I try to pipe my emotions down as we watch all the monsters of Terribilis Locus guard every nook and cranny of the area, waiting for orders and walking around. It was a good thing that CL, her new alias, invented an invisible suit or we would have been dead by now. Though we’re invisible in the monster’s eyes, we’re visible to each other since they hide us from things that do not have this special microchip CL designed herself.
 

We had to stand on top of a sort of podium to avoid the monsters bumping against us. All of the vitiosus monsters’ actions were monitored even and they had to show employer’s identification cards every time they go in and out of establishments.
 

“This is crazy.” CL remarks quietly, looking around. “We need to find YG’s headquarters or YG himself fast!”
 

“We’re still 2 kilometers away. It’s either we travel by foot or hitch a ride.” Top says.
 

“And the suits will lose its power in 2 hours.” CL adds.
 

“What?!” I exclaim.
 

“Sorry,” CL apologizes, shaking her head. “I didn’t know we’d be stuck here for 3 hours.”
 

Top sighs. “But at least we had 8 letters read in one go.”
 

CL nods. “So far we know that my father and his friends are all Paxes, and even the CEO himself. Most of YG’s monsters are Paxes for the matter, hooray. They hid the truth from the president through a vile that my grandmother concocted to change the blood’s color yet not the quantity. My father played with his blood for all the 8 letters and only gathered two observations: the color and the thickness. He found out Paxes can identify a person’s identity through scents and can get a monster’s Esurient once activated because he or she cannot be affected by its power. He also observed his colleagues about not getting old, which is weird for him—and for Top—since monsters are not apparently immortal.”
 

“And so we’re stuck to find answers from YG sangjanim, who is currently MIA.” Top adds, sarcastically. “We are warned by Henry Kwon to not read the last 2 letters until we meet YG sangjanim himself. This mission is going to places.”
 

Just in time, an empty carriage appears, carried by four black horses and driven by a vitiosus monster, stopping just in time in front of us. Swinging his leg out and without wasting much of our limited time, Top lands inside the carriage smoothly, managing not to disturb the vitiosus monster who, apparently, stopped to check on the horses. He opens his arms, in a gesture to catch us if ever we will fall. CL decides to go first, swinging her leg like Top and landing perfectly beside him, ignoring his wide spread arms. I felt bad Top had to lay his arms to help us was left in the end, so I jumped right into him.
 

But maybe I am too heavy, or I jumped too near the carriage that I had tackled Top in the process. We both fall down, and the carriage slightly moves.
 

A shadow casts over us and I swallow as my breathing becomes labored. Top, who was beneath me, starts to grit his teeth from my mass and the time he was holding me. His veins starts to pop out.
 

“I smell a Pax, Chul.” The monster groans under his breath and jumps inside the carriage. His whole body, now that he’s near, smells like lavender and strawberry-flavored candy. Two of my most favorite scents. The vitiosus monster growls. “Or maybe I’m smelling myself. I wouldn’t know, right?”
 

His horses neigh.
 

The monster finally leaves and the carriage starts to move. I roll off from Top and start to breathe deeply.
 

“I’ll go and check if the radar works.” CL announces, taking out the radar she made to locate YG. It was made from titanium and tracks YG through one of his belongings, which we got from the haunted house that contains his DNA. It was like dog, though more handy and quiet.
 

I rest, leaning against the cushioned chair and start to the cuffs of my leather jacket. Top positions himself opposite to me, crosses his arms and with his deep voice, says, “I’m sorry you have to put up with this—you know—after robbing out of your freedom, finding the man of your life and dating him, you have to put up with the of our world.”
 

I sigh. “It’s fine. The world doesn’t grow old in producing problems. We just have to be young to face it.” I look at him and smile. “Besides, if I was not happy, you wouldn’t see me here. I wouldn’t be saving him.”
 

Top now sighs. “You know, when we were having walks around your town I caught a glimpse of a beautiful girl.”
 

“And?” I press, grinning at him. “What was she like? What did you feel?”
 

“Looking at you and GD back then, I thought that maybe it’s fine falling in love with her. She’s beautiful. A little bipolar and weird, I guess. The first time I saw her, she was crying and the next time she was laughing. And maybe, though this is corny, I fell for her.” Top shakes his head, his smile more of reminiscing a good memory than a present feeling. “But after the others were controlled by their Esurients and I saw you crying late at night because of GD, my whole heart felt blank. Then I saw her before we went here. And I think that the things that make you happy are the same reasons why you feel sorrow. Being a monster, I am enough of the sorrow. I just want to be happy.”
 

