Kim Suho runs with haste to inside the [Under Cube]. When he sees Jonghak’s body, he comes to him and checks up on him. “Jonghak… Jonghak!” He suppresses his panic.
“Y-yeon-ha…” Jonghak whimpers with a pained cry.
Suho’s eyes widen, understanding dawning on him. Does the Chameleon Troupe's target is Yoo Yeonha all along? He follows the scraps the golems have left. When he reaches the containment area where Yeonha should be, she sees Yeonha crawling with only her upper half. She is cradling the young Evandel.
He sees her miserable figure painting the floor red. “Yeonha!”
The heart-wrenching spectacle sends Suho into a whirlpool of emotions.
When Yeonha raises her head, Suho sees her crying face with a smear of blood. The Evandel on Yeonha’s arms is fragmenting and is slowly vanishing… and as if with a single shake, the little girl might just vanish.
Suho trembles. Is there something he can do? He lets go of his sword and comes to Yeonha on both knees. What can he do? His swordsmanship is only capable of destruction. “H-hang in their…” They need Hajin. With his Stigma and power over creation, he should be able to do something.
Yeonha gazes at the already cold Evandel and softly touches her cheeks, but there is no reaction.
Suho’s heart is pained, and he cannot imagine what kind of pain Yeonha must be going through.
Silent tears continue to pour through Yeonha’s eyes. She becomes attached to the little Evandel. Only months does she share with the little child, but every day is valuable to her.
Finally, and ultimately, Evandel’s little frail body shatters into a glitter of dust leaving a single seed. Yeonha embraces the seed, and finally, her mind shuts down, and slumber claims her.
***
I feel something shatter. Through my [Witch King], I sense Evandel’s vanishing. And through [Witch King]’s option, I sense her death.
I have it planned all. So why is this happening? I am about to theatrically escape this sad abandoned factory with a snap of my finger. I have left a ‘card’ imbued with from whence Yi Yeonjun pushes me. By now, I will playfully leave a one-liner to my audiences. That is the plan.
“Hah~!” I feel so shitty.
I close my fist. I want to fucking hit something.
Kaita, the silver thread user punk, just has to open his mouth. “What happened? Cat got your tongue?”
“I am usually more talkative, but I don’t feel like talking right now.” I want to fucking freaking hit something. “Tell me Kaita. Do you believe in God?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, I lose control of myself, and everything just goes red.
***
Kaita grins. Does he believe in God? It is such a stupid question. “I only believe in myself.”
Suddenly, red splotches decorate his jacket, and slumping just from behind him is Yoo Kyunghwan, their magic caster.
“Then that’s good. I will leave you for last.” The masked man's words echo chillingly in the air.
The fastest to react is Setryn, throwing her chakrams at where the voice is coming from, but she hits nothing. She looks around in panic. She recalls hearing a swishing sound before Yoo Kyunghwan died. And... she hears it again.
~Swish
Hirano Arashi speedily draws his katana and cuts the flash of light that almost gets his eyes. He sees the Joker card being split in half by his katana. Abruptly from his left side, the masked man appears and draws a card from under his sleeve. The masked man slashes at Arashi's throat with the card.
With speed like the whistling wind, Arashi simultaneously defends and counterattacks immediately, but strangely his attack is ignored despite making contact. The masked man vanishes the second time.
When the masked man reappears at his right side, Arashi swiftly replicates his immaculate speed and this time with more force in his swing, but he misses, he hits nothing but air— he shortly realizes it is an afterimage instead. He feels something in his left temple sticking out. It is a card of two spades embedded into his skull, and then… There is only death to the master swordsman.
Hirano Arashi falls down, life leaving his eyes.
Kaita madly pours magic power into his silver threads and springs them above and everywhere the abandoned factory, just like spider webs interlinking together in a bane attempt to catch his prey.
Setryn draws her flying curved daggers and casts her magical abilities to form a shroud of sand around her. “It is a pity to kill you, you are so pretty.” The voice comes and goes… Setryn suddenly loses feelings in her legs suddenly… and with it, comes death.
Kaita strains his eyes only to see Setryn having a card of three hearts in her right eye socket.
