SEVEN DEADLY SONS II

R E C A P

THE SEVEN SONS WERE  certain that they would help the King of Hell and kill the angels who were destined to kill them.

     But when the sons united and met the angels who they were bound to kill, the seven Demons realized that their cruel mission from the King is something they might never accomplish. And killing might be a sin that they are not willing to commit.

     Now they have faced their true destiny, and that is to join the Arcs - their once enemy - and defeat the monster they once recognized as ‘creator.’

     Kharon - their guardian - is now being controlled by the King of Hell. Their Fathers are being locked up, and Woo Jiho, Taeil’s true love, had been killed.

     The Demons now know what they must do. But will they be able to betray the King so easily? Or will they be able to truly join the good side like what their Fathers wanted them to do?

     Things are still not certain.

     After all, these are still the Seven Deadly Sons of Hell.

D E M O N S

BIRTH DATE: June 06, 1996

EDUCATION: 1ST YEAR students at Holy Angels University

GUARDIAN: KHARON the Third (The Ferryman)

COMMON DEMON ABILITY: Producing fire & Teleportation

• JANG HYUNSEUNG “JS”

SIN: Prince of LUST

FATHER: ASMODEUS Ruler of Realm Lust

GUARDIAN: Sphynx cat LUXURIA (Female)

POWERS: Audible Inundation: The power to overwhelm someone’s mind with lustful voices.

                      Kiss of Death: (Full Demon Power) The ability to burn someone’s soul by one kiss.

• LEE MINHYUK -

SIN: Prince of GLUTTON

FATHER: BEELZEBUB Ruler of Realm Gluttony

GUARDIAN: Hamster GULA (Male)

POWERS: Life Draining: The ability to drain and absorb one’s energy and power.

                      Soul Absorption: (Full Demon Power) The ability to take and absorb one’s soul.

KIM JUN-MYEON “SUHO”

SIN: Prince of GREED

FATHER: MAMMON Ruler of Realm Greed

GUARDIAN: Toad AVARITIA (Male)

POWERS: Knowledge Absorption: The ability to absorb all forms of knowledge.

                      Physic Reflection: (Full Demon Power) The power to take and force back all forms of memory and emotions in order to overflow the mind until the brain is unusable.

• LEE TAEIL -

SIN: Prince of SLOTH

FATHER: BELPHEGOR Ruler of Realm Sloth

GUARDIAN: Snail ACEDIA (Male)

POWERS: Catrophamancy: The ability to see distant people or places through mirrors.

                      Luring: (Full Demon Power) The power to force someone, or a group of people/creatures, to obey one’s bidding.

• KIM SUNGGYU (The Leader)

SIN: Prince of WRATH

FATHER: SATAN Ruler of Realm Wrath

GUARDIAN: Doberman Pinscher IRA (Male)

POWERS: Fear Amplification: The power to force someone to see their greatest fears.

                     Memory Manipulation: (Full Demon Power) The ability to alter or take one’s memory, and use it to bring them into never-ending darkness.

• JACKSON WANG -

SIN: Prince of ENVY

FATHER: LEVIATHAN Ruler of Realm Envy

GUARDIAN: Scarlet Kingsnake INVIDIA (Female)

POWERS: Illusion Casting: The ability to create illusions or invisible objects, places, or people/creatures.

                     Glamouring: (Full Demon Power) The power to change one’s appearance to any person or creature.

• KWON JIYONG -

SIN: Prince of PRIDE

FATHER: LUCIFER Ruler of Realm Pride

GUARDIAN: Parrot  SUPERBIA (Female)

POWERS: Empathy: The ability to copy or absorb one’s power.

                     Cloning: (Full Demon Power) The power to duplicate tens or hundreds of oneself while retaining the same strength, and ability. But the more they duplicate, the more the concentration will lessen.

W E A P O N S

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/209897cf79b9358cc5bd24a92ae53bf6f7d6202c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e6d7945415963716a50786265773d3d2d3632333132363733392e313632313365336664366637313435353235373536313632343638362e6a7067)               

A R C S

BIRTH DATE: July 07, 1997

EDUCATION: 1ST YEAR students at Holy Angels University

GUARDIAN: PARK DONGMIN (St. Peter, the gatekeeper)

COMMON ANGEL ABILITY: Producing Lightning

• YONG JUNHYUNG -

ROLE: LEADER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of CHASTITY

FATHER: MICHAEL Leader of the Archangels

• YOOK SUNGJAE -

ROLE: FACE of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of TEMPERANCE

FATHER: PHANUEL Ruler of Ophanim

• ZHANG YIXING -

ROLE: HEALER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of CHARITY

FATHER: RAPHAEL Healer of the Archangels

• PYO JIHOON -

ROLE: ADVISER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of DILIGENCE

FATHER: URIEL Instructor of the Archangels

• NAM WOOHYUN -

ROLE: MESSENGER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of PATIENCE

FATHER: GABRIEL Messenger of God

• MARK TUAN YI-EN -

ROLE: PEACEMAKER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of KINDNESS

FATHER: RAGUEL Archangel of Justice, Harmony & Vengeance

• CHOI SEUNGHYUN -

ROLE: REDEEMER of the Arcs

VIRTUE: Holder of HUMILITY

FATHER: SAMUEL Archangel of Death

---

SDS2 01: OUR TRIP TO HELL

IT WAS A SUNNY day when Jihoon opened his eyes. He was in his room, lying in bed. He adjusted himself from the brightness. And when everything was now visible, Jihoon instantly catches a glimpse of a familiar man lying unconscious beside him. To be more specific a demon.

     “Hey, Lee Taeil. Get out of my bed and get ready. We’re heading to school later,” Jihoon stated as he looked at Taeil who was peacefully sleeping beside him.

     “ Hmm, “ Taeil replied, ignoring Jihoon. He then grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it. Jihoon was tempted to snatch it away from him, but this scene had been so repetitive that he gave up in an instant and just stood from the bed instead so he could head to the bathroom to do his business.

     It’s been three months since their battle with the ghouls and Kharon, and of course, since Woo Jiho’s death.  The Demons and the Arcs had been together 24/7 since they had to get ready for their battle with the King of Hell. They’ve been training their strengths and powers nonstop. They’ve been sharing their knowledge about each other, especially weaknesses of the underworld. And through that, these two groups had been in a good relationship with each other.

     “Lee Taeil!” Jihoon shouted with full force the moment he got out of the bathroom.

     “Fine okay! I’m standing already. No need to shout babe,” Taeil teased as he was slowly standing up while aggressively scratching his head.

    “What the fuck did you call me!? Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?!” Jihoon angrily continued as he approached Taeil.

     “Jesus Christ, chill out! Why are you always shouting at me?” Taeil angrily said back while covering his ear. But Jihoon only looked at him angrily and shouted again, “Stop using our God’s name in vain! Especially in the holy home!”

     “Whatever, I’m gonna take a piss,” Taeil stated as he went to the bathroom.

     These two have been arguing ever since the Demons moved in, but they’re also the closest ones next to Mark and Jackson, who are already together, so they’re basically near the stage of being together as well. It’s a love and hate relationship.

     While Jihoon was waiting for Taeil, the door of his room suddenly opened.

     “Morning asshole. Breakfast is ready,” said Jiyong with a smirk on his face. Jihoon angrily looked at the Prince of Pride and shouts, “No cursing!”

     “Come on, who follows that?” Then Jiyong closed the door and left.

     Ever since the Demons started sleeping 3 days a week in the Holy Home, it’s been really loud and messy. But to be honest, the Arcs are starting to enjoy their time with them. You can say the holy home has been more like a home now with the Demons there.

     “Let’s go!”

     Taeil was done so he and Jihoon went to the dining room to see the Arcs and Demons already getting ready to eat their breakfast.

     “Good, they’re here. Take your seats and let’s bless the food,” Dongmin stated as the two sat down on their respective seats. The Arcs were at the right side of the table, while the Demons were at the left, and as usual, Park Dongmin was in the middle.

     Everyone started to hold their hands and was ready to pray. As the angels were praying, the Demons were trying their best to fight the pain they were feeling inside their chest. They still weren’t used to these rituals, especially that they were Demons. And not just demons but also PRINCES of HELL.

     “Amen,” they finally finished.

     “Let’s eat!” Minhyuk shouted as everyone starting getting the food and placing it on top of their plates. As everyone started eating, Sunggyu placed his chopsticks on the side and said, “So guys, it’s been three months now and nothing has happened yet. I bet the Demons in hell are also preparing for the said battle.”

      “And all of us get attacked by ghouls occasionally,” Woohyun added.

      Sunggyu agreed completely. “That’s right, that’s why we should actually start doing something. We’ve been training every day for the past few months and nothing has happened. We’ve been strong ever since, don’t you think we had enough training?”

     No one answered so Sunggyu continued, “We should level things up. Capture a ghoul if we have to. The instructions that were given to us weren’t exact but there’s one thing for sure; we have to defeat that goddamn King. Our training days are over, we need to move on to the next.”

     “We can’t be too prepared,” Junhyung finally stated. 

      He’s been quiet the whole time. He’s the leader of Arcs, but when these two groups collided, Sunggyu pretty much does all the leading. So Sunggyu and the rest of the guys on the table looked at Junhyung.

      “Our powers combined will not be enough to defeat your king. And we all know that it says in the book that we can’t kill him. We can only lock him up. So what’s our proper plan? Just barge right in his kingdom and attack him? If you ask me that’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. Let’s just wait for a signal and-”

     Sunggyu cut him off and saif, “And what Junhyung? And train some more until we’re too worn out? What if they suddenly attack us, and because of this training we suddenly couldn’t fight back. What’s the use of all that training now?”

     “So you’re telling me we should attack while we’re still in good shape?” Junhyung answered back.

     “That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

     The Arcs and the Demons only listened to the two leaders bickering at each other. Because just like Jihoon and Taeil, these two have always been arguing ever since before. And they have NEVER agreed on one similar plan.

      While the two were still talking back at each other, Park Dongmin took the last sip of his wine and stated, “Okay, that’s enough you two. We’re eating, aren’t we? Meetings aren’t supposed to be held at the dining table. And even if you were having a meeting, no one’s interested in what you’re debating about anymore.”

     Sunggyu looked at Dongmin angrily and answered, “Then what are we supposed to do? You’re the only one in this house who knows what’s really going on but you won’t even give us a goddamn clue!”

     Seunghyun finally snapped and butted in at the conversation, “Hey, that’s our guardian you’re disrespecting! If you’re going to disrespect someone, do it in someone else’s house.”

     “Are you telling us to leave?” Jiyong stated, now involving himself in the conversation as well. But Seunghyun wasn’t planning to back out, “Well, we don’t act like shitty bastards when we’re staying at your house. And for the past few days, your leader here has been pushing us around like we’re some kind of slaves. Don’t forget, we’re still from a different group, we have our own leader!”

     Sunggyu looked at the two and then furiously answered, “Well, your fucking leader here doesn’t do anything useful!”

     “So that’s how you fucking feel?!” said Junhyung as he looked at Sunggyu with a shocked face, “I’ve done everything I could for you guys, and you still think I haven’t done anything?!”

     “Oh, it’s about feelings now? What are you? Some little girl who couldn’t handle harsh words?” Sunggyu bickered back.

     Hyunseung clenched his fist. He obviously had enough. It’s been like this the past few days because everyone’s starting to feel pressured and scared. And even though Sunggyu and Junhyung are the leaders, Hyunseung is still the responsible one, and mostly everyone listens to him more than them. 

      “Can you fucking stop!” Hyunseung finally shouted as he stood up and slammed his fist on the table, shocking everyone.

      He looked at everyone in the eye and said, “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? Can you stop arguing and come up with an actual plan?! We haven’t done anything for the past few months because both of our groups won’t agree on one plan. They want this, we want that. How the fuck are we going to work together if we can’t even plan together? Park Dongmin talked to me yesterday because he knows that both of you won’t fucking listen to him, so here’s what we’re really going to do.”

     Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and listened to Hyunseung carefully. They were actually excited because they were finally going to do something. But what Hyunseung would say was something that everyone did not expect.

     “We…are going to go to hell. “

---

“Is he fucking crazy? We can’t go there now! It’s too dangerous!” 

     “I know okay. That’s why I’m trying to think of another solution!” Junhyung said to Seunghyun as there were talking outside the meeting room. Everyone else was inside the room, getting ready for the plan given to them. 

     The Demons were actually excited since it was THEIR kingdom. But for the Arcs…it was the worst plan yet.

     The two went inside the meeting room and sat down, making Dongmin start talking.

     “Okay, now that everyone’s here, I want you all to listen to me since this is a very crucial matter,” Dongmin demanded so everyone cleared their heads and started listening to him carefully.

     “Kharon and I have talked about this before he was even controlled by the king because he knew that something like this would happen to every one of you. So the reason why you need to go to hell is not for you to attack them. It’s for you to observe and find out what you’re up against. Tomorrow, I am going to teach all of you the skill of invisibility. This is an angelic power so it will be easy for the Arcs, but very hard for the Demons to learn. I hope you all try your best,” Dongmin stated, and everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

     “This is the only power that you will be using inside, because first of all, you all need to be quiet. And secondly, devils, especially your king, will know right away if you entered your kingdom. But with the power that I will be teaching you, they can’t even sense you. But you need to be quick since the power only lasts for 20 minutes,” Dongmin explained further.

     “20 minutes is enough time,” Sunggyu said with a smirk on his face. He was really excited about this plan.

     “But, isn’t it dangerous for us? Like…we’re angels. And we’re going to enter the kingdom of our opposites. This is very risky for all of us. Can’t the Demons go by themselves?” Junhyung asked curiously and all the Arcs agreed.

     “Of course you need to come. You also need to know who you’re going to fight. This isn’t even the battle and you’re already scared? What will happen to the seven of you if this is the actual battle? Run like little chickens?” Dongmin asked. 

     Junhyung didn’t answer but stared at the floor instead. Their guardian didn’t want to sound cocky or rude but he was actually trying to make the Arcs stronger. He knew that they couldn’t do this properly, but with enough courage, they just might nail it.

     “But Junhyung has a point. How can they enter? They’re Angels”, Taeil pointed out.

     “No Lee Taeil, the real question is…how will ALL of you enter hell.”

     Everyone was suddenly quiet. He was right, how WOULD they enter the deadly kingdom? They weren’t strong enough to cast a spell to open the doors of hell, and Kharon, who literally brings people to hell, isn’t even with them anymore.

      “Then, how are we going to enter the kingdom of hell, sir Park Dong Min?” Jiyong asked as he raised an eyebrow.

     “Kharon can help you out,” Dongmin answered with a smile.

      Jiyong wanted to laugh as he answered, “He’s fucking captured. How is Kharon the Third going to help us?”

      Dongmin looked at Jiyong with his right eyebrow raised, “Who told you it was Kharon the Third?” Dongmin asked with a smirk.

      “Huh?” everyone confusingly asked in unison.

     Dongmin stood up from his seat and looked at everyone. When everyone’s attention was with him, he said, “Arcs and Demons…You’re going to Tokyo, Japan, and meet Kharon the Second. “

     “What?!” everyone asked in shock.

     “He’s still alive?” Hyunseung asked further.

     “Of course. Well, how do I explain this? Kharon the Second died a long time ago because of his battle with the 12 Apostles, that’s why the Kharon now is the new Kharon. But of course, he’s been reincarnated to someone else. He has no memory of all that happened to him before so-” Dongmin stopped and went to a cabinet. He opened the cabinet and took out a weird looking box. He gave the box to Sunggyu, then he took out a key from his pocket and gave it to Junhyung.

      “Kharon III gave me that box and told me to give it to you when we’re about to execute this plan. Inside that box is his past ring. Make Kharon the Second wear it and all his memories of being Kharon will return. Afterward, take his ring and everything will be back to normal. He will not even remember meeting the fourteen of you, do you all understand?” Dongmin explained to them.

     Then the Demons and the Arcs nodded in understanding.

     “So, when will we leave?” Lay asked.

     “Next week.”

     The two groups looked excited, but Taeil scratched his chin since he had a gut feeling that this wouldn’t be as exciting as what the others think, “And what is the name of the reincarnated Kharon?” He asked.

     Dongmin smirked, and that smirk alone made the Demons and Arc stop looking excited.

      “His name in Tokyo is Taro Yamada . And please be careful with him. We still have a code, and that’s to not show your powers to him when he’s still not in his Kharon memory. Do you understand?” Dongmin asked.

     “Yes sir!” everyone answered in unison.

     “But even if we don’t use our powers, I’m pretty sure we can take that asshole down, right?” Suho asked with a confident look on his face.

     “I’m pretty sure that’s not the case asshole,” Junhyung answered, and everyone looked back at the Arcs’ guardian.

     “He’s right. Taro Yamada…is the leader of the most dangerous Yakuza in Tokyo.”

• END -

SDS2 02: RAVENS

“TOKYO, HERE WE COME!” Shouted Suho as he took his headset off and stared at the scenery outside the plane.

     The Seven Arcs and the Seven Demons were headed off to Tokyo to meet Kharon the Second, But for the past weeks, they’ve been training their butts off so this is more like a vacation for them.

      Park Dongmin trained them on the power of invisibility while they were getting ready for this trip. The Arcs did fine, so did Hyunseung and Jackson since you know, they have special relationships with angels. While the other demons just wanted to jump off a cliff because of how hard it was.

     Thankfully, after a week of training, everyone had mastered it. It wasn’t a shock that they learned it faster than expected. They are princes after all.

     “We have now landed.”

     The sons stood up from their seats and took their things.

     “Good Morning passengers, we have arrived at our destination. Thank you so much for choosing Japan Airlines, we hope to see you again.”

     “Ah fuck, my head hurts. I knew it, we should have used our private plane,” Jiyong stated as they were getting out of the economy plane one by one.

     “Remember what our guardian said rich-kid. We don’t want to attract much attention,” Seunghyun reminded him, and Jiyong just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

     “Everyone has their bags?” Sunggyu asked when they got off the plane.

     While walking, the members of Arcs and Demons looked at Sunggyu and nodded their heads as an answer. Some even lifted their bags to show them to him.

     “Good. Now, Dongmin stated that we need to look for this guy named Kenji who is willing to let us stay in his house for a week. Your guardian said that he’s aware that we’re-” Sunggyu paused and moved closer to the sons and whispered, “ Demons and angels. “

FLASHBACK

 “Okay, you’ll be leaving tomorrow so I don’t want you to mess things up. You can’t stay in a hotel because Japan is a dangerous country for people like us,” Dongmin explained.

     “Come on, how dangerous could it be? We’re Angels and De-” Minhyuk was cut off as Dongmin continued,  “There’s a famous group in Japan who are searching for demons and angels. They’ve been studying them and already have proof. If anyone of you will be seen doing unnatural things then its over. The people would contact them right away. So even if you can control your powers now, I still advice you to wear your rings, just in case.” 

     “Group of Japanese men who studies AND captures Demons and Angels? Well, this can’t get any better can’t it?” Taeil stated with a sarcastic tone. Then Sungjae looked at their guardian curiously and asked, “And what are these guys called?”

    “Good question Sungjae. They’re called “ RAVENS “. They haven’t captured even a single living angel or demon yet, but people fear and respect them. Well, they almost captured an angel…but still failed,” Dongmin explained further, shocking them.

     “Well, that’s stupid”, Jiyong stated instead, not quite impressed by the said group.

     “It wouldn’t be stupid anymore if even one of you were captured, am I right?” Dongmin stated seriously, making everyone look at Jiyong with an angry expression.

     “So, who’s this guy we’re going to meet anyway?” Junhyung asked to finally finish the conversation.

     “His name is Kenji. And he’s a very close friend of mine. I called him the other day and he told me that he’s happy to let you stay at his house.”

     Jihoon looked like he wasn’t sure with the idea so he asked, “And you trust him because?”

     Dongmin smirked as answered, “Because he’s the founder of RAVENS.”

     There was complete silence for a second until finally, “What!?”

     “Are you fucking insane?! You’re letting us stay inside a-” Dongmin quickly stopped Suho and continued, “I was the angel he almost captured.”

      Everyone immediately settled down. Even Suho sat down in shock.

     “He captured me because of some…circumstances. And then an accident happened. I saved him like what an angel would. After that we became friends, and he left the order of the Ravens.”

END OF FLASHBACK

 As the demons were walking, a guy in black suit was standing in front of the crown while holding a placard that says, “Park Dongmin’s kids”

     “Looks like that’s our guy,” Junhyung stated as he and the rest of the sons approached him.

     “Hello, you must be Kenji, I’m Junhyung,” Junhyung stated as he held his hand out to shake the hand of the tall man in front of him. Jiyong chuckled as the man completely ignored Junhyung, so Jiyong went in front of the man and spoke in Japanese, “ Sir, you must be Kenji. ’I’m Kwon Jiyong and these are my friends. Park Dongmin told us a lot about you. “

     Still, the man didn’t say anything to him either.

     “Show off,” Junhyung said to Jiyong who scratched his back in confusion.

     As the sons were figuring out why the man wasn’t talking to them, another man in a black suit arrived and went in front of them. 

     “You must be the “ sons “ Park Dongmin was talking about. I’m Asano Kenji (

Picture above

). “

     He looked like a regular middle-aged man, but something about him felt strange. And that strange feeling might be the cause of their previous knowledge of him being the founder of a group who captures Angels and Demons.

     “Please don’t be afraid of me. I bet Park Dongmin had told you about my previous job. Rest assured, I have changed for the better. I actually help with church activities now,” Kenji said with a smile that only made him look creepier.

     “That does not make it better,” Minhyuk stated, a little louder than what he expected.

     “Sorry,” He quickly added when he noticed everyone glaring at him,

     Kenji laughed from the reaction, “No need to apologize. I know about you, and you know about me. Doubts and fear will always be there.”

     “And…you speak Korean?” Taeil asked, making everyone realize that he’s actually talking to them in Korean.

     “I speak 6 languages. You may guess what those are if you want to,” Kenji proudly answered.

     “But what’s with your guy here? Can’t speak any language?” Jihoon stated as he looked at the tall man from head to toe.

     “This is Tada. He’s my personal assistant. He only talks when I want him to talk. He is a very obedient and loyal servant of mine,” Kenji explained, making everyone look back at the tall man named Tada.

    “Wow, that changed from assistant to servant real quick,” Woohyun stated, but Sunggyu glared at him too so he could shut up. Kenji might be a friend of Dongmin, but who knows what he’ll do if things get bad between them.

     “But we do thank you for making us stay in your home,” Junhyung finally stated with a smile. He was the leader after all. He had to act like a good one. And even though Sunggyu was obviously the dominant leader, everyone agreed that it was best to let Junhyung do most of the talking, since the Demons’ leader has a little anger issue.

     “No need to thank me. This is the least I could do to repay Park Dongmin. And I’m guessing you’re Junhyung, the leader of Arcs. And this must be Sunggyu, the leader of Demons,” Kenji stated as he looked at the two leaders.

     Everyone was suddenly confused about what Kenji stated. How did he know that?

     “I think you’re very confused, but this is not a place for us to talk. Tada, please bring their luggage to the limousine.”

     “Hai ( yes ),” Tada answered as he bowed in front of Kenji and took the luggage.

     “Please follow me.” 

     The sons followed Kenji and ended up inside a really long limousine. Longer than what Jiyong had in Korea.

      “This is what I’m talking about!” Jiyong stated as he admired the limo when he ran inside, the others following behind him.

     when they were now leaving the airport, Kenji looked at everyone inside the limousine like he was remembering something. And when he smiled, he said, “Junhyung, as the son of Michael, is the leader of Arcs. Arcs are composed of Sungjae, son of Phanuel. Lay, son of Raphael. Jihoon, son of Uriel. Woohyun, the son Gabriel. Mark, son of Raguel. And of course, Seunghyun, the son of Samuel – Angel of Death.”

     The Arcs looked back at each other. Not sure to be impressed or freaked out.

     “Next is the Demons, led by the powerful son of wrath, Sunggyu. The Demons are sons of rulers of Seven Deadly Sons, which by the way, I find very interesting. Sons according to sin, Hyunseung of lust, Minhyuk of Gluttony, Suho of Greed, Taeil of Sloth, Sunggyu of Wrath, Jackson of Envy, and the most powerful son, Jiyong. Prince of Pride.”

     The Arcs and the Demons were suddenly shocked by what the old man just revealed. He really did know them. 

      “What the fuck old man!? You researched about us or something?” Jiyong suddenly blurted out. A few minutes ago, he was impressed with how rich Kenji was, but now he was just mad on the sudden creepiness the old man was showing.

      Sunggyu stopped Jiyong, but deep inside he wanted to burst as well. Though he still tried his best to stay calm for the sake of everyone.

      “Explain yourself Kenji. We don’t want to fight you,” Sunggyu calmly stated.

      “I don’t want to fight you either. Who am I to fight the princes of Heaven and Hell? I’m actually very honored to meet you all. My life is already in your hands, so I have no intention to fight or hurt you. Yes, I was the founder of RAVENS, the corporation who hunts down demons and angels who are walking on earth. They look like humans, just like you, but they are all very extraordinary creatures. We wanted to examine these said creatures, see how they create and mend their powers, but RAVENS ended up being a group who wanted to kill and eliminate the said creatures,” Kenji explained.

     “We’re not creatures,” Jackson suddenly stated right after Kenji spoke. His voice was low and full of anger. When everyone was looking at Jackson, he continued, “You keep on saying the word creatures. It makes me sick.”

     For a second, Jackson’s eye almost turned red, but it went back to normal afterward when Mark held his hand tightly.

      “Okay, I apologize. That’s the words we used when we-” Taeil immediately cuts Kenji off and said, “So basically you’re like the Doves in Tokyo Ghoul.”

     Everyone in the limo became quiet.

      “Tokyo what?” Sungjae asked as he confusingly looked at Taeil.

      “It’s the manga I’ve been reading recently. You guys should read it, it’s pretty cool,” Taeil stated, then Jihoon suddenly pointed at Taeil and said, “I know that manga! You didn’t tell me you read it too!”

     “Well, I didn’t know you read it as well! So Jihoon, what chapter are you on now?” Taeil asked as the two started to fanboy over the manga no one knew about.

     “That’s enough,” Seunghyun and Hyunseung commanded in unison, and the two immediately stopped.

     “I’m sorry about my brothers,” Junhyung apologized for Sunggyu’s sake as well.

     “Don’t apologize. Boys will always be boys after all.”

     “But can you kindly explain to us the reason why you know us?” Lay asked politely.

      Kenji smiled and nodded his head, “I was the head of RAVENS for a reason. I’ve read the bible, all the scriptures and old books about Hell and Heaven, and especially Angels and Demons. I know a lot of your fathers as well. So when Dongmin told me about you, I researched a little more, and I was so fascinated by the stories that I’ve heard from him. Most people don’t believe in Demons and Angels, but most people believe in them but haven’t even seen one. Until my grandfather, a general way back before met a member of the second generation 12 apostles.”

     “What?!” everyone shouted in unison.

     “Yes, like what I said earlier, Dongmin told me a lot about you, especially the Demons. Like how you were normal teenagers who suddenly woke up and found out they were actually princes of Hell. The one who my grandfather met had quite a similar experience. He was a happy loan shark leader; he was bad and cruel. But suddenly he found out he was destined to fight a group of Demons who are out to kill them and destined to find the rest of the 12 apostles. Sounds familiar? His name was Wen Junhui, also known as Matthew.”

      “The reincarnation of father Matthew…so his earth name was Wen Junhui,” Mark stated in shock.

     “Mark, can you explain this to us?” asked Hyunseung. He was eager to know more about this since the Demons weren’t really familiar with the Angels, not like how the Arcs know about the Devils.

     Mark nodded and started his story, “Long ago, there were the 12 Apostles who walked beside Jesus. Everything was perfect until your king decided to create rulers for the seven deadly sins.

      Your experience and your father’s experience were the same remember? They were normal people until the king chose them without even warning them about the consequences afterward. 

     God wanted to defeat them, but the 12 apostles weren’t strong enough because the more people committed the deadly sins, the more the rulers of the realms grew stronger. So instead, God reincarnated the apostles. All the powers of the apostles, all their knowledge, were transferred to 12 different people who were exactly like them before. Like Father Matthew for instance, he was a tax collector. Wen Junhui, the new Father Mathew, was a loan shark. Thus, creating the second generation of apostles.“

     “I see now. that’s very impressive,” Kenji stated in excitement from his new knowledge.

     “So Kenji, was this the reason why you created RAVENS?” Junhyung asked, and Kenji nodded in agreement.

     “Yes, that’s right. My grandfather would tell me all about his encounter with this angel while I was a kid. So while I was growing up, I grew fascinated by it and believed him. I even tell these stories to my son as well. But people thought my grandfather was crazy. Even his own son thought he was crazy,” Kenji explained.

     “Son?” Lay confusingly asked.

     Kenji nodded his head and explained further, “Yes, my father did not believe in his story, that’s why he always mocked him. Telling my grandfather that the reason why he keeps on losing battles is that he kept on believing that angels are protecting him. But I knew he wasn’t lying, that’s why I created RAVENS. To let everyone know that my grandfather was not even a bit crazy, that everything he knows is true. And Park Dong Min…was all the proof that I need. But because of him, I also left RAVENS.”

     “Who’s leading RAVENS now then?” this time, it was Minhyuk who asked.

     Kenji took a deep breath and answered, “My son… Asano Tamo. “

     “EHH?!” everyone said in unison. “Your son?!”

     “Yes. My only son Tamo is now the leader of RAVENS. At first, he was interested in the stories I was telling him, but as he grew older, his interest over angels and demons became…what do you call it…violent,” Kenji stated with a disappointed face.

     “And you’re not even stopping him? What if he does capture a Demon or an Angel, and then kills it?!” Suho stated in anger on realizing that Kenji isn’t even stopping his son’s gruesome plans.

     “Suho-san, no need to worry. One thing I learned from my grandfather is that Humans cannot kill Demons nor Angels, it’s just impossible. So you shouldn’t be afraid. I’m just leaving Tamo alone, he could have fun with what he’s doing for now. But one day he’ll meet an angel or even a demon who would change his perspectives about them. And that kid only listens to his mother. If she was still alive maybe Tamo wouldn’t even think about leading RAVENS,” Kenji explained.

     Suddenly, just by hearing that, everyone’s mood changed.

     “Oh kids, before I continue, let me tell you one rule that you have to remember while you’re here in Tokyo,” he then tells them.

      The sons didn’t say a thing as they anticipated what Kenji had to say.

      “Most important rule in Tokyo: Everything that happens in Tokyo…stays in Tokyo. “

---

 The sons arrived at Kenji’s mansion. It was already late and everyone was tired.

     “Welcome to my home. I live here by myself since my son practically sleeps at the RAVENS headquarters so he doesn’t go here anymore. Well, I live with 10 maids and 6 butlers. I want a lot of people inside my home, that’s why I was very happy that you will be staying here for a while,” Kenji explained as the sons looked out the window of the limo to see Kenji’s mansion.

      “Well I know you’re all hungry, let’s eat dinner before I show you your rooms,” Kenji finally stated as he went out of the limo.

     “Finally!” Minhyuk shouted as everyone went out of the limo as well. The Demons and Arcs proceeded to the dining room and found out a lot of things about RAVENS and also about Kenji.

     “So your father didn’t like your grandfather at all?” Sungjae asked.

     “That’s right,” Kenji answered.

     “Well, that’s harsh.”

     “Uhm…can you excuse me, I just want some fresh air,” Hyunseung stated as Kenji looked at him and nodded.

    Hyunseung stood up and went to the balcony as everyone continued their conversation with Kenji. He leaned forward as he sighed and closed his eyes; feeling the breeze of the cold wind. They were finally going to meet Kharon the Second tomorrow. After that they’d be heading back to open the gates of Hell. 

     After all these years, there were finally going to the place they should be calling home. The place where their fathers were created, the home of sinners, THEIR home.

      As Hyunseung was thinking and stressing himself out, he suddenly felt someone hug him from behind. It was warm and comforting at the same time. He felt safe in his arms. Then it started kissing his neck until Hyunseung commanded, “Stop it Junhyung. Not now.”

     “What’s wrong baby?” Junhyung stated as he rested his chin on Hyunseung’s shoulder.

     Hyunseung held Junhyung’s head gently as he said, “I’m okay, I’m just thinking. But it’s making me worried and scared and…”

     Junhyung slowly lets go of Hyunseung and turned him around so he can face him.

     “Then don’t think. You shouldn’t worry, and you should definitely not be scared. I will always be right beside you. Understand?” Junhyung asked, and Hyunseung nodded his head as an answer.

     Junhyung gently gave a kiss on Hyunseung’s forehead, then to his nose, and li-

     “Fresh air huh?” Sunggyu suddenly asked with a smirk as he and Woohyun went to where the two were.

     “Nice timing as always Sunggyu,” Junhyung stated with a sarcastic voice.

     “I try my best Junhyung,” Sunggyu replied with a smirk.

     Woohyun and Sunggyu leaned on the rails of the balcony as well and looked at the happy couple.

     “It’s still so weird that our leader is happily in love with this Demon. I’m not hating okay? I’m just stating the facts here. And everyone’s pretty much gonna agree with me,” Woohyun stated as the three laughed on how ridiculous Woohyun sounded.

     When everyone stopped laughing, Sunggyu became serious.

     “What do you think we’ll do Hyunseung? Once we enter hell,” Sunggyu stated without even looking at Hyunseung.

     “I don’t know. But whatever happens, I know that we’ll be right at each other’s backs.”

     Sunggyu drank the wine he was holding since earlier and replied, “Let’s just see about that.”

• END -

SDS2 03: KHARON II

NOTE : Italic conversations are mostly Japanese if not, it would be English.

THE ARCS AND THE Demons were back at the limousine with   their current guardian, Asano Kenji, and current driver who is a lot more silent that Jackson, Tada.

     “The person you’re calling Kharon the Second is Taro Yamada, also known as the “ Iron fist “ of the biggest yakuza group in Japan. This group is called the Red Rangers . Feared by many, challenged by no one. I haven’t seen their base up close, but I’ve passed by their gates before. I also haven’t seen Taro Yamada in person, so I have no idea what he looks like. And like my father, they think the RAVENS are a joke and no threat to them whatsoever,” Kenji explained.

NOTE: 

Yakuza, also known as gokudō, are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and their organized fiefdom-nature.

     “So what you’re saying is that we’re going to die inside of that place?” Sungjae asked with a worried expression.

     “Maybe if you say the right words, they might just let you in,” Kenji answered calmly. He then looked out the window as the limo slowly made its stop.

     “This is the farthest we could drive you. It’s too risky for me to go any further. Just remember what your guardian had told you. Never ever show them your true selves. Fight normally if things get bad,” Kenji reminded them.

     “But what if things get REAL bad,” Jiyong emphasized.

     “Then I guess you have to fight back…with everything you’ve got”, Kenji stated with a smirk on his face.

     “That’s what I’m talking about!” Jiyong shouted as excitedly he went out of the limo. Everyone said goodbye to Kenji. He told the sons to call him as soon as everything is over so he could pick them up. It felt like they were kids being sent to school by their grandfather.

     “May Jesus Christ and the King of Hell be with you and your spirit sons,” Kenji softly stated. After that, he drove off.

     “Okay, I have the box that contains his ring. Junhyung, do you have the key?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at Junhyung.

     Junhyung took out a neck chain and showed it to Sunggyu, “I have it right here.”

     “Okay. Let’s go, everyone,” Sunggyu instructed as the sons started walking to their destination. As they were walking, Taeil started explaining the plan to the sons. Well, he was the plan maker now after all.

     “The plan is simple. We’ll introduce ourselves as a famous and feared group from Korea. We went to Tokyo because we heard a lot about him and his Yakuza so we’re going to give him a present as a sign of respect,” Taeil explained, but no one reacted. 

     They might have agreed earlier but they’re still in doubt at the same time. Anyway, this was the only plan they have at the moment, so might as well try their best.

     “Mark, stay right beside me okay?” Jackson suddenly stated without even looking at Mark in between the quiet atmosphere.

      “Yes, I – “ Mark stopped as soon as they saw the gate that Kenji was talking about.

     “Holy shit,” Minhyuk and Suho stated at the same time.

     “This is more like a temple than a Yakuza Base. Is Kenji right about the location?” Jihoon asked as he looked at the enormous gate in front of them.

     “I think he is,” Taeil answered as he pointed at the huge sign that said, “ Red Rangers. “

     Everyone stood in a straight horizontal line in front of the red gate. Then without any warning, a group of men - all covered up in black cloth with red headbands, went running towards them and started surrounding the brothers.

     “Ninjas?” Seunghyun confusingly whispered in surprise.

     The men – about 10 of them – took out swords and pointed them at the sons, making some of the sons ( mostly the Arcs ) flinch from shock.

     “ How handsome guests…or should I say, members of the Black Soldiers,

“ a voice said as the so-called “ninjas” made a small gap so he could be seen.

     “ Did Rinu send you here?!“  a man in a suit shouted in Japanese. Clearly, Jiyong was the only one who understood what he was saying since the beginning of their encounter with them. Sunggyu looked at Jiyong as if he was saying the words, “ Do something you asshole. “

     Jiyong cleared his throat, getting ready to show off his Japanese skills. He looked at the man in a suit and said, “No, o

f course not. We’re not members of the Black Soldiers or any Yakuza group in Japan. We’re a gang in South Korea called

προδότες (

prodótes).

We have come all the way here to give our utmost respect to the leader of the Red Rangers.“

     The man in a suit raised an eyebrow as he said, “ Interesting name for a Korean gang, are you sure you’re not a Kpop boy group? “ the man then joked. But Jiyong didn’t even laugh at the man’s humor, so the man in suit coughed in embarrassment and quickly continued, “You’re looking for Taro Yamada?”

     “Hai,”  Jiyong quickly answered.

     “Well then…you’re looking at him kid,”  the man answered proudly.

     Everyone shocked. They didn’t expect Taro Yamada to be less…scary.

     “I only want you, the right-hand man of the leader, and the leader of your said gang to come inside. The rest may stay out here and wait,”  Taro instructed.

      Jiyong looked at Junhyung and Sunggyu and nodded. The two looked like they understood what it meant so they nodded their heads back and moved forward.

     “You guys stay here for a while. And please be nice to these ninjas,” Junhyung stated as he and the others went inside, leaving his brothers alone with the scary-looking group of men.

     Jiyong, Sunggyu, and Junhyung followed Taro as they arrived at a room filled with gold and red. There was a huge throne looking chair in the middle, and an antique table. Paintings were hanging on the walls, and a very huge mirror was behind the chair. The room was very traditional looking.

     Taro Yamada sat down on the seat in the middle and told them to sit down as well. So Jiyong sat first, and the two followed afterward.

     Taro looked at the three in front of him. Jiyong gulped as he was gripping on his seat. He knew that he was the only one who would be doing the talking since these two didn’t know how to speak Japanese.

     “ So, what are your names? “ Taro finally asks.

     “ I’m Kwon Jiyong, this is our leader Kim Sunggyu and the man beside him is Yong Junhyung, “ Jiyong answered calmly.

     “ I see. But before I start with my questions…what’s that strange-looking box you’re holding? “ Taro asked as he curiously looked at the box.

     “Oh! This is our gift to you, sir,”  Jiyong stated as he gestured Sunggyu to place the box in front of him. So Sunggyu stood up and placed the box on top of the table in front of them, “I hope you accept our small present,” Sunggyu stated, and Jiyong translated it confidently.

      “ Of course, I will accept it wholeheartedly, “ Taro answered as he tried to open the box. When he saw the keyhole, he looked at Jiyong with a grin and said, “ How do you expect me to open this if you don’t hand me the key? Am I right Kwon Jiyong? “

      “ Oh yes, my apologies, “ Jiyong simply answered.

     Jiyong looked at Junhyung and smirked as he nodded. Signaling him to give “ Taro “ what he needed.

     “Here’s the key sir,” Junhyung stated as he slowly stood up from his seat. Taro was excited to open the box and see what was inside, but instead of giving him the key, Junhyung suddenly summoned his sword and pointed it at Taro’s throat.

      “It was a big mistake for you to leave all your guards outside. The real traitors are always the ones close to you,” Junhyung stated with a smirk.

     “W-Where did that s-sword…c-come from?!” Taro confusingly asked while he was stuttering. He was shocked and scared at the same time.

     Sunggyu – with a smirk as well – stood up from his seat, and surprise, he knew Japanese. Well, he and Suho was rich too, why wouldn’t they know such a simple language?

     “Do you know what προδότες means? It simply means traitor sir TARO YAMADA,”  Sunggyu revealed as he emphasized the words ‘Taro Yamada’.  Sunggyu sat down on the table and continued, “What do you think of us? Fools? Idiots? A leader of a feared Yakuza wouldn’t make a joke about kpop groups.”

      The man gulped loudly as he finally confessed , “F-fine, I’m not Taro Yamada.”

      “Then where the fuck is he?!” Sunggyu shouted, obviously impatient with the man in front of them.

     “ Tell me where the leader is old man, and we won’t kill you, “ Sunggyu threatened.

     The man was already sweating, but his loyalty to their leader was strong. “ Kill me now, because I am not going to tell you where he is. “

     “Well then…Junhyung, do the honors,” Sunggyu finally said.

     Junhyung smirked as he was about to stab the man with his sword. So the only thing he could do was close his eyes and wait for Grim Reaper to fetch him. But when the blade was only a few inches away from his chest, Junhyung stopped when he suddenly saw a man standing on the other room. The mirror was actually a one-way mirror.

     “ That’s enough. Hero, bring these nice gentlemen to my room, “ He stated as the mirror reflected their reflections once again.

     The man whose name was actually Hero, sighed loudly as Junhyung hid his sword back.

     “C-come with me,”  Hero stated as he quickly stood up from his seat and went out. Sunggyu took the box on the table and the three obediently followed.

     The four of them arrived at the said room. It looked similar to the room they just went to earlier, but only bigger.

     “Please sit down. Hero, you’ve done your job well. Please leave us, “ the original Taro instructed.

     Hero bowed down and silently left the room.

     The three looked at the man in front of them. He was scarier than Hero and looked more like a leader of a powerful Yakuza. This was definitely Taro Yamada.

     “So, ’ The traitors’  huh? Let’s stop the lies and just tell me who you really are so no one will die. Sounds like a good plan doesn’t it?”

     And of course, this man knew Korean too.

     “This is Jiyong, and I’m Sunggyu, the leader of Demons,” said Sunggyu with no hesitation, then Junhyung continued, “And I’m Junhyung, the leader of a group called Arcs.”

     “I see, so you’re from two different groups. I know that your purpose here is not to conquer or assassinate me. No one in the right mind would ambush us in OUR own headquarters and with little number of members too. But, what you did with that sword…is something I find very fascinating,” Yamada stated with a smirk.

     Junhyung avoided his eyes; he was trying to avoid the conversation. He honestly got a little carried away on that part.

     “And how you found out about Hero being a false Taro was also impressive. Most people who visit wouldn’t even know that he wasn’t. That also impresses me. This only means that your gang isn’t JUST a gang. I am really astonished”

     The man stood up and started walking around the room while Sunggyu and the others followed him with their eyes.

     “I have killed a total of seven hundred sixty-four people, and I am not afraid to add fourteen more. You went to Tokyo to look for me, am I right? Then here I am, right in front of you. Taro Yamada, at your service,” he said with a creepy smile. Well, this time, the brothers were sure that this was the real Taro Yamada.

     “What can I do for you young boys? Of course I’m not going to fight you, three against one? That’s something I can do, but one against three boys who can summon a sword with their bare hands? That’s going to be hard. What else do you have in store, I’m a bit curious now. Can you summon an army too?” Taro asked them, making the three unsure if he was serious or sarcastic.

     The three couldn’t even answer him. He was so intimidating that no one dared to talk back. It was obvious that Kharon the Second was still running through his veins.

     “What is your purpose here? Give your respect? Don’t make me laugh. You’re here for a purpose more than that. But what is it? Wait; let’s narrow the guessing down. What are YOU? You are obviously not humans. Magicians, I suppose? No, wait, could it be aliens? Hmm, let’s be more realistic. You know an organization called Ravens?” Yamada suddenly asked.

     No one answered.

     “Well, they’re a group of people who thinks Angels and Demons exist. I think they’re crazy of course, who wouldn’t. But right now, I think I might start believing one…are you, Demons and Angels perhaps?” he finally asked.

     Jiyong quickly stood up and removed his ring and placed it inside his pocket. He teleported in front of Yamada, surprisingly him on what Jiyong just did. Jiyong’s eyes were finally red as he stared back at the Red Ranger’s leader, then he pulled his collar upward.

     Looks like these guys aren’t listening to their guardians when they said they shouldn’t use their powers.

     “Your guessing is over,” Jiyong stated, his voice now lower than before.

     “So you are real…looks like I was the crazy one to not believe in it,” Yamada stated calmly. Fear wasn’t even there.

     Sunggyu and Junhyung stood up and went to where the two was.

     “Calm your horses G Dragon,” Junhyung instructed so Jiyong slowly lets go of Taro Yamada.

     Sunggyu went closer to Yamada. Now his face was only a few inches away from him. He narrowed his eyes and said, “It’s our turn to guess. How will you wear the ring that we want you to wear?”

     Junhyung went to the box and opened it, revealing the ring that will give Taro Yamada’s memories of Kharon II back.

     Taro Yamada looked confused as he answered, “Looks like you need to chop my fingers off before you do.”

     Sunggyu chuckled as he answered back, “That’s too easy…how about we just do this instead?”

     Sunggyu took off his ring and his eyes slowly turned red as well. He looked deeper into Yamada’s eyes and said, “Let’s see what your deepest fear is Mr. Taro Yamada.”

     In Taro Yamada’s perspective, Sunggyu and the two were slowly disappearing, and everything around him started melting away until he was trapped inside a black abyss.

     “What is your greatest fear, Taro Yamada?” Sunggyu’s voice was heard, but no one was there.

     “I have no fear!” Taro shouted as his words echoed everywhere.

     “Nonsense, everyone has a fear. Even Demons.”

     “I can fight anything you show me, because I’m not scared of anything!”

     “Then what’s this?” Sunggyu stated, then a wedding ceremony appeared.

     Yamada was in the middle of the aisle when a woman wearing a wedding dress suddenly passed through him.

     “Emiru?” Taro asked in confusion that almost sounded like a whisper.

     “Your wife looks beautiful…too bad she didn’t really become your wife.”

     “Stop this…” Yamada quickly says. But Emiru went to the altar, then the priest started to talk.

     Taro was staring at the woman as he shouted, “I said stop this!”

     The priest’s eyes suddenly turned red as he said, “ It’s time for you to wear your rings. “

     “You asshole better stop this now!” Taro quickly ran to his wife, trying to hold her, but she felt like smoke. Taro couldn’t even feel her warmth.

     “ Emiru Masato, Take this ring as a sign of my love for you, “ the fake figure of Yamada stated.

     “I said stop this now!”

     Then the image of Taro, who was wearing a clean suit, placed the ring on her finger. Taro continued to stare. He wanted to close his eyes so wouldn’t be able to see anything anymore but he couldn’t like someone was making sure that he’d see everything, “Please…” Yamada said as a tear finally fell from his eyes.

     Emiru, who was looking at the fake Taro, slowly turned her head to look directly at the real Taro now as she said, “ Take this ring as a sign of my love for you. “

     She placed the ring on Taro’s finger. Then in a split second, a red stain appeared on her chest; she was actually shot.

     “No! Not again! Please stop!”

     Taro finally broke down as he started hearing his wife’s voice inside his head.

     “This is your fault, Yamada. If you didn’t leave your Yakuza I would still be alive. If you only listened to me, I wouldn’t have been shot. I would have still been alive…I wouldn’t have been dead by now!”

     “STOP!”

     Everything finally went back to normal. Yamada was kneeling on the floor, his hands covering his ears. The three were standing right in front of him.  Sunggyu kneeled as well and said, “Your greatest fear…is your wife. I told you, even the strongest of men have fears.”

     Taro was crying as he lowered his head. Then he saw his hand; he was already wearing the ring the three wanted him to wear.

     “You had to show that to me just so I could-”

     Yamada stopped as he started coughing blood. His skin started to turn pale, blood was coming out of his nose as well. His eyes were also slowly turning red like it was consuming his pupils. 

     Something in his back was coming out as well, ripping his shirt. It was his wings. The wings of a phoenix. Sunggyu stood up as the three waited for their past guardian, Kharon the second.

     Then time stopped. HE has finally arrived. Taro…I mean…Kharon the Second slowly stood up, stretching his body like he hasn’t moved in centuries.

    “Oh my holy fuck it’s good to be back,” he stated, and then his eyes passed through the three. His eyes widened as he went down on his knees and bowed, “Prince Kim Sunggyu of Wrath and Prince Kwon Junhyung of Pride! Thank you for summoning me! As payment, I will serve you with my whole life!”

     “Stand up,” Jiyong commanded.

     Kharon II stood up, but when he saw Junhyung, his eyes suddenly changed, like he was ready to attack him. “A prince from heaven,” he stated with a glare.

     “He’s on our side now,” Jiyong explained, shocking Kharon II.

     “Wait…looks like my princes had the guts to defeat the king. Looks like the prophecy was right,” Kharon II suddenly explained, shocking the sons this time.

     “What do you mean by prophecy?” Sunggyu asked

     “When I was still alive, the prophecy told me and your fathers that there will be a time that the King will fall, and I was the key to it. That’s why I was killed in the past. I wasn’t killed because of my fight with the 12 apostles; the King himself killed me. But deep inside I knew that I was going to return. I didn’t expect that it would take this long,” Kharon II explained further.

     “So even long ago, they knew that this was going to happen?” Junhyung asked.

     “Yes. So I presume you need the key to open Hell,” Kharon suddenly stated, making himself laugh. When he composed himself again, he continued, “Didn’t know until now that what they meant by ‘key’ was literal.”

     “That’s right, we need the key to open Hell. When I mean key, I mean how do we open hell?” Sunggyu asked.

     “I have the power to open Hell, same as the past and the new generation Kharon. But I can’t open it for you since Japan isn’t the place where you want it to be opened. This isn’t my body anymore, but someone else’s, so if I stay longer, this body will decay and both of us will eventually die. If it’s not a bother my princes, I need to hand my powers to the prince of Sloth. He has the power to see places through mirrors…”

     “So he can open the gates of hell in a mirror as well,” Junhyung continued.

     “Exactly Prince of Heaven…exactly,” Kharon said with a smirk.

     “Then let’s go outside,” Sunggyu stated as the four followed outside.

     Meanwhile, the sons were still outside, fooling around with the frozen-as-stone ninjas.

      “Hey guys, look at this,” said Suho as he placed his finger inside one of the man’s nose.

     “You’re fucking disgusting Suho,” Lay stated with a sour face.

     Suho playfully went to where he was and held Lay’s face gently, using the hand that he used to pick the ninja’s nose earlier, “Come on sweetie, lighten up.”

      Lay quickly pushed Suho off him, making the rest of the brothers laugh.

     “Pathetic”, Lay stated as he moved farther away from Suho.

     “Give him some slack Lay-hyung!” Mark stated as he kept on laughing. He was sitting on the side besides his lover Jackson. His head softly resting on top of Jackson’s broad shoulders, and their hands intertwined with each other.

      “What’s taking them so long?” Jackson asked calmly, but there was a hint of impatience in his voice.

     Taeil, who was standing beside Jihoon as well, just patted Jackson’s head and said, “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. You just need to wait a little.”

      “But isn’t it taking them too long?” Seunghyun then asked.

     “Why, are you getting bored now big guy?” a voice suddenly says.

     Everyone turned around and shouted, “Sunggyu!” They quickly stood up and went to where Sunggyu and the rest were. Then they saw the guy behind them.

     “Kharon The Second…” Hyunseung stated as the man with huge black wings went forward. He bowed in front of them and stated, “It is my honor to meet you, my Princes. And it is also an honor to meet the princes of Heaven.”

     “The honor is ours,” Seunghyun stated, astonished on what he was seeing.

     “Wow, so this was the past Kharon…no offense but Kharon the third is a lot more handsome. You’re like a thug type,” Minhyuk stated, making Sungjae hit his head, making him shut up.

      “Just like your father,” Kharon II said with a smile.

     “What are you guys doing here? Are we going to leave now?” Woohyun asked.

      Sunggyu looked at Kharon and nodded, signaling him to explain everything. Without a second thought, Kharon II stepped forward and explained everything that he told Sunggyu, Jiyong, and Junhyung.

     “So all this time, everyone knew about this but they still forced us to fight each other in the beginning,” Jihoon stated, a little disappointed that everyone fooled them.

     “Don’t think of it as something like that. Think of it as a training for what is yet to come,” Kharon stated, making everyone look at each other and finally agree on what he just said.

     “So what should I do then? Should I like…have sex with you or something?” Taeil suddenly asked.

      Everyone was shocked on what Taeil just told Kharon, especially Jihoon. Kharon went closer to Taeil and lowered his head so his face would only be inches away from him, “Well my prince of Sloth, it would be an honor to fuck you but…I would probably die if I do so,” then Kharon smirked and stood straight once more.

     “Well, I thought that’s how it worked,” Taeil explained, still expressionless.

     “Just shut up will ya!” Jihoon stated. Mad that Taeil would say something like that carelessly. But he still tried to act like he still didn’t care since they still weren’t officially together.

      “Are you ready to accept this great power, my Prince?” Kharon asked as Taeil nodded his head in agreement.

     “Well then-” Everyone stepped aside and Kharon gripped on Taeil’s cheeks. He moved closer to Taeil’s face like he was about to kiss him, but then a black smoke started coming out of his mouth, and it was slowly entering Taeil’s mouth and nose,

     After that was done, Taeil fainted. But just in time for Jihoon to catch him before he falls.

     “Well, what can I say? I’m a prince charming type,” Jihoon stated as he placed Taeil’s arm on top of his shoulder.

     “That’s it? We went all the way to Japan for that?” Jiyong asked.

     “Yes, the power is transferred to him, he just needs a little rest and he’ll be able to perform the power I have given to him. But it looks like I need to go back,” Kharon stated when he realized that Taro Yamada’s skin looked like it was pilling off.

     “Where exactly?” Suho asked curiously.

     “To the deepest part of hell. We might see each other on your visit to your kingdom. Everyone’s going to be excited to see their Prince’s in their real home,” Kharon explained.

     “I doubt that,” Hyunseung stated.

     “Well, after I remove this ring, I’ll be back in there, and the owner of this body will not remember anything that happened today. Oh, and…” Kharon snapped his fingers and said, “No one in this place will remember you.”

     “Wow, just like that you erased their memories?! You need to teach us that!” Suho stated in excitement.

     “Your new Kharon hasn’t thought you that trick? What a useless asshole,” Kharon said with a grin, making the sons chuckle.

     “Well, it only takes time and a lot of practice,” he simply added.

     Sunggyu went to Kharon and patted his shoulder, “Thank you very much Kharon the Second. You helped us a lot.”

     “No, thank you, my prince. I wish you good luck on your journey, and in your battle with the King. Everyone in Hell had felt his wrath and his injustice; all the gifts he promised us became a curse. Please bring us to peace.” Kharon stated as he bowed and finally removed the ring. His wings slowly vanished and his body quickly collapsed on the floor. The time went back to normal as well, but before everyone would start moving, the sons were gone.

• END -

SDS2 04: HOME

PARK DONGMIN PLACE THE key and the box - which contained Kharon the Second’s ring - back to the cabinet. The sons were back in Korea after their quick visit to Tokyo. Now, they’re ready to face the challenges of Hell.

     “Whatever happens in there kids, I will pray for you all,” Dongmin stated as he turned around to see everyone standing in front of the mirror where they used to communicate with their fathers.

      Today was the day where the sons were about to enter hell. Everyone prepared themselves, but no words could describe how utterly terrified the sons were, especially the Arcs.

     “All you need to do is use your powers of invisibility, nothing else. Once you enter hell, go look for your fathers. And they will instruct you on what to do next,” Dongmin stated as he looked at the Demons.

     “Yes, we will do our best,” Hyunseung answered. Then Taeil looked at the Arcs’ guardian and said, “But what if we get lost? Isn’t hell just as big as earth?”

     “Don’t worry, you all have Demon blood. Once you enter hell, you’ll feel like you’ve been there a thousand times now. You’ll know the paths like you’ve walked past them before. Getting lost is very impossible,” he answered. Then he looked at the Arcs and continued, “The things that you’ll be seeing inside hell, is the most gruesome and disturbing things you’ll see in your entire existence. You’re angels, and things that you haven’t even imaged will be there. You can still stay and let the Princes of Hell do it themselves if your minds aren’t mentally prepared for this.”

     “No, we will continue. This is what we’ve trained for. And weren’t you the one who told us that we need to see what we’re trying to face and defeat?” Junhyung explained.

     “I know, but I’m just worried that I might be wrong, Hell is nothing like our paradise. It’s-” Seunghyun held Dongmin’s shoulder and reassured him that they’ll be okay. “Don’t worry, we will do our best no matter what happens,” he stated, and finally, Dongmin nodded.

     “Okay. Taeil, open the gates of Hell. Open the gates of your home. With all my heart, May God be with you and your Spirits,” Dongmin stated as he steps aside and Taeil went in front.

     Taeil looked at the mirror and gently touched the surface of it. After that, he closed his eyes, and the mirror started to show a picture. Something red, something burning. Taeil removed his hands from the mirror and looked back at his brothers, “Ladies first.”

     Sunggyu was ready but scared at the same time. But as the leader of the group, he had to act like the toughest one of all the demons. His gaze changed as he said, “Brothers, let’s go.”

     Sunggyu went in first, and then everyone followed. Then the mirror quickly closed.

     “Good luck kids,”  Dongmin stated as he looked at his own reflection, then left the room.

IN HELL

 “Okay, we only have a few minutes. Let’s look for our fathers and be…” Sunggyu suddenly stopped when he slowly turned around and saw how big Hell actually was.

     It was a place that would give you nightmares. Screams would be heard from afar, walls were covered with bodies, like they were made as a temporary cement. It gave the Arcs goosebumps, but for the Demons, it felt like home.

     “Wow guys didn’t know your kingdom was THIS big,” Woohyun stated sarcastically as he was fascinated by how weirdly beautiful this flaming kingdom looked like.

     “Is it a sin to think of this as a very beautiful place?” Mark asked. His mouth was still wide open from astonishment.

     “Pretty much,” Jiyong answered with a smirk, then he continued, “This is fucking insane! Do we rule this place?! This is enormous! Imagine if we defeat the King, we’d-” Sunghyun cuts him off and added for him, “You’d never come back here.”

     Then everyone was silent, but Hyunseung took the chance and explained, “Once we defeat the King, all our relationship with him, and this world, will be erased. We’ll no longer be princes of hell, we won’t be ruling anything anymore”

     “I see,” Jiyong said in disappointment. All this power and it would only be taken away just by something like that?

     Minhyuk took a few steps further and looked at how deep the place was, it wasn’t just big, the place was deeper than anything they’ve seen.

     “That’s one deep hole…” Minhyuk stated, only a few more steps and he’d fall. Then everyone went to him and took a look as well.

     “There are nine levels, also known as the nine stages of hell. The lowest part, the cruelest part of all, is where the King of Hell stays, his castle. Most ghouls stay there, and the souls of past Demons, and the past Kharons and gatekeepers, all of them are there. The floor above that is the Realms of Pride, GD’s Realm, and the rest of the floors represent the rest of the sins,” Sungjae explained. The Demons weren’t even shocked that he knew a lot, it was obvious that the Arcs had more knowledge about this since they studied about their kind.

     “The top is the first level, limbo – the river of spirits. We kinda skipped that part so we’re now on the second stage, the place that we’re stepping on is the realms of Lust, the place where JS rules,” Sungjae explained, then everyone looked at Hyunseung.

     “What?” Hyunseung asked as he raised an eyebrow.

     Junhyung held Hyunseung’s waist and said, “Well babe…lead the way.”

     Hyunseung slowly turned his head to the path that they would be walking to. And if you hear closely, you could hear moans that actually gave them chills. Hyunseung gulped loudly and looked at his brothers as he said, “T-then…follow me.”

     Hyunseung started walking, his hands intertwined with his lover Junhyung.

     Everyone was walking and looking around, as the place got darker, Hyunseung stated, “Welcome to the realms of lust.”

     After a few steps, everything was lit up with fire, and everyone could clearly see the sinners of lust being smothered by fire and brimstones. When they passed through them, the souls were trying to grab their feet.

     “Help us! Please!” The soul shouted as he was trying to grab Jackson’s leg. But Jackson just kicked him off. 

     Mark held Jackson tighter when he saw it.

     “Don’t be scared,” Jackson stated as he held Mark back.

     As Hyunseung was leading the way, the souls looked like they were scared. They all ran off when they saw Hyunseung’s face because they knew that their prince had arrived.

     “Looks like souls could see us, but ghouls can’t,” Sunggyu explained.

     As the sons continued walking, they saw something that disturbed them. Taeil almost vomited too.

     It was a pit of naked people having sex. 

     They were piles and piles of them, all constantly screaming their moans of pleasure. Everyone looked like they were following a certain beat. But when you look closely, the people were crying, there was blood coming out of their private parts. Like they’ve been doing this for decades and couldn’t even stop.

     The Arcs looked away, they couldn’t stomach the things that they were seeing. They started to realize that Park Dong Min’s warning was right, but they had to continue, they just had to.

     “Cover your eyes,” Hyunseung stated as he looked at Junhyung. Junhyung was already shaking, he couldn’t even move. So Hyunseung repeated himself, but louder, “I command you to close your eyes now!”

     Junhyung was finally mentally present. He slowly covered his eyes and held Hyunseung’s hand even tighter. 

     “D-do what we are instructed…b-brothers,” Junhyung commanded rather weakly, but the Arcs followed.

     “Wait…do you see that?” Minhyuk stated as he pointed at the circle of lustful sinners.

     The Demons saw it too; they saw someone in the middle. Like they were surrounding someone.

     “Taeil and Suho, come with me. The rest of you stay here,” Hyunseung commanded as he lets go of Junhyung’s hand and ran towards the thing that they saw. Taeil and Suho followed. And as Hyunseung got closer, the moans were getting louder. But as it got louder, it didn’t even sound like lustful moans anymore. Hyunseung and the two realized that it was screams of pain.

     “Let’s hurry so we could leave your disgusting realm JS,” Suho stated, trying not to vomit.

     Hyunseung nodded and moved closer. The people looked at Hyunseung with pleading eyes, asking him to help them. Some even tried to grab him. He didn’t want to do anything, but Hyunseung was different, he still had human blood in him.

     Hyunseung sighed, then he looked at his so-called people and commanded, “You are forgiven.”

     “Thank you our prince!” someone shouted as all of them vanished into thin air. The moans and screams stopped, the Arcs opened their eyes and were relieved. But the Demons and Hyunseung was shocked, he didn’t know that what he did would actually work.

     When Hyunseung looked at the figure in the middle. He saw a Demon with large horns and jet-black wings. A Demon that was bounded with burning chains. It was his father – Asmodeus, the King and the Ruler of Lust.

     “Father!” Hyunseung shouted as he ran to where he was and hugged him tightly. The rest ran to where Hyunseung was and surrounded the two.

     “Bow to our father brothers,” Sunggyu commanded, and the Demons followed.

     “M-My son…my sons…you have done well and have accomplished the task given to you,” Asmodeus said weakly. He opened his bloody red eyes wider, and with all his strength he continued, “I am proud of you. I am proud at all of you.”

     “Father…” Hyunseung hugged his father tighter as blood tears went out of his eyes. He pitied his father; he couldn’t stand seeing his father in this state.

     “May I?” Lay asked, ready to heal Hyunseung’s father, but Jihoon quickly grabbed his hand and said, “He’s a Demon Lay, healing him with your angelic powers would only harm him even more.”

     Asmodeus nodded, then Lay slowly puts his hand down.

     “Don’t worry, I’m just tired of watching that,” Asmodeus stated.

     “All this time…you were here? Being surrounded by-” Minhyuk stopped. He couldn’t even say it.

     “Yes, for thousands of years, I stayed here, in a world where the most lustful sinners lived. I usually roam around and torture them myself. But since everything went bullshit, the King locked me up and chained me. Actually chained us all as a matter of fact. I do miss my old state once in a while,” Asmodeus said with a laugh. Everyone was shocked to see him have the strength to even be able to laugh this off.

     “Father you idiot!” Hyunseung said as he wiped his tears.

     “But, what Hyunseung did to those sinners…” Sungjae tried to explain, but Asmodeus knew what he was trying to ask.

     “Those sinners were actually doing that for a hundred years now. And what Hyunseung did will bring them back to the purgatory for judgment. He can do that since he’s a prince. If their heart and souls were cleansed by their torture here, then they might have a chance to go to heaven, but if nothing has changed for the past years, then they’ll be back here. But this time, they’ll turn into those spirits that you saw when you entered here,” Asmodeus explained.

     “I see.”

     “Can we help you? Can we…” Asmodeus stopped Junhyung and looked at him with a smile.

     “You have taken care of my son Yong Junhyung, and I am very grateful. You can’t help me since I’m already part of hell. Even if I don’t do anything, I release a power that temps people to sin. There is nothing you can do for me. But there is still hope for you. So please listen to me carefully,” Asmodeus stated, then the sons moved closer to their father and listened carefully.

     “You can’t defeat the King with just what you already have. Even if the Arcs and your pets are helping, it still won’t be enough to defeat the thousands of ghouls that will be attacking you. For you to defeat the King, you must be in your Demonic state. That’s something you haven’t figured out yet, so go to the Realms of Greed, Mammon will instruct you on how to release it. The Realms of Greed is the farthest you can go; the rest of the realms are too risky. Getting too close to the King will only cause danger,” Asmodeus explained, and everyone nodded in understanding.

     “Stop by at the Realms of Glutton as well. Beelzebub will give you a gift you’d enjoy very well,” then Asmodeus looked at the Arcs and said, “Arcs, I can’t give you anything, and I can’t Bless you. But I wish you luck. And say hi to the 12 Apostles for us. We haven’t seen each other for years you know,” Asmodeus stated as he looked at the Arcs.

     “We promise that your message will arrive at them safely,” Junhyung answered, then he seriously looked at him and said, “We hope you the best,” then he bowed, and the rest of the Arcs followed.

     Asmodeus chuckled as he said, “An angel bowing to a ruler looks really weird, doesn’t it? But…” with that, Asmodeus bowed his head, shocking the Demons.

     “Hurry now my sons, you need to hurry before your invisibility wears off. Remember, you are only invisible to ghouls, the rest can see you. Ghouls will be difficult, they’re very loyal to the King, once they are able to see you, they’ll call out the King for sure.”

     Hyunseung hugged his father ones more before leaving.

     “Thank you father.”

     Then the Demons left, leaving Asmodeus at the Realm he was ruling. The sons started to walk past the sea of bodies as they were going to their next stage, the Realms of Glutton. The Realm of none other than Lee Minhyuk.

     “So guys, this is what you’re going to rule for the rest of your lives if you decided to still kill us? Man, your lives would have been SO fun by now.” Sungjae said sarcastically, making the Demons laugh sarcastically as well.

     “Very funny Sungjae…very fu-” Minhyuk suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence when he suddenly saw something that caught his attention.

     It was a buffet of delicious-looking food.

     “Holy cow that looks good.” Suho was about to grab one piece of bread when suddenly Minhyuk quickly gripped on Suho’s hand and stopped him from doing so.

     “Don’t eat that,” Minhyuk stated seriously, making everyone quiet.

     “Well Minhyuk has a point. Eating delicious looking food in the middle of a place called fucking Hell doesn’t sound like a good idea,” Mark explained and Jackson agreed to it.

     Sunggyu looked at Minhyuk curiously and asked, “Why not? What’s inside it?”

     Minhyuk examined the table one by one and said, “I don’t know but I feel like-” Without any warning, Minhyuk’s eyes turned red and snapped his fingers, then all the food on top of the table turned into worms, bugs, and something that looked mushy.

     “What the fuck! I was about to eat that?!” Suho stated as he covered his mouth, enduring himself so he wouldn’t vomit on the sight he was seeing.

     The Arcs all moved closer at the table, then Minhyuk stopped them and commanded, “Come out sinners…and EAT.”

     With one command, a huge group of ( again ), fat naked people came running out of the sides and started eating the worms on the table.

     “I can’t do this,” Jihoon suddenly stated as he turned around so he couldn’t see what was happening.

     The rest of the Arcs did the same.

     “Praise our prince! He has returned and given us a feast!” one of them shouted, and everyone started cheering.

     “Minhyuk you fucking asshole, can we move already? We’re already impressed with your princely powers but…”

     Minhyuk placed a finger on top of Lay’s mouth and shushed him. And with a silent tone he said, “ They’re here to be punished remember ?“

     The room was suddenly dead silent. The gluttonous sinners stopped eating and looked at each other. And before anything happened, Minhyuk shouted to his brothers, “Cover your eyes now!” Then everyone did, and in that moment three huge monsters went out and started grabbing the people and eating them. 

     The sons were tempted to take a peak but were too scared to see it since they could hear how the bodies were getting crushed by the enormous teeth of Minhyuk’s punishers of sinners. But Minhyuk’s eyes stayed wide open as he stared at the creatures eat all the people. When nothing was left, the enormous monsters went in front of Minhyuk.

     “Guys, open your eyes now. But please ignore the blood splatters and guts on the floor,” Minhyuk stated like he was so used to this. Well, Demon blood still runs through him. You don’t need to teach a prince of Hell to do what he was destined to do in the first place.

     When the Arcs opened their eyes, Jihoon didn’t have any second thought. He vomited.

     “That is one nasty sight,” Seung stated, trying to stomach everything.

     “And that’s one mother fucking monster you’ve got there,” Jiyong said with disbelief. These were practically Minhyuk’s pets and slaves.

     The Arcs and the rest of the Demons looked at Minhyuk who was trying to communicate with his punishers.

     “Welcome back…our prince,” the monster in the middle stated. His voice sounded like a thousand people said it all at once. Well, when you look at it closely, the monsters were literally made of people pilled and glued together. Like what Seung had said, a nasty sight.

     “Where’s my father?” Minhyuk asked, then the three monsters started walking towards the other direction. 

      The brothers looked at each other and nodded. Then they followed the creatures into a chamber that looked like it was inside a stomach, and it was moving like they literally were inside a stomach of some living thing. The monsters stopped in front of a door that looked like a mouth and looked at Minhyuk. Signaling him that this was the door that they needed to go to.

     “Looks like we’re here. Ladies first?” Jiyong said with a smirk on his face, then Minhyuk went closer and opened the door to see his father all chained up like what Hyunseung’s father looked.

     “Father!” Minhyuk shouted as he ran to where his father was and hugged him tightly.

     “I knew it you were here. Looks like you’ve fed my three punishers,” Beelzebub stated with a smile on his face.

     “Bow brothers,” Sunggyu commanded, and everyone followed.

     Hyunseung moved closer to him and said, “Father Beelzebub, my father had told us that we should come here and-” Beelzebub suddenly stopped Hyunseung like he knew what he was talking about and suddenly had an excited face, “Oh! Of course! We, your Fathers, had thought of giving a little gift to help you with your battle with the King. We hope you take care of it.”

     Everyone waited. And as they waited, the ground started to rumble, and a large red egg appeared from the ground.

 - END -

SDS2 05: STEAL WHAT IS MINE

“WHAT THE FUCK IS  that?” Jackson asked with an expressionless face as they all stared at the large egg that strangely looked like a dragon egg.

     “Well, it’s your guardian, Kharon the Third,” Beelzebub answered with a smile. Then the Demons had a shocked face like they couldn’t believe that their guardian was inside that small red egg. The irony since he was practically a bird. He’s a Phoenix, remember?

     Sunggyu slowly took the basketball-sized egg but felt how hot it was, “H-how did you-”

     “Lucifer saved him from the tortures of the King. Since Lucifer was the only one who was really close to the castle, and he was the strongest of us all, he escaped and took Kharon. Then with all his strength, he placed him here for him to heal. It’s been weeks, so when you release him he’ll be in perfect shape,” Beelzebub explained.

     “Dongmin will be excited to see him for sure”, Junhyung stated with a grin on his face.

     “I bet he will,” Beelzebub confirmed.

     Taeil scratched his head in confusion, “But how on earth are we going to open that? Crack it or something?”

     “Let Peter do it. He’ll know,” Beelzebub revealed, confusing everyone.

     “Peter?” said everyone in confusion, making Beelzebub laugh, “Oh my, looks like you don’t know yet.”

     The Demons confusingly looked at each other so Beelzebub continued, “Peter, also known as St. Peter, is the gatekeeper of Heaven. He’s the one who brings the good souls to heaven. Park Dongmin is the reincarnation of Peter, like how the apostles had a new generation, so he’s like Peter the Third. He’s basically the opposite of Kharon. Kharon the Third is the Demon who drags souls to Hell since he doesn’t stay on earth that much, he doesn’t have a human name. Well, he used to have a human name but that’s something that we can’t use anymore since we already died, so we just call him Kharon. But since Peter’s been staying on earth for a while, of course when Peter was still human his name wasn’t Park Dong Min, it’s just something that he made up, to fit right in.”

     “So it’s like Father Matthew, who’s earth name have been Wen Junhui. If Father Matthew comes back to earth, he can’t use his name Wen Junhui again, am I right?” Woohyun asked and Beelzebub nodded in agreement.

     While everyone was talking and asking more things about their guardians, Sunggyu butted in and said, “I hate to burst your bubble but we need to go. I don’t want to sound rude but we only have limited time left before the invisibility wears off. I’m sorry Father Beelzebub but…”

     “No Sunggyu, you’re right. You must head out now before the ghouls start seeing you. We promise to meet each other again. Good luck everyone.”

     Minhyuk once again gave his father a hug. His encounter with his father wasn’t that emotional like Hyunseungs but it still boosted Minhyuk’s confidence.

Just by seeing his Father’s current state, he knew that he had to do his best to help his father.

     “Let’s go. Thank you, father.” Sunggyu stated, then everyone left, heading to the last stop for today.

     “You lead the way Prince Suho,” Jiyong said with a smirk.

     Suho gulped loudly as he stared at the dark path ahead of them. Greed, what on earth will these sons see in the Realms of Greed?

     “W-Well…let’s go, everyone. Follow me,” Suho stated, a little scared but still proceeded. As they were walking, screaming was heard once more.

     “I’m so fucking sick of that sound!” Jihoon shouted.

     “I think I should look first, who wants to come with me?” Suho asked but no one answered.

     “Yeah, thanks for the support guys,” Suho sarcastically stated as he sighed and proceeded alone. He slowly walked the path, and the screaming went louder and louder. Then there he saw what the cause was.

     “Holy shit that’s disturbing,” Suho stated, but he was surprisingly not THAT disgusted by it. It was like he’s seen this a lot of times before.

     What did he see? Well, it was Greedy sinners. Some were being boiled by oil. Some had missing body parts. Well Greed, wanting something much more than what you already have until nothing is enough for you. Looks like sinners here are being taught a lesson that you should appreciate the things that you already have.

     “Guys! It’s perfectly fine! You can come here now. I want to welcome you to the Realms of Greed,” Suho stated, then the sons slowly went in.

     “Oh hell no!” Jihoon shouted as he started vomiting again.

     Taeil went to him and started patting his back, “We need to hurry and look for your father before Jihoon starts vomiting blood. He can’t stomach this shit anymore,” Taeil explained, looking genuinely concerned.

     Suho nodded and walked towards the loudest scream. In this dark path, they saw a girl being sliced in half, over and over again. Every time she loses a part, it would grow back for it to be cut off once more.

     “Looks like my Father’s right there. Let’s hurry and go.” Suho started running towards the darkest part of the Realm, then everyone followed. And he was right, his father was there, chained like the rest of the fathers that they have already met.

     “Bow to our Father,” Sunggyu once again commanded, and everyone followed.

     “Father! We’ve arrived!” Suho shouted, about to give his father a hug but stopped.

     “N-no my son,” Mammon weakly commanded.

     The sons were shocked by Mommon’s sudden command. Wasn’t he happy to see him?

     “You’re already in the fourth level of Hell. Souls are more aggressive in this area compared to the others, and you’re 4 levels closer to the King. Having contact with me will only trigger the King,” Mammon explained and Suho quickly understood.

     “Then we don’t have much time. Father, what do we need to do for our Demon state to appear?” Suho quickly asked.

     Mammon looked at the Demons seriously and said, “My sons, being a Demon has its perks, but the glamour is just an illusion. Your gifts are the powers that you already have, this was a plan of the King. Once you embrace your powers, you would want more, thus, the curse will be given. For you to defeat the King, it is said that you need to be in your most Demonic state. While you are in your Demonic form, you will be able to release the greatest power that you possess. But, for you to be able to summon your demonic form,” Mammon paused and looked at the sons with sadness in his eyes, “You must kill a human. This will transform you into a true Demon.”

     Everyone was silent. They weren’t expecting that kind of answer. Everyone was actually expecting some kind of ritual, or spell. But to kill an innocent person? That was already out of their league.

     “Is there no other way?” Junhyung asked, concerned if is lover really had to kill a person. Because once Hyunseung or any of the Demons kill someone, they can never enter Heaven. Killing is the most unforgiving sin in Heaven.

     “There is no other way. Demons…are called Devils for a reason. That’s the catch our King had made. And that was the mistake that the seven rulers of hell had faced. Please think wisely my sons. I am proud to see you fight for your own destiny. To fight the King who had been unfair to us all. But please, being a demon is harder than it looks. You only have two choices, my sons, KILL a human …or KILL the Arcs. “

     Everyone was shocked and disappointed with what they heard. The King of Hell was indeed cruel. Even after all that he’d done to the Demons, killing the Arcs would be the easiest way out in the end. He wasn’t just cruel, he was smart too.

     “We must go,” Sunggyu stated rather sadly.

     “T-thank you, father,” Suho stated as he bowed in front of his father.

     “I know all of you are disappointed, but I believe in you. I told you that you only have two choices, then do something so your choices would be three,” Mammon explained. And with that, their spirit changed. They started to have hope again.

     “Thank you father,” this time, it came from Jackson.

     “I am proud of all of you. I hope you do well on your journey. I wish you all the best. Same as the Arcs, you’ve done well. No wonder you’re called angels,” Mammon said with a smile, and Junhyung smiled back.

     As everyone was saying their farewell to the father of Greed, Lay suddenly heard something from afar. To be exact, he started hearing someone. He was crying rather loudly, but it looked like Lay was the only one who can hear it. Well, he was the opposite of Greed. He was Charity; something about this realm affected him too.

     Lay looked at the others. When he saw that they were still busy, he slowly walked closer to where the sound was. After a few more steps, he found a soul sitting down and hiding his face underneath his knees. There was something about him that made Lay feel sad.

     This was the first soul in hell that was actually showing emotion rather than fear and pain.

     “Sir? A-are you…okay?” Lay asked as he went down on one knee so his face could level him.

     “Are you okay?” he repeated, but a little louder this time.

     The crying stopped, and the boy slowly lifted his head to face the angel. He looked straight through Lay’s eyes, but then he smirked, and just in a few moments, Lay felt a strong tug, and he eventually fainted.

---

The Demons were now back on earth, standing in front of the mirror that they entered earlier. Bringing home an experience they’ll never ever forget.

     “Moral of this story… don’t fucking sin, “ Jihoon stated as he ran off to the kitchen to drink a glass of water.

     “Let’s go down and discuss everything to Park Dong Min. And give him Kharon so he could be summoned back,” Sunggyu instructed and everyone followed. He went out and so did the other brothers.

     Lay stayed behind. Staring at himself deeply into the mirror, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He examined his hand and started holding things, but then he stopped when Suho suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

     “Lay, you okay? Still traumatized or something?” Suho asked as Lay slowly turned around to face him. 

     The moment he saw him, Lay’s eyes suddenly widened from shock. “Suho?! Is that really you?!” he shouted, making Suho look confused.

     “You okay Lay?” Suho asked, his voice started to sound like he was concerned.

     “O-oh yeah. I’m good…really really good. I’ve never been better actually!” Lay excitedly shouted like he was ready to jump around the place.

     “Well you’re creepy, and I’m hungry so let’s go downstairs and have a snack. You might just be hungry too,” Suho stated and proceeded to go out of the room.

     “I’ll be right with ya!” Lay shouted. But before leaving the room, he looked at the mirror and said, “Lay’s the name huh? Well Lay, enjoy your stay in Hell…because you’re not going back any time soon.”

     Then he smirked and followed everyone.

 BACK IN HELL

 The real Lay slowly woke up. His head was still aching as he tried his best to stand up. After a few blinks, he realized something. He was somehow transparent.

     “What the hell,” he stated as he held the rock beside him, but his hand just passed through it.

     “I must be seeing delusions, this can’t be real,” Lay said to himself.

     “Guys? Where are you?” he asked, when no one answered, Lay started to panic.

     “Guys!” he finally shouted as he started running, not caring about the other souls he’d passed.

     “Oh no, this can’t be happening to me. I can’t be stuck here can I? Junhyung?! Seung?! Help me! Help me please!” Lay shouted as he was running around the world of fire.

     “Don’t move,” A voice stated so loud that Lay’s heart almost exploded.

     Lay fell onto his knees, crying. He was stuck in hell, and no one was there to save him anymore.

     “Don’t cry son of Raphael. I will help you get out. Tell me everything that happened,” the loud voice surprisingly said.

     Lay slowly lifted his head and searched for who was talking but saw no one. But this was the best thing he has right now, so he answered, “S-Someone…Someone…” he couldn’t answer. He was too scared.

     “Don’t be afraid and speak up before it’s too late!” the voice now shouted.

     “Someone took my body!” Lay finally answered. Once he said that, the wall in front of him opened, revealing a Demonic figure in chains. It was Satan, the ruler of the realm Wrath. Sunggyu’s father.

     Lay ran off that he didn’t notice that he was already at the sixth level of Hell. He ran to him and went down to his knees as he said, “Please help me…I need to get out of here, I need to get-”

     “I will help you Zhang Yixing, but please calm down,” Satan instructed.

     “W-what do I need to do to g-get back to my old body?” Lay asked, trying to calm down like how he was instructed.

     “You must look for your body and pull the soul out of it, like what he did to you,” Satan explained.

     “How am I going to do that if I can’t even touch anything!?”, Lay now shouted.

     Satan sighed and said, “I will hand you his real body. Once you’re back on earth, I can’t help you anymore. It’s your mission to look for your own body. Do you understand?”

     Lay aggressively shook his head and answered, “Y-yes…thank you.”

      “I think it’s only right if I give you a short introduction of the person you’re temporarily going to be. This person who took your body is someone who’s not easy to face, and he’s very much hated on earth. That’s why he’s in hell. He had killed almost twenty to thirty innocent people, and yes, that’s a lot. He’s been in jail too so be careful. Once you go inside his body, you will be teleported to the place where he was killed. And you possess no power. Are you ready son of Raphael?” Satan asked as he looked at the angel.

     Lay was still scared and confused, but he nodded his head anyway.

     “Oh, one last thing. His name is Kim Jongin, but people call him Kai …

     .

     .

     .

     .

     .

     And he’s a RAVEN.“

• END -

SDS2 06: WRONG BODY

“STARTING TODAY, ZHANG YIXING -  son of Raphael - you are Kai, the Slayer of the RAVEN,” Satan stated as his bloody-red eyes stared down at Lay. And slowly, everything turned black, and Lay once again lost consciousness.

TOKYO, JAPAN. 12:00 MIDNIGHT

     It was dark and rainy in the streets of Tokyo. Even if this was one of the busiest cities in Japan, people wouldn’t want to get wet due to the heavy rain and thunderstorm, so the streets were almost empty. Lay woke up on a dark alleyway, wet and naked. This must be the place where this Kim Jong-In guy was killed. Right in this dumpster area. 

      He looked at the puddle and saw his reflection; it was Kai’s face that he saw. And it made his heartache.

     Lay slowly stood up and held on the walls for support. He was back in Tokyo, and the only person he knows in this city is Kenji, and he doesn’t even know where he lives exactly. So, for now, Lay needs to look for some clothes, and of course, a place to stay in.

     “God, please take good care of me today,” Lay quickly prayed as he started walking. Good thing no one was walking on the streets or he’d be seen naked.

     As he was walking, he saw a man about to close his sushi store. Lay quickly ran to him and said, “sir! Excuse me can I…” Lay suddenly stopped when the words that went out of his mouth was actually Japanese.

     “I can understand and speak Japanese now?” Lay thought to himself, then his attention went back to the old man who looked at him confusingly.

     “Can I borrow some clothes, sir?” Lay asked, but the old man didn’t answer.

     “Please! I’m really cold and I need a place to stay in. You could even just give me a jacket or a paper bag, anything!” Lay desperately stated.

     “Come with me,” the man finally said as he reopened the door of his store and went inside with Lay.

     A few minutes later, the man gave him some fresh clothes ( It was from a teenage part-time worker ), and then he gave him some hot tea to warm up.

     “You could stay here too if you like,” the man stated as he was sitting in front of Lay.

     “Thank you so much sir,” Lay stated as he took another sip from the tea the man gave him.

     “Well, if my son was naked on a rainy night then someone might just do the same to him. I’m not going to ask about what happened to you, but I hope you be careful next time so that this wouldn’t happen to you again,” the man explained, and Lay smiled as an answer.

     “I reckon you don’t have money. Here, it’s not much but I hope it helps you. You can take a cab so you could go home whenever you like. Tokyo is a dangerous place you know. A lot has died in this area, and a lot is still missing,” said the man as he gave Lay the money.

    Lay took it kindly and said, “Thank you very much, sir, I promise to repay you as soon as I get back in my feet. But can I ask one more thing? I’m not from here so I have a lot of questions.”

     “What is it then?” he asked. “W-why…did a lot of people die here?”

     And one of them was Kai too!

     “Yakuza’s and loan sharks are everywhere in this area. They made this their battleground, and killing innocent people was their hobby. But it’s a good thing the Slayer of the RAVENS is dead. It means fewer killers are on the loose,” the man said with a chuckle, and Lay gulped loudly.

     “Well I need to go, I hope you feel at home in my shop. By the way, what’s your name boy?” the old man asked.  Lay suddenly froze. What name was he going to say? Kai’s name? His real name? Or…

     “I’m nobody. It’s better if you know nothing about me, sir,” Lay answered while looking at his hands.

     The man smiled and respected Lay’s answer. Then he tilted his hat and left the store.

     Lay sighed loudly and went on the bed that the man-made for him. He lied down and stared at the ceiling above him.

     “Kim Jong-In, what did you do, and why are you so hated here?” Lay stated, but he slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep.

     The next day, Lay decided to write a letter and leave it on top of the table for the man to see. In the letter it says:

     Dear Sir,

     Thank you so much for what you’ve done to me, I promise to repay you back. May God Bless you and your kind Spirit. See you again.

• Mr. Nobody

     Then Lay left the store before people would start coming out of their homes. It was dangerous if people start seeing him. He was inside Kai’s body, and it looked like Kai wasn’t wanted here.

