"What? No!" The elf exclaimed, not able to hide the look of surprise on his face.
What was the demon talking about, coming with them? Was he completely bonkers?
He redeemed himself rather quickly, sharp eyes immediately glaring at Taehyung.
"No way in hell are you coming with us!"
Eunha too was very shocked.
What was his plan and why did he want to tag along. It couldn't be because he felt like doing a good deed. He was a demon for god's sake.
"There are no ways in hell. Just black fields of mud and other reeking chemicals." Taehyung stated calmly, glancing at Jimin's face with a bored expression, before insisting,
"And I'm coming with you two idiots."
Jimin seemed very offended by the word idiot. Eunha on the other hand didn't mind being called that, but the fact that the demon had put her under the same label as Jimin, didn't please her at all. She was clearly less of an idiot than elf-boy.
"Why do you want to tag along so badly?" Eunha questioned suspiciously.
"You two seem to attract a lot of trouble. Trouble brings things as fear, death, and negativity. That means amusement for me." The demon looked at his nails, checking for any dirt underneath, before smirking at the short girl.
"You're lying, that's not the actual reason. I'm an elf remember, being manipulative and not speaking the truth is in my nature. I can see right through you, birdy." Jimin stated, stepping closer to Eunha in doubt. He didn't trust the creature in front of them, he could never tell what his next move would be and that annoyed him.
Taehyung's smirk dropped for a split second, but it was there again before they could blink.
"Since your fighting skills are rubbish, I thought you wouldn't be able to tell if I lied or not. You know, since talent in fighting and archery is also a thing in elves' nature." The demon tilted his head to the side and mockingly smiled at Jimin.
Jimin stayed motionless, still glaring at the creature in front of him, and spoke in a cold voice, "What are you up to, demon? What do you want? I can see the way you look at her. She mesmerizes you."
"Mesmerize is a strong word, even though she is in fact very pretty," Taehyung glanced at the furiously blushing Eunha. "Cute." He stated smiling at her, amused by her reaction.
Jimin stepped in front of her so that his body was now shielding the petite girl from Taehyung's vision completely. This also forced the demon to focus on the elf again.
"You are right, scaredy-cat. She is quite intriguing. There is something different about her that I can't put my finger on. Something tells me that I shouldn't let this feeling go so easily. Call it instincts or mere curiosity. Till I find out what is so alluring about her, I will come with you for protection reasons." He made eye-contact with Eunha, who had popped her head out from behind Jimin to look at the demon.
"We don't need you for protection." Jimin sounded cold as he stepped closer to the male in front of him.
Taehyung blinked, stared back at the two with a blank face.
"I feel very welcomed." He mumbled to himself before clearing his throat.
"Then who is going to protect her if something happens? You, scaredy-cat? And by the way, I know someone who can actually help you find your mother. You said earlier that you needed help right?"
"You know how to find my mother?" Eunha asked, interested in the demon's statement.
Jimin looked at her in surprise. Was she actually that stupid as to believe that bird-like creature?
The elf turned his body towards the girl, "Don't believe him, bunny. We don't need him. I will protect you, even though you can be a bit of a drag, I owe it to you. I will help you find your mother."
The girl frowned, "Jimin, I-"
As the two were talking, they hadn't noticed the demon's face turn into a scowl of anger.
Before they knew what happened, the demon dashed forward, his slender hand curling around Eunha's throat. The surprised girl couldn't even blink when she was suddenly thrown through the air, a loud sound erupting through the forest the moment her back hit the trunk of a tree, though the crash left her with no pain.
None at all, in fact, she felt like she was still standing in the field.
In the place where Taehyung's hand had grabbed the girl's throat, there was now a replica made out of shadows. Eunha could still breath, the only thing the hand did was keep her against the tree. It appeared no matter how much she struggled, she was trapped in place.
"You keep repeating how you will protect her, little elf. So show me, prove to me that you are capable of saving her." Taehyung's voice had changed. The mocking tone making place for a darker, more serious one.
