Chapter 41: A Sacrifice of Blood

The battle raged around them like a tempest, and Seojin could feel the weight of the day pressing down on him. The pain from his wound throbbed with every movement, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins kept him fighting. Jaeha remained close, his eyes never straying far from his brother, ensuring his protection even as he cut down their enemies with the precision of a master swordsman.

Jaeha’s rage was palpable. Every strike he delivered was laced with fury, as if the mere sight of Seojin’s blood had ignited a fire within him. His sword slashed through the air with deadly accuracy, and with each enemy that fell, his dominance over the battlefield grew. Seojin could see it—Jaeha was not just fighting for the kingdom; he was fighting to keep Seojin by his side, at all costs.

“Seojin, stay behind me!” Jaeha commanded, his voice sharp as steel.

“I can fight!” Seojin protested, his grip tightening on his sword. The wound on his shoulder burned, but the thought of Jaeha fighting alone was far more unbearable.

“Stay behind me!” Jaeha growled, his eyes flashing with anger. “I won’t risk losing you!”

Seojin hesitated, his chest tightening with conflicting emotions. He wanted to prove his strength, to stand as Jaeha’s equal, not someone who needed constant protection. But Jaeha’s desperation was undeniable, and Seojin knew that challenging him now would only deepen his brother’s obsession.

Before he could argue further, a sudden horn blast echoed across the battlefield. Both Jaeha and Seojin turned toward the sound, their hearts sinking as they saw what it heralded—a new wave of enemies, reinforcements from a neighboring kingdom that had joined the fray.

“They’re coming from the north!” a soldier yelled, panic rising in his voice. “We’re surrounded!”

Jaeha’s face darkened, his jaw clenching in fury. “Damn it,” he muttered, gripping his sword even tighter. “We can’t let them cut us off from the capital.”

“We need to retreat,” Seojin urged, his mind racing with strategies to avoid total defeat. “If we regroup with the rest of our forces, we can still—”

“No!” Jaeha’s voice cut through Seojin’s words, filled with an unrelenting resolve. “We’re not retreating. We fight until the end.”

“Jaeha, please!” Seojin’s voice was pleading now. “If we stay, we’ll be overrun!”

Jaeha’s gaze locked onto Seojin’s, fierce and unwavering. “I told you, Seojin, I will not back down. Not when you’re at risk. I will die before I let them take you from me.”

The intensity of Jaeha’s words left Seojin momentarily speechless. This was the depth of Jaeha’s love—so fierce, so overwhelming, that it blinded him to the danger that surrounded them. But Seojin could not let Jaeha sacrifice himself. Not like this.

Just as Seojin opened his mouth to protest, a sudden movement caught his eye. One of the enemy soldiers had broken through their defenses and was charging straight at Jaeha with a raised spear. Time seemed to slow as Seojin’s instincts took over. Without thinking, he threw himself in front of his brother, raising his sword to deflect the blow.

The impact sent a shockwave through Seojin’s body, and he felt the spear glance off his blade before cutting across his side. Pain erupted through him, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground. He would not fall. Not now.

“Seojin!” Jaeha’s roar echoed through the battlefield, his eyes wide with a mixture of rage and terror.

Before Seojin could react, Jaeha’s sword flashed, and in one swift motion, he struck down the attacker. Blood sprayed across the ground, and the enemy soldier crumpled at their feet. But Jaeha’s attention was entirely on Seojin now, his hands reaching out to steady him as Seojin swayed from the pain.

“You’re hurt,” Jaeha growled, his voice trembling with a barely contained fury. “You shouldn’t have done that!”

Seojin winced, pressing a hand to his bleeding side. “I… I couldn’t let him hurt you,” he whispered, his vision blurring slightly from the pain.

Jaeha’s eyes darkened with a possessive rage. “No one touches you. No one,” he hissed, pulling Seojin close as if to shield him from the world. “You are mine, Seojin. Do you understand? No one will ever take you from me.”

Seojin felt the weight of Jaeha’s words, the suffocating intensity of his love and obsession. It was as if Jaeha was willing to burn the world down to keep him safe, to keep him bound to him. And yet, despite the overwhelming nature of Jaeha’s feelings, Seojin couldn’t deny the pull of their bond.

“I understand,” Seojin whispered, though the weight of those words left a heavy ache in his chest.

Jaeha’s grip tightened as if afraid Seojin would slip away. “Good,” he murmured, his voice soft but dangerous. “Now stay close. We fight together.”

As they turned to face the next wave of enemies, Seojin couldn’t shake the feeling that this battle was only the beginning. The war outside mirrored the one brewing between them, and with every passing moment, the lines between love and obsession blurred further.

To be continued...