Hi! I am back a week earlier than normal with a new chapter for you all. I don't know if I'm going to keep going with this update schedule. It's mainly up to you guys too. If you would prefer for me to post the rest back to back like this, please let me know. Regardless, I think it also sort of depends on how free I am. Anyway, let's just get into this chapter!
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Seungkwan asks. Seungcheol, along with his advisory board, are making their way towards the hunters' bunker. It's an underground area that's pretty well hidden. "Are you scared?" Soonyoung teases.
"Of course I am!" Seungkwan exclaims, "I'm a vampire going into hunter territory! You should all be as freaked out as I am."
"Oh, quit squealing," Minghao huffs, "It's not like we're going there to kill them. We're working on putting a stop to the secret faction. We're allies."
"Hao is right," Jun says, "There's no reason to freak out. We're on the same team."
"Still!" Seungkwan says in an over-dramatic way, "C'mon, hyung, you have to agree with me that meeting up with hunters like we're old friends is a bit much...."
Seungcheol sighs, "Maybe it is, but we need to see that paper and I want to know if they've found anything about the faction's newest hideout location." Hansol pats Sungkwan on the shoulder which does little to calm the vampire as he continues to ramble until they come to a large metal door that is a part of what looks like an old power grid area. "This is the hunter's hideout?" Hansol questions. The area isn't exactly in perfect condition. There's graffiti all over the walls and old water stains on the ground that is probably the source of the unpleasant smell that burns their nostrils. "This is the location Daniel gave me," Seungcheol says. The crown prince moves to stand at the door and knocks on it. The sound echoes loudly to the point that even the vampires can hear it loud and clear. The vampires stare at the door waiting for someone to answer. After another second, the sound of a lock grating open rings and the door is slowly opened up. "Hello, everyone. Come on in," Daniel says, smiling at the group of vampires. Seungcheol walks through the doorway followed by his friends with a bit of hesitation. Once inside, Daniel shuts the door and locks it. "Follow me," Daniel says, making his way to the front of the group and leading them down the stairs. The vampires look around the hunter's base with awe. The interior is nothing like the outside. It's a huge area fit for the vampire slayers. There's a high ceiling with bright lights and an abundance of technology used to communicate with other hunters or to search for possible jobs. From the top of the stairs, they can make out a large wall in the back that shows a huge map of the country that has little red dots over it to monitor possible vampire sightings. There are many hunters walking about, chatting aimlessly while others are busy in front of computer screens or with papers within their hands. "Wow..." Soonyoung murmurs.
"It's kinda cool, right?" Daniel says, "My clan has owned it for years. We haven't come back until recently cause of the newborns and the whole other faction. It was so dusty and they had these weird old tech. We had to refurbish a lot of it to fit modern day society. It was not fun...weeks of cleaning and heavy lifting, but it was worth it." The vampires nod their heads, completely enthralled with the hunter's base. Daniel leads them down a hallway where they pass by training rooms, private rooms, and a full kitchen. Hunters eye them a bit when they walk by making all the vampires feel a bit unwelcome. Seungcheol did his best to quell his friend's uncomfortableness. He knew it would be like this, but there's nothing you can do. They're still vampires and they're still hunters. There will always be this tension between them. "We're here," Daniel says, coming to a stop in front of a large meeting room. The hunter knocks on the door and waits for someone to say come in before entering. It's a dim room, the only light coming from a small hanging one on the ceiling. There's a clear whiteboard in the corner with writings on it regarding the faction. On the walls is a full out murder board that spans most of the room. There are three other hunters within the room, who sit at a round table that has papers scattered around. "Hey," Daniel says, approaching the group, "Guys, this is Seongwu, Jisung, and Sungwoon.
"Nice to meet you," Seungcheol states.
"You too," Jisung says, gesturing for the vampires to take a seat. They all hesitantly move to the chairs around the table and slowly sit down, feeling as if they're overstepping. "You don't need to worry," Seongwu says, "We don't care if you're vamps. We're chill like Niel over here." Those words seem to relax all the vampires a significant amount. They were worried based on the reaction they received coming in. It's good to know that not all hunters seemed to find the untrustworthy and deserving of death stares. "So..." Seungcheol says, clearing his throat a bit, "How's the hunt for the faction's current location?"
"It's still going," Sungwoon sighs, "We have as many people out there as possible searching, hopefully we'll get something sooner rather than later."
"If you don't mind, let me know as soon as you locate them," Seungcheol says, "The fact that they ran when they heard you were coming makes me wonder if they were scared or hiding something."
"My guess would be the latter," Jisung huffs, "We've already decided that the next time we find them, we're doing it as discreetly as possible. We don't want them to flee again before we get anything. Spying may be the way to go with these guys.
"Good decision," Minghao murmurs.
"What I still don't get is what the secret faction is hiding?" Hansol questions, "If they're behind all of this...what's their end goal?"
"We'll get answers as soon as we find them again," Daniel says, "That's the hope at least. Oh, right, you guys wanted to see the paper we found." The hunter stands and turns around to look at the murder board they've created. His eyes dart and forth before he finds a torn piece of paper pinned to the wall. Daniel takes them thumbtack out and lifts the paper up. He shoves the tack back into the wall before walking back to the table and sliding the paper towards the vampires. It's a normal sheet of paper with ugly scrawl written over it. It appears to be a list of sorts. The first sentence reads turn humans to mess with hunters and the second says kill vamps to mess with the society. After that, there's a bit of writing, but it's illegible as the rest of the note is torn. "It's not much," Sungwoon says, "But, it does confirm that the faction is behind the craziness that has been happening recently." Seungcheol grabs the paper and stares at the ripped part of it and scowls, wishing that he had the full thing. There's something else that is written here, but he has no idea what. It could be the faction's plan. It could be their next step. It's important and they don't have it. They don't have anything really. "I don't think it'll be enough evidence to convince the King that the humans aren't behind the killings," Jun muses.
