Doctor Demon

Jina was humming to herself as she drove along the highway. The road was relatively empty at that time of the night. It was past midnight and she had to file in several reports that day before Taejoon finally allowed her to leave for home. She cursed him inwardly for keeping her so late for no reason but he was an idiot anyway.

"I wonder if Doctor Demon arrived home yet," she sighed. He had asked her to pick up crab cakes for him. For some reason, he only preferred this dish.

I'll have to cook healthier things for him, she decided. 

The night was darkening and it seemed that it would rain soon. Thankfully, the demon did not attack anyone for the past few days and given that Yooseok's DNA was found at the scenes, the higher ups thought he was the murderer. Even though Jina did not want to pin the murder on the poor fellow, the law did not believe in ghosts or demons. It only wanted solid evidence even if it was unfair.

Thunder rumbled in the sky and she was momentarily startled. Jina was a bit wary of the storm which was approaching. Stormy nights were the worst for Seers like her because ghosts would pop up any moment. In fact, a lot of ghosts appeared on stormy nights and she was worried that they would bother Miyoo as well. The child was already scared of her own powers and the onslaught of ghosts would only scare her more.

"I should tell the old man to increase the protection charms around her," she muttered. "I'd do it once I reach home."

She continued to drive along the desolated highway when her phone rang. Putting it on speaker, she answered the call.

"Did you get the crab cakes?" Hobin's voice came from the other end.

"Do you ever eat anything other than crab cakes?" she sighed. "I'm not buying anymore of this junk!"

"I love crab cakes!" Hobin slightly pouted. 

"How about this? If you decrease your intake of unhealthy food, I'll cook you good food everyday."

"Are you planning to take over my kitchen?" he teased. "I don't mind. You can take over my bed too. Of course, I'll be sharing it-"

"Pervert!" Jina scowled. "We've just started dating! I am not jumping into bed with you this easily."

"This easily? Does that mean you will jump one day?"

Jina gaped at him. Only he knew how to twist her words to his advantage. Stupid doctor! She winced but could not help smiling.

"I'm on my way home," she said. "Still on the highway. I'll-"

Suddenly, a white figure appeared in the middle of the road, causing Jina to panic and swerve off the road. The tires screeched as the car circled around uncontrollably, causing her to scream.

"AHHHHH!"

Her screams alerted Hobin. "Jina!" he yelled. "What happened?"

But she did not answer. Instead, she was screaming as the car went off track, falling headfirst into a small ditch. Jina hit her head and fell unconscious while Hobin kept on yelling her name.

"JINA! JINA!"

She was out cold. Blood trickled down her head and she lay on the wheel, completely out of it. The line went cold and Hobin was scared. He picked up a coat and grabbed his keys, rushing to find her. Rushing to his car, he jumped into it and sped off.

Just be alright, he prayed. Please!

…

"Mmmm…" Jina moaned as she opened her eyes. Everything was a blur to her and her body was heavy. Her head was hurting badly and she smelled blood. Trying to lift her head, a spin of dizziness hit her and she fell on the wheel again.

"Agh…" she winced and tried to get up again. Her ribs were probably broken as well because her chest was in agony. She struggled to unlock the seatbelt with her shaky hands. Finally, she was freed and opened the door.

Jina staggered out of the car, dragging herself forward. The car was half dangling on branches and the other half was almost on the ground. She fell on the hard forest floor with a thud and yelled in pain.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed. Her whole body was in immense pain and she felt the energy being sucked out of her. Thankfully, her legs were still fine so she tried to stand up. She limped towards the road, clutching her chest. There was no car in sight and it was impossible for her to walk all the way home. She was badly injured and needed emergency care. Hobin must have heard her screams so she assumed he was on his way to help her.

"Ow ow ow!" she moaned in pain. It was too much to bear but she had to hold out a while longer. Leaning against a tree, she tried to steady herself. She was so engrossed in her pain, she did not realize that everything around her was completely silent.

