79 Intelligence Found Through Kindness (1/2)

The next day, there was a huge commotion at the Korean Faction. News of Jihoon's death spread like wildfire.

”I swear it wasn't me! When I woke up, he was already dead! Please!” The young woman who was previously on Jihoon's bed pleaded for her life. Unfortunately for her, she would be used as a scapegoat for this unexplained death. In the eyes of the people in power, this young girl's death would be nothing more than a statistic.

”I'm sorry, Lily.” One of the guards felt apologetic, but there was nothing they could do. Their faces were wracked with guilt. Lily used to be one of the most upbeat personalities in their community. This nineteen-year-old green-eyed half-Korean, half-American brunette was looking forward to a successful modeling career before the new world.

”No.. no way. Haven't I gone through enough yet?” She murmured to herself. There was no use in trying to reason with the guards. She knew it would be pointless. She looked back to why she was even in the Philippines, to begin with. She was supposed to film a show on several tourist spots, and then the new world happened.

***

Nighttime.

Within one of the jail cells. A young, gorgeous woman with eyes filled with despair sat on the floor.

Suddenly, she heard muffled sounds of someone trying to scream but had their mouth covered. One of the guards lost consciousness as a man clad in advanced looking armor with a rather peculiar mask on appeared outside of her cell.She tried to scream but no sound came out.

”Shh.” The man put his finger on the ”lips” of his smiling mask, signaling her to stay quiet.

”Wh-who are you? Have you come to kill me off? I swear I didn't do it!” She whispered quietly, not wanting to do anything that she thought might aggravate this masked man.

”I know. I've come to give you a choice.”

”A choice?”

”Yes, a choice. You could choose to stay here and be used as a scapegoat, or you can come with me and live.”

”What's the catch?”

”That catch is that wherever I bring you, you'll have to follow the rules. But don't worry, the rules work in your favor. I can guarantee that whatever injustice you've experienced here will never happen there. Instead, we will allow you to become stronger, so no one can take away your choice ever again. Now, choose. Our window of escape is closing fast.”

Multiple thoughts and scenarios ran through Lily's head, but in the end, she merely said, ”What's the worse that can happen? I get taken advantage of again or I'll die anyway.”

Feeling as though she had nothing to lose, she nodded, accepting the man's proposal.

”Good.” The man stepped forward and bent the metal bars as if they were made out of clay.

The two escaped smoothly. As soon as they were out of Emil's territory, she was finally able to leave his Nation. The moment Emil got the notice, it was far too late for him to react. Not that he cared for whatever happened within the Korean faction.

Soon, the two arrived in front of what looked like a family. A father, a mother, a daughter, and a long-eared Grandfather. All four seemingly had a peculiar and domineering aura about them. Lily couldn't quite decide what part about them should shock her more. What was more attractive to her, was the meat they were roasting. It was the most appetizing thing she had ever smelled in her life.

The masked man knelt in front of the ”father” as he spoke, ”Lord Luna, she's safe and sound as you ordered.”

”Thanks, Paco. You may return to your post for now.”

”Yes!” Paco gave a salute, took one more glance at Lily, then left. He would go back to the Rangers that were under him and tell them about the state of Emil's nation. Initially, they were all indecisive about defecting. They were, after all, previously members of the Philippine's Special Forces. After much consideration and convincing from Paco, they decided that the way Emil ruled, was not in the best interest of the people.

”Your name is Lily, correct?”

”Y-y-y-yes, sir! Luna! LORD! Lord Luna, sir! I-I mean..” She was scared that she couldn't even respond properly.

”Sigh. You can just call me Luna.” He replied as he tossed her a bottle of water which she fumbled for a bit before actually grabbing it and chugging the whole thing. ”Would you like something to eat, Lily?”

”Yes, please!”