“So you want to have her? Natural predator instincts?” I ask, smiling giddily at him.
 

Top laughs. “No, more like I want to sacrifice my happiness for her own. She’d be sad with me than I with her.”
 

“But you’d never find the happiness you seek.”
 

‘And she’ll never go back to the happiness she needs.” Top supplies, smiling forlornly. “And that’s fine. I’m used to the sorrow.”
 

I was about to say something when the radar starts to flash different lights. CL gasps. “YG is near. Where are we?”
 

Top looks outside and answers, “Near his mansion. We’re at Lux. It’s a village owned by various men and women from the society that are members of the club Pacem. Kwon Henry is one of the members I think. My dad, even though they were friends, is not part of the group. Oh, Kwon Henry’s grandfather is also a member.”
 

“So when do we get out?” CL asks, placing the radar inside his jacket again.
 

Top shrugs. “When the carriage stops or do you prefer jumping?”
 

“Yeah.” CL answers, nodding. “I like some action into this mission.”
 

Top stands up. “I would not. But then again,” He shrugs again. “It’s up to you. I am always in action.”
 

I stand up also, feeling fidgety. “But then again, maybe not. You know, action is—“
 

Before I can finish my sentence, CL had already jumped outside, rolling to her side so the damage from the impact will be lesser than I expect. Top reaches his hand out, and says, “At least let me help you find your happiness.”
 

I grab his hand.
 

We both jump out of the carriage and roll continuously, until we finally stop, catching our breaths. I lay on my back, having the chance to view the sky which, instead of white stars, have bloody red dots. I hear footsteps and Top and CL appears, blocking my view of the sky. “Let’s go?” They ask in unison, their breathing creating harmony.
 

I shake my head. “Can I look at the sky for a moment? It’s something GD and I have always done. It’s just that—“
 

CL lies down beside me, groaning. “Okay, let’s view it. It won’t hurt to pause for a moment. Besides,” She smiles, placing both of her hands on her stomach. “We also need to make time for things that seem to don’t matter so we can go on to things that matter. They’re like bus stops.”
 

Top sighs and lies down to my other side. “I don’t get it but I’m lying down.”
 

I smile, contently and try to fight the overwhelming tears that were about to fall down. CL laughs and says, “You can cry you know.”
 

“I told myself not to cry until I save GD.” I complain, pressing my lips and crinkling my forehead in great attempt to fight of my tears. They’re already on my throat and I need to get them down.
 

“True enough.” CL comments, laughing. “You should have that kind of view or promise. I told myself before not to tell GD he’s my brother until I recover my father’s secrets.”
 

“So that’s why.” Top reacts, nodding his head. “I thought you were just being a hard-to-get little sister.”
 

“But why there are bloody red dots than sparkly white stars?” I ask, pointing at each star. “They seem to say something.”
 

“Actually, bloody red stars on the sky means there’s a war going on in Terribilis Locus.” Top answers, sighing heavily. “And white means there’s peace. Sometimes, the stars go red when there’s a killing spree going on. When they killed Paxes years ago, the whole sky—“ He spreads and raises his open palm and moves it across as if swiping the sky. “—the whole sky was red for two years. It was a massacre.”
 

CL stands up. “Let’s go, Dara. We need to catch YG before he runs again.”
 

I let her pull me up and I nod.
 

Lux is a very quiet village, which is why when I shriek when my badge starts to beep loudly, it was heard around the village.
 

CL turns around, a panicked look on her face. “Why does it have to be now?”
 

Top shakes his head and states the obvious. “Of course 2 hours is not for forever.”
 

The beeping finally stops and I become visible. Top offers to walk behind me but as soon as we start walking again, his badge now turns to beep. The beeping continues for a few seconds, and when it stopped, Top becomes visible like me. CL growls under her breath and says, “Let’s just run. Where’s the mansion anyway?”
 

Top points his finger to a distant mansion. “About 5 blocks away from here in the corner of Levis street. It’s recognizable by its logo on the front. We can get inside if YG didn’t lock the doors, you know in case the president goes suspicious.”
 

