Chapter 11 - A Race Against Time 

“Get up!” Something shook me. I squirmed in my bed. Why is it so hot in here? “Yoonmi, get up!” I groaned. 

“No... five more minutes.” I muttered, burying my head into my pillow. 

“Yoonmi!” I grumbled at the voice. What the heck is wrong with these people? 

Suddenly, something cold and wet was thrown at my face. I gasped at the contact and snapped my eyes open in surprised. Coughing at the liquid, I glared at my pink-haired warrior. 

“What the hell, baek?!” I yelled, wiping the water off my face. It was definitely water. A bucket full of it. 

“Wake up, you lazy bum!” Someone else said, shaking my sleepy body. “Chanyeol hyung is in trouble.” 

“What?” I said in confusion. What do they mean? 

“Yoonmi...” I looked at baekhyun, who had grabbed my shoulders and was looking at me intensely. “Forget what I said about Yeol. We need to get him. Now!” 

I looked blankly at him. I have no idea what he was going on about. Looking at my other warrior, I noticed how both of them were sweating. Heck, even I was sweating.

“Why is it so hot in here?” I mumbled, shaking my head, trying to get the haze away from my mind. 

“Yoonmi, listen to me.” I looked at baekhyun who was still looking at me desperately. “Chanyeol just released a large amount of pure energy into the atmosphere. That’s why it’s so hot. All around the campus, the temperatures have gone up.” 

“B-but why?” I asked him, looking at my window to find a red, hazy fog covering the ground. I couldn’t even see the deck. Although, it looked like it was still night time. I looked at my clock. 

3:05 

Damn! That’s way too early for my brain to process this. 

“It’s a very rare process that we warriors go through.” I looked at Kyungsoo. He has appeared with a towel and was wiping my hair while explaining me. “When we are overloaded or trapped for a very long period of time, our energies gathers into one space. As it grows, the harder it gets to control it. And when we reach our peak and loose control over it, our bodies release an enormous amount of pure energy that leaves us weak and vulnerable for the wielders. It’s the only time a claimed card can reverse back into its original state as the un-claimed card. Erasing all wounds, all bonds, making the card back to a pure being before it was corrupted by the wielders. It’s a blessing as well as a curse.” 

What? 

“With our powers down and our minds too weak, it gives wielders an advantage to claim us without a fight. Think about it. No trials, no pains. Just find the card and it’s yours. It’s a race against time, Yoonmi.” 

I turned to baekhyun with a frown. 

“Does that mean your fire brother is Available for anyone to grab?” I asked, looking at his frightened expressions. 

“Yes. But not only that, if he does not find a wielder within a limited time of period after releasing his energy, he will disappear forever. We will loose him, Yoonmi. I don’t want to loose Yeol.” He cried, tears filling up his eyes. 

Without knowing what to do, I hugged him tightly. Patting his back, I let him cry. I felt my own heart break at this. 

“I know he hurt you. I know he hurt us but Yoonmi.. he doesn’t deserve this.” He sobbed. “You saved me once from my prison, please save him too, Yoonmi. I promise I won’t tease you. Please, just bring him back.” 

“Don’t worry, baek.” I said, pulling his face closer to me. “I’ll help you. I won’t let anything happen to him.” 

This day was truly a bad day indeed. In the span 24 hours, things just turned from bad to worse. 

“How much time do we have?” I asked after few seconds. 

“Three hours at most. The whole school is already on the lookout for him.” Kyungsoo answered from behind me. 

I turned to him in confusion.

“The whole school?” 

“It’s in the school’s rule book. Apparently, it’s kind of a game to them. First come, first in basis.” 

I scrunched my nose at his words. They are down right evil. Who in their right mind would treat a situation like this as a game? 

“Come on.” I said, getting off the bed, pulling my pink-hair warrior to my side. “We don’t have much time. Let’s go find your brother.” He gave me a weak smile before latching onto me for another hug. 

“Thank you.” He whispered. I smiled. 

So, few minutes later, all dressed in dark hoodies, we ventured into the red, hazy atmosphere. The fog covered the ground like smoke. It was hard to see where we were going. Not to mention the increasing heat that surrounded us. My whole body was sweating like water. 

