Jongho kept on running until he was able to arrive on the middle of the town, the young male mentally cursed when he realized that he attracted a lot of blackened ones and now, he’s cornered. But this is all according to his own plan and he’ll be the decoy to destroy lots of them.
“You cannot kill me.” Jongho assured as he looked at Jeongha which was glaring at him for causing a lot of injuries to his powerful body.
“How cocky of you to think about that!” Jeongha exclaims before aiming his weapon towards Jongho.
“Squash your friends with that!”
With an invisible force, a bunch of blackened ones were thrown towards Jongho’s direction as he immediately dodged the incoming attack that hit the blackened ones instead of him. Jeongha lets out a frustrated scream before leaving his weapon and running towards Jongho which was keeping his grip on his lance.
“You could not kill me. There’s only a certain bunch of people that can perish me,” Jongho states as he gasped when Jeongha managed to hit his left shoulder with his fist, sending his a few meters away as his head collided with the ground.
“I’ll squash you to death, mortal!”
“Do as you please.”
“Why do you sound so confident despite me already causing your shoulder to be discolated already?!” the blackened one huffed as he try to understand why the mortal in front of him still kept a mindset like that despite his shoulder bent in an awkward angle, his expression shows pain too.
“It’s just a dislocated shoulder that I can fix.” Jongho's lance disappeared for a while before he held his own shoulder and as a piercing scream from him was heard along with the cracking of bones, he manages to fix his own shoulder yet it still went limp “I can still use my other one. It will recover soon enough.”
“Monsters.”
“It takes one to know one,” Jongho replies as he lets out an amused laugh, “We’re nothing but a bunch of pitiful creatures but your kind is definitely the worst.”
“Take that back, mortal.” Jongho’s words seem to agitate the buffed man which clenched his fists, “Our kind is blessed by Monsieur himself! Mortals like you doesn’t know a thing or two about that!”
“Monsieur is just using all of you to get himself out. Your kind is the one that made everything worst, causing Seonghwa-hyung and Yeosang-hyung to be cursed for eternity. While your pitiful kind doesn’t know how to move on and accept that what you’re doing is nothing but bullshit.” A bunch of energy spheres appeared around Jongho as some of it was directed towards the area where the other blackened ones are as they attempt to help one of their powerful villager.
“You’re not just insulting our kind but also our God! You’ll experience the taste of hell for that!” The blackened one held a car using his one hand as he throws it towards Jongho.
“Are you forgetting that I’m at an advantage here?” Jongho asks amusingly before throwing an energy sphere towards the vehicle that exploded, causing the blackened ones to stay backwards on the sight of the angry red flames, “If Monsieur could've blessed you then you should be at an advantage in this battle, where’s your beloved God now?”
Jeongha couldn’t help but clench his jaw on how arrogant the mortal in front of him is, “We weren’t granted with the ultimate blessing from him yet! Once that the Eve is offered to him, he will give us the blessing that we deserve! We’ll be able to make our village again and turn in into Eden!”
“You meant Hell with that,” Jongho remarked, “Well, I can make it for all of you. You wanted to turn this place into hell? Then witness how I burn it into ashes along with all of you!”
“Our Eden isn’t like that!” Jeongha blurted out as he grabbed his weapon and threw the end of it towards Jongho’s direction.
Jeongha isn’t expecting the mortal to let himself get hit but when it hits Jongho, he lets out a pained cry as his lance dispersed into light. The blackened one is sure that Jongho coughed out blood and a few ribs were probably broken because of the impact yet the male stood still as it held the chain of his weapon with his right hand, shaking due to the injury that he got.
He was about to pull his weapon but Jongho was quick enough, chanting something in a foreign language as markings appeared in his choice of weapon and it even appeared around his body, making him let go of his weapon and tried to claw the markings in his own pale skin as Jongho kept on chanting, blood dripping from his lips as tears as red as blood were flowing from the corner of his eyes.
“Without the light, I am weak. So with the gods of the sun, I speak..” Jongho chanted as he felt his own body reaching his limit before the blackened one’s weapon dispersed into light.
The ground below him started to glow and spreads towards the entire area until it surrounded half of the town before the temperature rises as every single blackened one started to panic on the sudden turn of events. They expected to outnumber the young male yet they didn’t expected him to be blessed by a different kind of God.
“And here as I let out my power, I’ll make sure to make these pitiful sinners cower.” Flames couted in yellow and gold suddenly appeared on the entire area, engulfing every single buildings and creatures on the area affected in the aesthetically pleasing flames, “And burn with the flames of the phoenix as their souls disappear, never to be revived again!”
“What?!” Jeongha exclaims as he tried to get out of the flames yet everything is on fire, there’s no escape.
“If I’ll die here then I’m taking most of you with me,” Jongho muttered as he coughed out more blood, “Using too much of my power takes away my life force and I just did it now. And besides, no one would be able to kill a sin representative unless they’re one of us.”
