The sight pained them to no end. Staring wordlessly at the limp figure enveloped in darkness, twelve boys stood as still as a statue, guilt slowly eating them alive.

Daehyun reached her first, falling to his knees with a soft thud that sounded so loud in the silent hallways. Even with the sore in his back and the pain creeping up his swollen ankles, even with the little cuts and bruises left on his exposed skin, none of that could be compared to the marks left by the monster on his sister. And what pained him the most was that all those damage was because of him. The results of trying to save him from the monster.

Among the twelve boys, Lay was the first to move forward. The others shuffled after him, towards the person they were tasked to protect.

It was their duty to keep her safe. As Guardians, they were trained since forever to make sure nothing comes in the way of the Sibyls. It was their job to give up their own lives to save hers. And yet, here she was; innocent, fragile, unknowing, and injured. A deep gash lined her forehead, and seeing how the combination locks on the locker was stained a deep red, it can only be concluded she had hit her head against it and knocked herself unconscious. However, the blood pooling around her wasn't caused by that injury. It was the marks made by the monster on her arm, running from her forearm down to her elbow, a deep mark that engraved itself deeply into her flesh.

They have failed their duties as a Guardian.

Lay fell to his knees next to Daehyun, his brows furrowed as his eyes scanned her wounds thoroughly. He reached out his hand, but Daehyun's own ones stopped him from doing so.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, glaring at Lay with eyes that shimmered under the vague light from the moon. Tears, Lay thought.

A hand rested itself on Daehyun's shoulder, _­­­­giving it a light and hopefully, assuring squeeze.

"Daehyun, Lay can help," Suho said, trying to assure him that his friend meant no harm. 

However, Daehyun's fingers was still wrapped tightly around Lay's wrist, his eyes filled with uncertainty and mistrust.

Lay had every right to feel insulted, but instead, all he felt as he stared into Daehyun's eyes were guilt and disappointment. Those were not the kind of eyes a descendant of the Sibyl was supposed to give them. They were supposed to trust them, the twelve Guardians who have sworn upon their own lives to protect theirs.

Lay's eyes, as well as his voice, hardened. "Your sister is bleeding, and if I don't tend to it now, I'm afraid we might be too late."

Fear flickered across Daehyun's eyes as his mind processed Lay’s last words. But even yet, he was still not convinced. And Lay surprisingly understood. He understood that they have not yet earned his trust and might have lost it somewhere along the way. But Lay was patient. His powers called for him to do so.

"Daehyun," Lay fixed the latter with a firm gaze. "You need to let me help your sister. Her pulse is weakening, she's losing blood."

It wasn't part of Lay's power to control someone, but his words held a force in itself that managed to instil the meaning he's trying to convey. Yet again, this strength was something his power have trained him to possess and excel in.

Hesitantly, Daehyun's grip around Lay weakened. Before he can remove his hand, Lay pulled it out of his grasp and switched it to Danbi.

"Chen, you and Tao should go find the principal," Kris instructed.

Tao’s eyes were turning a frightening red and seeing this, Chen heeded the older guy's words and dragged Tao away from the scene, far away from the stench that might possibly drive him insane.

All of them watched as Lay gently pushed away the strands of hair stuck onto Danbi’s forehead, his palms facing downwards and hovering just inches above her wounds. Daehyun stared on cautiously while the others looked on with anticipation, awaiting what would happen next.

A gasp left Daehyun’s lips when he saw Danbi’s wounds slowly close up on its own, the deep gash sealing up as if an invisible string was used to stitch it. On the other hand, the boys watched on in amazement. It wasn’t their first time seeing this, but even still, it always amazes them the power Lay possessed. The power to heal any living thing. It was almost as close to being able to give life to another being, granting them another chance to live when they’re standing so close on the edge of death.

Once that was done, Lay moved on to inspect the bigger part of the problem. The scratch marks left by the Mongrel is slowly draining Danbi off her energy. Lay knows. The other nine boys knew too. A horrible tinge of purple lined itself around the edges of the wound, and if one were to look and focus very carefully, you can see it slowly spreading over a wider surface area as the seconds ticked by.

“She’s poisoned,” Lay said, his voice grave as his steely eyes fixed itself on her wound.

“Poisoned?” Daehyun repeated, the colour quickly draining off his face at that one word.

“The claws of a Mongrel contains a certain poison. If it isn’t cured quickly enough, it’ll spread to other vital parts of the organs,” D.O explained.

Suho gave D.O a death glare, exchanging a silent message with him to keep these crucial details to himself instead of scaring the hell out of Daehyun.

