Lee Kaeun. 26. The Greatest In The World.


Miyawaki Sakura. 21. A Mortal Amongst Gods.
 

 

"We live in a world someone else imagined,
The ghost of what's left of me all but vanished
Remember my heart, how bright I used to shine."

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Don't Fear The Reaper.
Chapter 10: Till Death Do Us Part (Part 2).
A Reaper's Soliloquy.

 

*Chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence.

 

 

 

“Two more coming in from around the corner. 15 seconds.”

 

“Got it.”

 

Kaeun readied her gun as she ran through the empty corridor, eyes locating the aforementioned corner that Minju warned her of. Counting down the seconds in her head, her sensitive ears picked up the approaching footsteps before she could see who they even belonged to. Not that it really mattered. She was on an extermination mission, meaning eradicate as many people as she could.

 

...3

 

...2

 

...1

 

Right on cue two men came rushing around the corner, only to swallow a bullet each before they could even register the horrific sight of the Reaper rushing towards them while brandishing her silver gun.

 

They were dead before their bodies even touched the floor.

 

“Accurate as always, Minju.”

 

“I could say the same about your shooting.”

 

Kaeun brushed aside the compliment as she entered a darkened corridor, devoid of any windows. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

 

“Any chance you could help me out here Minju?”

 

“Nope. Can’t see a thing. According to the blueprints, you’re on your own for at least another 30 meters.”

 

Brilliant. Of course the Silver Aster family would pick a hideout with no windows. Kaeun was actually surprised she’s managed to make use of Minju and her sniper scope for this long, to be honest.

 

The Capo was on a hill some distance away, providing visual information for the Reaper while guiding her on where to go and which direction to take in this labyrinth of a building. It seems using an old Korean fortress as a hideout may appear imposing and impressive on paper, but it came with it’s tactical disadvantages. One of which was the fact that potential infiltrators could easily obtain a floor plan of said fortress from the local library. 

 

It was a grave oversight that Kaeun and company were utilising to the fullest.

 

Kaeun managed to take advantage of a structural weakness in the fortress located conveniently close to the leader’s quarters. Sneaking in all by herself, she was able to reach the Silver Aster’s head without much trouble. The problem with that was, the Silver Aster’s leader had some fight in him.

 

Meaning Kaeun had to use her gun to put him down. 

 

Meaning, it was loud.

 

At first glance the Reaper’s silver pistol may look like a standard Heckler & Koch P30L with a few added embellishments, but Keres was more than that. It’s an obscenely powerful weapon gifted to her by Kwon Jiyong, Eunbi’s brother and former-Head Enforcer (who is now retired and living a happy life behind a desk). Nobody really knows Keres’ origins. Jiyong would claim that he found it while raiding a government weapons cache. Others would claim that Jiyong had the gun commissioned by a legendary weapon’s manufacturer, and had killed the dude when all was said and done to ensure no other similar weapon was made.

 

The point being, the gun was extremely temperamental. It did not like to be silenced, meaning any attempts at muffling the sound would cause the silencer to shatter the moment the gun is fired. There was also another reason why the gun was feared. 

 

The very same reason why Kaeun was the only person able to wield Keres, and why she was able to clear an entire room full of armed people in seconds.

 

“There she is!”

 

“Don’t let her get away!”

 

Kaeun clicked her tongue in annoyance. The rooms lining the darkened corridor infront of her bursts open and out spilled about 10 people who did not look too happy that their boss had just been assassinated right under their noses.

 

Kaeun ducked behind a large pillar as they began firing, realising that the structure probably wouldn’t be able to provide cover for her for very long.

 

“Uhh...that doesn’t sound good unnie.”

 

Kaeun sighed, wincing as a bullet flies millimetres away from her right ear.

 

“Relax. I’ve got this.” Kaeun assures the girl on the other side of her communicator. She could take down 10 people. 10 was a perfectly manageable number.

 

It’ll just hurt like a to do so.

 

The Reaper withdraws her index finger from where it had been curled around her gun’s trigger and brushes it lightly forward, trying to find that one nub that stuck out of the gun like a button. Finding it, Kaeun took a deep breath before pressing it in. There was a soft ding! sound as everything within the gun moved into place, and Kaeun gritted her teeth before moving out of cover.

 

If a gun could sing, Keres would be the lead vocalist in this symphony of death. Kaeun took careful aim, making sure to dodge any oncoming bullets before pulling the trigger. 

 

It was a loud explosion. Kaeun always hated it, but this was what kept her alive during moments of crisis. Kaeun swept the gun in a horizontal arc and when the dust finally settled, she was the only one left alive in the corridor.

 

The Reaper Shot.

 

That was the highly uncreative name that Ahn Yujin had given the move when the girl was just a wee little lass, but Kaeun had stuck with it. It was Keres’ ultimate move, so to speak. 

 

With the push of a button, Keres was able to fire every bullet it had in it’s magazine in a single loud shot. It was the equivalent of having the fire-rate of a sub-machine gun, with the stopping power of a magnum. The biggest downside to this however, was the strain it had on the user’s body. The recoil was, to put it gently, utter bull. The first time she had used the Reaper Shot function as a teenager, Kaeun had completely dislocated her shoulder out of it’s socket.

 

Years of training later, and now Lee Kaeun was the only person alive who was skilled enough to fully utilise Keres while managing to maintain complete accuracy despite the insane recoil.

 

It still hurt like a though.

 

“How much further Minju?” Kaeun asks, shaking her right hand which has started to go numb from the strain it had just undertaken.

 

“Not much. Take the next left and go down the stairwell. That should lead you straight to the exit.”

 

Kaeun stares down the hallway and she sees where the corridor branches off to the left. She really wanted to take a break. Her body was still aching from taking down the Crystal Jasmine family just one day before, and today’s mission was starting to take it’s toll. That Reaper Shot earlier took a lot out of her. 

 

Making sure to reload her gun and to reset the switch on Keres, Kaeun quickens her pace and takes the left turn to find a door leading to the stairwell Minju mentioned. She was cautious as she opened it, and was surprised to find it empty. The Silver Aster really wasn’t expecting an invasion, from the looks of it.

 

Funny. They should have heard by now that the Reaper had managed to take down the Crystal Jasmine just yesterday. One would think that the Silver Aster would have taken that as a sign to amplify their defences. Guess not. Not that Kaeun was complaining. She rather enjoyed the empty and peaceful stairwell she was currently descending. She reaches a door, in which sunlight was starting to pass through and figures she’s managed to find the exit to this infernal place.

 

A sudden change in the air’s tension causes Kaeun to instinctively jump backwards, a manoeuvre that would prove to have saved her life when a hail of bullets struck the ground where she would have been standing on had she moved a second too late. A figure jumps down from the floors above, landing right between Kaeun and the door.

 

“Where do you think you’re going Reaper?!”

 

Kaeun withdraws her gun, calmly assessing the situation and this woman who had just performed the closest thing to a superhero landing Kaeun has ever seen. Her eyes narrow as she vaguely recognises this newcomer’s face, but only barely.

 

Lee Sian, the Silver Aster’s Head Enforcer. 

 

There’s not much known about Sian, with her having only taken the position fairly recently after Chaeyeon had killed the former Head in a skirmish that did not involve the Red Roses. A quick visual assessment would show that she was built just like Kaeun. Strong legs, long arms, cute face.... She was pretty much Kaeun’s type, but of course nobody was better than her Sakura—

 

Focus Kaeun. Focus.

 

“I don’t know. Where does that door behind you lead to?” Kaeun asks in an attempt to buy some time before they had to fight. The Reaper was starting to feel lethargic. Two days of dangerous missions back to back was asking a lot.

 

“You’ll never find out!” Sian screams and Kaeun had to force her tired legs to dodge the hail of bullets that the Silver Aster’s Enforcer fired her way. A sub-machine gun. In a place as confined as this stairwell.

 

Not fair.

 

Sian made a second pass with her gun, sweeping it across the small space leaving Kaeun no choice but to flip over the handrail next to her to get to a floor below in an attempt to create some separation between her and the fuming Head Enforcer who had just lost her employer.

 

A loud explosion from outside the building suddenly shakes the air, distracting the both of them momentarily. Kaeun was the first to recover, aiming her gun at the handrail and pulling the trigger. Keres’ bullet pings off of the metal handrail and richocets off the walls, catching Sian by surprise as the latter was obviously struggling to predict the bullet’s trajectory.

