Deadly Love
Grand Finale

Kwon Jiyong. 

The name that everyone was terrified of to their cores. The name that people are afraid of even whispering in the solitude of soundproof rooms. The name that makes anybody’s blood freeze and face contort in agony.

Kwon Jiyong was often interchangeable with various words such as Hades, the God of Death, Hell King, the King of Destruction, Grim Reaper, and anything slightly related to the death or destruction.

It all began when the Jiyong met a cute, young man in the middle of field full of pure white peonies. The big flowers around the mysterious man were blooming to their fullest and bathing in the Sun’s warmth. They swayed side to side along with the refreshing wind, as if they were passionately dancing for that man. 

Alas, the irony of this scene was beyond absurd.

Jiyong’s innocent heart was racing as he boldly stared at the beautiful man. The man wore a loose baby blue t-shirt and white pants. His hair was pitch black, a stark contrast to his pale skin. His eyes were pure gold, shimmering with mirth and peace. Those very orbs should have already been a strong indicator that he was not human even though Earth was supposed to be populated only by Earth native beings.

“Wh-who are you?” 18-year old Jiyong managed to ask out of sheer curiosity despite his shyness, his own eyes blown wide and his cheeks dusted with intense crimson. 

Jiyong could sense that there was something wrong with the man in front of him, but he had been so charmed by the male’s beauty, that he pushed that gut feeling aside. The man felt as if he was old as this universe, but young when it comes to mind. He seemed as if he has seen everything and possessed the wisdom that knows no limits. He was the embodiment of beauty, but that beauty was somehow dangerous, lethal. Jiyong discarded those thoughts, choosing to concentrate on the present. 

“Jiyong-ie,” the man greeted and for some odd reasons, Jiyong was not surprised that the man he just met for the first time knew his name. “I’m Seungri.”

“Hello, Seungri-ssi,” Jiyong politely replied and stepped forward, but halted when Seungri raised his palm, telling Jiyong to cease any advances.

“It’s dangerous for you to come any closer,” Seungri sadly explained, casting his gaze down.

Suddenly, his face reflected more emotions than Jiyong originally had seen. There was a mixture of sadness and loneliness. Jiyong immediately felt the need to help Seungri in order to eliminate those negative feelings. 

“Why?” Jiyong insisted on moving forward, his heart squeezing from pain that he was rejected by Seungri. 

Seungri just looked up to him and nervously bit his lip. Then his eyes darted to another figure that just stepped into the field.

“That’s him, right?” the newcomer in silky purple tunic growled. 

He looked like a Greek god with those killing looks. His eyes were big and his jawline was defined. His enviously wavy brow hair bounced as he stepped towards Seungri. His bad mood was beaming off him and was nearly palpable despite the grand distance between each person.

“TOP, please,” Seungri grimaced when he saw TOP’s furious face.

Instead of answering, TOP glared at Jiyong with intense anger. “You. You are the cause of my misfortune. ”As long as I live, you shall never reach your dream,” he hissed and suddenly Jiyong felt as if he was stabbed, as he slumped down on all fours and screamed in pain.

“No!” Seungri shrieked, clasping his hand over his mouth the instant he heard TOP’s words.

Jiyong groaned, but managed to straighten himself back into a standing position. His vision was blurry and he felt weak, as if all the energy was drained out of him. He was out of breath and his lungs hurt so much just from breathing. He was severely hyperventilating, but he felt as if he was drowning in a thick liquid despite the deep intakes of air. 

“Jiyong-ie!” his mother called and Jiyong did the mistake of snapping his head back to respond to his mom, because the moment he turned back, Seungri and TOP were already gone. 

That night, Jiyong went through the oldest books in his country’s biggest library. He diligently spent night and days, thoroughly searching for just one mere word, until he finally finds it — Seungri. 

“I see,” Jiyong clicks his tongue as he finds a way to connect with Seungri so that they could cross paths again.

120 years later, and here he is, the youngest and the most powerful warrior in the whole history of the this grand universe. Jiyong has not aged and he has remained as handsome as he was when he was cursed. After all, he was cursed by TOP to remain young forever. This marvelously handsome man with such an adequate name — after all, Jiyong means the will of a dragon in Korean — also happens to the the one who murdered at least half of all the living beings. 

Jiyong was walking up to the hill to see the freshly won war. He just destroyed yet another planet, its native beings lying lifelessly on the raw ground, drowning in the murky pool made out of their own blood. The only survivors are his army and himself. All the planets around them already gave up on trying to beg Jiyong for mercy and started evacuating. Jiyong does not care, for he knows that he will find new beings to kill. He plucks the only white peony he can spot and presses it against his lips. 

“Ah, so soft,” Jiyong thinks, nibbling on the petals.

“Your majesty,” a voice calls out and Jiyong turns around. 

Jiyong is wearing nothing but a dark armor with intricate, golden embroilments. His hair is bright red and his grey eyes are cold, absolutely merciless. 

“Yes?” Jiyong an eyebrow and spots smiling Youngbae, his best friend and the second in command of his army. “Drop the formalities. Nobody is within the hearing range.”

“Jiyong,” Youngbae corrects himself and his grin widens. He prefers to call him formally whenever they were in public. He didn’t want people to think that he got this position due to the close relationship he had with Jiyong. 

“What brings you here?” Jiyong inquires, satisfied with his friend’s change in attitude. 

“Are you finally happy?” Youngbae goes down to business and sits down on the shining blue grass, pulling his knees to his chest. 

Youngbae is also wearing an armor, but his embellishments are bronze instead. He is older than Jiyong and his barely visible wrinkles reflect this fact. His hair is platinum blond and his eyes are deep sapphire. Both men are muscular and there are actually people who mistake them for brothers.

“No,” Jiyong admits. “I am not done with my courting yet.”

“I see you plan to send more of the gifts to Death,” Youngbae hums and changes the topic, his voice low and mature. “It’s interesting how this planet reminds me of home.”

“I agree,” Jiyong nods, looking at the village. “Their wood is red and their grass is blue though.”

“Indeed. Their people also have purple skin and navy blood, but hey, otherwise they are pretty similar to Earth,” Youngbae points out. 

“Yeah,” Jiyong murmurs, sentimentally closing his eyes. The corners