Chapter 7
When I came to, it was dark all around.
"Ugh, uhh..."
I couldn't speak properly.
There was no light at all, so I couldn't tell whether my eyes were open or closed.
I couldn't move my body either. Am I lying down right now? Or sitting? Maybe even standing. And I think my arms and legs bent when I got caught... Are my limbs all right?
I hung there drooling for a while.
—Flash!
Suddenly, a bright light burst out.
"Urgh!"
The whole world turned pure white. It felt like my eyes were about to shatter. As I thrashed in pain, my vision slowly started to return to normal.
"Are you awake?"
"Uh, uh...?"
The first thing I realized was.
That I seemed to be inside some secret interrogation room. A small lamp lit the dark room. It was literally just a little light, but to me it felt like a blinding flash.
And... I was tied to a chair. There was a desk in front of me, and across from it sat an expressionless man in a suit and sunglasses.
Could he be an ANSP agent?
Is this the basement under Namsan?
Or the Yongsan anti-communist branch?
"Heh, so the vampire bastards were ruling the country?"
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"Am I your friend?"
What the hell?
"Answer."
"W-what?"
"Answer."
"What are you talking about?"
"Answer."
"A friend...? Of course not."
"Then why are you speaking casually?"
What the hell is he talking about?
"And vampires? This bastard still hasn't come to his senses."
The man stood up. Then he grabbed the baton beside him and swung it at me.
—Whack!
"Aaaaargh!"
One blow sent me rolling across the floor. But I was tied to the chair, so I couldn't even twist my body properly.
—Whack!
—Whack!
"Aaagh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
This crazy bastard is beating the hell out of me from the start...!
Every time the baton slammed into my body, pain exploded. I screamed for a while, and only after the man stopped did he straighten my chair and make me sit upright again.
"Ghh...!"
"Name."
"..."
"Name."
W-wait.
Name?
He wants me to say my name?
"You want me to say my name...?"
"Name."
I snapped back to my senses.
I can't reveal my identity. It doesn't matter where this is. If I give this vampire bastard any information, he'll find my mom and dad in no time. I can't let that happen. I can't let my parents die again.
"Name. I said tell me."
"Lee Cheol-su."
I blurted out a name I made up on the spot.
And then.
"This bastard won't do."
"Huh?"
"Hey. Turn the lights off."
"Oh! Okay!"
Suddenly the door opened and men poured in. Before I knew it, they were beating me to a pulp with batons.
—Thwack! Thwack!
"Kyaaaagh! Aaaagh!"
Being restrained and beaten in the dark only amplified the pain and fear. I couldn't even predict where the next hit would land, and I could feel my body turning into a bloody mess.
—Flash!
The lights came back on.
I was sprawled on the floor. My teeth were rolling around in my mouth. The taste of blood was so metallic that it brought back the memory of when I was killed by a vampire.
The horrifying pain of stabbing my own stomach.
Hellish memories of being murdered over and over again.
"Name."
"Heh, heh."
"Name."
"Hibalum."
"Huh?"
"Say it. My name is Hibalum. Heh-heh..."
Once I said it, I started laughing.
I'm in so much pain I feel like I'll die, but it still hurts less than having my stomach ripped open alive. You fucking vampire bastards. You think I'd answer willingly? I'd already made up my mind to wage a crusade.
"This isn't going to work. Hey! Let's have some water fun!"
—Thud!
At those words, the door opened again and men poured in. They grabbed me roughly, and I was dragged somewhere.
* * *
The next round was water torture.
"Kwah! Ggh, pfoooob! Mmph!"
They grabbed the back of my head and shoved my face into the bathtub. Just as my breath burst out and I swallowed water, they yanked me back up, let me catch two breaths, and shoved me under again.
"Gghhhhhh!"
In that hellish pain, both hatred and rage faded away. At this moment, all I wanted was for the pain to stop.
Please...!
I'll do anything!
If only they'd stop this water torture!
"Phaaah! Hek! Heeck!"
"Hey. Drag him back."
"Ugh!"
Was it finally over?
I was brought back to the first room. The man in sunglasses sat across from me, and he said haughtily.
"I'm Section Chief Kim Jo-hak."
Section chief?
"Now, you've realized that we act before we talk, right? So let's have a little chat. Hmm? Vampire hunter. What's your ability?"
"Ability...?"
"Did you think we wouldn't know?"
"W-what?"
"Haven't you ever thought about that?"
Maybe it was because I'd just been tortured and couldn't think straight, but it was hard to grasp the gist of what the man was saying. What the hell did he want?
