Chapter 67: Soulbound Kiss
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
John drank three bags of blood, and the wound on his chest had almost fully healed. Before dawn, he stood in the night wind, eyes closed, quietly sensing Coraci’s position. Following the instinct brought by the imprint, he crossed several streets and small alleys and arrived at a familiar address.
He hadn’t told anyone — he came back alone. This was the apartment he had once rented. He used to live in the basement. Later, the landlord reclaimed the unit to sell it to a game store, and the new owner hadn’t moved in yet.
He descended the stairs without fear, because he could feel that the one he was seeking was far more afraid than he was. The basement corridor and rooms were unlit. The hinges of the doors were slightly rusted and groaned harshly as they were pushed open.
“Coraci, it’s me.” John’s bloodkin-enhanced vision allowed him to see clearly. Coraci leaned despondently against the old furniture, motionless, eyes cast downward.
Minutes of silence passed. Coraci finally spoke. “I remember now.” His voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of blood.
“Remember what?” John stepped closer, reaching out his hand. His palm had been cut by the black light, but the wound was small and now completely healed.
Coraci didn’t look at him, but neither did he avoid him. John knelt beside him, wrapping him in a firm embrace.
Coraci shivered; his body was far colder than usual.
“I remember what I am. I…I’m not Deville Coraci…”
John stroked his hair. “You are… At least from the moment we met, you’ve always been you.”
“I’m not Deville Coraci. I came into this body through a soul-transference spell, just like I did with Lizardman Mariana… I can exist in a human body, live a human life, allow it to grow normally — but I am not human. I am not that original infant…”
“That doesn’t change anything for me,” John said softly.
Coraci hesitated, unsure of reaching out to return John’s embrace. So John held him tighter. From John’s arms, Coraci’s voice was muffled. “John… make a bond with me. I can release my memories so you can see everything.”
“You have to answer me first,” John said near his ear. “Who was the horror writer I interviewed?”
“…It was me.”
“Is that the you now?”
“Yes.”
“And who invited me to become partners?”
“That was me.”
“Who used my blood for spells, got me taken to Romania by demons, went with me to the Bunker prison as temporary guards, taught me how to apply for loans for the giant-peak humanoids… who did all that?”
“That…was me.” Coraci trembled even more.
John ran his fingers along his neck. “Who let me create the mark, the imprint? Who told me that it represented the trust between us? Who was that?”
Coraci reached out, tightly clutching John’s back. He used all his strength, and even John, a vampire, felt a sharp pressure. He buried his face in John’s neck, not responding verbally — but John already knew his answer.
“No matter who you are, these things are real. The memories are real,” John said, voice thick, eyes closing, enunciating each word. “The Deville Coraci I know is you. That’s enough for me.”
John’s hand reached for Coraci’s nape, gently pulling his head up. Coraci lifted his neck, letting John press his lips to the skin there. But John did not reveal his fangs. He lowered his head, kissed Coraci’s neck, moving along his throat and chin to his lips.
They leaned against the wall, holding each other in an embrace, sharing their first kiss. Neither wanted to let go.
“No matter who you think you are,” John whispered between their lips, “to me, the you in front of me is the only one. No one else has gone through any of that with me.” He cupped Coraci’s face, staring into him in the dark. “Sorry… This is sudden, right? I just kissed you…”
Coraci’s pupils disappeared. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, the irises monochrome, with no ciliary body or pupils. John had never seen him like this — not just the eyes, but the confused, despairing expression.
“If you want, I’ll leave West Bay City together with you,” John said.
Coraci shook his head. “No. You have to stay.”
“But…”
“The Association needs you,” Coraci said seriously. “You’re responsible for following up on the giant-peak woman’s loan issue. A few days ago, Instructor Jere told you to register all foreign bloodkin in West Bay City in recent years. Also, Adele trusts only you and me. I can’t help her anymore — only you can continue. And Sir Kimplin… We need to report banshee transformations in real time, and…”
“All that doesn’t matter!” John said, holding his face firmly.
“No, it’s important,” Coraci said. “For you and me, their fates may not matter. Whether they do well or badly won’t change the fact that I’m a devil. But for them, it’s different. They need us. The difficulties they face are real — otherwise, they wouldn’t be asking for help.”
“There will always be people to do these things…”
“At that time, I could see — Carolyn’s leg was badly injured, many hunters were hurt, and the Association office… I don’t even know how much damage I caused there. Now, the Association needs capable people. They need you.”
“But I need you more!” John emphasized the word you, but Coraci still shook his head.
“You can’t walk alongside a devil,” Coraci said, gripping John’s hand against his cheek. “First, the Association and your family need you. Second, I want you to continue helping others in West Bay City — I truly hope that… You are my partner. You understand the work we’ve tackled together better than anyone. Only by letting it continue can I feel that my past efforts weren’t meaningless, that I’ve done something I can be proud of. John… do you understand? This is for me too.”
