“Soul play is a powerful thing. It is essentially playing with someone’s life. It is a kind of magic that is not to be trifled with or else it could go horribly wrong.”

The words coming out of Yixing’s mouth are no match for what he displays in his hands. There is a wasp in a glass bowl in front of him. At first the wasp was walking around, antennas and lower body twitching, but now it is completely still. With a spiraling movement of his wrist, a buzzing yellow energy came out of the wasp’s head, now dancing on Yixing’s fingertips.

“This is the soul of the wasp. Its entire being is at my fingertips. Its memories, its habits, its life .” Jongdae stares in amazement. “I could waft it away like a cloud of perfume and end this wasp’s consciousness right now. It would leave its body intact, organs and legs still working, but no line of thought. No thinking. No being. Just a body without a mind.”

That’s a whole lot of power. Jongdae gulps.

“I won’t do it,” Yixing reassures. His wrist spirals again and the soul retreats back into the wasp’s body. Life comes back into its form and the bug crawls around in the bowl once again. “I’m showing you this because I want you to know that this kind of magic is no joke.”

“I’m taking it seriously.”

“Good.” Yixing nods. “I taught myself this technique. Practiced days on end on the fleas in Chanyeol’s fur. I tried it with flies, moths, but drew the line at mice. I realized I was becoming too obsessed with the ability and immediately stopped. This magic originates from demons. It would have taken me over had I not stopped myself. You, on the other hand, will not be lured in by its powers. You are already a demon.”

“But the headmistress said I couldn’t develop my demon powers because I could be consumed by them. How do you explain that?”

“People are afraid of what they don’t know. Was your father a bad man?”

Jongdae shakes his head. “Not at all. He was just like any father.”

“There’s your answer. People hear the word demon and it freaks them out. The headmistress probably did it as a precaution.”

It makes sense.

“Back to soul play. Once you hold a soul in your hands, you can actually preserve it.” Yixing grabs a test tube and a cork from the drawer. Then he once again spirals his wrist and the soul returns to his fingertips. He gently guides the soul into the test tube and seals it tightly. “And that’s how you collect a soul.”

Slightly confused, Jongdae scratches his head. “Why do I need to learn this?”

“To disable Luhan, of course,” Yixing tells him as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Jongdae’s eyes widen. “E-excuse me?”

“I told you I wanted you on the frontline. If anyone is capable of handling this it’s you. Your powers are exactly what we need to defeat them. This school is full of people who have earthly powers – powers that are just like the nymphs’. But you… you have the power of the underworld. A power that is not within the laws of nature. A power they don’t know.”

“What do you mean they don’t know? Minseok himself said I caught Luhan’s eye.”

“They know you’re a demon. But they also know that you’re a half-blood. And nymphs… they see you as weak. Luhan doesn’t think you can do it. He won’t even expect it.”

Jongdae bites his lip. “What if I fail?”

“You won’t. Trust me. Now focus your attention on the task at hand, which is retrieving this wasp’s soul.”

Hesitantly, Jongdae stretches out his arm, his fingers nearly touching the wasp.

“Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus on its energy. Feel the life in its legs, the beat in its heart – the blood in its veins.”

Jongdae does exactly as instructed and immediately feels a buzz on the tips of his fingers. He can see the wasp with his eyes closed – can see the way it’s washing its antennas with its front legs. He sees everything with just his fingertips.

“Very good. Now make a circular motion with your wrist to pull its soul out.”

Jongdae opens his eyes and recreates the movement he saw Yixing do earlier. The golden soul slowly drifts to his fingertips. Life is in his hand. Jongdae can barely believe it as he gazes at the miracle. An incredibly amount of energy radiates of the tiny soul. It overwhelms Jongdae quite a bit and he has to take a deep breath.

“Now to return it, do the exact same thing, but focus on trying to feel your own soul as the only one in your body. Right now there are two souls within you. Push the wasp’s out.”

