Update!💜 This chapter will be... interesting... 

It's pretty long, but I recommend you to read it carefully :) enjoy!

XXVIII: Taehyung

There's perfection in a battle like this.

Ducking, dodging, stabbing. All come easily to me as if I'm a Mask just completing his last day of training. Fresh out of Bloodcrest and hungry for the blood that spills from the lifeless bodies of my enemies.

Soldiers learn to avoid me early on, though they're usually not successful. How many vampires have I killed since the start? Fifty? One hundred? I'm not keeping track. Even though my silver mask marks me as different from all the other fighters on the battlefield, I'm a hard person to catch. For once, there's no need for the monster inside to give me orders. I'm doing exactly what it wants me to. Twenty years of ruthless training at the top military academy has molded me into a machine made for killing.

A Mask.

But there's only one person in this whole war that I care about killing. Whose blood I want to see staining the ground and his lifeless eyes staring into the sky he can no longer see. But that person is as elusive as a cat, and I've not even caught a glimpse of him until now. I growl in frustration.

Ducking under flashing scims, I whip my own scim through the throat of a soldier unlucky enough to be on the wrong side of my blade. Once, I would have felt bad about all the death and destruction I was causing. Now, I feel nothing. Perhaps it was because of the mask, but I couldn't feel any remorse for the soldiers I was killing. They will be honored by their clan as brave warriors. Dying was simply a part of life. The only rest we would ever get from our duty. Some part of my brain tells me to stop. That this is all wrong. I don't listen to it. That part of my soul is weak. It was what I was before I put on the mask. Now, all I can focus on is the blood turning my hands into a beautiful crimson color.

"Looking for something, Taehyung?" At the sound of the all-too familiar voice, I whip around, scims protectively crossed in front of me. Lucius stands a few feet away, eyeing my figure with amusement. There's something in his hands, half hidden in shadow so I can't make out what it is. It was probably some sort of weapon anyway. "You've grown better."

"You shifty scoundrel," I snarl. "I'll rip your throat open. I've been fantasizing about it for weeks."

"I'm hurt, Tae." Lucius puts a hand over his heart. "I expected a better welcome than a death threat. And to think that I brought you a present too! I think that you'll enjoy it quite a bit." He reveals a limp white shape dangling from his arm, the shape I had seen earlier, and it takes me a moment to realize who, or what, it is. When I do, I feel as if my heart is wrenched out of my chest and stamped upon. My eyes glaze over, and I struggle to breathe for a moment. The spell from the mask is broken at the sight of my worst nightmare unraveling right in front of me.

Ten bleeding hells NO!

Jungkook's eyes are closed, and his breathing is ragged. The fabric around his neck is in tatters, and he has a deep cut on his right cheek. His left shoulder is completely exposed, and I want to shove a blade down the throat of every soldier here who throws lustful glances in his direction. Lucius holds a dagger to his throat, eyes aglow with unholy joy beneath his mask.

"Such a pretty boy," Lucius says, running a pale hand through Jungkook's lank hair with chilling tenderness. Jungkook shivers, turning away from him, but Lucius jerks him back. "I can see why you like him, Taehyung. Beautiful hips, stunning eyes. He must be good in bed, too." My eyes blaze, but I force myself to hide my boiling anger. I knew all too well what Lucius would do if I showed myself too freely.

On both sides, soldiers have stopped fighting each other, all concentrating on what's happening between Lucius and me. Slowly they gather into their separate clans, each falling in line behind their leader. I see Baekhyun and Jimin standing close by, eyes open wide with horror as they take in the scene.

"Let him go, Lucius." My hand tightens around my scim. "Your quarrel is with me. Not him. He didn't do anything to you."

"Didn't do anything?" Lucius laughs darkly. "Don't make me laugh. He was the reason you couldn't love me back. You made me this way, Taehyung, when you rejected my love. You unraveled my last piece of sanity. And now you're going to pay for it." His eyes shine with malice. "Actually, let me rephrase that. He will pay for it. Your pretty little soulmate with his smiling face." He shakes Jungkook in his hold. "He's going to pay the price for every single mistake you've ever made."

"No!" I step forward. "Stop this madness Lucius. Punish me if you want, but don't hurt him. He's still only a child. He doesn't know pain."

