The picture above is what the weapons look like. Enjoy! :)
XXIX: Taehyung
Within ten seconds of me drawing my scim, Lucius attacks. He's more impatient than usual, but his strokes are far from harmless. Every move is calculated to make sure that it inflicts the most pain possible. I dodge his first attack, before lashing out at him with my scims. He dances away from me without bothering to cross his blades, then flings a throwing knife at me. It misses me by a hair. Before he can reach for another, I rush at him, landing a kick on his chest that sends him sprawling.
As I draw two daggers from my pocket, Lucius scrambles up, gripping his scim firmly. He vaults towards me with full force, using darting strokes to try and distract me. He growls with irritation when I block his attack and score a hit on his arm. When he tries to counter, I simply fly five meters away. Lucius snarls. "Still up to your tricks, Taehyung? They won't help you here." He whirls his scim above his head, before striking down. I deflect his blade, but the shock of it sends pain up my wounded arm. I hiss at the sting.
Lucius feints with his scim, but when I block, he swipes my feet out from under me, and his blade comes down. I roll away, narrowly avoiding death by impalement. Two more throwing stars whistle towards me, and though I deflect one, the other cuts into my bicep. I bite back a shout of pain.
Not waiting until Lucius gets the chance to gut me, I kick out with my legs, feeling a rush of triumph when my foot connects with his stomach. Throwing him off me, I scour the ground for my scims, finding them just in time as Lucius presses another attack.
We go back and forth in the fighting circle, each doing our best to kill the other, but never succeeding. Our skill level is matched, and we know the other so well that we can predict their movements. Lucius pants slightly, and murder glimmers in his eyes. He wants this finished.
"Tae, watch out!" Jungkook's frantic yell sounds from the edges of the circle, and I lunge to the side, turning just in time to see a knife hurtling through the air where my neck had been a moment ago. I hear a cry and see that Jungkook has been forced on his knees, the guards holding him literally crushing his wrists in a death grip. One mutters something into his ear, and Jungkook flinches.
An animal like snarl splits my lips, and I advance towards them, with the full intention of cutting their throats open. But Lucius blocks my way, sending a vicious assault of throwing stars that has me backing away.
"To get to the boy, first you have to get through me." Lucius says, ducking as I throw a dagger at his head. Rage fuels my movements, and I fight back with more ferocity. I channel my anger into steely efficiency, kicking his scim away and making him fall. As his hand makes contact with the floor, I step on it, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone underneath my foot. Lucius grits his teeth, but doesn't cry out.
I lean my face close to his, relishing the fear that spikes through his eyes for just a fleeting moment. "How does it feel," I hiss, "To have your fingers broken like this? Hearing the bone crackle and snap? Did you know, Lucius, that with the pressure applied just right, a set of pliers can be used to break every single bone in your hand? Perhaps you can be my first tester of this theory, seeing as you've already got the experience."
"Damn you," Lucius spits, as he struggles to get his hand out from underneath my foot. I press down harder. "Damn you to the hells." His scim comes out of nowhere, and I don't move my leg away fast enough as the steel cuts into my flesh. This time, I yell out in pain. Lucius takes the moment to wiggle his hand out from under my shoe and sends a vicious swipe up to my head. I deflect it with my own scim, but just barely in time.
"Your blood was so sweet," Lucius murmurs. "That I remember. The one week when our centurions cut off our daily blood supply at Bloodcrest, so many of us died. I almost did too, but you gave me your own blood to help me survive. Is the mark still there, Tae? The mark of my fangs?"
His words make something in my mind snap. I lunge at him, catching him by surprise and tackle him to the ground. I hear the whoosh of air leaving his lungs and a rib cracks beneath my elbow. My scim makes contact with his throat, and I swipe downwards without even thinking. Crimson blood erupts from Lucius's neck, and he staggers backwards. It should have been a killing blow, but he is a Mask after all, and Lucius presses a hand to his wound, his features twisting into a snarl of fury.
Kill, kill, kill. The mask chants for blood. The monster howls for it. And the scary thing was, I wanted it. This repulsive man had made my soulmate suffer. He should die slowly and painfully. Be able to watch himself drown in his own blood. He deserved nothing less.
Blood continues to gush from the wound on Lucius's neck, but he stumbles forward, the fire in his eyes still burning. Fixed on me. I walk towards him, in no hurry to finish him off.
