Chapter Text
Yunjin stares at Chaewon's profile as they sit in a carriage, wondering how the hell she managed to get herself in this situation.
The truth to her? She's a Demon. Not a Deviant or whatever excuse she came up with and probably won't even remember and hopes Chaewon either remembers for her or doesn't remember at all. Both options are welcome.
And to be honest, she practically, no—she did lie on her entire resumé.
Devian? She's a Demon. High powered Guardian? She was a Soldier. A weak, low ranking, at the pits, Soldier. Almighty? She's known for being the biggest wimp and an embarrassment to her kind.
No, the list doesn't end there.
Fighting large monsters? Festerlings are extremely small insects with bioluminescent bodies and are used to create light. The only time she fights them is when they're in the way or buzzing about in her face. Ashclaws are kept as pets, a natural food source, and are cute canine creatures.
Lurkers are fish that she steps on, and Gloomfangs are medium sized bats that she runs from.
And the thing with the hits when she told Chaewon to stop? It felt like all she was being drained of her life force every time a hit landed. Transformation spells didn't take energy and it wasn't a high level spell. It doesn't even require focus.
It takes being extremely weak, on the verge of death, or being frightened for a Demon's features to shift. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple thought. In Yunjin's situation? Every hit felt like death. Yes, she's that weak.
Then where she offered to protect Chaewon? She was scared out of her pants because the adventurer mentioned multiple monsters. Death sure isn't knocking on her door.
Now, the part she refuses to confess about? The reason why she's here.
Back in the old days, Demon's were banished out of the realm of Adventurers because they caused too much damage and were practically invasive species.
Some high powered Priest used his magic to force them to a world that could only be accessed if someone learned how to cut open the sky. But it wasn't just anybody who could do it. Not only did it take power, it took finding the point that you can cut in which is nearly impossible.
And so, banished and never to be seen again.
Long story short, unwelcomed and forgotten.
Now, lovely Yunjin wasn't on some wonderful vacation. She, to put it simple, was outcasted from her world.
Outcasted, tossed aside, unwanted, no longer needed, shamed, a fraud, all that good stuff. Even if she were to be reincarnated, she'd be killed at spawn.
How did she get here? Well, she was walking casually in the Ragged Forests when she slipped and fell into a river of fire and despair, which took her over a cliff—an insanely deep one, by the way—and next thing she knew? Falling into a bright light, crash landing right on the monster that attacked Chaewon.
She didn't necessarily kill it, she was scared to the bone and her flight instincts—since fight is never a first option in her blood—triggered.
It was all woosh and toosh until she saw a jaw about to swallow her whole, so she stuck her hand out, tripped once again, and accidentally killed it.
So, yeah, her whole existence is a fraud. It's what she does best.
As she continued to stare at Chaewon, she noticed how she never really took breaks, and life like that was horrid.
Yunjin's stamina was the same as a chicken trying to fly a long distance. Amazing, right? She's absolutely useless. No one has to know, though.
If she's to live in this world, she has no choice but to stay close to Chaewon.
Chaewon didn't seem like a hard task, despite her sarcastic remarks and making her sleep in the tub, she was overall calm.
Short girl, petite body, thick blonde hair that reached to the shoulders, a gaze that could kill, yet innocent looking brown eyes.
She looked like an ordinary adventurer. A well worn green shirt with muted colors from the wear tucked into brown, flowing pants that ended in a pair of dirtied boots. There was a leather strap over her chest that reached down to the scabbard around the belt loops.
Of course, there were weapons in some of the pouches of the leather strap, plus the sword she thankfully has sheathed. If Yunjin listened close enough, she could hear the coins jingling in a few of the pouches and in the bag at her side.
Overall? Chaewon should be an easy mission.
She hopes.
“Chaewon…”
Chaewon looked up, turning to Yunjin with a questioning gaze.
Yunjin tilted her head, her heartbeat picking up for some strange reason. “Why do you want to defeat the Demon King?”
Chaewon pursued her lips, her eyes darting around. “Because I want recognition.” She says. “Everyone takes me for a joke and I don't want to continue to be a laughing stock anymore.”
Yunjin furrowed her brows, lifting a finger to touch Chaewon's head. “Why would anyone take you for a joke? I sure don't.”
“Of course you don't. Ever since my village was destroyed by a monster, I pledged to kill all monsters and swore I'd take the Demon King's head for revenge. They all laughed and I became the clown of the town…” Chaewon mumbled, swatting her finger away.
“I don't see why they clowned you for that. People have goals, some are just bigger than most. And, hey, you were a… kid, I assume? Just a little twerp back then declaring big things, so they made fun of you. Now you're slightly bigger and quite talented.” Yunjin tapped her nails against the wood of the carriage, slumping back slightly.
