NOVEMBER 01, 2:50 AM

SUNGGYU CLOSED HIS EYES and took a deep breath as the rain dropped on his face. He was standing ten meters away from a demonic mark in the middle of the streets of Seoul. Behind him were a group of Red Ranger (Kharon II's men) and a handful of angels. He was assigned to hold off the middle area of the city, which wasn't an easy task especially when there are only at least fifty of them in this team. 

     "Prince of Wrath, are you ready?" an angel asked as she stood beside him. Sunggyu opened his eyes and looked at the angel to nod his head. Of course, Sunggyu was nervous, but inside of him knew that this war was going to be different. No one was going to die. They've prepared for this war for more than a month. They can't fail now.

     "Tell everyone that-" before Sunggyu could even finish his sentence, the ground suddenly started shaking. Everyone held their ground as Sunggyu looked at his watch. There were only five minutes left before the marks open. The battle was finally about to begin.

     "Alright everyone, this is it! Ready your weapons!" Sunggyu shouted, transforming to his demonic form and summoning his saw-like weapon, making the humans behind him gulp in terror. The angels could feel it too, but the human felt something worse. Sunggyu was a prince, which makes him a powerful demon. The dark aura he was emitting was no doubt suffocating for them.

     "Get ready everyone," Sungjae told the sons through his mind messages.

     "May God of Heaven be with us and our spirits," this time, it came from Dongmin, and everyone answered a quick, "Amen."

     Sunggyu looked behind him and saw a few of Kharon II's men trembling in fear. He wasn't planning on making a speech for anyone, even to his brothers, but he knew these men needed it now.

     While the ground continued to shake, Sunggyu spread his wings and flew above his team, immediately making them look at him. With their attention now on him, he stated, "Those who are afraid can walk away now. I will teleport you to a safe place and know that you are not cowards for walking away. You have the freedom to leave, and know that your courage even after you walk away will be appreciated."

     The crowd didn't say anything, and no one moved a muscle even after what the Demons' leader said, so Sunggyu nodded his head in understanding. "I'm assuming this is your answer, so listen carefully. Your presence in this war will be greatly appreciated in heaven and even in hell. You will be rewarded with more than gold, and you will be part of history that will be shared for generations to come. We will win this war, and if you believe that's the truth, then let that be God's will. Let that be your will." Sunggyu finished, and finally, the humans lifted their weapons up and shouted in confidence.

    "Alright everyone, the demonic marks will open in five..."

     four...

     three...

     two...

     As soon as the clock struck three, the demonic mark in front of them was set on fire even when it was under the rain. Soon after, the grounds opened, and ghoul's started coming out.

     "Charge!" Sunggyu shouted, and his team ran towards the ghouls who were running towards them.

     Sunggyu flew down, stood in front of the ghouls who were approaching him, and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and whispered something, and when he opened his red eyes, he swung his sword, releasing a force so strong it sliced almost all the ghouls who were at the front.

     The people who saw what happened gained more confidence after seeing the demon's strength. So when the ghouls finally approached them, they started attacking with no fear. Thanks to Lay, their guns and swords were blessed, so a single hit killed most of the ghouls in an instant.

     Sunggyu went closer to the mark and killed as many ghouls as he could to help his team. Other ghouls who went out had wings like the ones they encountered during their arena battle with Sinner number 07 (Bobby Kim), but thankfully the angels handled it for him.

     "Sunggyu, how you holding up?" Sungjae suddenly asked as Sunggyu sliced a ghoul's head off.

     "N-Not...a good time...to talk S-Sungjae," Sunggyu struggled to answer as he tried to push dozens of ghouls who were trying to attack him.

     "Sorry but I'm only here to warn you that..." Sungjae paused, probably looking at Woohyun so he could confirm it, "Three large Gate Keepers will be coming out of the mark. I repeat, three large Gate Keepers will be coming out of the mark."

     Sunggyu released his fear amplification, making the ghouls around him who were tackling him all drop at the same time. As soon as they were on the floor, he sliced them with no mercy.

     "Anything else?" Sunggyu then asked while holding onto his ear like there was an earpiece. Sungjae was quiet for a second again, so Sunggyu thought that something worse was about to happen. But what Sungjae said left the demonic leader speechless.

     "Woohyun said that after this war, he'll officially start courting you since you've been too stubborn," Sungjae suddenly blurted out.

     Sunggyu was about to answer but the three large Gate Keepers appeared right on time. Sunggyu flew from the ground and smirked before saying, "Well, tell him I hate fucking roses." Then he flew towards the large demonic creatures like he had nothing to lose.

     MEANWHILE...

     TEAM MARK, 3:30 AM

     Mark paralyzed dozens of ghouls and turned them to stone as the men of Ravens crushed them into pieces. Mark was about to approach a hoard of ghouls, but someone suddenly shouted, "Prince Mark! A handful of the men are now injured!"

