He'd clearly butchered whoever was left below. Seonyeon's eyes flickered with exhaustion — hypnosis wouldn't be enough this time.
So Raon's voice crackled again in their ears:
— If the door won't open, fall back. We'll blow the wall. Stay clear of the outer edges — the blast might bring the ceiling down.
— Got it, — Jihan replied.
He stepped forward — straight into Mateo. The man jerked out a gun, but Jihan was faster. One precise strike knocked it away, another kick shattered his wrist. The shot went wild, sending concrete dust down from the ceiling.
Seonyeon seized Lo Dan and hurled him into Mateo. Both crashed to the floor. Lo Dan screamed — bullets tore through his abdomen — but his body still moved, puppet-like. In that fleeting second, Seonyeon and Jihan broke free, sprinting toward the main hall.
— You… filth! — Mateo howled, staggering up, but they were already gone, vanishing up the stairs.
Upstairs, Jihan and Seonyeon overturned furniture, searching for weapons.
— Raon, don't blow it yet. Wait for my signal, — Seonyeon ordered.
— What are you planning?
— To end it. For good.
He didn't finish — a gunshot ripped the air. The bullet tore through his shoulder, cloth and skin exploding crimson. He staggered but stayed upright.
— Seonyeon!
Jihan ripped a tablecloth, slashed it in two with a knife, and wrapped the wound tight.
— You're bleeding out!
— It's fine, — Seonyeon exhaled. — Just grazed. Don't yell.
— We have to go — now!
— No. We detonate when all three of us are in the same room.
Jihan stared at him — until Seonyeon said quietly:
— You trust me, don't you?
— …Yes.
Mateo staggered through the corridor, trailing blood. He stumbled into the kitchen, yanked open the refrigerator — and froze. It was empty.
— Why… nothing here?
— Looking for this? — came a familiar voice.
On the counter sat Ryu Seonyeon, lazily sipping blood from a pack, while Jihan, beside him, snipped the rest open and poured them down the drain. The vampire's wound was bandaged with a strip of his favorite designer cloth.
— You… you stole my —
— You said you loved me, didn't you? Love doesn't hoard food.
Mateo roared and charged. Jihan met him head-on.
— Tired of that gun already? — he sneered.
— Who said it was just a gun?
Mateo feinted and slammed an elbow into Seonyeon's chest. The vampire fell, gasping, but before he could rise Jihan caught Mateo by the belt and hurled him into the wall. The impact shattered dishes across the floor.
— You'll even die ugly, — Jihan hissed, pounding his fist into Mateo's face — once, twice, three times — until blood streamed onto the tiles.
Mateo groaned, fumbling for his weapon, firing wildly — the bullet struck Seonyeon's leg, dropping him.
— Seonyeon!
Rage burned through Jihan's veins. He kicked the gun aside, stomped on Mateo's hand until bone snapped, seized the pistol and fired twice into his thighs.
Mateo shrieked, writhing. Jihan grabbed him, hurled him down the stairs. The crash thundered through the house.
— Alive? — Jihan called.
— Yes, — Seonyeon rasped, bracing against the wall. — Pin him there. Hurry.
Jihan leapt after him, pressing Mateo's spine to the floor with his boot.
— Aaagh! — Mateo screamed.
— Still think you're a god, huh, monster?
Laughing through blood, Mateo wheezed:
— You think you can kill me? We don't die, Ryu Seonyeon.
Seonyeon lifted his head, eyes blazing.
— You're wrong. We all die — just not the same way.
He raised his transmitter.
— Raon, you hear me? Blow the wall. Right beside us.
Mateo's smile faltered. His gaze shot to the clock: 7:34 a.m. The sun was already above Liren.
— You're insane… You'll burn too!
— Let's find out.
Seonyeon looked at Jihan — and Jihan knew: there would be no retreat.
Mateo thrashed, screaming:
— He'll die too! Don't you love him?!
Seonyeon's voice was calm.
— I do. But he's human. You're not.
— What—
The explosion ripped the air apart. The wall shattered, sunlight poured in — a torrent of gold through dust and smoke. Mateo's scream rose, long and animal. His skin smoked, crumbled to ash.
In a heartbeat it was over. Jihan shielded Seonyeon with his body; he felt the heat — but the vampire's skin did not burn.
— Why… — Mateo rasped, watching his own fingers disintegrate. — Why are you alive… and I'm not…
His voice vanished. What remained of him collapsed into a heap of gray dust.
Silence.
Jihan trembled, holding Seonyeon close.
— You okay?
— Of course, — Seonyeon gave a tired smile. — But you're shaking.
— Thought I'd be too late.
Seonyeon laughed softly.
— The new Liren BioTek serum works. Five minutes — and I'm human again.
***
Two months later, calm filled the underground hall of Liren BioTek.
An So Raon, Gu Leia, Lee Kaneun, and Ryu Seonyeon gathered around the table.
Seonyeon listened silently to their discussion before speaking:
— The new version of the drug… stronger than Blue 5, right?
Gu Leia nodded.
— Almost ready. We call it Blue 6. In five minutes it triggers antibodies; sunlight becomes harmless. Then the craving for blood fades. Within two hours, the smell of it causes nausea. The effect lasts sixty hours. Clinical data's still limited.
— Side effects?
— In animals — brief fainting. Recovery was fast.
Seonyeon nodded slowly.
— Give me a vial.
Lee Kaneun frowned.
— Why?
— You never know when you'll need it. Sometimes the only way to defeat a monster… is to stop being one yourself.
Now, standing beneath the real sun, Ryu Seonyeon knew: it hadn't been a metaphor.
The wind of Liren brushed his face. The sun — once deadly — merely warmed his skin.
Behind him, Jihan said something, but the words dissolved in the brightness.
Seonyeon lifted his hand, letting the light slip between his fingers. Outside, sirens wailed — police, ambulances, the aftermath of the blast. It was over.
Mateo — gone.
Lo Dan — dead.
Im Chinthe — rotting in the depths of Nebra Labs.
And he — alive. Human.
He smiled faintly as Jihan approached.
— The police, as always, arrived right on time, — he murmured, — when everything's already over.
The world blurred before his eyes. The sun burned brighter than ever.
The last thing he saw was Jihan's terrified face reaching toward him —
And then — silence.
Peaceful.