A lone figure was watching her with its empty sockets. It stalked her, inching closer by the second. She was unaware of its presence, her senses affected by the accident. Jina closed her eyes, praying that the pain would go away soon. A pair of hands was touching the bark of the tree, making their way towards her. They were so silent that even Jina could not hear their movements. 

The hands were sneaking towards her, eager to feel her. She was the one they seeked. The one whom they wanted.

Jina was still leaning against the tree with her eyes closed when the hands quietly crept to her neck.

"AHHHH!" She screamed again when she felt her throat being throttled. The hands pulled her closer to the tree, choking her. Jina felt the cold touch on her neck, trying to break free but the grip was too firm.

"GAH!" she choked and tried to claw at the hands but to her shock, another pair of hands grabbed her wrists, pinning them back. Another set of hands grabbed her feet, preventing her from moving at all and someone shut her mouth. 

Jina was panicking and thrashing, trying to fight them off but she was too weak to do so. Her vision was darkening but several spirits were whispering in her ears.

"Prince is back...Priestess must die...Prince is back…"

Prince? She weakly thought. She was almost losing consciousness again, her body unable to take any more torture. 

Is this the end? She vaguely wondered as her eyes were shutting.

Suddenly, she heard someone calling out her name and felt the sprinkling of a pleasant smelling powder. The spirits grabbing her squealed in pain and disappeared. A strong pair of hands lifted her up and Jina felt the familiar warm touch.

"H-Hobin?" she whispered. "You're...here…"

"I'll always protect you."

His voice was soothing, yet filled with fear as if he was afraid of losing her. He gripped her tightly against his chest, not letting her go at all. Seeing her in that dire state was killing him. She was his tiny Tinkerbell. She was loving and strong. How could he let her die? He would die with her if that happened.

"I promised you, didn't I?" he whispered. "I'll always protect you. Even if I have to become a monster, I'll protect you. It's a promise I made in death, after all."

But Jina was now completely unconscious. She did not hear the last part but a part of her brain was telling her that she missed something important. Death...why was he talking about death?

Hobin put her in his car and drove at full speed towards the hospital. His eyes were filled with grief and fury. He had touched her and saw what she went through in the past hour. The spirits were trying to kill her. Not one, but hundreds.

Yes. There were hundreds of spirits around her. Jina's cognitive memory stored the images of the ghosts which were looking at her with disdain and hatred. They were adamant on killing her as if they were in a trance. 

I'll destroy them, he vowed. 

…

Miyoo woke up in the middle of the night and was suddenly very still. The room was shrouded with darkness and everyone else was asleep. She did not know why she woke up but something was not right.

Her eyes fell on a charm her grandfather had plastered over the window. It was stuck to the wall but slowly, it was being peeled off. Miyoo's eyes widened in horror as a hand was scratching at it but there was no body attached to it. There was just a lone hand touching it, peeling it as if it did not hurt at all.

Then she glanced outside the window and froze in fear. Several faces were staring at her with ominous smiles on their faces. They were all pale white figures of various ages. Old, young. Male, female. Adults, children.

And they were watching her.

"Don't move!" 

Miyoo did not dare to but was sobbing in fear. Magrod jumped on the bed, growling at the spirits which were now gleefully eyeing the child. They were going to take her away. 

Those bastards must have sent these things, he realized. This is happening again!

"Maggie…"

Miyoo was not scared for herself; she was scared for him. The spirits were going to hurt him to get to her.

"Don't worry kid," he told her. Miyoo was surprised when he was starting to grow in size. His tiny figure was increasing and his two sleeping heads were awake, growling like a pair of wild beasts at the spirits. His fur was silky black and his tail grew longer with every second. His teeth grew into sharp canines and his red eyes began to glow.

A pair of wings erupted from his back, spreading almost as wide as her room. He was now over twenty feet high, a ferocious beast with fire emitting from his mouth.

The spirits were glaring at the demon with hatred but they were unaware of his powers. Miyoo was awed as Magrod stepped forward, looking like a royal beast.

"Now y'all will know what a Vozakel Lord really is!" he threatened and let out an ear piercing growl.