After everything with Hana was over, I didn't go back to the Headquarters. I went back home. To my old, dilapidated apartment building on the outskirts of the city.

  ?Compared to the sleek, sterile room they gave me at The Ichor, or the high-end facility where I woke up after my "death," this place was a ruin. The hallway smelled of boiled cabbage and mildew. The paint was peeling like dead skin.

  ?It was a place most people would be desperate to escape.

  ?Still, there couldn't have been a better place to sit and think. When I turned the key in the rusted lock, everything was exactly as I had left it. The silence was familiar. It didn't demand anything from me.

  ?With a silly, exhausted smile on my face, I walked in and threw myself onto the narrow bed. The springs creaked in protest. Even if I wouldn't be able to sleep—my body still humming with the aftershocks of the battle—at least lying here felt grounding.

  ?I stared at the water stains on the ceiling, letting the keywords of my new life float through my mind.

  ?The Ichor. My Sire. Devouring. The Council.

  ?A month ago, I was just an ordinary teenager desperate to scrape together enough change for a roll of kimbap. None of this meant anything to me.

  ?Now? My entire existence revolved around these concepts, even though I barely understood them.

  ?I sighed deeply, the sound swallowed by the small room.

  ?“The laws aren't there to stop us, Eun-Woo. They're just there to stop the weak from eating the strong.”

  ?Hana’s parting words echoed in my skull.

  ?What did she really mean by that? Was the ban on Devouring just a lie sold to rookies like me? A fairy tale to keep the livestock docile?

  ?If so, why? Were the high-ranking vampires afraid that the lower ranks would band together and hunt them down? Or was it a way to ensure that only the truly ruthless—those willing to break the rules—ascended to the top?

  ?No... maybe they just don't care.

  ?Perhaps the Council doesn't care who eats whom, as long as it happens in the shadows. As long as the masquerade is maintained.

  ?"It's hopeless," I whispered to the ceiling. "I can't figure it out with just this."

  ?I decided to shift my focus to the other burning question: My Sire.

  ?The mysterious entity who saved me from the truck. The presence I felt at the Silent River. The hand I held that gave me the blue fire.

  ?Vaughn had mentioned before that he couldn't sense any specific signature from the one who turned me. Can a vampire be "Signatureless"? Or are they just an expert at hiding it?

  ?Given the power I felt today—that "Blue Ichor" that made a Rank C Augmenter look like a statue—my Sire is certainly S-Rank. Maybe even something beyond that.

  ?Where are you? I thought, reaching a hand up toward the ceiling as if trying to grasp a ghost. Why save a delivery boy? Why give me this power if you aren't going to explain how to use it?

  ?Maybe I can find them if I meet all the high-ranking members of 'The Ichor'.

  ?But then what? What do I do if I find them? Say thanks? Ask for a refund on my humanity?

  ?The questions spiraled endlessly, tightening around my chest like a vice.

  ?"AAAARGH!"

  ?I couldn't stand the noise in my head anymore. I kicked the blanket violently, sending it flying into the air, and punched the mattress. The dust motes danced in the dim light, mocking me.

  ?I?I lay there, watching the dust motes dance in the shaft of morning light. The blanket settled over me, heavy and comforting.

  ?Just when I was about to condemn myself—to see myself as nothing more than a beast, a cannibal who couldn't be a hero—Hana's face flashed before my mind's eye. Not the monster who tried to kill me, but the terrified girl who drank artificial blood with me in the ruins.

  ?As my eyelids grew heavier, dragging me down into a darkness I hadn't felt in weeks, a final thought drifted through the haze:

  ?“Do heroes need to save only the people? Or... does a hero save the monsters too?”

  ?“Ehh?”

  ?When I calmly opened my eyes, the sun was high. I found myself tangled in my sheets, my pillow drool-stained, my hair a bird's nest.

  ?I had fallen asleep.

  ?I. Had. Fallen. Asleep.

  ?For the first time since my heart stopped beating, I had closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness without the hunger screaming at me.

  ?“I slept...” I whispered, touching my face. “I actually slept!”

  ?Filled with an immense, childish joy, I grabbed my phone. I didn't care about the time. I needed to tell someone who understood the mechanics of this cursed body.

  ?One Hour Later - The Ichor HQ

  ?“Did you hear me?” I slammed my hands onto Vaughn’s mahogany desk, grinning like an idiot. “I actually slept! Like a log! For six hours straight!”

