The Dark Prince Chapter 3, a manhwa/korean comics/만화 fanfic

Well guys, merry Christmas. This is my gift to you, an update which I finished at 1:20 in the morning. Hope you enjoy.

If you can I would take it as a Christmas present (and birthday present for 10 days ago) if you TOLD ME YOUR PAIRING! I would like to hear them, even if they're not ones I have in the description. Simply justify them and I'll seriously consider them (but no yaoi. I've got nothing against gays, they're my equals in every logical way, but I refuse to write two most likely straight characters together for no reason).

In this chapter we see Baam join FUG and later we meet Wagnan & Co. (sorta, you'll see) and get to see what FUG did to Enryu's disciple…

Now… ONTO THE STORY!

In the Outer Tower, in a forest there was a relatively large green hill, as normal and regular as the forest in which it was situated, with only two things that weren't normal being situated anywhere near it: a redhead late-twentysomething redheaded young man and a young brown haired young man with quite long hair. These two were some of the most irregular (pun intended) things in the entirety of the Tower, with their own continued existence in the Tower being unnatural and alien.

"And that, Baam, is why you never get a women from the Yeon Family mad, as it may end up costing you all of your hair," Enryu told his pupil as they lay on the grass, enjoying a brief reprieve from all the work and training that they spent much time doing, with Enryu attempting to impart some of his immense knowledge onto the younger Irregular as to not make the same mistakes as he had done once (*cough* seven times in one week *cough*), as he stared off into the faux sky that covered the ceilings Tower.

"Aha," Baam said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the recount of proportions of epic proportions which Enryu had just imparted onto him. Mr Enryu's story aside, the day was incredibly peaceful and he was enjoying the time as it allowed him to simply appreciate the simpler things that life had to offer, like humble companionship, with no worries at all.

As if on some kind of cue, there was a flicker in an area a few metres away from the duo, a twist in the fabric of space itself. This alone put Baam on edge, and brought him onto his feet, ready to move away at a moment's notice, whereas Enryu continued to lay there without a care in the world. The twist in the air then occurred again, only this time it continued and begun to turn into a spiral, from which a pair not unlike the Irregular's on the hill were expelled from it.

The first and more dangerous of the two (if Baam's sensing was to be believed, which he had no doubt it was) was a man. The man had somewhat dark, lightly ashen brown hair set in a perm (which Baam felt was a little stupid, but he wasn't one to judge), cut short with only minor sideburns adorning the sides of his face. The man's skin was pale, but had a mild olive tint which seemed to imply that he was naturally pale and this was as close to a tan as he could get [1]. The man was handsome, and was clothed in a dark nay buttoned shirt and black pants and dress shoes, his whole image giving off that of a person who put a deal of effort into their appearance (even if the perm was… questionable).

And the man's companion was someone Baam had a vague sense of recognition, but he couldn't quite place it (they may have looked like someone who failed on the 2F due to Mr Lero-Ro's Shinsoo barrier); the other half of the pair was a young woman, around Baam's own age (he presumed, as time had little meaning inside the Tower). She had long, bright red hair and eyes (a Scarlet Witch perhaps?) and porcelain-like skin. Her beauty was only challenged (if not enhanced) by the presence of the eyepatch on her face, a black thing with intricate gold trim in fine patterns engraved upon it. The redhead was wearing a white cardigan with gold accents over a rich red shirt and black jeans. The redhead had a small mischievous grin on her face, which made Baam slightly self-conscious at her gaze towards him. [2]

"Why are you here?" Enryu asked disinterestedly, not wanting to get involved in some conflict that had nothing to do with him except warmongers and insurgents wanting his power and Ranking. And he'd pin these people for the latter of the two, as he was somewhat sure the man was Jinsung Ha, known for renouncing his family joining FUG. As such his expectations were low at best.

"We're not after you, Red Tower," Jinsung said, maintaining his calm in the presence of the man whom held the second highest Ranking in all of the Tower. "We have no intention to fight either, we're just after him," he said, pointing at Baam not in an unfriendly manner, his face showing nothing but pure calmness and a lack of attachment that made it clear that this was simply business and not related to personal matter; in short, Jinsung didn't care about Baam, FUG did. That in itself was infinitely worse.

