~Chapter 53~

The Hidden Bead and Overbearing Army

No One’s POV~

            Onew sits up with Joon’s help. Thanks to Taemin’s blood, he is cured, but still a bit weak. Now that Onew is fully awake, Joon can relax a bit as the wait has made him quite tensed, especially now that there’s only three days left until Jong Kook leads the army to hunt down the Peacekeepers. “How are you feeling?”

            “Much better now,” Onew smiles. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

            “It’s okay,” Joon cups his hand on Onew’s cheek and then leans him on his chest. “I’m just happy you’re safe.”

            “I need to tell you something…is it safe to speak?” Onew asks. Joon uses his wolf ears and tries listening around and notices nothing suspicious. He nods and Onew sighs in relief. “I have some useful information. The empress is hidden underground and is chained up. She told me that the king is trying to find a suitable host to keep his bead.”

            “A host?”

            “The queen was tricked into thinking that he loved her and shared her bead with him. He eventually got a hold of the entire bead after she gave birth to princess Naeun. He then noticed that his bead was wearing out his body. It’s because he would collect beads from other underdeveloped monsters in hope that his lifespan would be longer, but he just corrupted the bead. The darkness is like a poison and if he doesn’t put his bead into another suitable host, he will die, and the bead will return to the empress. He is currently keeping her chained up because she is the only one that knows how to transfer a bead without the host using the bead, but just act as a capsule.”

            “The king has the queen’s fox fairy bead, tainted it, and now needs a new host so his bead doesn’t destroy his body and he can keep living?”

            “Exactly,” Onew nods. “It’s almost like how I have my celestial bead in my charm, only he is trying to have the host be a person. Why is that?”

            “Monsters are taboo, and he would eventually be killed if the country is against a monster being the king. He needs to make sure he is undefeated…he needs a puppet to be the king,” Joon states. “Taehyung…is he a suitable host?”

            “I don’t know. I wanted to ask her how it worked but she lost her humanity and bit me. Naeun had to get me out since the queen’s outburst will attract the king.”

            “We need to find a way to return the bead to the queen. That man will only bring destruction to this world of he becomes powerful enough. If he is able to transfer the bead, I won’t know what we need to do to kill him.”

            “He doesn’t get controlled by the Peacekeepers like regular monsters?”

            “No, the empress’ bead is much too powerful to be controlled by their magic,” Joon explains. “She was a fox fairy after all.”  

            “Then why does he want the Peacekeepers to be killed so badly?”

            “That’s a good question…”

Taemin’s POV~

            My master passes me another jug of liquor. After my encounter with the Peacekeepers, I left to my master to cool off. I know that if I stayed around, I would lash out at Minho hyung. As much as I am pissed, I know he is trying his best to keep everyone safe and happy. I continue to pour cup after cup of liquor as Joon hyung’s warning is still lingering in my mind. They are going to send an army to hunt down the Peacekeepers. To have the Peacekeepers here is exactly sending a signal for them to come and trample on our home. This peaceful life…it’s going to come to an end sooner or later. I’m worried for the citizens that live near here. I’m nervous for the benevolent monsters that have settled here. I’m scared for my future with everyone. Is it impossible to live in peace? It’s almost like trouble is out to get us. I laugh bitterly to myself as I chug down some more liquor. I lay down on the dusty ground and stare at the dark, starless sky.

            Part of me want to cast the Peacekeepers as far away as possible from us, but part of me know that even if it wasn’t for them, our lovely life will eventually get ruined one way or another. The SHINee Warriors would not keep reincarnating if the world is at peace. To try to live on our own is neglecting the purpose of our existence. “So, are you planning to drink up all of my liquor?” My master sits down next to me and passes me a full cup. I smirk a bit and swallow the bitter drink with a quick gulp.

            “Please, my alcohol tolerance isn’t that high,” I pout my lips. “I’m already well pass tipsy,” I admit, noticing the sky spinning above me. “I’m not leaving.” I humph and fold my arms.

            “A renowned hero in the martial realm…one of the strongest, fastest, and skilled monster hunters of our country…laying on the dirty ground, pouting, drunk, and whining he’s mad at his lover…if only your fans can see this,” my master mocks me. “I’m sure they’d make fun of you.”

            “I’m sure they’d fine me pure and adorable~” I giggle, not even a bit ashamed. “Don’t you think so, Old Man.”

            “Is it that hard for you to call me ‘Master?’” He huffs. “You tell everyone that I am your master, but you rarely call me by that title in person.”

            “Hey~ you told me to relax around you since everyone respects you and it gets boring~ and now you complain?”

            “Look here kid, I didn’t expect you to stick around for this long. If I knew, I would’ve made you call me ‘Master’ from the start. With Heechul gone, there’s no one calling me by that title…”

            “I miss Heechul hyung…when is he coming back?!” I kick on the ground like a fussy child.

            “I…I really don’t know…”

            “Old Man, don’t you know everything?”

            “I wish I did…Little One, how about you head to bed? It’s already been a few days. You should head back to your home tomorrow.”

            “I don’t want to~”

            “Okay, okay, I won’t force you…Race you inside? Bet you can’t beat an old man~” My master challenges. Due to my intoxication, I am much more competitive than usual. I quickly dart up and sprint right inside. “Yah! You cheater!”

No One’s POV~

            Taemin wakes up with a groan. His head is heavy, and his body is feeling the aftermath of all the silly games he played and the excess alcohol. He slightly he jerks away as he realizes that he is laying on top of his master. They fell asleep after a long talk, but he can’t seem to recall what it was about. He looks around and notices broken cups and jugs around the two. Yesterday, they definitely drank the night away. A little nap won’t kill anyone, Taemin tells himself and goes back to sleep.