 

Kaeun begins running up the stairs at the same time her bullet strikes Sian’s shoulder, causing the Aster to yell in pain. Not even giving Sian a chance to breathe, Kaeun runs all the way up towards her enemy and jumps, sending her knee crashing into Sian’s jaw. It was a solid hit as the Reaper could almost feel her opponent’s brain get rattled by the strike.

 

As the Aster’s eyes start to roll upwards, Kaeun completes the job by grabbing a fistful of the woman’s shirt and tossing her down a flight of stairs. Kaeun settles down for a moment, taking the chance to catch her breath as she stares down Sian’s unconscious form lying in a heap at the foot of the stairs.

 

This would have been a longer fight if it wasn’t for that random explosion distracting Sian long enough for Kaeun to sign her opponent’s death sentence. It was an amateurish move on Sian’s part, a mistake that the latter won’t live to regret. Kaeun raises her gun, aims it between Sian’s eyes and pulls the trigger repeatedly.

 

Three shots were enough to convince Kaeun that the Silver Aster’s Head Enforcer was now dead and gone, the latter’s lack of experience being her downfall. Kaeun walks towards the door that Sian had been blocking earlier and opens it to reveal—

 

—an open field.

 

What the .

 

That’s not good.

 

“Minju where the are you?!” Kaeun screams into her communicator, livid at the absence of an escape vehicle.

 

“They blew up the car! Lucas is on the way with a backup vehicle but it’ll take about 10 minutes for him to get here!”

 

“Blew up the car?! Blew up the car with WHAT?!”

 

People were starting to come down the stairs behind her and Kaeun would NOT want to fight THAT MANY people in a cramped stairwell. Definitely not. Getaway vehicle being present or not, she needed to get out onto that open field and leg it if she had to. Staying here wasn’t an option, what with the entire organisation finally realising their leader had just been assassinated.

 

It was then that Kaeun notices several people standing on an elevated rocky outcrop about 100 meters away, looking down at her. One of them was brandishing a long tube of some kind, and Kaeun had to squint to try and make out what it was. Was it a pipe? Why were they pointing a pipe right at her...

 

...it wasn’t a pipe, was it?

 

“Oh bloody hell.“

 

Kaeun wills her tired legs to sprint as hard as they can as a rocket is sent propelling towards her. The door that she had just exited from blew up to pieces (along with presumably a few Aster soldiers) and pieces of her would be amongst that rubble had she reacted a second too late. They didn’t give her a chance to count her blessings, as another one was shot right at her.

 

She was in an open field, with no semblance of cover as these mad people fired rockets at her. Why do the Silver Aster have rocket launchers?! The Red Roses are a bigger family and as far as Kaeun was aware, RPG’s were not part of their arsenal! This was insane! Kaeun could only keep running, trying to avoid doing so in a straight line so that they couldn’t predict her movements.

 

Kaeun tries to shoot back with Keres, but the distance made her shots inaccurate. This was getting worrisome. The rockets were landing closer and closer to her, and her best bet now would be for either Minju to arrive soon, or for the dingbats on the outcrop to run out of ammunition. Kaeun only hoped one of those things happen before her legs start to give out on her. 

 

Just as she finishes that thought, her left leg buckles on her momentarily. It was a brief moment, not lasting even a second but it was enough time for the Silver Aster to launch another rocket directly at her. The Reaper’s greatest weakness was that she was only human, afterall. Exhaustion gets the best of everyone.

 

Kaeun could only watch helplessly as the projectile makes it’s way towards her, knowing full well that she could not dodge this one with her timing messed up.

 

She scoffed. Helplessly? There was never a moment where Lee Kaeun was ever helpless. She raises her gun, aims it at the oncoming rocket and laughs bitterly.

 

“Well... it.”

 

She pulls the trigger, and the rocket explodes a few feet away from her. She feels the flames singe her clothing and skin, feels the force of the explosion carry her body backwards into the air, feels chunks of metal embed themselves into her flesh before she lands back onto the ground, the back of her head colliding forcefully with the solid soil and then...

 

...Everything went dark.

 

 

 

**************************************************

 

 

When Kaeun opened her eyes she half-expected to find herself in a damp, underground lair, being made to physically repent for her sins by way of torture. The room she instead found herself in was neither damp nor underground, but it was definitely a lair.

 

The Red Roses headquarters.

 

Kaeun wanted to chuckle, but it was almost too physical an action for her beat up body right now. She tries to sit up but all the tubes sticking out and attached to her body made it almost impossible, so instead she tried to move her fingers and toes. Five on each hand, check. Five on each foot...questionable. But at least she could feel her feet, meaning that she didn’t lose any limbs.

 

The room was especially dark though. Her eyes seemed to be having trouble getting adjusted to the dim lighting. She’ll worry about that at another time. Right now...

 

...Right now a soft bed has never felt more welcome against her body.

 

It has been a hellish two days. Kaeun hasn’t yet determined exactly how long she has been out but based on how sore her body was still feeling it definitely hasn’t been long at all. She had easily attacked the Crystal Jasmine family two days ago, singlehandedly destroying the family’s heirs as well as the head of the organization himself. It was the first target, so they weren’t prepared for her.

 

The second target, the Silver Aster family, were a tad bit more cautious and wary. Kaeun was lucky that she had managed to sneak in the way she did, although she didn’t exactly get out of that one unscathed.

 

The third and final target though... they would be ready for her. The Vermillion Orchid. There would probably be zero chances of her sneaking in through a backdoor or something this time. It would be an all-out war. Kaeun needed to bring her A-game, and ensure she was probably equipped to handle this last task. The Vermillion Orchid did not consist of pansies and slouches.

 

She must be ready.

 

And she must do it soon.

 

 

——

 

 

“You need to slow down, unnie.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

Nako looked as if she was ready to punch the Reaper back into unconsciousness, not caring that the older woman was still lying in her hospital bed, attached to several beeping instruments and that almost all of the Gwangju Branch’s Executive Team was currently present in the room to serve as witness.

 

“You nearly DIED out there! Lucas and Minju had to drag your unconscious out of there like it was a scene out of a war movie!”

 

“This IS war Nako!” 

 

“Then why do you insist on fighting it alone?!” Nako yelled, furiously pulling at her own hair in frustration.

 

“You weren’t even in there with me yet we STILL managed to lose two lives when that car blew up! How many do you think will die if I allowed the lot of you to come with me?!” Kaeun yells back, before breaking into a short coughing fit.

 

They didn’t understand. Kaeun did not want any of them to get hurt. What if it was them? What if those rockets were fired at them instead of her? Would they be able to escape it with their lives, like how she miraculously did? What if it was them caught in that dark corridor with 10 armed men after them?

 

As if reading her mind, Yujin chimed in at that moment.

 

“You did not train a bunch of WEAKLINGS unnie!”

 

It was stated matter-of-factly. Kaeun fell silent, a mess of conflicting emotions. Hitomi chose that moment to flash a light into the Reaper’s left eye, waiting for a reaction that Kaeun knew she wouldn’t get. She heard Hitomi grunt in frustration; a rare show of emotion from the obedient and docile doctor but it just further affirmed Kaeun’s fears.

 

How she feared these people would get injured just like her.

 

“I know. All of you are strong.” Kaeun began, pausing to cough again while the entire room (including Hitomi) waited for her to continue.

 

“But I love all of you very much. How can I allow any of you to get hurt just so that I can buy my freedom?”

 

Hyewon scoffed. “This war would have happened with or without you unnie. This is just a convenient reason for the higher ups to use you like a weapon for one last time.”

 

Eunbi stepped toward’s Kaeun’s bed and the room fell silent again. Their leader was the branch’s sole representative of those “higher ups” Hyewon had very openly spoken ill of, but Eunbi didn’t seem too opposed to the notion. Perhaps she knew as well. Despite where her loyalties should lie, maybe the leader hated the decision to send Kaeun to her death as much as the rest of them did.

 

Maybe even more so.

 

Perhaps Eunbi herself is the most frustrated by Kaeun’s stubbornness to end the war by herself, but she of all people knew why Kaeun was taking such measures.

 

This mission was a waste of precious life. It made sense to minimise fatalities if it required the absolute minimum to get the job done.

 

“How’s it looking, Hii-chan?”

 

Hitomi took a wary glance at Eunbi, and Kaeun knew that the doctor was having difficulty in relaying the bad news to the leader. Hitomi worshipped Eunbi. How does she, a medical professional, inform Eunbi that she could not treat her patient’s injuries?