     Lay was wearing a cap, a hoodie, and really tight pants. His hands were inside his pockets, trying to avoid everyone’s gaze. He doesn’t know where to go actually, but just standing still wouldn’t help him.

     While he was walking the streets of Tokyo, Lay felt something. Like an invisible force was pulling him. Then out of nowhere, Lay started to run. Going left then right, like he knew the streets by heart. He didn’t know where he was going but it felt like it wants to be followed, so Lay did.

     After running, Lay stopped in front of a large building, panting. When he lifted his head to see the building, his heart stopped from shock. In front of the building was a big sign that says, ’ RAVENS’

     Lay just brought himself to the RAVENS headquarters.

     “N-no…I shouldn’t be here,” Lay quickly stated. But as he was about to run off, a black car almost hits him.

     “Hey you fucking asshole, you have a death wish or something?!” the driver shouted. Then the door on the back seat opened, revealing a tall and handsome man. He was wearing a black suit and black glasses; he coolly removed it and said, “Hey, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

     Lay slowly lifted his head, ready to apologize. But when he saw the face of the man who was in front of him, his eyes widened.

     He saw a picture of this man at Kenji’s mansion. This was the new leader of the Ravens, “Asano Tamo…” Lay calls out, shocking Tamo that Lay knew him.

     “Of course! Kenji’s son! I just need to meet Kenji and ask him to help me get back to Korea,”  Lay told himself. Then he moved closer and removed his hoodie. He was about to say something but Tamo’s eyes quickly widened on the sight of the person who he was looking at.  

     “K-Kai?” he asked, frozen. Then he quickly closed his eyes and said, “No, I’m just seeing a ghost. I’m just really tired and stressed out lately so this is happening. If I open my eyes, you’ll be gone,” then he did open his eyes, but Lay ( in Kai’s body ) was still standing in front of him.

     “This can’t be…y-you’re…dead. H-how on earth did you-” Tamo suddenly stopped when he realized something. So he quickly grabbed Lay’s hand and went inside the headquarters. Tamo made Lay wear his glasses so no one would recognize him inside. And at the top floor, they arrived at Tamo’s Office.

     Tamo quickly closed the door and locked it. Then he confusingly looked at Lay and said, “Explain yourself.”

     Lay looked at him blankly and said, “What do you want me to explain?”

     Tamo angrily pointed at Lay and shouted, “Oh, I don’t know?! Why you’re fucking here?! You should be fucking dead by now right?! You were fucking shot 28 times! You’ve been dead for almost a month now! I saw your fucking body inside a coffin being lowered down. But here you are, standing right in front of me, looking like nothing even happened to you! And you ask me what to fucking explain?!”

     Lay sighed and answered the hotheaded Tamo.

     “You need to chillax Tamo. The reason why I’m here is that-” Lay suddenly stopped himself. Was he seriously going to tell him the truth? Tell an Angel and Demon killer the fact that he was an angel? That they went to hell and Kai’s soul stole his body? It’s like walking straight through a hunter’s trap!

     “I faked my death,” he blurted out, shocking Tamo and him as well. Did he seriously just lie about that?

     Tamo sat on the sofa and aggressively scratched his head. Then he looked at the ceiling and said, “I should have known you’d do something like that.”

     Lay was shocked, then he thought to himself, “Wait, did he seriously believe that? Kai and Tamo might be really close that he’d believe him just like that. What is Kai to Tamo anyway?”

     “Kai, I told you that I’d fix your case right? I’ll look for the best lawyer in Japan just so you wouldn’t be sent to jail,” Tamo revealed, shocking Lay once more.

     Tamo finally stood up and went in front of Lay as he said, “What you did made people think that you’re dead. And maybe your case was demolished. But do you think if they see you they wouldn’t push the case again? Your case might become even bigger!”

     Lay suddenly saw the pain in Tamo’s eyes. He really did care about Kai. What did Kai even do in the first place?

     Before Lay could answer him, Tamo hugged Kai tightly and said, “I missed you asshole. I thought you fucking died for real.”

     “Y-Yeah…” Lay struggled to say. The sight broke his heart. What on earth would Lay do after this is over? After he goes back to his old body, Kai will only be-

     “Boss! May I come in?! I have the files for tomorrow’s stakeout,”  a man from outside suddenly said, making Tamo quickly push Kai off him. He gestured his hand under the table, so Lay ran to where Tamo was pointing and hid.

     Tamo opened the door and made the man enter the room. While they were talking, Lay covered his mouth so he wouldn’t accidentally say anything.

     “Thank you. So, are you sure that the family is showing signs of demonic activities?” Tamo asked as he placed the files on top of his desk rather loudly, making Lay flinch.

     “Yes, when they went out my team raided their house and found demonic structures. They even had Demonic symbols on their walls. We’re one hundred percent sure this time. The pictures are in the files, and so are statements from the neighbors”, the man answered.

     “That’s good, you’ve worked hard. You can go now,” Tamo instructed. When he was about to leave, Tamo stopped him and said, “By the way, Steve, when are you going back to South Korea?”

     Lay eyes widened.

     Steve. Where did he hear that name before?

     Steve slowly turned around and said, “I actually have no idea. Boss sent me to Osaka with the rest of our con-artists for a small ’ project’ . Japanese men are a good target for fraud you know. He hasn’t asked me to go back yet too, good thing I found Kai when I went to Tokyo. Without him I’d be bored to death. Once Suho isn’t busy I’ll try to contact him again.”

     Lay almost hit his head from the table the moment he heard Suho’s name.

     Steve! He’s Suho’s right-hand-man!

     “Okay then, thank you. If I have the time I’ll try contacting your boss in Korea. Mr. Kim Joon Myeon might not be in good terms with Kai but I’d still want to thank him since he gave me the opportunity to work with you and Kai,” Tamo stated, only confusing Lay who was still eavesdropping under the table.

     “I think he’d be happy to hear from you. But boss, Suho doesn’t know about what happened to Kai. He doesn’t even know he was in Tokyo. I hope you don’t tell him about what happened to him. He’s quite stressed out in Korea right now. I don’t want that to add up to his problems,” Steve stated.

     “Of course.”

     Then Steve leaves the room.

     Lay was dumbfounded, like he just hit the jackpot. He had so many questions. What’s the relationship of Kai and Tamo? And Kai and Suho? Why is everything suddenly confusing and coincidental?

     “Kai, he’s gone now,” Tamo stated as he peeked under the table. Lay quickly stood up and held Tamo’s shoulder tightly, “We need to call Suho.”

     “What?” Tamo asked confusingly,

     “I need to talk to him!” Lay shouted, shocking Tamo. 

     Tamo pushed Lay off him and said, “Why on earth would you want to talk to him? Weren’t you the one who told me that Suho was the first person you want to see dead?”

     Lay slowly stepped back and looked at Tamo with shock, “W-wait…I-I…said that?”

     “What the hell is happening to you Kai? Who else would say something like that?” Tamo asked back.

      Lay suddenly felt his head ache. He slowly fell on his knees as he whispered, “Oh no…if that’s the case…Kai must be with Suho right about now.”

- END -

SDS2 07: DEMONIC DUMMY I

• KIM JONGIN’S POV -

HELLO EVERYONE, THIS IS  Kim Jong-In, also known as Kai, the slayers of the RAVENS. Sometimes people see me as a heartless person who kills without feeling any guilt. But everyone’s wrong. There’s a story behind every villain. They’re not always evil you know. There’s always a sad back story behind it. 

     Mine is the same, but sadder than anyone had ever heard. I was my mom’s slave, for 13 fucking years. And I could remember everything like it was just yesterday.

A FEW YEARS BACK

     My mother was a Satanist. A very faithful one to be exact. Ever since I was young she told me that it was the King of hell and the Seven Deadly Demons who was going to save us, not God. She was so faithful that she left my dad and told him that she could only please one man, and that was the King of Hell. 

      She started to be like that when her first child died. Father told me she kept on praying to God for a healthy child, but it still wasn’t enough because the baby died inside her womb. So when the second one came, which is me, she decided to pray to someone else, and that was the King of Hell. And when I was born, she continued to praise him.

     Of course, I wasn’t happy about her doing that, but what can I do? She was my mother.

     So, are you asking why I wasn’t left behind even though my mom said she could only serve one man?

     Well, my mother loved me a lot, that’s something I know, and she couldn’t leave me like what she did to my father. So what she did was make me a sacrifice. She did her ritual on my body, made me a slave of her sick beliefs.

     “My son, it’s time for your ritual,” my mother said as I forcefully stood up and went to the altar we have at home. It was a room that looked like a church, but it didn’t preach god. It was a sign of praise for the King of Hell.

     I lay on my stomach as she slowly took her knife from this weird looking box. She started saying these Latin rituals, and afterward, she went towards me and started cutting the flesh on my back. Like she was drawing the sign of hell on my back like it was paper. Old and healed bruises were once again opened. 

     Once that’s over, she gets this “ holy water “ and sprinkles it on my back, and the pain would escalate in my entire body. All I could do was grip on the sides on what I was laying on. Trying not to faint and shed a tear.

      Afterward, she starts chanting again. But this time she took a cup and filled it with my blood. And she drinks it all like it wasn’t her son’s blood at all.  When everything is done, she says nothing and leaves me. Not even going to help me as the blood on my back continues to drip. This happened to me every full moon. But the bruises don’t heal fast so I can feel the pain pretty much every day.

     I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t fight back. Well, I didn’t fight back. I was praying and praying until God could help me, asking him that even with all this I still remained faithful to Him and Him alone. But nothing happened, and I started to think that it was right for my mother and me to praise the Demons.

     When I turned 18 I knew that I wasn’t going places if I stay with my mother. So the moment she left the house. I left. And I never came back.  At that moment I felt free. And I didn’t thank god, nor the King of Hell for the freedom I have achieved. 

     Because I no longer preached anyone.

     A few months later I was starving and homeless. I didn’t know where to go. I couldn’t risk going to my mother’s relatives, and I couldn’t even find my father. So there was no other way, I had to steal.

     And stealing was the only thing that helped me survive.

     Then this fateful day came…

     I was at the black market, ready to steal another fat wallet when I saw this rich looking boy, talking to an American looking guy.  I lowered my hat so no one could recognize my face. Then I quickly passed by him and purposely bumped onto him. At that moment I already have his wallet.

     “ Sorry… “ I whispered at him as I continued to walk away, but then I suddenly felt a hand gripping on my shoulder. I slowly turned around and saw the two men facing my direction with a smirk.

     “Stealing from a con-artist? Not such a good idea kid,” he stated as he signaled the American man to hold onto me.

     When I was finally unable to move, he went towards me and started going through my pockets. Then he took his wallet and smiled.

     “If you need money I can give you some. If you want more, you can work for me,” he casually stated.

     I glared at him as an answer. He chuckled and held my chin as he stated, “Look, kid, I’m not going to be nice anymore. The name’s Suho , and I’m a con artist. It’s easy money, and fun at the same time. In exchange for not calling the cops on you, I want you to work with me,” he demanded, his voice really deep that I suddenly felt chills climb up my spine.

      “Looks like it’s a yes. Steve, bring him to my car,” the man named Suho instructed.

      “Right away boss.”

      Then this Steve guy started dragging me. I couldn’t move, I was still too weak to fight. And I wasn’t a dumb guy. I knew that even with my strength I couldn’t fight these jerks.

     A few minutes later I was inside this expensive-looking car, and the guys named Suho and Steve were talking outside.

     “You’ve been hanging out with Kim Sunggyu and Kwon Jiyong too much boss. You’re forgetting about us,” Steve complained.

      “What the fuck are you whining about? Of course, I still need normal friends,” Suho answered with a playful grin.

      “Normal friends? We’re more normal than those assholes!” Steve then shouted.

      Suho laughed and answered, “Chillax dude, I’ve got this. Jiyong and Sunggyu can be heartless at times, but they’re good people. I feel a great connection with them.”

      “Oh please, connection? I can’t understand you, rich bastards.”

      Suho suddenly shuffled Steve’s head and smiled, “Well I need to go. I still have to groom and feed my new pet.”

      New pet?

     Wait, was he referring to me?

     “Won’t your mom be mad? And you stole her car again, you’re still underage,” Steve revealed, shocking me.

      Underage?! I’m actually older than him and he calls me kid?!

      “Don’t worry okay. My mom is on a trip with Jiyong and Sunggyu’s mothers. They’ll be gone for about a week so I have all the freedom I need. And come on, she has three more cars. Crashing one won’t change anything,” Suho answered.

     “You lucky bitch. Well, you better get going. I’ll just talk to the others for our next gig tomorrow.”

     “Okay, thanks.”

       Then Steve bowed in front of Suho and left. Then Suho glanced at me with a smirk and finally went inside the car.

      “So kid, you’ll be-”

      I quickly stopped him and said, “Stop calling me kid, I’m older than you.”

      He quickly smirked back and answered, “I can call you anything I want. For all I know you could be five times older than me, but that’s not important here. What’s important is that I have the money that will feed your fuckin’ ass. So stop complaining KID.”

     Before I could answer back, he starts the car, and then we were off. We arrived at this huge white mansion. It was so big I wouldn’t even think it was a house.

      “Welcome to my nest little bird,” then he weirdly winked and went out of the car, and of course I followed. How stupid can I get? I actually just walked into a stranger’s house like it wasn’t really a big deal.

      We went inside the house. He threw his things on the sofa and sat down. Then he started staring at me.

      “What?” I asked as I stared back at him.

      “Why so hot-headed? Take a seat. I want to know more about you,” he casually stated.

      “I don’t have fucking time for this. What am I really going to do here? Be your slave? Then go ahead, do anything you want to me, but promise me after that you’ll give me a lot of dough,” I answered with a hint of anger.

      “Whoa, slow down. I didn’t recruit you to be my…what did you say? Slave? Who uses that word at these times? I’m trying to save your sorry ass, got that?” he asked me, but I didn’t answer him.

     Suho sighed and massaged his head, “Look, when I saw you I saw pain, hurt, and anger. Everything that described hate, I saw it all in your eyes. I was curious about you; I wanted to know your story, that’s why I took you. But if you want to live on the streets and starve to death and depend on stealing then be my guest. The door is yours to walk out at,” Suho stated with an intimidating voice.

     Is this really an underage boy? He acts way older than me.

     When I didn’t reply, he continued, “Here’s the deal kid, I’ll help you get back on your feet. In exchange, you need to work for me. Once you get the money that you need to start over, I’ll let you off, just like that. As you can see I’m already well off so I can give you some of the money we earn. How’s that?” he asked me.

     He was waiting for my answer. I was trying to see if he was lying to me but I found out he was serious. So I took the opportunity and said, “Fine.”

      He smiled and shook my hand.

     “That’s great. And fine, I won’t force you to tell me your history. You can keep it a secret. But if you feel like you want to talk to someone then I’m always open for counseling. Now come on, I’ll show you to your room so you can clean yourself and we could eat,” he told me.

     I nodded as a reply.

     “Oh, your name by the way. What is it?” Suho then asked.

     I hesitated at first, but answered anyway, “Kim Jong-In…”

     Suho was a scary guy, but the longer I was with him I saw something. He was actually a lonely boy who was still looking for more like nothing was enough for him. He had the wealth, the looks, the brains. He was the guy everyone wants to be, but he thinks it was still not enough.

     I’ve grown to be close to him; he taught me everything I know now. From con artist’s skills and techniques to learning basic math. It’s funny but I still didn’t have a chance to go to school so I don’t even know how to read and write, but Suho taught me all those things. I started to realize that he was really older than me, not by age but by heart. Even with his age, he knew things ten times more than I did.

      I’ve been living with him and his mother for five months now, and I’ve grown to like them. They’re very good people. And I was lucky to have met them.

***** 

 I was at Suho’s room.  Suho was at his bed counting the money that we collected, while I was sitting on the chair just in front of it.

      “Looks like we earned a lot today, good job Kai,” Suho stated, placing the cash inside a metal box before hiding it under his bed.

      “Don’t mention it,” I answered.

      Kai was the name Suho gave me. He said it was my con-artist name, but it actually became my new name. I wasn’t the scared Jong-In anymore. I was now a strong man named Kai. As we were talking, the maid went in and handed us some wine. She went to Suho and filled his glass, and then she went to me to fill mine, but accidentally spills it on my clothes instead.

      “Oh my god, I’m so sorry sir Kai!” the maid pleaded as she bowed in front of me.

      “What the fuck, look what you did to him,” Suho angrily stated as the maid kept on bowing. I calmed Suho down and said, “It’s just wine weirdo, don’t worry. I’m not going to die.”

      I gestured my hand so the maid could leave, then she bowed for the last time and left.

      “How can a fourteen-year-old like you be so hot-headed?” I stated as I took off my clothes.

      “Well, people here can’t even do their job well, if you don’t scold them they’ll-” Suho suddenly stopped. I looked at him and saw the shock on his face. Then I realized that there was a huge mirror behind me. I almost forgot all the scars my mother gave me before I met Suho.

      “W-what…i-is this the reason you-” Suho couldn’t even say the right words, so I finished it for him.

      “It’s the reason why I left home. My mother was…a Satanist,” I revealed, shocking Suho even more.

     “Oh my god…” Suho quickly stood up and said, “Do you want me to bring you to the hospital?”

     As I was wiping myself with my shirt, I answered, “Oh please Suho, it’s already healed. You don’t need to bring me to the hospital. It’s been almost a year.”

     Suho genuinely looked concerned as he continued to stare at me, “But…”

     “And it makes me not forget all the things that happened to me in the past,” I tried to reassure him so he wouldn’t look like that anymore. But then Suho suddenly stood up from the bed. He went to me and surprisingly gave me a tight hug.

     “Dude this is so girly right now,” I said as I pushed him off me with a smile. He shuffled my hair and smiled back.

     Okay, I know what you guys are thinking so I’ll answer it for you. No, I did not have any romantic relationship with him, nor did I have feelings for him in any way. 

     I liked Suho, but as a brother, nothing more. I wasn’t that gay to fall in love with him yet. Well fine, let’s face it; people would fall in love with Suho the moment they see him, be it girl or boy. But it’s me we’re talking about. I’ve got no love left in me.

     “Boys! Dinner’s ready!” Suho’s mother shouted, so Suho patted my back and both of us went downstairs to eat dinner.

     That night, after dinner, I finally told Suho everything about me. About the things that I’ve been through, how I was treated badly by my mother, and how I survived because of him. But the same night, something really weird happened to me. And it made me change everything that I believed in.

      I was in my room, just next to Suho’s room. I tucked myself in as I slowly closed my eyes. But the moment I closed my eyes, everything just froze. Like the whole world suddenly stopped and I could feel it. I tried to open my eyes but realized that I couldn’t even move my body; I was practically paralyzed.

     A few moments later I found myself standing in the middle of the darkness. Then I saw something in the darkness.

     It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. It was a creature that I later realized was actually a ghoul.

     “Kim Jong-In…listen to the orders of the King,”  The ghoul spoke as if a thousand men said it at the same time. I tried to run away from it, but when I saw my legs, it was being gripped by a lot of hands that came out from the ground.

     “At the sixth month, of the sixth day, exactly six o’clock in the evening…you must leave Prince Suho of Greed.”

       I froze and looked at the ghoul with shock and confusion. Did I hear it right?

     “Leave Kim Joon Myun for he is the Prince of Greed. You are a third party of our prince, but as instructed by the King, you will live.”

      “W-What? I don’t u-understand,” I stated, stuttering. I was terrified for Pete’s sake.

     “You and your mother served our King well. As a gift, he will spare your life. But as a catch, the moment you leave our prince, you will feel no love, but hatred towards him. You will forget our meeting, and you will hate him to the extent you never want to see him again. All the happy memories you had with him will turn to pain and agony.”  Then the ghoul was slowly fading.

     “What the fuck are you talking about? What if-” Before I could finish my sentence, the ghoul suddenly appeared right in front of me, his face only a few inches from mine. He gripped on my hand, then with no delay, he said, “If you disobey the orders of the King, you…and Prince Suho…will die.”

     Then it vanished.

     I quickly opened my eyes and got up in a sitting position on my bed. I was panting, sweating hard like I just ran a whole marathon. I wanted to tell myself that everything that I saw was just a dream, but when I saw my wrist. I saw a mark on where the ghoul gripped on. It still felt hot, like his hand was still there.

     “No…this can’t be.”

     I felt cornered. I felt confused like I wanted to ask so many questions about Suho and about what that ghoul was talking about. So without any hesitation, I ran to Suho’s room and started knocking.

     When no one answered, I opened the door and didn’t find him there. I went to his bathroom and to the balcony, but he wasn’t there either. I started to panic.

     When I was about to leave the room, the wind from outside became stronger, shutting the door closed. I felt something glowing behind me, so I slowly turned around to see what it was. When I did, I saw Suho’s toad staring right at me. Then it hopped right out of its glass container until it was right in front of me.

     Then out of nowhere, it started to transform into something…it was a naked man.

     It stared at me, his eyes all black, like a toad. I was shaking, trying to make sense of everything. I covered my eyes as I said, “No, I’m just hallucinating. This is the effect my mother had done to me. This is just some major trauma that’s affecting my way of thinking, this is just-”

     I felt a really cold hand remove my hands that were covering my face. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the toad ( now in human form ) just right in front of me.

     “Please don’t hurt me,” I pleaded, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he stared deeper into my eyes and held my forehead. The moment his thumb touched my forehead, I started having visions. Everything was in fast forward but I understood everything, like someone was slowly telling me a very long story.

     When he removed his thumb, I went out of balance. I now knew everything. What Suho was, what he was capable of in the future, and why they told me this. They told me everything because my mother and I were loyal servants of the King of Hell, but still, when I leave, all my memories about this will be erased, and the only thing that would be left in my memory of Suho would be hatred.

     “Suho…so you’re a prince of Greed,”  I whispered as I was on both of my knees. I still didn’t want to believe anything, but after everything that happened to me, I was forced to believe in every inch of it.

     “Kai?”

     I turned around and saw Suho holding a glass of water. He went inside and opened the lights. I quickly turned back to see if the toad was still in human form, but when I did, he was back to normal.

     “What are you doing here?” Suho asked as he placed the glass on top of his table.

     “N-nothing,” I answered as I stood up and placed the toad back to its container, then I continued, “I heard something from your room and found Avaritia on the floor.”

     “Really? That’s strange.”

     I sighed in relief when I saw that Suho wasn’t even a bit suspicious of my actions.

     “Well, it’s kinda late. You better get back to sleep,” he told me.

     I smiled back as I bowed in front of Suho and went out. When I closed the door, my smile turned into a frown. I was sad of course. After all the things Suho has done for me, this is how I was going to repay him? I was just going to vanish? I didn’t want to disappoint Suho but if I didn’t do it, we would both die. 

     I decided that it was better to leave him than to kill him.

     For the remaining days that I was going to stay with Suho, I tried to repay Suho with kindness. It was a bit cheesy but this was the only thing that I could think of. I was going to leave Suho without even saying goodbye after all the things he’d done to me. This was the only thing I could do for him.

SOUTH KOREA: JUNE 6, 6:00 PM

     Reality finally came. I was going to leave Suho for good. And before the clock turned to six, I took all the money I earned from Suho. For a second I almost backed out, but the thought of Suho getting killed because of my selfishness made me suck it all up and just leave.

     I left Suho without saying a word to him or to his kind mother. And as I walked away from his house that felt like home…

     All I had in my heart was hatred towards him.

• END -

SDS2 08: DEMONIC DUMMY II

• KIM JONGIN’S POV -

SUHO? SUHO WAS THE worst. I couldn’t remember much about him, but all I know is that I hated him. I wanted him dead. Just remembering his name made me sick. So, what I did was escape. I escaped, took all the money, and went to Japan where I can never see nor hear about that man ever again. 

     I have been living in Tokyo for two years now. The first few months were good since I still had money to buy food and pay for my rent. But every penny slowly faded, until I was left with nothing.

     I tried to look for a job but I end up getting fired since I keep on having fights with mostly everyone. The simple solution now is that I went back to my old self, and that was stealing. And like before, I survived this cruel world because of that skill.

     “Ravens? What a joke,” I stated as I walked past the enormous headquarters of the group called Ravens. I’ve heard a lot about this company, and it only makes me laugh just by imagining the things that they’re trying to do.

     Well, enough about them, I need to get back to work.

     I went to the busiest part of Tokyo. People here are too busy talking with their phones, doing I-don’t-know what. They’re too busy to be cautious about their wallets. I was doing great and was about to call it a day when something unexpected happened.

     “Please! Help us!”

     I saw a group of men burning the house of an old woman.

     I wanted to ignore it. I wanted to walk away. I thought someone was going to help her, but when I went to stick around for a few more minutes, no one did. So my super annoying self went to the scene.

     “What are you guys trying to-” I suddenly stopped when I saw the logo on their coat. They were actually men from the Ravens.

     “None of your business,” the tall guy replied without even looking at me.

     “But you’re burning this poor old ladies house!” I shouted as I went in front of him so he could finally look my way, but the man only pushed me away, “This poor old lady you’re talking about is a Demon, so leave before we do something to you too.”

     Wait, did he just fucking say she was a demon? Was he for real?!

     “Are you fucking crazy?! There are no such things as demons or angels. That’s just something people made up so they could praise and worship someone,” I answered, then the man finally looked like he was interested on what I was trying to say to him.

      “Then can you explain why we found her seven sons headless inside her house? They were filled with Demonic markings too. Now, tell me if she’s not even a bit of a Demon,” he answered, almost making my heart stop beating.

     When I heard his explanation, something suddenly triggered inside me. Like all the things my mother did to me before flashed right in front of my eyes. My body had no control, so without any warning I went to where the crime scene was.

     When I saw the woman being surrounded by some of the Raven men, I quickly pushed the men away and went straight to where the woman was. Without any hint of hesitation, I started beating her. And while I was doing so, I saw her smile, like she was accepting every punch that I was giving her, angering me even more. 

     The men in black coat were stopping me but I kept on going.

     “You fucking die you disgusting woman! You don’t even deserve hell! DIE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU’RE NOT DESERVING TO BE CALLED A MOTHER!” I shouted at her. Then I slowly stopped as a tear fell on top of her face.

     My knuckles were covered in blood. I grabbed her lifeless body and told her, “How could you do this?” As I let go of her, someone suddenly held my shoulder.

     “Looks like you’ve done enough young man,” a voice stated.

     I wiped my tears with my hand that was now covered in blood. Then I realized as I stared at the lady…I killed her.

     “Oh no…t-this can’t-” I quickly stood up, tried to wipe the blood off with my shirt, but it only made things worse. I was shaking, terrified with what I just did. People that surrounded us looked at me with fear.

     “Bring him to my car,” the man commanded. Then two big guys lifted me and dragged me inside a limousine. I was sitting on the right while this guy who looked like the boss, sat on the other side, just right in front of me.

     I didn’t have any strength to fight. I was still scared. Was he going to send me to jail?

     “You weren’t angry at that lady, I could see it in your eyes. You were angry at someone else and you busted it out on her, am I right?” he asked.

     I flinched when I looked directly into his eyes. He then shifted from his seat and continued, “Don’t worry, we were going to kill her anyway. You actually helped us out there.”

     “W-What?” I ask with shock.

    “I’m Asano Tamo.  I’m the head of Ravens.” He showed me his hand for a handshake but I only stared at it. He quickly took it back and placed it inside his pockets. He then smiled and continued, “You know what, let’s get you cleaned. We’ll continue our discussion in my office. Driver, let’s go to the headquarters.”

     “Yes sir,” the driver answered. Then we left the place where I killed someone for the first time.

     As we were driving away, I could still see the house that was still on fire, and the old lady lifelessly lying on the floor. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I was completely sane. But with no doubt I knew that I saw the old lady’s head slowly move so she could face our direction. 

     Then she smirked. She just smirked like she knew I was watching her.  I quickly closed my eyes, and when I opened them…we were already far away.

---

We arrived at the Ravens headquarters. I’ve been passing through this building every since I went to Tokyo, but I never really seen the inside. I was covered in blood, but no one stared at me like the people who were at the scene earlier. It was like they’ve seen something worse than my situation. 

     “Welcome back Tamo-sama,” a man stated as he went in front of us and bowed.

     “Usui, bring this man to the washroom and give him some fresh clothes. After that bring him to my office,” Tamo instructed.

     The man nodded his head, “Yes sir.” Then he looked back at me and added, “Please, follow me.”

     The guy named Usui started walking, so I immediately followed him. I turned back to see where Tamo was going. He went inside the elevator, and when he saw me looking at him, he smirked and waved goodbye as the door of the elevator closed.

     We arrived at the washroom. Usui gave me a towel and some fresh clothes.

     “I’ll just be waiting outside,” he stated as he went out of the room. Before he could leave, I heard him say, “Looks like we have another Slayer. “

     Slayer? What’s that supposed to mean?

     I brushed the thought away and stripped my clothes. There was a huge mirror that reflected my whole body, I turned around and looked at my back. The scars of what my mother did were still there, and it only made me once again furious.

     I went to the shower and cleaned myself up. As the water was pouring down on me I started thinking about the things that happened today, and the things that would happen to ME.

     Why am I here? Why did he even bring me here? Is it to pay for the damages I’ve done? I knew it, I shouldn’t have butted into their business. I was already living a normal life; if I didn’t pity that sick old woman then this wouldn’t have happened to me in the first place.

     I clenched on the soap until it was split into two pieces. At that moment I realized I was already taking too long. I closed the shower and dried myself up, and then I wore the clothes and went out to see Usui waiting for me outside.

     “Looks like you’re done. Let’s go then.”

     Usui started walking again, and so I followed. We went inside the elevator and arrived at the top floor where I pressume is where Tamo’s office is.

     “The President is inside”, Usui stated as he gestured his hand for me to enter. I didn’t answer but slowly went inside the enormous office where I saw Asano Tamo standing in front of the window.

    “Please sit down,” he instructed without even facing my direction.

     As I sat down, he sighed and finally looked at me. With his cold eyes he stated, “I know, that you know, why I brought you here. But before we proceed, may I ask for your name?”

     “Kai,” I quickly answered.

     “Kai, let’s see. You went to Japan two years ago. You’re a 20-year-old who’s still jobless until now. Was almost sent to jail the first week you arrived here. A Korean citizen who had a tough life and might be somehow…how can I say this…tortured by a Satanist mother?” Tamo suddenly asked me with a grin.

     I flinched when I heard him say that, but I didn’t say a word. Looks like he already knew too much about me.

     “I’ve researched a lot about you “ Kai “, or should I say, Kim Jong-In. Of course, the last part was just due to observation. How you reacted to that woman already answered everything. And your shirt was too thin, I saw the marks on your back. You’re nothing special you know, but with your trauma, you can be one of our greatest weapons,” he stated as he slowly sat down.

     “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say,” I honestly told him.

     “Okay, let me explain something to you. Here in Ravens, all my employees are all somehow related. They’re related by experience. Each and every one of them was tortured; everyone has a Demonic symbol engraved on their skin. Some lost an eye. Some lost all their teeth, some…almost died. Ravens, if you don’t know yet, hunt Angels and Demons down. For angels, we experiment on them, but sadly until now we haven’t found one yet, so we don’t concentrate on angels that much. As for Demons, well…we kill them. There are different groups here too…

     The Eyes , these people are the ones who go to stakeouts. They check if a person is really showing Demonic Signs, or Angelic signs. They’re mostly Catholics.

     The Invisibles, they’re our spies. They’re the ones who follows the suspects 24/7 until we finally have the right evidence we need.

     Next are The Blenders, these people blend with our suspect. They act like they do the things that this person does and become friends with them, until they could confess everything to them personally.

     And lastly, our top group, the most feared group, the reason why people are afraid of the Ravens. They’re The Slayers, the person who kills and finishes the job. They can do whatever they like with the suspect; skin them, burn them, shoot them or even stab them, whatever they choose is allowed. These people are doing their job right because they’ve experienced the things that these people are doing. These people…are just like you.“

     Tamo stopped and looked directly into my eyes as he said, “I want you to be a Slayer Kai. All your hatred towards your mother will be erased; you can finally take your revenge. And not just that, you can help people who’re about to experience the same thing that you’ve experienced, what do you say?”

     I stared back at him. I was thinking really hard if I was going to accept it or not. But when I was thinking about it more, there wasn’t a reason for me not to accept it. I was jobless. This was an opportunity for me. I could repay all the things that my mother did. And I would be helping people too.

    “I accept your offer, Mr. Asano Tamo,” I finally answered.

     Tamo smiled as he stated, “Then welcome to Ravens”

     And after that, I became Kai, the Slayer of the Ravens, just like that. 

     Everyone feared me and I liked it. Of course I didn’t like it at first but it just grew onto me. The first weeks were tough for me to kill people, but when I killed one, I started to kill dozens. And in two years time, I was ranked number one in the Slayers. I was the head of the said group. I started to love killing, it was my way of escaping the real world, and it made me feel happier and safer. It made me feel at ease. I was finally in a place where I belonged.

     But slowly it corrupted me. I started seeing things. My temper became worse. I hated everyone who stood in my way and would kill them without any doubts. I was a monster…I myself, was turned into a Demon. And I couldn’t even stop it from happening.

     “I’ll just be grabbing some lunch”, I said to the second rank that was my partner for two years in this industry.

     “You do know that you’ve been getting death threats for the past few days”, he stated with a worried look.

     I laughed as I answered, “What the fuck are you talking about Yamado? No one could even step a few feet closer to me”

     “Just stop killing people man. You kill these people even though we haven’t found the right evidence.”

      “We’d kill them if we find the evidence anyway.”

     “But what if they’re innocent?”

     I suddenly slammed on the table and shouted at my partner, “This is our job isn’t it?! Why are you suddenly becoming a fucking chicken?!”

     Yamado stood up from his seat and fiercely answered, “The police force is okay with the things that we’ve been doing, but because of you they’re started to doubt our work. Do you even know that the police are following you? One more mistake or you’d be sent to jail!”

     I glared at him and said, “I don’t need your fucking opinion,” then left.

     I went to the elevator, which was completely empty. But when the door closed, I saw my reflection through the door, and behind me were dozens of dead people. I closed my eyes, hoping it would leave, but good thing the elevator door opened.

     “Good afternoon Kai-san,” a man said as he entered the elevator and bowed in front of me.

     “Good afternoon,” I replied back. I was expecting that the dead people would still be there, but when the door closed, the man behind me was the only reflection I could see.

     “It’s getting worse,”  I said to myself as the door of the elevator finally opened. I walked out of the headquarters and ignored anyone who was in front of me. I pushed them away. I didn’t care if they got mad. I just wanted to let out my anger.  When I was about to punch someone, someone suddenly ran in front of me.

     “Kai?! Is that you?!”

     “S-Steve?!” I stated as I looked at him closely. And just by seeing his face, my anger completely vanished.

     “What are you doing here in Tokyo? Suho said you suddenly left and-” I quickly stopped Steve. With a serious face I said, “Don’t you ever mention his name to me.”

    Steve looked confused as he said, “What? What happened to you two? Did you fight?”

     I didn’t answer him. Well, I couldn’t answer him. I didn’t hate Steve, but towards Suho…I just wanted to kill him. When I saw Steve’s confused face, I quickly changed the mood. With a smile I said, “By the way, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Korea?”

     “Yeah. But boss sent us to Osaka to do some work, and he’s been quite busy so he hasn’t called us back yet. I just wanted to visit Tokyo while the other boys relax in Osaka,” he answered.

     “Really? Then…you want to work with us? You could be part of the Eyes group or the Invisibles.”

     “The what?” Steve asked as he looked at me weirdly. I just scratched my head as I stated, “Just come with me, Tamo will explain everything to you.” Then I brought Steve to our headquarters.

     Tamo and I…well, we aren’t that close, but we’re not that distant with each other either. I sleep at their mansion sometimes. We eat lunch together, and so as dinner. We talk, but mostly when we hangout both of us wouldn’t say a word. But surprisingly, I’ve grown attached to him.

     “Tamo, I have someone who I want to recommend to you,” I stated as I entered the room with Steve. Tamo was doing some paper works. Then he slowly lifted his head and looked at Steve.

     “And he must be?” Tamo asked.

     “He’s Steve. He worked with the same guy I worked with when I was in Korea. He wants to work here now,” I told him.

     Tamo suddenly stood up and shook Steve’s hand. Then he said, “A friend of Kai is a friend of mine.”

     “You speak Korean?” Steve asked. He was amused by how fluent Tamo was.

     “That’s not even half of the languages I know Steve. Please, let’s sit down and talk about your job here.”

     After that, Steve went back to his hotel. He’ll be getting his things in Osaka and live in Tokyo for the time being, and he’ll be starting next week as an Invisible.

     “We’ll be eating together tonight. Afterward we’ll stay in our hotel room,” Tamo commanded as we were at his limousine.

     “Wow, how sweet. My baby already planned our date”, I stated with a chuckle as I continued smoking inside the limo.

     Tamo took my cigarette, threw it out the window, and said, “Very funny…we’re staying in the hotel because the meeting will be done there. And as the head of the Slayers group, you’re included.”

     “How exciting,” I stated as I rolled my eyes. Tamo angrily looked at me and stated, “What’s wrong with you? You usually don’t smoke at this time of the day. Something bugging you? Is it the police?”

    “I don’t give a fuck on what those policemen do to me. I just remembered something that made me furious again, I honestly tell him.”

     “Suho?” he asked, making me clench my fist. I didn’t answer Tamo, but my silence already made him understand.

     “Then why did you recommend that Steve guy to me if he made you remember him?” Tamo asked curiously. I looked out the window and answered, “I don’t know okay. Steve’s a good guy.”

     “And if he’s the right-hand-man of Suho, why aren’t you mad at him?” Tamo asked further.

     “I don’t fucking know okay?! I don’t even know why I fucking hate him…”

     Tamo didn’t say anything else but sighed as a reply.

     -END -

SDS2 09: DEMONIC DUMMY III

• KIM JONGIN’S POV -

I LOOKED OUT THE  window of the car, and like what I’ve been seeing recently, the sidewalks are filled with people waving back at us. They were smiling, as they looked straight into my eyes. These were the people I’ve killed. But I don’t mind it anymore. The only problem is, I don’t know what’s real or what’s not.

     “Please tell me you’re fucking seeing this too,” I whispered to myself, but it was still loud enough for Tamo to hear.

     “See what?” he asked, but I ignored his question like I didn’t hear it.

     “Well, it looks like we’re here,” he stated as the limo stopped. He went out first and I followed, and as what Tamo planned, we ate dinner and proceeded to the meeting room where all the heads were. I was surprised to see the chairman there too, Mr. Asano Kenji.

     “Let’s start the meeting?” sir Kenji stated while he was sitting in the middle.

     “Yes, of course, father,” Tamo stated as he stood up from his seat and said, “Thank you everyone for coming. But before we start, I would like to welcome the founder of this great Company. He came here to give support to our upcoming projects. Please give a round of applause to Chairman Asano Kenji.”

     Then everyone started clapping, and so did I.

     “Now I’ll be giving each of the Group Heads a chance to speak. Usui, please take charge,” Tamo stated as he sat back down. Then Usui – Tamo’s vice president, stood up and said, “Hideaki Takumi, head of the Invisibles group.”

     The Invisibles leader first stood up, and the rest followed. And fortunately, I was the last one to be called.

     “Now for the Slayers group. Kim Jong-In,” Usui announced as I stood up from my seat.

     I went in front and began my speech, “Good Evening everyone. First I would like to say thank you for everyone’s hard work. Ravens wouldn’t be a big company if it weren’t for the people in it. Well, I’m better known as Kai, the Slayer of the Ravens. I’ve done my job well for the past 2 years and I know very well that every one of you knows what I’ve been going through recently. Yes, it’s about the police force who’s having their doubts with our works because of me…”

     I was continuing with my “ super interesting “ speech when this suddenly happened.

     “And I am truly sorry for the actions that I have…” I suddenly stopped in the middle of my speech.

     I saw something. Well, it wasn’t really something, but rather, it was someone. It was Suho, standing right in front of the door of the meeting room.

     “What are you doing here?!” I suddenly asked, making everyone look at the direction I was looking at. Then they all looked at me with a confused face.

     “I asked you a question, what are you fucking doing here?!” I finally shouted.

     “What’s going on,” Kenji asked as he looked at Tamo. Tamo stood up from his seat and stopped me, “Kai, what the hell are you doing? Please sit down.”

     I completely ignored Tamo as I stared back at Suho who casually entered the room with a smirk on his face.

     “Kai, sit down. Please,” Tamo repeated, but with a calmer voice this time. But I still didn’t listen. I stared at Suho who was getting closer to me.

     “One more step or I’m going to shoot you…” I said, taking out my gun. I could hear the gasps of everyone inside the room.

     Finally, Tamo held my shoulder. I looked at him as he said, “Put your fucking gun down Kai, or so help me god I’m fucking going to pin you to the wall.”

     “Tamo, aren’t you seeing this?” I was about to point at Suho when he suddenly vanished right in front of me.

     “No, where is he? Tamo, did you see where he went? He was just-” Before I could finish my sentence, Tamo injects something on my shoulder, making me fall on the floor. Before I could faint, I heard Tamo say, “I’m sorry for this everyone. You know that Kai’s been really stressed lately. Please continue with the meeting, I’ll handle the rest.”

 Then I finally fainted.

---

I woke up in our hotel room, lying on the bed. I slowly sat up, and when I looked to the right, I saw Tamo standing in front of the window, drinking alcohol.

     “You just fucking had to screw it up. Right in front of my father,” he suddenly stated, still not looking at me.

     “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do those things. I just…I saw him…I’ve been seeing these…t-things…and it’s messing with my fucking head…I just…”

     Tamo placed the bottle of alcohol on top of the table and went in front of me. He kneeled down so he could level me, then he said, “I know okay. And I guess this was practically my fault too. I shouldn’t have made you a part of this cruel industry. I should have let you be…I’m the one who should be sorry.” Then Tamo hugged me, making me flinch on his sudden action.

     “T-Tamo…are you drunk?” I asked, but Tamo didn’t answer me.

     Tamo lets go of me and looked straight into my eyes. The atmosphere was on point too. The lights were off and the only light supporting the room was the city lights outside.

     “Kai,” he called out, his face getting closer to mine.

     I didn’t move. I just stared back at him.

     “I…I l-lov-” Before Tamo could say the words he wanted to tell me, I saw someone behind him once again, making me push Tamo away from me.

     When the figure vanished, I looked back at Tamo with shock, “Shit…I’m sorry I…”

     Tamo stood up and fixed himself up. He coolly brushed his hair back and looked at the window once more. Without looking at me he said, “I’m sorry, get some rest.” Then Tamo left the room.

     When he was gone, I took a deep breath and brushed my hair back with my fingers, “Was he going to tell me he loves me? No…that’s impossible”

     I stared at the mirror in front of me. I could clearly see my reflection, but when I turned around I saw a man hugging me from behind. His eyes were looking directly at the mirror, his mouth forming a smile. I quickly turned, but there was no one there. But when I looked back at the mirror, I saw dozens of bodies hanging on the ceiling. All smiling at me.

     “What the fuck do you want from me!” I finally shouted, falling to the ground. I was shutting my eyes, trying to brush everything off. I was hitting my head, feeling my sanity drift away. Everyone was making a circle around me. They were going to kill me, no doubt about it.

     “Leave me alone!”

     I pushed them all away and ran out of the room. I didn’t have a shirt on or even shoes. But I still ran out of the hotel. Everyone was looking at me, but I didn’t mind them. When I went out, the roads were filled with dead people, I couldn’t take it. I wanted to die. Then a man stopped me. It was a police whose been following me for weeks now.

     “Sir Kim Jong-In, what are you doing out here looking like that?” he asked me. But before I could answer him, his face started to melt.

     I quickly took his gun that was attached to his belt. And without any hesitation, I shot him right on the head.

     People started shouting for help. Then other policemen ran towards me, and one of them shot me with a tranquilizer, making me fall on the ground once more.

     And like earlier, I fainted.

---

  I woke up at the police station. I was behind bars, and Tamo was outside talking to the police. Then a policeman went to my cell and opened it.

     “You can go out now,” he stated.

     I slowly went out of the cell, only realizing that I was already wearing Tamo’s coat.

     “Yes, officer…see you next week.”

     Tamo bowed in front of the police as they left the scene. He went out of the police station, and I followed behind him. Before he could enter his limo, he looked at me and slapped me on the face.

     “What the fuck is wrong with you Kai?! What else do I have to do?! Huh?! You’re going to be sent to jail if the court could prove that you didn’t shoot the police because of shock. The only reason that you were able to get out of that cell is because I told them that you’re having a mental disorder. Once they prove that you’re not, you’re going to be sent to jail your whole life!” Tamo angrily shouted at me.

     I didn’t answer him. I knew I screwed up, and I wasn’t going to be able to fix it this time.

     “You’re not allowed to go the headquarters starting today. You’re requested to stay inside your apartment for the time being,” he tells me. Then he entered the limo, and I followed him inside in silence. 

     I was sent to my apartment again. I was outside, and Tamo was waiting for me to enter. When I opened the door, I saw Tamo about to leave, so I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. With my voice shaking, I said, “Please…don’t leave me…T-they’re…they’re watching me…they want me dead Tamo.”

     Tamo suddenly looked confused as he said, “What do you mean? Who’s trying to kill you?”

     I looked around the place, checking if someone was listening. When it was clear, I looked back at him answered, “T-them…the p-people I killed…they want to kill me too…they want r-revenge.”

     When I answered him, I saw a tear fall from Tamo’s eyes.

     He started crying.

     “Oh Kai, please don’t be like this,” he says, gripping on my shoulder. Then he hugged me, but this time, it was tighter than before.

     “Okay, I’ll stay with you for the night,” he tells me.

     And Tamo did.

     I was lying on the bed as he just sat right in front of me, holding my hand tightly.

     “Sleep now, Kai.”

     Tamo slowly went closer to me as he kissed my forehead gently. And I slowly closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

     A few more days came and Tamo’s been taking care of me before we head to court. He’s been feeding me, he’s been sleeping at my apartment, and he hasn’t been back to the Ravens ever since this happened to me. He’s basically with me 24/7.

     “Kai, we’ll be going to court tomorrow. I promise that I’ll look for the best lawyer in Japan. I promise you that you wouldn’t be sent to jail,” he says, then he took my hand and kissed it gently, then continued, “I’m not letting them take you away from me.” Before I could grab my spoon so I could eat the soup he prepared, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

     I was about to open the door when Tamo stopped me. He stood up and opened it himself. But it wasn’t a nice guest at all. He took out a knife and suddenly stabbed Tamo on the shoulder.

     “Tamo!” I shouted, about to run to where Tamo was and help him, but then the stabber ran off. I didn’t know what else to do so I followed him. Tamo wanted to stop me, but I wasn’t going to let someone just do that to him.

     I ran out of my apartment and chased after him until he was cornered in an alley.

     “You’re dead meat you asshole,” I said as I was about to approach him. But then he smirked at me and said, “YOU’RE dead…asshole.”

     Before I could react to what he said, gunshots were suddenly heard. I turned around and three men were behind me, continuously shooting at me until I could fall on the ground. When they left, I saw Tamo running towards me, his shoulder still bleeding.

     “K-Kai! No…please, don’t close your eyes okay? I’m going to call the-” When Tamo was about to take his phone out, I grabbed his hand and stopped him. I looked directly at him and gave him a smile. And with all the strength left in me, I moved closer and gave him a kiss. Maybe I still had some love left in me, and all that…I was ready to give it to him.

    “I…l-love you…A-Asano…T-Ta-” But before I could finish, everything around me turned black, and at that moment.

     I knew…

     I was dead.

• END -

SDS2 10: SINS OF AN ANGEL

A FEW DAYS AGO

THE DEMONS WERE NOW  back on earth, standing in front of the mirror that they entered earlier. Bringing home an experience they’ll never ever forget.

     “Moral of this story…don’t fucking sin,” Jihoon stated as he ran off to the kitchen to drink a glass of water.

     “Let’s go down and discuss everything to Park Dong Min. And give him Kharon so he could be summoned back,” Sunggyu instructed and everyone followed. He went out and so did the other brothers.

     Lay stayed behind. Staring at himself deeply into the mirror, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He examined his hand and started holding things, but then he stopped when Suho suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

     “Lay, you okay? Still traumatized or something?” Suho asked as Lay slowly turned around to face him.

     The moment he saw him, Lay’s eyes suddenly widened from shock. “Suho?! Is that really you?!” he shouted, making Suho look confused.

     “You okay Lay?” Suho asked, his voice started to sound like he was concerned.

     “O-oh yeah. I’m good…really really good. I’ve never been better actually!” Lay excitedly shouted like he was ready to jump around the place.

     “Well, you’re creepy, and I’m hungry so let’s go downstairs and have a snack. You might just be hungry too,” Suho stated and proceeded to go out of the room.

     “I’ll be right with ya!” Lay shouted. But before leaving the room, he looked at the mirror and said, “Lay’s the name huh? Well Lay, enjoy your stay in Hell…because you’re not going back any time soon.”

     Then he smirked and followed everyone. They headed to the dinning room and sat on their proper seat while Park Dongmin still in his seat at the middle. Kai looked around the room, and he assumed that the only seat available was probably his seat, so he went to the empty seat and sat down. The moment he sat down, Dongmin’s eyes quickly went to his direction.

     “Lay, you feeling okay?” Dongmin asked as he casually took a sip of his wine.

     “I’m fine, why?” he answered with a smile.

     Dongmin drank from his wine again and answered back, “Nothing really. You just look…different, that’s all.”

     “Really? Well, I do feel different,” Kai answered with a smirk.

     Dongmin smirked back and whispered to himself, “Of course you do.”

     Everyone looked at Kai and Dongmin; all confused about what was going on. The atmosphere suddenly felt tense so Minhyuk decided to lighten everyone up, “So, should we explain about what we saw in Hell?” Minhyuk stated and everyone agreed, well except for Jihoon. He had enough of vomiting; he didn’t want to talk about hell, and even re-imagine it again.

     “No need, I know you’re all tired after your journey, so eat and I’ll do the talking. I just wanted to explain some things about Kharon being inside an egg,” Dongmin explained.

     It was funny to think about it but no one laughed. They knew this was a serious matter to discuss.

     “So, what’s the plan? When will we summon him?” Sunggyu asked, excited to see their guardian again.

     Dongmin sighed, not sure if he was ready to break the Demon’s hearts. But he still continued with the explanation, “I can’t summon your guardian since I’m not a high ranked Demon. I can’t do anything for him. It will only make things worse if I even touch it.”

     “What? Then Kharon’s fucking going to be an egg for the rest of his life?” Jiyong stated, his voice with a hint of anger in them.

     “No, he’ll live. But, we need to wait for the egg to hatch, and of course, it will take longer. But he will soon arrive and be in your care again,” Dongmin answered, and everyone was finally at ease. They were thrilled with the news they’ve heard from the Angel’s guardian.

     “Well then, that’s good news”, Taeil added. Everyone continued eating their snacks, then Dongmin stood up and took his glass of wine.

     “I’ll be in my study room for a while. Enjoy the food for the time being. We’ll talk about your journey tomorrow and create a plan and train,” Dongmin explained, and everyone nodded as an answer. But before Dongmin could leave completely, he looked at everyone seriously and said, “And please…observe your surroundings. Because one of your brothers-” he stopped and looked directly at Kai as he continued, “Is not what you think he is anymore.” Then he left.

     Kai quickly removed his gaze on the guardian and continued with his meal like he didn’t hear what he just said. But everyone else looked puzzled on what their guardian just said.

     “What did he mean by that? Everyone looks fine to me,” Junhyung stated and Hyunseung agreed with a nod.

     Jackson looked at his lover too, making sure their guardian wasn’t referring to him.

     “It’s still me Jackson,” Mark answered as he held Jackson’s cheeks softly, making Jackson’s worry drift away. Jihoon was about to ask the same question to Taeil, but before he could even speak, Taeil knew what he was thinking about, so he answered, “I’m fucking fine.”

     Taeil’s answer made Jihoon quickly look away from the embarrassment.

     When everyone was positive that their guardian was just fooling with them, someone talked, “Maybe the old hag was just messing with our fucking heads.”

     Everyone looked at Jiyong, expecting that he was the one who said those cruel words ( since he always did ), but they were surprised that Jiyong was just as shocked as they were. Then they looked at the real owner of the voice, Lay. He was eating a mouth-full, like he hasn’t eaten for a long time, which was actually true.

     “What did you say…Lay?” Junhyung asked, confirming if it was really his bother who said those words.

     “What the fuck do you mean? I said it loud and clear didn’t I?” Kai asked back with his right eyebrow raised, not even caring if he’d get caught or not.

     Everyone’s eyes widened from shock. Junhyung gulped, pretending like he wasn’t shocked on what he heard, “Y-yeah, sorry…my fault.”

     All ate in silence. Then sons realized their guardian wasn’t joking at all because they actually did have an unwanted guest inside their home.

PRESENT TIME

“Starting today, Zhang Yixing – son of Raphael, you are Kai, the Slayer of the RAVENS,” Satan stated as his bloody-red eyes stared at Lay, and then blood started oozing out of his eyes, making Lay shout from the top of his lungs.

    “AHH!” He shouted. 

     Lay woke up from a dream. Well, not really a dream, but more like a flashback. He woke up yet again inside an unfamiliar room, but by how it looked, he was sure this was an apartment. He looked at his right and saw Tamo reading a newspaper. Then a few seconds later, Tamo looked back at Lay with a smile.

     “Did you have a good sleep?” Tamo asked as he stood up from his chair and sat down on the side of the bed where Lay was lying on.

     “Where are we?” Lay asked, still feeling sleepy.

     “We’re in your apartment, don’t you remember?” Tamo asked. For lesser questions, Lay didn’t answer and made it look like he knew that small detail.

     “When can we meet your father?” Lay finally sat down as he asked. Tamo looked concerned as he answered him, “You clearly know that no one knows you’re alive right?”

     “No, we need to see him,” Lay insisted, his voice stronger than usual. Tamo was taken aback; he blinked constantly, observing Lay’s expression. But he didn’t say anything, or question why Lay wanted to meet his father, but he nodded instead. Lay needed to make some progress. It’s been three days, and four more and Kai will be taking over his body permanently. He couldn’t afford that.

     “Fine, we’ll meet him tomorrow. For now, we need to-” Lay quickly cuts Tamo off and shouted; “We need to see him now!”

     Out of nowhere, Tamo slapped Lay, shocking Lay on the sudden action of the man in front of him.

     “What the fuck is wrong with you Kai? What do you have to talk about with my father in the first place? If you don’t fucking see it, I’m fucking trying to help you not get seen. You’re one of the most wanted man in Japan. People cheered when you died. I know it was my fault that this happened to you, and when you died I couldn’t forgive myself. I thought about you every single day, and I regret that I even allowed you to work with me. I worked myself until I was sent to the hospital so I wouldn’t think about you…but your memory alone made my heart ache…when you were having your last breath, you told me you love me…and that night I wished you didn’t say it at all,” Tamo stated, tears already forming in his eyes.

     Lay was quiet. He didn’t know what to say. He was too stressed and too scared to die if he fails that he forgot that he was hurting Tamo’s feelings. He was an angel. It wasn’t his nature to hurt people.

     Tamo started crying when he looked directly at Lay’s eyes, then he suddenly asked, “Was that true Kai?”

     Then Lay froze. He didn’t know what to say, and he definitely didn’t know what the real Kai felt about Tamo. But just by the looks of it, Kai did love him with all his heart. Lay gently placed his hands on Asano’s cheeks to wipe the tears away. He gave Asano a nod, confirming his accusations.

     Tamo quickly hugged Lay, glad that they had mutual feelings. When they parted from the hug, Lay took the opportunity to ask Tamo again, but nicer this time, “I’m sorry if I screamed at you Tamo, but please, I need to talk to Kenji. I need his help. I can’t explain this to you now, but when everything is back to normal, you will know the reasons for my current actions.”

     Lay, feeling comfortable with Tamo, kissed his cheek gently, then continued, “You understand?”

     Tamo nodded, then stood up.

     “Okay. I will bring you to my father.”

---

The two arrived at the Asano’s residence; finally a place Lay recognized. When they went out of the car, Tamo and Lay quickly went to the door to knock. The door opened and revealed a maid, shocked to see both of them, “T-Tamo-sama?! Welcome back!” the maid quickly bowed, not recognizing Lay at all.

     “Yeah…it’s good to be back,” Tamo stated, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

      “What does that mean?” Lay asked as they entered the residence.

     Tamo rolled his eyes, still pretty impressed that Kai doesn’t remember anything. But he didn’t question him at all.

     “As you could remember, I haven’t been here for almost 3 years now. I just don’t want to remember mom,” Tamo answered. He looked sad as he said those words, and Lay could see how uneasy he felt. 

     Lay wasn’t sure but he intertwined his fingers with him, hoping Tamo might feel a lot better if he held him, and he was right, Tamo softened his gaze as he stared at the residence. He didn’t like it, but he sure felt like he was home.

     “I will call your father if-” Tamo quickly stopped the maid and said, “No, we’ll proceed to him instead. Where is he?”

     “In his office sir,” the maid answered politely.

     “Same father that I grew up with,” Tamo stated, and then he nodded at the maid and dragged Lay upstairs.

     They were in front of an old but huge looking door.

     “Do you want me to accompany you inside?” Tamo suggested. But he knew that Tamo wasn’t supposed to hear their conversation. But to be polite he answered instead, “Don’t you want to see your father?”

     “It’s okay, we can talk during dinner. Take your time to talk to him. I’ll just be roaming around. You know, to look at the place. I haven’t been here for a long time now. Oh, and go easy on him. I’m sure he wouldn’t be too thrilled to see you,” then he quickly kissed Lay’s cheek, making him blush. But when he remembered that he did the exact same thing to him earlier, it made him blush even more.

     “O-Okay…I’ll go inside then,” Lay awkwardly said.

     Tamo smiled and walked away as Lay knocked on the door.

     “Come in,” Kenji’s voice stated.

     Lay slowly opened the door and went inside, seeing Kenji writing something on a blank paper.

     “What is-” Before he could finish, he lifted his head and saw Lay’s ( Kai’s ) face. He quickly dropped his pen.

     “K-Kai?!” he confirmed.

     “No sir, I’m not Kai…please let me explain what’s going on,” Lay stated calmly. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy but it was worth the try.

     “This can’t be. You’re supposed to be dead!” Kenji now shouted, still shocked by what he was seeing. He started mumbling things. He had no plan on listening to Lay at all. Lay looked at Kenji hesitantly. He wasn’t sure if he would say it, but that was the only thing that would make Kenji listen to him. 

     “I’m Lay!” he finally shouted, making Kenji shut his mouth; shocked even more on what he heard.

     “What did you say?” Kenji repeated, slowly standing from his seat and moving closer to where Lay stood.

     “I’m Lay, son of Raguel. We met before, when we went to see Kharon the Second,” Lay tried to explain. Kenji was even more shocked. He didn’t tell anyone about that information. But he still wasn’t sure if he was lying or saying the truth.

     “Explain yourself,” Kenji commanded, looking superior. He was ready to listen, but if he was being fooled, he was ready to hurt him at that moment too.

     “After our meeting, we went to Hell to gather information. Me and the rest of my brothers, and so as the Seven Deadly Demons, went there. But when we were about to leave, I saw Kai, and he grabbed me and stole my body. I need your help. I need to find my real body because after a week and if I’m still not inside my body, I would die, and Kai will rule my body permanently,” Lay finally explained.

     Kenji didn’t say anything for a while, then he opened his mouth and suddenly asked, “Who’s the angel that saved my life?”

     Lay didn’t have time to play question & answer, so he quickly answered, “Our guardian, Park Dongmin, or what everyone calls him in heaven, Peter. Seriously Kenji, were you listening to what I was saying about the switching of bodies and in a hurry because I’ll die part?”

     With that, Kenji smiled. Finally believing Lay’s words.

     “It is you!” Kenji grabbed Lay and hugged him tightly. Glad that they had this sudden reunion.

     “For a second there I thought Kai rose from the…wait…if you’re here, then Kai is-”

     “Yes, he’s with my brothers and the rest of the Demons,” Lay answered.

     “Then we need to call them immediately!” Kenji ran to his desk and grabbed his telephone. But Lay stopped him.

     “There’s no need to call them. I’m sure they’ve already figured that out by now. And I think the reason why they haven’t found me yet is that they don’t know who the soul is. If they knew it was Kai, Suho would quickly call us,” Lay answered, confusing Kenji on what he just said.

     “Wait, what do you mean by that? Suho knows Kai?” Kenji asked.

     “Apparently, but it looks like Kai hates him. But I figured the king of hell did something to him like what happened to Woo Jiho. He was clearly a third party. I don’t know why he was spared because like what you know, third parties are killed,” Lay explained.

     Kenji went back to his seat before answering and offered Lay to sit as well, so he followed. When both of them were now feeling comfortable, Kenji answered and said, “Kai’s mother is a Satanist. Maybe it was a repayment from their service to the King. If you haven’t seen it yet, Kai’s back is filled with Demonic symbols.”

     Lay was shocked by what he just heard. He didn’t even know about that small detail, so he started to become a lot more curious about the owner of this body.

     “Kenji, can you tell me something about Kim Jong-In? Why he killed all those people? I wanted to ask Tamo but I knew that it wasn’t a good idea to ask about myself to him,” Lay stated.

     Kenji scratched his chin as he answered, “Well, I don’t know a lot about him personally, and it is better to ask more about him from my son. But I’ve heard a few about Kai… 

     When I was in the headquarters, I just wanted to see if my son was doing well. While I was walking around I heard something from one of the employees; he said Kai was starting to act strangely like he was seeing things. He wasn’t the Kai they once knew. The longer Kai worked for Ravens, the worse his attitude had become. And at his final moments, he just exploded, like he couldn’t think straight anymore.

     I clearly remember that time when we were having a meeting. He looked at the door and started shouting at someone, but no was even there. I tried to observe his action. I wanted to know what was going on with him. At first, I thought he was on drugs, but slowly I figured it out. Kai was simply being eaten alive by the darkness.

     His fear started consuming him. He thought he was stronger than it, but he was clearly wrong, he couldn’t outrun it. He was too weak. His past dragged him down. I knew that there was going to be a point where he was going to hurt my son, but I saw how my son cared for him. He made my son look less than a Demon himself, but more like a human. I had to let it be. Then the news blew up, I found out it was too late, he died. It was a shame too, I wanted to help him,“ Kenji explained.

     Lay was speechless once again. He pitied Kai even more now.

     “The king never did play by the rules. He did let Kai live but…just by what you said, I would rather die than be killed slowly by my own consciousness,” Lay explained, making Kenji nod his head in agreement. Then Kenji suddenly remembered something, “What did you tell my son?”

     “Well, I…” Lay didn’t know what to tell Kenji. He didn’t know how he would tell Kenji that he tricked and fooled his son in a nice way.

     “I kinda told him I faked my death. At first, I thought he would doubt it, but he never questioned me at all,” Lay explained, trying hard not to upset Kenji. But Kenji just sighed as he answered, “I think that was the best thing to do. Telling him the truth would only confuse him more. It’s best that we lie to him for the time being. When you leave I will explain to him everything,” Kenji stated, and Lay answered a simple okay in return.

     “So, what’s the plan?” Kenji finally asked.

     Lay took a deep breath and answered, “I want to go back to Korea.”

     “Good plan. I’ll book you and Tamo a ticket. And you’ll be leaving tomorrow,” Kenji explained, shocking Lay once again.

     “W-wait…Tamo will come with me? Can’t you just come with me instead? It will be hard if-” Kenji stopped Lay as he continued for him, “I know he cares about Kai, and it will break his heart to see you go for the second time. I think this is what’s best for him. Just let him spend the remaining days with you. Maybe just by having an angel present, he might change his ways. Killing was once a goal of the Ravens, maybe after this he might stop these games and protect the Angels and the identities of the Demons instead.”

     Lay just agreed to the idea and said, “Maybe you’re right.”

     Kenji then smiled and stood up.

     “Let’s eat dinner. I’m sure my son is hungry, especially you. After all, you have a battle to face tomorrow.”

     Then they went to the dining room and ate dinner.  The dining room was silent, but sometimes the three exchanged their thoughts. But it was still awkward and mostly business related.

     “Looks like Kai still needs some rest, don’t you think father?” Tamo asked as he wiped his mouth and stood up.

     “You’re right. You may proceed to your room,” Kenji stated with a smile. It was obvious he was happy to see his son in this state again. But at the same time, there was pain in his eyes too.  Because Kenji was still sad that it was only temporary.

AT TAMO’S ROOM

Lay didn’t feel comfortable at all. They were inside a room, at night, with one bed. And to make it even worse, they supposedly had mutual feelings. What would you expect?

      “It’s strange how my father didn’t react that much about you, don’t you think?” Tamo asked as he was casually removing his coat and tie.

     “Well, I think he faced a lot more stranger things than this,” Lay answered.

     “You know what, you’re right,” then Tamo removed his polo, revealing his naked upper body to our innocent Lay. At first, he could handle it, but then Tamo started removing his pants, making Lay turn around quickly.

     “T-Tamo, don’t just casually remove your clothes in front of me! Have some class at least!” Lay stated, but he just heard Tamo laugh.

     “I’m serious!” Lay shouted again.

     After laughing his pants off, Tamo replied and said, “It’s not like it’s your first time to see me naked. And besides, you never wear any clothes when we sleep in our hotel. You’re the one who needs to have class,” then Tamo chuckled again.

     “Kai comfortably walks around naked?!” Lay thought to himself. He took all the humiliation for his sake. When Lay turned around, he saw that Tamo was already in bed, wearing boxers.

     “But still, I don’t mind you getting naked,” Tamo stated with a smirk, his eyes staring at the television.

     Even when he wasn’t directly looking at him, it still gave Lay chills. But before he could refuse and just joke it off, Lay suddenly froze.  His heart started beating faster, and his gaze slowly became different. It was like the inner Kai was taking control over the body.

     Without any hesitation, Lay closed the lights and went in front of the television. With lust in his voice, he stated, “ Stare at me next. “

     Lay slowly and seductively took off his shirt and threw it on the side. Then he crawled into the bed and took the remote control from Tamo’s hand. He turned the television off and stared back into Tamo’s eyes. He was being controlled by temptation. Now that he was out of his body, his angelic powers were gone.

     Lay’s eyes quickly turned red, but it was too dark for Tamo to even notice. He went closer to Tamo’s neck, kissing it gently. When he reached his ear, he whispered, “ I want you so badly…“

     Tamo didn’t answer but kissed Lay back, thinking that the man in front of him was Kai.

     “Then I want you just as much,” Tamo finally stated, placing his hand on Lay’s back, caressing the scars Kai had carried since he was young.

     “ I love these scars…this is what makes you…you, “ Tamo said under his breath.  Lay didn’t really appreciate it. The lust was just consuming him so he felt nothing when Tamo said those sweet words to him.

     “I want to be inside you Tamo,”  Lay bravely stated, his mouth quickly devouring Tamo. Tamo didn’t push away, but he was uncomfortable. But still, he didn’t question “ Kai’s “ actions. In between kisses, Tamo was forming the words “ I love you “, but he couldn’t do it because Lay kissed him without pausing. When Tamo finally couldn’t breathe, he pushed Lay away.

      “Slow down,”  Tamo instructed, whispering now as well.  It was obvious he was feeling the heat of the moment too.

     “No, I want you now. I can’t do slow,”  Lay stated honestly.  And he was true to his word. He quickly took off Tamo’s boxers, revealing his hard-on cock. Lay smirked on the sight of it. He turned Tamo around, slowly licking Tamo’s back, bringing Tamo a cold but sexy sensation.

     “You like that?” Lay stated, not whispering anymore.

     Tamo didn’t answer, but Lay loved the silence. He removed his belt and pulled his pants down, but not completely removing it. Just at the knee level.  Without any preparation, he shoved himself inside Tamo, making Tamo shout his lungs out.

     Tears immediately came out of Tamo’s eyes. Lay thrust back and forth, having a constant speed. He didn’t take it slow. He wanted it fast.

     Tamo’s painful screams made Lay even harder, he wanted to hear the moans, he wanted to hear the pain, he loved the shouts that echoed inside the room. The bed was creaking; following the direction on how Lay moved. He wasn’t afraid if any would hear them at all.

     When Tamo finally adjusted, he loosened his grip on the sheets and relaxed a little.

     “AH! More Kai! More!” Tamo shouted between moans, and Lay obliged.

     “I fucking love that about you Tamo,” Lay stated while he continued thrusting inside Tamo.

     “You want it harder and deeper?” he then asked without even stopping his constant thrust.

     Tamo didn’t answer but nodded in between moans. So Lay quickly removed himself inside Tamo and pulled Tamo’s lower part upward, facing the ceiling. Lay stood up, his cock leveling Tamo’s ass. And then he shoved himself inside Tamo again, but deeper and harder this time. This made Tamo moan even louder than before.

     He went in and out, faster and faster and faster, not even slowing down his pace. And without warning, he came inside Tamo, making Tamo shout his moan louder.

     Lay quickly pulled out, wore his pants back, and dropped himself beside Tamo, not even helping him clean himself up.

     Tamo looked at Lay’s eyes and said, “I love you, Kai,” then he kissed his lips gently. But Lay didn’t reply back, he didn’t even mind it. All he wanted was his body, nothing more. So without anything else to say, he fell asleep.

• END -

SDS2 11: LOVE IS SIN

LAY OPENED HIS EYES from the loud sound coming from outside their room. His eyes were now back to normal, but his body ached. He slowly sat down, trying to remember everything that happened last night. But when he saw Tamo sleeping beside him, he quickly stood up and went to the bathroom.

     Then Lay started vomiting. 

     He was disgusted. Not at Tamo but he was disgusted with himself

     “W-what have I done?!” he shouted as he fell on his knees. He quickly closed his eyes and started praying, “Forgive me Father for I have sinned. Forgive me Father for I have sinned. Forgive me Father for I have sinned-” it went on and on until tears started to fall out of Lay’s eyes.

     “ This is wrong. His moans and his sweet words weren’t for me. It was for Kai. This wasn’t mine to take. What happened to me? I was controlled? I was vulnerable…I was used in the wrong way…I gave my first…to a man I hardly even knew. “

      Lay started tearing up again. He couldn’t believe what he had done. Looks like he was one sin down, and it was LUST. As the days lessened, Lay knew that the sins he was going to commit would increase.

     “Kai, are you alright?” Tamo softly stated when he went to the bathroom, wanting to know if Lay/Kai was doing okay or not.

     “I-I’m fine,” Lay immediately answered without even looking at him.

     “Are you sure? You feel kinda off? Is it because of what happened last night?” Tamo stated, reminding Lay once again on what he did last night with him.

     “No!” he shouted, shocking Tamo on his sudden action.

     “K-Kai…d-did I do something wrong?” said Tamo, tears almost falling down his eyes. Lay suddenly felt sad for Tamo. It wasn’t Lay’s body, it was Kai’s, but inside that shell, it was still him. It was still him that made love with Tamo that night.

     “I’m sorry Tamo,” Lay stated, slowly moving his head and looking at Tamo. Tamo blinked the tears off and kneeled on one knee so he could face Lay’s face.

     “It’s okay. I know you’re tired after what happened. If you like, I’ll never talk about it again, I swear,” Tamo told him.

     Lay just smiled, holding Tamo’s cheek gently. Even with all the disgust he felt, he was still an angel by heart.

     “It’s okay. I’m glad that what happened last night happened,” he lied.

     Tamo quickly grabbed Lay for a tight embrace and Lay kissed Tamo’s forehead gently. He didn’t say a word, but Tamo didn’t question it again. Tamo never did question, Kai. He just accepted that he’ll only hear what Kai wants to tell him, not force it out of him.

     “Let’s go and accompany your father downstairs and eat breakfast,” Lay stated as he stood up and held Tamo’s hand gently. Looks like Tamo cleaned him last night too after what happened because Lay only realized that he was now wearing a plain white t-shirt and some black shorts.

     When they arrived downstairs, they saw Kenji eating his breakfast alone.

     “Good morning father,” Tamo stated as he lets go of Lay’s hand and went to his father to give him a pat on the back. 

     Tamo sat down and Lay followed.

     “Good morning Kenji-san,” Lay stated.

     “Good morning to you too Kai. Did you have a good sleep?” Kenji asked with a smile. But Lay just forcefully smiled back. He didn’t answer.

     When the food was placed in front of them, everyone started eating. Tamo and Kenji once again just talked about business and the Ravens, so Lay was left alone by his own thoughts. But when his eyes were caught on the food, everything changed again. He quickly took his spoon and started devouring the food. In seconds, his plate was clean. His eyes shot to the rest of the food in front of him, so he took the platter of pasta. He quickly took it all, not even getting a few portion and place it on his plate; he just took everything. Then he started eating it without even pausing.

     Kenji and Tamo saw what Lay just did so they looked at him with shock.

     “Kai, slow down,” Kenji commanded, but Lay didn’t budge.

     “Kai…father said to slow down. You might choke,” this time, it came from Tamo. But Lay still didn’t listen to him. Lay’s eyes were about to turn red, but before it did, Tamo held Lay’s arm gently, calming him down.

     “Kai…” he softly stated.  Lay went back to reality. He realized what he just did… GLUTTONY.

     “Kai, are you okay?” Kenji asked with a concerned voice. But before Lay could answer, he stood up and went to the toilet, vomiting once again. Tamo ran to him, patting his back.

     “Kai, what’s going on with you?” Tamo asked, but Lay didn’t answer.

     “Bring Kai to my office,” Kenji commanded as he stood up and went to his office first. Tamo thought Kenji was going to reprimand his lover for having bad manners, but he obliged and brought Lay to his father’s office.

     “I’ll wait in the living room. Just go there when you’re done.” Tamo kissed Lay’s cheeks and left to proceed to the living room. Lay sighed before entering, and then he turned the doorknob and went inside.

     “Sir Kenji?” Lay asked as he closed the door.

     “What happened to you last night Lay?” Kenji asked like he knew exactly what happened to him and Tamo, but he still wanted to make sure.

     “I-I…we…Tamo and I-” Kenji cuts Lay off, getting the picture.

     “Looks like the books were right,” Kenji stated as he stood up and took an old looking book on his shelves. He went to the desk and placed it at his desk. Lay went to where it was to get a better look at it.

     Kenji started flipping the pages, then he arrived at a page where it showed a soul being pulled out of one’s body.

     “This is like your case. I studied it last night. One week is given to an angel to find their bodies. Every wasted day will cause you to lose your angelic abilities, which is being able to sin freely. First in the list is lust, and it looks like you’ve done that, so as glutton. Next sin is Sloth, now that you’re aware of that, you can suppress it…”

     “And if I commit all seven?” Lay then asked.

     “You die. On the seventh day, you’ll be facing the seventh sin, and that is pride. If you commit that sin, your angelic self will be gone, and you are now a sinner. That’s why you’re now allowed to stay in Hell. Because if you are not aware, angels aren’t meant to live in Hell for a long time, but with your angelic self gone, you’re defenseless,” Kenji explained.

     Lay was speechless. Kenji saw his reaction so he looked at him softly and reassured him,“Don’t worry, I have you’re tickets. You’ll be leaving at ten.”

     “Thank you, Kenji,” Lay stated.

     “No, thank you. Ask Park Dongmin if I finally have paid my debts with him through this,” Kenji stated as he held Lay’s shoulder.

     “Good luck…Lay. And may the spirit of the Lord be with you in your journey,” Kenji finished.

     Lay smiled on Kenji’s words, then he hugged him softly and said, “God Bless you Kenji.”

SOUTH KOREA, GANGNAM      

“So, what are we doing here?” Tamo asked, but once again, Lay didn’t answer. He was just glad to be back.

     Lay and Tamo were in a car. They were going to be brought to Kenji’s penthouse here in Gangnam.  When they arrived, both went out at the same time.

     “Wow, this looks good,” Tamo stated when he saw the penthouse, but Lay still didn’t say anything so Tamo sighed and looked at him, “I don’t expect you to explain things to me. But as a stupid man that I am, I followed you here without even knowing the reason. I’m just glad to see your hometown, Kai. It’s beautiful. And it is my first time to leave Japan, so I’m glad I was able to be in this trip,” Tamo explained.

     Lay doesn’t know but every time he sees Tamo, he starts feeling at ease. So he took Tamo’s hand and said, “I’m glad you like it here. But Tamo, can I ask you a favor?”

     “What is it?” Tamo asked curiously.

     “I need to go somewhere so I might be gone for a few hours, or even days. Just call me if something goes wrong. I know you want to know what’s happening, and I am so happy that you’re not forcing me to tell you. I’ll tell you when it’s time, I swear. By then you can stay here, or use the car and ask the driver to bring you to a place you like, okay?” Lay asked, his voice steady and filled with care.

     “Okay, I understand”, Tamo simply answered.

     Lay grabbed Tamo and gave him a quick peck on the forehead.

    “I love you, Kai…” Tamo stated.

     Lay looked at Tamo’s eyes deeply.

     “So do I,” Lay answered. Not because he loved Tamo, but because he knew that was something the real Kai would say. Then Lay ran off, not even looking at Tamo’s sad expression. 

     He was shocked to see how calm Tamo was about this, and he saluted him for not even questioning him. Tamo must really love Kai to follow him around in a different country with no question.

     When Lay finally arrived back at the Holy Home, he couldn’t help but smile in relief.

     “I’m finally back,” He stated. He then knocked on the door, and the man who opened it was none other than Wang Jackson.

     “Jackson!” Lay shouted as he ran to him to give him a tight hug, but Jackson quickly pushed him off. He totally forgot that he’s not in his real body anymore.

     “Who the fuck are you and why do you know me?” Jackson stated, catching the attention of the others. Everyone walked their way to the door, all looking at Lay (In Kai’s body), from head to toe.

     “Can we talk inside?” Lay insisted. Then Junhyung went in front of the crowd, facing Lay.

     “Who are you and why are you here?” Junhyung asked, his voice filled with authority.

     “Junhyung, I’ll explain everything, but please let’s sit down inside and talk. Talking here would be dangerous,” Lay stated, but no one believed him. Then a man who knew him dearly went to the scene. “Kai?!” he shouted as he pushed everyone in front of him so he could face him.

     “Suho! Yes, finally someone who knows me. Well not me but…you know,” Lay stated, relieved. Then Sunggyu joined in and asked, “Suho, you know this guy?”

     “Yeah, I took care of him before,” Suho explained, shocking everyone on what he just stated. But then everyone was even more shocked when Park Dong,in went out and said, “That’s your brother, Lay.”

     “What?!” everyone said in unison.

     A few minutes later, everyone was in the living room, Lay standing in the middle. They were staring at him, especially Suho, who was still pretty hurt that the real Kai left him without even saying goodbye.

     “Lay, is that really you? Do you remember me?”, Junhyung asked with a concerned voice, making sure that it was really Lay.

     Lay chuckled and answered, “Of course stupid. How could I forget our leader? Asking me to go to him every day to give a report when he was turned into a human. And the leader who almost got Mark killed because of his love for Hyunseung.”

     Hyunseung smirked as he said, “It is Lay.”

     The Arcs quickly stood from there seat and gave Lay a hug. Glad to see him again.  After that moment, everyone sat back down.

     “So, where’s my body? I need to switch souls with him,” Lay stated, and then everyone had a worried face.

     Lay suddenly felt something weird when he realized his body wasn’t in the room, “What happened here?”

     Seunghyun sighed and explained, “When we went back from hell, we found out that it wasn’t you. I think he felt our doubts so that night, he vanished. We tried looking for him but there’s no luck, we couldn’t find him.”

     Lay suddenly felt the fear consume him.

     “This can’t be. I need to find him. After a week, if I’m still not inside my body, I’ll die. And Kai will have my body permanently,” Lay explained, shocking everyone once again.

     “Wait, it was Kai? Kai…died?” Suho tried to say, shocked by the sudden news that he was finding out. Lay softened his eyes and was ready to explain everything to Suho.

     “Suho, when you and Kai met, the king did something to him. Something that would make him hate you so he could leave. He was a third party, it had to be done,” Lay explained. Then Taeil suddenly went in to the conversation, “Shouldn’t they kill him? That’s what they did to Jiho!”

     Taeil felt furious. He was already angry at Kai even though he hasn’t done anything to him yet.

     “You see, Kai was a-” Lay was cut off as Suho continued for him, “Kai and his mother was a Satanist. It was a gift the king gave for the service they have given to the king”

     Lay was surprised. Of course, Suho knew about that.

     “And what kind of service is that?” Jihoon asked, curious about where this conversation was going.

     “Kai was tortured. Demonic symbols were carved on his back,” this time, it was Lay who explained it. The Arcs were shocked, pitying the said Kai, but the Demons didn’t even budge.

     “Lay, can you tell me more about what happened to Kai? Was he in good shape? Was he sick? Did he die due to starvation?” Suho asked, question after question.

     Lay took a deep breath, ready to answer all of them.

     “Kai went to Japan, and he’s one of the most wanted people in Tokyo. Do you all remember what Kenji told us when we were eating dinner, about the groups in Ravens? Kai was a Slayer of the Ravens,” Lay explained further.

     Everyone was surprised, but no one said a word, so Lay continued, “He was one of the strongest and most respected Slayers of the Ravens; the leader. But he started seeing things, more specifically, the dead. He was driving himself to insanity. His fear slowly killed him. He killed innocent people who supposedly showed Demonic signs even though they were innocent. This was the consequence the king gave him. And Taeil, Jiho was even fortunate. Kai made himself be hated until he was killed. He was shot to death. He died, with only one person loving him…Tamo.”

     “Tamo?! Kenji’s son?!” everyone asked in unison. It was surprising that everyone was engrossed in the story now.

     “Yes, it looks like the two have a relationship. And Suho, let me assure you that Kai was very thankful for all the things you did to him. But until now, he doesn’t know the goodness that you showed him. He only sees hatred because that’s what the king made him believe,” Lay told him.

     “No wonder he was acting strange towards me,” Suho stated.

     Lay stopped there. He wanted to tell his brothers everything, but telling them he fucked Tamo wasn’t a good idea.

     “So, Tamo’s here?” Jihoon asked, and Lay nodded.

     Sunggyu took a deep breath and stood from his seat, “We need to meet him then. Where is he?”

MEANWHILE…

     Tamo was in the car. He asked the driver to bring him to a coffee shop, so the driver did. Even though Tamo hasn’t been to Korea, he knew the language. At first he was confused on why his father forced him to study English, Mandarin and Korean, but now he kinda started to understand the reason why. His father had connections in Korea, America and even China. His knowledge of the said language was helpful for business related things.

     While they were driving, the driver almost bumped into someone, making the vehicle stop. The driver cursed under his breath, leaning forward to see if he actually hit the person.

     “What the hell happened?” Tamo asked as he went out of the car, checking who the person was.

     “Are you okay sir?” Tamo asked in Korean when he approached him.

     The man didn’t look like he was hurt. He brushed the dirt off him and stood up. He was ready to shout at Tamo for what happened, but when he saw his face, the man’s eyes immediately widened on the sight of him.

     “Sir, are you okay?” Tamo asked once again.

     The man didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Tamo and gave him a tight hug. And then he started crying.

     “Sir?” Tamo confusingly asked, but he didn’t push him away.

     “T-Tamo…Tamo. I missed you so much…” he stated, shocking Tamo even more.

    “H-how did you know…my name?” 

     Just when the man was about to answer, Tamo’s phone rang. Before answering, he instructed the driver to bring the man inside the car to be brought to the hospital. Once the man was inside, Tamo answered, “Hello?”

    “Tamo, this is…Kai. Where are you?”  Lay asked through the phone.

     “I’m still here in Gangnam. We were heading to a café when we suddenly almost hit a man. We’re sending him to the hospital,” Tamo answered.

     “Really? Is it severe?”

     “No, but we’re just going to check. Just in case.”

     “Good call. So what hospital are you going to? I want you to meet some people. They’re excited to see you.”

     “Really? That’s cool. I’m just heading to the nearest hospital here. Just text me if you and your friends are there.”

     “Okay, I will.”

     “Oh Kai, I almost forgot. The man we bumped into knew me. He hugged me and knew my name like we knew each other for a long time. I’m planning to ask more while we head to the hospital,” Tamo finally revealed.

     “What?”  Lay asked, sounding really shocked on the news that he heard.

     “The man we almost bumped into? He knew me…and hugged me,” Tamo explained again, but slower this time. There was silence for a few seconds, then Lay finally spoke, “Tamo, stay where you are and don’t move. We’ll go to where you are. And please don’t talk to that man. Don’t even go near him.”)

     Tamo finally became serious, “What’s going on?” he asked.

     “I’ll explain later. Just tell me where you are.”

     Tamo looked at the building beside him, “I’m near a Noodle shop called Noodle Box. “

     “Okay, we’ll be there in ten minutes.”

• END -

SDS2 12: LOVE IS GREATER THAN SIN

TAMO GULPED AS HE slowly looked at the man inside the car who was deeply staring back at him. His gaze brought Tamo shivers. He was waiting at the sidewalk while the car parked right in front of him. A few minutes later, Lay finally arrived with his brothers. When Tamo saw Lay, he quickly ran to him and gave him a hug.

     “Kai, what’s going on?” he asked, starting to worry.

     “I’ll explain later,” Lay stated as they broke from the hug.

     When Kai saw the faces of the Arcs and the Demons, he quickly went out of the car and was about to run away, but Jiyong was faster. He caught him before he could even run farther.

     “Where do you think you’re going, thief?” Jiyong stated with a smirk, then he dragged him to his brothers.

     “Here you go Lay,” Jiyong stated as he pushed Kai, making him fall on his knees. The Arcs and the Demon’s made a circle, surrounding Kai so he couldn’t have a chance to escape.

     “Kai, what’s going on?” Tamo asked once again.

     Lay sighed and looked at Tamo with soft eyes, “Tamo…no…Mr. Asano…I am not what you thought I was.”

     Tamo looked back at Lay confusingly, “W-what do you mean?”

     Lay looked at Jihoon and said, “Stop time,” he instructed, and Jihoon obliged, snapping his fingers and stopping time. Tamo was shocked; speechless on what happened to the surroundings.

     “W-What’s going on. What are you people?!” he shouted, looking at the Demons and the Arcs.

    Jiyong smirked and showed Tamo that he could produce fire on his hands. Then Woohyun thought of showing off too, so he summoned his sword. It was the most beautiful silver sword Tamo has ever seen.

     Seconds later, Tamo finally realized it.

    “Y-you’re…Demons and…Angels! We were right! You exist! Kai! This is splendid! Is this the reason why you brought me here?” Tamo stated happily. Now the worries were gone, and the only thing that consumed him was excitement.

     “No,” Lay honestly stated, and with that one word, everything that Tamo felt disappeared.

     “Mr. Asano, I’m an Angel. These are my brothers, the Arcs. The Demons and my brothers had a mission, and your father helped us accomplish it. That’s why when we met, I knew who you were. It might be through appearance, but I’m not Kai. I’m Lay, son of Raguel. He-” Lay paused and pointed at Kai, “He’s Kai. His soul is inside my body, and my soul is inside his.”

