There are no words Jungkook can use right now.

The blood dripping down on his stomach isn't his own. It's Jimin's. His brother's. 

Jungkook's mouth falls open, his mind begging his body to move, but he can't. Jimin gags, coughing out blood. Even Jimin seems amazed that the creature stabbed him right through the chest. Jimin holds the claw in place, shakily glancing up at the class 6.

"Jimin!" Raven's voice shrieks as she fires arrows off to hit the demon. It doesn't care. It doesn't even budge. 

Jungkook mentally screams at himself to get up, to help his brother, but it's too late. The class 6 pulls back, Jimin staggering. Then, he falls to the ground. 

"No!" Raven shouts in a sob as she sprints over to him. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the Hunters focus on the giant demon, knowing that if they don't act, everyone will end up like Jimin.

"No, no, please. Apollo and Griffin... no, not you too," Raven cries, pulling Jimin's limp body onto her lap. 

Jimin pants, turning pale already. Jungkook helplessly watches. A spike of rage hits him at the thought of Griffin, Apollo, and now Jimin being gone. A fury he can't describe. It's pure, raw anger that rips through to his core. 

His eyes burn from how red they turn, his flames, tail, and horns coming back. An explosion goes off inside his mind and body, and a roar of demonic origin gets torn from his throat. Even the class 6 appears surprised by the sudden outburst.

Jungkook doesn't pay attention to Raven and Jimin. Rather, he feels himself able to stand. No—able to fight. He soars up, grabbing his sword and letting more flames sprout from his body. He growls, gritting his teeth and glowing brighter than anything else in the area. 

"Jungkook!" Hoseok yells, throwing a dagger to him. Jungkook catches it, nodding his thanks to Hoseok before zooming to the class 6.

The giant mass of grotesque black skin covered in smoke goes to attack him, but Jungkook lets out a battle cry and dodges the claw. He dances around the demon, pure wrath hitting his veins until he's blinded by it. Jungkook screams while he fights back, hitting the class 6 over and over and over again with his flames.

With a grunt, the demon strikes back. Jungkook manages to get away, amazed to catch a glimpse of his fellow Hunters going to scale the buildings still standing. He gulps, gripping his sword tighter. A new level of his powers kicks in, but it doesn't feel like the final step. Jungkook clenches his jaw, wondering what else it'll take to reach his full potential.

Jungkook zips around the battlefield, taking a few scratches and hits from the demon. The thing focuses on wrecking havoc. It fights Jungkook, kills fleeing civilians, and knocks over buildings. Luckily, not the ones his family is on. No, he can't lose anymore family. He can't.

He does a barrel roll, stabbing the class 6's arm. It screeches and flicks Jungkook away. Jungkook holds his ground. 

Why won't his powers completely kick in? Why? Jungkook almost cries out of frustration and stress, the pain of losing Jimin not fully hi-

A sudden sharp pain hits his heart, and he screams from the burn.

The class 6 is equally as confused as him. Jungkook stumbles his way over to a rooftop, collapsing onto the gravel and heaving from the pain twisting and turning inside him. He bawls his eyes out, holding a hand over his chest. Is this the end? Where he really dies this time? 

The demon comes over as fast as it can, about to swipe when the Hunters make their attack. They jump off the buildings they scaled, hopping onto the massive thing's body and going for weak spots. 

In despair, the demon shakes and shudders. And that's when Jungkook notices it: all the wounds he gave it are gone. Jungkook's eyes widen. That thing can fucking heal?! No wonder why no Hunters were ever able to beat it until there were almost none left. They have to go for its head.

Jungkook feels the pain subside. Then, his powers kick back in. He shakily stands, looking down at the ground. Raven's sobbing, holding Jimin's limp body against her chest. Jungkook almost falls back down. Jimin... that's what Jungkook felt. 

He felt Jimin die. 

His powers burst free, Jungkook gasping for air. So that's what was holding him back. It's like the death of Jimin fueled him enough to get to that final level of power. The determination to honor his fallen brother overtakes him. 