Nodding, Jongdae closes his eyes again and focuses on himself. His ow thoughts, his own heartbeat, his own limbs. The buzzing of the wasp’s soul becomes fainter and fainter, eventually fading into nothing with just a twist of his wrist. It gives him a feeling of immense power. After seeing the wasp move again, he takes a step back and gives Yixing a jaw-slacked look.

“Incredible, isn’t it?”

“I’ve never felt so powerful,” Jongdae whispers. “So much energy from such a tiny little wasp…”

“Now imagine how you’ll feel when you have the soul of the most powerful nymph in your fingertips.”

Jongdae can’t even begin to imagine. “Let’s just practice on bugs for now.”

Yixing laughs at that. “Sure thing.”

---

After the session with Yixing, Jongdae is completely overwhelmed, but so overwhelmed he almost feels… hollow . Seeing his boyfriend will surely cheer him up. Boyfriend . Jongdae grins to himself at the thought. A short walk through the snowy school grounds has Jongdae entering the dorm and immediately heading in the direction of Joonmyun’s room.

Jongdae raps his knuckles softly three times. Joonmyun’s soft voice tells him to come in not a second later and Jongdae quickly enters the room. As soon as he realizes his boyfriend is alone in the room and no Kyungsoo or Baekhyun are around, Jongdae jumps on him from where he’s sitting on the bed. Joonmyun squeals but before he can utter another words, Jongdae connects their lips. Joonmyun immediately responds, their lips slowly molding together.

After a minute of soft kissing, Jongdae pulls back. His face is red, but so is Joonmyun’s. A smile makes it way to his lips.

“Good afternoon,” he greets happily.

Joonmyun smiles back at him before lacing their fingers together. “How was the session with Yixing?”

“It was… incredible. I held a soul on my fingertips. It made me feel so strong. But also small. I can’t really explain it.” Jongdae gives up trying to retell the experience in words and rolls his attention to his boyfriend. “Did you do anything interesting?”

Joonmyun’s face lights up. “I did actually! I finally succeeded in temporarily giving Sehun and Zitao legs! Right now the potion only gives them five minutes, but lengthening the time frame shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you.” Jongdae cups Joonmyun’s cheeks and presses a light kiss on his forehead.

A shy smile makes its way onto Joonmyun’s lips and Jongdae can’t resist kissing him on the lips. It takes but ten seconds of soft kissing for it to turn heated. Jongdae’s tongue slips into Joonmyun’s cavern and it causes both of them to let out soft moans. Joonmyun’s hands slide up to Jongdae’s shoulders as he’s pressed into the mattress, spreading his legs to make way for Jongdae’s body.

“Can we?” Jongdae whispers

Joonmyun nods, and Jongdae’s lips are back on his again. Soon his hands begin roaming under Joonmyun’s shirt, his fingertips gliding over the soft planes of his stomach. Once one of his fingers brush past Joonmyun’s , the latter gasps softly.

Then the entire mood is shattered by an out-of-breath Baekhyun storming into the room.

“They’re here! The nymphs are here!” He yells, fear covering every inch of his expression.

---

There is an eerie silence. The calm before the storm.

Jongdae takes a deep breath while staring at the dark night sky. Snow slowly falls all around them but he detects smoke in the air. It means the plans with the markings is succeeding despite the school’s attempts at protecting it with barriers. Soon the ground around them will disappear, leaving them trapped on school grounds while fire consumes them.

Jongdae shuts his eyes. No. He will not let that happen. This is the only place where he truly feels welcomed, where he truly feels home . He’d rather die than let Jeolban disappear.

---

A thick, tense silence. Jongdae’s fists are clenched. His friends are around him, their usual gleeful faces grimed by frowns. There’s fear, there’s anger, there’s sadness. Teachers try their best to keep the force fields going, but more and more tiny zaps of magic keep making it through.