 

“...It isn’t looking good, Boss.” Hitomi hesitated, voice as small as the girl herself.

 

Eunbi frowned, obviously not satisfied with such a vague answer. “What does that mean?” 

 

“It means...she can’t look good.”

 

Oh good God if Hitomi was going to beat around the bush to that extent, Kaeun might as well reveal it herself.

 

“She means I’m blind in one eye now, Eunbi.”

 

It was as if the room itself took in a sudden large intake of air with the way everyone seemed to simultaneously gasp at the news. Eunbi’s eyes grew wide as she looked between Kaeun and her one grey eye, to Hitomi who only nodded in confirmation.

 

The leader seemed to tremble as she took slow steps towards Kaeun’s bedside, standing next to the Reaper and just...taking in the woman’s face. Kaeun didn’t look away, allowing Eunbi to take in the extent of her injuries. She’s managed to look at herself in the mirror earlier; she knows just how bad she looks.

 

It was a miracle that Kaeun was even alive. She must have knocked on Death’s door and even HE did not want his Reaper to return home. It probably didn’t happen often but Kaeun was sure that nobody else could say they had a rocket explode on them at near point-blank range and live to tell the tale. It wasn’t unscathed though.

 

She had several burn marks of varying degrees all over her face and body, some of which she would probably carry with her for the rest of her life. Chunks of shrapnel from the rocket embedded themselves into her skin, cutting off half of her left ear and entering her left eye, permanently blinding her. It wasn’t bad enough for her to become the next poster child for “Burn Victims Anonymous”, but she definitely knew she didn’t look half as good as she once did.

 

“ing hell....” Eunbi cursed through gritted teeth as she reached out with shaky hands to lightly trace the outline of a particularly bad burn on Kaeun’s cheek. Kaeun stared back unblinkingly, knowing just how Eunbi was feeling.

 

If Kaeun were to see her sister in a similar situation, the Reaper would set the entire world ablaze in retaliation.

 

“Umm, why are you touching my face, you creep?” Kaeun joked, seeing the tears of regret beginning to well up in Eunbi’s eyes.

 

“...It was such a nice face too.” Eunbi sighed, rubbing the tears out of her eyes before they had a chance to stain her cheeks.

 

“Thanks, but I’m taken.”

 

“Not for long. I expect Sakura would dump your like dirty laundry if she sees how badly you’ve ed your face up.”

 

“It’s cool. Can the R&D team make me a wicked eyepatch?” Kaeun had a wide grin on her face and it seemed to stun Eunbi, just how brightly Kaeun can smile in this situation.

 

Kaeun’s left eye was milky and dead, whilst her right was still very much full of life. The bright grey seemed to twinkle in the light and Eunbi couldn’t help but chuckle despite herself. Despite how much she so badly wanted to punch the wall and scream in anger and frustration.

 

“...We’ll make you the best eyepatch money can buy.”

 

Kaeun laughed loudly, and the rest of the girls (who were previously crying as well) joined in. 

 

The Reaper was hurting. Her injuries probably weren’t as light as she would have them all believe, but she did not want them to worry. The least they could do to respect her attempts at optimism would be to play along with her.

 

“So you’re a one-eyed Reaper now. Sounds like an anime.”

 

All eyes turned to Hyewon, who looked especially proud of her observation despite how insensitive her statement may have sounded.

 

“This kinda feels like an anime.” Kaeun commented, unsure of what else to say, not expecting Hyewon to shake her head to refute her claim, looking completely serious.

 

“If this were an anime we’d be able to replace your eye with an even BETTER eye. Like a Sharingan or a Rinnegan.”

 

Kaeun could only blink back in response, her one good eye trying it’s best to not give the new Gwangju Head Enforcer a judgemental stare.

 

She loved these girls, but sometimes...

 

...Sometimes they can be absolutely exhausting.

 

“....I don’t know what on Earth you’re on about, Hyewon.”

 

 

***************************************

 

 

“Are you coming home anytime soon, unnie?”

 

“You mean, the headquarters?”

 

“No, that’s a house. I’M your home.” Sakura huffs on the other end of the line, making Kaeun smile like an idiot and earning her teasing looks from Yujin and Wonyoung. 

 

“Soon. I’ll be back soon.”

 

“Is everything okay? Are you hurt?” 

 

Kaeun doesn’t even know where to begin with that. If being hurt meant being in pain, then no she wasn’t hurt. The painkillers work wonders in that regard. If being hurt meant being impaired in terms of phycal activity...then Kaeun only has one good eye left.

 

But Sakura does not need to know that.

 

“I’m...fine.”

 

“There’s a pause. What’s with the pause?”

 

“I’m fine, baby.” Kaeun tries to use the cute nickname to distract Sakura and it works for a moment as her girlfriend squeals in delight before promptly returning to the topic at hand.

 

“I’m not convinced.”

 

Kaeun sighs. “What can I do to convince you I’m fine?”

 

“Come home. Let me see you.”

 

“Not yet, darling. Not yet.” She wants to see Sakura badly though. There’s nothing that she would enjoy more than to do that.

 

“At least turn on your camera.”

 

“I...The reception is pretty bad here.” Kaeun lies. They were in a hotel in the middle of Incheon, where the cell reception was actually quite stellar but she can’t have Sakura seeing her like this. With burn marks on her face and one eye dead.

 

When she’s done with this mission, the first thing Kaeun will do is find some way to not look like the victim of a small pyrotechnics incident. That, and hug the out of her adorable girlfriend.

 

“I miss you, unnie.”

 

Kaeun sighs. Sakura does not play fair.

 

“I miss you too.” Kaeun begins, but pauses because just missing could not fully describe the longing she was feeling for her beloved girlfriend. It was more than missing. It was a raw, physical, desire. “I miss you so much. God...You don’t even know. I can’t even tell you how much I miss you. It’s insane.”

 

“Stay safe for me?”

 

“Of course. Always.”

 

She knows Sakura does not believe her, but she doesn’t have to. All Kaeun needs to do is to come back alive and that should earn her all the forgiveness for willingly entering into all these dangerous situations.

 

“...I love you, Kaeun-unnie.”

 

“I love you more, Kkura.”

 

Normally Sakura would challenge her on that statement, but they both know that Kaeun does not have the time to play “who loves each other more” right now. They were preparing for battle. This was Kaeun’s method of preparation.

 

To remind herself what she is fighting for.

 

She hangs up the phone, and stares out the window. Just one more family. Just ONE more.

 

“Ready to go?” Yunjin asks, already fully equipped and standing by the door.

 

Kaeun took a deep breath and picked Keres up from the table next to her, carefully holstering it as she gets up from the puffy armchair she had been lounging in.

 

It’s time.

 

“Yeah. Let’s do this.”

 

 

****************************************

 

It has been about a week of nonstop fighting. Kaeun’s injury has cost the Red Roses two days of hunting, which was plenty of time for the Vermillion Orchid family to go into hiding. It was a rough few days of tracking down any possible clue, tracking down different hideouts and fighting through them just to discover that their target was “in another castle”, so to speak.

 

It was frustrating and also pitiful, on the Vermillion Orchid’s part. They would send their heirs to fight her in an attempt to protect their aging leader. A fool’s move. Sure they put up more of a fight, but they were only delaying the inevitable and making Kaeun’s job of eradicating the organisation’s entire bloodline that much more easier. 

 

Send their youngest. Send their strongest. 

 

None can escape death.

 

Now they have the Vermillion Orchids cornered in a single, fortress-like hideout. A giant, stone-faced monolith that would serve as the final battleground in this war.

 

The Reaper’s final fight.

 

She’s had plenty of time over the past week to get adjusted to her new sense of depth perception. Having one eye made it difficult to aim and it opened up a new blindspot for her, but she’s learned to compensate for those weaknesses with skill and flair.

 

...and maybe about 20 more Roses.

 

Yes, frustrated and angered by Kaeun’s injury, Eunbi had ordered Kaeun to not move in alone. Thus she has been waltzing through the past few hideouts with her protégé and the other two Enforcers by her side. For this mission though, with the Vermillion Orchids cornered and waiting to retaliate, the Red Roses were forced to bring out their entire Gwangju battalion to breakthrough the fortress’ defences.

 

Each Enforcer had their protégés with them for this mission. Kaeun had Yunjin, Nako had Nayoung, and Hyewon had Saerom (who has grown to become an extremely capable fighter). Minju, as the Capo, commanded the rest of the army which stood at about 150 people. Eunbi also managed call in a small favour from her Japanese compatriots to enlist the help of the Ibaraki Branch’s Head Enforcer, Takahashi Juri and a small legion of her soldiers. 

