Mino eventually broke into an empty house through the windows, sneaking into the home in order to get some privacy. He closed all the windows and made sure that the door was locked. Then, he scurried up to the second floor and closed the door behind him there

Alright. Mino looked around before closing his eyes. Let’s see if I can do this correctly.

He sat down at the center of the bedroom and closed his eyes. In matters of seconds, he opened his eyes again, this time with pure black demon eyes. His mouth slowly stretched open on its own as a dark aura swirled around him. The dark smoke drowned him in its despair, which oddly satisfied his thirst to grind and kill.

As soon as he was surrounded by darkness, a pixie-like figure stood before him. The once playful pixie had lost its energy and seemed to be very submissive. Her wings hardly flapped, but when they did, it was brief and dull.

“Sacrifice of the Second End,” Mino chanted, “Speak to me!”

Eunji twitched for a few odd moments before her eyes shot wide open.

“Master, I respond to your calls and your calls only,” Eunji said. It seemed like something had possessed her voice; it was unusually rough and eerie.

“Do you know anything about the town I am in?” he asked her.

“The town is famous for its colors. Many who have crossed my paths told me stories of its bright and complex colors. In this town, you must smile at all times or you are an outsider.”

“Tell me about the forbidden areas.”

“If you come cross a black and white area, you must be careful. Those who walk in those areas are said to have difficulties smiling. Once you lose your smile, you are established as an outsider and the townies will not assist you with what you are trying to discover.”

Mino slowly nodded his head. “Rest.”

The pixie closed her eyes, then sunk into the darkness. The dark smoke rose up in the air and dove straight into his mouth. The cold air stung him a little bit, but he grew used to it as more of the dark aura reached into the core of his heart.

Once he swallowed up all the darkness, his eyes reverted back to normal and he found himself back in the small room. He was about to get up, but he lost his balance and crashed against the crowd. He began to shiver lightly as if he was feeling some sort of chilling breeze. His eyes shifted back to black and back to brown while the mark on his neck started to burn like dry ice.

He struggled to breath and clawed the mark on his neck. He started to cough, but coughing didn’t help at all. He swallowed hard and as much as he could while he tried to compose himself. The mark continued to burn for a little longer until he dug his nail into his skin. The cursed symbol began to cool down, and Mino slowly regained consciousness of himself.

Damn, he cursed. I guess I can’t use this curse too recklessly.

Letting out a sigh, he got up on his feet and opened all the windows, returning to house to its original state. Minutes later, he climbed out of the house through the same window and dashed off into the crowd, hoping that no one had seen him from the outside.

“Oi! You there!”

Did I get caught? Mino wondered. He stopped his tracks and turned around, noticing an odd pair smiling at him.

“Did you happen to break into that house?” the man asked him through his smile.

Mino was about to respond normally until he remembered what the pixie had told him. He paused, then smiled naturally just like the pair standing before him.

“No, I didn’t,” Mino lied.

The pair smiled, but remained quiet. 

“What’s your name?” the second one asked.

“Mino,” he answered, still smiling.

“I’m Hoseok,” the shorter guy said.

“Chanyeol!” the second guy exclaimed, introducing himself. 

The pair continued to smile as they asked in unison, “Do you need any help?”

They might take me to where I need to go, Mino realized. He faked a perfect smile. “A place with less colors. Do you know a place like that?”

The two boys made a wild grin while they locked Mino’s arms, squeezing him between the two. As they started laughing, Mino joined them, not exactly knowing what he was getting involved with.

Myungsoo raised his head when he noticed a strong foul scent floating in the area. He looked around before closing his eyes. The scent was strong, but he couldn’t hear anything else.

Something’s here, Myungsoo thought. He opened his eyes, but it won’t show itself unless I’m in a secluded area.

He looked around, trying to find a place where no one else would go. He studied the flow of traffic before figuring out that there was a dark alley with dark colored buildings at a specific corner. Looking around, he quickly scurried over to the darker part of the town, avoiding any suspicious gazes that might follow behind him.

