Hello readers! I hope you are well. We are finally going to see what's to come from Seungcheol. This chapter is longer, so I hope you enjoy. I won't say anything else and just let you get right into it.

Jihoon grits his teeth as he slams his fist on the door. Seungcheol is on his back, passed out. The human's nose scrunches up and he brings his hand up to knock again. Before he can, the door is pulled open. "Jihoon?" Joshua questions, "What are you doing here? Who the hell is that!?"

"Let me in, hyung," Jihoon says, "He's heavy." Joshua steps to the side and allows for Jihoon to stagger into his apartment. Jihoon makes his way over to the couch and drops Seungcheol on to it. He lets out a sigh now that the vampire's weight is off his back. Joshua gapes, "Seungcheol? Oh my goodness...your Seungcheol was Choi Seungcheol!"

"Yes," Jihoon states, "And as much as I would love to figure out how you know him as well, we don't have time for it. He arrived at my place, collapsed on the floor and is currently burning up. He told me to bring him to you. So, you need to help him."

Joshua nods, "You should go. I'll take care of it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jihoon states.

"Jihoon..." Joshua says.

"If this is about Seungcheol being a vampire, you don't need to worry," Jihoon says, "I know." Joshua's eyes widen and he stares at his friend in shock. "He told you?" Joshua murmurs, "You're the human...oh my...how the heck did this happen?"

"Hyung," Jihoon says urgently, "You need to help him."

"Right...right," Joshua says. He moves closer to the passed out vampire and scans his body for the source of his condition. His eyebrows furrow when he notices this weird coloration near his neck. Joshua carefully tilts Seungcheol's head to the side and curses under his breath. "What is it?" Jihoon asks, taking a step closer to see what his friend found. On the back of Seungcheol's neck is this minuscule puncture and veins shaded gray that pop out against his skin. "What is that?" Jihoon asks.

"Silver," Joshua states.

"Silver?!" Jihoon exclaims, "Doesn't that kill vampires?!"

"Yes, that's why he's reacting this way" Joshua states. Jihoon shakes his head, staring at Seungcheol's body with worry. The vampire could die if they don't do something. That is if something even can be done. "Will he be okay?" Jihoon asks.

Joshua sighs, "I think so, if my observations are correct, he was injected with liquid silver. It's currently in his bloodstream."

"What does that mean?" Jihoon asks, "How can we save him?

"Blood," Joshua answers.

"Blood?" Jihoon questions.

"Yes, blood. Luckily, it seems to be a small dose of silver," Joshua says, "Seungcheol should be fine as long as he clears the silver from his body by drinking more blood. I should have some blood bags in the back. I'll go get them. You need to wake Seungcheol up."

Jihoon frowns, "Can't you just do a blood transfusion?"

"He isn't a normal human," Joshua states, "He needs to drink it, so wake him up." With that said, Joshua makes his way to the back of his apartment in search of blood bags. Jihoon sighs as he stares at Seungcheol's snoozing body. He lowers down to his knees and starts to gently shake the vampire. "Seungcheol...you need to wake up," Jihoon says, "You need blood to get better. I know you probably feel like crap right now, but if you wake up we can help you." The vampire doesn't respond, he doesn't even stir. Jihoon pushes his hair back and starts to poke at Seungcheol's side. "C'mon, Seungcheol...wake up," Jihoon pleads, "For me? Wake up for me? Please..." The human continues to call out to the vampire while also shaking and prodding him. It takes a while, but Jihoon is eventually able to get Seungcheol to open his eyes. "W-what's ha...happening?" Seungcheol murmurs loopily.

"We're at Joshua hyung's place," Jihoon says, "You were poisoned with silver."

"Ri...right," Seungcheol whispers, his eyes starting to fall shut again.

"No!" Jihoon exclaims, "You can't fall asleep! You need to stay awake, Seungcheol." The vampire groans, but forces his eyes to stay open. Jihoon breathes a sigh of relief and starts to help him slowly sit up. "How bad is it?" Jihoon asks.

"Horrible," Seungcheol mutters, "I don't like silver..."

"Well, you're not supposed to," Joshua says, returning with three bags of blood in his hands, "It does kill you." Seungcheol nods and lifts up a shaky hand. Joshua passes him the bag and Seungcheol brings it to his mouth. Before he bites down on it though, he looks towards Jihoon. "Can you go to the other room?" Seungcheol asks.

