Ever since Taeyeon had obtained knowledge of her power as well as the spell book, Hyoyeon wasn't sure if she was the same kind of person anymore.

Sure, she still defended them with an ardent heart reminiscent of the old Taeyeon, but she punished those that offended them with an iron fist---much could be said about that, since throughout their journey, she had been practicing on those that offended them the spell she had used on Lord Wyran.

Of course, it wasn't that she was being a tyrant, she only chose to do that spell to those that made a serious offence against them, but as her practice of what Yuri had so named the Blood Arts fervently, her proficiency in such magic also grew, till it came to the point where she could cast it with such lethal accuracy that the spell would immediately take effect, and the target would almost never know what had truly hit them.

Hyoyeon let out a yelp as the carriage they were in jolted suddenly, and Taeyeon glanced at her amusedly from her avid reading of the spell book in her lap.

“Ants in your pants?” She grinned at her sister as Hyoyeon gave her a deep scowl.

“I just don't have fondness for travelling in carts and carriages unlike you noble people are.” Hyoyeon retorted. “I prefer using my own two feet, thank you very much.” Taeyeon chuckled, fingers gently pressing the pages of the spell book in her hands, slightly shaking her head.

“You've changed.” Taeyeon's head snapped up surprise. “I didn't know someone could change who they were in just a few days time.” Hyoyeon crossed her arms. “Should I say you've become more..brutal in your ways of treating people who wronged us?” Taeyeon's fingers twitched.

“If you're not happy with me killing those two farmers that decided to rob us, then you can tell that straight to my face.” Taeyeon said plainly. “Please,make your...disgruntledness in plain view.”

“They were poor and starving.”

“They tried to rob us, Hyo. If I didn't kill them, the ones who would be dead would be us.”

“Oh.” Hyoyeon scoffed. “Farmers, being able to kill people like us. Sure, fat hope you'd expect me to believe a single second of that.”

Taeyeon sighed.

“What is it that you want to say them?” She raised her voice slightly, and Tiffany twitched in a corner.

“I was just saying, couldn't you have given leniency to those who needed it? It's only natural they resort to stealing if they lack something!”

“It is not!” Taeyeon thundered before them, fingers gripping tightly to the spell book. “Stealing is wrong by nature and should be punished! If everyone that was in trouble stole, where would Justice be?”

“Give me that!” Hyoyeon snapped, snatching roughly away from Taeyeon's grasp the spell book.

A draft of cold air sneaked through the carriage as soon as the book left Taeyeon's hands.

Confusion passed through her face, before it settled on bewilderment.

“W-what happened?”

“I knew something was wrong with this thing!” Hyoyeon said hotly, attempting to throw it out of the window in a fit of anger.

“No! Wait!” Yuri nimbly grabbed her hand. “As long as she doesn't touch it for a long while, it should be safe from affecting her just as much.” Taeyeon stared at them, still quite bewildered. “Besides, we need it's spells. Don't we?”

Tiffany quickly grabbed onto the book from Hyoyeon.

“If this book can have the potency to affect even someone like Taeyeon's very own nature, then…” She breathed, skimming her fingers lightly over it's cover before grimacing.

“...I see.” She exhaled, the blue glow to her fingers dying off as she opened her eyes. “It looks like that Wyran had no good intentions either, giving you this book.” She chuckled darkly. “Everything is real and intact save for the book cover. A clever manipulation, and quite a curious one indeed, to have a malicious soul to reside inside the covers but not the pages, to pollute the bearer's soul to think and act like what the malicious soul does.”

Yuri's glanced coldly at the book.

“Magic or not, it's dangerous, isn't it?”

“The cover itself is dangerous. Not it's contents.” Tiffany chided softly. “You can simply remove the cover and be done with it. I expect Wyran was intending to control you for his own purpose through this book. After all, having an angelic Halfings to do your every whim and fancy is what every demon hating fanatic would love, isn't it?” Yuri scowled lightly, before drawing her knife with such precision and slicing off the book cover, altogether with it's binder.

