The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (22 page)

Amidst this chaos, something caught Yoori’s eyes.

A breath escaped her when she saw him.

She had been so engrossed in this initiation that she forgot to wonder where he was.  

Like the commanding King that he was, Tae Hyun finally appeared, earning the stares of the active Serpents. Yoori could hear all the Serpents murmur in excitement. It was clear to her that as electrifying as this initiation had been so far, it was nothing compared to what Tae Hyun’s presence would bring. All along, they had been waiting for him. All along, they had been waiting for their King to make his long-awaited appearance. 

Yoori watched him from above, feeling spellbound by his presence. It no longer mattered that there were over a hundred people fighting in the arena. The only thing that mattered was Tae Hyun and his nearness. Her eyes raked over his powerful, muscular body. He was shirtless and wore white pants that were similar to the initiates’ white attire. He walked barefoot on the white pavement, stalking toward the maze like he owned the world. Although he made no sound, he commanded the attention of everyone on the estate.

His eyes firmly set on the initiation ground, he did not deign to slow down when he reached to grab a kendo stick from the grass beside the walkway.

“Fifteen more seconds,” Hae Jin announced to everyone on the roof, consulting the timer on her phone.

Up ahead, Tae Hyun reached the maze. He extended his arm out, pulled himself up using a foothold on the walls, and easily jumped onto the tip of the ivy-covered maze. With the kendo stick in his grasp, he watched over the inhabitants of the labyrinth like a God who had descended to earth.

“Time,” Hae Jin whispered.

Instantly, the Reapers and the Cobras ceased their assaults on the initiates. They stared up at Tae Hyun with reverence and fell on one knee before his presence.

Tae Hyun did not even bat an eyelash. He simply motioned his hand and the active Serpents in the maze stood back up. Tae Hyun leisurely sauntered over to the fire post beside him and lit the torch with a lighter from his pocket. Just as he did this, the torches on the remaining ten posts lit up simultaneously, illuming the initiation field that was once enveloped in darkness.

“Their five minutes is starting,” Yoori uttered, realizing how extensive the Serpents’ initiation was. They did not follow the same procedures as the other Kingdoms’ initiations. This sacred ground was their world and in their world, the “five-minute” timeframe worked differently.

The initiates’ fight with the Reapers and the Cobras were their warm-ups. Their initiation with Tae Hyun was the one they had all been preparing for.

“Why are there two parts to this initiation?” Yoori whispered in astonishment.

“One is to welcome them into the Underworld,” said Kang Min, never veering his eyes from the initiates. “This one will welcome them into the Serpents.”

Yoori could barely catch her breath as she laid her eager eyes on the maze. Another onslaught of silence prevailed over the estate. No one moved an inch. Everyone stared at one entity—one God.

Tae Hyun stood atop the brick wall, staring down at the initiates with firm eyes. It was like he was giving them time to catch their breath before he commenced their initiation.

And finally, when the silence began to become unbearable, Tae Hyun flew off the brick foundation and landed on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the foundation of the earth, he stormed off, jumpstarting the beginning of an initiation that riveted Yoori.

Tae Hyun wielded his kendo stick and attacked every initiate with ease, alternating between being on the ground and jumping onto the walls to throw initiates back onto the garden soil. Every hit he wielded, packs of initiates would fall at once, tripping over one another like dominos. Never once did his kendo stick stray onto the Reapers or the Cobras, all of whom were standing off to the side, looking like ominous statues in the maze. Tae Hyun attacked each initiate with precision, leaving all of them gasping for air.

Yoori observed this scene intently, analyzing his every move and formulating in her mind every countermove she could use to conquer him. Yoori clenched her fists, doing her best to suppress that competitiveness pumping through her. It was the Soo Jin instincts within her, the prideful Queen in her that felt tempted to jump into that labyrinth to battle Tae Hyun. Yoori kept that part of her contained. She was merely a spectator tonight, not a challenger.

When there was only a minute left, Tae Hyun launched himself back onto the top of the maze.

Yoori expelled a breath. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath the entire time until he stopped his attacks. Below, she could hear the groans of the initiates wheezing for air. They looked like men and women who had been hit by a bomb. They were spent, exhausted, and in excruciating pain. 

Curiously, Tae Hyun no longer looked like he was prepared to go in for another ambush. If anything, it looked like he was merely standing there
. . .
waiting for something else to take place next.

Yoori wondered what it was he was waiting for. She wondered if other Serpents were planning to join this maze with him.

Her unspoken question was answered when one initiate climbed onto the brick foundation to join him.

Hae Jin stopped the timer at one minute, and the entire estate held their breath in anticipation.

“Good boy,” Kang Min whispered proudly, watching as the male initiate, who looked to be in his twenties and had dried blood all over his body, stood across from Tae Hyun on the maze.

“Finally,” said Jae Won, watching as the male initiate looked at Tae Hyun like a scared puppy.

Yoori did not need to question Hae Jin or the brothers to comprehend what was happening. She understood the meaning behind this segment of the initiation. The initiates were
never
supposed to exit the maze through the opening. They were never supposed to come back the same way they came in. They may have entered the maze as humans, but they must leave as Serpents. They were almost done with their initiation, but not quite yet.

The nervousness within the initiate’s eyes became more apparent the longer he stared at Tae Hyun. Although the initiate had never witnessed this before, he too, knew what the final portion of this initiation would entail.

“Stand tall, initiate,” Tae Hyun finally said over the wind, his authoritative voice moving the other initiates to a standing position. He was not speaking to them directly, but they listened to his words like they were the gospel all the same. Tae Hyun kept his eyes on the sole initiate standing before him. “Your future brothers and sisters are watching you from above. You do not want to disappoint them, do you?”

