The Unknown Factor

"Now it's time for the main ingredient." Vanessa reminded Elara; without wasting any time, Elara raised her hand to cut her wrist once more. 

Just then—

She stopped. 

Her expression shifted as she drew her hand back and closed her eyes. Vanessa tensed, sensing the changes in her demeanor. 

Elara sensed something; her expression turned sharp in an instant, which caused Vanessa to tense up as well. She looked around to see if there was an enemy nearby but saw nothing. 

Bound by the ritual, she could not move at will, which had limited her senses and visuals. 

Elara took a single step and vanished!

An instant later, she stood atop the railing of the skyscraper, as if she was standing on solid ground. Her kimono fluttered against her body from the strong wind. 

Her gaze cut through the dense crowd of humans below, piercing the darkness, it landed on something the humans nearby failed to see.

She saw them, two figures lurking in the shadow of an alleyway. Even when the human passed by the entrance of the alley, they failed to see or sense their presence. 

But Elara saw them as clear as day. Her glowing red eyes landed on the totem hanging from one man's waist. 

The Totem of the Unseen.

A magic tool responsible for hiding their presence from non-supernaturals. The energy from the totem had covered the whole alleyway like a veil, making it invisible to anyone who did not have supernatural power.

A handy item most supernatural beings use to blend into the human world to avoid being noticed. 

But this totem was not what caught her sight. The totem was a mere low-level item that had no use for her. 

What caught her attention were the canine fangs shining under the moonlight.

Vampires!

She instantly recognized their identity from those fangs and the distant conversation that echoed in her ears. 

Her gaze then landed on the unconscious figure of a boy slumped before the two of them.

Elara's lips pursed into a thin line. 'They might become a hindrance if they sensed something.'

Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed through her eyes. "I'll be back after dealing with them. If we begin the ritual now, they might be drawn here."

Without waiting for a reply, Elara's figure moved through the air as if she had merged with the shadows; in an instant, she vanished like a gust of wind. 

Vanessa sighed, staring at the spot where Elara once stood before turning her attention back to the ritual. 'There is no stopping her now. Not that she needs my help in the human world.'

…

Moments ago, in the dark alley

A young man stood in the alley's shadows, facing a graffiti-covered wall. His hoodie was pulled low over his eyes. The dim glow of a cheap, cracked phone screen cast a dim light against his face.

His hand trembled as he stared blankly at the screen. Anger seething in his eyes, his finger clenched around the phone. 

It was a message—an image.

His girlfriend was sleeping. It would have been a sweet image if not for the guy who took the picture lying beside her in the picture; both were naked under the sheets. 

The man in the picture was none other than the guy who bullied him every day. 

His vision blurred with fury; just when he was about to let his anger out, he heard a sound.

A faint crack. As if something heavy landed on a metal surface. 

A chill ran through his spine as he felt a gust of wind against his back, even though he was wearing a padded hoodie. 

He knew something was wrong.

The background noise of the city had faded; he could not even hear the sound of the steps of people walking; only two faint breaths lingered behind him. 

The silence did not last for long, and he suddenly heard a voice echoing in the alley.

"Look, brother, what do we have here?" The boy immediately snapped his neck backward and saw two figures crouching on the outside unit of two ACs on opposite sides. 

He could not see their face clearly for some reason, but he could see their red eyes glowing.

Monsters.

A fear of the unknown sprouted deep in his heart; he stood in his spot rooted to the ground.

He tried to scream, but no voice came out.

Then, suddenly, one of the two men vanished from his sight before he felt a sharp pain coming from the back of his head. His mind spun from the blunt impact, and his vision started to fade.

Before falling unconscious, the last thing he saw was a pair of shimmering white fangs they were grinding against their lips.

'Vampires…?' 

A single word appeared in his mind before his consciousness slipped away.

The man who struck him lowered a cylindrical metallic container, and the container was as big as his forearm. Staring at the unconscious man, he lowered his head and stared at the unconscious boy, his crimson eyes pulsing with hunger. 

He gulped down his saliva and flicked his tongue over his fangs. 

"You're as reckless as ever!" The second figure jumped down from the air conditioner unit he was standing on and hissed."Do you have any idea how much effort it took to get that 'thing' here safely? And you want to waste time feeding? We are supposed to deliver that 'thing' on time. Your actions could endanger not only us but that thing as well!" 

"Don't be so tense, brother; take another look at him. Don't you feel that there is something about this human?"

"Are you going to bear the wrath of our master if we delay his plans or worse, foil it?" The other vampire hesitated; irritation flickered in his gaze, but he stepped forward nonetheless.

And as soon as he took a step forward, he froze.

A sweet smell assaulted his senses, and the smell was so hypnotic that he felt like taking a deep breath. And so he did—

Once. Twice. Thrice.

He kept breathing in the scent greedily, and the more he did, the more his hunger grew.

His pupils dilated as he looked at the small cut on the young man's thumb that was still holding on to the now dead phone. The cut seemed to be made from the cracked screen of the phone.

"This…!"