When Blood Meets Silver

Chapter 1

Hyunjin reached one of the entrances of Samcheong Park and stared into the dark sky before stepping in. Her eyes focused on the full moon, the embodiment of her Goddess, her guardian and guiding force. But the clouds were high and dense, not letting it show through at its brightest.

She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath through her nose, searching for the smell she knew too well. And there it was. It was faint, but she could track it.

Opening her eyes, feeling them adapt to the darkness of the night, she sprinted forward. With the scent becoming more vivid as she reached deeper into the woods, now mixed with a stronger smell of grass and dirt, Hyunjin halted and listened. The faint rustle of leaves, the hurried steps coming from somewhere not too far to her right. The sound and scent were clearer as she rushed through the trees.

He could probably feel Hyunjin's scent as well by now, but he stopped. Hyunjin couldn't hear more steps, but the smell only got stronger.

But now... there was another scent. One Hyunjin didn't know.

Her feet darted out of place. She couldn't be too late, she couldn't let anyone get hurt, or worse. She was near. He was so close, just behind those trees.

Hyunjin stopped on her tracks behind a wide tree. Her eyes widened at the girl holding two curved blades, too long to be knives, and too short to be swords. The one on her right hand faced upwards, and the one on her left faced backwards, her fingers gripping so hard on the handles it had turned her knuckles white. Her eyes were open and alert, and her eyebrows knitted together as she took small steps around, her eyes trying to face everywhere at the same time.

What was a slayer doing there?

A sudden rattle came from the branches and leaves above. Before thinking, Hyunjin took her gun out, feeling the coldness of the moon stone engraved on its handle against her hot palm. She came out from her hiding spot and lunged forward, just in time to stop the vampire from jumping on the girl. Her body collapsed against his, the both falling to the ground, tumbling and rolling around. Hyunjin jumped on her feet, but he was fast to do so as well.

His eyes gleamed red in the darkness of the night, and his fangs peeked through his dropped chin.

"Aren't you one of my kind?" he asked. "You should know better than to mess with your comrades' dinners, Miss. That's just rude."

Hyunjin didn't answer. Instead, she charged forward again, faster than he would ever anticipate. She grabbed on his arm and twirled him around, his back hitting the ground with a loud thud, and pressed on his neck with her combat boots.

"No. I'm not one of your kind," Hyunjin spat, pointing her gun at him.

He irked an eyebrow and let out a dry chuckle, mixed with a cough from how Hyunjin pressed harder on his neck. "Doesn't matter if you kill me. My mission's already done."

Hyunjin widened her eyes. She gritted her teeth, feeling her own fangs prickling on her lower lip, and was about to pull the trigger when she heard steps behind her. She turned, just in time to dodge one of the girl's blades from above. One second after, her left blade sunk into the vampire's chest before he could even stand up.

She pulled her blade up with a loud slash, and his body dried in a few seconds, the flesh turning into ash and blending into the ground underneath.

"You just took my hunt," Hyunjin said.

The girl faced Hyunjin, and she took a second to properly look at the slayer's face. At her clenched jaw, at her eyes that looked into hers as if she wanted to kill her too. She took a step forward, swinging her blade again, and Hyunjin jumped back, frowning at her.