Chapter Text
Between seeing that purple haired hunter, a hunter with demon patterns, go up against Gwi-Ma and actually get a good swipe at him or seeing Jinu reclaim his soul only to give it to that girl, Mystery was in shock. In shock not just from the events occurring around him, but also the sudden feeling of freedom in his mind the moment Gwi-Ma was weakened. Gwi-Ma’s hold on Mystery’s soul was slipping. Mystery caught sight of the short haired hunter- Zoey was her name- wielding her blades at him. Gwi-Ma’s last command echoed in his mind- stop them! Mystery’s legs rushed towards the hunter, claws raised to attack. But the demon king’s control faltered again. Mystery couldn’t dodge fast enough as he regained power over his limbs. The moment that girl’s fist grazed his jawline and he felt his head tipping back, Mystery panicked. His eyes widened in realization. His veil of hair had lifted, and eyes locked with the hunter at arm’s length away.
Zoey gasped, her eyes lighting up. “You’re just my type! Oh well!”
The hunter’s voice barely registered before Mystery teleported where stood, a hair’s width of space left before Zoey’s blades could slice him and send him back to the demon realm.
Mystery’s boots thudded in the grass outside the Namsam tower. He gripped his chest with one clawed hand, the other smoothing his bangs into place over his face, ragged breaths calming little by little. Beside him, Mystery heard the displacement of air as the other three remaining Saja boys teleported onto the grass. Abby and Romance appeared in a tangle of limbs. It looked like Romance had tackled Abby and teleported both of them out to avoid fighting that scary pink haired hunter. Smart choice. Baby appeared moments after.
Mystery turned his face back towards the tower, hearing the echoing chorus of the hunter’s new song. All three Huntrix girls were now singing together as one. Clashes of iridescent blue light met bursts of red flames as they fought Gwi-Ma’s attacks, each swipe weakening the demon king. Even from outside the area, the Saja boys could hear the shouts from their master. As the song was nearing its apex, each Saja boy held their breath. They could see the trio ascend above the opening of the arena, glowing impossibly bright with the power of their fans’ souls fueling them. With a final burst of energy, the Huntrix released the power of the souls their song had touched and a new Honmoon descended. Each Saja boy flinched and braced to be pushed under the layers of this world back to the demon realm.
But the Honmoon came and passed. They felt the rush of energy beneath their feet as the fragmented barrier between realms sealed with iridescent power. Yet each Saja boy remained standing in the grass. After a moment, each demon looked down at themselves, patterns and claws still present, then at each other in confusion.
“We’re still here?” Abby spoke first, wonder and awe carrying in his voice.
“It appears so.” Romance removed his hat, looking back up at the tower and then down at the shimmering Honmoon below. “So what do we do now?”
“I’m sure as hell not going back in there.” Baby muttered, shrugging off his own hat and tossing it onto the grass.
“What about Jinu?” Mystery added quietly, barely audible above the roaring cheers and whoops coming from within the area as Huntrix finished their song and descended back into the arena.
At the mention of Jinu, all Saja boys turned back to Namsam tower.
“Is he even..?” Abby muttered. All of the Saja boys saw Jinu’s sacrifice. The leader of the Saja boys somehow got his soul back and chose to help Huntrix with it. They all saw his body disappear into the flames of Gwi-Ma’s attack.
Each Saja boy closed their eyes, heads turned down.
“Wait.” Romance picked his head back up, eyes opening wide. “I think I can still sense him. He’s weak, but I think he’s still in there!”
Mystery reached out with his mind, sending a small pulse of demonic energy towards the arena, grasping for any shred of demon energy from the tower. He could sense the other three Saja boys next to him, weakened from the fight they just barely escaped from. Sure enough, Mystery felt two more demonic presences from within the arena. One was a bright presence and immensely strong- that must be the half-demon hunter. But the second demon energy he could sense was barely there. So weak he could have missed it under the overbearing aura that the lead Huntrix girl gave off.
“He survived.” Mystery simply stated with a nod.
“We have to get him back!” Abby stepped forward, muscled arm raised and ready to jump into action. But then he faltered, one knee hitting the grass as he stumbled over his feet. Romance came to his side, looping himself under Abby’s arm to help him back to his feet.
“I don’t think we’re in any shape to go into another fight right now.” Romance chastised Abby, thinking about how close they both came to turning into demon dust.
“But that means the hunters have him!” Abby protested.
“I don’t think they’re going to hurt him.” Baby added, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. “We saw Jinu protect that hunter from Gwi-Ma. Fuck, he even gave her his soul! How did he even do that?!”
“Do we go back to the demon realm then? Or rather can we even go there now?” Romance pondered, scuffing his boot into the grass where the glow of the Honmoon had settled and faded into place.
“I don’t want to go back.” Mystery muttered with a frown.
“But Gwi-Ma will just pull us ba-…” Romance trailed, eyes widening as he brought a hand to his temple.
“Holy shit” Abby gawked, bringing his own hand to his face. “I don’t hear him!”
“Me neither!” Baby’s eyes went impossibly round from shock.
“Is Gwi-Ma actually gone…?” Mystery looked down, his brows drawing together in thought.