"I mean the thought that if you knew whether crypto and stocks would rise or fall, you'd get rich."
Wait.
No way.
"Our vampire hunter apparently made a killing on crypto recently. He just cleaned up on both the ups and downs."
"..."
"As if you'd known it in advance."
It felt like my heart had stopped.
"W-what the hell..."
What the hell is this?
Who the hell were these bastards? No way... were they involved in the swings of crypto and the wobbling of stock prices too?
"What, did you see the future or something?"
"The future..."
"It's all a trap. A trap. A trap to root out bastards like you."
My whole body went cold, and goosebumps rose.
These bastards were beyond anything I could imagine. What the hell... where had it all gone wrong? No, what the hell were these guys even in the first place?
"And our vampire hunter fell right into that trap. If you call it a coincidence, that's no fun. We've already checked everything. You hadn't really been touching stocks or crypto for a while, but from that day on, you suddenly started cleaning up on both the ups and downs, right? Wow. If I'd known something like that, I'd be rich too."
"..."
"Then let's get to the point, our Geun-hong."
Ah.
So hiding my personal information from the start had been pointless.
"Your father is Kim Geun-bon. What a strange name. I have no idea what kind of family you're from. Your grandfather's name is Kim Geun-eom—Geun-eom? And what is this Kim Geun- pattern? Your mother's name is Lee Su-hee. Well, that's ordinary enough."
"..."
"How did you dig up all that information? Hey. Look me straight in the eye."
The man's eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses.
But under his gaze, I felt something even more chilling than when I was hypnotized by a vampire last time... It was as if everything about me were being laid bare, piece by piece. This man must know everything about me.
"Did you see the future or something? Or what—are you connected to vampires?"
The future and vampires.
They knew all of that too.
"Wh-who the hell are you people... H-how? How do you know all that? And how are you involved with crypto too!"
"Have you ever thought about that?"
"What...?"
"You met a vampire, didn't you? You learned that there are things in this world that aren't ordinary."
So what?
"The Bureau."
The Bureau?
"An organization that serves humanity."
Serving humanity...?
"So they weren't vampires?"
"You still don't get it, do you?"
"N-no! I thought the vampires were trying to catch and eliminate me!"
So it wasn't vampires, but an organization called the Bureau? No, even that was strange. Why would an organization that serves humanity do this to me!
"That's ridiculous! You say you serve humanity, but you're torturing me like this!"
"How are we supposed to know whether you're human or not."
"Huh?"
"Is being able to see the future something humans can do? Now, let's speak frankly. Ability. What happened. Write it all down here."
The man held out a pen and paper.
I looked down at them.
"Because your right arm is fine."
"..."
"And write down how you figured out the coin prices too."
The principle...?
I only know because I regressed.
But wait.
This bastard is talking as if it's certain that I can see the future, but my ability isn't future sight or anything like that—it's just regression. Does that mean he doesn't know about regression?
I felt an instinctive sense of caution.
No. I absolutely cannot tell them. Even amid my confusion and fear, this much was clear. I must never tell these Bureau bastards that I can regress.
Right.
Let's go with future sight.
"I-it started after I met the vampire. I suddenly started seeing the future..."
"Oh? Write that down."
"Y-yes..."
I struggled to pick up the pen and started writing.
I met a vampire, nearly died, and lost my mind; in the process, I suddenly gained the ability to see the future. And I decided to use that ability to survive.
After I finished writing that.
—Beeeeep!
—Beeeeep!
"Huh!"
Suddenly, an alarm went off in the room and red lights came on!
[FalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalseFalse]
A lie?!
I was found out?!
"This really won't do. Protocol Seven. Begin the scan."
"P-what?! Wait!"
The door opened and men came in again. Was I going to get beaten to a pulp again like this? Before I could even scream, a syringe was plunged into my neck.
"Ugh..."
My mind grew hazy.
The boundary between dream and reality crumbled, and I fell into the illusion that I was seeing myself from a third-person observer's point of view.
The men lifted me and loaded me onto a gurney.
Moving down the corridor.
Moving.
Taking the elevator.
Moving down the corridor again.
It was only after entering some white room that the movement finally stopped. People started taking off my clothes. Then they made me sit on some device, and something covered my head.
—Bzzzz.
An unpleasant sound came from right beside my head.
"Uh..."
No voice comes out.
Oh
Oh
Ugh
Such
a
weird
feeling
is
...
...
...
...
...
...
.
.
.
[You died after having your brain extracted.]
[Death count 4 -> 5]
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.
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[Restarting.]