A cool wind blew past Hyomin while she stood at the edge of a high rise apartment building roof. She had been out on patrol with a group of Guardians and thus far the night had been calm and uneventful. The group she was with consisted of a warrior, two rogues, a hunter and a priest. The priest was the one closest to her and was currently standing just a few feet away from her near one of the air conditioning units.

The rogues, warrior and hunter were on the apartment building located next to the one she was on. A jump from one roof to the other was only a few feet. Hyomin scanned her surroundings but didn't spot anyone or sense anything. She liked it this way; it could get a little boring but it at least insured that everyone in the group made it back home safely.

Since the last time she had faced that group of Shadows in the abandoned warehouse, neither she or any other group of Guardians had come across anymore Shadows. It was odd that they had not been attacking for days now since they had been very active before Eunjung found Jiyeon.

The hunter let out a sigh and jumped on the corner of the ledge of the building he was on. He looked down at the streets that were almost empty, except for a car or two that drove by, and then turned to look toward Hyomin. He took a step off the ledge and backed away a few steps; he then ran towards the ledge and jumped off towards the apartment building across from him. Before his feet could land on the edge of the building, two daggers dug deep into his back.

He wailed in pain and the rogue behind him used the hunter's momentum to make him crash land onto the building. He pulled the daggers out and slit the hunter's throat in one quick move. The sound and sight of the attack alerted the rest of the Guardians. The priest quickly cast a shield over himself to protect him from any attacks and then started to cast a healing spell on the fallen hunter. The healing spell had no affect though, the hunter was already dead.

Another rogue appeared behind the warrior but his daggers could not penetrate the hard metal plate that his armor was made of. One of the Guardian rogues backstabbed the Shadow rogue and then sliced off the Shadows left hand with his axe. The warrior finished off the Shadow rogue by decapitating him with his sword.

Hyomin had quickly reached for the katana sword on her back when she saw the hunter fall. Her eyes were focused on the rogue who was now moving towards her, but the rogue never reached her as a smite attack from the priest knocked the rogue over the building.

"Behind you!" She heard the priest yell at her. She sheathed her sword from its holder and used it to catch the chain of the scythe headed towards her. The owner of the chained scythe pulled her towards him but she was stronger than she looked and managed to resist him.

A sudden flash of light appeared before her and now she found herself inside one of the priest's shields. She turned slightly to see the priest jump to the other building to offer some assistance to the warrior and rogue currently battling a group of Shadow warriors and a warlock.

There's a rogue missing! She must have fallen. She couldn't worry about the other rogue though, she needed to free her sword from the chain wrapped around it. She turned her sword upside down then spun counter clockwise to free the katana. Rain, the owner of the chained scythe, pulled his weapon back and started to spin it around once again.

He launched the chain once more but this time Hyomin ducked and started running towards him. In his distraction, the missing Guardian rogue appeared behind Rain with her daggers drawn and ready to stab him. Rain grinned and his eyes suddenly began to glow a bright yellow. He pulled the chain to whirl behind him and the scythe end rammed itself right into the rogue's neck.

"No!" Hyomin yelled out as she saw the rogue drop to the ground. She jumped up high and swung her sword down to attack Rain but he held up part of the chain to block her attack. The katana sliced right through the chain and before he could react, Hyomin had swung again and this time she caught the side of his arm and part of his chest.

He winced in pain but he still managed to concentrate enough to dodge the next swing of her sword. Hyomin swung again at him in a downwards motion and Rain swerved to his right and used his left arm to trap both of hers. Hyomin growled at him and he grinned.

"You're pretty I'll give you that, but you're still a nuisance!" He then head butted her and swung his right arm to punch her. He punched her a few more times but Hyomin freed herself by kneeing him in the gut. She fell back when he let go of her arms and then rolled towards her sword.

Even though some air had been knocked out of him, Rain recuperated quickly and reached for the jagged edge sword on his side. Hyomin picked up her sword with her left hand and then reached for her back once again. She had strapped a second sword to her back and this one was bigger than slightly wider than her katana. With a sword in each hand, she grinned and took her fighting stance.