"Then I suppose that it's time he learns," Lucius murmurs, and fear spikes through my body. "See, punishing you will never be as effective as hurting someone you love. I want you to feel the same pain you caused me that day. Feel it, Taehyung. See how it feels to watch the person you love crumble little by little until nothing is left of them. I made you a promise that day, outside the training room, remember? I told you that I would make you regret your actions. I always keep my promises. It will be glorious to witness your unmaking."

Keeping his eyes trained on my face, he slowly, deliberately, draws one of Jungkook's fingers back. Further, further, further...My body shakes with unhinged rage. I want to go straight over there and rip Lucius apart for trying to hurt the love of my life. But I can't, and that makes it so much worse.

Jungkook's finger cracks. He gasps, but makes no other sound. His eyes meet mine, and the terror in them is enough to make me go mad. My fingers start to ache, but I ignore the pain, focusing my attention on Jungkook. It's going to be fine, my love. Hold on.

"That," Lucius says. "Is for choosing him over me." He grabs another one of Jungkook's fingers, and my vision goes red. He bends it back so carefully, that I know he's taking pleasure from every second of it. Sweat beads on Jungkook's forehead, and his face is white as bone.

When his finger finally breaks, he whimpers and bites his lip. His golden brown eyes glaze over with tears that he can barely hold back. Pain is evident in every part of his body, and all I want to do in that moment is to hold him tight and will away his suffering. Lucius grins, knowing how much this was affecting me.

"And that is for rejecting my love. Do you know what I love about the human body, Tae? It has so many little bones. I can keep on breaking every single one until your soulmate is nothing but jagged edges. Hmm? Would you like that?"

"You evil bastard," I growl through clenched teeth. My hand makes for my scim, but Lucius raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to call me names? Remember, any mistake you make will be paid for by your soulmate. Do you want to risk it?" I stop. He's right. I can't risk it. Lucius isn't the type to make hollow threats. He smiles as he recognizes the defeat in my eyes, his glowing with absolute relish.

Lucius yanks Jungkook's face upwards, one hand roughly grasping his chin. Jungkook bites his lip to keep the tears from flowing from his eyes as he looks at Lucius's face. Lucius studies him with cool interest, green eyes taking in every facial feature he has. "Such pretty lips," he murmurs. "Shall I carve them out of him?" He traces his knife along the edge of Jungkook's soft lips carefully, not enough to draw blood, but Jungkook flinches.

A strange, wounded snarl escapes my throat as my fingernails cut into my palms. Blood drips down my hand, but I barely feel it, my feral gaze fixed on Lucius. Imagining all the horrors I would inflict on him later. But right now, I am at the mercy of his actions. The mercy of his blade. And right now is what matters.

Lucius twirls the dagger in his hand, and the silver catches the light of the sun now starting to rise overhead. Dawn illuminates the field with a gentle beauty that sickens me when I think about what is about to happen. The blade of his weapon comes down slowly towards Jungkook's face. No, his lips. I can see Jungkook's frightened expression from here, but there's steel in his eyes. Steel that tells me that he will endure all this torture until he's broken beyond repair. For me. The knowledge is more terrifying than the bite of a thousand knives.

Closer... closer... closer... Jungkook closes his eyes, and his whole body stiffens. Waiting for the pain that will explode on his face in less than a second. Lucius's dagger makes contact with the edge of Jungkook's lip, and he digs it in, splitting open the sensitive skin. As he starts to drag the knife painstakingly slow through the pink flesh, Jungkook screams. It's a scream that I know will be haunting my nightmares for years to come.

"Stop!" I yell, unable to take it any longer. "Stop it! Don't hurt him anymore. Please. Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt him." My final words are a whisper, and I have never felt so hopeless in my life. I just want all this torture to end.

"Hmm," Lucius returns the knife to Jungkook's throat. Jungkook's head lolls down, as if he has no energy to keep it up anymore. Sweat glistens in his limp hair. "I wondered how long it would take to break you. Not long at all, it seems. You're going soft, Tae. The Bloodcrest you would never have given in so easily."

"The Bloodcrest me never had someone to love." I counter. "Love changes you. You may think that it makes me weak, but I promise, it makes me stronger when I need to be. In fact, I have an offer for you. One that doesn't involve hurting my soulmate until he's covered in blood. One that, if you're smart, you'll see is quite reasonable." I force myself to say the words neutrally, but I can't hide the anger that drenches the last few sentences.

