A voice sounded behind them, the very same one that had liberated them from the handcuffs just a while prior. 

”I do apologise in advance, as you are part of my kind, but it’s for everyone’s best,” Junmyeon began. 

”Your majesty.” 

What followed was a tense silence. Seoyeon couldn’t spot Junmyeon anywhere, not until the sound of his voice was by her ear at least. 

”Step aside, please.” She heard him say. 

Seoyeon whipped around, trying her best to hide Kyungsoo’s frame behind her. She had been ready to activate her powers and fight. What she had not been ready for, was the intense burn in his eyes once they caught hers. It was like they were telling a million stories by themselves, brewing with emotions greater than she’d imagined. Hurt, betrayal, determination. 

But what caught her the most were his features. Accentuated eyebrows, firm jaw, and tight lips. Seoyeon in a breath. 

”No.” She managed to say finally. 

The male’s survey travelled shortly between them, like he was planning something. His glare then softened. ”I’m on your side, I don’t want to hurt any of you. Just hand over the prince to me, it’s for our best, believe me.” 

”He also happens to be one of us.” Baekhyun spoke from her left side, and she admired how there was a flicker of light in his hands. ”We appreciate what you did, but the prince is our friend. We will not hand him over.” 

”It doesn’t matter.” Junmyeon cut in coldly. ”He will be our ruin.  If he ends up king again, and your children are enslaved in places like these, will it matter that he is your friend?!” 

”I will not be king. ” Kyungsoo was still paralysed, but the  definite tone in his voice, and the intense fervor of his glare told the world that his words were anything but a lie. ”I have no intentions to.” 

”I can never be sure of that.” Junmyeon whispered, eyes darkening and hair floating gently as he raised his left hand in the air. He was activating his magic. 

”How did you even find out?” Seulgi chimed in cautiously. 

”Im Changkyun was very prudent with his work here, but he is also very loose-lipped sometimes.” He explained.

”Now step aside please.” This time it wasn’t a suggestion, but a demand. And yet, none of them made a move. That’s when a sigh escaped from the latter. ”I am sorry for this, but you leave me no choice.”

Seoyeon didn’t have the time to react before a wave of water sent her flying towards the nearest wall. For a moment, everything around her kept spinning. The repeating echoes of people shouting and escaping, was not helping either. An arm caught hers and dragged her limp body on her feet. 

”You okay?” Chanyeol asked. Seoyeon nodded, though it wasn’t the complete truth. Not only did she sustain minor injuries from the fight with Kyungsoo, but the blow against the wall had been really harsh, and she was sure her back was going to bruise badly. 

Her gaze followed to where she had previously been standing, where Kim Junmyeon had taken her place, and was holding a powerful grip on the prince’s throat. 

”You’re the biggest link to our worlds.” He muttered. ”As long as you’re alive, Eriros stands another chance at blossoming again, and therefore enslave us even more than we already are.” 

Kyungsoo stood immobile on his spot, and it was like time had stopped for them too. No one moved an inch, afraid of what the outcome of it would be. Kim Junmyeon had full control over the situation, and could with the slightest wrong move end the life of the prince. 

Seoyeon bit her lip in thought. Kyungsoo could have easily escaped from the grip, had he been given the chance to. The question was, how could one break a spell they haven’t summoned?

And then it clicked. 

In the brawl prior, the reason why Kyungsoo’s spell had faltered was because she had been hurt. Her condition had distracted him. In theory, all Seoyeon needed was to cause a distraction and direct Junmyeon’s attention elsewhere. Kyungsoo could manage well alone after that. 

And that’s exactly what she did, clasping her palms together, concentrating her magic as the gem in her chest activated, sending shivers of powerful warmth trickling down her veins. In a split second—not enough time for anyone to react—Seoyeon had kneeled and smashed her hands on the now wet ground. A wave of gold-like dust erupted around them, sending Baekhyun and Seulgi to the ground. Junmyeon, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo remained on their feet, although the collision caused them to stumble. That seemed to do the trick - Kyungsoo quickly untangled from his grip, and the similar golden halo emanated around his wrists. 

