It had a large head with oval black eyes. Five arms spread from its perturbing spine as he grinned at us with two rows of sharp teeth. The demon let out a screeching sound. More shadows crawled on the walls.

“Daesung!” I screamed as the blonde got up from the wall and looked around. Daesung shouted something afterwards with his hands pointed towards the demon. A burst of red energy circled us. Its shape reminded me of a dome. I panicked when I realized that red energy could hurt Jung Min, but when I turned around to the reaper, he seemed alright.

“Don’t touch it and you should be fine,” Daesung spoke as if he read my mind.

I was afraid he actually did.

He then would have known all the bad things I said to him in my head where nobody else should be able to enter, not even Jung Min. Reapers can’t read minds, they only can speak through thoughts, but it’s such a difficult process that I can’t bear to explain it to my simpleton brain; something about connecting to our spirit rather than our logical functions. Argh, why am I thinking about that now?! I should focus on saving our asses.

“Why do I know you?” Jung Min asked and crouched near us. The demons stared at the red energy, poked it like a curious child and leaped backwards when it burnt them. Jung Min's fingers were still clutched to his head, as if something threatened to burst out of it. I gently touched his hair, but had to retract my hand right away when I felt a spark.

It hurt me.

“What’s going on?” I asked, more about that sensation than the circus around us. Daesung growled as the dome structure grew in width. He kept his arms forward and his back and legs straight.

“It’s a ceremony,” Jung Min asnwered while grinding his teeth. “I don’t know for what.”

“What about the carriers?”

“Those reapers?”

“Carriers,” I mumbled.

“Same thing,” he mumbled back “They look new to me. I’m pretty sure it’s the work of a demon.”

“Aren’t they too stupid to elaborate plans?” I wondered out-loud.

I mean, I respect every creature, but I would have blamed fairies, humans or even ghosts faster than demons. As dangerous as they were, acting like parasites and destroying everything in their way, they never planned things out. They are raw, take control as they can and follow a single direction until the conclusion. That ritual or whatever it was looked too much for them. Why would they even go as far as to create carriers? It didn’t make sense. And what kind of ritual needed so many souls? They were enough of those wandering around in ghost form.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys,” Daesung shouted as more demons approached and poked the shield, gazed at us and poked it again. They were growing immune to it “But demons always act in packs with no leader, why the heck would so many of them suddenly listen to just one?”

“Weren’t you taller?” Jung Min suddenly remarked and I had to take a double look at Daesung.

No, he seemed the same to me.

“Yeah, good to see you too buddy,” Daesung turned his head to us, winked then returned to his job.

“Jung Min,” he turned to me “What do you remember?”

The reaper went silent as his hand shot to his wounded shoulder. He pressed there and shook his head.

“Not much. I know I was killed by demons, but that’s all. And he,” he pointed with his chin towards Daesung “was also there. But he looks slightly different now.”

“Of course I do, you moron!” Daesung yelled over the demons’ cries. I had to cover my ears. “I was reincarnated.”

“Oh, that’s why you’re uglier?”

“Speaks the one with a huge face.”

“You two, stop it!”

Jung Min smirked and it felt good to see him back in action, but there was no time to bicker.

“Yo, grandma! Do you have some paper?”

I nodded and took my bag off. After I ped it, I was surprised to see it was empty. I stuck my hand inside and it went out the other side. I wiggled my fingers and turned the bag upside down. It had a hole. I sighed.

“No, I don’t.”

“What?!”

“Actually, Jung Min, can’t you call some reapers to come clean this place up?”

He snorted.

“Yeah, about that,”

“The place is locked down, isn’t it?” Daesung mocked the reaper “It’s so obvious” or me.

“Oi! Wise pants! Get us out of here!”

“Well, I’m trying! Why don’t you lend a hand?”

I did just that. I placed my hand on his back.

And then something really weird happened. Maybe it’s because I was near the one who cursed me or because I was already quite anxious, but the same red energy switched to white. It had the most soothing scent I could think of, the same that Jung Min possessed twice – once when we first met and the second when he rushed to save Mistress Yuri with my power. And I knew at that moment that the white energy caressing us was the pure essence of the other world.

I just wish the demons would think the same and be scared or something. Instead, they shrieked and attacked all at once. I hugged Daesung from behind and used all of my will to transfer my power to him. Demons hit the dome, collapsed and then got up and hit it again. It was like a storm of demons, constantly trying to tear apart the dome with their bodies. I knew from the way Daesung was breathing louder and heavier, and how his arms trembled that we wouldn’t last long. I just wish Jung Min’s wing was intact. We could have flown out of there in seconds.

To make things worse, the reaper kneeled beside me and still didn’t let go of his head. He mumbled again about demons, about protecting somebody or something, he mumbled that he didn’t want to remember, that it hurt. He said something about dying again, about feeling his last moments.

And I couldn’t help him at all since I had to give my all to Daesung and maintain the dome.

Demons wouldn’t stop coming, they wouldn’t stop making noises. They wouldn’t stop plunging their bodies over the dome. One hit so hard, Daesung was pushed backwards a few centimeters and I held tighter into him while keeping an eye over Jung Min.

No matter how I look at it, that was it.

If Jung Min didn’t come back to his senses and if Daesung didn’t keep the energy flowing around us... that was the end.

What a cruel fate – to die in a demon mob.

“Not... again,” I heard Jung Min gasp “It’s happening again.”

“Sooyoung,” I turned back to Daesung “Let go. Take Jung Min and run.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t keep them away longer,” he flinched as a demon attacked and it went through. Daesung’s cheek bled from a small cut. “And I’m not going to let Jung Min die again.”

Argh, what happened between them?!

“I can’t, we’ll be caught the moment we step outside.”

“Tsk!”

“My name...” the reaper spoke “...is it Jung Min then?”

“Well, I’d like to chat, but I don’t think that forcing your memory out will do you any good.”

“Daesung!”

Another demon went through the thinning energy. Jung Min got up and hit the demon enough to send him flying back to its comrades and put to the ground a tiny group.

More were coming.

“You two leave,” the reaper barked at us “I’ll slow them down!”

“Well, that sounds better,” Daesung agreed and was ready to lower the shield.

“NO!” I grabbed Jung Min’s arm while still holding onto Daesung. It hurt me again. “You’re not going suicidal!”

“It’s too late for that,” I let go of Jung Min.... well, he is... dead, but....

It’s never too late! Yes, we’re not really the best, but...

But we can make it through like we always have!

And if Jung Min wasn’t there, I don’t know what else I could do, certainly not alone. I took my hand off Daesung and the white energy vanished in a second. It wasn’t replaced by the red one. There was nothing else standing between us and the demons.

Jung Min spread his wings and waved the good one enough to repel the first wave of demons.

We had to leave.

Together.

We just had to.

I was probably dreaming or lost somewhere in another plane of existence, because I could swear Mistress Yuri was watching us.

And I could swear she was burning red with flames. I could swear the blaze swept all the demons off and avoided us.

And I could swear Mistress Yuri came closer and looked worried.

“Sooyoung...?”

I could swear she called my name.

I ran without thinking twice and hugged her.

“Yuri!”

“Sooyoung... you’re alive...” she hugged me back and then kissed my forehead.