Behind her, on the other building, the priest was being overwhelmed by the attacks of not only the warlock but the remaining warriors. He was trying his best to keep the warrior and himself alive. The rogue was no use to them anymore as he had fallen soon after the rest of Shadows had showed up. Rogues were the new class emerging within the ranks of the Guardians but it was clear now that they needed more training. The Shadow rogues were leagues ahead of them.

Hyomin charged towards Rain once again and attacked him with both words. He blocked her first attack and pushed her back then swung his own sword at her. Hyomin was graceful for a warrior and moved out of the way of his attack with ease then swiftly returned the attack. Their swords clashed in an even battle, but if she was going to get anywhere, she needed to disarm him.

She swung the katana in her left hand downwards and as expected, Rain used his sword to parry the attack. As he held her katana back, she swung the sword in her right hand in a horizontal motion and caught the inside of Rain's right arm. The sword cut deep and Rain cried out in pain. He dropped his sword and held onto his arm with his left hand.

Hyomin raised both swords in the air to strike him down but the sudden kidney shot from a rogue made her double over in pain. The rogue wasted no time and started a series of sinister strikes against her. His daggers cut shallow cuts on her body and the more he continued to attack her the more momentum he built to finish her off.

Fighting back the pain, she swung the swords at the rogue and managed to slice his hands right off. He cried out in pain and fell over screaming in horror as well. Hyomin then used her swords to help her stand up but the pain from the cuts all over her body made the effort difficult. You should really wear more plate Minnie~ Leather is not the right armor for warriors like us. She grinned at Hwayoung's words as they crossed her thoughts. In the corner of her eye she could see Rain reaching for his sword despite the wound on his arm. She turned to look towards the other building and saw the priest blasting away some enemies with his holy nova.

He then shielded himself and ran towards the building she was on. He made the jump and ran towards her before stopping. The pain, and obvious poison running through her no thanks to the rogue, was making her vision blurry. She barely made out the fact that he was casting a spell until a heal cleared her vision and a bright shield surrounded her. Those would be the last two spells the priest would cast. His own shield had faded and a shadow bolt from the warlock had knocked him down. Flames then incased his body as he started to burn alive and the warlock's fel hunter pet started to devour his very essence.

The rest of the warriors and rogues were now running towards her and Hyomin knew that the priest's shield would not last long. As far as she knew, she was done for.




Despite not being able to express it, Eunjung had really enjoyed watching the soccer game on TV with Jiyeon and her dad. It was fun to see and hear the reactions of the two of them as they kept their eyes glued to the television. Even though their favorite team was not playing, they enjoyed the game for the sport itself.

Jiyeon's dad had kept the beer flowing and by now Eunjung was on her third bottle. The beer itself had no affect on her, but the fact that she was so comfortable on the couch next to Jiyeon had begun to make her drowsy. She had not been sleeping well as of late and that had taken its toll, so as the game neared the ninety minute mark, neither Jiyeon nor her father had noticed that Eunjung had fallen asleep.

"Bah! I can't believe the other team just scored! Ties are no fun." Jiyeon pouted and crossed her arms.

"I know but what can you do. There's not much time left before the ref blows the whistle." Jiyeon's dad responded and just as he said that, the referee in the game blew his whistle marking the end of the game.

"Oh well, it was a fun game though." He said and looked over at Jiyeon who sighed and nodded.

"What did you think of it Eunjung?" Jiyeon asked the older girl but didn't turn to look at her. When she got no response, she turned to look at Eunjung and gasped.

"Yah! Eunjung fell asleep!"

Jiyeon's father looked over at Eunjung and smiled. "I guess the beer knocked her out."

Jiyeon reached for Eunjung and lightly shook her. "Jungie…wake up…"

Eunjung opened her eyes and turned to look at Jiyeon. Behind her she noticed Jiyeon's dad looking back at her as well. 'Um…I'm sorry…I'm just tired. I should head home."

"It's late Eunjung. Stay here for tonight." The older man told her and stood up from the couch and turned off the TV.

