Sally navigated the hallway with Jenny leaning heavily against her. "Sorry," Jenny mumbled. "Shouldn't have... had that last one..."
"It's okay," Sally said. "The bathroom's just down here, right?"
They found it—a small restroom near the dining area. Sally helped Jenny inside, holding her hair back while she leaned over the sink, splashing water on her face.
"Ugh, I'm a mess," Jenny groaned.
"You're fine," Sally reassured her. "Take your time."
Warren appeared in the hallway, leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door.
Inside, Jenny was taking longer than expected.
"You okay in there?"
"Yeah... just... give me a minute..."
Warren remained motionless outside, arms crossed. Several minutes passed. Suddenly, he spotted a guy with bright, spiky blue hair stumbling toward him, even though this was supposed to be the women's restroom.
As the guy drew closer, Warren felt an instinctive fear, as if he were facing a wild beast. "What's this? Why are you coming here?" Warren asked.
The guy responded with a hollow smile. "I was just on my way to the bathroom."
"It's the women's restroom. Leave," Warren said firmly.
The guy kept advancing. "Is that so?" He lunged at Warren with clawed hands. "Then why are you here?!"
Warren crossed his arms defensively, but his forearm was slashed by the guy's claws.
Warren hissed as pain lanced through his forearm, blood welling from the gash. No time to think—the blue-haired lunatic was already moving for another strike.
Warren ducked low, letting the swipe pass over his head, and drove his fist hard into the guy's stomach. The attacker wheezed but didn't fold like Warren expected. Instead, he grinned wider, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Warren's bleeding arm.
"It's flowing..." the guy rasped. "There's so much blood flowing!"
Warren didn't waste breath responding. He feinted left, then drove his knee up toward the guy's groin. The blue-haired attacker twisted just enough to take the hit on his thigh instead, then lashed out with both hands, claws raking toward Warren's face.
Warren jerked his head back, feeling the tips graze his cheek. He retaliated immediately, slamming his elbow down on the guy's extended wrist, trying to snap bone or at least disable the joint. The attacker yelped but yanked his arm free.
Blood dripped from Warren's forearm onto the tile floor. "He's like Eli!"
"Let's spill it all out! Let's burst it all out!" the guy said with a mad grin. He rushed at Warren and slashed with his claws. Warren twisted his body and dodged the attack, but the guy kept slashing at him like a wild beast. Warren threw an overhand punch, smashing the guy into the ground.
"I've fought people like you—people who fight like beasts."
The guy flipped and connected a kick to Warren's jaw, sending him backward. "Really?! I want to meet them. I wonder what their blood smells like!"
Suddenly the lights flickered. Warren had vanished. The guy looked around frantically. He laughed as he turned back. "The smell of blood! I can smell it!"
But Warren threw a straight punch. The guy crossed his arms to block, but the impact was so strong that he crashed into the wall.
"Ah...? How was I not able to avoid that?" The guy muttered as his arms shook.
Warren walked forward. "I don't know who you are or why you're here, but until I find that guy, I won't lose. I can't lose!"
The guy slowly got up. "You're a beast..."
Warren sneered. "You're the one who's a beast!"
The guy's expression twisted. "I... am... A HUMAN!" With that, he lunged at Warren with his claws. Warren leaned back at the last moment—the claws missed his face by millimeters. The guy kept slashing. Warren lifted his arms to guard. His sleeves were torn, blood spraying out. Warren kept backing up as cuts began forming on his hands, chest, hips, face, and thighs.
At the last moment, Warren grabbed both of the guy's hands and pressed him to the ground. The guy fell to his knees involuntarily. "Why have you been... talking nonsense?!" Warren shouted, smashing the guy's face with his knee.
"Beasts... They feel fear and become hungry because of blood. That's just survival instinct. But humans are different. Not only do they feel various emotions because of blood, but they also have many inspirations and desires... To put it simply, only humans are 'beings that want blood.' Blood is the measure that distinguishes humans from animals," the guy muttered as he slowly got up. No matter how much Warren pushed, he couldn't stop him from rising.
Warren released the guy and smashed him in the face. The guy skidded backward. "That's it! Let's keep fighting!"
The guy jumped at Warren. "MORE! MORE! MORE! LET'S SPILL SOME MORE BLOOD!"
Warren raised his already damaged arms to block. When he checked them, he found chunks of flesh missing. The guy came from behind with flesh in his mouth. "I can feel it... The smell of blood."
The guy kept clawing at Warren at immense speed. Warren barely managed to dodge with only a few grazes. "This guy! Does he get stronger as he sees blood?!"
Warren finally found an opening. He smashed his fist into the guy's stomach with all his strength. "Just what is... The reason why... You're so obsessed with being human?"
The guy grinned as he slashed. "Humans put a name on everything. But I threw away my name! I just want to be called 'Human.'"
Then he brought both fists together and slammed down. "I just want to keep living as a human!"
But a punch connected with his jaw. He laughed. "There's no use, HAHAHA! The more blood that comes out, the—" Before he could finish, another punch connected to his jaw.
He looked at Warren with shock. "Stronger I become..." But Warren didn't stop. Continuous punches rained down on the guy.
Warren spoke through a tight jaw. "Live as a human? You can certainly do that. But you can't mess with ME! People might not know, but I am Gangdong's mighty Warren Chae!" Shouting this, Warren smashed down the guy with one last punch, creating a crater.
The guy twitched for a while before stopping. Warren stood there, blood dripping from his hands.
Sally stared, speechless.
From inside the bathroom, Jenny's muffled voice called out: "Sally? What's happening out there?"