 

Their accumulative numbers rounded up to roughly 200 strong. It was more than Kaeun could ask for, and the largest task force she has ever fought alongside with. Still, it was only 2 branches. The other branches didn’t even bother replying to Eunbi’s call for help, each couldn’t be bothered to participate in this suicide mission.

 

They call it impossible, but if Kaeun and her squad were to pull this off, they would rejoice and celebrate as well although they didn’t even bother to lift a finger to help.

 

Scum, all of them. But they were a crime organisation. Honor was the last thing Kaeun would expect from them. All the more reason for her to leave this organisation for good.

 

“Now that’s a supervillain lair if I’ve ever seen one.” Juri commented, holding up a pair of binoculars as she observed the fortress from their location, passing it on to Wonyoung who was all too eager to look through it.

 

Even from the hill they were all gathered on, even from this impressive distance, the fortress screamed it’s impenetrability. They have probably scoured every document known to man to try and discover a structural weak point but none seemed to exist.

 

The only way through is by air or through the front door. The first option wasn’t much of an option at all, with the large anti-air turrets being a deterrent. Seriously. First the Silver Aster with their fancy RPG’s, now the Vermillion Orchids with their many hideouts and expensive guns. Where was the Red Roses’ budget for all this?!

 

“It’s bloody impressive. You think Old Man Han is compensating for something?” Wonyoung cheekily asked as she passed the binoculars onto the next set of curious eyes.

 

“They chose this place for a reason. Only one way in, one way out. No sewers or weaknesses in the infrastructure for us to take advantage of. This is their final stand.” Hyewon commented, already wearing her title of Head Enforcer well.

 

“How many do you think are in there? Five thousand?” Yujin asks while looking through the binoculars. It sounded like an absurd amount, but they all knew that that was the likely number.

 

The enemy has had more than a few days to prepare. They won’t make this easy.

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Kaeun speaks up finally, garnering her army’s attention. “Our target is just the one. Aim for the head, and the body shall fall.”

 

They nod in agreement, and Hyewon places a steady hand on Kaeun’s shoulder. “Let’s cause a ruckus. Ready to move when you are, Leader.”

 

This was it. The make it or break it moment. What they have all been working towards. After today, the Red Roses name shall rise in infamy, and Kaeun will have finally earned her freedom. After today, the war will be over. After today...

 

...After today she’ll return to Sakura.

 

Kaeun fixes the lapel of her suit, making sure her shirt was properly buttoned. Compared to the rest of her colleagues, her equipment was pretty sparse. She carried a 13-inch combat knife on her left hip, a shorter 5-inch tactical knife hidden in her right boot, Keres which was holstered securely on her right hip, and what can only be described as a “-ton” of ammunition as she runs through them like water when utilising the Reaper Shot.

 

Everything was in place. Now is as good a time as any. She looks at her fellow Roses, nods at Yunjin who was smiling brightly back at her...

 

It was time to end this.

 

“Bring the noise, Roses.”

 

 

******************************************************************

 

 

Their plan was simple enough on paper. They were to drive these heavily armored trucks that have been modified to generate enough speed to completely tear through the metal front doors of the fortress. From there, the Roses were tasked to create a ruckus in the main lobby while Kaeun sneaks off to find the Vermillion Orchid’s leader.

 

If there even was a lobby to create a ruckus in.

 

They really had zero information on this hideout, after all. Kaeun is just assuming that they have a grand enough lobby to fight in because rich people love their fancy entry halls and spiral staircases. It’s a stereotype.

 

Yunjin turns to face her from the driver’s seat and gives a thumbs up, to which Kaeun replies with a curt nod. The protégé hits the gas as everyone else in the truck braces for impact and Kaeun feels the vehicle lurch forwards almost worrisomely before smashing through the iron doors.

 

Almost immediately the truck is lit up with the sound of bullets hitting it from all sides. They had been waiting for the Roses, it seems. Well, they weren’t exactly being subtle, what with the armored truck and 9 more of them fast approaching from the rear. Ignoring the bullets, Kaeun signals for the second part of the plan. 

 

Small windows in the side of the truck opened up just wide enough for the occupants of the vehicle to chuck out smoke grenades to obscure the enemies’ vision. She hears panicked yells and erratic firing, and Kaeun takes this as her cue to sneak out of the truck’s back door. The four Orchids waiting for her by the door never even managed to get a good look at the Reaper before they were struck down by several swings of her blade.

 

She works quickly and silently as the occupants of the truck begin firing into the crowd of people surrounding the vehicle through the windows formed earlier. More and more trucks crash through the walls, creating enough of a commotion for Kaeun to hack and slash in relative peace.

 

It was nice to know that she was right about there being a lobby or foyer area. It was large enough to comfortably occupy 3 armored trucks parked side by side, with a very large, very grand staircase overlooking the entire makeshift battlefield. The ceilings were high, and from the area they were in Kaeun could see up 2-3 floors of the building as every floor seemed to overlook this foyer. If she had a grappling hook she could easily zip straight up to the highest floor, where she predicts the final boss is waiting for her.

 

But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? And nobody actually uses a grappling hook these days. That’s a Batman thing.

 

“OH IT’S THE REAP—“

 

Kaeun pulls her knife out of the man’s throat, the action occupied by a soft gurgling sound as blood sprayed like a Tarantino movie.

 

Yup. Definitely not Batman.

 

....And now they know she’s here. Brilliant. Only took them like, 20 dead men to realise that she’s been slashing her way through the crowd without a care in the world. Kaeun draws Keres from it’s holster at the same time 7 guns were pointed to her, their wielders shaking from fear and panic. That wasn’t good. Frightened people were unpredictable. 

 

Unpredictable, but also highly susceptible to being startled. Sudden movements, for example, was enough to make them flinch and jump. With that thought in mind, Kaeun jerked sharply to the left before moving just as quickly to the right, making the inexperienced soldiers fire their gun at absolutely nothing.

 

A feint. The oldest trick in the book. Kaeun trains her soldiers to always keep an eye on the enemy’s midsection. Their centre of gravity, as that is the only part of the body that remains constant if one were to throw in feints and fake movements. She is lucky to know that the Vermillion Orchid did not impart such education to their own students.

 

By the time she’s finished dodging the bullets, her foot planted firmly on the ground, she’s already pressed the button that allows Keres to sing. Kaeun grits her teeth and tightens her grip on her gun before sweeping it in a wide arc, firing the Reaper Shot into the crowd of attackers. It works like a treat. Keres’ bullets were able to penetrate through their initial targets and embedded themselves into the people behind them as well, allowing her to take down 12 people instead of the intended 7.

 

Kaeun quickly reloads Keres, despite feeling as if her entire arm had been popped out of it’s socket. Her ears twitch and she easily dodges a shot aimed at her head while casually stabbing a woman next to her. A man comes running at her with a long sword in his hand while she sees another three people ready their guns at her from a distance. She easily predicts the man’s slashing trajectory and steps to the side, taking his back and wrapping her forearm against his throat while using him as a shield to absorb the bullets being fired at her.

 

Kaeun kills the shooters before casually snapping her shield’s neck. A whizzing bullet narrowly misses her left ear and the Reaper was sure that it would have hit her if she wasn’t already missing half of that ear in the first place. Realising that there were too many people with guns trying to kill her, Kaeun dodged another round of bullets while bending down to pick up a gun belonging to someone who is probably too dead to miss it.

 

Dual-wielding her pistols Kaeun fired back against the Orchids, shooting them down like a carnival game as she effortlessly picks them off. She shoots down 7 of them. 8. 9. Her new gun runs out of ammo so she throws it to an Orchid who was running right at her, stunning him enough to shoot him in the head with Keres. She dodges another bullet, only for the numbers game to overwhelm her as a fist connects against her left cheek, right in her blindspot. Kaeun is taken off her feet, having only a few moments of being precariously exposed on the tiled floor before she fires the Reaper Shot one more time.

 

She didn’t have as many bullets waiting in Keres’ magazine at this point so the recoil was not as bad, but her arm was already starting to grow numb. She couldn’t do that too often.

 

There was a loud commotion forming from behind her and she notes that every truck has arrived now and the Roses have begun their full attack. She could almost hear Nako’s war cry from here, and Kaeun smiled despite herself. 

