Minho drew his large heavy sword with ease and swung it around, mimicking the shape of an infinity sign. Then, he lunged one foot forward and slammed the tip of the sword into the ground, breaking the earth beneath them. Iron seeped out from the ground, first becoming liquid before turning solid. The iron took shape of a sharp knife and pointed at everyone surrounding him. Then, he smirked and shot out the iron icicles.

Everyone either deflected or dodged the attack. Junki scooped up Jieun in his arms and dashed away to Seokmin, who was hiding behind a tree.

Seokmin widened his eyes. "Jieun! What happened to her?"

"She's terribly weak," Junki informed him. "Please watch over her as she recovers and let us know when she does."

Junki was about to go, but Jieun grabbed onto his robe.

"W-Wait," she managed to utter out. "I can fight."

"This is not the time to put up a brave front," Junki warned her. "Please st—"

Junki looked up. A large iron cylinder charged at him. Junki forced Seokmin and Jieun to lower their heads before he swiftly made his escape, avoiding the attack. Junki quickly joined Hanna, who was having a hard time getting close to Minho.

Minho let out a deep laugh. He snickered and swung his sword over his shoulders. He looked at them with a dark glint in his eyes.

"Minho the Bulgasari, stand down!" Hanna demanded. "Submit yourself to the Keeper of the Kreo!"

"It's impressive that the Keeper of the Kreo already got the two of you to submit," Minho remarked, "but I don't know why you would do it. You two must be stupid to do something like that."

Minho raised his sword with his two hands. The iron he had used liquified and returned to his side. Minho swung his sword in a pattern again, this time changing the shape of the iron to knives. He slammed the tip of his blade into the ground, shooting out the knives to Junki and Hanna. Junki moved his body, avoiding the attack, while Hanna tried to defend herself by deflecting it with her claws. One blade managed to glide against her arm, causing her to growl and hiss at him.

While Hanna and Junki were trying to figure out how to get to Minho, the rest of the Academy members gathered around Jieun and Seokmin. Even though Seokmin had been treating Jieun for just a few minutes, she was looking a lot better than before.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Kyungsoo asked. "Jieun, do you really have the Mythos of the Kreo?"

Jieun was able to speak, but Seokmin first instructed her to drink some water. She drank some water and let out a refreshing sigh.

"I'm pretty sure everyone in the Academy thinks that I have the Mythos of the Kreo," Jieun said. "The problem is, I ate it."

Kyungsoo and his teammates remained awfully quiet. They were dumbfounded by Jieun's confession. Jihoon, whose eyes were still covered with a piece of cloth, snickered quietly to himself.

"You…You ate it?" Kyungsoo repeated.

"Yeah. I guess it reacted well to my body. Usually eating the Mythos will result in immediate death, but I guess something about me is compatible," Jieun explained. "Don't think too deep into this. We have a more important problem here."

They all jolted when a sharp gust of wind blew across their face, followed by a loud thud! when Hanna slammed against the tree. Hanna growled and ran back on all fours, lunging towards the enemy.

"What can we do?" Kyungsoo asked.

"I don't know. This is my first time dealing with a rebellious creature," Jieun said. She tried to get up, but quickly fell down. She groaned as Jungkook caught her before she could suffer any injuries from her lost of balance.

"The Keeper of the Kreo can't do anything," Jihoon remarked. He grinned at Jieun, even though his eyes were covered. "You need to stall some time before she recovers."

"Time? Is that all we need?" Kyungsoo asked.

"But there's not enough time. One of you is going to have the use a Mythos to stall some time," Jihoon said. He smiled. "The Mythos of Sleef is around my neck. It's a necklace carrying a ruby-like gem. Do you see it?"

Kyungsoo, who was still holding onto Jihoon, checked his neck. Just like Jihoon said, he was wearing a necklace with a red heart-shaped pendant. It glowed faintly. He took the necklace off from Jihoon and held it by the thread.

"Don't," Jieun said sternly. "Don't touch it directly."

