Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

RUMBLE

My eyes snapped open at the sudden sound. The storm seemed to have woken me up.

I grumbled at the disturbance and forced myself out of the bed. I looked at the clock and the time seemed to be past four.

“Just how long is this storm going to last?”

I scanned the other bed and noticed that Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung had already left; they didn’t even bother cleaning up their beds. Guess I should go out as well.

I walked out to the hallways; still yawning, and the first one to greet me was a certain petite figure.

“Hey there sleepyhead. Finally awake?”

Han Sooyoung waved her hand as she approached me.

“What? Did I miss anything?”

“Well you almost missed yourself a gourmet meal. I was planning on kicking you’re ass out of bed but it seems like you’ve already done it yourself”

Seems like Yoo Joonghyuk cooked again. Now that she mentioned it, I do smell a certain fishy aroma filling the halls. When the heck did they catch any fish?

We both walked into the mansion’s dining hall and I immediately saw everyone gathering for the meal; already having their fills.

“Oh boy. Don’t mind if I do”

I went ahead and chose my seat and started digging in. Hmmm yes…This is the life. I don’t think I could ever live without Yoo Joonghyuk’s cooking ever again. “Though when did you get your hands on some fish?”

I asked Yoo Joonghyuk who was sitting in front of me.

“You’ll have to thank Jang Hayoung and Gong Pildu for that. They were able to catch some fish before the storm arrived and conveniently decided to bring it here”

I looked towards them and saw Hayoung giving a smug look while Gong Pildu  just snorted.

“They were hard to catch you know”

I simply replied with a self-deprecating laugh at what Gong Pildu said before going back to having my fill. Though as I scanned the surroundings; I was suddenly reminded of something.

“Have any of you seen Yoosung-ah and Gilyoung-ah?”

My question prompted everyone to pause from their meal; to which Lee Jihye replied.

“I haven’t seen them since I woke up. They’re probably out trying to find the gold on their own and didn’t even bother to let us tag along. Selfish little brats”

“Yeah, well its their loss for missing out on oppa’s meal”

Jihye and Mia simply giggled at the thought as they returned to their plates.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Yoo Sangah since I woke up too”

Jung Heewon made me realize Sangah’s disappearance. If it’s her, then she’s most likely tagging along with the kids to look out for them. Though It’s not only her but the constellations as well. Just when I thought of that, the door flung open with a yawning Gabriel walking in while stretching her arms.

“Huh? Uriel’s not here?”

“Nope, how about we leave them absolutely zero leftovers?”

“Forgive me, Uriel”

Gabriel seemed to have taken in Sooyoung’s suggestion and decided to join in with us on the feast.

An hour has already passed and everyone decided to hang out in the guest room. Since I was bored too, I

decided to fiddle with the TV in the room and to my surprise, it worked. Moreover, the channels are also working. Lee Jihye and Yoo Mia applaud my efforts and gathered in front of the screen. There seemed to be a certain anime playing on the channel.

“Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni…huh”

It seemed to be some slice of life story about a group of friends; doesn’t really interest me much but I decided to see how it went.

“Man, what the heck is taking them so long?”

Han Sooyoung grumbled while she fiddled with a written piece of paper. She, along with Jung Heewon and Lee Seolhwa were trying to figure out the epitaph to kill some time while waiting for the rest of the group to come back.

“Maybe they already beat you to it from getting their hands on the gold”

“Tch- as if!”

Just as Heewon giggled from Sooyoung’s reply, the door opened as the search party returned. Lee Hyunsung voiced out their finds.

“We’ve already looked around the mansion but still couldn’t find them anywhere”

“Don’t tell me they went out there in the rain”

Han Sooyoung replied. Yoo Joonghyuk then looked out the window as he spoke.

“Either way, they’ve been gone for too long. It’s best that we find them before any sort of accident happens so I suggest we check outside as well”

“Screw it. I’m coming with you”

“Same here”

Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon stood up from their seats and joined in with the search party.

Man, It’s with moments like these that I wish I could still use [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint]. We would have found them already by then.

“What about you guys?”

Han Sooyoung asked to which Lee Seolhwa replied.

“I’ll stay here. I wouldn’t want to get my clothes drenched too much”

Her gaze then moved to me.