  ?Vaughn didn't even look up from his tablet. He took a slow sip of his espresso, his expression one of supreme boredom.

  ?“Well, actually, we do sleep, Eun-Woo,” he said, swiping a finger across the screen. “I just didn't mention it because I assumed a Newborn with your volatility wouldn't be capable of it for at least another month. Our circadian rhythms are... different. But we aren't robots.”

  ?He finally looked up, raising an eyebrow behind his sunglasses.

  ?“Though I must admit... one night of deep sleep this early? It doesn't fit the standard pattern. Usually, our first sleep is pretty long.”

  ?“So, you lied to me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “You told me I wouldn't sleep.”

  ?“I didn't lie. I withheld information to manage your expectations,” Vaughn shrugged. “You could say I lied if it makes you feel better.”

  ?“...”

  ?This man. This rich, undead snob. He has no idea what kind of peace a good night's sleep provides to someone living in a nightmare.

  ?“A snob,” I muttered under my breath.

  ?“I heard that,” Vaughn said dryly. “Now. Is there a reason you barged into my office, or did you just come to brag about your nap time? What did you want to say about Hana?”

  ?The joy evaporated instantly. The memory of the construction site, the severed limbs, and the blue fire rushed back.

  ?"Ah, right." I straightened up, my face hardening. "Vaughn, I'm here to file a formal report. You must arrest Hana right now."

  ?Vaughn paused. He set his tablet down slowly.

  ?"Arrest her?" he repeated, testing the word. "Why would that happen?"

  ?"What do you mean why?" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "I just told you! She lured me to a construction site. She attacked me. She tried to Devour me."

  ?Vaughn stared at me for a long, silent moment. Then, he leaned back in his leather chair, crossing his arms.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  ?“Can you come here and tell me that right now?”

  ?“What?” I blinked, confused. “I am here. I'm telling you right now.”

  ?“Exactly,” Vaughn said, his voice cold and devoid of empathy. “You are here. You are standing. You are speaking. Which means you are completely safe and sound.”

  ?He gestured to my body.

  ?“There is no missing Ichor. There is no corpse. Therefore, there is no Devouring.”

  ?"Huh?" I took a step back, the blood draining from my face. "So... what does that mean? It implies there's no rule breaking anywhere? There will be no penalty for anyone just because I survived?"

  ?“Essentially, yes.”

  ?"Is it okay just because I'm alive?" My voice rose to a shout, shaking with frustration. "What... what if I had lost? What if she had killed me?"

  ?“...”

  ?Vaughn didn't answer. He didn't have to. His silence screamed the truth louder than any words could.

  ?As long as you're not dead, there's no problem. Even if you die, there's no guarantee that the devourer will receive any penalty—unless they are messy about it.

  ?Hana was right. The laws were a lie.

  ?“You have to be kidding me...” I whispered, slumping into the chair opposite him.

  ?Vaughn sighed, picking up his espresso again.

  ?“Once again... Welcome to ‘The Ichor’, Eun-Woo. Justice isn't given. It's enforced by the survivor. And since you survived...” He took a deliberate sip of his espresso, his sunglasses reflecting my bewildered face. “You should've enforced your justice.”

  ?"So you're saying..."

  ?I trailed off. It was obvious from the set of his jaw that he wasn't joking. He meant every word.

  ?“Now, since we're done with the philosophy lesson...” Vaughn set the cup down with a soft clink. The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. “Tell me, Eun-Woo. Where were you last night?”

  ?“What... what do you mean?”

  ?Vaughn didn't raise his voice, but the air around him grew heavy. It wasn't just an intimidating aura; it was a physical weight, like the gravity in the room had suddenly doubled. I felt my throat close up. I thought I was going to suffocate right there before I could even open my mouth.

  ?"I... I went back to my old apartment..." The words practically slipped out, bypassed my brain, and spilled onto the desk.

  ?“And who said you could?”

  ?His words were sharp, precise darts aimed directly at my negligence. He wanted me to realize my mistake, but I was still lost.

  ?“What's wrong with that?” I stammered, genuinely confused. “The fight with Hana was over. I was exhausted.”

  ?“You see, your orientation training wasn't even finished yet. We sent you out for a field test. To see if you can function in the outside world,” Vaughn said, his voice dropping an octave. “And what did you do? You abandoned your post. You went back to your nest, turned your back on the city, and went to sleep.”