At this, Enryu's blood ran cold, despite having no outwards effects on his body language that this had any effect on him. Even though he had a suspicion that FUG would eventually come for Baam, as they did with all Irregulars they could lay their hands on, he didn't expect them to be so bold or blatant, as they tended to operate more in the shadows and only at times that they knew they would win. No, they were smarter than that, if they were prepared to be this obvious then it meant one thing: they had leverage over Baam.

Baam himself did a commendable job at keeping his cool at the stranger's statement, merely freezing for a moment before he moved back into a neutral stance with a face schooled and devoid of all emotion, something that Enryu had schooled into him.

"And what makes you think I'm just going to give you my little affiliate here?" Enryu asked, not once shifting his gaze from the sky which he had been staring at, as he tried to figure out what this man had that he believed would be enough to make such a demand from him and assume he'd make it out of here alive, and with Baam in tow nonetheless.

"Because we have several FUG members positioned on the 18th and 20th Floors, in the same areas as Augero Agnis Koon, Rak Wraithraiser, Hatsu, Ship Leesoo, Androssi Zahard, Anak Zahard, and Hong Chunhwa [3]. If you don't come with us, we shall have them all killed within the minute," Jinsung informed them, unflinchingly cold and calculated, his tone leaving no room for negotiations. "Even with your skill, Red Tower, you can't stop this."

'He's right,' Enryu mentally admitted, as if he was telling the truth then he honestly wouldn't be able to; he could kill both of the FUG members with relative ease, and he could (technically) be at multiple places at once via Shinsoo projections and teleportation, he wouldn't be able to stop it, as he did not have any real idea of what Baam's friends (he assumed they were at least) looked like, nor what the FUG assassins looked like, leaving him in a situations where it was a pure gamble.

'What…' Baam thought, frozen to the spot as he shook in shock, as he realised that his friends' lives hung in the balance right now, with the only real path he could take being to go with them and hope that his comrades would stay safe for another day, despite the uncertainty which weighed down upon him. 'What can I do…?' he thought, as the weight of his friends' lives weigh down upon him and threaten to crush him under it.

"If you don't come with us then you're friends will end up…" the former Ha formed here, before an object rose from his shadow, a head-shaped object covered in inky darkness, "just like Sunwoo Nare." As he said this the remaining shadows fell from the object, revealing it to be the head of the recently deceased Regular, a look of mild surprise engraved forever upon her childlike face.

It was at this that Baam lost all remnants of control of himself he had previously possessed, as he collapsed onto his knees, bile rising in his throat as the cold, dead eyes of Sunwoo stared into his soul, unflinchingly, whispering of how he had killed her. 'No… I didn't kill you… I didn't… I…' he thought to himself as he lurched forwards onto his hands, vomit leaving his mouth as he felt nausea and guilt flood his system.

"If it's any consolation I didn't want it to happen this way," Jinsung told his target, one of the illusive Irregulars, anomalies of the Tower with the power to do the impossible and break the Tower's laws [4], "but you will be coming with us one way or another." However, the Ranker's condolences did little to comfort the young soon-to-be Slayer nominee, as he was still horrified at the idea of losing his friends and being responsible for the death of another person; not an animal of some sort, but a human, an irreplaceable being that would forever be unique, a beautiful flame which should have shone brightly for many more years… and Baam had extinguished it…

"And do tell what's stopping me from killing you right now and going to rescue the hostages?" Enryu asked lazily, only now making eye contact with the FUG agents, his gaze speaking of death in various ways, from slow and torturous to quick and painless, all easily within his capabilities. However only the youngest of the pair reacted, losing her easy-going smile, a thin line of fear replacing it, as Jinsung already knew what one of the highest of all Rankers could do to them.

"Nothing," Jinsung admitted, however his body language spoke only of assurance in his life's continuation, "except the fact that you would get your friend's teammates killed. And let me reassure you, it will be slow." Of course the last part was a blatant lie on Jinsung's end, not that they needed to know that, as FUG assassins were normally told to kill and get out of there as soon as possible as to maintain the faction's aura of power.

