Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"Argh!" The sleeping tiger, Won Jaemin, screamed out in pain. His knuckles quickly swelled as he violently shook his hand. "That fucking hurt!" He cringed as he closed his hand. What was that guys' skull made of? He'd rather have punched a steel wall if he knew how tough that guy was.

One of the other guys screamed, "Watch out everybody, he might have a hardening Affinity or whatever!" He appeared to be around the age of 30, wearing a loosely fitting shirt and some suite pants.

Everybody heeded his call. "That makes sense," the muttered while nodding. For them too, it hadn't been that long since Affinities existed. Now that they thought about it, it wasn't hard to image someone else possessing titles too. The Guide Latania had said so after all—this was a game.

At the meantime, the brainwashed citizens of this dungeon were at a state of shock. They ran to the new corpse which was once their comrade (at least so they were made to believe). "Peter, wake up!" They could not believe these hooligans would ever attack them, let alone kill someone. "Your wife is waiting at home, do not fail us," someone said, while tears flowed down her eyes.

Won Jaemin cackled as he stared at the guards. "The taste of death is simply too delicious." He wiped his mouth. "I love this dungeon! Here, I can finally do whatever I want, without any dumbasses deciding what is right or wrong. So many people have died already, what difference does one more make?"

Park Wonho shook his head in disbelief. "You are insane."

"From my perspective, you are the insane one. Aren't we all humans in pursuit of freedom? Stretching the limits of what is allowed? Come on? Don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about." Won Jaemin cracked his neck. His face turned from excited to cold. "Whatever. So you wish to declare war? Did I hear that correctly? Are you out of your mind?" His cold gaze was directed at Lee Dojin.

Lee Dojin, on the other hand, did not pay much attention to him. He glanced at Kim Jyejin and Park Wonho, to see their reaction. Freedom. For those two, this word held a heavy meaning, if he remembered correctly.

For Jyejin, who had been birthed in a life that had been laid out for her, possessing everything she could ever wish for, yet held nothing on her own, she craved freedom as an alleviation for boredom.

For Park Wonho, a person deemed ordinary just like Kim Heeson, freedom came from choice. A choice to decide his own life, not integral to what society and school deemed him to be. He craved to be free, so much so, that it turned into desperation—for anxiety is the fear of choices.

.. .At least that was what Lee Dojin gathered from them. It was of bad taste to analyze friends or comrades after all, so he paid it little thought. But for the word 'freedom' he always held an open mind. There was no one who wished to roam as free as him, in the end.

"I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I know your words are just a load of bull." Lee Dojin swept his hair back. It had grown longer over the month, and would cover his eyes if he left them as bangs. "What you are pursuing is not freedom. It's just a sadistic tendency, guised in something pseudo-philosophical nonsense. You have no idea what true freedom entails, don't you?"

The survivors on Lee Dojins' side listened patiently. For some, his words may have resonated more than the otehres.

Won Jaemin's smile remained enigmatic. "The one to decide what is right is left to the victor, no?" He turned around. "Well, forget about the food. There's a lot more places that had fireworks."  The young man faced his men. "But you have heard them. War, it is. I am sure the leader will be excited. They have made their declaration, so shall we prepare for ours?"

The people on Jaemin's side scoffed in ridicule. There was nothing stopping them from killing Lee Dojins group here, they thought, but since Won Jaemin told them to walk, then so be it.

The billard bar they came from used to be a hotspot for many different gangs. They'd come to gather information, scam a sucker, or just simply play around. To put it simply, the people there were a different breed. A den of ruffians. The only thing the missed was unity—which had come after the birth of this dungeon. A strong, invincible leader that did not fear anything.

They worried about beating the dungeon boss, but their leader had reassured them that it would be fine. And they thought so too, if that guy could not do it, who could? A measly war like this wasn't worth their time, they thought.

"Hold up, who said you could leave?"