  ?“But... it was night!” I protested, frustration bubbling up. “The day was over! Anyone would go to sleep after—”

  ?“The day was over?” Vaughn cut me off, a dark amusement curling his lip. “For humans, yes. The sun goes down, the sheep go to bed. But for us?”

  ?He leaned forward, the shadows in the room seemingly gathering around him.

  ?“For us, the night is when the workday begins. You didn't 'finish your day', Eun-Woo. You clocked out right as the shift started.”

  ?“...”

  ?The realization hit me. I was still thinking like a delivery boy working a 9-to-5. I was still thinking like a human who feared the dark, not a predator who owned it.

  ?“In the future, don't disappear anywhere before your mission is officially cleared. Consider this your first and last warning.”

  ?I swallowed hard, the weight of his gaze finally lifting slightly.

  ?“I–I understand.”

  ?“Good.” Vaughn stood up, buttoning his jacket with a crisp motion. The scary boss demeanor vanished, replaced by his usual clinical efficiency.

  ?“Now come. We have a more pressing matter to discuss.” He gestured toward the door. “Let's go talk to Claire. She’s very interested in analyzing whatever that 'blue blood' of yours was.”

  ?I followed Vaughn down the long, sterile corridor, my head lowered, staring at the heels of his polished Italian leather boots.

  ?Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

  ?The sound echoed rhythmically against the white walls. With every step, a strange, childish feeling bubbled up in my chest. I felt like a delinquent student being marched to the principal's office after getting caught skipping class.

  ?But the absurdity of it made me want to laugh and scream at the same time.

  ?Why do I feel like the guilty one?

  ?I was the one who was lured into a trap. I was the one who almost had his soul drained by a psychopath in a summer dress. I was the one who lost three limbs and had to eat his own hand to survive.

  ?And yet, here I was, trailing behind Vaughn like a scolded puppy, getting lectured about "shift hours" and "sleeping without permission."

  ?"Stop grinding your teeth, Eun-Woo. The sound is echoing," Vaughn said without turning around.

  ?"I'm not grinding them," I muttered, unclamping my jaw. "I'm just thinking."

  ?"You're thinking that this is unfair," Vaughn corrected, his voice calm and detached. "You're thinking that you were the victim, and yet you're being treated like a problem child."

  ?I looked up at his back. "Aren't I?"

  ?Vaughn stopped abruptly. I almost bumped into him. He turned around, sliding his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to look me in the eye.

  ?"Don't take it personally, kid."

  ?"Not personal?" I scoffed. "Hana tried to eat me."

  ?"And you ate yourself. A poetic conclusion," Vaughn said, a flicker of a smile touching his lips. "Listen. My job isn't to be your babysitter or your bodyguard. My job is to make sure Newborns like you understand how the gears turn in this place."

  ?He stepped closer, his shadow looming over me.

  ?"In the human world, victims get sympathy. In The Ichor, victims get erased. I needed you to see that. I needed you to feel the weight of a Rank C killing intent so you would stop acting like a delivery boy and start acting like a predator."

  ?He tapped my chest with a gloved finger.

  ?"And look at you. You survived. You unlocked a power we've never seen before. You stopped being a 'victim' the moment you decided to fight back. So, stop pouting."

  ?I stared at him. His logic was twisted, brutal, and completely devoid of empathy.

  ?But he wasn't wrong.

  ?"Fine," I whispered, looking away. "Let's just get this over with."

  ?We reached a heavy steel door at the end of the hall. [Bio-Lab 01].

  ?Vaughn scanned his palm, and the door hissed open. A blast of cold, antiseptic air hit my face, smelling of rubbing alcohol and ozone.

  ?Inside, the room was a blinding white. Glass cabinets filled with colorful vials lined the walls, and complex machinery hummed in the center.

  ??"You're late," a voice cut through the hum of the machinery.

  ?Instead of Claire, we were faced with a blonde woman wearing thick-rimmed glasses whom I didn't recognize. She was standing by a metal table, tapping her foot impatiently in a slightly oversized lab coat.

  ?"I had to retrieve our wandering sheep from his nest," Vaughn explained, walking in with his usual swagger. “Where is Claire?”

  ?“She's not here today. Emergency consultation upstairs,” the woman said, grabbing a datapad. “So, I'll take care of you guys.”

  ?She ignored Vaughn and zeroed in on me. Her eyes scanned my body like a barcode reader, lingering on my right arm—the one that had been severed and regrown.