"This is just a stone," Kyungsoo remarked.

"That is the Mythos of the Sleef," Jihoon continued. "We have two options right now. Unhand me and I will use the Mythos of Sleef to stall some time until Jieun recovers a little bit. Or, if you are keen to keeping me tied up, one of you must use the Mythos of Sleef to stall some time." He smirked. "It's your call."

"This brat," Jieun spat. She glared at him then looked at Kyungsoo. "Don't listen to him. Don't wear it. Kyungsoo, you won't be able to handle its powers."

"He only needs to wear it for a few minutes," Jihoon said. "I can take it off of him before things get dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Kyungsoo repeated.

"Before you realize your obsession with power," Jihoon said.

Kyungsoo glared. "Are you mocking me, an Academy Instructor? My life has been dedicated to hunting the Mythos and collecting them for the sake of everyone's futures."

"So don't wear it," Jieun urged.

"Wear it," Jihoon said. "You'll hear everyone's hearts. You'll know how they feel. You'll be their feelings. You can trigger them to feel anything as long as they have those feelings. Let them hear you speak to their hearts. Make them—"

Jieun got up and threw a hard punch at Jihoon's head. The boy's eyes rolled backwards and his mouth began to foam. He fell on his back, completely knocked out. Jieun huffed and shook off the blood from her fist as she watched his blood seep down his temple.

Everyone stared, shocked at what she had done. Jieun cautiously maintained her balance and supported herself with a tree. She narrowed her eyes at everyone.

"Don't you dare touch the Mythos of Sleef directly," Jieun warned them. "I'm serious."

The students all gulped and nodded. Kyungsoo looked down at the Mythos of Sleef, then back at Jieun.

"Let me wear it," Kyungsoo suddenly said. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Kyungsoo, no. Wearing the Mythos of Sleef will not do anything to the creatures. This is something that I have to do alone," Jieun said.

Then, everyone heard Junki scream: "Watch out!"

Junki zoomed in and swept Jieun off her feet. A large iron blade ripped the tree apart. The rest were forced to move either to the left or right as the blade cut between them. Everyone were on their toes, trying to figure out how to deal with the monster.

Minho grinned. He drew his sword with ease and swung it in an infinity sign. Then, he slammed the tip of the sword into the ground, breaking the earth beneath them as iron lifted itself to the surface. He lunged forth and pointed his sword at Junki and Jieun. The liquified iron drew itself into a shape and the iron needles whizzed towards them.

"Please hold on," Junki whispered to Jieun. Jieun tightened her grip. He supported her waist with one hand and used his other hand to wield his sword. He jumped from the tree. In the sky, he quickly deflected the spikes, only letting one split by and scratch his cheek. He hissed softly before landing on the ground.

Jieun breathed weakly. Her grip on Junki's clothes immediately faded the moment her feet touched the grass. Junki looked at the Keeper of the Kreo with concern before looking at Minho, who started to charge him directly. Junki clenched his jaws and braced himself, but Hanna jumped in between, ready to claw him. Junki took this opportunity to jump away after Minho swung his sword. Hanna ducked, avoiding the attack by a hairline, then ed her claws at his face. Minho hitched his breath and felt her nails scratch his chin. He shifted his sword in one direction, and the needles that Junki deflected earlier melted and became a larger blade. The blade tried to attack Hanna from her back, but she avoided the attack and landed next to Junki.

Minho blew a whistle, impressed. Hanna snarled. Jieun turned quite pale as she stared deep into Minho's eyes. Then, Minho grabbed his sword again and flung it towards their direction, throwing it like a throwing disc. Hanna widened her eyes and ducked, feeling the tips of the sword zip above her head, almost cutting her beloved tails. She hissed softly before running to another location.

Junki returned to where Jungkook, Seokmin, Yuna and Kyungsoo were hiding out. He laid Jieun before them.

"Where are the other three?" Junki asked.

"They're hiding out like I've instructed them," Kyungsoo said. 

