Cha Hakyeon half fell into the room, groaning softly as he managed to catch himself on the half open door. Continuing on without Wonshik by his side would be nearly impossible but for Taekwoon’s sake, he had to try his hardest. Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear the fog setting into his mind, spurred by exhaustion and blood loss.

“Hakyeon?” A voice brought him out of the darkness of his thoughts and he glanced around the poorly lit room. Soomi stood in the center of the room flanked by two people a third hanging by their wrists on the wall near the exit.

“Soomi...” Looking her over, he bit his lip. It was clear her companions were under control, but the huntress seemed fine.

“You look like you’ve seen some .” Giving a weak laugh, she shook her head. “I’m sorry about this... But I... You see... She’ll kill Soohyun if I don’t deliver you to her... Or... Or if I don’t work for her in your absence. You understand, don’t you? I wont let him die.”

“You don’t use your powers, Soomi...” Taking a step back, Hakyeon tried to gauge his chances of making it through the room alive.

“Look, Hakyeon. You’re my friend and I love you like family...” Regret seemed to wash over the woman in front of him “But Soohyun is my everything. I haven’t used my powers in over ten years but I will now.”

”And why’s that, Soomi?” Hoping to keep his friend talking long enough for him to come up with a substantial enough plan to get through the last obstacle, he spurred on her confession.

“Soohyun had a girlfriend. He loved her, you know.” Soomi chuckled darkly. “But she was an awful human. She was using him for his money and... And she was cheating on him. I found out she and her friends had been talking about Soohyun, about how she had gotten everything she needed from him and how bored she was. That ... Can you believe this? They started to plan something. They were going to lure him to her house and they were going to kill him. Kill my Soohyun. For no other reason than that they were bored and spoiled and wicked. Well I showed up before he did. And I begged them to reconsider. They attacked me and shoved me in a closet, locking me away. I heard the doorbell and I knew, I knew he was there and it would be over soon. He’d be dead. But I couldn’t allow that. I lost control of my powers and they burst into flames, all four of those little es. Soohyun seemed to realize what was happening. He found me and we got out of there safely. I have killed for him once, Hakyeon. Don’t think, just because I care for you, that I wont do it again.”

“Soomi... Together we can beat this monster and nobody has to die. Especially not Soohyun.” Attempting to be the voice of reason, he held up his hands in submission. “Please, Soomi. We can do it together, you and I.”

“Hakyeon...” Looking incredibly sad, Soomi shook her head. “You’re already half dead. What good would you be against her? I can’t take my chances with his life.”

“And I can’t take my chances with Taekwoon’s...” Accepting the inevitable, he pulled a blade from his wrist, concealed by his shirt sleeve. Luckily enough for him, he had come more than prepared, though he had never thought he’d need to use the weapons strapped among various places on his body.

“I’m sorry...” With a flick of her wrist, she sent her companions into attack mode. Kiseop and Jaeseop began to circle, one closing in from either side. Waiting, motionless, barely daring to breathe, Hakyeon did his best to keep his eyes on both men. If they were all going to fall, at least they would fall together.

The two men closed in on him, both lunging at him at the same time. Dodging with barely a second to spare, he sliced at Kiseop, leaving a deep gash in the man’s arm. Jaeseop snarled in anger, despite his possession, still maintaining his protectiveness for the man he loved. Finding the angered man colliding with him hard, Hakyeon stumbled backward. Bracing himself for the next attack, he spread his feet and held his knife steady before him. Barreling forward once more, Jaeseop hit him harder than he had before, knocking the two to the ground.

For a moment it was as though the world stood still, everything holding a collective breathe, and then everything crashed down around them. With a scream, Jaeseop rolled away, rising onto his hands and knees as he coughed up blood, only the knife’s handle left protruding from him chest. Realization struck Hakyeon as he watched another wave of crimson erupt from between his friend’s lips.

“Jae!” Soomi screeched, taking a step forward before she stopped, understanding that her own choice to attack has led to that moment. “Oh god... Jaeseop...”

“Soomi... I... I didn’t mean to... He ran into it...” Hakyeon looked around frantically for any possible way to stop the bleeding and save the man’s life. “I... I’ll fix this...”

“It’s too late...” Tears streaking her cheeks, she glanced over her shoulder at the man chained to the wall. “I can maintain a shield for maybe an hour. It’ll break the bulyeowoo’s hold on Kiseop and keep Soohyun safe, but I have to stay within it to maintain it. You better kill that , Hakyeon. I’m putting my brother’s life in your hands.”

“I wont let you down... I... I will win this...” Hakyeon managed to return to his feet, the floor feeling as though it was shifting and tilting under his feet, lightheaded. “I will not let anyone else die.” With that said, he took one last look at the collapsed Jaeseop before he staggered across the room, determined to end the quest quickly and with no more casualties. There had been enough death and he couldn’t bare losing one more person.