Junmyeon seemed unbothered, in fact barely a second passed that he was already throwing orbs of water in the prince’s direction. They were all blocked, not by Kyungsoo but by Seulgi, who had sent scarily accurate bullets of magma towards each of them, causing the water to partly evaporate, and partly harden to stone. 

The male’s gaze snapped to meet Seulgi’s, and all it took was for him to narrow his eyes before the girl’s body was tied with golden laser-like ropes around her, and thrown to the side. Chanyeol perked up in horror at the state of which his sister had been put in, and ran in her direction. 

Baekhyun however, had another plan in mind. Before Junmyeon could strike again, a bright, painful flash of light had blinded them all. It could have lasted a second, but also a couple hours - Seoyeon couldn’t tell. It was like she had for a moment been trapped in a cocoon of warmth that completely erased any perception of existence because it was just so bright and blinding. 

And then, as fast as it had come, the light had subsided. But the sight before her was still rather different than before the flash, because Baekhyun wasn’t where he had been standing before. To be more precise, he was standing everywhere. There were at least ten more Baekhyun’s crowded around them, all with the same determined glare. 

He had bent the light. He had reflected it to his will. 

Junmyeon took a step backwards, frowning in confusion. It didn’t help his case when all of the clones attacked him all at once, and it was even worse that no one knew which Baekhyun was the real one. 

And yet, no matter how smart and invicible of a move it seemed to be, it failed. The latter spun around, and a wave of terrifying proportions—if one would compare to the small gateway they found themselves in—followed his movements, cascading over them. It sent everyone - Seoyeon included, crashing towards the exit. And just like that, all of Baekhyun’s clones vanished into thin air, like it was nothing. The only one who had remained standing with the enemy was Kyungsoo, whom Junmyeon purposely made sure not to hit. 

She coughed violently, feeling her lungs burn from the horrifying amount of water she had managed to swallow in the course of a couple of seconds. Her gaze fell towards Baekhyun, who seemed to be in her same state. Chanyeol and Seulgi were holding onto each other, and they looked a lot worse than she had,  though given, it could have been because the blow of water had weakened their own powers. 

She would’ve jumped in and helped him out, if it weren’t for the fact that she barely could breathe, and that Kyungsoo was managing on his own, surprisingly enough. 

He was a lot stronger than she’d previously deduced. 

Junmyeon’s eyes scanned through the area, before locking onto two pieces of rubble that flew up with a golden light emanating around them and were thrown in the prince’s direction. 

Though Kyungsoo seemed to be perceptive of what was developing before him, thus was quick to extend his hand towards them. The pieces of rubble came to an abrupt halt, and the frown on the prince’s face deepened as he seemed to be concentrating. Soon enough, the rubble separated into many, small and sharp fragments of stone, all pointed towards Junmyeon.

With a flicker of his hand, they were thrown in his direction. But again, the showcase of power proved to be futile against the reflexes of his water, which seemed to take a life of its own by capturing the tiny daggers and sending them crashing against the wall. 

Junmyeon didn’t hesitate to slash at him, creating a sword out of his palm, exactly like she did. The latter was fast, and managed to parry a couple of blows, but the male possessed more than one power after all - which meant that he could focus on them both while using only one. And so while the prince was busy fending for himself facing his front, his back was left vulnerable. 

It was when she felt the water under her starting to drain from the ground, leaving it sandy and damp that she realised what he was opting for. In alarm, she snapped her head towards the red twins. 

”Chanyeol, do something!”

The red haired male’s lineaments distorted in confusion, though he too, soon noticed the lack of liquid under his feet. Chanyeol’s gaze then snapped up to the daggers of water forming behind Kyungsoo,