With bated breath, Jongdae watches shadows move beyond the lights of the force fields, expecting their presences to burst through the barriers any time. The silence before the storm is frightening. Knowing there is danger lurking - ready to destroy - sets off a panic inside Jongdae’s body. His blood is flowing madly, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, his lungs a little tight. He tries not to let it show. His feelings are not of importance right now. He needs to protect Jeolban.

Smoke begins to rise like pillars. Jongdae knows what this means. He glances around the area and finds five exact spots to be catching fire. The five markings. Once the fire reaches a certain height, it starts spreading off to the sides, eventually forming a circle around the compound. Once the circle is fully connected by the fire, a deep red light emerges from the markings, lighting up the area in a bloody glow.

Suspicious looks are thrown his way and Jongdae knows his eyes must be glowing. He wants to shut them, yet can’t. Suddenly there’s a hand grabbing his and Jongdae is fine again, because Joonmyun is next to him. They might be in grave danger but Jongdae finds comfort in their closeness.

“We can do it,” Joonmyun whispers.

Jongdae has no time to reply. A figure comes bursting through the force field. The ground cracks on impact, dust whirling up into the air. The figure stands up straight and dusts himself off, his gaze falling over the group in front of him.

Luhan.

Jongdae would recognize that sculpted, pale face anywhere. After that night in the alley with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, Jongdae knew he could never erase that face from his memory. How it was fired up with hatred.

Apparently feeling his glare, Luhan turns his eyes towards Jongdae, his lips curving up at the sight.

“The demon boy… interesting how you react to these marks,” Luhan observes with a mirk. “You know, Minseok wanted to recruit you. Said you’d be useful. I smacked him over the head of course. A half blood in my army is like a wolf among sheep. Now that I see you glowing like this, however, I do find myself to be quite interested.”

“ off,” Jongdae spits. “I’m not joining your hatred, not in a million years.”

Luhan laughs, throwing his head back. “Like I’d give you an option. I was just thinking of making you my little demon slave.”

Jongdae feels the grip on his hand tighten.

“Anyhow, I’ll decide what to do afterwards.” A murderous glint appears in Luhan’s eyes. The smirk still hanging on his lips makes for a spine-chilling expression. “For now… enjoy your demise.”

With a fist swinging upwards, a large clump of dirt soars through the air before crashing right behind the group. The moment the dirt touches the ground, tons of nymphs come flying through the force fields, ripping them apart like paper. They land with cynical expressions, magic zapping from their ready hands.

The attack is immediate. The crowd of half-bloods and nymphs are thrown into chaos in a matter of seconds. Shocks of magic light up the glade in a vast palette of colors, causing Jongdae to lose focus at a very critical moment. The few seconds he spends looking for his disappeared friends and boyfriend allows Luhan to manipulate the smoke from the fires, turning it into a toxic gas that has most of the half-bloods fainting within a minute.

Jongdae is one of the few who catches on quick, covering his mouth with his jacket. The gas may not enter his mouth anymore, but its thickness blankets the entire area in a deep blackness. No person is in sight, leaving Jongdae to count on his ears, which are filled with loud explosions and sharp cries. A nearby shout pulls Jongdae out of his hesitance and he automatically moves his body towards the source of the sound.

Between the smoke he finds Kyungsoo, mouth uncovered as he launches a nymph into the air with nothing but his fist. Two figures are close to him, fighting off nymphs as well. Jongdae nearly stills in shock when he recognizes Sehun and Zitao. Their legged forms are tall and skinny, but it takes less than a second for Jongdae to see that they are incredibly powerful. Their mouths are uncovered, and when Jongdae looks closely he can see they are manipulating the clouds of smoke around them. The dark gassy clouds are turned into water which splashes at their feet, and with that water they conjure powerful attacks against the nymphs.

Jongdae runs over to them and is met with an immensely relieved Kyungsoo.

“We need you stop Luhan as soon as possible. Once he’s gone we will hold much more power!”