Jihoon scoffs, "No, I'm not going anywhere until I know you're okay. I don't care that you're drinking blood, Seungcheol. I thought I made it clear when you first told me about what you are. I don't care that you're a vampire. Now, freaking drink the blood before you die!!!" Seungcheol nods his head and brings the bag to his mouth. His teeth come out and he bites into the bag. He drinks at a steady pace. As he does, he starts to look a bit better than he had before. Jihoon watches him drink, not really caring that he's drinking blood. The only thought going through the human's mind is if Seungcheol is going to be okay or not. He could care less if it was blood or freaking pee, as long as it got Seungcheol back to his normal self. Soon enough, Seungcheol finishes the first bag which Joshua takes from him. The human hands him another which Seungcheol accepts without a second thought. This time, he drinks more eagerly, quickly downing the blood. "Want another?" Joshua asks when Seungcheol finishes the new bag in seconds. The vampire shakes his head and passes the empty bag back to his friend. Joshua takes it and makes his way to the kitchen to trash it. "Feeling better?" Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol nods, "Thank you."

"I didn't do much," Jihoon says.

"You took me to Joshua," Seungcheol says, "You did more than enough."

"How did this happen anyway?" Jihoon asks, "Who shot you with liquid silver?"

Seungcheol sighs, "I don't know. I was investigating a scene where multiple vampire killings took place. I went off on my own and next thing I know I'm hit with this dart laced with silver."

"That's weird," Jihoon mutters.

"Do you think it was a hunter?" Joshua asks, returning to the living room having discarded the empty bags and put back the extra blood.

"Maybe," Seungcheol says, "Our number one suspect for the killings have been the hunters, but I don't think a hunter would stick around at the scene of the crime. Especially since they had to have known we would be coming to check it out."

"I thought that hunters and vampires made a peace agreement," Jihoon says.

Seungcheol nods, "We did, but recently there's been a lot of vampire killings in the human world. My father and his advisors are set on it being the fault of hunters."

"Do you think it's the hunters doing?" Joshua asks.

Seungcheol frowns, "I don't know what to think. The hunters we've spoken to have denied it, but they could have been lying for all we know. All the evidence points to humans doing this. I mean it has to be them. Who else could kill a vampire?"

"But..." Joshua says.

Seungcheol purses his lips together, "But...just between you and me, I have no idea why, but I feel like the hunters have nothing to do with this. We've had that peace agreement for a millennium. Why break it now? So suddenly? It doesn't add up. Not to mention this attack on me. Hunters are good at what they do, but they can't keep their heartbeats silent or their footsteps. I should have been able to sense it, but I didn't. I didn't notice the dart coming at me until it was too late."

"Who is behind all of this then?" Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol shrugs, "Your guess would be as good as mine, but it doesn't matter. My father thinks it's the hunters' fault, so it will be."

"What if they're innocent?" Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol sighs, "Then, it makes this situation so much worse. The King is getting angry. It's only a matter of time before it blows up."

"And then war," Joshua mutters.

"W-war?" Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol nods, "Between vampires and human-kind." Jihoon shivers at that. Imagine a war between the creatures of the dark and humans. There would be so much death. "I don't want it to happen," Seungcheol says, "Neither do most of the advisors. We'll try our best to keep the peace, but the King makes the final decision. We can only do so much."

"Hopefully, it will never come to that," Joshua states.

"I wish the same," Seungcheol says, "But, after what happened to me today...I can't say that war isn't in the foreseeable future."

"Can't you just lie?" Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol laughs at that, "I wish I could, but I have a feeling my father already knows something happened to me. With that said, I should probably return to the society and try to quell this mess."

"You should really stay and rest," Joshua states.

"I probably should," Seungcheol says, "But, I can't. I don't know what my father will do if I don't return right this instant. Thank you both for helping me. I appreciate it. I'll see you later, Joshua. And Jihoon, I'll see you this weekend." The vampire flashes the human with a small smile that makes Jihoon's heart skip a beat. Jihoon looks back at him with a similar expression. "Yeah," Jihoon says, "I hope everything goes well with your father."

