[Gate of Pride Activated!]
For a brief moment, Levi was confused why the system identified the vampire in front of him as prey. But it didn't take long for him to understand.
What a lovely surprise.
"Alright," Levi said with a mild, almost shy smile. "I'm being playful. Sorry. I'll leave and won't touch any human in this district."
The other vampire looked pleased with himself, mistaking Levi's calm tone for submission. His ego practically glowed brighter than his aura.
He gave Levi's neck a final squeeze before throwing him down to the ground like a rag doll.
"You should be grateful that I'm being generous to you," he said with a smirk. "I know newborns can be impulsive and reckless."
Levi didn't respond. He just looked up at the man.
Back on the rooftop of Levi's apartment complex, Aly and Kai were watching the entire thing unfold.
"What is Daddy doing?" Aly asked, leaning forward. "He ignored all the closer humans just to chase that guy on the bike. I thought he felt some kind of sin compatibility, but now he's giving the prey away? Is he scared to get into a fight?"
Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at the unfamiliar vampire. "I can easily kill him."
Kai didn't answer right away. His gaze stayed locked on their father. Even from that distance, he could see the faintest glint in Levi's eyes. There was no fear there. Rather, he seemed to be expecting something.
He remembered how Levi buried that man in the cemetery as if he was just doing some gardening, how he had injected their mother's venom into his own veins, fully aware of the 60% fatality rate without a second thought, and how calm he had been when he woke as a newborn.
Kai was certain of one thing. Levi was no coward.
"Let's not meddle," he said finally. "Let's see what happens next."
Aly frowned but obeyed, folding her arms as they both kept their eyes on him.
Down in the street, Levi leaned lazily against a flickering lamppost. The light buzzed weakly above him, casting broken shadows across the wet pavement. His black hoodie hung loosely over his frame.
Across from him, the older vampire crouched beside the collapsed human, fangs buried deep in the man's neck. The sound of blood being drawn was wet and rhythmic.
Levi's gaze followed every motion. How the man's shoulders rose and fell with each swallow, how the human's heartbeat slowed until it stopped completely.
At one point, the vampire glanced at Levi, surprised to see him still standing there. Most newborns would have already lost control, lunging at the scent of fresh blood even after a full feed.
But Levi stayed still. No twitch, no hunger-driven madness, only that quiet, unreadable stare.
The vampire dropped the corpse, the neck bent at a wrong angle. A few more drops of blood dripped down onto the concrete.
Levi's throat burned with thirst, but he didn't move. The faint red in his eyes darkened as he watched the other vampire lick the blood from his lips.
It was a mystery to Levi why a core gate had opened because of a vampire instead of a human. Core gates were supposed to react to sin essence in human prey, that's what everyone knew. But this? This was different.
He could be a special case.
As he stared at the vampire before him, the thought of how the blood in his veins would taste stirred something inside. The hunger that had been clawing at him earlier began to shift. No longer a nuisance, but fuel for an experiment.
When Levi's curiosity was piqued, there was no stopping him. He needed to see what would happen, to prove his theory right or wrong.
The vampire wiped the blood from his lips and looked over his shoulder with a smug grin.
"What are you staring at? There's still some blood left on this one. If you don't mind feeding on my scraps, you can have it."
Levi tilted his head slightly. "Why would I take scraps," he said evenly, "when I can have an untouched meal?"
The vampire chuckled. He assumed Levi's compatibility was with Pride, and he knew there weren't humans nearby who matched that sin essence. If there were, he could have smelled them.
"Go ahead," he said mockingly. "Look for a prey in this area. Since you don't mind lowering yourself, I'll give you permission to hunt in my turf. But this is the first and last time."
He turned away with an easy wave. "See you around."
He only managed two steps.
By the third, there was a sound. A sharp, wet rip.
Levi stood behind him, silent, his hand buried where the man's chest used to be whole.
The vampire froze, eyes wide. He looked down at the gaping hollow in his torso, disbelief replacing arrogance. In Levi's right hand was his unmoving heart dripping with thick, dark red blood. The color of a vampire's blood.
Levi shifted in front of him. The vampire's knees gave out, body trembling but unable to collapse.
A vampire's heart wasn't like a human's. It was connected to the core, the source of their power. The core itself was intangible, untouchable, but the heart wasn't. Without it, a vampire didn't die immediately, a new one would form eventually.
But in those few minutes before regeneration, they were at their weakest.
Levi dropped the heart onto the concrete with a dull thud. His other hand closed around the vampire's throat, lifting him easily a few inches off the ground.
Blood trickled down Levi's fingers. He brought his hand close to his face and dragged his tongue slowly along his index finger.
His eyes fluttered shut for a moment. "Mmm…"
A faint smile crossed his lips. "Just as I expected," he murmured, voice low and pleased. Then his eyes opened, glowing a deep crimson. "It tastes… heavenly."
The vampire's face twisted in horror. His entire body shook, not from pain, but from realization. He had never seen a vampire drink another vampire's blood and enjoy it. Everyone knew it was supposed to taste vile… toxic, even.
But Levi looked almost blissful.
The thought ran through the man's mind like a scream he couldn't voice. What kind of monster is he?