Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Ninety-Four

It was easy to get lost in the fray of battle; it had hardly been a handful of minutes since the Allied Packs – and the Westwood Coven – had breached the edge of the forest when the vampires rushed out, fully armed. He had Changbin on his left flank, Hyunjin on his right, Seungmin seated atop him, clutching his fur, his expression, frankly, nothing short of horrified.

The moment the two armies clashed, the ground was soaked through with blood, the tint gleaming off the surface of the castle behind them. Jisung made sure to keep track of his allies, the ones that would be following him into the castle while everyone else remained outside.

He and Changbin looked at one another, eyes meeting, and then he branched off, tackling vampires that had gotten too close to them, keeping any of them from filing in behind the group as Jisung cleared the path ahead. His heart thundered in his chest, war humming in his veins with every snap of his jaws, every fallen body of an army much bigger than their own.

It didn't take them long to reach the castle doors, and they breached them easily; it was almost as though the Vampire King wanted them to come in. Jisung could imagine that he'd want to get rid of him himself. That worked out in his favour, in the end, the steady beat of his paws and Hyunjin's echoing behind him were the only things he could hear.

"Wait," Seungmin called out and they both slowed. His eyebrows were knit together. "Something doesn't feel right; it almost feels like—" The doors behind them swung shut with a loud slam. They whirled around, and Seungmin slowly slid from Hyunjin's back as a figure emerged from the shadows, heavy hood hanging low above his face, robes concealing every other part of his body.

In a moment, he appeared on the other side of them, robes barely moving, stuck in an eerie balance, blocking the way they needed to go to get to throne room – at least, it was according to the map Grand Wizard Moonsoo had given them. Jisung's eyes narrowed; then this was the hybrid working for him?

"Jisung," Seungmin said, voice tight and serious. Something had changed in his eyes as they began to glow purple, magic swirling around his hands. "I think... I think he's only going to let you go on ahead." His eyes flickered over towards them, something settling over his face, something Jisung couldn't quite understand. "We'll handle him."

Hyunjin came to step right beside him, golden eyes flaring. Jisung hesitated, looking between the both of them. This was war, he reminded himself. He had somewhere else to be – he couldn't help them, not now.

"Good luck. I trust you."

He ran by the robed wizard, large body thundering by, but he was allowed to pass without a fuss. Then the Vampire King really did want to kill him himself, then. He closed his eyes briefly; he hoped Seungmin and Hyunjin would be able to get out of this relatively unscathed. They were strong, but the hybrid was uncharted territory.

He forced his eyes open again, glowing brighter than ever. No. They'll do it. He left behind nothing but the strength of his emotions, of the trust he left in his friends.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Blood marred Hyunsik's face and his clothes, the bodies of the vampire Elites strewn about them. Jeongin trembled, blood coating his own clothing. He looked up at Hyunsik, eyes wide, and opened his mouth to speak. Hyunsik simply shook his head, turning towards the door. "Let's go."

It was a miraculous stroke of luck, that Chan had stepped away when he had. If he'd stayed to watch everything unfold, he doubted he'd still be alive. He doubted Jeongin would still be alive. The thought was enough to awaken a rage centuries-deep in his dead-beating heart.

The sound of battle was evident the moment they stepped through the threshold, the windows exposing nothing but the raging bloodbath going on below. It was hard to tell who was winning and who was losing – both sides had suffered casualties, both sides blending and clashing together in a writhing mass of hatred.