Pages of spells scattered wildly within the carriage, old and well worn, and Tiffany scrambled quickly to pick them up and gather the loose pages into her lap.

“Watch out!” Hyoyeon was the first to see the discrepancy as Tiffany bent over the book cover to reach for another loose page fluttering just beyond the cover itself.

Dark, screeching energy, taking the form of a fanged skull lunged out from the cover, seeking to tear it's teeth into the nearest flesh host it could devour---only to be stopped by a flash of golden light, and a splatter of golden red blood.

Taeyeon panted as she held her hand out, a golden barrier encasing the dark entity within it's walls as blood spilled from her wrist.

“Taeyeon!” Yuri gasped, quickly pressing her fingers to the older girl’s wound. Her knife that she had held out to slice off the covers was stained with the golden coloured blood that spilled from Taeyeon's wrist.

In her urgency to cast the spell, Taeyeon must have sliced up her wrist a tad too deep on her sharp knife, spilling more blood than it should.

“Made it in time.” Taeyeon panted, before grunting as the spirit itself tried to force it's way out powerfully from the barrier. “Perhaps a little more help here, Dae?” The long forgotten spirit-like Daesung billowed disgruntledly out of her locker and billowed itself around the malignant spirit.

“So you finally remember me when I have a purpose that helps you all, isn't it?” He pinched the golden barrier apart with his fingers. “Whoops! Nearly let it get away.” He pinched the tail end of the dark spirit quickly as it tried to escape, before opening his mouth wide and swallowing the spirit with a loud gulp. “But considering how well fed I am, I'll just let you off this one time.”

Taeyeon grimaced slightly, clutching her wrist with a pained smile.

“Whatever you say, Daesung.”

The rest of the girls watched her with careful eyes as Taeyeon reclined against the side of the carriage and closed her eyes, eerie silence accompanying them for the rest of the way.

~~~~~~

“This is as far as I can take you. There's been recent changes in the capital. None are allowed to roam freely between the capital and the outside world any longer.” The farmer that had driven their carriage for most of the way bowed as low as he could as Taeyeon smiled at him graciously, the wind blowing through her tresses with a gentle caress.

“No matter. You've done well enough. Thank you.” Yuri and Hyoyeon caught the toe ends of each other's smiles secretly and shied away their faces as the farmer blushed deeply and fumbled.

“Jiyong isn't gonna be happy with you using your charm to get away with everything now, isn't he, Taeyeon?”

“Oh, shove it up your , Fany.” Taeyeon nearly flipped the other girl off, but paused momentarily before sticking out her tongue childishly. “I'm just making do with what we have.”

“Sure, sure! Whatever you say, boss.” The group of four stepped into the bustling citadel.

“We've only been gone for four days right? Only a day longer than we should have.” Hyoyeon's voice was edge with tension and discomfort. “The capital shouldn't have changed so much.

Simultaneously, all the girls moved in protectively like a singular body over Taeyeon protectively.

What used to be streets of bustling people now filled with demons wearing human masks, and slaves being driven from place to place, brands burnt on their palms and feet. Children were screaming as they were torn from their parents, and thrown into cages, and Tiffany immediately tightened her grip against Taeyeon as she jerked forward.

“What are you doing?”

“Stopping you from doing something stupid like saving those kids and revealing yourself. Look.” Tiffany jerked her chin harshly in the direction of the notice board. “Apparently, apart from you, we're fugitives now. Something must have happened.”

“What else can it be save for the fact that Jiyong must have reverted back to his demon king self?” Hyoyeon snorted.

Yuri scuffed her feet nervously.

“They're targeting lots of young children. What if Chaeyin---”

“She's royalty. They wouldn't dare go that far, no matter how demonic they are.”

“Yoongie and Seo also fall under the children's category. Not to mention Soo’s underaged, and so is Wendy, Seulgi and Joy. I think apart from Irene, the rest of them could be mistaken as children.” Taeyeon eyes snapped sharply up to Hyoyeon's as the younger girl calmly deducted the situation. “ They must be held hostage, or simply being kept in the castle, or else our heads would have been proclaimed to be lobbed off on sight instead of being captured on sight. “ Hyoyeon slowly exhaled. “They think we kidnapped you.” A low chuckled passed through Hyoyeon's lips. “Now, I'm sure I can tell clearly who's signature handiwork that is.” She pointed slightly to the mark at the corner of the wanted paper.

“Of course it would be none other than the demon Sha.”

“Uh oh.” Hyoyeon whipped her head back immediately at Tiffany's small voice.

“Maybe you shouldn't have said that.” Their eyes rested on the empty spot behind them that Taeyeon once stood, the faintest scent of blood blossoms floating through the air as they caught sight of a familiar scarf nimbly flapping as a figure timed a ride behind an unknowing carriage rider coursing towards the Kim Mansion, quickly running and leaping with gentle grace up onto the thin ledge of the carriage as it cantered away.

“Where the did she learn to do that?!” Hyoyeon exclaimed explosively, before all three of them dashed in the direction of the manor, hot on Taeyeon's heels.