  ?With a bright, professional smile, she extended her hand.

  ?"You must be the famous 'B-Plus' anomaly Vaughn won't shut up about. Nice to meet you. I'm Eliana.”

  ?Expecting a handshake, I introduced myself. "I'm Kang Eun-Woo. Nice to meet you too.”

  ?"So," she murmured, walking around me, poking my shoulder. "Blue blood, huh? I can't see anything unusual right now."

  ?"Vaughn told me the report. Blue light. Pressure rivaling an S-Class. Instant regeneration followed by a metabolic crash," she recited, reciting the data while grabbing a syringe from a tray. "Can you roll up your sleeve, please?"

  ?I sat on the cold metal exam table. After gently rolling up my sleeve, Eliana grabbed my arm.

  ?"This might sting. Or not. Your skin doesn't look that tough yet."

  ?Jab.

  ?She drew a vial of blood with practiced efficiency. The liquid that filled the tube was dark, rich crimson. Normal vampire blood.

  ?There was no blue. No glowing star-fire.

  ?Eliana frowned. She immediately walked over to a massive analyzer, slotted the vial in, and began typing furiously on a holographic keyboard.

  ?Vaughn leaned against the wall, watching with interest. "Well?"

  ?"Any moment now," Eliana muttered, eyes glued to the scrolling data.

  ?I sat there, swinging my legs like a child at the pediatrician's office, waiting for the machine to tell me what I was. Was I a monster? A god? Or just a glitch?

  ?Ding.

  ?A holographic screen popped up with a complex molecular breakdown. Eliana stared at it. She squinted. She tapped the screen, zoomed in, and then zoomed out.

  ?Her shoulders slumped.

  ?"Nothing," she sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed.

  ?"Nothing?" I asked, feeling a strange mix of relief and letdown.

  ?"It's normal," Eliana said, turning to face us with a look of frustration. "High vitality, good oxygenation, elevated regenerative markers... but that's it."

  ?She pointed at the screen.

  ?"There is no trace of 'Blue Ichor'. There are no foreign isotopes. No unknown energy signatures. Biologically speaking, you are just a very healthy, ordinary Newborn."

  ?"But I saw it," I protested, my voice rising. "Hana saw it. I felt it burning in my veins like liquid nitrogen."

  ?"It's not like we don't believe you," Eliana said, crossing her arms. "But whatever 'it' was, it didn't leave a physical footprint. Whoever gave you this power must have done it very discreetly. Honestly, I've never heard of such a thing as 'power transfer from a distance', even if it was your Sire. Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding?"

  ?"No," I shook my head firmly. "I'm sure I held someone's hand. Hana also told me that the power she felt didn't come from me."

  ?Vaughn hummed, pushing off the wall. "A phantom power for a phantom hand. How fitting."

  ?He looked at me, his expression unreadable behind the dark lenses.

  ?"It seems your 'Sire' is very good at covering their tracks, Eun-Woo. They gave you a loaded gun, let you fire it once, and then took the bullets back."

  ?I looked at my hands—my normal, human-looking hands. The power was gone. But the memory of that cold, absolute authority still lingered in the back of my mind.

  ?“If we let your story end here, it won't be very fun, right?”

  ?A ghost. My creator was a ghost.

  ?"So," I asked, sliding off the table. "What now?"

  ?Vaughn smirked, opening the door.

  ?"Now? You go to class. You're still a student, remember? You'll be going to your school from time to time, and then you'll come here so I can kick your ass until you learn to fight properly."

  ?Eliana glanced at the values on the screen for a while longer, her brows furrowing.

  ?“Hey… uhmm.”

  ?Vaughn paused, his hand on the doorknob. “What is it, Eliana? Did you find something?”

  ?“It's not like that, but...” She hesitated, tapping the screen again to verify. “Didn't you say his Blood Quality was B+?”

  ?“Yes? That's what the initial scan confirmed,” Vaughn replied, sounding bored.

  ?“Well...” Eliana turned the screen toward us. “It’s A-.”

  ?Vaughn froze.

  ?For the first time since I met him, the composure cracked. He slowly took off his sunglasses, revealing eyes wide with genuine shock. We looked at each other, confused and stunned.

  ?“Wait—what?”

  ?Ignoring Elian a, who squeezed between us, we were both glued to the glowing screen.

  ?And there, in undeniable bold letters, the result was written clearly.

  ?[Blood Quality: A-]