Hi, hi! I am back with a new chapter for you all. It's a shorter one, but I hope that you still enjoy it nonetheless. We're going to find out exactly what happened to Seungcheol with a little flashback. I won't say anything more than that, so let's get right into the story.

Hours Earlier

"How is it that you imbeciles still can't put a stop to any of this!?" The King bellows, "I told you to keep an eye out for those idiotic hunters!!!"

"We have been watching them, sire. Constantly," Advisor Kangmin says, "But, none have made any moves against the vampires."

"They clearly have!" The King shouts, "All the vampires that went to the human world yesterday are dead! That is the work of hunters! Those are lives lost because you useless pieces of trash cannot do your jobs!!!" Seungcheol massages his temples, his head aching from his father's endless rant. A meeting was called to discuss another major loss that occurred in the human world. It would seem that even with vampires' eyes locked on the hunters, they still were somehow able to attack and kill every single traveling vamp. The King is beyond pissed. The hunters keep killing his people, yet they continue to deny it. Seungcheol can tell that soon enough, his father would break and declare war on the hunters. It's only a matter of time. Everyone knows it. They're trying their best to keep the peace, but as long as the killings continue, the tensions will only rise. The King will break the alliance and it would mean utter chaos for the entire world. The King shakes his head, "At least, tell me that you've located all of the bodies."

"They are in this abandoned packaging plant, your Majesty," Advisor Woobin states.

"All of them?" The King asks.

"Yes, sire," Advisor Woobin answers.

The King frowns, "I want the area contained and examined. Search for evidence that may lead us to the exact hunter clan that is doing this. And, please, make sure no one catches wind of this, be it human or vampire."

"Yes, your Majesty," The advisors echo in unison.

"We cannot have situations like this keep happening," The King exclaims, "Do you hear me?! I will not lose another one of my people to those damn hunters!"

"Yes, sire!" The advisory board says loudly.

The King nods, "I want everyone on this. All forces are going to be focused on discovering who the culprit is. I don't give two craps about anything else. I want to find who is killing our people now!"

"My people will continue to watch the hunters," Advisor Kangmin says, "We will find who is behind this."

"I will get to work on informing the others," Advisor Eunbi states, "As well as, hand out assignments to them regarding this matter."

"And, I shall gather a team to send to the human world to survey the scene," Advisor Donghee says.

"Good," The King says, "Dismissed."

"Wait!" Seungcheol exclaims. The advisors all turn to look at the crown prince, wondering what he has to say. "Is it possible for me to tag along on that mission, Advisor Donghee?" Seungcheol asks. The advisor's eyebrows raise and he glances at the King, who has a firm expression on his face. "Why would you want to do that, Seungcheol?" The King asks, "And, if you remember correctly, I banned you from going to the human world."

"I remember, father, but I must go," Seungcheol says, "I want to see for myself firsthand what these hunters are doing to our people. A proper leader would check the issue themselves in order to make the right decisions and take the necessary actions to resolve it."

"That may be true," The King states, "But, you would be going to the human world. It isn't safe there. Nothing else matters than the safety of the royal family."

"The royal family lives for the people," Seungcheol says, "Their lives are ours. If they are in danger, so are we. I will not cower when my people are being slaughtered father. And if you don't allow me to go...I will just find a way to the human world myself. I have done it before." Seungcheol is arguing for two reasons. One, he really does want to see the scene of the crime. He may be able to find something if he's actually there instead of looking at photographs and trying to figure out this mystery. And two, he may be able to sneak off to see Jihoon for a bit. But, his priority is finding the hunter killing the vampires, of course. The King scoffs, "You are acting very rebellious these days, Choi Seungcheol."

"Only because I need to," Seungcheol states, "I will do what is necessary as the crown prince even if you and mother try to keep me on a leash." The King shakes his head at his words, but for whatever reason chooses not to argue with him. "Fine," The King states, "Go. Be reckless. This will just become another lesson to you that your parents know what is best for you." Seungcheol doesn't say anything, just bows to his father and heads towards the door.