“So you’re killing yourself for this?! How preposterous!”
Jongho grinned, “There are people out there worth dying for. You, of all people, should know that. Martha, right?”
With the mention of his beloved's name, Jeongha flinched “S-Stop acting like you understand us! If you understand us then you’re willing to help us offer the Eve for our Eden! You were against that, mortal!”
“You should understand that an Eden musn’t exist at all. Your kind might be but there are people suffering outside your Eden and they might be the ones that is getting the suffering that you should have. That’s unfair, Jeongha. If you happen to attain the eternal blessing that you want, it’ll change the motion of life.” Jongho tried to stand up yet his knees failed him and he fell, “Life isn’t like that. Stop messing with life and accept that mortals are vulnerable. Only Gods can decide for us, not demons.”
“Monsieur is our God!”
“He isn’t.”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll make sure that you’re going to die a painful death!”
Despite the flames that is surrounding the once sturdy blackened one, he kept on stumbling his way towards Jongho and lifted him with his hand as choked him with all his might. Jongho tried to struggle but Jeongha slammed him to the ground, causing him to gasp as blood sputtered out of his mouth. He couldn’t even speak as the blackened one that is burning inside grabbed his left knee and twisted it before ripping it from the leg, making Jongho cry in pain.
Jeongha might be dying but the intense anger towards this mortal, towards the Eve and towards his own God, Monsieur is making him feel numb. All that he cares is to make sure that before he dies, this arrogant male is having a painful death.
He even ripped the limp shoulder as blood kept on flowing out from the wound and Jongho cried, muttering his hyungs’ names then biting his lips to endure the intense pain. Jeongha couldn’t understand why this male is too dedicated on slowing them down as if his own life depended on it, he doesn’t know why.
“Why?” he muttered, “Why do you keep on fighting?”
Jongho tried his best to look up and forced a smile on his face, “Because everyone has been working hard. I am definitely not one of the strongest when it comes to our power but at the very least, I wanted to be useful. My friends are the only ones that made me feel like I have a family and you’ll to everything just to keep them safe, right? They trust me. They love me. And it’s all I need to keep on going.”
“I don’t understand! Mortals like you are so complicated!”
As he struggles, Jongho raised his hand to touch the open wound of the blackened one in his chest before smiling sadly “Because your kind doesn’t have a heart. Now, I’ll end your suffering along with some of your kind. Disperse into light.”
It wasn’t painful on his skin but his insides burn, he can feel himself glowing and when Jeongha looked at his hands, he was slowly disappearing and before he even knows it, what the mortal in front of him said just happened. He dispersed into light particles just like every single blackened one around the affected area.
The golden and yellow flames turned into angry red ones as everything turns back into normal, no sign of any blackened one around while Jongho lays down on the ground— feeling his own life force disappearing too quick.
“Hyung..” he croaked before rolling so his stomach would be on the ground, causing him to whimper when his broken ribs had contact with the concrete.
He promised that he’ll do his best to catch up.
His hyungs are probably waiting for him.
Despite losing his left knee and shoulder, he did his best to crawl with his right ones, the blood from his open wounds trailing as he kept on crawling and biting his lips. Everything is too painful and the fact that he gets in contact with the fire around him makes it worse.
It’s like crawling on Hell.
Jongho has been a good person ever since he was young, to commit a sin is inevitable yet fate seems to hate him as he was announced as one of the sin representative. Someone from a kind that is pure and religious, Jongho is the black sheep in it. He knew that others made him feel like he doesn’t belong there and it doesn’t even matter anymore.
He have his friends to rely on.
His friends. His family.
Jongho might be acting stupid right now but he wanted to try his best to get a glimpse of his hyungs before he dies.
Even just one of them is enough.
“Hyungs. Please wait for me.” he said as he started to sob once again, “I’m doing my best, hyung. I love you all as much as you love me so please bear with my handicap and wait for a little while.”
He wanted to see them. He’s scared. He’s alone in a place filled with flames without the usual comfort that he gains from his friends.
He wanted to see them before he dies.
“Look at you.” a familiar voice stated as he can hear footsteps near him, “Always doing your best for our friends.”
Jongho saw him a few feet away from him and he couldn’t help but smile, “I knew it.”
“Looks like you’ve finally saw the face of the traitor in our circle, Jongho.” the traitor stated as he adjusted his black cloak and held his long weapon on his right hand, “Unfortunately, when you see one of my kind. You know what that means, right? Of what my kind is capable of when they appear in front of a dying person?”
“I’m not that much of a dumbass like you, hyung. I had a hunch during the introduction of our true selves about you, you've introduced your family’s kind in such a vague way and immediately swayed the topic away by telling your abilities and not saying one of your main one,” Jongho weakly explains, “People might suspect him as the traitor but not you.”