The initiate shook his head.

Tae Hyun nodded in approval.

“You have one minute with me,” he began to explain, placing his kendo stick aside. “During this timespan, you must not fall from this maze and touch the ground. If you touch the ground, I will start the clock again. None of you will leave until you see this minute through with me. Do you understand?”

While the initiate hesitantly nodded, Yoori asked, “What if he can’t do the one minute?”

“My brother will keep beating him until he sees it through, or until he dies,” said Hae Jin, her gaze on her brother and the initiate.

When the timer started, Tae Hyun charged at the initiate, elbowed him across the face, kneed him in his stomach, and then tossed him onto the ground like he was a rag doll.

As soon as the initiate hit the earth, the timer was reset to the beginning.

“You see your brothers and sisters up there?” Tae Hyun prompted as the other initiates crowded around the male initiate, helping him stand up. Tae Hyun pointed in the direction of the active Serpents on the estate. His voice thundered with pride as the initiate struggled to regain his breath. “Every second of their five-minute initiation was worth it. Your last four minutes were worth it, but I will see to it that you finish your last minute strong. Now get up!”

With the help of his fellow initiates, the male initiate climbed back onto the brick wall. Although he looked more determined than before to finish this through for his fellow initiates, every time he tried to withstand the one minute, he would get brutally beaten by Tae Hyun before he was tossed back onto the soils of earth.

This occurred so many times that Yoori began to fear for the initiate’s survival. Anymore of this, he would never survive the night.

It was evident that this realization was also clear to his fellow initiates.

After the first initiate’s tenth fall from grace, another initiate, a female initiate with her long black hair tied back, climbed up onto the maze. She stared at Tae Hyun fearfully. Regardless of her fear, she couldn’t let the first initiate go through with this beating any longer.

“Can I take his place?” she asked tentatively.

While the active female Serpents, including Hae Jin, smiled proudly, Tae Hyun nodded and said, “Yes.”

Her valor did not help her with Tae Hyun. Like the other initiate, he showed her no mercy. Within seconds, she was thrown to the floor, crashing onto the initiates beneath her. She would try her luck again but every time, she proved to be no match for Tae Hyun. The cycle continued with initiate after initiate climbing onto the maze to take turns for one another, to help save one another. However, none were able to match up to Tae Hyun. They all kept falling, none ever lasting longer than forty seconds.

As the night started to become darker and colder, Yoori’s heart began to break for them. They looked like children struggling against a God who could not be defeated. They had heart, but they did not have the strength to withstand his beatings.

Yoori could sense that the active Serpents were also beginning to feel sorry for them; they were beginning to root for the initiates to make it through the initiation. They, too, could see how hard the initiates were trying. When she concluded that this was a hopeless cycle and death was near, a Reaper climbed up and joined Tae Hyun on the top of the maze.

The initiates, including Yoori, gazed at him in disbelief. What was he doing?

The Reaper bowed his respect to Tae Hyun before shocking Yoori by saying, “Can I take their place?”

For the first time that night, Tae Hyun smiled. He nodded at the Reaper, clearly pleased with this turn of events.

“Yes,” he said simply.

That was when it all made sense to Yoori. She finally understood what this initiation was leading toward. She understood now why the Serpents loved and revered Tae Hyun so much. The final gatekeeper into the Serpents’ Kingdom wasn’t their King, but a fellow Serpents member. The initiates had already been initiated into the Underworld, but an active Serpent—one of the Reapers—had to sacrifice themselves to bring the initiates into the Kingdom and welcome them to the family.

The timer started and the Reaper battled Tae Hyun, showing the awestruck initiates below how well Tae Hyun had trained his Serpents. Although the Reaper would never be able to defeat the King of Serpents, he was powerful enough to battle with a God; he was strong enough to stay on the maze during that arduous one minute.

When the final seconds clicked to a close, Tae Hyun ceased with his assaults on the Reaper, who was breathing harshly due to his wounds. He may have survived the one minute with Tae Hyun, but that didn’t mean he came out unscathed.

Tae Hyun turned away from the Reaper and walked to the entrance of the maze. By this time, the active Serpents surrounding Yoori all stood up tall, their eyes fastened on their King. Yoori was the only one who remained seated.

After Tae Hyun reached the area beside the opening of the maze, he turned back to the initiates and said, “Climb onto the maze.”

They hastened to obey and climbed on top of the colossal brick structure.

The spectacular sight of over a hundred people, all dressed in white, standing atop that maze gave Yoori chills.

“Turn toward the estate,” Tae Hyun ordered, his back facing the estate.

In harmony, they all turned toward the estate.

“Kneel before your brothers and sisters.”

Without an ounce of hesitation, they all fell on one knee before their predecessors.

“Never forget that you were welcomed into this gang by an existing Serpent,” Tae Hyun said over the wind. “He sacrificed his own blood for you because he sees potential in you. Without him, you would have never seen this moment. Your act right now is not of servitude, but of respect. Respect for your elders, the ones who came before you, and the ones who will continue to sacrifice their well-being for you. Now stand tall.”

As soon as they stood tall, the rest of the active Serpents beside Yoori fell to one knee. Even Hae Jin and the brothers knelt in the direction of the maze. Yoori was shocked, and so were the initiates. It was startling to witness so many formidable looking Serpents kneel before anyone but their King, especially to a group of newly initiated members who looked like dilapidated rag dolls.

“This is their act of respect for you, for the blood you’ve shed to join their Kingdom,” said Tae Hyun over their astonishment. “You have proven yourselves to them and for that, once you step foot on the ground, you will become part of their family.”