The Night That Smelled Like Blood

The warehouse smelled like blood.

Not the fresh kind.

The old kind that soaked into the concrete and never really disappeared...even after months, the metallic scent still clung to the air like a ghost.

Rusty chains hung from the ceiling...broken wooden crates were scattered across the floor..a single yellow bulb flickered above, casting weak light over the dark space...

Somewhere in the corner, water dripped slowly from a cracked pipe...

Drip~

Drip~

Drip~

Then a man screamed...

The sound ripped through the empty warehouse, echoing off the tall metal walls before dying into silence...

Heavy footsteps followed

Sloww

Unhurried

Each step echoed against the cold concrete floor like a quiet warning

The footsteps stopped in front of a chair placed in the center of the warehouse...

A man was tied to it

His face was barely recognizable....

Blood covered his mouth and chin...one of his eyes had swollen shut, and his lip was split open....his breathing came out in shaky gasps...

He looked up with terror filling his remaining open eye...

Standing in front of him was a tall young man dressed in black....

His expression was calm

Too calm

"Please," the man whispered weakly

His voice trembled as if even speaking might anger the man in front of him...

The young man did not respond

Instead he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt....

Under the dim light, the tattoo on his arm became visible....

A dark symbol

Sharp lines forming the mark of a phantom skull surrounded by wings....

The mark of Phantom Legion....

The man's breathing immediately became faster..

Everyone in the underworld knew that symbol...

Which meant there was only one person standing in front of him....

Jeon Kian

Leader of Phantom Legion

The man who had turned one of the most feared criminal organizations in the city into something far more terrifying...

Kian stepped closer...

The sound of his boots echoed in the empty warehouse...

He leaned down slowly until his face was only inches away from the tied man...

His dark eyes studied him carefully...

Calm

Cold

Emotionless

"You lied to me"

His voice was quiet

Not loud

Not angry

But something about that quiet tone made the man start shaking violently

"I swear I did not," the man cried. "I did not know it was his territory"

Kian tilted his head slightly

"His territory?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips

But there was no warmth in it

"Then tell me something interesting"

Suddenly his hand shot forward

He grabbed the man's jaw tightly and forced his head up

The man cried out in pain

Kian's voice lowered

"Why was my shipment found inside the Crimson Syndicate warehouse?"

The man froze

Pure fear filled his eyes

Even hearing that name felt dangerous

Crimson Syndicate

One of the most powerful organizations in the entire underworld

And the man who ruled it

Kim Taehan

Kian's most dangerous rival

The man tied to the chair started shaking harder

"I did not mean to betray you," he cried desperately. "I swear, they forced me"

Silence filled the warehouse...

Kian stared at him for a few long seconds....

Then suddenly he laughed....

It was not a loud laugh...

Just a small quiet sound...

But somehow it made the entire room feel colder.

"You think I am stupid?"

The man's tears fell faster...

"I swear it was Taehan's men"

The smile slowly disappeared from Kian's face.

His eyes darkened....

Very dark

"Then I guess," he said softly, "I should go ask him myself"

The man opened his mouth to beg again

But the gunshot came first

The sound exploded through the warehouse

The man's body jerked once before going completely still....

Blood slowly spread across the concrete floor beneath the chair....

Kian lowered the gun calmly

A small drop of blood had splashed onto his hand.

He wiped it away with a cloth like it was nothing more than dust

One of his men stepped forward nervously

"Boss... if this really involves Kim Taehan..."

Kian turned his head slowly.

His eyes burned with something dangerous.

Something that looked very close to excitement.

"Good"

He grabbed his coat from the table and walked toward the large metal door...

Outside, the city lights glowed in the distance.

Somewhere out there, another king ruled his empire...

Kim Taehan

Kian slipped his coat on and stepped into the cold night air

Because tonight, something had changed.

And when two rulers of the underworld start moving at the same time

the entire city begins to tremble.

Tonight was not just another night in the underworld...

Tonight

Jeon Kian had just decided to start a war.....

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