"Daddy is really fascinating!" Aly giggled, still looking at the spot where Levi had disappeared.
"I agree. I really liked his artwork," Kai said, recalling the corpse Levi had left behind in the cemetery last night. "I'm thinking of recreating that."
Aly's eyes brightened. "Yes, that would be fun! But we should pick the perfect prey for that."
Lurking in the shadows of the dim streets, Levi moved with inhuman speed, his steps barely making a sound.
The part of downtown he was in was quiet, with most stores already closed and only a few scattered lights keeping the area alive.
He scanned the streets, calculating quickly.
Three people were drinking in front of a small shop two kilometers away, laughing without a care.
Another was cleaning his car inside a garage not far from there.
Two more were smoking pot by an open window on the first floor of a four-story apartment, and one person was riding a bike heading north.
Their scents were a mix of blood, sweat, and corruption.
When he was still human, he could never understand what made blood so appealing to vampires. Now that he was one, he finally understood. The scent alone was enough to make his chest burn and his throat dry. It was sweet, heavy, and irresistible, like something alive was calling out to him. Each heartbeat he heard in the distance sounded like an invitation.
But he wasn't going to lose control.
He focused on the system's readings as faint glows flickered in his vision.
The nearby humans had low compatibility rates, barely worth the effort. But when he focused north, his attention fixed on the biker.
[Compatibility rate: 70%]
That one held the sweetest scent in the area.
Levi stepped out from the shadows, his eyes glowing faintly red. The world around him blurred as he moved.
Just around six meters away from the human, Levi suddenly stopped.
He caught another scent. He didn't have to see the person to know that it was a vampire. Humans and vampires had very distinct smell.
A man appeared a few meters ahead, stepping casually out of the dark. He wore dark jeans and a leather jacket, and a chain hung around his neck with a pendant hidden under his shirt. His expression carried that easy arrogance that came from someone who didn't expect to be challenged.
"Were you trying to hunt?" the man said, a smirk tugging at his mouth. "My bad."
"You want that guy?" The man nodded toward the biker still riding down the road. "You're a newborn, I can smell it from here. Maybe you were living around this area as a human, but for vampires, this is my brothers' and my turf." He crossed his arms, still grinning. "Everyone around here knows that. You can't just hunt here without my permission."
"I'm sorry," Levi said, but there wasn't a hint of apology in his voice. His tone was calm, almost bored. "I didn't know you owned the area."
The man tilted his head, smiling as if he were humoring a child.
"Now you know. You're just a newborn, so you don't know the rules yet. Don't worry, I can let it pass. Just try feeding in the other districts, okay? This one's mine."
Levi nodded. "Alright. Can you show me the land title then?"
The man blinked. "The what?"
"The title of the land," Levi repeated, straight-faced.
There was a moment of silence before the vampire let out a short laugh, rubbing a hand through his deep brown hair. His smirk returned, sharper this time, as if he were trying to decide whether Levi was joking or simply stupid.
"I guess you're dumber than you look," the man said finally.
Levi stared at him for a moment. Dumber? he thought. I wonder if he could still smirk if I rearranged the parts of his face in a different angle.
The man frowned.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his tone slightly uneasy.
Levi didn't answer. His thoughts were starting to wander somewhere darker.
"If this is your land," he said quietly, "then I think we could use your body as fertilizer. That way, you can at least contribute to it."
The smirk on the man's face vanished. His expression twisted with offense and anger.
"You've got quite a mouth for a newborn."
Levi's eyes flicked to him lazily. He smells a little too nice, he thought.
Before he could move, the vampire was already in front of him. The man's hand shot up toward Levi's neck, his movements quick and clean.
Levi shifted to the side, avoiding the first grab with a blur of speed, but the man followed instantly.
This time, the attack landed. The vampire's fingers clamped around Levi's throat and slammed him against the wall. The impact sent a crack crawling through the concrete like a spider web. Dust rained down as Levi's head tilted slightly from the force.
"This hostility would have been unnecessary if you just shut your filthy mouth, buddy," the man sneered, his grip tightening.
Levi's expression didn't change. He barely seemed bothered by the hand crushing his windpipe.
Instead, something else caught his attention.
The man's scent was getting stronger with their proximity.
A faint, golden hue began to shimmer around the man's form, like light reflecting off liquid metal.
[Potential prey identified.]
[Dominant Sin Essence: Pride]
[Compatibility Rate: 89%]
Levi's brows furrowed. What's happening?
A heartbeat later…
[Gate of Pride Activated!]