****
“In the end, it has turned out like this.”
Wilhelm Mayer could not understand the eccentricities of his master, the Jinma Phantom, at all. While other Jinma created vampire clans and accepted themselves as darkness, the Jinma Phantom stood alone and lived like a human.
He was capable of hating others like a human and could pity others like a human. If only he could have shed tears, he would have willingly shed them even for the arrogant and wicked Jinma Hunter.
His mercy was not a matter of a day or two, and since Wilhelm himself was currently able to live even as a vampire because of that mercy, how could he defy his master's will? However, was this not going too far! For a vampire to bring along a human woman! And keeping her alive and well at that!
“Well, please understand with a generous heart. Her condition is too poor to send her to a hospital. Besides, would words or a bouquet of flowers be of any comfort to her? It would be one thing if I hadn't started at all, but once I intervene in someone else’s life, it’s better to intervene actively.”
“If the premise is that one must offer comfort, then the Master’s action was the correct choice.”
Wilhelm said that and looked at the girl who was fallen into sleep. Was her name Yoon Mi-hye? She might have once been a fairly pretty girl, but now, after a long life in a hospital room, she was thin and exhausted, without a single spark of vitality remaining in her.
What did the Master intend to do with such an idiotic woman? It wasn't as if he was going to eat her.
“By the way, how should one treat an autistic patient?”
“You can put them in a gas chamber and feed them sarin gas.”
Only Wilhelm would speak such thorny words to the Master who threw out such a thoughtless question. Even so, the Jinma Phantom just grinned and looked out the window.
“Well, I understand exactly how you feel.”
“No. You don't know a single thing. I'm so frustrated I feel like I'm going to die.”
“So, about that, shall we go somewhere to play?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re all going out to play together. You, and um… Yoon Mi-hye as well.”
He hadn't even memorized her name yet. Wilhelm thought that, but the Master’s suggestion was incredibly attractive. Even though Wilhelm was approaching his 60th year since becoming a vampire, his appearance was still that of a boy, and his heart was the same. How attractive was the idea of going out to play?
“Ahem. Master, do I look like a child to you?”
“Of course, from my perspective, having lived longer than Jesus… If you don't like it, it can't be helped.”
“No. You must not take back a story you have already brought up.”
Wilhelm replied like that, but then went silent upon realizing the Jinma Phantom was laughing. The Master was still merely treating him like a child. That could not be helped. One's appearance induced reactions from the outside world, and those reactions formed social sentiments. Having stopped growing while in the form of a boy, he might have no choice but to be a boy forever.
However, he had never once blamed the Master for that.
“Then where shall we go? Ah, right. Do you want to eat something delicious? I wonder if Miss Yoon Mi-hye would like it too?”
“Usually, a lady is not enticed by food.”
“That might be true, but come to think of it, dinner time has already passed.”
“Starving an autistic patient is the worst. It might be even worse than the hospital.”
Wilhelm spoke with cruel decisiveness. At that, Phantom’s face turned pale.
“Good heavens. To do such a bad thing! I won’t be able to get a Christmas present from Santa!”
“…”
The Master’s fussing was always top-notch. Wilhelm let out a sigh and examined the autistic girl.
“Then first, we should secure a high-end restaurant… and this young lady needs to be groomed at a beauty salon or something. Simply changing her clothes doesn't wash away the shabby look of the hospital.”
“Right. Ah, we have to take the bodyguards along too, don't we?”
“…”
Come to think of it, Silvester was in Korea; was he really saying they were going out? Wilhelm could not forgive himself for being lured by the words about going out to play. The Jinma Hunter had already attacked Phantom once this morning.
No matter if he was a Jinma, in the end, under the sun, a vampire’s VT is consumed and they become infinitely weak; for that reason, even Phantom, the strongest vampire, had ended up seeing blood.
‘The Master can’t possibly be defeated once it’s night!’
Wilhelm believed that. It was impossible to attack a Jinma, the king of the night’s residents, during the night. Unless the opponent was a Jinma Hunter.
“Are you planning to go out accompanied by bodyguards?”
Human bodyguards were the best shields to block Silvester. In the Republic of Korea, most firearms are illegal weapons, and their discharge results in an indescribably heavy sentence. Was there another country with such strict gun control?
Therefore, if they hired humans, even Silvester could not use a gun recklessly. No matter if he was a Jinma Hunter, he wouldn't be able to defeat Phantom with his bare hands… however, there was always that one-in-a-million chance.
“Let’s not go out. If we call room service…”
“No.”
But the Master was stubbornly persistent.
“Otherwise, this is just a hospital room filled with luxury goods. Since the moment I took her out of the hospital… isn't it my duty to provide a better environment?”
