"I kill the people I don't trust."

Whatever response Hoseok had thought she would have, was the opposite of what happened.

Aaya laughed, "And the legend of the powerful and ruthless Jung Hoseok hits the target squarely."

Hoseok leaned back a bit, his eyes dimmed, becoming icy. His hold of her hand did not withdraw though, the caressing thumb never once pausing, "Took a long time for you to speak about it."

The pressure of the thumb suddenly increased, a wince of pain jerking her hand, "Were you scared when you found out?" his voice was low.

He wishes me to be . . . Why?

Aaya was a little confounded by Hoseok. He was polite, respectful. Never once during the time spent together did he ever cross any boundary. Nor did he ever even ask for her to reveal her face. Not a single suggestive word nor any action that might make her uncomfortable in his presence.

But curiously, he also made sure that her every sense was filled with only him. Even without actions, his focus made her feel low on air. His silent attention, his piercing eyes, rooted itself deep within her.

And now, he wanted her to fear him.

"I knew as soon as you spoke your name." She answered softly, her voice cajoling him. Without warnings, she knew she was dealing with a dangerous person.

She had known it since the time she saw his eyes in the clearing.

"Yours is a name which pulses in the veins of every person living in this kingdom. As are your tales."

Hoseok lips curved in a cruel smirk. His eyes still icy dead, "With every pulse carrying my name, comes the horror of my tales."

"Are they wrong to fear you?" Aaya unconsciously did not put herself in the reaction which most felt.

Hoseok went still at her question. Then slowly leaned forward.

The distance between them kept decreasing but Aaya held still. She understood it to be a tactic for intimidating her.

The warrior reached till her veil, his lips moving against it, the heat from his bare body from the loose robe scorching her, "You don't?"

"Should I?" she whispered back.

"You think the judgement of society to be wrong?" His voice though soft, had a throbbing vein of taunting mockery hidden in it.

"Maybe they don't understand you. Maybe-"

A chilling laugh came from the General. Goosebumps erupted on her skin as the deep sinister laughter echoed in the small room.

"Aaya . . ." Hoseok chuckled coldly, "They fear me, because they know me." he let go of her palms, to hold her wrists in his hand. The delicate bones in his strong palms felt like twigs just waiting to be snapped. "They fear me . . . because they know what I am capable of. Of what I have done,"

He raised her wrists to his lips and spoke over her soft skin, "And what I can do again."

As if anyone in this Kingdom or the warring provinces could ever overlook the impact of this General or his brutal killings.

Jung Hoseok.

He was a General that would probably be engraved in the pages of history written from the ink of amount of blood he had made flow. His prowess as a master strategist was as established as was his lust to kill.

The son of the Prominent Clan of Jung who had ever only experienced luxury and enjoyed power as the family who had generations involved as ministers or Generals, he had his own network of loyal guards and influence over the residing sector of the kingdom.

The Jung family's impact and control was perhaps a bit more than the Imperial family, which made every King fear from any retaliation from the name. The Royals were always careful with how they behaved and treated the Jungs lest they invited their wrath. The Family had always been extremely loyal, dedicating their lives in the name of their country. As long as the rule was just and benefitted the people, Jung family never thought of going against the King.

Sadly, power was always known to be a fickle mistress, teasing its master with the threat of being taken away at any moment. It inspired greed for the imaginary hypothetical future left barren in the hearts of people who feared being bereft of it.

The Royal family was no different. Ever paranoid of a revolt from the most prestigious family, it was no secret that the present King had ordered the Jungs to be eliminated in the dead of night, while they were all coming back home from a pilgrimage they made to honour their ancestors in the even of an untimely demise of a young son to a disease.

Hoseok was rumored to be but eleven. In the dark of the night, the clash between the dark clothed Imperial Bodyguards and the grief stricken and confused Jungs had been cloaked in a shadow to hide the stains of the blood it left behind.

The attacking force kept on forcing its momentum even after being cut down by the swords of power Warriors, their numbers being their strength alongside the anxious greed filled determination of the King to make his will come true.

Hundreds fell against the blades of the eight men that night, slowly their unending flow gradually exhausting the Warrior clan.

At that time, Hoseok was carried away by the trusted disciple of his father, both the disciple and Hoseok hiding nearby as they watched his father, Uncle and his brothers being slaughtered before their eyes. the women of the family were not spared too, his mother, aunt and sister being butchered.