“T-the Hidden One… Amon…” These are Setryn’s last words as she succumbs to her fate. The emotions of regret and terror color her one remaining eye. The woman whose beauty is said to be on par with Cleopatra dies just like that.
Kaita realizes how perilous his situation is. “COME OUT! YOU COWARD!”
“Ack-!” Kaita cries, and realizes, he no longer has a pinky on his left hand. The string connected to it flops and loses its sharp solidness. “YOU! COME OUT!”
However, the masked man has no plans of coming out. More fingers get cut off. Kaita’s pinky, ring finger, and index finger fall off from his right hand. “ACK-! YOU BASTARD! COME OUT!”
And as if the masked man just doesn’t care anymore, he chops off both of Kaita’s hands from the wrist.
“AAAGH!?” Kaita cries pathetically both in confusion and pain.
When the masked man finally appears, Kaita no longer has any method to retaliate. The masked man waves a card with four diamonds. Kaita looks at: Yoo Kyunghwan who has an ace of clover in his heart from the back; Hirano Arashi with two spades on his left temple; and Setryn with three hearts on her right eye socket.
Kaita comes to understand the four diamonds are for him. He angrily stomps his way to the masked man, and through mental control of his magic power, he powers through his silver threads and makes them envelop his fists as if they are gauntlets.
Before Kaita can even reach the masked man with his conjured fists of silver threads, he falls down both on his knees. He suddenly loses feeling in his legs from his knees down. He only needs a few more steps and he could have closed the gap with the masked man.
Fear is finally settling on him.
“I am Savant… The Sin of Sloth.” The masked man finally introduces himself. “It is so sad. When I was reading about you, I thought of you as a pitiful character who was manipulated by that monster Yi Yeonjun… But no, you are just another criminal in the end.”
Kaita doesn’t understand. Life is all about the survival of the fittest. Still, the fear in him is evident. He doesn’t want to die.
“Ack-!” Kaita feels for his right ear missing. He falls down to the cold ground in a fetal position. He sees his ear lying just adjacent to him. He looks up at Savant, and he cannot pick up what emotions must be running behind that mask.
If he uncovers the mask, he wonders what he might see— sadistic pleasure, apathetic eyes, or is it something else? Kaita grits his teeth, and despite the humiliation, he chooses not to fight back anymore. He has always been a violent guy, but he is the kind who is weak to the strong, but strong to the weak.
To Kaita’s eyes, the person in front of him is certainly strong. Even Hirano Arashi who can exchange plenty of moves with Cheok Jungyeon and Jin Yohan is annihilated by this Savant. “W-what do you want?” He timidly asks.
“Tell your Boss this— he just provoked Hell…”
***
I am angry, but there is still this cold rational part of me screaming at me to do the right thing. I try convincing myself that revenge is best served cold, but there is this itch on me— a murderous impulse, or maybe just a plain desire to go back at [Under Cube] hoping that whatever severance of connection I receive from [Witch King] is merely a false alarm.
I calm my mind, by using on myself by emulating a calm lake.
I turn my back to Kaita. I look at the crucified Khalifa from my left. I want to save him if I can. I should inform Nayun, and have her grandfather retrieve him and possibly heal him.
Abruptly, Kaita hurls something at me. It is his silver threads transformed into a sharp knife. Very classic. Just when I turn my back from him, he comes at me with an ambush… typical third-rate villains. I fling the diamond of four at Kaita with a curve, aiming at his other ear.
I then activate the I imbued on the four diamonds and reappear behind Kaita. I hold the four diamonds in my hand and feel very tempted to end Kaita right now. I sigh in disappointment.
I hear Kaita's loud crying as he loses another ear.
From behind Kaita, I grab his hair. “Open your mouth.” Kaita chooses to be disobedient and doesn’t follow my words. I cast on his mouth and jaw, and force the four of diamonds on his throat.
“U-ughck~!” He cries, but I ignore him.
“Be careful from now on. That card can explode.” I bluff.
I activate the imbued from a card that I left at the gala venue’s restroom from whence I meet Yi Yeonjun. In a flash, I reappear at the male’s restroom. I grab the King of Diamonds that I concealed and deliberately threw at a hidden corner.
