“Where did you go?” I tried to ask kibum even though I’m shaking myself from all this information he gave me.

“To my friend’s house, Garcon. He is also my classmate at that time. His family is in business industry not politics so I think they will not be targeted by those monsters, and I have nowhere to go, I have no money with me, I can’t live on my own.” He said suppressing his tears "I told him everything and he believed me, maybe because he knew I would never make this up, but his parents didn’t. They taught some assassins are targeting our family, but still they agreed to hide me. Until we heard that there was a fire at the palace the next day. And that it was what killed us all. We just let the news spread, making the people think that I died as well.” This time his tears fall down again, so I hug him and rub my hands in his back. He has been through a lot.

“I did not do what they said” he continued “I did not find a woman just to have a baby for them to consume. I was in a rest house with Garcon when the attack happened. We never knew what happened to his parents, soon after we met many people escaping as well then we formed a group just like here. I hid my real identity, until our place is attacked a few months ago, 2 of Areum and Dawo’s children came looking for me. I managed to escape along with my 6 other friends, I told them everything and since then we never stayed in one place.

And just last week, they found us again, they can smell me like a fresh food but they cannot be sure because being with my friends for so many years makes their smell delicious as well. They are confused but since they did not see any new royal offspring, they got mad, they knew I did not do what their parents planed, they expected that I will have many children already.

We fought, but since there’s only one royal left, they started to argue with each other, they both want to eat me. We used that chance to escape but they still managed to take Garcon and Jinki, your cousin’s husband.” he stopped to bury his face in this hands again “it should have been me”

“shhh, don’t say that.”

“we wanted to believe that they are still alive. That those monsters would still need them as bait to get to me. But we can’t be so sure. I don’t know anymore” he said gripping his hair in frustration.

My mind is in chaos right now, I don’t even know what to think.

But one thing is for sure, they are here for Kibum. And even though I just met him, there is a part of me that wanted to protect him. I can’t even imagine what I would be like if those things happened to me, seeing your whole family die in front of you, that is my worst nightmare. But after all those events, he still bravely didn’t do what those monsters want from him.

All this years being hunted by those monster, I just don’t want him to suffer anymore.

We heard a loud crash that brought us back to reality of what is happening outside.

“Stay here” I reminded him as I stand up to leave. But he grabbed my sleeve.

“No! don’t go! That monster outside, the one under the tree, I think it’s one of the children of Areum and Dawo, you can’t win against him”

“Kibum, we still have to try. I think one panel has fallen already and if we don’t fight they will get in.”

“I’ll go”

“what?”

“they came here for me. I’ll let him just take me” He’s gonna sacrifice himself, I knew it.

But no, I can’t let it happen. “Kibum, even if you sacrifice yourself now, they are not gonna stop hunting humans. We are their food, they will consume us no matter what.”

“But—”

“Stay here and we will find a way”

I got out and run towards area A with mixed emotions. Scared, because now I know that there are bigger threat, that there are smarter and stronger monsters out there. But I’m also glad, because after so many years I finally know who the real enemy is, I finally know who started it all. Now I know who should pay for all of these.

I’m seeing the shield now. As I expected one panel is missing, but there are people surrounding it now, making a semi circle human barricade and shooting all the monster who tried to get in, never letting any monsters get pass them.

I did not join them though, I grabbed my side equipment that shoots a rope to the top of the shield and lift me up. When I’m at the top of the shield, more than 20 meters from the ground, I scanned the surrounding. As expected, he’s already moving, walking slowly towards the opened shield, like he’s taking his sweet time. I ready myself to go down on the outside part of the shield when I heard taemin’s voice in my ear piece.

“what the heck are you doing?”

“You’re right taemin, that monster outside is very dangerous, we can’t let it in”

“but you can't handle it alone”

“I’ll try to stop it for now while you restore the fallen shield”

“but that would take a lot of time!”

“how long do you need?”

“Uhmm… maybe 20 minutes”

I took a deep breath, I need to last for 20 minutes “okay, I’ll do my best to keep him away from the opened shield”

“But Cass—”

“there is no other way taemin, I have to distract him” I said as I slide down the shield.

I took out both of my guns strapped in my thighs and walked towards the monster. Gladly those monsters at the open shield ignored me, focusing on entering the circle.

The monster stopped walking after seeing me pointing my guns at him. It slightly inclined his head as if studying me, maybe thinking why I’m alone facing him.