Jungkook lets out a breath as the class 6 successfully shakes the Hunters off. The two glare at each other until Jungkook grips the dagger Hoseok gave him and his sword tightly. Jungkook narrows his eyes.

"Come get me, motherfucker!"

~~~

Raven cries, Jimin's heart breaking at the sight. Not that he can feel much other than pain right now. 

The pain is spiking up and down his body as blood dribbles across his skin. She's holding his hand tightly, trying to squeeze some life back into him. 

"Please, please don't do this, I-I just got you. No, please not you, anyone but you," she pleads in a sob, whimpering with a quivering lower lip. 

It's safe to say they both ignore the way Jungkook and the rest of the Hunters are fighting the class 6 right now.

He weakly smiles at her, trying to reassure her with just his expression. "I love you, princess," he whispers, her sniffling and nodding. 

"I love you too," she replies, kissing the back of his hand. 

He knows he's going to die any minute now, but he wants to spend each second with his love. The one he wanted to marry.

Jimin doesn't regret his choice. He saw Jungkook was about to be killed, and he was the only Hunter fast enough to take it for him. Jimin's sword broke earlier; he didn't think to take one of the other's swords. It all happened so fast. Jimin moved on instinct: he dashed in front of his brother. 

He didn't think about the consequences, or even dying. Now, here he is. And he doesn't regret it. If he did, that'd mean Jungkook would be dead. Jimin would rather die than let Jungkook, the prophecy, get killed by what he's supposed to annihilate.

"Kiss me. Baby, please kiss me," he begs. One last time is the part he doesn't add.

She sniffles and hesitates. Then, she comes down and gingerly presses her lips against his. He kisses back as best he can, but he's weak from the blood he's losing. 

He feels lightheaded, his vision blurring. Jimin closes his eyes to focus on the kiss. It brings him a comfort he didn't know he needed. At least he'll be able to leave knowing that he did the right thing.

Raven pulls back and places a hand on his face, her desperation glimmering in her eyes. Funny how he's had so much to say to her. How much he loves her, how he's gonna marry her, how he wants her to be the mother of his children. Now, that's not happening. All because of a rift. All because of a stupid class 6. The worst part is, now that he's facing her seconds before death? He has no idea what he wants his last words to be.

"I'll never forget you," she murmurs, wiping away a tear that strolls down his face. 

He whimpers, holding her hand tighter. "I-I'm scared." 

She swallows, and it sounds painful. She nods and shushes him. "Shh, I'll be here the whole time, okay? You're not alone." He nods while she keeps repeating "you're not alone."

His girlfriend keeps rocking him back and forth, his vision wavering. 

"Baby," he mumbles, staring up at the whiteness calling to him. 

She softly cries, trying to hide it from him as best she can. Jimin shifts back, his blinking slowing down. 

"I love you," she repeats. 

He doesn't reply. His body goes limp, the white getting larger until he can't see his girl anymore. He panics and pants. "I-I can't see you. Baby, I... I can't..."

Jimin registers the feeling of her squeezing his hand, her fingers brushing through his hair. 

"I'm here, I'm here. It's okay, Minnie. It's all gonna be okay. You're not alone," she says, sounding strong despite the pain she must feel.

"I'm sorry," he mutters, feeling himself slip away. 

His eyes stay on the white until he can make out a hand coming towards him. Almost like an angel's. He softly gasps, Raven coming closer. 

"Baby." Now all he sees is white, barely anything left in his body. "It's beautiful," he says with all his remaining strength. 

As soon as the words leave his lips, he falls into the light.

~~~

Jungkook feels flames firing around him, his eyes pure fire like the rest of his body. The brightness descending over the land makes him seem like an angel. Maybe even a God. He's not sure if he likes either of those ideas. Regardless, he keeps fighting. Soon enough, an arrow flies by his head and he gasps, backing up. When he glances down, he's amazed to see an angry, heartbroken Raven sobbing while firing arrows at the beast.