"I don't want to be a bother plus I don't live too far from here. I'll make it home in no time." Eunjung replied and he shook his head at her.

"No, it's safer for you to stay here tonight. I can tell you're tired and I'm sure Jiyeon doesn't mind setting up a spot for you to sleep in." He looked over at his daughter who nodded.

"There will be no more discussion. Stay okay?" He told Eunjung and she nodded. "Good. Well, goodnight girls."

"Goodnight." They both said at the same time and then he headed for his room. Jiyeon's mom was already asleep by now since she had headed to their room during the halftime of the game.

Once her father was out of sight and inside his shared room with his wife, Jiyeon jumped with excitement. "Sleepover time! Come Jungie, let's go to my room." She took a hold of Eunjung's hand and led her to her room.

Eunjung closed the door once they made it inside the room and let go of Jiyeon's hand. "Jiyeon, I shouldn't stay here. I need to go back home. I'll meet you outside in the morning when I pick you up."

"No! You're staying here." Jiyeon pouted.

"Jiyeon, I should leave."

Jiyeon shook her head and crossed her arms. She remembered what Eunjung had told her the day before about how she was the Guardians' true leader and smirked. "Eunjung! You told me that I'm your true leader right? And that you must do as I say?"

Eunjung nodded.

Jiyeon grinned widely. "Well then, as your leader, I command you to stay here tonight."

Eunjung started at Jiyeon for a second but then let out a sigh. "Okay. I must do what you ask of me so I will stay."

"Yay!" Jiyeon clapped excitedly and then moved towards one of her dressers. She needed to find something that Eunjung could wear to sleep in. She found a red Seoul FC tank top and a pair of soccer shorts and handed them to Eunjung.

"You can wear those to sleep. I think they should fit you just fine."

Eunjung looked down at the clothes in her hands and then shook her head. "I can't wear these Jiyeon."

"Why not? They should be big enough." Jiyeon said and grabbed the clothes as Eunjung handed them back to her.

"That's not the problem. I just can't wear regular clothes. You remember this right?" Eunjung reached for the necklace and clasped it. The clothes that she was currently "wearing" vanished and the leather straps that covered her body appeared.

Jiyeon gasped at the sight. She remembered seeing them when Eunjung was walking with her into the warehouse where the Guardians were waiting for them, but once she had woken up, Eunjung was wearing regular clothes. She set the clothes on top of the dresser and moved closer to the older girl. Her hand reached out to touch the leather straps.

She hesitated for a second but then gently touched them. She ran her finger horizontally across Eunjung's chest and stopped at the lock placed on the left side right over Eunjung's heart. It wasn't the only lock though; each of the straps had a lock of its own and ran down in a straight line. She tried to unfasten it but it didn't budge.

"You can't unlock them. No one can." Eunjung told her and Jiyeon pulled her hand back. She didn't understand why Eunjung's body was covered like this.

"What…why…? What are they?" She asked.

"They are my restraints. They are a part of me. As long as I am your Guardian, they will remain a part of me." Eunjung replied.

"Restraints? Restraints for what?" Jiyeon placed her hand on one of the locks once more. She then trailed her hand up to cup Eunjung's cheek. Eunjung closed her eyes and leaned into the younger girl's touch. She then moved her hand and grabbed Jiyeon's to pull it away.

"They keep me in check, they ensure that I won't fall for any temptation, and they also offer me protection from most attacks, especially magic ones." Eunjung explained.

"But then how do you manage to dress normally?" Jiyeon asked.

"This necklace," Eunjung grabbed it once again and held it close to Jiyeon. "Qri conjured it. The only magic what works on me is the one used to aid me. She created this necklace so that I can use it to give the illusion that I'm wearing normal clothes. It's easier to blend into society that way."

Jiyeon reached for the necklace and was surprised at how real it felt to the touch. She didn't understand much about conjuring and magic, but she was thankful that Qri had created it. The image of what Eunjung would have looked like in the clothes she had offered crossed her mind and then before her Eunjung was suddenly wearing them.

