A dark shadow fell over Jangmun, and his fingers snapped the delicate stem of the daisies in his hand. His gaze hardened, knowing Namjoon towered over him.   “Come, Jangmun,” he beckoned with a kind but authoritative tone. “There is something I would like you to see.”   Jangmun looked over his shoulder, meeting the glint in Namjoon’s eyes. He recognized it. It seemed welcoming at first, but he knew the true devil schemes hidden beneath.   “Can I come?” Yibyul suddenly jumped in frame, staring at Namjoon with big questioning eyes, hands bashfully linked behind her back.   “Dear, you have something more important to take care of,” Namjoon turned to her and subtly relaid a secret signal. “The interference.”   Yibyul’s eyes widened. “I almost forgot.” She slapped her own forehead, grinning at her mistake.   “It is time for us to depart. Let’s meet again when the sun goes down,” Namjoon instructed. He averted his attention to Jangmun once more, not waiting for an answer when he started walking. He would follow Namjoon like a loyal shadow.   Always.     Yoongi wasn’t sure what to make of Aeri’s expression. For the first time ever, he felt the slightest resemblance of guilt creeping over him.   “It was an accident, wasn’t it?” Aeri whispered, referring to the secret only the two of them knew about.   Perhaps he had imagined the malice in her expression. The person in front of him was the rejected elven princess no one knew and would know about. He knew Aeri’s father encouraged her participation only because he was eager to welcome her death.   “What happened to you?” He decided to change the topic instead of answering her question.   Aeri walked towards the corpse, squatting next to it, and placed a hand in front of Biah’s eyes so that the horror in her frozen gaze came to rest. “I was with another elf for a while,” she then answered.   Yoongi watched the smile blooming on her face. The sinister image of her malicious grin must be a product of his twisted imagination. This was the Bae Aeri he had grown to care about.   “Do you get along with the elf?” Yoongi questioned, reluctantly hearing the softness in his own voice. No one would believe him to be the cold blooded prince who mercilessly slaughtered his enemies with his bare hands.   Aeri elongated the passing seconds, searching for the right words to say. Even when she found it, it seemed halfhearted. “She was pleasant to be with.”   Yoongi lifted her up from her squatted position, managing the coldest look on his face. “What about Namjoon? Did he go to you?”   Aeri’s eyes widened, dismissing his intense stare. Her eyes searched for a focus point that was anything but him. “He hasn’t seen me since,” she answered quietly.   Yoongi sighed with relief, tightening his grip on her shoulder. He had to warn her before it was too late. “You need to remember the wendigos can manipulate emotions. They’re a frightening breed and should be the first race to be eliminated.”   A chilling giggle suddenly echoed from the back, raising the hair on his skin. He his heels, coming face to face with Im Yibyul. She was leaning against her flail pierced to the ground, and stared at them with glistening eyes of excitement.   “You shouldn’t try to eliminate us.” Yibyul wiggled her fingers, and giggled again. Then she stopped, turning to her stuffed plushie with sudden seriousness. “What’s that, Ohana? We should eliminate the crown prince first?”   Yoongi glared at the wendigo. He stepped in front of Aeri and retrieved his halberd.   “I have been quite bored already, so I second that idea. Let’s play!”   With one swift movement, she gave her flail a light kick, swinging it from the ground into a battle position. With speed too fast for the eyes to follow, she set herself off from the ground and charged towards Yoongi.   “Move,” he commanded Aeri, pushing her aside as he grabbed his battle spear with both hands. He held it in front of him, successfully blocking Yibyul’s attack in time.   The failure made Yibyul grin from ear to ear, excited to have found a worthy opponent. Whenever she retrieved her flail and tried another attack, he successfully predicted her move and guarded himself.   Aeri couldn’t just stand by and watch. So she took her magic infused bow, pulling the strings as arrows began to take shape between her fingers. The colors were a faint shade of green and yellow, nearly as icky as vomit. Her attacks became stronger based on her emotions, but she had never seen this color before and didn’t know what emotion affected her current power.   