?We moved through the abandoned corridors in a tight formation. The air smelled of rotting drywall, wet dust, and silence.

  ?I walked in the center, flanked by the "Dream Team": Jin took point, his posture relaxed but alert. Mina covered the rear, her eyes scanning the shadows with a quiet intensity. And right beside me... was Hana.

  ?I subtly glanced at the three of them. They weren't just looking around; they were hunting. They were scanning for heat signatures, listening for heartbeats, tasting the air for intent.

  ?Frankly, being trapped inside an empty, condemned building with these three was infinitely more frightening than whatever we were actually looking for.

  ?Especially her.

  ?Hana caught my gaze instantly. Of course she did.

  ?“Hey, Kang Eun-Woo,” she whispered, her voice echoing slightly in the dark hallway. A playful, cruel smirk tugged at her lips. “Don't tell me you're scared? Tsk, tsk. To see that you've failed not only as a vampire but also as a man...”

  ?She shook her head mockingly.

  ?This girl... I grit my teeth. Just a few weeks ago you lured me to a construction site and tried to rip my heart out! I'm not afraid of the dark, Hana. I'm afraid of YOU!

  ?But I kept my face neutral. I wasn't the same helpless victim anymore.

  ?“Well,” I shot back, keeping my voice steady. “At least I think I can still pass for a human. Unlike some people who enjoy playing with their food.”

  ?The smile froze on Hana’s face. For a split second, the predator peeked out from behind the mask. It felt like my words had actually managed to scratch her armor.

  ?She stopped walking for a moment, letting the distance between us and Jin grow by a step. She gazed at me with cold, dead eyes.

  ?“But you're not one, Eun-Woo.”

  ?Her voice wasn't teasing anymore. It was a statement of fact. A sentence.

  ?“Well,” I muttered, looking away to break the tension. “Thanks for the reminder.”

  ?I turned my head forward, refusing to interact with her any longer. The dark corridor seemed to stretch on endlessly, leading us deeper into the belly of the beast.

  ?Why am I here? I thought, feeling the weight of the silence. Why am I walking into hell with the people who are supposed to be my allies?

  ?My mind drifted back to a few hours ago. At that moment the red alert flashed on my phone screen.

  ***

  After receiving the crimson alert, I cut through the city as quickly as possible. Thanks to my enhanced physiology, distance wasn't an issue. I moved faster than the subway, a blur in the shadows of the evening rush hour.

  ?When I finally stood before the coordinates—a nondescript, red-brick tenement building in the South Bronx—I frowned.

  ?It looked... normal. Or rather, normally terrible. The windows were grime-streaked, the fire escape was rusted, and the graffiti on the door was peeling. Considering how ridiculously luxurious The Ichor headquarters was, I expected something more... stylish? A hidden penthouse, maybe?

  ?Apparently, "Safe House" meant "Shit Hole" in corporate speak. It lacked the charm of the marble halls, but I guessed camouflage was the point.

  ?I bypassed the broken intercom and slipped inside, following the signature I knew too well.

  ?Apartment 4B. The door was unlocked.

  ?When I entered, the smell of mildew and stale beer hit me. And there, sitting in the middle of a living room that looked like a crime scene from the 80s, was Vaughn. He was lounging on a sofa that was leaking stuffing, looking like a king on a throne of garbage.

  ?“Yo! Did you miss me?” he grinned, waving a hand.

  ?“As if I would,” I scoffed, closing the door behind me.

  ?“You're hurting this old man's feelings,” Vaughn sighed dramatically, clutching his chest. “What happened to respecting the elderly? Have you already forgotten your manners, young man?”

  ?“Don’t tell me you forgot because of your dementia,” I shot back, walking further into the room. “The last time I tried to show my respect by bowing, you threatened to cave my skull in.”

  ?Vaughn’s grin widened, his eyes gleaming behind his sunglasses.

  ?“I see. You're finally showing your teeth because you got that shiny A- Rank, huh? Good, good. There's progress.”

  ?His expression suddenly turned sharp, cutting through the banter.

  ?“But don't forget, Eun-Woo. Blood Quality isn't your Rank. It’s just your ceiling. Right now? You’re just a toddler with a loaded bazooka. Don't confuse potential with power.”

  ?I looked at him with a weary expression. I had plenty of comebacks—mostly about how he was the one who gave me the bazooka—but pushing him further would likely end with me flying through a wall. So, I let it slide.

  ?“Fine,” I sighed. “Can you tell me why you called me now? And why here?”

  ?“Well, I hope you brought your appetite,” Vaughn said, standing up and dusting off his pristine suit. “Because the time has come for your first real field mission.”

  ?He kicked a black duffel bag across the floor toward me.

  ?“First, get changed. You look like a college student who got lost on his way to a frat party.”

  The inside had the same suit that Jin gave me but with its more reddish design, it fit me perfectly.