     Tamo was speechless. Everything wasn’t processing in his head.

     “You’re lying,” Tamo finally stated.

    “No Mr. Asano, I know that you’re upset but-” Tamo quickly slapped Lay, shocking everyone on his action towards their brother.

     “Stop calling me that. Kai, please don’t do this,” Tamo practically begged. He started tearing up, making Lay feel the guilt.

    “What have I done?” he thought to himself. He tried to touch Tamo again, but Tamo pushed him away.

     “Where’s the real Kai. Where’s the person that I love?” He asked, anger in his eyes as he looked at Lay.

    Lay looked at Kai, who was still silently kneeling on the floor. Tamo looked at his direction, slowly going towards him. He went down on one knee and looked at Kai.

    “Kai?” he asked.

    Kai slowly lifted his head with a smile, then he said, “Hey, how’s your shoulder?” The moment the real Kai asked Tamo that question, Tamo quickly grabbed him and hugged him tightly. He started crying like he never cried his whole life.

     Everyone looked at the two, touched on the reunion. But when they broke from the hug, Tamo looked at Lay once again. With disgust and anger in his eyes.

     “The man I held that night…was Lay?” he asked, shocking the Arcs and Demons.

     “Looks like you forgot about that part Lay,” Hyunseung stated with a sarcastic voice.

     “Is that true?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at the angel.

     Lay was ready to explain so he said, “I’m not in my body so my angelic self is slowly fading. That night I was controlled by lust, the next day I was controlled by gluttony. This is a part of me dying. That’s why I need to switch with Kai before it’s too late.”

     Tamo was about to agree with it, but he asked, “And what will happen to Kai?”

     No one answered.

     “What will happen to Kai!?” Tamo shouted this time, forcing Lay to answer the cruel truth.

     “He’ll go back to hell,” Lay finally answered.

     Tamo fell on his knees, a tear falling from his eyes once more. When he looked at the Demons and the Arcs, he stated, “Then I am not handing him to you. You die for all I care.”

     Everyone gasped from shock. At that moment, everyone knew Tamo loved Kai unconditionally.

     “Don’t do this Asano…” Lay begged.

     Tamo went in front of Lay and started shouting at him, “Don’t do this?! Then what the fuck did you do to me?! Huh LAY?! You fucking used me! You knew about the truth but you still lied. If you’re really an angel you should have told me the truth…you’re worse than a demon!”

    “I had to do it, Asano. There was no other choice,” Lay explained, but Tamo wasn’t listening anymore. So Suho went to where they were and explained for Lay’s sake, “Hey, if Lay told you he was an angel, what would be the first thing you’ll do to him?” Suho asked, but calmer.

     Tamo finally calmed down. He didn’t answer because he knew what he would do. They would experiment on him.

    “He did it for his safety. He knew the consequences but he still went to you because he knew you could help him. You should be grateful that you were given a chance to meet Jong-In again,” Suho explained.

    After that, Kai turned to Suho. When Suho felt that Kai was staring at him, he smiled, making Kai frown at him. The action made Suho chuckle, “So kid, how’s it going? Didn’t know it was you inside Lay’s body.”

    “I’m still older than-” Kai suddenly stopped, a tear falling from his eyes as soon as he did. His chest ached, and then memories came flashing right in front of him. When the memories stopped, he looked back at Suho and cried even more.

    He remembered the time a ghoul talked to him, how he betrayed Suho by leaving without even saying goodbye, and how Suho took care of him like he was family.

    “Suho…I-I’m…I’m sorry.”

    “Looks like he remembered everything now,” Sunggyu explained, and everyone agreed.

    “So you’re Suho, the person Kai hates the most,” Tamo stated, but Kai stood up and held Tamo’s back, “No Tamo, I was mistaken. I never did hate Suho. Suho…he taught me everything. He gave me hope to live. He gave me worth. He-”

     Tamo felt sad as he continued, “He gave you everything that I couldn’t.”

     Kai quickly looked at Tamo and told him, “No Tamo, you’re wrong. He gave me those things, but you gave me love and care. And you made me believe that I could be stronger.”

     Kai pressed his forehead on Tamo and whispered so it was only Tamo who could hear those important words, “I love you Tamo, very much. And I was very ready to share that love with you for the rest of my life. But I need to go. I need to pay for the things that I’ve done to those people. It was my fault and my weight to carry…its time for us to move on.”

     “No! I’m not letting you leave me again!” Tamo demanded, but Kai didn’t listen. He looked at Suho and Lay as he said, “As a payment to all the things you’ve given me Suho, I hand you my life.”

     “No, Kai, don’t fucking do this,” Tamo begged, tears falling from his eyes again. But Kai didn’t look at Tamo anymore. Seeing him will only make him sadder than he already is.

     “Lay, please hurry,” Kai now commanded. But Lay couldn’t do it. He couldn’t possibly do it and just let Kai leave Tamo, after everything they’ve seen today.

     When Mark saw Lay struggling, he stated, “Lay, do it.”

     “But Mark, these two love each other. And they still have three days, I can sacrifice three days and give them-” Mark cut him off and explained further, “Lay, go back to your body and become an angel so you could…resurrect Kai. He’s human, you’re an angel of healing, remember?”

    Everyone’s eyes suddenly widened from the realization, especially Tamo.

     “Y-You can do that?” Tamo asked, pleading this time.

     “I-I can but…those are against the rules. I can’t do it without the permission of our Father,” Lay explained. But Junhyung held Lay’s shoulder and told him, “I’ve broken rules Lay, and I’ve never felt so happy in my life.”

    “Everyone breaks the rules,” Jackson added, and then he looked at Mark and winked, making Mark blush on his lover’s sudden action. Lay smiled as he looked at Suho and Tamo. They were right. After everything that happened to them, Lay experienced something. Something you call, eternal love.

     He just witnessed it.

     And he was lucky enough to witness it.

     A person, who loves you dearly, will never question you, he will listen to you and believe you whatever the odds may be, and that touched Lay. Humans were capable to sacrifice everything for their loved ones. Why can’t an angel do it too?

     “Okay then. Kai, get ready, I’ll do it,” Lay stated as he went towards him and held Kai’s forehead with his two fingers.

    Nothing happened for a second, but then the two started glowing. Smoke then came out on both of their mouths, and their eyes were plain white. After a long exchange of bodies, Kai fainted, and Lay was standing still.

     Lay looked at his hand. He was back. He started glowing, like all his angelic powers were being absorbed back to him, and a black smoke was leaving his body.

     “And your sins are now forgiven,” Junhyung stated with a smile, proud of what his brother did.

     “Kai!” Tamo shouted as he ran to where Kai was.

     Tamo looked at Lay and told him, “Please help him now.” So Lay went down on one knee so he could face Tamo. He wiped the tears off Tamo’s cheeks and said, “You are a very confusing human Tamo, and your love for Kai is unpayable. But for what I’m about to do, there will be a catch.”

     “What is it, I’ll do anything.”

     Lay seriously looked at Tamo as he spoke, “You will not kill anyone anymore. Once you do so, you will pay it back with Kai’s life.”

     The words sounded more like a pledge than a request, but Tamo sincerely nodded anyway.

     “Everyone will be against you, and Kai will have more hardships in his life. But once I resurrect him, I think I’ll be able to erase his insanity. Make him normal again if that’s how you want to put it. People aren’t aware that he’s alive, and that’s something you need to face alone. Your father changed his ways because an angel saved him, so your father hopes that your encounter with the Seven Deadly Sons, and the Seven Holy Sons, will help you realize that what you’re trying to wipe out in this world is indestructible. There will be Angels and Demons everywhere, but no mere human is able to kill them. And like your father, do not speak of this to anyone. Failing that will mean treason to both of you,” Lay finished, and Tamo nodded his head in understanding.

     Lay took a deep breath and pressed his palm on Kai’s chest. His hands started glowing, then Kai’s chest started glowing as well, and in a short moment, his whole body started glowing. Everyone was anticipating, especially Tamo. When Lay lets go of him, Kai’s eyes quickly opened, immediately making Tamo hug him.

     “Kai! Thank goodness!” Tamo stated as he continued to hug him.

    “Tamo?” Kai asked as Tamo grabbed him and gave him a soft and gentle kiss.

    Lay stood up, smiling at what he just did for these two.

    “Thank you very much…Lay,” Kai stated, also with a huge smile on his face. He was honored to even have a second chance. And it was all thanks to these Angels and Demons.

---

 Lay was at the balcony of their home. Kai and Tamo immediately went back to Tokyo. The Demons and the Arcs wished them luck and insisted that they should meet soon. But Tamo and Kai said that they wanted to figure everything together, without any help from others. But if they're back on their feet, they will contact them immediately and tell them they've been doing well.

    In all honesty, everything went smoothly for all of them.

     “So, you fucked Tamo huh?” a voice suddenly stated, making Lay turn around. When he saw that it was Suho, he rolled his eyes and went back to staring at the night skies.

     “Apparently I did, even though I was controlled, I still did it,” Lay stated with a sad tone.

     Suho went to stand beside Lay, “So, how was Tamo?” he asked.

    Lay looked annoyed as he answered, “Do you seriously want me to tell you every detail? Fine, he had a nice ass, that’s it.”

     Suho started laughing, making Lay look back at him angrily.

    “Why are you reacting like that? I told you what you wanted to hear,” Lay defended, even more annoyed on how Suho was reacting.

     When Suho stopped laughing, he stated, “That wasn’t what I was asking. I meant was, how does he treat Kai. What does he do? Does he have a good personality, you know…the normal stuff.”

    Lay suddenly felt embarrassed, but to brush it off and acted seriously again, “Well, he was very nice, that’s a start. And he never once questioned me when he thought I was Kai. It only showed how much he loved him. I’ve never seen a human like that before. Like he’ll do everything for that other person, and give him his full trust. I’ve seen every cruel thing a person could do but…that? That was something.”

     Suho smiled upon hearing the answer, “Well, we never see the goodness in people. We forget sometimes that there’s goodness in everyone.”

     “Yeah, even you guys have goodness in you. And you’re freaking Demons!” Lay explained, making Suho laugh again. Lay did the same and laughed with Suho. When they stopped laughing, Lay looked back at Suho and said, “You liked Kai didn’t you.”

     Suho didn’t answer for a while. He looked at the scenery first and said, “Every inch of him.” Then he smiled, but the smile looked painful.

    “I was hurt when he left. Couldn’t think straight. My hobby of stealing went back. I just shattered. Meeting my brothers was the only thing that cured me. But Tamo…I know he’ll protect and love Kai. I know that everything I was about to give Kai…he was going to give much more than that,” Suho answered without even looking at Lay.

    Lay didn’t know what to do, so he awkwardly patted Suho’s back to comfort him.

    “Loving someone…it’s so complicated. Just seeing Jackson and Mark, JS, and Junhyung, and even if they don’t show it, Jihoon and Taeil…just by looking at them, I already know that it’s really a hard task. But they make it look so easy and so worth it. Who knows, I might just fall in love with you,” Suho casually stated as he looked at Lay. Lay looked back, then he felt his face turn red.

    “Are you blushing?!” Suho asked teasingly, making Lay cover his face with both his hands.

     Suho started laughing, but when he was finished, he looked back at the busy city, and then he said, “I want to fall in love. I’m actually very jealous of them. I want to protect someone, I want to wake up and feel like I’m waking up for a purpose. I want to hold someone too. I just don’t want to feel alone. I’ve always been greedy. I’ve always wanted more, but I can throw all that and be faithful to just one. Seeing how Tamo loved Kai, it broke my heart…but at the same time I was relieved that he fell in love with someone like him.”

    Both didn’t talk after that, but after a few minutes of silence, Suho asked, “Lay, have you ever been in love?”

    “I have…” Lay bravely confirmed. Suho was taken aback as he asked clearly this time, “I mean not by God or by family. It’s like…you want to be with them, have a relationship…you know…kiss.”

    Lay chuckled and nodded his head, “I have. Every single day I’ve thought of the what-ifs, the chance I had before…and how I just watched him slowly fall in love with someone else,” Lay explained, and Suho could feel the hurt in those words.

    Suho didn’t say anything so Lay looked at him and said, “I know you’re curious about who it is.”

    Suho nodded.

    “It’s Junhyung . I liked and loved Yang Junhyung more than a brother,” Lay finally revealed.

    Suho almost fell on his knees on the sudden realization, but Lay continued, “Just like you, it broke my heart every time I saw Hyunseung and Junhyung happily together. But at the same time, I was relieved that he fell in love with someone like him. I couldn’t have picked anyone else better than Hyunseung.”

    Suho sighed as he said, “Well, it looks like we’re the same. Let’s just watch and love them from afar. That’s the best thing we can do for now.”

    “I couldn’t agree more,” Lay said with a smile. Then both became quiet once again. And like the forever-talkative Suho, he broke the silence.

    “Wanna forget them?” he asked, still not looking at Lay.

    “What do you mean?” Lay asked back while looking at Suho. Suho finally looked at Lay as he answered, “Wanna be together?”

    Lay chuckled on how silly it sounded, but Suho didn’t even smile. He was serious.

    “We don’t have to fall in love right away. We can do it slowly. We both want to be held and be loved. I think…we can erase each other’s memories of them if we tried hard enough,” Suho seriously told him.

    “You mean…pretend?” Lay asked, finally curious about where this was going.

     “No! I want it to be rea. I want us to be honest about it too. We can be together for the rest of our lives if you like, but we can stop whenever one of us falls in love with someone else. Wanna do it?” Suho asked.

    Lay didn’t answer at first but surprisingly nodded his head afterward.

    “Then…we’re together?” Lay asked awkwardly.

    Suho chuckled and answered, “Well, I didn’t expect it to be this awkward. But…what does a couple do anyway?”

    Lay thought of things before answering. When he composed everything in his head, he said, “They go on dates, they complement each other, they make each other feel good, they give and receive from each other, and they…kiss.”

    Suho slowly looked at Lay as he suggested, “Should we kiss?”

     Lay just shrugged as an answer.

     “Well, if that’s what couples do then I think we should,” Suho stated as he faced Lay and held his chin softly. He leaned closer, and closer until their lips touched. When their lips touched, the angel and the demon suddenly felt something spark inside of them.

    And there…

    These two’s complicated story began.

• END -

SDS2 13: KISSING ME AWKWARDLY

“GOOD NEWS EVERYONE. WE’RE together,” Suho announced to the Arcs and Demons who were in the living room. Suho was standing beside Lay, holding his hands tightly. All the sons stopped what they were doing to look back at the two, making sure they didn’t just hear something dumb come out of this greedy prince’s mouth.

     “Well?” Suho asked, waiting for a reaction.

     The son looked at the two, then down to their intertwined hands, and then back to them. After a few more seconds of staring, everyone finally got the picture. 

     “What?!” everyone shouted in unison; shocked on the news announced to them. Even Park Dongmin was there, but he didn’t look that shocked like the rest of the brothers.

     “What did you say Suho? Can you repeat that one more time?” Sunggyu asked, not too thrilled to hear the news as well.

     “Lay and I are together now!” Suho answered enthusiastically, but no one really felt the same excitement as Suho. Honestly, Lay’s freaked out about it himself too. It looks like Suho was the only one enjoying this.

     Junhyung, who is just as speechless as the rest, went in between them and said, “What the fuck is happening here? Yesterday we were just helping Kai and Tamo - who’s both been connected with you guys. And suddenly this?! Out of nowhere, you announce that you’re together?! Lay fucked Tamo for Pete’s sake!”

     Lay glared at Junhyung upon hearing his statement, “Really Junhyung? You still can’t get over that part?”

     “Look, we’re just concerned about your decision. Aren’t you guys being irrational about this? These things have steps you know,” Mark explained, and basically, they agreed but still found it funny since Mark himself said it. 

     Suho suddenly felt bad. He didn’t expect this reaction from his brothers. He honestly thought they’d be happy about it.

     “Why can’t you just be happy for us?” Suho asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.

     Hyunseung saw how Suho felt, so he sighed and told him, “Well, we are happy for the both of you, but…are you guys sure? We don’t even see you guys talk to each other that much. Are you sure you already want to be in a relationship? You can start as friends, then best friends, and when you guys are sure, what the heck, marry each other for all we care. Even though it sounded weird when Mark said it, he’s still right. You should at least take your time to know each other first.”

     Suho looked like he was considering it, but he still insisted on them being together.

    “But we can get to know each other and be together at the same time, what’s wrong about that? Being friends would be a waste of time. If we’re meant to be together, we’re meant to be together.” Suho defended.

     Then finally, the Arcs’ guardian spoke.

     “Lay, you haven’t given us your opinion about this yet. Are you sure about this or did Suho just force you to do it?” Dongmin asked seriously, making everyone look at Lay’s way.

     Lay gulped, pressured if he messes up his answer. When he thought of the right words, he said, “Well, I do want to be in a relationship with someone. And I think…Suho will be the perfect match.”

     Everyone wanted to facepalm. How could they agree to this without thinking about it properly?

     “Are you sure?” Dongmin asked further. And both Suho and Lay nodded in agreement.

     “Okay then,” Dongmin surprisingly answered, shocking the brothers.

     “Dongmin! Are you serious?!” Junhyung angrily asked. But Dongmin ignored him and faced Suho and Lay, “I’m giving you three days. You need to spend the whole three days together. Every second, every minute, and every hour, you’ll be together. Let’s see if you two can spend the whole day without fighting. If you realize that things don’t work out, then stop this nonsense. But if you can handle it, we’ll happily accept your relationship,” Dongmin seriously explained.

     “That’s a deal!” Suho said as he lets go of Lay’s hand to run to Dongmin so he could give him a hug. And of course, Dongmin was awkward about it.

     Suho laughed it off and finally moved away from the guardian.

     “This will be so fun! So, where are we going?” Suho asked as he looked at Lay, but Dongmin was the one who answered it.

     “I have a penthouse in Jeju, that’s the place you’re going to stay in for three days. You’re leaving today. I’ll book you a ticket now so you could leave this afternoon. The first day starts now. If one of you couldn’t handle it anymore, you must go back to Seoul. And if we see that any one of you goes back alone, then it means this relationship has no chance.”

     “What?!” Lay and Suho said in unison, now starting to doubt the decision.

---

Suho was in his room, packing the things he’ll need for their trip. All his brothers were there too, somehow ‘trying’ to give him advice.

Note: here are the roommates: Hyunseung & Junhyung, Mark & Jackson, Taeil & Jihoon, Minhyuk & Suho, and Sunggyu & Jiyong. Then the rest of the Arcs have a solo room since this is their house.

     “Don’t do anything nasty to him Suho. We might be Demons, but Lay is still an angel,” Hyunseung advised, making everyone laugh.

     “Said the guy who had sex with the enemy for the sake of a plan,” Minhyuk stated, making Hyunseung remember that said incident once more.

     “Well, that was months ago. Junhyung and I already talked about it,” Hyunseung defended.

     “Whatever you say JS,” Minhyuk stated, still laughing. If everyone has forgotten, these two are still best of friends, so Minhyuk is very comfortable with joking around with him.

     “But if you feel like doing it, go ahead. After all, Lay has experience,” Jiyong stated with a wink, low-key making Suho blush in embarrassment. Then, out of nowhere, Jackson takes something out from his wallet and throws it to Suho. Everyone was shocked because it was actually a condom.

     “Just in case. But if you ask me, Mark and I like it better…raw,” Jackson answered with an expressionless face, making everyone laugh.

     “Idiot,” Suho simply said as he hid the condom inside his bag.

     “So what are you, top or bottom?” Jackson then asked, still with an expressionless face, making everyone laugh their pants off. Suho blushed even more. Just thinking about it gave him chills on his whole body.

     “Then what are you?” Suho asked back so he wouldn’t have to answer Jackson’s super personal and embarrassing question. Everyone already knew the answer since it was already obvious.

      “Top of course,” Jackson said with a proud smirk, making everyone laugh once more.

     “That’s my brother! No one bottoms in our group! All alphas and dominants!” Sunggyu stated, finally losing it up and involving himself in the conversation. Hyunseung quickly blushed and looked away on what Sunggyu just said. Everyone completely forgot that he’s a bottom, so when everyone got the hint, they laughed even more.

     “Oops, looks like I was wrong,” Sunggyu stated while laughing, but Hyunseung defended and pointed at Taeil and said, “What about Taeil? Isn’t he a bottom too!?”

     Taeil blushed and defended back, “We haven’t even done it yet!”

     Everyone stopped laughing and looked at him seriously.

     “That’s clearly a lie,” Minhyuk stated. And then Jiyong continued, “I’m pretty sure Jihoon wouldn’t allow that?”

     Taeil hesitated at first but finally answered, “Well, I did…b-blow him…just once.”

     “Whoa!” everyone shouted. Now the whole room was a mess. They didn’t expect Taeil to tell them that small detail.

     “Wow, our little Taeil is growing up,” Suho joked around, making Taeil blush even more. When Suho finished packing, he stood up and looked at his brothers.

     “Any last advice before I leave my perverted brothers?” Suho asked with a huge smile on his face.

     Sunggyu, as the leader, decided to speak for everyone. “Just…be yourself. Don’t do anything stupid, and be serious about this. If you like him, like him. If you don’t, don’t force yourself to like him. Even though we think your relationship will never go anywhere, we’ll support your decision. Good luck, see you in three days.”

     With that, Suho grabbed Sunggyu and gave him a hug. And afterward, everyone was in a huge group hug. While in his brothers’ embrace, Suho thought to himself, “I’m sure of this. I’m sure that Lay’s the one. I can feel it.”

FIRST DAY

AT JEJU ISLAND

“We have landed in Jeju Island. We hope you enjoy your stay here. Thank you for choosing Jeju airlines. Have a great day.”

     “Lay, we’re here,” Suho stated as he showed Lay his hand.

      “Just three days right? I think we can handle that.” Lay answered before grabbing Suho’s hand and standing from his seat.

     The two went out of the plane and went to get their luggage. And without wasting any time, they took a cab and went to where Park Dongmin’s penthouse was. As expected, it was by far the most beautiful penthouse in the place compared to the others. And to top it all off, it was near the beach.

     “Wow, what does your guardian do exactly?” Suho asked, mouth wide open.

     “I have no idea,” Lay answered honestly.

     Suho went inside first and Lay followed. And to their surprise, there were two maids, and two butlers welcoming them at the lobby.

     “Welcome masters,” the four said in unison, followed by a bow.

     “How rich is this guy?!” Suho asked again, still shocked by what he was seeing. Lay couldn’t believe it either, “Really rich? After all, he met the CEO of the Ravens, right? There must be something about him.”

     “Maybe,” Suho agreed.

     One of the maids went in front of them. It was obvious she was the head among these three.

     “Pleasant to meet you Master Lay and Master Suho. Master Park Dong Min had told us about your arrival so we have cleaned the master’s bedroom for you, and have prepared wonderful dishes for your three days stay here,” she said with a soft voice.

     “Oh thank you. By the way, you know what your master does for a living?” Suho asked, hoping the maid would answer.

     The maid and the rest of the help smiled widely as the head maid answered, “Master Park Dong Min is a guardian of the gates of Heaven.” Then one of the butlers went in front of them as well, “And it is an honor to be in the same place with the Prince of Hell and Heaven. We’ve heard so much about the two of you from Father Peter,” the butler stated with a deeper bow than the first one, then everyone followed.

     Suho and Lay were both shocked by the news; they didn’t know these people knew about them. Then Lay felt something, and with a smile, he said, “You’re gatekeepers. An accomplice with our guardian Park Dong Min. It looks like you were called to guard us while we’re away from our brothers.” 

     One of the maids nodded her head and answered, “Yes, we’ve heard about your mission. And we are surprised and glad to hear that the Seven Deadly Sons themselves are working with the Arcs to defeat the King of Hell.”

     “Well, thank you,” Suho stated with a smile.

     Finally, the last butler at the back stated, “And we were personally called by Park Dong Min to guard you while you two rest. He also told us about your mission with sir Kai and sir Tamo, and master Dongmin gave this chance for you to take a break. But of course, you’re still in danger so we’ll be here to make sure no ghoul will hindrance your stay here.”

     Lay and Suho were touched. These angels were ready to fight for their comfort. That was more than what they asked for.

     “Now please follow me to your room,” this time, the head said it. When she started walking, the two lovebirds followed behind her. They ended up in a really nice room with a balcony that’s facing the beach. It was very relaxing, and to top it off, it had a romantic feel to it.

     “Just call us when you need anything”, said the maid as she bowed and left the room.

     Suho quickly threw his bag on the side and grabbed Lay on the waist so they could fall on top of the bed. Both laughed. Suho then went on top of Lay, staring at him deeply.

     “We have three days, and in three days I’ll prove to you that I can be a better lover than Junhyung,” Suho stated with full determination.

     Lay didn’t answer, instead, he slowly placed his arms around Suho’s neck and asked, “Can I?”

     Suho looked confused.

     “Can you what?” he asked, making Lay blush. He got so embarrassed that he tried to push Suho off him but Suho was too strong to be knocked out. The Demons training paid off after all.

     “Say it Lay. Don’t be shy. I really don’t know what you mean,” Suho said with a chuckle.

     “You know what I’m trying to say…you’re just teasing me,” Lay shyly says.

    Suho laughed once again as he said, “I’m serious, how will I know if you don’t tell me?”

     Lay awkwardly looked at Suho, but Suho’s stare was so intense it made Lay blush even more.

     “Forget about it,” Lay stated, looking away.

     “Aww, that’s not fair,” said Suho, trying to squeeze it out of him. Lay’s heart started to beat faster. The longer he stared at Suho, the more he realized something.

     “I didn’t know you were so handsome Suho,” Lay blurted out, and this time, it was Suho’s turn blushed. He quickly lets go of Lay so he could grab a pillow and use it to cover his face.

     “Why are you so cute Lay?” Suho stated, his face still under a pillow. This time, it was Lay’s turn to laugh.

     “What? This is the first time you’ve ever moved your face closer to mine. I’ve only realized at this point how handsome you were,” Lay added.

     “Please don’t say that again.”

    Lay quickly grabbed Suho and hugged him from behind as he said, “Because of your reaction, I’ll tell you what I was trying to say earlier.” It quickly took Suho’s attention. He turned around to face Lay, anticipating on what he was trying to say earlier.

     “I was asking if I could kiss you,” Lay finally says.

     Suho’s eyes suddenly widened.

     “You serious right now?” he asked, confirming if Lay just said it wrong.

     Lay rolled his eyes as he repeated, “Kiss, can I kiss you?”

     Suho, without answering, grabbed the nape of Lay’s neck and pushed his lips on him. When both of them relaxed, Suho pushed his tongue inside Lay’s lips so he can enter his mouth. Lay welcomed it whole-heartedly. When they parted, both were panting, their foreheads and noses touching each other.

     “How was that?” Suho asked innocently. The question was really important to him that it made Lay laugh again. So Lay smiled and nodded his head, and that alone made the Demon smile from ear to ear.

     Suho stood up from the bed and reached out his hand for Lay when Lay took it, Suho pulled Lay towards him, helping Lay to stand up.

     “Want to walk on the beach before it gets late?” Suho asked, and Lay nodded in agreement.

     The two not-so-sure-yet lovers went to the beach, hand in hand.

     “I think this could actually work,” Lay stated with a smile, and Suho agreed.

     “And I think we’re the weirdest and the most awkward couple on earth. We do live in one roof but we don’t talk too much. We’re not even close. If you ask me, we’re not even friends, our label is just like…co-workers?”

     Suho laughed at Lay’s super honest statement.

     “Strangers becoming lovers overnight because of a sudden incident? Sounds like it happens all the time,” Suho joked.

     “Of course it does,” Lay sarcastically answered. Then both laughed.

     When they stopped laughing, Suho stopped and looked at Lay with a serious expression, “Our label will be defined after three days. If things work out, we’ll be lovers. If things don’t work out then we’re back to…co-workers. So let’s try our best.” He stated. Then he gently held on Lay’s cheeks and planted a kiss on his forehead.

     “I never knew you were like this,” Lay honestly said, confusing Suho once again.

     “Like what? Cheesy? I pretty am actually, it’s a surprise if you haven’t realized that yet,” Suho innocently said, making Lay laugh.

     “No, I mean…sweet, gentle…and I feel safe around you. When we were enemies before, you were really scary and really intimidating. Cheesy, yes, I could see that, but you were unapproachable. And when we were at school a lot of the students are scared of you, especially Jiyong. That’s why I’m really shocked about your actions now.”

     Suho chuckled before answering, “I’ve always been like this to my brothers, and come on, you expect me to be sweet and gentle with my enemies? I don’t think so. I’m really approachable, but because of Sunggyu and Jiyong, people generalize the three of us, so they think I’m scary and mean too. For Pete’s sake, I helped Kai! And he was trying to steal from me!”

     Lay laughed again, understanding what Suho was trying to tell him.

     “So, am I still scary and intimidating?” Suho asked, pulling Lay by his waist.

     Lay draped his arms around Suho’s neck and looked straight at the demon’s eyes, “Not scary. But sometimes, very…very…intimidating.”

• END -

SDS2 14: NOT NORMAL

“SO, AM I STILL  scary and intimidating?” Suho asked, pulling Lay by his waist. Lay draped his arms around Suho’s neck and looked straight at the demon’s eyes, “Not scary. But sometimes, very…very…intimidating.” 

      Suho moved his head closer to Lay as he answered in a whisper, “ Y

ou trying to seduce me Zhang Yixing?“

     Lay blushed as he said, “Maybe I am-” Without any hesitation, Suho quickly kissed Lay again, but this time, without the tongue. They wanted to do it longer, but both stopped when Lay heard Suho’s stomach growling.

     The two laughed.

     “Sorry for ruining the mood.”

     “No worries. I was hungry too,” Lay assured him. Then the two of them went back to Park Dong Min’s penthouse.

     At the dining room, the four gate angels were already waiting.

     “Dinner is served our princes,” the four said with a bow.

     The two sat down, but before eating, Lay said, “What are you guys doing there? You need to come and sit here, you’re not expecting us to eat this all are you? And you’re angels, we’re practically family.”

     The four smiled on how adorable and kind Lay was. No wonder he was a prince of the Heavens. Even Suho couldn’t help but smile. The four looked at each other and nodded, then they all sat down. The girls beside Suho, and the boys beside Lay.

     “Let’s pray?” Suho asked, shocking the four gate angels. It was rare for the Demon to say that. Especially a prince of Hell.

     “O-Of course prince Suho,” one of the butlers stated as all of them held hands, then started praying. And as always, Suho felt something burn inside him every time anyone was praying. Demon blood was still flowing through his veins.

     “Amen,” everyone finally said when they were done with the prayer.

     “Let’s eat!” Suho happily stated as he grabbed his chopsticks and started eating.

While eating, Suho asked, "is it always quiet here?"

     One of the maids drank some water as she answered, “There’s a town just a few blocks away from here, and there’s going to be a festival tomorrow too. The two of you should go.”

     “That’s a great idea! Suho we should go, it would be fun, no doubt about it,” Lay says.

     Suho smiled and nodded his head, “Who are we to miss out all the fun right? We’ll definitely go there!”

     Lay was about to jump off his seat, excited for tomorrow. After a few more talks, dinner was over, and Lay and Suho were back in their room. The two were at the balcony, enjoying the wonderful view.

     “What do you think our brothers are doing?” Lay asked, not looking at Suho.

     Suho, without looking at Lay as well, answered, “I don’t know…fooling around maybe? Still planning for our final battle with the King? Why? You already miss them?”

     “Not really. I’m just wondering what they’re doing. I think everyone deserves a vacation like us,” Lay answered.

     Suho finally looked at Lay as he suggested, “Well, Christmas is coming soon. Do you think we could ask your guardian if we could get out of town? Or maybe out of the country? That would be fun!”

     “Yes, I think so too,” Lay answered, still not looking at Suho. The two didn’t talk much afterward, but the silence was already keeping them company. After a few minutes, Lay called Suho out, “Joon…”

     Suho didn’t answer.

     Lay thought Suho didn’t hear it so he repeated, “Joon Myeon,” but still, he didn’t answer. Lay finally looked at Suho and said, “Ya! Kim Joon Myeon, I’m calling-” then Lay stopped when he saw Suho’s reaction. Suho’s eyes were wide open; shocked by what he just heard.

     “Did I do or say something that might have offended you?” Lay asked, his anger turning into sadness just in seconds. But Suho quickly assured him as he stated, “N-no, you didn’t, don’t worry. I was just really surprised. You called me by my real name.”

     Lay was surprised that THAT was what Suho was reacting about, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you. I’ll never call you that again.” But of course, he said that in a nicer manner.

     “No! Don’t!” Suho shouted, making Lay shocked at his sudden action. He faced Lay and held his shoulder as he said; “No one calls me by that name, just my mom. My brothers don’t even call me that.

     “So…” Lay asked, not sure what Suho is implying.

     Suho smiled and finally answered, “I like it.”

     Lay quickly sighed, laughing at what Suho just said, “Oh my gosh. I thought I hurt your feelings or something.”

     “Of course not,” Suho stated, then he thought of a great idea and continued, “But there’s a condition to that.”

     Lay raised an eyebrow as he asked what it was, so Suho answered in excitement, “Well, I’ll allow you to call me Joon, but you need to allow me to call you Yixing, just me okay? Your brothers can’t call you that either.”

     Lay laughed at the request.

     “No problem. But you need to promise me you’re not gonna let anyone call you Joon too. Well, maybe except your mom,” Lay says with a grin and both laughed.

     “By the way, don’t you miss your mom? You haven’t been back at your homes for months now. Aren’t you scared that someone from the underworld might hurt them?” Lay asked.

     Suho held Lay’s cheeks softly as he answered, “Not really since we still call them from time to time. But we left our pets at their care, so we don’t have to worry about a thing. If you could remember, our pets-“Lay cuts Suho off and continues for him, “transform into naked humans who have really cool powers. Yes, I am aware of that.”

     Suho chuckled, “Good. So, should we go to sleep?”

     Lay nodded, and then both of them went inside.

     The two were hugging each other in bed without anything sexual; just comfort. Both drifted to sleep, hands intertwined like they were afraid that the other would leave them.

SECOND DAY

It was the second day of Suho and Lay’s trial. Everyones expecting them to fail, but Suho was very determined to go back to Seoul, holding hands with his hope to be official lover Lay.

     “Good mor-” Suho stopped when he realized Lay isn’t beside him anymore.

     “Yixing?” Suho called out as he stood up from the bed. But before he could panic completely, he saw a figure outside the balcony. Suho smiled upon seeing him, glad Lay didn’t ditch him. He quickly went to where Lay was and hugged him from behind, softly kissing his cheeks.

     “Good morning,” Suho stated, resting his head on Lay’s shoulder. Lay moved his head a little so he could lean on Suho. Then he said sweetly, “Did you have a good sleep?”

     “Best sleep I’ve ever had in years,” Suho answered, making Lay smile. Then Lay gently pushed Suho’s hand off his waist. He looked at him and placed his arm around Suho’s neck as he said, “Joon, did it ever occur to you that I was a possible candidate in your relationship list?”

     Suho’s stare softened as he answered, “Well, first of all, I didn’t really have a list of possible candidates. And second, it doesn’t matter if it did or didn’t occur to me. What’s important is that now, I want someone to be with to make me happy, and I’m ready to give that person all of me to make him happy too. And right now, I want that to be you…”

     Lay was surprised at Suho’s answer, but before he could even say anything, Suho continued, “I know that love isn’t involved in this yet. I clearly know that you don’t have that really deep feeling towards me. But I can wait for the moment where we can exchange I love yous. To me, what’s important is the future because we can still improve our present.”

     Lay smiled, planting a soft kiss on Suho’s lips. It wasn’t intense and passionate, but it was sweet and gentle. It was better than any kiss they’ve done so far.

     “Then I’ll patiently wait for that too,” Lay stated as they parted from the kiss.

     The two went to eat breakfast afterward. After that, the two got ready for the festival. Using Park Dong Min’s super cool motorbike, they went to the town. Lay wore a white and navy blue striped polo shirt, plane light brown shorts that are only a few inches above the knee, and a fedora. For Suho, he decided to wear a white polo, three buttons opened, revealing his hard and sexy chest, black knee-length shorts as well, and black shades.

     The two looked so good that they started to grab everyone’s attention. They looked like models for a summer photo shoot. But of course, they were already used to it in HAU. This was nothing.

     “Man I missed the stares,” Suho honestly stated with a smirk.

     Lay smiled. Even though he didn’t say it, he missed the attention too. It somehow felt good.

     “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone went to us to get a picture,” said Suho, making Lay laugh on how ridiculous that would be.

     The two were walking side by side, checking out some stores, eating street food, and playing some games at a fair just nearby. When they decided to rest, the two went to a café.

     “Hey, I’ll buy us some coffee, stay here,” Suho instructed as he stood up from his seat, and gently kissing Lay’s forehead before heading to the counter.

     Lay quickly blushed then looked at the area if someone saw it. When no one did, Lay sighed, lowering his fedora so it could cover his face more.

     When he thought no one was looking at him, he was actually very wrong because there was a girl who was just right in front of him, pretending to read a book. But actually, she was already stealing glances of this handsome angel.

     When Lay felt her stare, he stared back, catching her in the act. She quickly laughed, and Lay chuckled. The girl saw that Lay wasn’t that unapproachable, but rather cute and charming, so she bravely went to where he was and sat on the chair on where Suho was supposed to sit on.

     “You must be new here,” the girl said with a smile, and then she showed him her hand and continued, “I’m Gina by the way.”

     Lay awkwardly shook it and answered, “I’m Lay.”

     “Where you from Lay?” the girl asked, her accent very obvious.

     Lay couldn’t help but smile as he answered, “I’m from Seoul. Born and raised there.”

     “Then what are you doing here on our small island?” Gina asked, smiling.

     “Just relaxing. You can call it an unexpected vacation,” Lay answered, still smiling sweetly at the girl who’s captivated by him. The girl couldn’t even stare back at him straight in the eye.

     “Would you…like to hang out later?” Gina shyly asked, but before Lay could answer, Suho arrived with their coffee. The girl quickly blushes even more the moment she sees Suho’s face.

     “Oh! Hello! You must be?” Gina asked, Suho staring back at her intensively. When Lay realized Suho wasn’t answering, which he thought was very rude, he answered for him instead, “That’s Suho, and he’s my…f-friend.”

     Gina smiled, happy to see another handsome face.

      “It’s nice to meet you Suho,” she greeted, but Suho still didn’t budge.

     “Well if you want, you and your friend can hang out with us tonight at the bar just in front of this café. I have really pretty friends and-” Suho quickly grabbed Lay’s arm, forcing him to stand up. He glared at the girl and said, “We’re not interested.”

     Like lightning, he and Lay left the café’ leaving their untouched coffee on the table. Lay pushed Suho off him when they arrived outside. Suho’s grip was too tight that it was actually hurting Lay’s wrist.

     “What the hell Joon, that was rude! The girl was so nice to you! To US!” Lay shouted.

     “She was flirting with you Yixing! You need to be stupid to not be able to figure that out,” Suho answered back, but Lay found his statement very offending.

     “What the fuck did you say?” Lay stated, his anger starting to show.

     Suho just aggressively scratched his head and said, “It doesn’t matter what the fuck I said. What you said earlier-” Lay’s anger finally faded when he saw the hurt on Suho’s face. Suho didn’t even have to finish his sentence for Lay to know what he was talking about.

     “Friend huh?” Suho asked.

     Feeling ashamed, Lay looked away. So Suho continued, “I was so ready to scream to the world that you were my lover…and you just label me as a friend?”

     “Look, I’m sorry if I said it like that. But come on, we still don’t have a label remember? That’s why we’re here in the first place,” Lay explained, so Suho looked at him seriously and told him, “I don’t mind being called a friend. But the way you said it…was like you were ashamed of me.”

     “Joon, give me some slack. This…this isn’t even normal to begin with,” Lay continued, disappointing Suho even more. Lay didn’t mean to say it that way, but his head was all over the place that he couldn’t say the right words at the moment.

     “Why? Is it because I’m a fucking guy? Because both of us are guys? Because we can’t walk down the streets holding hands without people staring at us? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Suho asked, and Lay was finally lost for words.

     “Well, I guess you’re right Lay. Both of us aren’t even normal individually. I’m a Demon, you’re an Angel, what’s normal about that right?”

     “Joon…” Lay tried to grab Suho, Suho quickly moved away from him, “Go back to your girl. I’m heading back to the penthouse,” Suho stated, leaving Lay on the middle of the streets.

     Lay felt really guilty, so he didn’t follow Suho. He knew Suho needed the space after hearing such things from him. Lay just decided to walk around for a few minutes before going back to eat dinner. When he got back to the penthouse, everyone was at the table, already eating.

     “Good evening,” Lay softly stated as he sat down on the available seat, which was actually in front of Suho.

     Suho didn’t look at him like he didn’t even see him. He just continued eating his food. The maids and the butlers knew something was up, so they decided to lighten the mood.

     “Did you enjoy the festival prince Lay?” one of the maids asked. Lay just smiled back at him and nodded. Then the butler added, “Well, I heard there’s going to be a fireworks display tonight. You and prince Suho should go back after dinner.”

      Before Lay could answer back, Suho added himself to the conversation and said, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed after this.”

     The maids and the butlers looked at each other, and then the head maid nodded and said, “But you must! It only happens once a year! If you don’t see it…then what’s the point of your stay here in Jeju?”

     The two didn’t answer, but as the kind-hearted one, Lay sighed and answered, “Okay then.”

     Suho glared at him, but Lay ignored his reaction and continued, “But the four of you must come with us.”

     The four angels quickly nodded, and the butler who hasn’t talked yet stated, “Of course! We’ll go there together!”

     “Then it’s settled. After dinner, we’ll head there and watch the fireworks.”

      The four looked at each other once again and smiled. Happy that their plan was a success. When dinner was over, Lay was true to his words. They all went back to town to see the fireworks, and Suho was forced to come with them. Before the fireworks would start, the four had one last plan.

     “Prince Lay, we’re just going to buy something there okay? Bye!” Before Lay could even agree to their request, the four ran off. Leaving Suho and Lay alone together.

     The two didn’t talk. Suho was looking from afar, his hands inside his pockets. Lay couldn’t handle it anymore; he knows that he was wrong on this argument, so he tapped Suho’s shoulder.

     “What?” Suho asked, still not looking at Lay.

     Lay sighed, nervous, and sad at the same time. But he gathered all his strengths and said, “I’m sorry…Joon Myeon.”

      Suho finally relaxed his muscles. He looked at Lay with ease as he answered, “It’s okay. I understand what you mean actually. I know it’s embarrassing that-” Before Suho could finish, Lay grabbed Suho’s collar and pulled him towards him so they could kiss. People were looking at them, judging them on what they were doing, but this time, Lay didn’t mind.

     Suho accepted the kiss after a few seconds. He quickly pulled Lay closer, and a gentle kiss eventually became an intense one. Suho was kissing Lay passionately, his lips opening and closing, devouring Lay’s soft lips.

     After a few seconds, they finally parted from the kiss.

     Suho’s hand was still on Lay’s waist, and Lay’s arms were still on Suho’s neck. They were touching foreheads, smiling on what happened.

     T“If you can scream it to the world…then I’ll scream with you Joon. I promise.”

     Suho laughed, kissing Lay again, but it was more of a quick peck than a kiss. With their hands intertwined with each other, the two lovers enjoyed the fireworks.

      One more day and their relationship was going to be officially labeled.

• END -

SDS2 15: UNCOMFORTABLY COMFORTABLE

SUHO WOKE UP LATE again, but   this time, Lay was beside him, staring at his face sweetly. If it was something else, Suho would find it creepy. But since it was Lay, Suho felt like he was looking at an angel, which was funny because Lay actually is one.

     “ Good morning ,“ Lay whispered with a smile, and Suho greeted him with a soft kiss. The two rested a little longer, staring at each other like a disgusting couple at a cliché rom-com movie. They wanted to stay like this forever, and they knew it was possible. They just had to make this last day work out.

     “Looks like we’re going home tomorrow. What do you think, are we going home together or not?” Suho asked, playing with the Lay’s hair.

     “I think that depends. Let’s just make sure I don’t get to meet a girl today,” Lay playfully stated, making Suho chuckle.

     “That was our first fight though. And we handled it pretty well,” Suho seriously says, but quickly laughed after saying those words, making Lay laugh too.  They both knew the situation yesterday wasn’t handled that well. It was handled pretty badly actually. What would you expect anyway? The two didn’t have a step-by-step process. I think Suho doesn’t even know Lay’s birthday. They didn’t go to the stage where they were given a chance to know each other. They skipped every step and became together.

     “Should we stay here the whole day then?” Suho suggested, but Lay frowned, making Suho chuckle again. Suho held Lay’s cheeks gently and said, “Then let’s go to the beach today. I bet that would be fun. And considering the noise outside, it looks like it’s going to jam-pack.”

     Lay smiled, stood up from their bed and quickly went to the balcony to check if there were really people at the beach today. Suho’s instincts were right because the beach was packed with people.

     “Joon! Look!” Lay shouted, and Suho went there to see it too.

     “Told you,” Suho said with a grin. Without looking at Suho, Lay said, “It looks like they’re celebrating the last day of their festival at the beach.”

     “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s eat breakfast and head over there,” Suho grabbed Lay’s hand and both went down do eat breakfast with the maids and the butlers. After that, the two quickly went to the beach, only to grab everyone’s attention again.

     Just to make things clear, the Demons and Angels are handsome boys, but since they’re not really pure humans, something about them grabs the attention of people. Let’s say their angelic and demonic genes act as an irresistible pheromone.

     “Best way to spend our last day here. Wanna swim?” Suho asked while the two continued walking. Lay hesitated, but he answered, “You go ahead, I’ll just…play with the sand.”

     Suho laughs upon hearing Lay’s answer, “Play with sand?” then he quickly carried Lay off his feet, surprising the angel.

     “W-what are you…let me down!” Lay shouted.

     Suho – carrying Lay – started walking towards the ocean. People were looking at them, but still, they didn’t mind. I guess it wasn’t normal here, but in HAU, it was so normal for boys to be in a relationship with each other, especially that they didn’t have any girls in their school. And everyone was so excited when Junhyung, Hyunseung, Mark and Jackson were announced that they were together too. The students pretty much fan boy’d over it. 

     And the Demons and the Arcs were very respected groups, not only in HAU but the whole Seoul and Gangnam. They were feared and adored at the same time.

     “You’re going to swim with me whether you like it or not. You want me to look like a fool swimming alone?” Suho asked.

     “So you basically want to look like a fool…with me?” Lay said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. But he wasn’t mad at all; he actually thought it was a very cute gesture.

     “Exactly!” Suho answered with a laugh, and then Lay laughed with him. They were now stepping on water, but Suho wasn’t letting go of Lay.

     “W-what are you doing this time!?” Lay shouted, fear starting to consume him.

     “What? We’re going to the deepest part,” Suho casually answered. Lay started struggling, wanting to go down as he answered, “No! I can’t swim! This will be fine, just let me go.”

     Suho was selfish; he was determined to bring Lay to the deepest part of the ocean. Well maybe not really deepest, but you get the idea. When Suho couldn’t touch the sand with his feet, he let’s go of Lay, making Lay panic.

     “Y-You fucking idiot!” Lay shouted, not letting go of Suho. Lay was so afraid to drown.

     Suho chuckled, he found Lay’s struggle very adorable for some reason. When Lay finally shuts his mouth up, Suho gently hugged Lay back and said, “Good, you’re calm now.”

     Lay didn’t say anything. He was tired of fighting. He knew that he wouldn’t win over Suho. 

     “Yixing,” Suho called out, but Lay didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at him.

     Suho sighed and said, “Yixing, look at your right-” Even though Lay was mad, he still followed and looked at his right. It was actually the beach that was packed with people. Then Suho continued, “This time, look at your left.”

     Lay looked at his left this time, and it was the beautiful view of the ocean. It was no doubt beautiful.

     “What’s your point here?” Lay finally spoke as he looked at Suho confusingly.

     Suho just smiled as he answered, “Everyone was staring at you earlier, and I was uncomfortable with it since you were half-naked. And I want to be alone with you today, just being like this feels relaxing, right?”

     Lay simply blushed. He placed his head on Suho’s shoulder to hide it.

     “I promise. I’m never going to let go of you. Just stay there and rest in my arms,” Suho commanded, and Lay didn’t answer. He hid a smile and hugged Suho even tighter. He lifted his head, Suho quickly stole a kiss. When they parted from the kiss, the two were staring at each other deeply. Then Suho spoke, “Why do I have this feeling that I seriously want to go to our room and make love to you?”

     When Suho told him about that, Lay realized that Suho was actually hard now. His eyes widened, then he quickly smacked Suho’s shoulder.

     “How could you possibly be horny at this type of situation?” Lay embarrassingly asked.

     Suho laughed as he answered, “I don’t know okay?! You look so hot, and your wet hair added sexiness to it.”

     Lay blushed again. He thought Suho’s statement was so ridiculous and perverted rather than flattering.

     “After forcing me to go here, you’re asking me t-to…Joon you’re hopeless!” Lay answered as he started laughing too. When the two stopped laughing, Suho’s eyes quickly changed. Like he remembered something that made his heart ache.

     “What is it?” Lay asked. He thought Suho was mad because he didn’t allow them to do it. But there was something deeper than that. 

     When Suho didn’t answer, Lay repeated, “Joon what’s wrong?”

     Suho gulped and looked away as he answered, “ You and Tamo…“ Suho didn’t have to continue, Lay knew what he was talking about. And Lay felt really bad about it.

     “You know that wasn’t me right? I was controlled, I couldn’t-” Lay wanted to explain, but he didn’t know how to. Suho just nodded, then he said, “I know what you mean. It’s just…I wanted to be your first. And maybe you’re right, you were controlled, you weren’t in your body, but it was still you.”

     Lay pressed his forehead on Suho’s as he whispered, “I’m sorry Joon.”

     Suho quickly looks at Lay and said, “No, don’t apologize. I know that wasn’t your fault, and I don’t want to look like you’re obliged to give your first to me. It just really…I feel like someone stole something from me. And you know that I’m very greedy right?”

     Lay suddenly thought of something, and then he said, “Wanna erase it?”

     “What?” Suho asked confusingly.

     “Wanna erase my memory of it? I don’t really remembering what exactly happened, but I still did it. But you know…” Suho smiled genuinely as he said, “Yixing, you’ll seriously go to that extent just for me?”

     Lay smiled back as he answered, “If you’re ready to give your everything to me. Shouldn’t I be the same?”

     Suho quickly placed Lay on his back and started swimming back to shore. When Lay could finally step on the sand, Suho lets go of him.

     “I can’t do this anymore…I’m bringing you back to the penthouse,” Suho stated, dragging Lay with him.

     “What?!” Lay shouted, letting Suho just drag him like a dog. 

     When they reached their room, Suho went to the bathroom since both of them were still wet. They got the shower area, and Suho immediately pressed his lips on Lay, and the two started indulging each other. 

     At first, Lay was trying to push Suho away, but he started to feel the heat of the moment, so he gave in and allowed Suho to eat him up instead. After the intense kiss, Suho took some lotion and brought Lay to the bathtub. Suho sat down first, and then he made Lay sit on top of his lap, facing him.

     “Comfortable?” Suho asked, then continued kissing Lay’s neck.

    “I’m not gonna lie, I am feeling a little uncomfortable. But this position…I kinda like it.”

    Lay saw Suho smirk, but before he could say anything, Suho grabbed his cheeks and started kissing him deeply.

     The two were kissing each other passionately. And without breaking from the kiss, Suho was slowly removing Lay’s trunks. When his lower part was finally exposed, Lay did the same to Suho.

    “I am so going to confess at the chapel after this,” Lay joked, and Suho chuckled rather sexually, making Lay feel hotter even more. And without warning, Suho covers his hands with lotion and slowly places a finger inside Lay’s hole.

     Lay quickly moaned. And since they were at the bathroom, Lay’s moans echoed everywhere.

     “Fuck…that sounded heavenly,” Suho stated with a smirk, and then he shoved in two, then three.

     “How many f-fingers…are you going to shove in there Joon?” Lay asked, still not used to being penetrated.

     “How small do you think my penis is Yixing?” Suho asked rather sarcastically.

     Lay laughed, but then he jokingly answered, “What…your whole hand?”

     Suho didn’t say anything but smirked as an answer. Lay’s eyes widened, and then he quickly moved aside to see if Suho was lying. But when he saw the size, he realized that Suho wasn’t kidding. He gulped, and Suho quickly placed five fingers inside, making Lay moan even loader.

    Suho pushed it in, and then out. Like he was following a certain rhythm.

    “I think that’s enough,” Suho stated as he removed his fingers inside Lay. Then he looked at Lay and said, “This is the big one. Just scream and hold onto me if it hurts okay?” then he kissed Lay gently.

    Lay just nodded his head, preparing himself on what was going to happen next. Then Suho massaged his cock with lotion and adjusted himself so his cock was already facing Lay’s entrance. Without removing his stare on Lay’s eyes, Suho pushed himself in, and Lay started screaming. Not screams of pleasure, but pain. 

     “F-fuck…” Lay managed to say. Suho was panting as he said, “Shit you’re too tight…just relax baby…let me in okay?”

     Lay bit his lower lip and tried to do what Suho told him to. When Suho’s cock was completely inside Lay, Suho didn’t move yet. He waited for Lay to say the go signal. And when Suho looked at Lay, Lay slowly nodded, so Suho started pushing deeper.

     At first it was slow, but when it looked like Lay was finally feeling more pleasure than pain, Suho started thrusting himself deeper and harder inside him. The bathroom was filled with moans and lust. And at that moment, a Demon and an Angel, had once again become ONE.

---

 Suho woke up beside Lay. After their time at the bathroom, the two took a bath together and went to sleep since Lay was dead tired after everything that happened.

     Suho went closer to Lay and gave him a soft peck on the forehead. He did it gently; he didn’t want to wake him up. It was 5 PM and Suho decided to go to the balcony and watch the sunset. Suho was leaning on the balcony, his face showing how happy he was. 

     Finally, he had a partner. And the last day of their trial was ending like how he wanted it to end.

     “I must be the happiest man alive,” Suho said to himself with a smile. He stayed at the balcony for over ten minutes. The beach was finally quiet, and this helped Suho relax his head a little. He decided to go back to their room and hug Lay until he could fall asleep again. But when he was about to leave, he saw someone at the beach…

    “Yixing?” he asked himself in disbelief. To confirm it, Suho quickly went to their room. And he saw that Lay wasn’t at the bed anymore.

     “What the hell…where are you going?” Suho quickly went to the beach and decided to follow Lay. When he arrived there, Lay was out of sight.

     “Yixing?!” He shouted, hoping that Lay would hear him.

     “If you’re fooling around, stop it. This isn’t funny.”

     Still, no answer.

     Suho started to panic. Could Lay have ditched him after all that? Did he use that moment as a way to get himself out of the island? Did he seriously just use Suho?

     “Yixing!” he shouted once more, his heart beating really fast now.

     Then he heard it. He heard moans behind the trees. And he sure knew whom those moans came from.

     “Yixing?” Suho asked, then he gulped as he slowly went to where the noise was. The louder the moans were, the faster Suho’s heart was beating. He went closer and closer…and when he arrived at where the noise was coming from, a blood tear finally streamed down from his eyes. Suho’s heart broke.

     “H-how could you?” Suho asked, trying to put a brave act, but it was clear that he was shaking. It was Lay, having sex with Gina ( The girl at the coffee shop ).

     When Suho came to the scene, Gina gasped and quickly took her clothes and ran off.  Lay didn’t look at Suho, like he was trying to avoid his gaze.

     “What the fuck was that about Yixing?” Suho asked, trying to hide his anger. He was ready to hear Lay’s explanation, and whatever it was, he was ready to listen and believe it.

    “What did it look like?” Lay asked, shocking Suho.

     Suho quickly punched the pine tree. Even though it was painful, Suho didn’t show it.

     “Did you…did you even like me Yixing? Were you just fooling around with me so I could fuck you?!” Suho angrily shouted.

     Lay, still not looking at him, didn’t answer.

    “I asked you a fucking question!” Suho shouted. Then in a split second, they were surrounded by fire.

    Suho was so angry that his Demon powers suddenly burst out of him. Lay, without saying a word, quickly puts his pants on and runs away, leaving Suho in the middle of his aggression.

     “Ahh!” Suho shouted, and the fire disappeared.

     Meanwhile, the REAL Lay went out of the bathroom in their bedroom. His back still in pain after what happened to him and Suho. When he looked back at the tub, he couldn’t help but giggle.

     “Where the hell is Suho anyway?” Lay asked as he went out of their room. When he was about to go downstairs, he saw Suho running.

     Lay went towards him and asked, “Joon, where did you-” But Suho quickly pushed him away. But before Suho could grab the doorknob, Lay quickly grabs his arm to stop him.

     “What’s wrong?” Lay asked, his happiness slowly fading away.

     Suho pushed him away again and told him, “Don’t touch me…you’re disgusting.”

     “W-what?” Lay asked in shock. Was Suho seriously mad at him without any reason?

     Lay composed himself. He sighed and asked once more, “I asked you a question Joon. What’s wrong?”

     Suho quickly looked at him angrily and said, “Don’t act stupid Lay. What? Because you and that girl didn’t work out, you’re going to run back to me? I’m not a fucking safety net Yixing, and I’m definitely not a person you can mess around with.”

     Lay was confused. He didn’t know what to answer him.

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about Joon. And what girl are you talking about?” Lay asked in confusion.

     “Oh, the girl you just fucked? You already forgotten about her?” Suho said with a sarcastic tone. Lay was now taken by surprise. He didn’t know what Suho was accusing him of.

     “What the hell are you talking about Suho? I know I did it with Tamo, but this girl you’re talking about, I-” Suho cuts him off, like he suddenly realized something.

     “Fuck! I totally forgot about that! You fucked Tamo too! So what? I wasn’t good enough so you went running to someone else?” Suho asked with an evil grin. Lay wanted to cry, he didn’t understand why Suho was suddenly acting like this.

     “One more word or I’ll-”

    “Or what? You’ll look for someone else to fuck?” Suho asked further. Without saying a word, Lay slapped Suho on the right cheek. And finally, a tear fell from his eyes.

     Suho didn’t say anything for a few seconds. He clenched his fist and looked back at the angel, “Now you’re mad at me?! You’re the one who cheated on me!”

     “I didn’t fucking cheat on you! I don’t even know what you’re trying to accuse me of!” Lay shouted back, his face already turning red from anger.

     “You’re such a fuckboy Lay! I can’t believe you!” 

     “Well fuck you Suho! If you didn’t ask me to be your lover then-”

     “Then what? Huh Lay? You regretting on agreeing to this now?” Suho answered back.

     Lay hesitated, but he was too angry, and it consumed him. So he shouted his answer, “Yes! I regret it! Every detail of that idea, I regret it. No wonder Kai left you, you’re too childish! Everything about you is a joke!”

     Suho wanted to hit Lay because those words, but he restrained himself from doing so.

     “Then fuck you Lay. I thought we were going to make ourselves happy, forget the people who keep on hurting us, but I was so wrong. I thought you understood me but…I’m done. I’m sorry if I forced you into doing this with me.”

     Lay didn’t answer, finally feeling bad about what he said.

     “I’m going back to Seoul. Enjoy your last day here. My brothers were right, this relationship will never work out.” Then Suho went inside their room, leaving Lay speechless.

     Lay didn’t know what to do, but something inside him burned. He remembered what happened with him and Suho, and every word that they exchanged for the past two days. He was determined. He clenched his fist and ran to Suho. He knew this conversation wasn’t over yet.

     “Joon, tell me why you’re so fucking mad at me. You fucking tell me what you’re accusing me of,” Lay asked, following Suho inside the room.

     Suho didn’t answer and continued packing his things.

     “Answer me goddamn it!”

     Suho finally looked at him angrily and answered his question, “You and that girl on the beach. You just looked at me and ran off. If you think you can just-”  Lay quickly cuts Suho off and confusingly asked, “You saw me at the beach? Are you serious right now?”

     “I’m not blind Yixing. I know what I saw.” Then Suho continued packing.

     “I wasn’t at the beach Suho, and I never went out of this house. I was at the bathroom when I woke up,” Lay finally explained.

     Suho slowly stopped packing and looked at Lay confusingly, “Don’t fucking lie to me Yixing.”

     Lay aggressively scratched his head and answered, “Do I look like I’m lying right now Joon?!”

     “Then-” When Suho’s eyes widened, Lay finally got the idea. He knew what was up. The two quickly went out of the room and ran to the kitchen. At this time, the maids and the butlers would be preparing for their dinner, but when they arrived, no one was there.

     Then they ran to the maid’s quarters. When Suho opened the door, Lay gasped and quickly covered his mouth from shock. Then he fell on his knees, and tears started to flow out of his eyes.

     “No. This can’t be,” Suho stated as he went to the four to check their pulse. But they were all unfortunately dead. Beside them were black blood. Suho already knew what that was.

     “The ghouls were here. These four fought them all but-” Suho didn’t finish. He quickly looked away; he didn’t know what to think.

     “While we were fighting, they…they all planned this,” Lay stated, and Suho agreed.

     Suho quickly went to Lay. He went down on one knee so he could level him. Then he held Lay’s cheeks gently and said, “I’m…I-I’m sorry Yixing. I accused you with-”

     “No, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I should have known that something like this would happen,” Lay stated. He moved forward and placed his forehead on Suho’s. Then he continued, “I will never…cheat on you Suho…never.”

     Suho smiled, then he remembered something. “Yixing, you can heal them!”

      Lay’s eyes widened from realization. He was a fool to not remember his own powers.

     “I don’t know if my powers can resurrect actual angels, but since I’m in a higher rank, I think it might just work. I’ll try my best.” When Lay walked towards the four, they suddenly heard something rustle outside.

     “What was that?” Lay quickly asked.

     Suho held Lay’s cheeks and toldhim, “Heal them. I’ll handle the rest.” Then Suho quickly went out and closed the door, locking it so no one can interrupt Lay.

     The house was dark. It looked like the ghouls did something to the electric unit, so Suho lights up a fire with his bare hands. When he arrived at the living room, he saw how the things were all a mess. He knew they were hiding here somewhere.   

      “Where are you assholes?” Suho asked as he was walking around the room. Then, he suddenly saw something run behind the shadows.

     “Come out and face your prince!” Suho now commanded. There was silence for a few seconds, but eventually, a ghoul slowly went out behind the fridge. It looked straight into his eyes and spoke,  “Kim Joon Myeon. The son…the prince-”  The ghoul stopped, and then it started walking towards Suho. When he was face to face with him, he continued, “The traitor.”

     The ghoul quickly moved his hand and was about to pierce his long fingers inside Suho’s stomach, but Suho was faster. He grabbed the ghoul’s arm with one hand, and strangled the ghoul with the other.

     “Why are you here?” Suho asked angrily.

     The ghoul grabbed the arm Suho was using to strangle him so he could at least breathe. When he found a way to do so, he said, “

The King will kill you all. At the fourteenth day, of the fourteenth month, the fourteen of you – Seven Deadly Sons, and Seven Holy Sons – will be killed with his bare hands.

“

     “What do you mean? Why the angels too? Why are they included in this?!” Suho shouted, still not letting go of the ghoul.

     “ T-the King Himself…will finish your mission. “

     Suho clenched his fist, ready to kill the ghoul here and now, but he stopped himself and said instead, “Leave now or I will kill you.”

     The ghoul only looked at Suho blankly as it stated, “ I no longer serve you. I live and die for the sake of the King. “

     Suho growled and looked at him the ghoul with his piercing red eyes, “So be it.” With all his strength, he strangled the ghoul with his burning hand. He looked directly at its eyes, and all the knowledge Suho had absorbed from other people was transmitted to the ghoul, making its eyes and nose bleed from everything that was entering his head.

     Finally, the ghoul stopped moving, and its eyes slowly closed. He was dead before Suho could even let go of him.

     After what happened, he quickly went to where Lay was. He knocked on the door twice. And when it opened, Suho couldn’t help but smile.

     “My prince…its good to see your safe,” said the butler rather weakly. Suho grabbed the butler and quickly gave him a hug, “Its good to see you’re safe too.”

     When they broke from the hug, Suho’s eyes quickly went to Lays. Lay was helping the maids stand up, and as he was helping them, Suho called out to him so he could catch his attention. Lay was sweating and looked exhausted. It was clear that all his energy was drained.

     “Joon!” He shouted, running towards him to give him a hug.

     “Good thing nothing happened to you,” Lay stated, and Suho chuckled.

     Suho looked at Lay’s eyes and said, “It was only one. And that wasn’t really an attacker. I think…it was a messenger.”

     Lay and the rest of the angels looked at Suho with a confused look. So Suho explained further, “He said fourteenth month, fourteenth day, the fourteen of you will die.”

     Lay was surprised, but then he started thinking, “Fourteenth…February 14? They’ll kill us on valentines day?!” Lay said in shock, and then Suho continued, “More like the red day. The day where blood will be spilled.”

     Then the room fell silent.

     “Then what are you two waiting for? Shouldn’t you go back together and tell this to your brothers?” said one of the maids with a smile. Then the head maid went in front of them and added, “We’ll handle it here. For now the two of you must go back to your brothers. It was a pleasure to serve your our princes.”

     Then the four bowed as a sign of respect.

     Lay and Suho nodded at each other. Then they ran to their room to get their things; ready to tell everyone about their so-called ‘vacation.’

AT THE HOLY HOME

Suho knocked with his left hand, while his right hand was holding Lay’s hand tightly. The two smiled widely when the door opened. Then their 12 brothers greeted them back with a smile.

     Junhyung went in front of them. He patted Suho’s back and looked at the new couple, “Welcome back you two. So, how was your honeymoon?”

• END -

SDS2 16: NOT SO NORMAL DAY

“JOON! WHERE THE FUCK did you put my black shirt?”  Lay shouted as he was searching through the pile of clothes inside the closet. Its been a week since Suho moved to Lay’s room, and as expected, Suho was very unorganized with his things, and Lay didn’t like it a bit.

     “Try the closet,” Suho lazily answered, still lying down on the bed.

     “I fucking checked it three times now!” Lay angrily stated as he went in front of Suho. Suho’s face was still tucked under a pillow, so Lay aggressively pulled the pillow off him, making Suho look at him angrily.

     “What is it this time?!” Suho finally shouted as he looked at Lay with an annoyed expression.

     “I asked you where my god damn shirt is! If you could just arrange your clothes then I wouldn’t be bugging you in your sleep now wouldn’t I?” Lay answered, and Suho just angrily went to a sitting position.

     “Just borrow one of my shirts there,” Suho commanded and Lay just followed diligently like he wasn’t shouting at him earlier.

     When Lay was finally wearing it, he grabbed the collar and gave it a sniff, which made him quickly blush on the scent of Suho. Suho saw his expression and grabbed Lay on the waist so he could fall on the bed. With a smirk on his face, Suho greeted, “Good morning Yixing.”

     Lay’s anger completely vanished as he greeted back, “Good morning.” And again, the story of this awkward couple continues.

     “Wow, those two are in good terms already?” Minhyuk asked in disbelief while he was walking the corridor with Jiyong.

     “What do you expect with that awkward couple? They fight more than Taeil and Jihoon now, it’s insane!” Jiyong shouted in annoyance, making Minhyuk chuckle. When they passed Lay and Suho’s door, Minhyuk quickly shouted, “Suho! I miss you already! When are you going to break up with Lay and move out?!”

     He and Jiyong chuckled, and the door opened wide, revealing Suho and Lay, both with huge smiles on their faces.

     “What the hell is happening here?” Suho asked as he looked at the two.

     “Good morning to you too. Breakfast is ready,” Jiyong stated before walking away, making Minhyuk smile and follow Jiyong to the dining room.

     The rest of the Demons and the Arcs proceeded to the dining room to eat their breakfast. They did their usual routine: sit on your proper seat, pray, and eat.

     While eating, Sunggyu decided to open up a topic, and yes, it was about the ghoul slash messenger that attacked Suho and Lay at their so-called vacation in Jeju. Apparently Park Dongmin (The Arcs’ guardian), “ miraculously “ knew about the event, that’s why he sent Lay and Suho there and used their sudden-relationship as an excuse so Suho could hear the message and relay it to his brothers.

    “I know we haven’t rested for a while but we need to talk about the battle on Februa-” Dongmin quickly cuts Sunggyu off and said, “Let’s forget about that for now.”

     “Why? Is something more important than that?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at Dongmin.

      “Apparently yes. That’s why today, I want you all to go back to school,” Dongmin suddenly revealed, making everyone look at him with shock.

     “What?!” everyone said in unison. Without saying anything, Dongmin throws a letter in the middle of the table. Junhyung opened it for them, and the rest went to his side to see what it was about.

     Dear Park Dongmin,

     Greetings from Holy Angels University!

     We have found out that these students are currently in your care, so we decided to address this situation to you. We would like to inform you that the following students must attend their classes starting next week:

     Choi Seung-Hyun,

Jang Hyunseung,

Kim Joon-Myun,

Kim Sunggyu,

Kwon Jiyong,

Lee Minhyuk,

Lee Taeil,

Nam Woohyun,

Pyo Jihoon,

Wang Jackson,

Yi-En Tuan Mark,

Yong Junhyung,

Yook Sungjae, &

Zhang Yixing.

    They are top students of their year, so we would like to give them our utmost consideration. For the past few months, the fourteen of them have missed out all the quizzes, modules, activities, and monthly examinations. We decided to give them one final exam that will determine whether they will move on to their next year (Sophomore), or they will fail and repeat another year. 

     We hope they attend the examination.

     Thank you, and we hope to see them at the campus. May the Lord be with you and your spirit.

     Yours truly,

     Dean Lee Henry

     —

     “Your university made me your guardian. I don’t know how that happened but I think your mothers told your school that I’ll be in your care for the time being,” Dongmin explained.

     When the sons sat back down to their proper seats, he continued, “Your mothers and I have paid a lot of cash for all of you to attend in that school. Because if you haven’t noticed, HAU is the biggest and most expensive all-boys university in Korea. I want the Arcs to get ready since you’re going back next week, as for the Demons, I want you all to go back to your homes after breakfast.”

     The Arcs and the Demons didn’t answer but nodded instead.

     “Okay then, you heard the old man. Demons, eat your breakfast so we could immediately go back to our homes to study and get ready for that exam. After a week, Jiyong will fetch us, same goes to the Arcs,” Sunggyu instructed and the Demons answered a big “ yes “ in unison. But Junhyung – the leader of the Arcs – didn’t like the idea.

     “We’re going to school with you?” he asked in complete confusion.

     “Yeah.” Sunggyu simply answered. Junhyung scratched his head and stated, “But we’re…you know…enemies.”

     “Eh?” the Demons asked in shock.

     “After everything we’ve been through?” Minhyuk added, still in shock.

     “No! That’s not what I meant!” Junhyung quickly defended.

     “So basically you assholes don’t want to be seen going to school with us. Is that what you’re tryin’ to imply?” This time, it was Jiyong who said it.

     Junhyung looked ashamed. He wasn’t trying to sound like a jerk, “No, you don’t get it. We’re practically all family now, but in HAU we’re still the baddest groups there is. We can’t just let the students think of random reasons again, and the moment they see us all walking together, Trey will definitely write something about us and publish it in the university’s newspaper. So what I’m trying to say is that it would be easier if we could pretend to be enemies again.”

     “Well, I wouldn’t mind being a bitch to the Arcs again,” Minhyuk answered as he took a bite of his salad like he said something normal. But the Arcs actually found it a little offensive.

     Sunggyu was thinking about it at first. He knew that Junhyung was right, but there wasn’t a reason for them to do so since the Demons doesn’t really care about what others think about them. So to make it safe, Sunggyu asked for some advice from the wisest person in the room.

     “What do you think about that?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at Park Dongmin.

     Dongmin took a sip of his wine and answered, “I don’t think it’s necessary, but if you want the students in HAU to still respect you then that’s your best call. The students would start thinking that you guys are a joke if they see you reconciling with each other. Believe me, I’ve been there.”

      “Then that’s settled. Let’s make our “ fake “ comeback and scare the shit out of the students again. I bet they missed us dearly,” Taeil stated with a grin on his face.

      “Oh!” Jiyong suddenly shouted, standing on his seat so everyone’s attention could be on him. With a grin on his face, he stated, “I have a suggestion that might just blow the roof off of HAU.”

A WEEK LATER

AT HOLY ANGELS UNIVERSITY

     The Arcs and the Demons were going back to school, but like what Jiyong stated, they were coming back with style.

They’ve been gone for almost 4 months now, and the students had lived their lives normally and peacefully during those months. But the happy days are over because the two scariest groups are back and better than ever.

     “They’re back!” someone shouted while the students ran to the entrance of their school with cameras and phones at their hands, wanting to capture everything.

     The driver of Jiyong’s limousine went out and opened the door. The first one to come out was Hyunseung. Flashes were everywhere as Hyunseung’s red hair radiated the whole campus. The students started shouting. It was still obvious that Hyunseung was the students’ favorite.

    Minhyuk was next, and then one-by-one the Demons went out. When Sunggyu went out, the students quickly became quiet. Since the most serious and scary members of the group were about to come out, they all behaved themselves. Jackson went out with his hands on his pockets, and lastly, the school’s number one asshole followed, Kwon Jiyong.

     The Demons formed a line in front of the crowded students. With a smirk on his face, Jiyong commanded, “Bow down bitches, and acknowledge our arrival.”

     And like the cowards that they were, all the students followed. Trey – who the Demons expected to be present – tried to capture everything that’s been happening. The Demons were so going to be the cover of their newspaper tomorrow.

     Even though it felt weird that the students were bowing in front of them, the Demons still couldn’t hide the excitement that they were feeling. They were finally back. Back to the place that started everything. This was where they first met the Arcs, the place where they first had a fight with them, the place where they declared their love, their first battle as a team, everything.

     The Demons didn’t talk for a few minutes and let the students take pictures of them. But as they were busy taking pictures of the oh-so-famous Demons, they heard a voice…

     “Well, what a surprise. They’re back too,” this time, it came from someone from behind the crowd. Everyone turned and saw who it was, and like earlier, the students started taking pictures of them too. It was the Arcs, looking like the boys-next-door that they were.

     The students quickly made way for the Arcs to be able to walk towards the Demons.

     “Still attention whores I see,” Sungjae stated with a creepy smile.

     “Oh, you jealous angel?” Minhyuk bickered back.

     The Arcs lined in front of their counterparts. Meaning, Junhyung was in front of his lover Hyunseung. Sungjae in front of Minhyuk. Lay in front of his lover as well. Jihoon in front of his not so sure yet couple Taeil. Woohyun with Sunggyu. Jackson, of course with his Mark. And GD & TOP.

      The two groups were staring back at the person in front of them like they were having a staring contest. The students paid attention, expecting the two groups to do something crazy.

     For better information, the students only know these few things: Junhyung and Hyunseung are still in bad shape after their so-called break-up. Jackson and Mark are still in love. Jihoon and Taeil are somehow together because they saw the two holding hands before. And the rest are still mortal enemies.

     “Heard you guys didn’t go to school anymore because of us. Why? Your lives were too boring without us?” Taeil asked, still not removing his gaze on Jihoon’s dark eyes.

     “Nah, we’re not like you guys, we actually have a life. We were doing something really serious. But it’s over now because we’re back, and we’re way better than before,” Jihoon answered.

     “And what could that be?” Sunggyu asked. And Woohyun answered, “That’s none of your concern old man.”

     Sunggyu smirked and answered, “Oh come on Nam, we clearly know what you’ve been doing. I’ve seen you in a bar before, fucking some bitches for money. Can’t believe your guardian’s out of dough. But don’t worry, we can lend you some if you want. Don’t want you guys to stop going to college just because of financial problems. But of course, you gotta sell your body to me first. I ain’t doing anything for free.”

     Woohyun quickly grabbed Sunggyu’s collar and pulled it upward, “That’s bullshit. We’ve got a lot of money even with you assholes combined.”

     “How sensitive. It was just a joke hothead. Loosen the fuck up,” Sunggyu said as he pushed Woohyun off him.

     “And come on, I wipe my ass with money. I could even buy you right now.” Jiyong proudly answered.

     “How about you wipe your face with that ass. Huh? You fucking prideful bitch,” this time, it came from Seunghyun.

     “Asshole!” Jiyong bickered back.

     “Demon!” Seung answered.

     “Coward!”

     “Pink hair!”

     “Oh! That’s too far you son of a bitch!” Jiyong was about to punch Seunghyun but everyone heard Hyunseung sigh. He looked at the two and said, “This is why I don’t like going to school. We keep on making everything look dramatic. Can’t we just tell everyone the truth already?”

      The Demons and the Arcs were suddenly quiet. And the students were all confused about what Hyunseung just said. But their curiosity quickly left when the two groups started laughing.

     “Hey! Yong Junhyung. How’s it going?” Said Sunggyu as he went to Junhyung for a friendly hug.

     “It’s been good. We’ve been busy for the past week for the exams.” Junhyung answered back.

     The rest of the Demons and the Arcs started hugging each other. Suho and Lay even started kissing each other, making the students’ jaw drop. Everyone went wild and started taking more pictures. Trey and the rest of the news team almost fainted because of the sudden news too. This was no doubt the best news ever recorded in HAU.

      After the quick and awkward reunion, Jiyong took the megaphone that the driver was holding and went in front of the crowd, “Listen up bitches. The Arcs and The Demons rivalry is no more. I know what you’re thinking, that you guys are finally off the hook. But take note of this-”

     Everyone listened carefully. You could even hear someone gulp from the tension.

     “It’s double the trouble assholes!” Jiyong excitedly shouted. Everyone’s eyes suddenly widened on what Jiyong just said, realizing that it was no doubt true. This time, Suho went in front and took the megaphone from Jiyong’s hand, “So, since we’ve missed you guys so much, we took the liberty to hold a game for everyone.”

     The students started to have cold sweats, and murmurs were heard everywhere. This has been an old trick before. Suho, Jiyong and Sunggyu had already made this stunt in the past, and everyone was miserable because of it. But now that there’s fourteen of them? I don’t think it will go well for the students.

     Suho looked at Seunghyun, and gave him the megaphone.

     “Here’s the instruction to the game so listen very carefully…”

      When everyone finally shuts up, Seunghyun continued, “We’ve hidden 14 red cards around the whole campus. The first 14 students who can hand it over to us before the school ends…is immune to any bullshit we’re planning to do in the future. When you find the card, you show it to us, and you write your name beside the cross mark. The red card has Sunggyu’s signature so you can’t fake it, and when you give it back to us, Junhyung will sign in the back for permanency. It’s like an immunity card. You got that?” Seunghyun asked, and no one answered. They were all confused and scared at the same time. Were these 18-year-old college students seriously announcing a game for the whole student body to participate on?

     Where’re the professors when you need them?!

     “I said…Did you understand?!” Seunghyun shouted, making everyone reply back this time.

     Before looking at Junhyung. Junhyung stepped forward, and with a smirk on his face he declared, “Then let the games begin.”

     The students quickly ran off without any second thought, leaving the 14 brothers laughing.

     “Man, I didn’t know the Demons had this much fun,” Sungjae stated, still laughing. Them Minhyuk patted his back and stated, “Well angel, welcome to our world.”

     “Anyway, while everyone is busy, what are we going to do?” this time, it was Lay who asked it. While Suho’s arm was around Lay’s shoulder, he answered, “I don’t know yet babe. Sunggyu, what’s our next plan?”

     “There’s no plan. We’ll do what we came here for. We need to go to the examination room before 9:00 so we could take that exam. I don’t want to sound like a boring grandpa here but we need to pass. We can’t just waste our parent’s money just because of our missions.” Sunggyu honestly stated, and no one dared to say anything that’s against it because they knew the Demonic leader was right.

     So the 14 proceeded to the examination room to take their makeup exam that will determine if they can move on to their 2nd year. And even though the fourteen are the smartest students in HAU, the professors still didn’t trust them. So they were all separated in different rooms.

     After 5 hours of answering at least 1000 questions, the 14 sons were done. They were now walking together in the hallway. Sunggyu and Junhyung were walking in front while the rest of the brothers were walking randomly at the back.

     11 students have already shown them the red cards. 3 more to go.

     “Looks like everyone’s enjoying the game and are still scared of us. I made another successful plan,” Taeil stated proudly, and then everyone nodded in agreement.

      “So how was the test for you guys?” Mark asked while holding hands with his lover Jackson.

     “Like stealing a piece of candy from a baby,” Minhyuk confidently answered. Well, what do you expect from the top smartest student in HAU?

     While they were walking towards the cafeteria, Sunggyu stopped walking, so everyone followed and stopped as well. They thought Sunggyu saw or heard something so the rest of the brothers quickly raised their guards up, but they didn’t expect what this leader had to say.

     Sunggyu turned around and faced the Arcs and the Demons as he stated, “Guys, I just wanted to congratulate each and every one of you. I know that we’ve had a rough start, and we’re not normal teenagers, but we were able to finish this test with ease. And thanks to the Arcs, the ghouls are having a hard time attacking us. So as an over-all leader-”

     When Junhyung heard Sunggyu’s declaration of becoming the over-all leader, he suddenly had a shocked look on his face, but he didn’t react and continued to listen to Sunggyu’s “ super inspirational speech “ instead. (They’ll just argue about it later).

     “We’re going on an outing this weekend, my treat,” Sunggyu finally revealed.

     “Eh?!” the 13 said in unison.

     “Kim Sunggyu, are you serious? Wouldn’t it be dangerous?” Woohyun asked in shock.

     Sunggyu looked at him and answered, “Come on. No one will attack us, especially since we’re all together. But if you’re still uncertain, I’m not forcing you guys to come.”

     Hyunseung held Sunggyu’s shoulder and said, “Don’t fret Sunggyu. The Demons will all come. We’re going to have fun for sure. Just like before.”

     Sunggyu smiled when he saw the Demons nodding. He knew that his brothers were seriously never going to fail him.

      “Then…if Hyunseung’s coming then I’m coming too,” Junhyung suddenly stated, pulling Hyunseung towards him.

     “I’m coming too!” Mark and Lay shouted in unison.

     “I can’t let you all have the fun, right?” Jihoon answered as he smirked directly at Taeil, but like what he expected, Taeil looked away and ignored him. Then Sunggyu looked at the rest of the Arcs, his eyes asking if they were in it or not.

     “Well, of course we’re going! This will be the first time that we’ll be going somewhere together,” Sungjae stated with smile, and everyone smiled back.

     Sunggyu didn’t say anything else but started walking away again. Junhyung ran beside him, and the rest followed.

     The two groups arrived at the noisy cafeteria, but when they arrived, the whole place became silent. The Arcs and the Demons went to their tables, the eyes of the students following them. When they arrived at their respective tables, Sunggyu commanded, “Brothers, carry our table and connect it with the Arcs’ table. How are we going to talk if our tables are far from each other?”

     The Demons – without hesitation – obliged and carried the table and the chairs and connected it with the Arcs table. And like their seating arrangement in the Holy Home, the Brothers took their chairs and sat quietly.

     Sunggyu then looked around and shouted, “What do you want now?!”

     Everyone quickly continued with what they were doing so they couldn’t look at Sunggyu’s scary glare.

     “Jihoon, Lay, and Mark, please get our lunch.” This time it was Junhyung who commanded it. The Angels nodded and stood up. Minhyuk and Hyunseung stood up as well.

     “We’ll help,” Minhyuk stated, then followed the three angels with Hyunseung on the food area.

     “So, any plans this weekend?” Taeil asked, obviously excited with their outing this weekend. They haven’t had a good break since Jiho died, and their last hangout was so long ago.

     “I don’t know, anything in mind?” Sunggyu asked, and Jiyong raised his hand.

     “How about we rent a-”

     “No more renting!” the Demons quickly shouted, making the Arcs look confused. So to answer their curiosity, Seunghyun asked, “What’s with the renting thing?”

      “Oh nothing, it’s just that Jiyong’s father rented a fucking hotel for our one-night stay,” Sunggyu blurted out, leaving the Arcs speechless.

      “That doesn’t sound…wait, did you just say hotel?” Woohyun asked, checking if he just heard it right.

     “Whole fucking hotel,” this time, it was Jackson who clarified it.

     “Well that’s just fucked up,” Seunghyun commented, then the rest laughed. 

     After a few minutes, the five members arrived with their lunch, and the brothers said their prayers and started eating. The two groups naturally ate and talked together, but the students of HAU still couldn’t believe that these two groups are best of friends now.

      “I’ll just have some fresh air outside,” Jihoon stated, holding his full stomach. Jackson surprisingly stood up as well and said with a toothpick in his mouth, “I’ll come with you.”

      The Demons and the Arcs had a shocked face but nodded anyway. Jihoon didn’t much care so he went out first, Jackson just right behind him. The two most silent members of both groups went to the garden. As Jackson and Jihoon sat on the bench, Jihoon puts out a cigarette from his pocket.

      “Fuck, I forgot my lighter,” he stated, searching through his pockets.

     “We can’t smoke inside the campus,” Jackson stated with an expressionless face.

     Jihoon chuckled and said back, “We can’t declare a game for all the students to participate on either.”

     “Looks like you and Taeil have something in common”, Jackson stated as he sets his index finger on fire and places it on the end of Jihoon’s cigarette. Jihoon inhaled and exhaled the smoke and asked, “Taeil smokes?”

     “Yeah, we both smoke. But he stopped when we met Jiho-hyung,” Jackson answered.

     Jihoon didn’t say anything, but he continued with smoking his cigarette. After a few minutes of silence, Jackson looked at Jihoon and said, “I’m going to apologize…for Taeil’s sake.”

     “What for?” Jihoon asked, not looking at Jackson.

     “I know, that you know, that Taeil still hasn’t moved on with Jiho, so I want to say sorry for how Taeil’s been acting towards you, even though we all know you’re trying your best to take his pain away. You’ve been there for him, understanding him even with his attitude, so I want to thank you on behalf of my brothers. Taeil wasn’t like that before. He was hyper and fun and nice. He just changed after all the shit that’s happened to him, but you’re slowly changing him back, so thank you for that too.”

     Jihoon suddenly laughed, shocking Jackson on how he reacted. But before he could say anything to Jihoon, Jihoon said, “That’s funny…because I think it was Taeil who changed me.”

     When Jackson didn’t say anything, Jihoon continued, “I never smiled, never laughed, and never had fun. I was so serious about everything I do. I trained my butts off for our encounter with you, so when I found out that everything we thought about you was wrong, I felt like a moron. I wasted my life, in hopes that we could defeat you someday…but I forgot something. I forgot how to live my life like a person. Taeil, he gave me a purpose. I smile so he could smile back. I laugh and say the shittiest jokes so he could laugh with me, I want to have fun with the rest of my brothers and you guys, so Taeil could have fun too. I was trying to change him back, but little did I know he changed me too. Not just him, but the rest of the Demons too…”

     This time, Jihoon looked at Jackson with sincerity.

     “So thank YOU for everything. For taking care of Mark too, thank you,” Jihoon tells him.

     Jackson smiled ( And he rarely does it ), and then said, “Of course I’ll take care of him, I love that boy…”

     This made Jihoon smile back at him.