Jongdae swallows. He knows his responsibilities. But that doesn’t mean he’s not afraid of them. Still, he bites his fear back.

“I have an idea.” He turns to the previously fish-tailed people. “Sehun and Zitao, do you think you could purify the clouds in the entire area?”

Zitao and Sehun share a look before nodding at Jongdae. “We can, but it’ll take all of our power for sure.”

“Kyungsoo will protect you,” Jongdae tells them.

Kyungsoo nods in reassurance, flexing his upper body muscles to emphasize his protective abilities. The enhanced abilities that Kyungsoo received from his vampire bloodline sure do come in handy.

Zitao and Sehun nod before getting on their knees. Closing their eyes, they begin to chant a spell which slowly clears the air of smoke but also calls for a massive downpour.

Jongdae removes the fabric and breathes the clear air, his eyes quickly searching for any familiar figures. He immediately sees the familiar figure of Joonmyun, his frail body standing opposite of a very powerful wizard. Minseok . Knowing Kyungsoo will be able to handle protecting Zitao and Sehun, he rushes over to his boyfriend, leaving his friend behind.

“Is this going to be revenge, Joonmyun?” Minseok asks with a smirk.

“Not Revenge. Avenge. I’m going to avenge myself, whether you like it or not.”

“Oh, I think I’ll like it,” Minseok replies with a grin. “A half-blood wizard with no power against me? A necromancer of the strongest kind? That’s pitting a rabbit and a lion against each other. Laughable.”

Joonmyun fires a sizzling orb at Minseok out of nowhere, surprising the necromancer.

“So you’ve learned a new trick? Did that demon boyfriend of yours teach you?”

Joonmyun replies with another magic attack, launching three electric balls at the necromancer with a battle cry. Jongdae’s eyes fall on the misty cloud gathering in Minseok’s hand, covering his palm in a grey haze. Gasping, Jongdae dashes to Joonmyun – he knows that trick and it’s not pretty.

“You know, Joonmyun. I admire your determination,” Minseok tells him as he watches Jongdae run to the wizard. “But you’re not worth it. Not by a long shot.”

Jongdae is just able to reach Joonmyun before Minseok releases the spell – an electric explosion followed by a thick fog. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend, hoping he hasn’t gotten hurt. The fog rolls out and Minseok has disappeared.

Lips pulled into a firm line, Jongdae turns back to his boyfriend. “Are you okay?”

Joonmyun looks past him, to the place where Minseok stood, and fury twists his features. “He’s a coward. All this talk about me being weak but he runs the moment I shoot something at him.”

“We’ll get him,” Jongdae reassures, pressing a swift kiss on Joonmyun’s cheek.

“Jongdae!” A call comes from behind. It’s Baekhyun, eyes panicky. When he comes to a halt in front of Jongdae, there’s blood in sight. A deep gash runs from his jaw to collarbone, oozing quite a bit of blood. Many scales have been torn away, the previously shimmery green now stained with deep maroon.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Jongdae asks worriedly. Seeing his friends hurt is difficult. Especially Baekhyun – he’s already been hurt too many times in his life.

“It’s nothing, a nymph just got too close to me.” Baekhyun brushes it off.

“I can make you a scale-repairing potion once this is over,” Joonmyun offers.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. But right now, you have to come with me. I found Luhan and I have a plan.”

---

“I would’ve expected you to be dead by now, demon boy,” Luhan remarks with a smirk as Jongdae, Joonmyun and Baekhyun stand in the middle of a small glade. Wind and snow and smoke whips them in their faces, but none of them are phased by it. The stakes are too high to be distracted by environmental factors. “I’m impressed. I’ll give you an honorable last fight before you die.”

“I’m not dying today,” Jongdae spits back, balling his fists. “The moment I get my hands on you will be the last time blood is shed on this property.”

