“What was that?” CL stood up in alarm from her crisscrossed position on Seungri’s bed. They were currently waiting for Jiyong to arrive and to CL’s delight, were playing card games to pass the time. Seungri wasn’t much of a card player, but he didn’t have the heart to ignore the woman who in less than thirty minutes, gave him a refreshing bath in aromatic water, stylish clothes that fit, and food that filled his stomach and tasted better the more he ate. Throwing the deck in her hand onto the bedside table, CL put a finger on her lips. Seungri stayed frozen in place, his face a mix of anxiety and confusion. 

            She walked towards the entrance of their room and pressed her ear to the wooden doors. Hearing the pounding of footsteps on stone, the clank of metal hitting metal, her eyes widened.

            “Quickly, get under the bed,” she whispered to Seungri, hastily dragging him to a corner of the bed, farthest from the door. She pushed his head under the wooden frame, making sure the bed covers came down to the floor. On a kneeling position next to the bed, Seungri could see the deceptively short knife she pulled from the sheath on her thigh that was visible along the slit of her dress. The woman patted his head lightly in a soothing manner. Seungri heard the doors burst open.

            Although Seungri was afraid, he decided to take a peek from his hiding place to check if CL needed help. His eyes widened in surprise and admiration as he saw the woman easily make her way through three armor-clad warriors. She flipped one soldier into his back, knocking him unconscious, put another in a tight deadlock, suffocating his airways, and cleanly sliced through the neck of third. She hadn’t even lost a breath.

            “Watch out!” Seungri screamed, noticing another enemy coming towards her with a large sword. CL braced herself for the impact, but before anything could happen, the man suddenly dropped dead on the floor, a sharp needle embedded deep in the vein above his collarbone.

  A woman with dark chocolate hair burst through the doors with a huff.

  “I come here,” she took a breath, ruthlessly stabbing an unaware soldier.

  “For less than ten minutes,” she kicked two other armored men, paralyzing their limbs with pin needles.

            “To find this as my welcome party?” As soon as the hallways were cleared, the frustrated woman came back into the room with arms across her chest.

            “Thanks for the help, Dara,” CL said, wiping her forehead. Seungri got up from under the bed and bowed to their new ally. She wore a black fitted jumpsuit, covered by a loose maroon kimono that was stashed, to Seungri’s shock, with hundreds of needlelike weaponry.

            “They’re after him?” CL questioned and grabbed a hefty mace from the wall that Seungri thought was only for decorative purposes.

            “Why else would they be here?” Dara said, her lips forming a small frown. She turned to Seungri and eyed him for a few moments.

            “Who’s after who?” Seungri asked quizzically and stared at the club that CL was now whirling in her hands. The two women looked at each other, sharing a short wordless dialogue between them.

            “The underground?” Dara asked.

            CL nodded. She turned towards the broken doors that led to an eerily quiet hallway. “We need to hurry.”

            Seungri would be lying if he didn’t say his pride was a little wounded when he realized he was being protected by two women, very able ones, but still. They stood on both sides of him, weapons drawn with eyes on alert, watching every shadow and every movement that passed by them.

            “It’s this way,” CL said, gesturing to a corridor on the left that lead to an open ballroom space. However, just as they were heading there, they heard a noisy scuffle in front of them. Before they knew it, a goliath of a man was sauntering towards their direction. He was covered from head to toe in metallic armor and his teeth shined a nasty yellow hue. The beast roared loudly, summoning more soldiers to his side.

  “Just great,” Dara mumbled with teeth clenched, drawing closer to Seungri.

            “No, he isn’t after us,” CL whispered and pointed her hand towards a group of three men trapped in a corner, “Look.”

            Seungri’s eyes widened. Yes, the menacing man was not trailing them, but was chasing after someone else, someone with dusty blonde hair and bronze eyes.

