Do-hyun's feet struck the cold concrete of the alley behind the warehouse, each spanning a silent prayer. Behind him, the vampire cries mingled with the crackling of communications in his earpiece.
"Target in motion, northerly!" announced Min-ho's calm voice. "Alpha Team, 3-cover... 2... 1. "
A carefully calculated explosion shook the ground at the intersection in front of Do-hyun, projecting a cloud of dust and debris that obscured the view of its pursuers. He plunged into the smoke, abruptly changing direction as expected.
"They are splitting up," Soo-ah reported, his voice slightly outstretched. "Two follow you down the alley. The other two and Kwan try to get around you."
Do-hyun glanced over his shoulder. Two scarlet figures cracked the smoke with terrifying speed. Level 4. Fast, but predictable.
"I'll take them," he scolded, slowing down his pace slightly.
He pressed himself against a brick wall, his heart beating the chamade not with fear, but with brutal anticipation. His auratic decoy was deactivated, but he kept his aura at its lowest, a smouldering ember ready to ignite.
The first vampire burst out of the dust cloud, the claws already unsheathed. Do-hyun did not dodge. He threw himself forward, under the claws, and planted his Blade of Light directly into the vampire's sternum. The golden energy passed through the creature with a high-pitched whistle. She didn't even have time to scream.
Level 4 VAMPIRE ELIMINATED. EXP +30.]
The second vampire, just behind, hesitated for a split second, shocked by the sudden death of his companion. This hesitation was fatal. Do-hyun used the momentum of his first attack to pivot, his blade drawing a perfect arc that cut through the second vampire's head.
Level 4 VAMPIRE ELIMINATED. EXP +30.]
It only took a few seconds. Clean. Effective. Mortal.
"Two downs," he gasped as he resumed his run. "Where is Kwan?"
"He reached the roof to your left," Min-ho replied. "He follows you. He doesn't run after you, he... he's watching."
Kwan was learning. It was more dangerous.
Do-hyun continued his escape, following the extraction path that Min-ho indicated to him via light markers projected into his vision by the System. Narrow alleys, underground passages, emergency ladders. The plan worked. Min-ho's support teams created diversions at intersections, slowing down and disorienting pursuers.
But Kwan remained a shadow hanging above him, a cold, calculating presence.
"He's trying to guess your destination," Soo-ah analyzed. "He wants to cut off your retirement."
Do-hyun reached the final extraction point: a disused subway stop leading to an old maintenance tunnel. Min-ho's team had to wait there with a vehicle.
As he entered the dark staircase, a calm, contemptuous voice echoed from the street above.
A predictable leak, Phoenix. You're more conventional than I thought you were."
Do-hyun looked up. Kwan stood on the edge of the roof in front, watching him go down. He didn't seem to be in a hurry.
"You killed two of my guards. An impressive but futile demonstration. We know who you are now. We know you have a sister."
An icy shiver ran through Do-hyun's spine. Ji-eun.
"If you touch her..." he began, his voice charged with a threat that was no longer feigned.
Kwan smiled, a squealing devoid of humor. "Oh, we don't need to touch her. We just need to know that it exists. The game has changed, Do-hyun. It's no longer about hunting. It's about leverage."
He made an elegant wave of his hand. "Go ahead. Flee. Go back into your hole. And know this: the next time we meet, it will not be your combat skills that will be tested, but your willingness to sacrifice what you love for your principles."
With these words, Kwan turned his heels and disappeared into the darkness of the roof.
Do-hyun remained frozen for a moment, breathless, not by effort, but by the veiled threat. Kwan was not bluffing. He had just redefined the rules of confrontation.
"Do-hyun, move!" ordered Soo-ah's voice in his earpiece. "The vehicle is on its way."
He went down the last steps and rushed into the tunnel where a van with tinted windows was waiting for him. The door slid and he leaped inside. Min-ho was driving, his face impassive.
"He mentioned Ji-eun," said Do-hyun, his voice hoarse, as the vehicle started silently.
"We heard," Min-ho replied, negotiating a sharp turn in the narrow tunnel. "It was a mistake on our part. We underestimated their ability to collect personal information."