“Can she be cured?” Daehyun asked Lay, fixing him with desperate-filled eyes.

Instead of answering him, Lay hovered his palms over the marks left by the beast and closed his eyes. No one said anything as Lay focused on trying to heal Danbi. After several seconds, the marks on her skin started changing. The purple tinges around the edges disappeared, causing it to change to a shade of blue-black. The marks decreased in length, and Danbi’s lips regained a little of its usual pinkish tinge. But it wasn’t enough. The boys can still sense her weakened pulse and ragged breaths. The blood she have lost needs to be replaced quickly.

Lay’s eyes shot open as he stared at Daehyun before looking at his friends. “I’ve stopped the bleeding, but only for a while. Most of the poison has been cleansed, but there’s still some left in her. We need to get her to the infirmary. Mr. Im will have the elixir to completely wipe out the remaining poison, and also maybe a few packs of compatible blood for her.”

The boys nodded and Chanyeol moved forward to pick Danbi up when Daehyun stopped him.

“I’ll do it,” He mumbled, scooping up his sister with utmost gentleness and carrying her close to him.

The ten boys stayed rooted in their spot as Daehyun walked away with Danbi in his arms. His footsteps were nimble and quick despite the slight limp in his legs. The bubble of guilt grew even bigger within the Guardians, so much that it threatened to burst at any given moment.

“Baekhyun, Luhan?” Suho mumbled, gaining the attention of the two boys standing beside him. “Lead the way. I doubt he knows where the infirmary is.”

Baekhyun and Luhan nodded in sync and hurried towards the withdrawing figure, the other boys following right behind them to make sure no other monsters will try to harm the siblings again.

“She’s going to be okay, so lighten up! You’re giving off such depressing vibes. It’s unhealthy for my infirmary,” The head doctor of the school infirmary, Mr. Im said.

Mr. Im was a round, chubby man whose cheeks are tinged with an unusual shade of pink. If Daehyun thought any better, he would have referred to those two round bumps as peaches. Short and stubby, the old man wore round-rimmed glasses and constantly tittered around the room with a long, white lab coat that constantly skimmed the ground. He looked exactly like an Asian version of Einstein, minus the hair of course.

“You sure she’s going to be okay?” Lay asked, looking at Danbi worriedly. Daehyun sat next to his sister while the other Guardians were situated in a circle around her.

Mr. Im rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Do you not trust my skills?”

Before Lay can say anything else, the door to the infirmary burst open to reveal a flustered looking Mr. Shin, along with Tao and Chen who were following closely behind him.

“Are the both of them okay? Are they critically hurt? Where’s the Mongrel? Did you kill it?” Mr. Shin’s questions rolled out of his mouth one after the other, leaving the boys no chance to reply to any of them.

The principal only paused when his gaze fell upon Danbi lying on the bed. He moved over quietly, noting that Daehyun was well and unhurt.

He was silent for a while, his eyes fixed on nothing but the unconscious girl lying on the bed before he turned to acknowledge Daehyun. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Daehyun replied almost immediately, as if he had predicted Mr. Shin’s question.

“And your sister?” Mr. Shin asked, his voice tinged with obvious wariness.

Daehyun’s eyes lingered on his sister, this time not replying as fast as he did before. “She’ll be okay, if what Mr. Im said is true.”

Mr. Shin nodded rigidly before turning his concerned gaze to a hard and almost terrifying glare at the twelve boys. His head made a sharp and quick jerk towards the door, an indication for them to follow him outside. Mr. Shin then excused himself, exchanging a knowing glance with Mr. Im before walking out of the infirmary, the boys following after him one by one. Once the doors were safely sealed to hide themselves from the people inside, he turned around to face the Guardians with glowering eyes.

“Where were you when it happened?” Mr. Shin questioned all of them, his voice eerily calm.

No one answered. Not even Suho.

“Don’t make me ask again,” The principal growled, contained anger prominent in his voice.

“We were at the track field,” Kris took the initiative to reply.

“And you couldn’t smell the Mongrel from there?” Mr. Shin’s voice was becoming threateningly volatile by the second.

“The Mongrel’s scent was very faint, Sir. We were only able to sense it when we stepped inside,” Suho explained calmly. “Danbi’s scream was the only indication to warn us that they were in danger

Mr. Shin clenched his jaw for a few seconds, as if doing so could contain his pent up anger and frustration, before loosening it along with the breath he had been holding in. The twelve boys standing around him stood as stiff as a statue. From previous experiences, they knew better than to aggravate the principal. He wasn’t someone you would want to mess with. Mr. Shin took in a deep breath, and released it one last time before casting a glance at the boys.

