OJTTEG-Chapter 24: Feels Like the End of this Fiction

No, that would be minced meat, crushed finely enough to fit into a can on a store shelf. Haunter can't shake the feeling that the unseen vampire king might want him dead.

"I really owe you one."

"Boom!"

The entire building suddenly collapses, the thunderous noise echoing through the sky. Fortunately, this is a development area, with even the park only half-built, and not a single home nearby. Naturally, no one is around to hear it.

……

An opens her eyes in a daze, and as her vision slowly comes into focus, she sees a face that's hard to describe. She wants to scream but finds herself unable to move.

The face is severely damaged, with exposed blood vessels and brain matter that look terrifying, as if half the head has been sliced off. Yet, she can still recognize the person as her good friend, Dilandra. Dilandra's mouth is moving, trying to say something urgently with half of her lower jaw.

So much blood.

Wait, why can't she hear any sound? What's happening to her? Why does her body feel so stiff?

She can't remember why, but it feels like being thrown into the deep sea, suppressed by immense pressure, unable to breathe.

She can't move.

It's so cold...

Dilandra's hand gently touches An's face, and with her remaining eye, tears fall, as if she's made a difficult decision.

That look is so familiar, just like when her mother passed away.

Everything is turning dark, and her consciousness seems to be fading.

She thinks she sees her mom.

If she could just fall asleep like this, it might not be so bad.

“……”

An opens her eyes again, as if pulled from underwater, and fresh air floods into her lungs.

Is someone touching her face?

What's that sound?

"An..."

Someone is calling her.

An suddenly gasps for air, her eyes wide open. In front of her, Dilandra leans gently against her, her short hair a mess, mumbling incoherent words. But An understands.

"Luckily... we have... the same blood type. That's great."

In her vision, her mother's face gradually merges with Dilandra's.

"Dilandra..." An's voice is dry, as if she hasn't had water in ages. She trembles as she asks, "Your..."

Where did your heart go?

"Of course, it's inside you..."

Dilandra suddenly presses down on An, gripping her throat tightly, and An can almost hear the cracking sound from her neck.

"Give me back my heart!"

Dilandra's eyes are wide with rage, and her remaining blood-red eye falls from its socket, landing on An's face.

"Wha-what..."

"Remember, this is what you owe me!"

She speaks in a hoarse, ghostly voice.

……

After what feels like an eternity, the noise from the collapsing building finally fades into silence.

"Cough."

Dust fills the air as An struggles to open her eyes, immediately choking on the debris. There's a dull pain, and she can't feel her left hand or foot. Maybe they've been crushed to powder or lost altogether—who knows?

"Drip."

She seems to have dreamed of Dilandra. The overwhelming pain must have triggered her body's defense mechanism, causing her to pass out. After all, genetically, she still has a human body.

It felt like a nightmare.

But it's okay. Having received someone's kindness, facing a bit of retribution seems only fair. People need to move on from such things. Constantly revisiting and reflecting on the same issue holds no positive meaning.

Yes, no positive meaning.

Speaking of which, what just happened?

It seems like someone pulled her away when the ceiling came crashing down, or else she might have ended up as minced meat on a store shelf.

Where's the person who saved her? An tries to move her neck.

It seems she can move now. She doesn't know how long she was unconscious, but her neck bones have mostly healed, though everything below is still immobile—probably because the nerves haven't recovered yet.

"Uh..."

She can speak now.

"Drip."

As the dust settles, a familiar face comes into view.

"You're finally awake." Haunter looks at her with a playful smile. "Did you sleep well... ugh—"

He fails to control his expression, grimacing as he coughs up a mouthful of blood near An's ear, inevitably splattering her cheek.

"Ugh, that's disgusting." An's usually calm face twitches in distaste.

Why does this guy always have to ruin the moment?

Hmph.

"Aren't you a vampire? Shouldn't this sight make you excited?" Haunter nods toward the blood splatter. "Aren't you going to enjoy it while it's fresh?"

"When you see uncleaned intestines, do you eat them?"

"So my blood is like intestines to you?"

"That's a compliment coming from me."

"I shouldn't even be talking to you," Haunter says, his voice weaker and his face growing pale. "I'm dying, and this is all you have to say?"

"..."

"Whatever. How long was I out?" An asks, her expression softening a bit.

"Not long, about three minutes."

Haunter struggles to lift his left hand to wipe his mouth.

It's then that An notices he's lying across her, propped up on his knees and elbows above her.

His chest and abdomen have two dark protrusions.

Upon closer inspection, they're steel rods, piercing through his body. His clothes are torn, and the bulletproof vest is useless, cleanly impaled.

The dripping sound she heard earlier was his blood falling from the ends of the rods onto the ground.

"You saved me? Why?" An asks, peering through the dim light to see the massive slab of concrete pressing down on Haunter's back. It's clear that without him holding it up, she would have been crushed.

"Huh? You think I wanted to be in this position?" Haunter replies, his face contorted in pain, his mouth twitching constantly. If not for the adrenaline, he might have already passed out from the agony.

"When the building collapsed, I just didn't get out of the way in time... who would be kind enough to save you otherwise?"

"The rebar went right through my chest and the bulletproof plate on my back. Great, now I can't even get a refund."

"......"

Why does he sound so regretful? Does he really think he can return it? Give me back my gratitude!

"You did pull me out of the way just now."

"I just didn't want Ormond to suddenly lose his beloved daughter... ugh..."

Hmph.

It seems this guy is suffering from severe internal bleeding. He's really not far from death.