“I’ll stay too. I’ll be keeping an eye on the kids”

“Eh. Suit yourselves”

And with that, they left. As they did, my gaze then moved to the window where a streak of lightning just passed. Naturally, I’m also worried about them; hoping that the group finds them before anything bad happens.

With nothing else to do, I just stood back with the kids and immersed myself with the TV….

The search party looked around the garden and still couldn’t find the missing people. They eventually decided to split into two groups. Jang Hayoung, Gong Pildu and Gabriel formed one group while the rest formed the other.

Upon further exploration, Yoo Joonghyuk’s group found themselves in another building completely separated from the mansion.

“This seems like a guest house”

Han Sooyoung expressed her thoughts as they moved to search the place. It’s a good thing that they went this direction as the locked rooms could only be opened by the servant keys that Sooyoung had kept. Still, there were no sign of them.

“Now this is just getting annoying. Where the hell did those lot get themselves into?”

The search continued to the far back of the mansion where yet another structure stood. It was a chapel.

The entrance door was sealed with a special lock that wasn’t in the servant keys so Yoo Joonghyuk moved to the side and broke a window open. The rest then followed suit. Han Sooyoung opened her smartphone’s flashlight to lighten up the dark but as they looked around, they were still nowhere to be found.

“Heh…strange”

“What is it?”

Lee Hyunsung asked Jung Heewon.

“Nothing. It’s just that, although this place is a little creepy, Uriel probably would have loved to take a look at it…”

Just as she finished her words, they all heard the shouts of their names, seemingly coming from the other group. They all then rushed out to meet with them.

“What is it? Have you found them?”

Yoo Joonghyuk asked. Prompting Gabriel to reply.

“No, but….”

“But what?”

Han Sooyoung urged her to answer but Gabriel couldn’t properly explain the situation, so she suggested for everyone to follow them.

Not long after, the group were approaching what looks to be small metallic structure.

“So there’s even a warehouse in this place. How convenie- wh- what the heck is that!?”

Gabriel pointed at the shutters and everyone suddenly understood why she couldn’t easily explain the situation. On its surface was a strange looking graffiti colored in deep red. It was shaped like a circle with strange markings engraved within its sides along with words of unknown language. The paint started dripping due to the rain; making the shape looked more ominous as if it were painted in blood.

“Doesn’t this look like some kind demonic pentagram?”

Everyone flinched from Lee Hyunsung’s words.

“Tch- if those guys are trying to pull a prank on us then this is just going way too far”

“Why don’t we clean this up before we get in trouble with place’s owner. This is a warehouse so there should be some cleaning supplies inside”

Jung Heewon prompted Han Sooyoung to open the shutters but she just threw the keys to Yoo Joonghyuk next to her. The latter gave her a strange look.

“What? I’m not going to touch that thing and somehow get myself cursed’

Yoo Joonghyuk rolled his eyes and approached the lock. As he twisted the key, he moved his arms up and raised the shutter along with the strange graffiti. At least they don’t have to see that horrifying thing for awhile…

Back at the mansion, I was lying down with the kids while we still watched the same show as before. Lee Seolhwa was also lying on the couch with a book that she found under the tables.

Footsteps suddenly rushed from the halls as the door flung open with Jang Hayoung entering while seemingly out of breath.

“Seolhwa-ssi! You need to come with me, NOW!”

“Wha- eh? What’s wrong?”

Lee Seolhwa approached Jang Hayoung as the latter whispered something to her  in a stammering manner. Seolhwa’s breath suddenly went sharp as they both rushed out into the halls.

“Did something happen?”

“Let’s check it out”

Of course, the three of us noticed it too and tailed behind them. We quickly passed by the corridors and out into the entrance hall. As I ran past the painting, I suddenly felt a rather ominous feeling. I’m not quite sure, but I swear I saw that woman’s eyes slightly shift to my direction…

We eventually reached the exit and dove into the rain with umbrellas in hand as we try to catch up with Lee Seolhwa and Jang Hayoung.

“Which way did they go?”

I looked around as we suddenly lost track of them. But then I heard a faint voice from somewhere and tried to figure out its direction. “This way!”

Lee Jihye and Yoo Mia followed me and we eventually saw the group from a far. But what’s going on?

As we approached them, I noticed how strange the situation looked. Gabriel was crying at the right as she struggled to escape from Hyunsung and Pildu’s grasps. While everyone else was frozen, I noticed Lee Seolhwa covering her mouth while everyone else had the same face, all filled with horror.

