Tristan's head whipped behind him, and when he saw a man standing by the door, his body stiffened. He moved and faced the man in black, his eyes scanning the door he knew was opened forcefully. How? How did he open the door? Tristan never gave the password of this apartment to anyone, not even his most trusted guard. And judging from the loud bang, he knew something inhumanly powerful had hit the door for it to be opened in one bang. He would've noticed if the man messed up with the door's lock first. No, there was no way he could mess up with a door like this! How? How did he…
When he looked at the man wearing pure black from head to toe, Tristan subconsciously swallowed. The man was wearing a black baseball cap covering his eyes. He reeked with unbelievable power and bloodthirst that Tristan's nerves began to cower. No man ever intimidated him to his very core like this, aside from that devil Ezekiel Qinn.
At the thought of that devil, Tristan suddenly felt goosebumps ran under his skin. His eyes widened. The man before him almost gives off the same vibe he felt towards that devil. No one in this world could be like that man! Could it be that this man is… no! Ezekiel Qinn was dead! He's dead! That devil's dead!!!
The news about Ezekiel Qinn's death was the best news Tristan had ever heard his entire life. He had been trying to kill Ezekiel for a long time, ever since he met him. He did everything to claim the devil's head… everything. But he failed every single time, and the man never even look at him, not even a glance. And that was what infuriated him the most. The fact that Ezekiel had never even noticed him despite everything he had done. Tristan could never forget the humiliation when he approached the bastard Ezekiel, and the bastard didn't even know his name.
He had vowed since then that he'd kill him, but in the end, the damn man actually died in a plane crash. He laughed for a very long time, his longest laugh ever when he heard the news. Tristan had shamelessly claimed that it was his victory. Ever since that day, nobody ever made him inferior in everything anymore, not even in power and demeanor.
So who was this man? How could he…
Gnashing his teeth, Tristan's hand moved. A gun was in his hand. He had instinctively pulled it from his waist the moment he felt the intense bloodlust coming from the door, the same moment the loud noise thundered. He pointed it not towards the man but on Kelly's head. Tristan had felt the extreme danger coming from him. He would never dare take risks with a man like this. Just like Ezekiel Qinn, this man's also put the auras of all the underground criminal, even the most notorious killer he had ever met, to shame.
But realizing that he was here for this woman, Tristan felt like he had gained the upper hand. He noticed how Kelly reacted when she saw the man. He knew she obviously knew him, and she even looked as though she'd been expecting him. She didn't even flinch by the brooding and suffocating air coming from the man.
"Who are you?" Tristan asked as he pressed the gun on Kelly's head. He had moved behind her as if he was trying to use Kelly as a shield against him.
The man didn't speak. Instead, he took a step closer, causing Tristan to panic.
"Stop, or I will blow this woman's head!" he panicked. Was he wrong? Did this man come here for him?
The man didn't stop, he sauntered, and the darkness and bloodthirst were getting thicker and thicker every time he took a step closer.
"F*ck! I will kill this woman!" Tristan's hands and body began to tremble with panic and dread. He lifted his hand and mindlessly fired at the man approaching him.
He smirked the moment he heard the gunshot, but when he saw that the man had dodged his bullet, his sardonic smile died. Terror began to consume him. How? How did he… his gun was…
Series of gunshots echoed inside the room. Tristan fired at Kai like a madman. His fear had gotten the best of him, and before he realized it, the gun was no longer in his hand.
Because Kelly was tied on the chair, she could see Kai's eyes under his black cap. Her heart was still beating so wild. She felt her eyes heat up the moment she saw him, and as he approached her, Kelly wanted nothing but to touch him, to hug him. She had never cared about the gun pointed at her head, knowing very well that her Kai would never let Tristan fire it on her. What Kelly cared about that moment were Kai's suffocating bloodlust and his demonic aura. She saw the fire burning in his crimson red eyes, and she couldn't deny that even she couldn't help but shiver from his bloodlust that was practically splattering everywhere. She knew he would kill Tristan. She wanted the maniac dead but not in Kai's hand.
As she looked up, Kai's large and strong hand was already grabbing Tristan's neck. Tristan was futilely scratching at Kai's arm, like some pitiful ant in Kai's solid arm.
Kelly struggled to find her voice. She couldn't believe she would feel like this around Kai. The fear she always felt from that god of the darkness, Ezekiel, started to mute and immobilize her. But Kelly persevered. This was her Kai, and she was one who drove him to become like this. He was like this because of her. How could she fear him?
"K-kai!" she finally made a sound. "Please… don't kill him," she begged. She didn't know if he could hear her, but she continued anyway, hoping she could reach him before he snaps Tristan's neck. "If you kill him, the police will get involved. Please don't kill him, Kai. Please."
Kelly knew that if Tristan dies, things might get out of hand. And she knew Kai had come here knowing full well that he must not kill Tristan. If he really wanted him dead, Tristan's neck would've been broken the moment he grabbed his neck. Kai wouldn't have bothered to use the door to enter. And most of all, he wouldn't have worn a cap to hid his face. No matter how Kelly sees it, Kai was trying so hard to deal with Tristan as a human and not as a vampire.
The next moment, Kelly watched Kai's fist smashed into Tristan's face. She heard bones crack and then followed by Tristan's pitiful whimpers. Blood began to gush out of his nose and mouth before he fell on his knees.
Kai grabbed Tristan's hair and pulled Tristan up before he kicked his stomach hard enough that he was slammed on the cold, hard wall. Blood dripped down to the floor.
Kelly could only watch as Kai destroyed Tristan over and over again. Kai had never said a word. He was like a demon torturing his prey in silence. He didn't hit Tristan hard enough for him to lose consciousness. Kelly felt her heart squeeze. It was hard to watch Kai act like a cold and heartless man who enjoyed torturing his prey. But Tristan deserved this, and she could not blame Kai. However, she must stop him now. Tristan was probably numb already. His harrowing noise had stopped, and he was now bathed with his own blood. If this continues, he might die from Kai's slow torture.
"K-kai!" Kelly forced a sound. Her throat was so dry that the sound of her voice came out weird.
Thankfully, the man stiffened, and when he finally turned and looked at her, Kelly's lips began to tremble.
A deep silence, akin to that moment when a raging super typhoon finally passed by, reigned in the room.
Kai saw the look on her face, and he gritted his teeth. He glanced at the man on the floor, good as dead, before he let out a deep breath, and finally, he strode towards Kelly. No word came out of his lips as he untied Kelly. He didn't even notice Kelly staring at his trembling hands.
"Kai…" she whispered, but he could not look at her in the eyes. He couldn't stop his body from trembling the moment his hand touched her.
Once the tight ropes fell on the floor, Kelly's eyes quickly misted over with tears as she looked at him. And then, as if the walls that were holding all the emotions within her broke, large drops of tears rolled down her face one after another, in a seemingly endless rainfall.
Kai was utterly flustered by Kelly's outburst. He knelt before her. "W-what's wrong?" At last, she finally heard his voice. "Are you hurt? Where? I'll take you to the hospital." He said. His voice was cracking as his trembling hand hesitantly touched her.
Kelly forced herself to stop her tears but couldn't, so she just leaned in on him, wrapped her hands around his neck, and she slumped in his embrace. She felt him stiffened for a moment before his hands went on her back and hair. He pulled her so close to him in a very tight hug and hugged her until the trembling of his body stopped.
"I'm sorry…" he uttered with a low voice filled with pain and self-loathing as he gently rubbed her hair and back. "I'm sorry, I'm late… I'm sorry…"