"Maybe not, but the advisory board may be swayed with this," Seungkwan says.
"Do you think so?" Seungcheol asks, looking at his friends.
Minghao nods in agreement, "The advisory board works on hard facts. They make decisions impartially and choose what is best for the society. If they see this, they'll see that this faction is to blame. They can talk the King from his war against the human world and steer him to focus on the real enemy."
"That would definitely be a good thing," Hansol says, "If the society realizes who they should really be going after, I'm sure that we can deal with this faction in no time."
"Okay then," Seungcheol says, "I'll see if I can get the advisory board to meet up without my father. Do you guys mind if we take this?"
Jisung nods, "If you can convince the other vamps who are really behind all of this, go right on ahead.
"Thanks," Seungcheol says before glancing at his friends, "Let's go. We have a bunch of old vampires to talk to."
≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪
Seungcheol and the others enter the meeting room where the King's advisors are all seated. They all head towards the seats they normally take during any other meeting called by the King. "Your highness," Advisor Eunbi says, "It is very irregular for the crown prince to call together the King's advisory board."
"Yes, I know, that is why I am thankful that you have all decided to come," Seungcheol says, "I would never have done such a thing if I didn't have an urgent matter to discuss with you all."
"Does the King know about this?" Advisor Donghee asks.
"I have already spoken to him privately pertaining to this matter and he has given me his opinion, but I would like to know all of your stances," Seungcheol says.
"So be it," Advisor Woobin says, "What is this about?" Seungcheol gestures to Hansol, who stands to his feet and clears his throat. "As you already know, the society has been dealing with killings of our people as well as a major influx of humans being turned into vampires." The advisory board share looks with one another at the mention of the newborns. Seungcheol frowns, "We all know of the newborns. Just because my father has decided to conceal the matter does not mean it is not of importance. It actually has to do with this issue." The advisors seem to relax a bit at this and turn their attention back to Hansol. "The King has accused the humans as the criminals behind this, specifically the hunters. We have reason to believe that this isn't true," Hansol says, "The newborns and the deaths are an issue caused by the same criminal and as such it could not have been done by the humans."
"Who is behind it then?" Advisor Kangmin questions.
"A secret faction of vampires that has left the society following the new laws," Seungcheol states, "They are the ones who have been killing our people and have been turning humans."
"That can't be true!" Advisor Eunbi exclaims, "We have never heard of any secret faction!"
"That is because my father has decided to hide it from everyone...including his advisors," Seungcheol says, "We do not yet know what they want but we are sure that they are trying to rile up both the hunters and the society."
"The hunters?" Advisor Donghee questions.
Soonyoung pipes up, "The newborns are not all brought to the society and tested. Majority are let to roam free in the world of the humans. They then became an issue for the hunters to deal with, who believe that the society is behind them."
"But, we most certainly are not!" Advisor Woobin huffs, "It is against the law!"
"The hunters know this now," Seungkwan says, "Crown Prince Seungcheol has been in contact with a hunter family and has spoken about the issues both of our people seem to be facing. Together with the hunters, we have been conducting an investigation to find this faction of vampires."
"You have been working with hunters?" Advisor Kangmin asks with raised eyebrows.
"Is it that shocking, Advisor?" Minghao says in response, "We have a peace treaty with them after all. They may as well be our allies when faced with this mutual enemy." The advisors frown and start to discuss amongst themselves. They shield their mouths and glance at the younger vampires as they speak. After a few more minutes of this, the advisors turn to look at the crown prince. "This is all very interesting, your highness," Advisor Eunbi says, "But, do you have any proof to your claims?"
"We do," Seungcheol says, "Recently, an attempt was made by the hunters to converse with this faction, but they fled before they had even arrived. The only thing found at the scene was this sheet of paper." Jun pushes the sheet of ripped paper towards the King's advisory board. They all look at the paper with intrigue, whispering to one another again as they try to make sense of the situation. Seungcheol and his friends wait silently for the advisors to make their decision, watching as they continue to discuss quietly amongst one another. The advisors fall quiet after a bit more time has passed, seeming to have come to a common consensus. "I am sorry, your highness, but all of this seems very...ridiculous," Advisor Woobin states.
"Excuse me?" Seungcheol questions.
"We don't mean any offense," Advisor Donghee cuts in, "It is just this whole idea of another faction. There is no way that the King would ever keep something like that from us."
"But, the paper," Seungcheol says.
"It could have been written by the hunters in an attempt to focus our attention away from them. This isn't hard evidence of any faction," Advisor Eunbi says, "You may trust these hunters, crown prince, but we do not. We do, however, trust your father, the King of our people. We will follow his way of doing things, so please do not call upon us to discuss these types of matters again. We do not wish to take any part in the crown prince's wild imagination of a secret vampire faction." With that said, the advisors all stand from their seats and shuffle out of the room one by one. Seungcheol and his friends remain silent as the sound of door closing echoes. It's quiet for a bit, almost as if everyone is just absorbing what has just happened. This is broken by Seungcheol slamming his fist into his throne and standing on his feet. The crown prince scowls and shakes his head. "It seems we were mistaken about which side the advisory board would take," Seungcheol huffs, looking to his friends, who have defeated expressions on their faces.
Ah...the tensions of the vampire kingdom continue. You'll have to wait until next week to find what happens next. I hope that you look forward to the rest of this story. I'm trying to finish it up in the next few months so I can get my next story out. We'll have to see though if I stick to this update schedule. Until then, please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my Kpop One-shots book. I will see you next time everyone! Have a great day, Carats!