Why is she, a Demon, comforting her supposed mortal enemy, a human? She should be picking at her while she's down. But then again, she never had anything against humans. They didn't destroy her non-existent home, or kill her family, neither did they torture her into slavery. So what's she got to hate?
Chaewon processed her words, letting out a scoff and turning her head to stare out of the carriage window. “Whatever…” She muttered.
“Ladies! This is your stop!”
Yunjin, being the closest to the exit, stood up first, hitting her head on the high ceiling, making her wince in pain as she jumped out.
She raised her hand, offering to Chaewon, who took it without a word, letting her assist her out.
“Can we take a break and get something to eat? I'm so hungry I could eat a whole horse.” Yunjin said, rubbing her stomach with a weird expression.
“It hurts me to stay around you.” Chaewon commented, crossing her arms and walking into the village.
Yunjin scrambling after her, taking the time to observe the buildings since Chaewon finally slowed her pace for once.
They stopped by a stall, Yunjin watching eagerly as the human purchased something to eat for her. Hopefully.
Chaewon tossed the plastic covered sandwich over to her, wiping an apple with her sleeve and biting into it.
“Thank you, Chaewon.” Yunjin said in-between bites, this time having nothing to complain about as they walked to the next carriage zone.
Chaewon only hummed, eyeing the sandwich in her hand.
Yunjin noticed her eyes. Any other day, she'd snap at someone for trying to take her food because portions was limited. It was Chaewon, though, so she didn't mind.
“Ah, I'm so full.” Yunjin sighed, breaking off the sides where she bit and stuffing it into her mouth, holding it out to Chaewon. “Here, I don't want to throw it away.”
“Save it for later.” Chaewon held up a hand.
“It won't taste the same later. Just eat it.” Yunjin shoved it into her hand, taking the apple in return.
“You're annoying.” Chaewon scoffed, still taking a bite out of the sandwich.
Yunjin could only smirk. “We get along amazingly.”
Chaewon smiled at her words, nudging a finger to the side of her forehead. “And I wanted that apple, too.”
“Ey… I'll pick you one freshly from a tree. You won't have to pay for anything.”
They continued to walk, this time standing just a bit closer than necessary.
When they made it to where the carriages would usually be, there were none. Just a wide open space with the occasional local passing by.
Chaewon stared ahead blankly, blinking so slowly, you had to wait a solid minute before her eyelids touched.
Yunjin slid the apple core into one of her slots, sighing and catching sight of a sign. “All traveling services suspended until… further notice…” She read aloud. “Hey, Chaewon? What does that mean.”
“It means no carriages are available and that we'll have to walk.” Chaewon massaged her temple. “Let me get on your back so I can redirect you better.”
“How does that even work?” It was Yunjin's turn to stare at her blankly with twitching eyes.
“Trust the process. This way, we'll get there faster. Know why? Bird's eye view. We can avoid any type of danger coming from a mile away.”
“Okay…” Yunjin hesitantly bent down, wheezing under the weight of Chaewon on her back and standing with much difficulty.
“You got this, soldier.”
Yunjin tenser under her words, following the hand that pointed into the forest and walking in that direction.
“Let's see…” Chaewon took out a map, sketching out a quick landscape that'll make the path easier to follow. “There will be a lake up ahead after a while of walking and that will be our halfway point.”
Yunjin sighed deeply, letting her horns and tail come out once they were in the cover of the forest.
“I'm sliding down, lift me up a bit.” Chaewon grumbling, yelping when she felt something circling around her waist, propping her further up Yunjin's back.
“Hold on tightly and give me the map.” Yunjin released her hands completely, holding one up for the requested object.
“Here…” Chaewon handed it to her, gripping her horns for leverage.
Yunjin fiddled with the map, holding it upside down before getting it in the right direction.
She stuffed the map into a pouch on her belt, a hand phasing through her stomach and pulling out a small dagger.
“What the actual hell, Yunjin. Did you just give birth to a knife?” Chaewon exclaimed, her eyes practically bulging out of her head.
“Huh? No. This is just a weapon that got stuck in my stomach after a failed attack on me. See, I have the ability to make my body be like… if something is going to attack me, it's a defensive tactic I use to make it go through me.” Yunjin explained like they were discussing the weather.
“So what you're saying is… you can have a whole fist go through your stomach?” Chaewon said slowly, not really understanding with a simple explanation.
“It's a defensive thing. Only works when I feel threatened or when I activate it myself.” Yunjin shrugged, stopping when the path ended and taking out the map. “Which way…”
“Go that way. They both lead the same places, one is just shorter.” Chaewon pointed her finger to the left.
