"So he was teaching you?" Yoongi asked confused, his eyes glaring at Lucious who was walking in front of them.

Ina nodded, the group stopping at the foot of where the swamp met the cottage. The water was murky, Ina's eyes barely able to see the mucky bottom of the swamp, her feet sinking faster than she could pull them up. The mud was cold, and Yoongi kept a close eye in case she needed help walking. He was still worried about her, her face very pale, the pain she had felt the day before lingering in her bones.

"He was just trying to help. I am next to useless without him you know. It's not like I know what I'm doing," Ina whispered to him.

"But he...he looked like-"

"It doesn't make me happy either Yoongi but what else could I do? I can't be of help if I'm so defenseless."

They had set off a bit after eating, both Yoongi and Ina eyeing each other the whole way out. They both felt the same way about seeing him, the same lingering foul taste in their mouth every time they looked at his face. 

"From what I remember, the toads are about twice the height of Yoongi and pretty fat. They are super slimy and will eat people in a single bite if given a chance. Your father and I used to fight them whenever we went fishing for the castle. It was fun but we would always end up covered in mud," Lucious chuckled, Ina and Yoongi taking note of his words. He had interrupted the silence that had blanketed the atmosphere, hoping to change the mood from grim to alert.

Yoongi's face turned sour at the mention of his father. He wasn't exactly ready to bring up that subject yet and preferred it if the other two kept their mouth shut about it, but he wasn't able to escape his mentioning every other sentence. Ever since he was forced to face who he truly was a descendant of, it was as if the mentioning of his father had to be cited more on purpose.

It wasn't that Yoongi hated his father, more like he had always lacked one and now the existence of one had changed his perception of life entirely. He didn't want answers like he once thought he did, he just wanted his mother to return to him safely.

Many boys wished they had met their fathers in the village, the orphaned boys always wanting some sort of male figure to look up to and admire, but Yoongi preferred not to. Opening that can of worms now wouldn't solve anything, on the contrary, it created more problems than it solved.

For him, his father was dead.

His mother had always told him that. She had always spoken of her father like he was some sort of nightmare, a world she kept separate from the one they currently lived in.

"He was a genius, yes, but an idiot just as much," he remembered her saying once when he had asked about him. She was always very vague about his appearance, and now that Yoongi knew what his father looked like, he understood why his mother disliked it when Yoongi hung out with his childhood friend Jimin.

They looked like the same person, and if it pained him to see his late friend's face on his father's, he could only imagine what she felt like whenever she looked at the village boy named Jimin. More so now that he knew that Jimin was his cousin. He wanted to know more about what happened to Jimin and his mother, and from what everyone was saying, the only reason Yoongi had survived this long was because, unlike Jimin, he and his brother bowed their heads to danger.

"I'm sure the height will be the least of our worries seeing as how Ina is yet to fully control her magic," Lucious muttered, Ina rolling her eyes at his comment.

"We aren't asking about how they look Lucious; we want to know how to kill one," Yoongi finally chimed in.

Their steps seeped into the water quickly, the murky mud reaching up to their knees with every movement deeper into the swamp. Lucious smiled at him before waving for them to follow behind him, Ina taking ahold of Yoongi's shirt in hopes of keeping up with them.

Ina was curious, wanting to learn more about these toads that she was sent to kill but also scared at how they would have to achieve that end goal. She too, however, was pained by seeing that man wear her friend Jimin's face. Unlike Yoongi, though, she was able to keep her anger withheld and kept herself focused on the toads she had yet to meet.

She knew it wasn't his fault, let alone Lucious', that they shared the same face so why linger on that detail? It was as if nature was playing a cruel trick on them, yes, but all she could do was move forward. She wanted to escape having to confront the truth at least for a little longer, and having to think of killing something for the first time was helping ease her worries and manage her priorities.

"Toads are rather resilient. Tough skin, all-seeing eyes. Their weakness, however, lies in their tongue and eyes. The problem here is that, while their tongue is weak, it's also the stickiest substance on the planet. Their eyes would be the second-best option but that's what we are trying to retrieve, no?" Lucious declared.

Ina nodded, Yoongi helping her up and onto a large boulder that Lucious had climbed onto. They had arrived at a clearing with sparse trees here and there, too thin to take cover behind if something were to happen. The bolder they climbed onto was giving "Pride Rock" vibes from the Lion King, large enough to stand and even sleep on if they needed to.

