edelweiss - &team

15

The plan was simple, as Yixiang had put it. They find him, and kill him. Easier said than done.

After the unofficial leaders, Euijoo and Fuma had some discussion, they thought it would be wiser to operate in larger groups. "For safety reasons," Euijoo explained grimly, "Because if we were to run into him, the more of us, the merrier."

Fuma also thought it was a good idea for them to sight-see, especially for those who had been residing in Korea all this while. So he had pulled up a list of cafes, restaurants and even bars to hop from.

"Seriously?" Jo asked dryly as he read through the meticulously planned itinerary of the day. "Yes," Fuma replied, overflowing with excitement. Harua was more interested in the groupings, written down like a plan for a children's field trip. Riki, Jo, Yuma and Maki would be together, while Euijoo, Fuma, Yudai, Harua and Yixiang would be another group.

"And as usual, if you see something, anything that could be him, call the other group at once," Euijoo said.

And that's how they ended up strolling through the streets of the city on a lovely afternoon. Fuma was like an excited tourist, pointing out interesting and cute shops when he spotted them, even though Yudai pointed out that Fuma had witnessed the construction of some of the buildings.

Harua did not share the same carefreeness. He was on high alert, and noticed something from the first few minutes they arrived. Every single human within a ten metre radius was watching them, be it an elderly man manning a food cart or a child frolicking in the streets. It made him uneasy but since they hadn't done anything yet, he kept quiet and continued to observe.

After some time, even Euijoo sense something was amiss. "There sure are a lot of people behind us, hm?" He commented, looking over his shoulder to see a crowd of ten people walking merely a few steps behind them.

"And there are quite a few in front of us too," Yudai tensed, tempted to go into a flight or fight mode. "Let's not do anything rash, alright?" Fuma said as he nervously eyed the crowd, slowly closing in on them.

The humans were acting strange, they didn't seem to be thinking rationally, their arms were outstretched and they clawed at the immortals. Unfortunately, the immortals were reluctant to defend themselves mostly because they knew the damage they would do to these fragile, innocent humans.

"Shit, we shouldn't have let ourselves get cornered," Yixiang muttered under his breath, as he felt Yudai's shoulder blade dig into his back. The humans started to smack, punch and even pinch them. After Yixiang was slapped on the cheek rudely, he scowled and impulsively summoned his scimitar, which knocked back a couple of humans but more took their place.

"Don't hurt them, they're just humans," Euijoo reminded.

"Are they? They're more like zombies if anything-"

"If we hurt them, we'll break the promise."

"God that's an inconvenience -" Fuma hissed in pain as a woman raked her nails across his arm, her pupils glossy like the long acrylic nails on her fingers.

"We'll have to run," Yixiang grimaced, this style obviously not his usual preferred one.

"Alright then," Yudai suddenly spread his arms and they shifted into large bird-like wings, his new wingspan over six metres long. This effectively pushed the humans away from them, and they took this golden opportunity to escape through a narrow opening.

They ran, all considering the irony of their all-powerful abilities that could not be used against humans.

Euijoo glanced over his shoulder again and noticed that there were a few humans gaining on them. What startled him was that somewhere even brandishing everyday objects that could be used as weapons, long umbrellas, knitting needles and even a lovely butter knife.

Yixiang was cursing madly, complaining of how ridiculous it was for them to be chased by humans. Suddenly, Euijoo yelped in shock and pushed Harua out of the way as a man holding a butcher's knife charged at them at full speed. Unable to react, he cried out in pain as the iron blade slipped through his flesh like butter.

"Okay, that's it," Yudai leapt before Euijoo and kicked the man square in the chest. Yixiang also took this opportunity to jump into the fray, disarming another man holding a rusty shovel and knocking him unconscious. "I hope this doesn't end up on the news," Yixiang shot a knowing look at Yudai, who only flicked his eyes up in a moment of contemplation, before elbowing a woman in the head so hard she crumpled like a leaf.

"What a mess," Yudai huffed, before rumbling footsteps were heard. "Shit," Yixiang grumbled, guarding the rear as they continued to evade the humans.