"Is this how it ends, Tae?" He whispers, so low that only I can hear. "One of us killing the other? In cold blood? Was Bloodcrest the only place that we could be best friends, blood brother?"
His words send memories cascading into my head unwillingly. Lucius and I winning our first training bout with a centurion. How both of us collapsed in giggles after successfully scaling the climbing wall. How one of us would always care for the other when they were too weak to go on. The time when we both cut our palms and left the blood to mingle, proclaiming ourselves blood brothers.
And now, I was about to kill the person that I did all of those things with.
My blood brother.
Don't falter now! The Mask within me yells. Or is it the monster? I can't tell. You fool. You'll regret it.
For once, I listen to the voice. Whatever Lucius had been before, it was gone. It was gone the moment he decided to break Jungkook's bones. The moment that he so carelessly cut his lips or flung him into the boulder. My soulmate's broken figure flashes before my eyes, and I suddenly can't control my rage. At this moment, he isn't my blood brother. He's just an enemy that wants me dead. An enemy that I must survive.
Lucius seems to notice the change in my eyes, though he does nothing about it. He doesn't move, doesn't speak. Only watches as I unhook a double-bladed dagger from my belt. The blood from his throat pours out onto the ground, staining it a vivid red.
"Foolish Taehyung," He murmurs as the light starts to leave his eyes. "You think love makes you strong? Where there is love, there's always pain. Always pain. You'll learn that soon enough." And even though he is dying, even as the blood streams out of his throat, there's a cold gleam in his eyes which makes me nervous. Like he knows something that I don't. Like if I let him live, he'll tell me.
But I don't wait to find out.
"You chose your actions, Lucius," I whisper. "And I'll choose mine."
I lift my dagger high, holding it there for a split second, before I bring the blade whistling down. Blood explodes on my hands, my face, my sword. I force myself to ignore it, digging my knife in deeper. Lucius screams, one high note that I hear over and over in my head before it fades away. His body slumps to the ground, lifeless. The mask that covers his face glints in the early morning sunlight, contorted in a permanent sneer; exactly like the one I saw on my nightmare battlefield.
Lucius is dead.
My blood brother is dead.
By my hand.
I drop my scim, now covered in his blood, and back away. A traitorous part of me loves the fact that it's his blood I see on my hands. That stains my tunic. He deserved to die. Hell, he deserved to be tortured, and then die a painful death. This was absolutely nothing compared to what he should have suffered. And yet...
No one cheers.
The battlefield is dead silent. Dawn starts to trail its rosy fingers across the sky, bathing everything it touches with light. Everyone seems to be in a sort of trance, while the Shadow Valley soldiers look down at their king's body as if they can't believe what they're seeing. No one really knows what to make of this fight. Two Masks fighting each other till death is unusual, and one dying is even more unheard of.
The silence is broken by just one word.
"Taehyung!"
In all my life, I have never heard my name said in such a way. With such hope, such relief, such overflowing love. It envelops me with the warmth of a thousand suns, making me forget what I had done only a few seconds ago. Both the monster and mask quickly release their grip on my soul, as if shying away from a voice that holds so much affection.
"Tae!" Jungkook runs towards me and jumps into my arms, hugging me tightly around the neck. He doesn't seem to care about the blood on my face or how dirty my tunic is. As he buries his face in my chest, my hands come up on impulse to circle him. Tears trail down his cheeks, but this time, they're happy tears. "You're here. You're alive. There were so many times when I thought―I thought―"
"I am," I agree, caressing the back of his head. "I told you I would survive. I'm sorry I couldn't come to you sooner. I'm sorry I let them hurt you like that."
"Don't be," he mumbles against the fabric of my shirt. "What matters is that you're here now. Tae, I couldn't ask for anything more than that." His face comes up, and I waste no time in attaching our lips together. I taste a bit of dry blood at the corner of his mouth, and feel a flash of anger, before I let myself be fully swept away in the warmth of his lips against mine. All of my rage, bloodlust, and sadness mixes with his pain and love, blending into some deeper emotion which makes me crave for more. I want it. I want him. The sudden rush of desire startles me, and I tighten my grip on his waist, bringing his head closer to mine. His lips part, and I explore every inch of his mouth, tongue darting in and out. The need to consume him whole overpowers my sense of judgement and clouds my brain. I don't want this kiss to end. I don't want the feeling to go away.
