by Con Template
As Chae Young smothered her cries of shock in response to everything Yoori unloaded onto them, Jae Won’s eyes enlarged at the fact that his brother and his brother’s pregnant girlfriend had been kidnapped. It did not help that his King was not only going after them alone, but that he was also in morbid danger.
“I know where The Stadium is,” he told Yoori. He and Chae Young helped her up. “Let’s go,” he urged as they helped steer Yoori to their car. “We have to go now.”
After Chae Young joined Yoori in the backseat to help nurse her wounds and unfasten the handcuffs hanging on her wrist, Jae Won stepped on the gas of the car. The tires accelerated beyond warning. With a single jerk, the car took off and became one with the wind.
Yoori’s frantic mind was running while she sat in the back.
We need help, she concluded urgently.
The war they were in was too calamitous to fight alone. She needed someone else. Even if they couldn’t do much damage, they could act as a distraction to help disrupt the event. At this rate, Yoori was willing to utilize anything to secure the chance of Hae Jin, Kang Min, and Tae Hyun making it out of The Stadium alive.
“Call the cops,” she instructed Chae Young, whose eyes broadened at Yoori’s command.
“W-what?”
“Call the cops,” Yoori repeated again to her best friend. “Tell them that the ones behind the massacres these past few weeks are gathering at one location. Tell them that tonight is their one and only chance to catch these murderers before they lose them forever.”
“Can they really do anything against the Underworld, Yoori?” Chae Young asked quietly, already seeking the purse that held her phone.
“I don’t know,” Yoori said honestly. There was not much hope in her response, but at this point, even a little hope was better than none. “But we’re out of options. If they can at least distract the Underworld by coming in while everything is still in session, then there might be a chance that we can all make it out alive.”
Nodding, Chae Young dialed the police and spoke to the operator.
The rest became a big blur to Yoori when she closed her eyes. The only thing on her troubled mind as she used her last vestige of strength was Tae Hyun. She was in no condition to fight. Regardless, when faced with the prospect of losing the person you love with all your heart, your limitations in life take a backseat.
Every part of her better rationale was telling her that she didn’t stand a chance against what was to come. Despite the odds, her instincts ignored such logicality. The only thing that made sense to her was Tae Hyun. The only thing that made sense to her was doing everything in her power to protect the one she loved—even if that meant giving up her life to save his.
Tae Hyun, I’m coming . . . I’m coming.
“. . . To let the other know when Paris has been found?”
30: Kingdom of the Fallen Gods
The Stadium was an elliptical amphitheater inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. Built on top of the green mountains with an unobstructed view of the god-like skies above its grand infrastructure, The Stadium was located in a secluded terrain that humans could only dream of seeing and Gods could only hold their breaths in anticipation of one day residing within. It was enormous, it was majestic, and it was all too divine.
The magnificence of this imperial amphitheater was further accessorized by the massive, royal-gold onyx tiles that swept over the arena, acting as the center point of attention in this grand venue. This towering stadium was further complemented by the tiered seating arrangement that embraced the entirety of the arena. In a perfect and sequential order, the ascending stair of seats rose from the ground floor and swung up towards the star-canopied skies where the cold wind, the fresh cool air, and the touch of the heavens could be felt with ease.
The arena was grand and powerful enough to rival the Colosseum, which was exactly what it did as every plush and expensively constructed seat was occupied by close to 17,500 Underworld Royals and soldiers. The only uninhabited seats were the ones at the further end of the amphitheater, opposite from where the King of Skulls sat. Only one throne sat in that area while the ten seats behind it were also unoccupied. They were reserved for the group of people who had yet to make their appearance.
Yes, the presence of the Underworld in distributed numbers was powerful, but the presence of the Underworld in a gathered and united number was simply divine power at its most potent.
Due to the fact that it was the official meeting facility for the entire population of the Korean Underworld, it was rarely opened for anything. There were only two exceptions: the crowning of a new King in the Underworld, and the trials and punishments of Underworld leaders. In essence, it was an arena built to honor the Gods who have risen to power as well as an arena built to punish the Gods who have fallen from grace. It was a stage constructed to either shower the rewards of heaven or to execute the punishments of hell. The latter was what drove the silent anticipation as the gathered society sat there and waited for judgment day to come.
All eyes were rested on the ground floor where the notorious King of Skulls sat on a gold throne. Adjacent to him were four people: a pregnant Kwon Hae Jin, her boyfriend Kang Min, and two guards.
Hae Jin and Kang Min were both dressed in comfortable jeans and hoodies, like they were prepared to go on a long flight as opposed to being kidnapped. They were sitting on the floor, tied up with sturdy ropes. Behind them, two Skulls—Ji Hoon’s most trusted soldiers—Yen and Ash held guns to their heads. Hae Jin and Kang Min’s eyes were wide and their faces were pale. It was blatant in the fear within their gazes that they were praying that a certain couple wouldn’t show up to save them, for they knew the fate of anyone who dared to walk into this arena.
