“Wh-What do you mean she’s going to die?!” Seulgi shook Soojung’s body. The taller girl was crying after witnessing whatever she just saw in the spirit world.

“Seulgi,” Jennie called. “Her heartbeat.”

Jennie had been listening to Irene’s heartbeat, and every minute passed it got slower—way too slow than a normal living. Irene was dying and they knew that. Seulgi held Soojung’s hand.

“What are we going to do now?”

Soojung wiped her tears.

“We need to go to the spirit world.”

---

They had decided that the four youngest and Wendy—because she does not have a soul, anymore—would stay and watch over their bodies while the rest of them would go to save Irene. They were sitting in circle, surrounding Irene’s body. Soojung was their guide, they focused of her voice and her voice only. They were awakened by the unusual heat; they opened their eyes and greeted by blood-dripping black trees.

“Where are we?” Jennie asked.

“Is this spirit world?” Jisoo looked at her surroundings, completely terrified.

“It is, for Irene.” Soojung said.

The wolves and the jaguar were trying to shift, but strangely, it didn’t work.

“I-I can’t shift!” Jisoo panicked.

Soojung turned her body to see the shape shifters freaked out because they seemed to lose their abilities.

“Yeah, about that, I forgot to mention that everyone except a banshee—or a kitsune—will lose their powers once they entered the spirit world.”

“Oh! Great!” Jennie threw her hands. “Just great!”

Seulgi grabbed Soojung’s arm.

“How are we going to save Irene then?” she asked, Soojung could see through her eyes that Seulgi was scared more than ever.

“Trust me.” Soojung said to Seulgi, Jennie, and Jisoo. “We can. Together.”

They needed to trust Soojung because their lives depended on the banshee; as long as they did not leave each others’ sides. Soojung guided them to the place where she met Irene the first time. They were hiding among the trees because apparently, three Oni were towering Irene. Soojung explained that the Oni were guarding this place, they were demons and without saying anything more, its appearance was enough to creep three shape shifters. They were tall; their skin was red as blood, and their fangs—were really long, that it went pass their chins, but what creped them the most were the eyes, it was completely black; pitch black that made them aware there were nothing inside them, just complete darkness.

“Those creatures,” Jisoo whispered. “Do they have powers here?”

Soojung shook her head, making Jisoo sighed in relief until the taller said,

“But they have swords.”

As they were speaking, an Oni was pulling its sword and push it through Irene’s abdomen, her scream echoed. Seulgi gasped and she was about to jump out of their hiding, but Soojung pulled her back.

“What is your problem?!” Seulgi spat.

“Wait!” Soojung said. “Wait…”

Seulgi decided to do as Soojung told her, after felt like forever, the Oni left and they started to move. They ran quietly, approaching Irene who was lying on the ground; crying with a wound wide open on her abdomen.

“Oh my God, Joohyun…” Seulgi mumbled, loud enough for Irene to hear.

“S-Seulgi…? Is this really you?” Her bloody hands were slowly reaching to hold Seulgi’s face

“Yes, yes, it’s me.” Seulgi pulled Irene into her embrace, they were crying because they were happy to finally see each other again.

“Uhh…Guys. I think we have a problem!” Jennie said.

Before them; three Oni were walking towards them, and behind them—it was the kitsune. Her smirk was bigger than ever. They turned around to see Irene, but she was gone. They got tricked, again.

“You guys need to learn…not to trust a fox. Mm-mm..” She said. “Because they’re tricksters.”

“What- How did you know that we’re here!?” Jennie shouted.

“I can smell your delicious fear from afar. Now…” She stopped; her expression became dark and her voice—they could not explain it, but it sounded as if multiple people were speaking from inside of her body, her eyes changed to be as black as the Oni. Seulgi and the others felt more scared than before. They were terrified; they felt like something was consuming them; eating them from the inside—as if they would never see the light again.

“…Give it to me.” She finished as she stormed to attack. She was a few inches away to grab Seulgi’s neck when all of sudden she went down as her body hit the ground, hard.

“The wha- What did you do?” Jisoo threw a question to Seulgi.

“It wasn’t me.” Seulgi whispered.

The kitsune rolled around while coughing the blood out of , then she laughed.

“Okay…her laugh sounds creepier than before.” Jennie said.

