11:57 PM

A door crashed open with a thunderous bang!, the violent impact reverberating through the dimly lit room.

Ethan, who had been methodically inspecting his pistol, nearly dropped it in shock. His pulse spiked, but when his gaze snapped to the intruders, he exhaled sharply, recognizing the familiar silhouette in the doorway.

Rowan.

Before Ethan could utter a word, Rowan stormed toward him and, without hesitation, pinched both of Ethan’s cheeks—hard.

"You reckless idiot!" Rowan scolded, his grip merciless. "You went alone? Do you even think before you act?"

Ethan winced. "Ahhh—ow, ow, ow!"

"If it weren’t for the tracker on your phone, I wouldn’t have even known you were here! And what the hell was the point of coming here anyway? The guy you said you were investigating wasn’t even a vampire, was he?"

Rowan finally released Ethan’s face, and the latter rubbed at his aching cheeks before muttering, "Just… let me explain."

He recounted everything that had transpired, his voice steady despite the unsettling memories. By the time he finished, Rowan was silent, his expression unreadable. Then, with a resigned sigh, he said, "Those two vampires aren’t going to just let this go. You saw their faces, and now they know you’re from the SRO. They’ll come after you."

"Now, you’re heading home. Clara will take you."

Clara, another Regulator of the SRO, grinned at Ethan but said nothing.

Ethan groaned but ultimately nodded. "Fine. But can we at least take that guy with us too?" He gestured behind him—only to realize there was no one there.

His stomach twisted. "Wait… he was just here!"

Rowan frowned. "Who?"

"Silas! The guy—" Ethan spun around wildly, but the space where Silas had been was empty. Vanished.

Rowan exhaled sharply, then grabbed Ethan by the collar and shoved him toward the door. "We’re leaving. Now."

As Ethan and Clara disappeared into the night, Rowan turned back toward the darkness. "Felix, you ready?"

From the shadows, a figure emerged. Felix yawned lazily, his lips curling into a wolfish grin. "Oh, I’ve been ready."

And just like that, they melted into the night, hunting the creatures that had dared to attack one of their own.

Deep in the forest

Two vampires knelt in the dirt, trembling violently. Their faces were pale—not from their natural undead pallor, but from sheer terror.

"W-We swear, sir, we’ll kill them!" one stammered, desperation leaking into his voice. "We’ll fix our mistake—just give us another chance—"

A pair of cold, merciless eyes watched them in silence. Then, Tobias—unmoving, unreadable—spoke.

"It’s too late." His voice was calm, yet it cut through the air like a blade. "Laws are laws."

With measured precision, he lifted his left arm, forming a perfect knifehand. The corner of his lips curled, not with anger, but something darker—something that enjoyed this. He is not killing them because of the laws only, he enjoyed it. His smile carried the wicked grace of a demon.

The two vampires barely had time to let out strangled cries before—slash!

One swift motion. One clean execution. Their heads tumbled to the ground, rolling away like discarded stones. Their bodies followed soon after, lifelessly collapsing onto the forest floor.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Not far from the scene, Rowan and Felix had frozen in place.

Rowan’s jaw tightened. "That sound…"

Felix, standing beside him, shivered—not from fear, but excitement. "I’ve got a bad feeling about this," he murmured, his lips stretching into a grin.

Rowan shot him a sharp glance. "What do you mean?"

Felix’s eyes glowed with something almost manic. "Whoever did that… he’s terrifying. If we go there, we die." He let out a breathless chuckle. "But oh, what a fight it would be."

Rowan hesitated. Then, gripping his weapon tighter, he made the call. "We’re retreating."

Felix sighed dramatically but followed. They vanished into the night, knowing full well they had no business challenging the monster that had just claimed two lives.

Ethan’s house

"You absolute moron! Where the hell did you sneak off to in the middle of the night? And why do you look so miserable now?"

Ethan’s younger sister, Lilia, was sitting on the couch, arms crossed as she glared at him. Her words were sharp, but there was a thread of concern beneath them.

Ethan ignored her. His thoughts were still tangled with everything that had happened.

Where did Silas go? Did he even make it home safely?

