Grabbing the King tightly, Hyeonki sprinted down the halls of the Palace, dodging whoever threatened his path. And Erin would have sprinted after him if it weren't for Minho grabbing her arm.

"Remember," he uttered. "You can only kill him if he kills Nathan."

She exhaled loudly, slightly irritated but nodded nonetheless. She made a promise and she planned to do whatever seemed necessary to keep it. 

His hand drifted higher up her arm, pulling her closer, eyes brimming with urgency.

"I mean it, Erin. Promise me-"

"I already have."

"But I want to hear it again."

She sighed, eyes softening.

"I promise I will only kill your father if he kills Nath, alright? And I'll keep an eye out for him so no one else kills him. Anything I forgot?"

He shook his head 'no' before pulling her in for a quick yet passionate kiss. 

"What was that for?" she asked but he simply shrugged.

"In case it's our last."

She responded to that with a curt nod before running off, down the halls and in whatever direction she believed Hyeonki led the King down in. 

Her dagger felt light in her grasp but she couldn't help wishing it was her bow. She thought of the rosewood one she had found in her grandfather's chest. She had remembered Youngjae's words as she tested it out, the arrows always hitting her target no matter what angle she stood at. The man also offered additional tips upon seeing her use it, glad that even after a decade, her excitement over the bow never withered away. 

She turned a corner, having to take several steps back immediately before she bumped into Jeongin. The boy copied her act, letting out a bashful giggle.

"Sorry," he laughed. "I was just going to get you. Where have you been?"

"It doesn't matter. Where are the others?"

"In the lobby. A whole battle is unfolding out there... you should find Seungmin. He has your bow, arrows and sword."

She raised an eyebrow, "how did he get that?"

"After ringing the bell, we attacked the guards at the gate and got them back. We also opened the gates before the Busan and ex-Royal armies. Their troops are flooding the streets. You should see it. It's amazing."

"You seem to be forgetting that this is war, Jeongin," she frowned at his innocence. "There is nothing amazing about it."

"Victory sounds amazing to me," he shrugged. "Imagine how it would feel to be care free for the first time ever. Imagine how it would feel to not have to fear for your life every single day. That sounds amazing to me."

"You need to be humble about it. Most arrogant people don't make it."

"I'm not even a Guardian. My biggest task today is calling you."

"Did I not tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"The camp was still in one piece when I left you in charge. So, well... I considered making you a permanent Guardian."

His eyes widened, filling with joy, "really? You are joking, right? You want me to be a Guardian? Me? Yang Jeongin? A Guardian?"

"After all," she smirked. "We are one member short..."

"I will make Chan proud. I will make you all proud. You will not regret this," he squealed. "I'm a Guardian. I actually am a Guardian. A whole Guardian-"

"Now your first order of the day is to find Nath and take him somewhere safe. You hear me? That is the most important task of this whole war, alright? And I am trusting you with it. Can you do it? Can you save Nathan?"

He gulped, her serious tone sending chills down his spine as he nodded, "I can try."

"I'm not asking you to try," she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I am asking you to save Nath. Nothing more, nothing less. Just... keep him away from the war... And if he begs you to let him fight, don't allow it. No matter what he says or does. He can't fight, okay? Nathan will not fight in this final battle. And that's that."

With that, she gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze, sprinting down the hallway he came from and sure enough, it led to a staircase. From the railings she stood at, she watched swords collide with swords, swinging again to slice flesh. 

Agonising screams rang through the Palace, accompanied by the clank of sword hitting sword and battle cries. Erin watched with a smile lingering on her face as the Busan soldiers advanced on the Royal Army, sending them further and further back into their own domain.

But then she heard it. 

The sound of soft footsteps interrupted the screams, drowning them out as she became more aware of the fact someone was creeping up on her and all she had was the dagger cuffed in her hand. In a swift move, she turned, pointing her weapon in direction of the person, finding a smirk dancing across her face.