            There were two guards next to Jiyong, raising their spears into the enemy’s face. Seungri guessed the goliath was getting a little impatient as he watched the man break one of the guard’s weapons in his bare hands and throw him against the wall, making a sickening crack. CL and Dara tried to make their way towards Jiyong, but were stopped by the barrage of soldiers. The remaining guard made a dive at the beast, ultimately meeting the same fate as his partner.

            “GD!” CL cried out, smashing helmets with the powerful of her club.

            The bronze-eyed man took one step back, then another. The frightening man inched closer and closer. Jiyong narrowed his eyes, his hands positioned in front of him, palms open and flat. The goliath charged ahead with his arms towering above his head, ready to strike down his foe in one go.

            Seungri felt a pounding in his chest, a surge of adrenaline, and forcefully moved through the throng of warriors like running water. He grabbed a sword from the grip of a dead enemy, holding it steadily in his hands. With precise control, he maneuvered his weapon to cut past thin chainmail and leather. Seungri’s feet swept naturally among the tide of battle as he took down foe after foe. But there were too many.

            Just as he reached Jiyong’s side, the beast let out a monstrous yell. Jiyong shoved Seungri out of the way, sidestepping the man’s fists. He then pressed two fingers lightly on the goliath’s neck, chest, and diaphragm. The menacing man clutched his throat, gasping for air. Jiyong took a step back and let the man fall forward in a dead faint.

            Jiyong turned to face Seungri, whose bloody attire was equally matched with the bloody sword in his hands. Judging from his curious stare and furrowed eyebrows, Seungri guessed that the bronze-eyed man was indeed very surprised by his fighting ability. But from what little time they’ve been together, it makes sense for the man to have absolutely no knowledge of Seungri’s skills. As Jiyong stepped closer, Seungri gulped. He tried to stay as impassive as possible.

  Jiyong’s eyes lighted up with interest, “You…”

            Suddenly, a bright light coming from somewhere outside the palace caught their attention. Seungri watched as the powerful vertical band of white spread outward in a circular wave, enveloping its surroundings. His eyes widened. It was creating a protective dome.

            “Uh, guys, we don’t have time for chitchat,” Dara said, pushing past the last of the enemies, “we have to go, like NOW.”

            “I’m going to kill Daesung when I see him,” Seunghyun growled, whipping his kusarigama (chained double spear) around and decapitating a few men. “He said everything was going to be fine and look at us now?”

            A woman with bright orange hair tied up in a high ponytail looked at Seunghyun critically, a long javelin held at her side. Her glittering midnight blue dress swayed from the power of the force field in her control. The woman’s hands were pointed in front of her, rays of silvery white pulsing around her hands. “Ugh,” she grunted, extending the dome farther and farther until it hovered over their town. “People make mistakes. And I’m sure if Daesung knew this was going to happen, he would have told you.”

  Dodging an arrow to his head, he muttered under his breath, “Yeah, right. Clairvoyant my—”

            A long dagger zipped through the air, piercing a man that was sneaking up behind the woman. Youngbae jumped down right beside Seunghyun and grabbed his weapon from the impaled body. “Save it for later. I’ll personally hold him down for you.”

  Youngbae then nodded to the woman, “Bom, how much longer?”

            “Not long,” she replied, blowing hair away from her face, “Give me a few more seconds. The town is almost secure.”

  “Okay,” he said, ducking out of the way of Seunghyun’s blades as they pierced another enemy.

            “How do you think they found us?” Seunghyun asked while whirling his chain weapon around. “To send a portal to the palace is almost impossible unless they know our exact location.”

  “I’m not sure either,” Youngbae replied, blade moving swiftly in his hands, “Unless…”

  He let out a small gasp.

            “Where’s Jiyong now?” He demanded suddenly, his eyes glowed in urgency. He blocked another blow from behind him.

            “I sensed his aura around the eastern side, he’s with CL, Dara, and the boy. They’re almost at the underground entrance—Hey! Where are you going?” Seunghyun yelled, now doing twice the fighting since Youngbae decided to speedily make his way towards the palace again.

            “I know how they got here!” Youngbae yelled back, “Cover Bom until she’s done, then meet us at the underground!”