Whilst they sat there completely powerless, the cold, dark eyes of the infamous Lee Ji Hoon were dead set on the entrance in which one could enter onto the stage of the arena. There was a lingering look of satisfaction marked on his handsome face. Dressed in black from head to toe, his ankle was propped over a knee while his arms rested on the armchairs of his throne like the King he was.
All around him on the first ascension of seats, which rose up six feet with a black marble wall acting as a divider around the enormous arena, sat all the Royals in the Underworld. They sat in thrones of their own. These powerful individuals consisted of the influential Kings and Queens in the different layers, the influential elders who have become legends in this world, and the various Royals who were visiting from all the other countries’ Underworlds. In that circular and powerful row also sat the three elder Advisors, all of whom were sitting far enough from each other in an effort to bond with the rest of the Royals in attendance.
Shin Jung Min had a proud smirk on his face while he chatted with his fellow Advisors. Shin Dong Min had a despondent expression on his face as he spoke to some of the 1st layer Royals. Finally, Seo Ju Won wore a dissatisfied and very angry expression on his face as he stared unblinkingly at the entrance.
Ju Won was known as the creator of legends, and he could not have been more embarrassed by what transpired during the battle of what was supposed to be the most epic battle in history. The King and Queen he invested so much pride and hope in gave up a throne that countless others would give their lives for. And for what?
Love?
The one human emotion that had been drilled into their brains that they shouldn’t fall victim to?
The thought disgusted him on all levels. He did not bother to hide this displeasure from his face, and he didn’t hide it when he met with Young Jae and Ji Hoon.
After calling a meeting with him, they had essentially told Ju Won that with or without his support, Ji Hoon was going to become the new Lord of the Korean Underworld. The end was guaranteed, but they offered him a token of peace to placate all that had taken place.
Before his official crowning, Ji Hoon promised Ju Won, as well as the entire Underworld—all of whom were in an uproar over the failure of their King and Queen—that
his main priority was punishing Kwon Tae Hyun and his second priority was punishing An Soo Jin. This was when the once stubborn eyes of Ju Won, as he was still on bad terms with Ji Hoon and Young Jae, grew with malice while the rest of the Underworld elders listened in interest. They all wanted the fallen Gods to be punished, and they were more than willing to support Ji Hoon so he could bring that punishment to fruition.
Calling a summit, the Underworld elders amended the conditions of what Ji Hoon needed to do to regain their support. They were not a society that would give handouts so easily, and they voiced this to Ji Hoon by telling him that he would work for his throne, just like any other Royal. They went on to decree that his first priority was to get Kwon Tae Hyun and An Soo Jin onto that onyx stage. Once they were there, the rest of the conditions set forth would commence. The former King and Queen of the Underworld had to be shown the error of their ways—they had to be punished.
Indeed, the anticipation was high as the entire Underworld awaited the ones they were all ready to kneel before at one point—the ones they once looked at as the most powerful King and Queen to ever set foot in the Underworld, the ones who disappointed and angered them beyond all levels of tolerance, and the ones who would be the pendulums that would set this eventful night into motion.
The silence mounted.
And then at last, when the clock struck 2:00 A.M., sounds of footsteps emerged from the entrance of the amphitheater. All eyes of the Underworld landed onto the opulent arena. They watched quietly as one of the fallen Gods—the once great and revered King—finally appeared.
Kwon Tae Hyun.
Dressed in all black with an air of superiority radiating from him, the fallen God marched onto the intimidating and hushed arena with fearlessness. His head was held high, his unyielding eyes refusing to allow even one shred of trepidation to shine through.
At the sight of him, sounds of shuffling and whispering swept through the once quiet and orderly arena. Though the majority of the Underworld was poised with keeping their excitement intact, resigning to staring with quiet anticipation, as soon as they saw the fallen King, many of the younger soldiers and 1st layer heirs were filled with excitement. The younger crowd came to life in the upper echelons of the arena. Below them, their more powerful elders maintained their composure by merely staring down at the fallen King with reserved amusement.
Poised or not, the consensus was the same: the arena had come to life, for they knew the entrance of the King only meant that the night they had been waiting for was about to start.
Tae Hyun stopped at the center of the arena and faced the ocean of spectators around him. His eyes perused over the colossal arena while all 17,500 pairs of eyes rested upon him.
Three years ago, when he was crowned the new King of Serpents in this very same venue, he sat on a throne like a God. Now, after his display of humanity and weakness by being unable to kill the Queen of the Underworld, Kwon Tae Hyun no longer stood before them as a God. He stood before them as a once legendary King who gave up everything to merely be a fallen God—to be a simple man.
“Boss, no,” Kang Min whispered after his swollen eyes fixed on Tae Hyun. Panic clawed him while hysteria plagued Hae Jin.
“Oppa! Why are you here, oppa?” Hae Jin sobbed, tears rippling in her eyes. There were traces of dried blood around her lips and bruises on her skin: all signs indicative of being beaten recently. She was in no condition to be worrying about anyone else. Despite being held hostage by Ji Hoon, Hae Jin was more worried for her brother’s life than her own safety. She began to shake, her eyes urging him to leave while he still had a chance. “Just leave! They’re going to kill yo—!”
