(Y/N)' pov:
It has been two days after that training session. I was back to normal soon enough for me to continue my training. But Yuta kept apologizing very frequently and that made me confused. Later I got to know from Taeil that he felt sorry for having pressurised me in my training. What's wrong with Cold Dog.
Today we were gathered in the main hall as Taeyong wanted to discuss few strategies which would be useful in the battlefield. "Everyone here?" Taeyong asked while flipping through few files in his hands.
"Alex is yet to arrive" said Elena who was sitting beside Ray. But Ray was busy chatting with Jaemin, and for the first time in many days I saw her genuinely smile.
I saw Yuta and Taeyong talking about something while pointing at me. Soon after Yuta came and took a seat beside me. Out of curiosity I asked him. "What's wrong?"
"Taeyong asked about your progress as your reports weren't with him." he said, making himself comfortable. He looked at my confused face and continued. "It's with the Chief. He wanted to check it."
I nodded slightly but that made my curiosity grow even more. Why were only my reports being checked? Why is only my body not able to handle the pressure I exert for using my powers? And that day the Chief and the old man left without providing proper information. It was all related and it had something to do...... with me.
Third person's pov:
Alex was making his way towards the main hall with a cup of coffee in his hands. He happened to pass the office, where the door was partly open. He peeked inside to find two figures talking to each other. But they were unaware of his presence.
"She has good progress. Unlike the previous ones." said a tall, bald man who was standing near the table and checking some files.
The other man present in the room just nodded. "We should have told them the truth on that day." he said while playing with a pen.
"I didn't want them to know. Especially (Y/N). They would lose hope." the tall man was now making his way towards a chair to sit.
"Telling them half of the truth makes no sense. They will be outraged when they get to know it later." said the other man heaving a big sigh. "We need to let them know it sooner."
With just their voices Alex was able to identify the two men as he ran towards the main hall to spill the information he had gathered. The noice of his footsteps made the two men realise that someone was listening to their conversation.
(Y/N)' pov:
I was lost in my thoughts when I heard the door slam open. Everyone turned their heads towards the person only to find Alex panting. He had his hands placed on his knees for support as he spoke with heavy breaths.
"The Chief and that Senex are hiding something important. I overheard their conversation."
Taeyong looked displeased as he had few plans to discuss. But everyone had their focus on Alex. "We shouldn't have believed them—" he was cut off by an old weary voice.
"It's alright son. We'll let you know what we are hiding." the old man, Mr. X was now walking in our direction after patting Alex on the back and earning a confused look from him.
"I'm not listening to his lies anymore. I'm leaving." Yuta told me and proceeded to leave. I caught his arm just in time to stop him. He turned to look at me, the cold expression forming on his face. "You know it too that there is something that is not adding up to our suspicion. He might be the one to clear it." I said and pulled him back. He did so reluctantly.
The old man grabbed a chair and settled down. "I know that most of you will not trust me." he said looking at Yuta. "But please be patient. I wanted you all to know it sooner, but your Chief insisted that it should remain a secret."
"Just spill it already." said Ray and she looked quite pissed off, just like Yuta. I noticed she was now seated away from Jaemin. The old man literally took turns to look at all the faces present in the hall. He then sighed and looked over to the Chief as if he was asking him permission. I saw the Chief give a slight nod hesitantly before the old man continued.
"It's not just you both." said the old man looking at me and Yuta. "There have been Yokais who existed in the past."
Gasps were heard all around the room. Why was no one able to defeat the queen then? Few had already started questioning. "How many?" asked Xiaojun who came to the front to hear the answer.
"6 pairs. But they are no more." There was a slight hint of disappointment in the old man's voice. He was looking down at his wrinkled hands. The Chief stood at the corner of the hall but never spoke up.
"How do you know?" It was Johnny who questioned but he didn't have to come forward. His height was enough for him to look over the few people standing in front.
The old man finally looked up and continued. "I have lived long enough to see all of them. The reason I didn't reveal my identity was because I have been living for over 200 years now." he said. My eyes widened at the information. No wonder he looked so old that he would die the next day. "I have the power of Immortality. The only Ronen who is known to possess this power is me."
"Does that mean you were among the first Ronens? Along with the first pair of Yokais?" Taeyong asked, looking quite interested.
"Yes. And I have lived to see the death of other Yokais too." the old man said and that sent shivers down my spine.
