Hak's P.O.V
Yona and I stalk stealthily down the hall. We begin to hear voices a few meters away from us. As we approach, the voices turn to shouting. Yona and I freeze as we recognize whom the voice belongs to. "Soo-won, that bastard." I hiss under my breath and Yona grabs onto the sleeve of my robe. We press our ears to the wall and listen. Soo-won's sobbing voice bellows at a mysterious man.
"I trusted you and look at what you have caused. I almost lost someone who means more to me than Heaven and Earth. I am starting to doubt your intentions. Even if she had worked alongside them, they haven't done anything to disrupt my work. She wasn't even a threat. All that pathetic group of fools wants is their freedom. Let them have it! I will destroy the corruption in this world." The mysterious man shakes nervously as he speaks.
"I do apologize sir, I was entirely convinced she was the young man from yesterday." Soo-won is quick with his counter remark.
"Obviously not, she didn't stand a chance in the arena. Go! Get out of my sight you filthy disgrace. Make our preparations for the final assault in our plan." The mysterious man disappears into a shadow and flies from the room. He heads toward the city. Soo-won nervously paces the room, muttering to himself. "Please, please be alright (f/n). Please forgive me. That man takes control of me and won't let go. Please help me. This isn't me." I look towards Yona, her eyes glaze over with tears.
"We can still save him." I whisper and take her by the hand. "But first, we must save (f/n)." Soo-won walks over to (f/n)'s lifeless body and lays his head down on her abdomen. He wheezes in agony. Suddenly, (f/n)'s head turns towards me. I see her mouth the words 'bedroom' and 'go'. At first I am frozen in place. She is alive. I smile uncontrollably. Then, the truth hits me. This was all part of her plan. The only way the castle would be sparsely guarded is if catastrophe struck. Both Soo-won and his mysterious assistant are distracted. This is the perfect time to steal the plans. I grab Yona by the arm and she looks up at me out of confusion. When we arrive at (f/n)'s bedchamber, I look her in the eyes and state. "She is alright, this was her plan all along. The guards are distracted so let's retrieve the plans and (f/n) will meet up with us later. I am sure of it." Yona gives me an understanding nod and we furiously search through the contents of the room. Finally, I pull the scroll from a drawer under the bed. As I lift it up a letter falls from the bottom. It is addressed to Yona so I hand it to her. I grab her by the arm and she reads the letter as we run from the castle grounds. Once we are deep into the forest, we are able to meet up with the rest of the group. I turn to Yona and she stands with a dumbfounded look on her face, the letter falls from her pale hands.
"My father had Yu-hon, the rightful heir to the throne, assassinated in order to secure his power. Soo-won's father was murdered right before his eyes." Yona trembles as she speaks. A hush falls over the group. "I was so self-centered to believe my father was innocent all of this. All I was able to do was blame Soo-won without fully understanding the situation. He is the rightful heir to the throne and he has brought Kouka more prosperity then my father could have ever imagined." I interrupt Yona in order to calm her down.
"It seems as though the only evil Soo-won is committing now is due to his possession and corruption. Let's take a look at these battle plans." The rest of the group nods in agreement. Somewhere in my heart I can feel this chaos coming to an end. Unbeknownst to me, Yun and Zeno sneak off and head for the castle. I gently unroll the scroll and begin to interpret as I read. I grit my teeth and seethe as I speak. "The public execution was an excuse for the 4 tribes armies to gather. Soo-won intends to assassinate each of the generals in order to start and internal war. We are already too late to stop the assassinations, but we must stop these soldiers from destroying Kouka from the inside out." Everyone around me prepares themselves to fight. This is it.
As we approach the city square, the cries of soldiers and the clattering of metal striking metal can be heard. The battle has already begun. Soo-won and the Black Dragon Warrior stand atop the rubble of a decrepit building and watch proudly. I turn to the others with urgency in my eyes. "We need to get to higher ground." Everyone nods and follows in behind me as I jump between the boulders of fallen building. I stand high above the square and watch the chaos ensure. We need to get their attention somehow, but how. Suddenly, Kija cocks back his elbow and thrusts into ground at full force. The ground shakes beneath and the fighting soldiers halt their movements. They all turn to eyes, their eyes wide with surprise. I hold the scroll above my head and open it. I begin to speak with confidence. "You have all been deceived. The man who killed your Generals stands before you as your king. Turn your swords towards him. If you do not believe me then look for yourselves." I bellow and throw the scroll down to the soldiers below. A soldier from the fire clan is the first to step forward. As he reads the scroll I turn to look at Soo-won. His eyes flare with hatred and dread.
"He's right. Soo-won did plan the assassinations." The soldier shouts. Everyone gasps and throws down their swords. They face Soo-won, but step back and cower. Suddenly, the Black Dragon Warrior flies into Soo-won's body. A dark mist surrounds him and he rises into the air. When he opens his eyes, they glow a bright red. A feeling of terror sinks in my throat, but I am too scared to move. He reaches his hand out towards the crowd.
"It is too late for you now. I have already gathered my army. You will perish." He his and abruptly opens his hand. A dark black smoke flows out from his hand and crawls across the ground. Shadows in the shape of soldiers emerge by the hundreds. They pull swords from their sides and rush towards us. I pull the spear attached to my back and lunge forwards. The others follow and we fight against the demonic army. The other soldiers quickly follow suit and fight onerously with the massive army. Every strike seems futile, but we continue to deliver blows. We grow tired and our movements become lewd. Impending doom looms over our heads. Soo-won stands watching arrogantly, he chuckles to himself.
"Halt!" A voice bellows from the rooftop. Our attention turns towards the gate of the city. At first only the shadow of a girl can be seen. But, as the sun passes behind a cloud, her face becomes visible. Her eyes are uncovered and shine like radiant drops of liquid sun. Her hair flows outward from her body as it flows like a mesmerizing stream in the wind. Her stance is menacing. Her legs planted firmly apart. One hand cups her hip, the other holds her katana. She wears iridescent, gold-plated armor.
"(f/n)."