Pirate King

Chapter 9

Eden stepped in front of you and faced Maddox fearlessly.

"Maddox, what is going on?" Eden asked calmly. Maddox sneered at him and rolled his eyes.

"What do you think? You've known the longest about my biggest desire," Maddox replied as he lowered your wand. You peeked out of Eden's shoulder, stunned to see the eight dark figures frozen in their aggressive stance. "Who is this?"

"No one you need to be concerned with," Eden quickly snapped as he extended an arm in front of you protectively.

"Her aura..." a sweet, oh so soft voice called out from the shortest Hala member, taking off his bejeweled black mask. Hongjoong. Or at least, dark Hala Hongjoong. His red mullet was a fiery contrast to his black clothes. He stepped forward with a dark wand still pointed at you and Eden.

"Hongjoong, what did I say," Maddox snarled. Hala Hongjoong snapped up to look at him, his eyes a piercing red that glowed dangerously brighter at Maddox.

"I know we've made a deal, but do not speak to me that way," the fiery boy spat back. Hala Hongjong smiled wickedly and pointed at you with his wand. "Come with me, my precious," he motioned you to follow him.

"She doesn't leave my sight," Eden said threateningly.

"You don't get to make demands, Eden. You're completely outnumbered, and Ateez won't be able to break the enchantment I put on the portal. Hopefully, your little pirate king can figure it out, but I doubt Hongjoong can do it himself. He's always needed help from the very beginning," Maddox stated.

"Maybe not, but he has the rest of his team there with him. I do not doubt that they will unhex the portal," Eden said confidently. Hala Hongjoong came closer to you; dark wooden wand still extended towards you.

"Why do you want to protect her so much?" Hala Hongjoong lifted your chin slightly with the wooden wand, his red eyes blaring into your own. You thought back to the first time you met the real Hongjoong, and you shivered at how eerily alike Hala Hongjoong was to the real one. "Ah, I can see it in her eyes. The entrance of her soul and her aurora, she's even more powerful than you, Eden. I want to talk to her-- I think I know who she is," Hongjoong smirked.

"Enough small talk, why are you doing this, Maddox? I thought you were happy with the position I gave you. Anyone would die to be in your place. You still have a lot to go, but you have potential," Eden interrupted.

"I didn't want to become an apprentice! I didn't want to wait around for ages learning nothing and waiting for you to die so I can become a Master. You knew I wanted to be the Pirate King, but you gave it to Hongjoong. An absolute waste of--" Maddox said as he paced the floor of the room. The rest of the dark seven figures still frozen in place behind him.

"He's a better leader than you'll ever be Maddox," you bravely said, stepping out from behind Eden. You don't know why you were defending your captors, but deep down, you knew Hongjoong had a good heart. At least, better than the guys in front of you.

"You gave that title to a little boy who knew nothing about becoming a leader. I am older, wiser, and stronger than him!" Maddox complained.

"You know how dangerous the Hala's are... Why did you release them?" Eden was stalling Maddox, he knew he was outnumbered, but if he gave the boys just a little bit of more time-- then they can end this right now.

"All they did was kill a random boy, Eden. For fuck's sake, they're not dangerous. That tall one is basically a puppy," Maddox claimed. You turned to stare at the tallest boy, brown-haired boy. His mask was still covering his face, but you can tell that it was the Halas version of Yunho. At being mentioned, his head tilted to the side in confusion, but when you met his bright red eyes, he stiffened and looked away from you.

"You know that they come from a dangerous land. They can't live here while Ateez exists, it will cause chaos," Eden reasoned with Maddox.

"I've grown tired of you, Eden," Maddox said. Without another word, he flicked his white wand, and blue flames erupted towards Eden. Eden fell straight to the ground, and you ran and threw your arms over him.

"Eden! No!" you exclaimed. Eden was breathing harshly, and his eyelids were fluttering like crazy.

"Y/N, you must tell them... tell Hongjoong to find the treasure! There's a map, The desert... with nothing...with nothing...we started there..." Eden's eyes opened, and he raised his hand shaped into a finger gun to the sky. "Follow the light that unfolded countless times...Before the beginning," he chanted. A dazzling white light shot up from his finger gun like a firework, and for a few moments, it blinded you.

A crash startled you, and you rubbed your eyes forcefully to try to make yourself see. Disorientated, you noticed there was a red bubble surrounding you and Eden. You looked up to see the portal wide open, and you saw Ateez come out of it, their fists in cool blue flames. You turned around to see Hala Ateez still rigidly pointing their wands out in front of them. The red bubble popped loudly as you let yourself sob as you noticed that Eden was no longer breathing.

You felt a tug on your shoulder, and you looked up to find Hala Hongjoong trying to get you to move.

"I'm not going with you!" you shouted. "You killed Eden!"

"There's more to you than you think. Come with us, and I will tell you everything you need to know," Hala Hongjoong said, almost kindly.

"Stay away from her!" Yunho shouted as he threw a ball of blue flames towards Hala Hongjoong. Hala Hongjoong easily deflected with a wave of his wand, and he sent it right back to him.

"No!" you screamed out as you reached for it with one of your hands. The ball of blue flames stopped midair and then slowly retracted towards you; your right hand was glowing with red flames. Shocked that you were able to stop the attack, you quickly dropped your hands and stared at your hand in shock.

"Impossible," you heard Maddox mutter. "GRAB HER!"