By that time, the network of spies and support that had been cultivated by the Jungs had finally gotten an inkling of what had been taking place and had arrived en masse. That made the Imperial guards retreat as the arrival of more company had been strictly added as a sign of withdrawing gravely expressed by the King beforehand.

Hoseok was the only survivor.

The next morning, before the kingdom could be splurged with the tale of the cruelty of the King, who mercilessly killed the Pillar of the Kingdome, before he could be branded as tyrannical Lord who killed the most loyal of his subjects, the King pinned the entire blame on his brother.

The announcement was made as early as the foggy hours of the dawn, implicating the Second Prince, who had competed with him for the throne. It could be said that the Second Prince had a support and loyal backing too, his actions during the famines and his dedication in the frontlines garnering many ministers and influential families to silently keep providing him the support, hoping to utilize any future event to usurp the throne and make the Second Prince sit on it.

The cunning King had carefully formulated the plan of getting rid of two such potential blades against him in a single incident. He arranged for a public trial in which the remaining guards who had retreated when the crowd had come, were presented in front of the common people and the court.

They had all knelt down and in a clear voice, confessed to have been sent by the Second Prince as a means of cutting out the Jung family to sever one of the supporting roots to the kingdom in an attempt to destabilize the King.

At that point, everyone started having doubts to the authenticity, the confession from so many guards just before their beheading shifting suspicion from the King to the Second prince.

The King had then decreed the act as Treason and had made a moving speech about how much he had valued the contribution of the Jungs, which held the man whom he called his teacher. Of how the brutal act was not to be just considered against one simple family but that he, the King, would treat the offence as an act against the Royal family.

He promised the kingdom to investigate and not spare the culprit no matter the position he held, of serving justice to the deaths of such warriors. He promised to head the investigation and the trial swiftly, which he would personally preside over.

The next day, the King announced his brother being guilty of the crime followed by a swift, public hanging. While the body of the Second prince swayed in air, the rope around his neck stretched taut, the King did not weep but regally held his head high and smiled saying Justice had been served.

The people were moved by his dedication, won over by his unhesitating manner of retribution by ordering the death sentence of his own brother, then celebrating and honouring the death of the warriors instead of mourning the loss of his brother.

They hailed the King to be fair and true, thanking the lords above in heaven for blessing them with such an exemplary monarch.

Only the aristocratic and the noble factions were aware of the large plot the King had weaved. The command of this level of imperial guards and the approval of them being mobilized without letting any other person in the palace know, could only be possible with the King's Seal. No other authority in the palace could touch the Imperial Bodyguards to sanction them from their quarters to attack without letting the prime minister and the commander chief letter of approval be seen.

They knew of the King's ugly deed, but with two huge powers which had the potential to go against him, the Jung family and the second prince, dead, they could not protest.

But they could protect Hoseok.

The Military faction with its valiant but cunning Commander in Chief took Hoseok in. He was also guarded by the pollical aristocracy who wanted him to grow strong.

Being surrounded and educated in the eyes of the public, with the eye of every courtier on his safety, the King could not move against him. Soon, he gave up in his efforts to have Hoseok killed. After all, he was just a boy.

But what no one knew, was that the boy had a core of darkness in him, twisting him around even when his family was alive. His father and Uncle had spent considerable time training him and trying their best to make sure he grew up understanding right from wrong because they knew had seen his cold eyes.

Even as a child, his mind was cunning, his emotions icy, his aura, dark.

They had been afraid of him.

Before the ambush, his father and uncles were thinking about withdrawing him from martial arts and encouraging him to become a scholar. They knew that violence could maybe shape the child up to be even more brutal and evil.

But fate played in a manner that this secret died with them. Hoseok never expressed his emotions to the strangers. He never cried for the loss of his family. Neither did he speak of that night.

The Commander in Chief thought he was traumatized, so he never brought the topic up, never knowing that the silent child hid his true nature behind the veneer of civility.

Even in that age, Hoseok weaved a harmless pitiful identity for himself, absorbing whatever he was taught. At the age of 14, he accompanied the Commander to the war. That was the starting of it all.

