The group of men turned to see who has interrupted them.  There, stood a Myungsoo with a sword in his hand.  The men laughed, hardly intimidated by his presence.

"If you're here for the reward, it's too late," said one of the men.  "It's ours."

"I said, let him go," Myungsoo demanded sternly.

Several of the men charged at Myungsoo but with each slash of his sword, he cut them down.  Only then did the men realise that he posed a threat.

"Who are you?" one man asked.  "If you're not here for the reward then why do you want him?"

Myungsoo did not reply.  Instead, he fought his way through the crowd trying to get to Sunggyu.

While the men were kept busy by Myungsoo, Woohyun gathered what strength he had left and reached for a sword on the ground.  Despite soaked in blood, he gritted his teeth and approached the two men who held Sunggyu captive.  He slowly crept up behind them.  By the time they felt his presence and turned around, it was too late.  He slashed each of their throats and they fell to the ground.  He stabbed the sword in the ground and held on to it for support.  Sunggyu was startled, not knowing what was going on.

"Sunggyu..." said Woohyun softly.

Sunggyu turned in the direction of Woohyun's voice and reached out for him.  Woohyun's body was soaked in blood, he was struggling to breath and barely able to remain standing.  Even without seeing, Sunggyu knew that Woohyun's condition was bad.

"Sunggyu," Myungsoo called out as he tapped Sunggyu on the shoulder.

Sunggyu was startled until he reocognised the scent and voice.  "Myungsoo?"

Myungsoo glanced at Woohyun and frowned when he saw the condition he was in.  This person was his rival who had taken what was once his.  He was supposed to hate him yet looking at him now, Myungsoo could not bring himself to do so.  He could see how much Sunggyu cared for this person.  If anything happened to him Sunggyu would be sad.  He did not want to see Sunggyu sad.

"You two, leave here," said Myungsoo.  "I'll hold them back."

Woohyun was surprised to hear Myungsoo say those words.  He wasn't sure why the man was helping them though he figured that it was because of Sunggyu.

"What about you?" Sunggyu asked.

A brief smile appeared on Myungsoo's face, glad to hear that Sunggyu was at least a little concerned for his well being.  "I'll be fine.  Hurry up and go."

Woohyun pulled the sword out from the ground and held it in one hand while his other hand held onto Sunggyu as he dragged him away.  While the pair left, Myungsoo turned back to face the remaining mercenaries.

"You're pretty good," said one of the men as he glanced at his fallen comrades.  He then cast his eyes back on Myungsoo and smirked.  "Let's see how long you can last."

Myungsoo noticed that the man was looking at his shirt.  He glanced down and realised why the man was smirking.  Blood was seeping through the front of his shirt from the wound on his chest.

The men charged at Myungsoo who forced them back with his blade.  He was determined not to let anyone pursue Sunggyu and Woohyun.  The men were relentless in their attacks, not allowing him a chance to catch his breath.  One man struck him from above but Myungsoo raised his sword to block it.  As he did so, another man plunged a blade at his chest.  With one hand holding a sword in a deadlock, Myungsoo tried to catch the second blade with his other hand but the man lunged forward and plunged it into his chest.  Myungsoo gritted his teeth as the man twisted the blade, causing him excruciating pain.  Blood gushed out from his chest as more men charged at him.  There was no way for him to block as the two men refused to break away.  He took a deep breath and waited for their blades to cut him down.

Agonising screams cut through the air as the men charging at him fell to the ground.  Upon hearing the scream of their comrades, the two men locked in deadlock with Myungsoo finally pulled away and looked to see what was happening behind them.  The blades of their attackers was so quick that they did not have a chance to react before it slashed their throats.

Myungsoo looked at the fallen bodies of the remaining mercenaries on the ground.  He then looked at the masked figure approaching him with two blood stained blades in his hands.  Another mercenary.  The same mercenary he had crossed swords with before.  In his current state, Myungsoo knew he could not defeat the masked figure and running would be pointless so he stayed where he was.

The masked figure walked up to him and looked him up and down.  "Where is he?"