A good general also knows when to apply the back-up plan. There is never a single direction. Mine was based on either burning every single reaper until they would retreat or run as fast as I could and hope they wouldn’t catch me too soon. The second proved impossible. That was until Jessica switched sides. Four wings spread from her back as we dashed towards the exit with all those reapers after us. We held hands and without a warning, Jessica soared to the clear blue sky. I was hanging like a ragged puppet, eager to grab onto her back and properly ride the woman. As strange as that sounded, I was used to it.

Jessica took care of me these last three years when I couldn’t properly digest everything that happened. We met by accident in the forest and clicked right away. I could have never guessed she was a reaper if not for the same lies she tried to give me as facts. Reapers are corrupted creatures – they would cut every available throat to maintain their point of view. But, as I knew already because of Jung Min, not all reapers are bad. They are just scared of their bosses, while some are ruthless at their very chore. Jessica was the first kind.

In midair, kept there only through Jessica’s strength, I focused all of my energy and sent a wave of red energy towards the reapers. Those caught it in disappeared and those remaining slowed down. Eventually, we lost them.

Jessica slowly landed near her house and let me first touch the ground before she’d join me.

I slapped her. Hard.

“Call it even,” I mumbled before she’d protest. I went inside the house and started packing. We didn’t have enough time. Who knows what else Seungri was capable of. I needed Jessica to open again the portal to the world in Between and get the kids out of there. She just stared at me throwing clothes, my case with special plants and other stuff inside a bag I then strapped to my back. She worriedly checked our surroundings.

I assured her it was going to be alright, she just needed to put all of her last bit of power in reopening the portal. I would take over then and guide them back. Just before we could do all that, the reapers we initially thought lost punched me so hard, I was thrown back inside the house.

I felt so dizzy... I was never beaten by a reaper before, they were all too afraid of my fire. When I opened my eyes and tried to stand up, I kneeled right away and watched as Jessica bravely fought them. I crawled near the exit, the bag discarded somewhere in the spot I had crashed. Using the door’s frame, I got up and helped Jessica with smaller fire bolts. Their wings burst into flames as they cried in agony and disappeared.

I dropped to the ground with my back against the wall, everything shaking around.

Jessica kneeled before me and lightly slapped my cheek.

“Hey, hey...” she smiled again. I could feel her soothing tone ameliorate my aches. “He got you by surprise, right?”

I smiled back and nodded. She giggled and I couldn’t help giggle back.

Then, her face turned grim. She stared at me, gasping and with hollow eyes.

“...Jessica?” I looked down and saw a blade coming out of her chest. I grabbed her head and forced her to gaze just at me and only me. “Hey Jessica... it’s alright... it’s...” she smiled again.

“Free...” her skin cracked as white smoke burst out “...dom.”

Her eyes turned pure white as her body shattered in my hands and became dust.

Seungri’s blade was filled with the same white smoke.

“JESSICA!”

*hides*