"Whoa!" Jiyeon shouted out and stepped back. Eunjung looked down at herself and saw the clothes Jiyeon had offered her.

"It seems like it reacted to your imagination." Eunjung said and Jiyeon blushed madly.

"Yeah…" Jiyeon chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess you're ready for bed. I'm going to go change!"

She opened the drawer she kept her PJ's in and ran inside the bathroom in her room to change. When she came out, Eunjung was sitting on her bed looking down at the ground. Jiyeon walked over on the other side of the bed and climbed in.

"We should really go to sleep now Jungie." Jiyeon told her and pulled her covers over her legs.

"Okay, but you don't have any extra blankets I could lay on the floor so I can sleep?" Eunjung asked and Jiyeon blushed.

"You can sleep on my bed. It's big enough for both of us."

"I can sleep on the floor Jiyeon."

"Eunjung!"

"Okay, okay. I'll sleep in your bed." Eunjung turned to move her entire body on the bed and pulled the covers over her legs as well. She didn't like the idea of being so close like this to Jiyeon the entire night.

Jiyeon's powers were awakening and now more than ever, Jiyeon's touch affected her more than she expected. The straps on her body could not stop the feelings that were coming over her. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt Jiyeon move and watched as the younger girl walked over to turn off the lights in the room and then climbed back into the bed.

Eunjung was sure that Jiyeon would stay on her side, but when she felt Jiyeon's head on her chest and one of Jiyeon's hands sitting on her stomach, a shiver ran down her body. This was too much for Eunjung to handle. She was not supposed to be tempted but Jiyeon's warmth and body made it impossible. Eunjung adjusted her right arm and moved it to wrap it around Jiyeon.

Jiyeon smiled when she felt Eunjung's arm around her. Eunjung was so warm and being in her arms like this felt really good. It was so cozy and Jiyeon felt like she belonged there. "Goodnight Jungie."

Eunjung gulped and shut her eyes tightly. Forgive me Lord. "Goodnight Jiyeon."






The lights of the city reflected on the windows and shiny black body of the Bentley limousine driving down the streets of Seoul. Inside the vehicle, TaeIn looked out the window and smiled at the site of the lit up buildings and their signs. She had spent the entire day at the temple and she was now ready to get home and go to sleep. She reached for her purse that was sitting next to her and pulled out her phone to check for messages or texts.

She was surprised to find that she only had one and it happened to be from her youngest daughter. She called the voicemail service and listened to the message. "Mom, Kyurhee and I have something important that we want to talk to you about. I know you're busy with the funerals at the temple, but we will be waiting for you at home when you arrive. Love you, see you later."

She deleted the message and then hung up. The phone went back to the home screen which was a picture of her husband. She ran her thumb over his face and sighed. Oh Daesung my love, where are you?

TaeIn placed her phone back in her purse and looked out the window once more. The street that they were on wasn't as lit up as the one they were on before but there was something eerie about this street at the moment. And then it hit her like a ton a bricks. There was a huge aura of very powerful dark energy in the area and with it was a smaller aura of light energy. The latter was fading quickly though.

She leaned over towards the front seat, "Sangchu, can you please pull over up here."

Sangchu, her driver and bodyguard looked at her from the rear view mirror and nodded. He pulled the car over and looked at her once more. "I will go with you, your majesty."

"Just stay behind me." She told him and grabbed the headpiece that went with her robes. The cowl covered half of her face, mainly and her nose, and the shoulder pieces began to glow as she stepped out of the car. She walked into the alley created by the two apartment buildings next to each other. Behind her, Sangchu followed her with a heavy mace in one hand and sturdy shield on the other arm.

TaeIn smirked as she blended into the shadows of the buildings and made her way up.






All of the Shadows that had attacked Hyomin's group were headed towards her now. Their leader, Rain, was now standing with his sword in his right hand and his left hand gripping the wound on his arm tightly. Hyomin took her fighting stance and prepared herself for all of them. If she was going to go down, she was going to do it fighting.