"I hope so too," Seungcheol says before standing up and disappearing in a flash. Jihoon and Joshua both sigh and turn to face one another. "Thanks for what you did," Jihoon says, "I never would have known what to do to help him."

Joshua shakes his head, "It's no big deal. It's my job after all."

"About that, want to tell me how the heck you became friends with the crown prince of the vampires?" Jihoon questions.

Joshua smiles, "I could ask you the same thing. Since when have you had a fling with a supernatural creature?"

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

"Do you know how worried we were?!" The Queen exclaims. Seungcheol nods his head, avoiding the gaze of both of his parents. When the vampire prince entered the palace, he could feel all eyes on him and whispers as he made his way towards the throne room. Apparently, news about what had happened had spread. Fast. There were already rumors going around that Seungcheol had been killed. "Can you imagine our reaction when Advisor Donghee comes to us saying that he found this dart with your DNA on it?!" The King shouts, "We thought you were kidnapped!! Killed! This is exactly what I thought would happen! The hunters saw the crown prince and took their shot! You should be lucky you're alive!" The dart that Seungcheol was shot with is clenched tightly in the King's hand. He swings it back and forth as he rants. "I apologize for worrying you," Seungcheol states, "And for the rumors you will have to diffuse about my untimely demise. But, I am okay."

The Queen scowls, "This is all your fault. If you hadn't insisted on going to the human world, you wouldn't have been hurt!"

"I am fine, mother," Seungcheol says, "It was barely a scratch."

"Please. You were poisoned, Seungcheol!" The King exclaims.

"It was a small dose," Seungcheol says, "As you can see, it didn't affect me that much."

The King shakes his head, "It doesn't matter how large of a dose of silver it was. The hunters went after you! Those ants tried to kill the crown prince!!! I was being kind before and giving the hunters the benefit of the doubt, but not anymore! Not when my son was almost killed!!! I will have all of those useless hunters slaughtered! Mark my word, they are asking for war!!!"

"Father, please, don't overreact!" Seungcheol calls out.

The Queen tuts, "You're father is doing this for your honor. For his! No hunter makes a fool of the royal vampire family!"

"Mother, this is more than just about honor," Seungcheol states, "You can't wage war on the humans! I don't even think the people that attacked me were even the hunters! Please, don't be so hasty!"

"Not hunters? Who was it then? Who else owns weapons laced with silver!?" The King growls, "A hunter stuck around to watch my vampires floundering as they searched the scene where our people were killed. They spot the crown prince and decide to take a shot! I know what happened!"

"You weren't there, father," Seungcheol states, "You have no idea what happened. Please don't go to war for this. This was just something silly. I am still standing. I was not killed! There's no reason to start a conflict!"

The Queen frowns, "You are not of sound mind!"

"You were attacked by hunters, Seungcheol!" The King bellows, "You cannot expect me to sit by and allow something like this to go unpunished."

"It wasn't hunters!" Seungcheol cries, "I don't know who it was but a hunter isn't what attacked me!"

The King shakes his head, "You were attacked. You have no idea what it was. I cannot trust your words. I am making the decision I need to make."

"The advisors will not let you do this!" Seungcheol exclaims, "War after so many years of peace!"

The King sighs, "That may be true, but I am the king. My word is law."

"Father, please, what must I do to convince you not to go to war?" Seungcheol asks. The King doesn't answer, his mouth set in a firm line. The throne room falls silent as none of the royals make a single sound. "Find me evidence that the hunters have nothing to do with this," The King says, "Then, I will put aside the notion of war. But, until then, I will be preparing my forces. Our people will be ready to fight." Seungcheol nods his head. It isn't the best, but it's better than nothing. The vampires will be setting up for war. Training and recruiting soldiers, prepping weapons, strategizing. But, none of that will be put into action unless the king orders it. Which he won't, if Seungcheol can find evidence that the hunters aren't behind the deaths. For the sake of his people and the humans, he hopes that he can find something.

War is coming unless Cheol can stop it. Let's hope he does or things are going to get a lot worse. I can assure you of that. There is still a lot of mystery going on, so let me know what you think will happen. Who went after Seungcheol? Let me.knkw in the comments. And while you're at it, please follow me, vote, add this story to your library and check out my other stories here on Wattpad. I hope you have an amazing rest of your day ❤️