Kim Suho runs with haste to inside the [Under Cube]. When he sees Jonghak’s body, he comes to him and checks up on him. “Jonghak… Jonghak!” He suppresses his panic.
“Y-yeon-ha…” Jonghak whimpers with a pained cry.
Suho’s eyes widen, understanding dawning on him. Does the Chameleon Troupe's target is Yoo Yeonha all along? He follows the scraps the golems have left. When he reaches the containment area where Yeonha should be, she sees Yeonha crawling with only her upper half. She is cradling the young Evandel.
He sees her miserable figure painting the floor red. “Yeonha!”
The heart-wrenching spectacle sends Suho into a whirlpool of emotions.
When Yeonha raises her head, Suho sees her crying face with a smear of blood. The Evandel on Yeonha’s arms is fragmenting and is slowly vanishing… and as if with a single shake, the little girl might just vanish.
Suho trembles. Is there something he can do? He lets go of his sword and comes to Yeonha on both knees. What can he do? His swordsmanship is only capable of destruction. “H-hang in their…” They need Hajin. With his Stigma and power over creation, he should be able to do something.
Yeonha gazes at the already cold Evandel and softly touches her cheeks, but there is no reaction.
Suho’s heart is pained, and he cannot imagine what kind of pain Yeonha must be going through.
Silent tears continue to pour through Yeonha’s eyes. She becomes attached to the little Evandel. Only months does she share with the little child, but every day is valuable to her.
Finally, and ultimately, Evandel’s little frail body shatters into a glitter of dust leaving a single seed. Yeonha embraces the seed, and finally, her mind shuts down, and slumber claims her.
***
I feel something shatter. Through my [Witch King], I sense Evandel’s vanishing. And through [Witch King]’s option, I sense her death.
I have it planned all. So why is this happening? I am about to theatrically escape this sad abandoned factory with a snap of my finger. I have left a ‘card’ imbued with from whence Yi Yeonjun pushes me. By now, I will playfully leave a one-liner to my audiences. That is the plan.
“Hah~!” I feel so shitty.
I close my fist. I want to fucking hit something.
Kaita, the silver thread user punk, just has to open his mouth. “What happened? Cat got your tongue?”
“I am usually more talkative, but I don’t feel like talking right now.” I want to fucking freaking hit something. “Tell me Kaita. Do you believe in God?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, I lose control of myself, and everything just goes red.
***
Kaita grins. Does he believe in God? It is such a stupid question. “I only believe in myself.”
Suddenly, red splotches decorate his jacket, and slumping just from behind him is Yoo Kyunghwan, their magic caster.
“Then that’s good. I will leave you for last.” The masked man's words echo chillingly in the air.
The fastest to react is Setryn, throwing her chakrams at where the voice is coming from, but she hits nothing. She looks around in panic. She recalls hearing a swishing sound before Yoo Kyunghwan died. And... she hears it again.
~Swish
Hirano Arashi speedily draws his katana and cuts the flash of light that almost gets his eyes. He sees the Joker card being split in half by his katana. Abruptly from his left side, the masked man appears and draws a card from under his sleeve. The masked man slashes at Arashi's throat with the card.
With speed like the whistling wind, Arashi simultaneously defends and counterattacks immediately, but strangely his attack is ignored despite making contact. The masked man vanishes the second time.
When the masked man reappears at his right side, Arashi swiftly replicates his immaculate speed and this time with more force in his swing, but he misses, he hits nothing but air— he shortly realizes it is an afterimage instead. He feels something in his left temple sticking out. It is a card of two spades embedded into his skull, and then… There is only death to the master swordsman.
Hirano Arashi falls down, life leaving his eyes.
Kaita madly pours magic power into his silver threads and springs them above and everywhere the abandoned factory, just like spider webs interlinking together in a bane attempt to catch his prey.
Setryn draws her flying curved daggers and casts her magical abilities to form a shroud of sand around her. “It is a pity to kill you, you are so pretty.” The voice comes and goes… Setryn suddenly loses feelings in her legs suddenly… and with it, comes death.
Kaita strains his eyes only to see Setryn having a card of three hearts in her right eye socket.