The King took notice of him as he was responsible for winning the battle. Soon, with ever passing year and conflicts, Hoseok's skills as a warrior kept on increasing, taking on a dazzling turn of a macabre dance on the battlefield.

None could hold a sword against him and not be cut down. No one could stand opposite to him and survive.

The rule of the King became smoother and easier with Hoseok paving the way for him to conquer more lands. Hoseok's name alone causing many small territories to give up battle and surrender. As years passed, the King promoted him steadily up the ranks, his tales of valor and extraordinary play of strategy against the direst situation spreading rapidly in the province.

After victoriously ending each conflict, in the court, Hoseok would bow down fully in front of the King, not rising until the King would personally descend to get him up. Every single gift of the King was rejected by the young warrior who claimed to only want the love of the King.

Such worship from the youth swayed the King and blinded him to the dark eyes hiding his real intent.

Very soon, Hoseok became indispensable to the safety of the Kingdom and the key for an undisputed Rule of the king. Because the warrior had the ability to look at people and understand their hearts, he successfully foiled a lot of plots against the King.

The King saw only reverential worship in his eyes which made him feel warm and gave the youth more and more freedom to the court matters and profiles, to make it easier for him to guard against threats in future.

In six years, as a youth of nineteen, Hoseok was heralded as a God. For six years, the kingdom flourished at a tremendous speed, conquering and expanding while the King too enjoyed a peace which rulers were very rarely capable of.

It was in this time that a bigger southern province stood against the expansion, challenging the Kingdom and vowing annihilation. Being unbothered, he appointed the youth at the highest position of General and sent him to bring back success.

In that battle, slowly, the soldiers and the Commander felt a fear tingling up their spines as Hoseok finally unleashed his real nature on the battlefield.

He did not kill. He butchered.

He never maimed. He hacked the person in pieces.

He did not lead. He descended as a cry of fury, his wrath burning away anyone who stood in his way.

Wars were conflicts where taking human life was the purpose. But there was a dignity, an honor in the death. In the cause of dying for the nation. But the way Hoseok killed, he destroyed any sheds of that dignity.

The soldiers beside him too shivered in fear in the demonic way he slaughtered the humans in a gruesome manner. Bathed in blood sprayed by the unfortunate souls, he was like a sharp deadly arrow, piercing his way through the opposing army, spotting only when the field was littered, not with dead bodies, but twisted severed limbs and spilling organs.

The Commander in chief looked at the calm dark eyes which were as unaffected as if sipping tea and wondered for the first time, who he had sheltered.

That calm for the bloodthirsty General caused a ripple of deadly panic to spread. News of his heinous methods reached the Capital.

When the King saw the missive, he woke up from the pleasant time he was having to find tendrils of dread around him.

After a temporary truce, when Hoseok came back triumphant, he knelt in front of the King. When the King went to brace him to stand up, the previous warm feeling on looking in the youth's worshipful eyes was replaced by the extreme terror. The King saw his true nature.

Although expressionless, the dark eyes hid a mocking smile, the insanity in them writhing with a potent danger of death as he gazed steadily at the King.

The King, was shaken.

After dismissing him, he had tried to start making preparations in weakening Hoseok, wanting to nip the bud before it sprouted, when to his horror he found out he was extremely late.

In those tranquil six years, Hoseok had taken over the Network of spies and resources that the Jung family commanded, every information reaching the Royal Palace after being approved by him. The spies and the men in the network, with was the sole base which made the Kingdom and his rule superior, were only loyal to Hoseok, not the Imperial family.

In addition, Hoseok had established deep relations with every member of the court and all families having political way who openly supported him. The newly conquered places with the vassals under the Kindom had pledged their loyalty to only the warrior.

The eastern side of the Kingdom, which was the hub of the military power and trade, was completely under Hoseok's domain to the extent that not even a bird could fly uninvited in that territory. Though still under the Kingdom, though still paying respect to the ruling monarch, the entire Eastern Territory staunchly worked under the rule of the young Warrior. Their respect and faith carved him to be the true King than the one sitting on the throne.

The King, was badly shaken.

In the coming years, Hoseok's might grew, as did the tales of his horrifying methods of killing. He collected power with absolute control that his fear became stronger with each passing day.

The people who were loyal to them were now fixed in that state, not even thinking about defecting from his side, due to the heart stopping terror of incurring his rage.