Jimin looked at the scene with big eyes. "What are you doing?"
Taehyung did nothing more but smirk at Jimin's question.
"Let her go, birdy! We've got no time for your stupid games!"
"I'll give you five minutes to defeat me. Every minute that passes means less breath for the princess."
Jimin glanced at Eunha who let out a soft whimper as the hand around her throat tightened its grip in warning.
He let out annoyed huff of air, focusing his eyes on Taehyung again.
The demon send him one last grin as he spread his wings, a thunder-like sound filling the air as he did so. He pushed his body from the ground with his feet, wings carrying his body as he slowly ascended to the sky.
His face became more sinister as shadows crawled around his body, forming two huge balls of what looked like smoke and black electricity in he hands.
Before Jimin could move even a bit, Taehyung appeared in front of him, sending his body flying through the air as the shadows hit the elf.
Time to recover he did not have as the demon appeared in front of him immediately again. Taehyung gripped his opponent's head between his hands and stared deep into his eyes, "Let's see, how we can make this even more fun." He muttered the threat darkly, chills rushing through both Eunha's and Jimin's body at the demonic tone.
Jimin tried to avoid the demon's eyes, but it was no use. He could feel himself get hypnotized.
"Afraid of butterflies, seen that before. Afraid of heights? Understandable with your height. Too boring.. What more is there?" Taehyung's voice sounded mocking as he leaned closer to the boy, a hunger for all his darkest secrets and fears possessing him.
"Feeling like a failure, hm. Even though you try your best, even though your father is the legendary elf everyone's heard of. Even though your younger brother is the best in his class, you are nothing but a disappointment to your family, to your kind. Being the oldest son you should've been the successor of the family, but no matter how hard you try, how hard your father beats you, how much you get scolded. You will always be a failure."
Jimin lets out a whimper as all the painful memories were forced into his mind. He struggled to break out of the hypnosis, but it was no use. He was stuck in trance and had no choice but to relive the most haunting moments of his life.
Eunha saw the scene in front of her. Jimin did not look scared, he seemed to be in pain. Mental and emotional pain.
One single droplet of sweat rolled down the side of his in agony scrunched up face. His chest moved up and down heavily as he struggled to breath properly, trying to endure whatever he was going through.
I have to help him.
"Hey birdy! One minute has passed, shouldn't this thing be tightening?!"
It might not have been the smartest thing to shout, and Eunha did not recognize herself in the provoking comment at all as she normally wouldn't have dared to yell such thing, but in order to break the hypnosis she knew she needed to distract the demon. She figured shouting something unexpected would work better than to just scream for him to stop.
It took less than a second for Taehyung to turn around, eyebrows frowning at the small girl trapped against the tree.
Jimin fell to his knees, hands clutching the ground as he desperately tried to fill his lungs with air. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he tried to calm down.
Taehyung stepped closer to Eunha, his dark eyes searching her face, seemingly looking for an answer to his unasked question.
Once in front of her, the demon raised his hand in the air like he was going to slap her.
Confusingly, his serious, yet agitated expression turned into one of amusement as he let out a loud laugh.
"You are one strange human girly, aren't you?"
Was he bipolar or something? And why was he calling her girly? She was eighteen for Pete's sake.
If anything he was the strange one.
As soon as he had started laughing, he stopped.
"If you really want it that bad, princess, I will gladly make it happen." He whispered in a raspy voice, eyes glistening dangerously as his intimidating side visited again.
Eunha could feel herself unwillingly fall into submission by the dominance he displayed. She tried not to look away from his eyes as to keep some sort of power over herself, though she was sure she looked like a deer in headlights.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as the sound of her rapid beating heart filled his ears like music.
The demon snapped his fingers, the shadow-hand around Eunha's throat tightening.
Yep, definitely not a smart idea.
Jimin, who noticed the demon's distraction, decided this was his chance. He quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for a weapon.
If he wanted to defeat this monster, he needed his bow and arrows but he had dropped those when the demon had send him flying through the air. They were lying on the other side of the field.
