Author’s Note:

I'm baaaack and sadly I don't think I did anything remotely interesting in this chapter, I really really feel so uninspired these days so I thought forcing myself to write at least for fifteeh minutes to an hour a day will make it better. Clearly it hasn't held much of an effect for me but still at least the story is PROGRESSING rather than not updating for another months or so right? Right.

Also, I included lots of mythical creatures, particularly from Asia, in this story but.. tweaked them a bit. I tried to do a thorough research but still, if I did what I shouldn't have (idk I'm scared like what if I included a mythical creature that was once worshipped like a god and portrayed them badly in this story?), please give me constructive criticism on it (but pls don't burn me on a stake I have soft heart).

That being said, I'm done babbling, so enjoy chapter five!

Five.

The Immortals.

When Joohyun arrives at the location, she is mildly surprised.

“Here?” she asks. “But this is still inside the immortal’s realm.”

“The location isn’t the only thing that is peculiar.” Junmyeon murmurs. “Look at the wound.”

The dead body of Kim Doyoung lies on the bottom of a gorge, his head crooked unnaturally against the sharp rock underneath him and his right arm is twisted in a way that Joohyun knows human bodies are unable to do. Joohyun notices the big, rotting, gaping wound on the side of Doyoung’s body, stretching from his left chest onto his waist. Joohyun also spots the dark, curvy lines stretching from the wounds.

“Those are his veins.” she mutters. The corpse putrid, rotting smell of the corpse is unbearable. She detects rot and blood and death and dying flesh in the air but she also detects something else. Something she can’t really put her finger on. “What is this smell?”

She turns to look at the alpha of the werewolf pack. If there’s any being who’s sense of smell is better than her, it’s the werewolves. The alpha is a man with lean but toned body, skin tan from the sunlight and small face with prominent cheekbones, sharp nose and sharp jawlines. His eyes are the color of gold, with sharp and strong gaze.

When she gazes at him, somehow she already knows the answer before he speaks.

“No.” Jongdae still says it nonetheless. “Neither does Minseok.” he says, mentioning his beta who’s standing behind him. Contrasting Jongdae’s, Minseok skin is so much lighter but his eyes are sharp, almost cat-like. His facial features are also softer.

“The body is starting to rot but you can still make out the wound.” this time, another man speaks. He is tall, towering over the rest of them. His eyes shines blue in the dark and his hair is silver. Wu Yifan, the First Dragonlord of the dragon clan. “No animals can cause that, I would bet on us, Immortals, but we’re not exactly allowed to murder humans anymore and that bite mark didn’t belong to any of us.”

“If any Immortals here were breaking the Law, we would know.” Junmyeon says. “The realm would know.”

The Law, which existed after the Great War between Immortals and Mortals centuries ago, forbids any of them to kill a human. It’s okay to prey on them but to murder them means punishment. No one can escape from the Law. Should any immortal disobey it and murder a human, every immortals in the area would know it instantly.

“So since we’re not hearing any ominous bell ringing non-stop since yesterday, we can conclude that the murderer is not one of us?” It’s the leader of the Phaya Naga clan this time who speaks. He is a slim, lean man with fair skin, sharp nose and smooth jaw. His eyes are green, like the surface of a lake and his hair are the color of the night.

“I think it’s not that simple, Ten.” Minseok speaks up this time.

“Well, are there any magics that can fool The Sacred Law?” it’s Ten’s mate, Lalisa’s turn to speak. Her big, green eyes stares at them one by one, not challenging, but asking for confirmation. Her light brown hair looks like they’re rippling when the moonlight manages to break through the canopy of leaves above her.

“Not that we know.” Junmyeon answers. “So far.”

Another man speaks up now. “Well, it’s surely inconvenient that we can never summon the grim reaper and question him, huh?” Zitao, the Second Dragonlord says, he looks rather amused.

“Who found the corpse?” Joohyun asks again.

“Mark did.” Jongdae says.

“Mark?” Joohyun arches one of her eyebrows. “I thought it’s going to be one of you.” she turns to look at Yifan and Zitao.

They are currently inside the dragon clan’s territory and territory is one of the most sensitive topic amongst Immortals. Immortals are free to enter and leave each other’s territory so long as they respect the boundaries and rules that are set there, meaning vampires can go to the wolves’ territory and the dragons can go to vampires’. However, there are parts that are off limits. The leader’s area are off limits to different clans, meaning neither from the wolf pack, dragon clans and phaya naga clans are allowed to step foot near Hollow Manor without Joohyun’s, Junmyeon’s or her sisters’ permission.

“You know, considering the Dragon’s mountain is just a few feet behind us.” Joohyun says again when Yifan’s eyes squint dangerously at her. The Dragon’s mountain is where the four Dragonlords, leader of the dragon clan, live. There is a grand castle that sits on top of it, far above the clouds, they call it the Dragonlords’ Lair.