Lucius laughs. "If you examine the facts, Taehyung, you'll see that you're in no position to make offers. But still, I'm curious. What do you propose?"

"You. me. Till first blood. We never completed our bout back at Bloodcrest. Think of this as a continuation of that. Whoever loses must swear to leave the other alone. End this stupid war, Lucius. There's no gain that will come out of these useless deaths."

Lucius tilts his head. "Playing it safe, Taehyung? Very unlike you. How about we up the stakes a little bit?" He smiles a wide, almost maniac smile. "Whoever loses pays for it with their lives. A match to the death. That is the only way I will agree. Or, if you prefer, I can keep cutting your soulmate until he's a beautiful, bloody red. Your choice."

"No, Tae. Don't do it." Jungkook's voice is weak, but still there. I glance at him, seeing him try to struggle out of Lucius's grip. "Don't do it Taehyung. I'll be fine. I can handle it. Don't―"

"Silence." Lucius draws the word out softly, and I know he's being serious. With Lucius, the quieter he talks, the more dangerous he is. The blade in his hand cuts into Jungkook's throat, releasing rivulets of blood. "You don't want to die before the battle even starts, do you?" He then turns to me, cocking his head as if genuinely curious for my answer. "Decide, Taehyung. Or I can pick for you."

"I'll do it," I say, stepping forward and ignoring Jungkook's desperate protests. "By blood and bone, I swear that I agree to your terms. But let Jungkook go. He has nothing to do with this. You've hurt him enough." I let our eyes lock so that he can see how much I would like to gut him like a fish. How much I would like to drive a white-hot stake through his heart for trying to inflict pain on my one true love. He only smiles, which is infuriating enough. "Oh no. The boy stays with me. I'm not risking you two running off together and breaking your vow."

"You know me Lucius. In 20 years, I have never broken a single vow I made to you, blood brother," Lucius's mouth tightens almost imperceptibly, and I smirk. "You're not the only one who keeps his promises."

Lucius considers it for a moment. "Very well. 5 minutes. You get 5 minutes to talk with your beloved soulmate. After that, I'll take him back." When I start to protest, he raises a hand. "And I swear by my blood that my soldiers will return him to you if you win. But if you try to run, I will catch you, and I will make both of you suffer. I swear that too." It's a terrible deal, but I have no other options. "I agree."

The moment that Lucius lowers the knife, Jungkook wriggles out from his grasp, and runs towards me on shaky legs. I envelop him in a tight hug, careful to avoid his broken fingers. His tears mix with the blood dribbling from his lip, staining my black tunic. I couldn't care less. I lose myself in the warmth of his body pressed against mine; so deliciously alive, so right. Jungkook cries into my shirt, letting out all of his pent up feelings, while I run a hand through his hair, cradling his head to my chest. I can feel his suffering sharp and clear, and I want to rip Lucius's throat out for inflicting such pain on my soulmate. Jungkook stays curled up in my embrace for a good minute, gradually calming down from my rhythmic strokes and sweet nothings mumbled into his ear. He then finally looks up at my face, tears still coursing down his cheeks.

"You―you―stupid head!" He hits my chest weakly with his hand.

"My love..."

"No!" His grip becomes tighter on my tunic. "Don't 'my love' me! Don't you understand? He's really going to try and kill you. You... you can die. And for what? If you die, then I―I―" Tears start falling from his doe eyes again, and I wipe them away with my thumb.

"Ssh, don't cry my love." I remove my cloak from around my shoulders and drape it over his, making sure to hide his bare shoulder and neck underneath the thick fabric. My eyes glow red as I take in his exposed skin. "More importantly, I don't want anyone seeing your bare skin like this. No one. Only I should be able to look at it. Touch it. Feel it. I'm not going to ask what happened just yet, but I swear, whoever tried to do this will suffer a slow painful death."

"H-he's already d-dead," Jungkook murmurs between sobs. "J-Jimin killed him."

"Pity," I growl, feeling my blood boil at the thought of someone touching my love. "He should have stayed alive just so I could torture him. The weakling."

