Mino remained still as Jieun and Minhyuk gave him hostile looks. He had absolutely no idea who "Eunji" was and wasn't sure why they had such an aggressive expression. He could somewhat understand why Jieun would look horrified since the inky figure resembled the creature who killed an old friend, but he wasn't sure why Minhyuk looked like he wanted to run away. Something about the way Minhyuk stared at him made him feel uneasy, as if this wasn't something that should happen.

Because it's not supposed to happen, a voice in his head whispered. The voice was cold and hollow, yet comforting and reassuring. His eyes flickered black for a second before he pulled himself together.

"Look, I don't know if this is whatever you guys think it is, okay? All I know is that I can make little minions in that particular form," Mino said. "Anyway, while I go in there, this will help protect you."

"I don't trust pixies," Jieun said in a icy tone. "Especially since that incident."

"I got it. You don't have to trust it, but I'm leaving it with you so that I can keep an eye on you," Mino said.

"How does that work?" Minhyuk asked.

"I…don't know," Mino mumbled. "It just does."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jieun muttered back.

Mino snapped a little, but refrained himself from getting too angry.

"Well, can you explain how your powers work, Jieun? How come you're the one with this god-like power? Why is it that sometimes your wish comes true and sometimes it doesn't?" Mino fired back.

Jieun clenched her hands into a tight fist. She shot him a cold glare while he stared back.

"At least my powers aren't made up of curses and darkness like yours," Jieun snapped.

Mino could only manage a petty scoff.

"Yeah, sure. That's because you don't understand how it feels to be embraced by darkness," Mino said.

"I don't understand? I don't?" Jieun growled. "How could I not understand? Back at home, I was basically living in the darkness! I had no friends and nobody liked me. Teachers took pity on me. Nobody listened. Nobody wanted to listen to me. They all thought I was a pain in the neck. They all wouldn't listen. Nobody would listen." She closed her eyes, remembering her final thoughts when she had fell into the well. "I just wanted to die from that world!"

Jieun swung her hand out, trying to pull out her weapon. However, when the strings burned a little, she remembered that her current situation rendered her useless. She seethed her teeth, which helped cool down the pain.

On the other hand, Mino proudly transformed one of his arm into a oversized crab claw. He raised the claw, waving it a little to test his controls. Both eyes turned pitch black and his cursed mark began to glow.

"Great. Now are you ready to die in this world?" Mino said in a horrific, monstrous tone.

Jieun didn't even flinch. "Yeah, just kill me and leave me al—"

Swoosh!

The cat clawed Jieun's cheek. Jieun yelped in pain and squinted her eyes. She was able to strangle the cat, but once she felt her warm blood drip down her cheeks like tears, she started to feel conscious over herself. The anger that was building up inside her suddenly disappeared. 

"Galaxial Wish, you must stop this at once!" Minhyuk hissed as he his paws. "The Captain of the First Court's influence is too great. Her Barrier of Wrath is starting to spread. Look at his eyes!"

Jieun squinted and stared at Mino. Although his eyes were black, she could barely see a small lion mark glowing in his eyes. The symbol looked possessive and aggressive. She could quickly associate the lion symbol with anger and hostility. She touched her blood with her fingers. 

"Is that why I was feeling agitated and angry?" she whispered.

"I'm not affected for now because of Bora's magic. Normally, you would've thrown me away and fought with Mino, but it seems like these strings help me keep some of my master's influence on you," Minhyuk said. "I my claws before I scratched you, so hopefully some of my magical resistance is flowing in your blood." He turned to Mino. "That boy isn't in his right mind. It's best if you run away."

"But I have to save him!" Jieun cried out.

"That boy isn't normal. His powers are too dark. If anything, I suggest you leave him now and regroup with the other boy. The glove boy seems to be a much safer option," Minhyuk purred. "Turn back. With your current state of mind, you'll be able to escape the barrier. This boy will most likely stay within the barrier's influence and stay inside the barrier."

"The other direction have sigbins."

"If you keep going in his direction, you'll be under a more powerful influence from the barrier," Minhyuk warned her. "He will be unable to escape the barrier, so if you run away long enough, he will not chase after you anymore."