"I won't let you do that," Baam said, standing up on shaky legs, swaying precariously as if a breeze could knock him and his resolve over, as six dark blue Bahngs formed above his shoulders, each pulsing with power. 'Impressive,' Jinsung thought impassively, as he knew that this boy was no threat to them at all. "I will make sure you don't leave here alive," he said darkly, his hair covering his face in a shadow.

"What he said," Enryu informed them, as countless red Bahngs formed around the FUG duo, all of them pulsing with energy, ready to explode at any given moment. "I guess this is payback for trying to pinch my pupil FUG," he said as he resumed staring back at the clouds, "after all, he won't be your pawn to pierce the King [5]."

"Oh? Did you forget what we said before," the former Ha Family member said with a raised eyebrow, "we can and will kill your friends, Twenty-Fifth Baam. If you kill us now, their blood will be on your hands… We didn't come here to take you, we came here so you could come with us. But if you don't, then we shall massacre them all, starting with Koon Augeuro Agnis…"

At the mention of the murder of his friends bordering on reality Baam's Bahngs dispersed and his face fell, his resolve shattering, unable to properly cope with the stress that burdened him. Jinsung moved forwards, weaving in between Bahngs until he reached Baam, where he placed a hand on his shoulder and a swirling mass of grey Shinsoo enveloped the pair, with a similar aura enveloping Hwa Ryun.

"I guess this is goodbye Baam…" Enryu muttered, just loud enough for Baam to hear, "but I'd like you to remember something… Yeon women can be scary as all fuck." With that nugget of "wisdom", Enryu disappeared from the site in a flash of red, leaving Baam a small, but sincere, smile as he vanished.

'Enryu…' Baam thought, as the grey Shinsoo enveloped him and his soon to be associates in a vortex. With that, FUG had found itself in possession of a boy with the power to kill the King, or to be killed by the King.

- Some Time Later | 20F Testing Area –

'I can do this…' Ja Wagnan thought to himself as he prepared to enter the Test of the 20th Floor, knowing that if he didn't make it this time then… it was probably better to not think about it. Said Regular knew that he wasn't weak (or at least he didn't think that he was…), but there were some absolute monsters that came through here, and with his luck, he'd be reliving his past attempts and have some unfortunate mishap early on.

'I've just got to psyche them out… make sure I'm the top dog…' he thought as a way to calm his growing nerves, repeating them to himself as the doors to the room finally opened, spilling bright white light onto his eyes, blinding him temporarily.

What Wagnan saw would make him wish that he had never ever entered this godforsaken tower; in the room were the remnants of a one-sided slaughter. There was blood stains on the right wall and eastern section of the floor in large amounts, but no bodies (he could only presume that the Test regulators had removed them as to not hamper the test) [6]. The young Regular knew that the person who had done this wouldn't be satisfied with just those people, no, they would be one of the super-strong Regulars, impossible to defeat in a straight battle, with the only way to beat was to not fight in the first place. He finally took in the appearance of the room's other occupant

The person's appearance was dominated by the tattered black cloak that covered them from their head down to their mid-thigh, with the cloak's front being held together with a red pin (a brooch, Wagnan mentally corrected) with an emblem of a trio of eyes stacked upon each other in a pyramid-like fashion; on what was visible of their lower half they wore dark brown pants. However what was most noticeable of the person was their face, or rather their lack of one; it wasn't as if they didn't have a face, but rather you couldn't see it. It was covered with the hood of their cloak, with a shadow obscuring it from view (although, he thought, it's too dark to be natural…).

'Why does nothing ever go my way?!' Wagnan mentally despaired, before remembering his plan, and promptly altering it to work with someone of their calibre (with the reminder of Lurker's eerily grinning face and the words "skeleton" repeating in his mind as incentive). "You've done a good job of beating all those guys," he said, putting on a suave demeanour that radiated confidence (he hoped), "but do you think you can beat all the others by yourself? If you go alone then you'll wear yourself out and lose at the last person; but if you had help, then you'd be able to rest and recuperate. Don't be foolish, let's be partners?"

The only response was the slight movement of their head (which, in retrospect, Wagnan may have imagined), which caused the load that the blonde was carrying to be lifted off his shoulders knowing that he had a stronger partner at his side.