“I don’t know how the Mongrel was able to pass through the school compounds without getting spotted, so I would need to further investigate on that matter. However, the fact that a Mongrel can make its way into the school without being noticed means that other Dark Forces might be able to do the same. I will be putting up extra security measures around the school, maybe get the headmasters to strengthen the protective forces. But Danbi and Daehyun are not safe here anymore,” Mr. Shin said.

Flashes of concern and worry crossed the boys’ faces at their principal’s words. The school not being a safe place for them? How can the one place that promised the student’s safety be not safe?

“What do you suggest we do then?” Suho asked the principal. For once, the leader of the pack was at a loss.

“I suggest you move them out to the Widow Mansion. It hasn’t been used for a long time, but it would have to do. The magic around the household is very strong,” Mr. Shin said, and the other boys nodded in agreement to his words.

The air around them was solemn, as if just one monster had the power to away all the positive energy in this compound. The previous experience made the twelve boys uneasy, as if there were a thousand pairs of eyes following their every movement.

“When do we set out? Tomorrow morning?” Kai questioned the headmaster. It was currently 2am in the morning, and going out a time like this might just put them in further danger.

“You will leave at the break of dawn. Make sure you go in batches, don’t stick together. If you were to take the car-,” Mr. Shin suggested, only to be cut off by Chen.

“By car?” Chen said, looking at the principal as if he had just told him that elephants could fly. ”Won’t it be faster by foot?”

“But much more dangerous. I want you to take the car. Plus, I don’t expect you to carry Danbi and Daehyun all the way there,” Mr. Shin explained. “It’d take you around four hours, so make sure you reach the house by noon.”

It wasn’t as if they were in any position to argue, so all the twelve boys did was nod their head at the task set out by their principal.

Heaving a loud sigh that Mr Shin was not expecting to hide from the others, he brought his fingers up to rub his forehead. In that short span of time, it was almost as if he had aged another five years. The frown lines on his forehead curved in deeper, and the eye bags under his eyes seem to hang heavily on his skin.

“We should have predicted this,” Mr. Shin began. “Any Sibyls who possessed the power to read the future wold have been a target for the Dark Forces. Luna was a victim. It makes sense Danbi would be one too.”

“But they weren’t as persistent for Luna,” Xiumin reminded.

“And that’s where the question that has been puzzling me comes in. If Danbi is just like any other Sibyls, why are they striking so soon? And so hard?” Mr. Shin said, looking at the twelve boys.

Without an answer to those questions, the twelve boys avoided Mr. Shin’s gaze, instead choosing to look at the floor, the walls, at each other.

“Either way, something must be different about this generation of Sibyls. Something that they know about and we don’t. The headmasters and I will ponder over this, try to figure it out, and we’ll keep all of you updated. In the meantime, you will have to keep a lookout and protect the two of them well. Spend more time with them too, and try to pinpoint some differences. I’m sure we’d be able to make sense of it soon,” Mr. Shin instructed.

The Guardians nodded their head, fixing the principal with a determined gaze. Inspecting each and every one of them, Mr. Shin’s eyes softened. He had been around almost as long as they were, in fact, even longer. He have watched them progressed day by day, year by year. He have watched them grow up and fought over little things, risked their lives to protect the well-being of others and leered so close to death. The twelve of them was like his own sons, along with the other students here at Tokwan Academy. No one would be able to understand the happiness and utmost relief seeing your own child come back from a rough battle, bruised and harmed but at the end of the day, alive and still breathing. No one would be able to understand the pain of having to watch your own children be sent to their death, one time after another. And here he is yet again, having to send twelve out of his many children one a dangerous quest, into a fate no one can really predict the ending of.

He moved towards Suho, the leader who had led his group towards victory more times than he can count, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it an assured squeeze.

“Protect them well,” Mr. Shin said, and then his eyes glazed over the other eleven. “I’m relying on you.”

No other words of farewell was exchanged. No ‘I’ll see you again’ or ‘keep yourself safe’, no ‘I’ll talk to you soon’ or even a proper ‘goodbye’. Because really, those weren’t common words a Guardian would hear, and those weren’t common words you would say to a Guardian.

After all, their life was based on the unpredictability of the unknown. 

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finally, EXO and the two siblings will be quarantined from everyone else for quite some time. which means,
the interactions between exo and danbi which was lacking a lot in the past five chapters is coming to an end. more exo and danbi interactions coming your way!