"So you're telling me to abandon Mino right now?"

"Most likely the person you're trying to save is dead, too," the cat said nonchalantly.

"How could you say that?" Jieun asked, shocked.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Minhyuk said.

"You can't just expect me—"

Jieun interrupted herself with a scream when Mino plunged his claw towards her direction. She barely managed to dodge the claw, which got stuck in the ground. Jieun's skin turned white. She trembled with fear. The claw lost its form and turned into a gooey substance. Mino turned around and raised his arm again, which began to attract the black ink, returning back to its claw shape.

"Mino! What the hell? What are you doing?" Jieun yelled angrily.

"That boy isn't in his right state of mind. The Barrier of Wrath is very influential," Minhyuk repeated.

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do? I don't want to hurt him!"

"But he wants to hurt you."

"Minhyuk, please!"

"I gave you your options!" Minhyuk snapped. "You either run in or run out of the barrier!"

"Those are terrible plans!"

"Those are your only options!"

"Okay, fine!" Jieun eyed uneasily at Mino, who was preparing to lunge towards her again. "Either head towards the sigbin or deeper into the Barrier of Wrath, right?"

"That's right," Minhyuk said. "You'll be much safer heading towards the direction of the sigbins—"

"To the castle we go!" Jieun exclaimed. Minhyuk's eyes grew wide as he hissed in protest.

Mino lunged himself towards Jieun, who dodged his attacks and started running deeper into the tunnel. Minhyuk looked over her shoulder, keeping an eye out on Mino as she continued to run.

The sound of footsteps splashing against the thin dirty water and her panting echoed in the sewer. She could hear Mino's grunts coming from behind, getting closer and sounding further every time he crashed against the walls. The blood from her tears smeared around her eyes every time she rubbed them away from her sight. 

Where the hell is the tunnel taking me? she wondered. When does it end? When can I—

Her trail of thoughts stopped when she saw a ladder leading up to the surface. Without asking for Minhyuk's approval, she lunged herself towards the ladder and started climbing. She used the corner of her eyes to see how close Mino was, then she screamed and scrambled up when he swung his arm against the lower part of the ladder. Whimpering, she climbed up as fast as she could and used all her strength to push open the cover.

Once she slid out, she scrambled back on her feet and was about to run until she realized that she was in what seemed to be a basement. The room was dark and cold, but had a staircase running up to the building. She ran up, holding the cat in her arms. She tried to see if the door would open, but it didn't budge. She whimpered and worriedly looked down, knowing that Mino would pop out from the hole soon.

"Move, move!" Minhyuk demanded. She took a step to the side and watched Minhyuk extend one claw. The cat fiddled with the locked door for a few seconds. 

"You're mine!" Mino yelled. Jieun could hear him climb up the ladder. She whimpered loudly until Minhyuk started yelling at her again.

"It's open! Out, out, out!" Minhyuk yelled. Jieun quickly looked back at the door and twisted it open. She saw Mino pop out of the hole right before she slammed the door closed behind her.

Again, she started running, wondering where to go or where the building would lead her. She quickly passed the kitchen and the dining room of the castle. She slammed open doors, pushing her bodies against each door and running down the what seemed to be an endless hall.

She eventually arrived at a large hall with red velvet flooring and cold gray stones with dark liquid seeping through the cracks. Jieun was about to run outside the large doors that seemed to be the exit to the castle, but Minhyuk bit her.

"Ow!" Jieun yelled right when she was in front of the door. She stopped and glared. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Hold up. Something's not right," Minhyuk said. Minhyuk jumped out of Jieun's arm and turned around. 

Jieun stared at him with wide eyes. "Oh my god, Minhyuk! Get back! Let's get out of here!"

"That door won't open. It's sealed," Minhyuk said.

"How do you know that?"

"This castle belongs to the Captain of the Fifth Court. There's no way that he'll let his subjects come in and leave just as they want," Minhyuk said. "Also, Mino stopped following us. Why?"