"Is there anywhere underneath it that might be weaker than the rest of its body? I mean there has to be a way to kill it without touching the eyes?" Ina questioned softly.

"Well, the thing is, Giant Toads have excellent eyesight. Day or night, water or land, you bet those things can see you. Having all-seeing eyes makes them incredibly difficult to kill. What's more, those things are far more capable than any other magical creature you'll ever encounter. The belly skin is too thick to pierce and the back is like a rubber ball but hundreds of times tougher to penetrate," Lucious replied.

"I guess we have no choice but to aim for its tongue," Yoongi added.

"Or the roof of its mouth. Your father once stabbed a toad right up its mouth when it tried to eat him," Lucious laughed, Yoongi rolling his eyes while reaching the top of the boulder.

Slowly peering over the edge, Yoongi and Ina's eyes grew wide as they glanced right at the largest toad they had ever seen in their life. Lucious had been right when describing it. It was at least 4 meters tall, its skin full of large bumps, shiny and slimy in the warm sunlight.

"Those things are practically a perfect killing machine, but they carry one of the biggest weaknesses in the Magical Animal Kingdom. All instinct. They are a walking sack of animal adrenaline. No brains, all brute strength. Outsmart that thing and we win. Get overpowered by it and die," Lucius said.

Yoongi and Ina looked at each other before looking back at the toad. The toad seemed oblivious to the lurking eyes, however, sitting there quietly, its eyes closed shut.

"Strength no intelligence. Got it. However, how in the Igna's name do we kill it? Or better yet, with what?"

Lucious smiled wickedly, his body morphing slowly, his face once again changing to look like Jimin's but his eyes were a bright blue and his hair blindingly bright pink. Both Yoongi and Ina took a step back and away from him, Yoongi interjecting himself between her and the man. For whatever reason both of them felt uneasy at this new appearance, goosebumps running up their arms.

"Easy. Let me look at you child," the man said, his voice several octaves lower than Lucious.

Turning Yoongi to look at him, the man scanned his body before quickly placing his palm against his chest.

Yoongi felt a surge of energy being pulled from within himself, the man grinning at Yoongi's every wince. It hurt at first, like a burning sensation that was running through his spine and into his chest. He could feel something slowly being taken out of him, an empty feeling left behind.

Out of Yoongi's body emerged a large hammer-looking object, the same object resembling his mother's battle weapon. It was the same length, silver from the bottom to the top, but the inside of the hammer was empty, one that usually was filled by his mother's black-colored magic.

Yoongi nearly choked as the man forcibly pulled it away from him, Yoongi finally caught his breath and fell to his knees. He began coughing, one of his hands going to his chest while the other helped him balance on the ground.

"I knew it was in here. Elta, the weapon of the Park Dynasty. It's in all of those from my lineage, but I'm surprised yours seems a bit used. Your mother must have tried taking it out of you when you were born, what a shame," the man smiled, a devilish smile that made Ina feel queasy. 

Crouching down, the man grabbed Yoongi by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up, forcibly ripping open the chest area of his clothes.

There was a small scar on the middle of his chest, Ina covered her eyes with her hands while opening her fingers to see. She had admired the man's beauty once but never had she witnessed such a-

Yoongi closed his shirt quickly, glaring at the man angrily while mumbling incoherent curses. He felt a bit uncomfortable with his snarky remarks, but more with the way that the man knew so much that he did not. 

"This is yours, by the way," the man said while handing Yoongi the large weapon.

"Mine?"

"Runs in the family my son," the man said as Yoongi nervously took the hammer into his hand.

It was large and heavy, the top of it reaching his shoulders while the bottom almost was to his feet.

"Elta, you called it?"

"Seen it before son?"

"My mother has a weapon much like this one. A bit older and filled with dark oozing magic. It's unlike this one. Far larger, and heavier," Yoongi mumbled.

"Must be your father's. Tell me what color was it?"

"Silver, but with a redhead-"

"Definitely, must be Jimin's old weapon. I'm surprised she has it. Maybe he stores it within her or maybe- I guess he did marry her, that son of a bitch," the man grumbled angrily.

Yoongi and Ina looked at each other confused, the man walking down the boulder and back down into the murky water.