"We are pending orders," Jungkook murmured. Then, he looked at Junki. "Why is he attacking her?" 

"It is a Kreo Creature who has not pledged his allegiance to Jieun yet," Junki explained. "For those creatures, they are free to run wild and do as they like."

"Does that mean that they can go and attack a nearby city?" Seokmin asked.

"If it desires. However, it seems like it is keen on killing the Keeper of the Kreo."

"Why?" Yuna asked.

"It could be because of various reason. It could be that he does not approve of her to be worthy enough to be the Keeper of the Kreo. It could be that he wants to return to the Kreo but does not know how to. It could be that he was asleep and his summoning disturbed his sleep. We are not sure." Junki grimaced. "However, it seems like the Keeper of the Kreo has awakened quite a violent creature."

"What can we do to help?" Jungkook asked him. Junki looked at him, then looked at Jieun. She was breathing softly and was still quite pale.

"Nothing," Junki said. He got up and pulled his sword. "We just have to see if she'll be able to tame the creature. If not, then she dies."

Before Jungkook could ask any questions, Junki disappeared to help Hanna. They all observed the fight between the creatures. Then, Jungkook softly narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, doesn't it look like they're moving a lot slower?" Jungkook asked, analyzing the situation.

Seokmin and Yuna, who were familiar with how Hanna and Junki worked, looked up and observed. Then, Seokmin looked back at Jieun, whose condition was worsening.

"It seems like if the Kreo creatures pledged their allegiance to her, then they are directly affected with Jieun's condition," Seokmin said.

"So we need to go in," Yuna said. She rushed in, ignoring Jungkook and Seokmin, who were yelling at her to return. Yuna dashed between Hanna and Junki. They widened their eyes.

"Stop, little girl!" Junki shouted.

But Yuna didn't listen. 

Instead, she threw her knives at him. Minho smirked, dodged two of the three knives. For the third knife, he caught it between his teeth before crushing it. Before any of the pieces fell, he swept up the knives with his tongue and swallowed the broken weapon. A surge of energy traveled through his veins as he grinned mischievously. 

Yuna widened her eyes, stunned. "He… He ate my knives."

"My turn," Minho whispered. He took a deep breath through his nose and opened his mouth, shooting out lead from his throat. Yuna could feel the hint inch closer and closer to her face. She tried to move, but she was still too shocked to budge.

"Yuna!" Seokmin yelled. He ran to protect her, but Jungkook was fast enough to grab her and pull her away from the attack. A few of the lead scratched his shoulder. Jungkook grunted as soon as he felt the pain. Yuna widened her eyes.

"Jungkook! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Die, die, die!" Minho screamed. He laughed hysterically, waving his sword in the air.

How do we defeat him? Jungkook wondered. Hanna and Junki can't keep up with him forever. Jieun's not in health yet. He recalled what Jihoon said about wearing the Mythos of Sleef. He felt his heart pound against his chest. Maybe… Maybe that's really the only way. Maybe…

"NO!"

Jungkook and Yuna looked up. They heard Jieun's hysteric cry as Kyungsoo approached the scene. Jieun was crawling towards him, screaming "no" and "return" as if he was a Kreo creature. When they looked closer at Kyungsoo, he seemed perfectly calm and content with approaching Minho. When they looked closer, they realized that Kyungsoo was wearing a red-gemmed necklace around his neck…

"The Mythos of Sleef," Jungkook and Yuna whispered in unison. 

"Kyungsoo! No!" Jieun screamed. Seokmin was holding her back, desperately trying to calm her down. She gave him a cold glare. "Let go! This is your Instructor's orders!"

"I can't let you go out there in your condition!" Seokmin yelled.

Jungkook and Yuna rushed over to him.

"Seokmin, what's going on?" Jungkook asked.

"Seokmin, Jungkook's hurt!" Yuna exclaimed.

"Kyungsoo's wearing the Mythos of Sleef," Seokmin said. "He said he's going in."

"What's he going to do?" Jungkook asked.