“You smell nice” it suddenly said. Though I already knew that this monster might be a child of Aruem and Dawo as Kibum had mentioned earlier, it still gives me goose bumps hearing it speak for the first time, I have never imagined in my life that these monster are capable of speaking. “you must have been near him” he continued that shocked me.

He knew, he can smell Kibum in me. But we haven’t been with each other for a long time. I only talked to him this morning and his smell already clung to me this fast?

“So he is really inside” he said giving me a creepy smile so wide it looks like the half of its face is mouth.

He continued walking which reminded me of my purpose here, never let him in.

I started firing my guns, pointing at its head but he dodged it so easily, he is fast, so much faster than those monsters I encountered before. I have to think differently, I can’t stopped it like this.

I started targeting lower, aiming for its body, anywhere is good as long as I am able know that the bullets can pass through, but still I can’t shoot it, he just runs fast behind those trees blocking my attack, how would I know if bullets could actually kill this monster.

I stopped shooting, I can’t waste anymore bullets. I alertly look at the tree he was behind hiding. I slowly walked near it still pointing my guns in his direction.

“I’m so near, so near” I heard it mumble. “I can almost taste it, that delicious flesh of a royal human my parents keeps on talking about. I will not fail today, I will not be like my idiot brothers taking the wrong ones and letting the real royal escape” then it suddenly showed itself, running towards me. I shoot at him and managed to target its torso. It didn’t stop him though, he still keeps on walking but slower this time because I kept on shooting.

“That wont kill me little girl” he said mocking me. Suddenly I noticed his right hand became sharp and pointed in the end looking like a sword.

I dropped my guns, and took out my swords placed at my back. I grabbed it tightly in each hands and prepared myself for a close fight.

He run again towards me, black blood running down the holes in his body made by my bullets, but it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.

We clashed, him attacking my head while I block it using my 2 swords, I dropped on my right knee from the force, he is so strong. I slide my left foot in his making him fall side ways. I took this chance to slice his head off but he punch me with his left hand throwing me to the closest tree.

My chest hurt from the punch, my head and back hurts from colliding with the tree but I focused myself and still got up, I can’t let my guard down in front of this monster.

I prepared myself again for another attack, it run to me aiming to stab my chest but I dodged it making his sword hand stock in the tree at my back. I used this chance to slice his hand off then slice his stomach.

He fell in his back with a missing hand and more blood coming out of his stomach. I aimed for his head again but he suddenly changed his left hand to become a sword as well.

I backed out, but I was too slow, he managed to make a long cut in my right leg, making me limp while keeping my distance from him. I looked at my wound, my pants cut from the side of my knee down to my shoes, blood running down as I step back.

I bite my lower lip keeping myself from crying in pain. I have to focus, I need to distract this monster from coming to the circle.

He stood up slowly, black blood everywhere but he still have those creepy smile in its face.

He attacked again but I blocked it using just 1 sword making the other slice off his left hand as well.

With both of his hands gone, he suddenly became furious, he shouted in anger and open his mouth wide showing his sharp teeth getting longer.

He leaned down aiming to bite my head but I avoided it and run to his back, and using his back as a stepping point to go higher than him, I slice off his head while on air.

The head flew a few meters away from the body, then it started to disintegrate along with the body I’m stepping on. It became an ash eventually flown away by the wind, making it seems like I did not fought anyone, there are no traces of the monster left.

Then I heard more growls, coming from the circle. I quickly turned around to go back there but the pain in my leg reminded me of my wound. I rip my cloth to wrap in my wound but I’m still loosing blood every step I take as I continued to walk.

I picked up my gun preparing myself again to help in the shield. As I got nearer I point my gun towards the monsters left crowding at the shield which is almost closed again, just a little gap left at the center. Then I noticed that I’m not hearing anymore gun shots, the defense has stopped firing even though I can still see some monsters inside the circle through the clear shield. What are they doing? Why did they stop?

I prepare to kill the monsters left outside who did not manage to get it because of the smaller gap when I saw them disintegrate as well. Both the monsters left inside and outside the circle. They are all dying.

I put down my guns and watched as they all turn into ashes, this never happened before. Yes they die when we shoot them but they never turned into ashes, their body just lay there until after a few days they start to decay.

But now its different, they are turning into ash like the monster I just fought but without us even killing them. What is going on?

After they all turned into ashes I grabbed my equipment again to climb the shield. As I arrive at the top, I suddenly get dizzy. My sight turned black and I lost balance. I blocked out feeling my body falling down from more than 20 meters height of the shield.