Shinjin and Junho burnt a bunch of wood to hold them as burning torches to scare Anna with. They were on her sides, keeping an eye on her as she led them back to the fort. Yumi apparated next to Gayoon.
"Lady Cop, the whole area is clear!" she inford them. "I'll keep on wandering around and make sure that no one strays this way!"
"Alright," Gayoon muttered. Yumi disappeared in thin air. Mina and Kanji were lagging a little behind, talking to each other in hushed tones.
"Are you okay?" Mina asked. "This place is affecting Anna and perhaps Yumi too. But what about you?"
"We can't stay here for long," Kanji agreed. "I"
"What happened?" she asked in a worried tone. Kanji took a deep breath.
"I can't hear Haejong's voice," he muttered. "He was talking to in my head last night but since this morning, I can't hear him at all! It's as if he vanished but I can feel his faint presence. I think the energy from Hell is affecting him as much as it's affecting . But his body is already weakening from the possession. If I keep occupying his body for long, he might even die"
Kanji trailed off. He did not say out loud that if his spirit did not leave Haejong's body, the latter might die. But Mina understood his unspoken words.
"Guess we have only a few hours together, huh?" she sadly mused.
She reached out and held his hand, grasping it firmly. They kept on holding their hands, their hearts aching by the inevitable separation which awaited them. Gayoon glanced at them from ahead and was saddened to see their conditions.
"You guys should stay here," she told them. Mina and Kanji glanced at her.
"No, we'll-" Mina began but Gayoon cut her off.
"Stay with each other," she said. "Let us deal with the ghosts. You guys...you guys need to spend as much ti together as possible. We'll bring back Kanji's body. I promise."
Mina wanted to argue but her desire to stay with Kanji in his last monts was stronger. She could not let him go like this, not without spending more ti with him. There were so many things she still had left to say to him, so many mories yet to create with him.
How could she let him go without saying them?
"We'll stay," Kanji said, still gripping her hand. "And wait for you all. Please co back, alive."
Gayoon nodded and they left Kanji and Mina at the forest. Jason glanced back at the man who claid to be his son and for so reason, his heart was tornted by his plight. He was having a hard ti to believe Haejong's claims and yet, a part of him was feeling Kanji's presence nearby.
Was it all a re coincidence or just the imagination of a bereaved father?
Is he really my son? Jason wondered. For once, he hoped that Haejong was telling the truth and that he really was Kanji's spirit.
The old man tore his eyes away from them and followed Junho and the rest of the gang to the fort. They had re-entered the hall where Jina had supposedly been kept but she was nowhere in sight. Anna took a deep breath.
"She's at that spot," she said, pointing at a hollow space. Junho raised the fiery torch and brandished it in front of her.
"Take Gayoon in there," he ordered.
"Wait" Gayoon said. She turned to Anna, taking off her own jacket. "Give your hoodie," she ordered.
Anna hesitantly took off her hoodie and gave it to Gayoon who wore it over her shirt. She put on the hoodie and added, "Let enter the dinsion. Now. Any funny business and we'll burn you alive!"
The witch gulped and muttered sothing under her breath. She blew so breath on Gayoon who felt the wind blow in a synchronized direction towards the place where Jina was allegedly at.
"Follow the wind and you'll enter the dinsion," Anna gritted, still fearful of the fire in front of her.
"Wait!" Junho said. He stepped forward and gave the ring to Gayoon.
"Keep this," he said. "Use it exactly at 12:04 AM to open the portal. Unlike Transporters, you won't be able to survive in that world for more than an hour so your body will weaken quickly. You must finish off everything in a span of five minutes. Got it?"
"Got it," she said. She took the ring and turned around, ready to enter the temporary dinsion.
Gayoon did as she was told and followed the wind. She felt a chill as she passed through what felt like cold water, leaving the warmth behind and entering an icy altar.
Junho, Shinjin and Jason watched in awe as Gayoon disappeared in thin air.
"Did this witch send her to Jina?" Shinjin whispered.
"I did!" Anna claid. "I'm not strong enough to create another dinsion spell! She has gone to et her daughter. I swear!"
"We have no other choice but to believe her," Junho gritted. "Tie her hands and feet to that pillar! Cover her hands with an oil soaked sack. If she tries anything funny, we can burn her instantly."
Jason and Shinjin dragged Anna to a pillar and tied a sack around her hands. They poured oil on it and then proceeded to tie her feet.
"Put a sack around her face as well!" Jason suggested. Shinjin put a sack over her face, rendering her unable to see anything. Anna whimpered as she felt Jason sit next to her, holding a pyre to keep her from doing anything. They had completely trapped her.
"Let's start the ritual," Shinjin declared.
.
Outside, Mina and Kanji were sitting under a tree, wondering how to broach the painful topic in hand.
"Why didn't you agree to give up the life of cri?" Mina whispered. "Even when you had the chance to run away with , you refused and even lied to . Why?"
"I had too many enemies," Kanji said in a bitter tone. "Even if the Lin's spared , there are tons of other enemies out there who want to kill . I could give up being a mafia leader but those people will continue to haunt . And you would be in danger"
He turned to face her. "I couldn't lose you," he admitted. "If sothing had happened to you, I couldn't have lived with myself."
"None of that mattered!" Mina exclaid. "As long as you were with , I was safe! I'd rather have lived my life happily with you than think about who's going to kill or not!"
"I just didn't want to endanger you!" Kanji protested.
"Kanji, people die everyday!" she exclaid. "So are killed and so die of natural causes. So people die with their loved ones by their side while others die alone. Nevertheless, everyone has to die soday. But that does not an we'll stop living! Death is unexpected. It'll hit us when we least expect it but should we stop living because of it? Stay fearful all the ti? Or should we grab this chance and live a life without regrets?"
Mina gazed at him with her tearful eyes, silently demanding answers. "Look where we are now," she whispered. "Look what happened to us now"
Kanji did not say anything but took off his jacket and put it over her head. She completely broke down underneath it, unable to hold back her tears anymore. He was tornted by her wails of sadness, his own grief overshadowed by Mina's overwhelming emotions.
Mina lay her head on his shoulder, still crying. The silence of the hellish forest was torn apart by her cries, making even the souls of the dead feel sad for the couple whose ti was shortened by fate.
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