"Seokmin, Jungkook got hurt on his shoulder," Yuna said.

"Not sure. Give me your shoulder," Seokmin said. He looked at Yuna. "Hold Jieun back."

Yuna nodded. She held Jieun down. Normally, Jieun would be able to brush away Yuna with ease, but with so much energy and power draining out of her, Jieun could barely move around. She eventually collapsed back on the floor, tears threatening to spill.

Minho watched Kyungsoo, who continued to approach him in slow steps. He observed the Instructor, slightly amused.

"The Keeper of the Sleef," Minho said with a small nod. "The longer you wear that, the more difficult it will be to take it off."

"I intend to keep it on just long enough to seal you back… or do whatever it takes for you to be gone," Kyungsoo explained. Kyungsoo took out his sword. 

Then, he charged towards Minho. Minho didn't even bother to move. He took the hit, getting stabbed straight in the heart. Minho hitched his breath before letting blood seep from the corner of his lips.

Everyone else looked at the scene, confused.

"Why… Why didn't he do anything?" Jungkook stammered.

"It's because he has a Mythos on him," a voice said. The three turned around, noticing that Kyungsoo's group had returned with Jihoon. Jihoon's eyes were no longer covered. He smiled warmly at the scene. "If you hold the Mythos for at least ten minutes, you become the Keeper. Once you become the Keeper, you are subjected to all the other Mythos's influence." Jihoon looked at Jieun. "This means that the Kreo creatures cannot attack or do anything to the other Keepers because their attacks will not affect them." He turned to Minho. "It looks like this particular Kreo creature had experienced this before and understood that it would not be able to do anything."

"If the Mythos don't affect each other, then why was Kyungsoo able to stab him?" Seokmin inquired.

"Using a sword to kill someone is not part of the Mythos of Sleef's power. For the Mythos of Sleef, they are not able to influence the emotions of any other Keeper," Jihoon explained.

"…Weak."

The rest turned to Jieun. Jieun glared at the scene in front of her.

I'm still weak, she finished in her head. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain running through her chest. She coughed, but managed to balance herself. Junki and Hanna quickly felt themselves draining.

Junki shut his eyes closed before opening one. He stared at Hanna, who was starting to hyperventilate.

"Hanna, remain sane," Junki said in a warning tone.

Hanna didn't respond. Then, she let out a small growl. She raised her head, glaring at Minho with ferocious wolf-like eyes. She snarled. Like a wild animal, she ran up to Minho on all fours. She whipped out her claws and pierced it through his neck. Minho reacted with a glare and sank his teeth in her wrist. The two refused to pull away. They were both drenched in blood, tainting their clothes.

Junki grimaced. His eyes were shifting from normal to a purple glow. He looked at Jieun with cold sweat pouring down his skin. His grip around his sword tightened.

"Keeper of the Kreo, please hurry," Junki desperately pleaded.

Jieun gritted her teeth. She slowly got up, shaking and pale. She took a deep breath and approached the scene.

"That's enough, Hanna!" Jieun finally yelled. Hanna wasn't listening. She continued to repeat her actions: growl, pierce deeper, snarl, pierce deeper. "Hanna! Enough!"

Hanna refused to obey. Jieun finally got up from her spot.

"Kang Hanna of the Gumiho! Obey!" Jieun ordered. 

Suddenly, magical yellow chains shot up from the ground. The end of the chains had a piercing arrow that went through Hanna's chest. Hanna hitched her breath and coughed. She screamed in pure agony and rolled around the ground, twitching and in completely pain. 

Junki paled. He quickly turned and tried to make a run for it, but the chains followed after him and quickly stabbed his chest, chaining him as well. He screamed like Hanna, struggling to pull out the chains. The chains did not appear around Minho.

"What…is that?" Jungkook whispered.

Jieun didn't say anything. She walked over to Hanna, who continued to twitch and growl. She grimaced at the site and only opened her hand in front of her.

"Return and rest," she whispered. "Please."

