Bastards! You'll pay for this! is what Yuna wanted to say, but couldn't since her body was still immobilized. She could see, but her vision was still a blur. She could hear, but everything sounded like a loud mumble. She could feel her body press against the hard floor, but she couldn't tell if it was hot or cold.

She closed her eyes for a few moments, and opened them again, this time her vision a lot more clear. She found herself in a dim-lit room, laying on the cold stone floor. There was no one around her. She was alone in the cold small room. She tried to get up, but realized that her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were locked together. She narrowed her eyes and noticed that her weapon was gone as well.

A couple of minutes later, two men entered the room. They seemed pleased when they saw that she was awake.

"I thought we gave her an overdose, but I guess not," one of the men said.

"Yeah. I mean, she had her eyes opened earlier, but it looks like now she's starting to wake up," said the second man. He reached down to touch Yuna's face. 

When he neared, she opened and bit him as hard as she could. The man yelled and screamed as her teeth gritted against his fingers. The first man punched her, forcing her to let go as the injured man withdrew his hand. He cursed and spat on Yuna as he quickly fixed his injury.

"We should give her more of that serum so that she can't do this," the second man said after he recovered from the pain.

"We can't. If we keep giving it to her, then what's the point of selling her?"

"She's just going to bite everyone we meet. She's not going to sell."

"The point is to inflict psychological pain."

"Don't break her like the last girl. She drove herself to death last time, remember?"

"I know, I know." He tilted his head. "Now, what's going to break a student from the Academy?"

Yuna felt the shadows tower over her and she braced herself, ready to fight until help arrived.

* * *

Two men dressed in dark clothes guarded an abandoned shed. They looked around, keeping their eyes out for anyone suspicious. A second later, one of the men gasped and was pulled up in the air. The second man, seeing his partner disappear, kept guard but was knocked out in a single hit. As both men dropped to the floor unconscious, Jungkook and Seokmin began to strip them of their clothes and wore it over theirs.

"Good thing those guys left a trail," Seokmin said. "Honestly, they did a terrible job of cleaning themselves up."

"Might be rookies," Jungkook commented. "It's best for us to be careful."

"I know, I know," he said. 

After hiding the unconscious men, the two crept their way into the shed. It was warmly lit with a few candles in the area. The room, for the most part, was empty. It took the boys a while, but after hitting a few hollow spots, they managed to find a secret passageway below. They crept down the stairs and walked through the halls. Seokmin made a mental map in his head while Jungkook carefully looked out for any potential enemies.

"How is she doing?"

A voice echoed in the halls. Jungkook and Seokmin stopped and leaned against the walls, blending in with the shadows.

"She woke up. They went to recondition her, but it doesn't seem like they've been successful," someone said. "She's very violent."

"Well, she is an Academy student."

"She's a very skilled one as well."

"Keep sending them in. If not, we'll have to just show her off as she is. Everything is prepared for tonight's event, yes? We don't have a lot of time."

"Yes. Number 451 and 62 have been sold."

"Get her ready. Give her the next number."

"Understood."

Jungkook and Seokmin heard footsteps. They quickly darted to another location and hid from the men.

"It looks like Jieun isn't here," Seokmin whispered.

"It's fine. At least we know that Yuna is," Jungkook said.

"Jieun is going to be angry with us. She's probably worried."

Jungkook didn't say anything else. He wondered what had happened to Jieun. Maybe she was trying to find them or maybe she was still waiting for them back at the restaurant. Regardless of where she was, Jungkook knew that they had to save Yuna quickly and return as soon as possible.

* * *

Jieun stared at what looked like a circus tent. Based on the way it was structured, Jieun could tell that there was some kind of circular building hiding beneath the striped sheets. She noticed people walking in, but they were all covering themselves with masks, hiding their identity. Jieun leaned against a tree and stared in silence, making a small nod.

I guess it's some kind of underground market, Jieun thought. She looked at the moon. The boys should be getting around here, I guess. 

At one point, she had decided to stop following the boys and made a detour of her own, trusting that Hanna would be watching them from afar. Even though Hanna wanted to summon another Kreo creature, she decided to walk on her own for a little and follow a few suspicious individuals who eventually led to her to mysterious circus. She could already make a few deductions based on what she was seeing and the path that the boys were following before she went another way.

Well, if they're all wearing masks, I should wear one as well, Jieun thought. She closed her eyes. A faint glow appeared on her hand. She waved her hand over her left eye, shaping the light into a one-eyed mask. The mask stopped glowing and revealed a black mask with golden leaf embroidery and white scratch marks.