Taehyung rushes to her to stop her. Firing arrows in emotional highs will lead to possibly hitting Jungkook, just like she almost did. He lets out a breath of relief and mentally thanks Tae before getting back to work. The other Hunters are doing a good job at keeping pressure on it. Some of them keep climbing buildings and jumping on it, like Hoseok and Namjoon, while others are taking the chance of getting stomped on by stabbing at the creature's feet. Y/N leads that team.

Jungkook flies backwards, dodging another claw. Jungkook blocks the next one with his flaming sword, his family getting kicked away. Jayden, who's injured, takes the bow from Raven and provides the firing support. Another thing Jungkook's grateful for. The other Hunters do their best to injure the class 6, but due to its healing abilities, not much progress is made. Jungkook lets the anger fester inside him, and seconds later, he lets it spring free.

Despite more tanks and jets showing up to help, some military men even getting on the ground to fire at the thing, it's pretty much useless. It succeeds in distracting and shocking the creature, but there's only so much non-Hunter weapons can do. Even nukes might be useless against this thing. Probably. Well, Jungkook doesn't want to find out.

He dodges another volley of attacks the class 6 sends, ducking down and stabbing it in the stomach. It howls, knocking Jungkook to the ground. His wings protect him, but they still throb from hitting the concrete so hard. He grunts, moving just in time for the demon's foot to try and stomp him. 

"Jungkook!" Y/N calls. 

He flies over, grabbing her and flying up into the sky. A pant leaves his dry tongue as he holds her with one arm while his hand holds the dagger, his free hand holding his sword. 

"Together. We do this together," she says. 

He gulps down the lump in his throat, and together, they dash toward the class 6, Y/N holding on tightly to both him and the sword she took from Jayden.

Jungkook flies faster than before, practically screaming as he dashes toward the demon. It predicts his attack, knocking him away. Out of fear for Y/N, he holds her up against his chest. 

"I'm alright," she reassures, "the class 6 is our top priority. Let's take it down, yeah?" 

He nods in agreement, watching his family struggle to keep up with the beast towering over them. 

"Jungkook, we have to do this now," she whispers. "Get to the top of its head and kill it. Put me on its back so I can distract it." 

"Babe, it'll throw you off. You'll die," he urges. 

She shakes her head. "Just do it. We don't have any other option."

He really, really doesn't want to agree, but he knows deep down that she's right. Together, using Jungkook's newfound power, they zip over to the demon. Sensing that Jungkook and Y/N have a plan, the other Hunters increase their attack strength enough that the demon gets distracted a few seconds longer than normal. Jungkook sends a mental thank you to them before dropping Y/N off on its back. 

"Hurry and I'll live! No pressure!" she calls.

Jungkook takes her advice, flying up to the demon and getting to the top of its head. But of course, it's able to reach up and grab him. Time seems to slow down. Jungkook feels his body starting to get crushed as Jimin's did. 

His eyes see something behind the head of the demon... something glimmering white. Jungkook freezes, seeing the face of Lillian there. She's surely not actually here—she said herself she can't interfere—but she's in his head, giving him a reason to keep fighting.

Jimin... Apollo... Griffin...

They didn't die for nothing. They can't die for nothing. Jungkook won't let them. 

Time resumes, the class 6 growling while trying to crush him, but it can't. Why? Because Jungkook's wings glow so brightly it blinds everyone around him momentarily. Then, he cuts the class 6's hand clean off.

It shrieks in surprise, Y/N stabbing it in the back to weaken it further. The other Hunters, now having an advantage, keep stabbing at what they can get, Jungkook going for the head. 

The demon screeches and blocks, Jungkook raging as he fights. The fight storms on, brewing up more and more by the second. The class 6 is panicking, trying its best to find an escape. 

"You're not getting away, not this time," Jungkook says in a demon-like snarl. Why it hasn't shifted yet doesn't make sense to Jungkook, but he decides to take it as a sign that this is the last fight. Here and now. It has to die.