Hae Jin and Kang Min were abruptly silenced when Yen and Ash tied black cloths around their mouths, effectively gagging them. Soft moans and groans could be heard as they tried to fight the bounds that held them. Their eyes gazed at Tae Hyun. Though neutralized, they were still silently telling him to leave them and escape while he still had the opportunity.
A fleeting flicker of emotion leapt in his eyes. He stared at them, registering all of their wordless admonishments with a stoic and emotionless face. After this short-lived emotion passed from his eyes, he regained the entirety of his composure, gave them a stern look that pretty much said, “I’m not leaving the two of you,” and then veered his attention back to the arena before him—back to the crowd that resembled nothing short of an imperial council.
The soldiers that he used to rule over stared down at him, disappointed with his decision to abandon his legacy, and in turn, abandon them. His mentors, his supporters, and his Advisor fixed their gazes on him, anguish teeming in their eyes with the fact that the protégé they loved so much had given up everything to merely be a man standing amongst Gods. The powerful Underworld that he used to preside over gazed down at him with a mixture of pity, excitement, disgust, and curiosity that someone this great could make such horrible choices and fall so far down from grace. And finally, the group with the most power tonight and the ones who would ultimately decide his fate—Ji Hoon, Jung Min, Ju Won, and the majority of their supporters—could only stare down at him with arrogance and bloodlust in their eyes.
It was an understatement to say that the Underworld had divided feelings towards the former King of Serpents. Some wanted to give him another chance while others wanted to execute him for his actions. However at odds the Underworld was in terms of wanting Kwon Tae Hyun to be set free or to be punished, the end result was the same: the law only existed with the King who sat in the stage of that arena.
No friends, no mentors, and no supporters could leave their seats and run onto the ground floor to save Tae Hyun. If they even attempted to do so, it was in the unwritten bylaws of the Underworld that they could and would be executed for disrupting the stage that was only meant to be governed by the chosen King or a chosen elder crime lord of that country’s Underworld. This was the precise reason why Tae Hyun’s closest friends from the 1st layer—Choi Hyun Woo and Daniel Lee—were strictly prohibited from coming to the summit tonight in fear of them doing anything impulsive. It didn’t matter how divided the powerful society was because the majority was still out for blood. Fortunately for them, Ji Hoon was also out for blood.
The law was him, and the law from the King of Skulls mandated that tonight, there would be hell to pay.
“It feels like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve been here, standing before you like this,” Tae Hyun began diplomatically, behaving in the manner that he was always trained to be—a King amongst Gods. Stripped of his title or not, Tae Hyun still knew how to behave in front of his Underworld. He knew the things to say to show them that even without a throne and an army to command, he was not an individual who would be easily intimidated by them.
An expression of neutrality solidified on his face, his eyes drifted through the entire arena. His body spun in a slow circle while he stared back at the close to 17,500 people in the vicinity. He briefly dropped his gaze to Ji Hoon, who was still sitting comfortably on his throne. His silence persevered while he stared at Tae Hyun in amusement.
“Things,” Tae Hyun continued, unimpressed with the sight of Ji Hoon being the only King on the stage, “have definitely changed since three years ago.”
“You have disappointed us, Tae Hyun,” came Ju Won’s icy voice. In the first ascension of seats, Ju Won’s arms were rested on his own throne while his critical gaze burned through Tae Hyun’s from the distance. Tae Hyun reminding him of how much things have changed became the catalyst he needed to break out of his silence. “Years upon years were invested in you to become a King. Countless upon countless Underworld soldiers have died to get you to the precipice of your career and in a matter of days, you have not only managed to insult all our teachings, but you have also managed to spit on everything we’ve done for you. We spoiled you, we gave you everything, and this is what you ultimately choose?” There was revulsion in his voice when he added, “What do you have to say for yourself?”
Tae Hyun regarded Ju Won with no fear or apology. His head held high, he said, “I don’t regret anything. If given the opportunity, I’d repeat everything in a heartbeat.”
Ju Won smirked dryly. Behind him, the majority of the Underworld reprovingly shook their heads. Tae Hyun’s indifference was insulting to them.
“Never the one to be smart and see the error of your ways, are you, Tae Hyun?” Jung Min inquired, voicing everything the majority was thinking. His voice vibrated with vile distaste. He looked at Tae Hyun like he was the worthless disappointment he had always suspected him to be.
Instead of responding to the Advisor, and no longer feeling the need to prolong this superfluous chat, Tae Hyun got right back into the business of why he came. He averted his attention to Ji Hoon, who was still seated quietly—and quite smugly—on his throne.
“Let them go,” Tae Hyun said tightly, finally addressing the one who orchestrated everything and brought him here in the first place.
A smile curved on Ji Hoon’s face. He leaned forward, making no effort to command for Hae Jin and Kang Min to be released.
“Do you know why you’re here, Tae Hyun?” he asked casually.
“Let my sister and Kang Min go,” Tae Hyun repeated again, this time more severely. “You wanted me. Now I’m here to take their place. You don’t need them anymore. Leave them out of this mess and take me instead.”
“On the contrary, Tae Hyun,” Jung Min launched ominously from above, “there is someone else we want just as much as you.” His face turned cold. “If not more than you.”