Covering her head with her hood, she lowered her head and began to blend in with the crowd, walking into the tent. As she walked in, she saw a familiar creature hiding nearby. Jieun nodded her head at the nine-tailed fox and watched it disappear.

I guess the boys are here, she thought. 

She was allowed entrance without hesitation. Upon entering, she was provided a few snacks for refreshment. She took a seat in the far back, getting a clear view of the center stage. She bit into her food and observed the area carefully.

Like she had thought, inside the tent was a well-structured home made of wood. Audience members sat in a circle at different levels in their seats. They could all see the round stage below them, where there was a clear glass case with a little girl inside. An excited man stood near the girls, calling out numbers rapidly. It took Jieun a second to realize that he was raising the price on the girl, and people were raising their hands as if they were in an auction house. When the victim was sold, the man would point and shout at the audience member who purchased the victim. They would be escorted from the stage and the victim would be pushed behind the door. Moments later, another girl in the same glass case would come in and the bidding process would start all over.

Jieun finished her snack and wiped her lips with her thumb. Understanding the basic situation, she got up from her seat and was about to leave until a strong man grabbed her shoulder. He glowered down at her and she barely looked up at him.

"Where is your mask?" the man asked.

"I'm wearing it," she said. The grip on her shoulder got stronger. Oh, it was a code. Oops.

"Who are you?" the man inquired.

"Oh, let me get my ID out!" she exclaimed. She brushed off the man's hand and turned her body to reach for her bag. With one eye, she looked at the man carefully. The second he blinked, she had immediately disappeared from his face. The man, confused, looked around, then alerted the other guards nearby about Jieun's presence. 

But by the time all the bodyguards were informed about Jieun, she was already outside of the tent and a few yards away from the tent. To have escaped so far in less than seconds was unheard of and unrealistic. The men would probably spend the next few minutes searching for her while she remained outside, laughing in the inside and taking them as fools. She let out a sigh of relief and took off the one-eyed mask.

"Return for now," she ordered. The mask did not disappear. "Don't worry, I'll call you when I need you."

As if it understood, it glowed and disappeared like how Hanna would disappear when she was called to return. Jieun took a deep breath through her nose, then swung her legs in the air, sitting on a tree branch as she waited for any sign of Hanna.

* * *

Academy training did wonders, and the boys were awfully glad that they had proper training because locating Yuna was easy. They had found her little cell and were about to pick a lock, but a crowd of tough men started to approach them. Seokmin tried to stay for a few seconds longer, but Jungkook forced him to move away. The boys went into hiding and were able to see one of the men open the door with the key. Then, three men grabbed Yuna, who seemed exhausted. Two women appeared from the crowd of men, cleaned off the blood with some rag and water, then fixed her hair. After they were done, they stood to the side and the men began to walk.

Seokmin and Jungkook followed closely. They saw Yuna snap her eyes wide open. She yelled out a battle cry to motivate herself and tried to free herself from the men's grasp, but one of the two women struck her on her nerve, forcing Yuna to be paralyzed for a few minutes. Yuna grunted and seethed her teeth as the men continued to drag her away. She didn't seem aware of Jungkook's or Seokmin's presence, but it was clear that trying to escape was her main objective.

Seokmin looked at Jungkook. "What should we do?"

"Keep following her," Jungkook said. "If we see a chance, then we can strike the guys and take her away."

"We need to be careful of the girl. It seems like she can temporarily paralyze us."

"There's too many disadvantages for us. It might be better for us to just follow and find the chance to grab her and escape."

"Got it."

The boys continued to follow slowly. They made sure be quiet and to keep some distance. When they heard a few people coming from behind, they quickly diverted their path and took a new road. Seokmin seemed a bit paranoid with losing track of Yuna, but Jungkook continued to look ways to escape the eyes of others. Eventually, the two found an exit. They regrouped for a few minutes to discuss their plans.

"We should go back and get Jieun since we know where Yuna is," Seokmin suggested. "We can get Jieun and we can come back in time."

"Wait," Jungkook said, grabbing Seokmin's wrist before he could go. A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "I got a better idea…"

* * *

Where are they? Yuna wondered. She would've escaped a long time ago, but she kept hoping that they would come save her at some point. She decided that once she was sold and if the two didn't come yet, she would have to do everything with the best of her abilities to save herself.

"Get up there," one of the men said. He roughly pushed her up the stairs. Yuna limped up, feeling her knees grow weak with each step.