            Taemin wakes up for the second time and rolls around. “Old Man~” Taemin whines as he stretches. “Where’d you go?” His master eventually comes into the room with a bowl of warm, cloudy liquid.

            “Quick, drink this,” he urges. Taemin rolls over onto his stomach and sniffs the strange liquid, He scrunches his nose as he senses a bit of poison in the bowl. “It’s not time to be picky.”

            “What are you trying to feed me?”

            “Taemin, I need you to be as sober as possible. The poison will alert your body that it is dangerous, and you’ll sober up. Quick, quick!”

            “Aww why can’t you be normal and feed me some yummy hangover food or something? I know you know what you’re doing, but really, poising me is the solution you thought of?”

            “Taemin, it’s no time to joke around. Hurry, your territory is under attack.”

            Taemin comes flying in with his energy radiating from his body, making him move faster than ever. His spear is glowing as his spiritual energy flows through it, giving off an almost magical aura. With the alcohol out of his system thanks to his master’s trick, Taemin is fully alert. His face is etched with anger as his eyes dart back and forth around the entrance of the den, recently trampled by solders. An explosion erupts in the distance as monsters let out cries of pain. Fires spread from many directions as the forest is under attack. Minho hyung, where are you?!

            Minho is amidst the chaos. Soldiers are flooding in in all directions and he can’t seem to pinpoint the one leading the army. If he can take down the leader, the army will be forced to retreat. The monsters that are used to a peaceful habitat are forced to fight despite their unwillingness. Many of them are young monsters that cannot control their bodies well whereas the parents are struggling to shield their children. If they keep this up, the monsters will be dead. They don’t know how to properly defend themselves…Minho is skilled in fighting, but he is the only warrior here. It is impossible for him to protect all the monsters and civilians with the swarm of solders and unknown leaders.

            The Peacekeepers finally reach his area of the forest and join him. As they pull out their instrument-weapons, they hesitate. They are specialized in using monsters in fights, but now the monsters around them are their friends. They cannot possible take control of the monsters for their own sake. With a unified nod, the Peacekeepers agree to not play any music, but fight themselves. Minho’s ideas clicked as he curses to himself, “The army knew that there are lots of monsters around, but you can’t fight with your instruments. They purposely attacked us now, so the monsters can’t escape, and you are handicapped by them.”

            “They knew the exact locations to charge in, so we wouldn’t be able to escape easily,” a Peacekeeper points out. “I’m afraid if we don’t turn the tables soon, we are going to be overpowered.”

            “The only way for us to escape is by the cliff,” Minho suggests. “I can have the monsters fly off with the civilians and Mr. Dragon fly us across. The best we can do is retreat and look for safety. I don’t want to kill these soldiers and I don’t want us to lose anyone.”

            “Good idea.”

            Taemin is currently fighting through the flames and sea of solders, searching frantically for his Minho hyung. If Taehyung and Jimin informed the army about the forest’s layout, they will have no problem trapping us. Taemin decides to change his direction and quickly flees to outside the battle. He then uses his energy to move faster and circles to the opposite end. If his hunch is right, he will face the leader and call back the army or possibly met Minho and the rest at the other end and aid them.

            Minho raises his hand up to signal for everyone behind him to halt. As they reach the location of the cliff, they notice a swarm of soldiers and fierce leaders greeting them with arrows drawn. Minho lets out a sigh as his eyes meet with Jong Kook, their faces tense. Next to him stands two unknown men that are around Minho’s age, both dressed in royal armor. Who are they? I haven’t seen them around before…He looks over at the Peacekeepers and clutches onto his flute. If the Peacekeepers were to go head to head with Jong Kook hyungnim, they would likely be overpowered by them as the leader is still injured from the last battle. That means that having the monsters with them may be a bigger disadvantage than anticipated. Minho worries that if Jong Kook gets a control over the monsters first, the possibility of them gaining control over the monsters will be slim. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to take control first since he wants to keep them protected. With a confident step, he walks forward. “There’s no need to have meaningless bloodshed. Let us two leaders duel. If I lose, you won this battle, if I win, you must retreat and never come find us again.”

            “Save your energy; I’m here,” Taemin gracefully flies in with his face covered, knocking all of the soldiers down as his energy pushes them aside. He greets his Minho hyung with a caring look but then changes his attention to the leaders in front of the cliff. “If you wanted to pay us a visit, you could’ve asked. We would be more than happy to have you as our guest. Unfortunately, you came here unannounced, trampled in our territory, disrespected the forest and the beings that reside here. I’m going to have to regrettably ask you to leave. There is no negotiation.”

            “I’m sorry Minho, White Masked Hero,” Jong Kook says. “I must follow orders.”

            “And what exactly are you ordered to do?”

            “I must eliminate the Peacekeepers that pose a threat to the throne,” Jong Kook states. With this, Taemin’s mouth twitches a bit in annoyance. He turns his head over slightly and eyes the Peacekeepers. He has said before that he would easily trade them over if they were to attract any kind of danger. Now that the situation is reality, he hesitates, despite his declaration just days ago. He understands that if they oppose the order, they will be said to have colluded with the Peacekeepers to harm the country. This would give the army a perfect excuse to annihilate them as well. On the other hand, if he turns them in, he cannot face the monsters and civilians that have been harmed by the soldiers. He also knows that Minho would be angry with him. As Taemin puts the pros and cons on a scale, he looks at Minho who is struggling to formulate a safe plan for them to retreat. Taemin bites the inside of his lip in nervousness as he opens his mouth. He has made a decision.

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