     “Do you love Taeil?” Jackson suddenly asked him.

     Jihoon didn’t look at Jackson again, then he threw his cigarette away and finally answered, “I fucking do…every inch of him.”

     When Jihoon said that, someone suddenly coughed in front of them. The two raised their heads and saw Taeil, his eyes teary.

     “That’s a good answer,” Jackson said with a smirk. Then he patted Jihoon’s back and left the two alone together. Taeil didn’t say anything but sat down beside his still not-so-sure-lover , Jihoon.

     “So, you smoked before?” Jihoon asked, trying to come out with a natural conversation to escape the awkward atmosphere.

     “Yeah.” Taeil awkwardly answered.

     Jihoon suddenly aggressively scratched his head and said, “Man! Suho and Lay can do a better job than this. They weren’t even close before!”

      “What?” Taeil asked, confused on what Jihoon just said. Jihoon finally looked at Taeil and held his shoulder tightly, “Taeil…what are we?”

     Taeil widened his eyes and blushed from the question, surprising Jihoon since he hasn’t seena reaction like that from Taeil before.

     “Are you blushing?” Jihoon asked in full shock.

      Taeil quickly pushed Jihoon away and faced his back so Jihoon wouldn’t be able to see his face anymore.

     “ Pyo Jihoon you fucking idiot “, Taeil whispered, but it was still loud enough for Jihoon to hear.

     “Huh? What did I do now?” Jihoon defended, now confused about what Taeil was saying.

     “How could you still not know what the two of us are?” Taeil asked him.

      Jihoon was now left speechless.

     “Well, how the hell would I know?! You never tell me! You never tell me you like me, you haven’t even kissed me yet,” Jihoon answered back.

      Taeil stood up and faced Jihoon, and then he shouted, “I don’t give blow jobs to fucking anyone you asshole!”

      This time, it was Jihoon’s turn to blush. How could Taeil just shout that in an open area so freely?

      After composing himself, Jihoon laughed, “Okay, I get it. No need to shout it to the whole world”. He then stood up and went in front of Taeil, and then he rested his forehead on Taeil’s and said, “Why are you mad again?”

     “I’m not mad,” Taeil answered, trying to avoid Jihoon’s intense stare.

     “Then why don’t you tell me you like me? Is it because you still like Woo Jiho?” Jihoon suddenly asked. Taeil didn’t answer. He stayed quiet when he heard the name. Jihoon quickly understood the picture, and looked at Taeil’s face with concern.

     “I’m sorry. That was such a bullshit move,” he immediately told Taeil as he pulled away from him.

     “No, it’s my fault. I should be giving the same amount of effort you’re giving me, but instead, I’m-” Jihoon quickly stopped Taeil and told him, “I can wait.”

     Taeil finally looked at Jihoon, and then Jihoon continued, “Whether it’s weeks, months, or even years. I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait until you could tell me you love me.”

     Taeil stared at Jihoon, and then a blood tear suddenly falls from his eyes. Jihoon wiped it off and kissed Taeil’s forehead gently. Before giving him his answer, Taeil grabbed Jihoon for a hug, “Wait for me, okay?”

---

Classes were finally over and the Demons and the Arcs were about to go home after a tiring comeback.

      “Well, the results of the test will be revealed tomorrow. I hope all of us would pass because I know for sure I will,” Minhyuk confidently stated, making everyone glare at him. But he quickly laughed it off, “Of course I was joking.”

     “Very funny Minhyuk,” Hyunseung stated seriously, making Minhyuk stop laughing.

     “Still very cold even though Junhyung’s been heating you up every night,” Minhyuk then joked, making everyone laugh this time. Junhyung blushed, but Hyunseung was furious.

     “What the fuck did you just say you asshole?!” Hyunseung asked as he looked at his best friend angrily.

     “Nothing!” Minhyuk answered as he ran off, but Hyunseung chased after him, making the others continue with their laughter.

     “Well then, we better go home. See you tomorrow Demons,” Junhyung stated, and Sunggyu nodded and answered back, “See you.”

     When the two groups were about to part ways, someone suddenly called them out, making them all turn to face them.

     “What? Can’t you see we’re going home?” Jiyong stated, but when he saw their faces, Jiyong’s eyes quickly widened. There were three hot HAU students in front of them. They weren’t shocked because of what they looked like. They were shocked because of the aura the three were emitting. They were emitting this innocent aura that didn’t match their appearance at all.

     “We found it.” The boy at the left stated, showing the red card. Then the other two showed the same cards.

      “Sorry kids, but the game’s over,” Seunghyun explained.

      “Aww, that’s too bad…” the man in the middle stated while removing his glasses. Then he messes his hair up, and with a smirk on his scary face, he continued, “We killed three students just so we could get these.”

      Finally, their aura matched their faces. It was dark and evil. It was obvious that these three weren’t normal humans. The Arcs flinched, but the Demons didn’t even react. Sunggyu moved a little closer, matching his dark aura with theirs. “State your business…Demons.”

     The three surprisingly bowed in front of the Demons. The man on the left smirked this time and said, “Our Prince, no need to get mad.”

     “Then answer my fucking question,” Sunggyu quickly demanded, not impressed at them at all.

     The man in the middle, who looked like the leader of the three, moved closer to Sunggyu and answered, “We are instructed by the strongest Ruler – Lucifer – to help you unleash your strongest Demonic Powers.”

     This time, it was Jiyong who went in front, “My father? What did he say?”

     The three demons looked at each other, then they looked back at the Arcs and Demons and answered, “He had instructed us to help you kill a human.”

• END -

SDS2 17: MISSION 0: KILL 7 SINNERS

IN HELL

LUCIFER WAS CHAINED UP and helpless, but he had to make his move. The King was going to execute his plan soon, and he and the rest of the Rulers, and even the King Himself knew that the Demon-children, even with the help of the Arcs, are not enough to win the upcoming war with what they are now.

     The only solution is for them to use their Demonic Powers, but the only way they could do so is to kill a human being with their own hands. They need to kill to become a true Demon and gain their true Demonic power. With the seven’s demonic powers combined, they can defeat and lock the King of Hell for good.

     Lucifer, without any second thought, bit his arm off so one hand could escape from the chains. Black blood was pouring out of him, but the Ruler didn’t even flinch. He took three dead bodies from the pile of dead bodies in front of him and made them drink his black blood. Lucifer quickly but quietly started chanting a Demonic Prayer. After that, the three’s eyes shot open, revealing their red eyes.

     “ You three, find the Demons… “ Lucifer then whispered to them the mission they were destined to do. The three nodded and was slowly caught on fire, teleporting them to earth.

     Lucifer was panting heavily. He was getting weaker. He saw dozens of ghouls running towards him, so he closed his eyes and said, “I’m sorry my sons, but this is the only way. Those three will explain to you everything. Please believe us. If you believe us then you will understand everything.”

     Lucifer then closed his eyes as the ghouls started grabbing him aggressively.

     “ BRING LUCIFER TO ME NOW! “

PRESENT TIME

     The Demons and the Arcs were at a private room in a fancy restaurant in Gangnam with the three supposed demons who are said to assist the princes in killing their first humans so they could unlock their demonic powers. The news surprised them, but they had to know more before they proceed with anything.

     “Talk,” Sunggyu commanded.

      The man who was still in the middle introduced himself first, “It’s an honor to meet you face-to-face our Prince. The name that was given to me was Jaejoong , so please call me by that.”

     The man on the right was next. “Nice to meet you our prince, I’m Yoochun. “

     And lastly, the man on the left said, “And I’m Junsu. “

     “You said, “ the name that was given to me. “ What does that mean?” Hyunseung asked.

     Jaejoong looked at the prince of lust and answered his question, “We are not really Demons in hell. We actually came from Ruler Lucifer’s soul. We’re three pieces of him. I’m Perfectionist , Junsu is Vindication , and Yoochun is Stubbornness. “

     “Jiyong, doesn’t that make them your fathers?” Woohyun joked, and everyone giggled, even the Demons.

     “Want me to punch your face Nam Woohyun?” Jiyong annoyingly asked. Woohyun quickly stopped laughing when he saw Jiyong’s scary aura.

     “Please, continue and don’t mind these idiots,” Junhyung stated, and Jaejoong surprisingly followed him.

     “Your Father placed us inside a body, so after we finish our mission, we will go back to your father. So on earth, we are normal humans.”

     “What’s the exact mission then?” Taeil asked, involving himself in the conversation.

     “As Lucifer instructed, “ Let our sons kill the seven sinners that I have introduced to you,”  after that, we will return to your father and they themselves will tell you what to do.“ This time, it was Yoochun who explained it.

     “No…”

     Everyone looked at the person who said the word. It was short, but it was intense. And it was Suho who surprisingly said it.

     “We are not going to kill an innocent human,” Suho adds, surprising everyone, especially the ‘Three Souls Of Lucifer’.

     “They are not innocent, they are sinners! Your Father had already given us the list!” Junsu explained, trying to convince him. Suho didn’t answer, but Hyunseung did, “Aren’t we all sinners? Does that mean we need to kill the whole human race? Even priest and saints sin…no one is innocent.”

     “Please, we need to finish this mission,” Jaejoong pleaded, but Sunggyu only clenched his fist in annoyance, “So we’ll do the dirty work and you guys could enjoy the glory, is that it?”

     Jaejoong and the two suddenly looked disappointed, “Our prince, you do not understand.”

     “Then make us understand!” Minhyuk now shouted, “Because killing someone is something only a true Demon can do. We are not Demons anymore, and an act such as killing will be against everything we’ve been fighting for.”

     “We are your Father Lucifer’s greatest sacrifice.” Jaejoong suddenly blurted out, shocking the Demons and the rest of the Arcs.

     “What do you mean?” Jiyong asked, starting to get concerned about what these three are trying to say. Junsu looked at Jiyong with concern and said, “Without us inside his soul, Lucifer will die. “

     “And we cannot return to him until you do this mission,” Yoochun finished.

     Everyone gasped. The sons quickly looked at Lucifers’ son, and to their surprise, a blood tear fell from Jiyong’s eyes.

     “Then return to him now!” Jackson shouted, surprising everyone because they thought Jiyong would say those words. It was obvious Jackson was starting to get frustrated by this too.

     Jaejoong lowered his head, “Don’t you princes still get it? If we knew you wouldn’t say yes to this plan then we would have already left to save Ruler Lucifer, but that is not the case. In order for us to return to your father, we must have the seven souls your Father had stated.”

     “T-Then…there’s no other way?” Mark asked, worried that his lover has to kill an innocent human.

     “Lucifer knew that you will never kill a human, that is why your prideful father did this, to test whether you will let him die as a Demon would, or let him live, and kill the Seven Sinners like Heroes.”

     The 14 were quiet. Jiyong clenched his fist tightly until it hurt. He was mad at his father. How could he do this to them, and even to himself?

     “Please our prince…we need you to finish this mission,” Jaejoong said, his voice full of plea. But Junhyung still wasn’t happy about this, “You do know that after you kill these humans, you will not be able to enter the gates of heaven? Don’t do this Demons, you will regret this your whole life!”

     “So be it!” Jiyong shouted, slamming his now red fist on the table.

     “I will not let my Father die,” Jiyong stated as he stood up, his eyes now full of blood tears. Everyone was shocked because they haven’t seen Jiyong act this way before.

      “Jiyong, he’s a Demon. More importantly, a Ruler of the strongest Realm in hell! Him dying will be the best thing that will ever happen to him and to us!” Junhyung blurted out, and everyone in the room was left speechless by what they heard.

     “How dare you,” Sunggyu stated, shocked at how selfish Junhyung sounded.

     “He’s my Father. He’s OUR father!” Jiyong shouted back. He was ready to hit Junhyung, but he was trying his best to refrain from doing so.

      But it seemed like Junhyung wasn’t intimidated at all. He aggressively scratched his head and continued, “I’m saying this for your own sake! For the future you wanted!”

     “We wanted our Fathers alive in our future.” This time it was Taeil who said it, but his tone was lower and calmer compared to Jiyong’s and Sunggyu’s. Seunghyun now stood up and helped his brother Junhyung explain things, “So, you are willing to kill humans for the sake of your Demonic Father?”

     Jiyong bravely glared at Seunghyun and answered him, “I will do everything to save our Fathers. Because they did everything to save us. The King was going to kill us, but our Fathers sacrificed their freedom for our lives. This is the perfect time for us to pay them back.”

     Mark looked at Jackson, expecting him to be against what Jiyong said, but Jackson removed his eyes on Mark and stood up to hold Jiyong’s shoulder, “You have been there to save the one I love the most…” he looked at Mark for the last time, and Mark was already teary. So Jackson quickly looked back at Jiyong and continued, “I will be there to save the one you love the most as well.”

     Mark didn’t take it. He quickly stood up and ran off, and everyone was shocked because Jackson didn’t follow him. Jackson looked at Woohyun, asking him if he could follow Mark for him, so Woohyun nodded and followed Mark out. Woohyun wasn’t angry like Mark because he understood what the Demons were doing. If they were on the Demons position, the Arcs would surely do the same.

     Suho was about to stand up as well, but the man beside him quickly held his arm.

     “Suho, don’t.”

     Suho didn’t look at Lay, but said, “Let go Yixing.”

     “No, I’m not letting you do this. Suho, if you kill someone…and when you die…you will return to hell. I can’t let you leave me like that and suffer. Please just-”

     “I said let go!” Then Suho shoved Lay’s hand away.

     “Suho! Wasn’t that too much?” Sungjae asked, but Suho ignored him.

     “No! I will never-” Suho suddenly pushed Lay off him and shouted, “You don’t understand! If we don’t kill a human…we would have to kill you! Don’t you fucking get it!?” Suho started tearing up as well, blood now streaming down his cheeks.

     Lay wiped his own tears away, and then he followed Woohyun and Mark outside. 

     The atmosphere became tensed. But as the angels and demons that were left in the room stared at each other in silence, Taeil looked at Jihoon and asked him, “Aren’t you going to stop me?”

     Jihoon took a deep breath and looked back at Taeil with a serious expression, “No,” he answered, shocking the rest of the Arcs that were inside the room.

     “Whatever you decide on…I will accept it wholeheartedly,” Jihoon calmly answered.

     “That’s bullshit!” Junhyung quickly shouted, “Whatever you say, whatever you do, or whatever the reason…killing is wrong. Kill us for all we care, but you will not kill a human,” Junhyung said with full power in his voice.

     “How could you be so fucking selfish Junhyung?” Hyunseung said to his lover.

      Junhyung looked back at him and immediately answered him, “So I’m the selfish one here?!”

     “Just face it okay? We were destined to do this. Whether we want to change our destinies or not we were going to do this. We were eventually going to kill,” Hyunseung stated, now standing in front of his lover Junhyung. Junhyung wanted to say something back, but Hyunseung held his cheek and continued, “I would take all the pain and the sacrifices if it means I don’t have to kill you and your brothers.”

     Junhyung’s heart broke. He couldn’t believe that he was hearing this from Hyunseung.

     “Now return to your home. We will talk about this later,” Hyunseung then stated.

     Junhyung didn’t answer, but instructed his brother to leave, “You heard him. Brothers, let’s go.”

     The Arcs looked at the Demons with concern but left anyway. When the Arcs were gone, the Demons sat back down, sighing.

     “And I thought we were going to have a normal day for once,” Minhyuk stated. But the others didn’t feel like talking anymore.

     “Prince…” Jaejoong then called out. When the Demons looked at him, he continued, “Please listen.”

      “What the fuck now?” Sunggyu asked. He was mad at the three even though he knew that this wasn’t their fault, so he quickly calmed down, massaged his temple and said, “I’m sorry. We’re treating you guys like this was your fault when actually you were just messengers. This is ours to take, but we’re pressuring you.” 

     Junsu held Sunggyu’s hand gently as he looked at the sons, but then Jaejoong’s dark aura quickly went back, getting the attention of the Demons. Jaejoong looked intensively at the sons and then said, “We apologize for the sudden drama, but now we want you to listen to your real mission.”

     Everyone’s eyes suddenly widened from shock.

     “What do you mean?” Jiyong asked, now completely confused.

     “What we said about Ruler Lucifer is true, but you are not really going to kill humans,” Jaejoong clarified. The Demons were now confused and puzzled. They thought the three were just fooling with them, but they gave them the chance to explain themselves.

     “Speak,” Sunggyu stated with a serious tone.

     “Like what Lucifer had instructed to us…Find the sons, tell them the fake plan while the Arcs are there, when they leave, explain the real plan.”

     “Why go to all that trouble? We can trust the Arcs now. Can’t our Father Lucifer see that?!” Suho asked, now angry because of what he did to Lay just a few seconds ago.

     “The Arcs must never know about the real plan. Because if they are involved, everything will change. Your Father Lucifer was not the only one who planned this, all your fathers did. Do you remember what your father Mammon stated? Add another option. You were taking too long so they took the privilege to do it themselves because they have news that the King is moving his schedule closer, and we all know that the ghoul who attacked Suho and Lay had already told you that. The first option was Kill a human, the second was Kill the Arcs…the third is kill the sinners,” Yoochun explained.

     “What’s the difference of that from killing humans?” Jackson asked, now confused about the sudden change of plans.

     “Those seven sinners are actually Demons. Seven Gate Keepers to be exact,” Junsu blurted out.

     “What?!” the seven asked in unison.

     “These Seven Demons hold the key to open the last Realm of hell. The key that will bring you to the King himself. One Demon holds one part of the Key. Kill them all and you will complete the key. They are Demons, but like us, here on earth, they are still technically humans. Killing them will still unleash your Demonic powers. And like what we said earlier, we need the seven souls to return to Hell, because that’s the key. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone,” Yoochun explained.

     “So what our father had planned…” Jaejoong continued what Taeil was about to say, “They want you to go to the King before he goes to you.”

     The Demons were all silent. Fear was finally there.

     “And why can’t the Arcs help us with this?” Hyunseung asked.

     “Because the King will use those Arcs for you to fail when they come with you in Hell, no doubt about it. But while they’re still on earth, the King can’t do anything. So please understand that your fathers are doing this for their sake as well,” Jaejoong explained.

     “What selfless Fathers…” Jiyong stated, now relieved that this was the real plan.

     “So, what do we do?” Taeil asked.

     “For now you are not allowed to communicate with the Arcs. You will avoid them at all-cause,” Yoochun instructed.

     “Seriously?! After our super dope comeback?!” Minhyuk joked, and finally, everyone now loosened up.

     “We will wait here for a week and plan, after that we will fly to Japan to talk to the CEO of RAVENS and ask for their help,” Junsu added, shocking everyone. How on earth did he know about the Ravens too?

     “Don’t tell me…” Suho stated but didn’t dare finish it. So Junsu did the honors and said, “The Seven Sinners are the seven greatest criminals in Japan.”

     “Of course they are,” Suho sarcastically said.

     “You said wait for a week here. What does that mean?” Taeil asked.

     “Don’t worry, you’ll see.”

     Hyunseung closed his eyes and sighed once more, “To finish this, we need to ignore our lovers. That’s just great.”

     “If they’re really your lovers…they will understand. Don’t you think?” Jaejoong stated, making everyone nod in agreement.

     “But how are they going to forgive us now?” Suho asked, still remembering what he did to his lover Lay.

     Junsu smirked and answered the Demons question, “Don’t worry, your Father’s talked with St. Peter ( Park Dongmin ). They will surely forgive you after this.”

MEANWHILE…

“I can’t believe them!” Junhyung shouted, furious about the plan they thought the Demons would execute.

     “So leader, what now?” Seunghyun asked, disappointed as well.

     “Let’s just-” Before Junhyung could even continue, someone suddenly called out for them, making the angels turn around. Apparently, the owner of the voice was none other than their guardian Dongmin.

     “Let’s go home and pack your bags,” Dongmin suddenly instructed.

     “Huh? Why?” Mark asked confusingly, and then the rest of the Arcs went forward.

     Dongmin looked at the Arcs, and with a smirk on his face, he answered, “We’re going to Japan.”

• END -

SDS2 18: BACK TO NORMAL

THE SONS WERE WALKING  in the hallway. The students were confused because the Arcs weren’t with them, but the Demons themselves were just as confused because the Arcs didn’t even tell them they wouldn’t be attending their classes.

     “Where could they be?” Jackson asked, confused why his lover didn’t even inform him that he wasn’t going to school.

     “Didn’t the three already tell us that we shouldn’t talk about the Arcs for the time being? And we should just trust them since our fathers had already talked to their guardian.” Hyunseung explained, surprisingly calm with the whole situation.

     “And who knows, they might be planning something that we don’t know too,” Minhyuk stated, and everyone agreed to what their brother had said.

     All of them continued walking and proceeded to the bulletin board to see the results of their test. Even with all that’s going on, the brothers still need to pass their exams and move on to their sophomore years.

     The seven arrived and ran and dominated the whole board; excited to get a glimpse of their exam results.

AT THE BULLETIN BOARD

     Congratulations to the following students for completing the given examination with complete excellence. The 14 students have finished and successfully topped the academic list over the other students. The names below will show each student’s grade and ranking.

     01 - Lee Minhyuk – 100%

     02 - Yong Junhyung – 99%

     03 - Kwon Jiyong – 98.5%

     04 - Jang Hyunseung – 98.%

     05 - Yi-En Tuan Mark – 97%

     06 - Kim Sunggyu – 96%

     07 - Yook Sungjae – 95%

     08 - Choi Seung-Hyun – 93%

     09 - Lee Taeil – 93%

     10 - Nam Woohyun – 92.5%

     11 - Zhang Yixing – 92%

     12 - Wang Jackson – 92%

     13 - Pyo Jihoon - 91.5%

     14 - Kim Joon-Myun – 91%

     The seven were all shocked to see the test results ( But they already half expected it ), and they were pretty much sure that the seven angels were already given a memo about this as well by the principal.

     “Wow Minhyuk, seriously? One hundred percent? What did you do, eat all our textbooks?” Taeil joked and everyone laughed.

     Minhyuk chuckled proudly and answered like how a top student would, “Well what would you expect, I love studying.”

     “Seriously?” Suho asked with a disgusted face, and then continued, “I don’t want to sound like a jerk because you’re the top one and I’m the last one in the list but can’t you like…choose a different hobby? A hundred percent man, that’s not normal.”

     Hyunseung patted Suho’s back and said, “Let the nerd be Suho. And come on, ninety-one percent is a big number compared to other students here in HAU.”

     “You have a point,” Suho answered with a smile.

     Then Jiyong looked at Minhyuk and smirked, “With that grade? I’m pretty sure you’re still a virgin Minhyuk. Studying as a hobby isn’t something anyone would get turned on.”

      Minhyuk suddenly blushed and hits Jiyong’s head, “My fucking sex life doesn’t concern you.”

     While everyone was still looking at the list, Minhyuk suddenly pointed at Junhyung’s name and said, “By the way, Hyunseung, your lover’s in second place.”

     Everyone suddenly looked at his name and noticed it too. But there’s one person who already knew about it…it was Kwon Jiyong.

     “Yeah, and he took my spot only by .5%. I was supposed to be number 2. If those Arcs didn’t enroll in HAU then the seven of us would have still been in a higher position. Well, except for Minhyuk who has no other life than to study.”

     “Can you please stop it!” Minhyuk shouted back but no one cared.

     “No need to be bitter Jiyong. At least you made it in the top five,” Sunggyu stated, also in a bad mood because he was the fourth placer before the Arcs came.

     “Anyway, we better get back to our class, don’t you think?” Minhyuk, who is still the nerd of the whole Demons, suggested.  And Sunggyu agreed to what he had to say, “Yeah, it’s been months since the last time we went to our old rooms. Even though the Arcs aren’t there with us, it’s basically back to normal before we head off to Japan.”

     “Wow, “ back to normal “. I haven’t heard of that word in a long time,” Suho stated while sighing.

     “Well then, Jiyong, Suho, Jackson, and Taeil, let’s go to our room. Hyunseung and Minhyuk, we’ll just see you at the cafeteria during lunch break, “Sunggyu explained, and Minhyuk and Hyunseung nodded.

     The 5 went to their respective rooms, and so did Hyunseung and Minhyuk. As Minhyuk and Hyunseung arrived at their room, the noisy class automatically became quiet, like they saw their principal enter the room.

     “How could Lee (Referring to Minhyuk), be an ass, be absent for 4 months, and still top the school’s ranking?” someone in the back whispered to his seatmate, and Minhyuk and JS still clearly heard it.

     “Priorities little man…priorities,” Minhyuk answered as he looked directly at the boy who said it, making him flinch.

     One of their classmates even took out the red card that he found from the Arcs and the Demon’s game yesterday just in case shit goes down. The two sat at their old chair, next to the three empty chairs which were supposed to be Mark, Woohyun, and Lay’s.

     “Okay now, the show’s over. Go back to what the fuck you guys are doing and leave us alone.” Hyunseung stated with a loud voice so everyone could hear it. And so the students did what they were told.

     “I actually miss Woohyun and the others,” Minhyuk stated while putting his books out of his bag. He then looked at Hyunseung and continued, “Aren’t you worried about Junhyung? Ever since our meeting with the three souls of Father Lucifer, you haven’t said a single word about Junhyung.”

     Hyunseung didn’t answer for a few seconds, his eyes glued to the notes he borrowed from Taeil. After a couple of seconds, he finally looked back at Minhyuk and answered, “I don’t need to worry since I trust Junhyung. And besides, we have a mission to finish. The three are right. The Arcs will only be a hindrance and would take away our focus. If you ask me, it’s better that we don’t get to see them. Better yet, we don’t get to know where the FUCK they are.”

     Minhyuk flinched when Hyunseung emphasized the word “ fuck “, then he saw him gripping Taeil’s notebook.

     “You are worried,” Minhyuk stated, but Hyunseung went back to his studies.

     “By the way, where could those three be? ( Referring to the Three souls of Lucifer )”, Minhyuk asked, and just in time, their professor went inside their room with two familiar faces.

     “Good morning class, and good morning to you Mr. Lee and Mr. Jang. I just wanted to congratulate you on your test results. It was very impressive, especially to Mr. Lee who managed to get a perfect score.”

     “The honor is mine, Mr. Kim,” Minhyuk said with a proud smile.

     “Alright everyone, I want you to meet our transfer students. Please sit beside Mr. Lee and Mr. Jang. Those seats will be empty for the time being since the three and the rest of them ( the Arc s), are on a “leave.”

     Minhyuk and Hyunseung looked at each other with their right eyebrow raised.

     “They’re on a fucking leave? Isn’t that only for pregnant women?” Minhyuk asked in confusion.

    “Minhyuk, I’m starting to doubt that you’re the top student in HAU because sometimes you could be a real idiot. Of course, it’s a different kind of “ leave “, and the dean will surely still agree to it since the seven of them had outstanding grades as well”, Hyuseung explained.

     “Oh, I see”, Minhyuk answered while scratching his head.

     While the two were talking, Yoochun and Junsu sat beside them, completely being ignored by Minhyuk and Hyunseung. Yoochun quickly cleared his throat, finally catching their attention.

     “Aren’t you guys shocked that we’re here?” Junsu asked, confused over the reaction of the two.

     “What do you mean? We saw you wearing the uniform yesterday. We knew you’d be here,” Minhyuk explained.

NOTE: It is now the second semester, and the freshmen students of HAU are now required to wear the school uniform.

      “And did you really…” he then went closer to the two and whispered, “Kill someone yesterday? Or was that something you said to look cool?”

     Yoochun and Junsu chuckled, then Junsu whispered back to Minhyuk and Hyunseung, “ Our prince, we feed on human souls to be able to live here on earth. Of course, we need to kill. “

     For a normal person, they’d freak out once they hear what the Demon had said, but for the two?

     “ Where did you put the bodies? Minhyuk asked instead of being freaked out about it.

     “Burned them of course,” Yoochun answered with a smirk.

     “Good call.”

     Hyunseung suddenly realized something and said, “But wouldn’t the family look for them?”

     “Don’t worry, it was their time anyway so we just manipulated the family too,” Junsu casually answered.

     “You monsters,” Minhyuk stated while laughing, “The Arcs would be mad after hearing this for sure.”

     “Well…IF they hear about it, right our prince?” Junsu stated with a smile, and the two Prince agreed.

---

NOTE: SOL means “Souls of Lucifer.”

 At the other room, Jiyong, Sunggyu, Suho, Taeil, and Jackson were already sitting beside the  SOL’s leader, Jaejoong. And like Hyunseung and Minhyuk, they found out about the Arc’s so-called leave.

     “You’re going to teach us to kill right? But how exactly?” Taeil asked through pure curiosity.

     “I would love to answer that but…aren’t we too exposed?” Jaejoong answered as he looked at the students inside the room who were busy answering the questions that their professor gave them.

     “Then let’s talk about it during lunch,” Sunggyu suggested and Jaejoong and the rest of the Demons nodded.

     “By the way, how long can my Father take? Months? Days? Weeks?” Jiyong asked, obviously concerned about his father.

     Jaejoong held his chin and started thinking, then he answered, “He can stand for a week or two actually, but every…” Jaejoong stopped and leaned forward so he could whisper, “ Every Demon that we kill, your father will become stronger. “

     “Then what the fuck are we still doing here in Korea? Shouldn’t we go to Japan now and finish this mission so the three of you could fucking return?” Jiyong stated, starting to get impatient.

     Jackson quickly patted Jiyong’s back to calm him down, “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll save your Father. We just need to listen to the instruction that He gave us. If we do so, then He’ll be fine.”

     Jiyong took a deep breath and finally calmed down.

     “But Jiyong’s right. If we want to save Father Lucifer, what the hell are we still doing here? Shouldn’t we leave already?” Suho asked while looking at Jaejoong.

     Jaejoong, who had a lollipop stuck in his mouth since earlier, took it out and said, “We need to do a lot of training before heading to Japan. And besides, we’re still waiting for someone before we leave,” then Jaejoong sucks on the lollipop again.

     “Well, that person better be worth waiting for,” Taeil stated as he continued with what the teacher gave them, and the others did the same.

AFTER CLASS.

LUNCH BREAK.

     The four proceeded to the cafeteria with Jaejoong. Then they saw Minhyuk, Hyunseung, Junsu, and Yoochun sitting at their table. ( The Arcs and the Demon’s table combined ).

     “Our prince…” the two stated in unison as they stood up and bowed in front of the four Demons who just arrived.

     “Please don’t do that here” Jackson stated when he saw the students look their way. While the five sat down, Trey and the news team quickly went to their table. The rest of the students quickly became quiet, interested in the news team’s sudden approach to the Demons.

     “Good afternoon D-demons…” Trey nervously stated, trying his best to look relaxed.

     “What do you want?” Jiyong asked intensely, making Trey and the rest of the news team gulp loudly. But the seven’s eyes quickly went to the red card Trey was wearing around his neck.

     “Wow, you made use of it as a backstage pass?” Hyunseung asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     “W-well…” Trey was obviously struggling, and Hyunseung wasn’t helping. So Suho decided to help him out, “What do you want? If you could see we’re all hungry here.”

     Trey gulped for the last time and finally said, “W-we just wanted to interview you guys for the month’s newspaper release. Well, if you have time. If you don’t then we could lea-”

     Jiyong quickly stopped Trey and stated, “An interview huh? Well then, we have plenty of time.”

     Jiyong, as he is, will always be a fame whore.

     “Sit down then,” Sunggyu stated as he pointed at the chair in the middle. Trey slowly sat down with his notebook and pen, while the others were filming them.

     “Can we ask about how you reconciled with your past rival group Arcs?” Try first asked.

     Everyone looked at Sunggyu, but Sunggyu pointed at Jiyong, asking him to do all the talking for them since this was his idea. Of course, Jiyong took the opportunity with no hesitation, “Well, during our long break, we had some problems that were very impossible to solve by our own, so we needed their help, and since Mark has been a member of ours before, it was easy to reconcile with them. And that’s when everything started.”

     Trey wrote it down and continued, “And just yesterday you told us you reconciled with each other, but why aren’t they in school? We heard they took leave.”

     “That…is very unanswerable. Next question.”

     “Can we ask about the three new members of the Demons? You didn’t introduce them officially but others are assuming that they are new members of your group.”

     The seven brothers quickly looked at the three SOL’s, but this time, it was Sunggyu – the leader of the Demons – who answered, “Well, they aren’t really members of the group but…how do I put this…they’re our sunbaes. “

NOTE : Sunbae:  A term which means senior, someone who is older, or someone with more experience in a certain field .

     Everyone gasped. It was rare for the Demons to treat a “ person “ as someone higher than them.

     “Sunbaes?” Trey asked in confusion, trying to make Sunggyu explain more. Sunggyu started thinking of a good explanation, so he said, “They’re here to teach us how to be a better asshole, how’s that explanation?”

     Trey looked at Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun, and to his surprise, the three puts out a very dark aura, making him and the rest of his news team flinch, “Uhmm…t-that…that was good.”

     Trey closed the notebook and stood up. He showed his hand to Sunggyu for a handshake but Sunggyu only stared at it and raised his eyebrow. So Trey quickly placed it inside his pocket and said, “W-well thank you Demons and…the Demon’s sunbaes. We hope you wait for the upcoming newspaper.”

     Trey and the rest of the news team bowed in front of the Demons and ran off. Then the students continued with their own business.

     “Well, that was unusual. That frustrated me more than our missions,” Taeil stated, and everyone laughed.

     “Well, Taeil, Suho, and Jackson, please get our lunch,” Sunggyu commanded, and the three nodded and left.

     “Now, about the mission. How are we going to do it? Just go to Japan, look for the seven sinners, and slice them up? Something like that?” Hyunseung asked, now serious with the whole mission.

     “The moment they find out you’re the seven Princes of Hell, they’ll attack you. If worse scenarios come, they’d run away. And if you’re not aware, the seven also represent seven sins. So we’ll start with Lust and end with Pride. Like you guys, the sinner who holds Pride will also be the strongest, and only the prince of Pride could kill him or her completely. The same goes for the other sins. After that, we absorb the soul, and your Father will withstand another day. Any more questions?” Jaejoong explained.

     Minhyuk raised his hand and asked, “I have a question.”

     “Yes, my prince?”

     “You said, him or HER. Does that mean we need to kill a girl too?!”

     The Demons wanted to laugh at their brother but refused to break the serious tension.

     “Well…yes. And gender isn’t important here because sinners will be sinners, whether they’re male or female,” Jaejoong seriously answered.

     “You have a point there.”

     The Demons and the SOLs continued with their discussion and stopped when Taeil and the rest arrived with their lunch. When the rest were settled, Sunggyu explained to them everything that they had to do when they head to Japan. Afterward, they continued with a normal conversation and ate their lunch at peace. Well except for the three SOLs who don’t eat human food.

---

 Classes were over and the seven were walking outside the campus, ready to head home.

     “This was the best day that I’ve had. The most NORMAL thing that ever happened to us actually,” Suho stated.

     “Don’t be too excited Suho. The day is still young. This happened to us yesterday remember?” Sunggyu stated, reminding him that yesterday was also normal before the three souls of Lucifer arrived and ruined it.

     “We need to go. You three, do you have a place to stay for the night?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at the three.

     “Nah, we don’t sleep. And besides, we kill during nights. Gotta eat you know,” Junsu stated with a wink.

     Jiyong chuckled and patted Junsu’s back, “Well, good luck with that.”

     “Well everyone, see you tomorrow,” Suho stated as he, Sunggyu, and Jiyong were about to proceed to the parking lot, Hyunseung and Minhyuk to the bicycle area, and Jackson and Taeil to walk home. But before everyone could leave, Minhyuk quickly stopped them.

     “Guys! We have a problem,” Minhyuk stated, making everyone turn and look at him.

     “What now Minhyuk!? Can’t we fucking just go home and be at peace for once?!” Suho shouted, aggressively scratching his head.

     “What is it our prince?” Yoochun asked as he and the rest went to him.

     “The time…it stopped,” Minhyuk revealed, confusing everyone. But then Taeil looked at the sky and pointed at something, “Guys! Look!” he shouted with excitement.

     Everyone followed and looked at what Taeil was pointing at. As soon as they saw what it was, everyone started to smile. Jaejoong smirked and said, “Well about time…”

      Everyone was thrilled to see…

      A red burning phoenix flying towards them.

• END -

SDS2 19: HE’S BACK

THE PHOENIX LANDED IN front of the Demons and the SOLs. As soon as he did, the fire that surrounded him vanished, revealing the Seven Demons’ guardian, Kharon the third.

     “It’s good to see you…my seven princes.” Kharon went for a 360-degree bow. Then he went towards Taeil and held his hand gently. A blood tear fell from Kharon’s eyes as he bowed down on his knee while still holding Taeil’s hand.

     “I am not worthy of your forgiveness Prince Taeil,” he said, making everyone remember the incident with Woo Jiho.

     A blood tear fell from Taeil too as he looked back at Kharon. They expected Taeil to run off or even be mad at Kharon after what he’s done, but Taeil kneeled in front of Kharon and let go of his hand from Kharon’s tight grip. Everyone was shocked when Taeil suddenly hugged Kharon tightly.

     “I am happy…to see you again Kharon,” Taeil said instead.

     Kharon started crying, hugging Taeil back.

     “I’m happy to see you too kid,” Kharon answered.

     “Welcome back guardian,” Sunggyu said with a smile, and Kharon smiled back at him.

     The two stood up, then Kharon looked at the three SOLs.

     “Looks like you have finally arrived. The Rulers had also informed me about this before they placed me inside the egg. And they instructed me to give you your final training before leaving for Japan to kill the 7 sinners,” Kharon explained.

     “Then what are we waiting for? Let the training begin master,” Taeil stated with a wide smile.

     Kharon smirked and snapped his fingers, bringing the ten of them to the forest where he and the Demons trained their powers before.

     “Welcome back to our training grounds kids,” Kharon stated as he placed his hands inside his pockets, “Before we start I want you all to know the things that we’re going to do today. When we face the seven sinners, we don’t just fight them, we make strategies. We’ll be coming up with plans before approaching them. It’s not all about attacking, it’s about brains as well. And I clearly know that all of you are intelligent. Taeil will do the planning, and the rest will contribute. I will give you all the backgrounds of the sinners we need to kill, are you all ready?”

     “Yes.” The brothers said in unison.

     “Okay, our first sinner, lust . This sinner is a famous fashion designer in Japan, but at night Sinner 1 is the most famous human trafficking leader in Asia. Sinner 1 has a lot of yakuza connections so this will be hard,” Kharon explained.

     “Wow, sounds fancy,” Minhyuk joked, but when no one laughed, he coughed and became serious.

     “Thank you for shutting up Minhyuk,” Hyunseung stated, also getting irritated by Minhyuk’s loudmouth. When the two stopped, Kharon continued, “Sinner 2, Glutton . A very strong fraternity leader, and of course an eater…of humans.”

     “Of course he is,” again, Minhyuk stated.

     “Sinner three, Greed. Is a famous thief in Japan. Sinner 3 is not a good fighter, but an outstanding runner and hides well. It will be a pain if this sinner runs away from us.”

     “Looks like I’m handling another thief ( referring to Kai ),” Suho stated, and then Kharon once again continued, “ Sloth will be a little hard since sinner 4 is a son of a CEO. This sinner is very guarded, so we need to fit in with the elites to be able to be connected with them. But of course, Jiyong can handle that.“

     Jiyong doesn’t say anything but smirked proudly.

     “The next sinner is sinner 5, Wrath. He’s even tougher than the last four since he’s a yakuza leader. If you remember Kharon the Second , also known as Taro Yamada, the leader of the famous yakuza called Red Rangers , then you’d remember the Black soldiers , the Red Rangers mortal enemy,” Kharon explained, hoping the Demons would remember it.

     “Can’t we just ask for Yamada’s help?” Taeil asked, making everyone agree with his suggestion.

     “Yes, it would be easier. But have you forgotten? Kharon the Second, also known as Taro Yamada, does not remember you at all,” Kharon explained, making everyone realize it.

     “Then let’s continue with the next sinner. Sinner 6, Envy. Sinner six is a very famous singer in Japan, so it will also be hard for you to be able to get close to that Sinner.”

     “And for Pride? “ Sunggyu asked.

      “Sinner 7 will be the hardest one. He’s a teenager, and studies at the most dangerous high school in Japan, ‘Keepers High’. Keepers High holds the most number of delinquents, and of course, the most dangerous students in the country. And Sinner 7, is the king of the said school.”

     “Easy”,

Jiyong stated with a smirk, still prideful since he thinks he’s the strongest Demon on earth.

     “Now that I’ve told you all the information about the sinners, you’ll now be able to make a plan with ease. To continue, I need to teach you three new powers. First, the ability to absorb and pass a weak soul to another. Second, the ability of invisibility. I know Dongmin thought you that already, but this one is different. This power won’t make you invisible, but it will release an aura that will make a lower Demon unable to sense if the person they are talking to is also a demon. Sadly, this won’t work with the Wrath, Envy, and Pride sinners, but this will be a good help to the once above them.” Kharon paused for a few seconds then continued, “And lastly…the ability to kill a Demon.”

     Everyone’s looked at each other in excitement.

     “But before we start, I’ll explain to you one last thing. Once we arrive in Japan, we’ll be proceeding to the Ravens and talk to Asano Tamo so we could officially start with the mission,” Kharon explained further.

     “No problem,” Sunggyu stated, and then Kharon smiled and nodded his head. He looked at the Demons one by one. He missed them dearly, and can’t wait to train them again, “Now demons…let’s begin.”

• END -

SDS2 20: MISSION I: THE LUSTFUL DESIGNER

- 

Lee Chae-rin

’s POV -

“PLEASE! LET ME OUT of here!” Shouted one of the girls who was inside a locked room.

     “Shut her up, or I’ll kill her,” I commanded as I walked down the hallway filled with locked doors.

     “Yes mama,” someone answered before following my orders.

     How I love the sound of pain coming from these children. I am so fucking thankful for how the King of Hell gave us the opportunity to have any fabulous body.

     Oh, how rude of me, I haven’t even introduced myself to you yet. 

     I’m Crocell.  Well in the underworld that is. Here on earth, I’m Lee Chae-rin ( Better known as designer CL) , a famous designer in Tokyo, Japan. But at night, I’m the most famous human trafficking boss in Asia. Of course, no one knows that.

     Half of my “ employees “ are ghouls reshaped as humans too. They help me hide my dirty work so no one can find out my wicked truth. Now, how did I become a famous designer you may ask? Well easy, I killed the owner of the body and lived my life like her. So if you’re getting the picture, this is basically my 8th body. I get to choose anybody that I please, which is why I never get bored with my life.

     I’ve been here on earth for 103 years, and I’ve been a roaming spirit in Hell for 400 years. We were the seven lucky souls who the King chose to hide the key of our bloody kingdom. We’re also more known as the Seven Sinners or Seven Keys. So if we die, then it’s all over for us. Because once we die, we won’t return to hell. We vanish to the dark abyss and be surrounded by nothingness.

• THIRD PERSON POV -

AT A MODELLING AGENCY

 “Places everyone! And are you all wearing clothes that I designed last week?” CL asked as the models went inside the room.

     “Walk with grace and treat the clothes as something that is part of your body, understand?!” she asked, and everyone nodded and got ready.

     “Okay, now go to the runway and kill it!”

      The models went out of CL’s office one by one. When the room was now empty, CL’s smile faded and her secretary – Nagi – went in.

     “How many are those bitches?” CL asked as she sat down at the chair in front of a table.

     “Eight girls and two boys mama. Ages 18-26,” Nagi answered as he looked at the models’ profiles.

      CL sighed as she massaged her temples, “After the runway show, leave the ones that are in between 20 to 26 years old. Our costumers are starting to prefer younger ones. Those old hags will only add up to the garbage in our warehouse.”

     “Yes, mama.” Nagi quickly answered.

     “How many will be left by the way?” CL asked as he looked at Nagi.

     “Two boys mama. All the girls today are aged 20-26.”

     “That’s bullshit!” CL shouted as she slammed the table, “All the girls are in their mid-20’s? Didn’t I specifically fucking tell Shino to pick younger models?! Our business is going down every day! What the fuck am I going to do with two boys?!”

     “We have gay clients mama and I bet they will be interested in those handsome men,” Nagi calmly answered. CL sighed for the last time and relaxed her body. She leaned back on her chair and asked “How handsome?” while she massaged her aching forehead.

     “How about you take a look for yourself?” Nagi gave CL their profiles, and as she saw the pictures, a grin quickly formed from her mouth.

      “ Jang Hyunseung and Wang Jackson ? And both are 18.“ CL said as she continued to stare at their profiles.

     “There is something about these two that I like a lot, don’t you think Nagi?” CL asked, and Nagi smiled, pleased that his boss had finally calmed down.

     “Don’t bring these two in the warehouse. Bring them to my apartment after this. Tell them I chose them as my new models for my men’s collection.” CL said, still staring at the pictures.

      “What are you going to do to them exactly?”

      CL placed the pictures down and stood up. She went to the window and looked at the scenery outside, “I haven’t seen such good-looking and delicious boys before. I’ll play with them a little…” she smirks and licks her lips seductively. She looked at Nagi, her eyes now bloody red, “And maybe eat them up afterward.”

     Nagi smirked after hearing the answer, “As you wish mama.”

     He bowed in front of his boss and left the room. As he closed the door behind him, he quickly went to the janitor’s closet and revealed the real Nagi; tied up and still unconscious. The fake Nagi transformed into someone who everyone is familiar with, Kharon the Third. He took his phone out and called the rest of the Princes’ who are inside the Ravens’ headquarters, with the Souls of Lucifer and Kai and Tamo.

     “ Sunggyu, Prince Hyunseung, and Prince Jackson will be proceeding to Sinner one’s apartment. The plan is running smoothly. “ Kharon stated. Whispering so no one could hear him.

     “ That’s great. It’s a good thing Hyunseung placed some lustful aura on Jackson, “ Sunggyu answered, then someone in the back shouted on the other line, “You said to choose the most handsome member next to Hyunseung, so why the fuck did you choose Jackson?! You should have picked me!” This one sounded like Jiyong.

      “ Not everything revolves around you Jiyong,“ Taeil’s voice commented.

      “Kids?” Kharon asked, now confused about what was happening.

     “ Sorry about that. Just make sure the two are safely brought to her apartment. After you bring them there, proceed here immediately so we can hear their conversation. Did you double-check Hyunseung and Jackson? Are they wearing the mic and earpieces? “

     “The one that looks like an earring and lip piercing?”

     “ Yup that’s the one. “

     “Then they are wearing it.”

     “ Good. Because I paid a lot for that small gadget, “ this time it came from Tamo, who was apparently with the other Demons now. Kharon wanted to chat more but he heard the ending music from the fashion show.

     “Kids, I need to go. The fashion show is about to end. I’ll call whenever I’m done.”

     “ Okay. But just remember, do whatever she asks you to do. We can’t break cover. “ Sunggyu instructed for the last time.

     “Got it.” Kharon ended the call and placed his phone back inside his pocket and kneeled in front of the real Nagi, “I’ll be borrowing your face again okay?” Kharon stared at the man, which is actually a ghoul, and copied his memories and his face once more.

     “I need to hurry, this can only last for an hour.”

     Kharon – now looking like Nagi – goes back to the office where CL and the models were.

     “Good job everyone! You did great! Now proceed to the dressing room so you could change, afterward, we’ll go to the cafeteria so we could rest and have our dinner. The two boys in the back please stay for a while. I need to tell you something very important.” CL said with a wide and innocent smile.

     The models went out of the room, leaving Hyunseung, Jackson, Kharon (disguised as Nagi), and CL. The two Princes of Hell were in front of CL, who was sitting sexily on the chair.

     “They are handsome.”  CL thought to herself as she stared at the two boys from head to toe.

     “I want to propose something to you.” CL quickly looked at Kharon and winked, a memory suddenly entered Kharon, revealing what that meant. Good thing he absorbed Nagi’s memories as well.

     Kharon went to the cabinet and took out an iron bar, and without any hesitation, he hits the two in the head, making Hyunseung and Jackson fall down on the floor unconscious.

---

 Hyunseung and Jackson woke up and noticed that they were suspended from the floor and were only wearing their boxers. The room was unfamiliar, but the two didn’t panic.

      “What the hell? Is this for real?” Jackson asked as he tried to loosen up the chains. Jackson looked at Hyunseung and asked, “How are we going to kill her if we’re tied up like this?”

     Hyunseung looked at the chains and remembered something.

     “The chains! We can melt them, but we need to hurry,” Hyunseung said as he tried to melt the chains with fire. Jackson saw what his brother was doing so he did the same. As they were about to be set loose, CL entered the room holding a box, immediately making the two stop doing what they were doing.

     “You’re finally awake,” CL stated as she placed the box above the table right in front of them. CL stared at the two princes as they stared back at her with no expression at all.

     “I like how you stare at me. It makes me feel hot,” CL said as she licked on her lips seductively. She went to the box and took a whip and looked at them and said “Let’s see how long you can stare at me like that.” CL stated, and without hesitation, she whipped Jackson on his stomach first.

     “SHIT!” Jackson shouted as he felt the whip hit him.

     “Fuck yes, scream for me, baby!” CL said while laughing. She then whipped Jackson for the second time.

     “I need to escape now or else Jackson might end up being too weak to fight later.”  Hyunseung thought to himself, and then he quickly tried to melt the chains again as secretly as he could. He glanced at CL who was still whipping Jackson, then he glanced back at Jackson was now in great pain.

     “Just like that baby, scream in pain,” CL said as he whipped Jackson harder than the last one.

     “UGH!!” Jackson moaned. 

     CL kept on whipping Jackson and stopped as soon as she saw blood coming out from one of the wounds.

     “Lookie Lookie, little baby here is already bleeding,” CL said as she stared at the whip marks she inflicted on Jackson.

     “Shit, Jackson is already bleeding. If this Sinner tastes his blood now it will be very difficult to kill her.”  Hyunseung melted the chains as quickly as possible.

     “Let me taste you, baby,” CL said as he went closer to Jackson’s wounds. She licked the bleeding wound, making Jackson flinch. When CL tasted the blood, she widened her eyes and smirked.

     “This taste…I have never tasted this blood from any human before.” CL looked at Jackson. And when it finally sank in, she grinned and made a quick bow, “Oh my. It is an honor to see you my pr-” before CL could finish her sentence, Hyunseung kicked her from behind, making her fall on the ground, headfirst.

     Hyunseung escaped from the chains just in time.

     “Damn that was close,” Hyunseung said as he rubbed his sore wrist. Hyunseung went to CL and saw that she was unconscious, for now.

     “Yeah, really close,” Jackson said as Hyunseung helped him escape from the chains as well.

     “Are you okay?” Hyunseung asked his wounded brother.

     “Yeah, I’m okay,” Jackson assured him. Then he did a quick stretch and asked “So what now? We just kill her like this?”

     “I don’t know, but we must kill her now before she wakes up,” Hyunseung answered.

     “Then do what you gotta do my lustful brother,” Jackson said, and Hyunseung nodded. He summoned his weapon and his aura changed, same goes to his eyes. He positioned his weapon at CL’s body, but before the weapon could make contact with her flesh, CL woke up and vanished, and his weapon made contact with the carpet instead.

     “ Shit “, Hyunseung cursed as he looked around.

     “Don’t worry Hyunseung, she can’t leave this room,” Jackson said as he grabbed his brother’s shoulders.

     “You’re right. She’s just here, hiding,” Hyunseung said as he tried to sense her aura.

     “Why the fuck can’t I escape this room?” CL cursed as she tried to open the door. But then she suddenly saw a talisman on the doorknob. A talisman that traps weak demons inside a room. “FUCK!” CL cursed loudly.

     “There she is.” Jackson said as he quickly pointed at CL near the door. Hyunseung rushed towards her and swung his saw-like weapon at her arm. If she wasn’t quick enough, Hyunseung would have sliced it off her.

     “Fuck that hurts!” CL shouted in pain while holding her bleeding arm. She looked around the room and vanished again.

     “Yeah, just like that baby, scream in pain.” Hyunseung repeated the same phrase that she said when Jackson screamed in agony. He and Jackson scanned the room. The two princes were on their guard as they waited for her to attack. Soon after, Jackson instantly felt her presence getting closer.

     “Hyunseung, behind you!” Jackson screamed, and due to their months of training, Hyunseung quickly swung his weapon again and hit CL on her stomach.

     “UGH!” CL fell down to the floor as blood dripped out from her mouth. She looked at the two princes and told them, “Even if you kill me, you can’t kill the King,” she managed to say while glaring at the two.

     “We know, but killing you will make us one step closer in defeating him.” Hyunseung said as he showed her that he is much more powerful than she was.

     “Kill her.” Jackson said to Hyunseung.

     Hyunseung nodded and raised his weapon, ready to defeat the first sinner.

      “Wait! I’ll help you! I’ll tell you everything you want. Just don’t kill me, please.” CL now begged, making Hyunseung smirk in amusement. He positioned his weapon on her chest and looked at her with his blood-red eyes, “Sorry, but we don’t take prisoners.”

     “Enjoy the abyss Ms. Crocell.” Jackson finished, and without any hesitation, Hyunseung stabbed CL in the chest. The sinner screamed in agony, but she was still alive, so Hyunseung pushed his weapon even further and pulled it away in an instant.

     “AHHH!” CL screamed louder. The grounds rumbled as she fell to the floor. Her eyes turned pure white, and then she fell on her knees, reaching out to the princes for the last time before falling to the ground completely.

     The rumbling stopped. And the first sinner was dead. Hyunseung was panting heavily, his eyes and aura turning back to normal.

     “Well, that was way too easy.” Jackson simply stated.

     “ Everything okay there? “ Sunggyu asked through the earpiece.

     “Yeah, everything’s okay. Hyunseung just killed the first sinner.” Jackson replied.

     “ Good to hear that kids. Hyunseung… “ now it was Kharon who was talking to them.

     “Yeah I know, I must absorb her soul,” Hyunseung replied. He went to the sinner’s dead body and opened her mouth with his fingers. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them back, his iris was already a familiar shade of red, “ I, the Prince of Lust, the first son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keeper to be transferred to me in the name of Asmodeus. “ As he finished the sentence, a dark smoke came out from the sinner’s mouth and travelled to Hyunseung’s mouth. Once the soul was transferred to Hyunseung, he suddenly lost his balance.

     “Hey, you okay?” Jackson asked as he helped Hyunseung stand up properly.

     “Yeah, I am,” Hyunseung said as he stood straight. 

     Jackson looked at Hyunseung and saw something different. Hyunseung’s eyes were different now. It was not like the normal red and bloody eyes that they have. It was all black, and if Jackson was a normal human, he would truly shiver from the mere sight of it. His aura was heavier too. It was so heavy that a normal person would suffocate. And to top it all off, Hyunseung’s pheromones were out of this world. It was like anyone who looked at him right now would beg to be fucked by him.

     Hyunseung looked at the window and saw his reflection. It seems like nothing changed much but he felt different. He felt stronger, powerful, and fucking sexier. He looked closer and saw that he had horns and a tail like their own fathers now too. He looked at Jackson once again and smirked, “I feel fucking amazing.”

     “ Jackson, Hyunseung,“  Kharon called out through their earpiece.

     “Yeah?” Jackson replied.

     “ You better get out of there. Even though the sinner is dead, the real Nagi will come and visit her soon. “

     “Okay. We’ll be waiting at the place that you dropped us.”

     “ Copy that. “ Now it was Kai who replied to them.

     “ See you later kids,“  Kharon added, and it was silent again.

     “Let’s look for clothes and get the hell out of here,” Jackson said, and Hyunseung nodded as an answer. 

     The two looked for their clothes and wore them. Hyunseung even summoned his demonic powers back. He didn’t want to walk around with horns and a tail.

     They immediately went out of the building and went far away from there, scared that ghouls would notice them, especially since Hyunseung had possessed the sinner’s soul and the last stage of being a demon. Sure Hyunseung is powerful, but it will be difficult to defeat an army of ghouls with only the two of them.

     When they arrived at the place that they were dropped off of earlier, they waited at the side for Kai to pick them up.

     “Why is he taking so long?” Hyunseung asked, and just when Hyunseung said those words, someone honks, and the two looked at the red car that stopped in front of them.

     “Even though I’m 10 feet away from you, my instincts tell me to fuck you for some reason,” Kai said as he pulled the car window down and looked at Hyunseung and Jackson. The two princes just smiled and entered the car. Kai drove them away from the city and went back to the Ravens’ headquarters as fast as possible.

     When they arrived at the headquarters, they went directly to Tamo’s office before shit happens. As the elevator door opened, the two princes were greeted by their brothers, who were all waiting for their return.

     “Guys!” Suho shouted as he went to his envious and lustful brothers. Hyunseung and Jackson even hugged Suho when they saw him.

     “We weren’t even out of this office for a day,” Hyunseung said with a chuckle.

     “I know, but when we heard Jackson scream, we panicked,” Minhyuk said as he hugged his brothers as well. Then the rest followed and hugged them too.

     “So?” Suho asked as he looked at Hyunseung.

     Hyunseung smirked and showed them his demonic form. Everyone then looked at him, impressed to see how strong and powerful Hyunseung had become just after killing one demon.

     “So this is what a real demon looks like.” Tamo said as he studied Hyunseung in fascination.

     “You can say that again,” Kai said as he stood beside his lover.

     “How do you feel my Prince?” asked Junsu, one of the Souls of Lucifer, as he looked at Hyunseung.

     “I don’t know actually. I feel the same but different at the same time.” Hyunseung answered as he transformed into his normal self again.

     “The difference is that you’re deadlier and scarier. Your pheromones are much stronger, and you can now change into your demonic self that makes all you senses ten times better than any human.” Kharon explained as he looked at the Prince of Lust, “I suggest that you stay here in this office for a while. It will be difficult for us to continue the mission if you can’t suppress your pheromones like last time.” Kharon instructed, and Hyunseung just nodded in understanding.

     “Now let me attend to those wounds Prince Jackson,” Kharon said as he looked at Jackson. Then he went in front of Jackson, and Jackson lifted his top to show him the wounds.

     “How sadistic is that bitch?” Jiyong asked as he looked at the wounds on Jackson’s stomach.

     “I don’t know man, but if Mark saw that, I don’t know what will happen,” Suho added.

     Kharon took the first aid kit and helped clean Jackson’s wounds. It was inconvenient that none of them had healing powers since healing is commonly used by angels, not demons. But good thing demons regenerate faster than humans and angels do.

     “What’s next?” Jackson asked as he looked at Kharon. Kharon shrugged his shoulder and looked at Taeil who was sitting at Tamo’s desk. Since Taeil is now their official plan-maker, Tamo gave him the privilege to use anything that might help him with his duty.

     “I found our second sinner,” Taeil said as he gave Sunggyu the profile of their next target.

     “So how are we going to do this?” Minhyuk asked, ready to get started since he was the next in line.

     Taeil looked at everyone in the room. He then took a deep breath and answered, “We’ll be joining the next frat war.”

     “What?!”

• END -

SDS2 21: MISSION II: THE GLUTTONOUS FIGHTER

• Ok Taecyeon’s POV -

“THIS IS SO FUCKING  good,” I said in delight as I continue to devour the meal in front of me. But as I was eating in peace, someone aggressively knocked on the door, making me angrily stop eating.

     “What is it?!” I said with a furious voice. The door opened, and Tayo – my right-hand ghoul – came inside with a panicked expression.

     “Close the fucking door you useless piece of shit,” I ordered, and he immediately obliged.

     “What the fuck do you want? You know I don’t want to be disturbed when I’m in a feast.” I said as I continued eating.

     “I know, but this matter is something that you should really be concerned about boss.” Tayo seriously stated, but I ignored him and continued eating, blood dripping on the side of my mouth like I was a child sloppily eating ice-cream. Tayo fidgets and took a step closer, “Boss, I think you really have to listen to what I have to say.” 

     “Then tell me straight up or I’ll eat you!” I screamed as I faced him, making Tayo flinch.

     “It’s about Crocell boss,” he quickly answered, and that finally made me stop eating. Tayo nervously looked at me and continued, “She’s dead.”

     “What?!” I angrily shouted, making Tayo flinch again.

     “Nagi called and told me that he found Crocell inside her apartment, dead and soulless,” Tayo explained.

     “Do you think it’s them?” I asked, now serious with the conversation.

     “We’re not sure, but I told the others to stay on guard to be cautious,” Tayo stated.

     “Good. And tell the others to prepare for the frat war as well. What happened to Crocell shouldn’t be a hindrance to us,” I commanded.

     “Yes, boss.” Tayo bowed and left me inside my feeding room.

     “If Crocell is dead, then I’m next. Fuck! I just took this body just recently as well!” I said to myself as I looked at the dead bodies on the floor, “I just lost my appetite,” I said as I went outside my feeding room.

      Oh yeah, I’m Adramelech , but in this realm, I am Ok Taecyeon , leader of the frat Laimargia .

     Being in a frat is very convenient especially after frat wars because I can feed on the dead bodies of the frat we defeated. Well, what do you expect from a glutton like me right?

     Like any other Sinner, half of my frat members are ghouls, and the other half are humans. Why humans? So that people will not notice, and so that I can eat them when we don’t have a frat war. You might think that after knowing Crocell is dead I’ll be scared as hell. Well, you’re fucking wrong. It makes me even more excited than before.

     Whoever they are, I’ll kill them and eat them as gruesome as I can.

• THIRD PERSON’S POV -

“What?!” shouted the 6 brothers in unison when they heard what Taeil - their master planner - had said to them regarding their next mission.

     “Frat war? We’re going to join a frat war?” Minhyuk asked with a worried tone in his voice.

     “Can we kill this guy a little more discretely?” Hyunseung suggested, but Taeil looked back at the computer in front of him and answered,  “Sorry, but this is the only way we can come any closer to Sinner two.” Taeil explained.

     “Okay, but how are we going to join the frat war? We’re not even a frat,” Jiyong asked.

     “Well, we are already a group. And according to my resources, any frat can join,” Taeil assured his brothers, which actually doesn’t make things any better.

     “So what? Are we just gonna barge in and declare war?” Suho asked while scratching the back of his head in confusion.

     “According to my research, the frat war only needs 4 members or more. The leader and the backup.” Taeil stated. When the brothers were now fully listening to him, he continued, “So for the leader, it will be Minhyuk, because he needs to absorb his soul. We only need 3 more excluding me, Hyunseung and Jackson.”

     “Then the only one left is me, Jiyong and Sunggyu?” Suho asked, and Taeil smiled and nodded, “Exactly.”

     “Okay, now that we’re on the frat war, how will we know that the frat we’re up against is the one with the Sinner in it?” Minhyuk asked next.

     “Don’t worry about it. The frat war is as organized as it can be. I applied our group to fight against the frat with Sinner 2 in it.” Taeil stated.

     “And how sure are you that it’s his frat? Huh, smart guy?” Jiyong taunted.

     “The name of the frat is Laimargia,” Taeil said with a smart look on his face.

      “Laimargia?” Sunggyu asked, and everyone looked at each other, hoping to get an answer from what Taeil just said.

     “It means glutton in Greek,” Jackson quickly answered for them, and Taeil snapped his fingers, glad someone knew what it meant.

     “Wow Taeil, I’m impressed. You’re getting good at this kind of stuff.” Suho commented as he patted Taeil’s back, making Taeil smile proudly.

     “Sorry to intrude my Princes’ but may we ask for the sinner’s soul?” Yoochun asked as he went towards Hyunseung and the others.

     “Yes, after all, we haven’t fed on any human soul since we got here,” Junsu added.

     “And you know what happens once we stop feeding.” Jaejoong reminded them.

     “We know,” Jiyong said with a worried tone. Well, who wouldn’t get worried? His fathers’ soul is right in front of them while his father is soulless in hell, and the chance of him dying is much greater.

     Jiyong looked at Hyunseung and nodded his head as a signal. Hyunseung went to the three demonic men and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, and Hyunseung transformed into his demonic self, but without the horns and tail. He then opened his mouth; the same goes to the Souls of Lucifer. Black smoke came out of Hyunseung’s mouth and it traveled to the SOL’s mouth. It went on for a couple of seconds until Hyunseung went back to normal, and the SOLs instantly looked stronger.

     “Thank you, my Prince.” The three demonic men stated, and Hyunseung just smiled and nodded his head as an answer.

     “So how many days will my dad become weak again?” Jiyong asked, filled with concern.

     “A week, because this soul is much stronger compared to any human soul,” Yoochun answered.

     “Well, that’s good to know.” Sunggyu said, then he turned to Taeil and asked, “So when is the frat war?” 

     Taeil looked at his brothers and answered with a mischievous grin, “Tonight.”

---

     Taecyeon and Tayo went outside of their car, people immediately screaming to show their support as soon as they saw him.

     “Kill that fresh meat!”

     “Fuck them up Taecyeon!”

     Taecyeon just ignored the crowd and went inside the arena with an expressionless face. While he was walking, he glanced at Tayo and asked, “Who did you bring?”

     “I only brought 3 strong humans,” Tayo said as he opened the door for Taecyeon.

     “Good, I don’t want to waste my ghouls on a low-class frat,” Taecyeon said as he entered the back area of the arena. Tayo closed the door and Taecyeon sat on the couch. Then Tayo opened the fridge and took a bottle filled with blood and offered it to his boss. Taecyeon took the bottle and drank it like it was just an ordinary water bottle.

     “Who are the fresh meats anyway?” Taecyeon asked as he placed the empty bottle on the table in front of him.

     “A frat group called Checkmate,” Tayo answered as he stood in front of him.

     “Checkmate? Who the fuck are they?” Taecyeon asked, irritated that he will be fighting someone who he has never heard of.

     “They’re a frat group in Korea who defeats the toughest fraternities in Asia, so they’re here to defeat you,” Tayo said as he waited for Taecyeon to answer.

     “As if they can defeat me.” Taecyeon said with confidence, “Low life like them can’t defeat me.” 

     Tayo looked at Taecyeon worriedly, unsure if his boss should be too confident because Tayo definitely had a bad feeling about this.

---

 “Hey Minhyuk, you ready for this?” Sunggyu asked before patting Minhyuk’s back. 

     Minhyuk, who was getting ready for the frat war with Sinner 2, didn’t look back at their leader as he answered, “I think I am. By the way, is Kharon already on standby?”

     “He is,” Suho answered, and Minhyuk sighed heavily. Suho noticed Minhyuk’s distress. He looked at his brother and assured him, “Don’t worry dude, whatever happens there, Kharon will help us.”

     “But this is different from what Hyunseung and Jackson did,” Minhyuk reminded them, and Jiyong agreed and added, “Yup, we’ll be facing a lot of civilians. Even the people we’ll be defeating are humans. If we end up hurting them, shit will go down.” 

     Suho glared at Jiyong, mad that he wasn’t helping with helping ease Minhyuk’s worry.

     “Just concentrate on the Sinner. We’ll handle the rest,” Suho stated instead, and Sunggyu draped his arm on Minhyuk and added, “Stick to the plan and you’ll be fine.”

     “Ladies and Gentleman, are you ready for the war!” the MC shouted from outside their waiting room.

     “Hey, it’s starting. Let’s go,” Suho instructed. Minhyuk stood up and faced his brothers, then he placed his hands in front of him, and the 3 brothers looked at each other. Suho smiled and placed his hands over Minhyuk. Sunggyu just shrugged and did the same, and Jiyong just sighed and did what his brothers were doing.

     “For Dad.“Minhyuk said as he looked at Jiyong, and Jiyong smiled and repeated, “For Dad,” and then they pulled away from each other. Even though they’re demons, they’re still humans. They are still emotionally attached to their parents.

     “. ..are you ready for the war! “ the MC shouted and the crowd shouted back.

     “Now for our participants in tonight’s frat war,” the MC started, and the crowd screamed even louder, “The group that came all the way to Korea, a group that challenges the biggest and baddest fraternities in all Asia. Korea’s pride… CHECKMATE!” 

    As soon as the MC finished his intro for the Demons, the four sons walked towards the arena. The people booed and started saying shit like, “ Just go back to your country, “ or “ You won’t last a minute kids “, and even, “ Taecyeon will eat you up “. A rookie would have been worried by now, but the Demons entered the arena with an expressionless face.

     “Now for the next group.” The MC stated and everyone was already screaming and cheering.

     “The undefeated group since they entered the frat war. A group that is heartless and fearless, a group that brings havoc to its path! Laimargia!!” the MC finished, and Taecyeon and his boys went to the arena, and people just kept on cheering and screaming.

     The two frats went face to face and started glaring at each other. Jiyong even smirked. He was more excited than afraid.

     “Okay, okay. Before things get heated as it is,” the MC said as he went between the two groups.

      “The rules: anything goes. Any weapons are allowed except for bombs. And the war will only stop if all of the members are wounded or dead.” The MC looked at the two frats and neither of them flinched.

     “So… Are you ready!?” the MC screamed and so did the crowd.

      Now the battle begins. The battle between the Princes’ of Hell and a Sinner with his human pawns. Honestly, if you asked me, the Demons had the upper hand, but then again, the Demons had to be cautious. They didn’t want to go overboard and accidentally kill the other humans.

     “LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!” the MC shouted, and a siren sound was heard, a signal that the battle had finally started.

     “Game time,” Minhyuk stated as he looked at Taecyeon and his frat. The enemy was taunting them with their guns and knives, but the demons weren’t fazed. Sunggyu looked at his brothers and nodded his head, signaling them to make their first move.

     Minhyuk smirked and summoned his weapon, everyone else doing the same. The crowd and even Taecyeon and his group looked at them with shock and confusion.

     “ Checkmate just made this war a magic show everyone. They magically popped out deadly weapons! “ The MC commentated.

      Taecyeon didn’t want to be fazed, so he clenched his fist and angrily looked at the Demons, “Let’s go!” he commanded, and he and his frat ran over them.

     “Suho, Jiyong, do whatever you can to knock down the humans in the left. I’ll handle the one on the right.” Sunggyu instructed.

     “Got it.” Jiyong and Suho answered, and they dashed towards the two humans that Sunggyu instructed them to attack. The two Demons easily tackled the humans as they collapsed on the floor and hit their heads using the handle of their weapons. Taecyeon was so shocked by what happened. Everything happened so fast like a wind passed beside him and two of his members were already down.

     “Minhyuk, you handle the dazed Sinner!” Sunggyu shouted as he looked at Minhyuk while running towards his opponent.

     “Roger that!” Minhyuk shouted back.

     Sunggyu went to the last human and Minhyuk went towards the Sinner.

     “I can’t believe it, folks. 2 of Taecyeon’s members are already down and bleeding.” The MC said, and the crowd was just as shocked as Taecyeon was.

     “Who the fuck are these people?!” Taecyeon cursed. He miserably dodged a swing from Minhyuk’s sword, causing him to stumble.

     “Your worst nightmare,” Minhyuk answered for him as he cornered the Sinner to the wall. Then he smirked and showed him his red eyes. 

     Taecyeon’s eyes widened from shock. Sunggyu, Suho, and Jiyong already neutralized their enemies, so they went to Minhyuk and did the same thing. They showed them their red eyes and Taecyeon was already sweating, hard.

      “I can’t believe it. The undefeated frat will be defeated by the newbies!” the MC stated.

     “H-how did you find me?” Taecyeon asked as he chocked on his saliva.

     “That doesn’t matter now sinner. Your overconfidence is making me feel like you should be the sinner of pride instead. As the prince of gluttony, I am very disappointed in you. Your attitude is in need of a punishment!” Minhyuk raised his weapon and was about to hit Taecyeon, but Taecyeon swung his own weapon first. The Demons backed away, making a space for Taecyeon to escape on.

     “The leader of Laimargia swung his weapon and escaped Checkmate.” The MC narrated again.

     “Where the fuck is Tayo?!” Taecyeon shouted as he ran for his life.

      “Are you referring to your ghoul?” Jiyong said as he was already in front of the Sinner.

     “Wow, did you see that folks? Did he run faster than Taecyeon or did he just teleport himself?” the MC announced and the crowd was once again speechless.

      “We just asked our guardian to handle him,” Suho stated. Then he looked at where Kharon was located. Kharon lifted his hands and Taecyeon’s eyes widen from surprise. Kharon was holding the head of his ghoul Tayo, and then he set the head on fire like it was nothing.

     “Running is over. It’s time for you to die.” Minhyuk said as he raised his weapon again.

     “If you kill me now, the other Sinners will be aware of our death and they will be on guard. But if you let me live I can help you attack from the shadows. Please, I will give my service to you…m-my prince,” Taecyeon begged to the princes who are standing in front of him.

      Sunggyu looked at Suho and Suho looked at Jiyong and of course, Jiyong looked at his brother Minhyuk. Minhyuk looked at them and simply smiled, then the rest nodded. The Demons then looked at the Sinner with a serious expression.

     “Sorry, but we don’t need your help,” Suho stated.

     “And who cares if the other Sinners will be prepared. Our plans and abilities will not falter. That we are sure of,” Jiyong said with a prideful tone.

     “No, say hello to your friend in the abyss for us.” Sunggyu finished, and without any warning, Minhyuk slashed the Sinner across his chest.

     Taecyeon screamed as he choked on his own blood. Then Minhyuk stabbed the Sinner in his heart as blood started dripping from his body. As Minhyuk pulled his sword out of the Sinners body, the arena was quiet, and Kharon took the opportunity to stop time while everyone was distracted.

     “You know what to do Minhyuk.”

     Minhyuk nodded his head and went to the Sinner’s body. Like Hyunseung, he opened Taecyeon’s mouth, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes again, revealing his blood red eyes.

     “ I, the Prince of Glutton, the second son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keeper to be transferred to me in the name of Beelzebub. “ As he finished the chant, a dark smoke came out from the sinner’s mouth and traveled to his own mouth. Once the soul was transferred to him, Minhyuk took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

      The 3 Princes’ gathered in front of Minhyuk, and as Minhyuk opened his eyes, Kharon made time move again.

     “I can’t believe it, Laimargia’s leader is dead! The undefeated frat is now defeated!!” the MC stated, and the people now cheered and screamed at last.

     “Our new champions!! CHECKMATE!!”

     Minhyuk looked at his brothers and they saw the transformation itself. Minhyuk’s eyes became bloodier as if actual blood will drip from his eyes. And his aura became a lot more powerful that if the crowd becomes silent, people could actually hear his aura breathing.

     Sunggyu looked at his 2 brothers and smiled and nodded his head. They are 2 steps closer in defeating the King.

     “Hey Sunggyu, after this can we eat? I am really starving.” Minhyuk said as he rubbed his stomach.

     The three brothers laughed.

     “Don’t worry Minhyuk, I’ll treat you to an all-you-can-eat buffet and you can eat anything you want,” Sunggyu said as the man hugged his brother, so did Suho and Jiyong.

     The MC went towards them, and luckily Minhyuk was back to normal. But not the HUMAN normal, but the DEMON disguising as a HUMAN normal because right not, that is what Minhyuk is ( And also Hyunseung ). They are not half-humans and half-demons anymore. They’re already full-blown DEMONS of hell.

     The MC gave Sunggyu the trophy and everyone cheered. After the quick ceremony, the Princes went out of the ring as the people who booed them earlier were now cheering for them. Kharon waited at the exit of the arena, and once he saw the Princes, he went towards them. Without saying a word, Kharon teleported to Tamo’s office. The sons looked at each other and followed their guardian.

AT THE RAVENS’ HEADQUARTERS

     “If that trophy is not an indication that you won, then I don’t know shit anymore,” Hyunseung said as he went towards his brothers and mentor. He then hugged his best friend and looked at him.

      “Damn Minhyuk, I never realized that you’re that handsome,” Hyunseung stated, making Minhyuk chuckle.

     “If killing the Sinners will make me look like that, I might as well go directly to the seventh Sinner,” Jiyong said as he sat beside Jackson, tired from the fight a few minutes ago.

     “You could if you want to die,” Jackson said with a serious expression, and the Demon brothers laughed.

     “Oh Jaejoong, do you need the soul?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at the three demonic men.

     “Yes, it would be better so that even if we delayed the next mission, Lucifer will have the strength to get through another week. He will be informed that you succeeded in killing two of the Sinners too,” Jaejoong said, and Minhyuk nodded his head.

     “Taeil, you can tell them the next plan while I transfer the Sinners soul to the Souls of Lucifer,” Minhyuk instructed, and Taeil nodded as an answer. The remaining Princes went towards to Taeil to listen to the next plan.

     “So what’s next?” Suho asked, eager that it’s his turn to kill a Sinner now.

     “We need to wait for Kai and Tamo first,” Taeil stated while typing something on Tamo’s computer.

     “Why is that?” Sunggyu asked, and just in time, Kai and Tamo went inside the office. Taeil immediately stopped what he was doing and looked back at the two. 

     “So, how was it?” Taeil asked while Tamo and Kai approached him.

     Tamo scratched the back of his head and answered, “You’re right. That bitch knows how to fucking pickpocket. Kai’s a thief himself, but none of us noticed him.”

     “Huh? What do you mean?” Minhyuk asked as he now joined his brothers.

     “Taeil here asked us to walk around the shopping district near the building,” Tamo stated, and then Kai went forward and continued, “And for fuck’s sake, we were just walking when a guy suddenly bumped into me. Seconds later my wallet was gone and he replaced it with this fucking wood.” He explained while showing the wood to the Princes, the SOLs, and Kharon.

     “So what about it?” Jiyong asked, confused about what the purpose of this was.

     “It means that our next Sinner is not even 10 feet away from this building,” Taeil stated as he showed them the computer screen. The computer screen showed a map of the area where the headquarters is. And in that area, there was a blinking red dot.

     “That my brothers…” Taeil pointed, “Is the location of our next Sinner.” 

     “Damn Taeil, you are really getting better at this,” Sunggyu told his brother, and Taeil smiled with a proud look plastered on his face.

     “So what’s the plan? Do we just ambush him?” Jackson asked.

     Taeil looked at the second most powerful son and said, “Nope. To make it more exciting, we’re going to illusion the fuck out of him.”

• END -

SDS2 22: MISSION III: THE GREEDY RUNNER

• Lee Jongsuk’s POV -

THE SHOPPING DISTRICT. MY turf, my kingdom, and my source of income. As I scan the area, I saw 2 unaware men walking towards my direction. One was wearing a suit and tie with a coat, while the other one was wearing casual clothes.

      “Kei, Rei.” I called my 2 ghouls, “Distract the two men and I’ll do the rest.” I ordered, and they quickly obliged.

     Kei and Rei went towards the two men and distracted them by offering to look at some products. I scanned the male who was wearing casual clothes and saw that his wallet was at the back of his pants. I took a piece of wood and went towards them. Then I ’ accidentally ’ bumped into him, and with my fast hands, I took the wallet and replaced it with the piece of wood.

     “ Gomen’nasai, “ I said as I bowed down and walked away from him. Kei and Rei followed me after and we immediately went to one of our hideouts.

     “Look at that money,” I said as I was staring at the wallet. Then I looked at Kei and Rei. They just looked at me with a sad smile, which ruined my celebratory mood completely.

     “What’s wrong?” I asked them.

     “Crocell and Adramelech are dead.” Rei suddenly answered.

     “And also Tayo, Adramelech’s ghoul,” Kei added. I slumped down on the wall and looked at them.

     “What’s the plan Jongsuk?” Rei and Kei asked in unison.

     “Let’s just be cautious for now. Battling Adramelech will at least wound them badly compared to Crocell. So it will give us a lot of time to plan.” I said, and my two ghouls nodded.

      Before we start, let me introduce myself. I’m Astaroth , but in this world, I’m Lee Jongsuk and I am the infamous criminal here in the shopping district that’s well-known in Tokyo. If I need to brag, nobody knows who I am because I move like the wind and disappear in the shadows. And if they do happen to know me, well, I’ll just have to take another body. Like I always do.

• THIRD PERSON POV - 

“Illusion cast him?” Suho asked, and everyone quickly looked at Jackson - the only demon inside the room who could perform such a complex power.

     “I need to see the person before I illusion cast him though.” Jackson pointed out.

     “I know, that’s why we placed a GPS in Kai’s wallet,” Taeil explained, and Hyunseung scratched his chin and asked further, “So how are we going to catch him? Just follow him?” 

     “Since Sinner three is a demon from the Greed Realm…” Taeil looked at Suho and continued “You and Jackson will walk the streets as rich-looking as possible. And once I tell you that the person is the Sinner, illusion cast him as fast as you can with Suho, and Kharon will again stop the time so that people would not be weirded out about what you’re going to do next.” Taeil explained.

NOTE:

When Jackson casts an illusion on someone, he and the person being cast will be staring blankly at each other, that’s why people might be weirded out, or even move their bodies, causing the illusion to break.

     “Okay, but how about his ghoul? How can we deal with that? I bet they already warned him of our arrival too,” Minhyuk reminded them.

     “Yeah, the second sinner was warned about us and we just pulled it off because we concealed ourselves,” Sunggyu added, and then Suho joined the conversation and said, “And we got lucky that it was humans that we were battling with, not ghouls.”

     “Kharon battled the Sinner’s ghoul for you guys though.” Hyunseung pointed out.

     “Kharon, how many ghouls does this Sinner even have?” Taeil asked, and the rest of the Princes, the SOL’s and Tamo & Kai looked at Kharon the third, waiting for the answer.

     “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll be with Prince Suho and Prince Jackson so that I can scan the area before we commence the plan,” Kharon answered.

     “We need to be there as well, just to be safe,” Sunggyu added, and the sons nodded as an answer.

     The SOLs also told them that they’re ready to be of use if the sons ever need anything. The same goes for Kai who was thankful for what they did to him. The least he, and even his lover Tamo, could do is assist the Demons and give them the resources that they need.

     The Demons were thankful for the help that they were receiving. But at the same time, Kai’s words reminded them of the Arcs, and the atmosphere immediately changed because of that. So Jiyong cleared his throat and told everyone, “Alright, no need to treat us like actual princes.”

     “Don’t worry, we’re not. Even though it’s your mission, assisting you is not a way for us to show that we respect you as princes. We’re here to help for the betterment of this world, which is enough reason for us to do what we do,” Kharon said as he looked at his now kids.

     The brothers looked at each other and smiled, no really grateful for everyone in the room.

     “Then let’s finish this together and kill that fucking king,” Suho said enthusiastically, and everyone looked at each other and raised their fists high, “yeah!”

---

Jackson and Suho walked the streets of Tokyo, and yes, like what Taeil had instructed, they wore clothes that made them look rich. Technically they just had to copy Jiyong’s style and act like a total douche. They did it to insult him, but the prince of pride took it as a compliment.

     “ Jackson, Suho. Can you hear me?“  Taeil asked through their earpiece.

     “Yeah,” Jackson answered. “Loud and clear,” Suho added.

      “ Good. Our guardian and the Souls of Lucifer are already at their position, “ Taeil stated, and Jackson and Suho looked at the building at their right and saw 4 figures standing at the rooftop watching them.

     “ Tamo and Kai are waiting in the car, “ Taeil then added.

      “How about our brothers?” Suho asked as he pretended to look at some stuff from the windows of the stores so that he can blend in.

      “ Hyunseung and Minhyuk are 7 feet in front of you, and Sunggyu and Jiyong are just behind you. But don’t look, people might notice them hiding. “ 

     Jackson nodded and looked at Suho and asked, “You ready?”

     “I am, but I’m a little nervous.” Suho honestly answered as he fixed his clothes. He looked uneasy, so Jackson patted Suho’s back and assured him, “Don’t worry, it will be worth it afterward.” 

     The two rich-looking sons walked the streets as if they owned it. They kept on going inside branded stores and would even stop to look at their expensive phones, just to lure in the Sinner. Kharon and the SOL’s followed them by going from roof to roof. Tamo and Kai did their best to stay in incognito, and the rest of the Demons followed their brothers in sync with their movements.

     “ Guys, the Sinner is near your location. “

     When Taeil said those words, the two Princes immediately stopped, and so did the rest. Jackson scanned the area and saw 3 males on the side of the store. Jackson was about to do an illusion cast, but Taeil stopped him from doing so.

     “ It’s too early Jackson. Many people will be in the illusion if you do it in that range, “ Taeil explained, and Jackson nodded and realized the risk that Taeil was pointing out.

     “ Proceed with the plan, “ Taeil ordered.

     “Alright.”

     “ Kharon, how many? “ Taeil then asked. It was silent for a couple of seconds before someone finally answered, “ Two. “

     “Only two?” Suho asked again, just to be sure.

     “ Yes, Kharon’s right. It a male and female ghoul, “ Junsu explained further.

     “ Don’t worry about anything you two,   we’ll handle the 2 ghouls. We’ll do everything we can to give you time, “ Sunggyu added on the other line.

     “Then let’s go,” Jackson said to Suho, and everybody, even Kai and Tamo, nodded their heads even though no one was going to see it. The two Princes were walking towards the Sinner and his ghoul. And as expected, the two ghouls went in front of them.

     “ Just like what happened to us, “ Kai whispered to Tamo, afraid that the sinner would hear him even if they were far away from them.

     “ Be ready Jackson, the next person will be the Sinner. “ Tamo alerted Jackson. And as Tamo warned them, a guy went beside Jackson. With months of hard-core training, Jackson immediately grabbed hold of the Sinners’ hand. The Sinner was shocked, so were his ghouls. While the ghouls were dazed, Suho pushed them away from them and shouted, “NOW!“And without hesitation, Kharon stopped the time. 

     Suho quickly grabbed hold to Jackson’s hand, and he and the Sinner were now inside the illusion that Jackson had made. The ghouls were on the ground and confused at what happened, but they finally got a clue when they saw the eyes of the two rich people .  It was red; bloody-red. It was no doubt an eye color of a strong Demon.

      “No way.” Kei said with shock while he and the other ghoul was down on the floor thanks to Suho pushing them earlier, “We need to pull Jongsuk away from them.” He then instructed. 

     Rei stood up and was about to grab Jongsuk’s shoulder, but a hand appeared and grabbed hold of her arms instead to stop him.

     “What the hell?” Rei looked at the owner of the arms. And soon as she did, hers and Kei’s eyes widened as they saw that four men were guarding Jackson, Suho, and Jongsuk.

     “We don’t want anybody interrupting them,” Sunggyu said as he pushed Rei away. She stumbled back, but Kei quickly caught her before she could fall.

     “How did you find us?” Kei asked as he looked at the Demons, fear present in his eyes.

     “Connections.” Jiyong simply answered as he smirked.

     “You can’t defeat us, especially that two of my brothers are already real demons,” Sunggyu tells them.  Rei and Kei looked at Hyunseung and Minhyuk. And without any warning, the two showed them their demon self with the horns and tail.

     “Even though you have two demons, we can still kill you,” Kei dared to say.

     “Yeah? You and what army?” Jiyong fired back, not expecting anything from the ghouls But as soon as Jiyong said those words, ghouls appeared out of nowhere. In the alleyways, in the roof, and even in the sewers. And then a man appeared in the distance, a man that Hyunseung knows.

     “Nagi,” Kharon said from above the roof of a building.

     “So you didn’t kill him huh?” Jaejoong asked as he looked at Kharon, and Kharon didn’t look nor answer Jaejoong.