Behind the warriors, rogues, and warlock on the edge of the building, TaeIn emerged from the shadows. She opened to take in a huge breath of air and then released it in the form of a silent scream. Her psychic scream was heard by all the Shadows and the high pitched horrific sound stopped them from charging at Hyomin.

They screamed at the top of their lungs as they began running around terrified. The High Priestess's attack rendered them defenseless as visions of what terrified them the most invaded their minds. Hyomin looked back and forth at everyone, confusion marked her face, but as one of the rogues neared her, she swung her swords and cut him in three.

"Shadow Word: Pain…" TaeIn called out placing the spell on each one of the Shadows. Hyomin heard the name of the spell and looked over at the shadow priest attacking the Shadows. Despite the translucent purple haze that covered the priest's body, she could see the hints of pink in the priest's hair.

The warlock was the first to recuperate from the psychic scream, and turned both his fel hunter and his spells toward the priest. Hyomin noticed the ugly pet demon turning towards the priest and ran after it. She threw her larger sword at it and it impaled him through his midsection. He fell on his side and by that time Hyomin was flying down towards him with her katana. She sliced the head off it, pulled her sword out and turned the sword to cut a deep gash in the midsection of the warrior headed towards her.

He cried out in pain from the wound and from the spell that was slowly killing him. She had already turned away from him to dodge a shadow bolt from the warlock. The warlock was already casting another spell but suddenly stopped when TaeIn silenced him. Next to her, Sangchu slammed a rogue down with his shield and then used his mace to flatten out his skull.

Hyomin wasn't sure why these two Shadows were helping her but she could not deny that she really appreciated it at the moment. She felt someone coming up behind her so she quick spun around to parry the attack and was surprised to see her opponent from earlier still trying to kill her despite his wound.

Rain swung the sword at her again but a purple shadow creature with tentacles jumped at him and began attacking him. Hyomin turned around to see the priest smirking at her and channeling a blue light at the warlock's head. Three shadow orbs surrounded her and she heard the priest call out another attack that killed the warlock instantly.

The warrior next to the priest had already killed two more rogues and was now fighting off a warrior carrying a heavy two handed weapon. She heard a wail come from the Shadowfiend that had attacked Rain. The warrior had managed to fend off the vile creature and was now headed her way. He had a look of desperation on his face by now. His group was almost all dead and he had still not finished his task of killing Hyomin.

Before he could even reach Hyomin, a tentacle shot out from the ground and grabbed him by the waist. It started swinging him back and forth causing him to drop the sword in his hand. He tried to punch the tentacle but it was useless.

Behind her, Hyomin heard the priest cast another spell again. "Shadow Word: Death." In a few seconds the remaining Shadows dropped dead except for Rain who was still in the hold of the Void Tendril.

"Kill him." Hyomin heard the priest tell her. She looked over her side at the priestess and then turned to look at the guy who had given her trouble. A scowl marked her face and she started running towards Rain. The tendril had slowed its movements and that allowed Hyomin to use it as leverage to jump high enough to strike the warrior.

Her swords struck each shoulder and cut deep into his body as gravity pulled her back down. She landed on both feet and watched as the tendril disappeared and the warrior's lifeless body dropped to the ground. Sensing the priest and the other warrior behind her, Hyomin turned around and stood defensively against both of them.

The priest took off her shadow form and smirked at Hyomin. "Sangchu, gather the body of the leader, a warrior, a rogue, and the warlock. Then set the rest on fire but leave the human bodies. She can deal with them in her own way."

She turned towards Hyomin once more, "You're lucky I saved you tonight. Instead of thinking about attacking me, you should be thanking me."

Hyomin stood up straight and placed her swords back in their holders. She took a deep breath and then fell back on the roof. She worked on catching her breath and watched as Sangchu, as the priest had called him, did as the woman had ordered him. The priest had already disappeared into the shadows. She took out her phone and dialed Soyeon's number.

"Soyeon…" Hyomin said as soon as she heard Soyeon answer her phone.

"Hyomin? You sound out of breath. Is everything alright?"

"No. I need you over here now. Bring everyone with you." Hyomin responded.

"Stay put Hyomin. I'm on my way!"