"So what do you want me to do?" Jieun asked as she kicked the door to make sure that Minhyuk wasn't lying.

He was right. The door wouldn't move. Instead, the sound of her kicking against the door echoed in the chamber. Minhyuk turned and glared while Jieun sheepishly looked away. He turned back and began walking around the large room in a calm manner. Jieun crossed her arms and watched the cat move around with her strings still attached to him.

"What's wrong?" Jieun asked.

"Something's off," said the cat. Minhyuk stood still. "Where are all the guards? The staffs?" The cat looked down at the red carpet. "The last time I remembered, this carpet wasn't red…" Minhyuk froze for a few minutes. "Or wet…"

Jieun looked below at her foot. She stared at the red velvet flooring before rubbing her feet against the floor. Then she raised her foot and looked at the bottom, noticing that there was something red smeared against her shoes. Her eyes slowly widened when she started to smell an awful stench. The smell of cold raw meat and blood carried throughout the entire room. Jieun looked over the walls and traced her fingers against the wet wall. She stared at her fingers and widened her eyes when blood stained her finger tips.

"It's blood," Jieun whispered. She looked around. "This entire room is covered in blood!"

"Then where are the bodies?" whispered Minhyuk.

"What happened around here?" Jieun wondered aloud. 

Her eyes traced all over the room, trying to find any signs that would help them understand the situation. She gasped when she saw stacks of bodies hanging from the chandelier. Several creatures with royal white robes had their chest pierced through the arms of the chandeliers. Minhyuk, sensing that she was seeing something horrendous, glanced up before instinctively hissing at the scene. The cat scurried back over to Jieun and jumped onto her shoulder.

"That's disgusting," Minhyuk muttered as drops of blood fell from the ceiling. His hair started rising as he intensely stared at the bodies hanging from above. "I don't see the Captain of the Fifth Court's body, so he's probably alive…"

"What do we do?" Jieun asked. She shook the door once more. "We're trapped." She pushed her back against the door and eyed uneasily at the open space. "I'm seriously starting to feel really agitated. It's like my hands are begging to wrap themselves around something."

"This is the Barrier of Wrath," Minhyuk told her. "Normally, victims will feel this incredible urge to vent out their anger through violence. The barrier is invisible, so you can't even see it and can only feel the effects." He looked at the door where they came from. "Most likely Mino found some other target to fight, which is why he hasn't been chasing us."

"I think I feel more scared than angry," Jieun mumbled. She hitched her breath. "What if the Captain of the Fifth Court is still alive and still in this building?"

"That's highly unlikely. There would be no reason for the other Captains to entrap him in their influence," Minhyuk said.

"Do you really believe that after hearing what they did to your Captain?" Jieun inquired.

Minhyuk's eyes slowly grew wide. He looked at Jieun, who looked back with a worried expression. Minhyuk's paws curled as he stared ahead, scanning for any potential enemies that might make their appearance.

"If you ever see the Captain of the Fifth Court, you better start running," Minhyuk said in a small voice.

"Why? You keep telling me to run away, but you never tell me anything else."

"The Captain of the Fifth Court is a Devil user. Messing with him is very dangerous." Minhyuk scowled. "He has the ability to our your soul, leaving you with an empty vessel—your body. Your body will function normally, but without a soul, it's difficult for the body to remain functioning."

"Why?"

"Your soul gives you the will to live. If that's taken away, then there's no point of life. You can think of his powers to be an slow death."

"Then what happens to the soul after your body rots away?"

"He eats it."

Jieun stared at him, baffled. "He what?"

"That's his source of living and power. This is why you don't fight a Devil user. They are ruthless, cruel, and have strange ways of gaining powers. In the case of the Captain of the Fifth Court, he's a vampire with Devil powers. All he needs is a bit of your blood and he's got you wrapped all over his hand," Minhyuk explained.

"Geez, is that why there's so many blood?" Jieun asked. "Why couldn't he be the kind of vampire that just drinks blood and moves on with his life?"

"Be weary of him, Wanted One. I'm serious when I say that he's a dangerous creature. I suggest you cover up the scratch I made on your cheek."