- Some Time Later | 20F Testing Area -

Viole simply sat and watched as more Regulars came into the room, and watched as the blonde failed to out anyone that came through (and eventually made the little girl cry). It was only when the grey haired man begun to talk of voting that he finally realised that there was only a single person remaining to enter; it was time for a culling of the herd, or, in other words, a slaughter.

All of the sudden the hooded participant stood up and said one thing that put everyone on edge: "The time for talking is over, now you all die [7]." With that single sentence all semblance of safety was shattered, Gosen instantly put her arm around Miseng to calm her younger cousin (and, admittedly, herself) down, Horyang started to ready the Devil, Wagnan begun to slowly reach for a Shinsoo bomb, and the grey haired man simply grinned confidently.

Akraptor simply stared at the hooded man before him, staring down at him in an attempt to show him just how ludicrous the idea of him beating them all was. "You're going to beat me, Glasses, Girl Scout, Right Wing, and Blondey, all by yourself…? Kids these days…" with that final phrase said the Regular grabbed his black umbrella and pointed it at the other person's throat, "so full of yourselves."

What the older man wasn't expecting was a mass of something to come out of nowhere and nearly slice his weapon in half, if he hadn't quickly moved it out of the way of the thing. When he looked back at his opponent he saw that they were holding a mute black sword, constantly wavering as if its presence was not quite fixed in reality, if it could even be called that; what they were holding appeared to be nothing more than a simple curved blade, lacking any hilt or guard.

In the time that his opponent was looking at his budding sword Viole wasted no time and tried to quickly behead them, to end the fight before it had ever truly begun. Sadly the other man jumped back at this, clearly not wanting to be separated from their lower half. "Bastard… why are you doing this? Like I said, you can't beat us all…" the silver haired male said, eyes narrowed at the person who had very nearly become his executor.

'What's up with him..?' Wagnan thought, unsure of what to do in this situation, 'He didn't say a single thing and now this? What the old man said was true though, he can't win against all of us, it's five to one to us, and he wants to fight? Does he have a death wish or something?'

For a brief moment the only sound was the noise created by the hooded combatant walking towards Akraptor. "Stop it," Horyang said from behind the person who had caused a miasma of chaos to the Test, for no apparent reason. "I don't know how strong you may be, but on the 20th Floor no one will go easy on you, we are all here to climb. You're just making it easier for the other groups, stop it. There is no need for fighting."

"This isn't a fight…" Viole said as he closed his eyes, an aura of black energy beginning to cackle off him with the very air around him darkening [8], "this is the will of Grace."

AND CUT!

There it is ladies and gentlemen, chapter 3 of The Dark Prince (the name may change, I don't know). I'm very sorry about the lack of updating, but I've been playing Warframe and (more recently Fallout 4), and (more prominently) I had exams which I (failed to) study for.

LISTEN UP! I've got a request: Tell me your choice of pairing. I know most people won't read this, but I want to know you pairing, even though I'll probably ignore it for my own, I WILL take suggestions if reasons are given. But do note, I have never written romance nor am I a romantic person, so the romance will be slow, crappy, and probably not realistic, as if I did it the normal and smart way it would suck ever more (imagine My Immortals bad).

And I get the part where FUG takes Baam away is sort of bullshit, but it had to happen and I tried to make it realistic, which I think I did (as FUG has, in the past, assassinated people during Tests).

Also, I'm quite sorry I failed to describe Wagnan & Co. but we all know what they look like, I couldn't do the scene without repeating what SIU did (which I dislike doing, I prefer to add my own touch or skim over it).

TOG SPOILERS!

Damn, is ToG heating up or what? First we get confirmation that Hoaqin and Co. are White (I FUCKING KNEW IT!), then we learn more about magic (which I will explore in the future, as Baam already uses it), then we see how strong Yihwa is (she's getting pretty badass, not gonna lie), then we (sorta) see how strong Baam has got (and he hasn't fully awakened yet! I really want to see his full state), and now Hoaqin vs Vicent and a possessed Wagnan? I read a comment about that that said the Heavenly Mirror's third ability had to do with allowing someone to possess the wielder, which would make sense.

And, HOLY FUCK THE ART! SIU, you are outstanding, truly, you are a gift to all our eyes that we can never give enough for. I can't wait to see it animated (if that ever happens), although I shall also dread that it won't be able to live up to SIU's godlike standards.

