~Chapter 54~

The Two Men and the Secret Mission

No One’s POV~

            “All this trouble for just a few rebels? Sure, I will hand them over to you,” Taemin says. Minho steps forward, about to speak, but Taemin shoots him a look: Just wait. Minho nods and stands still. The two men standing next to Jong Kook smile, happy that they won. As they order for the soldiers to seize the Peacekeepers, Taemin raises his spear out, stopping them.

            “What is the meaning of this?” Jong Kook asks in a calm tone.

            “Hyungnim, hear me out. The fact that you ruined our home, injured our civilians and family members,” Taemin says, looking at the monsters. “And expect us to just pass over such a great prize…now that is just silly,” Taemin twirls his spear in his hand with ease and smiles wryly under his face cover. “You expect to leave here without any compensation? We helped you capture them after all. It’s the least you can do.”

            “White Masked Hero do not make us forcefully take them out of your hands. Jong Kook hyungnim is only being polite for now. Give them to us before we resort to violence,” the male on the right shouts.

            “How do you plan to settle this, Jong Kook hyungnim?” Taemin says, not paying any mind to the male that just spoke. Jong Kook thinks about all of their memories they’ve had back in the clan and holds back an apology. He went here to hunt down the Peacekeepers but did not expect to bump into his two clan members. As the soldiers have already witnessed this scene, it would be impossible to ensure this is kept a secret. With the king’s skills, even if the men were loyal to Jong Kook, they would still tell the truth. I need to make sure they get out of this safely, he tells himself. With a gesture, the solders all gather and stand behind him, no longer surrounding Minho and his company.

            “Hyungnim, you can’t be serious. We can’t leave,” the male on the left says. “How will we answer to His Majesty?”

            “Let us fall back for now, we will return in three days’ time with money, goods, and medicine to make up for this,” Jong Kook states and signals for the soldiers to retreat. Taemin and Minho bow to him, showing their respect. Suddenly, the solders exchange eye contact, turn around, and release arrows at the Peacekeepers. Taemin sends his energy to his spear and the weapon goes flying in front of the Peacekeepers. Almost like a windmill, the spear spins rapidly, knocking over the arrows just before they reach the Peacekeepers. Having never witnessed such a move, the soldiers freeze in both awe and terror momentarily. Seizing the chance, the two men charge forward with the soldiers who are ignoring Jong Kook’s orders and attack.

            The Peacekeepers step in front of the monsters and civilians with their weapons. Taemin sends his energy to his spear and shouts a quick “alive,” ordering it not to kill the soldiers. The spear obliges and attacks the men, making them retreat step by step due to its overpowering skills. The two men attack and Taemin and Minho take on one each. Both men are wielding elite swords, b with elegance. Minho takes out his sword and clashes with the male’s shining blade. The impact causes a huge spark as the two push their blades forward, pushing the other back. Minho takes a step back as he takes in the impact.

            With his spear protecting everyone, Taemin is weaponless. The male takes a look at Taemin’s slim arms and snickers. With a quick swing, he aims to take him down with ease. Before the long blade slashes through Taemin’s chest, he twirls right around the sword with light steps, passes the male’s arm, and faces him. Surprised by the sudden appearance of Taemin next to him, the male takes a few steps back. Why does his movement look so familiar? The male thinks to himself but does not stop attacking. Each time he stabs or slices, Taemin dodges right before he can take him down. Frustration begins to build up as he continues missing his target.

            Noticing his comrade’s anger, the male fighting Minho feels the need to hurry and get to the Peacekeepers. As they continue to battle, he notices that Minho’s movements slow down a bit each time Taemin was close to danger. Despite being a skilled fighter, Minho is always worried about Taemin. I guess all we need is a hostage, the fighter thinks. He believes that as long as the White Masked Hero is caught, Minho will listen to everything they say. Using this chance, they can have the Peacekeepers handed over to them. He immediately stops fighting Minho and charges at Taemin at full speed.

            Taemin smirks under his mask as he spins again, this time behind the fighter he has been dueling with. With a quick pull, he swings the man around, directly in front of him. Seeing that his comrade will be killed by his sword, the male quickly twirls his sword back so that the hilt of his sword will jab his friend. He lets out an exhale of relief as his friend grunts from the impact from the hilt and not the blade. He tries to back up but feels a cold blade pressing on his neck. He freezes as he realized that Minho has his sword on his neck. His partner tries to raise his sword up to help, but to no avail. Taemin’s spear is now pressing against his neck as well. “Thank you, I was wondering how I would be able to endure our safety,” Minho says. “Now with two hostages, the exchange will go on much more smoothly, am I right, hyungnim?” The soldiers retreat immediately after they notices the two men. Now with their two leaders held as hostage, they have no choice but to listen to Jong Kook. With his blood boiling due to the recent betrayal by the two and their soldiers, Jong Kook smiles and turns around.

            “I will return after I consult with His Majesty. I trust you two will treat your guests nicely,” Jong Kook says and orders for the soldiers to retreat. Originally, he wanted to come back in three days with the goods to pay back for the damage, but due to his anger, he decided to let them stay as hostages longer. Unlike his usual self who takes control, he has stated that he would go and talk to the emperor. Walking an army all the way back to the capital to discuss with the king and then return with goods would take beyond just three mere days. Let’s see how you two can remain cocky in front of Minho and the White Masked Hero,” he laughs internally, and retreats.