Jimin's eyes then fell upon a stone lying close enough for him to grab it. Maybe that would buy him enough time to get his archery weapons.
He crawled forwards, gripping the stone tightly in his right hand when he reached it. He had one chance.
The boy took a deep breath, focusing on his target, before throwing the solid thing at the demon's head.
Taehyung, who had been staring at Eunha in amusement, got caught by surprise. The sudden impact of the stone in his back made him lose balance and fall against the girl. With his hand he caught himself right before his face hit the tree.
Eunha could feel the hot breath of the demon on her face the second time that day. He stood so close that his body was leaning against hers; she was sandwiched between the demon and the tree, though she was not sure which side she disliked most.
Eunha tried to look at Jimin over Taehyung's shoulder, but couldn't as she was too short; her face was almost pressed against his chest.
Taehyung pushed himself away from the tree slowly, taking his time to observe the girl's face from up close. She was beautiful, but looked nervous.
Another thing he fed on, nerves.
He smirked as he felt himself grow stronger from her emotions .
He slowly leaned in, moving towards her ear as late as possible just to make her think he was going to kiss her.
"Thank you, little dove. It makes me stronger, your discomfort."
His lips brushed against Eunha's ear. Tingles spread through the girl's body and goosebumps appeared. Her neck and ears have always been sensitive, but the demon's actions seemed to multiply that.
Taehyung backed away, turning around to look at Jimin.
To his surprise, the elf-boy had been able to grab his bow in the little while he was distracted.
Looking at his small hands that grabbed the bow tightly made his stance ten times less terrifying. Yes, he was aiming an arrow at the demon's face, and yes, Jimin's facial expression was one filled with determination, but his trembling arms, the nervous licking of his lips, the slight twitching of his eyebrows didn't go unnoticed; fear radiated from the boy and could be felt from miles away. He had absolutely no clue what he was doing, and that amused the demon.
Taehyung opened his arms and turned his body completely towards the shorter boy. A smirk decorated his face as he enlarged the target for the pointy arrows, "I'll give you a chance. Shoot! Let's see if you can hit me when standing still."
This confused Jimin, was it another trick. What would happen if he let go of the string and catapulted the sharp arrow in the air, leaving it to its own journey. Or maybe nothing would happen. Maybe this was a distraction. Whatever he was trying, it was working. Jimin was confused.
Deciding that it would be better to put his pride aside and shoot his arrow at the demon, he did just that. He took a deep breath, remembering the many lesson's he had taken in the past and shot at his target.
The arrow flew through the air, going straight for the demon's throat.
When the light reflecting arrow inched closer to the demon, the butterflies made of shadow did as well. Half of them sat on the arrow, the other half flew in opposite direction.
What exactly happened, Jimin did not know as everything went way faster than it seemed, but when he blinked the arrow had disappeared.
Taehyung smirked. "How sad. I gave you such a big advantage, yet you still didn't make it. You know, I have come to a point where I do not know if I should applaud your stupidity, or feel bad for you. Nothing ever works out, does it, scaredy-cat?"
Where did the arrow go?
Jimin looked around him, trying to process what just happened.
"The butterflies, Jimin! They are made of shadow remember! When you shot that arrow, they followed the reflection of the sunlight!" Eunha shouted, ignoring the hand around her throat that had tightened its grip as another minute had passed.
Taehyung turned around and glanced at the girl. "You're quite smart, princess. If I were you, however, I would spare your breath. You know, since you only got little left."
Eunha ignored the demon, "Remember that the shadows he produces are made from his own energy! You should- aarrghk!"
Her sentence got cut off by the tightening hand squeezing her throat.
Taehyung mockingly looked at the imaginary watch on his wrist, "Oh, would you look at the time! Another minute passed. I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose. You know, if you want her dead you can just ask me."
Jimin felt his body fill with frustration yet again. He pushed it away and tried to concentrate on what Eunha had said. The butterflies were made of shadow. They followed the light that reflected from his arrows. The shadows were made of his energy. He could simply try and drain the demon from energy.