“Even so…”
Wilhelm fell silent. He knew that once it reached this point, it was impossible to persuade the Master. Anyway, he was a kinsman of the Jinma Phantom; for such a person to oppose his master at every turn was absurd, and above all…
Since he had just woken up, Wilhelm also wanted to go out and play.
<><><>
It was raining for the first time in a long while. The autumn rain soaked the surroundings moistly and washed away the smog that had always enveloped the city. Perhaps because of that, the air was fresh and it was easy to breathe.
However, when one was carrying a massive projection TV weighing about 100kg, one could not help but gasp for breath and have sweat flow out like rain.
“God damn it! What kind of bastard delivers something like this via courier? This kind of thing should be on a dealership truck or something…”
“Shut up.”
Se-gun said that to the self-proclaimed Seong Si-gyeong and pushed back the hood of his raincoat. It was extremely painful as steam rose from his head. He didn't know why there were so many heavy things today, making the Supervisor, who gave him nothing in return, look infinitely hateful.
‘Jinma Phantom.’
Se-gun warmed up his body while recalling Silvester’s story.
<><><>
What Silvester was pursuing were the 24 Jinma… one of them, Phantom, was in Korea as a businessman named Row Gibson. Silvester had returned to Korea to chase Phantom.
‘That fellow is the most hideous of them all. His appearance is beautiful, his heart is kind, he is competent, intelligent, and refined. He manipulates humans to stand them in front of my gun barrel, and he even erases me from behind my back.’
Standing in the darkness, Silvester had spoken like that. Silvester was a refined and beautiful being, but when he spoke of the Jinma Phantom, his beauty was trapped in murky hatred and vanished without a trace.
Se-gun could not understand Silvester’s contradictory words. Hideous? Then what were those words that followed? Was it not high praise?
‘Why is he hideous?’
Se-gun asked that. At that moment, Silvester opened his silver-blue eyes wide and glared at Se-gun. For a split second, Se-gun suspected that he might have consumed Psychedelic Moon again.
The sense of distance collapsed and his vision melted away. From that melting point, blurry death masks appeared and bizarre screams were heard, but what was even more terrifying than that was Silvester.
The priest, with his beautiful silver hair fluttering, was glaring at Se-gun with eyes as vivid as a demon's. That rage was perched atop a sharp reason, making it feel like a peerlessly eerie blade, and his gaze was like a bullet piercing through to the far side of the soul.
Se-gun was seized by fear and did not know what to do, trying to close his eyes. However, his gaze remained pinned to Silvester, and even his heart was not free.
Silvester had intentionally exerted mental suppression on Se-gun.
Being fascinated by a vampire and falling under mental suppression are the things a vampire hunter must avoid most. And for that, one's negative thoughts toward vampires must be strong. Or perhaps a desire for the money that can be obtained by selling their blood.
Why is it that even if a vampire has a beautiful appearance and performs kind acts, they cannot cast off the shackles of hideousness? Because one can never be a vampire hunter without understanding that and following it blindly.
‘The idea that one can avoid sin through a correct spirit alone is merely the vain pride of humans. Do you think you lost your family because your own spirit was wrong? Do you think that because those wallowing in misfortune and sin are wrong, all things kind and beautiful are wise and upright?!’
He added to the madness. As he increased the madness, Se-gun fell into a dazzling hallucination. Like being sucked into a bottomless swamp…
‘Therefore, good and evil, beauty and ugliness do not exist in the judgment of humans. Hideousness? From the perspective of a vampire hunter, it refers to everything that goes against the intent of God’s creation. Do you understand? Every living creature bears sin as its destiny, but a vampire cannot even shed the tears of repentance that even a crocodile sheds. There is nothing as hideous as such a creature being beautiful and upright.’
Silvester said that and released the suppression. Se-gun, who barely broke away from the mental suppression, panted like a person who had just surfaced after drowning and leaned his hands on the ground.
‘Let’s stop. If it’s about being hideous, I am the same.’
Silvester said that and let out a low sigh. Such a conversation had taken place at Arjuna during the night.
<><><>
“Ah, it’s lunch time. Lunch. Hey. Se-gun-ah, stop the belt and let’s go eat!”
“…”
Se-gun looked at Kim Seong-ju, the self-proclaimed Seong Si-gyeong, and raised his body from his spot. Come to think of it, why was Silvester a vampire hunter? He didn't seem like an exorcist dispatched from the Vatican, so why did he hate vampires so much without even collecting their blood? And would the girl Phantom took away really become a vampire and take revenge on Jin Yu-mi and her friends as Silvester predicted?
‘Of course, Han Se-gun. Look back at yourself. You, who affirmed revenge, cannot deny her revenge.’