"Tae... can't... breathe," Jungkook's choked whisper brings me back to reality, and I quickly pull away, cheeks bright red. I had gotten too carried away. Way too carried away. Jungkook's lips are bruised and his eyes have a dreamy shine to them. Nevertheless he smiles at me, and my worry that I had wrecked everything between us is eased.
"You have blood on your cheek," he murmurs, before melting into my embrace again. I touch my left cheek, feeling the red sticky liquid.
I wipe the blood off, letting my gaze rake over the gathered soldiers. They all look away, pretending that they hadn't been watching. "Who's the deputy of Shadow Valley?"
"I am, sire." A tall man with sharp chiseled features steps out of the crowd, eyes nervously darting between me and my blood-covered scim. "My name is Xian. I served under King Lucius as his lieutenant for a century. I am at your disposal."
My mouth tightens, and he flinches as he sees the dark spark of fire in my eyes. "You. Weren't you one of the people who manhandled my soulmate when he was held hostage? The one who made him cry out in pain?"
Xian hesitates, licking his dry lips. "Yes, I was. And I deeply regret it. I know how much he means to you, and if you want to make me suffer for my actions, then I won't stop you. It's what I deserve."
"Well, killing you I could definitely arrange―"
"Tae, no." I look down to see Jungkook tugging on my tunic. "Don't punish him. It wasn't his fault. He was only obeying Lucius's orders. He even loosened his grip on my wrists after he saw that I was injured. He's a good man, really. Don't torture him for following commands."
"Yes, my love, but he hurt you―"
"Please," he looks at me with those large brown doe eyes, which he knows I can't resist. "Please let him go. He didn't mean it."
I sigh, bringing a hand up to softly caress his cheek. He giggles, and leans his head onto my shoulder. "Are you sure?" He nods.
"Very well. Xian, you're lucky that my queen is so merciful. Next time you try and hurt him, I won't hold back. Wherever you are, no matter how safe you think you are, I will find you, and I will make you suffer. Do I make myself clear?" Xian gulps, giving me an awkward salute. "Yes sire. Crystal."
"Good," I let my gaze drift towards the unmoving body of Lucius. Now that he was dead, there would have to be a new king in his place. He didn't have any children, so the throne was open for anyone to take. Now seemed like a good time as any. Shadow Valley needed a strong king to guide them through the aftermath of the war. I turn back to Xian.
"Xian, do you swear on your blood to uphold your clan's dignity and honor by becoming the new king, he who was foretold? To put your clan before all your personal needs and care for your people?"
"I-I do, but sire―" I wave off his question.
"I don't want to become the king of another clan. I have other things I want to do in life rather than be buried by paperwork. Spending more quality time with my beautiful soulmate for instance," Jungkook blushes bright red. "As long as you promise to uphold your vow, I see no reason that you can't become king."
"Well, in that case, yes, I would be honored." He kneels and brings out his sword, running the blade across his palm so that blood drips down on the cobblestones. "I swear fealty to my clan, and vow to put them first before anything else, including my life." His oath is met with cheers from his clan. Evidently, he was popular among his comrades.
"Xian! Hail, our new king!" The Shadow Valley soldiers cheer. I can understand their enthusiasm. Lucius ruled with blood and power, so he was never very popular with his subjects. Some of them were no doubt happy that he was gone. I allow myself a small smile as I look at them yelling Xian's name.
"Tae... I feel weird," Jungkook murmurs, and he sways a little on his feet. I bring my arms tighter around him as a bitter wind swirls by. Since the fires around the city have burned down to embers, the cold has snuck in, reminding us that it's still autumn and the days are getting colder. I don't want Jungkook catching a cold, especially considering how little he's actually wearing beneath my cloak.
"It's normal to feel tired after what you've been through. Once we get back to Armad, you can have all the rest in the world. And a warm blanket. You're shivering."
"No, not like that―" Jungkook lays his head on my shoulder. "My head hurts. It's like a dull aching pain in my body. And my eyes. Tae, I-I don't feel―"
His words slur, and I watch, horrified, as his body goes limp in my arms. His eyes close, and when I shout his name, the only answer I get is the cold wind ruffling the cloak on his unmoving body.
I feel like I'm getting a little sadistic towards gguk...?