Hanna only growled, but she turned into light and disappeared. Junki, too, turned to light and disappeared. Minho was the only one who didn't disappear at her command.

Minho laughed weakly. "You think you won? You think you can keep me in there forever?"

"I wonder who your Kreo creator was," Jieun said. "You're very chaotic. Very destructive. Whoever made you must have had a very violent mind."

"I can say the same for you. Who did you create? The horse with little wings or the petty fox with nine tails?"

"So you know their animal forms," Jieun murmured. She closed her eyes before glaring at him. "Does it matter who I created? Both have pledged their loyalty to me. I ask you do the same."

Minho laughed. "My loyalty? I remain loyal to myself and to my Kreo creator. My creator may no longer be a part of this world, but I do not plan to pledge my loyalty to any Keeper of the Kreo. You want me to work for you?" He stopped laughing. "Not a chance."

Jieun placed her hand out in front of him. "Then I will force the seal on you. It will be more difficult for you to come out next time."

"Ah…I see that you have created her," Minho remarked, referring to Hanna. "So violent, so hateful." He glanced at Jieun and closed his eyes. "The perfect embodiment of you…"

Jieun furrowed her eyebrows. Muttering an ancient Kreo chant, she slammed her hand against Minho's chest. Minho felt a powerful impact against his chest. He coughed out more blood before glowing into light. Just like the other creatures, he disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Jieun let out a small sigh of relief. Kyungsoo swung his sword around for a few seconds, wiping off the blood in the air before putting it back to his side. Jieun looked at Kyungsoo, then at the red gem.

"Take it o…" Before she could finish her sentence, Jieun's eyes rolled backwards. She started leaning backwards. Losing completely balance, she was about to fall on her head until Jungkook managed to catch her. 

Kyungsoo looked down at the Mythos of Sleef. He was about to wrap his hands around the gem to keep it on him longer, but Yuna snuck up behind him and used her knife to break the cord. Seokmin swiftly caught it with a thick cloth, preventing the magic of the Mythos from affecting him. The hearts in Kyungsoo's eyes disappeared in an instance. Kyungsoo closed his eyes and fell on his knees and hands. Then, with one hand, he squeezed his chest as a few tears slipped down his cheeks.

"Instructor, you're crying," Eunwoo murmured.

"A side-effect of the Mythos of Sleef," Jihoon explained. "Your Instructor has witnessed so many kinds of emotions. He will be overwhelmed for the next few days with all sorts of emotions he has heard and witnessed in such a short amount of time."

"…Yeah," Kyungsoo whispered. He grunted and tightened his grip. "It hurts a lot."

There was a few minutes of silence.

"What should we do now?" Jinsol asked.

"We need to report back," Jungkook explained. He smiled. "For the first time in centuries, the Academy has finally laid their hands on a Mythos." He looked at Jihoon with cold eyes. "As for you, you will be locked up until the Ministry decides what they want to do with you."

Yuna's ears perked up. "Does this mean that we're going back to the Academy?"

Jungkook nodded. "Of course. We'll have to rest there until everyone recovers, right?"

* * *

It only took less than a day for the Academy to reserve notice of their discovery. They had immediately sent the finest carriage to the inn. There was a total of four carriages delivered to the group. Jieun and Hyunbin were transported in one carriage with Seokmin and another doctor that they had requested. Jihoon was locked up in one carriage with three guards who were on their toes. Since Jinsol and Yuna were fighting to be in the same carriage as Jungkook, the two girls were placed in a different carriage with Eunwoo. Jungkook rode in a carriage with Kyungsoo.

During the ride back to the Academy, Jungkook noticed that Kyungsoo became relatively quiet. He seemed pretty normal at some times, but at other times, he would start crying to the point where he had to bite his fist to keep himself from sobbing for a ridiculous long period. Curious, Jungkook began to ask what he had felt when he was wearing the Mythos of Sleef.