The fox pushed her body up from the ground just to be knocked down again, by something invisible. No. She got attacked by wind.

“You leave my friends alone!” a familiar voice said, emphasised each of the words.

“Joohyun?!” Seulgi and the others yelled in confusion. They saw Irene; she looked bloody awful, and they noticed that she looked way thinner than before as if the fox had the life out of the poor girl. Instead of answering, Irene kept throwing her wind power to the fox.

“How did she do that while separated with the fox?” Jisoo asked Soojung.

Soojung looked as confused as the rest of them but, eventually she found the answer.

“Because, Irene is a kitsune and that…” she pointed the other Irene who got completely knocked down. “That is not.”

“Then what is it?” Seulgi eyes locked on the figure.

Soojung stepped to the front-line.

“Nogitsune.” She answered before she attacked it with her supersonic scream from the back.”

The figure that looked like Irene before, got its skin melted—literally. Its jaw dropped on the ground as it was laughing. Seulgi looked at her, and she didn’t know why she felt angry; also she didn’t know why she was angry. Was it because she felt useless? Because she was powerless?

She looked at the figure.

“I’ve lived for more than ten thousand years!” Dodging every attack that Irene threw. “You think you can kill me?!”

Her gasp finished her sentences, as her eyes were wide open.

“Yes, we can.”

The nogitsune took a peek through its shoulder. She was greeted by a pair of red glowing eyes as she felt claws were digging deeper through her flesh.

“The alpha…” she smirked, “Kang Seulgi.”

Seulgi replied her with a growl right in front of her face, then she turned her head to look at Soojung and Irene who were standing next to each other. She got distracted and she did not see a tail was coming towards her until it coiled around her neck.

“Now! Now!” Seulgi shouted at the banshee and the kitsune.

Irene took a deep breath, and the she realised a huge tornado from her palm. Her eyes changed from grey to glowing silver. Seeing it, Soojung helped her with her supersonic scream, combining their power together, blowing every piece of the nogitsune. Seulgi brushed the last piece of hers that stuck in between her claws and looked at the girls.

“It’s over.” She said.

Irene jumped into her arms, and pulled her into a kiss.

“So, we came here just so we can see this?” Jennie whined. “Okay, Oni can stab me now!”

“Umm…you better watch what you wished for.” Jisoo tapped Jennie’s shoulder, making the jaguar turned around and saw three Oni were towering them.

“Get back!” Seulgi pulled Jennie and Jisoo behind her.

“No, wait!” Irene stopped her from attacking the Oni.

The Oni; they shifted into something different. Their red skin disappeared—they became more…human-like, their black eyes now showing a little neon coloured light. Three figures could be seen wearing all black, and their heads were covered by black masks and also hooded; completely covered. Each one of them were carrying two swords on their back, but one of them were carrying the katana that was used by the nogitsune—that originally owned by Irene. The Oni were not the only things who changed, their surrounding changed too. It looked…calm and peaceful. One of the Oni who carried the katana stepped in front of Irene and kneeled down, hands were presenting the katana.

“You have freed us, kitsune.” It said. Its voice echoed, as if the other Oni were also speaking at the same time.

“Hence why, we will serve you until the end, my lord.”

---

“So…Let me get this straight.” Wendy said.

“You…” She pointed at Seulgi. “You shifted in the spirit world where supposedly you can’t, and finally became a pure-alpha that we all want you to be, great.” Then she moved her finger to Soojung.

“Get that off my face before I break it.” Soojung said, making Wendy shifted her finger to Irene.

“And you, apparently when you picked up the katana, you released a kitsune but also a nogitsune—evil fox spirit—who got you going all psychopath and apparently now you’re an air bender and a master of the Oni; literal translation for demon. I need to stop there because I might get a headache even though I don’t know how that feels like. And you two…” She pointed at Jennie and Jisoo.

“What were you two doing…exactly?”

Jennie shrugged nonchalantly.

“I’m hungry.” Jisoo said.

“Yeah, okay. Go to the kitchen, the youngest are eating chicken.” Wendy said. Jisoo pulled Jennie and rushed to the kitchen.

Now, they were all looking at Seulgi.

“I don’t understand.” Soojung said. “How did you do that? How did you shift?”

“I don’t know.”

Seulgi chuckled, and then she looked at Irene.

Oh, she knew why, okay?

---