~~~~~~

Hot, pounding anger, blood red and filthy hot coursed through Taeyeon's veins as she gritted her teeth at the sight of her old home.

Children were slapped as they wailed in front of the manor, chains binding their feet and hands as they were dragged into the ominous looking manor that once held all her memories of joy and laughter.

Her breath stuttered in her chest as the carriage shuddered to a stop, and Taeyeon nimbly ducked into a corner, pulling the scarf up above her face as a precaution against the guards standing guard at the entrance of the manor. It would do little against professional trained guards, but at the very least, it could buy her minimal time before she cast her spells.

Taeyeon glanced back at the far entrance of the alley leading to the Manor.

She had around ten minutes or so before the other three managed to catch up with her and we'll, stop her, so being quick was of the highest essence.

She darted across and weaved carefully between the children, gritting her teeth to force herself to move forward and disregard the pleas and cries for help echoing on all sides.

Her feet nimbly touched the door ledge, her steps too light and quick for the guards to catch.

Almost there.

“Hey you!” A rough shout suddenly sounded behind her, then came a resounding sound of palm against flesh, hitting crudely across someone's face.

There was a keening wail.

And Taeyeon stiffened.

“I told you to shut the up, didn't I?” The guards had had enough of the screaming and crying from the children.

They advanced forward, together as one, with malicious smiles as they leered at the girls and sneered at the boys.

“Ugly! Nasty!” One of the older boys plucked up the courage to scream, grabbing dirt and tossing it into the guard’s eyes with painful accuracy. The guard reared back with a furious scream, and a pebble smack him in the head from the opposite side.

“You're mean! We wanna go home!” The dirty bedraggled girl had a palmful of stones, and each found it's way, smacking into the flesh of the furious guard, which unfortunately, did little to no harm.

“You ing !” The guard screamed, spittle spraying all over the young child's face, “Come here!” He grabbed her by the collar, and Taeyeon heard a ripping sound from the place she stood safely behind the pillars. “I'll kill yer’ for making fun of me! Kill ya! “ He roared, and the sharp sound of metal sliding from it's sheathe grated in Taeyeon's ears. “In the name of Lord Sha!” He roared---

And everything froze.

“What?” The guard slurred slightly.

“Up here.” A soft voice draw his eyes upwards, and a bead of sweat trailed down his ugly forehead.

The guard salivated.

Then laughed.

It was a beautiful lady.

Her pale slender fingers touched and lifted his chin, pink shell lips curving into a condescending smile. Those glowing eyes, grey but with a hue of gold, fluttered at him through long thick eyelashes.

She wasn't just pretty.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

What was a pretty lady like her doing so far from the safety of the streets though?

He opened his mouth in a eager grin----

And fell apart into wet pieces of sliced steaming meat.

Taeyeon glanced disgustedly at the pile of meat left that was the corpse of the man's body. The girl child that she had saved simply stared at her, wide eyed and astonished.