"..what?" Hwanwoong felt his hands tremble against his will as he tried to process what his grandfather told him,but it was quite impossible.
His grandfather eyed him from across the room and suddenly turned around to look outside the window and up at the sky.
"We do not have much time left.The Fallen Angel already awakened.The sky will darken and everyone will perish under him."
His voice was coated with fear and despair as he squeezed the words out.
Hwanwoong gulped and staggered back a few steps.
"..wh-what do you mean?.." his voice trembled
"Before we performed the ritual,I specifically told you not to falter no matter what you see or hear.Your task was to find him.By opening the doors to his past you made him weaker and that's when his true form took advantage.Once he feeds on the souls he had taken,the Fallen Angel will be invincible." the old man muttered under his breath,but loud enough for his grandson to hear as he stared at the bright sky with a solemn expression on his face.
"I..Is there any way to..bring him back to normal and save everyone..?" Hwanwoong raised his head with a slight bit of confidence despite his shaky voice.
"Since you are the one who provoked his awakening,you are the only one who can repair him."
"How do I do that? We're obviously not close enough to fix this.We are enemies,so how am I supposed to stop him from destroying the world?" Hwanwoong sighed heavily,thinking about countless ideas.
"Firstly,you must convince him to stay in our realm so that I can keep an eye on him.While I do that,you two should take your time to create a bond.Maybe once you become closer,he will listen to you." his grandfather spoke coldly,leaving his grandson no room to argue.
"Great..Create a bond with my enemy..how easy.." Hwanwoong clenched his jaw at the thought of them being friends.
"This is the only way,Hwanwoong.You are a King,so learn how to take responsibility for your actions.The angels' lives are at stake at this point so I expect you to do the right thing."
Once he muttered the words,the old man exited the antique room,leaving the young King alone with his mind swirling with all sorts of thoughts.
"Let go of your pride,just this once,Hwanwoong.You're a King so you should protect your people." he mumbled to himself.
The sun set,and Hwanwoong took a quite drastic decision.He was planning to go all the way to the Demon Realm to have a talk with the King he despised so much.A few servants came rushing from inside the castle and he turned around to see what was going on.
The servants had their arms full of aliments for their King to eat during his two days long journey.Hwanwoong felt touched as he accepted them.
"Take care,my King.You should consider taking a guardian with you,in case something happens." one of them suggested but the King tossed the advice away with a motion of his hand.
"It is ok.I will be fine on my own.Take care of your tasks." Hwanwoong ordered and began flying out of their sight.
He repeatedly eyed his surroundings as he got closer and closer to the border.
With a long sigh he finally arrived in the Demon Realm.It was a disturbing yet intriguing sight for the Angel King.The sky was dark and the sound of thunders made the ground shake beneath his feet.His surroundings were blocked by dark fog as he struggled to see.With a powerful flap of his wings,he blew the fog away and came in sight with the massive castle he was searching for.The creepy looking building definitely stood out the most from everything he had ever seen.He slowly stepped towards the gates and pushed his way in.He flinched at the squeaky noise that came from the old mechanism and mentally cursed at himself.
"I'm going to get mutilated on the spot if I keep making sounds." he whispered and at that moment he got a powerful hit to the back of his head that left him unconscious.
When he woke up,he found himself kneeling in an unknown room.By the looks of it,the room he was standing in was a lot larger compared to the ones he grew up with.
As his gaze began focusing his eyes went straight to the middle of the room where he discovered the Demon King sitting on his throne with a glass of wine,enjoying the sight of his weakened self.
"What a surprise to see you here.." the Demon smirked smugly,taking a sip of his wine while observing the kneeling Angel King.
"I must say..that hit was not necessary at all.." Hwanwoong groaned at the sharp pain.
"Consider that a greeting." Geonhak chuckled.
"What a nice way to greet your guests..No wonder you're so popular.." Hwanwoong spoke sarcastically and stood up while staggering to the side.
An amused chuckle slipped past the Demon's lips.
"Your lovely presence will have to be explained though.I didn't expect any guests..Not that anyone had the guts to step on my land.." he spoke,poker-faced as he stood up from his elegant throne and went towards the other male.
Hwanwoong stared back,just as coldly,feeling the urge to keep his composure in front of the other male.
"So? Aren't you going to tell me why you're here? I don't have all day,you know?.." Geonhak spoke,visibly irritated.
"I..uh.." Hwanwoong stuttered
"You what?" the Demon smirked,anticipating all kinds of scenarios.
"I invite you to the Angel realm for a formal dinner between the two species." Hwanwoong looked up,determinated to convince the other King.
Geonhak bursted out laughing,almost spilling his wine on the carpet.It sounded so silly to his ears and he couldn't stop himself from clutching his stomach.
"That was a great way to entertain me,little guy." Geonhak winked and straightened his shirt as he sighed deeply,coming back to his usual attitude.
Hwanwoong shook his head slightly and stepped closer to the other.
"I am serious.I want the war between us to stop.This has been going for way too long and there is no point in continuing it.We can join forces and become more powerful.Together we could make our kingdoms bigger.That is why I want you to join me at the dinner,tomorrow evening." the smaller proposed
"There is something you do not understand.I don't need allies.I stand here today because of me,myself and I.I don't need help,especially not yours.You can't just push away all the bullshit you did to me and invite me to a stupid dinner.And what caused you to say all this? Last time I checked,I was your biggest enemy.What changed?" Geonhak gripped Hwanwoong's collar and stared intensely in his eyes,making him unable to speak for himself.
~I..realized..that I don't hate you as much as I did..~ he thought to himself as he gazed in the taller's dark eyes.
Time seemed to have stopped right then and there as the two Kings stared at each other for what felt like forever.The intensity in their eyes could be felt from miles away.None of them knew what to do or say other than simply..stare.
At that moment,one of the guards cleared his throat,feeling his cheeks and ears burn at the sight of the two males that apparently forgot about the presence of the other servants in the room.
Geonhak blinked twice and with a monotone voice,he spoke up.
"Fine.I accept your offer."