  I unzipped the bag. Inside was a set of tactical gear that Jin gave me with additional boots and stuff and it fit me perfectly. A little too perfect. It was a disturbing reminder that The Ichor knew my measurements down to the millimeter.

  ?Underneath the clothes lay a weapon.

  VX-4.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The same model of handgun Jin gave me that day. Now that I remember it I actually didn't return it. I hope he misses his stuff.

  “Standard issue hunter gear,” Vaughn explained as I slid the VX-4 into the belt loop of the coat. “Normally, these would be presented to you in a more formal ceremony. But this incident was... quite unexpected.”

  ?“Incident?” I asked, adjusting the collar.

  ?“We received a report of a missing Feral a few days ago. A Low-Rank who lost control of the Hunger. We were combing the grid for it,” Vaughn said, walking to the window and peering out at the dark street. “But before we could track it down, it decided to show itself.”

  My blood ran cold. "How many?”

  “A dozen. I don't know the exact number but the others have already erased the memories of the witnesses, they're all clean on the internet as well.”

  He looked me in the eye.

  ?“Now, all that's left is to hunt the beast. And that's where you come in. Meet up with the others in the back alley. Go inside as a team. And take care of that thing before it kills again. Understood?”

  ?“Yes...” I whispered, feeling the weight of the VX-4 at my hip.

  ?“Good,” Vaughn smirked, opening the door for me. “Have a good hunt, Eun-Woo.”

  ***

  When I arrived at the location, the scene was already chaotic but contained.

  ?The target was a towering, L-shaped fortress of red brick that loomed over the neighborhood, casting a long, jagged shadow in the fading light. Nestled at its base was a sloping patch of green—a small community park with old trees that were now wrapped in fluttering yellow police tape.

  ?Heavy barricades blocked all entrances, but they couldn't block the eyes.

  ?A crowd of curious locals had gathered at the perimeter of the green space. Dozens of smartphones were held high like fireflies, recording every movement, whispering about "gas leaks" or "terrorist attacks." The air was thick with the buzz of speculation.

  ?As I approached the perimeter, trying to look like I belonged, a woman in a generic tactical uniform ducked under the tape and intercepted me before I could draw the crowd's attention.

  ?"Please, come this way," she said, her voice low and professional, steering me away from the recording cameras.

  I didn't need a password to understand she was one of us. Her pulse was too slow, her eyes too sharp, constantly scanning the mob for anyone getting too close. She was one of us.

  ?“We have secured all entrances and exits,” she briefed me as we walked. “We have also confirmed that there are no civilians inside. Only the Target remains. Please, engage without concern for collateral damage.”

  ?“I see,” I nodded, gripping the handle of my handgun. “Thanks for the work.”

  ?She didn't reply, simply gesturing toward the loading dock where three figures were waiting in the shadows.

  ?Jin, Mina, and... Hana. My dear team that I missed so much...

  ?When they noticed me approaching, all three of them stopped talking and looked my way.

  ?“You took your time,” Jin said, fixing his glasses as he glanced at my new gear. “I see you finally got your standard issue. And I heard you were officially promoted to Rank E. Congratulations on finally becoming a grunt.”

  ?He looked me up and down, his expression critical.

  ?“I hope you're not going to fumble like the last time. We don't have time to baby you tonight. Let's go.”

  ?I swallowed a retort. If you only knew, I thought. Vaughn didn't tell you about my Quality increase, did he? It's better to keep it to myself for now.

  ?As the three of them moved forward, Hana hung back for a second. She glanced at me over her shoulder and smiled—a sharp, knowing curve of her lips that didn't reach her dead eyes.

  ?A shiver ran down my spine. It made me feel anxious and unsteady, like I was walking on a tightrope.

  ?I hope the Feral is the only monster I have to worry about tonight.

  ?The Entrance

  We slipped through the service entrance and into the main hall. It was a cavernous, abandoned space that smelled of dry rot and old dust. The silence was heavy, oppressive.

  ?Looking around at the dust motes dancing in the slivers of moonlight, I couldn't help but voice my thought.

  ?“Whoa. They really deserted this place fast.”

  ?“It's child's play for a Sovereign to manipulate the minds of the herd,” Mina said, her voice echoing softly. She walked with a calm confidence, scanning the upper levels.

  ?She turned to me, a hint of pride in her voice.

  ?“Evacuating a building like this takes a nudge, not a shove. A simple subconscious suggestion of 'danger' or 'gas leak', and humans scatter like roaches.”

  ?“I can understand how you guys cleared the humans,” I whispered, keeping my guard up. “But what about the Feral? Did they control its mind too?”

  ?“Not exactly,” Jin interjected, pointing upward. “You felt it before you entered the building, right? That weak, pulsing Signature coming from the upper floors?”