Jungkook pants as he flies around, dodging more attacks as best he can. He gets hit, all the air getting knocked from his lungs. He recovers just in time for another hit to come. Jungkook cries while fighting, clanging his sword off the one remaining claw the demon has. It's trying to regenerate its hand, but it's struggling to do so.

He keeps up his barrage until he flies right for the head, dodging one last strike. Jungkook's blade sinks into its skull, the class 6 stalling for a moment. Jungkook lets out a breath, digging it in deeper. Come on... just a little bit further. 

Jungkook grunts and gives in to his demon instincts while pushing it in. But he doesn't get the chance to finish the job. The demon grabs him, making him let go of his sword.

Using the dagger Hoseok gave him, Jungkook tries cutting free from the creature's grip. He can't. He gets squeezed so hard that he drops the dagger. Jungkook pants, about to give up when he hears a shout. He looks down in time for Raven to take her bow back from Jayden, firing an arrow right in his direction. Jungkook catches it, mentally thanking her before throwing the thing into the class 6's eye. It cries in pain and lets go of Jungkook.

He flies back, heaving from the exertion. Jungkook feels his body giving out on him, and he begs it not to. Despite his pleas, his body starts to catch up with him. The pain he's in both mentally and physically, it's running after him. But he doesn't need to worry because his girlfriend, Y/N L/N, somehow manages to climb up to the demon's face. Jungkook gasps in surprise, watching the woman grab the edge of Jungkook's sword. 

"Y/N!" he yells in dismay, astonished by the way she's moving.

He can hear her scream while she shoves the sword into the creature's head more, it thrashing violently from the pain hitting its core. Jungkook wills himself enough strength to fly over, grabbing the edge of the sword with Y/N. The two stare even though the demon is shaking, and together, as if mentally in sync, they push the blade in all the way.

The screams coming from the demon genuinely terrify him for a moment. Then, it goes completely still. Jungkook waits for the dust, but it takes its time coming. It starts off as a few specks, waiting several seconds before it slowly but surely fades away. Jungkook takes his sword and Y/N, flying down to the ground to watch the beast fade away completely.

The other Hunters gather round, observing the destruction of the giant thing together. No one speaks. No one has to. It's a peaceful silence that Jungkook's more than happy with. The only bad part about this is it doesn't feel like a win. They may have killed the demon, but at what cost?

Jungkook's eyes wander around the area. Three deaths. Three people died, and everyone's injured. Jayden can barely stand, opting to lean on a blank Raven. Her face is void of any emotion, she's the only one not looking at the sight in front of them. 

Jungkook frowns, noticing how Taehyung is missing two fingers, Val healing him and glancing at the monster at the same time. Hoseok, Namjoon, and Jin are all covered with blood from head to toe, and most of it is theirs. Namjoon is bleeding from his stomach, Hoseok has more cuts and torn up clothes than Jungkook's ever seen, and poor Jin's hair is reduced to practically a buzz, burn marks covering his left cheek and neck.

When the class 6 finally fades, Jungkook's powers fade with it, him heaving and falling to his knees. Y/N rushes to his side and holds his hand to try to keep him somewhat upright. 

"Wha... what do we do now?" Jungkook asks in a whisper, unable to bear the thought of more demons. Speaking of demons, the few surviving military men who were firing at the class 6 come over, the seeming leader of the squad stepping up.

"Madam L/N, we got word from Mr. Lee that the rift readings have completely disappeared," the leader says. Everyone freezes up. 

"What? How the hell is that possible?" Y/N asks. 

The leader shrugs. "I have no idea, ma'am. Mr. Lee's trying to figure it out himself. Something about a wave of energy we've never seen before bursting out and destroying it." 

"It was destroyed? Not closed?" Jungkook asks. The Hunters slowly turn to him. 

"Save our kind... the prophecy said the half-breed would save our kind," Val mumbles.

"W-What, you're saying when I blew up, the energy sent a shockwave strong enough to not only travel all the way to the rift, but destroy it too?" Jungkook asks.

