The witch after Seungcheol opened his mouth, ready to issue his command, but Seungcheol put up a hand, cutting him off.

"Enough. I've grown tired of these boring tasks," he said, and the younger witches to his left pouted at having missed their turn. "Let's try something more interesting, shall we?"

He gestured to Jeonghan, who paused before snapping his fingers.

Before each boy appeared a knife lying blade-down in the sand.

"You each have a knife," Seungcheol explained calmly. "Here are the rules: you can use it against whomever you please, but if you choose not to use it at all, you will be killed. The only way you can survive is if someone's blood ends up on your blade. And it must be a mortal wound, not a mere scratch."

The boys stared at him with wide eyes, some shaking in fear while others clenched their jaws, already preparing for the next few moments.

"Ready? Begin."

Taehyung could only watch for a few moments as the chaos unfolded. Several of the boys, as expected, grabbed the knife and rushed against their witch. None managed to land a blow. Some of the boys, the stronger ones, the smarter ones, turned against each other, realizing that it would be easier to injure a fellow human being than a powerful witch. Screams rang out as human cut down human, as whatever illusion of shared suffering they'd initially held shattered. One boy ignored the knife altogether and tried to flee. His witch snapped, and he dropped face down into the sand. He didn't move again.

And Hyungwon.

The thin boy looked down at the knife, his muscles contracting before he reached for the blade.

Finally, Taehyung thought to himself, trying to ignore the surrounding bloodshed. Hyungwon would grab the blade, somehow manage to mortally injure Seungcheol, and then they could all-

Hyungwon plunged the blade into his own stomach.

A strangled cry came out of Taehyung mouth before he slapped a hand over it, trying to conceal his complete and utter horror. He watched as Hyungwon's frame trembled as he slowly lowered, falling to his knees, still holding on tight to the handle with both hands.

And Seungcheol just smirked in Changkyun's direction.

Taehyung shivered as a dark pulse of energy echoed out across the arena, an impulse that Changkyun hadn't been able to control, and the witches grew quiet, reading the magical signature and waiting to see what would happen.

"Is something the matter?" Seungcheol spoke, looking up into the rows of seats, but Taehyung couldn't follow his gaze. He was still trying to reason with his upset stomach, trying to wipe the sight of Hyungwon stabbing himself out of his mind, but how was he supposed to do that when he could see his friend's blood slowly blanketing the surrounding sand?

Changkyun appeared in the arena, his eyes the purest ebony.

"Shit," Hoseok whispered, biting his lip. "This isn't good. Changkyun wasn't supposed to-"

"Just be ready to move," Kihyun said, eyes following Changkyun.

"Stop this," Changkyun commanded, his voice layered with dark undertones as with when Hyungwon had first gone missing. Even now, the sound forced Taehyung back into his seat, terror struck in his heart.

"And why would I do that? I'm rather enjoying myself," Seungcheol replied, smirking as he set a hand down on Hyungwon's head, and Hyungwon whimpered.

The sound drove Changkyun forward two steps. "He is not yours."

"I created him," Seungcheol replied before tilting his head with a smile, eyes still locked on Changkyun's as he pulled Hyungwon's bad ear.

A soft sob and a muffled scream as Hyungwon bit down on his bottom lip, bowing his head down to try and relieve the pressure, but Seungcheol didn't let go.

"This is between you and me," Changkyun snarled. "Leave him out of this."

"You want me to let him go?" Seungcheol asked with a predatory grin, and Taehyung felt his stomach drop once more. Nothing good could happen when Seungcheol was enjoying himself. "Fine," Seungcheol said, letting go of Hyungwon's ear, looking down at the boy. "Look at me," he commanded, and Taehyung flinched as Hyungwon's head snapped up, his eyes meeting Seungcheol's. "I don't want you anymore," Seungcheol said with a cruel smile. "You're worthless to me. Useless."

"N-No," Hyungwon gasped, scrambling up to his feet with a slight lurch as more blood began pouring out of his wound. "You said- you said you wouldn't throw me away, you-"

Seungcheol slapped Hyungwon so hard that the boy felt back into the sand. "I didn't ask you to speak. This is why I'm throwing you away, because you can't do what I tell you to do."

"P-Please," Hyungwon choked out, struggling back up and crawling towards Seungcheol on his hands and knees. "Please, don't throw me away. I'll be good, I promise."

"No. I'm done with you," Seungcheol said, already walking away as Hyungwon tried to crawl after him.

"Hyungwon," Changkyun called, teleporting right in front of him. "Hyungwon, I-"

Hyungwon flinched, falling back and shuddering at the sight of him. "No, no," he muttered, his eyes wide as he fought to keep his distance from Changkyun.

"Hyungwon, it's me, Changkyun, I-"

Hyungwon jerked back once more, attempting to put more space between them, but he couldn't move fast with his injury. His eyes went past Changkyun to Seungcheol. "Please," he begged. "Please, take me with you!"

Seungcheol looked over his shoulder, smirking at Hyungwon before looking over at Changkyun. "You can have him," he said in a sweet voice. "He's all yours."

"No!" Hyungwon screamed, shaking. His entire shift was now painted in red. "No, you can't-"

"Hyungwon, it's me, I-"

"Stop," Kihyun said, teleporting between them and casting symbols in the air.

"Get out of my way!" Changkyun yelled, reaching once more, but Kihyun pushed him back, glaring at him.

"You didn't even realize that you'd activated your magic. You could have killed him if I hadn't stepped in and nullified your power, Changkyun," Kihyun snapped.

Changkyun paled, looking down at his now-normal hands. "I..."

Kihyun looked over at the seats and gestured. A moment later, Hoseok appeared, followed by Hyunwoo, Minhyuk, and Jooheon, who had teleported Taehyung with him.

Hoseok rushed past Kihyun, immediately casting symbols and causing a white light to emanate around Hyungwon.

"Get him out of here," Kihyun said, nodding towards Taehyung while locking eyes with Jooheon, who cast a quick look at Hyungwon before nodding.

"Wait!" Taehyung said, putting a hand on Jooheon's arm, trying to get closer to Hyungwon.

He saw Hyungwon's eyes meet his, his dark orbs full of panic and desperation and unimaginable pain.

"Hyungwon-" Taehyung began, but as he reached out, he found himself back in Changkyun's apartment, his hand reaching toward the wall instead, the bloody boy gone from his sight.