  ?“Yeah,” I nodded. “I thought it was... a survivor? Or maybe the result of the massacre?”

  ?“That's how we trapped it,” Mina explained. “We placed a Phantom Signature on the top floor. Though we sealed the exits just in case, the lure is what keeps it there.”

  ?“But whose Signature is it?” I asked, confused. “I thought there was no one else inside?”

  ?“That's the trick,” Hana giggled, twirling a dagger. “It doesn't belong to anyone. It’s a synthetic lure. Just a fake signal.”

  ?Mina nodded. “It’s calibrated to be weak enough to look like easy prey, yet strong enough to be felt by a starving beast. The Feral thinks there’s a wounded victim hiding upstairs.”

  ?“I see,” I murmured, looking up at the dark ceiling. “So it's chasing a ghost that doesn't even exist.”

  ?“Exactly,” Jin said, drawing his sword with a metallic shing. “It’s distracted. Hungry. And frustrated. Which makes it dangerous.”

  Jin stopped, his eyes glowing faintly in the gloom as he turned to face us.

  ?“Enough with the chit-chat. The beast we face tonight isn't just a stray dog. It already wiped out one of our containment squads.”

  ?"What?" I froze. "It destroyed a whole team?"

  ?I could feel the unease rising inside me like bile. "Nobody told me about this."

  ?That old bastard, I thought, my grip tightening on the handgun. Vaughn conveniently left out the part where this thing eats hunters for breakfast.

  ?"Calm down," Jin said, his voice flat. "It was a lower-level team. Grunts with barely any field experience. Of course... in your case, you might be right to be worried."

  ?“...”

  ?This guy really wants a fight, I thought, glaring at him.

  ?“Okay, listen,” Jin commanded, ignoring my glare. “We stick together. We engage on sight. Keep away from enclosed spaces—you don't want to be cornered by something faster than you.”

  ?He looked at our faces one by one, his gaze lingering on mine. ”Understood?”

  ?“Yeah.”

  ?After the team acknowledged the order, we began our ascent, scanning the upper floors. The first two levels were clean—eerie, but empty.

  ?But the third floor was a slaughterhouse.

  ?Furniture was smashed to splinters. The walls were sprayed with dried, dark fluids. The smell of copper was thick enough to taste.

  ?"The monster is close. Stay alert," Jin whispered.

  ?We adopted a diamond formation. Jin took point, Hana and Mina flanked the sides, and I guarded the rear, walking backwards every few steps to check our six. We moved low, crouching to minimize our silhouettes.

  ?...

  ?“This is the place,” Mina whispered, pointing to a nondescript patch of hallway. “Where the Phantom Signature is planted.”

  ?Everyone went quiet, senses dialed to the max.

  ?“...Wh…. re… ng…”

  ?A sound broke the silence. Muffled, frantic whispers drifting from the shadows ahead. As we slowly approached, the words became clearer.

  ?“Where... where is it... where...”

  ?A man was standing in the middle of the hallway, his back to us. He was scratching his hair frantically, tearing out clumps of it. He paced back and forth, twitching like a glitch in a video game.

  ?“Is it... just a human?” Hana whispered, sounding confused.

  ?I frowned. She was right to assume this way. After all, this guy didn't have a signature that could belong to a monster or anything. No aura of blood. He looked way more human than us.

  ?But still he was giving me creeps. The hairs on my arms are standing up.

  ?“Hey—”

  ?I raised my hand and took a step forward, driven by a foolish impulse to check.

  ?Jin’s hand shot out, grabbing my shoulder. He shook his head sharply. Don't.

  ?But the man looked so pathetic. So lost. I pushed Jin's hand away and took another step.

  If it's human, I can't just ignore a survivor. And if it is a monster... Well, so what? I'm also a monster not just any but one with A- Blood Quality. Even if I can't control it yet it should be enough to dodge a single surprise attack.

  ?Confident in my new speed, I called out to the figure again.

  ?“Hey, Mister,” I called out, my voice echoing in the dead silence. “May I ask what you're doing here? This place is dangerous. Could you slowly turn around?”

  ?The mumbling stopped instantly.

  ?His erratic twitching froze. The entire hallway seemed to hold its breath.

  ?He slowly began to stand up straight. His spine cracked audibly.

  I saw his face.

  Its face was incredibly terrifying and repulsive. It had several eyes, and its mouth was contorted into a shape that no longer looked normal.

  ?“Huh?”

  ?I blinked.

  ?In the time it took for my eyelids to close and open, the man wasn't there anymore.

  ?Behind you.

  ?My new A- Quality instincts screamed before my brain could process the visual. My body moved on its own, screaming for me to turn around.

  ?I spun on my heel.

  ?I didn't see a man. I saw a wall of pale, white muscle.

  ?Massive claws, easily as big as my head, were already descending toward my face.