I should've faked my injuries more, Yuna thought to herself.

"Up, up!" the man urged.

I'm going up, she wanted to tell him. Instead, she meekly nodded her head and finished climbing the stairs. Before she had the chance to step out, a man in the shadows struck her legs with a baton. Yuna shrieked in pain, not expecting a sudden blow to her legs. She collapsed on the floor and seethed her teeth.

"Okay, she's good to go," said the man who struck her legs.

Bastard! I'll kill you all! 

She was picked up and thrown into a small cage. She threw her head back, accidentally striking the bars with her head. She felt her skull throb and her vision blur for a few minutes. She groaned and heard the cage close. Someone at a distance was saying something in a loud voice through a microphone. Seconds later, her eyes were welcomed by a brilliant white light. She found herself in a cage at the center of the room, with people wearing masks watching down at her as if she was some sort of prize.

"Behold! An excellent candidate for a bodyguard or a soldier! Rumors have it that she is a member of the Academy!" said the host of the underground trafficking. He rambled on and on, praising Yuna's skills even though he had never seen them in the first place. When he started the bidding, the masked audience started to raise their boards.

Before anyone could confirm a bid, two holes punctured through the ceiling. The audience members screamed, afraid that the building would collapse on then. Zipping down the line of a graveling hook, Jungkook and Seokmin made their grand appearance from above. As soon as their feet reached the ground, they both glared at the audience.

"ERA 97 Academy Students running in!" Jungkook yelled. The audience screamed and scrambled out of the room. Seokmin unsheathed his two swords and waved them in the air, scaring the crowd and forcing them to run.

The man in charge of hosting the bids seemed completely baffled. When the entire tent became empty, he clenched his fist angrily.

"Get them!" he ordered loudly. His voice roared in the air and several men popped out of nowhere. Seokmin and Jungkook at their backs against each other.

"This is a lot more than we've anticipated," Seokmin said nervously.

"It's fine. We got Yuna's weapon," Jungkook said. He handed it to Seokmin. "Give this to her while I handle the rest, okay?"

"All of them?" Seokmin cried out.

"No worries," he said, smirking. "They're all beneath me."

Seokmin hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded. He rushed over to the cage and tried to cut it open with his swords.

"The key is with—" Before Yuna could finish, Seokmin could feel a shadow looming over his back. He whirled around and slashed the neck of the man who tried to jump on him. Before he had time to recover from his moment of shock, two other men ran towards him and knocked him out. "Seokmin!"

Seokmin shook his head and rolled away from Yuna, eventually getting back on his feet. He glanced over at Jungkook, who seemed like he was fine with dealing with what seemed to be an endless flow of men attacking him. Before he had the chance to call them out, three men flung into the scene, trying to attack him. Seokmin occupied himself with the three men, doing his best attacking and dodging their strikes.

Before he knew it, ten more came charging at him. He was caught off-guard when he heard Yuna scream. He looked to see if she was okay, but that only created an opening for the enemies. Several men ran over to him, striking him and making sure that he wouldn't get up.

Jungkook could sense Seokmin needing help. He turned to help Seokmin, but saw Yuna being dragged out of the cage by the hair. He bit his bottom lip and rushed over to save Yuna, only to have more men come after him.

It's like they never stop! he thought.

The next couple of minutes felt very familiar to him. Seokmin was surrounded and unable to battle, Yuna was struggling to get away from the man grabbing her, and he found his weapon high in the air and across the room. He found himself cornered against the wall with the men grinning at him, chuckling at his misfortune.

Why is it that I never seem to win? he wondered to himself.

"What should we do with them?" one of the men asked the leader.

"Kill them," he said.

"Okay." The man raised his weapon.

"Jungkook, no!" Yuna screamed.

Jungkook braced for the hit. A loud crash from the roof echoed in the room as materials fell from the sky. Dust covered everyone's vision, temporarily making everyone stop moving. The moon light seeped through the large hole. As the dust cleared, eyes landed on the brilliant white fox standing in front of Jungkook. What amazed everyone wasn't just because its fur was glowing, but because nine tails swooned up in the air as if it was dancing.

The fox slightly tilted its head, showing its blue eyes. The eyes dangerously seem to stare down at the enemies. Jungkook looked at the fox for a few seconds, confused.

"Han…na?" Jungkook stammered. He quickly looked around. Where's Jieun?

The fox seemed displeased with him. The way she stared at him caused him to shudder in fear.

"What the hell is that?" one of the men murmured.