 

She couldn’t have asked for a better form of backup.

 

Not that she was doing badly by herself. She must have eliminated more than 100 Orchids all by her lonesome.

 

There were not that many people in front of her now. They were all too preoccupied with the ruckus the rest of the Roses were bringing, so Kaeun could easily carve a path up the grand staircase. Conserving her bullets Kaeun manages to hack and slash her way up to the third floor where she assumes the leader was hiding while keeping her gun holstered. Logically the leader would distance himself as far away from the main entrance as possible, and there wasn’t anywhere higher than this.

 

KREAK!

 

Kaeun whips her head around to identify the source of that sudden loud sound and her eyes widen with what she was seeing. 

 

A large wooden table. Similar to the one Eunbi has in her office. The only glaring difference is that this table was currently sailing through the air right towards her. That table was not light. It was made of solid wood and it would definitely hurt to be hit by that.

 

Kaeun begins to dodge, but her legs choose that exact moment to be uncooperative with her. The fatigue has begun to set in, with horrendous timing. The week’s worth of hunting has finally caught up with her. Unable to move aside, the only thing the Reaper could do was brace for the incoming impact with her arms but that did absolutely nothing because the table hits her with the force of a brick wall.

 

The Reaper’s lithe body was sent flying back from the impact, cleanly clearing the banister behind her and sending the Reaper toppling over the balcony. Almost as if she was moving in slow motion, Kaeun seemed to suspend momentarily in midair until gravity eventually drops her back-first onto the solid ground one floor below. 

 

The impact of the fall steals all the air out of her lungs, causing her to gasp out as thunderbolts of pain courses through her body. The heavy table crashes somewhere north of where she lay but Kaeun couldn’t exactly tell where. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry, she couldn’t believe just how much pain she was currently feeling. Any normal human being would have passed out by now, but her insanely high tolerance is forcing her to live with this agony. She couldn’t even move a finger, let alone an arm.

 

She laid there on the tiled floor, spread-eagled and waiting for her vision to readjust itself. Eventually she could make out the outline of the broken balcony she had just fallen from, and as her ears recovered she could hear the commotion from the battle a floor below her.

 

Movement at the balcony above catches Kaeun’s attention, and her eye widens in shock as a large object is being dropped right onto her vulnerable body. Another table? What the is up with this place and tables?!

 

Move.

 

Move Lee Kaeun.

 

She can’t. She’s too exhausted. The floor is too welcoming. It was comfortable here.

 

Move.

 

Dying this way wouldn’t be too bad. At least she won’t be in pain anymore. She’s killed enough of the Orchids by this point, Hyewon and Yunjin can take care of the rest.

 

She can close her eyes and succumb to the slumber. She was just so, so tired....

 

“Promise me you won’t die. Then you can’t. It’s the rules.”

 

MOVE!

 

There was a sickening crunch as the heavy object crashes into the tiles, cracking and shattering them and scattering bits of floor and stone all over the landing. The dust begins to settle, and Kaeun is barely on her feet.

 

Somehow she’s managed to summon the strength to dodge the colossal object, but now what? Her legs were shaking and it hurt to even draw in oxygen. Blood seeping from a cut right above her right brow was getting into her one good eye but she was unable to wipe it away as both her arms were currently dangling uselessly by her side. 

 

Fractured. Both her arms. Probably as a result of shielding herself from the table earlier. She could still move them, but only barely. They were on a timer, and as the dust from the earlier crash clears up all the way, Kaeun realises just how royally ed she was currently.

 

That wasn’t a second table. It wasn’t a random heavy object. Standing before her was a freak of nature. A genetic ersion, in the form of the Vermillion Orchid’s Head Enforcer. Standing at a full 7 feet tall and weighing somewhere north of 190kg’s, the half Korean and half Russian behemoth was a sight to behold. 

 

Ilya Ryu. 

 

They were acquainted, the both of them. They shared a mutual respect for one another and an equal sense of loyalty to their respective organisations. Of course they have had their past skirmishes, but Kaeun has always been able to come out on top but it was not without great difficulty.

 

That was when they were both fighting in similar conditions. Right now Kaeun was barely functioning at 30% of her full capabilities.

 

“A table, Ilya? Seriously?” Kaeun asks, as an attempt to buy time while she rests and formulates a battle plan.

 

Ilya chuckles in his deep voice while cracking his bleeding knuckles. He must have tried to punch her while she was prone on the floor. The Reaper chances a glance at Ilya’s feet and winces internally at the damage this man’s fist was able to create. 

 

The floor was almost indented. He dented solid ground!

 

“Wouldn’t it make for a funny headline? The Almighty Reaper. South Korea’s top Enforcer, done in by a table. Wooden, no less.”

 

It was Kaeun’s turn to chuckle now. “Top Enforcer? Isn’t that generous of you? I wouldn’t dare claim such a moniker as I stand infront of a building of a man such as yourself.”

 

Standard martial art’s rules states that it was almost impossible to win a physical battle against someone who weighs more than three times your bodyweight. Ilya probably weighed about that, and then some. This was not going to be easy at all. 

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Reaper. It pains me to say that our pleasantries must end here.” Ilya announces, moving one leg back as he gets into a low fighting stance. 

 

It was intimidating to say the least. For his size, Kaeun knew just how deceptively explosive his movements can be. In preparation for that Kaeun reaches to her hip and wraps her fingers around Keres’ grip.

 

“Yeah. It was a good friendship Ilya. It was an honour to have known you.” The Reaper replies, recalling the nights she’s spent drinking and just holding conversation with the rival Enforcer. They were good nights. Peaceful, and a distant memory.

 

It was a shame to fight, but this was a world that somebody else imagined. Ilya and Kaeun were just pawns in it.

 

They had to fight. It was their JOB to fight.

 

“I share the same sentiments, Lee Kaeun. Now come. Show me how the Reaper plans to reach our King.” 

 

Lightning quick, only hindered in the slightest by her injury, Kaeun draws her gun and fires a shot right at the large target before her. Displaying an agility that wasn’t proportional to his size Ilya managed to easily side step the shot. Kaeun had already fired her second shot to where he was about to dodge to, and Ilya only had a fraction of a second to dodge the Reaper’s second shot. 

 

However Kaeun had already predicted that Ilya would dodge her second shot as well and had already emptied her entire magazine into the third strike, which was a preemptive Reaper Shot that Ilya could not possibly dodge.

 

The bullets bury themselves into his massive frame, pushing him back several feet but to Kaeun’s shock and surprise the rival Enforcer was still standing. What a demon of a man. He had taken 5 bullets from Keres and he was still smirking.

 

Unfortunately it took Kaeun a second too late to realise what brought on that manic grin on his face.

 

She didn’t have time to reload her gun. 

 

Ilya rushes forward, dripping blood all over the floor as he closes the distance between him and the Reaper in a shorter time than she expected him to. He has gotten faster since they last fought. What an unfortunate time to discover that.

 

A large arm swung towards her in a lariat and Kaeun jumps back in an attempt to nullify the impact to some extent. His insane reach means that his strike still manages to catch up to Kaeun, sending the latter flying back onto her some distance away.

 

Even with her jumping backwards, the attack still stung. Ilya laughed out loud as he notices the dagger that Kaeun had embedded into his bicep the moment he had fallen within her reach. 

 

It was honestly quite demotivating to have your best attempt at fighting back get literally laughed at by your enemy.

 

She should have shoved the dagger into his face instead.

 

“Are you just going to punch me to death like a doofus, Ilya?”

 

If anything, the insult poorly disguised as a question only served to further amuse the Vermillion Giant.

 

“These hands are too large to use common firearms, Reaper.” Ilya shows her his hands, each as big as a saucepan. Memories of nursing injuries sustained by those hands caused a nasty feeling of dread to settle in Kaeun’s gut. “Besides, I rather enjoy feeling the crunching of bones beneath my fingers.”

 

“Urgh you’re just like Hyewon.” Kaeun commented, getting to her feet while dusting off her trousers. She reloads her gun, and wordlessly signals for Ilya to return her knife back. He chuckles loudly before pulling it out of his arm and graciously flinging it back to her.

 

“Knives do not intimidate me, Reaper.” He reasons while wearing a proud smile on his face.

 

Well, that’s fair. The blade of Kaeun’s tiny knife couldn’t have been longer than Ilya’s pinky. The Reaper balances it on the tip of one finger before sheathing it back in a hidden slot located in her right boot. This one won’t do. Instead Kaeun pulls out her longer, meaner-looking combat knife and enters into her fighting stance.