CL grabs my hand and runs. Now her badge starts to beep, screaming that we are running towards an abandoned building, de facto not a subordinate of the president. And as I feared, it not took long for someone to notice us. “Criminals!” A monster shouts.
 

I didn’t take the leisure to look but Top did, since he was trained for this. “It’s Hyuna!”
 

“Nobody got time for that!” CL complains, huffing but still running. “We need to get to the mansion!”
 

I hear gunshots but maybe because CL was dragging me with her that I can successfully dodge the bullets (or the monsters are having trouble aiming at us).
 

We are only a few feet away from the mansion and I try to transfer my remaining energy to my legs. The shots were nonstop, and one even almost shot me in the ankle. The mansion is already inches away. Groaning, we all enter YG’s mansion. Luckily, the front door was left open.
 

“Where are they?!” Someone shouts from outside. “Find them!”
 

I fumble through the dark and almost shrieked when someone grabs my hand.
 

“It’s me.” Top whispers. “Follow me through the dark. I know where YG’s basement is.”
 

I hold his hand tightly and hold CL’s in the other. Top leads us into the dark, which I presume was his specialty as a monster. We can’t open the lights, or the president will detect activity.
 

For a few minutes, I thought we were lost until we started going down. It was too dark to notice it was an elevator until it started going down.
 

The ride was quiet and shaky but soon enough I find myself blinking from the light coming from in front of us. The elevator stops, and I follow Top as we venture out.

“Sangjanim?” He calls out in the wide open space. It resembles a warehouse, barely having anything but the floor and the ceiling.
 

“Top.”
 

I freeze in my spot, and also did CL. A man in a pinstriped suit, black slacks, leather shoes and silver newsboy hat appears from god-knows-where. He gives us a lonely smile and says, “It’s nice to see you without bloodshot, controlled eyes.”
 

“What’s happening?” Top asks, begging for an adequate answer. YG shakes his head, heaving a sigh. “I’m afraid we need to have an earnest talk.” He smiles. “Is that Dara?”
 

I nod.
 

He laughs, the edge of his eyes forming crinkles. “GD talked a lot about you. As well as Teddy.”
 

“Teddy?” Top repeats.
 

“Allies are formed from oppression, my child.” YG answers, turning around. “Come, the others are waiting.”
 

We follow him through the room, our footsteps the only sounds heard. Then he suddenly disappears, as if entering a semipermeable wall. Top, without having second thoughts, grabs my hand and pulls my unsure body. All of us enters the invisible wall.
 

It took me time to adjust, and when my eyes have already adjusted, I saw myself in a black and white room. It resembles a large apartment, complete with a kitchen, living room and some rooms. In this case, the living room was converted into a control room. The only person I know inside was Teddy, who was talking with a guy who has a cleanly shaven hair.
 

“This is the new headquarters for YGE after the president ordered the killing of some of its staff.” YG introduces, turning his body towards us. “In the apartment next door are some of the other companies’ staffs operating the same as us. We are in cooperation with the vitiosus monsters. Though we have the larger room because of the number left after the wide activation of Esurients.”
 

“I don’t get any of this.” Top says, looking around the control room. “Lee Hi.” He calls, and a girl with doll-like features turns to greet him back.
 

YG gestures for us to sit with him in the kitchen, the only room with free chairs. I didn’t let go of CL’s hand even after sitting and being offered by coffee.
 

YG crosses his arms and begins, “Before, the companies were owned by our ancestors. After we claimed them, all of us learned that we are Paxes. At the same time, the president ordered the mandatory pact on the Lapidem Conditorum for the coming-of-the-age of praestabilis monsters. From then, we promised to not take Paxes in our companies so they won’t activate their powers and so we can prevent massive killing. This is the reason why almost all of the vitiosus monsters are Paxes.” He pauses for a moment. “I was choosing from a fresh new batch of babies when Kwon Henry went to me. GD was already three years old that time but Kwon Henry didn’t submit him for reviewing immediately. His wife, at that time, was six months pregnant with a baby girl.”
 

I felt CL tense beside me.
 

YG continues, “He’s a great friend, which is why I took the time to listen to him. Henry told me he was a Pax, and I told him I was too. Then he admitted he was doing research for the president for Paxes, as the president wanted to eradicate Paxes from the monster bloodline. But as you see, Henry had this mindset that Paxes are not what they are taught to be: malicious, monsters for the monsters and killers. So he researched about it and recorded it in his letters. I was told that he specifically put me in the 8^th letter.” He pauses to sigh. “So I can tell this to you, Dara. You are wearing his blood around your neck, so it must be you.” He turns to me, his eyes set on Henry’s blood in the container, suspended by a lace around my neck. I slowly nod.
 