Not sure of his newly made up strategy, he glanced at Eunha in concern. He had to try something.
Grabbing his arrows, he shot three of them in different directions. As expected, the butterflies followed the light reflecting through the forest.
"What are you trying, scaredy-cat? If you're aiming for me, then I have to say that I understand why your father is ashamed of you."
Normally such statement would have put Jimin off, but this time it didn't. He noticed how Taehyung had started panting. His strategy was affecting him, maybe even more than he let on.
Grabbing three more arrows, the elf shot them in opposite directions of one another. Again the butterflies split up and flew after the shimmery things, eager to consume the light.
Realizing he only had two arrows left, the boy decided to shoot one more. This time he aimed for the demon's throat.
As the butterflies flew towards the arrow in front of Taehyung, masking his sight in process, Jimin ran towards Eunha's bag. Quickly, he opened up the front pocket and grabbed the two familiar stones in his hands.
"I get what you're trying to do, but you do not have enough arrows for that. You won't be able to drain my energy with that, and last time I checked stones didn't reflect light. Why don't you just give up? Princess over here is dying." Taehyung pointed behind him. Jimin looked at Eunha and saw that her face was bright red. She was coughing, gasping for air. He panicked.
Eunha looked at the two in confusion. Why was Jimin so concerned, and why did the demon tell him she was dying? She felt like she could breathe just fine, maybe even easier than before. Shouldn't the hand be tightening?
"The clock is ticking, scaredy-cat. You've got less than one minute left."
"No." Jimin mumbled. He let out a deep breath, before focusing on the stones in his hands.
The demon was right, stones didn't reflect light. These, however, weren't normal stones.
They were firestones.
With as much strength as possible, the boy scraped the stones against each other in a hitting motion. The movement was strong enough for a big spark to jump off, but the grass of the dry field didn't catch fire.
Taehyung looked at the boy in surprise; he had never seen those kind of stones. As he saw Jimin try it again, he decided to stop the act before the boy would accidentally set the whole forest on fire.
With one swift movement, he jumped towards the boy and kicked the stones out of his hands. Then he put his feet on Jimin's chest and pushed him to the ground, keeping him there.
"Hm. You've improved since last time, scaredy-cat. Not bad. Though Eunha would've died by now, the five minutes are up."
Jimin looked up at the smirking demon in disbelieve. "What do you mean would have!? She is dead!"
He glanced at the girl he had been trying to protect. Her body hanging limp against the tree, her face completely blue.
Taehyung looked at the girl in surprise before realizing something, "Oh right, woops, let's lift that illusion."
He snapped his fingers, the shadows disappearing from the field.
Jimin blinked his eyes in confusion, it was as if a blindfold had been taken off of his head. A blindfold he hadn't even noticed was put on him in first place.
He looked at Eunha who stood against the tree perfectly fine. "What?"
"I already told you this was a test for me to see if you would be able to safe her. You obviously failed that test."
Eunha slowly walked towards Jimin and Taehyung.
"Why didn't you hurt her?" Jimin asked in confusion.
Taehyung who took his foot off Jimin's chest, rolled his eyes. "Why would I hurt her if I want to tag along on your journey? Does that make any sense to you? Nope, it was all your mind playing tricks on you." The demon shrugged before showing of his charming grin.
Eunha who was just as confused as Jimin, walked to his side and helped him on his feet.
Even though he tried really hard to safe her, which she really appreciated, especially as he had done such a good job, the demon had made his point. The two of them wouldn't be able to do this alone. If they wanted to face the one behind the bird-sign, they would need someone more powerful.
The demon snapped his fingers another time and the butterflies reappeared. In less than three seconds they brought back all of Jimin's arrows, then the field returned to its normal state.
"I think that was enough proof, wasn't it?" Taehyung smiled at the two almost cutely, "Now, that was a fun game, I had a lovely time, but I believe we have a mother to safe. Let's go shall we?"