When Hojun's fingers clawed at the gritty ground, her eyes darted up to see Tayang looming above her. In a flash, Jorge hurled himself at him in a last ditch effort. She only watched on with her legs frozen in fear. She struggled to draw air into her lungs, choking on the thick smog that surrounded them. As the chaos unfolded before her, she felt her sense of hope slipping away.

“Hojun… I managed to protect you… Just like you did when I first met you…”

She remembered the beginning when she stopped those Bakalitos from beating on Jorge. Hojun had just acted on her ideals at that time, and never intended for Jorge to end up fighting on her side.

Tayang emptied his entire clip into Jorge, as the Buhang jerked left to right. A few seconds later Jorge crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around his lifeless body.

Hojun couldn’t process what happened. It left her disheveled face in shock, her eyes widening. She slowly shook her head to deny what she saw. Hojun's face twisted in agony as tears streamed down her cheeks.

In the distance, Mister Gyeong's furious roar broke through the chaos. He charged at Tayang full speed and flanked him.

“Your Royal Highness! Stop this madness at once!” Mister Gyeong wrestled Tayang for his rifle. His old body huffed and puffed while Tayang used minimal effort.

“Mister Gyeong! Please stop! Don’t fight for me!...” Hojun ordered with a desperate shriek. She manifested a revolver in her shaking hands. She tried to aim at Tayang, but the sight danced in front of her eyes. Mister Gyeong and Tayang were jerking in multiple directions. Hojun’s eyes chased the two, unable to get a clear shot.

Seung-Hyeok appeared from another side. “How dare you shoot the princess’ bodyguard!”

He joined Mister Gyeong and added more pressure from behind. It become even more dangerous for Hojun to fire. Sweat and tears mixed in her eyes.

Mister Gyeong freed his hand. “Dihu Bao-”

Tayang took the opportunity and smacked him in the face with the butt of the gun. As Mister Gyeong fell Tayang fired. Blood exploded across the debris like splattered fruit.

“Stop it! Please stop!...” Hojun hopelessly commanded once again, to Seung-Hyeok that still struggled for Tayang’s weapon. “Don’t fight him!...”

“M’lady! If there is truth then may I tell you this.” The young bodyguard talked solemnly among the scuffle. “Your father is in the wrong. Crown Prince Tayang needs to go.”

“Seung-Hyeok! As my comrade, my guard, my family, I order you to retreat this instant!” Hojun repeated again, hearing those words she never heard before. She saw the determination and unshakable conviction within the young man’s eyes, while he rejected every notion their life had been in Silla.

“M’lady… It has been an honor to serve and protect you. I truly believe that I became a better person after you took me in.”

“Please-”

The young man gripped Tayang’s rifle with all his strength. “Dihu Jutiao!”

Sawblades flew from his hand and sliced the gun in two. Tayang ducked under and summoned another pistol into his hand. He neared Seung-Hyeok’s head and pressed the gun into his chest. Tayang fired two, three times, before putting the fourth bullet in Seung-Hyeok’s head.

Bright fires danced around the Luzokapital. Sirens cried in the distance. Tayang wiped the blood off his face, as the conflagration reflected off his sweaty face.

“This’ll show father. That I don’t give a shit about Silla.”

“Datgik Boucoeng… I dance to the sun’s song, an elegy to all.” Hojun walked towards him, bringing all her pent up tension. “Shine darkness into day, and I shall not yield…”

A gun grip appeared in her hand, but didn’t bore the rest of the weapon. Hojun lifted the piece up into the sky, as the sun’s rays penetrated the smoke. The gun drew a shadow in the sun’s gaze, its true form becoming visible in the solar light. A famous assault rifle model invented by the Al-Qarakh House’s saharic scientists who modified the family’s Guizu Arcana, one that deviated from the Laoyuang House’s sword art.

The Al-Qarakh Guizu Arcana’s ace-in-a-hole, a weapon that could only be summoned once in a lifetime. Datgik Boucoeng.

Hojun’s hair covered her eyes, as she didn’t bother to fix it. Her hair covered that sorrowful rage that contorted her face so. She held the weapon in her hands, softly grasping its sandwood handguard and curved magazine. Hojun gritted her teeth.

There was no going back. For Jorge and Borja, for Mister Gyeong and Seung-Hyeok, for everyone here that had participated in this fight against her brother. For Suruj who wanted to seek revenge, and Tvuj who had been searching for him all this time. There needed no time for reconciliation. Right here, right now, she wanted to make Tayang disappear from this world.

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She cocked Datgik Boucoeng and flicked the lever to full auto. “Dihu Guihang: Al-Qarakh Art, Guizu Gunwork.”

A white glyph appeared in front of her barrel, as she squeezed the trigger as hard as she could. Storms of bullets burst out as saharic particles attached themselves to each and every one. They dashed towards Tayang as he aimed with his pistol. “Dihu Quxiao.”

“Bend.”

The projectiles whirred past Tayang’s spell as they flanked his position. Streams of white arced around. They oscillated back towards him, bullets homing towards his face.

“Dihu Baohu!” A shield came in to block incoming bullets. The rest bounced off and continued their course. The lead storm flew in the air before finding a perfect landing. In a split second, Tayang’s gun changed into a rifle.