TOG SPOILERS!

I shall reiterate what I previously said, but LISTEN UP! I've got a request: Tell me your choice of pairing. I know most people won't read this, but I want to know you pairing, even though I'll probably ignore it for my own, I WILL take suggestions if reasons are given. But do note, I have never written romance nor am I a romantic person, so the romance will be slow, crappy, and probably not realistic, as if I did it the normal and smart way it would suck ever more (imagine My Immortals bad).

And I get the part where FUG takes Baam away is sort of bullshit, but it had to happen and I tried to make it realistic, which I think I did (as FUG has, in the past, assassinated members of certain Tests).

But if you have any questions please PM me or leave it in a review, I make a point of answering them all without fail.

Now, please leave a review where you point out all my flaws and make me cry in a corner as it helps me become a better write! With you help, one day, I will BECOME HOKAGE! Err… I mean, FIND THE ONE PIECE! (No, not quite)… DEFEAT YWACH! (God damn it…) No, I have it now, I'LL BECOME THE EXIS OF STORIES (that would actually be OP as all fuck due to the nature of Exeeeeeeeees).

Anyway, have a good Christmas and I hope you all have good days. Goodbye.

Story Word Count: 3150 words (this is my new standard/minimum).

[1] Jinsung is from the Ha Family, which is Novick, Yuri and Yura are all pale people, and Jinsung has a weird complexion which seems like he SHOULD have a tan, but got this instead. I suck at knowing about how tanned people are, as my skin is olive and can pass as tanned easily (to me people are either pale or not pale, I'm a horrible judge).

[2] You may think I'm exaggerating her looks, but she IS the best looking female character of Season 1 (in my opinion and the author's, Season 2 (with Yuri and Yeon/Yihwa still up there, but the will of God (SIU) cannot be ignored).

[3] I'm not going to lie to you, I'm unsure if Anak signed the Friend List thing, but I chucked her in because she seemed like a good pick and Baam is cordial with her at least. As for Hong Chunhwa… what can I say, I like the guy; he's a good guy whom we have no idea what happened to, so I'm just chucking him in due to personal preference and the fact he seems to get along with Baam.

[4] By this I mean what people PERCEIVE as the Tower's rules, like Guardian's being immortal and eternal, all people passing through Floor 2, or all people being unable to kill Zahard (although that would be an artificial law).

[5] In case you didn't get this, it means that Enryu knows about the Thorn and its capabilities and FUG's plans for it and Baam (although only vaguely).

[6] Fun fact kiddos, Wagnan was completely wrong here, Viole brutally killed them and ate their souls (if you're reading these notes then you deserve a little extra for it, in this case, an as of yet unseen ability of his). In the original version Viole straight up murdered them all and pulverised them to the point where there were lumps of brain and flesh everywhere, but I toned it down because Wagnan wouldn't want to work with a killer at this stage, but the killing will become more evident later on (*cough* terrorist attacks by FUG *cough*)

[7] In case you haven't realised yet Baam isn't afraid to kill, so that's not what's limiting him; the thing that's limiting him is his fear of what he will become if he goes all out, if he will lose what little piece of Twenty-Fifth Baam, the innocent friend of all his 2F comrades, and Jyu Viole Grace, Slayer candidate of FUG.

[8] This is basically a bastardised and underdeveloped version of what happens when Enryu manipulates Shinsoo, except Baam's has a shorter range and no influence in terms of control or properties of Shinsoo like Enryu does.

If you're still here then you deserve even more than vague hints to Viole's future powers. No, you get something special… like the fighting rosters for the future! It will be (and these aren't finalised):

Yihwa vs Lurker and his mooks (it won't be a boring or quick fight, oh no, this will be longer and gruesome)

Rapedevil vs Horyang (boring but necessary)

Love vs Viole (boring but the Test will be different; how? I don't know yet :3)

Wagnan vs Nia (yes, but Nia will be MUCH stronger than normal due to unforeseen implications, which you may more may not like)

Akraptor vs a Giant Mook (that's more of a placeholder before I figure anything out, but it may result in it being skipped over due to my disgust in regurgitating what SIU has already done without any change)

Have fun with that second Christmas present from me!