"Why weren't the other Yokais able to defeat the queen?" I asked him eagerly.
"Because it's almost impossible. As I said before, the Yokais need to be smarter and stronger. Both those qualities weren't present in them." said the old man.
"Elaborate!" Yuta almost shouted at the old man making me flinch. The old man sighed.
"Among the 6 pairs, five of them had to face defeat because of the female Yokai. Because she wasn't strong enough to use her powers. The other pair was almost close to winning the battle but due to the male Yokai, they didn't." The old man now looked directly at me." I'm sorry." he said. I raised an eyebrow at him. Why does he feel sorry?
"All these years, the only thing I'm sure of is that.... the female Yokai has to die at the end. No matter what, her end is decided and it can't be changed. As per my knowledge, there are great chances of the Ronens and male Yokai surviving after the female Yokai dies, but that is possible only if the female Yokai is strong enough to defeat the queen. If the queen dies, the female Yokai will die too." he said, sadness laced in his voice. Everyone in the room were now looking at me. I just sat there still, unable to move or process anything in my mind.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Yuta was beyond angry as he stood up from his seat. Winwin placed his hand on Yuta's shoulder and made him sit down again.
"Why?" was all I could ask at that moment.
"The reason why you constantly end up at the infirmary is because you are not made strong enough to use your powers. It's the same for all the female Yokais. Few female Yokais faced death even before confronting the queen, by just using their power beyond the limit. And if the female Yokai dies, there is no way the male Yokai could fight off the queen alone. This led to the destruction of the whole superhuman squad. We are trying to search for someone capable to defeat her. This is the actual reason why you are all gathered here."
By now the Chief had come near us with a sad expression on his face. I realized everyone looked at me with pitiful eyes. Should I die at the end?
"You said only 5 pairs faced defeat due to the female Yokai, what about the sixth pair?What did the male Yokai do?" Winwin asked.
It was the Chief who spoke up this time. "Even we don't know the real reason why they were defeated. But it was due to the male Yokai for sure. The female Yokai was different. Because unlike the other female Yokais, she was strong. She almost endured all the pain till the end."
The Chief now looked at me." You seem like her too. Your progress is really great. You can make it till the end, I suppose." I gave him a slight nod although I wasn't able to understand few things." And Yuta, make sure not to repeat the same mistake as that male Yokai, although we don't know what it is." The Chief's words were full of hope.
"How do you know when the battle will take place?" YangYang asked.
"I get visions" the old man said. "I'll let you know when it will take place. But remember, there will be three wars in total. And as much as I remember, the Queen shows up at the last war only. She probably waits for the female Yokai to die while using her powers to fight the Creeks in the first two battles. Once she knows that she has a strong and competitive opponent, she steps out at the battlefield."
"Where's the battlefield?" asked Kun who was sitting beside Taeyong.
"The forest" said the Chief, his eyes not ready to meet ours.
"What?" we all asked in unison. I turned to look at Stacy, standing there dumbstruck. "B-But there are wolves." she said.
"You should have thought that before entering the forest" mumbled Alex who was behind me. We all remained silent for few minutes. Few were looking at me, but I was lost in my own thoughts.
"I didn't want you to lose hope this soon, that's why I thought to keep it a secret" said the Chief.
"We are not losing hope. We'll do our best to win the battle." said Taeyong, cheering up the mood.
The Chief and the old man smiled. "Now disperse! Off to training grounds. We never know how soon the battle can take place." said the Chief and he left along with the old man.
Students looked energetic now and few has started rushing out of the main hall. I looked over to see Alex and Elena walking out too with Ray following them behind. But she was stopped as a hand caught her wrist. She turned around to look at Jaemin, and immediately yanked her hand away from his. "I told you not to touch me." she shouted at the boy, her face showing the anger and stormed off the hall. Did they fight?
But I was too much immersed in my thoughts that I didn't care about it. "Yuta, can I take a day off?" I asked Yuta who was still standing beside me.
"Sure" he said while looking at me. "Are you alright?" he asked after few seconds and I nodded at him.
The female Yokai has to die at the end. I couldn't help but think about what the old man had said. After reaching my dorm, I layed on my bed, contemplating my thoughts.
I have to die at the end.
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(A/N)'s note:
Sorry if these chapters are too long, confusing and boring.
It would probably make sense in the upcoming chapters.
Thanks for reading!!