"Y-you're just trying to change the subject," he hiccups, though a smile is starting to form on his face. "You shouldn't have risked it, Tae."

"Two more minutes," Lucius says, but I barely hear him. Cupping Jungkook's face with my hands, I make our foreheads meet, closing my eyes at the touch. "Jungkook, I've told you before, and I'll say it again. You're worth everything. Don't tell me that you're not worth fighting for. You only fuel my desire to prove you wrong. And I will prove you wrong."

Jungkook laughs, a beautiful sound like bells, which calms everything inside of me. For once, the monster isn't gnawing at my brain, trying to take control. The mask isn't yearning to go back to killing. I'm myself again. If I close my eyes, I can imagine that I'm back in the reading room at Armad Castle, with Jungkook safely locked within my embrace. Both of us just enjoying the limitless time that we could spend with each other.

But when I squeeze Jungkook's hands a little too tight, he winces; a motion that brings me back into reality.

"Show me your hand," I say, and he hesitantly brings his broken fingers up so that I can see them. I gently take them in mine, examining the angles at which they're broken. I breathe a sigh of relief when I find that they are clean breaks. Not that that makes me want to kill Lucius any less. But at least these types of breaks are easily fixable.

"Time's up," Lucius extends his hands. "Him. To me. Now." I bare my fangs at him, tightening my grip on Jungkook's waist. The mask within me howls for blood. I don't want to let go. I don't want to give up the love of my life to this vile excuse of a man. God knows what tortures Jungkook would have to face before all this is over.

"Let me go, Tae," Jungkook whispers, his uninjured hand coming up to caress my cheek tenderly. "He'll only take me by force if you don't."

"I'd like to see him try," I murmur, but slowly loosen my grip from his body. My heart screams in protest with every finger I remove, but I do my best to ignore it. When both my arms are back at my side, I feel... empty. Like an essential part of me has been ripped away and left to burn. For once, the monster doesn't take advantage of my weakened state, almost like even it doesn't want Jungkook to go. We're united for a moment, if brief, in a joined sense of loss. Jungkook smiles his beautiful, sweet smile, which lifts my spirits slightly.

"Thank you," he breaths, and a featherlight kiss graces my cheek. It's so fast, that I wonder if I imagined it, until Jungkook pulls away, and I feel a bit of blood on my left cheek. Before I can open my mouth, Jungkook turns, walking slowly over to Lucius, who greets him with a calculating smile. I hate the way that Lucius wraps an arm around Jungkook's shoulders, and how his eyes look at Jungkook's body with a predatory gaze of ownership. Jungkook backs away a little, hand protectively clutching at his cloak. Lucius's smile drops.

Grabbing Jungkook's wrist in a vise-like grip, he flings my soulmate into a boulder nearby. Jungkook's head knocks against the rough stone with a sickening crack, and he shudders while cradling one hand. Two guards move forward to seize him, and the cries of outrage from the Sirius is deafening. But I can hear nothing more than the blood roaring in my ears, and feel myself slowly lose control. For once, I welcome the rise of the monster. I want to see Lucius torn to shreds and begging for mercy that will never come.

Yoongi tries to take my arm, but I dodge him, pulling out my dagger. Shadow Valley soldiers rush forward, but I'm closer than they are, and they aren't fast enough. In an instant, I have my blade at Lucius's throat.

"You filthy son of a whore," I bring my face up to his, and for once, some kind of emotion flickers in his eyes. "How dare you hurt an innocent child like this? My soulmate? You'll regret this all, Lucius. I swear, when the time comes, you'll be begging me to give you a quick death."

"Oh relax," Lucius rolls his eyes and I have a sudden urge to gut him. "He isn't dead. But I like your enthusiasm. Perhaps we should start there." Out of nowhere, a scim appears in his hands and he whips it toward my head. I duck, barely avoiding getting my head cut off. He backs away a few steps, and we circle each other, each communicating with our eyes how much we want to kill the other. The soldiers around us all back away, leaving us in a sort of ring. I see Jungkook at the edge of the battlefield, held in place by two soldiers. His eyes find mine, and he smiles. It's small, but still there. A smile enough to give me the strength that I need.

Weakness, the mask hisses. Your weakness.

No, I correct it. My love. He is my love. My love for eternity.

And with that, I draw my blade.