The arrow was shot, perfectly aimed an inch below Yibyul’s chin. A warning of what was to come.   The wendigo turned to Aeri, the playfulness in her eyes replaced by beastly viciousness. She gritted her teeth, nostrils flaring, breath turning heavy.   Yoongi used this chance to attack Yibyul, knowing she was unguarded and distracted, but the wendigo was much faster. He managed to cut and leave a deep wound in the flesh of her left arm.   The wendigo shrieked in pain, watching the other two with the face of a predator. Everything she had been doing was just her playtime. Now she got serious.   She took the daggers hidden in her belt, twirling it in her hands. Her feet took paces towards Yoongi, and when he was on guard, she skillfully aimed the daggers to an unaware elven princess.   “Aeri!”   Yoongi’s response time was much faster. He used his entire power to run to Aeri, protecting her. In that time of lowered self defense, Yibyul took her flail, swinging it from down below and moving upwards. She watched the spiked morning stars smash Yoongi right in the face, deforming his features.   The crown prince gasped for air, falling to the ground before he had reached Aeri. His vision was clotted by blood, barely able to identify his surrounding.   “You shouldn’t be so arrogant, mister,” Yibyul then spoke, flinging her weapon once again. This time, targeting the skulls of his head as it made a bone cracking noise. A disturbing lullaby to the wendigo.   Before either of the two could do anything, blood splurted out from Yoongi’s head, its splatters decorating the two women.   Yibyul the blood from the corner of her lips, enjoying the sweetness of it. She tried to pull her morning star back, realizing it was submerged inside Yoongi’s open head. She place one foot against his inhuman head, pushing and pulling at the same time before the weapon was freed, an eyeball flinging out in the process.   Then she turned to Aeri who fell to the ground, completely numb and powerless. Did Yibyul feel sorry? Not at all.   “That wasn’t a smart move,” Yibyul’s voice was dark and sinister, like a shadow of evil had taken over her playful persona. “Especially for our future queen.”   Yibyul picked up the side of her outfit, presented a small formal curtsy to the royal princess, then left.     “Are you sure these are all the things we need?” Hoya asked Baekhyun, carrying a sack filled with the raw materials the blacksmith had required.   “Not the best quality material, but they should do,” Baekhyun answered. He curled his lips and his eyes lit up with excitement, the goblin kind of excitement. “You should return to my shop once we are out of this battlefield. I can upgrade the staff using better materials then. It comes with additional charge, of course. But I am willing to over 5% discount.”   Hoya looked at him, not knowing whether the goblin was plain stupid, or foolishly gullible. “You seem to have forgotten,” he uttered, slowing his pace.   “What?”   “The only way to exit the battlefield is when a single race survives.”   The joy was from Baekhyun’s face when the shards of reality shattered his imagination. The smile was no longer there. Instead of fear, his hands began to tremble like they were ready to smash things.   “Isn’t there a way to win the game without having to kill different races?” Baekhyun gritted his teeth and faced the floor. “Sometimes I get the feeling, that our true enemy isn’t each other.”   Hoya raised his eyebrows, intrigued by this new idea. “What are you implying?”   “It’s stupid to keep battling for the Ephemeral Crown every few years. Too many fighters are brought to their death,” Baekhyun said, proving he was much more than the comedic guy. It was a darker side he had kept hidden for a good reason.   “If you knew the participants would die, why did you join the battle?” Hoya questioned.   “Because I wanted to test my theories,” Baekhyun said, curling his fingers to the point his hand turned red, then white. “Besides, I entered the battle to win.”   The answer gained Hoya’s trust. Baekhyun wasn’t after the crown, but had a much deeper purpose. He genuinely wished to aid the research as much as could, and maybe the Adamas staff marked a good start.   “Let’s return to my w