“Where the hell are we supposed to be going?” Baekhyun asked from beside me. I looked at his sweaty face. 

“The fountain. I think that’s the common place for a meet up.” I said, trying to find the correct road.

“But why? We need to be looking for Chanyeol right now.” 

“Hyung..” Kyungsoo answered. “We don’t know where Chanyeol hyung is. I think the best place to search would be to look in the lion’s den. What if someone had found his card? There’s no point in running around wildly if we don’t know all the facts.” 

I nodded at his explanation. This is why I love him so much. He gets me. 

“There!” I said, running to the familiar fountain where a large crowd was forming. I motioned for both of my warriors to stay hidden behind me. Right now, it’s best for them to blend in like wielders. 

Coming to a stop, I poked my head around the crowd to look at a familiar figure standing on a raised platform. It was that evil Professor. The Lizing lady. And she was smiling at the gathered crowd. I looked around her, trying to see if I can find Namjoon. Maybe he could help us? 

“Gather around people. We’ve got a lot to cover and less time to spare.” I winced at the loud volume of her voice. She was dressed in her night gown. A pink frilly one.

The crowd continued to grow larger as I looked around for the familiar koala boy. In the end, I didn’t find him but I did find five hooded figures standing around the evil professor. They were draped in dark black wizards robes. Their faces hidden by masks. There was a golden band on the sides of their robes and the hoods. It was like the band itself represented something. 

“As you all know, a powerful un-claimed card has appeared on the campus. The energy release was humongous. We only have few hours before it disappears. As per the law, we are not allowed to let a card disappear forever. Therefore, I’m calling out on a search to find that card and claim it.  On the rector scale of 10, it lies at 9, which means it’s the job for us teachers and the royals.” The whole crowd groaned at the announcement. I looked at the chart she was pointing at. It showed a glow-y substance stopping at number 9. 

“It is for your safety. Look around you, if the energy release can cause this much heat, how would you be able to handle the real thing? Only the Royals and us teachers can handle this much energy. If you still wish to partake in the hunt, you can join one of the Royals and their teams but remember, the card is not for you to keep. You hand it to your Royal leader once you find it. Understood?” 

I looked at her in disgust. She’s making this a ing game. 

The crowd nodded in agreement before looking at their own chosen royal. I followed some of their eyes to people dressed in lavishly night dresses. People who looked rich and had an air of superiority around them. One of them happened to be Song Mina and ofcourse Jung Krystal. 

Wow... they looked so elegant in those night gowns. I knew I would be seeing them at the academy at some point but this is kind of a bit early. 

“What’s a Royal?” I asked Kyungsoo. He would know this. His previous masters were at the school. 

I heard him sigh. 

“A Royal is a term given to a member of the pure bloodlines of wielders. Those bloodlines are from the very first wielders that were born centuries ago. The very first being who witness the birth of us warriors as cards. Since they are the originals, they are very powerful. There are fifteen of those bloodlines in total. The elders make up the council while the children are next in line.” I gasped at him. 

“So, you’re telling me that Song Mina and her cousin are ing Royals?!” I exclaimed. 

He looked at me nervously before nodding. 

I stomped on the ground angrily. How am I going to get their brother if these stupid rules are in place? 

“Let’s ditch them.” I heard Baekhyun suggest. I blinked at him few times. “What she said is crap. Anyone can claim Yeol’s card right now. He’s in his pure form, completely uncorrupted and vulnerable. All his powers are down. No magical barrier, no trial, no nature to protect. He’s completely raw.” 

“Hyung is correct, Yoonmi.” Kyungsoo agreed. “You can still claim him. We just need to find where he is before others does.” 

I clenched my jaw. Is it true? Can I still claim him? Am I powerful enough? I looked at professor’s evil face and Song Mina’s smirk. There’s no way in hell I’m backing down without a fight. 

Nodding my head, I gave them a wicked grin. 

“Let’s do this.”

****** 

Narrator’s POV: 

As Yoonmi and her warriors ran off