"What I felt?" Kyungsoo repeated. He remained awfully odd before looking out the window. "What I felt… I don't know. At that time, it didn't seem like I was actually feeling anything." His eyes softened. "It's hard to explain. In a way, I guess you can say that I felt like your Instructor felt."

Jungkook's ears perked up. "My Instructor? You mean Jieun?"

"Yes," Kyungsoo said in a small voice. Tears began to swell up in his eyes. "Darn, again…"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't really know if I was using the Mythos of Sleef properly, either," Kyungsoo said, wiping away his tears, "but I felt what Jieun was feeling. No… it's like I felt Jieun as herself."

"As…herself?" At this point, Jungkook was no longer able to keep up with the conversation.

"I know it sounds crazy," Kyungsoo admitted. "But I think that iron creature was wrong."

"About what?"

"About Jieun. How she's violent. So hateful." Kyungsoo wiped his tears, but more came out. "You see, the reason I'm crying isn't because I'm feeling sad. Or at least, I don't think it is." He sniffed and chuckled a little. "I know it's crazy. Jihoon even said that the Mythos doesn't affect each other, so I shouldn't be feeling like crying, but it just felt like Jieun's emotions were so strong." He laughed. "Maybe it wasn't hers. I wonder who was feeling so sad. There must have been someone who was feeling this sad."

Jungkook stared and made a small nod before he reflected on Jieun and the words Minho had used to describe her.

* * *

"…You're back." Yongguk looked up and stared at the incoming member. "I didn't expect you to be back this early, Leo."

Leo glanced at him nonchalantly before continuing to walk. Yongguk looked at Taeyeon, who kept her eyes glued to the book. The two were playing a light game of chess until Leo had stepped into the room.

"Where are you going?" Taeyeon asked in a bored tone, knowing that Yongguk wanted her specifically to ask.

"In my room," Leo said.

The Arc’s hideout was a large luxurious mansion well-hidden from the public. They lived in a remote area where it was difficult for normal people to arrive. It was a secure hideout that allowed the members to drown in wealth and beauty before needing to go out to accomplish their tasks.

"Where were you before?" Yongguk asked.

Leo didn't answer. He continued to walk pass them until Yongguk stuck out his foot, stopping his tracks. Leo stopped and stared down. Yongguk glared at him from the corner of his eyes.

"I asked, 'Where were you before?'" Yongguk repeated.

"To the battle. The Keeper of the Sleef and the Keeper of the Kreo had a battle," another voice said. The three glanced at Suzy, who was walking into the room. She walked over to Leo and wrapped her arms around his neck. She let out a flirtatious giggle and faked a smile at him. "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

"So you went there and didn't bring anything back?" Yongguk asked.

"There was nothing to bring back," Leo insisted.

"Oh, no, no! Baby, it's bad to lie!" Suzy cooed. She placed her long slender finger on his lips. "Let's be honest. There was tons to bring, right? You just couldn't carry it all."

Leo didn't say anything. Suzy narrowed her eyes.

"I'm going to my room," Leo said again.

"To do what?" Suzy asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"To paint," he muttered. He pushed Suzy away and walked up the flight of stairs before disappearing into the hall.

Suzy crossed her arms. "She's getting on my nerves."

"The Keeper of the Kreo?" Yongguk asked.

"Only she can make him feel like that."

"He doesn't feel anything," Taeyeon said in a monotonous voice. She moved her pawn. "Checkmate."

Yongguk looked down. He stared at the chessboard, calculating all the moves. Then, he swiped the pieces off the board with one flick of his hand and ignored Taeyeon. He turned his attention to Suzy.

"I thought you said that you'd help him finish the job," Yongguk said.

"Yes, but how can I help him when he didn't even start?" Suzy complained. "He was literally standing in the tree and just watched!" She gritted her teeth. "I want to kill her."

"Not now," Yongguk warned her. "You'll have your chance, but not now."

Suzy took a deep breath, then sighed. "Well, at least we know that the Mythos of Sleef is in the hands of the Academy. Now we'll have to wait for the perfect time to strike."