Jihye proved to be an effective navigator. She knew the places that weren’t swarmed with the guards, easily leading them a step closer to the palace. It almost seemed too easy actually.   “Why has no one attacked us?” Hoya questioned, keeping a sharp gaze over his surrounding. He wasn’t keen on a battle outbreak, but the silence made him uneasy.   “Maybe we were too intimidating and news spread around to watch out for us,” Jihye guessed, laughing confidently to herself. She’d like to believe it was true, that she had become too intimidating to handle.   “Or they are deliberately making way for us to move into the palace,” Yeonji uttered, her tone serious. Bacon squeaked a loud pitched voice to agree with her, but unable to conceal his surprise. He calmed down only when Yeonji softly patted its head.   “What if Namjoon knows we’re coming?” Baekhyun gasped at the possibility, gnashing his teeth together. “Considering his incredible dark magic power, maybe he truly knows how to wield The Eye.”   Yeonji huffed under her breath, reluctant to say her next observation. They had this conversation before, and it only made her wonder about Namjoon’s abilities. “He hasn’t reached his maximum potential though.”   “What?”   “For magic users, whether it is black or white magic, there are certain levels depending on how much power you have. I don’t know the entire theory, but I know Namjoon hasn’t reached his highest possible level yet. If he does, he could kill everyone from his throne.”   “It’s that powerful?” Jihye questioned, her jaws dropping in disbelief.   “What about The Eye? How much would he need to wield The Eye?” Baekhyun asked, genuinely hoping the answer wouldn’t be a lot.   The Eye was one of the hardest magic to perform, sometimes even requiring multiple people to pull it off flawlessly. It basically allowed the wielder to see the situation around him at all times, even at different locations. Like Hoseok had mentioned before, it acted like multiple security cameras.   Yeonji kept her lips shut. The look on her face reflected a dark reluctance she refused to accept. They knew what it meant. Namjoon was far stronger than their imagination.   “C-cheer up. This isn’t the end yet, right?” Jihye tried to return them to their determined mood. She grinned brightly, and nudged them all on their shoulder. “When different races unite, we’ll be stronger.”   She watched the others slowly agreeing to her words, saying some encouraging stuff to lift up their own spirit. Jihye’s lips lifted to a grin.   “I can see the palace!” Baekhyun yelled out excitedly, almost jumping up and down when pointing at the big white building. For an architecture so important, it was odd to see it unguarded. It was technically an open invitation to go in.   “Should we take the secret passage way or the front door?” Jihye asked unsurely.   “Do you think they'd open the gates and welcome us in if we take the front door?” Yeonji flattened her eyes.   “Who knows? The wendigos have a unique way of thinking.” Jihye shrugged. She interpreted the answer as a choice for the secret passageway.   Instead of approaching the palace directly, they made another turn behind some nearby hills, and followed a narrow path to end up under a bridge. Everyone stood perplexed, watching as Jihye carefully stepped into the shallow river. Her foot began feeling for the bottom, trying to find something.   “What are you doing?” Yeonji asked, raising her eyebrows judgmentally.   “Finding the entrance. I remember it was here somewhere,” Jihye said, sticking her tongue out as she continued tapping her foot.   “Under the water?” Hoya asked skeptically.   “Yeah, we go through the sewer line,” Jihye said casually. She then gasped in delight when her feet stumbled on what seemed to be the handle to a manhole cover. Instead of being solid, it was made by rows of steel, like prison bars. She picked it up using her strength, smiling at the others who showed skepticism and disgust on their face. “Oh come on, you were the ones who wanted to go through the secret passage way. Don’t blame me.”   “She has a point,” Baekhyun said, quickly eyeing the others. He then nudged Hoya. “After you.”   Despite his usual calm and friendly demeanor, Hoya rolled his eyes at Baekhyun’s cowardice behavior. He went over to Jihye and pushed her hands aside to hold the manhole cover.   “Ladies first,” he said, awkwardly clearing his throat.   “Hah! Just admit you’re scared!” Baekhyun mocked him.   “Then why don’t you go first?”   “Ladies first.”   The two ladies and Bacon shook their head. What were the men for if they can’t even get through the sewer line?   Jihye was the first one to jump through, landing into the water inside the sewer line. It barely reached her knees, but managed to lessen the pain of her fall. She stepped away and watched Yeonji and Bacon following her steps. Of course the two guys went last.   “Wow, it doesn’t smell like poop,” Baekhyun spoke bluntly, but still pinched his nose together. Though it didn’t stink, there was still an odd smell to it.   Jihye began to sniff, using her werewolf attributes to good use. “The smell is awfully familiar though… Like… Like…”   “Like blood!” Hoya yelled, realizing that the water they were submerged in was dark red colored. The sewer line was disposing blood, lots and lots of it.   “Eeewww! Disgusting!” Baekhyun was the first one to yell like a little girl, hurriedly looking around him for solid ground to stand on. But the sewer wasn’t that big, and was drowned by the liquid on both sides. They had no choice but to follow the one way direction.   “So where are we going?” Yeonji asked, blatantly ignoring Baekhyun’s cries in the background. She was so close to using her powers to make him shut up once again.   “I…” Jihye looked slightly hesitant, studying both sides of the sewer. Everything looked the same in that fluorescent hue, and smelled of the same iron scent. “I haven’t actually fully memorized the blueprint.”   “Well, the current is going this way, so to find the source of it, we should move against the current,” Hoya offered a theory.   “Oh! Against the current. I love that. It shows we are going against the status quo. Everyone accepted a wendigo as king, and now we will go against it!” Baekhyun cheered, suddenly smart again. No one had thought of an underlying meaning to Hoya’s words but him. The disgust towards the bloody water was soon forgotten and he led the march to the opposite direction. “Come o