“T-the Hidden One… Amon…” These are Setryn’s last words as she succumbs to her fate. The emotions of regret and terror color her one remaining eye. The woman whose beauty is said to be on par with Cleopatra dies just like that.
Kaita realizes how perilous his situation is. “COME OUT! YOU COWARD!”
“Ack-!” Kaita cries, and realizes, he no longer has a pinky on his left hand. The string connected to it flops and loses its sharp solidness. “YOU! COME OUT!”
However, the masked man has no plans of coming out. More fingers get cut off. Kaita’s pinky, ring finger, and index finger fall off from his right hand. “ACK-! YOU BASTARD! COME OUT!”
And as if the masked man just doesn’t care anymore, he chops off both of Kaita’s hands from the wrist.
“AAAGH!?” Kaita cries pathetically both in confusion and pain.
When the masked man finally appears, Kaita no longer has any method to retaliate. The masked man waves a card with four diamonds. Kaita looks at: Yoo Kyunghwan who has an ace of clover in his heart from the back; Hirano Arashi with two spades on his left temple; and Setryn with three hearts on her right eye socket.
Kaita comes to understand the four diamonds are for him. He angrily stomps his way to the masked man, and through mental control of his magic power, he powers through his silver threads and makes them envelop his fists as if they are gauntlets.
Before Kaita can even reach the masked man with his conjured fists of silver threads, he falls down both on his knees. He suddenly loses feeling in his legs from his knees down. He only needs a few more steps and he could have closed the gap with the masked man.
Fear is finally settling on him.
“I am Savant… The Sin of Sloth.” The masked man finally introduces himself. “It is so sad. When I was reading about you, I thought of you as a pitiful character who was manipulated by that monster Yi Yeonjun… But no, you are just another criminal in the end.”
Kaita doesn’t understand. Life is all about the survival of the fittest. Still, the fear in him is evident. He doesn’t want to die.
“Ack-!” Kaita feels for his right ear missing. He falls down to the cold ground in a fetal position. He sees his ear lying just adjacent to him. He looks up at Savant, and he cannot pick up what emotions must be running behind that mask.
If he uncovers the mask, he wonders what he might see— sadistic pleasure, apathetic eyes, or is it something else? Kaita grits his teeth, and despite the humiliation, he chooses not to fight back anymore. He has always been a violent guy, but he is the kind who is weak to the strong, but strong to the weak.
To Kaita’s eyes, the person in front of him is certainly strong. Even Hirano Arashi who can exchange plenty of moves with Cheok Jungyeon and Jin Yohan is annihilated by this Savant. “W-what do you want?” He timidly asks.
“Tell your Boss this— he just provoked Hell…”
***
I am angry, but there is still this cold rational part of me screaming at me to do the right thing. I try convincing myself that revenge is best served cold, but there is this itch on me— a murderous impulse, or maybe just a plain desire to go back at [Under Cube] hoping that whatever severance of connection I receive from [Witch King] is merely a false alarm.
I calm my mind, by using on myself by emulating a calm lake.
I turn my back to Kaita. I look at the crucified Khalifa from my left. I want to save him if I can. I should inform Nayun, and have her grandfather retrieve him and possibly heal him.
Abruptly, Kaita hurls something at me. It is his silver threads transformed into a sharp knife. Very classic. Just when I turn my back from him, he comes at me with an ambush… typical third-rate villains. I fling the diamond of four at Kaita with a curve, aiming at his other ear.
I then activate the I imbued on the four diamonds and reappear behind Kaita. I hold the four diamonds in my hand and feel very tempted to end Kaita right now. I sigh in disappointment.
I hear Kaita's loud crying as he loses another ear.
From behind Kaita, I grab his hair. “Open your mouth.” Kaita chooses to be disobedient and doesn’t follow my words. I cast on his mouth and jaw, and force the four of diamonds on his throat.
“U-ughck~!” He cries, but I ignore him.
“Be careful from now on. That card can explode.” I bluff.
I activate the imbued from a card that I left at the gala venue’s restroom from whence I meet Yi Yeonjun. In a flash, I reappear at the male’s restroom. I grab the King of Diamonds that I concealed and deliberately threw at a hidden corner.