      “Well if that’s the case…” Jaejoong looked at the two Souls of Lucifer, and they nodded and jumped off the building. The 3 Souls of Lucifer landed in front of the Princes and said, “We will do our best to neutralize the ghouls.”

     “Okay, we will attack everyone that goes near Jackson and Suho,” Sunggyu added, and the Demons nodded as an answer. They then summoned their weapons to get ready for the battle.

     “Let’s go,” Jaejoong ordered, then the three SOL’s vanished. But then the Demons noticed that the ghouls were falling one by one like they were being attacked by an invisible force.

     “Let’s go, brothers!” Minhyuk shouted, and everybody attacked the ghouls that were in front of them. Hyunseung and Minhyuk attacked Rei and Kei because they were the only ones who can defeat them. Then the rest attacked the lower ghouls.

     “Where’s Nagi?” Hyunseung asked as he tried to dodge an attack from Rei.

     “I don’t know,” Minhyuk replied as he strikes Kei in the chest.

MEANWHILE…

     In the rooftop where Kharon was watching the mayhem, someone appeared behind the phoenix and approached him in silence. Kharon didn’t even look back as he asked, “King’s orders I suppose?”

      “Even though I made a pack with you the Third, I still got my previous orders from the King. Both of us know we can’t disobey that,” Nagi explained.

     Kharon finally looked at him and asked, “Is that all the ghouls Crocell has?”

     Nagi looked at all the ghouls who were fighting the Demons and answered, “Yes.”

     “Then you have no more orders to follow, and the only orders you need to follow now are mine,” Kharon said with authority in his voice, and Nagi bowed his head as an answer.

     Kharon looked back at the battle that was taking place below them. And as Nagi waited, Kharon took a deep breath and told him, “Go and do what I ordered you to do. And remember, my princes have worked hard for their plan to be a success. I will not tolerate any form of failure from a mere ghoul like you.”

     “Yes, the Third.” 

     With that said, Nagi vanished and Kharon looked back at the chaos that was happening below the building that he was on. He lifted his hand, and one by one, the ghoul’s screamed in agony.

BACK TO THE ILLUSION…

     “Where the fuck am I?” Jongsuk asked himself as he saw that he was in the middle of an enormous maze, “How did I get here?” he continued to ask as he looked at his surroundings, “One moment I was at the shopping district doing my thing, now I’m here in this fucking maze?!” 

    Jongsuk looked confused and terrified at the same time. But while he was looking around and trying not to panic, someone suddenly talked in a very loud and voice, “ Good, you’re awake. “

     “Who the fuck are you?!“Jongsuk shouted as he looked at his surroundings.

     “ Should we tell him, brother? “

     “ I guess we should. After all, he’s going to die anyway. “ A new voice answered.

     When Jongsuk heard about the last statement, his eyes widened, and with no hesitation, he quickly ran away. But before he could get too far, chains were suddenly chasing him. The chains eventually caught him, then it pulled him back at the center of the maze and shackled him in place.

     “You’re not allowed to move yet,” said Jackson as he and Suho were finally in front of the chained Sinner.

     Jongsuk saw the two men. He was shocked to find out that the two men that were in front of him were none other than the Princes of hell. Jackson and Suho looked down on the Sinner with their eyes red as blood and aura as dark as the night.

     “You’re the Betrayers,” Jongsuk said as he looked at the two men in front of him.

     “Betrayers?” Suho asked back, looking at Jackson who just shrugged his shoulders.

     “Maybe that’s what they call us in hell now.” Suho pointed out, and they looked back at the chained Sinner again. Jackson and Suho knelt in front of Jongsuk, and Jongsuk looked at them straight in the eyes.

     “Since we’re already betrayers…” Suho stated, “Then there’s no problem if we kill you.”

     “But we’ll make this a little fun.” Jackson then added. and just like that, Suho and Jackson vanished in thin air, and Jongsuk was not chained up anymore.

     “ Since you made this so fucking easy for us, we’ll give you ten seconds to run as fast as you can as a head start. “ Suho’s voice explained, making Jongsuk’s heart start beating faster than normal.

     “ And after that, I’ll chase after you. But don’t worry, my brother will not tell me where you are. “ Suho explained further, but then he chuckled as he continued, “ But I’m not sure if my brother here will not intervene with our chase though. “ 

     When Suho finished, starving lions suddenly appeared. The lions looked at the Sinner. They growled and ran towards him, making the Sinner finally start running as fast as he could through the maze.

     “ Run as fast as you can little rabbit, “ Jackson said with a smirk.

     Jackson and Suho were above the maze and could see that the Sinner was running for his life, not knowing that the lions had already disappeared. But for the Sinner, there are still lions chasing after him.

     “He’s cautious,” Suho said with worry in his tone.

     “Don’t worry about it, I’ll make him go to you,” Jackson stated to assure his brother.

     “You ready?” Jackson asked, and Suho nodded as an answer. In a snap of Jackson’s finger, Suho was in the middle of the maze with his weapon at hand.

     Jongsuk moved inside the maze with caution. Before he makes a turn, he checks it before moving forward. As he moved forward, Jongsuk saw a tail of a lion, so he backed away instantly as quietly as he could. On the other hand, Suho moved without caution because he knew that nothing is inside the maze except for him and the Sinner. And Jackson is also doing everything he can to lure the little rabbit to the real hungry lion, Suho.

     Jongsuk was about to make a turn, but suddenly he heard a roar of a lion on the corner of the maze, and without any second thought, he ran away from that sound. Suho did the opposite. He went towards the sound as fast as he could.

     Jongsuk was about to make a turn, but he immediately stopped as soon as he saw Suho now in front of him.

     “Finally caught you little rabbit,” Suho said as he swung his sledgehammer-like weapon. But the Sinner dodged it as fast as he could. He lost his balance for a second and ran away from Suho again. Suho chased the Sinner, and Jackson once again manipulated the illusion. The Sinner and Suho were running, but not in the maze anymore. Instead, they were in a never-ending alleyway.

     Suho was right behind him, and when he was inches away from the Sinner, Jackson snapped his fingers, making a wall suddenly appear in front of them.

     Jongsuk stopped because he has nowhere to run anymore, and Suho was 5 feet away from him. When Suho was now close enough, Jackson snapped his fingers for the third time, and now, Jongsuk, Suho, and Jackson were inside an enclosed room.

     “That’s not fucking fair,” Jongsuk said as he looked at the Demons who were in front of him.

     “Yeah, we know.” Suho said as he coolly rested his weapon on his shoulder, “But we’re already betrayers so why not go all out.” He added.

     Jongsuk just looked at the two Demons, trying to think of something that could help him escape.

     “I won’t beg for mercy.” Jongsuk bravely told them, making Jackson and Suho look at each other before looking back at Jongsuk.

     “We don’t care if you beg or cry for mercy because we are not merciful.” Suho taunted. Right after he said those words to him, the surroundings changed again. But this time, it was a place that the sinner was familiar with.

     “Welcome to the Abyss,” Jackson said with a grin.

     Jongsuk gulped and clenched his fist. He was about to make a run for it, but he was stuck in his place. He looked down on his feet. His eyes widened when he saw his fellow sinners lying on the floor while his ankles were chained by rusted chains.

     “This place is a bit fitting to someone who will be thrown in here after he dies, right?” Suho asked Jackson as he went towards the Sinner who couldn’t contain his panic any longer.

     “Say your prayers Sinner,” Suho said as he raised his weapon, “if someone would even listen.” 

     Suho lifted his hammer-like weapon and got ready to smash Jongsuk’s head. The sinner didn’t even scream or struggle. It’s as if he had already accepted his fate. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The action made Suho stop midway. When Jongsuk realized that he was still alive, he immediately opened his eyes back. But to his surprise, he wasn’t in the abyss anymore. Instead, he was standing in front of an open meadow.

    For a while, he felt free.

    “ Greed takes you places, but most of the time it’s nowhere pretty. We heard you don’t usually kill your targets. You only do so when it’s necessary. You are the sinner of greed, but not wanting to take a life was beyond our expectations. So as your prince, let me give you my final present. “ Suho’s voice stated.

     The sinner was left speechless. He almost cried, but that was a feeling that the King did not gift them. So the only thing Jongsuk could do was bow his head and say, “Thank you.”

    Seconds later, everything just stopped.

BACK IN THE REAL WORLD…

     “Good thing the Souls of Lucifer are here to help us,” Hyunseung said as he wiped the blood and sweat on his face.

     While Jackson, Suho, and the Sinner were busy in the world that Jackson created, the rest of the Demons, Kharon, and the Souls of Lucifer were busy killing the ghouls that appeared.

     “I hope everything is okay there,” Hyunseung said with worry in his voice before slashing another ghoul who was running towards him.

     Jiyong, who was right behind him, pierced his scepter on the ground, making a strong enough impact that would make the surrounding ghouls fall. He then looked over his shoulder and answered Hyunseung, “Don’t worry. Jackson is a strong demon. His illusions have not failed us yet.”

     The demons continued with their battle for a minute longer. It was too easy for them so it wasn’t too much of an obstacle to anyone. Soon after that, the ghouls were no more, and Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer ended up cleaning the streets. Meaning: set the ghouls on fire.

     The rest of the Demons went to where Jackson, Suho, and the Sinner was standing. they observed their motionless body in silence. But as they were watching them, the Sinner started spewing blood from his mouth, making the demons move away from them.

     Jackson and Suho came back to the real world and pulled away from the Sinner who fell on the ground with a thud.

     The demons looked at each other. And when they saw that neither Jackson nor Suho were harmed, they immediately ran to them

     “You fucking did it!” Minhyuk shouted with enthusiasm in his voice.

     “Yeah, we did,” Jackson said as he looked at Suho, then both of them did a fist bump.

     As the Demons were celebrating, Kharon - who finished cleaning up the ghouls - went to them and said, “My Princes, we need to go.” 

     Everyone nodded their head in understanding. Kharon went to Jongsuk’s body and grabbed it before teleporting themselves back to the headquarters. As soon as they disappeared from where they were standing, time started again.

     When the demons appeared at the office, Taeil immediately stood up from his seat and shouted, “Good job guys!” 

     “Yes, Good job my Princes.” Kharon praised the Demons. He then placed Jongsuk’s body on the floor and looked back at Suho. He didn’t have to say anything for Suho to understand what he has to do next.

     He went to the Sinner’s body and opened his mouth. He took a deep breath and transformed himself into a half-demon and chanted, “ I, the Prince of Greed, the third son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keeper to be transferred to me in the name of Mammon “, after that, black smoke appeared from the Sinner’s mouth and it transferred to Suho. Suho took a deep breath once again, and like Hyunseung, his eyes became black, his aura darkened, and a horn and tail appeared.

    Suho pulled away from the Sinner’s soulless body and took a deep breath. “So this is what you guys feel,” Suho said to his full-demon brothers.

     “I’m so fucking excited to possess that much power!” Jiyong said with enthusiasm in his voice.

     “Don’t worry Jiyong, you’ll get your turn.” Sunggyu stated as he patted Jiyong’s shoulder, “But for now, our tactician is next,” he continued before looking back at Taeil. 

     “So what’s the plan?” Jiyong asked as he stood beside Taeil to drape his arm around his shoulder.

     Taeil looked at his brothers and answered, “Before I tell you the plan, we need to wait for Tamo and Kai.” 

     Everyone looked at Taeil with their right eyebrow raised.

     “What? I’ve been sitting in that chair for 3 days straight without proper sleep. I need to prepare my body for the battle,” Taeil said as he pushed Jiyong’s arm away so he could stretch his body.

     “Yeah, Taeil’s right. We’ve been doing this for almost a week now and we need to rest until Tamo and Kai arrive.” Hyunseung agreed as he sat on the couch with the rest of the Demons.

     “I guess you’re right. We do need to rest a little bit.” Sunggyu finally said as he sat on the floor beside Jiyong.

     Taeil kept on stretching and suddenly remembered something, “Oh yeah, Kharon, why didn’t you kill the first Sinner’s ghoul?” Taeil asked while looking at their guardian.

     The Demons and the Souls of Lucifer looked at Kharon who was standing in front of them. Kharon sat on the opposite couch and crossed his legs. He then looked at them seriously and answered, “Because something very problematic came up that might just change everything that we’ve accomplished so far.”

• END -

SDS2 23: THE SECRET

“WE’RE GOING TO JAPAN.”

     Park Dong Min told that to the Arcs days ago, and now the Arcs are currently training in a place of peace; in the mountains. Even though they were training day and night, they still didn’t know the reason why they were doing so because Dongmin never told them about what they’re doing there in the first place.

     “Damn, this is tiring,” Sungjae said as he sat down on the ground and wiped his sweaty brows.

     “Yeah, we’ve been training hard since the day we arrived here in Japan,” said Woohyun as he sat beside Sungjae.

     Mark, who was practicing his sword swings, stopped and looked at their leader who was punching a sack of soil, “Why do you think our guardian made us train here Junhyung?” he asked him.

     Junhyung gave out one final punch on the sack before looking back at his brother, “I don’t know, but let’s just do what our guardian asked us to do.”

     “Yeah, and its been a while since we followed directions blindly,” Lay added.

     The Arcs took a break and sat on the floor to meditate. Jihoon, who went inside their temporary Holy Home to get some water, went back to his brothers and announced, “Dongmin called for us.”

     Everyone immediately opened their eyes and looked back at the angel.

     “Why?” Seunghyun asked.

     Jihoon looked at them seriously and answered, “We have a visitor.”

     The Arcs immediately stood up from the floor and went inside their home. When they arrived in the living room, they were surprised to see a tall man standing in front of their guardian. With one look, the angels already knew what it was. The Arcs got ready to summon their weapon, but Dongmin immediately stopped them, “It’s okay,” he told them.

     “How is this okay?!” Junhyung angrily asked, “A ghoul had entered the holy home and you’re just standing there doing nothing!” Junhyung shouted. He looked at the Arcs, and they nodded in agreement. 

     Junhyung was ready to run towards the ghoul, but Dongmin immediately looked at him straight in the eye, making him unable to move.

     “What the-”

     “I told you, it’s okay. When will you kids learn to listen?” Dongmin asked before taking a seat with a glass of wine at hand. He took a sip and blinked, immediately releasing Junhyung from his hold.

     “Show them your mark,” Dongmin said to the ghoul who was standing in front of them. The ghoul nodded his head and looked at the demons before lifting his shirt to show them the said mark.

     Junhyung’s eyes widened as he said, “Is that a-”

    “Phoenix symbol,” Seunghyun continued.

     “This is Nagi. Kharon the third sent him here,” Dongmin explained, calming the seven brothers.

     “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princes of Heaven,” Nagi said as he bowed down to show respect to the Arcs.

     “Uhm, yeah, it’s nice to meet you too…Nagi,” Mark said awkwardly as the Arcs bowed back.

     When the problem was now settled, Dongmin gestured Nagi to sit on the couch opposite him. When Nagi took a seat, the Arcs went behind their guardian who immediately asked, “The reason why you’re here concerns the Demons, am I correct?” 

     Junhyung and the rest of the Arcs almost flinched by the mere mention of the Demons. They wanted to ask more, but the seriousness on Nagi’s face made everyone fall silent.

A FEW HOURS LATER

“This is bullshit!” Seunghyun shouted as he punched a punching bag as hard as he can with his bare hands, causing his knuckles to ache.

     “Seunghyun, you need to relax,” Lay calmly stated, but he threw knives on the target in front of him as hard as he could to the point where he destroyed the target. His aggressive action contradicted what he was telling his brother.

     “This situation is…” Woohyun couldn’t even finish his sentence, and the Arcs knew why.

    Since everyone was acting off, Seunghyun decided to take a break. They stopped their training and gathered together to discuss what was revealed to them not too long ago.

     “Whether we go there or not, it’s still bound to happen,” Lay said with a tone of disbelief. He didn’t want to believe what Nagi just told them, but they also knew that there was nothing they could do if it did happen.

     “But we can’t just do nothing. I mean, we still have to try,” Sungjae suggested. He looked at his brothers, but none of them looked at him. All of them, even Junhyung - their leader - didn’t look at his brother because he knew that nothing will happen, whether they do something or not.

     “You got to be kidding me,” Sungjae said in disbelief.

     “Sorry, Sungjae. Even though we could think of a way to help, it’s just that-” Seunghyun didn’t continue his thoughts because he really can’t. The shock was too much for him.

     As everyone remained silent, Junhyung took a deep breath and looked at his brothers, “I know that what Nagi said…shocked us,” Junhyung stated, “But we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Sungjae’s right. We have to at least try.” 

     The Arcs looked unsure, so Junhyung continued, “We still need to try. We might not know who it would exactly be, but it’s still better to try and prevent it than watch it happen while doing nothing.” Junghyung explained further, trying to convince his brothers.

     “What do you want us to do then?” Woohyun asked his leader.

     “You know that we can’t go to Hell without the help of the Demons,” Mark added.

     “Then I’ll help you.” The Arcs looked at the owner of the voice and saw that it was Dongmin standing beside Nagi. The Arcs faced the two, and hope was building inside them because they now believe that they could actually do something to help.

     “But you must be sure about it,” Dongmin asked, and the Arcs instantly nodded.

     Dongmin nodded back and looked at Nagi. Then Nagi summoned a bag of coins and tossed it to Junhyung. Junhyung caught the bag of coins and opened it. Inside he saw 7 coins, and each of the Arcs took one coin.

     “What’s this?” Woohyun asked as he examined the gold coin that he was holding.

    “That coin is your ticket to enter Hell,” Dongmin answered, shocking the Arcs.

    “How did you-”

    “Kharon the Third gave it to you,” Nagi answered, shocking the Arcs even more. “He told me to give it to you if you are willing to enter hell without the Princes beside you,” he continued.

     “This will help us go to Hell?” Mark asked, and Dongmin and Nagi both nodded as an answer.

     “But how can we go back? I don’t want to be stuck in hell forever,” Jihoon asked with concern in his voice.

     “I’ll try to summon a portal for your exit,” Dongmin explained, reassuring the Arcs. The Arcs trusted their guardian and placed the coins back inside the bag.

     “So when are we going to go there?” Seunghyun then asked.

     “After the Princes collects the keys,” Nagi explained, and once again the Arcs got angry at the thought of the Demons’ personal  mission. Until now, they still think that the Demons are killing normal humans.

     “Kharon the third will summon a portal to hell, and it will be your chance to enter as well,” Dongmin explained further.

     “How? Are we going to join the Demons or what?” Junhyung asked in confusion.

     “No.” Dongmin quickly answered, “You’ll enter Hell through a mountain.”  

     The Arcs looked at each other, confused. How on earth will they enter hell through a mountain?

     “There is a mountain here in Japan where people were rumored to be able to travel to hell,” said Dongmin to answer the Arcs’ questionable expressions.

     “How can you be sure? I mean it’s just a rumor right?” Lay asked with disbelief.

     “Well they say its a rumor but its actually not,” Nagi said, and then he continued “The mountain is a portal, but you need the blood of a demon to open it.”  

      Without any further explanation, the Arcs got the picture.

     “That’s why you should train harder my angels,” Dongmin told them, and the Arcs nodded with more determination than before.

     Afterward, Dongmin and Nagi left the Arcs for their training. When they were sure that the Arcs wouldn’t be able to hear them anymore, Nagi looked at Dongmin and asked, “Are you sure about this Peter?”

     “No, but my kids need hope. I want them to feel like they did something even when the outcome is already definite,” Dongmin explained as he and Nagi continued walking towards the exit of the home.

     “I just wish it’s all worth it,” Dongmin added.

     “Even though you’re aware of the events that will happen, you’re still worried?” Nagi asked. He knew that Dongmin knows a lot more than Kharon. Well of course he would. After all, Park Dong Min and God are close. Close enough that God Himself would tell him things that he alone needs to know.

     “I am because God didn’t tell me the details of the events,” Dongmin answered, “I just hope it’s all worth it, that’s all.”

    The two then arrived at the gate. Nagi looked back at the Arcs who were training harder than before since they arrived in Japan. He then took a deep breath and said, “I don’t think it is. But then again, you know what’s going to happen next anyway.”

• END -

SDS2 24: MISSION IV: THE LAZY ACHIEVER

• Roy Kim’s POV -

A DAY BEFORE THE DEMON’S 3RD MISSION

“MASTER KIM,” SOMEONE CALLED out from outside my room. I continued to ignore it, but the man wouldn’t stop knocking on the door, finally making me open my eyes in irritation. I sat up from my bed and aggressively scratched my head, “What the fuck is it, man?”

    The door opened, showing me my secretary Ken. He went to where I was and said, “We have a serious problem master.”

     I yawned and scratched my head before asking, “Is it about the company?”

     “No, it’s about the ’ other ’ matter,” Ken said as he emphasized the word other . I looked at him with my squinted eyes, and Ken nodded as if he understood what I was trying to say. 

     “How?” I asked, now serious.

     “I asked one of our men to go to Crocell’s warehouse to get your suit, but when he arrived, everyone was already dead, including Crocell,” Ken explained, making me massage my forehead in frustration.

     “How about the others?” I then asked.

     “I went to Adramelech and he was not there either. And so was his ghoul Tayo.”

     “Do you think it’s them?” I continued to ask, and Ken nodded his head to confirm it, “Yes, Master Kim. That’s why we need you to be under surveillance until the situation is under control,” Ken said and I just nodded while yawning again.

     I was about to close my eye again, but someone suddenly knocked on the door again. Ken answered for me since I was too lazy to open my mouth. The person who knocked was actually one of the maid’s that took care of this body’s owner. The maid went closer and bowed in front of me, “Master Roy, your father asked for your presence.”

     “Okay, I’ll be there,” I stated, and she bowed again and immediately went outside the room.

     “Let’s talk about this later,” I told Ken.

     I stood up from the bed, and Ken immediately took my robe and helped me wear it. Then I went out of my room and walked my way to my ’ father’s ’ office, trying my best to act as human as possible.

     I am Gressil by the way, but in this place, I am Roy Kim , the son of a famous CEO here in Japan. But then again, I just took this kid’s body for my convenience, especially that we, the Seven Keys, are being targeted by the Betrayers of Hell. 

     Ken is the only ghoul I have. I don’t need ghouls’ protection because I always steal the body of famous people like actors, CEO’s or the son of CEO’s like this one. It effortlessly makes me untouchable, unlike the others.

     “Good morning father,” I said with a deep bow as soon as I entered my father’s office with Ken.

     My father didn’t look at me; he just kept on looking at the scenery outside his window.

     “Tomorrow night, we will have a party,” he told me.

     “What’s the party all about?” I asked him. Then he stood up from his chair and walked in front of his table to finally face me.

     “It’s about my resignation in the company, and also a party that will announce that you…” he said as he held my shoulders, “are my successor,” he continued with a smile. I wasn’t really excited about the sudden news but I just smiled back anyway.

     “Now look for a suit that will make you look like a president,” he ended. 

     I bowed and so does Ken, and then we went outside his office.

     “Do whatever you can to protect me from getting killed at that party,” I said to Ken as we walked back to my room.

     “Yes, Master Kim. I’ll do the honors of controlling the security of the party,” Ken said as he opened the door for me.

     “Okay. And Ken, get me a suit,” I instructed, and Ken bowed and left.

     When I got inside my room, I threw myself in the bed and looked at the ceiling, “If I get killed, I blame everything on my lazy ass.”

• THIRD PERSON’S POV -

PRESENT TIME

AT TAMO’S OFFICE

     “Because I found out something very interesting.” Kharon stated, “But I will not tell you about it just yet,” Kharon continued as he uncrossed his legs. Before the Demons could even ask their guardian, Tamo and Kai entered the room.

     “Taeil,” Kai called out. Taeil immediately stood up and went to Tamo’s desk, and then the rest followed.

     “Is my information correct?” Taeil asked, waiting for Tamo and Kai to answer.

     “Yes, the information you gave is actually correct.” When Tamo finally answered the question, Taeil’s face immediately lit up.

     “What information?” Sunggyu asked, confused about what the two were talking about.

     “Jiyong, is the name Kim Han Sol familiar to you?” Taeil asked his prideful brother.

     Jiyong was thinking for a moment and then he finally answered, “Yeah, it does actually. He’s one of the stockholders in Charles’ company, why did you ask?”

     “Then you must have already met his son, right?” Taeil asked, and Jiyong slowly nodded his then. Then, as if lightning hit him, Jiyong froze, and his eyes widened from realization.

     “Don’t tell me he’s a-”

     “Yes, he is,” Taeil confirmed, shocking Jiyong even more.

     “Uhm, hello, there are still some people who need details to fully understand stuff,” Hyunseung said a-matter-a-factly, and Jiyong looked at his brothers, guardian, and the SOLs.

     “Kim Han Sol is a stockholder in Charles’ company, and he has a son named Roy Kim,” Jiyong said, and the Demons looked confused.

     “So what about him?” Sunggyu asked with irritation in his voice.

     “Roy Kim is a Sinner.” When Taeil said that, the rest of the Demons, Kharon, the Souls of Lucifer, and even Tamo and Kai, were shocked.

     “Are you serious?” Suho asked, and Jiyong and Tail nodded.

     “So that’s why you asked us to look for him.” Kai realized, and Taeil nodded as confirmation.

     “This means the real Roy Kim is already dead, and the one inside his body is the Sinner of Sloth. And no one from his family even knows about it,” Minhyuk concluded, making things even more complicated.

     “Damn, this will be difficult,” Hyunseung stated, so Sunggyu looked at their tactician, AKA Lee Taeil, “How are we going to pull this off?” Sunggyu asked him.

     “Yeah, we can’t just go to their company and kill him,” Suho stated.

     “And killing him can cause mayhem. The media will look for the killer - which is us - and we will really be murderers,” Minhyuk pointed out.

     “I know. That’s why I have a plan that needs to be perfect in order for it to be a success,” Taeil said, and everyone in the room listened to Taeil’s so-called plan.

     “Jiyong, I need you to call your stepfather and ask him if he’s invited to the party,” Taeil instructed while looking at the prince of pride.

     “Party? What Party?” Jiyong asked in confusion.

     “I saw an article that says that the Kim Nation will be having a party tonight. And since your stepfather and Kim Han Sol has a partnership, I bet he got an invitation to the said party.” Taeil continued. So without wasting any time, Jiyong nodded and quickly took his phone and dialed his stepfather’s number.

     “ Hello? Jiyong? “ Charles immediately picked up.

     Jiyong gestured his hand so his brothers could come closer to him. When they were now surrounding him, Jiyong clicked the speaker button so that everyone in the room could hear the conversation.

     “Good Morning Charles.” Jiyong greeted with a smile on his face. Even though Charles is his stepfather, it’s still nice to hear the voice of the people who is dear to you after spending days killing ghouls and sinners.

     “ Yes, good morning, is there anything you need? I heard from your mother that you’re in Japan doing some missions. So how’s that going? Do you and your brothers need something? “ Charles asked, but it sounded like he was in a hurry. 

     Well, he is a very busy man.

     “Well, I just need to know if you’re invited to Kim Han Sol’s party tonight,” Jiyong asked, and the rest waited for an answer.

     “ Yes, I am actually, but I can’t come to the party because I have a lot of papers that I still need to fix here in Korea. “

     “Actually Charles, can my brothers and I attend the party on your behalf?” Jiyong finally asked, and Charles became quiet for a second.

     “ Is it related to your mission? “ He asked afterward.

     “Yeah.” Jiyong simply answered.

     “ Do I need to be worried? “ Charles asked next as he was finally catching up. After all, he is one of the people who know about their missions.

     “No, you don’t need to be worried,” Jiyong assured. Charles didn’t answer quickly unlike the rest of their conversation, it was obvious that he was thinking about it.

     Charles was obviously worried that the mission might affect his business.

    “ Alright, I trust you on this, but please don’t get yourselves in trouble. And I mean publicly get in trouble. “ Charles said with concern in his voice.

     “Yes, I promise we will not get ourselves in trouble,” Jiyong assured his stepfather.

     “ Okay, I’ll send you the invitation to the party, but the invitation is only for two people, so your other brothers can’t come with you. “

     “Just what we needed Charles, thank you,” Jiyong answered.

     “ Okay, good luck on your mission Jiyong. “ Charles finished, and Jiyong ended the call and looked back at Taeil.

     “Only you and I can enter the party,” Jiyong repeated.

     “Yeah, I heard,” Taeil said as he started thinking.

     “Okay, now that we have a way to enter the party, what now?” Hyunseung asked as he looked at his brothers.

     “How are we going to kill him? From what the others told us, they’re aware that someone is trying to kill them now,” Minhyuk said with concern in his voice.

     “And he is the son of a CEO. I bet we can’t get close to him, which means we definitely can’t be alone with him.” Suho stated. Taeil looked at Kharon and asked, “Kharon, when a Sinner takes the soul of a human, do they also take the memory with them?”

     “Yes, they do so that they can blend and hide their true selves,” Kharon answered.

     “If that’s the case, then he will remember Jiyong,” Taeil simply stated.

     “Hey Jiyong, are you and that Roy Kim kid even close?” Jackson asked.

    “I guess. We sometimes hang out with other sons of CEOs when we have time, but I don’t know if that qualifies for being close,” Jiyong said as he scratched the back of his head.

     “Then we’ll try to converse with him alone,” Taeil said, and everybody nodded as an answer.

     “How about us? We need to help you. I mean, we can’t just let you handle this on your own,” Minhyuk asked and the rest of the Demons nodded in agreement.

      “Jackson, can you do illusion casting on the whole party?” Taeil asked as he looked at his closest brother. He knew that Jackson’s been doing most of the works from all his plans, but Jackson’s power was the most useful, Jackson just had to endure a little more.

     “I don’t think so. I’m not strong enough to do illusion casting on a big scale,” Jackson honestly answered.

     “Besides, he’s already tired from the last mission,” Jiyong explained, and Taeil just nodded in understanding.

     “Let’s just make a plan once we’re inside the party,” Taeil said with an exhausted sigh.

AT THE PARTY

 “Invitation please,” one of the security guards said as he stopped Jiyong and Taeil from entering the party. Jiyong showed him the invitation on his phone and scanned the QR code. After the guard scanned the QR code, it tinged and showed Jiyong’s dad, Charles Darwin.

     Charles was obviously a different race, so Jiyong didn’t look anything like him. The guard eyed Jiyong, not sure if he should question him.  Jiyong saw the guard’s reaction so he rolled his eyes in annoyance, “He’s my stepfather. He asked me to go to the party on his behalf,” Jiyong explained, then the guard looked at Taeil.

     “He’s my acquaintance. The invitation can accommodate two people, am I correct?” Jiyong asked with a prideful tone, and the guard nodded and finally opened the door for them. Once the door was opened, the 2 princes went inside and looked for the CEO and his son.

     “ Prince Taeil, we’re already inside the vicinity, “ Kharon stated through Taeil’s earpiece.

     “Okay, how about our brothers and Tamo & Kai?”

     “ They’re at the parking lot of the hotel. “

     “Did you scan the area?” Taeil then asked.

     “ Yes. “

     “How many?” Taeil asked further.

     “ Just one ghoul. Everyone here are humans. “ Kharon answered.

      “Are you sure? Because the last time you said a small number, we ended up being ambushed by a hundred more ghouls.” Taeil jokingly said with a grin.

     “I’m sure this time, but I asked Jaejoong and the others to search the whole hotel, just in case,” Kharon explained. Taeil was about to say something back but then guards walked pass them, immediately making Taeil shut his mouth.

     “ I will update you once they’re here. “ Kharon finished.

     When the guards were gone, Taeil and Jiyong looked at each other and nodded their heads, “So how many ghouls?” Jiyong asked Taeil while he searched for their target.

     “Our guardian said there was only one ghoul,” Taeil answered as the two casually walked around the party.

     “One ghoul? Is Kharon sure about that?” Jiyong asked with concern because being ambushed here will be hard, and killing them in the open will be harder.

     “But he asked Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun to search the whole hotel just in case,” Taeil assured Jiyong. Jiyong went back in searching for the Sinner or for his supposed father.  After walking around the place, he saw the CEO’s ’ father ’, Kim Han Sol.

     “Mr. Kim Han Sol!” Jiyong called out as he approached the said man with Taeil standing beside him.

     “Oh, Jiyong, it has been a while. How’s your father? Is he with you?” Han sol asked as he shook Jiyong’s hand.

     “No, unfortunately, he’s not. He had some other matters back in Korea that’s why he asked me to come to the party instead,” Jiyong answered.

     “Ah, I see. So who is this young man beside you?” Kim Han sol asked as he eyed Taeil.

     “Oh, my manners. This is Lee Taeil, my best friend.” Jiyong said as he introduced Taeil who bowed in front of the respectable CEO.

     “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Kim,” Taeil introduced. Kim Han Sol doesn’t say anything but smiled at Taeil instead.

     “By the way, Mr. Han Sol, is Roy here at the party?” Jiyong finally asked.

     “Of course he is. The party is all about him being my successor.” Kim Han Sol said as he smiled again, “He’s right there talking to Mr. Arisato,” Kim Han Sol pointed at his son who was talking to what they assumed was Mr. Arisato. Then Jiyong and Taeil noticed that Roy Kim was standing beside another man that was obviously not just a man at all.

     Jiyong thanked Kim Han Sol and promised him that they’ll talk later. Then Taeil and Jiyong quickly walked towards the dashing young man named Roy Kim.

     “ My Princes, you need to be careful. The person beside him is a ghoul,“  Kharon warned, but the two were already aware of it. So Jiyong confidently approached Roy Kim while Taeil cautiously walked behind him.

     “Roy, it’s been a while,” Jiyong immediately stated when he now faced with Sinner four, AKA Roy Kim. Roy Kim stared at Jiyong, obviously scanning him while trying to remember who he was. When he finally remembered who Jiyong was from Roy Kim’s original memory, Roy Kim immediately smiled, “Ah Jiyong, yeah its been a while,” Roy said as he hugged Jiyong like they always did before.

     “So they really do retain their memories.”  Taeil thought to himself.

     “How are you?” Jiyong asked with a smile. Even though he knows that this isn’t the person he once knew, Jiyong was still happy to at least see him.

     “I’m good. You know, still helping my dad now and then,” Roy Kim answered.

     “Oh yeah, this is Taeil, my friend,” Jiyong then added as Taeil moved closer to stand beside Jiyong

     “Oh hi, nice to meet you, I’m Roy Kim.” Roy Kim said as he offered his hand to Taeil. Taeil shook his hand without hesitation and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

     When they let go of each other’s hand, Jiyong cuts in and looked at Roy Kim again, “So how are you? It’s been a while since we hanged out.” Jiyong stated.

     “Yeah, it has.” Roy Kim shortly answered. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk to Jiyong anymore.

     “How about we drink after this? You know, so that we can catch up with each other,” Jiyong suggested calmly, but deep down he was expectant. Roy Kim had to agree. Because if he doesn’t, all their plans will change.

     Roy Kim looked at the man beside him, and with a silent communication, Roy Kim looked at Jiyong and answered, “Sure, no problem. Like old times right?”

     “You promise okay? No take-backs.” Jiyong finished, leaving with Taeil before Roy Kim could even change his mind. As soon as the two princes left the scene, Ken stood in front of Roy Kim and asked him “Are you sure about this Master Kim?” 

     “Yes, I’m sure. This guy’s memories about that person are actually very interesting.” Roy Kim said as he kept on looking at Jiyong and Taeil from afar.

     Ken was confused for a second, but then he finally got the picture when he saw a smirk on his master’s face, “Are you telling me you’re-”

     “Yes Ken, I’ll be taking his body next.” Roy Kim finished before walking towards the buffet area, “I don’t like this body anymore anyways. I’m going to be a CEO, and I don’t want that.” Roy Kim stated as he took a small piece of brownies on the table.

MEANWHILE…

     “I didn’t think that he’ll agree that easily,” Taeil said while taking a sip from his glass.

     “Yeah, neither did I. But we must take this opportunity.” 

     “ My princes, Jaejoong has clarified that there is only one ghoul in this hotel, “ Kharon suddenly said through Taeil’s earpiece, almost making him flinch.

     “Okay. Kharon, can you tell my brothers about the plan?” Taeil asked.

     “ Yes my Prince, “ Kharon answered before leaving again.

     “So what should we do for now?” Jiyong asked as he looked at his brother.

     “Let’s just enjoy the party and wait for the Sinner to go to us,” Taeil said, and Jiyong nodded in agreement.

     Seconds, minutes, and hours had passed, and the party finally ended. Jiyong and Taeil secretly searched for the Sinner, but the last place they saw him was when his ’ father ’ announced that he will be the president of their company. Jiyong looked at Taeil and Taeil looked disappointed.

     “I guess we’ll go to plan B,” Taeil stated, and Jiyong nodded his head as an understanding. The two demons were about to leave the room when suddenly, a man called them.

     “Jiyong.” Roy Kim called out as he walked towards them. Taeil and Jiyong looked at each other and grinned, glad that the sinner didn’t decide to ditch them.

     “Roy Kim ma man! I thought you bailed on us.” Jiyong said playfully.

     “Sorry, I just rested after my father’s announcement. And when I woke up, the party was over.” Roy Kim said as he scratched the back of his head.

     “Ahh, I see. So, should we go?” Jiyong asked.

     “Yeah, of course.” Roy Kim answered.

     “Do you know a good place that we can drink? I mean, I don’t know Tokyo that much.” Jiyong stated.

     “Yeah, I know a place,” Roy Kim said as he walked towards the door, Jiyong and Taeil following behind him. As they were leaving the hotel, Jiyong noticed that the man Roy Kim was always with wasn’t with him anymore, “Oh yeah, where’s your-” Roy Kim immediately cuts him off and looks at him, “Oh, he’s already in the car waiting for us.”

     “ My Princes, we will follow you to your destination, “ Kharon stated. Taeil and Jiyong followed the Sinner to the front of the hotel and there, the Sinner’s ghoul was waiting for them.

     “Master Kim,” Ken said as he opened the door for them. Roy Kim went inside and Jiyong and Taeil followed.

     “Let’s go to the club I always go to.” Roy Kim said, and Ken nodded his head and started driving off.

     The drive was not long and they arrived at a bar after a few minutes. Ken opened the door for them again and the three went outside the car. Then they entered the bar, and Jiyong and Taeil immediately stopped when they saw what was inside the bar.

     Taeil and Jiyong saw their brothers, guardian, the Souls of Lucifer, and Tamo and Kai. They were dispersed inside the bar. Some were on the coaches talking to each other and some were near the bar area while some were just standing at the corner.

     “Let’s go to a room so that we can talk privately.” Roy Kim offered.

     “Sure,” Jiyong answered, and they followed the Sinner to the private room. Once they arrived in front of the private room, someone pushed them inside, causing Taeil and Jiyong to fall to the ground. Then they heard someone lock the door behind them.

     “The fuck!” Jiyong shouted, half shocked and half confused. Taeil was also confused about the sudden action.

     “ What the hell, did they actually notice ?“ Taeil whispered to Jiyong.

     “I don’t know.” Jiyong honestly answered, still confused. Suddenly, the Sinner just magically arrived inside the room with his ghoul, honestly surprising the two Demons.

     “I’m sorry about this Jiyong, I really am.” Roy Kim said as he drank his cocktail. Jiyong and Taeil stood up and looked at the Sinner who was sitting on the couch while his ghoul was standing beside him.

     “I never intended to do this, but I need to transfer to another body because this one…” he paused and pointed to his own body, “Will become busy as hell, and I don’t want that.” Roy Kim continued.

     The Sinner then looked at Jiyong and said, “That’s why I’m taking your body instead.” When the two Demons heard of the sudden turn of events, Jiyong had to control himself to not laugh out loud. Taeil on the other hand couldn’t help but grin at how stupid hi Sinner was.

     “Ken.” Roy Kim then called out.

     “Kill them.” Roy Kim ordered and Ken nodded as an answer. The ghoul went in front of the two princes of hell, but before he could do anything, the surroundings changed, shocking not only him but Roy Kim as well.

     “What the hell?” Roy Kim asked as he looked at the two men in front of him. The moment he looked at the two, he suddenly dropped his glass from shock. He saw that the two men were surrounded by a dark aura. Taeil and Jiyong then looked at the Sinner and smirked.

     “No way.” That was the only thing that Roy Kim could say because he realized that the two men in front of him were none other than the “Betrayers of Hell!” Roy Kim shouted as he pointed at Jiyong and Taeil.

     The two didn’t say anything and just stared at their opponents with their blood-red eyes and menacing aura.

     “Master Kim, we need to get out of here.” Ken quickly said as he was about to drag his master out, but suddenly Jiyong summoned his spear-like-ax and stopped them from doing so.

     “Sorry, but we can’t allow you to do that, “ Jiyong stated, pointing his weapon at the two.

     “Not until we get your soul,” Taeil continued as he too summoned his hammer-like-weapon.

     The sinner just widened his eyes and looked at his ghoul with fear.

     “Don’t worry Master Kim, I’ll protect you,” Ken assured his Master.

     Taeil and Jiyong looked at each other, and without saying any word, they went towards their opponents. Jiyong went to the ghoul and attacked him, but the ghoul easily dodged every attack.  While Jiyong was busy with the ghoul, Taeil went for the Sinner and tried to hit him, but the Sinner avoided it right before the weapon could make contact with his flesh.

     “Master Kim, you must get out of here!” Ken shouted as he looked at Roy Kim. The Sinner just nodded and went towards the door, but Taeil quickly grabbed and dragged the Sinner towards him. Then he slammed the weapon on one of his knees, making him unable to escape.

     “Fuck!” Roy Kim shouted in pain.

     “Master Kim!”

     Jiyong took advantage of the incident and sliced the ghoul’s head with no hesitation. And with a clean-cut, the ghoul was beheaded.

     “N-No…Ken!” Roy Kim shouted with agony.

     Jiyong swiped the sweat on his forehead and headed to his brother, Taeil.

     “You should kill him now.” Jiyong instructed, then Taeil nodded and lifted his weapon, “Let’s get this over with.” Taeil said as he slammed his weapon on the Sinner’s chest with no hesitation. When the weapon made contact, it made a cracking sound, a sound that confirmed that Taeil damaged his ribs.

     The Sinner struggled to breathe, but seconds later, he finally stopped.

    Jiyong and Taeil were panting heavily. They looked at each other and immediately clapped their hands together with smiles on their faces.

     “Man that was the cleanest death I’ve seen so far,” Jiyong said as he went to the Sinner’s body to confirm if he was dead or not.

     “I don’t want it to be a messy death, that’s why,” Taeil said as he went towards the Sinner’s body. Jiyong moved away and Taeil did what his other brothers did after killing a Sinner. As the Sinner’s soul traveled to Taeil, someone knocked on the door of the private room. Jiyong went towards the door and didn’t open it just yet.

     “Who is it?” Jiyong asked cautiously, gripping on his weapon in case they start barging in.

     “It’s us Jiyong.”

     When Jiyong recognized the voice, he immediately opened the door and saw his brothers, his guardian, his father’s souls, and Tamo and Kai. Everyone went inside and saw Taeil still absorbing the soul.

     “Damn, that’s one clean death,” Minhyuk said as he sat on the sofa.

     “Yeah, tell me about it,” Jiyong said as he sat down as well. Once Taeil was done, Taeil stood up, and he was now in his demonic self.

     “Welcome to the club Taeil,” Hyunseung said when he saw that Taeil had finally become a real demon as well. He was about to say something but then he felt dizzy and eventually fainted.

     “Taeil?!” the Demons shouted as they went towards their fallen brother. But when they saw what happened to their brother, everyone laughed.

     “Sleeping? Seriously?” Suho asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     “Well, Taeil is the one who keeps on searching for the Sinner and making plans for us,” Hyunseung said as he tried to carry his sleeping brother.

     “Yeah, and he needs to rest,” Sunggyu added.

     “Actually you ALL need to rest.” Kharon stated as he looked at the Demons, “We will continue our mission once prince Taeil has woken up,” Kharon said a-matter-of-factly. The Princes of Hell just nodded and was actually glad that they will be resting for a while.

     “You guys have been doing this for 4 straight days with little rest,” Kai said with concern in his voice.

     “Come, I’ll take you to a hotel and I’ll book a suite so that once Taeil wakes up, you’ll all be refreshed and ready to continue your next mission,” Tamo suggested. The Demons didn’t complain and just nodded their heads. Then Tamo and Kai went outside the room with Hyunseung while Jackson carried Taeil behind his back.

     “I’m sorry Jaejoong, you’ll get the Sinners souls once Taeil wakes up,” Sunggyu said as he looked at the SOLs.

     “It’s okay my Prince, we can still survive for a week because of the 3 souls that we have already absorbed,” Jaejoong assured Sunggyu, and Sunggyu just nodded in understanding. 

     The Souls of Lucifer, Minhyuk, and Sunggyu followed and went outside the room as well, leaving Jiyong and Kharon alone. Kharon went to the ghoul’s body and sets it on fire. He was about to do the same to the Sinners body, but Jiyong quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him.

      “What’s the matter Prince Jiyong?” Kharon asked.

     “Kharon, can you not burn him?” Jiyong suddenly asked as he looked at the Sinner’s body. Kharon looked at Jiyong with his right eyebrow raised and asked, “And why is that?”

     “I don’t know, but I just don’t want him to die without even getting buried properly.” Jiyong honestly stated. This was still his friend, and it pained him to see him in this state.

     “But we did the same to the other Sinners body ( Except for Taecyeon ).”

     “I know, but…” Jiyong just kept on looking at the Sinner’s body. Even though it has been used by a Sinner, it’s still someone he knows personally. Kharon somehow knew the reason and smiled at his prince’s humane action.

     “Very well then.” Kharon snapped his fingers, and the Sinner’s body disappeared right before their eyes.

     “W-what the…where did he go?” Jiyong asked as he quickly looked at their guardian.

     “Don’t worry my prince, he is back at his house, sleeping like he was never been possessed by any demon soul,” Kharon said with a smile.

     Jiyong looked at their gurdian with shock and asked, “You can do that? Then why didn’t you do that to the rest of the bodies?”

     “I can, but I chose not to do it.” Kharon simply answered.

     “Then why did you do it to him then?”

     “It’s because he’s a special case”, Kharon said with a smile before walking outside the room. Jiyong looked at the place where the body was and smiled, “See you soon Roy Kim,” and then he went outside the club.

     Jiyong went inside the van and saw that everyone was already inside, waiting for him.

     “Took you long enough,” Suho tells him. Jiyong doesn’t say anything and ignored Suho’s comment, “Where are Kharon and my father’s souls?” Jiyong asked as he scanned the car.

     “They will just teleport themselves in the hotel,” Tamo answered as he drove to the hotel.

     “Oh yeah Tamo, Taeil kept on asking you to see whether the person he presumes is the Sinners are real or not, right?” Sunggyu asked.

     “Yes, he does.” Tamo simply answered.

     “Did Taeil possibly tell you who the next Sinner is?” Sunggyu asked further.

     “Yes, he did.” When Tamo answered the question, the Demons were immediately eager to know who it was.

     “Who is it?” the Demons, except Taeil, asked in unison.

     Tamo took a deep breath and answered, “Its Jung Ji-hoon , better known as Rain, the leader of the yakuza Black Soldiers. “

     “Yakuza?! Again?!”

• END -

SDS2 25: MISSION V: THE YAKUZA’S RAGE PT. 1

• Jung Ji-hoon’S POV -

I WAS IN MY office reading reports from one of my subordinates when my personal ghoul - Rinu - barged inside the room without my permission. I was about to shout at his disrespectful behavior, but Rinu immediately tells me, “Boss, the informant told me that someone is after you.”

    My anger dissipates, and I return to the reports in front of me, “Then kill that someone,” I replied to him, not seeing the danger from his panicked expression. 

     “But, it’s not humans who are after you.” He said, finally making me look at him. When Rinu said those words, I slowly stood up from my seat and walked in front of my window. 

     “It’s the betrayers isn’t it?” I asked without looking at Rinu.

     “Yes,” Rinu answered, and I just looked at the scenery in front of me without saying a single word.

     I am Xaphan , but in this world, I am  Jung Ji-hoon. Even with a human name, people call me by the word Rain . They say it rains blood when I arrive, which is why I was given such a name. I am the leader of the Black Soldiers , or to be exact, I took the body of the leader of this yakuza group.

     Since I lead this group, half of my men are ghouls and half are humans. And since I’m a leader of this strong yakuza, I try my best to not harm this body because I need to satisfy my uncontrollable rage. But being a yakuza leader has its perks. Normal people can’t come close to me, rich people and even the government ask protection from me, and low life people are afraid of me. Making me untouchable and unbeatable.

     “What are your orders boss?”

     “Do you know who are they?”

     “The informant didn’t tell me nor show me their pictures, but he said that Asano Tamo , the head of the Ravens, are helping them,” Rinu stated, making me clench on my fist in anger. Asano Tamo is someone who everyone calls a fool for believing in angels and demons. But now, him being associated with actual demons is making my blood boil.

     “Where are they now?” I asked.

     “The informant last saw them enter a hotel near here,” Rinu answered, and I finally turned around and looked back at him.

     “What’s this group’s motto, Rinu?” I asked my trustworthy ghoul as I slowly approached him.

     “ Kill or be killed, “ Rinu answered, and I nodded at him with a smirk. Rinu bowed down and went outside my office. I sat back on the chair in front of my desk, took the whiskey bottle, and poured myself a glass. I drank it in one go and filled it up once again.

     I’ve lived this long. And I’m not letting cute little princes stop me from living a hundred years more.

     “Goodbye…Betrayers of Hell.”

• THIRD PERSON POV -

AT THE HOTEL

 “Is Taeil still sleeping?” Sunggyu asked as he approached Hyunseung who was sitting at a sofa in their hotel room.

     “Yeah he is, and Jackson is with him,” Hyunseung answered as he took a sip from his bottled water.

     “Why did Taeil suddenly faint after he took the Sinner’s soul?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at their guardian, Kharon.

     “Prince Taeil didn’t faint, he just fell asleep.” Kharon corrected.

     “Why? Because he’s the prince of sloth?” Jiyong asked, and Kharon nodded his head, immediately making Hyunseung understand it.

     “Oh, I get it now,” Hyunseung confidently said.

     “What did you get?” Jiyong asked again, getting even more confused.

     “Once we get the souls of the Sinners, our demonic powers become stronger. But not only our powers, but also our attributes as well,” Hyunseung explained.

     “Attributes?” everyone asked in unison.

     “Yes, attributes. Like me, when I become my demonic self, I excrete a tremendous amount of pheromones compared to my half human-demon self.” Hyunseung explained further, and little by little, Jiyong and the others were finally getting the picture.

     “So that’s why Minhyuk got super hungry after he took the second Sinners’ soul,” Jiyong recalled, finally understanding it as well.

     “That means you’ve been stealing right after you became a demon?” Sunggyu quickly asked as he looked at his greedy brother.

     “What?! No, I promise, I haven’t. I was actually trying hard not to, but I swear, I haven’t stolen anything,” Suho defended himself.

     “You better be sure,” Sunggyu said as he drank from his water bottle.

     “But I did take some guy’s wallet when we went home,” Suho suddenly revealed, making Sunggyu spit his water in shock.

     “You took what?!” Sunggyu said angrily, “You said you didn’t steal anything!”

     “I didn’t steal the wallet, I just took it.” Suho defended again, making everyone look at him with disbelief.

     “Steal and take are just the same Suho!” Sunggyu blurted out.

     Hyunseung stood from his seat and took a towel from the kitchenette and wiped the water that Sunggyu spitted. Sunggyu kept on scolding Suho, but then Kharon suddenly felt something. The Souls of Lucifer felt the same energy too, but before they could say anything to the Demons, Tamo and Kai barged inside their room, panting like they just ran a marathon.

     “We have a problem,” Tamo said as he locked the door behind him.

     “What is it?” Sunggyu asked.

     “Tamo and I were about to go to the reception desk when a bunch of men asked for our room,” Kai stated, making all the brothers stand up from the shock.

    “Where are they?” Minhyuk immediately asked.

     “The last time we saw them, they were still at the lobby,” Tamo stated.

     “Should we leave?” Suho asked as he looked at his brothers.

     “Why would we? Maybe it’s just someone Tamo and Kai knew.” Jiyong said as he was still casually sitting on the sofa.

     “You’re right, we do know them. They’re the men of the Sinner you’re after.” Kai explained further, and now the Demons were less-relaxed.

     “What?” Hyunseung quickly asked, panic now starting to consume him and his brothers.

     “Let’s talk about it later. Right now we need to get out of here.” Sunggyu suggested and everyone nodded and took their things to get ready to leave.

     “Minhyuk, wake up Jackson and Taeil,” Sunggyu ordered, and Minhyuk quickly complied. Suddenly Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer looked at each other, and the Demons noticed their reaction.

     “What is it?” Hyunseung asked as he noticed the four.

     “My Princes, we need to hurry up, they’re near our floor now,” Junsu revealed, making everyone panic even more.

     “And they’re not humans,” Yoochun added, not helping with the brother’s growing panic. Suddenly, Minhyuk and Jackson came out of the room helping Taeil up.

     “He’s still asleep?!” Jiyong asked with disbelief.

     “Apparently he is,” Jackson answered, his hair still messy because he literally just woke up seconds ago. “We tried everything, but we couldn’t wake him up,” Minhyuk explained.

     “Okay, then just carry him until we get out of here,” Sunggyu instructed.

     “How? We can’t leave this place by going out of the door, they might be waiting for us downstairs.” Suho said, now running out of options. Everyone was in a state of panic. Taeil, ( Their plan-maker ), was still asleep, and now they’re currently being ambushed. Sunggyu looked at Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer.

     “Can you teleport us to Raven’s office?” Sunggyu quickly asked. Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer looked at each other and nodded.

     “Yes, my Princes.” When Kharon said that, the Demons, Tamo, and Kai held each other’s hands to get ready for the teleportation.

     “Wait, what will happen to Tamo and Kai? I mean, we’ll be teleporting, and when we teleport we’re on fire.” Minhyuk pointed out as he looked at Tamo and Kai.

     “Don’t worry about us Minhyuk,” Tamo said with a reassuring smile.

     “Yeah, we can handle a little pain.” Kai then said as he winked at Minhyuk.

     “Okay then, let’s go,” Kharon said, and in a blink of an eye, they were gone. As the Demons team teleported away, someone barged inside their room just right after their escape.

     “Search the area.” Rinu, Rain’s ghoul, said as he went inside the room. The men behind him entered and searched every room and bathrooms.

     “They’re not here sir.” One man stated.

     “Have you checked everywhere?”

     “Yes sir.”

     Rinu clenched his fist but tried his best not to show his anger. So he took a deep breath and tried to relax, “Team B, any reports?” Rinu asked through his earpiece.

     “ Nothing sir. There is also no sign of them at the parking lot. “

     “Is their car still there?”

     “ Yes sir. “

     “Okay, keep searching for them,” Rinu instructed as he looked at the men he was with.

     “What now sir?” one of his men asked.

     “Keep searching for them while I contact the boss,” Rinu instructed, then the men bowed and told the others to keep searching. Rinu took another deep breath and took his phone out and called his boss, Rain.

     “ Have you found them? “ Rain answered the moment Rinu called him.

     “Negative boss,” Rinu stated, and Rain didn’t respond immediately, making Rinu gulp. Because the last thing he wanted was to make Rain angry.

     “ Tell them to evacuate, “ Rain then answered.

     “Yes, boss.” 

     Rain hanged up and Rinu hid his phone back.

     “Let’s leave! Boss’s orders!” Rinu shouted, and the men nodded and left the room. Rinu was about to leave but looked at the room once again. He scanned the room one last time then suddenly saw something on the floor. He kneeled on the floor and touched the carpet.

     “So they teleported,” Rinu said to himself as he saw small burn marks on the carpet. Then he grinned, stood up, and left the area.

AT TAMO’S OFFICE

     The Demons, Kharon, the Souls of Lucifer, and Tamo and Kai arrived at their temporary ’ headquarters ’.

     “Damn that’s fucking hot,” Kai said as he removed his ash-covered jacket.

     “Indeed it is.” Tamo agreed as he removed his burnt coat as well. Good thing Kharon made them invisible on time before they could be cooked because of the fire.

     “How did they find us?” Jiyong asked as he sat on the sofa angrily. Jackson and Minhyuk on the other hand placed the still-sleeping Taeil on the other sofa.

     “I don’t know, but we need to leave this place,” Sunggyu stated.

     “Yeah, if they knew about Tamo at this point, they’ll definitely know about his office,” Hyunseung added.

     “You’re right. I’ll call Usui to prepare the car.” Tamo tells them.

NOTE: If you don’t remember, Usui was introduced in SDS2 08: Demonic Dummy II.

     “If we’re not going to stay here, where will we go then?” Jiyong asked while looking at the men who were in front of him. Sunggyu wanted to ask for suggestions when Tamo suddenly snapped his fingers and said, “My father’s home.”

     “That’s actually a good idea since Mr. Asano Kenji’s mansion is hidden. But before we go there, we should make sure that they won’t follow us, just in case.” Hyunseung told them, and everyone nodded in agreement.

     “Then let’s look for their informant first.” A voice suddenly said. Everyone turned around and saw a figure standing in front of them.

     “Taeil! You’re awake!” the Demons shouted with joy, glad their planner was finally awake after a long rest.

     “Hey, sorry for waking up this late,” Taeil said as he yawned and stretched his arms.

    “Good thing you’re awake,” Sunggyu said as he patted his brothers’ head like he was a kid, making everyone smile.

     “So, what about that informant you mentioned? What do you mean by that?” Hyunseung asked him newly awaken brother.

     “Well, from the looks of it they have an informant,” Taeil stated as he went to Tamo’s desk.

     “How sure are you that they have an informant?” Minhyuk asked him.

     “Because every time we kill a Sinner, a man appears. I thought it wasn’t a big deal at first, but then I saw him again at the party and realized that he’s actually a ghoul disguised as a human.” Taeil said as he printed a picture of an unknown man. Sunggyu took the picture and showed it to the rest of his brothers.

     “Who is he?” Jiyong asked as he examined the picture.

     “The informant.” Taeil simply answered.

     “How did you find him?” Hyunseung asked, impressed that his brother had easily found him.

     “Before we did my mission, I checked the CCTVs again just to be sure that no one was following us, but then I saw this man. At first, I thought it was just coincidence, but then I noticed him when I checked the other footages that we received on our previous missions,” Taeil explained.

     “Then let’s catch this motherfucker.” Jiyong said with determination.

     “Let us handle that,” Kai said as he took the picture from Sunggyu. Since Kai was once the leader of Slayers of Ravens, he knew how to find and handle people better than anyone.

     “Are you sure Kai? I mean, this is our mission and we don’t want you guys to get physically involved. It will be too dangerous.” Suho stated as he looked at the man he ‘once’ loved.

     “Sorry Suho, but since we started helping you, we are already involved. And come on, dangerous? I already died for peat’s sake!” Kai stated, but the statement made Suho and Tamo glare at him.

     “And from the looks of it, this guy only knows us, and not you.” Kai said as he looked at Tamo, “I’ll ask my men to search for this guy.” Kai added as he looked at the Demons.

     “Do you want him dead or alive?” Kai asked with a smirk, excited that be killing actual ghouls now and not innocent people.

     “Alive. We need to ask questions first.” Sunggyu said, and the rest agreed.

     “Okay then, see you in an hour,” Kai tells them as he went towards Tamo and gave him a sweet kiss on the forehead before completely leaving.

     “So what are we going to do now?” Jackson asked as Kai left the office.

     “Let’s go to Mr. Asano’s mansion first and go back here once the Sinner is dead,” Taeil stated.

     “Good call,” Sunggyu says, and the others nodded in agreement. They went to the car and drove to Kenji Asano’s residence before anyone else could see them.

ASANO RESIDENCE

“Welcome home master Tamo,” One of the maids said as she opened the door to Tamo’s mansion. Tamo, The Demons, Kharon, and the Souls of Lucifer entered the mansion.

     “Is my father at his office?” Tamo asked.

     “Yes he is master Tamo,” the maid answered.

     Tamo led the others to his father’s office. They opened the door and saw Kenji Asano, sitting at his table while reading some files. Tamo lifted his head and widened his eyes when he saw what was in front of him.

     “Tamo and the Demons?! What brings you here?” Kenji asked as he placed his files down. He looked at Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer and then asked further, “And who’re these fine men?” Kenji asked as he looked at the unfamiliar men standing behind Tamo and the Demons.

      “Oh Kenji, this is our guardian, Kharon III.” Sunggyu introduced, and Kharon looked at Kenji and bowed.

     “And these are my fathers’ souls; Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun, but you can call them Souls of Lucifer.” Jiyong also introduced as the Souls of Lucifer bowed to pay respect as well.

     “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Kenji Asano,” Kharon said as he offered his hand to Kenji.

     “It is also an honor to meet the new Kharon.” Kenji stood up and took Kharon’s hand and shook it.

     “Thank you for helping the Demons in their previous mission, Mr. Kenji Asano.” The Souls of Lucifer then said as they bowed again to show their gratitude. Kenji didn’t say anything and just smiled as a reply.

     “So what brings you here?” Kenji asked as he looked at the Demons.

     “We had a little problem.” Hyunseung honestly answered. Kenji looked at the sons seriously and asked, “What problem?”

     “The hunted is hunting us,” Jiyong stated, making Kenji furrow his brow in confusion.

     “An unknown informant informed the Sinner that he’s being targeted by somebody who’s not human. And that somebody was obviously us.” Sunggyu explained.

      “So Kai is looking for the informant before we kill the Sinner so we could make a proper plan,” Minhyuk added.

     “May I ask who the ’ Sinner’ is? Maybe I can help as well.” Kenji said as he went back to his desk.

     Taeil looked at Sunggyu and he nodded, “The Sinner took a body named Jung Ji-hoon, and he’s the leader of Black Soldier. And even if we know about his whereabouts or not, it is still hard for us to get inside their hideout,” Taeil explained.

     Kenji scratched his chin and searched for something on his computer. After a few seconds, his face suddenly lit up. He looked at the Demons, then looked directly at Kharon, “Do you still remember your first visit to Japan with the Arcs?” Kenji asked them.

     “Yes, we do,” Hyunseung answered, flinching a little when he heard the word Arcs .

     “We went to see someone that was Kharon before,” Suho said as he tries to remember the details.

     “Do you remember who that person was?” Kenji asked. The Demons looked at each other and then looked back at Kenji and shook their heads.

     “He’s Taro Yamada, or as you remembered, he is Kharon the Second,” Kenji said as he looked at Kharon the Third.

     “So what about him?” Jiyong asked as he crossed his arms.

     “If you don’t remember, Taro Yamada and Jung Ji-hoon are archenemies.” Kenji revealed, “And they are still at war with each other.”

     “Well if that’s the case, we can ask Taro Yamada for help, right?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at his brothers.

     “We could, but he doesn’t remember us anymore.” Hyunseung pointed out.

     “Then let’s make him remember,” Minhyuk said, then he looked at their guardian. “Can you make him remember?” Minhyuk asked, and the Demons waited for Kharon to reply.

     “That depends on what you want him to remember,” Kharon simply answered.

     “Then let him remember his past life so that it will be easier to talk to him about our situation,” Taeil said.

     “That’s easy. Then when will we meet Kharon II?” Kharon asked.

     “Let’s meet him today, the sooner the better,” Sunggyu suggested, and everybody nodded in agreement. Before the Demons, with their guardian and the SOLs, could leave Kenji’s office, Kai barged inside with a blindfolded man, surprising everyone. Kai threw the blindfolded man in front of the Demons and went beside Tamo.

     “Well, that was fast,” Suho stated as he looked at the blindfolded man in front of them.

     “Is this him?” Taeil asked as he looked at the man as well.

     “Yup, that’s him,” Kai answered.

     “So what are we going to do to him?” Hyunseung asked as he weakly kicked the sides of the man. The Demons looked at Sunggyu and waited for him to answer.

     “Hyunseung, Minhyuk, and I will stay here and interrogate this bastard. I assume Jackson wouldn’t want to join us anyway.” Sunggyu stated as he looked at Jackson with a smirk.

      Jackson remembered the time he tortured and interrogated Mark, making him glare at their leader for pointing it out again.

     “Then the rest should go to Kharon II,” Sunggyu instructed. The Demons nodded, and with no time to waste, they left.

     “Kenji, do you have a darkroom here?” Sunggyu then asked the moment Jackson and the others left the room.

     “Yes, I do. Tamo, could you bring them there?” Kenji asked, and Tamo gestured his hand for the others to follow him, “Follow me,” Tamo stated. And with that said, the three remaining members followed Tamo to the interrogation room that Kenji surprisingly had.

---

“We’re here,” Kenji’s driver told the demons as soon as the car stopped near the infamous yakuza’s base.

     “Thank you,” Taeil answered, and the Demons, Kharon, and The Souls of Lucifer went out of the car.

     “So this is where Kharon II is located,” Kharon said as he saw the enormous gate. And like the last time the Demons went here, ninja’s came out and guarded their gate.

     “Who are you and what are you doing here?” said one of the ninjas in Japanese.

      “We need to talk to Taro Yamada, and we already know that he is not one of you, “ Jiyong answered, and the ninja’s looked at each other.

     “So are you going to let us in or what?” this time it was Jackson who said it. The ninja didn’t move an inch; they just stood there and looked at the handsome men in front of them. Jiyong was about to grab one of the ninja’s when suddenly a man came out, and the ninja’s made way for the man to walk through.

     “It’s rare for someone to see right through this act.”  Said the man who just arrived.

     “Taro Yamada.” The Demons said in unison.

TARO YAMADA’s RESIDENCE

     “You’ve been here already if you know that neither of them was me. But that doesn’t matter now. I’m a busy man, so state your business before I decide to dispose of you instead,” Taro said as he sat on his chair.

     “We need your assistance, Mr. Yamada,” Suho said with respect in his voice which Taro was not expecting since he thought they’d be aggressive with him.

     “What kind of assistance?” Taro asked as he leaned on his chair.

     “We want your help to kill Ji-hoon,” Taeil revealed, and Taro widened his eyes from surprise. No one has ever approached him regarding such a matter.

     “What makes you think that I will help you?” Taro asked with a tense voice.

     “It’s because he killed your wife, Emiru,” Jiyong revealed, and Taro slammed his hands on his table. No one knows about his wife except for the people closest to him. Thankfully the Demons were able to find out about his past because of Sunggyu.

     “How dare you let my wife’s name come out of your filthy mouth! And why do you care about my personal affairs with Ji-hoon!” Taro yelled at them.

     “So you do agree that this rivalry of yours is just your vengeance for the death of your wife,” Jiyong said proudly, making Taro flinch. And this time, he didn’t say a word.

     “Are you going to help us or not?” Jiyong asked.

     “Is there a point for me to answer that? You already came here knowing full well that I’ll help you. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t mention such things to me,” Taro stated as he massaged his temple. He then sighed and continued, “I’ll help you, but I am not bringing all of my men to die for your sake.” Taro added, and the Demons smiled victoriously.

     “You don’t need to. We already have a plan,” Taeil stated with confidence, so Taro intertwined his fingers together and asked, “What plan?”

     The demons looked at each other, then Taeil moved forward and said, “Before that, I would like you to meet Kharon III,” he said as he gestured Kharon III to face Taro.

     “And who is he?” Taro asked as he looked at Kharon from head to toe.

     “This man is you,” Taeil revealed, and Taro just raised his eyebrow. Seconds later he started laughing.

      “How could that flower boy be me?” Taro asked while laughing loudly. Taeil just looked at Kharon and then he nodded like he was signaling him to do something.

     “This might make you remember,” Kharon said as he suddenly turned his eyes into bloody red while tilting Taro’s head. Kharon opened his mouth and black smoke came out. The black smoke traveled to Taro, and suddenly Taro’s eyes turned blood red as well. 

     After a few seconds, Taro transformed into his true form.

     “This is much better.” Taro, AKA Kharon II, said as he exhaled deeply. He looked at the people around them and saw his other-self.

     “So you’re the new Kharon,” Taro said as he looked at Kharon III.

     “It’s nice to meet you, brother,” Kharon stated with a smirk.

     “Likewise, brother.”

     “Alright. Before you two talk about the past, we need to head back to Kenji’s house,” Suho stated as he looked at the two Kharon’s in front of them.

MEANWHILE…

     “Why do you have a place like this?” Hyunseung asked as he went inside a darkroom in the basement.

     “For interrogation obviously,” Tamo said as he closed the door, like what he said was normal.

     “Where am I? What are you going to do to me?” the blindfolded man suddenly asked.

     “We’re just going to ask you some questions,” Kai said as he pushed the man on the ground before removing the blindfold. The man looked closely at the people in front of him, and when he saw them, he suddenly felt scared.

     “H-How did you…”

     “Find you?” Sunggyu cut off the informant, and the man just gulped and didn’t say anything.

     “You’ve been following us for a while now, and we want to know why,” Sunggyu said as he kneeled in front of the man so he could level him. The informant just backed away until his back touched the cold wall. The fear in his eyes made Sunggyu feel excited. They could just ask Suho to absorb his knowledge to get this over with, but Sunggyu didn’t want to skip the torture part so he didn’t ask for Suho’s help at all.

     So Sunggyu looked at the man deeply and smirked, “Before we ask the things we want to know-”

      “I want you to tell us your name ghoul,” Hyunseung said and the man looked at them.

     “Mi-Minato. My name here is…Minato,” the informant said with fear in his voice.

     “Well then Minato, who sent you?” Sunggyu asked.

     “No one sent me!” the informant answered instantly.

     “I’ll ask you again, who sent you?” Sunggyu repeated, but slower this time.

     “No one sent me.” The informant said once again. Sunggyu looked at Tamo and Tamo looked at Kai. Kai understood what they meant and went to the informant.

     Kai puts a bag over the informant’s head and dragged him to a drum filled with water. Without hesitation, Kai pushed the informant’s head inside the drum. After 5 seconds, Kai pulled the head of the informant and removed the bag from his head. The informant looked at the men in front of him while trying to catch his breath. Kai pushed the man so that he would be facing the Demons again.

     “I’ll ask you again, who sent you? Was it a Sinner? The King of Hell himself?” Sunggyu asked once more.

     “Ji-Hoon sent me. The leader of the Black Soldier sent me.” The informant quickly answered while he panted heavily.

     “The 5th Sinner sent him?” Minhyuk asked his brothers.

     “Then why did he start following us since day 1?” Hyunseung asked. Sunggyu just looked at the man in front of them and asked him again, “What were your orders?”

     “I can’t tell you that!” the informant shouted, “If he finds out, I’ll get killed.” The informant added.

     “If you don’t tell us, we’ll kill you ourselves.” Sunggyu taunted. The informant didn’t say a word and Sunggyu looked at Kai again, but before Kai could do anything the informant cursed under his breath and talked.

     “Okay, I’ll tell you, but promise me that you’ll let me live.” The informant said, and Sunggyu looked at his brothers and Tamo and Kai.

     “The first orders were to look for you, so I did.” The informant explained, “The only details boss told me was you were Korean, so I looked for every Korean passenger that arrived in Japan, and you guys fit perfectly in the description.” The informant added.

     The Demons didn’t do anything and the informant continued talking, “So I told Boss about you, but he was still not convinced and told me to find proof.”

     “So you kept following us?” Hyunseung asked.

     “Yes, after you killed Chaerin, I told Boss about it and said that you’re the one he was waiting for and asked me to follow you until it was his turn.”

     “Did you tell the rest about us?” this time is was Minhyuk who asked.

     “If you mean the other people you killed, then no, I didn’t. I only tell Boss about it,” the informant answered.

     “That’s it?” Sunggyu asked him.

     “Yes, that’s everything. So please spare me.” The informant now begged. Sunggyu went towards him and patter his shoulder.

     “Sorry but…we aren’t that merciful,” Sunggyu said with a smirk, and then he looked at Kai again and Kai nodded.

     “You promised! You promised that you’ll let me live! I’ve been on earth for years that I didn’t even know you! Please, don’t let me go back to hell again!” the informant screamed as Kai pulled him up.

     “Sorry, but we’re Demons. We’re bad at promises,” Sunggyu said he looked at the informant with his red eyes, and so did Hyunseung and Minhyuk.

     “So, you are the Betrayers! The boss was right!” the man shouted.

     “Yeah they are, so they don’t give a fuck about a low ghoul like you,” Kai said as he tied him on a chair.

     “Kai, make it quick. Once the others arrive, we will head to the Sinner,” Sunggyu said as he went out of the room.

     “Yes sir,” Kai answered, and Minhyuk, Hyunseung, and Tamo left the room.

     “See you at the office,” Tamo said before closing the door.

     “Please have mercy.” The informant begged again, but this time, he begged to Kai.

     “Sorry, but orders are orders, right?” Kai said as he smirked, and the informant’s eyes widen when he saw Kai grab a bat with nails attached to it.

     “Say your prayers ghoul. As if someone will hear them.” Kai said as he swung the weapon with no hesitation.

• To be Continued -

SDS2 26: MISSION V: THE YAKUZA’S RAGE PT. 2

AFTER GATHERING INFORMATION from the informant, the sons were all getting ready to face the infamous yakuza leader. While they were walking down the halls of Kenji’s mansion, Hyunseung glanced at his brothers and asked, “So what do we do now?”

     Sunggyu took a deep breath and placed his hand inside his pockets, trying to relax, “I don’t know, but let’s just wait for the others so we could make a plan.”

     “I suggest going to my father’s office.” Tamo then said, finally saying something after the torture that they did to the informant earlier.

     “Why, are they already here?” Minhyuk asked, and Tamo nodded his head, “They are, and it seems like they have a guest with them. You head to the office now and I’ll check on Kai.”

     “Alright, we’ll see you at the office,” Sunggyu said as he walked towards Kenji’s room. Minhyuk and Hyunseung following behind him while Tamo went back to the interrogation room. Sunggyu opened the door and saw their brothers, The Souls of Lucifer and their guardian. And beside him was a man who they already saw before, Kharon II.

     “So I presume you had better results than we did,” Sunggyu said as he went towards them.

     “And I presume you didn’t get anything from the informant,” Taeil said back.

     “All he said was everything we already figured out ourselves,” Minhyuk answered further as he went beside his brothers.

     “But there is something that bothers me,” Sunggyu told them, and then everybody looked at him, curious to what he was about to say, “How do they know that the other Sinners are already dead?” Sunggyu finally asked.

      “Yeah, every time we kill them, they say that the others will know or something like that.” Suho stated.

     “And the only ghoul we didn’t kill was Nagi since Kharon gave him a special mission.” Jackson said as they gestured at their guardian.

     “Its been 2 days and we still haven’t made any progress.” Minhyuk reminded them, and then he looked at the man beside their guardian and raised his right eyebrow, “Is this Kharon II now, or is he still Yamada?” Minhyuk asked, now only noticing him.

     “Oh yes, my apologies, this is Kharon II.” Kharon III introduced.

     “It’s an honor to finally meet you once more my Princes.” Kharon II greeted as he bowed down to show respect to the Demons.

     “It’s good to see you again Kharon II,” Sunggyu stated, and Kharon II shook the Demons’ leader’s hand.

     “So now that Kharon II is here, what do we do next?” Jackson asked, and everybody in the room, including Kenji, looked at Taeil. Taeil went to Kenji’s table and used his computer and showed them the layout of the Sinners’ hideout.

     “How did you find that?” Hyunseung asked in amazement.

     “I did a little bit of research,” Taeil said with a mischievous grin. But before Taeil could tell his brothers their plan, Tamo and Kai suddenly barged inside the office, and they were all covered in blood. The state that they were in caught everyone off guard.

     “What happened?!” Suho asked as he rushed towards them.

     “We need to get out of here, all of us.” Tamo immediately warned as he tried to stop the wound on his hand from bleeding.

     “Tamo you’re badly wounded,” Kenji said in a concerned tone as he rushed towards his son.

     “There’s a first aid kit in my drawer,” Kenji ordered, and Taeil quickly complied.

     “Why? What’s happening?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at Kai worriedly.

     Kai, who was also panting heavily, looked at the Demons and explained what happened, “A-after I killed the informant…his chest started to glow. And then I saw a mark on his chest.” 

     “What mark?” Minhyuk asked curiously.

     “The mark of the 5th Sinner.” The two Kharon’s answered in unison, and the Demons looked at each other in confusion.

     “But why are you covered in blood?” Suho asked.

     “A ghoul appeared out of nowhere! But from the looks of it, it’s not an ordinary ghoul. We tried to injure him but he quickly ran away. But we know he’s still inside the mansion.” Tamo explained.

     “It’s the Sinner’s right-hand ghoul,” Hyunseung concluded, and everybody started to panic.

     “We need to get out of here,” Jackson told his brothers.

     “Why don’t we just kill him?” Jiyong then suggested, “I mean, 4 of us here are already demons and we have 5 other powerful demons with us. We should stop running away and face this motherfucker.”

     Everyone looked at Sunggyu. Since he was the leader, he would make the final call. He looked at Kai and Tamo, then back to his brothers and the SOLs. Jiyong was right. They had enough demons to fight for whatever was in the mansion. If they run now, things might end up getting worse.

     “Fine. Where is he? Where did you last see him?” Sunggyu asked while looking at Kai, now considering Jiyong’s suggestion.

     “He was in the hallway near the basement,” Kai answered.

     “If he’s that close, why didn’t we sense him?” Junsu asked Yoochun and Jaejoong.

     “Then let’s ask him,” Jaejoong said with a smirk, and then he snapped his fingers and suddenly vanished.

     “We’ll go on ahead my Princes,” Yoochun stated, then he and Junsu also vanished.

     “Kharon, please keep Kenji, Tamo, and Kai safe. We will look for the ghoul.” Suho instructed, and Kharon nodded as an answer.

     “Well, I’m already here, might as well help out,” Kharon II said with a smirk before vanishing like the rest of the SOLs. The Demons went out of the office and searched for the ghoul. When the coast was clear, they went to the living room and made a plan there.

     “We need to split up first,” Sunggyu said as he looked at his brothers.

     “Hyunseung and Minhyuk, you go to the basement with Jackson.” Sunggyu instructed, then he looked at the rest and said, “Taeil and Suho, you go with me and Jiyong. We’ll search the first floor.”

     “Okay, Sunggyu,” Taeil replied.

     “Let’s go!” Sunggyu shouted, and the Demons summoned their weapons and searched for the troublesome ghoul.

---

“This is the place where Kai last spotted the ghoul,” Hyunseung said as he and his brothers stood in front of the door of the basement where the interrogation room can be found.

     “Ready your weapons,” Hyunseung ordered, and they nodded and obliged. He opened the basement door, but the room was dead quiet. Hyunseung, Minhyuk, and Jackson entered the room and searched the basement.

     “JS, this is the place where we interrogated Minato,” Minhyuk said as he stopped in front of the door. Hyunseung positioned himself at the other side of the door and Jackson beside him. Minhyuk opened the door and saw nothing inside except for the informant’s dead body.

     “ Guys, can you hear me ?“

     “Taeil is that you?” Hyunseung asked as he touched the earpiece in his ear.

     “ Thank goodness you’re still wearing the earpieces. “ This time it was Sunggyu who talked.

     “ What did you find? “ Taeil asked.

     “The body is still here, but no sign of the other ghoul,” Hyunseung answered. Jackson went to the informant’s body and saw something shocking.

     “Guys look at this,” Jackson said as he called out for his brothers.

     “What is it? Is it the mark Kai was talking about?” Minhyuk asked while approaching Jackson. But when Minhyuk finally saw what Jackson was pointing at, his eyes widened from shock. 

     “Sunggyu! You need to be careful!” Minhyuk quickly paged his brother.

     “ Huh? What’s wrong? “ Sunggyu asked confusingly. Jackson and Hyunseung looked at the mark and saw that beside the mark of the 5th Sinner was also a summoning mark.

     “We need to go to Sunggyu and the others.” Hyunseung quickly stated. They rushed outside the room and went out of the basement.

     “ What’s wrong? Hyunseung, what’s happening? “ Jiyong asked, a little confused about why Hyunseung and the others were panicking.

     “We don’t think there’s just one ghoul inside this mansion.” Hyunseung finally answered.

     “ Huh? What do you mean? “ Suho asked with shock.

     “We saw a summoning mark beside the mark the sinner left on the informant’s chest,” Minhyuk explained, shocking everyone on the line.

    “ What ?!“ everyone said in unison, making Hyunseung and the other flinch by how loud the sound was.

     “Where are you?” Minhyuk then asked.

     “ We’re at the dining hall. “

     “Okay, we’ll go to you. Stay right where you are.”

MEANWHILE…

AT THE DINING ROOM

     “So he’s not alone,” Suho stated, scanning the room in case someone pops out.

     “Yeah, so we better hurry,” Taeil stated, also cautious like Suho. When they opened the door to the dining room, they immediately saw three ghouls fighting with The Souls of Lucifer.

     “My Prince!” Junsu called out, making the ghouls look at them. They were about to tackle the demons, but the Souls of Lucifer stabbed them with their hand and set them on fire. In a split second, the ghouls were dead.

     “Are there more of these bitches?” Suho asked as he looked at the SOLs.

     “Yes, Kharon II told us that there were 10 here. We saw him fighting some so we helped him out. He’s now chasing after the rest of them,” Jaejoong explained.

     “Including the ghoul that we’re after. The right-hand-ghoul of Sinner five,” Junsu added.

     “Then there’s seven more,” Jiyong stated. But before Sunggyu could say something, he suddenly heard someone scream at the lobby. The Demons quickly ran towards the noise, the Souls of Lucifer following behind them. 

     As they arrived in the living room, they saw five other ghouls fighting Hyunseung and the others.

     “Hyunseung!” Sunggyu shouted as he went towards his brother to help him. Suho, Jiyong, and Taeil right behind him.

      “We got ambushed,” Hyunseung said as he tried to slash the ghoul’s hand.

     Suho cast a fireball that hit the ghoul in front of him. Jackson and Taeil tagged teamed in killing one of the ghouls, while Jiyong and Sunggyu took on another ghoul. Not like the ghouls that they already encountered before, these guys were stronger. It seems like the stronger the sinner, the stronger their ghouls would be too.

     Hyunseung on the other hand had already killed two ghouls before the others arrive. After all, he’s the first one to become a demon, and controlling it was already a piece of cake for him. Suho helped Minhyuk kill the last one and all of the ghouls a few minutes after.

     “Only two left,” Suho said as he wiped the blood from his face.

     “Two?” Jackson asked.

     “Kharon II told the Souls of Lucifer…that there were 10 ghouls here,” Sunggyu answered as he tried to catch his breath.

     “Then where could they be? And where’s Kharon II?” Jackson asked, but before anyone could answer, they heard another scream, and this time it came from Kenji’s office.

     “The office!” Jiyong shouted, and everyone immediately ran to where the ruckus was. Minhyuk kicked the door and saw two men, not two ghouls. The ghoul who attacked Tamo and Kai earlier was there, but beside him was a man that everyone knew too well.

     “The Sinner,” Taeil said as he readied his weapon. The Demons did the same, and when they saw their surroundings, they realized that there was blood everywhere.

     “Tamo, Kai, Kenji!” Suho shouted in terror when he saw the three humans bleeding badly, but good thing they were still alive. The Sinner named Rain, and his ghoul Rinu, looked at them with serious expressions.

     “So you have arrived.” Rain said with a low voice. Their guardian and Kharon II was already weak and badly wounded at the side, it was obvious this Sinner was exceptionally strong.

     Rain just walked towards Kenji’s table and casually sat on the chair. The air surrounding them was so dense that Tamo, Kai, and Kenji started having a hard time breathing

      “Did you think I’d let you attack me first like the other sinners you killed?” Rain asked with superiority in his voice.

     “How did you-”

     “Find you?” Rain quickly cut off, making Sunggyu flinch because that was the exact same thing Sunggyu said to the informant. Sunggyu clenched his fist and realized that he has actually been listening to them the entire time.

     “I knew that you’ll look for Minato, so that’s why I placed my mark and the summoning mark on his body.” Rain said as he looked at the Demons, “And I also knew that you’ll kill him afterward. It was a perfect plan because for the summoning mark to work it needed to offer someone, same goes to my mark.”

     “Why didn’t we sense you coming?” It was Jaejoong who bravely asked the question next.

     “We were summoned by Minato’s body and his blood covered our scent.” Rain surprisingly answered before standing up again. He then looked at Kharon II, AKA Taro Yamada, and smirked, “And you even made Yamada join the party. I enjoyed killing his wife by the way, so killing him would definitely bring me more delight.”

     The sinner then looked back at his right-hand ghoul, “Rinu, what should we do to make this a quick kill? I still have a meeting to attend today so we have to do this fast.”  While Rain and Rinu were distracted by their confidence, the Demons looked at each other and made an on-the-spot plan.

     “ Taeil, what do we do? “ Minhyuk whispered as he stared directly at the ghoul who was walking towards them.

     “ Junsu, are they the last one? “ Taeil then asked in a soft voice, and Junsu simply nodded as an answer.

     “ Hyunseung and Minhyuk, help Sunggyu kill the Sinner. “ Taeil instructed, “ Me, Suho, Jackson, and Jiyong will deal with the ghoul. “ He then added.

     “ What about us my Prince? “ Jaejoong whispered to Taeil without removing his eyes on Rain and Rinu.

     “ Help our guardian and Kharon II, “ Taeil answered.  

      “ And also Tamo, Kai, and Kenji. “ Suho quickly added. The Souls of Lucifer nodded and everybody readied their weapon.

     “Now go!” Taeil finally shouted, and the Demons, including the Souls of Lucifer, spread out and did what Taeil had planned.

     Rain wasn’t even surprised by the sudden attack. So without any hesitation, he pushed Rinu away and ran outside, Sunggyu and the others following right behind him.

     The Souls of Lucifer stopped time and went to the two-wounded Kharons and the nearly dead humans, Tamo, Kai, and Kenji. Jiyong cast the same amount and strength of fire that his guardian produced when they were ambushed by ghouls at the shopping district.

     “Argh!” Rinu screamed in agony. Taeil took the opportunity to smack the knees of the ghoul and the ghoul ones again screamed.

     Suho went to the screaming Rinu and took all of his memories and forcefully pushed it back inside of him. Rinu screamed once more while touching his temples, then Jackson ran to him and grabbed his head before detaching it from his neck. For good measures, Jiyong joins Jackson and sets Rinu on fire.

     On the other hand…

     Sunggyu and his brothers were now face-to-face with the deadly sinner, Rain. Sunggyu slashed the back of the Sinner, but Rain easily dodged the attack and grabbed hold of Sunggyu’s weapon. He pushed Sunggyu away from him, but thankfully, Hyunseung caught Sunggyu before his back could touch the floor.

     “Do you think a low life demon like you could kill me?” Rain taunted.

     “No, but my brothers can.” Sunggyu confidently stated. And with that, Hyunseung and Minhyuk transformed into full-blown demons, shocking Rain.

     Hyunseung and Minhyuk quickly vanished in front of them. Rain looked at his surroundings, and just like the wind that passed by, Hyunseung and Minhyuk were already behind him. Before Rain could even turn around, Hyunseung and Minhyuk immediately grabbed him by the arm.

     “Now Sunggyu!” Minhyuk shouted, and without any second thought, Sunggyu ran towards the Sinner and stabbed him in the heart.