“Dihu Guihang: Al-Qarakh Art, Guizu Gunwork!” He used the same exact spell. Soon his bullets began to counter hers in a one-on-one standoff. Explosions darted left and right as the tiny projectiles collided with each other like pebbles. Tayang ducked and weaved, dodging any excess bullets whizzing past him. Hojun kept her finger on the trigger.

Tayang ran behind a piece of debris. Some of her bullets etched into the concrete and wasted some of her ammo. Hojun rushed forward with her rage fueling her moments. She fired round after round, as each shot echoed into the thick air. Nearing the debris, Hojun demolished the mount, and before she knew it Tayang dashed toward her. But she had already prepared.

Above her, tens of hundreds of firearms levitated around him. Enough to arm an entire garrison. Hojun tightened her grip. Those weapons activated, and it started to rain lead.

“I-gaesaekki-”

Tayang covered himself as thousands of bullets came onto him. Casings flooded the street in a sea of brass. Dust kicked up, and Hojun stopped firing.

She could only hear her erratic breathing, and a sharp sound piercing her ears. Her heavy footsteps crunched across the tattered pavement as she neared where Tayang was. She hoped she had finished him, having poured all her might into that one move. Her body ached, and she felt she would pass out any second.

A silhouette erupted from the dust. She was caught off guard by Tayang's sudden burst of speed, and he quickly closed the distance between them. He tackled her to the ground, knocking Datgik Boucoeng out of her hands. They rolled and grappled on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Hojun could feel the strength in Tayang's muscles, even though he was using one arm. She struggled to keep him at bay, but he was too powerful. He pinned her to the ground, his hand squeezing her neck. She gasped for air, clawing at his hand in a desperate attempt to free herself. There was no way to recover that gun, she thought. Did she waste that once in a lifetime weapon?

Tayang's eyes burned with a fierce intensity as he stared down at Hojun. "You were always a pain in the ass, Hojun. Why were you even born, huh? Had you been born a boy, this would never have happened."

With that, he tightened his grip on her neck. It felt as if it was on fire. Hojun's vision began to blur, and she knew she was running out of time. Her lungs puckered for air, and the sting of Tayang’s words invaded her mind.

“I am Second Princess Hojun al-Qarakh…” she choked, “And you for the sake of Silla, brother Tayang, must go!”

Hojun’s veins popped as she fought against Tayang's grip. She could feel the Guizu Arcana. Saharic particles entered as the energy flowed through her body. She pushed herself up, breaking free from Tayang's hold.

As Tayang staggered back, Hojun stood up, her eyes blazing with determination. She reached out her hand, and Datgik Boucoeng appeared in her grasp once more. This time, however, it glowed with a bright, white light, crackling with saharic particles.

“Throughout my stay in Buhanggilog I have searched for you, brother. But you, have done so many things that hurt many people. You don’t know how many people you’ve hurt and killed, how many lives are affected by these travesties. You’re a psycho. You’re no leader, no captain, no prince, but a murderer.”

With a flick of her wrist, she pulled the trigger. The gun roared to life, unleashing a blinding beam of energy that engulfed Tayang. He screamed as the light consumed him, his silhouette disintegrating into nothingness.

As the light faded, Hojun stood there, panting and exhausted. She had defeated her brother, and avenged the lives he had taken. She looked around at the destruction that surrounded her, as multiple blocks of the city had been reduced to rubble.

She vomited blood. More than what she had expected. A stinging sensation loomed on her abdomen. Hojun noticed a gunshot wound, blood pouring out her front and back. She glanced up to see that annoying husk of an existence.

“This isn’t over Hojun…” The disembodied voice groaned, before coughing violently. “This isn’t over!”

“Putang ina mo!”

In a flash Suruj shoved Tayang several egems across, his body tumbling in a disheveled manner. From the looks of it, Suruj was supporting himself up with particles. They surrounded him in a white hue, as if he slightly levitated off the ground.

“Hojun, I’m going to keep him pinned down. When there’s a chance put a bullet in this man’s head!...” Suruj lunged and folded Tayang to the ground. As if it were a judo match they wrestled.

“Suruj…” Hojun realized that Datgik Boucoeng already disappeared from her hands. It was now or never. “Guizu Arcana… Please, one more time…”

A revolver gently materialized into her hand. Her hand quivered while she drew back the hammer, and pointed it at Tayang’s head.

“Shibal! Minchinnyeon!” Tayang desperately swore in Sillan Renhua. “Get off me! Jugeullae?!”

“Farewell, brother Tayang.” Hojun fired hopefully for the last time.

“Ggeo-jyeo!” He managed to throw Suruj off him. They had failed again. Hojun, already fatigued and injured to her maximum, didn’t have the strength to fight much longer. She stood dazed at Tayang’s face of terror and anger.

“Mayin Skrastreg: Lunar Fall, A Thousand Tides.”

A woman with silver-blond hair casually stepped past Hojun and unsheathed her blade. Tayang’s head flew off into the distance. His body didn’t even process the slash, and it stayed in running motion until seconds later. The woman’s crescent blade reflected in the setting sun. She brought the sword to her forehead and swung it to the side, calmly flicking the blood off of it.

“...” Hojun and Suruj did not say anything. Behind the strange woman, an Azu girl with silver hair approached them with Tvuj on her back.

“Princess Hojun al-Qarakh.” The swordswoman wiped her sword with a cloth, “The battle is over.”