“In our defense, this corpse was not here yesterday, nor any day before that." Zitao replies calmly.

“Right. Your wolf is prowling way too close to my restricted territory.” Yifan glares at Jongdae, who glares back in return.

“I suggest you be thankful that Mark is reasonable enough to check it. If he didn’t who knows if we ever going to find this body.”

“Are you accusing our clan of being negligent-”

“We have more pressing matters at hand now.” Lalisa says loudly, crossing her hands over her chest, grimacing as she stares at Zitao and Jongdae try to murder each other with their gaze. “Haseul, Jihyo, you haven’t spoken anything since we gathered here, do you have any input?” she turns to look at the High Priestess of the witch cult.

Haseul is wrapped in black robe from head to toe. Strange, usually she wears white. Joohyun could make out her long, brown hair and the lines of her nose and lips underneath the hood she wears. “I’ve been seeing terrible things in the crystal for days.” is the first thing she speaks. Her chains and stone bracelets glow ominously under the moonlight and she grips her staff tighter.

“The universe has been telling me of danger looming before us… I tried to decipher it but I didn’t realize it was going to be something like this.” she says again, staring worriedly at the corpse. “This corpse is a bad omen.”

Joohyun knows she’s telling the truth, the fear and anxiousness emanating from Haseul are so strong and when she looks harder, Joohyun could see clouded crystal ball turning black, a hissing black cat, crows, a dying bat breaking through a glass window and-

“Please don’t probe into my mind. I’d rather keep it to myself and share it with everyone until I am sure of what message the universe is trying to tell me.” Haseul’s voice drops into a whisper and instantly, Joohyun can feel an invisible force pushing her away.

She’s glad she manages to hold her ground and didn’t move an inch, but Joohyun can’t figure out Haseul anymore.

“So how did the poor boy end up here? Mortals don't know of our realm's existence. There is no way he's able to enter our realm unless he’s, maybe, partially Immortal." Jihyo, the Queen of the Forest Nymphs murmur, she starts to pace back and forth, her bare feet grazing the soil. “Only Immortals who knows of and can enter this realm.”

“Even if he’s with an Immortal, he still won't be able to get past the barrier." Junmyeon huffs. “Maybe he was partially Immortal.”

Yifan frowns. “Let's not jump into conclusions.”

“Yes. Let's not." Haseul agrees. “Right now we have more questions than answers.”

Suddenly, a strong wind breezes past them and the trees start to rustle wildly, as if storm is rattling them. The sound of shrill, menacing laughter echoes through the night and there are dark silhouettes of humanoid figure jumping through the trees, running on the ground, their footsteps crushing the leaves on the ground noisily. This is all too familiar.

“Dokkaebi!" Joohyun yells, her voice loud and clear, beating the cacophony of wind, trees and laughter. “Show yourselves!”

Slowly, the laughters subside and the trees stop shaking and the wind calms down. A figure appears from one of the pine trees, crouching weightlessly on one of a big branch. Another one appears, dangling upside down by its feet from the top branch, swinging and grinning mischievously at them.

“A commotion!” one says.

“A gathering!” the other sings.

“There's a party and they didn't invite the mischief maker?" they said in unison, identical grin curving on their faces, showing sharp, long fangs.

Yifan looks pissed. Dragons think the Dokkaebis are nuisance. “A mortal just died you idiots." he snaps.

“Ooooh," One of the Dokkaebis exclaims, “You know it’s forbidden to kill a mortal.” he says with a smile, gray eyes twinkling like cold stars in the night.

“A dead mortal!” the other one exclaims with same amount of vigor. His sharp, cat-like eyes disappearing into crescent when he let out a loud, shrill laugh.

The first Dokkaebi feigned a frown, “A dead mortal.” he repeats. “He was lost-”

“So we took him to the edge of the forest!” the second Dokkaebi pipes in.

“But he came back!” the first finishes.

“And he lost his life.” the cat-eyed Dokkaebi murmurs, feigning a sad look. “That’s what happen when you don’t listen to Dokkaebi.”

Joohyun closes her eyes, thankful that her lack of emotion means she’s rarely bothered by the Dokkaebis' annoying way of speech. “You took him to the edge of the forest?" She repeats, arching an eyebrow at them. “Answer me, Hanbin.”

Dokkaebi clan are always civil with the vampires, so with a smug smile, the leader of the Dokkaebis speak. “Why, yes, Joohyun. Kim Doyoung was lost and hungry and thirsty,”

“So we took him to the edge of the forest so he can go home two days ago!" Hanbin's right hand, the cat-eyed Dokkaebi named Jiwon, continues.

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