Luhan raises an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that. I am the most powerful nymph of all. One from the purest of bloodlines and the most blessed to have ever lived. I have many powers you don’t know of.”

“So do I,” Jongdae retorts. His soul play will be his secret weapon.  

“Do you know how I came to be the most powerful nymph of all, demon boy?” Luhan asks, cleaning the dirt from under his nails. “I absorbed my parents’ powers when they died at the hands of a half-blood.”

Jongdae frowns. So his hatred for half-bloods is not the natural hate nymphs have for them.

“The death of my parents evoked a rage in me. A rage that simmers inside of me all at times. The only time I feel relieved of it is when I hurt those who hurt me. The half-bloods.” Luhan’s expression is dark, no madness or smugness, just pure, unfiltered hate. The rage he spoke of is apparent in his eyes. It’s a fire, tall and hot, one that you can’t just put out. Such an intense emotion has fear creeping over Jongdae’s body in the form of shivers, but he suppresses it, knowing that this is not the time to cower.

“I’m sorry your parents died at the hands of a half-blood but we don’t need to take responsibility for that. Your hate is unnecessary.”

“I feel it nonetheless,” Luhan says with a hard edge to his tone. “And you’re going to feel it too.”

Then a powerful burst shakes the ground beneath their feet. Jongdae loses his balance and hears heavy thuds behind him as well. Among the fallen, Baekhyun rises, charging to Luhan with his hand stretched outwards. He comes to a halt a few meters in front of him and proceeds to squeeze his hand into a fist. Luhan puts his hands over his throat and begins choking, face slowly turning red. Baekhyun is using his constriction powers to take the air away from Luhan, immobilizing him completely.

“Jongdae, get him!” Baekhyun shouts at the top of his lungs as he swiftly glances back at his friend.

Jongdae has already risen to his feet and prepares himself to concentrate on his soul powers. This is the first time he’ll be using them on such a large target, and the first time it’ll be under immense pressure too. He needs to do it fast, otherwise they’ll be in trouble.

But he’s not fast enough.

Before Jongdae can even get any closer to Luhan, he breaks free of the constriction and lunges at Baekhyun, punching him in the face with a brutal swing. Baekhyun flies back as he’s knocked unconscious. Joonmyun and Jongdae both gasp, but have no time to rush to their friend as Luhan turns to them. Jongdae quickly covers Joonmyun with his body in protection, not wanting any hurt to come to his precious boyfriend.

“You need to make a force field, Joonmyun. You can do that, right?” Jongdae softly asks his boyfriend, who nods in return. “And the paralyzing attack you’ve been practicing… will you be able to do that as well?”

Joonmyun bites his lip. “I-I don’t know… It hasn’t succeeded a lot of times.”

“I believe in you,” Jongdae says before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Now generate a force field before Luhan kills us.”

Joonmyun nods with a soft blush on his cheeks. He then takes a step back and puts his hand to the floor, murmuring words as a deep red force field expands itself around the two of them.

“Oh? The lovebirds are making a force field? I see Minseok’s isn’t so useless after all.” Joonmyun flinches at the words coming from Luhan’s mouth but makes no move to stop. While Jongdae is fuming in anger, he tries not to let himself get distracted as he prepares his soul powers.

When the force field is fully activated, Jongdae takes it from Joonmyun so he can perform his paralyzing attack. The humming of the force field thrums through Jongdae’s entire body, but he cannot let it distract him. He focuses on feeling Luhan’s presence even from this wide distance as the latter circles around the force field. The sound his footsteps make, the flowing of his blood, the way his eyes are trained on the two of them.

Luhan has a smirk on his face as he and Joonmyun perform a stare-off. Joonmyun, on the other hand, is immensely focused – brow furrowed as he looks for the perfect moment to strike.

Luhan makes a mistake. His eyes twitch towards Jongdae for a split second when he moves his hand in a circular motion. This mistake becomes fatal.

