The fight was a blur. You watched in shock as the fight unfurled around you, all hell breaking loose.

                You couldn’t move, rooted to the floor. Around you, you watched as Jimin swooped in with his sword drawn and slashed at The Queen, only to be blocked as a demon jumped to take the blow for her.

                A horde of demons stormed in from the vast entrances, advancing towards Jimin rapidly. You blinked yourself out of your daze and looked around frantically for a weapon, eventually grabbing a decorative mace off the wall. It wasn’t good quality, but it would do.

                You dove into the fight.

                For every time you swung your mace and knocked back a demon, Jimin cut down two. He slashed wildly, a fierce fire blazing in his eyes as he pushed against the demons keeping him away from The Queen and Jungkook.

                You continued to fight, landing blow after blow. It’s still not enough.

                As if answering an unspoken prayer, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung, and Seokjin swooped in with a loud battle cry. Yoongi smirked and ran at the demons, fighting with the fury of a lion. Namjoon let out a loud yell and charged into the battle with a saber drawn, Jin following behind with his eyebrows furrowed.

                He seemed to be obviously struggling, holding his weapon slightly loose and hesitating to strike. You sprinted in his direction, knocking demon after demon out of the way until you stood back to back with Seokjin. He sent you a relieved look, showing his gratitude as you two fought swiftly.

                “Are you okay?” You managed to say, raising your voice slightly to reach over the growls of the slowly dissipating mass of monsters.

                He nodded, slicing one of the creatures in half and wincing. “I- I can feel them… They’re dying… It hurts, it hurts so much. They already had so little soul.” You could feel his form tensing and the first warnings of tears beginning to edge into his voice.

                “Jin.” You said, bashing one of the demons who approached you in the head. “Don’t worry, okay? It’ll be fine. Just… Just a little more, okay?”

                He nodded again, letting out a small sob as he struck another demon.

                You stayed by Seokjin’s side until you were sure he would be able to fend for himself, then maneuvered in the direction of The Queen and Jungkook through the thinning horde.

                Jungkook’s eyes widened as he saw you, and he gripped his sword cautiously. The Queen smirked, nodding in approval.

                “I didn’t expect you to survive this long,” she chuckled.

                Your hand tightened around the mace as you directed your gaze on Jungkook. “Kookie…” You murmured. “Why did you do this?”

                He looked down as The Queen laughed again. “Ah, you think you can sway him with your logic? You can’t dear. He’s made up his mind, and I’m sure he intends to keep it.” She sent her son a warning glance as the hostility in her tone increased.

                “H- Hoseok…” Jungkook managed to stutter. “I- I want to see him.”

                Your heart twisted as he spoke, the reminder of your old friend painful.

                The Queen only laughed again, and with a flourish of her hand, caused a figure to shimmer into existence in front of the throne.

                Hoseok.

                Jung Hoseok’s body was curled up, almost as if he was sleeping, the blood still dried on his neck. His eyes were closed, yet his skin looked bright enough that you could imagine his eyelids fluttering open at any moment.

                Jungkook coughed softly, trying to stifle a sob as he moved to walk towards Hoseok’s dead body, but The Queen stopped him.

                “Remember our agreement now, Jungkook. First, kill the others. Then you’ll get to see your beloved Hoseok again.” Her lips curled into a cruel smirk as she watched Jungkook’s eyes flitting around the room in panic, just in time to see Jin cry out in pain and fall to the floor.

                Namjoon, who had been occupied with a small cluster of demons, immediately looked up and rushed to Seokjin’s side, standing protectively around Jin as he clutched his head in pain.

                Seokjin let out another scream as the others continued to fight. What had started out as possibly a thousand creatures flooding into the vast room had diminished to only fifty or so, with the others still fighting left and right to cut down demon after demon.

                Jungkook looked unsure again for a moment, watching Seokjin trembling and Namjoon standing protectively over him. His eyes moved to Yoongi, whose smirk remained on his face as he fought, too immersed in the battle to notice anything else. Taehyung was laughing like a child with a new toy, seemingly teasing some of the demons and then smiling gleefully when vines erupted from the ground to strangle them, small flower blossoms blooming along the greenery that had now taken over a good portion of the large throne room. Jimin, standing with his sword gripped tightly and cuts and bruises covering his entire body, continued to fight mercilessly, letting out a scream of rage from time to time.

                Finally, his gaze fell back to you. “I- I’m sorry…” He whispered.

                “No, Kookie!” You said, tightening the grip on your mace once more.

                “I- I need to see Hoseok-“ His voice broke as he looked up at you, tears in his eyes.

                “Jungkook, I want to see him, too. But it’s not worth it, please. Don’t do this, Jungkook.”

                “Y- You don’t understand!” He screamed, fire burning in his eyes. The Queen smiled softly and took a step back, watching with her disturbingly calculating gaze. “I- I loved Hoseok, and you took him from me! If you hadn’t existed, he’d still be here! If that demon hadn’t come…” He let his sentence trail off, looking down as tears fell onto the cold stone beneath his feet.

                He looked up again, his eyes red as he met your gaze. “If Interitus hadn’t been there, he would have come back to me. Like he said he would. Like he promised. But no, that monster had to show up and- and steal him from me!” He yelled, his shoulders slumping.

                Your eyes softened, reluctantly reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Kookie, I’m sorry. I- I didn’t know about this, okay? Hoseok never told me any of this. I wish he were here, too. But whose fault is that? You think I, of all people, could summon a demon?”

                He tensed slightly. “N- No…”

                The Queen’s gaze had shifted slightly. Her seemingly confident smile faltered temporarily as she looked at Jungkook. “What are you waiting for, Jungkook, kill her!”

                He shook his head, looking up. “No, I- I can’t! But I have to… But I can’t!” He argued with himself, looking conflicted.

                “Please, Kookie…”

                “Jungkook, kill her already!”

                “Don’t do it…”

                His hands trembled as he looked up at me, still gripping his knife. His gaze flickered across the room one last time before he stepped forward, pushing you back violently.

                You gasped in shock, stumbling back just in time to see an arrow pierce Jungkook’s side, right where you had been standing a moment ago.

                A demon cheered momentarily, only to have The Queen’s unforgivable gaze lock on him. It faltered, only to disappear as Jimin stabbed it. Immediately, he ran towards The Queen and slashed at her midriff, watching as she screamed in agony.

                As soon as it had started, the screaming stopped, and she slowly disintegrated, turning to dust carried away by an unknown breeze.

                And as she disappeared, Jungkook collapsed, his side stained scarlet with blood.