The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

43 | First Rain of Spring - II

Chapter Warning: Mention of Suicide

The Shinoshen had been sealed and the rest had moved away leaving only Dal-ae and Yuta in the artificial ring that the seal had created around the two of them.

Gazes fixed, eyes unblinking, they were not more than a few metres apart but when Dal-ae looked at the steps between them, she realized how boundless the distance really was – it took her 20 years to get here when Yuta was right in front of her all this time.

With the winds of the oncoming storm that gushed through the forest howling and announcing its arrival, Dal-ae took her first step, the dagger gripped tightly in her hand. For a moment she thought she saw doubt flash across Yuta's face and if it was true, she was pleased to see it.

Yuta stayed still as Dal-ae advanced forward. Aiming directly for his heart, she dashed at him. There was no hesitation in her attack. She was relentless and unforgiving but Yuta dodged every strike. There was no doubt that she was skilled but it was not easy going against the one who had taught her everything she knew. Yuta could anticipate her attack before she had even thought about it herself and blocked every move with an ease of a dancer on stage.

When he got bored, he caught her by her hair and bashed her in the gut hard enough to knock the air out of her in one punch. She stumbled backwards, holding a hand over her stomach as she breathed the pain out.

'Is that all you have?' he said, disappointed. 'Shameful. Is this what I have taught you? Straighten up. You can do better than this.'

'Why don't you fight back then?' she spat.

Yuta scoffed. 'Don't worry, you will receive when it's your turn,' he said and gestured her forward with his fingers.

As the wind turned harsher, swirling up a storm of white around them, Dal-ae rose to her feet and charged at him. She tossed the dagger up in the air and caught it in a reverse grip. And this time she aimed for his face, the jade hilt of the dagger bashing his nose. For a second, Yuta stunned at the intensity, and she took this chance to leap into the air and kick him across his face drawing blood out his mouth.

Powerful as it was, Yuta faltered only for a second.

'This is what we are talking about,' he said, spitting the blood out. His eyes gleamed with malice. 'Now, my turn.'

Dal-ae received the first swing of his elbow directly to her chest which met her chin in the same recoil, cracking her neck. But she had taken worse, much worse from him, to let this shake her. She whirled around, her cloak flying in the wind behind her as she came down heavily on him, slashing his chest with the dagger. The smell of burnt flesh permeated through the air as the silver met his skin but it missed his heart by a few inches. She had still managed to slice him, which meant there was an open gash. Before he could even react, she dug her nails into his chest and pulled the skin open, scratching him all the way down to his torso.

Yuta winced in pain, kicking her in the knee but she was persistent. She pulled and pulled till his skin was in shreds, hanging lose against his body.

'You bitch,' he hissed and grabbed a fistful of her hair, staining her silver with red. He slapped her hard across the face, the sound reverberating like the thunder around them. It was nothing more than a sign of dominance. He could have done much worse but he settled for a slap to remind her of her place.

'You have forgotten all your manners,' he snarled. The skin on his chest was ripped to pieces and he was bleeding onto the snow below them. He punched her hard in the face when he received no reply but just then, Dal-ae bent down and rammed the hilt of the dagger into his knee, breaking it at the bone before falling to the side herself.