Chapter 6 : Chapter 6
Chapter 6. It Exploded
Abominations.
That was what the world called them. Bloodthirsty by nature, hideous in appearance, and violently unstable.
Under the long-standing influence of the Church, people believed they were punishments sent down by the Lord.
But beyond that superficial description, they had a far older and more official name.
Vampires.
The struggle between humanity and the vampires had lasted for more than a century.
Civilization once teetered on the brink of collapse beneath the threat of fangs. Entire towns turned into graveyards before the arrival of dawn.
Only after breakthroughs in technology and the widespread adoption of specialized anti-vampire weapons did the situation gradually reverse. Slowly, the latter faded from the stage of history.
A once-noble race had now degenerated into rats hiding in the shadows—mindless creatures who occasionally exposed themselves and were swiftly purged by the Church and by hunters.
Eve hated vampires.
She also hated herself.
Yet she had not been born this way.
She had been turned.
At the time, she was only fifteen years old—an age as delicate as a blooming flower, standing at the threshold of youth.
The day before, she had still been worrying about how to take care of the flowers she had planted with her own hands.
But disasters always arrived without warning.
Her hometown had been attacked by a frenzy of mindless vampires. Flames soared into the sky. Screams echoed everywhere.
She watched with her own eyes as her parents used their flesh and blood to block the approaching monsters, carving out a narrow path for her escape.
That was how she managed to flee the burning chaos, only to collapse from exhaustion in the corner of an alley.
The cold stone ground drained the warmth from her body. Her vision blurred as blood loss gradually overtook her.
Just when Eve thought she was going to die as well—
That woman appeared.
She wore a magnificent long dress and had the same white hair.
At first, Eve thought she was just a passerby and tried to ask for help. Struggling, she attempted to grasp the hand that was extended toward her.
But in the next moment, the figure bent down. Moonlight brushed across the elegant curve of her jaw.
Eve saw her pale skin.
And the crimson eyes glowing in the darkness.
Just like the vampires who had slaughtered her parents, the woman revealed terrifying fangs and left a bite mark on her neck that would never heal.
The lighting had been too dim for Eve to see the woman’s face clearly.
All she knew was that the woman must have been a vampire.
Fear and rage intertwined within her. She wanted to struggle, but her blood-drained body no longer obeyed her commands.
She could only lie there like a broken doll, forced to surrender.
Life was a strange thing.
Perhaps her desperate will to survive had moved God himself.
After encountering that vampire, Eve did not die.
Instead, she continued standing upon this land in another form. Her once-black hair turned white, and her eyes became crimson.
She realized then that she might no longer be human.
Or rather—
She had become an abomination.
Looking at her reflection, neither human nor monster, Eve unconsciously tightened her grip on the edge of the sink.
She could not understand why that vampire had spared her.
Or why she had chosen such a repulsive method to “save” her.
Being forcibly changed without consent was something Eve found utterly disgusting.
She had once sworn that she would find that vampire.
And when she did, she would personally cut off her head.
Whether for the sake of her own life—
Or for the parents who had died.
“Enough...”
With that muttered complaint, Eve removed the towel from her neck. The icy cold had already suppressed the rising thirst for blood somewhat.
Although she was a vampire, she was capable of restraining that urge. The best method was simply to distract herself.
There were many ways to do that.
Though admittedly, some of them were rather extreme, so she rarely used them.
Otherwise, it would hardly be different from someone suffering from severe depression.
She already had enough problems.
There was no need to stack more onto them.
Eve let out a long sigh.
After suppressing the craving for blood, an overwhelming wave of weakness followed. She had to support herself against the sink just to remain standing.
How should one describe this feeling?
Imagine staying up late at night watching a film. Just as the story reaches a critical moment, the projector suddenly malfunctions and freezes on the male lead’s face.
And at that exact moment, you are already on the verge of a decisive moment.
In the end, filled with regret, you are forced to endure the awkward outcome.
That was roughly how Eve felt now.
She had gone far too long without consuming blood.
The side effects were obvious—extreme weakness.
“Still not used to this body...” she muttered through clenched teeth.
She was just about to consider sitting down on the floor when—
Suddenly.
Eve’s sharp hearing detected hurried footsteps approaching.
Fast. Very fast.
The slapping sound of slippers against the floor echoed like an alarm bell, each step striking her nerves.
Damn it!
Why is someone still awake at this hour?!
There was no time to think.
Even though she was weak, instinct took over. Eve grabbed the towel and quickly covered her neck again.
At the same time, because she had not closed the door earlier, the owner of those footsteps burst in with incredible speed.
Eve barely saw her clearly.
A small red-haired figure rushed past her like a gust of wind, clutching her clothes as she dashed straight for the toilet. In a flurry of motion, she lifted her skirt in panic.
“Hurry hurry hurry—ahh...!”
A long sigh of relief followed, trembling slightly with strange satisfaction. For a moment, the entire world seemed to become peaceful.
At least for the intruder.
For the white-haired beauty who desperately wished she could blur her own face out of existence, the situation was far less pleasant.
Eve: “...”
She froze where she stood, still leaning against the sink.
Her crimson pupils contracted.
All the weakness, all the painful memories—
Had just been shattered by this sudden and utterly absurd situation.
So the real question was this:
Had she accidentally witnessed someone’s urgent midnight trip to the bathroom?
Or had the other party barged in on her while she was recovering?
It was a philosophical dilemma.
But Eve’s attention was not on such trivial matters.
Instead, her gaze had drifted toward the girl’s bare feet hanging beside the toilet.
And faintly—
A glimpse of white underwear.
...White stockings would have looked better.
Only then did she clearly see the intruder.
Fiery red hair fell messily around her shoulders, and her petite frame made her look almost like a child.
Her soft, doll-like face was adorable. Perhaps because she was half-asleep, her eyes had not even opened. Her expression was filled with the relaxed comfort of someone who had just relieved herself.
Eve found herself momentarily stunned.
She was one of the organization’s top assassins.
She even held a first-class professional certificate as a maid.
So why had her ability to respond to situations completely vanished?
Realizing this, she could not help but question herself.
Still, she knew she had to leave.
Very carefully, she began to move.
Her steps were slow and cautious.
If she were a cat, she might have escaped silently. Instead, she resembled a mouse trying to flee before the cat realized it was there.
One hand held the used towel.
The other pulled her collar up to hide her neck.
She moved with the utmost stealth.
SQUEAK!
The rubber duck.
There were rubber ducks in the bathroom too.
Eve: “...”
She had a curse on the tip of her tongue.
You again?
Inside or outside, did this little thing have no intention of letting her go?
But that was not the important part.
Eve slowly turned her head.
For a brief moment, she still held onto a sliver of hope.
Reality shattered it.
The girl—who looked like a child—slowly opened her eyes.
Their gazes met.
For a moment, the air itself seemed to freeze.
“If I said... you forced me to see this, would you believe me?”