[AGUST]
"They're here," was the first thing Agust heard when he stepped out from his side of the dark palace. He had heard the shouts earlier and the king was intelligent enough to know that there was more to the madness that was ongoing out there.
It was almost as if someone was trying to intentionally sabotage him, which was stupid because Agust was never bested. He was the man who got everything in order and right now, he was a pissed man who would do much worse to the people who tried to defy him.
He had not given an order on anything and the fact that the Lycans were a little too giddy for his ears made him want to burn them down. After all, without his Jiminie, Helia wasn't worth shit to him.
He wouldn't even hesitate and that was the craziest part of all this. He was in his own world, determined to make the best out of all the shit he was during but right now, he didn't care to give a shit about whatever the fuck was happening.
"What do you mean they are here?" Agust asked as he stared at So Hee and Jung Hyuk who were covered in blood.
The king hadn't noticed earlier because he was covered in his own stench, but now that he paid attention to them and their stenches, he could swear the realm was fucking with him. There was just no way, right?
"Kim. So. Hee." Agust voiced stiffly and his best friend looked at him with sad eyes, like she had happened.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. We tried to stop them, but it was us two against the entire Lycan kingdom," So Hee voiced shakily, knowing so well that this was easily the fastest way for her to die.
She would honestly have [referred to it that way. There was nothing that could explain what the fuck had happened earlier and honestly; she wanted to never be the one to give the king such news.
But then here she was, forced by circumstances because of the chaos that was in Helia. Perhaps this was just a nightmare, right? This couldn't be what had happened. The Lycans had been good people and they never went against their king.
There was just no way that they had done this when the ruling king had only been away for a day. It wouldn't make sense. Hell, it didn't make sense whatsoever, so what the fuck just happened then?
"Jung Hyuk?" Agust voiced as he conjured a hanbok to cover his nakedness which did not seem to be a bother for him. It was like the world was not spinning the right way because there was just no valid explanation for the open defiance against the king.
"It wasn't me, Ming Xiao, I swear. It wasn't me," Jung Hyuk rambled like that was supposed to save him. It was almost hilarious, for someone who had been so sure that the mad king would always, always care for him.
Well, perhaps even Jung Hyuk we intelligent enough to know when he could play games and when he couldn't with the king, especially now. The king was staring at him, his face devoid of emotion as he sniffed the foreign scents on Jung Hyuk.
It was as if he had known that this would happen, but he still had expected it from the people he trusted. Surely it was time for the king to reconsider the people he trusted, right?
"How many died?" King Agust asked and Jung Hyuk stiffened.
This was where they would either die or be forced into the dungeons. And he knew it too. This was the kind of hell no one wanted to be a part of, but as Jung Hyuk stared at the mad king, he knew he had to say something.
"Sire–" Jung Hyuk tried hopelessly.
"Numbers, Jung Hyuk. How many?" King Agust insisted, his cold nature coming to the surface. Anyone with eyes already knew that the king being cold and devoid was a sign of war and a battle that no one would ever be able to talk him out of.
"Zero from our camp, sire," Jung Hyuk voiced shakily and Agust snickered in disbelief. He was already walking toward the entrance of the Helia place and the Lycans were still shouting excitedly.
The stench of blood on them was addicting and if the past two years hadn't happened to Agust.
The king would have been more than jovial.
He would have congratulated them and thrown them a feast for being the beasts they were known to be. But then those two years happened. Those two years had been the best part of his life and he couldn't even deny it as he made his way outside.
He knew that this was the day that would determine a lot of things and boy was he a pissed man.
"How many from theirs?" King Agust asked and So Hee felt the breaths leave her.
The damage had been too much, it had been more than she had expected and it would take a while to fix. It was the kind that would result in the realm either being split into pieces or mass murders being enforced.
It was something that there was never a right answer to, and So Hee knew that none of her stalling would make Agust change his mind. This man was not just the king who needed answers and that was the only thing that made So Hee fear for all their lives.
They would be used as examples in a game that knew no mercy and life would never, ever be the same. It hurt to think that this was what Helia had become, but all was supposed to be fair in war, right?
But what of love?
Wasn't it all supposed to be fair there too or was just that a saying that benefited a single camp that many had to embrace at the end of the day then?
"Sire–" So Hee tried too, even though she knew that he wouldn't stop asking the questions. She knew what the answer would do to them, but at the same time, she had warned the Lycans about what they had gone to do.
She had tried to let them know that the king needed to approve, and they had been rebellious.
If only they had listened, they wouldn't be at this point and So Hee wouldn't be feeling like the world was out to gag them and force them into doing the worst kind of shit. Then again this was what life was like, wasn't it?
"Two thousand out of the five thousand count," So Hee said, ever so carefully as she stared at her king whose focus was on the Lycan outside.
She knew that this was the worst thing that could have happened to them but then what else was she supposed to say?
"And Him?" Agust asked, careful not to speak the name that would forever be driving him crazy.
Jung hyuk frowned at the king's question, but he didn't dare to voice his displeasure, they had all gone against the rules of existence and frankly, whatever Agust chose, would be within the laws of Helia.
But that would also mean hell for many.
"No, sire… but…" So Hee trailed off.
"But what?"
"He was hurt very badly. He might… he might not survive the night," So Hee said.
Agust stilled.