     The room fell silent. Rain looked at Sunggyu, his eyes wide from shock. Then, blood started oozing out of his mouth. Sunggyu quickly removed his weapon from Rain’s chest, the fresh blood dripping at the end of his weapon.

     Hyunseung and Minhyuk were about to let go of him, but suddenly Rain grabbed hold of the two Demons and threw them across the room, making them hit the bookshelf.

     “Hyunseung!! Minhyuk!!” Sunggyu shouted as he looked at his fallen brothers.

     “Do you really think that can easily kill me?!” Rain now shouted as he grabbed hold of Sunggyu by his neck. Sunggyu struggled to get away from the grasp of the Sinner, but Rain was still too strong for him.

     “Remember this half-blood, from here on out, killing us will be harder than killing those so-called Sinners of Hell before me. And if you’re not a true demon, killing me will be impossible.” Rain stated. Then he threw Sunggyu towards a mirror, the glass shattering by the impact.

     “Sunggyu!!” Hyunseung shouted as he saw Sunggyu unconscious on the floor. 

     Hyunseung once again tried to attack the Sinner, but Rain dodged him easily and grabbed hold of Hyunseung’s weapon. Minhyuk took this chance, but the same thing happened to Minhyuk. At this point, Rain was already holding both of their weapons. He angrily looked at Hyunseung and Minhyuk before aggressively throwing their weapons back to them.

     Hyunseung and Minhyuk got stabbed in their shoulders, and like the speed of light, Rain appeared in front of them again. He took their weapons and used it to pierce them against the bookshelves.

     “ARG!!!” Hyunseung and Minhyuk screamed in agony as they got stuck on the shelve, unable to escape.

     Rain was panting heavily as he looked at the wounded Demons. He wiped the blood on his face and looked back at where Sunggyu’s unconscious body was. But to his surprise, Sunggyu wasn’t there anymore. The Sinner then felt a chilling dark aura standing right behind him.

      Rain immediately turns around and saw Sunggyu. The Sinner flinched by how powerful the demon looked. And before he could even say anything, Sunggyu gripped on his weapon and shouted, “Killing you will never be impossible!” 

     He stabbed Rain on his back with all his might, causing Rain to stumble.

     “Fuck!” Rain shouted as he tried to push Sunggyu away from him. But Sunggyu was already so strong that he effortlessly pushed his weapon deeper. Then he kicked Rain away from him, forcefully pulling the weapon off his back.

     “If you’re that powerful then that means I’m as powerful as you…and maybe even more,” Sunggyu said as he turned his eyes red and went towards the wounded Sinner. He grabbed his face and forced him to look at him in the eye.

     “Even though you’re a Sinner, this body has something to fear.” When Sunggyu said this, the Sinner widened his eyes and tried to escape Sunggyu’s grasp. Rain tried to punch Sunggyu on the face so he could let go of him, but Sunggyu just wiped the blood on his lip, unfazed on the sudden action.

     Sunggyu looked back at Rain and stabbed him on the side next, making him wince in pain.

     “So Sinner…or  what you are called here, Ji-hoon,” Sunggyu said as he looked at the Sinner in the eye, “What is your greatest fear?” Sunggyu added, and when Sunggyu said those words, the Sinner remembered something, a great fear that the owner of the body had been trying to hide from.

     Rain just screamed in pain as he remembered his greatest fear, and Sunggyu took this opportunity to finally end him.

     “Now, who’s the half-blood?” Sunggyu finished. Then he shouted at the top of his lungs before finally slashing his weapon across the Sinner’s neck. Blood splattered, covering Sunggyu with his blood. Then Rain’s head slowly falls, then his body fell right after. 

     Sunggyu’s eyes went back to normal. He summoned his weapon back as his aura slowly faded. He looked at his two brothers and saw that they were still stuck on the shelf.

     “Hyunseung, Minhyuk. Are you okay?” Sunggyu asked as he went in front of his brothers.

     “Yeah, we’re fine,” Hyunseung answered as he tried to pull the weapon off them.

     “Let me do it,” Sunggyu stated, and without wasting any second, Sunggyu pulled the weapons off of Hyunseung and Minhyuk.

     The two fell from the ground and were already bleeding badly. Sunggyu helped his brothers stand up and they went to the rest of his brothers back to the other room. When the rest of the Demons saw Sunggyu and the others, Jackson immediately went to them to help Hyunseung and Minhyuk. 

     “Are you guys okay?” Sunggyu asked, mostly referring to Tamo, Kai, and Kenji.

     “Yes, they’re already fine. We applied first aid to them. But we need to send them to the hospital so that they can be properly treated.” Taeil stated while bandaging Kai’s arm.

     “Okay, I’ll call an ambulance.” Suho presented as he went outside of the room to make the call. Jackson and the other Demons tried to ease the injured ones. Thankfully it wasn’t something everyone should panic about since demons heal fast.

     Suho went back inside the room and looked at his brothers worriedly.

     “Have you called an ambulance?” Sunggyu asked the moment he saw Suho.

     “I can’t get a signal,” Suho stated as he showed them his phone.

     “My apologies my Prince, but the time is still stopped. I’ll bring it back to normal for you.” Yoochun reminded them, and then he snapped his fingers, and just like that, everything was moving once more.

     “Thank you,” Suho said before going back outside.

     “My Prince, have you taken the soul of the Sinner yet?” Junsu then asked.

     “No, not yet,” Sunggyu answered as he wiped the blood off from his face.

     “May you please get the Sinners soul now?” Jaejoong pleaded.

     “Since we’ve been using our powers, we’re rapidly consuming the previous souls that you fed to us,” Yoochun added.

     “Oh okay, then can you please bring the body to me,” Sunggyu instructed. The SOL’s immediately went out and took the body ( and the head ), back to the room. When everyone saw the Sinner’s body, they couldn’t help but be shocked.

     “That is one brutal death,” Kai commented.

     “Reminds you of the old days?” Tamo teased, even though he was already weak himself. Everyone laughed. Then Sunggyu approached the body and got ready to absorb his soul. But when he kneeled in front of him, he hesitated.

     The SOL’s looked at Sunggyu, noticing his hesitation.

     “What’s wrong my Prince?” Junsu asked as he looked at Sunggyu who was in doubt.

     “Can I still get his soul even though I beheaded him?” Sunggyu innocently asked as he scratched his head. Minhyuk and the rest of the Demons approached the body and looked at it closely.

     “This is the bloodiest kill I have ever seen,” Minhyuk commented as he looked at the headless Sinner. 

     “Why do you need to be that brutal?” Taeil asked as he tried to kick the Sinners’ head away, but Jackson stopped him from doing so.

     “Well, he made me mad and called me half-blood. I just HAD to behead him.” Sunggyu calmly explained, like beheading someone who pissed you off was a normal thing to do.

     “Well, you are a half-blood.” Minhyuk pointed out, and this made Sunggyu furious again. Sunggyu was about to hit Minhyuk, but Jiyong immediately stopped him from doing so.

      “Hey, hey. Chill outSunggyu. After taking this Sinner’s soul, you won’t be a half-blood anymore.” Jiyong reminded him, and Sunggyu sighed and finally got ready to absorb the Sinner’s soul.

     “Why do you have to say that?” Jiyong asks Minhyuk before smacking him at the back of his head.

     “Sorry.” Minhyuk simply said while rubbing his aching head.

      Sunggyu breathed in deeply and finally chanted, “ I, the Prince of Wrath, the fifth son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keeper to be transferred to me in the name of Satan. “ And with that, the soul transferred to Sunggyu. He breathed deeply again and then slowly stood up. He opened his eyes, and just by the appearance, everyone knew that Sunggyu was no longer a half-blood.

     “Feeling good Sunggyu?” Minhyuk asked, and suddenly, Sunggyu clenched his fist and punched Minhyuk. But luckily for Minhyuk, he quickly dodged him seconds before Sunggyu’s fist could make contact with his face.

     “The fuck man?!” Minhyuk asked with shock as he stumbled away from his furious brother.

     “Sorry.” Sunggyu apologized, but with the most insincere voice he could ever make.

      “I think we need to be nice towards Sunggyu or else he might punch us too,” Hyunseung said and everyone nodded.

     “I already called the ambulance, they’re on their way now.” Suho suddenly informed them as he entered the room. Then he saw the Sinner’s body, and Suho immediately looked away, “What the hell?! You fucking butchered him?!”

     Sunggyu doesn’t say anything and just kicked the Sinner’s head, making it roll towards Suho. Suho panicked, and his reaction made everyone laugh.

     “So what are we going to do to him?” Taeil asked.

     Finally, the two Kharons joined the others.

     “I’ll take care of it.” Kharon II stated, “I’ll manipulate Taro Yamada’s memory, making him think that it was he who killed this man,” Kharon II added.

     “Okay, then I’ll let you handle it.” Kharon III said, “And I’m sorry for bringing you into this mess by the way,” he added

     “It’s okay. That’s what we do right?” Kharon II asked as he winked at Kharon III.

     Kharon II walked towards Suho and took the head.

     “Why bring that?” Jiyong asked as he looked at the previous Kharon.

     “Well, I need proof that I killed him right?” Kharon II asked, then he suddenly vanished with the head of the Sinner without even saying goodbye.

     “Will he return back into Taro Yamada?” Taeil asked.

     “Yes, he will. So you don’t need to worry my Princes.”, Kharon III assured the Demons.

     “But how about this place? We need to clean this or make up a lame excuse once the paramedics arrive.” Suho said as he looked at the room.

     “Don’t worry my Prince, let us handle it,” Junsu stated, then Yoochun and Jaejoong held hands with Junsu, and within seconds, everything returned to normal as if nothing happened. It was no doubt the three were souls of Lucifer. They really were powerful.

     “Then what will we say to them when they ask us about Tamo, Kai, and Kenji?” Minhyuk asked.

     “Don’t worry, them seeing us like this is normal,” Tamo said as he tried to stand up. Then he helped his father stand up as well.

     “Yeah, they’ll just tell them that it was another fight involving the Ravens,” Kai assured the Demons. And just a few minutes later, the paramedics arrived, and like what Kai said, Tamo told the paramedics that they were caught in a fight that involved the Ravens, and just like that, the paramedics didn’t ask any questions anymore.

     “We’ll be back,” Kai said as the paramedics escorted him outside the room.

     “I know you’re still doing your mission, so use my office and my resources as much as you want,” Tamo said as he went in front of Sunggyu.

     “Thank you, Tamo,” Sunggyu stated with a bow, then Tamo nodded his head and went out to follow Kai.

     “Hope you finish your mission without any more problems Demons.” Kenji then added as he was lying down on a stretcher.

     “Don’t worry Kenji, we’ll be more careful,” Hyunseung said before the paramedics could take Kenji away from the room.

     “We’ll be on our way now.” One of the paramedics told the Demons before finally leaving the room.

     “So what’s the next plan?” Jiyong asked as he looked at Taeil.

     “Since this mission took us 2 days, we need to wait for another day before we go to the next Sinner,” Taeil explained.

     “And why is that?” Sunggyu asked rather rudely, and the Demons just shrugged their shoulders.

     Taeil looked at his brother and finally answered, “Because this time, we’ll be entering a contest.”

     Everyone was dumbfounded, but as for their leader, Sunggyu rolled his eyes and simply said, “These missions get dummer and dummer. What else do we have to do to get that goddamn gate open?” Taeil looked at his short-tempered brother and smirked, “A lot more.”

• END -

SDS2 27: MISSION VI: THE ENVIOUS SINGER PT. 1

• Son Ga-in’s POV -

“MY LADY, YOU’RE UP.” My ghoul, also my assistant slash manager Rise, stated as he entered the dressing room.     

     I was humming the song that I’ll be singing on my opening act while I finished applying my makeup. As I put on my lipstick, I catch a glimpse of Rise on the reflection in the mirror. She didn’t have to say anything for me to understand why she was there.

     I smacked my lips together and stood up from my seat. After checking myself for one last time, I went out of the dressing room, Rain following right behind me.

     Walking towards the stage, the hair on my skin stands as I hear the screams of my oh-so-loyal-fans in the distance. The sound of my name being shouted made me smirk.

     “Gain!!”

     “GAIN!!”

     “GAIN!!”

      “I really love hearing my name being shouted like that,” I said as Rise gave me my microphone. I got ready and gripped on the mic before asking, “Do I have some fanboys waiting for me at my dressing room later?”

     Rise approached me and adjusted my clothes one last time, “Yes, my lady.” 

     “Good. After this, I need to eat a lot.” I said as I licked my lips hungrily.

      “We’re live on 5…” one of my ghouls said and I took a deep breath and got ready.

      “4, 3, 2, 1…” As my ghoul finished counting down, the lift went up and my fans started screaming my name even louder.

     I’m Gain and I am the rising star in the idol industry here in Japan. Of course, that’s just my cover-up. My real identity is  Carreau, and I am the 6th Sinner. I’m envious as fuck, that’s why after the King of Hell granted us the gift to walk in this world, I took the body of idols so everyone’s attention would be on me. But this body has been my favorite amongst the 19 bodies that I have already taken. You know why? Because this body has the ability to lure so many men that I could eat afterward.

     And chanting my name alone makes my body so hot that I could have my orgasm just from it.

     “My Lady?” Rise called out as she slowly entered my dressing room right after the concert.

     I angrily stood up from the floor and wiped my blood-covered mouth with the back of my hand. I looked down on the pile of naked dead bodies in front of me before looking back at my manager who rudely interrupted my dinner time, “What is it?” I asked her.

      “We have a terrible problem.” Rise seriously said, taking a bathrobe from the rack.

      I lick the blood on the back of my hand before looking at her with my right eyebrow raised, “What kind of problem?” I asked, wearing the bathrobe that she handed me before sitting down on the sofa.

     Rise hesitated, but then she gulped and said it anyway, “Xaphan and the others are dead.”

     The news surprised me, but it was something that was bound to happen anyway. So I took a deep breath and took the nail file on the table so I could file my already perfect nails, “How did you find out,” I asked with a bored tone.

     “I saw in the news that Ji-Hoon is dead,” she revealed, confusing me.

     “And who the fuck is Jihoon?” I asked, still not looking at her.

     “Well my Lady, Ji-Hoon is Xaphan’s human body.” Rise answered, making me remember that Xaphan picked a Yakuza leader for a body. That man seriously likes danger.

     “How about the rest, are they also-” Rise immediately cuts me off and says, “Yes they are, I tried to go to there base but everyone was all gone. Even their ghouls.”

     I didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. The situation was shocking but it’s not something that I should really panic over. I am the sixth sinner after all. Those before me are practically rookies.

     “I think it’s them, my Lady.” Rise suddenly stated, and that finally made me put down my nail file just so I could look at her.

     “ If they already killed Xaphan, that means they’re already stronger. “ I thought out loud before continuing, “But if that’s the case, I’m still stronger than Xaphan and the rest of the sinners combined,” I reminded myself as I looked at my ghoul.

     “Continue with our preparations and secure the area,” I ordered my ghoul, then she bowed and immediately left the room. As soon as she was gone, I stood up from the sofa and walked towards the pile of dead bodies before saying, “They’re not going to kill me. Not in this lifetime.”

• THIRD PERSON’S POV -

“We’ll be entering a contest,” Taeil revealed, shocking everyone.

     “These missions get dummer and dummer. What else do we have to do to get that goddamn gate open?” Sunggyu angrily asked as he looked at his brother. Taeil wasn’t even fazed by Sunggyu’s intimidating aura as he smirked at him and replied, “Don’t worry, we got two more of it.”

     Minhyuk groaned loudly and immediately complained, “Seriously Taeil? From all the plans you’ve made, this is by far the weirdest!”

      “I know okay, but let’s just talk at our headquarters so that you’ll understand what the contest is actually about,” Taeil explained.

      “Headquarters? It’s just Tamo’s office. No need to make it sound so cool.” Suho stated a-matter-a-factly, making Jiyong smack Suho’s head in annoyance.

      “Aw! Why?!” Suho angrily shouted as he rubbed his aching head. No one replied to him anymore, but instead, Kharon III teleported them to there ’ headquarters ’ without saying a word.

AT TAMO’S OFFICE

      Taeil went directly to the table and took some flyers out. While he was preparing for the next Sinner, the three SOL’s went to Sunggyu with hunger in their eyes.

      “Prince Sunggyu, may we ask for the soul now?” the three asked Sunggyu in unison.

      “Okay. Taeil, go and tell our brothers the plan. I’ll just give the soul to these three,” Sunggyu stated, and Taeil nodded and looked back at his brothers who were already waiting for him to explain their next plan.

     “So why are we joining a contest?” Minhyuk asked once more.

      “It’s because this girl is our next target,” Taeil stated as he showed them a picture of a sexy Japanese Idol.

     “This is-” Taeil cut Suho off and continued for him, “Our next Sinner. This is Gain, also known as the Sexy Idol of Japan.” Then he showed the brothers her profile on the screen of the computer in front of them.

     “She’s one of the rising stars in Korea, but immigrated in Japan since this country is all of the Sinner’s home base. And now, apparently, she’s one of the best idols here. I don’t know if the Sinner took Gain’s body before or after she became famous, but what I am sure of is that she’s the one we’re supposed to kill.” Taeil explained.

      “I know that this is obviously not necessary since you’ve been right since day one, but how sure are you that this idol is our Sinner?” Hyunseung asked while still scanning Gain’s profile.

      “Kharon already gave me a hint and told me that the sixth sinner is a famous female idol. So I scanned different idols and coincidentally saw this idol who has a theme about temptation, or sin in general. I thought it would be a dead giveaway, so I hacked into one of her concert’s security system and discovered something,” Taeil explained, and everyone looked at him with anxiety.

     “Discovered what?” Jiyong impatiently asked.

     “When I hacked the CCTV footage on her concerts, I saw fanboys waiting outside of her dressing room,” Taeil revealed, making the brothers look at Taeil like he was stupid.

     “Okay, now I’m confused. What’s so shocking about that? Every idol has that.” Suho honestly tells Taeil.

      Taeil nodded his head to agree, “Of course I know that. What did you expect? That I seriously have no idea that idols have that? You didn’t let me finish so let me explain everything. Her fanboys would head inside her dressing room, hours later, a young woman, who I suspect is her ghoul, would enter and then come out with body bags. Now tell me Suho, does every idol have THAT.” Taeil pointed out, and everyone winced as Taeil showed them the video of what he was talking about.

      “Wow Taeil, I don’t know what will happen to us if you weren’t around.” Minhyuk honestly stated, impressed with his brother.

      “So what’s the contest all about then?” Sunggyu asked as he walked towards his brothers with the Souls of Lucifer behind him.

      “Well, luckily for us, our Sinner made a contest. And whoever wins the said contest will have a chance to perform with her on stage,” Taeil revealed. 

      “Alright, but what’s the contest all about? Stop stalling,” Jackson asked, getting ready since this is his personal mission. Taeil looked at his brothers and smiled mischievously, “A Dance Contest.” He finally blurted out.

     Everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds, and when it finally sank in, they looked at Taeil with shock, “What?!” the brothers shouted in unison.

     “Are you serious?!” Jackson shouted rather loudly, making his brothers shocked because Jackson never shouted like that during their missions. While everyone was making a fuzz over what Taeil just said, Hyunseung massaged his temple and asked, “So you’re making us dance?”

     “Well I’m sorry guys, this is the only way that could make us get near the Sinner,” Taeil said defensively. The Demons looked at each other, especially at Jackson because he seems to be strongly against the plan. But Jackson just sighed and shrugged his shoulders, finally accepting defeat.

     “Okay, we’ll dance, but you have to come with us.” Sunggyu bargained, and everyone immediately nodded. Taeil awkwardly laughed and answered, “Sorry, I need to be here to monit-”

     “You’ll. Come. With. Us.” Sunggyu said again, taunting Taeil to do what he says.

      Taeil sighed and accepted defeat as well, “Okay I will, you don’t have to be scary,” Taeil said as he looked away from Sunggyu, making Sunggyu smirk in victory.

     “So if we win, what’s next?” Jackson asked.

     “We’ll be given a chance to perform with her.” Taeil simply stated.

     “And?” Jiyong asked. He knew too well that there was something more to that. Taeil grinned again, immediately making Jackson worried.

     “You’ll have to seduce her and make her fall in love with you,” Taeil finally says, almost making Jackson chock on nothing.

      “What?! Why do I need to do that?!” Jackson angrily asked, not liking where the plan is heading.

     “So that you can kill her in her dressing room,” Taeil said so naturally that it was starting to sound creepy.

     “How about the ghouls?” Minhyuk asked, worried that dozens of ghouls might pop out again like last time.

     “We’ll handle that my Princes.” Kharon III suddenly answered, and the SOL who was standing beside him nodded in agreement.

      “But Jackson needs help in killing the Sinner. I mean she’s still the 6th Sinner, making her 5 times stronger than the 1st Sinner. And Sunggyu barely killed the 5th Sinner who was crazy strong, what more if it’s her.” Suho explained with concern in his voice. 

     Taeil was thinking about it for a second and finally made a plan on the spot, “Then Sunggyu and I will be waiting outside her dressing room to back Jackson up.”

     Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

     “So when’s the contest?” Hyunseung asked.

     “Two nights from now,” Taeil answered before standing up from the chair.

      “Then we still have time to practice. The concert is a big part of our plan, so we have to dance real well in order for us to win.” Sunggyu stated.

     “Or if our dancing skills won’t work, Jackson can still just easily make an illusion that we’re the best dancer at the contest,” Jiyong explained, and that made everyone agree.

     “Well we still need to dance though,” Hyunseung pointed out.

     “Then let’s go somewhere and practice immediately,” Sunggyu stated, making the rest of his brothers groan and complain. 

     “Come on leader, we’ve been doing the mission for almost a week now. We need to chill once in a while.” Minhyuk stated as he looked at Sunggyu. Everyone, including Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer, agreed and waited for Sunggyu’s final decision.

     Sunggyu looked at his exhausted brothers and nodded his head in understanding, “Okay. Let’s…chill.” Sunggyu finally answered, and everyone was surprised and happy at the same time.

     “This is why you’re our leader.” Minhyuk said as he playfully hugged Sunggyu before suggesting, “Then let’s go to the mall!”

     Everyone was about to leave, but Sunggyu stopped and looked at their guardian who was standing near the window with the three Souls of Lucifer.

     “How about you, Kharon? You coming?” Sunggyu asked, and Kharon III looked at him and answered, “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be going somewhere as well.” Before Sunggyu could ask where they were going, Kharon III snapped his fingers and vanished with the three.

     “Well then, let’s go,” Sunggyu stated, and the rest of the Demons followed.

AT THE MALL

     “Damn this feels nice,” Jiyong stated as they entered the Mall near the Raven’s headquarters.

     “Its good to act like normal teenagers for once,” Hyunseung added, and everyone nodded in agreement. The Demons walked inside the mall with their famous pyramid formation. People kept on staring at the handsome Demons, which made the brothers secretly feel good.

      While the Demons were walking, Taeil noticed that his childhood friend, Jackson, was not enjoying their little break.

     “Hey, you okay?” Taeil asked as he placed an arm around Jackson’s shoulder.

     Jackson flinched when he felt Taeil’s hand touch him, “Huh? Yeah, I’m okay,” Jackson answered as he quickly removed Taeil’s arm over his shoulder. Taeil sighed and now looked at his best friend worriedly, “I know you’re not okay, so what’s going on?” Taeil asked, but with a more serious tone this time.

     “I just don’t like the plan Taeil,” Jackson finally answered.

      “Why? It’s just easy. Dance, win the contest, make the Sinner fall in love with you, and then kill her,” Taeil said as he did some weird gestures to emphasize his plan.

     Jackson sighed loudly, “That’s the problem Taeil, I can’t make her fall in love with me.” Jackson said as he now stopped walking, making the rest of the Demons stop walking as well.

     “What’s wrong?” Suho asked as he noticed Jackson’s worried expression.

     “Jackson doesn’t like the idea of making the Sinner fall in love with him,” Taeil answered while scratching the back of his head.

     “Why?” Sunggyu asked him, and Taeil just shrugged his shoulders. So Sunggyu went to his brother and seriously asked him, “What’s on your mind Jackson?”

     Jackson wasn’t sure on what to say, so Taeil - his closest brother - patted his back to encourage him. Jackson looked at him Taeil and thanked him, and then he looked back at his brothers and finally explained hi feelings, “I don’t know, but the plan…it doesn’t seem right to me.” 

     Everyone was confused, but Hyunseung smiled like he knew exactly what Jackson was worried about.

     “I think I know the reason,” Hyunseung tells them, and the Demons, especially Jackson looked at him with curiosity.

     “Its Mark isn’t it?” Hyunseung asked, suddenly making Jackson blush, and the Demons quickly knew what’s roaming in their envious brother’s mind with just his reaction.

     “I knew it,” Hyunseung stated, making everyone look at their adorable brother.

     “It’s okay lil’ brother,” Jiyong said as he rubbed Jackson’s head like a kid.

     “I’m sorry if I made you do this, but I hope you understand that we should separate our personal affairs with our mission. Look at Jiyong. He was friends with Roy Kim but he didn’t hesitate to attack him for the sake of our mission,” Taeil explained.

     “But we kinda already anticipated that you’ll have a hard time doing this mission anyway so you don’t have to worry about failing. There’s always plan B,” Suho said as he placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder.

     “Thanks, guys,” Jackson said rather shyly, and the Demons chuckled at their cute little brother. When everything was now settled, the Demons continued walking. And as they were strolling the mall, Hyunseung went to Jackson and looked at him.

     “Hey, if you want someone to talk to about your lover, I’m here okay? I might be the Prince of Lust, but I know a thing or two about love,” Hyunseung sincerely stated, and Jackson smiled and draped his arms around Hyunseung’s shoulder before finally joining the rest of their brothers.

      Everything was pretty normal after that. They went from shop to shop, buying items that they’ll bring back to South Korea. But as the Demons continued walking, Taeil suddenly froze in place. Everyone stopped and stared at Taeil who had a shocked expression. Then Taeil suddenly ran to the side, hiding from something that the Demons couldn’t see. They were confused, but they immediately followed behind Taeil and hid too.

     “No fucking way. Guys, look.” Taeil said as he pointed at the two girls that are just five meters away from them.

     “What about them?” Jiyong asked as he stared at the girls that Taeil was pointing at.

     “See the girl with the glasses on her hair?” Taeil asked.

     “Yeah?” the Demons replied in unison.

     “That’s our Sinner,” Taeil said bluntly, and everybody got shocked and finally understood why Taeil was suddenly so jumpy.

     “Are you sure Taeil?” Minhyuk asked to reassure his brother about their current situation.

     “I’m one hundred percent sure.” Taeil confidently answered.

     “Yeah, I saw the picture in the profile Taeil showed us too,” Suho added to clarify that the girl really is the sixth Sinner.

     “So what are we going to do? I mean, we shouldn’t let this opportunity slip.” Jiyong pointed out, and the Demons nodded and looked at Taeil, their tactician, to wait for his instructions.

     “We need to commence our plan,” Taeil said as he looked at Jackson, and Jackson just looked back at Taeil with his eyes wide from shock.

     “Don’t worry about it Jackson, Mark won’t even know so fuck her right there before I do it for you,” Jiyong said with a grin. Jackson got pissed by his brother’s words and was about to punch his prideful brother, but Sunggyu stopped him before he can fist his hand.

     “Sorry.” Jiyong immediately said when he saw Sunggyu glaring at him.

     “Fine” Jackson said with a heavy heart. After all, Jackson is a type of boyfriend that will not cheat on his partner, even if it’s for the sake of a plan or a mission.

     “Excellent.” Taeil happily said, then he looked at Hyunseung and added, “Hyunseung, cast a lustful aura around Jackson, but don’t make it too obvious that she’ll notice it’s too unnatural.” Taeil said, and Hyunseung just nodded and went in front of Jackson.

     The rest of the Demons made a small circle so they could hide Jackson and Hyunseung. Then Hyunseung placed a small amount of pheromone on Jackson, making Jackson look irresistible.

     “Damn Jackson, you look so freakin’ hot.” Suho honestly said as he eyed his envious brother from head to toe.

     “I don’t like this,” Jackson said as he looked at himself from the reflection of a shop window.

     “Come on Jackson, stop being a baby,” Jiyong said with an annoyed tone, and Minhyuk immediately held Jackson’s shoulders before he could do something about Jiyong’s comment.

     “Jiyong’s right.” Sunggyu surprisingly said, “This is part of your mission, so do it right. If you successfully do this and end your mission with ease, you’ll be powerful enough to protect the person you truly love.” Sunggyu stated, convincing Jackson to just do it and get it over with.

     Jackson sighed and finally nodded his head with determination, “Alright, fine. What am I suppose to do?” Jackson asked while rubbing his temple.

     “Alright, here how it’s going to play. We’ll walk towards her, ‘accidentally’ bump into her, let Jackson talk to her, then let’s see where this will go.” Taeil quickly explained, and everyone nodded in understanding.

     Taeil nodded his head, and just like that, all seven walked towards the Sinner who was innocently looking at clothes outside store windows. As they walked past her, Sunggyu - who was standing at the front of the group - purposely bumped into Gain. And when she fell. Sunggyu smirked and ignored her before walking away.

     Gain looked at Sunggyu with shock as she angrily shouted, “Hello?! Excuse me?!”

     The rest of the Demons ignored her, but as planned, Jackson stopped and immediately went to the Sinner with a ‘concerned’ expression.

     “Oh here, let me help you,” Jackson said as he offered his hand to her. Gain angrily takes Jackson’s hand to stand up, then her personal ghoul - Rise - pushes Jackson away to immediately attend to her boss.

     “My lady, are you okay?” Rise asked as she helped dust off the dirt on Gain’s clothes.

     “What the hell is wrong with that man?! I will find him and I will-” Gain suddenly stopped when she looked at and saw Jackson’s face.

     Gain was so shocked that Rise looked at her confusingly, “My lady. Is everything okay?”

      Gain ignored her ghoul as she slowly approached Jackson, “ My, my. What a handsome young man. “   the Sinner thought to herself.

     “ I’m sorry on behalf of my friends, “ Jackson stated in perfect Japanese. The Sinner quickly shakes her head and answered, “N-No…No. I was just…I wasn’t looking, it’s my fault.”

     “You’re Korean?” Jackson asked when the Sinner accidentally forgot to speak in Japanese.

     Jackson was oozing with lust that Gain was slowly feeling hot and unfocused. “Yeah, and by the way you reacted, you’re Korean as well,” Gain stated, and Jackson nodded his head as an answer.

     Gain was about to say something, but Jackson immediately cuts her off and says, “This is perfect. My brothers and I have been looking for something, but we can’t seem to find it. Can you help us?”

     Rise was about to refuse for her, but Gain stopped her ghoul and quickly answered, “No problem. What is it?”

     “My friends and I have been looking for the arcade, but we can’t seem to find it. Do you suppose know where it is?” Jackson asked.

     Gain smiles and quickly nods her head, “Of course I do. I’ve been to this mall for years. I know everything here.”

     Without waiting for Jackson to answer, Gain started waking away, immediately making Rise grab her arm to stop her, “My lady, where are you going?” she asked worriedly. But Gain just pushed her ghoul away and answered, “I’ll be escorting this young gentleman to the arcade, so just head back, I can handle it from here.”

     Her ghoul hesitated. She didn’t want to leave her boss, especially since the other Sinners had already been killed. But the glare on Gain’s eyes immediately made Rise nod and leave with no question.

     When the two were finally alone, Gain looked back at Jackson and said, “Let’s go then big guy.”

     Jackson doesn’t say anything and just followed beside Gain. When they arrived at the arcade that Jackson mentioned, Gain stopped in front of Jackson and said, “Here we are.”

     “Thank you,” Jackson said as he made a quick bow.

     “Don’t mention it.” Gain answered back. Then she waited for Jackson to say something else, but when he didn’t, Gain annoyingly rolled her eyes and whispered to herself, “ Do I really have to throw myself at you? “ So she smirked at Jackson and seductively walked away, but as she expected, Jackson grabbed her arm and stopped her, making her grin.

     She though Jackson fell for her ‘playing hard to get’ gig, but in reality, it was Jackson who was playing her. 

     “Would you want to come inside and accompany me while I wait for my friends?” Jackson innocently asked.

     Gain looked at him and pretended like she was looking at her watch to check if she still had time. When it was obvious that she did have time, she looked back at Jackson and answered, “Sure, I could do that.”

     So Jackson opened the door and he and the Sinner went inside the not so busy arcade. When they got inside, Jackson took out his phone and called his brothers to tell him where he and the Sinner was.

     “ Hey Jackson, “ Sunggyu causally answered.

     “Hey, where are you guys? I’m at the arcade. I’ll text you the location.” Jackson tells him, pretending that they really were heading here.

     “ We’re in the office now though. “ Sunggyu suddenly blurted out, honestly shocking Jackson.  

     “What?! You already went back?” Jackson angrily shouted.

     “ Don’t worry, we’ll keep track of you. Just call us if something comes up. “ Sunggyu stated, and before Jackson could even answer, Sunggyu hangs up.

     “So where are they?” Gain asked when Jackson placed his phone back inside his pocket.

     “Well, they left me and went back to our hotel”. Jackson answered as he went out of the arcade, the Sinner following behind him.

     “Thank you for accompanying me. I really appreciate it.” Jackson said as he smiled at the Sinner.

     “Don’t mention it.” the Sinner answered as she smiled back.

     “Well see you around then,” Jackson said, now walking away. Gain couldn’t believe that Jackson was ready to leave her like that, so she immediately grabbed hold of Jackson’s sleeve, making Jackson stop to look back at her.

      “Do you have other plans besides going back to your hotel room? I could show you around if you want.” Gain immediately suggested as she removed her hold from Jackson’s sleeves.

     “I don’t think I could waste more of your time,” Jackson answered, but in all honestly, he was just too afraid that she’d eventually find out about his true identity. So Jackson walked away again, but Gain was persistent, she wasn’t letting go of such a handsome and delicious looking meal.

     “No, you’re not wasting any of my time.” Gain said, quickly following Jackson.

     Jackson was already having cold sweats as he tried to run away from the Sinner.

     “I told you, ma’am, I’m not-” Before Jackson could decline her again, Gain suddenly grabbed Jackson and slammed his body on the wall. She held his shoulder and moved her face so close to his that people around them thought that they’d kiss.

     “ You’ll come with me, “ Gain whispered, and just like that, Jackson nodded his head and smiled. A smile that he only usually shows to his lover, Mark.

     “Great! Then…do you want to get a drink with me?” Gain asked seductively, finally letting go of Jackson.

     Jackson stared at her blankly and nodded his head as an answer. The Sinner jumped cheerfully, and Jackson blinked and took out his phone before immediately typing the words: I’m going out for a drink with the Sinner now. I’ll text the location as soon as I can.

     When Gain looked back at Jackson, Jackson immediately hid his phone back.

     “So, should we go?” Gain asked, touching Jackson’s arm now. Jackson looked back at Gain with an expressionless face again and answered, “Sure. Anywhere is fine.”

     “That’s good to hear. And don’t worry, I know a good place.” The Sinner said as she held on Jackson’s arms and started walking away.

AT AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB

NOTE: To not confuse anyone, Japanese is mostly used in this scene. I don’t need to indicate it to not ruin the flow of the story, but you’ll easily identify them.

     “Hey, it’s the one and only rising star Gain.” The bartender greeted as he saw the Sinner with Jackson in her arms. The Sinner smiled to acknowledge the bartender and went at the bar, Jackson still on her grip.

     “Same as before?” the bartender asked, and the Sinner nodded as an answer. She finally lets go of Jackson and sat on the stool while Jackson sat beside her. While the bartender was mixing some drinks, he couldn’t help but glance at the good-looking man beside Gain, “Your new toy?” the bartender asked as he gave the Sinner her drink.

     “Nothing like that.” The Sinner answered with a chuckle. Then she looked at Jackson and winked at him before adding, “I don’t even know his name yet,” then she drank her drink in one go, quickly emptying the glass like it was just water. 

     The bartender just nodded, and then he looked at Jackson and asked, “So what do you want not-Gain’s-toy?”

     “Godfather,” Jackson answered, and the bartender nodded and started preparing for his drinks before filling up Gain’s glass again.

     “Jackson.” Jackson suddenly blurted out while looking at the bottles displayed on the cabinet in front of them.

     Gain was caught off guard as he looked at Jackson confusingly. “Wh-What?” she asked, suddenly flustered with Jackson’s suddenness. Before the Sinner could utter another word, the bartender gave Jackson and Gain their drinks. Jackson looked at the Sinner with a smile on his face before answering her confusion, “My name is Jackson,” he clarified, then he drank his drink in one go. 

     Gain couldn’t help but genuinely smile as she said, “That’s a nice name. I’m Gain by the way, if you didn’t know.”

     Jackson looked at Gain, and somehow, the way he looked at her made Gain feel hot. Hyunseung’s power really did have great effects.

     “I know,” Jackson answered, honestly shocking the Sinner.

     “You know?” the Sinner asked, and Jackson pointed at the bartender and said, “That’s what he called you right? Gain?”

     Gain looked at him and suddenly laughed.

     “Oh, I see,” she said, taking a sip on her drink.

     “What are you doing in the Country of the Rising Sun by the way?” the Sinner asked with her exaggerated hand movements, making Jackson laugh. When Jackson composed himself, he faced Gain and answered her, “Nothing. Just having a vacation with my friends. How about you, what are you doing here?”

     Gain smirked and looked at Jackson, “It’s weird to say this out loud but I’m actually a really famous singer here.”

     Jackson had to make the fakest shocked expression that he could make. It might have worked because Gain laughed and quickly said, “Don’t worry, I’m not really famous in other countries so I understand.”

     Jackson took a sip on his drink and looked at the Sinner with a smile. It was slowly making Jackson feel like the Sinner is just a normal human being like the rest of the people on earth. It was now making Jackson doubt if Taeil actually got this sinner right.

     “So, what do you do?” Gain asked.

     “I actually do a lot of things, but I am still a college student.”

     While the two were getting comfortable with each other, the club suddenly bombarded a tune that made everybody dance. Gain danced to the beat while she was on her seat. Jackson saw her so he suddenly stood up and started dancing now too. Then he took Gain’s hand and they both went to the dance floor, laughing and dancing like no one was watching.

     The night ended up pretty nicely for a Demon and a Sinner. There was no bloodshed. Only small talk, drinking, and dancing. The Sinner called it a night and gave her number to Jackson before parting ways. 

     Jackson was actually surprised that she didn’t try to kill him. But he didn’t want to think about it so he went back to the Raven’s headquarters and saw his brothers being a group of normal teenage boys.

     “Jackson you’re back!” Minhyuk excitedly shouted. When he looked at Jackson, a virtual bell suddenly rang, quickly making Jackson realize that the two were actually playing a video game.

     “I WIN!” Jiyong victoriously shouted as he stood up and danced his ’ victory ’ dance.

     “No fair. I was talking to Jackson!” Minhyuk whined as he saw the score on the television.

     “That’s what you get for getting distracted loser.” Jiyong proudly stated, and Minhyuk just flared up. After all ‘loser’ is a word that Minhyuk doesn’t want to hear, ever.

     “What did you say you fucker?!” Before Minhyuk could collide his fist at Jiyong’s face, Sunggyu quickly blocked it with his bare hand and said, “Stop it before I make both of you look like losers.” He lets go Minhyuk’s hand, making Minhyuk pout in defeat.

     “That’s why I don’t recommend you playing with Jiyong,” Sunggyu added. When Minhyuk had finally calmed down, Sunggyu went to Jackson who was still standing in front of the office door.

     “Good job Jackson,” Sunggyu said as he placed a hand over Jackson’s shoulder.

     Jackson blinked, then he shook his head and answered, “I don’t think I did a good job though.” Jackson said as he removed Sunggyu’s hand from him. Sunggyu just raised his eyebrows, then he sighed and signaled Jackson to follow him, so he did.

     In Tamo’s desk, there was Taeil, Suho, and Hyunseung, looking at the monitor of the computer. Sunggyu went to the other side and Jackson looked at what the bothers were looking at.

     “Is that-” Taeil cuts Jackson off, “Yup, that’s the CCTV footage at the mall, the club you went to, and the streets near it. This happened earlier. I recorded it so I could check if something weird happened,” Taeil explained, and Jackson just looked at the monitor with confusion.

     “How come you never smiled like that to us?” Suho asked as he pointed at the screen where Jackson happily smiled at the Sinner like she was Mark.

     “W-Wait…that’s what happened?” Jackson suddenly asked, then the Demons quickly looked back at him with confusion.

     “Why? Did you forget what you did? Are you actually very drunk?” Sunggyu asked, but Jackson just kept on looking at the monitor with a confused expression. Sunggyu looked at Taeil, so Taeil looked at Jackson and tapped his shoulder, making Jackson remove his eyes on the screen so he could look back at his brothers.

     “What’s the last thing you remember?” Hyunseung asked, and Jackson looked at Hyunseung and answered, “I remember going to the arcade and having a few drinks at the club. But I feel like every time she touches me, I lose myself. Soon after that, I go back to normal.”

     The brothers looked at each other confusingly, while Jackson frustratingly sighed and went to the sofa to watch Jiyong and Minhyuk playing the video game again.

     “Did you think he was manipulated?” Hyunseung asked while looking at Jackson. Everyone, except the two who just kept on playing video games, nodded in agreement.

     “I think we need our guardian for this,” Taeil suggested.

     “Then while we wait for our guardian, let’s practice.” Sunggyu immediately ordered, and instead of complaining, everyone agreed and followed their leader. Even the dazed and confused Jackson followed him.

     The Demons went to the center of the office and pushed the furniture to the side. When the room was now wide enough for them to practice, Suho looked at his brothers and asked, “So what song are we going to use?”

    “I already have one in mind,” Taeil suggested as he went to the computer to show everyone a dance practice. Since no one really had any song in mind, they just agreed with Taeil’s suggestion and picked that.

      Minhyuk and Jackson watched the choreography and memorized it. Hyunseung, Suho, and Jiyong went back to the mall to pick out their clothes, while the remaining Demons just sat on the sofa and waited for them. 

     Out of nowhere their guardian and Soul’s of Lucifer teleported back, shocking Taeil and Sunggyu.

      “Can you like…teleport outside the office and knock?” Taeil asked while holding his rapidly beating heart.

     “Anyway, now that you’re here, we want to show you something,” Sunggyu stated as he stood up from the sofa. Taeil followed and went to the computer. He opened the monitor and showed them the CCTV footage from earlier.

     “That girl,” Taeil pointed, “Is the Sinner, Ga-in.”

      “Why interact with her?” Kharon III asked as he continued to watch the footage.

     “Well, it’s an opportunity we couldn’t miss.” Taeil answered, then Sunggyu added, “And if we did this, it can give us an upper hand to the other part of our plan.” 

     Kharon III just nodded and continued watching. The Soul’s of Lucifer also watching behind him.

     “What seems to be the problem here?” Junsu asked as he looked at Taeil and Sunggyu.

     “It seems that the Sinner’s trying to manipulate her, but since it’s Jackson, he’s somehow able to still withstand it,” Sunggyu answered, and Junsu just kept on watching the footage.  After watching the footage, Kharon III and the Soul’s of Lucifer looked at Jackson who was just copying the dance moves for their dance at the competition.

     “What did he exactly say?” Yoochun asked.

     “He says he remembers snippets, but whenever the Sinner touches him, he loses himself,” Sunggyu stated, and the 4 demons just kept on staring at Jackson.

      “We think he got manipulated. Well, the Sinner was at least TRYING to manipulate him.” Taeil added. Kharon III and the Soul’s of Lucifer went towards Jackson, with Taeil and Sunggyu behind him.

     “Hey guys, what’s wrong?” Jackson asked as he noticed the four men just staring at him

     “Jackson, can you come here for a minute?” Jaejoong asked, and Jackson nodded and went to them.

     Kharon III and the Soul’s of Lucifer analyzed the Envious Prince, and out of nowhere, the four powerful Demons encircled the prince. They closed their eyes and chanted a spell, then all of a sudden, a dark and red cloud built up and kept on growing above Jackson’s head. Just in time, Suho, Hyunseung, and Jiyong arrived from the mall. When they got there, Sunggyu gestured them to quickly go inside and close the door.

     “What the fuck is that?” Suho asked as he stared at the red cloud.

     “We let them watched the footage and this suddenly happened,” Taeil said, and the Demons just watched their guardian carefully.

     Kharon III and the Soul’s of Lucifer stopped chanting, and so the dark, red clouds stopped growing, and suddenly the cloud precipitated red-like rain. The Soul’s of Lucifer raised their hands, and lighting struck Jackson, but Jackson didn’t even flinch. Instead, the rest of the Demons did. The thunderstorm-like cloud vanished, and Kharon III went in front of Jackson. Then he snapped his fingers right in front of Jackson’s face and black smoke came out from his mouth right before he fainted.

     “Jackson!” the Demons shouted, immediately grabbing Jackson before he could fall.

     “What did you do?” Suho asked as he tried to wake up Jackson.

     “Let him rest,” Junsu ordered. And then he told them to stop shaking him, so Yoochun and Jaejoong took Jackson from Suho and carried him on the sofa.

     “What was-” Kharon cuts him off and says, “We casted a cleansing spell.”

     “Cleansing spell?” Jiyong asked as he looked at his sleeping brother

     “Yes, a cleansing spell.” Jaejoong confirmed, and Yoochun added, “A spell that cleans a human from any spell cast on him.”

      “How can he be affected from a Sinner’s spell. He’s a demon right?” Hyunseung pointed out and Kharon III looked at the Princes’ of Hell one by one.

     “You were half-human and half-demon before. Half-bloods like what the 5th Sinner addressed Sunggyu.” Kharon III said as he looked at Sunggyu.

     Sunggyu clenched his fist, he didn’t like being called a half-blood, but when Sunggyu didn’t say anything, Kharon continued, “You were only demons after taking their souls, so without the Sinner’s souls, you are still half-blood, making you vulnerable from their spells.” 

     “But the spell is not as effective as it is.” Junsu added, “Because of the demon blood that is running through his veins, it makes him quickly snap out from the trance.”

     “So Jiyong,” Kharon called out, and Jiyong looked at their guardian confusingly. Without saying anything, Kharon exhaled a red smoke, and the red smoke went directly inside Jiyong’s mouth.

     “What was that?” Minhyuk asked, and Kharon looked back at them.

     “That is something that will protect prince Jiyong from the Sinner’s spell,” Kharon explained. Jiyong needed that spell since he and Jackson are the only half-bloods left.

     “What kind of spell does the Sinner have anyway?” Jiyong asked.

     “It’s an enchantment.” Jaejoong answered, “It’s a kind of spell that can be casted on a human. It can be casted just by a single touch from the Sinner.” 

     “Once he wakes up, you can continue what you are doing and he will be invulnerable to the Sinner’s spell,” Kharon said as he looked at the resting prince again. 

      “Great, now that that’s settled, let’s get back to work.” Sunggyu declared, but then he saw Jackson still unconscious, so he added, “Alright, once he wakes up.” 

• To be continued -

SDS2 28: LET’S DRINK TO THAT

IT WAS ALREADY MIDNIGHT, but the Demons still practiced for the contest. Minhyuk taught them the steps one by one. It was good as perfect, especially if Jackson would already join them.

     “Let’s call it a night,” Sunggyu said, panting heavily after their intense practice. They’ve never felt exhausted in their life, which is crazy since they’ve already gone through extreme training sessions with their guardian Kharon.

     “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Taeil said as he lies down and breathed heavily.

     The Demons lied down and immediately fell asleep, but just in time, Jackson woke up. He took a deep breath and stood up from the sofa, only to see his brothers all tired and unconscious. So instead of waking them up, he walked through the tired bodies and went to Tamo’s table. On the computer, he saw the folder of the CCTV footage, so he watched it once again.

     While watching, Hyunseung slowly sat up, “Jackson?” he called out as he rubbed his eyes.

     “Oh sorry, did I wake you?” Jackson asked as he looked at Hyunseung. Hyunseung stood up, stretched his arms, and went towards Jackson.

     “You need to rest. You’ve never had a chance to sleep,” Jackson said with a concerned tone in his voice.

     “It’s okay, I can rest from time to time like Taeil,” Hyunseung stated as he looked at Taeil who was snoring, making the two Demons chuckled.

     “So what are you doing?” Hyunseung asked as he looked at the monitor.

     “You’re watching it again?” he added when he saw the CCTV footage.

     “It’s just that I need to know what I did so that I will know how I will flirt with her again,” Jackson said while staring at the monitor. And then, the footage shows the smile that Hyunseung rarely sees.

     “That’s the smile that you only give to Mark, isn’t it?” Hyunseung pointed out, and Jackson sighed and answered, “Yeah, but not anymore.”

     Hyunseung looked at Jackson and immediately turned off the monitor.

     “Hey! Why did you do that for?” Jackson asked, but Hyunseung just pulled Jackson out from the chair and said, “Lets drink.”

     Jackson didn’t have time to give a reply because Hyunseung was already walking out. Jackson looked at his sleeping brothers and sighed, then he followed Hyunseung outside the office. When Hyunseung saw Jackson behind him, he smiled widely, “I thought you were going to bail on me.” He said as they were standing outside the Raven’s headquarters.

     Jackson smiled back and draped his arms around his brother, “I don’t bail on people. So come on, what do you want to drink?”

---

Hyunseung and Jackson arrived at a nearby pub that didn’t have a lot of people. But even though there wasn’t a large crowd, the two demons were already catching everyone’s attention thanks to their strong presence.

     “ What would you like to drink? “ the bartender asked when he saw Hyunseung and Jackson enter. Hyunseung doesn’t even say anything and only smiled at the bartender. Just by that, the male bartender blushes and pulls his tightening pants down a little.

     Jackson saw what happened and just rolled his eyes. Then the bartender quickly cleared his throat and asked again, “ W-What would you two like? “

     “Saki please,” Hyunseung requested, and the bartender immediately nodded his head and went to get what Hyunseung asked for.

     “Why did you bring me here?” Jackson asked as he looked at the place.

     “Nothing really. I just wanted to drink, and apparently, you’re the only one available to accompany me.” Hyunseung explained. Then the bartender arrived and placed two shot glass and the saki in front of them.

     “Arigato,” Hyunseung stated.

     “ If you need anything else, just ask .“ The bartender said as he gave Hyunseung a flirty smile, and Hyunseung returned the smile before the bartender could leave to attend the other customers.

     “How can you naturally do that?” Jackson asked as he looked at Hyunseung who was pouring their shot glass with saki.

     “Do what?” Hyunseung asked as he placed the saki back on the table.

     “You flirt naturally with people even though you have a lover,” Jackson explained. Hyunseung took the shot glass, gave the other one to Jackson, and said instead, “Cheers!” Jackson just nodded and both drank their drink.

     “Wow, that was smooth,” Jackson said as he placed the glass on the table, and Hyunseung nodded in agreement.

     “Remember what I told you at the mall?” Hyunseung asked as he poured Jackson another glass.

     “Kind of, why?” Jackson said as he drank his drink.

     “Well from the start of this ’ mission ’ you’ve been, I don’t know, down in the slumps?” Hyunseung said and he drank his drink before adding, “What’s really on your mind?”

     Jackson looked at his empty glass, then he looked at the people inside the pub before looking back at Hyunseung, “It’s just that this plan is really messing up my mind, and I don’t want to let you guys down because you guys did your plan on your mission without any second thought,” Jackson answered.

     “Why? Because it involves you flirting with the Sinner? Or because it feels like you’re betraying Mark for the sake of the mission?” Hyunseung asked.

     “Both,” Jackson answered, resting his head on the table in defeat. Hyunseung just stared at his brother and poured him another glass.

     “Does it really bother you that much?” Hyunseung asked.

     Jackson quickly lifts his head and looks at Hyunseung seriously, “It does! I mean, before we went to this mission, me and Mark were in conflict, and doing this plan is more than enough for Mark to hate me.” Jackson said, and Hyunseung just looked at him with a playful grin, and this made Jackson embarrassed.

     “It’s the same with me, Suho and Taeil you know.” Hyunseung said, and then he drank his drink in one go and continued, “This is just a mission. We’re doing this for everyone, including Mark. If he truly loves you like how you love him, then he will understand.”

     “I don’t know man. I mean I don’t even remember when I became so attached to Mark. And besides you and the others, Mark is one of the few people that is occupying my head right now,” Jackson said as he drank his drink in one go. Then he called the bartender and said “ Another bottle please. “

     When the bartender took the empty saki bottle, Hyunseung looked back at Jackson, “You should separate your private life to your Demon life you know.” Hyunseung said as he drank his drink and waited for the new bottle of saki.

     Jackson didn’t say anything and just sighed.

     Hyunseung saw how troubled his brother was and thought of a way for Jackson to feel at ease in doing his mission. Then Hyunseung suddenly thought of something when the bartender arrived to give them the new bottle of saki. Before the bartender could leave, Hyunseung called for him.

     “Is there something wrong?” the bartender asked, and Hyunseung shook his head and smiled in a flirtatious way. “No, I just wanted to ask you something. What’s your name by the way?” Hyunseung asked.

     “Matsumoto.” The bartender answered.

     “Matsumoto? Well, I’m Hyunseung, and this is my friend Jackson. We’re tourists from Korea,” Hyunseung introduced, making the bartender look at Jackson to smile at him as well.

     “So what can I do for you two fine gentlemen?” the bartender asked.

     “Nothing really. I just wanted to ask you something else. If that’s okay?” Hyunseung asked, and the bartender nodded as an answer.

     “Do you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?” Hyunseung suddenly asked, surprising not just the bartender, but Jackson as well. Jackson quickly looked back at Jackson and said, “You don’t have to ask something so private JS.” But Hyunseung just ignored his brother and continued to look at the bartender with a smile, “Don’t worry, we won’t judge.” Hyunseung pushed the bartender into talking.

     The bartender didn’t look that fazed anymore. He cleared his throat and answered, “I have a boyfriend.” The bartender said rather shyly, and Hyunseung just his head and said, “No need to be shy, we also have boyfriends.”

     Jackson just groaned audibly and asked, “JS, is this really necessary?”

     Hyunseung ignored his brother again and continued, “You’re a bartender right?”

     Matsumoto - the bartender - nodded his head, and Hyunseung continued, “It’s only natural for a bartender to flirt a little with their customers right? Then how do you do?” Hyunseung asked, finally making Jackson interested in where this conversation was heading.

     “Hmm…” the bartender hummed while he wiped the table with a dry cloth that he was holding. Then he placed the towel below the barstool and answered Hyunseung’s question, “I think just the normal kind of flirting.”

     “And that is?” Hyunseung asked, urging the bartender to explain it more.

     “Well, like telling them they look pretty or beautiful, or they look good. Something casual like that.” Matsumoto explained further as he refilled the glasses of the two Demons.

     “Then how do you flirt with your lover?” Hyunseung asked, and Jackson waited for the bartender to answer.

     “Well, I don’t flirt with my lover,” Matsumoto answered, and Jackson raised an eyebrow in confusion.

     “I mean, why flirt with the person you love right?” Matsumoto stated, then he seriously looked at the two and added, “Flirting is something playful. It’s not really with feelings. It’s more with desire. So with your lover, flirting isn’t applicable, because sincerity is what they need.”

     Hyunseung smiled, agreeing to him one hundred percent.

     “And besides, this is my job. My lover knows what I do. I flirt for the sake of my job, but he knows that my seriousness and feelings are only for him, not for my customers.” The bartender added.

     “Thank you, Matsumoto,” Hyunseung stated, then Jackson nodded his head and smiled too, now understanding what Hyunseung was trying to tell him earlier.

     “So…” Matsumoto started, then he gestured at the empty bottle and asked, “Do you want another bottle?”

     “No, it’s okay. We’ll ask for the bill.” Hyunseung answered, and the bartender nodded and left to take their bill.

     “Do you understand it now?” Hyunseung asked as he looked at Jackson.

     “Yeah, thanks Hyunseung. I owe you one.” Jackson said as he smiled at his brother. Hyunseung smiled back and patted Jackson’s back. And when the bill came, Hyunseung grinned and pointed at it, “We’ll, since you owe me, why not pay for the bill.”

      Jackson couldn’t help but laugh as he nodded his head and took out his wallet, “You really are a demon.”

     After paying for their drink, Jackson and Hyunseung went out of the pub just to realize that the sun was already rising.

     “Whoa, it’s already morning,” Hyunseung said as he inhaled the scent of the morning street.

     “I’m sorry for keeping you awake,” Jackson stated as he stared at the people who were opening their stores and people who were about to head to work.

     “It’s okay.” Hyunseung answered, and then he looked at Jackson with his bloody-red eyes, “Apparently since I became a full-blooded demon, I don’t really get tired or sleepy a lot.” Then Hyunseung immediately changed his eyes into their normal state before anyone else could see.

     “Then let’s buy our brother’s breakfast.” Hyunseung offered, and the two went to the 24 hours convenience store and bought a lot of food for their brothers.

     Hyunseung and Jackson arrived at the office and saw that their brothers were already awake, except for Taeil, who was still sleeping on the floor.

     “Where have the two of you been?” Sunggyu asked the moment he saw Hyunseung and Jackson.

     “We bought a breakfast,” Hyunseung answered as he showed them the plastic bags filled with food. Hyunseung and Jackson went to the center and removed the food from the bag before giving everyone their share.

     “I smell bread.” Taeil suddenly said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

     “Good morning sleepyhead,” Jackson said as he offered him the bread. Taeil took the bread from Jackson’s hand and ate it even though he was still half asleep.

     “So where did you go last night?” Sunggyu asked as he took another bite from his rice ball.

     “Jackson and I went out on a drink,” Hyunseung answered, also eating.

     “You went on a drink and you didn’t even invite us?” Minhyuk asked with his mouth full, making the crumbs fly out from his mouth.

 "Damn Minhyuk, show some manners," Suho said as he wiped some of the crumbs that landed on him.

     “Sorry,” Minhyuk said as he swallowed the food.

     “Well you were sleeping so I didn’t bother waking you up.” Hyunseung answered, then he looked at Jackson and added, “And besides, we talked about something serious.”

     Hyunseung looked at Jackson, then the two brothers smiled at each other, making the brothers look at them confusingly.

     “Seeing you smile so freely is weird.” Suho honestly said, and Jackson playfully sticks his tongue out, then everyone laughed.

     Sunggyu looked at his brothers and said, “Let’s practice after eating. And Taeil…”

     “Yeah?” Taeil asked while drinking his iced coffee.

     “Have you signed us up in the contest?” Sunggyu asked, and Taeil shook his head and said, “Yup. So who’s ready to win?” 

• END -

SDS2 29: MISSION VI: THE ENVIOUS SINGER PT. 2

THE DEMONS PRACTICE THE  whole day until they were perfectly in sync. To make sure it was perfect, the Demons made their mentor and the SOL’s watch their dance routine.

     “So what do you think?” Jiyong asked while panting.

     Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer looked at each other, then they nodded and said in unison, “It looks perfect.” With that, the Demons rejoiced because they perfected their routine after a day and a half of hardcore practice.

     “Now for the other part of the plan,” Taeil said as he went to Tamo’s table, showing them the blueprint of the contest and the concert ground, “The contest will be held here.” Taeil said as he pointed at the small venue, “Mentor and SOL’s will scan the area for ghouls in the parking lot 5 meters away from the venue.”

     “Why there?” Suho asked.

     “Like before, I think the Sinner is already aware that the others are dead, so we can’t let them ambush us again,” Taeil said and they nodded in understanding.

     “Will the ghoul notice our presence?” Minhyuk asked their mentor.

     “No, but don’t use your demonic powers just in case,” Kharon advised.

     “If ever we win, what’s the next plan?” Jackson asked.

     “Whether or not we perform on the same day, we must kill the Sinner as soon as possible,” Taeil stated.

     “So when’s the contest?” Sunggyu asked.

     “Tomorrow afternoon.” Taeil answered, and then he added, “Don’t forget to wear the ear and mouthpieces so that we can talk to each other.”

     “Copy that.” the Demons said in unison, then they suddenly looked at Jackson.

     “Jackson, are you okay with the plan? Because I can change it for you if you want.” Taeil suggested, and Jackson shook his head and answered, “No it’s okay. I’ll do the plan as it is.” 

     “Then let’s do this thing!” Suho shouted, and everybody shouted back with excitement. 

---

 “Welcome, what’s the name of your group?” the girl outside the contest venue asked.

     “Boys Next Door,” Sunggyu answered with a smile, and the girl looked at the rest of the members, aka the handsome and badass Demons. Taeil picked the name BND (Boys Next Door) because naming themselves Demons is practically asking the Sinner to catch them.

     “Wow, what a handsome group of men,” the girl said as she gave Sunggyu their number.

     “You know it,” Jiyong said proudly, giving the girl his killer smirk, making the girl blush even more. The Demons entered the venue and there they saw a lot of groups, all practicing their routine and observing the other groups.

     “ Kharon, “ Taeil whispered into his mouthpiece, “ Can you hear me? “

     “ Loud and clear.“ .

      “Are you already in the parking lot?”

     “ Yes my Prince. “

     “How many?”

     “ We don’t know yet, but the Souls of Lucifer are searching the area right now. “

     “Okay. Give us a notice when you know how many they are or if you spot any.”

     “ Copy that. “

     “So what now?” Minhyuk asked as they stopped walking and went to a free space.

     “Let’s just wait and see.” Hyunseung said, and then he looked at Jackson and asked, “Did you see her?”

     “Not yet,” Jackson replied, looking around, hoping he’d be able to see the Sinner.

     “If that’s the case then let us just wait for the contest to begin. And if she still remembers Jackson, she’ll come to us with no worry.” Sunggyu said, and everyone nodded in agreement. So the Demons did what their leader said. They waited for the contest to start while observing the other groups. Most of the group were dancing to Western songs and some were Japanese songs. Then suddenly, the lights turned off and only the stage light was on.

      “Welcome!” the MC screamed, appearing from the side. Then the crowd immediately looked at the stage and started cheering.

     “Are you ready to show your killer moves?!” the MC asked, and the crowd cheered again. 

     “I love the energy! But before we start, I want you all to welcome the reason why we’re here. Can you do that?” the MC asked, and the crowd just shouted and screamed even louder.

    “Alright! So without further ado, let me welcome you all, the rising star, the sexy, the irresistible, GAIN!” the MC introduced, and everyone, except for our Demons, screamed to their heart’s content.

     “Welcome contestants!” Gain shouted the moment she went out on stage. The crowd just screamed once more, and the Sinner raised her hands to calm down the crowd.

     “I am so happy to see you all here. This contest will let you show your extreme talent when it comes to dancing. And whoever wins…” the Sinner looked at the crowd and continued, “Will have a chance to perform on stage with me.” And this resulted in another roar of screams and shouts, and the Sinner once again calmed the contestants down.

     “But I have another treat.” The Sinner added, “If the winning group can show me their ’ personal ’ talent, one of the members will have an alone time…” the Sinner seductively showed a little skin of her leg, making the contestant drool before continuing, “ with me “, and the screams and shout were louder as it could be.

    “So let the contest begin!” Gain finally said, declaring the start of the contest.

    “Damn, we need to win this shit and make Jackson fucking hot at the same time,” Minhyuk said as he looked at the pumped-up groups.

     “But the choreography shows all of Jackson’s talent,” Suho pointed out. “Yup, especially his acrobatics,” Taeil added.

     “But just in case,” Sunggyu said, and then he looked at Hyunseung and nodded, signaling him to do his thing.  Hyunseung went to Jackson and placed a small number of pheromones on him.

     “ My Princes. “ Kharon III suddenly said through the earpiece, surprising the Demons a little.

     “ Mentor, have you found out if there are ghouls in the area? “ Jiyong asked.

     “ Yes my Princes’. So you have to be careful. “ Kharon warned them.

     “Why? Are they that many?” Minhyuk asked.

     “ Not just that my Princes- “ this time it was Yoochun who talked.

     “ Almost all of the audience are ghouls, “ Jaejoong revealed, and the Demons looked at each other with shock.

     “H-How?” Suho asked, a little worried about the sudden situation.

     “ From the looks of it, they’re there to protect the Sinner when you try to attack her, “ Junsu added, and the Demons looked at all the group in front of them.

     “Do you know where those ghouls are?” Taeil asked.

     “ They’re the group of people near her. “ Kharon and Jaejoong added, “ The cluster that looks like they’re just talking to each other. “

     “I saw them.” Hyunseung said as he casually turned to his brothers, “They’re the once in that corner,” he pointed out, and the Demons saw 5 different groups talking to each other.

     “ My Princes, please be cautious. It looks like we walked right in through their trap. “ Yoochun warned the Demons.

     “Don’t worry, we’ll be careful,” Sunggyu assured the Souls of Lucifer.

     “ We will be here in the parking lot. Call us and we will immediately teleport there. “ Kharon stated.

     “Okay,” Jiyong said, and then he looked at his brothers, “Let’s just mellow down until we perform or…” then he pointed at the Sinner and continued, “Until she notices that Jackson is here.”

     With that, the Demons nodded and waited for their turn. After countless of group performances, it is finally the Demons turn to perform.

     “The next group came from Korea,” the MC started, “And like this group’s name, they are composed of seven fine and handsome men.” The MC added and the Sinner raised her eyebrows curiously.

     “Give it up to… B.N.D!” the MC called the screen name of the Demons, and the Demons entered the stage with their powerful stage presence. Jackson made eye contact with the Sinner. When the Sinner realized who he was, she immediately smiled and gave Jackson a surprised but flirtatious look.

     As soon as the music started to play, the Demons did what they had practiced, but, they kept on smiling and glancing at the Sinner. Every time the music played the ’ Girls, Girls, Girls ’ part, the Sinner just couldn’t stop looking at the performance, especially the part was Jackson danced his solo part while keeping his eye contact with the Sinner.

     The dance was almost done, and Minhyuk and Jackson flipped and made the crowd cheer. Gain couldn’t help but clap as well as soon as the group was finally done with their performance.

     The Demons bowed and the crowd cheered even more. They went down on stage, and like what Sunggyu had said, the Sinner was there to greet Jackson at the end of the stairs.

     “I didn’t know you joined my contest.” The Sinner said as she surprisingly hugged Jackson, making the other groups jealous.

     “I didn’t either. Apparently, my friends here signed us up.” Jackson said as he pointed at his brothers, and the Demons waved and smiled at the Sinner, a smile that would make all the girls and even boys fall for them.

     “So these are the friends that left you behind at the mall?” the Sinner asked playfully, and Jackson laughed and answered “Yeah, let me introduce them to you,” Jackson said as he pointed at his brothers.

     “Guys, as you all know, this is Gain. Gain, these are my friends.” Jackson stated, and everyone bowed and greeted her.

     “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” The Sinner said as she looked at the brothers one by one, then she stopped to stare at Hyunseung who was oozing with lustful pheromones. Gain seductively licked her lips.  And then she looked at Jackson and said, “I didn’t know you danced well.”

     “I do dance well. Remember when we danced on the dance floor at the club?” Jackson asked, and the Sinner laughed and answered, “That wasn’t dancing.”

     “Yes, it is.” Jackson defended, and this made the Sinner laugh even more.

     “Hey Jackson, we’ll head back to our seats,” Sunggyu said as he patted Jackson’s shoulder to get his attention, “Nice to meet you again Ms. Gain,” Sunggyu added before bowing down again like the rest of the Demons. Then they walked away, leaving Jackson with Gain.

     “Aren’t you needed in there?” Jackson asked as he pointed at the table in front of the stage.

     “Don’t worry, my assistant will check them if they’re Gain-worthy or not.” The Sinner answered, and Jackson chuckled.

     “Is our performance ’ Gain-worthy ’ then?” Jackson asked, and the Sinner pretended to be in deep thought. After a few seconds, Gain looked back at Jackson and whispered to his ear, “ Of course it is because you’re in it. “ And then the Sinner kissed his cheek and then sexily walked away.

     Jackson just stood there dumbfounded, and the Sinner looked back at Jackson and winked before heading back to her table. In the table, the Sinner sat beside her ghoul and looked at her, “Reject the remaining groups.” Gain instructed as she pretended to watch the other groups perform.

     “Yes, my Lady.” The ghoul said as she stamped the other groups with an X and said, “Which group did you choose then, my Lady?”

     “B.N.D.” The Sinner said as she catches a glimpse of the Demons at the back.

     “Then who did you choose as your ‘meal’ after the performance?” the ghoul asked, and the Sinner looked at their profile and pointed at one of the Demons, “ Him, “ the Sinner answered, and the ghoul nodded and encircled one member in the Demons’ group picture.

---

“Give it up to our final performer!” the MC shouted, and the other groups applauded

      “Now, after all that, we will announce the winner of this competition.” The MC stated as he opened the folder. He glanced at it, then he smiled for a minute then looked back at the waiting contestants.

     “And the winner who will be given a chance to dance with our Sexy idol is… B.N.D!!!” As the MC announced the Demons’ win, the seven immediately stood up from their seats and started jumping with shock and excitement. The MC called for them on stage, so the seven immediately went to where the MC was.

     As they went up the stage, the Sinner and the MC was there to congratulate them. Afterward, the MC gave the microphone to Gain.

     “Now I will announce my personal pick in B.N.D.” The Sinner said as she looked at the Demons. The Demons expected it to be Jackson, but then, she looked at the seven and announced, “Lee Minhyuk!”

      The Demons were dumbfounded, even Minhyuk. But Sunggyu pushed Minhyuk to go in front. So Minhyuk gulped and went to the Sinner to hug her. But the moment the two parted from the hug, Gain smirked and turned her eyes red.

     The Demons were caught off guard, but Jackson immediately clicked on his earpiece, “Kharon, stop the time!” Jackson shouted, and in one command, the time stopped and the Demons immediately summoned their weapons.

     Gain grinned and gave Minhyuk to her ghoul assistant, Rise.

     “Minhyuk!” Hyunseung shouted as he went towards them, but suddenly, the ghouls who were protecting Gain immediately surrounded them, making Hyunseung stop.

     “Don’t worry about me,” Minhyuk said as Rise tightened her grip on Minhyuk. Hyunseung just nodded and looked back at the Sinner.

     “How did you notice?” Sunggyu asked with a stern voice.

     “The pheromones.” The Sinner answered while looking at Hyunseung. Then she changed her aura into something that only a Demon could sense. Just by that, the Princes automatically knew that she’s different from the other Sinners they have fought. She was definitely more powerful than the sinners before her.

     “I can’t overlook something like that, especially when it’s done by the Prince of Lust himself.” She added while pretending to give a courtesy to Hyunseung. Hyunseung just looked at her, then he glanced at his best friend Minhyuk who is struggling to escape.

     “So you planned this all along?” Taeil asked with curiosity in his voice.

     “What else did you think? I knew you were going to plan something to kill me, so I made a contest to lure you here instead.” And then she gestured to his army of ghouls, “That’s why I came prepared,” and then she smiled maniacally.

     “ Sunggyu, what now? “ Suho whispered as he kept eyeing the ghouls that were surrounding them.

     “ Jackson, take Hyunseung and Suho, “ Sunggyu whispered back while hiding his face behind his brothers so the Sinner wouldn’t see him talking, “ The rest, let’s try to decrease the numbers of the ghouls. “

     The Princes’ nodded, getting ready to execute the plan. When everyone was now ready, Sunggyu clenched his fist and finally shouted, “Let’s go!” And with that, Hyunseung, Suho, and Jackson threw fireballs in front of the ghouls that were guarding the Sinner. The ghouls disintegrated, but Gain grabbed Minhyuk from her ghoul Rise, and ran out to the door, dragging Minhyuk with her.

     “Minhyuk!” Hyunseung called out.

     “Go.” Sunggyu orders and the 3 Princes’ nodded and followed Minhyuk and the Sinner.

     Sunggyu, Jiyong, and Taeil were left alone to fight off the army of ghouls.

     “Kill them all.” Rise commanded, and the army charged without hesitation. The three Princes’ surrounded themselves with fire, and some of the ghouls disintegrated with no effort, making the army lessen in number.

     “Sunggyu, we need to kill the Sinners’ right-hand ghoul, or else this will just continue,” Taeil said while smashing the heads of the ghouls that were coming close to them.

     “Jiyong, back Taeil up,” Sunggyu ordered, and Jiyong nodded and joined his lazy brother.

     Sunggyu went running towards the pack of ghouls and went directly to where Rise was. Sunggyu transformed into his Demon form and growled at Rise while connecting his attack to Rise’s block.

     “Traitor.” Rise said as she pushed Sunggyu away from her. Rise tackled Sunggyu, making him let go of his weapon.

     Sunggyu tried pushing Rise who was pinning him down by the neck, but he was still weak after his previous mission with Rain.

     “You’re weak.” Rise provoked, and Sunggyu growled at her and kicked her on the stomach, making her fly off him. Well, he may be weaker, but that doesn’t make Rise stronger.

     Sunggyu ran towards Rise and grabbed his weapon on the floor with incredible speed. Before Rise could make contact with the ground, Sunggyu went below the ghoul and pointed his weapon at the ghoul’s stomach. The weapon was waiting for her, so when she fell, Sunggyu’s weapon pierced through her.

     Rise looked at Sunggyu with shock, then she started spitting blood. Sunggyu withdrew his weapon and looked at the half-dead ghoul.

     “Who’s weak now?” Sunggyu asked, and without hesitation, he beheaded the ghoul.

    Sunggyu wipes away the blood on his face and looked back at his brothers. He saw that Kharon and the SOL’s had finally arrived, helping the rest of the Demons kill the ghouls who were attacking them. So Sunggyu went towards them and attacked the ghoul who was sneaking behind Jiyong.

     “Thanks.” Jiyong quickly said, and then he continued killing the remaining ghouls in front of them.

     “Did you kill her?” Taeil asked while smashing the ghoul’s stomach.

     “Yeah, I did.” Sunggyu replied, finishing the ghouls that were attacking him, “I hope Jackson will be able to do the same.” Sunggyu added as he stared at the door where Jackson, Hyunseung, and Suho went into.

MEANWHILE…

     “What the fuck?” Jackson cursed as he and the rest of his brothers entered the room where Gain entered.

      Hyunseung and Suho widened their eyes when they saw the inside of the room, “Why the hell are we doing here?” Suho asked as he looked at their surroundings more clearly.

     Jackson was familiar with the halls even though it wasn’t exactly the university that the Arcs and the Demons are always at because he, Taeil, and the deceased Woo Jiho, studied in the exact same school, as well as the rest of the Demons. This was Holy Angels Academy.

     “Illusion casting?” Hyunseung asked Jackson.

     “I don’t think so. She didn’t touch us.” Jackson explained, but as he saw the scenery outside the window, his eyes widen from shock. Jackson finally realized that the Sinner that they were fighting was not an ordinary Sinner at all.

     “ We’re back in Seoul, “ Jackson whispered, and Suho and Hyunseung widened their eyes in shock.

     “What did you say? We’re back in Seoul? How is that even possible?” Suho questioned with panic in his voice.

     “I don’t know, but I think she morphed the place, breaking the dimension, and teleporting us here,” Jackson answered as he surveyed the area once more.

     “So how can we get back then?” Suho asked, trying not to panic.

     “Once we kill her this will vanish, and the room will turn back to normal,” Jackson replied.

     “Then ready your weapons brothers. We’re going hunting.” Hyunseung said, and the three Princes’ walked to the halls of their previous academy. They walked through the halls and searched every room. But every room that they’d entered, fireballs would shoot towards them, or ghouls would appear and ambush them.

     The three Demons countered all the surprise attacks on each room, but they still couldn’t find their ‘pray.’

      “How can this be hard?” Suho whined as he finished killing the ghoul inside the room.

     “What do you expect from the second most powerful Sinner?” Hyunseung asked back, panting as well.

     Suho wiped the blood in his face and looked back at Jackson and Hyunseung, “So what now? We can’t just run and search. She’ll take advantage of it.” He pointed out, and Hyunseung nodded in agreement.

      Jackson pressed his earpiece and tried to contact their brothers in the real world.

     “Taeil,” Jackson called out, hoping their brother could answer.

     “You know they can’t-” before Suho could even finish his sentence, Taeil surprisingly replied “ J-Jackson? What’s wrong? Did you kill…the Sinner already ?“

     Surprisingly enough, there was a signal, but it was a little choppy.

     “So we’re still inside the building,” Hyunseung concluded.

    “Taeil, we’re having a hard time here. The Sinner morphed the room that we entered into HAA,” Jackson told his brother. Even though he couldn’t see his reaction, he knew that Taeil was shocked by what he heard.

     “ How is that even possible?! “ Taeil asked.

     “I don’t know, but we’ve searched everywhere and this bitch just keeps on toying with us,” Suho stated with annoyance in his voice.

     “ My Princes, “ this time it was Kharon who answered, “ The Sinner is inside, but it’s not hard to look for her. “

     “And why is that?” Suho replied.

    “Because the room you are in…is her,” Kharon revealed. Everyone was confused, but Hyunseung and Jackson looked at each other. They knew exactly what they had to do now thanks to their guardian’s advice.

     “Jackson, illusion cast the whole room,” Hyunseung ordered, and Jackson nodded and did what he was told. 

     Jackson touched the wall and felt that the room was breathing, justifying the statement their guardian just said. So Jackson breathed in and turned his eyes red. He made the room look like it was burning, and then he used his weapon to stab the wall.  Seconds after, the room started peeling itself, making the original wall of the building appear. Then they heard a scream coming from the room at the end of the hallway.

     “In there.” Suho immediately said, and the three Princes’ ran towards the said room. Jackson kicked the door and the three Demons saw Minhyuk who was just sitting on the corner, sleeping. Then they saw the Sinner whimpering in pain while touching her bleeding right eye. Jackson stabbed the wall, but apparently, it was her eye that got stabbed.

     “Minhyuk!” Hyunseung shouted as he quickly went towards his best friend.

     “There’s no more place to run.” Suho taunted the Sinner, and the Sinner just looked at them and laughed.

     “Maybe so, but…” suddenly, the Sinner’s nails became so sharp and long that a single scratch can lead to a fatal wound.

      “I can still fight and kill you all.” She stated, then Gain ran towards Jackson. But Jackson was faster. He grabbed the Sinners’ hand and cast an illusion on her, then both of them stopped moving. The Demons knew that just by how Jackson and Gain were deeply staring at each other, these two were inside Jackson’s illusion.

     “Should we go in?” Suho asked Hyunseung.

     “No, we don’t need to,” Hyunseung said as he unties his best friend’s restraints.

     “Why? He might need our help,” Suho argued.

     “He doesn’t need our help. That place is Jackson’s world. He knows it better than anyone.” Hyunseung explained, then he tried to carry Minhyuk on his shoulders, “Help me with him.” Hyunseung told Suho so Suho went towards his brother and helped him with Minhyuk.

     “Good luck Prince of Envy,” Suho stated, looking at Jackson and Gain for one last time. Then he and his brothers left the room, leaving the two in a world that no one else could see.

AT THE ILLUSION…

      “ Illusion casting, “ the Sinner said to herself when she realized where she was, “You think this petty illusion cast can contain me?” the Sinner taunted, and Jackson suddenly appeared above her, making Gain look up to look at him.

     “I know, but you can’t counter this since your other eye is useless now. You can’t use your powers without the other eyes, right?” Jackson asked, shocking the Sinner.

     “How did-” 

     “I know?” Jackson finished her sentence. He went towards her using invisible stairs, “When you tried to attack me, you also try to cast an illusion. But unfortunately, that illusion failed. That’s why you shifted your body to attack me instead, but it only caused you an injury,” Jackson explained, already in front of the Sinner.

     “So I used my power to bring you to my own world,” Jackson stated, then he grabbed hold of her neck and lifted her. The Sinner clawed Jackson’s arm, but Jackson didn’t feel anything. He just tightened his hold and the Sinner whimpered even more.

    With the most sadistic voice he could make, Jackson said, “In my world, you die like how I want you to.” Then Jackson threw the Sinner as far as he could. Gain thought she would hit a wall, but instead, the orientation shifted and she fell on the ground that was actually a stage. Then the spotlight was focused on her. “What the hell is this?” Gain asked as she slowly stood up and covered her eyes from the blinding light.

     “Since you like people watching you with envy in their eyes,” Jackson’s voice stated. Then the spotlight dimmed, and the Sinner saw people looking at her.

     “I’ll let them watch you get killed.” Jackson finished. 

     Chains suddenly appeared. The Sinner tried to run away, but the chains caught on her and chained her arms and legs.

     “Fuck!!!” She cursed as she tried to escape. She kept on countering the illusion, but with her wounded eye, all she could do was endure and wait. The Chains lifted her up and she saw that the ‘people’ were still looking at her. But instead of the familiar feeling she always felt when people looked at her, she felt fear. Fear that the people would see her suffer, get tortured, and eventually die. She was afraid to show everyone that she was weak like everyone else.

     “Please, I beg you. Spare me!” the Sinner screamed with all her might as she saw the torturing device that appeared at the center of the stage.

     “Please, please! My prince! I will do anything! ANYTHING!” the Sinner begged, the chains suddenly lowering her to an enormous cylinder-shaped razor. The Sinner kept on begging, but when Jackson wouldn’t budge, she used all her powers to morph herself into someone that Jackson knew very well.   

     “Jackson.” The Sinner called out. Jackson was surprised when he looked back at the Sinner because she actually morphed into Mark.

     The chains stopped lowering her down, then Jackson snapped his fingers and appeared in front of the Sinner who looked and sounded just like his lover, Mark.

     “Mark?” Jackson asked with the voice he only used with Mark.

     “Jackson, please let me go. I’m scared.” Mark pleaded. Jackson just stood there and looked at his lover’s eyes.

     “Please, baby, let me go.” Mark continued as he looked at Jackson’s eyes.  Jackson caressed Mark’s cheeks gently, and then he slowly went to Mark’s neck. Gain thought Jackson was going to kiss it, but then he suddenly gripped on his neck with no hesitation.

     The illusion of Mark stopped and the Sinner appeared once more.

     “If you’re going to use my lover’s body as an escape you should have done it better,” Jackson said, and the chains disappeared, but not the torture device beneath them. The Sinner grabbed hold of Jackson’s hand and begged once more, “Please I beg of you. Spare me.” the Sinner said, and Jackson just stared at the Sinner blankly.

     “I would, but I can’t. Thanks for the drink though, I enjoyed it.” Jackson said, then he extended his arm so that the Sinner’s body would be right above the device that would slice her into two.

     “Fuck you! Fuck you!” the Sinner now cursed, “The King will avenge us. And he will kill you, all of you! And we will come back and we will fuck your bodies up until no one could recognize it anymore!” The Sinner angrily shouted, but Jackson just laughed and said, “Well, good luck with that.” 

     Jackson lets go of the Sinner, and like in all SAW movies, the Sinner made contact with the razors and sliced and diced the body. Blood splattered on Jackson, but Jackson doesn’t even flinch. He just breathed in the smell of the fresh scent of blood and snapped his fingers, bringing him and the sinner back to the real world.

    Jackson looked down at the Sinner’s body. But instead of Gain being sliced up like what happened to her at the illusion, Jackson actually just pierced his claw-like weapon at the Sinner’s heart, killing her.

    “You’re lucky I’m not as brutal as Sunggyu,” Jackson commented, pulling his weapon out of the Sinner, making her fall.

---

Hyunseung and Suho went back to where the others were while carrying Minhyuk.

     “What happened to him?” Jiyong asked as Suho and Hyunseung placed Minhyuk on the floor.

     “I don’t know. We just saw him like that with the Sinner,” Hyunseung answered, then Kharon went to the sleeping Minhyuk and checked his body.

     “Where’s Jackson?” Taeil asked, concerned that his best friend is nowhere to be found.

     “He’s alone with the Sinner.” Hyunseung answered, and before Taeil could get mad at the two for leaving him there, Suho quickly added, “Don’t worry, he was able to cast an illusion on her. Apparently, she has illusion too, but it’s weaker compared to our brother’s.” 

     When Taeil sighed in relief, Hyunseung went back to Minhyuk and asked Kharon, “What’s wrong with him?”

     “The Sinner cast a spell on him called endless slumber,” Kharon answered as he opened Minhyuk’s mouth with his fingers.

     “Endless slumber? Like the kid’s movie Sleeping Beauty?” Suho asked as he rubbed his neck in confusion.

    “Sort of, but a kiss won’t wake him up. If someone is cast with that spell, that person will never wake up anymore,” Jaejoong explained, shocking everyone.

     “But don’t worry my Princes. We, the Souls of Lucifer and Kharon III, can dispel this illusion.” Junsu assured them.

     Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer surrounded the sleeping body of Minhyuk and chanted a spell that the Demons had no idea about. Suddenly, a red cloud appeared again, but instead of lighting, rain appeared. Red rain showered Minhyuk, and as the four powerful demons stopped chanting, the rain also stopped, and Minhyuk gasped and opened his eyes, making the Princes feel relieved.

     Hyunseung was about to approach his best friend, but Kharon stopped him, “Not yet,” he stated, and the SOL’s chanted something again.

     Black smoke came out of Minhyuk’s mouth and the cloud just accumulated above Minhyuk. The SOL’s snapped their fingers and the black smoke vanished.

     “Now you can go to him,” Kharon instructed, and Hyunseung quickly went towards his best friend.

     “Minhyuk you asshole,” Hyunseung said as he lightly punched Minhyuk’s shoulder.

     “Well sorry for being taken as hostage.” Minhyuk said as he rubbed his shoulder, and the remaining Princes’ just laughed, glad that Minhyuk was now okay.

     “Where’s Jackson? Is the mission finished?” Minhyuk asked, noticing that Jackson was nowhere to be seen.

     “Not yet,” Sunggyu answered, but before Minhyuk could say something, a loud scream was heard.

     “What was that?” Minhyuk quickly asked. And then he stood up with the help of Hyunseung.

     “That’s the scream of victory”. Sunggyu answered with a smirk as he went to where the shout came from. Then the rest of the Demons followed behind him.

---

Jackson summoned his weapon back as he looked down at the lifeless Sinner. Just in time, everyone appeared behind him.

     “Jackson!” Taeil shouted, running towards his best friend to give him a hug. Jackson was about to hug him back, but he stopped when he realized that his hands were covered with the Sinner’s blood.

     “Oh come on, just hug him. He’s covered in disgusting ghoul blood anyways,” Jiyong said with a grin, and Jackson finally hugged Taeil back.

     “You did well Jackson,” Sunggyu complimented as he patted his back.

     “Jackson, you better hurry and get her soul. Kharon has to continue time again, and when that happens, we’re not supposed to be here anymore.” Taeil explained, and Jackson nodded in understanding.

     Jackson went to the Sinners’ body and chanted the same chant his brothers did to get the Sinners soul.

     “ I, the Prince of Envy, the sixth son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keeper be transferred to me in the name of Leviathan. “ And with that, the soul transferred into Jackson, and like what his other brothers felt, he felt strong, powerful and most of all, his desire to take someone’s possession increased, like the Prince of Envy that he is.

     “I think it’s better for us to go back to our headquarters before Jackson steals everything he likes, which will cause us trouble,” Suho said as he went towards Jackson and placed his arms around his shoulders.

     “Yeah, and we need to plan for our last mission too,” Sunggyu stated.