“Of course, they wouldn’t. They thought that I was harmless at all!” the traitor chuckled.
“It’s quite funny you offered help for Monsieur. You’ve betrayed our trust, but for what cost?”
The traitor sighed, “I wanted all of you to be there with me. In that place, no one will be able to hurt all of you. Even Yeosang. Once that his soul is sent to Hell as Monsieur is finally free, I can fetch his soul in there so all of us could be together forever.”
“Not gonna lie, hyung. But that’s the most childish reasoning that I’ve heard.” Jongho tried to laugh but the pain made him whimper, “Ah. Damn it. I just wondered why the other hyungs didn’t even realized that the only thing that could kill a sin representative is also one of them?”
“That is because it wasn’t told to us. Monsieur just spilled the information,” the traitor said before crouching down and ruffling Jongho’s hair, “You’ve did a great job, Jongho.”
“Don’t act as if you haven’t done something wrong, hyung. You’re betraying us, us who have been your family too. Accompanying Monsieur and helping him out by luring all of us to the spider web,” Jongho mutters as he started to cough up more blood while his vision is starting to fail him.
“I’m doing this for all of you. This world is too cruel for all of us. I’m just ending this easier rather than defying fate and running away from it,” the traitor explains as he patted Jongho’s hair, “You’re in pain.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“Rude.” he pouts before raising his weapon, “I wasn’t expecting you to be the first one that I’ll be getting.”
“Well.. surprise, motherfucker.”
“Don’t talk to my mom like that! She’s too precious for such a word like that!”
Jongho sighs, “Hyung, can you finish it already and stop blabbering? You wanted to end my life and take me to your place? Then do it.”
“First, you’re being rude and now, you’re impatient. Why are you acting like a brat?” the traitor asks in a whiny tone.
“That is what you want, right? Maybe because we've been roommates for quite a while that I can read through you. But hyung, prepare for your consequences.” Jongho still kept a smile despite the feeling of being near Death’s door, “I just hope that you’re not going to regret this. I wanted to see the other hyungs before I go though.”
“You’ll be seeing them soon,” the traitor replies, preparing to end this young male’s life “You should rest for now. Good night, Jongho.”
Jongho sighs in defeat, “Good night, hyung.”
At the very least, he saw one of them before he lets out his final breath.
The traitor looked at the youngest male’s peaceful expression, eyes shut and a smile was on his lips as if he wasn’t crying in pain for a while. He sighed before carrying the body and disappearing in the middle of the cackling flames around the town as it burns half of it.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
San looked at the almost dying lunatic in front of him as he lets out a sigh of relief, he looked at the blackened ones that is lurking a few meter away from them and decided that he should lsave the lunatic to die in their hands. San immediately gestured to them as it ran towards him yet he disappeared into thin air and teleporting into an another part of the town.
He was surprised to see most of it getting burned and wondered who manages to burn half of the town in half an hour.
“Now where are they?” he mutters before looking around, “Have they arrived on the meeting place already?”
San decided that he should take a detour for a while and collect the pieces of the puzzle that he’s currently solving. He kept on walking until he noticed a familiar house in the part of the town that isn’t involved with the fire. He didn’t even hesitate to open it as he can sense that there isn’t any life force or any supernatural that can be detected.
He looked around and noticed how cozy this household is, he smiled as he realize the family picture in it and one of his friends smiling in the middle of a couple. That smile that covers his friend’s suffering which made him feel a pang on his own chest.
He started to look for clues around without messing it up too much to avoid being suspected by that friend of his, barged in every single room and tried to look for clues yet he failed miserably. That is until he looked at the locked room in the end of the house, San couldn’t help but feel something inside of it. As if it’s urging him towards the room and he complies without a second though, pick locking the lock and opening it to reveal such a sight.
It should’ve been a storage room yet there’s barely even a thing here. He was surprised to see a summoning circle on the ground as a bunch of shattered glass was scattered in it, the corners of the walls was filled with dried blood of whoever or whatever kind of creature it belongs to. There are candles which seems to be scattered in places but the most alarming thing that he sees was the huge glass that covers the other side of the room.
His reflection should be seen through the mirror yet it wasn't his own that he’s currently seeing. He sees him. Not Not actually him. But probably a version of him in a different timeline or probably, in an another universe.
“Hello there, demon child. I suppose that you’re here to seek for answers, right?” the male in the mirror says.
---
i’m terribly sorry for the late update : ( and sorry for the shitty update :< i haven’t been able to write smth good nowadays and i just wanna yeet myself from the world of the living hhh
also! have you seen their costumes on their recent fansigning event? gfdi yeosang as harley quinn shakahahagshssgshsgajagaj END MEEEEEEEE QWQ screech w me in twitter! @_hyriette!