Joonmyun strikes him with bright red lighting, immediately paralyzing his entire body. Unfortunately, the lighting strikes Joonmyun himself too, causing him to cry out and fall into the cold snow. Jongdae gasps and releases the force field, causing it to disappear. He crouches by his boyfriend, who is still conscious but clearly in pain. His face is contorted and full of harsh lines.

“G-get him, Jongdae. I’ll be fine. I’m not that h— ugh —hurt,” Joonmyun tells him, even though he’s clearly lying.

Jongdae wants to make sure he and Baekhyun are okay but he can’t — this is his only chance. And if he misses it and the paralysis wears off, Luhan could do even greater damage.

Reluctantly, he makes his way over to Luhan, who is still on the floor. There’s fire in his eyes but his face is vacant of it as he is unable to move a single muscle. Jongdae glares back as he kneels in front of him.

“This is your own doing,” Jongdae tells him before closing his eyes. He hovers his hand closely over Luhan’s face and focuses on his energy. The blood in Luhan’s veins is pumping madly, as if this is the only place his anger can flow. The cold snow seeping through Luhan’s clothes causes Jongdae to shiver. Every feeling in Luhan’s body is on Jongdae’s fingertips, and spreads throughout his entire body as he makes the circular motion with his wrist to pull it out of Luhan’s body. The nearly black soul slowly drifts up to his fingers, but Jongdae notices some resistance. Luckily, Luhan’s paralyzed state stands no chance against him.

The weight of Luhan’s soul in his own body is crushing. He’s barely able to breathe. Luhan’s soul is heavy with hatred, filled to the brim with horrifying thoughts and feelings. There’s also hurt, under layers and layers of disgust and revulsion, but Jongdae doesn’t allow himself to feel empathy. Luhan is pure evil and his campaign of terror must be ended.

With much effort, Jongdae shakes the test tubes out of his jacket and lets them fall into the icy snow. It’s a miracle only two have cracks in them. To be sure, he brought plenty, and now it’s paying off. He grabs one and uncorks it. He then focuses on pushing Luhan’s soul out again, but it’s not easy. Luhan’s soul is strong. It feels it has gotten a new host and has noticed this host is trying to get rid of it as well. Grunting and shivering, Jongdae tries to focus on making his own soul the dominant one – focusing on his own thoughts, his own blood flowing through his veins, his own cold knees in the snow.

With a very shaky movement of the wrist, the soul slowly begins to leave his body, the black energy transferring into the test tube little by little. The hateful thoughts and heavy feelings slowly begin to lessen. The last of the soul drifts into the test tube and Jongdae feels ten pounds lighter. He quickly corks it and heaves a deep sigh of relief before falling back into the snow.

It’s over. It’s done.

Luhan’s soul is locked up and he can no longer do any damage. Jongdae lets his eyes drift up to the dark sky and focuses on the falling snowflakes, feeling them drop on his face and slowly melt in the warmth. It doesn’t feel real but it very much is.

“Come closer!” A voice shouts.

Jongdae sits up in shock as he recognizes Joonmyun’s voice. He quickly looks over at his boyfriend and sees him standing in the snow across Minseok. He’s not in great shape after taking a hit from his own attack, nearly losing balance, but his eyes are fierce.

Jongdae fights the urge to run over there and protect his boyfriend, knowing Joonmyun needs the closure. He can always jump in if Joonmyun is in danger. Joonmyun is very capable, though, and he has certainly proven that today.

“Come on! Come closer! Let’s finish what we started. Or are you afraid?”

“What we started?” Minseok laughs. “ I started it. And now I’m going to finish it.”

A blast of energy is immediately sent Joonmyun’s way, striking fear into Jongdae’s heart. Thankfully, Joonmyun avoids it with ease and does something entirely unexpected next: he jumps at Minseok, lifts him up by the collar of his shirt, and punches him on the jaw with all of his strength. Jongdae gapes at his usually calm and composed boyfriend, in utter shock at this display of power.

