The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 130: By His Side Once More

He didn't hold back until they dropped dead at his feet. They seriously underestimated him. He wasn't called the Thunder Beast of Kouka for no reason but these guys clearly didn't get the memo.

It was embarrassing how easily they were defeated, he was almost miffed.

These guys were the ones who enforced the ways of the underground? It was a wonder how things lasted as long as they did. They were pathetically weak.

Snorting in disdain, he kicked their bodies for good measure before taking after where Kija's white hood had disappeared from view.

The others made their getaway while he bought them some time, Yona casting a worried glance over her shoulder every now and then to see if he had caught up to them yet. She didn't want to admit it but the pure fury in his eyes matched her own simmering inside. If she was stronger, she would've stayed behind with him and fought alongside him.

I will get there.

Shin-ah's creased brow didn't disappear and somehow seemed to furrow even deeper the longer they ran. The girl in his arms was limp and he would have feared the worst if it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of her chest.

He thought he was too late when he saw her in the arena. But then she called out his name and they had made it just in the nick of time.

He had promised to be there no matter what.

The group sped out of the wretched place and no one was the wiser. They didn't stop until they reached safety.

The place Yoon had picked out ahead of time was nearly impossible to reach by foot. It was a hollowed out cave on the side of a forestry hill overlooking miles of dense trees, about a day's walk from either of the Water Tribe and Fire Tribe lands.

He never would've seen it if not for Shin-ah's enhanced eyesight and they never would have made it up there to check it out if Jae-ha didn't have the ability to jump.

One by one, he took each one of them up, taking the severely wounded fighter first.

Shin-ah didn't want to let her go but he trusted him. The green dragon handled her with a tenderness that rivaled his own and brought her up safely before coming down for the rest of them. By the time he was nearly finished, Hak arrived just in time.

Out of breath and dragon leg straining, Jae-ha gritted his teeth with the effort to keep quiet.

It didn't escape Yona's notice though and she ran over to him, holding a hand to his forehead to check his temperature.

"Jae-ha, you're burning up!!" She exclaimed, then spotted the crimson soaking through the shoulder of his robe. "You're hurt?!"

He sighed tiredly as she begged Kija to come and help her.

It turned out to be unnecessary as the white dragon was already fretting over his dragon brother. He almost doused him in all the water they had stored here beforehand but Hak plucked it from his grasp.

"You really are getting old." Hak stated flatly, unamused and unimpressed as he pinched the elder's cheek.

Jae-ha chuckled but it turned into a grimace as the unforgiving ex-general pressed down on his injury to stop the bleeding. "That's not nice to say."

Shin-ah set Calista gently down on the ground further inside the cave and she sighed, stirring slightly at the feel of cold stone beneath her. It made her whimper, her subconscious alerting her that she was in an area where she wasn't safe even though she was.

Yona's bottom lip was caught between her teeth as she took in the state of her friend. She was in bad shape when they first caught sight of her out of sheer luck once Shin-ah caught a glimpse through the masses but now she was even worse.