Chapter 49
She glanced sideways and swung her umbrella down hard, striking his arm.
But Cain had noticed in advance and pulled his arm away.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“It’d be hard on your own. Why didn’t you bring that hunter?”
“If I walk around with my senior, anyone can tell we’re going hunting.”
“Fair point.”
Cain nodded, then suddenly stopped. Melony halted with him.
Both of them fixed their gaze on one side.
Melony felt someone watching her. Cain, on the other hand, seemed to have a different reason.
“Hm…”
Cain’s eyes narrowed, then curved into a round shape.
“Mel.”
The woman who entered their field of vision had short, raspberry-colored hair.
She stood still among the passersby, staring straight at them. Her sharply upturned eyes gave her a fierce impression.
“See her? That woman could be the King. Or a clone.”
“Isn’t the King a man?”
“True. But he can disguise himself in many forms.”
You’d only know for sure if you faced him directly.
“She’s looking at either you or me. Is she targeting one of us?”
“Probably.”
The woman didn’t move from where she stood. Melony briefly met Cain’s gaze, then moved first.
Cain would be the one to identify her, but it didn’t matter what she was. Either way, the enemy to be killed remained the same.
“Cain, follow me!”
“I’m faster than you, you know?”
When Melony ran ahead, Cain was already in front of her.
Her eyes widened at the sight of his back disappearing quickly as he claimed he’d go first.
Sometimes, moments like this made her wish she didn’t have a human body. If only she could run a little faster.
“…Ha, damn it.”
At some point, she lost sight of both the woman and Cain.
Melony looked around, but no one was in sight. Both of them were vampires; they’d long since left her field of vision.
Having come up empty, Melony decided to look for Cain instead. Since she couldn’t see him, she wondered if she should go somewhere high—
“…Ah.”
Just then, she spotted the woman again in the distance. Without hesitation, Melony ran toward her.
She would kill that thing no matter what.
Grinding her teeth, she picked up speed.
“Aren’t you going to stop?”
The woman grinned and hopped like a cat, deliberately teasing her.
This woman—Cain had guaranteed it. The King, or his clone.
For now, Melony decided to capture rather than kill her. She aimed the umbrella at the back of the woman’s head. Of course, she couldn’t fire a gun amid the crowd.
“Haah, ha… damn it!”
Before she knew it, she’d reached a dead-end alley. There was no one there.
She was about to give up and leave when—
“I’m right here, you know?”
At the mocking voice, she spun around and fired immediately. The woman leapt into the air. Now that she looked closer, she almost resembled a frog.
“Wow… was that a gun? That was dangerous.”
“What are you?”
“Me? Envy—Invidia.”
As she spoke, Invidia kicked at Melony. Melony dodged quickly and fired several shots in a row.
Invidia evaded the bullets at an incredible speed. Cain was fast, but this woman’s reflexes were on another level.
“Wow, you’re really slow!”
Her voice sounded genuinely impressed, but her face was twisted in mockery. Irritated, Melony pulled out another gun.
One of the shots struck Invidia’s shoulder as she dodged the others.
“Aaagh!”
Trying to vault over a wall, Invidia fell to the ground instead, writhing like an insect.
Melony took a deep breath and holstered the empty gun. All she had left was the umbrella gun.
Of all times, Cain wasn’t here.
Then she realized what she’d just been thinking.
What? Was I seriously about to ask for help? Without even trying to handle it myself?
A bitter smile crept onto Melony’s lips. Since when had she become this weak? It was absurd.
She walked up step by step and aimed the gun at Invidia’s neck. Invidia, shrieking in pain, grabbed a handful of sand and flung it at her.
As if she’d anticipated it, Melony opened her umbrella.
“Trying to fool me? You’ve got a long way to go.”
Melony had once been the only girl who endured Clovis’s infamous, brutal training at a mere ten years old.
“That hurts! Was that a silver bullet? Ow!”
Bang—bang!
Melony didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow as she aimed at Invidia.
Then she briefly glanced behind her, checking if Cain was coming. Seizing that moment, Invidia kicked Melony’s wrist.
“Ugh.”
Invidia was fast, and her attacks were mostly kicks—shooting at her with a gun was useless.
A heavy, powerful kick nearly made Melony drop the umbrella, but she quickly reversed her grip.
“For a hunter, you’re not easy.”
“Are you targeting me?”
“Oh, you only figured that out now? Seriously? You’re that unbelievably clueless?”
Invidia burst into laughter, then rebounded off the wall and flew toward her. Melony staggered back, but her shoulder was struck by a kick, and she fell.
Thud—
She’d looked light, but Invidia landed on top of Melony with a heavy thump.
“Want to know why?”
Melony didn’t answer. She calmly tightened her grip on the umbrella.
Invidia glanced at Melony’s umbrella-holding arm, then at the other arm. Bruises were already blooming there.
She pressed that arm down hard with her foot. Pain shot through it, yet Melony didn’t even furrow her brow.
If you show emotion first here, it’s over.
Wait for the right moment, then finish it in one blow.
Perhaps sensing her intent, Invidia kicked the umbrella far away.
“Aha! Without this, you can’t do anything, can you?”
No, that wasn’t true—but there was no need to say it. Catching her off guard was the goal.
“Focus on me. What are you doing, huh? How dare you!”
Invidia raked her nails across Melony’s bruised arm. Blood welled up from the tender skin.
Sniffing the air, Invidia’s violet eyes flashed in an instant—no different from a beast’s.
She grabbed Melony’s arm and stared at the bleeding wrist.
“Haah… yeah, this is it. This is the one!”
“……”
“You know what? The word’s already spread among us. Your blood is definitely the Immortel we’ve been looking for!”
Immortel.
That name—also used for the forbidden fruit—came up again. She had no idea why her blood was being called that.
But there was one thing she understood clearly right now.
Giving up my blood is disgusting.
She’d grown used to giving it to Cain, but she’d rather die than give it to another vampire.
The moment Invidia’s face drew close to her arm, Melony thrust out her other arm.
“Ugh! What are you—!”
She grabbed Invidia’s right arm—the one that had been hit by the silver bullet earlier. Pressing her thumb against the bullet lodged in the shoulder, she exerted force.
A warm, white light flared, driving the bullet deeper inside.
“Aaaaargh!”
Throwing Melony’s arm to the ground, Invidia staggered back. Melony stood, rolling her neck, and picked up her umbrella.
“I won’t give my blood to the likes of you.”
Better to give it to Cain.
In other words, her blood was wasted on other vampires, but not on Cain.
Yet Melony herself didn’t realize the meaning behind that thought.
“How dare you set your sights on me.”
“It hurts, it hurts! It hurts so bad!”
The grotesque sight of Invidia screaming at the top of her lungs made Melony frown.
She hadn’t even flinched when her right arm was torn apart.
“Just die. You’re an eyesore.”
Bang—
She fired a final shot, intending to give her a clean death. But Invidia leapt away with all her remaining strength.
Melony hurried after her, but she was already gone. Only the blood Invidia had left behind dotted the ground.
“Tsk. What now.”
Should she chase her? Or wait for Cain?
There was no time to hesitate. She’d have to climb over.
Melony looked up at the wall. It was just high enough that a human couldn’t vault it easily—she’d probably need to stack something to get over.
Having made her decision, she searched around for anything she could pile up.
“What are you doing?”
The man she’d been waiting for appeared right on cue.
“What happened while I was gone?”
Her bruised, bleeding right wrist was caught in a cold hand. Cain’s crimson eyes surged, then sank.
Why are you looking at me like that?
His deep frown almost looked like concern. Melony found it ridiculous.
“Who was it that touched what’s mine?”