            Back in the palace, Joon is keeping Onew company as he rests. Tired if staying indoors, Onew asked Joon if they can relax outside. Worried that the palace guards would see Onew’s weakened state which may attract attention, Joon takes him up to one of the rooftops and lays him on his lap. He hums gently and moves the strands of hair that are dancing around in the light breeze. As Onew sleeps, Joon holds his hand up to block the sunlight for him, making sure to keep him comfortable. Luckily, night will soon fall, meaning he will not have to hold his arm up for too long. Although keeping his arm up is tiring for the time being, it brings him joy knowing that Onew could sleep better. With his left hand covering the sun, Joon plays with Onew’s soft hair with his right hand. Because of his heightened hearing due to his wolf powers, Joon notices that there are two others on the other side of the roof. He turns his head slightly and smiles to himself as he eavesdrops. Simply sitting on the rooftop can get a bit boring after all.

            Kai and Baekhyun sit side by side on the other side of the rooftop, admiring the setting sun. “How are you holding up?” Baekhyun asks gingerly.

            “I want to say that I’ve been doing well, but we both know that is too good to be true…” Kai answers. “It’s been harder to keep my humanity. I’ve been easily angered lately, and my claws would appear out of control. I even growled at Jonghyun hyung today.”

            “What happened?”

            “I wanted to go with him and Key hyung on their mission, but he didn’t let me because of my health. I was frustrated to the point that I growled at him like an animal.”

            “I mean, on the bright side…it’s not like you bit him~” Baekhyun says jokingly, wanting to lift up the mood.

            “Bite him? Oh gosh I do not want to taste any of them,” Kai frowns. “That’s some nasty stuff.”

            “You never know~”

            “Oh my gosh, hyung, stop!” Kai shouts and hits Baekhyun’s arm softly.    

            “But in all seriousness, we need to find you a celestial beast soon. Without a bead, you can’t be human for much longer. I keep telling you to leave, but you keep refusing.”

            “I need to stick around. With Minho hyung and Taemin hyung gone, I’ve worried the emperor would be up to no good. Which is why I want to go with Jonghyun hyung and Key hyung…”

            Hearing this, Joon starts to wonder what exactly is Jonghyun and Key’s mission. Joon used to be the person the emperor sent out for special cases. The fact that the king has Key and Jonghyun going seems unreasonable. The fact that he hasn’t informed Joon makes it even more suspicious. The emperor is clearly separating the heroes…and Joon can’t seem to guess what he’s planning.

            Taemin sits as he stares at the two tied up men kneeling in front of him. At this point, the monsters have all been calmed and are rebuilding their nests, the civilians are fixing their houses, the Peacekeepers are healing, and Taemin and Minho can’t decide what they should do with the hostages. Most importantly, Taemin is livid because Minho was preparing his dinner when the soldiers attacked, and everything ended up on the ground or burnt. He is beyond just hangry. Minho quickly rushed to the kitchen the minute he realized it, but the wait is much too long since he has to go to the nearest village to get groceries.

            As the two men kneel, they feel the air growing colder and colder as they feel Taemin’s stare. They too are starving and tired because of the battle. “You’re kneeling until I feel like it,” Taemin says through clenched teeth. The Peacekeepers tried to join Taemin and even thank him for saving them, but they knew now was not the time. Even the baby dragons are too scared to join him. Taemin sits there like a statue, holding onto his spear. His stare is so intense to the point that the two are sweating nervously. “Not so high and mighty anymore, are you?” Taemin huffs. He is also upset because he now has to keep his White Masked Hero outfit and mask on until they leave, not to mention how he is still not over the fact that the Peacekeepers are around.

            Minho comes running in with a tray of food. Seeing the food, Taemin immediately puts away his weapon and grabs the chopsticks. He nearly chokes on his saliva as he sees only a tiny plate of vegetables and a small bowl of rice. He shoots another glare at the two men, clearly blaming them for the lack of food. Nonetheless, Taemin eats everything, down to the last grain of rice. “Tae–” Minho stops himself before he can expose Taemin disguise. “White Masked Hero…are you still hungry?” Taemin shakes his head despite still not satisfied with the portion. He knows that food is hard to find, so he knows he shouldn’t be greedy. “Darn, I made some delicious stew with the scraps of food I found in the market…it tastes super delicious too…Too bad you’re too full to eat it,” Minho says, clearly picking on Taemin.

            Taemin’s eyes immediately widens and the hunger is transparent. His eyes are almost begging Minho to give it to him. Since Minho cannot see his face behind the mask, he can only imagine how Taemin’s face is. With a bright smile. Minho claps twice. Suddenly the five little dragons come walking in unison with a large tray held above their heads. Although they cannot talk, their mouth curves up, happily presenting the food. Seeing how cute the dragons were and their efforts, Taemin hugs them all and give them each a peck on the head. “Hmm, the little dragons only brought in the food. I actually went out to buy the ingredients and cooked the food. Where’s my kiss?” Minho says and puckers his lips. With a wave of his hand, Taemin pushes Minho’s mouth and scoffs.

            “Don’t act like I’m still not mad at you,” Taemin says. “Also…” he shoots the two a quick look and they turn around. Minho finally remembered that they were there and pouts.

            “Right, I forgot about them,” Minho sighs. “What should we do with you two…”

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