After Dark || vmin

chapter 21: madness

AN: the end of this chapter includes explicit descriptions of violence and death, read at your own risk.

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it feels like hours ever since taehyung has started running, but he can't stop. he needs to get away as far as physically possible from the , from the king - the man who put him on death row - and most importantly from jimin, the one who seduced him with his charms to get him into prison again.

he runs and runs until he's out of breath. only then it's that he stops to fill his lungs with much needed air. he takes deep deep breaths in and out and for the first time ever since he left the castle he looks around, trying to take in his surroundings.

at first glace everything is dark, but once his eyes get used to the moonlight and his senses sharpen, he can make out he's somewhere in the middle of a field. barely any houses, besides farm houses, are around him and he has a hard time finding a sense of orientation.

he's never been here before, or at least it feels like it. he couldn't care less though and makes his way over to one of the few houses which is still lit up, besides it being in the middle of the night.

taehyung tries to think of what to do next, thinks about having to hide again, or maybe just stop giving a fuck and-

he flinches when the door of the house opens in the distance and someone calls for him.

"hey! hey are you okay? come inside!"

taehyung doesn't even think twice, checking for his dagger and realizes they must have taken it in the prison, but then he sighs and makes his way over. they surely will have some kind of weapon inside the house, in case he needs it.

once he arrives at the door step, he spots a man in his fourties. he looks rough from farm work and in some twisted kind of way he reminds taehyung of his father. his hands are rough and his skin is tanned from spending all day outside. his eyes are warm and welcoming, where taehyung's lack the friendly sparkle in then.

the man sighs and looks at the older one. he's smaller than him, but looks strong enough. strong enough for what, taehyung isn't quite sure of, but he ignores his thoughts.

"what are you doing outside so late at night? don't you know of the black blooded one? he might be out there", the older warns him and ushers him to get inside the house. immediately taehyung spots an array of many many knives hanging on the wall. he must be a butcher, he thinks and the darkness inside him makes him grin at the sight.

"oh don't worry, i know how to defend myself", he answers quickly and has to keep his eyes from flashing black at the irony. "i've been trained ever since i was a child, lately i've even received training under the king's knights." the fact that none of them were able to defeat him, he lets out.

the stranger sighs, sounding reassured he says "i'm glad to hear. it would be a shame for such a handsome young man to die at the hands of such a cold blooded killer."

taehyung nods and once again eyes the wall of knives behind the older man.
this time he can't keep the huge grin down and jumps on the kitchen counter without much effort. his head almost touches the ceiling but he couldn't care less, when he reaches out for one of the knives.
"i like your collection", he says while carelessly playing around with the one he picked.

the man comes closer and looks at him, a little weirded out. taehyung expertly ignores him and points the knife in the man's direction.
"do you have any more? i lost my trusty dagger somewhere on the way here and i'd love to have a new one."

his eyes flash black but thanks to it being dark, the other man doesn't notice, while he still eyes taehyung sceptically.

"uh, sure. i have some daggers upstairs, if you follow me i can show you. maybe there is one for you there as well."

taehyung's grin turns into a smirk and he follows the man upstairs, jumping down from the counter.

"you just have to be quiet, my wife and children are already asleep, it's a wonder i'm still awake, but something felt off tonight", the stranger whispers and taehyung walks behind him and nods, not really interested in his story.

once they reach their destinated room, the older man opens a box and shows it to taehyung.

the smirk on his face is back when he sees the daggers in there, shining in the moonlight. he carelessly reaches inside and takes one in his hand. it feels good, has a nice weight to it while not being too heavy and he quickly stabs the air with it. perfect, even better than the one he had before.

the man smiles at taehyung and closes the box again. "so i'm guessing you're happy with your choice?", he asks. the young man nods and takes a step closer to the man. "thank you very much, i must say i've never been met with so much hospitality. so i think i'm going to be kind tonight. i'll make it quick."

without a further warning he jumps the man and cuts his throat with the newly gifted dagger. it cuts the skin so very smoothly, it feels like he's cutting through butter rather than through skin and his eyes are dark like the night sky, the veins on his arms are popping out dark, a stark contrast against his pale skin.

the darkness inside him feasts on the gurgling noises the man makes as he tries to speak his lasts words and the blood that splashes everywhere is light red. he just killed an innocent man. he has never felt this amazing before.

quickly he makes his way over to where the man's wife sleeps and wakes her up, by cutting off her hand. she screams, it's way too loud for taehyung's sensitive ears so he quickly bunches up the blanket covering her and shoves it in her mouth.

"be quiet. the louder you are the longer this will take... and i am sure you don't want your child to see you like this?", he informs her and his grin looks so unnaturally wide, it scares the woman even more, making her whimper.

taehyung sighs and swings the dagger back, before he punctures her eye with it, turning the blade inside the socket to make sure she knows he's serious. from there he pulls the dagger down through the skin of her cheek and even further down to her throat, where he pulls out and looks at her.

more, the darkness whispers and taehyung complies.
he rips off her other arm and watches the blood splash everywhere, coating the wall of the room and he smiles. he stabs her stomach a few times just to make sure he got all the vital organs and happily watches her bleed out.

suddenly he hears tiny footsteps behind him.

"mother?", a small, tired voice asks.

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AN: last chapter before my hiatus. i'll try not to take too long <3