It was well known, that he was a madman.

An insatiable insane person who massacred any family who dared to speak ill of him.

It came to the extent that any noble or minister would rather be given the death penalty or imprisonment by going against the King, rather than invoking the displeasure of Hoseok.

The Royal Family and the King lived in terror, not understanding how they had not noticed the demon who grew in front of them.

But, with the passage of years, the Kingdom and the provinces quickly understood that Hoseok had no plans or ambitions towards the throne. He lived with a simple principle of not hurting anyone who minded their own business. If no one messed with him, Hoseok would just live his life without bothering others. Even the King.

But the King could never relax. In the last eight years as Hoseok became even more insane in his thirst, his unrefuted power grew exponentially too. He was like a sword handing over the neck of the King, but he could not do anything about him.

All the history of the events that occurred was known by every person of the kingdom in details. Aaya was no exception. Jung Hoseok was a living Devil God, a legend even before his death.

She had always been curious about him, wanting to know him better. In her 19 years of life, whenever she heard his name, there had been a strange desire to want to search for him and then embrace him.

She had long labelled herself as suffering from a malady of foolishness.

One thing though, had bothered her for which she wanted an answer. The night the Jung family was ambushed and killed, why did the network not alert them? How was it possible to keep the arranged attack a secret from the family which commanded the best spies?

Aaya absently tugged at her wrists which were still imprisoned in his hands, "I find it intriguing how the questions which hold no importance is the reason which commands fears in the hearts."

Hoseok's eyes narrowed as he let go of her wrists, "My ability of the hideous deeds conducted to the degree of horror should not be the conjecture of the emotion residing in the hearts of the people?" he asked softly.

Her smile was present in her voice which prompted Hoseok to try to peer through the veil to witness it,

A wry smile in his cold face, Hoseok asked, "A question more important than the cries of not being granted rest in afterlife due to missing limbs and organs at death? I am most interested in knowing it, Aaya."

"Was any person you killed innocent?"

Hoseok stilled.

"In your terms, was anyone you killed, innocent?" Aaya repeated.

Hoseok did not answer.

Her voice had a lilt to it, the tones warm, "I am aware that your definition of innocent will vary greatly from mine. Death is death, the ten minutes of pain before it being the only variable. A swift easy death, or a one being tortured. Hence I will disregard it."

Aaya stood up from the bed and reached for the ointment and clean strips of cloth she had brought, "The method or the manner you kill is just the end result. Once the fate is decided by you, that person will die. In that circumstance, why would I fear it when that is a conclusion which is decided?"

Aaya walked towards the back of the bed and gently removed the robe from his shoulders.

The sudden exposure of olive smooth skin stretched taut over lithely packed muscles made her falter. But after 7 days of being able to see the sight, she could keep her speech smooth even though her heart thudded and her fingers itched to smooth its way down the warmth oh his back, "The question I would like an answer to which will decide my emotion of awe, caution or fear will have to be different."

Hoseok turned his head partly, intently listening to her.

Aaya unknotted the previous strips of cloth as she began to unwrap the dressing, "I would want to know why they met that fate. What they did, to make you decide such a brutal manner of killing was warranted."

As the cloth became loose, she saw the laceration which was slowly healing. At that point, Aaya wanted to bend forward to place a kiss on him.

Her voice unknowingly becoming husky, she said, "My question will be, what is your definition of innocent?"

"I am known to be insane." Hoseok replied.

Aaya cleaned the wounds and started applying the medicine. She shrugged, "I have yet to see evidence of it."

"I take pleasure in seeing a body losing its life force. I look forward to seeing the light dim in the people I kill."

Aaya suppressed a smile, "For a warrior, I am no one to comment on peculiarities related to surrounding himself with death since the early age. There are bound to be psychological consequence. What of it?"

A for a moment, he paused. Then said, "My desires are violent."

"Many people are the same. They are just repressed or better at hiding it."

Suddenly, Hoseok turned causing Aaya to stumble a bit. A big palm rested on the small of her back, steadying her. At the same time branding her with a chilling possessive touch, "Do you wish for me to accept a hidden reality of me being a white knight instead of the evil that churns inside of me?"

Aaya lifted her hand to tuck a strand of his hair behind his ears, "No Hoseok. I want you to understand that you are capable of being dark without being touched by evil."

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