"I don't know," another man said. He smirked widely, "but we can sell it." He turned to his men. "Hey! Don't kill the fox! Capture it!"

The men grinned evilly, but stopped grinning when they saw the fox's furious gaze. Her eyes were burning with rage, itching to tear up the men with her tingling fangs. Her claws started to grow and sharpen on their own as she turned her body and faced the man closest to her. The men all tensed up for a few seconds, then the man in front of Hanna's gaze let out a shaky chuckle.

"What? It's not doing anything," he said, mustering up his courage. He raised his weapon. "It just looks scary. It's not scary at all! Look—"

The man was about to swing his sword, but froze when all nine tails pointed towards him. The fox couldn't speak, but it looked like it was giving the men a warning to leave the students alone. The man quickly dropped his weapon out of intimidation, unsure of whether to pursue the mysterious creature.

"What the hell are you all doing?" a man far behind hollered out. He grabbed Yuna's hair, causing her to flinch. He shook her head, making her feel dizzy and blood continued to drip from her head. "We're almost done with these kids! Capture the stupid fox and let's go!"

"Leave…Yuna…alone!" Seokmin managed to say. He tried to reach for Yuna, but another man stomped on his feet, preventing him from doing so. Seokmin hissed in pain and whimpered helplessly.

The head man carefully looked at Hanna's reaction. The fox continued to stand still and did nothing.

"Hey," the head man said to the man who had dropped his weapon only moments before. "Hit him."

"But the fox—"

"Hit him."

The man clenched his jaw and reluctantly grabbed his weapon. He slowly brushed past Hanna, who didn't do much. The fox stood still, pretending to guard Jungkook from more harm. Then, the man raised his bat and slammed it across Jungkook's head, causing the poor boy to crash down to the floor. Jungkook gasped. The pain throbbed in his head.

Why isn't she helping us? Jungkook wondered. Where's Jieun? He felt something warm drip down from his eyes. . I'm bleeding.

"Jungkook!" Yuna cried out. Her eyes watered as she tried to pry away the man's fingers from her hair. "Let go!"

The man, annoyed, kneeled down on a knee to slam her head against the floor. Yuna coughed and choked on her own spit and blood.

"ing annoying," the man murmured.

"Yuna!" Seokmin shouted.

A similar thought ran through the three's minds: We're done for.

"Get ready to pack them up," the head man said. "We can sell the girl after fixing her up  a little. As for the boys, we can probably sell them, too. Capture the fox."

"Yes, sir!" All the men's voice echoed in the room.

One man tried to grab Hanna's tail, but she leapt out of his reach. Another man tried to grab her fur, but she dodged with ease and grace. After watching the men struggle to capture her, the head man frowned deeply.

"It's making a fool out of us," the head man murmured. He looked to his lackey and snatched away a gun. He pointed the weapon to the large fox. "Men, move!"

Before he had the chance to fire, he noticed a slender hand lower the weapon. Scowling, he turned and glared at the smaller woman wearing a cloak and a hood to hide her face.

"Must we resort to violence like this?" A familiar voice rang in the three's head. They looked up and instantly recognized that it was Jieun standing next to the man. 

"Who the are you?" the head man asked. "And how did you get—" He turned, then widened his eyes. Neither of the three were sure what he was looking at, but the sight behind him seemed to shock him so much, he almost dropped his weapon. "What the fu…"

"Hanna," Jieun called. The fox glanced at her. She extended her hand. "I need you right now."

The fox skipped over to Jieun's side. Jumping in the air, the fox spun around, enclosing itself with its tail, growing smaller in size as it slipped into its scarf form. The white scarf neatly wrapped itself around Jieun's neck. Jieun's eyes quickly turned to a haunting shade of blue.

"S-Stay away!" the head man yelled, taking several steps back. He looked around for any of his men, but all of them were unresponsive. "What did you do?"

Jieun walked closer and barred her fangs when she smiled. She her teeth and cornered the man against the wall.

"Pardon me for wasting your time," Jieun said. "I have to say, thank you for watching over my students! I was able to enjoy a few minutes to myself because of you." She looked over her shoulder. "Oh, but it looks like you did a terrible job of babysitting." She pressed her nails against the man's rib. Her eyes burned in blue. "It's already this late. I don't think they're tucked in bed yet."

Jungkook lifted his head to see what was going on, but he felt someone grab him by his waist. A strong gush of wind blew across his face. In a blink of an eye, Jungkook saw himself outside. He was placed against a large tree between Yuna and Seokmin, who were both unconscious. Jungkook glanced up at the man who had brought him outside.

