Gods of the Sea (BTS Vocal Line X Reader)

Ch 35 - Demons

I forgot how strong demons were. And loud.

"You cannot stop us!" Jimin's demon shrieked as we drug him down to the cells. "The Eros is in our grasp!"

"The only thing in your grasp is eternal damnation," I replied, grunting.

He kicked and twisted between the four of us, but the Judge bonds made it hard for him to break out; but they were also digging into my hands and I didn't appreciate it. We tossed him in, giving us just enough time to sprint to close the cell door.

As expected, Jimin broke through the bonds in a matter of moments, shrieking once again and slamming into the cell bars. The four of us panted as we watched him try to escape the cell.

Jimin was going to feel that when he snapped out of his trance.

"Collect some holy water and get the candles," I ordered two of my men. "Once he calms down, we'll try to approach the human host."

Jimin cackled. "Who says I'll allow it?"

I licked my lips in annoyance. "You don't have infinite energy, demon."

"But my host has plenty of anger, bitterness, and greed for me to feed on."

I ignored him and motioned to my third man. "Go get his brother. We need to question him."

He nodded and ran down the corridor, and I turned to walk away myself.

"You're going to fail, Judge," he taunted.

I waved behind me, not interested.

"After all, you have a long history of failures, right?" he continued. "After all, if it wasn't for you, that sweet innocent priestess would still be part of her church. Still thriving. Still so happy."

I stopped. My heart pounded, but didn't race. It maintained a steady rhythm, already accustomed to these accusatory thoughts.

"So sad that once she helped you she was excommunicated," the demon continued still. "So sad that she slipped into such a deep depression. So sad that poison is so easy to come by..."

I turned back to the cell, meeting the demons in the eyes. I could see the pride in his them, as if he was happy to know my pain. I stepped in close, leaning my arm against the bars as I stared him straight in the eyes.

"You've made a mistake, demon," I said. "You assumed my feelings hold power over me still."

"Aren't you guilty?" he asked me.

I chuckled. "Of course. But the reason creatures like you don't control me anymore is because I grew up to realize that we're all guilty."

He raised Jimin's eyebrow pointedly.

"So you don't take any responsibility? Are you sure you're holy, Judge?"

"I never claimed to be. And I don't take morality lessons from demons."

He stared at me, possibly analyzing my aura. I had no idea what he saw - that was the only drawback of seeing auras. You couldn't see your own.

I cleared his words from my head, putting my mission towards the front of my mind. I leaned in as close as I could between the bars.

"I'm going to send you back to Hell," I whispered. "And if my soul goes with yours, so be it."

With a screech and a hiss, he slammed against the bars. I stepped back to allow him the temper tantrum. He couldn't break through the bars and I wasn't going to let him break through my mind either.

"You'll pay for your sins, Judge," he yelled. "You think you can escape it?"

I chuckled. "No. We all pay for them eventually. You will too. Don't forget it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't have the time to babysit," I said.

King Namjoon only stared at me. I wasn't sure why he had called me in for a status report. He knew already that it was going to take time for me to extract the demon out of Jimin's body. That is, if Jimin wanted to have the demon extracted.

"Jungkook stays near the cell constantly," I continued, "making it impossible for my men to do their job."

The king nodded thoughtfully. "And what is their job, exactly?"

I tried not to roll my eyes. He was asking questions he already knew the answers to again.

"To find the demon's weak point or the human host's strength," I replied, monotone.

"And just what could the host's strength be, I wonder?"

He rested his chin on his hand, waiting for my reply to his fake rhetorical question.

I sighed. "I've thought of it too. But the problem is... if Jungkook is Jimin's strength, that means that the demon is going to try and get rid of Jungkook."

"Then find and exploit the demon's weakness before he can hurt the brother," Yoongi said.

"And yet, Jungkook's presence may remind Jimin of his ultimate purpose," Hoseok added. "We shouldn't keep them too far from each other."

"Allow Jungkook to see his brother, as agreed," the king finally said. "But your priority is to extract the demon, so do whatever is necessary - even temporary blockades - in order to do so."

Even after all this time, it still was unnerving to watch the three of them talk as one conscious thought. It was something I had never gotten used to.

Maybe it just reminded me too much of sharing my body with a demon for so long.

"But my worry," the king continued, "extends to you and your men as well."

I shrugged. "It's nothing I haven't done before."

"Demons are strong," the king replied.

"They can read auras, same as the Judges," Hoseok said.

"So while you look for their weakness, they look for yours," Yoongi added.

I looked between the three of them and shrugged again. "I don't have any more weaknesses. They've been beaten out of me."

The king nodded thoughtfully. "You're incredibly strong, Seokjin. To that, I agree. But there are new things in your life now that the demons can use against you."

"Like what?" I asked with a laugh. "My wealth? I've lived without it before."

He shook his head. "No, Seokjin. Your family."

I licked my lips, glancing to the wall and not answering.

"The boy who watched his mother's tragic spiritual trial and then tried to kill the King of Sirens himself because of it did not go unnoticed by the spiritual world," the king said. "Now that you've united with your father, they'll try to dig open your soul until you break."

He stared at me, but I didn't reply.

Yes, I knew it. Which was exactly why my father needed to stay as far from me as possible.

There was a moment of silence. I broke it with a dry laugh.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," I said. "Should my father suffer the same fate, it won't affect me as it did my mother. She paid for her sins. Everyone pays for them eventually."

"That wasn't my point."

"I should get back to my men," I said. "Do I have your permission to be dismissed?"

He rubbed his finger against his lip and then twirled his hand in a gentle motion to leave. I did, not looking back.

Honestly, I wasn't sure who I hated bringing up the past the most...the demons, the king, or myself.