The latter seemed shocked at her action, taking several steps back and gulping but she held her sword up nonetheless, replacing her fear with a look of faux confidence.

A chuckle escaped Erin's mouth subconsciously as she scanned her, "your tiara's crooked, princess."

Ryujin snarled, "don't test me. I have a sword. You only have that pathetic excuse of a weapon."

"And yet I can still bet everything I have I can kill you with it."

She swung her sword and Erin brought her dagger to meet it in the air, offering the princess a proud smile before poking her side with the dagger. Ryujin yelped, taking a step back before swinging her sword again but the Guardian dodged the attack, once again poking the princess.

She had no intention of killing her. After all, the princess was just as brainwashed by the King as her brother was and had no idea who the real enemy was right now. And to be frank Erin kind of liked Ryujin's confidence. She liked the drive she had to fight a Guardian despite knowing she stood no chance.

Perhaps she didn't know she stood no chance. Whatever it was, Erin admired it. But what she admired more was people who knew their place so did she plan on teasing the princess and getting her to a position where she genuinely belives Erin was going to kill her? Of course, she did.

She aimed the sword again but missed, planting its tip in the wall,  chipping it. Erin took the chance to trip her, forcing her to fall against the red carpet. She heard her huff, mutter curses until her breath which she swore princesses weren't allowed to say.

Ryujin picked herself up, glowering at Erin. She swung her sword continuously as Erin took multiple steps back, dodging them all until she felt herself crash into a hard surface. She furrowed her eyebrows, swearing the wall was much further away only to realise it was a person, a soldier of the Royal Army in fact. He grabbed the arm holding the dagger and sunk his teeth in it. Wincing, Erin let go of the dagger and shoved him back. In front of her, Ryujin swung again, only merely missing the Guardian. 

The soldier grabbed Erin shoving her closer to Ryujin while she struggled against his grip, finally resulting to elbowing his nose. He doubled over in pain, holding his nose tightly as he felt a warm liquid trickle of out if. Erin dodged another attack of the princess' sword before proceeding to knee the soldier's stomach. All the air seemed to be knocked out of his lungs as he fell to the ground. Another swinging sword passed Erin as she stepped on his hand, forcing him to let go of her dagger. However, he had other plans.

Erin didn't know what happened. One second she was standing, the next she was staring at the ceiling, an excruciating sting pulsing at the back of her head. She guessed the man had used his other hand to pull her to the ground but she could barely process it before she saw his furious face slipping into her vision. And then she could not breathe. 

The pressure focused on her throat was unbearable and she swore that if any more force was added, the cartilage would collapse. Her hands swatted at him but he ignored it so she resorted to raising her knee to slam it into his stomach but he once again shrugged it off. She couldn't breathe and panic was quickly bubbling up inside her -- especially when she realised Ryujin was still aiming her sword at her. She had to think. Quick.

Her eyes widened when she realised both the soldier's hands were wrapped firmly around her throat. The dagger had to be discarded somewhere along the floor. Her hands patted the soft carpet around her, searching for it. She was quickly growing weak, her vision dimming but as soon as her left hand cuffed the dagger's handle, she found herself using whatever energy she had left to thrust the sharp end into his side. 

The soldier immediately let go of her, focusing on the weapon wedged into his side and crying out loud. Erin gasped for air as she scrambled to her feet but Ryujin was already swinging her sword and unfortunately for the Guardian, she had aimed it right this time. The sharp end was racing towards her and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, praying for her to miss.

She didn't. 

But that was only because before the sharp steel could even graze Erin's skin, another sword met it in the air. The clank made Erin flutter her eyes open to see a shocked Ryujin glaring at her brother.

"Minho!" she yelled. "What are you doing? You just saved her! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," he muttered, grabbing the sword out of his sister's hand and throwing it behind him, using his own to impale the Royal Army soldier. "That I'm not going to let anyone -- not even my sister --  kill the girl I love."