    “Finally, it’s the last mission,” Jiyong said, excited to acquire the powers that his brothers already have.

     “So, what’s the final mission Taeil?” Hyunseung asked their master-planner, and Taeil looked at his blood-covered brothers and answered, “Well, prepare your uniforms Demons because we’ll be attending a school festival.”

• END -

SDS2 30: MISSION VII: THE CONCEITED DELINQUENT PT. 1

• Bobby Kim’s POV -

“MOVE ASSHOLE. THE KING is passing,” one of the delinquent students shouted as I was walking down the hallway with a lollipop in my mouth. I didn’t like brushing past these disgusting humans, so whenever I walk around our school, my underlings would push them away for me.    

     “ The fuck, he ain’t no king. “ One of the students who we walked past whispered at himself.  He thought I wasn’t able to hear him, but sadly for him, I did. So I walked towards him, making my underlings stop walking behind me as well.

     The man who whispered something about me immediately looked at me and took a step back, fear present in his eyes.

     “What did you just say?” I asked as looked at him.

     The guy gulped, his fear clearly showing, but he tried to act cool anyways even though he could piss his pants any second. He looked at me with a smug face, then he repeated, “I said…You ain’t no king.”

     Everyone in the hallway became quiet. I looked at him seriously, then, I started laughing like a madman. The guy looked at me weirdly, and when I stopped laughing, I looked back at him and said, “You’re funny,” and without hesitation, I grabbed him by the neck, and the smirk on my face vanished as it turned into a taunting glare.

     The guy made a choking sound as he tried to escape from my grip. The other students in the hallway just looked at me with fear, and damn it made me feel even more powerful. I gripped the guy’s neck even tighter, and when he was about to pass out, someone suddenly had the nerve to interrupt me-

     “Kim Bobby, let go of that student immediately,” a teacher commanded as he appeared in front of us.

      I clicked my tongue and dropped the student who was trying to catch his breath while holding his neck.

     “To the principal’s office…now.” The teacher added as he went towards me to aggressively grab my arm. Then, I let him escort me to the principal’s office with no struggle.

     The name’s Bobby by the way. If you didn’t know then now you know. I’m a student and the king in this school, but that’s nothing to who I really am. My real name is  Azazel, and I am the 7th Sinner, Pride. Obviously I’m the most powerful Sinner among the seven of us, and unfortunately for them, I’m also the youngest. 

     I’m the strongest, that’s why the King of Hell chose me as the keeper of the last key because he knows that I am capable of keeping it safe, not like the other six.

      You might ask why I chose this kid’s body, and not some old and powerful guy. Well, the reason is because kids are agile, powerful, and strong compared to some old fuckers. And besides, being young is the best gift anyone could ever have, so why miss the chance of being in a body as young as this? 

     “Principal! I’m coming in! “The teacher shouted as he loudly knocked at the principal’s office door. The principal told him to come inside, so the teacher, who was still grabbing me by my arm, opened the door and dragged me inside the room along with him.

     “What is it this time?” the principal asked as she placed the file she was reading on her table.

      “Mado-sama, Bobby strangled one of his schoolmates in the hallway again,” the teacher said as he looked at me angrily. Then he looked back at the principal and continued, “You know this can ruin our reputation if it gets out, and the school festival is getting closer too.”

     The teacher continued to look at me with anger, but I rolled my eyes and still didn’t say anything. The principal sighed and massaged her temple in frustration, “I’ll handle this. You may leave my office,” she said, and the teacher just nodded and went outside the office. 

     When the coast was clear, I sat down on the chair in front of the principal, then I raised my feet and placed it above the principal’s table. The principal - ‘Mado-sama’ - removed her reading glasses and looked at me with respect.

     “You shouldn’t do something like that my King,” she calmly says as she stands up from her seat.

     “I know, but it just pisses me off when somebody looks down on me,” I said as I stood up from my chair and casually sat back down on the principal’s chair. Then ‘Mado-sama’ went in front of the table and looked at me. 

     “And you know what I do to those people who are looking down at me…Akira.” I finally said, and Akira – my personal ghoul – nodded in understanding. This is one of the reasons why I’m untouchable here because the principal controls this kingdom of mine, and I control the principal, who’s actually my right-hand-ghoul, Akira Mado .

     “So what are you reading?” I asked Akira as I took the paper she just placed on her table a while ago.

     “Those are the reports I gathered about the Betrayers,” Akira said as she took the papers away from me before I could even look at it.

     “So what does it say?” I asked, raising my voice. Akira just looked at the paper and then looked back at me and answered, “It seems that they have killed your brethren,” Akira said with a monotonous voice, which was not that new to me anymore.

     “And I presume that they will use the school festival as an opportunity to kill you, my King, like how they took every opportunity with your other brethren.” She added.

     “Really?” I asked rather smugly as I placed my feet on the principal’s table again, “Seems like those old farts died because they ain’t that clever to use opportunities like this into there advantage.” Then I looked at Akira and continued, “Are the preparations for the school festival finished?” I asked, and Akira nodded her head as an answer.

     “Make the festival open for all. Student or not,” I instructed, and my ghoul nodded as I continued, “If they’re going to use this as an opportunity to kill me, then I’ll use this as my advantage to kill them.”

     I stood up from my seat and looked at the window. With a smirk on my face, I stated, “This will be fucking fun.”

• THIRD PERSON POV -

“Well, prepare your uniforms Demons because we’ll be attending a school festival,” Taeil revealed, shocking everyone. Everyone had their mouths wide open from shock, but Jiyong on the other hand lifted his hands and rejoiced, “Finally! Something fun!”

     “Search the area. I don’t want anybody to go in and out of this building without me knowing.” A police officer outside the room suddenly stated, shocking the Demons.

     “Let’s talk about our next move at the headquarters. We need to get out here first.” Sunggyu instructed. So Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer teleported themselves before the police could even enter the building.

AT TAMO’S OFFICE…

     Everyone arrived at the office. Taeil was about to head to the computer when they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice, “Good to see you guys all alive and well,” the voice said, shocking everyone.

     The 11 Demons searched for the owner of the voice, and they were even more shocked when they saw a young man sitting at a chair in front of Tamo’s desk.

     “W-Who the hell-”

     Kharon cuts Jiyong’s question and said, “The Sinner.”

     The Demons widened their eyes in complete shock.

     “Surprise motherfuckers,” the Sinner - Bobby Kim - said with a grin while looking at the Demons.

     “What the fuck are you doing here? N-no…how the hell did you get here?!” Suho asked in confusion while the Demons immediately summoned their weapons out just in case something happened.

      “Whoa there, lower your weapons will ya?” Bobby said as he raised his hands in surrender, making the Demons even more confused.

     “I’m not here to fight you… yet,” Bobby stated as he stood from the chair and walked towards the Demons.

     “What do you want?” Sunggyu asked, showing his demonic eyes to the Sinner, but the Sinner just smirked and crossed his arms, not even threatened at all.

     “Well first, I made your job easy since I showed myself to you guys unlike those old fuckers.” Bobby playfully said as he looked at the Demons one by one.

     “Second, I want to make this final battle a little bit more fun,” Bobby stated as he went towards Hyunseung and suddenly caresses his face. Hyunseung wanted to punch Bobby’s face, but before his fist could make contact with the Sinner, Bobby grabbed Hyunseung’s fist and pulled it closer towards him, “Well, aren’t you cute.” Bobby said as he eyed Hyunseung from head to toe.

     Jiyong quickly went towards them and pushed the Sinner away from his brother.

     “Back off,” Jiyong growled while the other sons started showing the Sinner their Demonic form, except for Jiyong of course.

     The Sinner looked at Jiyong and just smirked at him, “So you’re the last half-blood here huh?” Bobby said, and this made Jiyong’s blood boil even more. Thankfully, Jackson stopped him from doing anything further, so Jiyong just eyed the Sinner without moving an inch.

     “What do you mean by fun?” Taeil asked the Sinner. Bobby went towards Kharon and the Souls of Lucifer and examined them as well. Then he looked back at the Seven Princes, “I know you’ll use the school festival as an opportunity to kill me like how you did with the other Keepers, so let’s make that school festival our little battleground.”

     “Battleground?” this time it was Minhyuk who asked with confusion present in his voice.

     “Yeah, battleground,” Bobby repeated as he once again went in front of Hyunseung, making Suho and Minhyuk move in between them.

     “I will be preparing six games at the school festival, and you must win each game so that you can fight me,” Bobby said as he went towards the table and sat on top of it. “But there will be some conditions.”

    The sons looked at each other, but they didn’t say anything yet as they waited for the sinner to tell them about these conditions.

     “One, you must not bring those 4,” Bobby said as he pointed at the 4 powerful demons behind the Seven Princes of Hell. Specifically Kharon, and the SOLs.

     “Two, you must not transform into your demon form when you’re playing the games.“Bobby continued, and everyone was already hesitant.

     “And three, when battling me…” the Sinner looked at Jiyong, and with a prideful look on his face, he continued, “…he must be alone.” 

     This made the Demons’ eyes widen, especially Jiyong. Ever since they started their missions, they made sure that they were in groups, and have either Kharon or the Souls of Lucifer or even both of them present at the grounds to help them be on an advantage. But with these conditions, they were definitely at a disadvantage.

     “What if we broke your stupid conditions?” Hyunseung asked, and the Sinner just looked at him with sultry eyes, making Hyunseung flinch for a second.

     “I’ll have to take you then.” Bobby simply answered, making the Demons look at each other with confusion in their eyes, “And I will kill every one of you with this,” Bobby continued as he snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a mark appeared on the Demons right hand, excluding Kharon III, the Souls of Lucifer, and Hyunseung.

     “What the fuck is this?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at the mark.

     “That is my mark that will kill you in an instant, for example…” Bobby paused, then suddenly a woman appeared with a bounded student with her.

     “Bobby?! What the fuck are you doing?!” the student angrily asked as he looked at the Sinner. And then he looked at the Demons and started pleading, “Please, I beg you, help me!” 

     “What are you doing?” Taeil asked as he looked at the student and back to the Sinner.

     “A little demonstration on how I will kill you when you break my conditions,” Bobby said as he once again snapped his fingers. And a mark, similar to the Demons, appeared on the student’s hand as well.

     “Please Bobby…King. Spare me, I beg of you.” The student said as he cried his eyes out. But the Sinner just looked at him and smirked. Without any hesitation, he said, “

adolebitque.

“

     With that single word, the student was engulfed in black flames. And in a mere second, he vanished from their sight. The Demons looked at the spot where the body was with shock in their eyes.

     “ What the hell was that ?“ Suho silently asked, fear slowly taking over him. Fear was something that the Demons never knew they would ever feel again. It was even present in his voice and the rest of his brothers’ faces.

     “That my friend is what you call an Eternal Flame. A gift from the King of Hell…” Bobby stated as he looked at them with pride, “This is the only flame that can kill any demon.”

     Bobby stood up and went straight to the Demon’s leader, Sunggyu.

     “If you want to stay alive to kill me, follow my conditions. And if not?” the Sinner looked at the spot where the body of where the student was once was, and then he looked back at Sunggyu again and continued, “You know what will happen to you and your brothers.”

     The Sinner then walked to the woman and looked at the Demons for the last time, “The school festival is open for all, so you just need to enter the school. But I will have somebody to come to you to escort you to the battleground,” Bobby stated. Then he looked at Hyunseung for the last time, and with a smirk on his face, he continued, “See you in two days’ time…Betrayers.”

     With that said, the Sinner and the woman, who everyone suspect was his personal ghoul, vanished from their sight. Everyone was silent for a second, then…

     “HOW DID HE FIND US?!” Sunggyu furiously shouted, making his brothers flinch. He looked at Taeil with his demonic eyes and went towards him, “How the fuck did that Sinner find us?!” Sunggyu repeated as he grabbed Taeil by his collar, shocking everyone. 

     Jackson, with his demonic eyes also present, shoved Sunggyu away from Taeil.

     “The fuck’s wrong with you Sunggyu?” Jackson asked, and Sunggyu just stared at him with rage and anger.

      “Guys, calm down for a second, please.” Taeil calmly stated as he went towards Sunggyu and Jackson. And then he pushed them away from each other.

     “I can’t calm down Taeil!” Sunggyu said angrily. He was about to throw a fit, but Kharon stopped him from doing so, “Sunggyu, Taeil is right. We need to calm down, or else you can’t make a plan that will turn the tables around.” Kharon stated, and finally, Sunggyu calmed down and sighed.

     “I’m sorry, it’s just that…” Sunggyu couldn’t continue his sentence because he was still in shock with what happened. Well, all of them were actually still in shock because this was the first time they were put into a disadvantage by a Sinner.

     “I know you’re all dumbfounded, but first let’s all calm down and think of an answer on how the Sinner found us,” Junsu stated, and the Seven Princes’ nodded. All of them took a deep breath and looked at each other.

     “Taeil, do you have any idea how the Sinner found us?” Jaejoong calmly asked since the other sons were still not capable to comprehend the situation that they are in.

      “I really don’t know.” Taeil honestly answered as he rubbed the back of his neck. Taeil then went to the table and checked their previous missions that were caught on the CCTV footage he hacked. The rest of the brothers went towards him as well and they all looked at the monitor together.

     “I don’t see anything suspicious,” Minhyuk said as he looked at the footage.

     “I don’t either,” Suho added, and Taeil just switched the screen off and sighed deeply.

      “I’m sorry guys,” Taeil said once more. Sunggyu went towards him to put a hand on Taeil’s shoulder and said, “No, it’s okay. There is nothing to apologize for. I should be the one apologizing for screaming at you.” 

     Taeil just looked at Sunggyu and smiled at him, making Sunggyu smile back.

     “So what now? I mean the Sinner already told us what he wanted us to do. But with those conditions…it’s putting us in a difficult spot.” Hyunseung said matter-a-factly, and the Demons nodded in agreement.

     “Especially for me,” Jiyong said as he squatted while shuffling his hair aggressively. They were silent once again, and everyone started thinking.

     “What did the Sinner say about the games?” Minhyuk asked.

     “All he’s said is that there will be six games. And in each game, we must win it before I could kill him,” Jiyong explained.

     “And the conditions?” Suho asked.

     “First we must not bring Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer with us. It’s probably because they’re too strong for him,” Sunggyu told them while gesturing at the demons that were mentioned.

     “The second condition is that we must not use our demonic forms during the ’ games ’,” Jackson explained next.

     “And the last one is that I must kill him all by myself. If we break those conditions, he’ll burn us to death.” Jiyong finished with concern in his voice, making the Demons all groan in frustration.

     “You know what I find weird? Is him sparing me.” Hyunseung stated, making the Demons look at him.

     “Yeah, I mean all of us have his mark except for you, Kharon, and the SOLs.” Minhyuk pointed out.

     “I think he just likes you or something,” Suho stated, making his brothers even more confused, but then suddenly Taeil made a face that was very familiar to all of them.

     “Thinking face.” The 6 Demons said in unison.

     “Let’s make this as an advantage then.” Taeil said, and then he looked at his brother Hyunseung and continued, “Can you go to the Sinner’s school and get some information about the games he was saying?” Taeil asked, making Hyunseung look at him with shock, “Do you want me to die first?”

     “I’m not making you as a sacrifice. Let’s just test the theory if the Sinner really does have a thing for you.” Taeil answered.

     “You know doing that will only make Hyunseung’s visit more suspicious.” Suho pointed out.

     “I know, but it can put us in an advantage whether he’ll bring his guard down or not,” Taeil explained further.

      “Fine, I’ll do it”, Hyunseung said without any hesitation, making his brothers, except Taeil, shocked.

     “Do you have any idea of what could happen to you?” Minhyuk told his best friend. When Hyunseung was now looking at him, he added, “He can kill you then and there.”

     “I know, but we don’t have anything to start with Minhyuk. And risking something like this is all I can do since we’ll be dealing with those fucking games. You’ll be the only ones who will die if we break those conditions of him.” Hyunseung explained, making Minhyuk silent and just nod in defeat.

     “Where’s the school?” Hyunseung asked as he went towards Taeil. Taeil wrote down the address on a piece of paper and gave it to Hyunseung. Before Hyunseung could leave the room, Minhyuk grabbed Hyunseung’s arm, stopping him from walking away.

     Hyunseung looked at Minhyuk, and without saying a word, Minhyuk hugged his best friend, “Please be careful,” he told him. Hyunseung smiled and hugged him back, “I will.”

     Minhyuk lets go of his best friend and Hyunseung walked out of the room to head to where the Sinner was.

     “If Hyunseung will gather information for us, what will we do then?” Jiyong asked.

     “How about giving us the soul first?” Yoochun asked, and Jackson nodded and went towards the SOLs, and like his other brothers, he gave the souls to them.

     “So what now?” Suho asked.

     “Well, we can’t plan anything concrete without the information that Hyunseung might or might not get from the Sinner.” Taeil explained, and then he looked at his brother and added, “But the least we could do is train for the games.”

     “Train?” Minhyuk asked with confusion in his voice.

     “Yeah, train. Since we’ll be doing those games without using our demonic forms, we must be in our best condition in our human forms like before.” Taeil answered, making his brothers nod their heads in agreement before looking at Kharon. 

     Kharon looked at the sons one by one and said, “Then let’s go to our training grounds.”

AT THE UNNAMED SCHOOL…

     “ We’re here sir, “ the taxi driver said as he drove Hyunseung to the school where the Sinner is.

     “Thank you,” Hyunseung said as he gave the money to the driver and exited the vehicle. He took a deep breath and entered the building. As soon as he entered the building, Hyunseung saw students and teachers preparing for the festival, and it seems like his presence was not that noticeable since everyone was busy.

     Continuing his walk, he heard a familiar voice that called out to him, “Are you lost cutie?” Hyunseung turned around and saw the owner of the voice.

      “ The Sinner, “ Hyunseung whispered to himself as he looked at the man in front of him who is being surrounded by some scary-looking students. Hyunseung just made eye contact with the Sinner, and the Sinner went towards him as the students followed behind.

      “Hey Bobby, do you know this kid?” one of the students asked as he went a little closer to Hyunseung.

     “ So his human name is Bobby. “ Hyunseung thought as he kept on staring at the student in front of him who is becoming very pissed off by his unwanted presence.

     “Who do you think you are, huh punk?” the same student angrily said as he was about to grab Hyunseung’s collar, but the Sinner stopped him from doing so and said, “I know him”. Then he pushed the student’s hand away from him.

     “So leave us,” Bobby ordered as he still kept an eye on Hyunseung, a smirk still on his face.

     The students just looked at the Sinner weirdly, but one of them shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’ll be on the hideout if you need us.” Then they left the Sinner and Hyunseung alone in the hallway.

     “What brings you here prince of lust?” Bobby asked as he closed the space between them. Hyunseung just looked at the Sinner’s eyes and shrugged his shoulders and confidently said, “Spying and looking for information to defeat you,” then he walked away from the Sinner.

     Bobby just laughed for a second and quickly followed Hyunseung who was by the way ignoring him. Hyunseung just kept on walking and looking at the bustling students and teachers. 

     The Sinner ran towards Hyunseung to catch up with him. When Bobby was an arm’s length away from Hyunseung, he grabbed hold of Hyunseung’s hand and pulled him towards him, making Hyunseung’s face hit Bobby’s chest.

     “Then why aren’t you stalking your target then?” Bobby seductively asked as he looked at Hyunseung’s eyes. Hyunseung pushed the Sinner away from him and said, “Why would I? You won’t be saying anything to me anyway.” Hyunseung coldly stated. Then he effortlessly pushed Bobby and started walking away from him again.

     “Are you playing hard to get cutie?” Bobby asked as he continued to follow Hyunseung.

     “Why? Is it working?” Hyunseung asked with a flirty voice while looking at the Sinner over his shoulder, making the Sinner smirk.

     “Hell yeah it is,” the Sinner said as he, once again for the nth time, ran towards Hyunseung. But this time, the Sinner grabbed Hyunseung’s waist and carried him over his shoulder like a sack.

     “W-what the…let me go, Bobby!” Hyunseung shouted as he tried to escape from the Sinners grasp.

     “Damn baby, hearing my name escape from those lips make me want you to scream my name even louder,” Bobby said as he continued carrying Hyunseung from his shoulder. Hyunseung stopped struggling and just slumped down his body as he let the Sinner carry him.

     “You got tired?” the Sinner asked, and Hyunseung just sighed and continued looking at his surroundings. Everyone was looking at them. It was strange for them to see their ‘king’ carrying someone they weren’t familiar with, but no one dared to ask him anything.

     “Where are we going?” Hyunseung asked, and to his surprise, the Sinner replied, “We’re going to the battlegrounds where we will be using two days from now.”

     The Sinner finally put Hyunseung down, and there, he saw a soccer field.

     “And this is?” Hyunseung asked, and Bobby went in front of him and opened his arms wide before looking back at Hyunseung.

      “This is our battleground,” Bobby said with a prideful look on his face.

     Hyunseung looked at the soccer field, but he just eyed the field weirdly. The Sinner saw this and just smirked and walked towards Hyunseung. Then he covered Hyunseung’s eyes and whispered in his ear, “

videtur

“. He removed his hands from Hyunseung’s eyes right after, and Hyunseung widened his eyes in shock when he saw the arena in front of him. But what shocked him, even more, was the location of the arena.

     “We’re in hell?” Hyunseung asked as he looked at the Sinner and back at the arena in front of him.

     “Yup, and this…” the Sinner said, pulling Hyunseung towards him and hugging him. Bobby leaned his head closer to Hyunseung’s ear and whispered something that made Hyunseung run up a chill on his spine “ This is where I’ll kill all of your brothers whether they follow my conditions or not. Then I’ll fuck you, then and there while you mourn and weep for them. “

     Hyunseung quickly pushed the Sinner away from him, and their surroundings went back to the school grounds. Before Bobby could even come close to Hyunseung, someone called out for the Sinner, making them both look at the owner of the voice. Near the gate, they saw a woman who walked towards them with a superior aura surrounding her.

     “ It’s the ghoul from before, “ Hyunseung stated to himself as the woman stopped in front of him and the Sinner.

     “Who are you and what are you doing here in the school grounds?” the woman asked with authority present in her voice. And before Hyunseung could talk, Bobby answered and said, “He’s a friend, and he was just about to leave.”

     The woman looked at Hyunseung once more and then looked back at the Sinner, “Meet me at my office, Bobby Kim.” Then she left the two alone.

     “I should get going,” Bobby said with a grin. But before Hyunseung could get away from the Sinner, Bobby grabbed hold of his arms and pulled Hyunseung towards him. He made Hyunseung face the Sinner and gripped his arms tighter.

     “Let go of me, Bobby Kim,” Hyunseung said as he tried to tug his arm from the grip of the Sinner.

     “I really like the sound of this body’s name coming out from your lips,” the Sinner said as he pulled Hyunseung closer to him. Then he wrapped his other arm around Hyunseung’s waist.

     “Let go.” Hyunseung taunted, and the Sinner just smirked at him.

     “I’ll let you go, but first give me my reward,” Bobby said, making Hyunseung confused.

     “Reward? For what?” Hyunseung asked as he tries to escape from the Sinners grasp.

      “My reward for showing you the battleground for the games. That’s what you wanted to see right?” Bobby asked as he tightened his grip. Hyunseung tried to struggle, but when he realized Bobby was never going to let go of him, he sighed in defeat.

     “Fine, what reward do you want?” Hyunseung dared to ask as he looked at the Sinner who just made a smirk on his face.

     “How about a preview to what I will be getting once I kill your brothers?” the Sinner said.

     “What kind of preview?” Hyunseung asked as he ignored the second part of his sentence.

      “How about a kiss,” the Sinner answered while caressing Hyunseung’s bottom lip. Hyunseung looked at the Sinner, searching for something in his eyes that says that it was a joke, but apparently, he saw nothing. Only the seriousness of the Sinner’s request. So Hyunseung clenched his fist and looked at the Sinner once again, “Fine.”

     Bobby smirked as he loosened his grip from Hyunseung’s arm. But not too loose where Hyunseung could run away from him. Hyunseung took a deep breath and looked at the Sinner’s eyes. He reached for his neck and grabbed Bobby by the nape, then he closed the space in between their faces.

     “ I’m sorry Junhyung. “ Hyunseung thought before pressing his lips on the Sinner.

     The Sinner pulled Hyunseung closer to him by grabbing the back of Hyunseung’s head, to deepen the kiss. Hyunseung gasped at the action, and the Sinner took the opportunity to enter his tongue inside Hyunseung’s mouth. 

     Bobby dominated the kiss and moved their tongue in sync. Hyunseung moaned in the kiss, shocking the Sinner and himself, which made the Sinner smirk in their heated kiss. Bobby caresses Hyunseung’s back, and before he could do more, Hyunseung pushed Bobby away from him while catching his breath.

     “Ran out of breath baby?” Bobby asked, and before he could do anything further, Hyunseung ran towards the gate and left the Sinner all alone.

     “You truly are the Prince of Lust,” Bobby stated with a grin. And then he went back inside the school building with his hands inside his pockets.

---

Hyunseung ran as fast as he could while covering his lips. And every time he closed his eyes, he remembers the kiss he just shared minutes ago with the Sinner.

      “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Hyunseung repeatedly cursed as he ran towards the door that will lead him outside of the building. As he reached the school’s gate, he stopped running to catch his breath. But then he started crying blood. He quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks and the tears that were still trying to escape from his eyes.

     “So this is what Jackson felt when he tried to flirt with the 6th Sinner,” Hyunseung said as he looked at the building once more before running towards the streets to catch a taxi.

     Little did he know that someone was still keeping an eye on him inside the school building.

     “You know doing something like that will put you in a disadvantage,” the Sinner’s ghoul, Akira, said as she stood beside the Sinner.

     “I don’t think so. And besides, I only showed him the arena, nothing more.” Bobby stated as he walked towards the chair and sat on it.

     “I still don’t get it. Why spare him?” the ghoul asked as she continued to look out the window, watching Hyunseung run down the street. She then took a deep breath and looked back at the Sinner.

     “It’s just that the way he looked at me makes me feel more powerful compared to the look these mere mortals give me,” Bobby answered. He placed his feet on top of the table and continued, “And besides, its good to have a pet, and a Prince of Lust to boot.”

     “I hope you’re right.” The ghoul said as she looked back at the spot where Hyunseung was last seen, “But remember my king…Lust is always a man’s greatest weakness.”

• To be continued -

SDS2 31: MISSION VII: THE CONCEITED DELINQUENT PT. 2

HYUNSEUNG BARGED INSIDE TAMO’S office and realized that no was inside. He slammed the door close and went towards the center of the room. Before he could do anything, a voice suddenly called out behind him, immediately making Hyunseung turnaround.

     “Prince Hyunseung.” the Souls of Lucifer greeted in unison. For a second, Hyunseung thought it was someone else, so he sighed in relief when he saw that it was only the SOLs.

     “Where are my brothers and Mentor?” Hyunseung asked as he looked at the three.

     “They’re training my Prince,” Yoochun answered with full respect.

     “Can you take me to them?” Hyunseung asked once more, and the three nodded. The Souls of Lucifer surrounded Hyunseung and teleported themselves to the Demons’ training ground.  When they arrived at the training grounds, Hyunseung saw his brother’s training themselves in their human form. Suho was catching his breath and looked at where Hyunseung and the SOL’s were.

     “Hyunseung’s back!” Suho shouted, making the rest of his brothers stop training. Everyone was glad to see that Hyunseung was standing there, alive and unharmed. The Demons quickly ran towards Hyunseung and hugged him, making Hyunseung chuckle at how his brothers were acting.

     “You know I just left for only an hour or so, right?” Hyunseung asked, and the Demons let go of him.

     “We know,” Minhyuk said as he was the last one to let go of Hyunseung.

     “We were just worried sick that he might have killed you or something,” Suho stated with relief present in his voice.

     “So, did you find something informative?” Taeil asked, and Hyunseung nodded, making the Demons shocked.

      Hyunseung told him about what he saw, and also told them about what the Sinner was planning. That they’ll kill them whether or not they followed the condition. But he excluded the part where he kissed the Sinner because he himself couldn’t bring up the topic without feeling guilty of what he did. He might be the Prince of Lust, but he’s still loyal to his lover.

     “Damn him!” Jiyong angrily shouted as he threw his weapon to the ground.

     “So whether or not we follow the conditions, that bastard will still kill us,” Minhyuk said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

     “And an arena? Seriously? What kind of game is he planning?” Jackson asked, now feeling frustrated as well.

     “I don’t know about the games, but everything I told you is the only thing he told me,” Hyunseung said, making his brothers nod in understanding.

     “Kharon, can you remove the Sinners mark from us?” Taeil asked while looking at Kharon the third. Kharon went towards Taeil and examined the mark that was in his hand. Then the Souls of Lucifer did the same. Eventually, the four looked at each other, then back to the Demons.

     “So, can you?” Sunggyu asked, with hope in his voice.

     “We can,” Kharon answered, but before they could celebrate, the Souls of Lucifer stopped them and continued, “But if we remove them, the Sinner will sense it and before the mark could be fully removed…” Junsu paused, “You would have been disintegrated like the human that he showed to us before.” Jaejoong added, making the Princes’ celebration cut short.

     “And here I thought we could outsmart the Sinner,” Jiyong said as he sighed in defeat and also in exhaustion.

     “He might be smart now, but he’s an idiot for telling Hyunseung his plans. I think we can outsmart the Sinner.” Taeil suddenly stated, making his brothers hopeful.

     “How?” the brothers asked in unison, and Taeil looked at Jackson then at their guardian, “Kharon, can you train Jackson to master his demonic power Glamouring?”

     “How mastered?” Kharon asked, and Taeil replied, “To the point where he can glamour all of us without straining himself.”

     Kharon looked at Jackson and crossed his arms, “I can, but we need to go somewhere. A place where time is not present.” Kharon answered, and Taeil nodded and looked at Jackson, “Can you do it?” he asked his best friend Jackson.

     “If this will bring us to victory in the end…” Jackson said as he looked at Kharon with a grin, “…then I’ll do it.”

     Taeil smiled widely, thankful for his brother’s efforts.

     “So what’s the plan?” Suho asked, and Taeil looked at his brothers one by one.

     “Let’s train more and pray that Jackson can master his glamouring…” then Taeil showed him his mark and continued, “We’ll remove this mark in our hands and bring Kharon and the SOL’s with us. If he’s going to kill us regardless of us following his conditions or not, then we’d be idiots if we follow them now,” Taeil finished, and the rest nodded even though deep down they were doubting it.

THE DAY OF THE GAMES

AT THE UNNAMED SCHOOL

“You must be the group of students Bobby is waiting for.” A random student stated as he came towards the Demons the moment they step foot on the school’s main building.

     “Yeah we are, so where is he?” Sunggyu asked with a taunting voice, making the student flinch a little.

     “Just follow me.” The student answered as he walked away. Far away from them. Then the Demons followed him to the battlegrounds that Hyunseung mentioned to them before.

     “ Are Mentor and SOL’s already inside the building? “ Suho whispered to Taeil, and Taeil nodded as an answer.

     “Jackson, are you feeling okay?” Minhyuk then asked in a soft voice as he placed a hand over Jackson’s shoulder.

     Jackson, who trained harder than the others, took a deep breath and assured his brother, “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.” 

     “ Well, what do you expect from the hard training that our guardian gave to Jackson? “ Jiyong whispered back as he looked at the bustling students who were enjoying the school festival. As they continued walking towards the soccer field, they heard their guardian talk in their earpiece.

     “ My Princes, the deed has been done. “

     “ Then it’s our turn to finish this, “ Jiyong whispered with a proud voice. They have reached their destination, which was the soccer field like what Hyunseung have said two days back. The Sinner saw them and walked towards the Demons with a wide smile.

     “You’re here,” Bobby said as he looked at the Demons who were in front of him. Then he ordered the student who escorted the Demons to leave, and he complied.

     “So where’s the battlefield of yours?” Jiyong asked, irritation present in his voice. Bobby ignored Jiyong’s question and looked at Hyunseung instead.

     “Patience. We just need to wait for Akira to arrive.” Bobby finally answered, then, on key, a woman with three students behind her, arrived in the field.

     “Why is she here?” Sunggyu asked, and the Sinner just looked at him and said, “For protection. And so that I will have extra eyes to look at you on whether or not you’re following my conditions.”

     “Well, now that we’re all here, I just need you to close your eyes and wait for me to tell you to open them,” Bobby instructed, and the Demons looked at him confusingly.

     “Just do what he says.” Hyunseung quickly said before covering his. And so his brothers did the same. The Sinner smirked, and once he saw that everyone had their eyes covered, he whispered, “

videtur.

“

     Everyone suddenly felt hot the moment the sinner said that single word.

     “You can uncover your eyes now,” Bobby stated, and with that, the Demons did what they were told and saw the arena, which Hyunseung described to them before.

     “Welcome to our Battleground,” Bobby said with a proud voice.

     The ghoul went in front of them and ordered them to follow Akira, so the Demons complied. Hyunseung was at the end of the line formation when the Sinner grabbed his arms and stopped him from walking. Hyunseung glared at him, making the sinner smirk.

     “So you didn’t tell your brothers about the arena?” Bobby asked as he grabbed Hyunseung’s waist.

     “Well, I might or might not have told them,” Hyunseung answered, pushing the Sinner away from him before walking away again.

     “You’re still playing hard to get.” Bobby said, and he continued walking beside Hyunseung, “Well it doesn’t matter. Because I’ll have my way with you Prince of Lust. Sooner rather than later.” 

AT THE ARENA

     The Sinner, with his ghouls, went towards the balustrade, away from the battleground of the arena.

     “So here’s how the games work.” Bobby started, and the Demons listened attentively.

     “It is just a simple game, really.” He says, “Everyone of you will battle 10 ghouls.”

     “Well easy enough.” Minhyuk stated, but the Sinner just smirked and added, “Starting with 10 ghouls.”

     “Starting with 10 ghouls?” Taeil asked with confusion in his voice, so Bobby further explained, “You will be fighting my ghouls, based on the levels of your realm.” Then the Sinner looked at the Demons and fixed his gaze on Hyunseung.

     “Starting with 10 ghouls, and after each battle, I will add twice the ghoul from the previous battle.” Bobby finished, and the Demons looked at each other with worry.

     “So starting with 10, next will be 20, 40, 80, 160, and 320,” Bobby added, enjoying the look the Demons were showing.

     “That’s all?” Suho confidently asked, trying to piss the Sinner off. But the Sinner just smirked and shook his head, making Minhyuk hit Suho’s head and say, “ You just had to talk .“

     “Besides the conditions that I gave you 2 days ago, I will add another one.” The Sinner stated, and the Demons waited for another condition that can either put them at a disadvantage or advantage.

     “I’ll let you use the weapons you have…” the Sinner said, making the Demons a little glad, but the Sinner continued soon after, “But if I see that the battle is getting a little bit too boring, I’ll make the battle a little bit interesting that will fit my taste.” When the Sinner finished, the Demons became furious to the obscured condition the Sinner added.

     “And I almost forgot. You can’t intervene with the battle of your brother. Whether they are getting beaten up or dying, you can’t do anything but watch.” This made the Demons even more furious. Jiyong was about to say something, but Sunggyu stopped him from doing so. So Jiyong just sighed and clenched his fist.

     “Well then…Let the games begin!” the Sinner shouted, and out of nowhere, trumpets were heard, making the Demons feel that they really were in an arena.

     “What are we going to do Taeil?” Hyunseung asked with nervousness present in his voice since he would be the first one to fight 10 ghouls in his human form.

     “Just stick to the plan and do your best. We will execute the plan once Jiyong fights the Sinner,” Sunggyu assured him, and Hyunseung nodded in understanding.

     “First up, the Prince of Lust, and also my soon to be pet…” the Sinner announced, making the Demons furious, especially Hyunseung.

     “Go get them Hyunseung!” Jiyong cheered, and Hyunseung smiled and got ready. He walked towards the arena, and his brothers went to the bleachers to watch as their lustful brother entered the battlegrounds. 

     Hyunseung summoned his razor-like sword and looked at Bobby. Bobby just smiled at him and looked at the ghoul beside him, and with one look, Akira knew what she must do. She raised her arm, and right in front of Hyunseung stood 10 ghouls who were ready to kill him once the Sinner commanded them to.

     “Good luck baby,” Bobby stated, and Hyunseung scoffed at the remark. Then the Sinner ordered the 10 ghouls to attack him with no hesitation.

     Hyunseung dodged every attack the ghouls gave and countered it with powerful slashes on their skin.

     “Go Hyunseung!” Minhyuk cheered as he saw his best friend win.

     “ It seems like the Sinner hasn’t noticed anything suspicious yet ,“ Taeil whispered as he eyed the Sinner and back at Hyunseung.

     “It seems like the training paid off.” Suho added as he glanced at the Prince of Envy, “For Jackson that is.”

     “Yeah, if Jackson didn’t train with our guardian then he would be dead-tired by now,” Jiyong said as he kept watching Hyunseung who just beheaded three ghouls with one slice.

     “Jackson, are you sure you can glamour all of us until Jiyong fights the Sinner?” Taeil asked with concern in his face.

     “Don’t worry Taeil, I can conceal our demonic forms and even Mentor and the SOL for as long as I can. Since the training was like 5 years equivalent in our real world.” Jackson said a matter-a-factly, and the Demons nodded their heads and continued watching Hyunseung kill the last ghoul.

     “ Winner…Prince of Lust. “ An odd voice declared as Hyunseung beheaded the last ghoul. The Sinner just clapped and the odd voice returned, “ Next contender, Prince of Gluttony. “

     Minhyuk stood up from the bleachers and went down to the battleground. Hyunseung patted Minhyuk’s shoulder as a wish of good luck, and Minhyuk smiled and went to the field.

     Hyunseung went back to his brothers in the bleachers and looked the Sinner once again. The Sinner looked at Minhyuk who just summoned his silver sword. Akira, without being ordered, summoned 20 ghouls right in front of Minhyuk. Minhyuk quickly raised his weapon, so Bobby nodded his head and ordered the ghouls to attack him.

     “How was the fight?” Suho asked as he looked at Hyunseung who was walking towards them. 

     Hyunseung shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Easy. Since I am fighting them with my demon form.” Hyunseung revealed as he looked at Suho with his red demonic eyes, then he returned it back to normal.

     “Damn I didn’t think it would be this easy though,” Suho stated with confidence in his voice.

     “Let’s not become too confident or we might slip up in the last minute,” Sunggyu warned.

     “But honestly speaking, I didn’t think that this plan would actually work,” Suho said as he watched Minhyuk beheading five ghouls.

     “Of course it will work…Taeil planned it.” Jiyong stated, complimenting their forever great and smart technician.

FLASHBACK

A DAY BEFORE THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL

     Jackson and Kharon III entered the office. And the moment the Demons saw their brother, everyone instantly noticed that Jackson looked and felt different.

     “How was training Jackson?” Minhyuk asked, 

     Jackson smiled and approached his brother. Then he took a deep breath and showed them his upgraded demonic form, which was actually his final form. Among the rest of the Demons, Jackson was now the only demon who completed his demonic training, making him the true prince that he truly was.

     “It was intense, but it was fucking worth it” Jackson replied with a grin that showed his fangs. 

     “Phase 1 of the plan is complete.” Taeil stated, and then he looked at Kharon and asked, “How long can he glamour us?”

     “As long as 5 days. He just has to make sure that his concentration doesn’t break,” Kharon answered, proud that he taught all that to Jackson.

     Taeil just nodded and felt relieved that their plan was going smoothly.

     “So what’s phase 2?” Jackson asked as he transformed himself back to his normal form.

     “This will be bloody,” Taeil commented as he took something out from a black box. Then he placed 6 blades on top of the table. The Demons went towards the table and eyed the blades.

     “What are those?” Suho asked as he took one of the blades to examine it. But as soon as he held the blade, Suho immediately dropped it back to the table because of how hot it felt.

     “These are blessed blades. While Jackson was training, I called for our Kharon about this.” Taeil explained.

     “And what will we do with blessed blades ?” Jiyong asked, trying not to touch the blades now.

     “We will remove the mark on our hands…by skinning ourselves,” Taeil said naturally. When Taeil said that, everybody, even Hyunseung who doesn’t even have a mark, was shocked.

     “I thought we couldn’t remove the mark?” Minhyuk asked.

     “Kharon and the SOL can’t remove it by cleansing it,” Taeil explained, then he grabbed the blades and gave the four remaining blades to the rest of his brothers, “But we can remove the mark by skinning ourselves since the mark is still in contact with our skin.” Taeil finished as he gave the last blade to Jiyong.

     “Isn’t this going to be as painful as hell?” Minhyuk innocently asked, and Suho quickly added, “Can’t we use anesthesia or something?”    

     “Sorry, but we can’t use anything that can alter the mark since we might not know what will happen if we did,” Taeil answered. Then to their surprise, Hyunseung said “Then how sure are you that the Sinner will not feel anything once you remove the skin with the mark in it?” 

     “I already asked the SOLs about it and it seems that the Sinner will only know the removal of the mark if a powerful demon removes it. But physically removing it will not trigger anything.” Taeil stated.

     Hyunseung looked at the Souls of Lucifer, making them nod their heads, confirming what Taeil just said. 

     “Don’t worry my Princes, the blades are sharpened to the point that it will cut through your skin like how knives cut through butter.” Junsu stated, then Yoochun looked at the sons and added, “Which will make it a lot easier.”

     “That doesn’t make things better!” Minhyuk shouted, now panicking. 

     “How about the pain then?” Jiyong asked the Souls of his dad.

      “I’m sorry, but healing is something we don’t possess since it is too holy for us Demons,” Jaejoong explained, and this just made the task a lot harder.

     “But we can burn your wound just to stop the bleeding, nothing else,” Junsu added, and the dazed Demons nodded their heads. Hyunseung looked at his brothers who were looking at the blades with fear. But before Hyunseung could say anything, Sunggyu took a deep breath and looked at the Souls of Lucifer.

     “I’ll go first.” Sunggyu bravely said. As the leader that he is, he went towards the Souls of Lucifer.

     The Souls of Lucifer walked towards Sunggyu. Yoochun and Jaejoong holding Sunggyu’s hand while Junsu waited for Sunggyu to skin himself to remove the mark so that he could burn the wound to lessen the pain.

     “Damn, this could be the best time to have my Yixing with us,” Suho stated, which earned a smack on the back of his head by Minhyuk…again.

     “Sorry,” Suho mumbled as he rubbed his sore head.

     “Are you ready my Prince?” Junsu asked, and Sunggyu took a deep breath and nodded.

     Sunggyu gulped and placed the blade at the top of his hand. He looked at his brothers and back at Junsu. Once again he took another deep breath, and as fast and as careful as possible, he skinned himself.

     Sunggyu screamed in agony as he continued to skin himself to remove the mark. Hyunseung just looked at Sunggyu without saying anything to his brother. Then he looked at Kharon and said, “I’ll buy some super effective painkillers for them.” Without waiting for a reply, he went out of the building.

     As Hyunseung walked out of the building, he felt like he wanted to cry from the pain that his brothers were feeling. He was also frustrated that he couldn’t do anything since it wasn’t right for him to do so since the Sinner spared him.

     Hyunseung went to the nearest pharmacy and hoped that once he goes back to the office, it will all be over and done so that he wouldn’t have to see his brother inflict pain onto themselves.

     After buying the painkillers and also some bottled water, Hyunseung went back to the building. He opened the door and saw that the task was finally done, and all of their wounded hands were covered in bandages. But they were still moaning in pain.

     “Hey Hyunseung, where have you been?” Minhyuk asked, and Hyunseung slowly went towards them and said, “I bought painkillers.” 

     His brothers just smiled at the small gesture, but instead of smiling back, Hyunseung cried in front of them. The Demons were all caught off guard. Even though they were in so much pain, they went to Hyunseung who was surprisingly crying.

     “Hey, it’s okay,” Taeil said as he rubbed Hyunseung’s back with his good hand.

     “You know we don’t like it when you cry,” Jiyong added.

     “And it didn’t hurt that much so don’t cry Hyunseung,” Suho added as he comforted his weeping brother. But the truth was, his hand was throbbing like crazy.

     “I’m just so sorry. I could have done something, but I just stood there, and since I can’t handle seeing you in pain, I went out and distracted myself by buying painkillers and bottled waters.” Hyunseung said while sobbing like a kid, which the brothers find adorable.

     Sunggyu hugged his brother and said in a soothing voice, “There’s no need for you to cry Hyunseung. And it was for the plan, so it was all worth it.” 

     Hyunseung looked at Sunggyu and back at his brother who was just smiling even though they were in so much pain.

     “So where are those painkillers that you bought?” Jiyong asked, and Hyunseung gave them 2 capsules each, and also the bottled water. The wounded Demons drank the painkillers and relief was felt on their wounds in an instant.

     “Damn these are good painkillers,” Minhyuk said as he finished the bottle of water and sighed in relief.

     “Phase 3?” Hyunseung asked, now feeling better.

     Taeil went to the table and looked at the skin the demons removed that had Bobby’s mark. He took the marks and gave the bloody skins to Kharon III.

     “Hide this and bring it with you so that the Sinner will think that the marks are still in our hands when we meet him tomorrow,” Taeil said, and Kharon III took the skins and nodded.

     “So for Phase 3, it will be based on Jackson’s mastery of glamouring.” Taeil said as he looked at Jackson and continued, “The conditions the Sinner said was that we must not bring our guardian and the Soul’s of Lucifer with us. We also can’t use our demonic forms in doing the games,” Taeil then looked at his brothers, Kharon III and also at the Souls of Lucifer.

     “We will break those conditions…by already transforming ourselves into our demonic forms. Then we’ll let Jackson glamour us into our human forms.” Taeil said, and the Demons just nodded.

     “Jackson will also glamour Kharon III into the Sinner’s personal ghoul (Akira) and kill the original one inside a room,” Taeil added as he looked at Kharon III.

     “Jackson will also glamour the SOLs into students with an aura that they are ghouls, so that when Kharon joins the Sinner, the Sinner will just think that Mentor brought some backup”, Taeil finished and everybody nodded, except for Hyunseung who asked one question, “How about your marks? How will you make the Sinner think you still have the marks?”

     “I’ll glamour it with the human forms, right?” Jackson asked, and Taeil nodded.

     “Damn, Jackson, can you do all this? I mean it might strain you.” Minhyuk asked with concern in his voice.

     “Don’t worry, I can handle it. And if it makes you feel better, you can transform yourself back into human form after your battles and I’ll just glamour your hands.” Jackson suggested, and everyone nodded in agreement.

     “Do we still have Phase 4?” Jiyong asked, and Taeil nodded and said, “For our final Phase, we need to make the Sinner believe that he is still in an advantage; that everything is still according to his plan. Jackson will remove the glamouring on Jiyong and show the Sinner that you are in your half-demon form, and we’ll just see how the battle unfolds from there.” 

     The Demons sank in everything Taeil had said, but Hyunseung asked another question that can cause trouble tomorrow, “If we let him see Jiyong in his half-demon form, the sinner might escape the arena and run away.”

     This made the Demons nod in agreement.

     “I’ll cast a containing spell on you.” Kharon III said as he looked at Hyunseung.

     “A containing spell?” Suho asked, and the Souls of Lucifer answered for him, “A containing spell works like a talisman.” Jaejoong explained.

     “But the only difference is that you will cast it on the person who made the place or the person who teleported them there,” Junsu added.

     “And a containing spell will not be countered by any spell, but it will only stop once the caster said so, or when the person cast on it dies.” Yoochun finished.

     “Then why on me?” Hyunseung asked, looking at Kharon III.

     Kharon went towards Hyunseung, cast the containing spell on him, and replied, “Because the Sinner will try to hold you when given a chance.” 

     Kharon then lets go of Hyunseung’s hand, and Hyunseung looked at his arms and saw some ancient writings. After a few seconds, the writings vanished.

     “The spell will be cast on him whether he grabs either of your arms or just looking directly at your eyes,” Kharon explained, and Hyunseung nodded in understanding.

     “Let me summarize the plan. Jackson will conceal all of us. Kharon and the SOLs will kill the Sinner’s ghoul. We’ll let the Sinner touch Hyunseung for the containing spell to be casted. Make the Sinner believe that he still has the upper hand. And when Jiyong is about to battle the Sinner, Jackson will remove the glamouring and we’ll catch him off guard.” Taeil summarized, and Jiyong added, “And let me do the final kill.”

     “I just realized something,” Suho said, making everyone look at him.  Suho looked at his brothers and continued, “After finishing this mission, we need to plan for our final battle with the King of Hell.”

     Once Suho finished his sentence, fear became present on the Demons’ faces. Sunggyu brushed the thought away and looked at his troubled brothers and said, “Let’s worry about that later. Right now let’s focus on the task at hand.”

     “Whatever the Sinner throws at us during the games, let’s take it heads on and finish the 6 battles. And remember to not use our demonic powers, just use our demonic strength.” Sunggyu instructed as he looked at his brothers who were more than ready for the games tomorrow.

END OF THE FLASHBACK

BACK AT THE ARENA…

     “ Winner, Prince of Gluttony. “ The odd voice declared as Minhyuk slaughtered the last ghoul in front of him. Minhyuk panted and glared at the Sinner, but the Sinner just smirked back.

     “Wish me luck guys,” Suho stated as he walked towards the arena.

     “Good luck Suho,” Minhyuk said as he patted Suho’s back and exited the arena.

     “ Next contender, Prince of Greed. “ The odd voice declared, and Suho just took a deep breath to ready himself. But before he could even summon his hammer-like weapon, 40 ghouls appeared and started attacking Suho without any warning.

     “SUHO!” Hyunseung shouted, and Suho dodged the weapon of the ghoul that was closest to him.

     Suho was fazed a little, but he quickly composed himself and summoned his weapon before smashing the heads of the ghouls that were running towards him.

     “Suho’s already getting tired.” Jackson pointed out as he saw Suho dodging, countering, and attacking the ghouls who were attacking him back.

     “Who wouldn’t. Suho has one of the heaviest weapons among us .  But he still needs to use some of his strength to smash the heads of the ghouls,” Jiyong pointed out as he kept on watching his best friend.

     Suho had already killed half of the ghouls, but he still needs to kill the remaining half and he was already getting tired, “Fuck, I should have trained for my endurance rather than focusing only on my strength.” Suho told himself as he smashed one of the ghoul’s head.

     The ghoul started attacking Suho again. Suho dodged and countered every attack until he smashed the last head of the ghoul. And like every victory they have achieved so far, an odd voice declared Suho’s victory, “ Winner, Prince of Greed. “

     Once the odd voice declared his win, Suho summoned his weapon back and kneeled on the arena’s ground, trying to catch his breath.

     “Taeil, converse your energy and try to use the momentum of the ghouls to your advantage,” Sunggyu instructed, and Taeil nodded in understanding. Taeil went down on the battleground and helped Suho stand up.

     “Thanks, Taeil, and good luck,” Suho said as he gave Taeil a hug before exiting the arena.

     “ Next contender, Prince of Sloth. “ The odd voice said, and Taeil summoned his weapon and readied himself to fight 80 ghouls. But nothing happened. Instead of ghouls, a maze appeared, and Taeil was in the middle of it.

     The Demons looked at the maze with shock.

     “What’s happening?” Taeil asked as he looked at the Sinner who just smiled, and shockingly, Bobby talked and said, “I would like to see you battle 80 ghouls in an open arena, but that would be boring.” Then Bobby snapped his fingers, and Taeil sensed that he was not alone in the maze anymore.

     “So instead of a battle like the previous three, you’ll fight five of my strongest ghouls. But inside a maze instead,” Bobby explained with a playful grin.

     “Five ghouls? Taeil can handle that,” Jiyong said confidently.

     “Oh, I forgot. The maze has different traps that can harm you and the ghouls. So good luck.” With that said, Taeil heard the ghouls make a move.

     “This looks hard, even for Taeil,” Suho said honestly as he looked at the maze below them.

     The maze wasn’t that big, but having it on a small scale makes it easier to encounter the ghouls who are just running around aimlessly. There were traps everywhere too, which would make this even harder for Taeil.

     “It may look hard, but Taeil can outsmart the maze and use the traps to kill them instead of it killing him.” Jackson pointed out while he concentrated on watching his best friend take a careful turn.

     Taeil saw that the traps were triggered using tripwires, or some discolored tile. He already lured 2 ghouls to the traps and wounded them, but Taeil must smash the ghoul’s head to kill it. 

     Taeil kept on walking quietly, and suddenly, he arrived on what seems to be the middle of the maze. But before he could even go back to where he went, the path closed, except for the one in front of him.

     “He lured him,” Sunggyu stated, and the brothers, who can see everything since they were elevated, saw that the three remaining ghouls were running towards Taeil.  

     Taeil raised his weapon and waited for them to come to him. One of the ghouls arrived, and when he saw Taeil, he quickly ran towards him. But before the ghoul could make a move, Taeil jumped to dodge the attack and maneuvered his body with his weapon. He sliced the head of the ghoul using the blade side of his double-edged war hammer.

     “Nice!” Minhyuk cheered, and the Demons smiled at how graceful and effortless Taeil maneuvered his body.

     As Taeil finished the ghoul off, two of the remaining ghouls arrived, but they didn’t move from there. Instead of going towards Taeil, the ghouls ran towards each other, and they morphed into one giant ghoul who was twice the size of the normal ghoul.

     “ This will take a lot of effort, “ Taeil said to himself as he waited for the ghouls to attack.

     The huge ghoul looked at Taeil and ran towards him. Taeil was ready to attack, but the sealed doors that were once closed suddenly opened, so Taeil immediately gripped on his weapon and made a run for it.

     Expectedly, the ghoul followed him, and the battle became a chase.

     “What is he doing?” Minhyuk asked, confused that Taeil was just running instead of killing the ghoul.

     Everyone was watching closely when Suho’s eyes suddenly widened like he realized something, “Wait…did Taeil just memorize the maze?” Suho asked in disbelief, and the Demons observed how calculated Taeil’s movements were compared to the first time he walked around the maze.

     “He’s leading them to the remaining traps.” Hyunseung pointed out.

     “Why? He can just kill them.” Minhyuk stated, and this time, Sunggyu answered, “He could, but it will take a lot of strength to even slice or smash the ghoul’s head.”

      “So leading the ghouls to the traps will weaken it, and Taeil can finish him with one precise strike,” Hyunseung added further.

     Minhyuk nodded and continued watching Taeil who lured the ghoul to a trap. When Taeil arrived at the area where the trap was located, Taeil immediately ran towards it and avoided triggering the traps. But for the ghoul, it just mindlessly followed Taeil. So when the ghoul triggered the trap, swords pierced through the ground, striking the ghoul and making it wince in pain. After a few quick seconds, the ghoul broke free from the swords and chased after Taeil again.

     “There are no more traps left.” Suho pointed out as the ghoul activated the last trap in the maze. It was kind of amazing that the ghoul was still chasing Taeil around even though the ghoul was badly injured.

     When Taeil saw that the ghoul was already limping, he finally ran towards the ghoul. Using his speed and momentum, he raised his weapon and smashed the head of the ghoul. With a loud crack, the ghoul fell, and the maze vanished.

     “ Winner, Prince of Sloth. “ The odd voice announced, and Taeil took a deep breath and smiled at where his brothers were cheering.

     Bobby clapped his hands and looked at where the Demons were cheering. While everyone waited for Taeil to approach them, Sunggyu stood up from his seat and glared at the sinner, “My turn.”

• To be continued -

SDS2 32: MISSION VII: THE CONCEITED DELINQUENT PT. 3

TAEIL AND SUNGGYU EXCHANGED looks and nodded their heads. Taeil went back to his brothers at the bleachers and hugged them back while they continued to congratulate his excellent victory.

     “ Next contender, Prince of Wrath. “ The voice declared, and Sunggyu summoned his weapon. But before anything could happen, the odd voice announced another contender, making Sunggyu and the Demons confused, “ and Prince of Envy. “

     “Well, that’s odd.” Hyunseung said, and Jiyong added, “Maybe he wants to finish the 6 battles already.”

     “Maybe,” Jackson commented. But before he could join Sunggyu at the battleground, Taeil went towards his best friend, “ Are you feeling okay? “ Taeil whispered, and Jackson just smiled and nodded his head and went towards the battleground to join their leader, Sunggyu.

     “Getting restless?” Sunggyu asked with a smirk on his face as he looked at the Sinner who seems to be doing the same thing.

     “I’m not the observer type when it comes to fights, and I already want to fuck up your last half-blood.” Bobby said as he purposely looked at Jiyong. This made Jiyong’s blood boil to the point where he could just run towards the Sinner and kill him then and there.

     “Don’t do anything rash Jiyong.” Hyunseung said as he grabbed Jiyong’s shoulder, and Taeil added, “We have a plan to follow.”

     Jiyong just took a deep breath and nodded.

     “I will be the one to fuck you up once I fight you,” Jiyong declared as he looked at the Sinner.

     “So how will you make this interesting this time?” Sunggyu then asked, and Bobby smiled and answered, “With this.” The Sinner snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the battleground was being filled with water. Small platforms were appearing, and then 10 ghouls with wings appeared.

     “Ghouls with wings?” Minhyuk asked, shock present in his voice.

     “Well, that’s new.” Hyunseung added.

     “Impressed?” Bobby asked, confidence radiating from his voice. Sunggyu just looked at Jackson and both shared a smile. They looked back at the Sinner, then Sunggyu smirked and answered, “Not so much.”

     Bobby just smiled and ordered the flying ghouls to attack.

     “We need to split up and decrease their numbers,” Sunggyu ordered, and Jackson nodded in understanding.

     Sunggyu jumped to the left side of the water-filled arena. Jackson summoned his weapon, jumped at one of the flying ghouls, and pierced the ghoul’s head with his claw-like gloves. On the other hand, Sunggyu slashed the heads of two of the flying ghouls that went towards him head-on.

     “Seven more to go,” Sunggyu said as he jumped to another small platform while flying ghouls flew towards him.

     Jackson quickly chased the flying ghoul and punched one of the flying ghoul’s head. Jackson landed on the same platform where Sunggyu was standing.

     “Make that six,” Jackson stated with a smile.

     “ We need to finish this up since we still need to plan for our big fight with the King of Hell, “ Sunggyu whispered, and Jackson nodded. With that, Sunggyu and Jackson separated from each other again and took on the remaining six flying ghouls.

     Sunggyu sliced one of the ghoul’s head, and another flying ghoul went towards him. Sunggyu dodged the petty attack, but what he didn’t know was that the flying ghoul was not after him, but his brother Jackson who was actually busy dodging another flying ghoul’s attack.

    “Jackson!” Sunggyu warned, but before Jackson could see the flying ghoul, he was already knocked over by it, making Jackson fall on the water.

     “Shit.” Sunggyu cursed as he went towards Jackson, diving into the water to save him.

     “Fuck, this is bad,” Taeil said as he looked at the event that was currently happening.

     “Why? Jackson can swim right?” Minhyuk asked, and Taeil answered, “Yeah he can swim, but that’s not what I’m worried about.”

     “Then what is?” Suho asked, and Taeil continued “His concentration. If he loses concentration now, this will put us in a disadvantage,” when Taeil explained the situation, the remaining Demons looked at the spot where Jackson and Sunggyu were.

     Sunggyu swam towards Jackson and pulled him up to the surface. The two went to a platform that was quite far from the flying ghouls who were still flying above the spot where he and Jackson fell from.

     “Jackson,” Sunggyu called out as he shook Jackson’s body. Then Jackson opened his eyes and coughed the water out.

     Sunggyu sighed in relief.

     “Damn I thought you were knocked out,” Sunggyu said as he stood up and helped Jackson stand up as well.

     “I wasn’t. I was just focusing on the important task at hand.” As Jackson said that, Sunggyu looked at his mark. Jackson pulled Sunggyu and they both jumped to another platform as the once distracted flying ghouls saw their prey.

     “Let’s end this.” Sunggyu declared as he summoned his weapon once again. And Jackson nodded and did the same. The two ran towards the six flying ghouls who were also flying towards them.

    “I’ll go high, you go low,” Sunggyu said, and Jackson followed.

     Sunggyu jumped on one of the flying ghouls and slashed his head. While Jackson grabbed one of the flying ghoul’s leg, pulled it towards him, and pierced through its head right after.

     “Wow, their teamwork is amazing,” Hyunseung said in awe as he kept on watching Sunggyu and Jackson attack the remaining ghouls.

     “You said it.” Minhyuk agreed, watching as the two Demons slaughtered the last flying ghoul.

     “ Winner, Prince of Wrath and Prince of Envy. “ The odd voice declared, and the water vanished, and the Sinner clapped his hands again.

     “Well, I never thought you’ll pull through.” Bobby sarcastically said, only annoying Sunggyu and Jackson who was panting heavily.

     “Now for the final battle,” Bobby stated.

     Sunggyu and Jackson went back to the bleachers while panting heavily. Jiyong took a deep breath and went down to the battleground right after. Sunggyu and Jackson were walking in front of him, so Sunggyu whispered something and Jiyong nodded as an answer. 

     “Good luck Jiyong.”

     The two went to join their brothers at the bleachers.

     “ Final contender, Prince of Pride. “ The odd voice declared as Jiyong steps foot on the battleground. The Sinner looked at Jiyong, and then he jumped from where he was and landed in front of him.

     “Ready half-blood?” Bobby said confidently, and Jiyong summoned his weapon and looked at the Sinner with the same confidence, “You bet I am.”

     Without any warning, the sinner ran towards Jiyong and punched him, but before the punch could make contact with Jiyong’s face, Jiyong blocked the attack using his two wedge spear.

     “Not using any weapons?” Jiyong asked as he pushed the Sinner off his weapon.

     “I don’t need those. I got my strength that I can rely on.” Bobby said confidently, and in a swift movement, he was right behind Jiyong, “And also my speed.” But due to Jiyong’s fast reaction time, Jiyong dodged the Sinner’s attack and swiped his weapon, making contact with the Sinner’s hand.

     “Thought I was weak?” Bobby asked as he grabbed hold of Jiyong’s weapon and threw it and Jiyong with it.

     “Fuck.” Jiyong cursed as he stood up using his weapon as support.

     “Come on half-blood. That’s all you’ve got?” the Sinner taunted, and Jiyong just smirked and said, “I’m just getting started.” Then Jiyong vanished, surprising the Sinner. Bobby kept on searching for Jiyong, but when he turned his head, Jiyong’s fist appeared right in front of him, punching Bobby right on his face.

     “Damn that hurts,” Jiyong said as he flicks his wrist because of the pain.

     “How did you-” the Sinner said in confusion as he wiped the blood off his mouth.

     “Why? Thought I was weak?” Jiyong asked using the exact same sentence that the Sinner said to him earlier.

     “Seems like the Sinner is getting confused.” Hyunseung pointed out.

     “That means the plan is working.” Taeil said as he watched Jiyong punch Bobby again.

     Jiyong continued to effortlessly fight the Sinner. As he was fighting him, Jiyong glanced at the bleachers and saw Sunggyu. Then he remembered what their leader told him before they started the battle, “ Follow the plan. Make him feel that he’s winning. And when he’s being too confident, beat the shit out of him. “

    And so Jiyong did.

    The Sinner kept on blocking and dodging while Jiyong was attacking with full force. And in every attack that Jiyong released, it hits the Sinner in places that made him weaker.

    “You dare battle the strongest prince in Hell?!” Jiyong shouted, and Jackson finally released the glamouring on Jiyong. Bobby widened his eyes at the sight of the prince. It revealed his red eyes and dark aura, then he raised his weapon to kill the Sinner.

    “You broke the conditions!” Bobby shouted, and before the attack could make contact with him, Bobby moved away from the attack. He quickly teleported himself back to the balustrade where ‘Akira’ - his supposed ghoul was.

    “You know what will happen to you when you break the conditions.” Bobby stated, then he looked at the Demons one by one and said the command that would kill them, “

adolebitque

“.

     But nothing happened.

    “What? Why are you still alive?!” Bobby screamed as he saw the Demons still standing.

     “

Adolebitque.

“

     “

Adolebitque.

“

     “

Adolebitque.

“

     “

Adolebitque!

“ the Sinner kept repeating the words, but still, nothing was happening.

    “Why Bobby, things aren’t going according to your plan?” Hyunseung asked as he and the rest of the Demons transformed into their Demonic form, shocking the sinner.

    Bobby was about to order his ghoul but was even more surprised when he saw Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer behind him instead of Akira Mado. Before the Sinner could say anything, Kharon III kicked him out of the balustrade, and the Sinner fell in front of the Demons.

     “Guess you’re not that clever after all…kid,” Sunggyu said as he showed him his markless hand, and Kharon III showered the ashes of the marks the Demons skinned from their hands into the ground, making the Sinner even more confused.

    “Now its time for you to die.” Jiyong declared. But before he could even raise his weapon, the Sinner started laughing.

    “The fucks wrong with this guy?” Suho asked, confused.

    “So Akira was right, something like this DID happen,” Bobby said as he stood up. But this time, he was being surrounded by a dark aura that was similar to the Demon’s own aura. The Sinner disintegrated the body he was using and transformed himself into his true form, shocking everyone.

    The demon looked like a ghoul, but he harder skin that looked like armor, and he was bigger. 

    “The fuck is that?!” Minhyuk asked, and suddenly Kharon III and the Souls of Lucifer were in front of the Demons.

    “My Princes, you need to stay back.” Junsu warned.

    “This is the Sinner’s true demonic form.” Jaejoong added, and Yoochun nodded to confirm it.

    “What’s the game plan?” Suho asked as he summoned his weapon, and the rest of the Demons did the same.

    “We’ll just weaken him so we could give Jiyong a good chance to kill him,” Taeil instructed

     “ I won’t let you kill me that easily. “ The Sinner, originally named Azazel, stated. Then he summoned the remaining ghouls he had. Some were on the ground while some were flying.

    “Shit, this is becoming a drag.” Jackson whined as he readied himself to the fight that will take place.

    “We need to split up. Hyunseung, Minhyuk, Suho and Taeil,” Sunggyu called out, “Kill the ghouls with Kharon.” The five Demons nodded, and without wasting time, they ran towards the army of ghouls.

    “Jackson and Jiyong, we’ll fight the Sinner.” The two nodded, and Sunggyu looked at the Souls of Lucifer. “We need your help as well.” Sunggyu said, and the Souls of Lucifer just nodded.

    The 6 demons went to where the Sinner was and started attacking. Kharon burned some of the flying ghouls, while the 4 Princes of Hell summoned their weapons and used their Demonic powers that were somehow similar to Lucifer.

    Hyunseung, with the use of his Audible Inundation, made the ghouls listen to moans of pleasure, making them stop moving and be in a daze. Then Hyunseung sliced the heads of the dazed ghouls in one powerful swipe.

    Minhyuk used his Life Draining and Soul Absorption to drain the ghoul’s energy and powers, making him even more powerful. And with the use of his sword, he beheaded every ghoul he absorbed and just continued the process.

     Suho used his Psychic Reflection where he overloaded the ghoul’s mind with the previous orders the Sinner said to them through his Knowledge Absorption, making the ghouls moan in pain, and Suho took the opportunity to smash the ghouls head.

    And for Taeil, he used his power Luring and commanded some ghouls to fight their own kind and kill the ghouls that weren’t in his control.

    Everything was going so smoothly when suddenly a flying ghoul went to Minhyuk and stabbed his shoulder.

    “Fuck!” Minhyuk cursed, slicing the ghoul who stabbed him. Hyunseung saw this and stopped what he as doing and went to his wounded best friend.

    “Minhyuk, are you okay?” Hyunseung asked as he killed some ghouls that were coming towards Minhyuk.

    “Yeah I am, just a little wounded, but nothing serious.” Minhyuk said as he stabbed the ghoul that was sneaking behind Hyunseung.

    “We need to end this!” Suho shouted. The four Demons went to the bleachers and Kharon III followed behind them.

    “Prince Taeil, lure them towards us,” Kharon ordered, and Taeil followed. Kharon and the remaining three Demons produced fire, and every ghoul that Taeil lured towards the raging fire was burned into ashes. As for the flying ghouls, Kharon blasted fireballs on their wings, making them fall to the ground.

ON THE OTHER HAND…

    “ You’re too weak. You can’t even land an attack on me. “

Azazel stated, making Sunggyu, Jackson, and Jiyong frustrated.

    “This Sinner is so irritating,” Jackson stated as he tried to punch the Sinner back, but the Sinner dodged the attack and kicked Jackson on his back.

     “Focus Prince Jackson, we can’t let you lose your composure with his petty remarks,” Yoochun said as he went beside Jackson, then he produced fire to burn the Sinner. The Sinner countered the fire by producing his Eternal Flames, making Yoochun and Jackson move away from their original spot once the Eternal Flame extinguished the fire Yoochun produced.

    “Damn, I forgot about that black flame.” Sunggyu said as he looked at the remaining black flame that was still on the ground.

NOTE: Eternal flame: The only fire that could injure the Demons.

     “We can’t just go towards him if he can burn us with that Eternal Flames of his,” Jiyong said as he looked at Sunggyu.

    “Jackson. Yoochun.” Sunggyu called out, and the two demons went to him, “You two with Jiyong and Jaejoong, distract the Sinner. I’ll use my Fear Amplification on him.” Sunggyu ordered.

     “How sure are you that the Sinner has a fear?” Jiyong asked, and Sunggyu replied with confidence, “Everybody has fears, even this Sinner.”

    So they nodded, and the four Demons went towards the Sinner who just dodged every attack they threw at him. And every now and then, he releases his Eternal Flames in which the Demons barely dodged.

     “Fuck!” Jackson shouted as the Eternal Flames caught him, but he immediately removed his jacket before it could make contact with his skin.

    “Are you okay my Prince?” Yoochun asked, and Jackson just nodded and said, “Just got burned a little, but nothing severe.”

     Yoochun nodded as well and continued attacking the Sinner.

     “Are you ready my Prince?” Junsu asked, and Sunggyu nodded.

     “We only have one chance, find me an opening,” Sunggyu ordered, and Junsu followed by running towards the Sinner while Sunggyu was right behind him.

     “Get ready Jiyong!” Sunggyu shouted.

     Junsu ran towards the Sinner, and the Sinner raised his arm to punch Junsu in the face, but instead of Junsu getting punched, Junsu grabbed hold of Azazel’s hands and Jackson and Yoochun grabbed hold of his legs.

    “ Let go of me! “ the Sinner shouted as he tried to resist the Demons grasp. But they gripped tighter as Jackson shouted, “Do it already!” So Sunggyu went towards Azazel. He made his eyes red and looked directly at the sinner, making him widen his eyes.

    “ What is your greatest fear…Sinner? “ Sunggyu asked with his low voice. Then the Sinner and Sunggyu went to the memory where the Sinner’s greatest fear lurks.

      “Where am I?” the Sinner asked as he looked at his blackened surrounding.

    “ We are where your greatest fear is stored. “ Sunggyu’s voice said, and the Sinner countered, “I have nothing to fear!”

     Sunggyu’s voice chuckled and thought, “I’ve heard of that before.”

     “ Then what is this? “ Sunggyu’s voice asked when a light suddenly appeared, and as the light vanished, the Sinner’s eyes widen.

     “You worthless piece of shit get out of here!!” a man’s voice shouted, and the boy who was being thrown away just wept and ran away.

     “Stop this,” the Sinner said in a whisper, then suddenly another memory appeared.

    “You are nothing low life. Nothing,” another man’s voice said as he punched the guy’s stomach, making Azazel gasp for air like it was him who was actually punched.

     “Stop it.” the Sinner said loudly, but another memory came, which made the Sinner lose his mind.

    “I thought you loved me?!” the boy screamed as he saw a woman wrapped in the arms of an older man.

    “Love you? Are you delusional?” the woman said with a mocking voice, “I don’t love you. What I only liked about you is how good you are in bed.” Then the older man started talking, “Looks like that’s the only strong points you have boy.” And without any thought, the mocked boy took out his gun and shot the woman and the old man.

     “STOP THIS!!” the Sinner screamed, blackness surrounding him now.

     “ Mockery is your greatest fear. “ Sunggyu’s voice said, and the Sinner searched for the voice and said, “So what? I can handle those petty remarks!”

    “ Oh really? Then let’s do that. “ Sunggyu’s voice said, making the Sinner flinch.

    “ Let’s bring every past memory that involves you being mocked by every people who thought you were worthless, “ Sunggyu’s voice stated,

and with that, every memory of the Sinner being mocked was showed to him, and every word of ridicule was magnified, making the Sinner’s head overload.

    “Leave me alone!” Azazel shouted, and the Sinner’s body returns into a silhouette of Bobby’s body.

    “Jiyong, now!” Jackson shouted as he and Yoochun let go of the Sinner’s body.

    Jiyong ran towards the dazed Sinner. The Sinner looked at Jiyong, but before he could do anything, Jiyong had already stabbed him in his stomach.

    “F-fuck,” the Sinner cursed, and Jiyong smiled and pulled his weapon out of the Sinner’s stomach, making him bleed.

    “Now who are you going to fuck up?” Jiyong asked. And before the Sinner could utter another word, Jiyong raised his weapon and beheaded the Sinner. Once Jiyong beheaded the Sinner, the arena and the ghouls vanished, and they returned to the soccer field.

    “Kharon, I think it’s better to stop the time.” Hyunseung suggested, and Kharon nodded and snapped his fingers, stopping time.

    “Finally, I’ll be a full demon like you guys,” Jiyong said rather excitedly even though he was dead tired.

    The action made the Demons laugh.

     “That won’t happen unless you absorb his soul,” Sunggyu said and Jiyong nodded. Jiyong went to the Sinner’s body and took a deep breath. Then he said the same chant his brother did to absorb the Sinner’s soul. 

     “ I, the Prince of Pride, the seventh son of the realms of hell, am commanding the soul of this key keepers to be transferred to me in the name of Lucifer. “ With that. the Sinner’s soul went out of its body and transferred to Jiyong.

    The Demons looked at Jiyong who was slowly being surrounded by black smoke. Then, he was set on fire, shocking the sons since it never happened to them before. Sunggyu was about to approach Jiyong, but then the fire vanished, and their most powerful brother welcomed them with a smirk.

    “Finally,” Jiyong said as he looked at his brothers with his demonic form.

    “Welcome to the Demon’s life, my Princes.” Kharon III stated with a proud smile on his face.

    “I can’t believe it. Guys…we just fucking did it. We finished our mission!” Suho shouted as he looked at his brothers. The Demons ran to each other and embraced each other like they won a battle, which they actually did.

     “Good job Taeil,” Jackson said as he looked at their planner.

     “It wasn’t possible if it weren’t for you Jackson,” Taeil stated as he hugged Jackson again. Then the brothers looked at Kharon and the SOLs who were just standing on the side. Minhyuk smiled at them and told them, “What the hell are you doing guys?! Get in here!”

    The four powerful demons looked at each other and decided not to join the group hug. But Suho and Minhyuk grabbed the four and everyone hugged them anyway. Kharon might not show it, but he felt grateful. 

    After the sweet hugging session, Hyunseung pulled away and asked, “So…what now?”

    Sunggyu looked at everyone proudly and declared, “Now? Now it’s time for us to kill the King of Hell.”

     The demons looked at each other, excitement covered in their faces. The time to face the King of Hell is getting near, and the real battle is finally about to begin.

• END -

SDS2 33: WHAT COMES NEXT

THE SEVEN DEMONS WERE panting heavily in the middle of the soccer field of the school that they entered earlier. The 7th and final finally had now been defeated, and the brothers couldn’t believe it themselves.     

     “So Jiyong…how does it feel?” Jackson asked with a grin as he looked at Jiyong who was oozing with great power. Jiyong looked at his brothers and started laughing, “It’s fucking amazing!”

     The rest laughed with him.

     “Who would have thought that we’d be doing such a thing right?” Minhyuk asked, and Hyunseung hugged him tightly.

     “I thought you’d fucking die you, idiot,” Hyunseung stated, still hugging Minhyuk. Minhyuk hugs his best friend tighter and said, “I can’t die you know. Who else would scare away the boys whose stalking you?” The two finally broke from the hug and looked at the rest of their brothers.

     “So, when are we going to plan for the execution of the King?” Suho asked as he looked at their master planner, Taeil. But instead of Taeil, Sunggyu answered and said, “For now let’s rest. If God can rest on his seventh day, why can’t we?”

     The brothers looked at each other and smiled widely.

     “But first…” Suho stated, then everyone looked at him confusingly. Suho grinned and shouted, “Another group hug!”

     Everyone hesitated since they’ve been hugging each other since earlier, but they did it anyway. Jiyong, who was now twice as prideful, didn’t join the hug anymore. So Sunggyu, who was twice as evil now, glared at him, making Jiyong flinch with just that.

     “F-Fine”, Jiyong said as he finally joined his brother. Jackson grabbed his brother tightly and told everyone, “Good job brothers…good job.”

---

Christmas Eve was getting closer, but that’s not what the sons were worried about. What they’re thinking of right now was that their encounter with the King of Hell is getting nearer and nearer, and everyone is nervous and anxious about it.

     “We’re a few days down for our final battle. You guys nervous?”, Minhyuk asked while he, his brothers, Kharon, the SOLs, Kai, and Tamo, were eating at a private restaurant Tamo knows in Japan. Of course, the SOLs had to just sit quietly on the side since they don’t eat human food.

     “A little,” Taeil answered as he continued eating. Then Suho nodded and said, “Yeah, the thought of actually facing him just gives me the chills.”

     Kharon looks at the two and says, “You shouldn’t be. If you’re feeling nervous now then what will happen when the actual battle happens? You gonna piss your pants?”

    “Come on Kharon-nim. Give the guys a break. It’s just normal to be nervous.” Sunggyu defended for the sake of his brothers. But he knew Kharon was somehow right about the whole thing.

    Sunggyu then looks at Minhyuk and Suho and reassured them, “All of us are nervous okay? And that’s normal. But remember that the rest of us are right behind you, and no one will be left behind no matter what.”

     “Don’t baby them Sunggyu, they won’t grow,” Kharon suddenly stated without even looking at Sunggyu, so Sunggyu quickly looks at their mentor and bickers back, “Degrading them and making them feel scared will make them weaker, and that’s not what my brothers need right now.”

     Kharon was going to say something, but shuts his mouth and decides to remain silent.

     “Okay, can we have a normal lunch even for once? We just finished killing the Sinners, I don’t want you killing each other next.” Hyunseung advised, and no one wanted to be against him.

     “If everyone is anxious then shouldn’t we train while we wait for the day we open the gates?” Taeil suggested, and Kharon and Sunggyu finally agreed at the same thing.

     “Damn I still feel weird after killing that bobby kid. I don’t know if it’s a good feeling, or a bad one.” Jiyong suddenly stated, finally changing the topic.

     Kai looks at him and says, “Maybe your body isn’t prepared for the sudden power yet. You’re already strong, and suddenly being an even more powerful full0time Demon made your body feel weak instead.”

     “Kai’s right.” Kharon stated, making Jiyong and the rest look at him, “Your body is still adjusting to the power. It will be used to it soon, but it still needs time. So for now you’d feel weak.”

     “Then we really do need to train first,” Minhyuk stated. Jiyong was their strongest. If he’s weak, the whole team would fall.

     “Damn, I suddenly remembered the time with the first sinner. I felt more pain than my mission,” Jackson stated, making everyone remember the scene as well.

     “Sorry man,” Hyunseung stated with a chuckle. Then Kai joined in the conversation and said, “My favorite part was with that Yakuza guy.”

     “Dude, you guys almost died at that time,” Suho stated as he looked at his old friend who was excitedly telling his story. Kai laughed and said, “I already died Suho.”

     Tamo hits Kai’s head and said back, “Let’s not talk about that again. You’ve been telling me your adventures in hell every night!”

     “Why not? Can’t I share my excitement with you?” Kai asked as he looked at his lover.

     “How the hell was that excitement?!” Tamo shouted back. Everyone laughed as they looked at the two bickering at each other.

     “Speaking of hell, Kharon, what’s the plan when we enter Hell?” Suho asked. Kharon looked at the SOLs and answered, “We need to head to Lucifer first so your father could absorb them, and so that he could have his full strength again.”

    Jaejoong and the two agreed.

     “Looks like this will be the last days that we’ll be with those three then,” Tamo stated as he looked at the SOLs too. Junsu laughed and answered, “I know. Should we go on a drink while we’re still here?”

    “But you can’t drink right?” Minhyuk innocently asked, making Jiyong chuckle, “Sometimes I doubt that you’re a smartass Minhyuk…of course he was just joking.”

     “Ah, I see…”, Minhyuk stated, feeling down, making the rest laugh from his cute reaction.

     “Don’t worry prince, we can still drink. Just hand us some blood and it would look like normal wine.” Yoochun stated as he winked at Minhyuk. Minhyuk laughed and looked at Sunggyu and Kharon, “Cool! But can we?”

     Sunggyu laughed and looked at Kharon. Then Kharon smirked and nodded, “Fine, a few hours of forgetting about shit would be okay.”

     The others cheered while Sunggyu and Kharon laughed. Things have been too serious lately, and somehow the seven have been waiting for this kind of break.

     “I know a place,” Jackson suddenly stated, shocking the others.

     “Don’t tell me it’s the bar where you and Gain went to,” Suho asked as he looked at Jackson with shock and excitement. But Jackson shook his head and answered, “No. Actually, it’s the bar Hyunseung and I went to that day.”

     The 12 arrived at the bar and sat down. They ordered a whole case of beer, and of course, Kharon sneaked in the blood wine for the SOLs.

     “Oh! Matsumoto!” Hyunseung shouted as he saw the barista from their last visit. He was cleaning some bottles and waves and gives Hyunseung his famous flirtatious smile. The demons looked at Hyunseung and asked, “And who the hell was that?” Everyone asked in unison.

     “Just a friend,” Jackson answered instead. The rest were still confused by his answer, but they didn’t ask any more questions about it.

     “So, about our plan. Shouldn’t the SOL’s return now before anything bad happens to father Lucifer?” Minhyuk asked as everyone started drinking. Jiyong looked at Kharon, expecting him to answer.

     “We still need to prepare before we do go to hell. Your body is still adjusting to the power. Going there now would mean suicide”, Kharon explained.

     “But my father-” Kharon cuts Jiyong off and says, “Ruler Lucifer can wait. We need to prepare first so his sacrifice won’t go to waste.”

     Sunggyu looked at Kharon with a tired expression and asked, “We’re going back to the training grounds aren’t we?”

     Kharon grinned and answered, “What did you think?”

     The seven sons whined.

     “Come on guys, it’s for the best anyways,” Tamo stated, trying to put the kids at ease.

     “But, when are we going to talk to the Arcs again?” Jackson suddenly asked, and everyone became quiet. The seven sons haven’t talked to the Arcs even after their missions. They gave the Arcs the fake plan so they wouldn’t know the real plan that they would execute. But little did the Demons know, the Arcs had their own plans as well.

     “After the mission,” Hyunseung answered, but he wasn’t looking at Jackson when he said it.

     “After we defeat the King, we’ll tell the Arcs everything.” Hyunseung continued, then Jiyong suddenly added, “Why are you so confident that we could defeat him?”

     “I’m not confident.” Hyunseung quickly answered, now looking at Jiyong.

     “Well, it looks like you are. Have you forgotten? You’re one of the useless ones here, aren’t I the one who’ll be doing most of the work?” Jiyong said to Hyunseung with no hesitation, leaving the rest shocked on his hurtful comment.

    “Hey! Kwon Jiyong, why the hell are you suddenly so cocky?” Minhyuk asked, now looking angrily at Jiyong as well.

     “Well it’s true, isn’t it? That every one of you is expecting me to do the final blow. That every one of you is expecting that since I’m the most powerful one here, you’ll all be alright as long as I become the frontman.” Jiyong continued to say.

     “Jiyong that’s enough-” Sunggyu tried to say, but Jiyong ignored him and added, “You guys wouldn’t even stand a chance against the King if it weren’t for me.”

     “I said that’s enough!” Sunggyu shouted as he stood up and grabbed Jiyong who was just sitting right in front of him.

     “You don’t know what you’re saying Jiyong. Without us…you wouldn’t even be here in the first place.” Sunggyu stated, but Jiyong suddenly pushed him away effortlessly. It looked like a soft push but Sunggyu quickly fell. Jiyong was stronger than before; no doubt about it.

     “ Why the hell is Jiyong suddenly acting like this?“ everyone asked as they looked at Jiyong with shock.

     The bouncers inside the bar were about to go to them, but Kharon quickly snapped his fingers to stop time. He stood up and helped Sunggyu up. Jiyong angrily looked at everyone and said, “I don’t know what I’m saying? You guys have no fucking idea what I’m going through. Your fathers aren’t the one who’s dying. You’re not the one with the most burden, and you’re not-”

     “ Sleep, “ Kharon commanded, and then Jiyong fainted, shocking everyone. Hyunseung quickly went to Jiyong to help him up, then he looked at Kharon and said, “W-What the hell just…”

     “Jiyong’s powers are taking over his body like what happened to you guys when you first absorbed the sinner’s soul. Since the real Jiyong now has a better nature than before, merging his new power with his body is having its effects. It’s like mixing bad water that has a larger portion than the clean water. Let Jiyong rest for now.” Kharon explained and everyone finally understood the situation.

     “Then I’ll just leave him here,” Hyunseung stated as he points at Jiyong’s chair. Then Kharon and Sunggyu sat back down. Hyunseung lifted Jiyong and placed him at his chair. Jiyong rested his head on the table and continued to sleep silently.

     Kharon snapped his hands again and the bouncers who were about to come near them looked confused. So they left instead since everything looked normal.

     “But what Jiyong said…I think that was his inner-self talking.” Jackson stated and everyone nodded in agreement. Then Kai added, “I think your friend here has been trying his best to be nice to everyone that he’s hiding all his pain instead. It must have been hard for him.”

     “Jiyong wasn’t really nice to anyone. But after all this, he just became a better person…” Suho explained.

     “I can say I’m kinda proud of him too,” Sunggyu added.

     “But Sunggyu…will Jiyong be alright? I’m kinda worried, I just have this feeling that-” Kharon quickly cuts Taeil off and said, “He’ll be fine. For now, it’s best that you worry about yourselves. Jiyong is capable of a lot of things and doesn’t need to worry about himself if he just puts his mind into it. But for the rest of you, you still need more training.”

     “How powerful is this guy anyway?” Tamo asked.

     Junsu, who was sitting in front of him, answered, “Let’s put it this way. Prince Jiyong’s half-blood power is just as strong as Prince Hyunseung and Prince Minhyuk’s full demonic powers combined. Now imagine if Jiyong is now a full-time Demon.”

     “He’ll be twice as powerful as all of the Demons combined?” Tamo asked, and surprisingly, the SOLs nodded.

     “Well, not really twice as powerful as everyone. Maybe if you combine it from Hyunseung to Taeil, that would be it. Sunggyu alone would be strong, and so would Jackson, so Jiyong really doesn’t have to worry about doing everything.” Kharon explained further.

     The boys didn’t talk after that and just drank by themselves. Everyone was quiet, but their minds were all occupied with different things. Some wanted to return to Korea to see the Arcs, some wanted this to be over, and for the others, they were thinking of their future.