The return to the base was grim. The mission's tactical success - infiltrating, listening, escaping an ambush, killing two high-level vampires - was overshadowed by the revelation of Ji-eun's vulnerability.
When they arrived, Ji-eun was waiting for them, his face pale. She had heard everything through communications.
"They... they know about me?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Do-hyun hugged her. "They won't hurt you. I won't let them."
But the words sounded hollow. Kwan had found their weak spot. And a strategist of his level would not need direct threats. False information sent to the police, a carefully orchestrated "accident," a rumor launched in the school environment... the means of using Ji-eun as a lever were endless.
The dynamics within the base changed that evening. The tension was no longer just outward, but also inward. Ji-eun's safety became the top priority. Min-ho spent the next few days improving the base's defenses, installing advanced surveillance systems, and emergency locking protocols. Soo-ah began giving her basic self-defense lessons, not to fight vampires, but to have a chance to escape or hold out until help arrives.
Do-hyun immersed himself in the analysis of Kwan's words. The vampire had spoken of a "lever." That meant he wanted something. He wasn't just trying to eliminate them. He was trying to control them.
"He wants the Heart," Do-hyun concluded at a briefing a few days later. "But he knows he can't get it by force, especially with the Guardian around. So he wants to force us to give it to him. Or to work for him."
"Long-term blackmail," Min-ho nodded. Sordid."
So what do we do? Are we hiding even more?" asked Ji-eun, a glimmer of defiance in his eyes. The initial fear gave way to cold anger.
"No," said Do-hyun, an idea taking shape, as dangerous as its infiltration. But we're changing the rules."
He turned to Soo-ah." Your contacts. They mentioned dissension within the Clan, right? Elders who don't like Kwan's new "diplomatic" approach?"
Soo-ah nodded, a smile heard on his lips. "Yes. Traditionalists. They consider Kwan a weakman. They want a bloody revenge."
"Perfect," said Do-hyun. "If Kwan wants to use Ji-eun as a lever against us, let's use traditionalists as a lever against him."
The plan was simple in concept, diabolically complex in execution. They would carefully "leak" information to the traditionalist faction of the Clan, suggesting that Kwan was secretly dealing with the Phoenix, that he even considered sharing power or the Heart with humans. A betrayal unthinkable for the most radical vampires.
They had to sow discord, turn factions against each other. While the Purple Dawn Clan was being torn apart internally, they would have a break. And maybe even an opportunity.
Ji-eun, to his surprise, became a key part of this plan. It was she who, through her computer skills, created fake online profiles, plausible digital traces of "secret encounters" and "encrypted communications" between Kwan and unidentified human entities. She was learning to fight with new weapons: code, misinformation, psychological warfare.
Do-hyun watched his sister transform. The frightened girl gave way to an aspiring strategist, determined and ruthless in her digital revenge. It was both fascinating and terrifying.
Meanwhile, Do-hyun resumed his training, but with a new focus. The System, reacting to the indirect threat against Ji-eun, unlocked new simulations: scenarios of hostage-taking, coerced negotiations, impossible choices where it had to sacrifice one victim to save ten.
He was learning the necessary coldness. Hardness. Kwan had wanted to test his willingness to sacrifice what he loved. Do-hyun was training to become able to do so, if necessary. The idea made him sick, but he had no choice. To protect Ji-eun, he had to be ready to lose her.
A few weeks after their disinformation operation, the first results came. Through his contacts, Soo-ah learned that a violent altercation had broken out at a meeting of the Council of Elders. Kwan had been publicly accused of treason by the leader of the traditionalist faction, a brutal vampire named Gorath. The rumors they had sown had caught fire.
The Purple Dawn Clan was in the middle of a cold civil war.
It was a victory. Temporary, fragile, but a victory.
That evening, Do-hyun looked at Ji-eun who was working at his terminal, a youthful determination concentrate. They had saved time. They had protected their sanctuary, for now.
But the price had been heavy. They had to dive deeper into the shadows, use sneaky methods, and harden their hearts against the most heartbreaking moral dilemmas.
Kwan wanted to play the fox game. Do-hyun had just shown him that he could not only play, but also turn the game against its creator.
The game was far from over. But for the first time in a long time, Do-hyun felt that he was holding the dice.