He continues, “For the sake of satisfying the president, he told him only one thing about Paxes: they exist at the same bloodline, after every 3 generations. This, in fact, caused the Sanguinem Anno or the Blood year, which Henry didn’t expect to happen. Families of Paxes, who turned themselves in by the promise of the president that they will receive loyalty compensations, were massacred. Henry ran away, to continue his researches and the president presumed he was a Pax. So what I did was took GD into my company and tell his wife to run away with their baby girl. The president knew about a Pax’ bloodline and has been keeping an eye on GD to prevent him from getting married and having babies. He can’t step in the mundane world to kill Henry’s wife because of an old pact between world leaders that they will not go into each other’s world unless the division has been cleared. In the end, he created Esurients, which was Henry’s old work, to assume power over monsters in his idea that all of the Paxes were dead, which is in fact not.”

“Since then, I have been cooperating with the other companies to save their staffs in case another Sanguinem Anno will happen. Just to create our future bases, I made a treaty with the president that he will not interfere with my company in exchange of him creating all of my monsters’ Esurients since Esurients are created by companies themselves. They are designed depending on the monster’s capabilities.” He pauses. “Of course, my plans are not left unlearned and Dara’s presence is not left invisible. The president quickly learned of Dara’s presence, which remains a threat to his plan to make GD childless since he presumes GD is the only monster-pax left. He ordered the imprisonment of Big Bang, but in the side, wanted to kill Dara. It was lucky that she was not there and I eradicated the plan by confusing the guards. This only angered the president and ordered to kill me with the case of treason. Then he learned of my plans and the existing Paxes between the companies. So he activated the Esurients, which you Top luckily avoided, and has ordered Martial Law on Terribilis Locus.”
 

“So you are saying, in short, is that The Pioneer is still alive?” Top asks, and to this, YG nods his head.
 

“He’s asleep in the room down the hall.” He answers. “And has been researching more about Paxes ever since his disappearance. I hid him to avoid another Sanguinem Anno to happen, and now this happened, well, he needs to wake up.”
 

“And he just let GD live horribly?” Top asks, clearly angry.
 

“Top.” I whisper, pulling his shirt down.
 

YG shakes his head. “He helped him all along. He was your Gym teacher and the Voice of your house.”
 

“Im Gul? The teacher with the misshaped head?” Top asks.
 

YG nods his head. “Yes, he was that man. Who would recognize Kwon Henry’s face after it was damaged by acid? Before he successfully went into hiding, Hyul threw acid on his face with the intention to kill him.”

He continues, “Most of SM’s monsters were not Paxes so they lack brute force. It was a good thing that after GD, I accepted more monster-paxes. I told the other companies of the plan, and they complied. SM complied the latest.”
 

“I don’t care about that.” Top says, narrowing his eyes at YG. “I want to save my friends!”
 

“Which we can save through this plan.” YG answers, definitely.
 

“What is your plan?” CL asks. “How long do you plan to manipulate every one of us?”
 

“We need to have an army capable of throwing down the monsters we trained ourselves. That is the original plan. From there, we planned to overthrow the president and end the rift between Paxes and monsters. And foremost, learn why the president wanted to kill Paxes.”
 

Frustrated, Top growls and flips the table. The noise created momentary distraction and after a few seconds, the staff continued working. Top exits, and someone follows him in attempt to cool him.
 

YG spares a look at me and says, “And in actuality, we are all counting on you.”
 

As I look up at the ceiling of my new room after taking a warm long bath, CL enters. She lies down beside me and hugs me, as if all this time she was depending on me than I to her.
 

“Thank you, Dara.” She whispers, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. “That you remained strong up until now.”
 

“I am more confused than ever.” I admit, sighing. “But my will to save GD is still the same.”
 

“Thank you, Dara.” CL whispers again. “That when my brother lacked love, you were there to provide it. You are his savior.”
 

I smile. “He gave me love too, when I was gravely in need of it. It was just right to return it.”
 

CL starts to cry and I wanted to join but I have a promise that I will hold them until I save GD, so I just rub her back as the night deepens along with the wounds in our hearts.