Silvester’s low voice echoed in his ears. Se-gun thought that his own actions were different from a desire for revenge. Because the targets of his revenge had already died. And for humans living in the modern era, he thought that collective guilt was an unjust system. That it was wrong to place sin upon the whole rather than the individual… but if so, why did Se-gun become a vampire hunter?
“…”
Certainly, for Se-gun, he could not deny her revenge. And the vampire named Jinma Phantom would likely be the same. Does that mean Jin Yu-mi and her friends would be in danger?
‘Well, it’s not my concern, is it?’
Se-gun thought that and tried to erase the image of Jin Yu-mi that rose in his mind.
<><><>
Last night was enjoyable. For him, who had stayed awake through thousands of years of nights, enjoyment had become so familiar that it might now be nothing more than self-hypnosis.
However, unless one believes in oneself, one cannot possibly stay awake through thousands of years of nights. Nor would one be likely to maintain one's sanity like this.
‘For now, let’s just think about this young lady.’
Row Gibson thought that and was tapping on a wireless keyboard in an awkward posture while lying on the sofa.
On his lap, the girl who was sleeping as quietly as a puppy had her head resting; in order not to wake her, he had to keep his lower body still. Row Gibson looked down at her while yawning.
When including Wilhelm, who appeared to be a minor, the places where they could play at night were limited. Watching late-night movies, watching late-night performances, and bowling at a bowling alley. Just with this, the night was far too short. Therefore, the girl was knocked out, and Wilhelm had also gone back into the bedroom to fall into sleep.
“Anyway, regardless of this or that, he’s a child forever.”
He muttered that and closed his eyes. Outside the window, rain was pouring down. Mixed within this sound of rain, a bizarre sound could be heard.
A requiem for themselves, sung by those standing at the boundary of reality and death, which would not be heard if he were not a Jinma—it was a symptom called ‘Haunt’ that came like a destiny to vampires who had to compensate for their broken vessels of life through blood.
A spiritual sense maximized at the boundary between death and life allowed one to hear even sounds from the side that was not of this world. It was the main culprit that drove most vampires insane.
It might be a funny story that vampires, who are magical creatures, are afraid of ghosts in similar circumstances, but because of those symptoms of being haunted, most vampires do not live for a long time and go crazy. They become mentally unstable and suffer from destructive impulses.
Furthermore, for them, who cannot obtain an orgasm through sexual intercourse, the only remaining outlet for desire is blood-sucking. Even if one was a gentle person as a human, if one is swayed by continuous madness, one is bound to become a magical creature before one knows it.
“However, living is about valuing patience more than pleasure.”
He muttered that and stroked the hair of the girl who was using his lap as a pillow. Although it was hair entrusted to a famous hairdresser, the hair texture that had been damaged during a long hospital life had not improved much. Living life fully is a difficult task even for humans. How much more so for a vampire… however, the Jinma Phantom had maintained that patience.
At that moment, the girl quietly opened her eyes.
“Patience?”
The first thing she said after opening her mouth was a question about Gibson's words. This powerful vampire looked at the gray Seoul soaked in the autumn rain and nodded. The grayish-dark sky was pushing into the penthouse.
The light scattered by the sun beyond the rain clouds had become faded and pale, ceasing to be light. Reflected in the city sky where it would not be strange for thunder and lightning to strike, this vampire was as cold and beautiful as a statue.
Not all vampires are beautiful. Vampires standing at the boundary between death and life evoke a wicked love (sa-ryeon) in humans even if they accumulate only a little power, but that is a wicked power far removed from beauty.
However, the Jinma Phantom was truly a beautiful being. His sharp features, which did not abandon masculinity, were like a statue carved from marble. Possessing a beauty that humans could feel, he was not just the kind-hearted wealthy man seen until now.
However, could it be said that it was just like him that compassion for a dying life was contained within?
“It is the power to endure pain and live through the world. If there is something one must protect through patience, even the flames of hell are sweet. My little lady.”
It might sound like a cliché sermon, but his voice was as sweet as if heard in a dream. That voice, which conquered a heart of non-resistance, was not magic, yet… it could be called a dark art in itself. To a girl who had just broken out of a part of her shell of self, it would certainly exert a powerful influence.
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
He replied like that and tilted his head.
“I have no intention of forcing that upon you, though.”
“…”
She fell back into her self and became lost in thought. The Jinma Phantom looked at her and felt pity.
Her wounds were much deeper than he had expected. In a small Eastern country with weak emotional immunity toward sex, he knew that what had happened to her was by no means a trivial event.
There was no way a woman who had been gang-raped in this conservative country could be sane. However, even so, would it not be better to think of the remaining future rather than the passed past? Anger and remorse are unavoidable, but would there not be a reason why they cannot be overcome?
“If you live, there are surely good things as well…”
The last words were perhaps being said to himself. A lie to deceive himself… the one he had been repeating continuously until now…