"Great. Anything else I should know?"

"He lurks in the shadows. There's a high chance that he'll sneak up on you."

"But he's under the Barrier of Wrath. I don't think he'll be patient to sneak up on me from the shadows," she pointed out.

"True."

"But he sounds so powerful. Why would he join the Council?"

"Everyone here has different reasons to joining the Council. The Captain of the Seventh Court wanted to join to help raise the witches' reputation. The new Captain of the Third Court wanted to help raise the werewolves' reputation as well, along with the fact that the werewolves are very loyal and wouldn't refuse an opportunity to help their kind. The Captain of the Fourth Court joined because he thought that having authoritative power would be fun. I'm not sure why the Captain of the First, Second, Fifth, and Sixth Courts joined." Minhyuk paused. "Well, I can assume that the Captain of the First Court joined because she was preparing to follow orders from the Council Leader, Changmin."

"One of those orders was to get rid of me."

Minhyuk and Jieun looked up, finding Yoseob floating on top of the staircase. His skin glowed white, but his lips were thick with blood. His white robe was stained in a dirty red color as if he had worn the blood for years. Yoseob glared down at Jieun and Minhyuk, who were paralyzed with fear.

"I'm okay," Yoseob assured them. He swooped down to the floor at their level. Jieun yelped and scrambled against the wall, cornered. "I'm protected from the Barrier of Wrath."

"I-If you're really okay, open the door."

"You don't want me to do that," Yoseob said. He tiredly looked at the doors.

"And why not?" Jieun snapped.

"Listen closely."

The three kept awfully silent. Then, Minhyuk started to press his ears against the wall. When the cat gave her an alarmed expression, she did the same. Leaning against the wall, she could barely hear riots and screams outside. Her blood ran cold as she realized that everyone outside was affected by the Barrier of Wrath.

She looked back at Yoseob and squinted her eyes. She didn't see the same lion mark in his pupils.

Seems like he's telling the truth, Jieun thought.

"As you can hear, there's a blood revolution out there," Yoseob said.

"Why are you okay?" Minhyuk asked Yoseob carefully.

"I have two hypotheses," Yoseob said. He snapped his fingers. From the shadows of a fallen shelf, two tied-up figures rose up. "However, I'm assuming that it's because I have these two in my custody."

Jieun's eyes widened when she saw Donghae and Kyuhyun sitting on the floor back-to-back. Their hands were tied behind their backs, leaving them almost immoveable. Donghae looked up and widened his eyes.

"Jieun!" he exclaimed, delighted.

"Donghae! It's been forever!" Jieun cried out. She looked over at Kyuhyun, who didn't even notice her. He was too busy mumbling something as if he was possessed. "Kyuhyun, how are you?"

"Don't bother with him. He's lost it," Donghae told her. 

"What's going on?" Jieun asked. She glared at Yoseob. "What have you done with them?"

"It seems like as long as I have good intentions of keeping them safe, I'm unaffected by the Barrier of Wrath," Yoseob explained. He coldly looked at Jieun. "I'm assuming that this is your doing, yes?"

Jieun frowned. She thought hard and long about what she had done to Donghae and Kyuhyun.

'I wish that Donghae and Kyuhyun can get out of this mess safely.' 

That's what I wished for, didn't I? Jieun thought. She stared at the two, puzzled. But by 'this' mess, I didn't mean this mess. I meant the mess where we were trapped at Donghae's home…

"This is the end," Kyuhyun whispered. Everyone looked at him with uneasiness. He slowly turned his head to his audience. "This is the Preparation. The Apocalypse will fall upon us soon. Everything disappears. History is rewritten. The Creator waits. The Creator waits. The Creator waits. The Creator waits." 

Kyuhyun finally locked eyes with Jieun. Seconds later, he started to cry blood. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes as he tried to extended out his tied hands. His voice began to tremble as blood slipped out of his nose.

"Woah, woah! Kyuhyun, what's wrong?" Donghae yelled. "Someone get him some tissues!"