John nodded and pressed his lips to Coraci’s again. He knew he had wanted to do this for a long time, yet hadn’t expected it to happen under such circumstances. Coraci responded, hugging him tightly, as if not willing to part from him by an inch.
“And you?” John asked when their lips parted. “Do you have anywhere you want to go? Maybe I could see you in secret someday…”
“I’ll go back,” Coraci said hoarsely. “They’re all looking for me…right?”
“You can’t go back!” John held his shoulders. “You don’t know what they might do to you!”
“And what could they do? Execute me?”
“Worse than that,” John said. “Guess what the emergency notice from the Association leadership says? They said, ‘Considering he is a citizen with a legally recognized social status, he cannot be executed privately.’ They don’t plan to kill you, but…they want to capture you, hold you in a so-called ‘safe’ place. And worse…”
He stared into Coraci’s eyes, finding it hard to continue. Instead, he pulled Coraci close again. “Liz told me Lucian submitted a request to the Association… hoping to transfer you to the Blackmoon family. Before I came for you, Liz told me a lot. She could completely foresee what would happen to you under the Blackmoon institution.”
Coraci shuddered. Deep in his memory, similar scenes lingered.
“They may never have intended to kill you,” John said, “but they won’t treat you as human either.”
When Liz told John this, she was so distraught that she seemed like a completely different person. She treated Coraci as a friend, even though that friend now frightened her. Reason told her that Coraci was indeed a devil — the most dangerous thing in the world. However, emotionally speaking, she didn’t want him to live as an outcast.
“And I can’t do anything!” she had said, gripping Carolyn’s hand as emergency personnel lifted Carolyn into the ambulance. “I don’t want to help a devil… but I also don’t want to help Lucian find Coraci. Lucian has always treated him as a research subject. Now, even more… He says everything in the Blackmoon family is for research, for knowledge. But if that’s the case, what makes us different from the Arcane Covenant?”
John knew how conflicted she felt. He wanted to protect Coraci even more — and didn’t care what Coraci was.
Coraci leaned weakly against John’s neck and murmured, “It’s okay… I’ll let them kill me…”
“What?” John tensed his whole body.
“I’m very dangerous,” Coraci said. “They won’t keep me locked up for too long. I have a way to make them choose to kill me directly.”
“What does that mean?! You don’t need to think like that — you’ve regained control of yourself. You haven’t completely become a devil…”
Coraci gave a bitter smile. “The Association’s decision is correct. If I were an observer, I’d agree — don’t take away life lightly, but conduct careful study and observation, restrict freedom… But if it’s me, I obviously don’t want to live forever as a prisoner or test subject. So when I can’t bear it anymore, I’ll do something that forces them to execute me.”
John was completely thunderstruck by those words. He didn’t answer, silent as if he’d lost the ability to speak.
Suddenly, he grabbed Coraci’s hair hard and pulled it back. Coraci didn’t resist — he hadn’t even realized what was happening.
Fangs pierced Coraci’s neck. The bloodkin’s unique abilities nullified the pain, leaving the body weak yet relaxed in a tingling euphoria, almost wishing the fangs would stay longer.
Images from Coraci’s memories streamed into John’s mind again. This time it was different — Coraci had fully remembered everything. These were overwhelming memories for him as a human, as someone living a human life.
Now they were clearer, more coherent. John could sense every detail as if he were experiencing it firsthand.
The young bloodkin held Coraci’s nape with one hand, his waist with the other. Tears fell uncontrollably, dampening Coraci’s neck.
When John lifted his head, he pressed a kiss onto the tiny, rapidly healing wound. Coraci hadn’t yet emerged from the dazed trance of the bond, leaning against John’s arm, staring motionless at him.
John kissed Coraci’s lips lightly, then whispered clearly into his ear, “Don’t go back. Stay away from the Association and the Blackmoon family. Live on.”
Coraci’s body shivered. For the first time, he clearly felt the effect of the bond — he still wanted to say, “I should go back,” but a stronger force deep inside gripped his will and dictated his decisions. Even though he remembered his own judgment, he couldn’t defy it.
“Protect yourself. Don’t lose control, and don’t let them find you,” John added.
Coraci forced a faint smile. “I… I can’t guarantee I won’t lose control. That’s not something I can decide.”
The bond could bind a Coraci who retains his human consciousness, but it could not restrain the devil’s instinct.
“I know. That’s why you must try your hardest.” John kissed his forehead.
John understood what Coraci had once said: More than your feelings, I care about your safety. Even if it went against Coraci’s wishes, John wanted to command him to survive.
Even if Coraci had to vanish from his sight forever. Even if, in his long bloodkin life, Coraci might never exist near him again.
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