Once he arrived at the abandoned site, he entered what seemed to be an empty building with broken glass and crooked doors. He stood in the building for a few minutes before clearing his throat. Again, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.

It’s still here, Myungsoo realized. He continued to close his eyes, pretending as if he was resting and dozing off. 

Flap, flap, flap…

A small growl barely echoed in his ears. In a blink of an eye, a sigbin jumped out of Myungsoo’s shoulder and lunged towards him, opening its mouth to show off its carnivorous fangs. Before it had the chance to attack, Myungsoo whirled around and slapped it away with the back of his hand. The impact caused him to strain his wrist while the five foot monster made a cry and collided against the ground.

Myungsoo was about to electrocute the sigbin, but the creature managed to take cover inside the shadows of a furniture. 

“Boo.”

Myungsoo froze, but regained his mobility as he turned around to attack the voice that whispered on his neck. However, when he turned, there was nothing but darkness.

I got myself in a bad situation, he realized. “Can you show yourself?”

“Why should I?” 

Once again, the voice came from behind. Myungsoo turned around, but the figure was gone. He gritted his teeth.

“Show yourself!” Myungsoo yelled.

“Mm… You’re a little too eager for my taste.”

Myungsoo whirled around, but the voice was gone again. “Is that so? You’re too sneaky for my taste. I would prefer it if you came out.”

“Aren’t there supposed to be two of you?”

“Were there supposed to be two?” Myungsoo asked innocently.

“Hm. I guess I’ll have to force the answer from you.”

A cold breeze came from behind. Myungsoo turned around, smirking and ready to fight, but paled in horror when he realized who he was up against.

The pale man with the royal robe approached Myungsoo from the shadows with the sigbin chattering in its arm. 

“You’re Captain Yoseob of the Fifth Court,” Myungsoo whispered.

“And you’re one of the Wanted Ones,” Yoseob said. He smiled, showing his fangs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Myungsoo narrowed his eyes. “How many are you? Are there more members around?”

“Fortunately for you, I’m the only one here,” Yoseob said. He paused, then smirked. “Unfortunately, I’m the one who’s going to bring you to the Council—dead.”

Help. Get help.

Jieun slowly opened her eyes, finding herself on the roof of the small cottage. As Naeun’s words echoed in her head, she alertly got up and looked around her surroundings. 

Help. I need to get help.

At this point, her heart was racing in fear, worried about Naeun. She quickly jumped down from the roof (the distance to the ground wasn’t as big as she thought it’d be) and opened the door.

“Taemin! Taemin, we need—“ Jieun froze. Her eyes widened in pure terror when she realized that the cottage was empty. Taemin, who was supposed to be sitting at the table, had disappeared.

Of all the moments, he decided to disappear now? Jieun clenched her jaws and ran out of the cottage to see if he was nearby. Taemin, where the hell are you?

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands into a prayer. I wish Taemin to appear in front of me!

When she opened her eyes, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes widened and she closed them again, wishing for the same wish over and over. Her clasped hands eventually started to shake in anger as she frustratedly gritted her teeth.

Why aren’t my powers working right now? she wondered desperately. What’s preventing my wish from happening? Is there something around here that limits my skills? I thought that an accelerated heart race or being in a middle of a crisis triggered my powers, so why isn’t it working now?

From afar, she heard a few marches along with leaves being crushed under the heavy iron boots. Jieun gasped and quickly hid behind a tree. She took a quick peek, noticing that a small portion of Sohee’s army was scavenging the area. Rolling her fingers into a fist, Jieun realized that the forest was no longer a safe place.

If anything, Taemin might’ve ran away from the cottage, Jieun thought. So if the forest is a danger, then that means… Her eyes rolled over to the closest blue-marked tree. Artem Town. I need to go to Artem and take cover there.

“I’ll get help, Naeun,” she whispered to herself. “Just wait a bit longer…!”

Without a moment of hesitation, Jieun started following the blue-marked trees, making her way into the town, unaware of the dangers lurking within the colorful area.