"By the way, the name's Park Sung-Jun, King Sung-Jun to you little lady, and grandpa to you young man. I'm guessing you're my Jimin's son, am I correct?" The man asked his tone mocking, almost demeaning.

"Yes. I'm the youngest of Au Ra's sons."

"Hmm, I'm guessing you weren't aware of my form, but, ta-da, this is the form of your late grandfather, King Sung-Jun," the man said playfully.

The man, who was now facing them with open arms smiled widely, both Ina and Yoongi staring at him confused. He appeared to be waiting for something, maybe a reaction from the two, but both of them were more concerned than amused.

"No? Wow, you inherited your father's lack of humor. Chuckle a little, would you? Humor this old man, if that ain't too much to ask, you don't know when it'll be the last you see me. This body really isn't fit to hold two souls, let alone a familiar's third soul. Tell me, young boy, what did your mother name you?"

"Min Yoongi."

"Dreadful. Of all the names she could have picked, the name of her father. I never did like that witch, but oh well. I guess she is useful to some extent. Kept you alive and all. Now, let me hurry since I have little time in this form. No, I'm not your father even though we share the same face, yes, I am aware of what is happening in Igna as well as all the disasters that are being caused, no, I did not once appear in the past, I preferred to keep my existence quiet until I was needed, yes, I know you have a brother since I momentarily got to meet him, no, I do not know how to reverse this...spell so you're stuck with three people in a single body speaking to you, and yes, I know who the little lady next to you is," the man said.

Yoongi stood stunned, half of his question answered quickly by the man in front of him who was supposedly his grandfather, however, Ina was terrified, her hand grabbing ahold of Yoongi's empty one. Somehow, he knew who she was, something she sometimes wasn't sure of. Somehow, he knew what Yoongi was yet to find out. Ina had no idea how, but the man's eyes appeared to be growing darker, a small wicked smirk making her shiver. In her head, she could hear his voice.

"I'm guessing he doesn't know, hu? Who your mother is? But by now you must know what part she plays in all of this. She destroyed us. I hope you're not here to kill my grandson, that -little lady- I could never forgive. Even if I hate his mother, I would kill anyone who attempts to fool a Park. Anyhow, I won't spoil your little secret just yet, but just know, the Park's, we aren't to be messed with little witch."

Ina covered her ears, wanting his voice to stop.

She had put the dots together by now. Her mother, at least her biological one, had caused all of it. Elder Witch Merla, the reason why Yoongi's family had split, the cause of the uprising, and the leader of the rest of the coven. A killer, a monster, and above all, the reason her friend Jimin was dead.

Her mother, her biological mother, was the reason others suffered. She too feared that woman, feared what magic her so-called mother could have passed down to her, and feared understanding why she shared the blood of a witch no one liked. 

"Well, we have an hour to kill before the army* comes. Let us practice, shall we?" the man smiled.

"Kill time? We have a job to do here sir, and my mother is in great danger-"

"Your grandmother told you nothing, did she? Your mother was born to withstand all poison, she was the one who created the same monsters who attacked her. Not only that, she tested the poison they emitted on herself before infusing it into the soulless soldier's body. Min Au Ra was a traitor. After Merla used her, she disposed of her just like she does with all her toys she no longer finds useful. The only reason she is unconscious is due to her fighting the poison from within. She ain't as weak as I wish she was. Trust me, it takes more than a little poison to get rid of the weeds." 

Yoongi's eyes narrowed.

He was annoyed at the way the man spoke of his mother. It was like he loathed her, but he couldn't understand why. Add on all the extra information he didn't want to hear; Yoongi could only keep his mouth shut.

"I'm here to teach you how to kill, now follow my lead."

°˖✧♡✧˖° 

Since I'm struggling a bit with writing the rest of this chapter, I will leave it on a cliffhanger and restart the action with the next chapter. I hope that's ok!?

*In this instance, Army is used to refer to a group of frogs.

Songs on Spotify that correspond to this chapter: 

-Fragments by Aiobahn, KOCHO

-Vroom Vroom by EXO-CBX

-Darkblade by Savant

This chapter is dedicated to quietgirl1012 , Cooky_Seagull , and whutzgood

Enjoy.

Mama KoalaBeaw
~♔~