“I forgot to kill you two years ago. Might as well get it done here.”
Tayang fired, only to see Suruj be enveloped in white. It was not particles, but a pair of wings.
Tvuj held him up as she flew backward. She let him down gently, minding the sharp fragments of glass and spiked rebar.
Amidst the conflagration and smog, Tvuj’s wings sparkled in the pungent air. The radiation of innocence, she stared at the person she first met ever since Al-Wa took her from her home.
“I remember you.” Tayang talked lightly, as if mocking her actions. “What was your name? Oh, I forgot, you don’t have one!”
“It’s Tvuj Hosyi.” Her stare turned into a glare. “And I would like to talk with you.”
“Hah? Your demeanor changed from last time I captured you in Bayanbürd-shi. What happened to the shy, timid, little girl I knew?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. What I do know is that you’re spreading destruction and malice across the Luzokapital. And that you must stop.”
“...”
She wondered if her words had struck a chord with him, or made him think. That was the innocent thinking her thoughts held, hoping for a peaceful resolution with everything. That was what she believed; throughout this fight, this clash, she never once attacked anyone. Tvuj only defended her comrades and her friends.
“How adorable your purity is. Tvuj, was it? I think it suits you better to just stay quiet and shy. You’ve pissed me off with your ideals.”
“...”
“Now that’s more like it.”
Tvuj heard the sound of a cat wailing. It was faint, but the reailzation of what was happening soon hit her. As she noticed what was going on, her wings began to falter and fade out. Tvuj was running out of time. Since she couldn’t accumulate saharic particles on her own, Suruj transferred a ton long before Hojun’s plan had begun.
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And now, that stock of particles was running out.
“You do realize that by attacking us here, only hurts your reputation here? Like Suruj said, In the end, whether it be the Kapulisan or Kesat, us or not there will be people out for you. At this very moment, you are hurting your title of Crown Prince of the Al-Qarakh House.”
“Do you think I care? I’m having the best time of my life right now.” He pointed to other people around them. “Where’s everyone gone? I thought I was going to face all three gangs, but they’ve all run off like cowards. How about you, sis? You gonna fight me or not?”
“...” Hojun still stood idle. Tvuj knew in order to finally end it, Hojun needed something to push her to subdue Tayang.
“How about Gyeong Sukja and Seung-Hyeok? You gonna defend the princess?”
The two bodyguards looked at each other, with a clear worry in their eyes. “Your Royal Highness, we cannot attack you, for we must bring you back to Silla. Your father is waiti-”
“I don’t care about Silla, or the politics of it.” Tayang dissed his homeland aloud, and waved his pistol. “While you twats were staying there plotting against the Laoyuang House I was actually traveling the world with Al-Wa, and albeit gaining respect for us.”
“Respect?...” Hojun muttered her first words since Tayang appeared. “You… You have no idea what the Al-Qarakh House is facing with all the things you’ve done! Yet our father wants you back in Silla, so we can finally begin the turn of our Golden Age! However you… you committed crimes on the highest order, and you tell me that you’re ‘gaining respect’ for us?! You maniac of a brother!”
Tayang went silent for a moment, before letting out a sigh. He reloaded his handgun. “Maybe I really should just keep you alive so you can send a message to our father, ‘prince’ Hojun.”
Tvuj glanced behind her to check if Jorge and Suruj were done preparing. Her wings were already fading into nothingness, since she was running out of particles to conjure. Luckily, the arguing masked the sounds of the cat in the background.
If anything, the arguing reminded her of living in her parents’ house. Those moments right before her father attacked her, those moments where she snuck out to meet with those kids. But here, Hojun was arguing with her brother.
It wasn’t as if Tvuj’s skin crawled at that revelation. Ever since she and the last muqatil, Saya, and the former champion Ayai Toya, stayed in As-Z̆onghu̐a, Tvuj learned of the ongoing power struggle between the Laoyuang and Al-Qarakh House. The Laoyuang heirs were Laoyuang Zhenbyoung and the deceased Laoyuang Kwazhak, whom she befriended during the preparation for the 1978 Dineh Kazaàd. The Al-Qarakh heirs were three siblings. The youngest Zhenjin al-Qarakh, the middle child Hojun al-Qarakh, and the man of the current conflict, Tayang al-Qarakh.
“Sorry, you two. I’m going to have to cut you off.” Tvuj’s wings dissipated as she looked behind her. “Jorge, go!”
Behind her, Jorge held the cat in his hands. The animal glittered and grabbed everyone’s attention. He let his cat jump off his arm while chanting a spell. “Alam Daigdig: Borja!”