Laboratory

@〄 Hwang Hyunjin ¥✔ <you have been paid for the month of Jan. Sorry that it took so long. Thank you for being active in your job and paying citizen tax. ~love, Emily>

"13.45 seconds." Jotting down the results he frowned lightly, watching the rat closely as it began to twitch and suddenly come to life again, panting heavily and trembling. Rats were less than ideal, he would much rather a larger animal, or something preferably humanoid. He would have to put in a new request for better test subjects. The neural compound has promise, but it needs to be better still. It's not perfect yet.

"Fascinating..." Hyunjin mumbled to himself as he ran the test again, watching the chemical compound being released into the small chamber where the rat was contentedly drinking water. It froze only seconds later, it's entire body stiff and rigid, even it's sides were no longer moving as it was stopped from even breathing. Hitting another button pumped fresh oxygen into the room and he began to watch the seconds tick by to see how long the rat would remain paralyzed this time.

@♦ Christopher Bang The demon might have been following the vampire doctor for awhile and he was aware that the man made a lot of enemies, but which one. The icky feeling that he had no idea who it could be, serves as a main trigger for the demon. He found himself snarling at the assassin asking him once more, "Who sent you?" But the man groaned and grabbed him by the elbow, throwing him off balance. The demon bewildered when the sudden impact of the assassin's head caused him to experience a little concussion as his stomach churned because of the force. Magic. It finally dawned on him. The man before him is not a mere human but a sorcerer. Eyes widen to see the man gone, the demon's chest raise and fall and cursed the heaven's for his misfortune. There was a loud thump of footsteps at the hall. It has become louder. The demon had no choice but leave it's current vessel. the empty body of the scientist hit the ground and lay flat on his stomach.

"Damn you, Choi Seunghyun! If this is because of that--" The dark spirit said, towering Seunghyun's lifeless body. The door rattled as panic outside builds up. Keys jingling and someone knocking. The demon entered the doctor's body before anyone could suspect anything. As the door bursts open, the doctor groaned, holding his side as if in deep pain. A group of men with guns on their hands arrived with the secretary he met earlier. Gasps and a piercing sound of shock filled the room. The blood and destruction raised a lot of question. With one eye opened, the demon watched them check out the scientists, someone even asked the woman to leave due to trauma. "Hey, sir...can you hear me?" Someone touched the doctor's shoulders.

Seunghyun winced, slowly lifted his head and glanced at the man in the uniform. "I'm fine. But please help him." He said, pointing at the scientist. But the man sighed and said, "I'm sorry but there's nothing much we can do."
The demon knew this but lowered his head, eyes welling up with tears and biting his lip. "I walked in but a man already have him in hostage...i--i cou--ldn't..." Seunghyun paused, breathing heavily with guilt painted across his face. "Shh...it's alright, doc. Let's get you back to the infirmary, hmm?" The officer said, patting his shoulder. The demon nodded, forcing a smile but deep inside he is fuming. He owes the assassin a visit. A painful visit.

@♆ Choi Seunghyun ( i am so sorry about the length,, muse hit again sidhidh pls don't mirror me if you don't want to >< i had to stop myself from writing more oof- )

Interesting. Any wound that Seunghyun endured, he'd bleed red naturally... but only for a little while. That blood would soon turn grey, as would the skin around the wound. Very interesting indeed. A nasty habit of his "employers" was that they very often tended to leave out key details. Said key details would, most often, were information that would have been extremely handy to know beforehand. The inconvenience of not being prepared for what's being /paid/ to face is growing tiresome; do people think he's stupid or something? Of course, those inconveniences were normally not ever a problem. It's not to say that Vagabond didn't get his royally handed to him here and there but he'd like to say those battles helped harden his own combat skills, and it definitely helped him become the master of his senses.

Seunghyun was fooling everybody but the assassin, a mere stranger who hide behind a mask.

Was it a bad idea to pick a fight with a demon that is /eons/ old? Oh, absolutely. But he was fearless and if presented to him, Christopher would willingly taste the sweet kiss of death at any given second without an ounce of hesitation.

Now that the scientist was dead, though, who knew if the guy would be getting what he was seeking. If he was going to, Vagabond was going to make it difficult just for kicks. Call him insane but he liked to play around with his prey for a little while before deciding to end things once and for all. He's got to have some fun on the job, right? It's rather mundane to go out and mindlessly kill people without some sort of game involved. In this case, the game involved was a good ol' fashioned game of cat and mouse.

