Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 60

San's POV 

It started fast.

The guard lunged before I could ask anything, blade flashing with something too sharp, too dark to be steel. It shimmered like it had a hunger of its own. Instinct took over. I blocked, twisted, slammed my elbow into his jaw, but he didn't stagger like a normal person would.

When his face came into the light, my heart dropped.

Not just a soldier. I recognized them.

Kids from the orphanage. Now had become a mindless robot with expressionless face and the intent to kill anything in their way. And now we were surrounded by many of them.

I didn't let myself feel anything for them.

Not right now.

I drove forward, fast and precise with knife slashes, low kicks, sweep attacks, showing no mercy. My body knew what to do, after being trained for this type of job since before I could remember. I glanced over to see Mingi and how was his progress from his end , but he didn't seem to be struggling, fighting with smoke bombs and magical flashes to confuse them.

It became a great combination that, eventually, they were all eliminated. The last one crumbled into dust, clearly leaving no evidence of the body of the kids kidnapped to the evil side.

We were all breathing heavy, covered in sweat. But we didn't stop. We kept moving down.

The walls narrowed, the stone getting rougher and older, dust thickened the air, catching the glow of Yunho's wand like mist. Still in formation, Yunho at the front, guiding us with calm and steady steps.

We hit a dead end.

But Yunho raised his wand, muttered something low, and shoved magic outward. The wall shimmered, then split. It was an illusion created to hide the passage.

Beyond it: rows of old, rusted cells. Places for traitors. Forgotten criminals. The smell was the first thing you noticed: damp stone and blood that had long dried, clinging to the air like rot.

I knew places like this, so the smell only brought the assassin side of me. I'd escaped one once to avoid getting thrown away like garbage for a job gone wrong. That memory clawed at me.

As we explored the cells, a sudden ripple of energy sparked. Another portal, similar to the one we'd entered through, but it wasn't stable. It was pulling at us towards it.

I grabbed Yunho's shoulder. "Is this part of the plan?"

But he was already stepping forward.

"Yunho, hey!"

Mingi was right behind him. "We can't let him go alone."

So I followed. Of course, I did.

We landed in a round chamber. Echoes welcoming our arrival to this place.

At the centre stood a figure

The founder of the orphanage., the same one that made those false claims.

She turned, smiling slowly. "Long time no see."

I froze. But Yunho stepped forward like he'd been waiting for this his whole life.

"It's not time for greetings," he said, voice steady. "This ends now."

She tilted her head, studying him with an unsettling calm. "You're not her. But your magic feels familiar."

"I'm her brother," Yunho said. "Born from the same blood. The same power."

Her face changed just slightly; something between surprise and satisfaction.

"That explains it. But if she's not here, I have nothing to fear from you."

Yunho didn't flinch. "You really think I can't beat you?"

The floor beneath us shimmered and the air warped, revealing the shadow guards, crawling up from the mist.

"Let's go!" I shouted, knives out.

Mingi was right beside me, already in motion. Smoke bombs helping us conceal or next movements shadows while Mingi and I slipped through the guards with short, clean strikes.

I moved with no wasted movement, no hesitation. Every slash, every step, pure reflex. My body knew exactly what to do.

Yunho, meanwhile, was something else. A storm wrapped in light. His wand shifted shape , from spear to a chain to a staff , with spells chanted in rapid speed to strike at precise points. He moved with elegance and fury, the air around him charged with power.

But she matched him. Step for step. Her magic twisted like smoke and glass. She knew how to fight. She wanted to win.

Still, we were gaining ground. The shadows were thinning. Her defence slipping. I could feel it.

Then a burst of light, sharp, and blinding.

Yunho hit the floor.

Hard.

The sound echoed around the area. I saw his body drop, limp, motionless. The moment cracked open and slowed around me.

"No!"

She laughed, low and victorious, like it had all been inevitable. "Finally."

Her eyes turned to us, glinting with cruel certainty.

Now it was our fight.

I slammed my palm over the communicator, hoping that Plan B will be here in time.

Then I looked at Mingi, urgency in every word.

"Get to him. Heal him. I'll hold her off."

Before heading for the battle.