     Mark looked back and saw dozens of humans bleeding at the side of the bridge. Mark was assigned at the demonic mark that's placed at Hangang Bridge with at least thirty members of Ravens. Their team was the smallest group since they were placed in the middle of the bridge. Taeil suggested keeping the numbers smaller to avoid more casualties.

     Mark flew to the injured men and immediately paralyzed everyone who was about to run towards them. Without wasting any time, he called out for Sungjae. "Sungjae, we're injured in Demonic Mark 7. We need Lay."

     It didn't even take Lay a second to teleport his way to where Mark and the injured were. The war has only started, but Ly was already covered in blood. But the two didn't have time to chat. While Mark protected the humans, Lay took a deep breath and started glowing. He bright light passed through the injured humans, and in an instant, they were healed. Lay pressed his two fingers on his ear and heard another message from Sungjae, so he patted Mark's shoulder before teleporting away.

    The humans immediately went back on their feet, astonished that they feel better after what happened. When Mark saw that they were okay now, he immediately told them, "Suho already taught you this. Slice or shoot the head, if not strike the heart. Those are the easy kills. Put your force on the swords and not on your hands alone. Let's go!"

     "Yes, Prince Mark!" Everyone shouted, and everyone immediately started attacking the hundreds of ghouls that are in front of them.

     The battle lasted for twenty more minutes. Mark was finishing off a handful of other ghouls until Sungjae shouted in his head, "Mark! Evacuate the bridge immediately! I repeat, evacuate the bridge immediately!"

     Mark's eyes widened from the news, so the angel immediately looked back at his team and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run! Run off of the bridge now!"

     The Ravens were confused for a second, but after seeing Mark's panic expression, the humans pushed off the ghouls and started running. Mark flew up and struck lightning to the ghouls who were chasing after his team. But while they were running, the bridge suddenly started shaking.

     "They're not going to make it," Mark stated as he watched his team run off of the bridge. They were still on the bridge, but the bridge was already shaking so much that most of them were stumbling and couldn't even stand.

     Mark was frozen for a second, but as the rain poured in his face, he snapped back to his senses and did the sign of the cross before flying towards the humans who couldn't stand anymore.

    "Stand firm!" He shouted before standing in the middle of everyone. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to teleport his entire team to safe grounds. The ground sparked, but nothing happened. Mark wasn't strong enough to teleport thirty humans. He could do at least two to three at a time, but it would be too late for most of them.

     "Come on!" Mark shouted, the veins on his neck and arms already showing. Thunder was heard in the distance, and with one final push, the ground produced lightning, and every one of his team got teleported away to safety.

     Mark fell on his knees as blood started oozing out of his nose. That act alone exerted a lot of his energy, but he's glad that he was able to save everyone else.

     The bridge was still shaking, so Mark composed himself and wiped the blood on his nose before flying off the bridge. The angel thought that the bridge would break, which is why Sungjae asked them to evacuate, but Mark's jaws almost dropped when he realized that an enormous creature was emerging from the waters.

    "Oh God, please protect me."

     TEAM TAEIL, 4:00 AM

     Taeil just killed a large lion that had two heads when the ground started shaking again. Taeil and his team were stationed near the Seoul tower just beside Kai and Tamo's team who were stationed close by.

     The ghouls in their area were almost cleared, but as he was getting ready to approach the remaining ghouls, one of the angels in his team approached him and said, "Prince Taeil, we have a problem."

     "What? Did someone die?" Taeil asked with a worried expression since most of the humans in his team were already badly injured and Lay was still busy healing the others at other Demonic Marks.

     "No, but I think the team at Mark 7 needs your help," the angel explained.

     "Mark 7? That's the Hangang Bridge, right?" Taeil confusingly asked, so he immediately flew to see what was going on, the angel flying right beside him. When they were already high enough, Taeil couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Is that a fucking Octopus?!" he shouted when he saw an insanely large octopus clinging on the bridge. His eyes then widened when he realized something terrible, "Do you understand what this means? There aren't just twelve demonic marks. There are thirteen marks, maybe even more. They're just underwater."

     "Prince Taeil, we'll handle the rest here," the angel stated, and Taeil nodded his head and immediately teleported himself to where the octopus was. When Mark saw him, he immediately flew to him and said, "Great, you're here. Do you have any plans to kill this thing?

     Taeil tried to assess the situation before giving Mark an answer. This was one of the biggest creatures that they have ever seen, so doing physical damage won't do much. All they have to rely on now is their powers.

     "Where the fuck did the king find this thing?" Taeil commented before adding, "Mark, listen carefully," Taeil stated while he was staring at the creature.

     Mark was flying right beside him. He didn't say anything as he waited for Taeil to tell him the plan. "I have the power luring. I don't know if I can lure a creature like this, but I'll try. You on the other hand have to turn each of his tentacles to stone. Can you do that?" Taeil asked him.