A strained groan is muffled against the mask as he's slammed against the wall and pinned there with the table. That's surely going to bruise his back up even more, why not add a pen being stabbed into his shoulder to the mix? A growl leaves his gritted teeth - this is the most sound he's made since showing up - and grabs ahold of Seunghyun's elbow, yanking him down just to deliver a powerful headbutt; protecting himself with a minor shield ward so that the blow didn't do any harm to his already battered body (sometimes he genuinely wonders how he's able to fight most days with the condition he is in). And with magic on his side, the blow hits harder for Seunghyun, knocking the other off of the table - which is soon shoved into the man's gut with a mighty kick from the assassin. The table clattered against the ground, creating a whole lot more noise than it should have and that immediately caught the attention of others who were lingering down the hall; which was the goal in mind. Now people were coming to investigate. Using the Shadow magic that flowed in his veins, Vagabond reaches behind him to touch the wall and every ounce of darkness that enveloped the room was instantly drawn towards him until he was covered in the shadows... and then he was gone. Just like that, without a trace - as if he was never even there. So quick so quiet.

Surprise, surprise... the assassin was a mage. The protective ward he casted earlier was a giveaway in itself but the Shadow magic? There was much history behind the upbringing of it and how Christopher 'acquired' it but nonetheless, the last known remains of the magic was said to have faded in the ashes of Elysium after it burned to the ground several years ago. With Shadow magic, Christopher was able to manipulate the shadows to however he deemed fit, however he would often use it as a mode of transportation. All shadows, all darkness were connected. All he'd have to do is touch it and the Shadows will bring him to where he needed to be. Just like this instance. Appeared in the room without even needed to use the door /or/ window, simply just stepping out of the shadows as one with them with a katana in hand - and then gone in a split second, wearing this cocky grin on his face behind the mask that he's sure Seunghyun could probably hear in his soft chuckles just before he disappeared completely.

And thus... cat and mouse.

If Seunghyun wanted answers so badly, he'd have to come find him first.

@♦ Christopher Bang For a weapon as such, the demon laughs since it might have grazed the vessel he is in, but it barely touched his spirit. Though it ticks him off not having any knowledge of who the assassin is and the reason behind an attack. The wound caused by the katana slowly healed on its own. More so, believable since the doctor is known to be a vampire. The scientist will never be suspicious, or he could kill him too after his through with the assassin.

“Arghhhhh!!!” The demon roared from the cutting edge that’s piercing its flesh. His gripped on the assassin loosened. Blood gushed from his mouth, staining his lips and his pale skin. Pinned into the wall, the demon’s eyes glow in yellow hue, gagging at his own stupidity. He gnashed his teeth, looking down at the piece of metal lodged into his torso. He reached for his dagger, but he stopped to watch the assassin end the scientist’s life. He was enraged. He wanted the scientist to die of slow death.

“Ngggh...” The demon glared at the assassin when he yanked the katana out. Blood oozed from his torso as the vessel’s skin became paler till it was grey like a three-day old corpse. A gasped escaped the doctor’s lips and stopped breathing. The demon in his ability to escape, interconnected with the wind. He cannot use Choi Seunghyun’s body and put his disguise in jeopardy. So, to scare the assassin, the bad harbinger of bad luck possessed the newly dead man. The demon bursts into laughter using the scientist’s lips. “Aren’t you a cute little thing?” He said, letting loose of the around him. “You sure had the guts. I’ll give you that.” He grabbed the table and in one swift move, lounge forward in an unnatural speed and pushed it against the man till he is backed against the wall. The demon jumped onto the table, looking around to find a fine metal pen and s it into that muscle between his shoulder and arm. “Who are you? And who send you to kill me?”

@♆ Choi Seunghyun The assassin cocked his head to the side when his sword broke. He had no other reaction other than what looked like some exasperation or disappointment. The katana was beautiful, sure, but the weaponsmith who made them has been slacking lately - and this just proved his point. Looks like he'll have to pay the guy a visit after he finishes up here. The hand on his throat surprised him a little, yet he reacted quick and was able to snag the broken blade on the ground to shove it through Seunghyun's torso, shoving him back against the wall with the blade digging into the wood, lodging him into place. Vagabond then tosses the broken hilt of the sword that was in his hand towards the scientist, hitting him directly in the throat. The poor man chokes for a few seconds before the life in his eyes fade. He was dead in the matter of seconds.

It was almost too easy somtimes.

Heaving a sigh, the sound is muffled by the mask as he turned to properly face the demon, grabbing the broken katana, twisting it then yanking it out. He even gives it a little shake to get rid of the grey substance. 'It doesn't matter who I am,' came the only response Vagabond was willing to provide that was spoken telepathically. The assassin's voice was thick like honey and a little raspy, almost calm.