 

“In my hands, they should.” 

 

Ilya takes the threat as seriously as his past encounters with the Reaper would teach him to do, all traces of mirth and humour vanishing from his face immediately. In response to Kaeun’s fighting stance he enters into one of his own, and they begin a long staring match that seemed to last for an eternity. Kaeun runs through multiple simulations in her head, and she’s bitter to find that she is on the losing end almost each time.

 

She’s exhausted and running on fumes, but there was still enough in her tank for this confrontation. Tightening her grip on her knife, the Reaper makes the first move. In the blink of an eye she has entered Ilya’s space, slashing her blade across his midsection only to cut nothing but air.

 

Her instinct tells her to dodge, and she does so right as a ginormous fist swings towards her from her blind side. She ducks another punch while simultaneously slashing the giant’s thighs.

 

Shallow.

 

They must have figured out a way to mate a woman with a boulder. His skin was as coarse as rock.

 

The pair of them begin a dance of sorts, with Kaeun dodging and weaving the big man’s attacks while dealing short, shallow cuts to his skin while Ilya patiently waits for an opportunity to land that one strike.

 

Unfortunately for Kaeun, the opportunity eventually comes when Ilya manages to land one small, compact blow to the Reaper’s jaw that rattles her brain. Her blindspot. There was nothing much she could do as her entire sense of balance is thrown off, doing all she could just to stay conscious. 

 

Kaeun drops to one knee and she sees out of the corner of her eye Ilya creating some separation between them. She was gasping for breath, too worn out to prevent Ilya’s next move from happening;

 

He charges.

 

Like a rhino or an elephant, he charges straight at Kaeun, using the separation he’s created to generate a significant amount of momentum that almost terrifies the Reaper. Her body won’t listen to her. She tightens her grip on her combat knife and clenches her teeth to brace for impact.

 

He finally tackles her, the full weight of 200kg’s  steamrolling through her and it was like getting hit by a truck. Her vision is rattled and she is carried helplessly along as Ilya continues his charge, driving his full weight against her sternum and forcing all air out of her lungs.

 

They finally slam into a wall, with Kaeun’s back taking the full brunt of the impact but Ilya’s charge was so incredible they break through the brick and stone as if it were made of paper. They came out the other side and Ilya finally lets her go; watching as her unconscious body ragdolls off the tiled floor and slides to the other side of the room they were now in.

 

He carefully approaches the Reaper, knowing full well how dangerous she can be. He has not underestimated her one bit and has no plans to begin doing so right now. His steps stagger, and he looks down to see the Reaper’s combat knife buried into his right side, almost to the hilt.

 

She was quick. But as he reaches her unmoving body he decides that speed alone was not a factor that could determine the victor in this matchup. Ilya bends down and turn’s the Reaper’s body over, needing to confirm that she was no longer a threat to him and his organisation.

 

Lee Kaeun was unconscious. There was no doubt about it. She wasn’t playing possum and faking it, trying to trick him into a false sense of security. Her one good eye was rolled up so that only the whites were visible and hung open in a silent scream. But she was still alive. Barely, but the life has not left her body just yet.

 

So Ilya kneels down, looming over her as he raises his fists up. He will break her. He will ensure that the Reaper no longer haunts the dreams of his family. Lee Kaeun was a good person. As good as they can get in this industry, but this was his job as the Head Enforcer of the Vermillion Orchid. This violence must be done.

 

Kaeun begins to stir, and the first thing she sees as soon as she comes to was the horrific image of the Vermillion Orchid’s Head Enforcer kneeling over her, both hands raised into solid fists as he prepares to bring them down on her. There was no time. No time to think. No where to dodge to. Moving on pure survival instinct alone Kaeun opens her left palm and pushes it as hard as she could against the pommel of the knife sticking out of Ilya’s side. He howls in pain but is largely undeterred as he hammers both fists down onto Kaeun’s supine body.

 

A sickening cracking sound fills the air as the Reaper’s body is broken to pieces, ribs cracking like twigs underneath the giant’s fists. The pain that comes instantaneously after was almost enough to knock her unconscious again, and a large part of her actually wished that it did. She had tears in her eyes and she couldn’t even scream in pain due to how shot her voice was. Her lungs were almost definitely punctured. It was difficult to breathe. She coughs and she could taste blood in .

 

Ilya himself didn’t seem to be in fighting condition. The giant rolled off of Kaeun, trying to pull the knife out of his side but it was wedged in too deep. The pain from getting stabbed must have dulled his actions a fair bit, as Kaeun realises she was still alive. In any other circumstance she was sure he could’ve killed her with barely any difficulty.

 

They were both exhausted. Both their bodies were well past their timers.

 

Despite all of that, Ilya was the first to rise to his feet.

 

Kaeun couldn’t move a muscle. She was still spread-eagled on the floor, waiting for something or someone to finish her off. She wishes she could die. Her body was broken, her arms are shattered, the muscles and ligaments in her legs are torn, she’s been blinded and burned, all for this war. She wanted to rest. This was enough for her. What was she even fighting for?

 

What was she...

 

...what was worth fighting for? All of this...

 

Her freedom. She wanted to pay back all debts to the Kwons. She wanted to...

 

Sakura.

 

She wanted to see Sakura again.

 

She can see it. Feel it. Sakura’s lips. Her gentle caresses. Her girlfriend’s laughter that seems to breathe life into Kaeun...

 

This was not her place to die.

 

She’s made a promise.

 

“H-How are you still—“

 

Ilya looks as if he has seen a ghost. That’s fair. Kaeun herself wasn’t sure if she was all present right now. Her body still hurts like holy hell so she was definitely still alive, but if you were to ask her how on earth she was currently standing right now even she couldn’t tell you.

 

Kaeun wordlessly pulls out her small tactical knife, deciding that her body was probably unable to cope with Keres’ recoil in it’s present state. This was it.

 

The Reaper’s last dance.

 

She runs towards Ilya, her entire body screaming at her as she does so and kicks a chair towards his face with all her might. The behemoth effortlessly swats it away only to realise that in the brief moment he had lost sight of her, Kaeun had gone missing. He panics, looking around frantically only to finally spot her bent low to the ground, left arm coiling backwards in an extremely familiar stance.

 

Ilya panics, pulling at the blade still lodged in his side to use as a weapon and after a few strong tugs he manages to pull it out and swing it towards Kaeun at the same time the Reaper slams her left fist into his liver. Her trademark punch. He sinks to one knee in pain as he realises his earlier slash had completely missed.

 

Wide open and defenceless, the last thing Ilya sees before having a knife stabbed into his throat was the determined grey of Kaeun’s eye. The Reaper twists her blade, eager to ensure that the Orchid’s Enforcer never stands again. After a sickening gurgle and a small mist of blood, the giant succumbs to his injuries, collapsing face first onto the ground and dyeing the floor red.

 

Kaeun feels all strength leave her legs but she wills herself to stay standing up. She has a job to complete. She lets out a shaky breath as she takes a single step forward, followed by another. And another. And another. Every step threatened to be the one that will send her crumbling to pieces but she persevered. Her and her broken body.

 

She steps through the hole in the wall made during her fight with Ilya and sees that the fight has moved past the lower foyer and has spilled out onto this floor. She sees Hyewon and Nako engaged in fighting who Kaeun recalls to be Ilya’s Enforcers, and the entire battlefield pauses in place when the Reaper enters it.

 

Kaeun pays them no mind. She can’t afford to be distracted. She only has so much energy left, and the third floor is still an entire staircase away. One of the opposing Enforcers breaks off from combat and points a gun at Kaeun, and the Reaper doesn’t even falter in her steps knowing that she had people she could trust assisting her. Before he could even steady his aim, Hyewon had used his momentary lapse in attention to punch him at the base of the neck with enough force to snap it entirely. 

 

The man was dead before he even hit the floor. The Head Enforcer then joins Nako, and Kaeun knew they would make short work of him as well. 

 

Despite all the action, she could feel it.

 

The worried stares her fellow Roses were giving her. Minju should really keep her eyes on her opponent, less she meets the same fate as the male Enforcer from earlier. Kaeun knew how she must look right now. Limping. Disheveled. Broken. Undoubtedly they have never seen the Reaper in such a state.

 

Admittedly Kaeun herself has never seen herself in this state. 