"Won't you listen?" Kyuhyun cried out to Jieun. "Won't you listen? Those cries! Do you hear them? They were prayers! Wishes! Won't you listen? The Creator granted them! Your wish! Your demands! The Creator listens! Are you listening? Won't you listen?"

"Is he Insane?" Yoseob asked. He pulled out a handkerchief and started to clean up the crazy boy.

"N-No! He's not!" Donghae stuttered.

"Insane I am not! Insane I shall never be!" Kyuhyun screamed. "The world paints red! It paints red! The dead will rise! Eradicate them all! It will erase just like it did before!"

"Your friend never talked before," Yoseob said to Donghae.

'I don't know why he's suddenly talking," Donghae replied.

"It exists! The Preparations have come!" Kyuhyun said. He began to laugh—wildly. "It all begins! The Preparation has started! It will start!" He turned to Yoseob. "You must die! You must all die! The Council must collapse to give reason! You must be the fault! But you are not the fault! But you must be the fault!"

"Kyuhyun!" Jieun exclaimed, bending down to level with him. "Kyuhyun, I am not the Creator!"

"But you are the Creator! You are the same kind as the Creator!" Kyuhyun screamed.

"Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, listen to me!" She made proper eye-contact with him before saying her words without a second thought: "Just who is the Creator?"

"The Creator! The Creator is—"

Kyuhyun gagged and coughed out blood. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, shocked to see him awfully quiet. When Jieun realized that there was something wet on her clothes, she looked down. She paled and started to shake at the sight of fresh blood on her clothes. However, the blood wasn't hers.

She looked at Kyuhyun's hips, noticing that a sharp red weapon had stabbed across his hip and through his stomach. She followed the red thread with her eyes, noticing that it had encircled around Minhyuk's ears while it stabbed Kyuhyun's torso.

"Is–"

Kyuhyun coughed out more blood as more strings began to stab through him. Donghae looked at his friend with a horrified expression. Jieun screamed as her hands shook with guilt and fear.

"Kyu…Kyuhyun?" Donghae called his name in a low voice.

Kyuhyun threw up some blood before looking at Jieun. He made a crazed smirk as bloody tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Jieun screamed.

"So I wasn't…supposed to say…huh…" Kyuhyun looked at the cat, who didn't know what to do. "Hey…I'm the one who tells…the truth…not her…She was wrong…She didn't know…She knew the kind of Creator…But she didn't know the Creator…" Kyuhyun looked over at Jieun with heavy eyes. He chuckled. "T-The…Creator…is—"

The strings finally swirled around him. It wrapped itself all around him except for his eyes, squeezing him until it looked like he was about to burst. Jieun screamed in horror and waved her hands, trying to get the strings off of her. Tears spilled from her eyes when she realized that she was useless.

Before she could do anything, the life in Kyuhyun's eyes disappeared while the strings stopped squeezing him. The strings gently brought his body back to the floor as it retreated into her hands, detaching themselves from Minhyuk. Jieun and Minhyuk looked at each other after the red strings were finally gone. She had a look of uneasiness while the cat seemed to grow a bit terrified.

"Well, that was a lovely meal." 

Everyone looked at Yoseob, who his lips. He extended his fangs as blood seeped through his teeth. The handkerchief he used to clean up Kyuhyun's blood was free from blood.

"I didn't know eating an Insane would be such a delicacy," Yoseob said in a sweet voice. He looked at everyone with beady red eyes. There was a faint lion symbol engraved on his pupils. "I kind of want more."

"J-Jieun," Donghae stuttered. "What should we do?"

"Kill him," Jieun said, avoiding eye-contact. Donghae looked at her. "He just ate Kyuhyun's soul, right? If we don't kill him now, he's going to eat Kyuhyun's body."

"What?" Donghae repeated.

"He had Kyuhyun's blood on that handkerchief. If the Captain of the Fifth Court tastes even a little bit of your blood, he'll have full control over you."

"No, this isn't right. You're not the violent type! We should run!" Donghae yelled at Jieun.

"Elf, get up!" Minhyuk snapped. He used his claws to free Donghae from the rope. "Get up and start running!"

"W-What's going on?" Donghae asked.