At the silence, he takes it as a yes. Jungkook slumps over, staring up at the sky and letting out a breath. 

"It wasn't me," he whispers, tears clouding his vision. "I was only able to do it because Jimin, he..." 

At the mention of the fallen Hunter's name, Raven loses her mind. She breaks down, falling to the ground and dropping all her weapons. Jayden's the same way, most likely thinking of Apollo. Y/N's doing her best to stay composed for Jungkook, but he can tell she's caught up on Griffin. Everything's falling apart.

Jungkook cries, Y/N doing the same. The Hunters all cry, mourning their lost brothers. He sobs, the pain of losing Jimin hitting him where it hurts most. He places his hands on his head, not listening to anything else. Thanks to Jimin, Jungkook's alive and the rift is closed. The victory of defeating the class 6 doesn't even matter right now. Apollo's gone. Griffin's gone.

Jimin's gone.

~~~

You can't even begin to imagine the pain they're going through right now. Sure, you're in immense physical and mental pain from today's events, but what about Jungkook, Raven, and Jayden? Those three are locked up in the infirmary, but they haven't spoken to anyone since the incident.

It's been three hours since the class 6 died, and each hour has gotten worse. The first hour was you getting a scolding from Mr. Lee because of your lying and the Hunters being treated for their wounds. You assured him you had no more secrets, but the truth is you broke his trust. It was either his or the Hunters. You stand by your decision. Even then, Taemin isn't too pissed about it. He's mad, sure, but he also understands. He'll probably be mad for another couple months before fully trusting you again. Not that it matters—the rift is fucking gone.

The second hour was an improvised funeral for Jimin, Apollo, and Griffin. You wanted to have it as fast as possible to respect them. They'd want the group to at least attempt to move on. Only problem is no one's moving on, which leads you to now: hour three. 

After narrowly escaping from the military, the Hunters managed to make it back here while you distracted Mr. Lee. They deserve to still have their location kept a secret, it's only fair. Now since there's no demon threat, can they start living normal lives?

Stepping inside the infirmary, your eyes peek around. Raven's sitting on a stool in the corner, staring blankly at the floor. Jayden's on one of the beds, the other Hunters with him other than Jin and Val.

Honestly, you're not sure how to feel right now. A lot of psychology studies show that the 'numb' reaction to heavy trauma is common. So, it's nothing to be concerned about. There's one less thing to stress over. It doesn't change how bad the weight on your chest weighs down. It's pulling you down further and further, its hand clenching around your heart and squeezing until you can barely breathe. And that's only one feeling you have out of the dozens. The physical part of mourning is often overlooked, but you feel it, and you feel it deep.

"Raven," you say, trying to ease her into speaking again. She keeps her eyes on the floor. You sit next to her, making sure not to push too hard. "I'll leave if you want me to." 

Based on the way she doesn't react, you take it as an invitation to stay. Despite staying, you keep your mouth shut for several minutes. It's a silence for Jimin, her fallen lover. You think the silence is going to last forever, then, she speaks. 

"I wanted to be the mother of his children," she whispers. It's not in a pained tone. She's stating facts with no emotion in her voice. She clenches her hands into fists. "I... I wanted to be the mother of his children." 

When you see her start to break down, you wrap an arm around her, pulling her up against you in what you hope is a comforting manner. She softly cries, the sounds leaving her mouth causing you to cry with her. 

"I'm so sorry," you mumble, knowing it means nothing. It won't seal the hole created in her heart today. She lost her childhood love because of a class 6 demon, and all she could do was watch. God, you'd do anything to bring Jimin back, but even Hunters have limitations on that.

Griffin. He flashes through your mind. Your older brother... the one who gave you the ring on your finger. You sniffle and push the thoughts away, trying not to dwell. He'd want you to move on. After all, he's in a better place with his sister. That's all he's ever wanted. Now, he has that. You should be happy for him. So although it's sad he's gone, he chose a good time to go. You even crack a gentle smile. Despite everything, you know it'll be alright.

It has to be, otherwise what's the point of living?