"Betrayal at the Edge of Victory"(side story/prologue 3)

Saaransh stood over the lifeless body of Vorkhael, his breath ragged. The demon king was no more. The battlefield, which once was filled with terror, was now silent. Saaransh's emotions changed; he got relief after he turned and saw his comrades. 

"We won. Vorkhael is now dead," he announced to his friends.

Kang Ha stirred, his eyes opened. "Leader… where is Vorkhael?" 

"I killed him. It's over now, Kang Ha."

Tears welled in Kang Ha's eyes. "All the sacrifices people made did not go in vain."

Saaransh nodded. His gaze fell on his other comrades; they were not in the right state. 

"They are alive, they are just wounded. Kang Ha, can you save them for me?"

Kang Ha placed his hands over them, but his face twisted in shock.

"Their wounds… they are already healed, leader." 

Before Saaransh could process any words, pain exploded in his lower abdomen. He gasped and looked down there was a dagger buried in his stomach. Blood seeped from the wound.

Kang Ha convulsed beside him, a blade driven into his chest. He trembled before falling unconscious.

Saaransh shouted,

"Noo… Kang Ha!"

A cruel laugh echoed. Saaransh turned; he locked eyes with Baek Do, his blade dripping red.

A cruel laugh echoed throughout the whole palace. 

"Did you have fun, leader?" he said while licking the blood of Saaransh from his dagger. 

Ryu Jin sat up, stretching lazily. "Looks like you got played the fool."

Saaransh's mind reeled. "Why?" 

"You always wanted peace for all races. But humans should rule." 

Yun Seo groaned, rolling her shoulders. "Ughh, pretending to be dead is so tiring." 

Saaransh's eyes filled with rage. "You damn traitors!"

Saaransh launched himself onto them despite his wounds. The battlefield erupted in a desperate struggle.

"Berserker Rush!" Spectral energy surged around him, and his final attacks clashed down like a storm. 

The traitors also retaliated with their ultimate moves. Lightning, blood, and ice collided in a violent and dangerous explosion.

When the dust settled, Saaransh was sitting there bleeding, but his attack had left its mark on them. Ryu Jin had lost his arm, Yun Seo an eye, and Baek Do was blinded. 

"You are still alive? Even now?" Ryu Jin muttered. 

Saaransh exhaled sharply, vision fading. "This is not over yet. I will find the truth… and get my revenge."

Baek smirked and plunged his dagger into Saaransh's heart.

Then, light. His eyes snapped open.

He was in unfamiliar arms in the arms of a man and woman he did not recognize. His body felt strange and weak.

He looked down at his small and delicate hands.

"What the hell? Didn't I just die?"