Doctor Demon

"So this is the website," Jina muttered. It was 12 AM and they had entered the Blue Fish website which would be active for one minute. They were using Baekha's laptop which was tracking the IP address of the site. She inputted some codes and was scanning through the millions of IP addresses which popped up.

"No good," she said. "This website is blocking all my attempts to hack it. I won't be able to track it like this."

"We'll have to start the game then," Yoonmin said. "There's no other way."

"I'll try to track the demon with Bomi," Junho said. "He's starting a seance right now at his place."

"We'll stay here and look after the kids," Jina told him. Jiwoon and Hobin nodded.

"Alright," Junho said, picking up his coat. "I'll let you know if anything happens."

He nodded at them and left the house. Miyoo was asleep on a couch, sucking on her thumb. Since they had no idea what sort of demon was at loose, it was best to keep the child nearby so that supernatural creatures could not attack her again. She was kept in a salt and peach circle as extra protection.

Meanwhile, the five players took their positions. Thanks to Yoonmin's connections, they managed to get their hands on a few free gaming laptops which were going to allow them to play for long hours on the dark web.

"Woah!" Soobin squealed as she checked out her new laptop. "How did you get your hands on these?"

"I know a few people who owe me favors," Yoonmin smirked.

"More like you blackmailed them into doing your bidding," Minyoon muttered.

"He's still more useful than you," Baekha remarked.

"I'm still the most useful out of the lot," Magrod claimed.

"Stop it, kids!" Hobin snapped. "Just play the game!"

Jina only sighed. She was about to sit when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She greeted the caller. Hobin frowned when he saw her face turning pale.

"What?" She exclaimed. "Another one? Alright, we're coming."

She turned to Hobin and Jiwoon. "There's been another Blue Fish murder," she revealed. "It's not far from here."

"This game is becoming dangerous day by day," Jiwoon groaned.

"The longer the demon stays free, the more lives are in danger," Hobin said. "We should go."

"But the kids…"

Jina did not want to leave the teenagers alone but Yoonmin stood up to reassure his sister.

"We'll be fine," he told her. "That demon can't hurt us. You should go and handle your case."

"Yeah!" Minyoon nodded. "You know very well that we won't sign any dumb contract unless there's money involved!"

"But-"

"Priestess, don't underestimate me!" Maggie bragged. "I may look cute and small but I can take down a thousand demons at once. There was an instance when I kicked the ass of twenty Akens-"

"They'll be fine," Hobin said loudly. "We need to go and check the crime scene. It won't take long. Besides, to play the game, they need to be in complete silence."

Jina bit her lip but finally nodded. "Okay," she conceded. "But don't you dare ignore my calls. Look after Miyoo!"

"We will!" Soobin assured her. "She's safe with us."

Jina nodded before leaving with Jiwoon and Hobin.

"Alright!" Baekha exclaimed. "Now that the adults are gone, it's time to play!"

The laptops were connected to a large screen which showed them the game's progress. Baekha navigated the cursor and opened a forum which was solely for the game called War of the Leagues.

"The game isn't that simple," Baekha began. "It may seem like a normal war and strategy game but it's not. Remember that these players are not ordinary gamers. They're hackers and possibly criminals too. Don't share anything unnecessary with them. Also, don't go around asking them where SJS66 is. If you do, SJS66 might be alerted."

"Then how are we going to find him?" Soobin asked.

"We'll be in one team," Baekha stated. "You see these different groups here? These are called leagues. All the players have their own league and they stick to it. We're all soldiers here who will be fighting for our own leagues and acquiring lands. The more lands we acquire, the more our level will increase. Now, the problem with this game is that everyone in the same level is pitted against each other. Which means as level one players, we'll be interacting with the basic level players for now. I've talked to Gale and he told me that SJS66 is on level seventy. Hence, we'll have to reach that level first."

"Seventy?" Minyoon echoed. "That's gonna take hours!"

"Honey, this is the dark web," Baekha groaned. "We don't play by the rules here. To reach level 7- faster, we'll be cheating a lot. I'll give you guys some cheat codes to use during fights so that your health stays intact."

"But what are we fighting against?" Soobin asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Yoonmin pointed out. "The other players. They'll be attacking our lands or defending their own lands. We'll have to change strategies with each step."

"Ugh!" Maggie scowled. "This is confusing! Why can't I just pummel them with my fists?"

"Coz they're online not offline, you idiot alpaca-dog!" Baekha snapped. "And you can't pummel anyone with those cotton stuffed fists!"

"Hey! I was forced to possess this stuffed animal."

"Can we just start?" Yoonmin scowled. Baekha made a face at Maggie before taking her position. The screen flashed the five players along with a choice of clothes and weapons.

"I chose avatars for all of you based on your skills," she said. "Soobin is the tracker. Yoonmin is the Captain of the squad. Minyoon is the spy and I'm the General. These avatars can't be changed at all. Remember, don't get killed. Keep the status of your health high otherwise we'll have to start from scratch."

"Hey, what am I supposed to be?" Maggie frowned.

"The Guard Dog."

A long silence followed that remark. The twins and Soobin were trying not to laugh while Maggie was completely shocked for a few seconds before…

"WHO THE HELL MADE ME THE FAMILY PET? I'M AN ELITE DEMON, YA KNOW!"

Behind them, Miyoo mumbled in her sleep. "BTS…" she murmured before rolling over to fall asleep again, blissfully unaware of the angry demon who was throwing a hissy fit.

"And now, let the game begin!" Baekha declared and clicked the start button.