 

Without a word needing to be said, the Roses moved on ahead, clearing a path for Kaeun as she limped up the stairs, gasping for breath and trembling. They functioned as the Reaper’s scythe, cutting through the long grass until their commander finally arrives in front of the large double doors that the Vermillion Orchid’s leader was undoubtedly hiding behind.

 

They didn’t question her condition, nor did they volunteer to help her, which Kaeun appreciated. This was her mission, in the end. She needed to be the one to pull the final trigger. 

 

With the Roses continuing the battle and holding the line outside the doors, Kaeun confidently twisted the doorknob and allowed herself into the room.

 

It was large. A circular room, with heavy bookcases lining the walls and ornate wooden furniture decorating every corner. It wasn’t unlike Eunbi’s office, making Kaeun wonder if every crime boss shopped from the same catalog. Was it curated for mob bosses? What a horribly specific target demographic.

 

One glaring thing stuck out about the room however: the complete absence of a mob boss.

 

Did they get the wrong fortress again? No! No they CAN’T be wrong again! ! Ilya was here, so that meant he had to be protecting something else he would have died in vain. The layout of this room was simple. There was nowhere for him to go. The glass windows don’t even seem to open. There shouldn’t b—

 

Kaeun coughs, and blood dribbles down her chin. Her vision grew hazy and a brief touch of vertigo caused her to almost lose her footing while standing completely still.

 

She didn’t have time. This needed to end now.

 

She looks around at the pristine table, at the untouched stack of papers neatly arranged on the desk, and the large bookcases lining the walls...That was when she notices it. One bookshelf was slightly shorter than the ones beside it. A secret room? A hidden door?

 

How does she go about opening it? What if he was waiting for her, and he got the jump on her the moment she managed to figure out how to get behind the bookcase? In her condition, even taking down a 72 year old man would prove to be a challenge.

 

it. She’ll make him come to her, instead.

 

She takes a deep breath, steadying her scratchy and dry throat for what was to come.

 

“YOUR FAMILY IS DEAD!”

 

Silence. Kaeun’s announcement did not seem to cause a reaction at all, but she persists.

 

“I’VE SLAUGHTERED EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! YOU HAVE NOTHING LEFT! NO KINGDOM, NO THRONE....” Kaeun pauses to suppress another cough, feeling her legs almost give way from the force of it. She was out of breath. Kaeun couldn’t remember the last time she was this out of breath.

 

“...No ing HEIRS!” Kaeun finished, and her sensitive ears finally picked up the sound of movement. Rustling, faint but a far cry better than the silence she suffered earlier. 

 

He was here. He was listening. That’s all Kaeun needed to know before she continues again, trying to antagonise him to show himself.

 

“Taegoon, a GROWN MAN, cried for his father before I tossed him into that woodchipper to join the rest of his siblings!” 

 

The rustling grew louder at the mention of the leader’s son, whom Kaeun had mercilessly murdered just the night before. Shouldn’t be long now.

 

“If you try hard enough there might be enough of your children left on the floor for you to maybe make HALF a child—“

 

The bookcase swings open, swivelling like a door to reveal a hidden room just as Kaeun suspected. An elderly man stands in the entryway, wearing a dark suit as a perfect juxtaposition to his disheveled appearance. 

 

Han Sungsoo. Leader of the Vermillion Orchid, and the last leader Kaeun needed to kill.

 

He had a presence that far exceeded his frail appearance. 

 

“Enough.” 

 

It was a soft command, but it made Kaeun’s hand shoot towards her gun, wrapping her fingers around Keres’ grip out of sheer instinct. His eyes were alive. The Reaper had to remind herself that he was not a helpless old man, and that he was the leader of one of the largest crime families in the country.

 

Kaeun tightened her grip on Keres as she spoke her next threat. She’s killed leaders and conquerers in the past. Some go down fighting. Others never had the chance to. “You’re the last one left, Mr. Han. I can’t stop here.”

 

Mr. Han began pacing around his office, staring at everything that wasn’t Kaeun. It was as if he was avoiding her; pretending that she wasn’t in the room with him. His eyes were distant, and so were his words when he next spoke.

 

“My empire....38 years of blood, sweat, devotion....reduced to nothing but rubble in the span of just one night.”

 

He stopped his pacing and turned his back to Kaeun as he faced his desk and the large window behind it, overlooking lush green hills and the glorious night sky. He was silent for a long moment, and for whatever reason Kaeun did not rush him. She sensed no fight coming from the elderly leader.

 

“...I have lost everything I have.”

 

Sorrow. 

 

There was so much sorrow in Mr. Han’s voice. She would pity the man if not for the task at hand.

 

“You live by the blade, you die by the blade Mr. Han. It’s the circumstance in which we live in.”

 

He finally turns to face her, and Kaeun sees the solemn sadness on his face. His eyes tell a story that would take a decade to unravel. The story of a man who’s family has been torn asunder by a Reaper’s early visit. A man who no longer has the strength to continue the journey he has been venturing through.

 

“Then I shudder to think of the sword that will prove to be your demise, Reaper.”

 

Those words contained no hint of anger in them. No interest to exact vengeance himself. He was defeated. The deathly echoes of a castle with no occupant.

 

“Are you going to try and defend yourself?” Kaeun asks as she draws Keres out of it’s holster. Mr. Han shakes his head, and for what it was worth Kaeun believes him.

 

“I do not fear death, nor do I fear the Reaper.”

 

He takes a deep, shaky breath and looks towards the door. The remnants of a war barely audible through the thick wooden doors, but the Roses have managed to do the impossible. An entire family, taken down with only 200 people. Kaeun’s gaze joins his in looking at the door, but with different context. One with a look of sorrow, another with a look of unbridled pride.

 

“I do however, fear for my children. My friends. The people that make up this organization. I fear for their well being. It is what drives me to be a better leader.” Mr. Han continues, tears b in his eyes as he returns his gaze to Kaeun. 

 

“But if what you say is true, and if they are no longer of this world....then may God take me as well.”

 

“Look around you sir. There are no Gods to be found here.”

 

Kaeun finally raises her gun and points it to the elderly man, making sure her aim was true. Her arm was unsteady due to fatigue and Keres was heavy with the weight of her family resting on it. Mr. Han chuckles in the face of his own mortality and at the Reaper’s words.

 

“Ironic, coming from one who places it upon herself to decide who lives and who dies.”

 

“You will be the last decision I will ever have to make.” 

 

He laughs openly at that, as if mocking her determination. His smile was wide. Not condescending, but almost...fatherly.

 

“Then I bid you good luck, Reaper. Ours isn’t a life one can simply walk away from.”

 

He closes his eyes accepting his fate and Kaeun pulls the trigger. She could almost feel the bullet travelling through the barrel as it leaves Keres and cuts through the air to strike down the last head of the metaphorical hydra. Mr. Han’s elderly body crumples to the floor in a puddle of blood as hairline fractures continue to form within the Reaper’s right arm as a result of the recoil.

 

Both her arms are useless now but that didn’t matter.

 

They had won.

 

She was finally...

 

...finally free.

 

Click.

 

Kaeun fails to turn around in time. She hears it but her body wouldn’t listen, too beaten up. Too broken. None of her limbs even twitched as she gave the command. Exhaustion wracking her body and proving to be her downfall.

 

The Reaper’s only weakness was that she was human.

 

BANG!

 

Her body lurches forward, making her take several steps forward as a result. Kaeun looked down to see blood staining and spreading through the red silk of her shirt. The bullet pierced her from the back, penetrating through her stomach and shattering the window she had been facing.

 

She coughs a mouthful of blood as she sinks to her knees. Everything was quiet. Everything was heavy. Her eyes began to close but she fought through. Kaeun’s fingers twitched, trying to reach for Keres but it was out of reach. She must have dropped it when she had gotten shot. This wasn’t the end of her. She wanted to live.

 

She wanted to survive. She didn’t want to die.

 

Not this way. She was so close.

 

She didn’t want to die.

 

She crawls, losing all strength in her arms so instead she turns around and uses the heavy desk’s leg to prop herself up. She couldn’t go on. She felt so weak. Kaeun finally looks up, and despite how much it hurt to do so the Reaper bursts out into weak laughter.

 

“So they...they sent you...eh, runt?”

 

Yunjin was unflinching. Unrelenting. Steely eyes burning with determination. What a beautiful tragedy this was. Was this the sword Mr. Han spoke of?

 

“The family is grateful for your services, Reaper. You’ve managed to eliminate every single entity that could pose a threat to the Red Roses Organization.”

