Xander snapped his fingers and a whole new room appeared right before my eyes.

Mark and Kun were right beside me, but we saw the shadow of someone hanging above us.

We all looked up, and it as Leiyong!

Not only was he hanging from the ceiling, tied up in what seemed to be tape, but he was also out cold!

"What the hell happened that fast?! We just got here!"

Mark exclaimed.

As if on queue, the culprit exited his body as a thin thread.

The thread assembled together and soon created a person. He had on all black and had a mask that covered most of his face.

"There's your answer Mark"

Kun stated.

The guy sighed and scratched his neck, but then used his fingertips to shoot tape out at us.

We dodged the strips, but the tape homed in after us.

"Are we really running from tape???"

I asked.

"Do you wanna end up like Leiyong?"

Kun answered my question with a question.

He had a point.

I kept that in mind as I continued to evade the strips of tape.

Mark froze and shattered the tape coming after him, Kun touched the tape coming after him and made mushrooms grow on it to stick to it, and I sliced every inch of tape coming after me with the help of my lunar vision.

However, the guy managed to immobilize Kun by folding his hair into a thin thread, and impaling him in what seemed to be one of his pressure points.

What the hell is that power???!

"I'm coming hyung!"

I ran over to attack him.

He looked like he wasn't going to put up a fight. Doesn't matter to me though. He's only making this easier.

"Xiaojun-hyung! Hang on a second!"

Mark jumped in front of me to protect him, preventing me from attacking.

Luckily, I swerved my blade to the side quick enough so I didn't accidentally cut him.

"What's the big idea Mark??? That cut would've been lethal if I hadn't swerved my blade in time"

I scolded him.

"You're telling me that you don't notice his attitude and demeanor??? He's not trying to hurt us intentionally!"

"The hell are you talking about??? He's on Xander's side! Why wouldn't he be trying to hurt us?!"

"Please... You're friend is right... I didn't want to do this, I swear..."

The guy spoke, capturing our attention.

Mark insisted that he continue with his explanation.

"...My name is Noir. Xander created me and gave me my powers, after taking them from someone else. My powers are Tape and Foldabody. Tape is self explanatory so I'm not going to explain it. But Foldabody grants me the ability to manipulate the thinness of my body, as well as stretch my limbs. I can make my body completely flat and fold it into different forms. This allows me to pass through narrow spaces and move quickly while remaining undetected. And I can shift my body into multiple shapes in an instant, giving me enhanced mobility, striking precision, and flexibility"

He explained.

So that's how he immobilized Kun and knocked Leiyong unconscious.

But that doesn't explain how he got his powers. The only person that we know that has the ability to take powers from one person and give them to another is Leiyong's deceased father.

So..., that could only mean, that his father is alive, and is still causing trouble... But..., he just said that Xander is his creator...? And..., we would've known if Leiyong's father was alive.

He's supposedly a powerful demon like Renjun, Zuho, and Zhenya. We would've known if he was alive, by sensing his immense power...

This is so confusing...

Xander can't be Leiyong's father, right...?

"I'm sorry... This wasn't the life I wanted to be born into, but... I can't go against Xander's commands, or he'll kill me......."

Noir continued, seeming to become very depressed and stressed out.

He seemed to be so overcome by his depression, that he released just Kun and Leiyong without us having to make him do it!

He gave Leiyong to me and began to walk away.

"I'm sorry I caused you all trouble... Maybe I deserve to be killed by Xander......"

This is sad.

He doesn't want to obey Xander, but he also doesn't want to die. He wants to have a better life, but he feels that there's no way out for him.

"Noir, wait"

Mark grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

Noir looked back at him with a pleading look in his eyes.

"This isn't your fault... You deserve a chance to live the life you want. We can't just let you stay here and suffer like this"

"...What are you saying?"

"We're gonna get you out of here. We'll protect you and help you in any way we can"

Mark smiled at him.

"Y-You mean it???!"

Noir's eyes seemed to light up with hope.

"I do~. My name's Mark, and these are my hyungs, Kun and Xiaojun"

"And this is Leiyong"

I introduced him since he was still knocked out.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm sorry again for hurting most of you..."

He apologized again.

"Don't worry it~. Now, let's get you out of here"

Mark insisted, holding his hand to lead him out.

I feel that Noir has a type of connection with Mark now. They are a bit similar in a way.

Mark felt trapped by his power back when he was a little kid, and Noir felt trapped by being born into Xander's services.

I bet Mark wanted to help someone who felt the same type of pain and fear that he once did. They just might become great friends later on down the line.

-

Back on the Ship

-

There was a lot of chaos when we got back to the ship.

Taeil, Yuta, Sicheng, YangYang, and Ten were all out of commission, and Doyoung got turned into a fucking bunny. Not to mention, Leiyong is now out of commission too, and he didn't even get a chance to fight!

They all may have won their battles, but I didn't expect our numbers to be dwindled by this much!

"This is bad. We need either Renjun or Luoyang here as soon as possible"

Hendery panicked a bit, but I tried to calm him down.

"He's most likely facing off against Seifer right now, and Luoyang is probably trying to help him. There's no telling what trouble he's facing right now. We have to hold out with the equipment we have until they win their battles"

Eunji calmly insisted.

Mark's attention was suddenly averted back to the castle instead of us.

He seemed very worried.

"Hyuckie..."

He mumbled.

"What's the matter?"

Yuta questioned, wincing at the pain in his arms.

"I gotta go. Donghyuck needs my help"

He apologized for having to leave and headed towards the ship's exit.

"Mark, wait"

I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Listen... I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. Just..., make sure you all come back here alive"

Mark only smiled and lightly punched my shoulder.

"Count on it hyung~"

He left the ship and ran back towards the castle.

He really cares about Donghyuck...

"He'll do it. There's just something about him. If he can think it, he can make it happen"

Noir suddenly stated, popping up next to me.

This kid really is something. I can't help but smile at his reassurance.

"You don't even know a thing about him, and yet, you're absolutely right~"