Just before midnight, all the sacrifices slowly awoke as Shindong had planned.

“Shindong…” Heechul growled as he saw the man standing in the center of the circle of sacrifices.

Shindong then cleared his throat and announced, “Welcome back angels and knights!”

“What are you blabbering on about?!?” Heechul yelled at Shindong as he gave him a cold glare.

“Oh, you really don’t know yet? Nothing about this place triggers any memories for you?” Shindong said with a smirk.

The angels and knights took a good look at their surroundings. Nothing looked familiar at first but suddenly, images started to flood their minds: images of previous light and dark angels all working together with their knights to seal away a powerful entity.

They couldn’t believe they had been so blind all this time to fight against each other when their real enemy was someone else entirely. Heechul was especially upset that Shindong had manipulated him the whole time. If only he had worked with the light angels like his ancestors, maybe they wouldn’t be in this situation…

As soon as Shindong saw the realization in their eyes, he said, “Yes, you stupid angels and knights tried to destroy a goddess.”

Donghae and Hyukjae then yelled in unison, “Only because she tried to the life out of our planet! We were protecting the natural elements!”

“You should have been HONORED that Queen Nari chose your planet!” Shindong spat back.

“As if! Who would ever worship a goddess who steals life to prolong her own?!?” Heechul and Hangeng yelled together.

“She’s a goddess! She can do whatever she pleases. But you stupid fools had to get in her way! She has been sealed away for years now…” Shindong said angrily, “However, that’s all about to change. Thanks to my demon partner, Sungmin, you are all here to witness the return of our goddess, our queen. You will serve as the sacrifices to undo the seal you placed on her long ago.”

“What are you talking about? Sungmin is a light angel, not a demon like you!” Kyuhyun said angrily.

“Did you forget who hurt you and brought you here?” Shindong said with a laugh. “Sungmin is no light angel. He’s a fraud! He only looks like a light angel because he devoured the soul of one. He’s really a demon at heart.”

The light angels and their knights all looked at Shindong with wary eyes, not believing his claim at all. Sure, Sungmin had attacked them but they knew he was being controlled.

Shindong shook his head and facepalmed as he said, “You don’t believe me? Well, let me prove it to you.”

He then walked next to the lifeless Sungmin and revealed his identity by placing his hand over his heart. Sungmin’s aura was then revealed to be dark and demonic while demon wings appeared on his back instead of light angel ones.

Everyone gasped in shock and couldn’t believe their eyes. Kyuhyun was the most shocked and said in a disappointed voice, “Min…”

“Well, now that we’ve covered everything, it’s getting close to the perfect time to hold the ritual. Get ready to witness the return of a goddess.” Shindong said with a smirk.

He then began to mumble some weird chant as he poured different liquids into a bowl.

The angels and knights struggled to break free from their chains but they found nothing was working. Something about these chains restrained their powers and they couldn’t access their elements.

Each angel and knight pair was seated next to each other except for Kyuhyun and Sungmin. Kyuhyun watched on with a hint of jealousy as he saw each pair snuggle close to each other for comfort. Donghae leaned against Hyukjae while Hyukjae whispered comforting words. Ryeowook leaned against Yesung for support as tears fell. Heechul and Hangeng leaned against each other, mumbling about how everything was against them. Leeteuk and Kangin were snuggled close together. Kibum leaned against Siwon for comfort.

Kyuhyun couldn’t take watching this any longer. His heart was already shattered from knowing his angel was a fraud.

“Min…” Kyuhyun whispered as tears fell.

Upon feeling Kyuhyun’s pain, Sungmin began to return to his senses. However, he knew that he had to stay silent before Shindong got suspicious. He decided to communicate with Kyuhyun telepathically as all angel-knight pairs could.

“Please stop crying Kyu.” Sungmin’s voice said in Kyuhyun’s mind. Kyuhyun suddenly jumped up in surprise, not expecting to hear Sungmin’s voice like this.

“Why do you care? You’re just a demon like Shindong.” Kyuhyun replied bitterly.

“Even if I’m a demon Kyu, it doesn’t mean I can’t have feelings for you. I really meant it when I said that I love you.” Sungmin thought. “I know you probably don’t believe me and I can’t blame you for it. I’ll try to earn your trust back.”

“How?” Kyuhyun scoffed. “The only way I’d trust you is if you got us out of this mess.”

“And that’s exactly what I plan to do.” Sungmin replied. “Sorry but I need to go now. Just hold on for a while more, okay?”

Kyuhyun then felt Sungmin’s presence leave his mind and he stared at the demon in front of him. He still looked completely lifeless like before and that confused Kyuhyun. What exactly did Sungmin have planned?

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A/N: Okay, since I finished writing the entire story, I decided to double update today to celebrate!

I will finish posting the entire story by Easter Sunday (going by US date) so please look forward to it! Only one more chapter and the epilogue to go!

Thank you so much for being loyal readers! I really appreciate all the support! ^_^