     "I don't think I can turn his entire body to stone, but I can with his tentacles. Just remember, it will be a slow process. If he moves too much then it might not work," Mark warned him, so Taeil nodded his head in understanding.

     "That's where I'll come in. If I can't lure it, then I'll try to act as a distraction. Now, let's go!"

     The angel and the demon flew in opposite directions. Taeil flew to where the creature was facing while Mark flew to that back of it. Now that Taeil was closer, he realized that this wasn't an ordinary octopus. Its skin was rougher, and it had sharp teeth. When it saw Taeil, the creature immediately shouted, its voice echoing throughout the city.

     "Not bad," Taeil managed to say. He looked directly at its eyes and tried to use his demonic power to lure him, but Taeil couldn't go in. The creature was still too strong, so he knew that he had to weaken it first.

     "Well, plan B. In the movies they always targeted the eyes, so let's try that first," Taeil stated as he quickly flew towards the creature. When it saw Taeil coming towards him, it lifted one of its tentacles and got ready to hit Taeil with it. Thankfully the demon was able to dodge it, and thanks to Mark, the creature didn't even notice that its tentacle is already made of stone, so when it made contact with the bridge, its tentacle shattered into pieces.

     The octopus-like monster shouted in agony while Taeil celebrated.

     "That's it! Good work Mark!" Taeil shouted, going towards the creature again so he could do the same thing. Taeil looked back at Mark first to see what tentacle he was working on. When he saw what it was, Taeil moved to that direction so the creature could use it. And as predicted, the creature tried to hit Taeil again with his now stone tentacles. Taeil dodged the attack, and its tentacles shattered again.

     "That's what I'm talking about!" Taeil celebrated. But the creature wasn't as stupid as he thought. Instead of trying to attack Taeil with its tentacles, the creature started removing the arches of the bridge so it could throw it at the demon instead. Taeil was surprised on the sudden shift, so when a large metal bar came flying towards him, he barely dodged it on time, causing a large cut on his arm.

     Taeil cursed and immediately ripped a part of his shirt and used it to cover his arm so it could at least stop the bleeding. "Alright, now it's serious. You want to play with a prince? Then let me show you what foul play is," Taeil stated in anger. He took a deep breath and with no second to lose, he started teleporting from one place to another. He was so fast that Mark couldn't even see him anymore. Ever time Taeil would teleport; he'd land a strong attack on the creature with his hammer-like weapon.

     Thanks to Taeil's attack, the creature was getting weaker, so when Taeil saw his state, he teleported right in front of it and used his demonic power on him again. Taeil tried to grab hold of him for the second time, and finally, after clenching on his weapon so hard, Taeil was able to take control of the creature.

     "M-Mark! I can only make him stop moving. Turn i-it to stone now!" Taeil started as he continued to stare at the creature.

     Mark immediately held the creature as its skin started turning into stone at a very slow pace. The creature was trying to remove Taeil's control on him, but Taeil was holding onto him tight to the point where blood was already coming out of Taeil's eyes.

     "C-Come on! Just a little more!" Taeil shouted, strengthening his luring power as much as he could.

     "God! Give me your strength!" Mark then shouted right after, his eyes lighting up as soon as he did it. His hands started lighting up as well, and the process of making the creature into stone became faster.

     When the process was finally complete, Mark shouted, "Taeil! Now!"

     Taeil immediately released his hold on the creature. And with one strong swing of his hammer, Taeil smashed his weapon on the creature's head, giving it a large crack. Soon after, the cracks dispersed, and the creature shattered and fell on the waters.

     Taeil looked at Mark and grinned. Mark smiled back at him, but then, Taeil's eyes started to close, and before Mark could even say anything, the demon started falling from the ground out of exhaustion.

     "S-Shit...Taeil!" Mark shouted, flying towards the falling demon as fast as he could. Before he could fall, Mark was able to catch him. Taeil weakly opened his eyes back and chuckled, "I am so going to brag to Suho that I was able to lure a creature as big as that," he managed to say, making Mark chuckle with him.

     "Good job demon. Now let's call for Lay and get you healed," Mark stated, getting ready to call them. But before he could even call for Sungjae, Sungjae went in first and messaged Mark and Taeil. "You two, if you want to live, fly away from the waters now. You hear me?! Fly away immediately!" Sungjae shouted.

     Mark was so shocked that he couldn't even move from where he was. But before Taeil could even snap him back to his senses, the two saw something immerging from the waters. There were at least six more octopus-like monsters coming out right in front of them.

     "No...it's like how I predicted," Taeil stated with shock.

     "You got to be kidding me. We can't win this," Mark added, ready to fly away with Taeil in defeat. But as soon as they were about to leave, the dark clouds above them suddenly moved away, letting a bright light shine towards them.

     Soon after, seven angels started flying down from the sky.

     "F-fathers?"

- END -