 

Kaeun smiles a bloody smile, eyes looking almost drunk as they try to stay fixed on her protégé. She didn’t hurt anymore. Everything...everything was numb.

 

“And...in doing so...I’ve made myself the...the biggest threat...didn’t I?”

 

Yunjin nods. Curt and authoritative, like the  soldier Kaeun trained her to be.

 

Of course. An assassin capable enough to eliminate 3 entire crime families in a little more than a week. Of course the Red Roses wouldn’t let her go. Fear of the Reaper was what held attackers at bay previously, Kaeun just didn’t take into account how her own family could be afraid of her. Now that she was disassociated, she was a threat.

 

The fact that they chose Yunjin to eliminate her was just to spit in her face.

 

“You are hereby relieved of your duties, Reaper.”

 

Kaeun coughs, feeling herself fade away slowly. Reaper. Yunjin’s attempt at distancing herself from Kaeun was not unnoticed. She sees the way those hands quiver. The tremble of her lips. Does calling her by her nickname make it easier? It doesn’t. It doesn’t wash the blood off of your hands, Yunjin.

 

“Does Eunbi...Does Eunbi know?”

 

“No. My orders came directly from the top.”

 

Kaeun nods, or at least tries to. That’s good. At least that idiot of a sister doesn’t have to live with the weight of her blood on her hands. Eunbi was a good boss. A good leader. She deserves the rest and comfort that Kaeun’s efforts for the past week will eventually bring.

 

An era of peace. If only Kaeun was alive to see it.

 

“Take care of...of Sakura, please...Please promise me that Yunjin...Please...” Kaeun pleads, and her protégé finally lowers her gun and drops down to a knee so that she could meet Kaeun’s eyes. The younger girl was physically shaking now, but those eyes were still steely. Still strong.

 

Oh how wonderful those eyes were. Kaeun couldn’t be more proud.

 

“I like that look in...in your eyes. ...I’ve been trying to light that...that fire for years....look at how you’ve grown...”

 

Kaeun reaches out a quivering hand towards Yunjin’s head, and the older woman gently caresses her protégé’s hair. This wasn’t the hair of a killer. Soft. She’s happy to know that Yunjin will do just fine without her. She loves the younger girl so much.

 

She feels Yunjin fall to pieces with her delicate touches. The protégé no longer able to maintain the steely facade she was trying so hard to hold onto, Yunjin bursts into tears as she kisses Kaeun’s palm. As she nuzzles those loving touches that she will miss.

 

“I’m s-sorry, unnie.” Yunjin chokes, but Kaeun shakes her head. Or at least thinks she’s shaking her head. It’s so hard to tell. She can’t feel anything anymore. She was floating. Adrift and away.

 

“Congrats...on the job promotion.” Kaeun whispers softly before using the last of her strength to pull the younger girl closer to her by her tie. Kaeun smirks as her lips press close to Yunjin’s ear. She feels her protégé stiffen due to the proximity and the older woman laughs internally at the irony. The ridiculous tragedy that is their lives.

 

“Am I going to turn into you one day?”

 

“You make it sound like a bad thing.”

 

“Isn’t it a bad thing?”

 

“In the end...You became a monster just like me.” Kaeun whispers to her protégé and almost laughs when Yunjin pulls back sharply in alarm, eyes wide with fear. 

 

Yunjin says something in reply but Kaeun couldn’t hear it. That’s weird. Kaeun has been able to hear too much at times. This silence was jarring.

 

It was dark.

 

Ah. She forgot to tell Sakura to not wait up for her.

 

The poor girl will probably be worried sick.

 

Kaeun misses her girlfriend’s warm hugs.

 

It was cold...so cold...

 

Kaeun’s hand slips from Yunjin’s tie and lands on the bloodsoaked floor where it remained motionless.

 

Finally...

 

...the Reaper was no more.

 

 

*********

 

 

Several days have passed since Sakura has last talked to her girlfriend. Kaeun has never been quiet for this long. Frankly sometimes it feels as if she has to remind Kaeun to pay attention at work because the older woman’s head was always elsewhere.

 

Usually on her. It was very flattering.

 

But she has gone days without Kaeun. No messages, no calls, not even a damn letter in her mailbox. She didn’t want to be worried, but she was. Today she has been pacing around her apartment, burning a hole into her carpet with the repetitive circles she was walking.

 

Suddenly her door rings, and Sakura jumps out of her skin.

 

The only people who visited her were Yuri, Yena, Kaeun, and her landlady. Sakura sprints towards the door, knowing full well that Yuri and Yena had gone to Seoul for the weekend for a “couple’s getaway”. Sakura swears that if it was the landlady at the door she might just punch an older woman today.

 

Sakura yanks the door open strongly, eager to finally see her girlfriend but is stopped in her tracks when she doesn’t see Kaeun on the other side of the door. Instead it was Hyewon and Nako, the two Enforcers that worked with Kaeun. What were they doing here?

 

Sakura tries to look past them for the third Enforcer but she was nowhere to be seen. Sakura looks at Nako questioningly and it was only then that she realises the attire the two girls in front of her were wearing. 

 

It was the standard Red Roses uniform, but instead of a red shirt underneath the black jacket, they wore a full black ensemble. Black jacket, black tie, black shirt...it was almost as if they had come back from a funeral or something. Almost as if they had been mourning.

 

Sakura’s looks at the shorter girl’s face for confirmation but Nako was already crying, tears streaming steadily down her cheeks.

 

No.

 

Sakura whips her head to Hyewon, who was crying as well and the taller of the Enforcers simply shook her head.

 

Why? Why were they crying?

 

Where was Kaeun?

 

Where was her girlfriend?

 

Sakura feels her legs give way as she crumbles to her knees. 

 

She knew the answer to her unasked question.

 

Hyewon chokes out an apology and Sakura loses it. She cries out in despair as the Enforcers wrap their arms around her to try and hold her crumbling form together but it was a losing effort. She will never be whole ever again.

 

The only woman she has ever loved is dead.






_________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Hello!

 

Well, how was that? A journey, wasn’t it? I uh...can y’all do me a favour? Can y’all tell me if you felt moved or if you cried during that ending? I’m kinda proud of it to be honest. This entire fic is supposed to lead up to that one moment, when Yunjin succeeds Kaeun and becomes the new Reaper.

 

Short storytime: This fic of mine is inspired by a friend who is like a brother to me. He ventured onto the wrong path, and fell in with the wrong crowd. When he wanted out, the heads of his group said he needed to accomplish one last task to earn his freedom. He did so, and they let him go. He didn’t get killed, but he always tells me that he sometimes expects them to knock on his door and take back the life they returned to him. He lives in fear, so he lives everyday to the best of his abilities.

 

Kaeun...I always intended for her to meet her end this way. I intended for her pinky to get cut off during her fight with Ilya signifying a broken promise, but that’s just corny lol! Ilya is also a character I had fun creating. I googled “badass Russian names” and stumbled upon it. I like it. I think he played his part beautifully in this chapter.

 

Have you readers watched or read Tokyo Ghoul? This fic is actually largely inspired by it. A musician from Youtube named Jonathan Young made an English cover of the theme song, and his lyrics are beautiful. It’s actually the song I used when I needed to come up with a personality for Kaeun’s Reaper. Someone who is conflicted and confused, ashamed of herself for being a killer when she is around Sakura. Have a listen to it here! It’s beautiful, I swear. 

 

Also that anime inspired the “One-Eyed Reaper” line.

 

A big thank you to okwatever123 for upvoting! It’s getting sparse isn’t it? This fic hasn’t been making the numbers I thought it would, but it’s okay. I managed to create a world that I now love, and will look forward to expanding upon in the future.

 

Thank you for your continued support, and please leave a comment after the fic as it really helps motivate me. I also try to look for mentions of my fic on twitter as it’s really enjoyable seeing y’all talk about it! Hahaha

 

One more chapter to go. Until next time, friends.

________________________________________________________________


 

“You’re not welcome here. Get lost.”

 

“I am under orders.”

 

“What? Gonna kill me too? Go ahead then. Be done with it. Either kill me or get the out of my shop.”

 

“Watch your tongue, Miyawaki Sakura.”

 

“Watch my tongue or what, Heo Yunjin? You’re going to shoot me? Do it then! Or would you rather I turn around?! It’s much easier for you to shoot people when their backs are turned to you is it not?!”

Don't Fear The Reaper.
Chapter 11: A Death In The Family.