"They're both finally under the influence of the Barrier of Wrath!" Minhyuk explained quickly. "Move, move! Up the stairs!"

Donghae wasn't sure what was going on, but he did as the cat said. The moment the two were at the top of the stairs, they heard a loud crash from the walls. The two took a quick peek, hiding behind some potted plants. They stared from the indoor balcony, noticing Mino's appearance.

Mino dropped a dead body from his claw to the floor. He wiped the blood off his cheek and grinned wildly at Yoseob and Jieun.

"Well, isn't this a lovely seen?" Mino said, his lips.

"Perfect timing," Jieun said. She flipped out some star-shaped weapons in between her fingers. The lion symbol in her eyes glowed for a moment. "I was thinking of killing the Captain of the Fifth Court. Maybe I can kill you, too."

"This seems so abrupt," whispered Donghae. "Why do they suddenly want to kill each other?"

"Yoseob and Jieun weren't under the influence before. Now that the red strings are detached and meow meow have a purpose to protect you or Kyuhyun, the meow of Wrath has fallen upon them. Since they're basically at the center of the barrier, the meow influence basically collapsed on them," Minhyuk explained.

Donghae blinked his eyes. "I didn't understand half the things you said. You just started 'meowing' and started to talk nonsense."

Minhyuk scowled. "I'm running out of time because my witch is dead. Soon enough, I'm just going to be a normal cat."

"So what do we do? Why am I not affected?" Donghae asked.

"Maybe the Galaxial Wish did something. I don't know."

"Should we run?"

"You can run, but I'm going to do something," Minhyuk said. He started running through the second floor.

"What are you planning to do?" Donghae asked, following the cat.

"I'm going to bring this barrier down!" Minhyuk said.

"How?" Donghae asked, shocked. "This is the Barrier of Wrath, right?"

"Bora has a spell that I remember. If I find the room where Yoona used her power, then I'll be able to put it down."

"That's a witch spell, right? What's the sacrifice?"

"The death of my witch."

"Isn't your witch already dead?" Donghae reminded him.

"The Wanted One said that she thinks my witch is dead. If I chant this and come out alive, then my witch wasn't dead and just weak."

"Are you sure you want to sacrifice your witch's life?" Donghae asked. "You're a familiar, right? Your depend on your witch for everything!"

"I'm sure I want to do this," Minhyuk said. He made a weak smile. "Besides, there are members part of the Council who are on the side of the Creator. There are people part of the Council who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Creator." He made a solemn look before looking at his paw. "Mine just happened to be one of them…"

The door swung open at the witch's home. An old wizard stepped inside, lightly tapping his staff against the solid ground. He pounded his staff on the floor, and the door closed behind him. The windows shut closed and the entire room turned to stone, preventing anyone from the outside from seeing the inside.

The wizard walked over to the fireplace filled with black ashes and bloodstain. He heaved a sigh and bent down, shaking his head as he rubbed the ashes with his fingers.

"Poor young witch," Jongsuk mumbled. He wiped off the ash from his hand and pounded his staff against the floor. Gold round shimmers rippled out from his staff and to the ground. It covered the entire room, creating endless ripples of golden loops. The books hidden in the building rose up from the floor. 

"I should burn this," the wizard said with a sigh. He swung his staff, but stopped when he sensed another magical power behind him. He paused and slowly turned his head, noticing the witch standing behind him with a familiar figure. The wizard his beard. "So you're still alive, Bora…"

"Previous Council Leader," Bora called. "It's a pleasure to have you here, but please leave my books at where they are."

Jongsuk looked at the figure standing behind Bora. "Normally I'd do whatever I want, but you have a very powerful guest behind you."

"It's a pleasure to see you again after all these times," the mysterious tall man said. He slowly came out of the shadows, shining some light on him. He had awfully pale skin and purple eye circles. He put down his black fedora and placed it to his side, hiding it behind his large black silky robe. He looked straight at Jongsuk and bowed a little, showing some respect.

"Founder of the Devil powers, Kim Jaejoong," Jongsuk said, bowing a bit in acknowledgement. "I'm surprised that you're involved in this."

