chapter six

Eunjung could count on one hand the number of times she’d been in a situation where she’d been pretty sure she wasn’t going to make it out alive, but what was currently happening broke the record for everything else.  

Baekhyun looked surprisingly calmer than she felt, though Eunjung had no idea how he managed to even act that way. If he had been in the camp for a while, then he was bound to know how powerful Kim Hajoon was. Everyone had heard about him. And the man in front of them, standing less than fifty feet away, was Kim Hajoon. Sure, he looked a bit younger than Eunjung had imagined, definitely not as terrifying physically, but she could also sense the power that shrouded the area—his power—and it was terrifying. He’d shot at them easily, and if Baekhyun hadn’t had power of his own, he probably could have ended the both of them with two shots. Maybe even one.

Baekhyun took a small step up the stairs. He didn’t look at her, gaze fixed only on the man in front of them, eyebrows furrowed. “Kim Hajoon,” he greeted. His voice was careful, although veiled with a layer of casualness. If he was acting, then he was a frightfully good actor. “I’m sure you’re aware of the situation with the main gates?”

Eunjung blinked at him. It was definitely the smartest idea to let him deal with the man, but if Hajoon were to actually try, there was no doubt that Baekhyun would be bested. Would he last a minute? Two? It would’ve been too generous to give more. Their only shot at escaping was through sneaking out, which clearly wasn’t an option anymore.

“I heard there was someone missing from the last village.” He took a slow step towards the stairs, still a fair distance away, but the movement was a barely hidden threat. “A girl ran away from the group and none of my soldiers caught her. And now you’re assisting in her escape? How disappointing.”

“Did you expect loyalty when you recruited us?”

“Oh, no,” he laughed. “I’m not a fool. But I did expect fear, and when you have enough, fear is the same thing as loyalty. Those who fear for their lives won’t raise a finger against me, or act in a way they know will cost them their life. Isn’t that why every single one of you are here?”

Baekhyun gestured around the place. “I would say all is a reach.”

“Then you’re a fool,” he laughed. It was a cold sound, nearly devoid of emotion, and he took another step closer to them, spinning the pistol in his hand. “Do you think you’re the first of my soldiers who were stupid enough to try to betray me? You think you have the power of a deity behind your back?”

Without warning, he raised the pistol and shot again. Eunjung barely had time to register that it was travelling towards her again at an alarming, unavoidable pace before Baekhyun raised his palm, still inhumanly fast. The bullet came to a sudden stop again, clanging against the marble ground when it dropped.

The gun was absolutely no use against him, and Eunjung realized it then. Baekhyun could’ve easily killed her without the gun, even when she had it pointed to his head. Even if it had been fully loaded, she would have been nothing against him if he’d been fully using his power. She still had no idea just how powerful he was, but it wasn’t something to bet against Kim Hajoon either. He could stop a couple bullets, but the man who’d taken a bullet to the chest had also been fine and still nearly killed her. There was really no telling how much power they had—whether it be Kim Hajoon or even Byun Baekhyun.

“Which deity were you?” He was nearing the base of the steps as he moved, steps fluid, speeding up as he walked. There was another shot, this time aimed towards Baekhyun, before three more were fired in succession.

Split-seconds later, all four of the bullets Hajoon had fired towards him had dropped to the ground, rolling down the steps. They weren’t loud, but in the quietude of the mansion, the tenseness of the silence, it seemed exceptionally loud. Eunjung stared at both of them, unsure of what to do. She wasn’t going to be any help to Baekhyun, really, but she wasn’t sure how much she could bet on him when Kim Hajoon was right there. It would’ve been perfectly logical—perfectly understandable too, in full honesty, to simply accept death. Or defeat. If she begged for her life, Hajoon might’ve spared her. Of course, death might’ve been nicer, but all were plausible options that would’ve ended better than continuing to side with Baekhyun.

“Kim Hajoon,” she started. “How many villages have you raided already?”

His head snapped towards her, eyebrows furrowing. “What?”

“How many?” she repeated.

The man obviously hadn’t expected her to speak up, but he was quick to go on. His lips lifted into an unpleasant smile. “Cho Eunjung, isn’t it? I heard a report. A lucky escape from the group of guards?”

“Aren’t you busy?” She moved past Baekhyun, stepping over one of the silver metal bullets on the ground. “You usually seemed to be quite preoccupied. Isn’t it an inconvenience not to be able to use your power without losing control? I would hardly call that power.”

The frown on his face twisted into a sneer. “What are you saying?” he snarled. “Are you brave now? You think this man can save you because he has tasted a little power?”

“I don’t believe he can save me,” she replied calmly. “But what good would it be cowering behind him if it’s going to end the same way?”

Kim Hajoon dropped the pistol, apparently now empty, the ugly sneer on his face turning larger. “There are things worse than death, Cho Eunjung.”

“Yeah, look at yourself.” She glanced back at Baekhyun briefly, hoping desperately that he was following. He was silent behind her, and she could barely see him in her peripheral vision. “That’s pretty bad. Wanting power so much and having to lose control over your own willpower in order to get it? That’s rough.”

The tension in the air seemed to be balancing on a string; one wrong move and it would be utterly broken, shattered. Eunjung could almost feel Kim Hajoon’s power, barely suppressed, settled in the air all around them as it waited to be released. It was something sinister, surrounding the whole mansion, and she realized that she and Baekhyun were standing directly where he was the strongest. Behind her, Baekhyun still didn’t show any signs of doing something. Could he? The most she could do was buy him time to collect whatever he had left in him, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t simply end in the death. For the both of them.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hissed at her. The calm exterior of the man had dissipated, showing something much more feral underneath. “Move aside, girl, and maybe I’ll spare you.”

He’d been so collected when he’d first shot a bullet at Baekhyun, so put together. Confident in his own powers—not that he wasn’t still—but Eunjung could tell that they’d riled him up, perhaps just enough. It was a bet, a roll of the die that neither of them knew what sort of outcome it would bring. On one hand, he could very much be even more dangerous now that he was angrier, or perhaps there would be a loophole. He was powerful, yes, but if he let his emotions get in more control than they already were, if, just if, he could be outwitted…

Baekhyun must have sensed something, because, movements swift, he leapt from where he was standing at the doorstep a second later. A shot was fired from Kim Hajoon’s direction, and the bullet, grazing past Baekhyun, was sent whizzing towards the roof. It smashed into the ceiling, raining debris down, but neither of them seemed to notice. Baekhyun managed to pry the gun from his hand, promptly threw it as hard as he could across the room, and then proceeded on grappling with the man.

Eunjung wasn’t proud of the fact that she froze for a good ten seconds, too shocked to move as she stared at the sight in front of her. Or, really, it wasn’t shock, exactly, because she was less shocked than confused at the fact that the two of them were engaged in hand to hand combat when both obviously had powers, and then she managed to get back to her senses. The first thing she saw was the large lamp that was sitting at the side.

It wasn’t the best weapon, most definitely, but it was a weapon nonetheless that could do a decent amount of damage, power or not. Eunjung still had absolutely no clue why it was that Baekhyun and Hajoon were both seeming to see who could land the next punch on the other when Baekhyun had been stopping bullets with his power only a moment ago and Hajoon was clearly strong enough to be able to run a guild and have