>>Amber

Persephone's furious expression was unnerving.

Her face burned with rage, the grip of her enormous fingers tightening around the shimmering barrier that separated us. Her lips curled into a snarl, revealing her teeth behind her pale skin, and her platinum hair swayed as if it were alive.

"What did you do, mage?" Her voice reverberated through the rift, filled with menace.

Hael didn't flinch. Instead, a smug smile spread across his face. "Why?" He mocked, his tone taunting. "Can't summon them back again?" His eyes glinted with confidence, and despite the situation, I couldn't help but admire him.

It was not the time for yet, yet my heart fluttered.

He had told me to trust him, to have faith in his plan, and he had delivered, but GOD! I wished he had shared it with me! My heart had been pounding in terror just moments ago, but now... I could breathe again.

"Now, it's just you and us," Hael continued, his voice calm, almost casual.

Persephone's aura shifted violently. A pulse of raw power rippled through the rift, and the air grew heavy, oppressive. My body tensed involuntarily as I felt it.

Something was wrong.

And then, I heard it.

A voice. Not from her mouth, but a strange singing, melodic and eerie, like a twisted lullaby.

My eyes widened as I realized it and I shot my head up to look at the source — a second mouth, hidden beneath her bangs, on her forehead. The tune was familiar, disturbingly so.

No! It's that singing... The same haunting melody that had hypnotized me before, nearly making me succumb to her influence.

I tried to focus, but my mind was slipping. Thoughts started to blur, dissolving like mist in the wind. The world around me became hazy, and the shimmering shield I had created began to flicker, its light dimming. My grip on reality loosened, and I felt Persephone's massive hand begin to push through the barrier.

"Orenya!" Hael's voice cut through the fog in my mind. "You know what to do!" He moved closer, his presence anchoring me as his hand came to rest gently on my head, the warmth of his touch grounding me just enough to snap me back.

!!!

Suddenly, the memory of this morning came rushing back.

***

The early rays of the sun peeked through the clouds, casting a soft, pale light across the landscape.

Hael had come to pick me up. I couldn't sleep for most of the night but at some point I had fallen asleep.

We ate together at the cafe, then came up. The chill clung to the air, indicating the start of winter, and Hael and I both wore warmer clothes. We stood on the roof of the cafe, preparing for the battle we were soon to leave for.

Hael had taken my hands into his, his voice firm yet reassuring. "Your Holy Power has unbreakable defense." He held my hands between his, guiding them gently to the sides of my head. "Especially when she attacks your mind. When she does," His voice was gentle, "Use your power to block her out."

***

My resolve hardened and determination flashed through my mind.

I knew what I had to do. There was no time to hesitate or let myself be taken again like last time. We have faced Persephone once and lost. I can't be a weakness when I'm supposed to be 'hope!'

My hand shot up to my head, and I summoned the Holy Power within me, channeling it toward my mind, creating a shield inside my consciousness to push back the invasive melody. The light filled me, cleansing my thoughts, eradicating the fog that was pushing me into oblivion.

The barrier around Hael and me strengthened once again, glowing with a radiant intensity. It solidified.

I watched with a sharp intake of breath as Persephone's hand, which had started to slip through, became trapped between the layers of Holy Light.

!!!

"What!?" She hissed, her eyes widening in disbelief. She continued to sing from her second mouth, but neither Hael nor I were affected anymore. We were protected. I saw her burn from Hael's earlier attack—it had almost healed, but it had taken time.

It had taken her over an hour to recover from that burn. Could she heal from my attacks too? Would she recover as quickly from Holy damage?

"Hael," I whispered, "We need to strike now."

He nodded, already understanding. His hand clasped mine, and we surged forward, our powers aligning.

Now!

Hael launched a blast of searing flame, the magic spiraling toward Persephone with blistering speed as I felt the heat under my nape. The fire curled and twisted, wrapping around her arm as she struggled against the barrier. I followed up with a blast of Holy Light, aiming for her exposed chest.

My power crashed into her like a tidal wave, pure and unrelenting.

Persephone screamed, the sound filling the rift. Her voice was a mixture of pain and fury, a deafening roar that echoed across the battlefield. She ripped her hand free from the shield, the sheer force of her strength shattering a hole in the barrier we had created.

!?!?

How did she- No, wait. It must be because she managed to penetrate it a little. Otherwise she couldn't damage it at all.

Don't panic!

I immediately reinforced it while her massive form stumbled backward, giving us a moment to breathe.

But we didn't let up. We couldn't, this was an opportunity we couldn't pass on.

Hael and I moved as one, instinctively knowing what the other was about to do. He conjured a huge wall of flame, swirling it into a massive fireball, while I infused my Holy Power into it. Together, we launched the combined attack straight at Persephone, the energy roaring through the air like a blazing comet.

She tried to dodge, but we were faster and she was bound.

The flame struck her square in the chest, exploding on impact. Her scream was louder this time, and I could feel the ground tremble beneath my feet as the force of the attack rippled outward.

The sheer power of the explosion knocked us both back, and I stumbled, panting from the effort. The attack had made the ground form dust clouds.

"Another," Hael said and we did it again, sending another massive holy power fire roaring towards her. Her scream made it look like we hit her again. Followed by that we sent an attack her way that looked like a flame thrower.

It burned her. I could smell the scent of burnt skin in the air and the screams indicated that it was hurting her. As her screams died down, so did our attack, and then we stopped.

The rift was filled with smoke and dust, the air thick with the residue of our combined power. I panted like crazy, sweat dripping down my skin. We both had used a lot of our mana into this attack.

I glanced at Hael. His breathing was ragged as well.

"Did we do it?" I gasped, my voice barely audible over the pounding in my ears. I tried to focus, squinting through the dust, but I couldn't see Persephone's towering form anymore. She had been so massive—surely, even through the smoke, we would still be able to see her, right?

I glanced at Hael again, beads of sweat were visible on her forehead, his chest rising and falling heavily with each breath. "Did we incinerate her?"

"Maybe..." He said softly

I gulped.

The dust began to settle and the view in front of us began to clear.

!!!

There was nothing in front of us. Right where she was bound to the ground, the place was empty. The vines were there, burned and tattered on the ground but no sign of Persephone.

My eyes darted at every place where the dust was settling down but neither him nor I could spot her.

"Did you think you won?" A voice came. Soft, cold, and mocking, right by Hael's ear.

!?!??!

My heart dropped and I froze. Then slowly moved my head to look at the space between Hael and I.

And there, standing behind us both, was Persephone. But she wasn't the towering, monstrous figure she had been before. No—she looked almost... human. Her form was now much smaller, about the same size as us, and her eerie pale skin glowed in the fading light of the rift. Her long platinum hair still cascaded down her back, but her hands—those enormous hands that had nearly crushed us—were now bound behind her, as if she were mocking us with her defenseless appearance.

My stomach twisted. Hael and I stood frozen, our energy drained from the massive attack we had just unleashed. My body was trembling, both from exhaustion and from the realization that we hadn't won. Not even close.

She smiled, a slow, predatory smile, and the second mouth on her forehead curled upward too, the same cruel expression mirrored in both sets of lips. It was at the moment we realized that she was never bound.

It was a simple trick, if we had thought about it, we could have seen it coming. If her arms were free, so of course her legs would be too!

"You really thought that was enough?" she purred, her voice echoing like the toll of a bell. "I expected more from you."

Author's Bullshit

I hope you all are enjoying the action scenes. I'm trying my best to write them. Please leave comments to give me reviews regarding the chapters.