“DON’T LET MIA GET ANY CLOSER!!!”

“JIHYE-AH, STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!!!”

Yoo Joonghyuk and Jung Heewon seemed to have sensed us approaching and quickly turned to shout at us.

“Oppa, wha-“

Just before Yoo Mia could speak, Yoo Joonghyuk already rushed to her side and covered her view with his body. Jung Heewon did the same for Lee Jihye, but she was too late.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Lee Jihye’s blood curling scream echoed throughout the area as she saw a glimpse of what Jung Heewon tried to hide from her.

“KIM DOKJA!”

Han Sooyoung tried to stop me too but I was already too close. I finally found our missing party. The cute little angel, the cocky monkey, the annoying chuuni dragon, the grasshopper boy that I met in the subway, my incarnation whom I saved from her demise, and finally, my coworker who became my first friend.

They were all there, of course I recognize them, how could I not recognize them by their clothes. But that’s the thing, I could only recognize them by their clothes, because…why…why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, WHY!

I couldn’t recognize them; if not for their clothes, none of them were recognizable; I mean how could you when there’s nothing to be recognized at all! Their faces, each and every single one of them; covered in some grotesque, horrible make up. No, that’s not it. It’s more like they were ripped off from their heads, leaving nothing but the innards and half of their brains intact as blood still spilled from the gaps.

“Damn it…”

I couldn’t help but kneel.

“Who did it….”

“Kim Dokja…”

Han Sooyoung tried to console me but I didn’t stop.

“WHO THE HELL DID THIS SHIT!?”

Tears seeped from my eyes.

“I’LL KILL THEM! I’LL KILL THEM DAMMIT!!!”

“Kim Dokja-“

And my fist hitting the ground.

“WHY!!! WHY YOU DAMNED MOTHERF@#%^!!! WHY!!!”

The sounds of our screams echoed throughout the storm, letting our emotions out as we all grieved under the raging storm. A moment that lasted for very long time.

Rumble

“Uh-“

Biyoo woke up from the sudden thunder. She looked around and found the same empty yacht from before she took her rest. It was a rather lonely sight; still frustrated that they really just left her here to guard the ship all by herself.  

But now she was getting a little worried. They’ve been gone for nearly a day by now and although the storm has yet to subside; It’s no reason to just leave the yacht hanging around here.

“Ah…what do I do? I should check on them just for a bit”

After much contemplation, she went ahead and used the remaining probability that she could utilize and enhanced the boat’s barrier.

“Now It won’t be going anywhere”

She then flew through the rain while using some of her powers to keep herself from getting drenched.

Eventually, she reached the stone paved stairway and followed the path up. But then-

“Ow! Uh- What the?”

Something blocked her path; some kind of wall or barrier that’s nearly invisible from her vision. Its surface was engraved with what looks to be the number nine; all lined up across the entire surface as if endlessly engulfing it.

Biyoo tried to go higher but was met with the same result. She tried to go to the sides but the wall reached even there. No longer minding the rain; she flew even higher up enough for a bird’s eye view of the entire island and to her fear; the entire thing was covered in the same walls, like a box sealing whatever’s within.

Biyoo stared at the sight and thought.

“This…this is impossible. The scenarios have long ended and the Star Stream is long gone. No amount of today’s probability should be capable of making something like this…

No. This is different…this power isn’t something that exists in the Star Stream. Who the heck created this barrier?”

As Biyoo tried to gather her thoughts, she failed to notice the black wings spreading wide behind her back.

“Wha-hmp!”

A hand quickly grabbed hold of her mouth while another held her body. Biyoo struggled out of the mysterious figure’s grasps but to no avail. She tried to use her powers but to her surprise, she couldn’t use even the slightest bit of probability as if some external force is denying its usage. Even her flight suddenly wore off which would have caused her to plummet down if not for the figure holding her.

“Hmp! Hmmmp! Hmmp!”

“Forgive me little miss but I wouldn’t want you to ruin milady’s newly generated gameboard. Do not worry. I’ll make sure that she’ll at least treat her pieces gently this time”

“Hmmp!”

A surge of golden butterflies suddenly stormed around the two as their figures were engulfed, causing them to disappear into the sea of nothingness…

.

. .