@♦ Christopher Bang Idiot! Seunghyun thought of it when the scientist screamed assassin. But he reacted too late and winched to feel the blade digging into the porcelain skin that's masking his true colour. "W--h---oo..." He gasped clutching his hands around the attacker's wrist but he was pinned against the wall. The doctor turned at the scientist, trembling in his chair and cowardly shut his eyes. The assassin wears a mask that aggravated the demon even more. He stared at assassin, nose scrunched up, gasping for air. "Once...i''m free...you'll die....nggh..." He grunts between breaths. The demon had no idea who is this Vagabond. He couldn't pick up any scent. Fear is unknown to him. He's long dead anyway. Unless....

Seunghyun tightly hang onto the man's wrist, ready to twist it and tore him apart. However, crimson blood dripped from the laceration caused by the katana. As it digs harder the crimson blood soon turned grey.

Snap! The sword broke.

Seunghyun sly grinned and in an instant, grabbed the assassin's throat. "Who the are you?"

@♆ Choi Seunghyun Hook line and sinker. Just like he predicted, Seunghyun was marching up the hallway with steam rolling out of his ears. How predictable. The assassin continued to hang back in the shadows, letting the man enter the room obliviously and waited until it was the right moment to make his presence be known. The scientist looked both relieved to see a familiar face bursting through the door, yet still terrified nonetheless; hopeful, in a weird way, that Seunghyun would be willing to help him out of this predicament. However, before his target could move another inch, there was a sleek black katana being pressed against his jugular as the mage slowly emerges from the shadows, clad in his gear and mask that hid his features, masking his scent.

"H-He's an assassin!" The scientist babbled, voice trembling as he watched in horror. "He goes by Vagabond... I-I think he's after /you/, actually." As if confirming the theory, Vagabond uses the threat of his katana to back Seunghyun up against the nearest wall, sharpened metal digging harder and harder into his skin until it finally broke.

@♦ Christopher Bang "9 minutes!" Seunghyun stated louder than the ambience requires of him. In a place like that, a sense of professionalism is required and patience is much appreciated. But he is not the real doctor, nor does he cares about social protocols. He glared at the woman at the desk. She rolled her eyes at him completed annoyed by his impatience. "I told you. I'm not going to wait more than 10 minutes." He reminded the secretary. The second hand hits the number 3 on his watch. Seunghyun got on his feet and marched towards the scientist's office. "Dr. Choi, you can't just---" The woman was cut off shortly when Seunghyun opened the door and was shocked to see the state of the scientist. "My world..."The demon whispered and shut the door behind, staring at the man tied on his own chair. "What happened to you?" He said, reaching for the weapon hiding in his coat pocket. Seunghyun scanned the room but did not move an inch. He was about to turn when he noticed the shadow behind him. "Who the f--"

@♆ Choi Seunghyun The shadows covered him with a duvet of darkness, blending him in and concealing his presence to all who wandered about. The magic that swirled in his veins, and the runes inked into his flesh, gave him the convenience of being able to mask his scent so that no soul could smell him coming. Much like this man. Very much like this unsuspecting man, who was clearly growing more and more impatient by the second. He was waiting for the scientist. That much Vaganond knew. The assassin had already been given a profile on his target when the contract was first given to him, he knew exactly who this man was and why he was there. He steps further back into the shadows to leave the bay area after observing Seunghyun from afar for a moment longer, letting his anger broil over until enough was enough. Now, Vagabond was transported back into an office room. The scientist was bound, strapped to a chair and clearly beaten if the blood and roughed up appearance suggested anything. Vagabond's combat boots were heavy and noisy as they moved across the floor methodically slow, quite enjoying the raw terror in the scientist's eyes as he sat helpless while the assassin sank back into the shadows to conceal himself a second time, though he did not create a portal to transport anywhere. He simply hung back and waited, knowing that it was only moments before Seunghyun would come through that door and find the scientist in quite the situation.

@♦ Christopher Bang “Tedious. Utterly boring and the most menial task.” Seunghyun begrudgingly entered the laboratory because his stupid secretary forgot to follow up a document that he needed for a presentation to the board. He wanted new equipment at the department he is working at. If he has a choice to magically make it happen or force the board to bend on his will but his cover will be blown. So, as a good citizen, he entered the laboratory and asked for the scientist for the result of the research. They told him to wait at the bay despite his demand to have it there and then. “Tsk. Ugh.” He huffed and sat at one of the sofas, looking at his watch to time the scientist. If he failed to deliver in 10 minutes, Seunghyun won’t hesitate and unsheathe his dagger.