He stared out the window for a long time before finally dragging himself to his room, exhaustion creeping into his bones.

The night was unnaturally quiet. Crickets chirped, but the stillness felt suffocating, as though something unseen lurked just beyond the veil of darkness.

The clock ticked on.

Riiiiing!

A new day arrived.

6:00 AM – Redwood University

A thick fog blanketed Morzin, swallowing the campus in an eerie white mist. From a distance, people appeared and disappeared like phantoms. The air carried a biting chill.

Inside the cafeteria, a group of thugs had surrounded a single student.

"You bumped into me and didn’t even apologize?" Axel Baxter sneered, his gang looming behind him like hungry wolves.

Tobi Finch, the unfortunate target, stammered, "I-I’m sorry…"

Axel grabbed him by the collar. He was just about to throw a punch when a raspy voice interrupted.

"Oi. He already apologized. Let it go."

The voice belonged to Dante Reeves, a tall but wiry student with an almost unnatural presence.

Axel turned on him, sneering. "Oh? You wanna take a beating for him?"

One of Axel’s lackeys, laughing, accidentally spilled a bit of soda on Dante’s shirt.

The cafeteria fell silent.

Dante slowly looked down at the stain, his expression darkening. A chill crept into the air.

Then, without warning, he grabbed one of person in Alex's gang by the head—and slammed him into Axel and the others with monstrous strength. The impact sent them flying, bodies tumbling like rag dolls across the sky.

Tobi stood frozen, his brain struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

Axel and his gang, groaning in pain, scrambled to their feet and ran for their lives.

Dante dusted off his hands and turned to Tobi. "Ruins my morning when I see bullies." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.

Tobi, still shaking, followed.

"Why the hell are you following me?" Dante snapped.

Tobi stammered, "W-We’re in the same class…"

Dante blinked, then awkwardly cleared his throat. "N-Nice weather today."

And with that, he marched off, whistling as if nothing had happened.

In the classroom, Dante sat with his chin resting on his hand, gazing out the window. Everything seemed ordinary until someone mentioned a rumor about a serial killer with red eyes. The moment those words were spoken, Dante snapped out of his daydream, his focus sharpening.

With his cold and distant demeanor, few dared to approach Dante—most avoided him entirely. He knew it would be pointless to ask around. However, just a few seats away sat Tobi. Without hesitation, Dante stood up, grabbed Tobi by the collar, and pulled him closer.

The students who witnessed this immediately assumed Dante was a bully. Fearful, they scattered, their chatter silenced.

Tobi, however, had fainted from shock, unable to process the sudden grip dragging him away.

“Hey, wake up,” Dante said, shaking him roughly.

After a few strong shakes, Tobi’s eyes fluttered open.

“Y-you…” he stammered.

Dante’s voice was low and rough. “Do you know anything about the rumor—about the killer with red eyes?”

Tobi flinched under Dante’s gaze, his expression hesitant, as if hiding something. “I-I do…”

Dante narrowed his eyes. “Then start talking.”

Jolted by the demand, Tobi swallowed hard and confessed, “A-Actually…T-This rumor..."

Tobi hesitated before finally say it "M-My friend and I made up that rumor and spread it online.”

Dante remained silent, listening intently.

“We didn’t mean any harm. We were just exploring an abandoned house… ghost hunting,” Tobi explained.

“As we went deeper inside, we found a house—it looked beautiful, like something from the Victorian era.”

“A-and then we saw him… s-someone sitting on top of another person… blood everywhere. When we got closer, he turned to face us. His eyes—blood red.”

Tobi’s voice wavered as if he were reliving the terror.

“We ran for our lives. But after a while, we stopped. We thought… maybe the person covered in blood was still alive, that they needed help. So, we went back, gripping wooden sticks for protection.”

“But when we returned… everything was gone. No blood, no bodies—nothing,” Tobi finished, his voice trembling.

Dante’s expression darkened as he processed the story. A heavy silence settled between them.

Then, after a long pause, he turned to Tobi and asked, “Where is this abandoned house?”

Tobi hesitated before finally revealing the location.

Dante’s gaze shifted back to the window, his eyes burning with fury.

“Found you.”

End of chapter 3.