30 minutes have passed since the incident. Now were all gathered again in this guest room. Everyone has sort of calmed down by this point but of course, that’s not entirely true. Rather than calm, we all just felt empty, myself included. No one spoke a word since we returned to the mansion. All trapped within their own respective thoughts. Though it wasn’t long before Yoo Joonghyuk finally broke the silence.

“We have to leave. Now”

“What!? And leave ‘them’ behind?”

Han Sooyoung retorted.

“We can always come back with the authorities to retrieve them. Our safety should be priority”

“What if we can’t even get them back in one piece or worse, can’t at all. They’ve already been mutilated enough and we don’t know what that else that psycho is planning in order to further mock their corpse once we’re gone”

We decided to leave them untouched in the store house; fearing that we may tamper with the crime scene and just waited for the storm to pass and finally call the authorities to fetch us.  

Yoo Joonghyuk replied.

“And that’s exactly why we need to leave. Whoever did that to them is still roaming around these halls and something tells me that they’re not stopping there. Moreover, it’s most likely that there’s more than one of them; all of which are fully armed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to deal with six people who, even without their former powers; are still formidable fighters”

Everyone had been listening to him by that point and flinched upon the mention of the latter half. Yoo Joonghyuk’s gaze then pierced mine as if delivering a message to me without a word.  

A struck of realization then hit me as I slipped my hand into the pocket where the mysterious letter resided.

“Even so. It’s impossible for us to navigate the sea with this storm”

Jung Heewon voiced out. “It’s still better than staying here”

Wait…The boat. Of course!

“What about Biyoo? If it’s her then we should be able to get ‘everyone’ out of here easily”

“And maybe even catch the bastard who did all this bullshit”

Han Sooyoung grinned at my suggestion along with everyone’s gaze of anticipation. I called out for her.

“Biyoo!”

We waited for a few seconds. But there was nothing, so I called again.

“BIYOO!”

“BIYOO! Damn it. Where is that girl?”

Sooyoung called out with me by then, but still nothing. She’d usually always come to our aid whenever we call out for her no matter where she’d be or whatever she was doing. After all, she’s the Dokkaebi King. So why?

“Don’t tell me she…”

Yoo Joonghyuk read my thoughts and started moving.

“Hyunsung, Jihye, Pildu, come with me”

“Wha- Where are you going?”

Sooyoung stopped Yoo Joonghyuk; prompting him to reply.

“The fact that Biyoo isn’t answering our calls means something happened with her and the boat”

There was no reply from her. Yoo Joonghyuk then proceeded to move before I went in and suggested.

“I’m coming with you. Hyunsung-ssi, you stay here with them”

Of course I had to go. I’ve already lost too many companions today and I can’t lose Biyoo as well.

Besides; It’s better for Lee Hyunsung; A fully trained soldier, to be here over an unemployed introvert like me.

Han Sooyoung tried to stop us again but I reassured her worries.

“We’ll be fine. Now that we already know about the murderer; we’ll be ready for them. Moreover, I suggest you guys lock yourselves in this room while were gone. Whatever happens; do not open the door unless it’s us”

Nobody objected my notion so we started moving. The four of us went out into the rain with umbrellas in hand and sprinted forward to the shore lines.

“Damn it. Just how long do these stairs go”

Jihye grumbled as we descended the stone paved stairway. Now that we’re going back. I never realized just how long we actually had to climbed in order to reach the mansion.

A few minutes passed and the beach was finally visible in the distance; prompting us to increase our speed. But that’s the thing; there was only the beach. We all halted near the shoreline and stared in shock on the raging waves.  

The boat was gone. Our only escape from this place; gone.

“No…. Shit! BIYOO!!!”

“BIYOO!”

We all cried out, but again; nothing.

They already took six of our companions and now they’ve taken Biyoo too?

I furled my fists as I directed my gaze into the darkened clouds. Now we’re all stuck in this damned island with a mass murderer on the loose.

.

.

.

The rest of the company waited in the guest lounge in anticipation. Han Sooyoung was scribbling on a piece of paper before placing it on the table for everyone to see.  

“I believe it looked something like this”

On it was a doodle of the strange pentagram that was engraved on the storehouse’s shuttle. As everyone has calmed down from the incident, they all decided to try and figure out what the deal was with this mass murder; starting with the culprit’s supposed purpose.

“Are any of you familiar with witch craft?”