The Saja boys stood in silence, their minds only containing their own voices for the first time in decades to centuries.
The doors to the arena opened and the sound of thundering footsteps and cheers escaped into the outdoors. The fans were leaving the arena shortly. The humans would be outside any moment. Each Saja boy looked at each other, waiting for someone to take charge.
No one moved.
“Ugh, you old men are useless!” Baby groaned, rolling his eyes. “Come on, I know a place we can go.” Baby grabbed each of the demons by the arm to huddle them together and teleported them all away.
—
As the Saja boys landed in a new location, Mystery reached out to steady Baby who immediately swayed with exertion.
“Damn…That was harder than it used to be” Baby panted, hands on his knees and sweat beading on his brow.
The Saja boys took in their surroundings. They were inside a dimly lit building. The windows leading to the outdoors were haphazardly boarded, nailed with flimsy plywood that blocked most of the outside light. A few rays of stray light bled into the space, climbing over rows of dust-covered desks and scattered office chairs. Cobwebs filled every corner of the walls and furniture except in one section of the room. One side of the room had been cleared of debris and a lumpy couch sat against the wall with a pile of pillows and blankets beside it. Wrappers of snack foods and empty soda bottles were strewn about on the floor. Each Saja turned to stare at Baby.
“What? You all either bicker, brood, or sneak off all the time and I got sick of it so I found this place.” Baby huffed as he composed himself, wiping the last bit of sweat from under his bangs. “Don’t worry, I’ve never seen a human come in here; it seems pretty abandoned. I stashed some snacks over there.” Baby pointed to a dusty break room. “There’s not enough blankets and the couch is mine so figure out your own spot to crash.” Baby shrugged off his jacket and fell with a whumpf onto the lumpy couch, dragging a blanket from the pile to curl up into the cushions without another word.
—
Mystery sat in one of the discarded office chairs. His fingers drummed a line along his knees where they rested. Baby snored softly from his couch, not having moved in hours. Abby rummaged through the break room assessing the snack situation. Romance busied himself by swatting away cobwebs with an old broom he found in a closet. Romance cursed when a cobweb stuck itself to his hair, complaining to himself that he just got his hair fixed up after changing clothes.
Mystery pondered the new clothing he was given. Simple and comfortable. A pair of loose gray wash jeans and a light blue oversized hoodie had been shoved into his arms from Romance, muttering something about a severe lack of form flattering options. Romance had teleported into a clothing store since all of the nearby businesses were still closed for the night, lamenting that if they now had free will they would not be wearing those dreadful demon robes any longer.
Free will.
What did that mean now? None of the Saja boys reported any more whisperings of Gwi-Ma’s voice into their head in the hours since the Honmoon was sealed. They hadn’t been pulled back into the demon realm to face the consequences of their escape either.
Mystery absently pulled the sleeve of his hoodie in between his still-clawed fingers and rubbed the fabric. His mind wandered. Trains of thought that would have brought sadistic glee for Gwi-Ma to latch onto and twist were able to run through his mind without interruption. The softness of the fabric between his fingers brought a sense of calm from a long protected memory. Down-soft fur running beneath his palms. The patter of rain hitting a rooftop overhead. A distant voice soothing him to sleep, telling him he is safe now.
A crashing sound made Mystery bolt upright from his seat, his chair toppling behind him. The muscles in his back and shoulders tensed impossibly tight and he felt the shimmer of his demon patterns flare against his skin.
“Oops…sorry” Romance muttered, broom in hand and reaching down to pick up pieces of a broken ceramic lamp.
“Oi, keep it down!” Baby grumbled from the couch, jolted awake from the sudden noise. “We’re trying to lay low, remember?”
Mystery took shallow breaths through his nose, willing his muscles to relax little by little. It was just an accident. No one is hurt. It just fell off of a desk. Everyone is okay. You’re okay.
—
“We can’t just stay holed up in this shitty office building forever!” Abby groaned three days later. “Plus we’re out of the good snacks.”
The Saja boys huddled around the center of the room, arms crossed and feet tapping impatiently.
“I agree,” Romance nodded his head. “We should find Jinu. I think we’ve rested long enough to try.”
“I assume he’s with Huntrix. We did kind of leave him for dead. Or mostly dead.” Baby shrugged, kicking a dust bunny away absently.
The Saja boys quieted for a moment, eyes drawn to the ground. None of them had spoken of Jinu since they fled Namsam tower. They knew he was alive, but didn’t voice aloud that they had abandoned him until now. Because after all, they did abandon him while he was weakened and at the mercy of their enemies. The space around the Saja boys glimmered with a faint glow of demon patterns stirring as they all followed the same thoughts and felt the same shame that came with them.
Jinu was the one to unite the Saja boys. He was their common thread. He found each of them in the demon realm and took them under his wing. They followed all of his plans and didn’t question his motives. They put their trust in him and Jinu trusted them in turn. Jinu gave them a purpose and an escape from the torment of the demon realm, even if they couldn’t escape from Gwi-Ma’s voice in their heads during their escapades performing as the Saja boys. And they left him behind without much of a second thought.
“We find Huntrix then.” Mystery lifted his head in resolve. “We find them, we find Jinu.”
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