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Seungcheol frowns as he observes the area. It's a dank warehouse that echoes a bit as vampires move around the scene. There's dried blood on the floor and a variety of differently shaped wooden stakes painted shades of red. The killed vampires are stacked on top of one another on a blue tarp behind one of the old machines. They are currently being identified and taken back to the society where they will be given back to their families with some stupid made-up story of their death. Cause no one can know that the hunters are slaughtering vamps again. Seungcheol shakes his head as he scans the area, trying to find anything that may give them a lead. So far, he has found nothing. The whole situation is off to him and that's not just because vampires are being killed. He knows how hunters operate. He's read the stories and seen what they can do. If a hunter is to kill a vampire, they do it thoroughly. They never let anyone find out about the kill. They bury the vampire's body, they take their weapons, and they never leave any trace of what they did. Yet, at this scene, the bodies are left in the open as are the weapons used to slaughter the vamps. It's unlike a hunter to do such a thing. It goes against their entire style. But, who knows? It's been years. Things change. "We are loading the bodies up, your highness," A vampire says as he walks up to the prince.

Seungcheol nods, "Good. Has anyone found anything that may lead us to who has caused this fiasco?"

"No, your highness," The vampire states, "Aside from the murder weapons, there is no evidence here." Seungcheol grimaces, his father isn't going to be happy about that. "I am going to go around the warehouse once more to check if we missed anything," Seungcheol says, "The rest of you may take a break, but please make it a short one. I don't think the King will be pleased if we return empty handed." The vampire nods his head and bows before scampering off to inform the others about their given break. Seungcheol sighs and starts to calmly walk towards the back end of the warehouse. He keeps his eyes peeled as he searches. He makes his way over to what appears to be a back office. He enters it and gravitates towards a rusty old desk. He opens the drawers which are empty except for some pieces of gum wedged into the corner of one of them. Seungcheol runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head, annoyed that there's absolutely nothing here. Suddenly, the sound of metal echoing rings in Seungcheol ears. The vampire prince frowns, didn't he send all of the vamps on a break? Are they already back? Or do they have something to tell him. "Hello?" Seungcheol calls out as he makes his way out of the office. He frowns when he doesn't spot anyone. He shakes his head, he must be hearing things. Just as he is about to walk away, the sound of something whistling makes him stop. Before he can ponder what's making the noise, something hits him in the back of the neck. Seungcheol frowns and reaches behind him. His hand encloses around something slender and thin. He yanks at it and winces as it leaves his skin. He brings it in front of his eyes and his eyebrows furrow when he sees what it is. A dart? Suddenly, a wave of nausea passes over Seungcheol. He shakes his head, trying to snap himself out of it. The world starts to spin and Seungcheol sways a bit. He grips at the side of his head and winces as his entire body starts to throb. He stares at the dart in his hand and grimaces when he sees a gray colored liquid dripping from it. "Shit," Seungcheol mutters, "This...isn't...good." His eyes flutter shut for a second and he starts to fall, but before he can, he catches himself. He slaps the side of his face in an attempt to keep him awake and moving. He stumbles forward, trying his best to stay on his feet, at least until he can get some help.

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Now

Jihoon drops to his knees so that he can be closer to the vampire. He reaches for Seungcheol's hand and gently squeezes it. His other hand finds its way to his face. Jihoon places his palm on Seungcheol's cheek and frowns when he notices how hot it is. "You're burning up...we need to get you some help..." The human frowns, wondering what he should do. It's not like he could take the vampire to a hospital. A human doctor wouldn't be much help to a vampire. "Seungcheol...what do I do?" Jihoon asks, "I don't think taking you to hospital is a good idea, but I don't know how else to help you..."

"Joshua..." Seungcheol whispers, his eyes partially open. His entire body feels heavy, but he somehow is able to gravitate closer to the human. He leans into Jihoon's hold, putting his entire weight onto the human. Jihoon doesn't care and carefully props the vampire's head onto his thigh. "What was that?" Jihoon questions, brushing away at some hair that falls into Seungcheol's eyes.

"Take me to Joshua..." Seungcheol murmurs.

"Joshua?" Jihoon echoes, "As in Joshua Hong!?" Seungcheol hums and slowly nods his head. "He'll help..." The vampire mutters before his head falls limp and his eyes shut.

Another cliffhanger? Sort of? Not really. You'll all have to wait until another two weeks before finding out what really happens. I hope that you look forward to it and enjoyed this chapter. We still have to solve this mystery about the vampire deaths, so there is loads more to come. We are just getting started. Now, if you could please follow me, comment, vote, add this story to your library, and check out my Romance One-shots book. I finally posted that Jicheol one-shot, so I hope that you go check it out. Until next time! Bye~