He had long, ragged hair with a partial ponytail tied with a black-and-gold band and pin. His wore a black robe with silver embroidery all over his outfit. A gray band was tied around his waist, securing something that resembled a sword. He hid the glinting weapon with his large cloak. When Jungkook looked up to see the face of his savior, he realized that the left side of the man's face was covered with a mask. His narrows eyes seemed unkind, but he did not seem to hold grudges like Hanna.

The man turned his back against the three. Jungkook tried to speak, but the man clearly wasn't interested in talking. Jungkook remained silent, wondering what had happened to Jieun and Hanna.

Minutes later, they heard a rustle from the bushes. Jungkook attempted to take out his sword, but stopped when the man raised his cape, gesturing him to not do anything irrational. Jungkook remained tense until he saw a familiar cloaked person approach the man. The man kneeled humbly. Jieun removed her hood as the white scarf slipped off and transformed back into Hanna's human form. Hanna kneeled behind Jieun, who kept her eyes on the man.

"How are they?" Jieun asked.

"One seems like he fainted from the pain. The girl seems like she was tired and fell asleep when she saw me bring the unconscious one. The other boy is still awake, but unable to speak," the man told her. He carefully looked at Jieun, who sighed in relief. "You have to be more careful."

"I was," she argued softly.

"Not enough," Hanna said. "Did we not warn you about using us too much for your own?"

"I know, but I don't like it when you guys shed blood for me," Jieun murmured.

"It is what we do. We have given our loyalty to you," Hanna said. She glared at the man. "You should have told her that you could handle everything."

"She would not listen," the man said calmly.

"You should have made her listen!"

"Then you should have done something about the men before we arrived."

"How could I? I was instructed to just follow the kids, not to protect them."

"You knew better than me what she would do next. She created you, after all."

"You already knew what she was going to d—"

"Enough!" Jieun yelled. Hanna and the man lowered their heads. "You both did well." She looked at the man. "Lee Junki, you may return. You, too, Hanna." 

Junki nodded. He got up from his knees, turned to a glowing ball, and disappeared. Hanna regretfully looked away as she, too, turned into a glowing ball of light and vanished.

Jieun let out a loud sigh. She looked over at the three and saw that Jungkook and witnessed the whole conversation. She didn't seem to bothered over the fact that he had been eavesdropping. Instead, she gave him a soft smile and sat in front of him.

"You should sleep," Jieun said. "I'll keep watch for tonight."

Jungkook couldn't help but notice all the blood around and all over her hands. She glanced down at her hands, then awkwardly rubbed them against the grass. She glanced back at him, noticing that he was still staring at her.

"What happened?" he managed to croak out.

Jieun looked away. "Ah… Don't worry. They're taken care of."

"Why is there so much blood on you?" he asked, his eyes glued to .

Jieun softly ran her fingers across her lips. Then, she chuckled and covered his eyes with her hand.

"It's lipstick. I fooled around with their make-up supplies after I taught them a lesson. Don't worry. Sleep," she told him.

An obvious lie, he thought. He wanted to ask more, but he was tired. He took one last deep breath and closed his eyes, softly snoring away.

* * *

The next morning, a petite girl dressed in black arrived at the tent. The first thing she noticed was how the tend looked like it had been torn apart in a storm.

"…What happened?"

Taeyeon entered and scanned the mess. Limbs were ripped apart and scattered all over the floor. Pools of blood formed a thin layer at the center.  On the wall across from her, there were several claw marks and words painted in the dead's blood: THE KREO IS WILD.

She heard a small whimper from one of the men on the floor. She walked over, drenching her black boots in the blood. She lowered herself and pressed her thumb against the man's forehead. A wave of shock rushed through the man's mind. She closed her eyes softly, ignoring the rushed breath of the man. Then, she pulled away and stood up.

"So that's what happened," she whispered to herself. The man regained his breath. He tried to say something, but stopped when Taeyeon raised her foot, revealing the iron spikes on the bottom. Then, she stomped on his face, ending his life. She shook her foot, trying to clean it with a strong kick. Then, she repositioned herself and stared at everyone, making sure that they were all dead.

She turned around and walked out of the building. Then, she took out an oval disc. She pressed the center and the ellipsoid started to light up.

"Send a message to The Arc," Taeyeon said. "Mythos of Kreo is on the move. Heading west from my destination. Will be waiting for further instructions."

Author's Note: Character list is coming soon! I've decided to make it into a blogpost, so I'll have the blogpost link in the foreword.