Everyone either shook their head or simply stayed silent. Of course no one would be familiar with this kind of knowledge. If only Yoo Sangah were still here. Maybe she could at least read the lines that were written along its edges.

“I’ve seen this drawing before”

Everyone then shifted their gaze to the archangel sitting on the couch. Gabriel, who has been silent this whole time, voiced her thoughts. No one could blame her. The fact that she could even recover this fast after witnessing her last sister’s death just goes to show her resilience.

“Demons use it all the time. They all come in different shapes and sizes with varying purposes each time that I don’t even wanna bother figuring out what they’re for. Either way, it all boils down to one thing; sacrifices”

Her fists furled after finishing her sentence. Everyone faces hardened along with it. They’ve all already guessed as much but couldn’t really objectively voice it out. After all; for their companion’s lives to be lost on such a ridiculous reason is simply unacceptable.  

Then suddenly, a gurgle sounded out near them. It was from Yoo Mia.

“Eh? Sorry. All this talk about witches kinda make me hungry”

It was a rather comedic timing but it was a reminder of an important aspect of their survival.

“Shit. The food. They were all left in the kitchen”

“I think I’ve seen canned foods within the shelves there too. Should we wait for the others to arrive and gather them?”

Han Sooyoung considered Heewon’s suggestion, but it was overshadowed by another thought.

“If we do that, then we might not even get ourselves a bite. We’re not the only ones who needs to eat after all”

Considering that the storm has yet to slow down; It’s logical to assume that it’ll last for days to come so they have no choice but to manage their resources. Not only that; the culprit should also be roaming around these corridors dealing with the same problem. If they’re smart; they could grab the food for themselves and leave their victims starving for days; granting them an easier kill. But of course-

“Then what if it’s a trap. They could be waiting for us in the kitchen or are probably even trying separate us to reduce our numbers”

No matter which choice they’re going for; they still leading to dead ends. And each second passing is just pushing them to one of these ends. They’re running out of time.

Han Sooyoung fell into deep thought before finally speaking.

“We’ll just have to match their numbers. Form a group of five or four. The rest will stay here and wait for Kim Dokja and the others”

After further thoughts. The group going out consists of Han Sooyoung, Jang Hayoung, Jung Heewon, and Lee Hyunsung. Before leaving; Han Sooyoung grabbed the batch of servant keys from her pocket and separated one of them and handed it over to Lee Seolhwa.

“This is the key to this room. Just like Kim Dokja said; do not open the door unless it’s us or them. And if they arrived before we did; try and at least look for our bodies. Ow-”

Jung Heewon elbowed Sooyoung before Seolhwa nodded in agreement. The group slowly stepped out the door and with the coast clear; they headed for the kitchen.

The four of them grabbed whatever they could find in order to arm themselves. Han Sooyoung and Jang Hayoung handled the rear with long candle stands in hand while Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung handled the front; the former a holding shorter stick that she broke off from a candle stand.

As they cautiously approached a turn; something was caught at the corner of Jung Heewon’s gaze. Something small; glittering through the air as golden dust drops down from its wings.

Heewon turned to take a look only to find nothing but the corridors.

“What’s wrong?” Hyunsung asked.

“Nothing…nothing”

They proceeded to move forward a few steps when a thought came into Heewon.

“This was supposed to be just a normal outing. How did it ever come to this?”

Hyunsung stayed silent as he simply listened.

“It’s almost like we’ve been thrown back into the scenarios. Like the universe doesn’t want us to have our happy ending… What more do we need to do just to deserve some rest?”

“I know it’s tough, but we’ll manage somehow; just like we always do. We’re already back together after the longest time and I wouldn’t let some stranger ruin that for us. You think so too right?

“Yeah… you’re right”

Heewon gave Hyunsung a look before shaking her head while chuckling.

“Hey Sooyoung! Do you have any say in this? Hehe…hah…Sooyoung?”

Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung looked back at their two companions only to find nothing but the empty halls. When the hell did they leave? No, rather; when did they get separated from them. Although they’ve only been here for about a day; the corridors looked unfamiliar enough for them to realize that they haven’t been walking into the kitchen’s direction without even noticing it beforehand.

The duo looked around the silent halls with their guards up as they try to process what exactly happened to them. But even before they do; the silence was suddenly replaced by the sound of what seemed to be metallic objects clanging as if rapidly bouncing across the walls.

Flying straight into their direction.