     What would happen if they finish this? What would happen to them? What comes next?

---

Hours have already passed and everyone was drunk, excluding the SOLs of course. Some were already sleeping on the table, and some were just trying to sober up by scanning their phones. Sunggyu, who wasn’t as drunk as the others, stood up and said, “Let me just go out for a second. I need some fresh air.”

     The SOLs looked at him and nodded.

     Sunggyu went out of the bar and saw the moon shining brightly. His head was throbbing and spinning, and everything felt like a dream because his vision became drowsy. It was already so late and they were still at that bar. Sunggyu decided that they should go home once he goes back inside. He stretched his arms and was about to enter the bar again when suddenly he saw someone familiar.

     “Wait a second-” Sunggyu said as he rubbed his eyes to confirm it, “N-Nam…Nam Woohyun?” he said in shock.

     The man paused and looked at Sunggyu’s eyes, but continued walking anyway.

     “Nam Woohyun!” Sunggyu shouted again, but this time, the man didn’t stop walking.

     “W-Why are you here?!” Sunggyu shouted as he quickly ran towards him, but it was more difficult than he thought since he was still dizzy.

      “W-Wait! What are you doing here?!” Sunggyu shouted again as he finally grabs hold of Woohyun’s coat. The man who Sunggyu claimed as Woohyun finally stopped and looked at him. And as expected, it really was Arcs’ very own, Nam Woohyun.

     “Don’t execute your plan.” Woohyun suddenly says with full power in his voice as soon as he faced the Demons’ leader.

     Sunggyu looked at him confusingly. After that, he started laughing, “Oh my god, I really am drunk. You’re an apparition, aren’t you? The Arcs are in Korea so I’m pretty sure you’re an apparition.”

     Sunggyu laughed even harder and continued, “Damn, even in my apparition you Angels are still against everything we do.”

     “You don’t know what’s going to happen to you and your brothers Kim Sunggyu,” Woohyun stated, then Sunggyu chuckled and smirked directly at Woohyun, “Y-You…you’re an asshole, do you know that?” Sunggyu stated, suddenly having hiccups.

     He pointed at Woohyun’s chest and said, “You fucking tell your leader to leave us alone, you got that angel?”

     Woohyun doesn’t say anything and just stared at Sunggyu. This made Sunggyu somehow angry, so he pushed Woohyun against a wall and cornered him, “You fucking answer me angel or I’ll kill you,” Sunggyu says with full rage. But instead of answering, Woohyun stared at Sunggyu’s eyes and showed him a quick glimpse of the future.

  Note: Woohyun has premonition if you’re not aware.

     Sunggyu saw chaos. He saw bloodshed, fire, and a lot of tears. But before Sunggyu could grasp what was really going on, Woohyun quickly blinked, stopping the vision.

     Sunggyu felt weak soon after. He almost fell on his knees, but good thing Woohyun grabbed him. Woohyun leaned closer to Sunggyu’s ear and whispered, “ Tell your brothers about the vision. Don’t execute your plan. “

     Sunggyu was about to say something back, but Woohyun touched his forehead, and Sunggyu quickly fell asleep.

---

 “Woohyun!” Sunggyu suddenly shouted as soon as he opened his eyes. His brothers and the SOLs looked at him with complete confusion. Sunggyu looked at his surroundings and found out that he was already at Tamo’s office with the rest of his brothers.

     “Wow, you’re finally awake. We were legit drunk last night.” Minhyuk stated as he gave Sunggyu a bottle of water.

     “Yeah, my head and body still fucking hurts because of it,” Jiyong stated as he was sitting at another sofa beside Hyunseung and Jackson, (Jiyong doesn’t remember that he fought with Sunggyu, he just thought that he was so drunk that’s why he forgot about everything).

     Sunggyu looked at the window and realized that it was already morning. Then he quickly stood up and said, “Where’s Woohyun?”

     The demons looked at him again. Seconds later they started laughing.

     “Uhm, at South Korea?” Suho answered in between laughs.

     “Why leader, you already missing our little angels?” Taeil jokingly asked, but instead of laughing with them, Sunggyu looked at his brothers seriously and said, “I was with him last night.”

     “Last night we found you drunk at an alley. You fainted and we literally dragged your lifeless body here.” Hyunseung clarified, but Sunggyu wasn’t buying it. He knew what he saw.

     “I told you I was with him! And he showed me this…” Sunggyu stopped when he remembered the horrible vision that he saw last night.

     “Our prince, are you alright?” Jaejoong asked as he looked at Sunggyu with concern.

     “We can’t do our plan.” Sunggyu suddenly blurted out, making the Demons look at him with shock. Hyunseung quickly stood up and went towards the dazed leader, “What the fuck are you saying now Kim Sunggyu?”

     “I saw this…this vision. There was chaos…we were losing…and the King of hell…he…he…” Before Sunggyu could finish, Hyunseung slapped his brother on the cheeks.

     “Hyunseung,” Jiyong stated as he was about to stand up as well, but Jackson stopped him.

     “What’s going on with you Sunggyu? Are you fucking out of your mind!” Hyunseung shouted, but Sunggyu just clenched his fist, “I told you what I saw! Why can’t you just listen?!”

     “It’s because the Arcs are trying to ruin our plan! Woohyun…if it really was him that you saw last night…is trying to manipulate you. He wants you to stop our plans, he’s trying to ruin everything that we’ve been planning since day one.” Hyunseung stated, and finally, Sunggyu didn’t argue. He sat back down and looked at the floor.

     “It felt so real.” He says, his voice filled with pain.

     “It’s not,” Minhyuk reassured. 

    Junsu went towards the Demons and said, “Your fears are coming out, especially since the day of our plan is coming soon. This is what we meant when we said you need to concentrate. You can’t let fear, pain, and doubt hindrance your plans.”

     “Junsu’s right. And we need you, leader. You can’t give up now. Without you we’ll fail,” and this surprisingly came from Jiyong.

     Sunggyu took a deep breath and looked at his brothers, “Alright, I believe you.” Then he stood up and continued, “We’ll defeat the King of hell as planned…and no Arc can stop it.”

• END -

SDS2 34: THEIR SELFISH SIDE

WOOHYUN WENT BACK TO the mountains where the rest of the Arcs were.   The five were already resting inside their rooms after a day of extreme training, but Junhyung was still wide awake, patiently waiting for his brother to arrive. So when he saw Woohyun enter the house, Junhyung quickly stood up from the couch and said, “Where the hell did you go?”

     Woohyun looked at his brother and hesitated, but he takes a deep breath and answered, “I went out for a jog.”

     “At this fucking hour?” Junhyung asked, obviously not believing the lie Woohyun just told him.

     “You went to the Demons didn’t you?” Junhyung asked, but Woohyun ignored him and answered, “Why the hell would I even want to see such species?”

     Junhyung was about to say something again, but Woohyun quickly went upstairs and went inside his room before Junhyung could question him more.  Woohyun quickly throws his body on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

     “Kim Sunggyu…I gave you a hint…run away now while you still can. “ Woohyun said softly before falling asleep.

---

 “The Demons have done it. They have already killed the Seven Sinners.” Park Dong Min stated as he was eating breakfast with the rest of the Arcs. The Arcs didn’t say anything, but they were obviously angry about the news.

     Junhyung clenched his fist and said, “And after everything that happened to us, they still did it.”

     Mark kept quiet. He just didn’t believe that his lover could kill a human in such a short time. But he didn’t know that his lover never even harmed a single human. If only they knew.

     “So what do we do now?” Jihoon asked as he looked at his guardian.

     “We wait for them to execute their plan so we can get inside hell,” Dongmin explained. Then Seunghyun added, “Then we stop the Demons from opening the King of Hell’s door, right?”

     Their guardian looked at Seunghyun and nodded.

     “Who would have thought that in the end, we’re still going to fight them.” Sungjae stated, then suddenly, Mark stood up from his seat and said with a sad expression, “I can’t do this.”

     “What?” the Arcs asked in unison, looking at Mark.

     “You guys do the mission without me. I can’t fucking do this stupid plan.” Mark stated, and Junhyung looked at him angrily, “Watch your mouth Mark,” Junhyung stated, looking at Mark with a serious expression.

     Mark clenched his fist and looked back at Junhyung angrily as well, “Junhyung, aren’t you even fazed about this fucked up mission?”

     Junhyung ignored his brother’s question and said instead, “Sit down so we could talk calmly.”

     “I asked you a fucking question!” Mark shouted instead.

     “I told you to watch your mouth!” Junhyung shouted in full rage. But Mark wasn’t fazed. He went closer to their leader and continued, “Aren’t you fucking worried that you could kill Hyunseung through this mission? Aren’t you fucking scared that you might kill the man you love?!”

     “That’s enough.” Seunghyun tried to say, but the two ignored him.

     Junhyung pulled Mark closer to him and answered, “Our father’s and the rest of humanity is more important to me than those fucking Demons, do you understand me, Mark?”

     Without any warning, Mark slapped his brother, shocking everyone.

     “You know that’s not true Junhyung…you know that,” Mark said, tears already forming in his eyes. But Junhyung went closer to his brother and told him, “I know my priorities, Mark. You should do the same and forget about your lover. Your lover who’s brothers tried to kill you.”

     “So you’re bringing that up now Junhyung?” Jihoon asked as he now stood up as well.

     Junhyung looked at Jihoon and chuckled, “Great, let the man who would definitely betray us for Lee Taeil do the talking.”

     “Why? Didn’t you do the same?” Jihoon bravely asked, now walking towards Junhyung as well.

     “I did that for our sake,” Junhyung stated.

     “You know, that’s always your problem Junhyung. I’ll choose Taeil whatever happens because I don’t pretend, not like you who would fake everything just so he could look good in the eyes of God.” Jihoon said with a smirk, and this made Junhyung grab Jihoon’s collar aggressively.

     “I would punch you right now if I wanted to,” Junhyung stated with venom in his voice. But Jihoon just kept his face straight and said back, “Then do it. I’ve stopped seeing you as our leader anyway.”

     “Is that the reason why you’re not listening to me anymore? Why you’re sneaking out at night just to talk to Taeil? You’ll lie to everyone just so you could hear your lover’s own fucking lies?!”

     Jihoon laughed this time, and then he looked straight at Junhyung and said, “Lies you say? Then hear this.”

     Junhyung was about to say something, but Jihoon quickly started talking.

     “Taeil told me Hyunseung’s been crying every night, praying that one day you would understand everything that they’ve been doing. Jang Hyunseung…did all his mission, and apologized to you every time he did it. Whenever he was hurt he would call out your name first. Whenever he felt sad he thought of you first. He’s doing his best so he could stay alive long enough to tell you everything. How’s that for a lie Junhyung?”

     Junhyung held onto Jihoon’s collar tighter, but suddenly, a tear falls from his eye. He finally lets go of Jihoon and said, “Then what the fuck do you want me to do? Huh, Jihoon? I want to save them, and I would kneel in front of all the saints if I have to, but you know the outcome. You know what would happen to them, to us, and to everyone else. Just let me be selfish. Throw all your hate and all your pain at me and I’ll accept all of it with no question. But our plan will not be ignored, and you will all follow as instructed.”

     Finally, Junhyung leaves the dining room, leaving the Arcs dumbfounded.

     “All of you sit down,” Dongmin instructed calmly as he took a sip of his cup of coffee.

     “What are you doing to us Park Dong Min? Why are you torturing us like this?” Mark asked as he tried not to cry in front of their guardian.

     “Sit down,” Dongmin said instead, but Mark didn’t listen as he looked at his guardian one last time, “Please…there must be another way. Please don’t let us do this.”

     Finally, Dongmin looked at Mark and answered, “ It’s either one or all, and your leader chose the first option that will benefit not only us but also the demons. We might not know who it would be, but we know it will happen, and we can’t do anything about it. If you want to save the rest of them I suggest you listen to your selfish leader. Now sit down.“

     Mark didn’t listen but ran off instead. For the others, they obliged and did what they were told.

     “Follow your brother.” Their guardian instructed without looking at Jihoon. Jihoon, who was already standing, nodded and did what he was told. He went outside and found Mark running away. Jihoon quickly chased after him and grabbed his hand, “Where the hell are you going?!”

     “I’m going to Jackson…I’ll tell him everything. Come with me Jihoon. Let’s tell the Demons.” Mark stated, now crying.

     Jihoon took a deep breath and said, “Mark, you know we can’t do that.”

     “We need to try!” he shouted, pushing Jihoon’s hand away from him. But Jihoon quickly grabbed his arm again, “Stop this Mark. You know if we do this everything can be damaged.”

     “But Jihoon, you’ve been talking to Taeil right? You must have secretly told him-”

     “I haven’t Mark, and it pains me every time I do. I know such a thing and I can’t even tell him because I know better Mark, and I know nothing would come out of it if we tell them.” Jihoon tried to explain.

     Finally, Mark calmed down. He went down on his knees and started sobbing.

     “Jihoon…I can’t do this anymore…I just can’t.”

     Jihoon goes down on one knee and comforted his brother.

     “The best we could do now is trust our guardian and our Fathers. Kharon even went to us and made sure we know the outcome. He told us instead of the Demons, don’t you realize that?” Jihoon stated as Mark looked at him, “Of course I know. It just pains me to know everything, while the Demons have no idea about anything.”

---

“Junhyung, open the door,” Seunghyun demanded as he was aggressively knocking on Junhyung’s door.

     Junhyung finally opened the door and looked at his brother, “What?”

     “What the hell was that about downstairs?” Seunghyun asked as he entered the room. Junhyung slammed the door shut and looked at his brother, “I knew it. You’re here to scold me.”

     Seunghyun sighed and stated, “I’m not here to scold you and you know that.”

     Junhyung looked at his brother seriously and said, “Am I doing something wrong here Seunghyun? Tell me honestly. Did I choose the right thing?”

     Seunghyun quickly nodded his head with no hesitation, “Yes, you chose the best decision. Our brothers might not realize it yet but when the time comes they’ll know your reasons.”

     “Like the Demons?” Junhyung asked.

    “The Demons have their reasons, and they’re also following orders like us,” Seunghyun explained.

     Junhyung frustratingly messed up his hair and said, “Why can’t they just all tell us everything and get this over with? We’re playing mind games with our Fathers when in reality they already know everything. Why can’t they just tell us?”

     “If they tell us, everything will change. You should know better than anyone Junhyung,” Seunghyun stated, and Junhyung just sighed because he knew that his brother was right about that.

     “Do you know what Woohyun did last night?” Seunghyun asked him next.

     Junhyung shrugged his shoulder, “I don’t know exactly but he obviously went to the Demons. He could have talked to them in some way.”

     “He probably talked to Sunggyu since Sunggyu’s the leader,” Seunhyung added.

     Junhyung chuckled just by the thought of it, “If he did then he’s an idiot. Sunggyu might be fazed by it, but I’m pretty sure he’ll throw the thought away after a few hours.”

     “Sunggyu is very stubborn,” Seunghyun honestly said, and both angels chuckled.

     “That’s why he’s the leader. He believes in the things that would be best for his brothers, and I’m pretty sure what Woohyun would have told him wouldn’t bring any good to the Demons.” Junhyung stated, and Seunghyun just nodded his head in agreement.

     “Hey, Seunghyun…” Junhyung suddenly called out.

     “What is it?” Seunghyun asked.

     “Was Jihoon telling the truth? You know…about Hyunseung?” Junhyung suddenly asked, surprising Seunghyun. But Seunghyun looked at Junhyung and sincerely answered, “Why would Jihoon make up such a lie?”

     “I love him you know,” Junhyung said as he put his head down.

     Seunghyun chuckled and smiled at his brother, “Oh I know. And I know why you’re selfish-”

     Junhyung quickly looked at Seunghyun and asked, “What do you mean?”

    Seunghyun grinned and answered his brother’s question, “You’re doing this mission to save Hyunseung alone. You don’t even care about the other outcome. What’s important to you is that you save him, am I right?”

     “You’re wrong,” Junhyung quickly answered.

     “Oh you know I’m not Junhyung.”

     Junhyung removed his gaze from Seunghyun and suddenly laughed.

     “Fine, maybe you’re right…but you also know that whether I protect him or not, it’s not going to be Hyunseung,” Junhyung said confidently, and Seunghyun couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

     “You’re cruel Junhyung,” Seunghyun said as he stood up. Then he looked back at Junhyung and continued, “You could even be crueler than the king of hell himself.”

     Junhyung smirked and looked at the cross that was hanging on the wall, “Not cruel Seunghyun…just really, really…selfish.”

• END -

SDS2 35: THE GATE

“HEY THIS IS JIHOON. I’m kinda busy right so just leave a message after the beep. “

     Beep

     “Jihoon, this is Taeil. It’s been three days now. Why haven’t you called? We’re heading to the gates today so you need to tell me if the Arcs will be heading there too so I would know. Call me immediately once you receive this okay?” Taeil left a message before putting his phone back inside his pocket.

     “Taeil! Let’s go! Kharon and the SOLs are waiting!” Suho shouted from outside the bathroom door.

     Taeil looked at his reflection and answered, “I’ll be out in a minute!”

     It’s been a week since the Demons finished their missions with the Sinners. And during those days, the Demons had been training with Kharon day and night just for them to master their Demonic powers.

     Today was the day the Demons would be defeating the King of Hell. Everyone was afraid, no doubt about it, but they were also anticipating this moment. They could miserably fail, or they could miraculously win the battle, but whatever the outcome was, the Seven Deadly Brothers were ready to face both consequences.

     “Our prince, it has been an honor for us to serve you,” Junsu stated as he and the rest of the SOLs bowed in front of the seven brothers.

     Sunggyu went in front of Junsu and held his shoulder, “Thank you for serving us even when the three of you knew about the danger of doing so.”

     Jaejoong looked at Sunggyu and said with a serious and respectful expression, “You might be the betrayers in the eyes of the King. You might be the traitors in the eyes of the Arcs. But in our eyes, and in your father’s eyes, you will always be our saviors. “

     Sunggyu couldn’t help it anymore, so he grabbed the three and gave them a tight hug, “Thank you.”

     “Okay, let me have some love too!” Suho shouted as he ran towards the four and hugged them as well. When they finally broke from the hug, Sunggyu looked at his brothers and said, “Let’s go and bring these three to our father Lucifer.”

     “Kharon? Would you do the honors?” Jiyong asked as he looked at their guardian.

     They were at an abandoned building. The plan was that Kharon III will open the gates of hell that will directly bring them to Lucifers Realm. After that, they will head to the final gate, and that’s the King of Hell’s gate. It can only be opened through the seven keys, which the Demons have acquired through their battles with the Seven Sinners. Once the gate is open. Their battle with the King will begin.

     “Open the gate guardian,” Minhyuk stated, and without any hesitation, Kharon III started saying these Latin words as if he was chanting a spell. Seconds later black smoke started appearing. The clouds turned red, and a huge fire appeared in front of them.

     Once the fire vanished, a huge red gate appeared right in front of the brothers, shocking them. Kharon III smirked and looked back at the sons, “Ladies first.”

     The Seven Sons looked at each other and nodded as a sign of encouragement. They went inside the gates and entered their Kingdom. Kharon III and the SOLs following behind them. 

     Once everyone was inside, the gate closed and vanished in thin air. The demons arrived at the place where their Father’s lived their entire lives.

     “My princes, Welcome back to Hell,” Yoochun stated as everyone looked around. The sons have been here before, but they’ve never been in the lower levels. The vibe was different. They were in Lucifer’s realm; the realm closest to the gates of the King of Hell. They haven’t seen this area before, but somehow, Jiyong felt like home.

     “It’s good to be back. The smell of pride and death just reeks everywhere.” Kharon III joked as he looked at the SOLs.

     “It was always my favorite smell,” Junsu said with a grin.

     Jiyong, who was starting to get impatient, quickly goes in between them and said, “Excuse me but…we have a mission to fulfill, so stop reminiscing and let’s go.”

     Jaejoong cleared his throat and looked at Jiyong apologetically, “My apologies my Prince. Please, right this way.”

     Jaejoong quickly started walking because he could sense that Jiyong was seconds away from transforming into his Demonic form, and ever since their intense training with Kharon, Jiyong has been stronger and scarier than ever.

     “ Our prince! They have returned! “

     “ Our prince! Save us please! “ One of the souls begged as he grabbed Hyunseung’s leg, but Hyunseung quickly kicked it away.

     “Words about you freeing the lost souls in the Realm of Lust circulated like fire. Must be why they’re all after you.” Junsu explained as he looked at Hyunseung.

     “Well, this isn’t the Realm of Lust so I won’t be of any help to them at all. It’s Jiyong who they need to sweet talk,” Hyunseung stated, then Jiyong, who heard everything, added, “Oh please, they could even kneel in front of me and I still won’t even care. They’re in the deadliest realm for a reason. I’m not going to do anything about that.”

     “Spoken by a true prince,” Jackson said with a smirk, making Jiyong mess Jackson’s hair like Jackson was a little kid.

     “Hey!” Jackson whined.

     “Why the hell did you do that Kwon Jiyong?!” Jackson stated as he looked at Jiyong angrily.

     Jiyong grinned and just shrugged his shoulder as an answer.

     “You two, can’t you be serious even for once?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at the two annoyingly. Suho puts his arms around their leader and said, “Come on Sunggyu, lighten up, can’t you see that the kids are just happy to be back home.”

     “Oh please,” Minhyuk said as he rolled his eyes, making his brother’s laugh.

     “We’re getting closer!” Yoochun stated as he and the rest of the Demons made a right turn. Then, they saw a large chained door.

     “What the hell is this?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at the chained door.

     “That…is where your father Lucifer is being kept.” Jaejoong answered.

     “What?” everyone asked in unison. Jackson examined the door, then suddenly he felt chills come up his spine, “H-How come it feels like the door is…alive?”

     “That’s because it is alive our prince,” Junsu stated, shocking the seven brothers even more. Then Taeil looked at the SOLs and said, “Wait, our other Fathers didn’t have any door. They were all in the open. What’s this about?”

     Instead of one of the SOLs answering, it was Kharon III who answered Taeil’s question, “Ever since the time your Father’s escaped, the King has been securing them more. No one can come in or out of that door except for the King.”

     “Then how the fuck are we going to get in?!” Jiyong shouted, now frustrated.

     Kharon III looked at Jiyong and said, “Wait, let me rephrase my statement. No one can come in or out of that door except for the King…and for the Prince of Pride.”

     “W-What?”

     “All you need to do is grab the doorknob, and the door will open. Well, of course, you’ll need a lot of manpower to do it. The King can open it like a regular door, but others will find it impossible. But since you’re the strongest one here, you can have a chance.” Kharon III explained.

     Jiyong quickly shook his head and said, “Strongest? Then why can’t you open it instead?”

     Kharon III laughed at the statement, “I’d be an idiot if I even tried to touch it. Someone with no royal blood or someone whose powers are not even at the same level as the King will surely disintegrate. You’re the only Demon here that could do it.”

     “Come on Jiyong, Father Lucifer is waiting,” Minhyuk stated in encouragement as he pats Jiyong’s back. Jiyong sighed and nodded his head in determination, “Fine. If that’s the only way. But…what do I do?”

      “Grab the doorknob and open the door.” Kharon III stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

     “But it will hurt a little,” he quickly added, making Jiyong gulp.

     Jiyong took a deep breath and finally walked his way towards the door. Just getting closer to it made him feel the immense amount of power of it. He slowly reached out for the doorknob, and when his hands touched it, Jiyong quickly had to let go of it because of how hot it felt. His hands even turned red.

     “It fucking burns!” Jiyong shouted as he looked at Kharon III angrily.

     Kharon looked at Jiyong and told him, “Jiyong, we’re in a place filled with fire! How can a tiny doorknob burn?”

     Jiyong continued to look at their guardian angrily and answered, “Well, how about you fucking do it?”

     “Jiyong, I think Kharon is trying to encourage you. It just so happens that it sounded like he’s being an asshole,” Suho stated, and Kharon III nodded in agreement.

     “Our prince, endure the pain and let the door know that you are more powerful,” Junsu stated, and finally, Jiyong looked determined. He took another deep breath and slowly grabbed the doorknob again. His skin touched the doorknob, and the same burning feeling was felt. But this time, Jiyong didn’t let go. He held onto the doorknob even tighter.

     “Jiyong! You can do it!” Sunggyu shouted.

     “Ah!” Jiyong shouted in pain as he was trying to turn the doorknob. Slowly, the brothers noticed that Jiyong’s hand was turning black like it was rotting.

      “W-what the hell is happening to his hand!?” Hyunseung shouted, now getting worried.

     “It’s going to be alright Jiyong! Fight it!” Kharon III shouted as well, making Jiyong grip on the doorknob even tighter.

     “Ah!” he shouted for the last time.

     The chains fell, and the door finally opened as black smoke slowly starts appearing. Once Jiyong lets go of the doorknob, his hand slowly turned back to normal, making his brothers feel relieved.

     “You fucking did it,” Jackson said, dumbfounded. But rather than answering back, Jiyong pushes the door and quickly ran inside, the other’s following right behind him.

     “Father!” Jiyong shouted as he sees Lucifer being chained up. But he wasn’t just chained up. He was nailed on the wall by these big looking spikes. It was everywhere in his body too. But what shocked them the most was that Lucifer didn’t have any eyes anymore. It was like it was ripped out from him. He was skinny; he was close to looking like a skeleton. He was also covered in blood. 

     The brothers didn’t even know if it was his or not, but what was clear to them was this was obviously the work of the King.

     “W-what the fuck.” Sunggyu tried to say while looking at their Father.

     Hyunseung covered his mouth from shock, Taeil felt like trembling, and the others just stood there in silence. No words could explain what they were feeling.

     “W-What have they done to you?” Jiyong asked as blood tears slowly start falling from his eyes. Kharon III and the SOLs quickly ran in front of Lucifer and bowed in front of him to give respect. Lucifer sensed their presence and tried to say something, but no words came out.

     “F-father…” Jiyong called out as he slowly walked towards Lucifer. Then, he held his Father’s cheeks softly and said, “I’m here Father…your son is here, he has returned home.”

     Lucifer moaned but doesn’t say a thing when suddenly, he opens his mouth, making Jiyong’s legs feel weak. Jiyong fell to the floor and started trembling. Suho quickly ran to his side and said, “Jiyong…what’s wrong? Jiyong, talk to me…”

     “Uhh!” Lucifer moaned even louder. Everyone looked at him and saw what Jiyong saw. His tongue was ripped off, all of his teeth were removed, and his throat had stitches.

     “S-Shit…shit! Help him!” Sunggyu shouted as he looked at Kharon III who was still kneeling on the floor. But Kharon III kept quiet and put his head down low. His silence made everyone understand.

     So Sunggyu slowly walked towards their guardian and said, “Y-You knew didn’t you…you knew that this happened to him….you fucking knew about this!”

     “Sunggyu calm down.” Minhyuk tried to say, but Sunggyu only pushed him away.

     “My prince I-” Sunggyu’s eyes quickly turned red as he grabbed Kharon by the collar, “You should have told us earlier! Instead of training all day we could have gone here and helped him! We could have done something! We could have…”

     “You could have died!” Kharon III shouted back.

     “Enough!” Hyunseung finally shouted, making everyone calm down. Sunggyu lets go of Kharon III and transformed back to his normal form. Hyunseung gulped loudly and told them, “W-We don’t have much time.” He then looked at the SOLs and nodded his head. The three quickly understood and stood up.

    “It was an honor to serve you…until we meet again our Princes,” Junsu stated as he slowly walked towards Lucifer to touch him. The two did the same and grabbed hold of Lucifer. The Souls of Lucifer were suddenly caught on fire, and the smoke was slowly entering Lucifer’s mouth.

     Light was suddenly seen in Lucifer’s eye sockets, and the three SOLs were gone. When they thought Lucifer was finally going to move, the light from his eye sockets suddenly vanished, and Lucifer became still.

     Jiyong quickly stood up and ran to his father.

     “Father?” he asked as he held his Father’s cheeks again, but this time, it felt colder. Jiyong was shaking as he continued to hold onto his Father.

     “Father…Father please…say something…” Jiyong said as he holds his father tightly, tears still flowing from his eyes.

     “ My son. “ A voice was suddenly heard. Lucifer’s mouth didn’t move, but the voice definitely came from him.

     “Father Lucifer!” the sons shouted in unison.

     “ We don’t have much time. You need to hurry. The King will soon realize that you have breached my realm. “ The voice said.

     “F-Father we-” The voice quickly cuts Jiyong off and says, “ The King’s gate will be guarded by hundreds… no, thousands of ghouls. So please hurry. Open the gates…and defeat him. “

     “But-”

     “ Now go! “ the voice shouted so loud that it hurt the son’s ears.

     “You heard him…we need to move now!” Kharon III instructed, and everyone ran out of the realm. Jiyong was about to leave, but he quickly stopped in front of his Father and bowed respectfully.

     Lucifer, whose body was still, suddenly smiled, making Jiyong’s tears fall for the last time. 

     Then, without any hesitation, he ran.

---

 “We’re here.” Kharon III said as they arrived at an enormous gate that was two stories high.

     Taeil looked around and felt a chill, “S-Something’s wrong here…”

     “What do you mean?” Jackson asked as he looked at Taeil with a confused look.

     Taeil, who was feeling uneasy, looked at his brothers with worry and pointed out, “Where are the ghouls? Shouldn’t they be here? Father Lucifer told us that-” Taeil suddenly stopped when they heard footsteps coming from the side. The seven brothers turned their heads and looked at the sound.

     “That’s the farthest you could go Demons.” A voice said, shocking everyone.

     “Arcs?!”

• END -

SDS2 36: TRUST

“JIHOON, THIS IS TAEIL. 

It’s been three days now. Why haven’t you called? We’re heading to the gates today so you need to tell me if the Arcs will be heading there too so I would know. Call me immediately ones you receive this okay?“

     “Jihoon! What’s taking you so long?!” Junhyung shouted from outside Jihoon’s bedroom door. Jihoon quickly hid his phone inside his pocket and answered, “I-I’ll be out in a minute!”

     “Well, you better be, Kharon’s here,” Junhyung answered back, honestly shocking Jihoon.

     He quickly opened the door and asked, “Kharon? He’s here?”

     Junhyung looked at him confusingly and said, “Uhm yes, same as Nagi. We’re going to enter hell today if you haven’t forgotten.”

     Jihoon quickly shook his head and said, “Y-yeah of course…”

      “Hey, you okay? You’ve been looking ill lately. Are you scared about going back to hell or something?” Junhyun asked while holding Jihoon’s shoulder. But Jihoon pushed Junhyung’s hand away and answered, “You know the reason Junhyung. No need to pretend like you’re concerned about me.”

     Junhyung sighed and looked at his brother seriously, “We can’t change anything Jihoon, and you-” Jihoon quickly cuts Junhyung off and said, “Stop…j-just…just stop.” Then Jihoon walked away, leaving Junhyung standing alone in the hallway.

     “Why is it always my fault? Shouldn’t you be mad at them instead?”

---

“Is everyone here now?” Kharon asked as Junhyung goes downstairs to see his brothers and the rest having a quick meeting.

     “Yeah, we’re all here,” Junhyung answered as he joined them.

     “Good. Now, does everybody have the coin with them?” Kharon asked, and then everyone puts out the coins Nagi gave them before.

     “Where are the Demons?” Mark suddenly asked. Kharon looked at him for a couple of seconds and answered, “I asked them to wait for me before we head to an abandoned building. We’ll be opening the gate there, that’s why we need to hurry and head over to where your gate is before they find out I’ve been gone for too long.”

     Mark wanted to say something but decided to keep his mouth shut.

     “Well then, any last words to your kids before we leave Peter ?” Kharon asked as he looked at Park Dongmin who was glaring at him since he called him Peter.

     Dongmin walked towards the Arcs and said, “I know you’re all mad at me, but I hope you all know that whatever happens today…is something that must be done, and nothing can change that. You did this to save them. Know that we’re not the bad guys here. They will never understand our reasons. Well, they might but it will take a lot of time for them to do so. When that time comes, please patiently wait and just trust us.”

     No one says a thing, making Dongmin sigh.

     “And when the thing that we told you about happens, I want you all…” Dongmin paused. He couldn’t finish his sentence, so Junhyung looked at him angrily and said, “To what? You’ve already said everything to us. Spit it out.”

     Dongmin sighed and finally continued what he was about to say, “I want you to never see the Demons ever again. “ Dongmin suddenly revealed, shocking everyone.

     “W-What do you mean? I thought after this we could finally talk to them?” Junhyung – the Arcs leader – asked with full shock. He obviously didn’t know about this.

     “Aren’t you being too cruel to us?” Jihoon asked calmly, but deep inside he was furious.

     “You all know what the Demons are capable of. You’ve seen it all with your own eyes. And believe me when I say that even though some of them love you with all their hearts, they will not hesitate to destroy you after what happens today. They will no doubt choose their brothers over you.” Dongmin explained as he looked at Junhyung, Mark, Jihoon, and Lay ( who had lovers at the Demons ).

     “That’s not true.” Lay quickly said, and then he looked at the Demons’ guardian and asked, “Right?”

     Kharon – who knew the Demons more than anyone inside the room – looked at Lay with a sad expression, “I’m sorry,” he told him.

     “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?!” Mark finally shouted. He was about to run towards Kharon but Dongmin quickly stopped him.

     “Because the plan was to-”

     Woohyun, who has been quiet since earlier, quickly cuts their guardian off and says, “Plans, plans, plans. You’ve told us nothing else but fucking plans! You’re alright with this since we’re doing the dirty work, not you. So for a worthless guardian, don’t act like you know everything.”

     “I don’t know everything. I’m telling you things that your Fathers want me to tell you. I’m just following orders like how you’re supposed to. Every one of us here is just doing what they were asked to do, but every one of you would just start complaining every single time.” Dongmin stated. It was obvious he was getting mad as well but he was trying to act calm.

     “That’s because you guys keep on changing things! Kill the Demons, make allegiance with the Demons, leave the Demons, never see the Demons again. What the fuck do you guys want us to do?!” Lay shouted this time.

     “You took an oath before you even met the Demons. In that oath, you swore that you will give your trust to your Fathers wholeheartedly and that you will-” Mark quickly cuts their guardian off and says, “That was before the Demons goddamn it!”

     * Slap *

     Everyone gasps on the sudden action. But they were even more shocked because it wasn’t Dongmin who slapped Mark. It was Kharon who did it.

     “How dare you slap my broth-” Before Junhyung could run towards Kharon, Kharon quickly looked at Junhyung. And with his eyes all red, he made Junhyung stop moving.

     “W-What the…what are you doing?!” Junhyung shouted, trying to move but couldn’t.

     “What are you doing?!” this time it was Seunghyun who shouted it. Kharon lifted his hand towards Seunghyun, making him stop moving as well. Everyone looked at Kharon with shock, but Dongmin and Nagi just looked at the powerful Demon calmly and didn’t even try to stop him.

     “My princes will follow all the instructions given to them without question. My princes will gamble their own life just to finish what they were tasked to do. My princes will leave their own lovers and endure the pain of never seeing them again just so they wouldn’t be distracted on doing what they were supposed to finish. They would fucking betray their own KING with the knowledge of them dying just to the save people who YOU were supposed to protect. And here you are, disrespecting your guardian in front of me.” Kharon powerfully stated. 

     The Arcs all avoided the Demon’s gaze, now feeling ashamed because of what he said.

     Kharon then puts his hands down and turned his eyes back to normal, making Seung and Junhyung move again.

    “You are not thinking about the Demons, you’re thinking about yourselves. My kids are facing death because they were born as Demons. They never wanted to be born that way but they are willing to sacrifice everything just to fix a wrong they didn’t even prevent. Plans you say? These plans are the reasons why you’re still alive. Without those plans, my princes would have killed you all mercilessly. Now, if you want to keep it that way I suggest you listen to your worthless guardian.” Kharon added.

     When no one dared say anything back, Kharon continued, “I am the luckiest Demon to be alive in this generation because I was able to serve such courageous boys, and I pity Park Dong Min for raising cowards.”

     No one still answered Kharon’s painful remarks. They were still too embarrassed to even look at him. So Kharon looked back at Dongmin apologetically. He didn’t want to say those things to the Arcs but he knew that it was the only way to make them realize the whole situation.

     When Dongmin gave out a small smile, Kharon nodded his head and said, “Let’s go, we don’t have much time.”

     Dongmin nodded as well, and everyone went to the mountain where they were supposed to enter hell with no complaints.

     “I will open the gates for you, and once you go inside, throw the coins I have given to you to the black lake. A boat will arrive and it will bring you to the first realm. Nagi will bring you to the Demons afterward.” Kharon explained, and without waiting for the Arcs to reply, he starts chanting Latin words.

     Seconds later the clouds turned red, and the ground started shaking. Then an enormous door appeared in front of them. Kharon looked at everyone and told them, “I’ll see you all later,” and then he turns into a phoenix and flies away.

     Junhyung, who has been quiet after what Kharon told them, looked at their guardian and said, “Hyung…I’m sorry about…”

     “Don’t apologize to me.” Dongmin quickly stated. He then looked at the Arcs one by one and continued, “After this…the one you’ll be apologizing to is them, do you understand?”

     Junhyung doesn’t say anything but nods his head.

     “Let’s go now princes of heaven,” Nagi says as he looks at the seven sons in front of him.

     “Okay, let’s go,” Junhyung stated, making Nagi open the door. He goes inside first, and then the rest followed. Then the enormous door shuts behind them. Inside was like what Kharon described to them. There was a foggy black lake in front of them. Junhyung looked at his brothers and instructed them to take out the coins and throw it to the river.

     Everyone did what they were told and threw the coin on the lake.

     “Nothing’s happening,” Sungjae stated as he looked at his surroundings. But before the Arcs could comment about it, a huge boat starts rising from the water. The boat was normal looking at first, but the longer you looked; the more you’d realized that it’s actually made from bones.

    “Whoa.” the only thing the Arcs could say at the moment.

     Nagi smiled and looked at the Demons, “Hop on angels.”

     The brothers looked at each other and hesitated, but Junhyung – as the leader – nodded and got on the boat first, then the rest of the Arcs followed. As everyone got on, the boat started moving. While everyone was settling down, Junhyung was leaning on the edge, staring at the lake deeply. So Seunghyun stood up and joined his brother.

     “Hey, now is not the time to lose focus,” Seunghyun says as he stands beside their leader.

     “I’m not…its just…what Kharon told us earlier made me feel…”

     “Shitty?” Seunghyun finished, making Junhyung glare at him.

     “That wasn’t the word that I wanted to use but yeah, I felt…shitty. And what’s worse is that a Demon had to point it out just so I could realize it. I’m the worse. No wonder Sunggyu’s the better leader.” Junhyung stated without even looking at Seunghyun.

     Seunghyun wanted to comfort Junhyung and say something that would counter what Junhyung just told him, but he decided not to. He thought it was about time to let their leader feel shitty for once.

     “What do you think will happen after this?” Seunghyun suddenly asked.

     Junhyung finally looked at his brother and answered, “I don’t know actually. But what I do know is that Hyunseung would never want to see me after this.”

     “In worse case scenarios, he might even try to kill you.” Seunghyun jokingly says, making Junhyung glare at him again.

     “Are you seriously making me feel bad?”

     Seunghyun looked back at Junhyung and smirked, “Maybe.”

     Junhyung sighed and looked back at the lake.

     “Mark and Lay haven’t slept properly yet, but Jihoon’s been surprisingly calm. This was one of the reasons why I warned you guys before to not get too attached with the Demons.” Seunghyun stated.

     “And like always, you were right about it,” Junhyung said while rolling his eyes.

     “I’m not always right you know,” Seunghyun quickly stated.

     “Oh come on, no need to be humble.” Junhyung said back as he looked at Seunghyun, “I can prove it that you’re always right.”

     Seunghyun lifted his right eyebrow and asked, “how?”

    “Who do you think it is? You know…the one who’s going to be chosen?” Junhyung suddenly asked, and the insensitive questions didn’t impress Seunghyun at all.

    “Junhyung…this isn’t something that we should talk about so lightly,” Seunghyung told him, his mood quickly changing.

     Junhyung sighed and nodded his head, “Sorry, that was a shitty move.”

     “We’re here,” Nagi told them, making everyone look his way. The boat stopped and Nagi jumped off. Then everyone stood up and followed the ghoul.

     “We’re at the realms of lust so we’re still far behind. The Princes are probably with ruler Lucifer by now so we need to hurry.” Nagi stated as he started walking without even waiting for the Arcs.

     The sons looked at each other and nodded, then they followed Nagi through the realms of Hell.

     “My heart’s pounding like crazy,” Lay stated as everyone was walking behind Nagi.

     “I feel you,” Sungjae added.

     “Brothers…after everything that might happen today…” Junhyung stated, making everyone look at him. When everyone’s attention was on him, he continued, “I am all very proud of you. I think I never told you that before.”

     The Arcs were shocked by their leader’s sudden statement. No one said anything since they were too shocked to even react.

     “Uhm…now would be the best time to say something back,” Junhyung pointed out, making the others chuckle since their leader suddenly looked nervous. Woohyun puts his arm around Junhyung’s shoulder and said, “You know Junhyung. Even though half of us hate you right now…we’re also very proud of you.”

     “Wow, I’m touched,” Junhyung stated with a monotone voice, then everyone laughed.

     Then Seunghyun looked at his brothers and said, “Look, guys, what Kharon said to us was right. The Demons trust their fathers with no question and their Demons for Pete’s sake. We should do the same and trust our Fathers as well. They told us about what would happen today even though it has a bad outcome, but they told us about it so that we could at least do something. We’re trying to help the Demons, but if they can’t understand that then it’s their loss. We did what we were told to do and that’s it. So even though some of you here are in love with those Demons, let’s all put that aside for now and finish this cruel mission.”

    The Arcs doesn’t say anything but nods their head in determination. If the Demons could endure the pain, then the Arcs should do just that.

    “Then good luck to us,” Junhyung stated, then everyone continued walking without talking to each other anymore.

     Everyone was all contemplating. They were mentally and physically preparing themselves for what was going to happen soon. They didn’t want to do it, but they had to trust their Fathers and their guardian, and even the Demons too.

    “We’re here.” Nagi finally said, making everyone stop walking.

     “This is the farthest I could take you,” Nagi added as he looked at the Arcs.

    “You’re not coming with us?” Jihoon asked, and Nagi shook his head as an answer.

    “ Something’s wrong here. “ They suddenly heard someone say.

     “Taeil?” Jihoon quickly asked when he heard his lover’s voice.

     Junhyung looked at his brother and nodded his head. He gulped loudly and told them, “It’s now or never,” then he barged inside to find the Demons with Kharon standing at the enormous gate of the King of Hell.

     “That’s the farthest you could go Demons,” Junhyung stated with power in his voice.

     The Demons all turned their heads and looked at the Angels with shock, “Arcs?!”

• END -

SDS2 37: THE ANSWER

“ARCS?!” THE DEMONS SHOUTED  from shock. Junhyung didn’t say anything and walked closer to where the Demons were; the Arcs just right behind him. Hyunseung looked at his lover with shock and confusion. He wanted Junhyung to look at him, but Junhyung didn’t even look his way. It was obvious Junhyung was avoiding his lover.

    Suho looked at his lover as well, but Lay avoided him too. 

    “M-Mark?” Jackson suddenly called out while the two groups continued to stare at each other. Mark gulped and tried to push back the tears, but the moment he looked at his lover, tears started to pour out.

    “ I’m so sorry, “ Mark whispered, but it was loud enough for Jackson to hear.

    “W-What do you mean?” Jackson asked confusingly, “Baby I don’t under-” Jackson was about to walk towards his lover, but Sunggyu quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him. “Nothing you can say will change our minds Junhyung.” Sunggyu stated as he glared at the Arcs’ leader.

    “We know.” Junhyung simply said. Then out of nowhere, Junhyung summoned his weapon, shocking the Demons. “That’s why we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you don’t open that gate.” Junhyung declared, and without any warning, he slashed his sword right in front of Sunggyu’s face.

     The Demons gasps as blood slowly dripped from Sunggyu’s cheek.

    “S-Sunggyu…” Suho called out with a worried tone. But Sunggyu didn’t look fazed. He wiped the blood off from his cheek with his bare hands. Then he summoned his weapon as well and turned into his Demonic form, shocking the Arcs since they have never seen the Demons in that state before.

     With his blood-red eyes, Sunggyu shouted, “Attack the Arcs now!”

     “B-But…Sunggyu…” Suho tried to say, but he was looking at Lay rather than their leader.

     Sunggyu turned his head and angrily repeated himself, “I told you before that we will continue our plans, and no Arc can stop us. Today is the time for me to ask you…who will you choose? Your own brother, or them?”

    The Demons looked at their leader with shock. But then someone answered, “You.”

     Jiyong quickly turned into his Demonic form and summoned his weapon, then he attacked Junhyung with full force. Good thing Junhyung was quick enough to dodge the blow. Minhyuk summoned his weapon next and started attacking the Arcs as well. Sunggyu then joined in.

    The rest of the Demons hesitated. They stared at their three brothers get attacked by the Seven Angels.

     Kharon, who was standing behind the Demons looked at the four and said, “My kids…believe us now and fight beside your brothers. You will regret it if you don’t, please.”

     The Demons have never seen their guardian look so desperate in their life. The sight made Taeil clench his fist.

     “I will trust you…” he said as he summoned his weapon to join the rest. Then Suho and Hyunseung did the same and fought along side their brothers. Jackson, who was still confused about what was happening in front of him, continued to look at his lover Mark. But when Mark was about to stab Hyunseung from the back, Jackson quickly summoned his weapon and blocked it.

     “M-Mark…” Jackson stated as he looked at his lover’s teary eyes.

    “Don’t make me hurt you,” he continued, but instead of answering him, Mark slashed Jackson’s shoulder using his sword, leaving a deep wound.

     “S-Shit…” Jackson cursed as he tried to endure the pain. He looked back at Mark again and begged, “P-Please.”

     Mark doesn’t say anything, but tears continued to fall from his eyes. Then he lifted his weapon and was about to injure Jackson again when suddenly Taeil arrived and aggressively pushed the Arc away.

     “Jackson you fucking idiot! Now is not the time to hesitate!” Taeil shouted at his best friend. Jackson looked at his brother, then slowly his eyes turned red and he transformed into his demonic state.

     “You leave me with no choice…I’m sorry my little angel.” Jackson ran to where Mark was and started attacking him. But while the two were fighting, blood tears continued to pour out from Jackson’s eyes. This was the hardest fight he has ever had in his life.

MEANWHILE…

     “Why are you doing this?!” Suho asked as he was battling Sungjae and Seunghyun. The two Arcs continued to dodge Suho’s continues attack and ignored Suho’s question.

     “Nothing will change if you do this!” Suho shouted, then suddenly Seunghyun’s sword was only a few inches away from Suho’s chest. Good thing Suho was able to block it with his own weapon.

     Seunghyun looked at Suho and answered, “Oh believe me…it will.”

     Suho quickly pushed the Angel away from him and started attacking. He could use his Demonic powers on them but Suho couldn’t do it like how the rest of the Demons did.

    The Demons knew that they could kill the Arcs then and there, but it was obvious that they were trying their best not to, even Sunggyu wasn’t using his fear amplification. They were merely weakening them, but they didn’t have any intention of killing them.

     “You’re making a wrong decision leader,” Jiyong stated as he continued to fight with the Arcs’ leader, Junhyung.

     “N-No…it’s you w-who’s making…a w-wrong decision,” Junhyung struggled to say since he was dodging every powerful attack Jiyong was giving him.

     Junhyung couldn’t even touch Jiyong because of how powerful and fast he was. And he clearly knew that Jiyong wasn’t even using his full strength on him. They were idiots to attack the Demons, but they had no other choice.

    “I’m sorry.” Minhyuk said as he hit Woohyun on the shoulder.

     “I’m sorry,” he said again as he hit Woohyun’s leg this time.

     Woohyun was already weak, but he tried his best to stand. His greatest power was lightning, but he couldn’t even produce it since they were in Hell. When Woohyun found an opening, he quickly jumped towards Minhyuk and positioned his sword on Minhyuk’s leg. But Minhyuk was faster. He grabbed Woohyun by the hand to stopped the attack, but when he held Woohyun’s hand, he accidentally drains his energy, making him faint.

    “S-Shit…I’m fucking sorry!” Minhyuk shouted as he stared at Woohyun’s body lying on the ground.

     “Woohyun!” Mark shouted when he saw his best friend on the floor.

     Mark quickly ran away from Jackson and ran to Minhyuk.

     “I’m sorry! But I didn’t kill him! I swear!” Minhyuk quickly defended. And it was funny since they were actually in a battle with each other and Minhyuk was apologizing. Mark ignored what Minhyuk said and was about to throw a powerful punch on him when suddenly the ground started shaking.

     Everyone stopped fighting just so they could look at their surroundings.

     “What’s going on now?!” Sunggyu shouted angrily.

     Hyunseung, who was looking at the back, pointed at a far distance and quickly shouted, “Ghouls!”

     Thousands of ghouls started running towards the Arcs and the Demons. Kharon, who kept watch for the Demons’ sake, finally went to his attacking position and got ready.

     “You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Jiyong says as he waited for the ghouls to arrive.

     Junhyung – who was standing right beside him – was about to say something, but Mark quickly looked at him and shouted, “Junhyung! Woohyun’s down!”

     Once Mark shouted that, everyone looked at Woohyun who was lying on the floor.

    “Shit!” Junhyung quickly stated as he ran towards Woohyun.

     Lay, who was fighting Hyunseung a few seconds ago, quickly ran to Woohyun as well and was about to heal him, but Junhyung stopped him and said, “Remember what our guardian said. Healing him will only heal Minhyuk.”

     Minhyuk then flinched. He suddenly felt guilty about what he did even though the Arcs attacked them first. But now hoards of ghouls were approaching and Woohyun was practically knocked out.

    “I’ll try to protect him with everything I can. You help the others,” Junhyung instructed, and Mark nodded and quickly joined his brothers.

     Seconds later the ghouls finally arrived at where the Demons and the Arcs were. And like they were programmed robots, they started attacking the Demons ONLY. The act shocked the Arcs. They were practically invisible.

     “Ah!” Jackson shouted as he pushed the ghouls who ran towards him with his claw.

     “W-What the…why aren’t they attacking the Arcs?!” Suho shouted as the hoard of ghouls ambushed him. He quickly released his black aura, causing the weaker ghouls around him to faint.

     The Arcs were also confused since the ghouls just walked pass them and started attacking only the Demons. So the Arcs looked at each other and nodded. But instead of helping the Demons with the ghouls, the Arcs started attacking the Demons as well.

     “Junhyung you asshole!” Jiyong shouted as Junhyung went back to attacking him.

     “S-sorry…orders are orders!” Junhyung shouted as he finally got the chance to injure Jiyong on the arm since the ghouls were constantly ambushing Jiyong.

     “Ah!” Jiyong shouted in pain, but the action only made Jiyong release his true powers.

     Now he wasn’t holding back. Jiyong, as the strongest son, copied all of his brother’s powers and morphed it into one indestructible power. He then releases the power in one go, shooting the ghouls, and Junhyung up in the air.

     Lay quickly ran to where Junhyung was going to fall and lucking caught him.

     “F-Fuck.” Junhyung stated, his whole body now aching because of Jiyong’s attack. Jiyong was so strong that Junhyung was literally shot up in the air. Good thing the attack wasn’t directed towards him or Junhyung might have disintegrated.

     Jiyong, who was being ambushed by most of the ghouls since he was the strongest, continued to shoot the hoards with his powerful attack. And when he got an opening, he quickly cloned himself into 50 others.

     “Fucking cloning?!” Junhyung shouted when he saw what Jiyong just did. He was shocked to realize that Kwon Jiyong had an S ranked power.

     Jackson, who was also fighting hoards of ghouls, transformed into a large beast and devoured all the Demons that stood in his way. This made the Arcs realize again that Jackson had glamouring for his demonic power.

     “T-This is insane. They’re too powerful!” Lay shouted hysterically, still carrying their injured leader.

     The Demons did their thing in front of the shocked Arcs. They killed all the ghouls that attacked them while their guardian burned them so that they could disappear. ( And so that the dead ghouls wouldn’t pile up )

     “Fucking let go!” Taeil shouted as he pushed Sungjae away from him. Taeil was trying to smash the ghouls while trying to avoid Sungjae’s attack. But when Sungjae stupidly looked straight at Taeil’s eyes, Taeil quickly used his Luring ability and commanded Sungjae to attack the ghouls instead.

     Sungjae – who was now a mindless zombie that was being controlled by Taeil – started attacking the ghouls like instructed.

     While everyone continued to fight, loud sirens were suddenly heard in the distance, confusing everyone.

     Suddenly, all the ghouls started running towards Jiyong’s clones.

     “They’re all going to Jiyong!” Sunggyu shouted as he and his brothers quickly went towards the ghouls and continued to kill them.

     The original Jiyong was attacking the ghouls who were approaching him as well, and at the same time, he was making more clones of himself. But the ghouls were just too many that Jiyong started having a hard time making more clones.

     “Jiyong! Hang in there!” Jackson shouted as he smashed the ghouls away so he could go to Jiyong, but every time he approached what he thought was his brother, he’d only find out that it was only a clone.

     “S-shit…Jiyong! Where the fuck are you?!” Jackson shouted as he continued to kill the ghouls in front of him.

     The Arcs were just standing at the side, all confused about what was going on.

     The original Jiyong was already sweating and panting heavily, slowly losing his focus which was a bad sign because if he lost his focus, his clones would all disappear. All the ghouls were only attacking him and it was hard for him because the clones were also using his energy.

     Even with the Demons and Kharon helping him, Jiyong was slowly falling. One by one his clones fell until only 10 were left. The sight made the Arcs realize something horrifying.

     “J-Junhyung….” Lay quickly called out as he realized something. “I-its…it’s him! It’s Jiyong!” Lay finally shouted, loud enough for the rest of the Arcs to hear.

     “No…it can’t be,” Junhyung said in shock.

     “They’re killing all the clones so they could get to the real him!” Jihoon shouted back, now realizing it as well.

     Junhyung, who was now in the state of panic, looked at his brothers and shouted, “Proceed with the next plan! Help the Demons…NOW!”

     Without wasting any time, the Arcs quickly joined the Demons and started attacking as well. There were only three clones left and Jiyong was stuck in the middle. The Demons and the Arcs couldn’t approach him since more hoards of ghouls were appearing everywhere.

     “Jiyong! Just hang in there a little longer!” Hyunseung shouted, also killing the ghouls in front of him so he could approach Jiyong.

     Finally, all of Jiyong’s clones were down, and he was the only one left in the middle. Hundreds of ghouls were surrounding him, and the Demons and the Arcs were still a few meters away from him.

     Soons after, the ghouls started lifting Jiyong up.

     “Let me go! You fucking ghouls let me go!” Jiyong shouted as hundreds of ghouls were lifting him.

     “Where are they taking him!?” Sunggyu shouted, now panicking.

     “J-Junhyung…look!” Seunghyun shouted as he pointed at the enormous gate that was slowly opening. Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the gate being opened.

     “They’re bringing him inside!” This time it was Minhyuk who shouted it.

     “Stop them now!” Sunggyu quickly commanded as he did his best to walk through the hundreds of ghouls. The Demons were powerful, and they were killing the ghouls like they were ants. But they were just too many. It’s like every time they killed one ghoul, five more would appear.

     “G-Guys! Help!” Jiyong finally shouted as he saw the gate getting closer, panic now consuming him as well. Jiyong was only a few inches away from the entrance, making the demons panic even more.

     “Someone fucking grab him!” Taeil shouted, but no one could even move anymore since the number of ghouls was too overwhelming.

     “Jiyong!” Sunggyu shouted as Jiyong was now at the entrance of the gate. But when everyone thought Jiyong was finally going to be thrown at the entrance of the gate, the thousands of ghouls suddenly vanished like bubble.

     Jiyong quickly fell on the floor, making him dizzy.

     “W-what the fuck,” he stated as he rubbed his bottom. The Demons and Arcs finally stopped talking. All were sweating and covered in ghoul blood.

    “Jiyong!” Sunggyu quickly called out.

    Jiyong continued to rub his aching body and shouted back, “I’m alright!”

     The demons sighed in relief, while the Arcs looked at each other confusingly. Jiyong slowly stood up and looked at his brothers who were meters away from him. The Demons were about to walk towards their brother, but they stopped when they realized something. They quickly looked at their guardian, then their guardian looked back at them and said, “Time stopped.”

     Taeil, who remembered something very similar, widened his eyes from shock. And then he quickly shouted, “Jiyong! RUN! FUCKING RUN NOW!”

      Jiyong, who was still fazed, stood there, still dumbfounded. The demons were shouting his name but he felt like he was underwater, and the sound was almost muffled. Jiyong looked around, but when he saw Hyunseung and the others, he finally snapped back out of it. He quickly took a step and was about to run towards them. But before he could do so…

     “KWON JIYONG!”

     An unknown hand pierced through Jiyong’s chest, making everyone stop.

     Sunggyu felt like everything was in slow motion as he mumbled, “N-no…” Then, he slowly moved his feet and started walking towards his brother, “N-No…Jiyong…Jiyong don’t fucking close your eyes you hear me! Don’t close your eyes!” Sunggyu shouted as he now ran towards his brother.

     The rest of the Demons started running towards him too.

    Jiyong, who still had a small life left in him, looked at his brothers who were quickly running towards him. A blood tear falls from Jiyong’s eyes, then he smiled and said, “ I will a-always…l-love you…m-my b-brothers. “

     Then the unknown hand pulls away, holding Jiyong’s heart with him. Jackson quickly runs towards the gate, but when he was only a few inches away, the gate closes.

     “AHH!!” Jackson shouted as he started slamming his weapon on the now closed gate.

     Jiyong’s lifeless body was about to fall, but Sunggyu arrived just in time to catch it.

     “N-no…no please,” Sunggyu begged as he looked down on his brother, blood tears falling on Jiyong’s face. “J-Jiyong you fucking idiot…wake up,” Sunggyu said, trying to laugh it off, but his hands were already shaking.

     Suho ran beside his brother as well and grabbed his hand, “Hey…don’t joke like that Jiyong.”

     Tears slowly streamed down from Suho’s eyes as he felt Jiyong’s cold hand, “Y-You can’t do this to us…Jiyong…hey Jiyong…” When Jiyong didn’t respond, Suho grabbed tighter and started shouting, “Kwon Jiyong! You can’t fucking do this to us! You fucking can’t!”

     Hyunseung, who was already crying, quickly grabbed Minhyuk and hugged him tightly, hiding his face on Minhyuk’s chest just so he couldn’t see Jiyong’s lifeless body. Minhyuk tried to be brave and hugged Hyunseung even tighter, but he too was already crying.

     “J-Just don’t look okay…just don’t look…” Minhyuk stated, trying to calm his brother down.

     Jackson slowly walked towards his brother and fell on his knees, “Kwon Jiyong! Open your fucking eyes!” He shouted with full power. He then crawled towards Jiyong and started shaking his lifeless body, “I said wake up! Open your fucking eyes! You’re a king right?! Kings don’t fall so wake up!”

     “Jackson please!” Taeil stated as he ran towards his best friend. He kneeled and hugged Jackson, finally calming Jackson down.

     Sunggyu, who was still holding onto Jiyong’s body, slowly caressed his brother’s face, “He’s just asleep. He was just…tired, that’s all…you d-don’t have to worry my brothers.” Then Sunggyu looked at his brothers who were all crying blood. He then looked back at Jiyong and said, “B-but now isn’t the time to sleep man, so wake up.”

     The Arcs stood on the side, trembling and crying at the same time. They knew that this would happen, but they didn’t know how painful it would be once it did happen.

     “Kwon Jiyong…as the leader of the Demons…I command you to wake up.” Sunggyu stated, more tears falling from his eyes.

     “I said fucking wake up! That’s a command, so wake up!”

     Junhyung dared to walk towards the Demons. He slowly went towards the mourning sons, then he gently held Sunggyu’s shoulder and said, “Sunggyu I’m sorry…but we can’t change this…J-Jiyong…h-he’s dead. “

     “No!” Sunggyu quickly shouted as he pushed Junhyung’s hand away.

     “How could you be so fucking selfish? He’s not dead…right Jiyong?” Sunggyu asked as he looked at Jiyong again. When Jiyong’s body didn’t budge, Sunggyu clenched on his brother’s shoulder tighter and hugged him for the last time. Then he released the most powerful aura that he could produce before letting go of himr.

     Sunggyu quickly stood up and grabbed Junhyung by the neck, effortlessly lifting him up from the ground, “You’re dead…YOU’RE ALL FUCKING DEAD!”

“ It’s either one or all…and your leader chose the first option. “ - ( SDS2 34: Their Selfish Side )

• END -

SDS2 38: NO MORE MOURNERS

“YOU’RE DEAD. YOU’RE ALL dead!”   Sunggyu shouted as he looked straight at Junhyung’s eyes. Junhyung was struggling to get away from the Demon, but Sunggyu’s grip was too strong. Sunggyu then starts using his demonic power called Memory Manipulation on the Arcs leader .

     The angel was continuously trying to struggle, but his vision slowly became blurry, then everything around him turned black. Seconds later blood started coming out from his nose and ears. Then his body started shaking.

     “Junhyung! Please, Sunggyu! Please stop it!” Seunghyun shouted as he quickly ran to his brother. The rest of the Arcs ran towards him as well, but Jackson quickly stood up and threw a powerful force towards the Arcs, making them all be thrown back.

     “Sunggyu stop!” Finally, it was Kharon who did it. He quickly went to Sunggyu and covered his eyes, making Sunggyu stop the manipulation.

     Finally, Sunggyu lets go of Junhyung who fell on the ground and quickly started catching his breath.

     “I-I’m sorry…we had no…o-other…c-choice.” Junhyung tried to say, still panting heavily because of what Sunggyu just did to him.

     Sunggyu quickly pushed their guardian away from him and looked back at Junhyung angrily.

    “No other choice?! Our brother is fucking dead! We were the ones who had no other choice because of you!” Sunggyu shouted even louder, then the place started to crumble. Sunggyu and the rest of the Demons were emitting so much power that the whole place couldn’t even take it.

     “We need to get Junhyung. We need to get out of here,” Seunghyun quickly stated as he noticed the rocks falling from the ceiling. He then looked at his brothers and said, “Carry Woohyun out of here, I’ll take Junhyung.”

     “But Seunhyung…” Mark tried to say.

     “No more buts. If you don’t move we’ll be stuck here, now go!” Seunghyun shouted, and without wasting any second, the Arcs ran away where they saw a portal suddenly forming on the wall.

     “That’s our way out! Hurry!” Jihoon shouted as he pointed at the portal that was being cast by Park Dong Min on the other side.

     “I’ll fucking kill you Yong Junhyung! I’ll fucking kill you!” Sunggyu shouted as he quickly summoned his weapon. He was about to attack Junhyung again, but Kharon pushed him away for the second time.

     “I said stop!” Kharon shouted. When Sunggyu looked at him, he realized that there were trails of blood on Kharon’s cheeks as well. Their guardian was crying. Kharon knew about the occurrence, but like the Arcs, he didn’t know who it was going to be. He even thought that maybe something would change and no one from the Demons would die. So when Jiyong’s life was literally taken right before their eyes, he just lost it.

     “This is not the time to fight. All of you will die if you stay here longer…you need to go, now!” Kharon quickly shouted as he saw hundreds of ghouls approaching them again.

     “Hyung…” Sunggyu sadly called out to his guardian as tears continued to fall from his eyes. Kharon wanted to push Sunggyu away, but he just couldn’t take it. He quickly grabbed his prince and hugged him tightly.

     “It hurts, I know, so please calm down my prince. Jiyong’s death will be all for nothing if you don’t leave here immediately.” Kharon stated as he gently pushed Sunggyu away. “I’ll hold the ghouls off as much as I can, you take Jiyong and bring him out of here,” Kharon instructed. 

     Sunggyu was hesitant, but he nodded and did what they were told.

     “Carry Jiyong. Let’s go!” Sunggyu quickly commanded.

     Jackson takes Jiyong’s body and carries him. Then the rest of the Demons ran off. Seunghyun finally arrived at where his brother was. He quickly grabbed Junhyung’s arm and placed it around his shoulder to support their leader.

     “C-Come on…let’s go.” Seunghyun stated as he and Junhyung were slowly escaping.

     “Just leave me…you c-can’t run away if you c-continue to carry me like this.” Junhyung struggled to say, still panting since what Sunggyu did to him almost killed him.

     “This isn’t the time to act like a hero goddamn it!” Seunghyun shouted as he continued to drag Junhyung’s weak body towards the portal.

     “Arcs!” Kharon suddenly shouted.

     Seunghyun quickly turned around and saw Kharon bowing in front of them.

     “Thank you.” The guardian says before transforming into a deadly phoenix and flying towards the hoard of ghouls who were meters away from them.

     “S-Shit…hang in there Junhyung, we’re getting closer!” Seunghyun shouted as he sees the portal. But the portal was slowly getting smaller. Dongmin was losing his strength. Junhyung and Seunghyun had to hurry it up.

     “What’s taking them so long!?” Lay shouted, now at the mountaintop with the rest of the Arcs and their guardian Dongmin.

     “I-I…can’t hold much longer!” Dongmin shouted as he was trying his best to keep the portal open. He was an angel, and opening a portal of hell wasn’t as easy as opening a portal of heaven. And the sudden thunder and storm weren’t helping him concentrate at all.

     “I’m going after them,” Mark suddenly says, but Jihoon quickly grabbed his arm and said, “Are you an idiot?!”

     “But-” Before Mark could even finish, Seunghyun literally throws Junhyung through the portal, then Seunghyun quickly jumps in next, making him fall right on top of their guardian. 

     The portal closes just in time, making the ghouls who were chasing after the two, hit a solid wall instead.

     The two were panting heavily, but they were glad that all of them made it out alive. But a few seconds later, the thought of the Demons quickly appeared, and everyone’s head was down. Seunghyun stood up and helped Junhyung and Dongmin stand up as well. Then Dongmin looked at his kids and asked, “Who was it?”

     No one answered for a couple of seconds. Then Junhyung looked at his guardian, pain visible in his eyes, “It was Kwon Jiyong,” he answered.

     Dongmin sighed heavily. He didn’t want to admit it, but deep down he half knew that the King was going to kill the strongest amongst the seven sons.

     “And the Demons?” Dongmin asked.

     Seunghyun looked at their guardian and answered, “We don’t know, but I’m pretty sure they were able to escape as well. But as expected…not everyone made it out alive.”

---

The Demons exited from the same place that they entered earlier. They quickly closed the door, making the door vanish in front of them. 

    The sons stood there, all silent. They didn’t talk nor look at each other. The only thing you could hear from the abandoned building was their heavy breathing and the thunderstorm outside. 

     Without saying anything, the Demons went out of the building and walked through the rain. Suddenly, a car arrived. The car door opened, revealing Kai and Tamo.

     “Guys! What are you doing?! It’s pouring out here!” Kai shouted while following Tamo with his umbrella. The two quickly ran towards the Demons who were covered in blood and sweat.

     “How did it-” Tamo quickly stops when he sees Jiyong’s lifeless body being carried by Jackson. He quickly covered his mouth from shock, “N-no…”

     Kai sees it as well and quickly took a step back.

     “D-don’t tell me…is he…he can’t be…” Kai struggled to say. So Taeil clenched his fist and looked at Kai, “He’s fucking dead,” he answered. The moment the two heard the news; Tamo started sobbing. Kai didn’t know what to do so he just stood there, dumbfounded.

     “This is the Arcs fault!” Sunggyu suddenly shouted, making everyone look at their brother. 

     Sunggyu looked back at them and continued, “They knew, those bastards knew but they didn’t even tell us. They just waited for it to happen, and they expected that an apology could fucking make up for the life of our lost brother. Now Jiyong’s fucking dead! He’s fucking dead!”

     Sunggyu started crying again. He slowly fell on his knees and bowed his head on the wet soil.

     “I will do anything God! I know we’re Demons, but please, listen to this sinner’s request and give us our brother back. Please!” Sunggyu shouted as he looked at the sky. But the only thing that answered him was thunder.

     “PLEASE! Give me my Jiyong back! I beg you!” Sunggyu shouted even louder. Suho chocked back the tears and ran towards his brother. He kneeled beside their leader and quickly hugged Sunggyu to calm him down.

     “Sunggyu that’s enough…” Suho tried to say, but Sunggyu quickly pushed Suho away and shouted, “No!” He then stood up and took Jiyong from Jackson’s hold. He quickly looked at Kai & Tamo and commanded, “T-Take us to the hospital. There m-might still be a chance. They might still save him.”

     Tamo didn’t know what to say. He just looked at Sunggyu while his tears continued to pour. They saw Jiyong’s state. There was literally a hole on Jiyong’s chest. No doctor could revive him; even an angel couldn’t revive him.

     “Sunggyu, you need to calm down…” Kai tried to say.

     “No! Why aren’t you listening to me!?” Sunggyu shouted when he realized Tamo & Kai wasn’t even moving.

     “I said bring us to the hospital!” Sunggyu shouted again.

    The demons couldn’t say anything, but then Hyunseung quickly went in front of Sunggyu and slapped him, finally making Sunggyu calm down. While blood tears poured out of Hyunseung’s eyes, he gently holds Sunggyu’s cheeks and says, “Sunggyu…there is nothing we can do now.”

     “N-No…there must be a way. Hyunseung…you need to help me. We can bring him to someone, I’ll pay for everything, let’s just…let’s just…” Sunggyu tried to say, his body still trembling.

    “There’s nothing we could do!” This time, it was Taeil who shouted it. Taeil was in much more pain than his brothers. He lost Jiho once, and now he lost his brother who faced the same death as the man he loved. He was tired of witnessing it all over again.

     “S-so please stop Sunggyu,” Taeil stated softly, now crying as well.

     Sunggyu slowly fell on his knees again. He gently placed Jiyong’s body on the ground and started crying even more. Everyone was silent for a second, all looking at Jiyong’s lifeless body.

     “I can’t do this anymore.” Sunggyu suddenly stated as his trembling hand held onto Jiyong.

     Hyunseung was about to say something but Sunggyu cuts him off, “Let’s stop Hyunseung. I can’t do this anymore,” Sunggyu repeated, but instead of looking at Hyunseung, Sunggyu continued to look at Jiyong.

     “Sunggyu…look at me,” Hyunseung commanded, but Sunggyu kept his head low.

     “I said look at me,” this time, Hyunseung kneeled as well and held Sunggyu’s chin so Sunggyu could forcefully look at him back. Sunggyu looked at Hyunseung, his eyes covered in blood because of too much crying. Then Hyunseung slowly leans his forehead on Sunggyu’s and said, “I love you Sunggyu. I love each and every one of you.”

     Then Hyunseung took a deep breath and continued, “But you’re right…”

     The rest of the Demons quickly looked at Hyunseung with shock. Hyunseung kissed Sunggyu’s forehead and told him, “I too…can’t do this anymore…” He hugged Sunggyu for one last time before finishing, “Let’s bring Jiyong back home, okay?”

BACK AT SOUTH KOREA

The Demons didn’t waste any time. The seven sons went to Raven’s private plane and flew right back to South Korea with Tamo and Kai. Once they arrived, they landed at the back of Jiyong’s mansion that was big enough for the small plane.

     “We’re here,” Suho stated as he stood up from his seat, and the rest did the same. Minhyuk looked out the window and saw Charles and Mrs. Kwon running towards the plane with wide smiles. The sight made Minhyuk break down.

     “I-I can’t…I fucking can’t!” Minhyuk suddenly shouted, now trembling. Tamo went to him and held his shoulder tightly, “We’ll go down first. If you like we’ll tell them about…”

     “No,” Sunggyu quickly says as he looks at Tamo. He looked back at Jiyong’s coffin and slowly approached it. With his trembling hand, he held the coffin and said, “Welcome home Jiyong.”

     Sunggyu tried to push back the tears as he finally goes out of the plane. Hyunseung, Taeil, and Suho right behind him.

    “My boys!” Mrs. Kwon happily says as she runs towards the four to give them a warm embrace.

    “We’re glad to see you all safe,” Charles stated as he squeezed Suho’s shoulder.

     “We’re sorry!” Someone suddenly shouts.

     Charles and Jiyong’s mother quickly looked at Sunggyu with confusion.

     “Sunggyu, what’s wrong?” Charles asked as Sunggyu started crying blood, shocking the two parents. Then, Sunggyu went down on his knees while sobbing, the three sons behind him quickly did the same and bowed down on their knees as well.

     “We’re so sorry!” Taeil repeated.

     “W-What’s going on?” Mrs. Kwon asked, now trembling and teary. Charles quickly wrapped his arms around his wife, feeling nervous as well.

     “Sunggyu, what’s going on?” Charles asked seriously, but Sunggyu just shakes his head and continued to cry.

     “Sunggyu…w-where’s Jiyong?” Mrs. Kwon finally asks.

     Sunggyu looked up at the two and gulped.

     “Where’s my son!?” she now shouts at them.

     Finally, a coffin was being lowered down from the plane, Jackson, and Minhyuk holding onto it with their eyes filled with tears. Charles and Mrs. Kwon’s eyes widened as they saw what was being brought to them.

     “N-No…no…no,” Mrs. Kwon continuously stated while shaking his head in denial. Then Jackson and Minhyuk placed the coffin on top of a stand. Jackson gulped and opened the coffin, finally showing them who it was.

     Jiyong’s mother quickly pushed Charles away and ran to where the coffin was. And the moment she saw the person inside, her legs weakened.

    “N-No! T-that’s not my son…that’s not my son inside that thing…please bring him out, where is he?” Mrs. Kwon asked, trembling, and crying. Jackson and Minhyuk quickly went down on their knees as well and said in unison, “We’re so sorry!”

     “No! That’s impossible…my son’s a strong boy, he can’t be…he can’t be…” Charles, who was trying to push back the tears, didn’t want to move from his spot. But he took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the coffin to take a peak.

     Finally, he saw his son inside the coffin. The last place he wanted to see him in.  He was trying his best not to break down, but when he couldn’t take it anymore, he clenched on his fist and finally let the tears fall from his eyes.

     “Jiyong!” Charles now shouted as he ran towards the coffin to hold onto it. “Sorry…” he suddenly says as his tears drip on the glass.

     “S-sorry…Jiyong I’m sorry…papa hasn’t bought you the watch you wanted,” Charles stated as he wiped his tears, then he chuckled and continued, “You haven’t even called me father yet.”

     Mrs. Kwon finally stands beside his husband and holds onto him.

     “You promised during Christmas that we’d go to France with your brothers remember? You were going to surprise them remember?” Jiyong’s mother says as she slowly walked towards the coffin to hold the glass.

     “Son…you can’t leave me too…Jiyong you can’t! Oh dear God…please don’t do this to me…” She slowly slides the glass to hold Jiyong’s cold body. The moment she felt his son’s hand, Mrs. Kwon started crying even harder.

     “Take me instead! Please!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Charles went to his wife and hugged her tightly. He was trying to pull her away from Jiyong’s body but Mrs. Kwon didn’t want to let go.

     “No! Let me go! Jiyong! My son! Don’t do this to mama! Please!”

     The sons looked at Jiyong’s parents, their heart aching for them as well. And like in Japan, it started raining again. But everyone stood there and let the rain wash away the painful tears.

• END -

SDS2 39: GOODBYE

THREE DAYS LATER

Sunggyu puts the last rose in front of the headstone that read, “ Kwon Jiyong. June 6, 1996 - November 14, 2014“.

Note : we used 2014 since we originally published this story last 2014

     Sunggyu stared at the grave, but he didn’t cry. There were no more tears left in him. The rest of the Demons stood at the side, staring at the grave as well.

     “Rest in peace, my little boy…” Mrs. Kwon stated as she wiped the tears on her face.

     After Jiyong’s death, the sons found out that people’s memory of Kwon Jiyong was erased. Only the Demons ( Maybe even the Arcs ), Kai, Tamo, the Demon’s mothers, and Jiyong’s parents, were the only once who remembered him. Only the people who saw his dead body.

     They found out about it when Charles told the school about his son’s death. The principal was confused because he didn’t know a student named Kwon Jiyong, and that there were no files that proved that Kwon Jiyong even enrolled at Holy Angels University.

     “Sunggyu…” Charles called out as he walked towards the Demon’s leader. Sunggyu looked at Charles as Charles handed him a box that he was very familiar with. It was the same box Sunggyu and the rest of the Demons received on their 18th birthday. The box their demonic father had given to them that changed their whole life.

     “Jiyong…he never read the letter. I think it’s best that you and your brothers keep it.” Charles stated.

     Sunggyu slowly took the box from Charles’s hand and nodded. Then Charles squeezed Sunggyu’s shoulder and went back to his wife.

     “Let’s go?” Charles asked, and Mrs. Kwon looked at the Demons first and said, “Thank you, sons.”

      The six looked back at the two and bowed as they left the cemetery.

     “Minhyuk, we’ll head out first,” Minhyuk’s mother stated as she looked at her son. Minhyuk nodded and she and the rest of the Demons’ mothers left with Charles and Mrs. Kwon.

     “Tamo…we should leave them with Jiyong as well,” Kai stated as he looked at Tamo who was still crying until now.

     Tamo wiped his tears and nodded. Kai placed his arms around his lover’s waist and looked at the sons, “We’ll head back to the hotel and go back to Japan tomorrow. We’re here Demons. Know that if you need anything, we will always be there for you.”

     “Thank you, Kai…Tamo,” Suho stated as he went to the two to hug them. Kai and Tamo hugged him back, then the rest of the sons bowed to show their gratitude for the service these two mortals have given to them.

     “Good luck on your journey…our princes,” Tamo stated as he and Kai bowed in front of the Demons as well before finally leaving.

     The six were silent as they slowly stared back at Jiyong’s grave. Then, Jackson sat down on the grass, just right in front of Jiyong. Taeil did the same, then the rest of the sons followed. The six created a semi-circle surrounding Jiyong. Sunggyu, who was in the middle, showed the box to his brothers.

     “This idiot didn’t even read the letter father Lucifer gave him,” Sunggyu revealed, placing the box on top of Jiyong’s grave.

     “Typical Jiyong,” Suho stated with a soft chuckle.

     “Should we read it?” Hyunseung suggested, and everyone nodded in agreement.

     Sunggyu took the box and opened it, “I’ll read it so listen to it carefully this time Kwon Jiyong,” Sunggyu stated as he looked back at Jiyong’s grave. Then Sunggyu unfolded the paper and read it out loud.

Happy 18th Birthday Jiyong

If you’re reading this then it means your mom and Charles had told you who I am. I’m here to tell you that they are right. I am a demon Jiyong. I am one of the Seven Deadly Demons, and you Kwon Jiyong are also a demon, a half-demon child.

I know you are confused right now because of this. But I want you to fully understand the situation like how Charles did.

There are six more like you; all posses’ abilities that are far greater than any of you have ever imagined.

One is a boy born to love and born to be loved. He will be your

arms.

A boy hungry for power and greatness will give you the greatest

gift.

A boy with quick feet will wipe your unwanted

tears.

A boy whose bidding is done by others will show you

reflection.

A boy whose flames can burn the coldest of hearts will bring you

light.

And a stubborn boy who was born to be selfless will give you your

salvation

.

Find these Demons and unite with them. Unite with them because there is someone after you, and he will feed you to the darkness. These sons will make sure they bring you back to the light.

Fight the enemy with the rest of the Demon-children. I know I can count on you my son.

Please be strong, and may the King of Hell be with you…

    “And your spirit… Lucifer. “ Sunggyu finished.

     He gently placed the letter back inside the box and put the box back on top of Jiyong’s grave. The moment Sunggyu placed the letter back; they quickly regretted that they even read it in the first place. Hearing it only made them feel worse.

     “Salvation? I wasn’t even able to give him salvation…I…I let him die.” Jackson stated; the pain obvious in his voice.

     Taeil held his best friend’s hand, “No, Father Lucifer was right. We were able to give Jiyong all those things in our own ways. We might not have noticed it, but I’m sure for Jiyong…it was enough.”

    Jackson squeezed Taeil’s hand back and wiped the tears that slowly fell from his eyes.

     The six became silent. They didn’t say anything and just continued to look at Jiyong’s grave. The wind got stronger, but the sons closed their eyes and felt that the strong breeze was Jiyong, giving them his last embrace.

MEANWHILE…

AT THE HOLY HOME

    “Will he forever be in peace…”

     “Amen.” The Arcs said in unison as they were all kneeling on the floor while Park Dong Min was standing in front of them while holding a bible. They were at the prayer room, facing the mirror that showed them Jiyong’s grave. The Arcs had been praying for him every day since his death. They’ve been doing it day and night, and no one complained. They all felt that they were obliged to do it for Jiyong’s sake.

     “I’ll prepare for our lunch. We’ll give our final prayers for Kwon Jiyong after dinner.” Dongmin stated as he closed the bible and went downstairs to the kitchen.

     The Arcs stood up and sat on the sofa. They were all tired, not because of the fight with the Demons and the ghouls, but because they couldn’t sleep after everything that happened.

     “We should go to the Demons.” Mark suddenly suggested, making everyone look at him.

     “I’m not doing this because I want to see Jackson, I want to see the Demons one last time and at least-” Junhyung quickly cuts Mark off and says, “It was part of our instructions to never see the Demons again. I know what you feel Mark, but we need to follow instructions. I thought you’d take it seriously now after everything that happened.”

     “I am taking it seriously!” Mark suddenly shouted, then, he started crying.

     “They were instructed to kill me…but they gave me back and now I’m alive. We were instructed to make sure that one dies so everyone else would be safe…and now Jiyong is dead,” Mark stated with pain and agony in his voice.

     “And they could have all been dead if we didn’t do what we were told to do.” This time, it was Seunghyun who said it. He went towards his brother and wiped his tears away, “What’s done is done, but we’re not at fault so you do not have to suffer because of something that was bound to happen in the first place. We cannot show ourselves to the Demons, you know what Sunggyu did to Junhyung.”

    Then everyone looked at Junhyung who was still weak because of what happened before.

    “Just give them their time…and maybe one day we’ll get to see them again.” Seunghyun continued, and Mark finally stopped crying.

     “So, what now?” Lay asked as he looked at his brothers.

     Junhyung looked back at Lay and answered him, “Like always…we’ll follow what we were instructed to do.”

BACK AT THE JIYONG’S GRAVE

     Sunggyu finally stood up from the grass after sitting for almost 30 minutes just staring at Jiyong’s grave. The rest followed and stood up as well.

    “We should go,” Minhyuk stated, and everyone nodded their heads. Minhyuk started walking, but the rest didn’t follow him, so Minhyuk stopped to look back at his brothers.

     Sunggyu didn’t move, he clenched his fist and looked at his brother.

     “Hey,” Sunggyu called out. Everyone looked at their brother who continued, “I…I just wanted to say…goodbye.”

     “What?”

     Everyone looked at Sunggyu with confusion. Sunggyu put his head down and gulped loudly, “My mom suggested that I go to a place where I wouldn’t…remember. She thought it was for the best…and I think it is too.”

     “T-that’s not right. We need you here Sunggyu, more than ever. You can’t just leave.” Minhyuk tried to say, then he looked at his brothers, asking them to convince Sunggyu to stay as well, but no one did.

     “Guys?” Minhyuk softly called out, but no one even wanted to look at him.

     “He’s right Minhyuk,” this time, it was Hyunseung who said it. Minhyuk looked at his brother with shock and said, “You gotta be kidding me…”

     “Minhyuk…I-I’m sorry,” Hyunseung says, blood tears falling from his eyes again. Minhyuk pushed back the tears as he looked at his brothers, “So that’s it? You’ll just walk away and forget about everything like nothing happened?”

     “Minhyuk, let me explain,” Hyunseung said as he held his best friend’s hand, but Minhyuk quickly pushed it away.

     “No, Jiyong’s fucking dead, and you want us to separate?” Minhyuk asked them.

     “Then what do you want us to do?!” Taeil suddenly shouted, surprising Minhyuk even more.

     “Taeil, you too?” Minhyuk asked, hurt in his voice. Then, he realized something and quickly said, “You guys talked about this…didn’t you? You were all going to leave and you didn’t even tell me.”

     “It was for the best Minhyuk. We knew you were never going to.-”

     “That’s bullshit!” Minhyuk shouted at Suho, making Suho take a step back, “You guys are all that I have left…I have nothing else.”

     The rest finally started crying upon hearing Minhyuk’s words. They knew he was right. Minhyuk’s words applied to everyone else, but the other’s weren’t as strong as him. They couldn’t take the pain of seeing each other anymore.

     “It hurts Minhyuk,” Sunggyu suddenly stated as tears continued to pour from his eyes. 

     Sunggyu pointed at his own chest and continued, “It hurts so much. I have loved you all and you were the best thing that happened to me. Because in this cruel world, you guys were the only thing that made me feel like living was a beautiful thing. But now? Seeing us all gathered like this, with an empty spot that should have been our seventh…it hurts, and I know if I can ever live another day knowing that that spot will always be empty.”

     Minhyuk didn’t say anything as tears finally poured from his eyes as well. He nodded his head and took a deep breath.

     “Alright then…” Minhyuk stated in defeat. He clenched his fist and suddenly bowed right in front of his brothers, “I, Lee Minhyuk, the second son, and the prince of Gluttony…am very honored…to have served with you…my brothers.”

     The sons didn’t say anything, but Hyunseung quickly bowed down as well and said, “I, Jang Hyunseung, the first son, and the prince of Lust, bid you farewell.”

     “Jackson Wang, sixth son…would like to wish you all good luck on your new journey,” Jackson stated as he bowed as well.

     “Goodbye…” Taeil simply said. Then Suho bowed too and added, “Thank you for everything, my brothers.”

     And finally, Sunggyu took a deep breath and told everyone, “Kim Sunggyu, the fifth son, the prince of Wrath, and the leader of the Demons…will make sure, that you will forever be in my heart. Goodbye…brothers.”

     Sunggyu quickly turns and leaves the others. Suho nodded his head and left as well. Taeil leaves next, then Minhyuk, then Hyunseung. Finally, Jackson turned to face Jiyong’s grave for the last time and said, “Goodbye…Prince of pride. Goodbye…my dear brother.”

    Then he was gone.

    The brothers walked their own paths alone. Leaving Jiyong, and their memories of each other behind.

• END -

SDS2 40: THE WAIT

7 MONTHS LATER

     .      .      .      .       .      .      .

     “Bring them to me.”

• END OF BOOK II -

∙ BOOK III ∙

The Seven Deadly Sons have lost their brother and have chosen to choose different paths.

But their loss was just the beginning.

A greater threat will appear, and as much as they wanted to live separately, the six remaining sons must team up once again to finally finish what they have started.

Will the Princes of Hell be able to finally defeat the King?

Follow the Deadly Demons and Angelic Arcs as they fight their final battles in the last book of the Seven Deadly Sons Series. 

---

This has been Book II of the SDS Series. And on behalf of the Dog Crew, thank you for reading.

• BOOK 3. NOW PUBLISHED -