"Before that, please put the books down," Jaejoong said softly. Jongsuk obeyed. He dropped the books, watching it sink back into the floor. Jongsuk turned and had both his hands on top of his staff.

"Did you use your Devil powers to bring the witch back to life?" Jongsuk asked. "My records revealed that she died burning in a painting."

"I wouldn't let the Captain of the Sixth Court outsmart me like that," Bora said. "Plus, I know better to hide my Insanity."

"This young witch is with me," Jaejoong said. "Please spare her from any laws she might've broke."

"There are several laws she has broken," Jongsuk said. "I highly advise that you allow me to burn her like how she should have died."

The dark aura around Jaejoong glowed stronger. Jongsuk began to frown.

"You're awfully resistant today," Jongsuk muttered. He changed from his old man form to a younger version of himself. 

"This world will be destroyed soon," Jaejoong pointed out. "I'm sure you're fully aware of the Apocalypse, yes?"

"Of course."

"Well, I'm sure you're not afraid of the Apocalypse since you'll be spared."

"I only exist as long as the Creator isn't lonely. Once the Creator traps his kinds, he'll get rid of me," Jongsuk said.

"Are you not afraid of that?"

"I've seen what happens when we try to rebel. It's hopeless. With a snap of a finger, we'll be gone. He just adds torture and plot to give reason to our death and existence," Jongsuk said in a solemn tone.

"You are the one with the most power. Please, do not be afraid to go against the Creator," Jaejoong begged.

Jongsuk heaved a sigh. "Jaejoong… You never learn, do you?"

The wizard spun his staff and pointed at Bora. Bora flinched while Jaejoong tried to uphold a protective barrier against the wizard's staff. However, the golden shimmers raining down from the tip of the staff zoomed and bypassed the shield, piercing through and touched Bora. Bora stood for a few seconds, stunned before her body started to fold on its own. Her bones cracked as her body began to flatten and folded like a paper.

Jaejoong shot a glare at Jongsuk and released a dark shadowy monster towards him. However, Jongsuk hacked the beast with his staff and watched it disappear into the air. Jongsuk deflected the monster until Bora's body became a two-dimensional painting. The poor witch was bleeding and soaked in her own blood.

With a strong pound against the floor with his staff, a bright light flashed before their eyes. Jaejoong's monsters finally screeched and disappeared while Jaejoong hissed and covered his eyes with his arm. The light disappeared and Jaejoong was left with a dying witch and Jongsuk, who was completely unfazed. Jongsuk flicked some dust off his shoulder and curiously glanced at Jaejoong.

"You didn't put up much of a fight," Jongsuk said.

"I know far better to take you on one versus one," Jaejoong muttered. He looked at Bora. "So you're going to kill her?"

"She's meant to be killed," Jongsuk told him. "Just like the rest of us."

"I don't understand. Why do you not fight the Creator?" Jaejoong asked bitterly.

Jongsuk paused for a moment before he gave a response. "What fool is willing to go against a god?"

Jaejoong squinted. "A god merely means he holds power. It doesn't mean anything else."

"What fool is willing to go against a god?" Jongsuk repeated.

Jaejoong scowled. "Is this another one of those riddles?"

Jongsuk finally smiled and returned to his old form. "What fool is willing to against a god?"

He waved his staff and dissolved into gold. Jaejoong watched every little bit of gold dust disappear into the ground. He clenched his fist and looked next to him, clearly knowing that Bora was beyond saving.

"I'm sorry that I had to use you like this," Jaejoong muttered. He kneeled on one knee and placed his hand over the picture. A dark glow appeared on the palm of his hand. He mumbled a few words. The glowing stopped. He got back up and began to walk out of the door. He turned and stopped right outside of the building.

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the house. He looked at the palm of his hand, which had a timer on it. He glanced back at the sky, noticing that the yellow dust was finally starting to head towards the clouds.

Well, I suppose I should thank him next time for getting rid of the books after I left the building, Jaejoong thought. He looked back at his palm before he sank into the depths of the shadows. For now, I'll wait until Bora dies so that I can see you again.