“Isn't the longer way usually safer?” Yunjin questioned logically. “I bet if we take the short way, we'll be mauled within seconds!”
“It's okay, it's okay. We can just fight it off.” Chaewon reassured unhelpfully.
“We?” Yunjin repeated.
“We.” Chaewon confirmed.
“We—” Yunjin scoffed, stomping off towards the direction Chaewon suggested. “I'm telling you, we're not getting far on this path! You don't trust the ones where a path can end, Chaewon! These are used!”
“Yeah, yeah, quit the whining and walk.”
Yunjin doesn't think she's going to survive for long with this adventurer.
Hours later, Yunjin finds out that despite the amazing display of power Chaewon has, she has the survival instinct of a hamster.
Now, not one to enjoy bragging, but Yunjin is in the process of firing out lectures on why they should've taken a safer path while they get chased by a bunch of Rowdy Keline's.
“There's a rock, there's a rock!” Chaewon shouted, clinging so tightly to Yunjin she no longer needed to be held securely.
“Of course there's a rock!” Yunjin used all the strength in her body to leap over it, about to slide down until she saw an even bigger threat on the other side.
“Why did you stop? They're coming!” Chaewon hit her shoulder, but then froze when she looked forward. Her face took on a look of defeated horror. “Great.” She sighed out. “Just our luck.”
Ahead of them was a Viper, a large, fully grown one at that. Guess where it was going? Straight for them.
“Our luck, she says.” Yunjin manages to get out sarcastically before fear overtakes her drive to give up. She slid down the other side of the rock just as one of the Keline's came crashing into it, making it break into pieces.
With a useless Chaewon on her back, Yunjin sprints off into the unknown of the forest with two different species of threats chasing after them.
They—Yunjin—ran for a long while without stopping, and somehow, someway, they were still being chased.
Up ahead, a viscous river rushed down the stream, making Yunjin stop in her tracks.
Behind them, however, the rustling of the bushes got louder each passing second.
Chaewon got off of her back, her eyes scanning the area quickly. “Do you know how to swim?”
“Great, trivia before death. What do I look like? Of course I can swim!” Yunjin exasperated, her arms thrown wildly in the air.
“Perfect, because I can't!” Chaewon grabbed Yunjin's arm, tossing both of their bodies into the freezing cold water the moment the monsters appeared.
Yunjin struggled at first. The reason why? She definitely couldn't swim. A doggy paddle in a slow or still stream, maybe. But holding extra weight in a rushing river stream, that was deeper than a sinkhole? Yeah, she couldn't keep this up. She'd die before she got the truth out.
“Kim Chaewon—” Yunjin screamed, trying to hold onto the same person she's cursing in her head.
“Yunjin, why are you holding onto me? I can't swim! We're going to—”
She was cut off by knocking into a boulder, slipping into an unconscious state before she could even finish her statement.
Yunjin's face ran cold from more than the water as she struggled to stay afloat, holding an unresponsive Kim Chaewon.
“Chaewon? Hey, wake up! It's not smart to pass out in cold water. Hey… wake—” She coughed up some water, one of her eyes shutting after a particle of water got splashed into it. “Wake up!”
Yunjin's feet kicked under the water, and she looked up just in time to see a waterfall up ahead.
“By the grace of—Kim Chaewon, if this doesn't kill us, I will!”
Those were the last words Yunjin got out before they were tossed down the waterfall, the sound of rushing water reaching her ears.
“Could this get any worse!?”
And by her politely asking, it did.
Yunjin didn't know what to think about the rocks coming to meet them in quite the haste.
But by some miracle, she remembered she had wings. Now, they weren't exactly the flying type, they were the for show type. To scare people and show them what she was, the ones who could fly were of higher ranks, not someone as low as her.
There's a first for everything, isn't there?
Skipping the deep breath because there was too much air entering her lungs already.
Her wings came out, her arms wrapped tightly around Chaewon as she struggled to fly up.
“Ugh, why does it feel like the wind is slicing through my wings!?” Yunjin was beginning to grow stressful, but she had to calm down or else just before she hit the impact, she'd make her body phase through and then Chaewon would—
At the thought, Yunjin suddenly felt the sound of water start to fade away.
When she blinked her eyes open, she instinctively curled herself around Chaewon, her body taking the impact when she crashed through a tree, slightly slowing down the fall to the ground.
Slowly, her arms released the still unconscious Chaewon, flopping to the ground as she took very much needed deep breaths.
“This adventurer is going to be the death of me…”
Little did she know, this was only the beginning.