Hong-kung moves closer, his arms crossed over his chest.
He let’s out a long exaggerated groan that echoes.
The brambles ahead restless aggressively.
The bushes rattles violently, the leaves shaking as if a massive, ravenous beast was coiled within waiting to pounce on them.
“Are you serious right now?” Hong-kung mutters loudly and rolls his eyes.” How long are we supposed to just stand here and watch this?
We’ve been standing here for ages!”
Master Gwon hiccups, glaring back at him.” Patience is a
…virtue, boy.”
“Yeah, well I don’t have it today.”Hong-kung grambles.” And I really can’t keep wasting my time on a rigged game.”
Without warning, Hong-kung snaps his finger.
A localized spark of purple, demon induced energy flares at his fingertips, and he sends a powerful blast ripping through the air.
The energy blast tears directly blast into the rattling bush, intending to obliterate whatever hidden mechanism or low-level fiend Master Gwon had put in there.
“Wait! Stop!”Gwon yells looking a whole lot sober.
But the blast had already cleared.
Instead of a mechanical blast or monstrous beast , a figure stumbles from the charred remnants of the foliage.
It is a girl.
Her clothes are worn and deep, purple bruises rings her arms and legs.
She staggers forward, her chest heaving heavily as she struggles to draw breath.
Her eyes are unfocused, glassy with pain and exhaustion.
“Sun!”Hina screams from the crowd, her face turning as pale as paper.” Sun!
Look out!”
Min-sun gasps, the blast heading right towards her.
Everyone in the clearing freezes with sheer terror.
Hong-kung residual blasts reflects off a stone behind the brush and was now curving back, hurtling directly towards the dazed, injured girl who doesn’t even have the strength to look up.
Arashi stands few paces away, his arms folded, watching the scene unfold with a cold, eerie, detached calm.
He doesn’t move an inch to help.
Instead his sharp eyes locks onto Min-sun,tracking her frantic expression.
Let’s see what you do now Min-sun San.
Show me if you are as good as they say you are.
Show me if you are worth the trouble.
Before Min-sun could even take a step, a blur of motion cuts through the air.
Hong-kung appears instantly in front of Min-sun, his body shielding her completely from view.
With a casual almost lazy flicker of his wrist, he slapped the powerful energy shot completely out of the air.
Tge dark energy dissipates into harmless sparks right above Min-sun’s terrified eyes.
Min-sun collapses to her knees, her shoulders still shaking completely consumed by fear.
The moment he does, his calm demeanor suddenly vanishes, replaced by an intensely smug egotistic grin.
He lowers himself into a deep,sweeping bow, pratically radiating self satisfaction.
“Do not fear fair maiden” Hong-kung sits, his voice dripping with exaggerated heroic theatricality.” You are safe in my presence.
”
Min-sun looks up at him, her face flushing bright red.
Not put of romance but our of pure, unadulterated embarrassment.
The absolute arrogance dripping from his face makes her stomach churn despite the danger she had just escaped.
“Get away from me!”Min-sun mutters as she struggles to pull herself up.
Hong-kung straightens up, entirely unfazed by her reaction, and casually walks back towards the group as if he hadn’t just caused and solved the entire crisis.
“Hina!”Min-sun calls out, her voice breaking.
Hina sprints across the dirt.
She throws her hand around Min-sun, hugging her tightly.” Oh my god!
You are alive!”
“Ah-wait,Hina gentle,”Min-sun gasps pulling away sharply.
“What’s wrong? What hurts?”Hina asks, instantly pulling her hands away.
“The leg, remember?”Min-sun whispers, tears pricking the ornery of her eyes.
Hina looks at her friend’s batterd state, her eyes sweling with tears.” I am so sorry Sun.
This is all my fault.
Where were you?”
Min-sun shakes her head slowly,looking around with utter confusion.”I…I don’t remember where I landed.
All I remember is the darkness and the pain.”
Hina offers a soft reassuring smile.” It’s okay.
We’ll get you healed.
”
Master Gwon claps his hand loudly, the loud clap cutting through the girls’ reunion.
” Alright!
Drama is over.
The lesson continues.
Keep moving.”
The places they passed grows increasingly bleak, plants withers into black husks and the air grows incredibly thick with the suffocating scent of stagnant ether.
Eventually they arrive at the deepest, darkest part of the Gates: The Threshold.
The landscape is completely dominated dark caverns.
“Listen well.”Master Gwon barks.” We split into groups.
Each group goes into a designated cave.
Your mission is simple: find the demon inside, neutralize it and retrieve the flower.
Easy enough.”
The students begins sorting themselves into noisy clusters , checking their gear.
Her eyes were scanning the edges of the crowd, tracking Hong-kung.
Through the shsdow, she catches a brief glimpse of him.
He wasn’t joining a group, instead, he was slipping away unnoticed walking alone into a deep narrow cave on the far left.
“Whare is he going?”Min-sun whispers to herself and driven by curiosity she breaks away from her classmates and begins following him.
Behind the crowd, Arashi’s sharp eyes tracks her movements perfectly.
He notices her limping form disappearing into the forbidden cave.”Hm…”
He quietly detaches himself from the crowd and strides towards the same cavern keeping his footsteps entirely silent.
Hina turns around searching the crowd clearing but there is no sight of Min-sun.” Sun?
Min-sun!
Whatever did she go?”
Deep inside the cavern the air is freezing.
The walls are wet with a strange, oily residue, the deeper they went, the darker it becomes.
Arashi walks calculatedly, his hands in his pocket completely unbothered by the terrifying details of the cave- the scratch marks on the walls, the faint, wet bones beneath his boot, and the low, vibrational hum of malevolent energy.
Suddenly a hand shoots out of the dark alcove, grabbing the collar of his jacket and violently pulling him into a narrowed , concealed corner between two boulders.
Arashi doesn’t even flinch.
He sees Min-sun pressing him against the stone, her eyes filled with panic.” Gripping my collar won’t make you any safer.
If anything,it restricts my movements if we want to run.
If you are trying to use me as a shield, your posture is inefficient.
You should step back.”
“Sssssshhhh! What the hell are you saying?!”Min-sun cuts him off fiercely placing a trembling hand over his mouth.
Her heart hammers so loud he could practically hear it.
“Look!”
She slowly lowers her hand and points a finger around the edge of the boulder, gesturing deeper into the subterranean chamber.
Before their eyes, the tunnel opens into a massive, vaulted dome.
Standing right in the center of the space was Hong-kung.
He looks incredibly small against the backdrop of the massive cavern, yet his posture radiated an absurd, unshakable confidence.
Both of his hands are buried deep inside his side pockets.
He doesn’t have a weapon drawn.
He doesn’t even have an active aura around his body.
Towering directly before him are three enormous, ancient demons.
They are colossal, easily twenty feet bigger than Hong-kung, their grotesque bodies covered in thick, obsidian scales and curved, jagged horns that scraped the high ceiling.
Their yellow eyes burned in the dark like twin furnaces, locking onto the solitary boy standing in their lair.
“Well, well,” the largest demon growls, a sound that shakes the very dust from the ceiling.
“Look what crawled into our trap.”
Hong-kung simply tilts his head back, his hands staying firmly in his pockets.
“You guys are blocking the path. Move.”