Soul shifters
Chang Feng and Saebyeok both sneaked out of the building and headed towards the border.
The duo tried their best not to be spotted by other mages.
If they were to be caught leaving the Sato, then it would spell their end.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived in front of the glowing huge gate.
Chang Feng brought out the key and inserted it into the gate, and it began to open slowly.
When the gate finally opened, the duo traversed into the jungle and made their way to the palace.
***
The Royal palace was located a few miles away from Sato.
Inside the palace, the king sat comfortably on his throne, his wife, and crown prince were sitting beside him, and the queen's hand maid was standing beside the queen.
The entrance door swung open and a guard walked in and bowed down his head.
"Your highness, Sato Mages are here." The guard informed, his head facing the floor.
"Sato Mages? What do they want?" The king asked with a confused expression.
He didn't recall sending for the mages or making any deal with Sato country to make the Mages visit him.
"Send them in."
Giving out the order, the guard bowed down his head and walked out.
Seconds after the guard left, Jun-Woo and the rest of the mages walked in and stood in front of the king's throne.
They all bowed their heads collectively.
"Your Highness." Jun-Woo greeted, his head bowed down.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" The king asked. The confused expression was still evident on his face.
"Last night, a Soul Monster broke into our capital." Jun-Woo informed, causing the king's eyes to widen in fear.
"A Soul monster? Does that mean someone is practicing the transfiguration of souls?" The Crown prince asked.
"Yes. Whoever is practicing this sorcery has the goddess energy Zen in their possession." Jun-Woo explained.
"How does that have to do with the king?" The queen's handmaid chimed in. "If Sato country is facing problems, then you should deal with it yourself and not come here!"
"We didn't come here to seek for help, Sun-I." Jun-Woo replied. "We are only here to retrieve something."
"And what's that?" The King asked.
"The goddess of Souls body!" Jun-Woo replied instantly, causing the tension in the room to rise.
The queen's right hand maid, Sun-I, became restless after hearing the words Jun-Woo spoke.
"The body of the goddess is safely stored in the palace and you have no right to come here demanding for it!" Sun-I voiced out with a restless expression.
"If truly it's in the palace. Then allow us to take a look at it." Jun-Woo demanded.
The queen's heart began to race. The king had no idea that she already moved out the body to Sun-I's zone.
If the mages were to discover that the body was no longer in the palace, then things might get messy and they might end up linking it back to her.
"You can't just walk in here and start demanding things!" The queen countered.
"If they want to see it, then let them. It's the least I could pay them with compared to what they've done for us." The King voiced out.
"Please, Take them to the secret chamber where the body is."
The queen shifted her gaze to Sun-I expecting her to be panicking. Instead, she gave a smirk.
***
Chang arrived at the palace compound with Saebyeok and the duo began to sneak to the back area of the palace to avoid getting spotted.
The day was already dark, so it was easy for them to hide in the shadows.
"Did you hear that?" Saebyeok asked.
Footsteps could be heard on the roofs as several ninjas that had their faces covered jumped from roof to roof.
"Who are those guys?" Chang whispered, hiding behind a wall.
"Soul shifters." Saebyeok replied. "They must have been sent by the one who possesses the Zen to come retrieve the body before the Mages does."
"But the body isn't in the palace anymore." Chang uttered with a confused expression.
"How sure are you?" Saebyeok inquired.
Chang stood there in silence.
He did see a cargo leaving the palace quietly some weeks back.
Based on the way the cargo left silently and in the middle of the night, Chang was convinced that they are moving the goddess's body out of the palace.
But with everything going on now, he was beginning to have second thoughts on whether it was actually the body or just another important thing.
"Let's just search around. The guards and mages would be busy taking care of the soul shifters, giving us all the time we need to do what we want." Chang said.
"Even if we find it, we can't just carry the body and leave without getting spotted." Saebyeok replied.
"Since my energy Zen is no longer in my body, then the body is rather useless at the moment. All I need now is my blade and armor. If I get those two, it would be easier to locate my Zen." Saebyeok explained.
What's the use of leaving a useless body to enter another useless body?
The body of the goddess was useless without the energy Zen inside, and if she should shift her soul back into that body, it would only spell her demise.
She was a wanted criminal by the 7 gods. If she should enter that body without a Zen, then she would be too weak to fight back when they come for her and might just end up getting killed forever.
"All right then, this way." Chang Feng remarked, leading her into the palace building.
***
The mages were currently being led to where the King claims to store the goddess of souls body.
Walking through the open compound, Jun-Woo's eyesight caught something on the roof.
"A soul shifter?" Jun-Woo mused, unsheathing his blade and it began to glow.
Jun-Woo swung out the blade and long thin energy could be seen leaving the sword and heading towards the soul shifter at incredible speed.
In the last second, the soul shifter performed a front flip, dodging the attack, and landing on the ground from the roof.
"A soul shifter!" The mages exclaimed, unsheathing their glowing blades and making their fighting stance.
Their blades glowed brightly in the darkness as they held it firmly in their hands,ready to attack.
While the mages were still doubting if they would be able to defeat this one soul shifter, 6 more soul shifters emerged from the shadows.
Their eyes pitch black, looking for a soul to devour.