Jaemin turned around and grabbed Dojin by the neck, and squeezed it. "With one call, 30 of my guys will come here and fuck you up." The guy placed his finger against Lee Dojin's head. "Let's do it, let's go to war. Just you wait, I'll be coming for you soon."

"Shut up."

With the back of his hand, Lee Dojin slapped Won Jaemin to the ground. To that guy, this attack came out of nowhere (too fast to react), and he had no way of defending himself. His cheek caved in, and he was forced to the ground due to the incredible impact.

"What's the meaning of this," He shouted, his face red due to his wrath. "You motherfucker, how dare you?" All the men that were close to walking away quickly returned.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Lee Dojin knelt down and raised his eyebrows. His eyes were full of distain. "You just killed a human being. Do you think you are free of consequences? Well, you are wrong." His face turned dark. "I am your consequence."

"Who the fuck even are you? Do you know that you are going against the whole Lightning group? This won't end well for you!" 

Lee Dojin chuckled. "Lightning group? Is that your name? How cute." He kicked Won Jaemin in the face, blood spurting out his mouth. "Let's go then. Your little group or mine, who will turn out victorious and leave the dungeon alive?"

"Get him," one of Jaemins men shouted. He punched out, but Lee Dojin dodged easily. The other guys attacked him one after another, but no matter how many came, their punches could not touch him. "Use your Affinities!"

"You're fucked now," Jaemin said and stood up. He was rather resilient, as he remained standing after being hit twice. "You shouldn't have picked a fight against us."

Lee Dojin phased forward, standing right in front of Jaemin, surprising the observers quickly. "Do not misunderstand. This is not a fight," he said. "This is punishment." He tightly clenched his fist, enough for veins to appear. This time, holding nothing back, his knuckles slammed into Jaemins left side.

A loud, incredibly dull yet sound echoed throughout the street. The sleeping tiger, Jaemin, fell to the ground so hard, he bounced up again. He felt as if his brain had shattered. His vision was hazy from that one single punch. Two teeth fell out of his mouth, and blood spurted out his right eye. The wind was knocked out his lungs and he immediately felt breathless as his ribs shattered.

".. ." The people that were about to activate their skills were stunned mute by this raw display of violence.

Lee Dojin spoke calmly, the light in his irises serene. "You guys must really think I am a pushover, huh? These days, everyone wants to act up, thinking I am weak." He hit Won Jaemins stomach. "Say, do I really look so merciful to you?" He pinned Jaemin to the ground and punched him once more. The floor underneath cracked. "Don't you get it? I am not a hero. You think killing people is tough? There's nothing tough about swinging a knife or pulling a trigger. Surviving is what's hard. And you scum dares treat life like a game?" His face rained down on that poor guy's body (however, never hitting any vital spots) until even his knuckles turned red. "If you like the taste of death so much, then eat up. After all, food is scarce here."

Zheng Yunhe gulped, watching the display. "I have seen many things in my life.. . but this is merciless." Though he wished to avert his eyes from that morbid display, he could not. "He's not even moving anymore."

Won Jaemins group shook. They all held various weapons but did not dare take them out. The reason for that was, whenever they met Lee Dojin's eyes, they'd lose the will to resist, and upon imagining themselves as Won Jaemin, they'd rather be killed by the dolls.

Park Wonho shuddered, remembering how he had been sent to the hospital by him. Lee Dojin, he was a monster. 

Lee Dojin laughed. His canines peeked out his mouth. A stray blood drop hit his cheek. "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" Right now, he looked just like a wild beast, his intent to kill wafting mindlessly and enveloping everyone.

".. .That's enough," Ji-ah said and patted him on the shoulder. She had a complicated expression as she shook her head.

Lee Dojin's fist stopped moving. He stood up. A puddle of blood had dyed his clothes. He clicked his tongue, staring at Won Jaemin who had fallen unconscious long ago. He rubbed his temples. ".. .Humanity is really hard to save, huh?"