Work Text:
No matter how hard he tried, Chung Myung was too late to protect them, as always.
Of Yoon Jong's body, only the upper half could be seen on the ground, next to Jo Gul's mangled corpse.
Tang Soso did her best, but she was finally hit by the claws that pierced her stomach, watering her intestines.
Yu Iseol had fought long and hard, covered in accumulating injuries until she was decapitated in a single move
Baek Cheon fought alone among the corpses of his friends, swinging his sword carefully as a huge pool of blood formed at his feet. He was on the brink of death.
Chung Myung noticed all this in an instant, approaching at Baek Cheon to decapitate the Magyo who held the sword to his chest, and defend him from the attack from behind.
"—Sasuk! Are you..."
"Chung Myung-ah?"
Baek Cheon's body that was held up by sheer force of will doubled over on itself, falling to its knees. The blood covered face turned in the direction of Chung Myung's voice, showing the huge horizontal wound that blinded his eyes.
Chung Myung clenched his fists tightly, "Let's go for help."
Chung Myung couldn't have cared less for the remaining magyo. There were less than five people, he surely he could finish them off easily. However, in the time it took for him to swing his sword, Baek Cheon would continue to slowly die from his injuries, perhaps even losing his sight entirely.
Before leaving, he tore his own robe to wrap Baek Cheon's torso tight. Then he took Baek Cheon on his back, turned around and quickly ran towards the nearest camp. A Tang family doctor was there, he was sure. He just had to get there quickly, just quickly.
Blood trickled slowly, soaking Chung Myung's clothes through the makeshift bandage.
“… Chung Myung-ah,” Baek Cheon's voice was raspy, a bit gravelly, as if he had just woken up from his sleep. "I know my body. I am going to die."
"Shut up," he snapped back instead of a 'don't talk'. "If you have the energy to speak, you could have swung your sword one more time."
Baek Cheon sighed regretfully. He was perhaps upset by the answer, or more likely he was saddened by the outcome of the fight.
"Sorry."
Chung Myung's vision started to blur for some reason.
"Don't apologize, I've already decided to increase your training. Triple it, I think."
"That... Would be good," Baek Cheon murmured, his head bobbing gently on Chung Myung's shoulder. "It's so frustrating..."
"You can complain later, now don't talk."
A soft snort tickled the skin of his neck.
"I wanted to protect you, but I couldn't even protect myself," the muffled voice grew fainter until it was almost inaudible.
He wished he had died first, like a heroic big brother who could give everything for his teammates. However, he could only watch helplessly as the people he loved the most were killed one by one. Horrible deaths, for those fanatics who knew no respect for corpses.
Before Baek Cheon was blinded, Yu Iseol was still fighting by his side. He couldn't even notice the moment she was killed, because she didn't make any sound of protest. But Chung Myung would never have left her behind if there had been any hope.
"...I'm," Chung Myung's strangled voice snapped him out of his musings, the hands that supported Baek Cheon's body were clenched. "I'm the one who should have protected them, so"
It seemed as if he wanted to say something else, the sentence trailing off for a long moment, leaving a painful silence in the middle. Baek Cheon wondered what his Sajil would say, probably meaningless regret. However, for a while now his consciousness kept slipping past him.
"Stay up a little longer, Dongryong."
"... Hn."
'Just a little more,' Baek Cheon thought, feeling that he had to do everything possible for the sake of this person who seemed on the verge of collapsing even though he wasn't the one on the brink of death.
Chung Myung ran with all his might, faster than he ever had before. At that moment, he couldn't have cared less about straining his own injured body to the point of severe scarring. On his back, he carried something more precious than his own body and life, the last piece of Mount Hua's will that he tried to convey. These children are all he's cared for, if even that goes away...
When he arrived at the camp, the cold corpse of the last person in his family had slowly grown cold. Just a little warm on his chest, where it hugged his back during the ride.
With trembling hands, Chung Myung slowly wiped away the wet tear trails from Baek Cheon's corner of the eyes
'... Sahyung, please take care of them.'
Black hair covered his features, only the trace of blood running down his bitten lips was visible.
'I'll be there soon, I just have something to do first.'
To Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, Tang Soso and Yu Iseol, who were left behind. Chung Myung must bring them home, so they can rest in the place they love the most as they should.
Does it make sense to face the heavenly demon?
'There is nothing left to fight for.'
He could only avenge their deaths, so he could look them in the face when they meet.
After who knows how many hours in which he vaguely felt various people approaching to say a few words, Chung Myung stood up. There were no visible emotions on his face.
The reality was like a nightmare from which he wanted to wake up as soon as possible.
As a child, he could afford to comfort himself in the arms of his Sahyung. He didn't need to think about what lay beyond, he was safe.
... As a third class disciple, he had a noisy group of children who would drive him away from loneliness with their laughter. Chung Myung was the one who had the duty to protect them in his embrace.
Now, truly, he had nothing.
Nothing to protect, and nothing to lose.
It was time for magyo to feel the desperation of fighting someone who did not fear death.
—Just live, Chung Myung-ah. We are watching over you.
A voice, which sounded like Baek Cheon's, whispered sadly.
'If you want to give me life lessons, then come down here and say them to my face, Dongryong.'
The dead have no right to lecture others about life, they did not know the despair of being the ones left behind.