Your Divine Grace {NamJin}

sixteen

The darkest hour of the crimson-stained night began to fuse with the first golden rays of a blazing sphere climbing up the sky, forever ending the vicious twilight but beginning a vicious dawn. Every fiber in the elder northern lord's body would be tested, and all his strength exhausted until the unequal forces of righteousness and evil would be overcome with harmony again. As the stars above him silently burned out one by one, Kim Seokjin ignored the burn in the muscles of his legs as he sought out his opponent.

The sound of a slipper hitting the sand made Seokjin turn to his right, and there next to him with a katana drawn was his challenger, Lee Sungkyung.

Seokjin blocked the sword with his own, making Sungkyung freeze in his tracks.

"If you're going to challenge me," he began, staring down at the intersection of their weapons, "you better do it like a man."

Sungkyung held his position, as if contemplating what his rival had said. Looking down at the swords as Seokjin had, then looking back up, he finally acknowledged his words.

"As you wish, Kim Seokjin."

Sungkyung removed himself from his position, edging back towards a still body. Seokjin didn't move, allowing some space between himself and the edge of a makeshift boundary formed by the corpses of those that lay around him. The sight of his comrades on the bloody floor sickened him, but there was barely a thing he could do for them.

Then, he removed the hood of his cloak, revealing a tanned, sculpted face. Barely any softness could be seen on it, and his cheekbones were clearly outlined. It was almost as if his muscles made up the entirety of his complexion, then covered by a thin layer of skin. Everything was exaggerated to the extreme, and his sweaty brow didn't help him look any less frightening.

Still, Seokjin held his sword out, determined to avenge those who laid in peace around him.

"I do not fear you, assassin," Seokjin growled, almost taunting Sungkyung. "Have at you!"

And so Sungkyung did, racing towards Seokjin to cut him down. Surprised but unfazed by the speed, Seokjin countered Sungkyung's blow, turning a full half circle to stick his foot out in a powerful kick to his opponent's stomach. Sungkyung blocked, holding up his knee to take the impact of the kick. Taking his sword down, Sungkyung attempted to slice Seokjin's throat -- which the northern lord evaded, crouching down and slicing at Sungkyung's abdomen. Sungkyung backed away from the attack, but not before Seokjin made a skin-deep, horizontal cut on his body.

"You better be quicker than that, boy," Seokjin said, countenance expressionless. "I almost had you."

"But you don't have me!" a voice breathed, cackling as Seokjin turned and rolled away from Sungkyung's master, Soo Yejun.

"This is not honorable," Seokjin panted, gulping. "Two-on-one isn't fair. Not that I couldn't cut you down if I wanted to."

"Life isn't fair, you aristocrat shit. Now fight me!" Yejun bellowed, pulling out a katana of his own.

"Yejun-nim," Sungkyung suddenly cut in, holding his katana out towards Yejun. "This is my fight with Seokjin-nim. Let me fight it with him."

"You-- I--" Yejun began, stuttering to express his confusion. Was his own minion, the one he trained for years to obey his every command, now going against his wishes?

"This is my fight, a fight that I want to participate in by myself. For myself. Let me do so on my own."

"For yourself..." Yejun began, laughing. "For yourself? Ha! You've never done anything for yourself! I didn't send you here for yourself! I sent you here for one reason and one reason only. And now...you must finish the deed, or I'll finish it for you!"