His hand holding the sword trembled in his hold as his feet slid against the floor, approaching the body but when he scrutinized the body, there was more, but none belonged to Nari and a shaky sigh of relief left his lips. It was the assassins and he wondered who killed them.
He heard soft sobs emanating from the position he had left Nari and his body moved impulsively with hurried movements toward her.
She was trembling with fear in her crouched position and when he stood in front of her, she jerked her head up with dread written on her face, but it gradually faded to be replaced with relief as she sensed his presence.
He retained a dark presence of melancholy, but she found solace and comfort in his presence and he who was birthed out of darkness, found solace in her serene and tranquil nature.
"H-Hwarang?" She stuttered in a croaked voice and more tears flowed down her cheeks, presumably in relief as she let out a heavy sigh.
He crouched down to her level and wrapped his arms around her as he took her into his warm embrace, her petite body getting lost in his huge one. Her head rested on his chest as she wound her arms around his back, clutching hard on his clothes as if she never wanted to let go.
"I'm scared." She said in a low voice beneath her breath and he stroked her hair gently, while being confused on how to comfort her.
"What happened? Who killed them?" Hwarang queried and her sobs stopped, but he could sense the fear emitted from her being.
"I-I killed them." She stuttered and then she burst out in tears again. Hwarang's stoic countenance was abruptly replaced with a bewildered one as his thick brows raised up.
"What? How did you kill them?" Hwarang queried and she gradually released herself from his embrace as she sat up.
How the hell did she kill four Hwarang assassins? It was impossible to kill a Hwarang assassin, whether it was a mage or a fae and she was both, but still it was an inconceivable feat for her to single handedly wipe out four Hwarang assassins from the face of the earth which left him wondering just how powerful her magic was.
He watched her swallow softly in silence and gave her as much time she needed to gain her composure before she spoke.
"My emotions triggers my magic. I'm not very good at controlling them, my mother died when I was still young, so there was no one to teach me how to wield it. I barely wield the magic and it's being suppressed for so long that when it's triggered to come out, the outcome is bad." Nari explained as she frantically wiped the tears from her face with the back of her sleeves.
"Fear and anger triggers my magic, because the emotions are very strong, so the essence of the magic becomes very powerful and I was scared. Scared for you, that you'd die protecting me and I can't. I didn't mean to kill them, I don't want to harm anyone." Nari said in a low voice as she lowered her face to the floor in regret.
He cupped her face with both palms, staring into her forest green eyes that glimmered from unshed tears.
"Don't feel even the slightest bit of regret, because they wouldn't have. Those heartless monsters kill without remorse, so if you hadn't done it, you'd have been dead." Hwarang said in a hard voice as he tried to coerce her resolve to be strengthened.
"Being dead is the only way to survive this. They'll never stop coming after us, will they?" Nari said in desperation as the flicker of hope faded from her eyes. A devious idea ran in his head and his jaws ticked unnervingly.
He had been running from them without a destination, but now he had a destination to run to.
"I'll kill them all if I have to. I won't let you die." Hwarang said in a low growl reverberating beneath his breath as a dark glint flashed across his black eyes.
"They were your brothers, don't you feel regret spilling their blood?" Nari queried in a small voice.
"No." He gave out a short, clipped reply.
"How many are they? What if they outnumber us?" Nari queried with worry etched on her face and his jaws ticked because she was worried for a good cause.
The Hwarang assassins were a total of a hundred in number and he had barely gotten rid of a quarter of them. He knew they were merely testing his limit and soon, they would attack him in extensive numbers, leaving him with a greater odd of losing.
Master Zhang had been the only barrier standing between him and the assassins, he had dispatched a few of them after him but now that Master Zhang was out of the way, the assassins wouldn't waste a second in pouring their wrath on him.
He pulled Nari by the arm gently as he stood up on his feet, getting ready to leave.
"We should leave now." Hwarang stated in a clipped tone as he pulled her along with him while being alert for any unanticipated attack, but he couldn't sense any assassins on presence, so they were safe for now.
With hurried footsteps, they strode down the hall and he halted for a split second as his raven eyes narrowed down to Master Zhang's decapitated body. He averted his gaze and exited out of the physician's house.
A few horses sauntered outside which he presumed belonged to the assassins. He approached a horse and carried her to sit atop it before mounting on it, to sit in front of her and she wound her arms around his midriff as he pulled on the reins of the horse.
They galloped out of the vicinity of the village and soon they arrived at a serene meadow with a forest at each sides. Running through the middle is a dreamy stream and the sky punching mountains as cruel as a hag's teeth soar up in the background of the dark neon blue skies.
The meadow had an ambiance of serenity wearing over it as it lay silent with only the murmuring of the wind whispering in their ears and the soft rippling sound of the streams.
"It's beautiful isn't it? I can feel it, the beauty and serenity." Nari suddenly said behind him. She couldn't see the beautiful meadow, but she could sense the ethereal ambiance of the place and at that moment, he wished she could see the beauty of the world for only a split second and also see her beauty, even if it was just for a second.
Not as beautiful as you, he wanted to say but he didn't and gave out a dull hm instead. She smiled softly, knowing he wanted to say more but refrained from speaking which made him even more enigmatic for her to figure out.
"Do you know where we are going?" Nari queried.
"To see an old friend." Hwarang stated with a flat tone and she anticipated who the old friend was.
"Is it safe?" She asked in wary.
"We're never safe love, but she owes me her life." Hwarang said and she wondered who the mysterious she friend was.