Minseok is visibly shaken by the hit, his eyes have gone half-lidded while spitting out a few teeth.

“B-bastard,” he stutters.

Joonmyun doesn’t react to the words and punches him again, this time right in the face. Again. And again. And again. And again until Minseok is unconscious on the forest floor, his deep red blood staining the snow in a striking contrast. Joonmyun is breathing heavily for a while.

“Joonmyun…” Jongdae calls softly.

Joonmyun looks over at him with glassy eyes. “Is it done?”

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” Jongdae replies in a snarky manner.

Relief spreads across Joonmyun’s face and he sprints over to his boyfriend. Jongdae finds Joonmyun’s body on top of his and their lips pressed together.

“You did it,” Joonmyun whispers in between kisses. “You saved Jeolban.”

“Not just me, everyone helped. You did too. You did great. I’m proud of you.”

They kiss for many minutes, not keeping track of time. Tears of relief and happiness flow down both their cheeks, mingling together as they lock lips over and over again.

Eventually they break apart.

“Let’s check upon Baekhyun. He won’t die in the snow because of his cold blood but I don’t think he should be lying there like that.”

Joonmyun nods in agreement and gets up, pulling Jongdae with him. Both of them glance at Luhan’s lifeless body a few meters away but neither of them comments on it.

“What are you going to do with his soul?” Joonmyun asks.

“Hand it over to the police when they come get him.”

“How do you know the police is going to come? They refused to help us before.”

“They refused us because they didn’t believe we were in danger. Now we’ve gotten attacked; they have to take us seriously.”

Joonmyun nods his head but still looks a little skeptical.

Jongdae crouches by Baekhyun’s body. He knows he’s still breathing since he saw his chest rising and falling earlier, but checks his body for any further injuries. The wounds on his body were already there. What’s really worrying is his prolonged state of unconsciousness.

“We’ll take him to the infirmary,” Jongdae says.

Together they lift Baekhyun up, carrying him out of the glade and back to the school.

---

The police has finally taken them seriously and come to their aid. Jeolban is currently inaccessible due to research from the police. Evidence is being gathered, including Luhan’s soul and body, which certainly gave the police a shock when both were collected. Every person present at the attack has given their story and many nymphs have been taken into custody.

The fight is over. The world can go back to the way it was. With a little change, maybe.

Thankfully, there are no casualties. But many are severely injured. Including Baekhyun. Kyungsoo has not left his bedside since Baekhyun got admitted to the hospital. The nurse explained it’s some kind of internal damage that’ll take quite some time to heal.

Sehun has also gotten injured, much to the worry of Zitao and Kris. The poor guy ended up with some kind of lung poisoning due to the toxic smoke Luhan created. Many others are in the same condition because of that vile move. The doctors say recovery is likely but it just takes time. It has put many at ease but no one will forget the events of that night.

Jongdae stands close to the closed school gates with Joonmyun by his side. They watch the property as every inch of it is being inspected by research teams. Jongdae grabs Joonmyun’s hand.

“I hope we get to be students again soon,” Jongdae says softly. He knows Joonmyun wants to tell him that it’s not going to happen in the very near future, he can tell by the look Joonmyun’s giving him even though he can only see him in the corner of his eye. But he doesn’t want to hear that, and Joonmyun knows that too.

So instead of being a downer, he says a simple, soft “ me too ” and turns his gaze back to the school. His hand squeezes him a little tighter, and Jongdae squeezes back.

It’s truly over.

They don’t have to fight anymore.

---

A/N: gahhh im so sorry its been forever!!!
i just have this thing where i realize the fic is bad and it makes me not wanna write anything for it anymore im sorry :((

do look forward to the last chapter tho, it'll be a... nice suprirse *wiggles eyebrows*

thank you all for subbing, voting and commenting!!! i appreciate it tons!!