DOUBLE UPDATE CH. 20 AND 21.

                  The spiral stairs leading us down was dark. No sunlight. I calmly walked behind the Lord, matching his light steps with each of my own. We had not talked since he Marked me in front of Jinki and the Siren Clan. I had since let go of my anger and focused on the upcoming task.

                  My throat felt dry. I swallowed the big lump of saliva and my lips.

                  “Are you angry still?” The Lord finally broke the silence after so long. I felt the urge to reply him immediately, scoffed or snickered and told him to screw himself, but instead, I took the time, knowing that it would torture him for at least a bit. “Why does it concern you?”

                  He smiled, and not just a smirk like the one he used to give me. This one, though I doubted much of its sincerity, was at least more pleasant. I looked at him, and tilted my head. His back facing me again, and I chuckled in silence.

                  “You know there are times when I love teasing you, just to test your reaction. But when I am serious, you never seem to catch the meaning of my words. You are truly one frustrating woman. Living with you forever will whiten my hair,” He grumbled, but I didn’t miss the joke in his tone. Besides he did mention that I would live with him… forever… My heart warmed up and I blushed.

                  “I think you will suit white, silvery hair,” I replied sneakily. “Maybe you should consider it. And if I frustrate you that much, why tease me? Why do you stay with me after all this while? I never took you for the homey type. You seem more like the adventurous freedom-loving who will never settle down anywhere.”

                  “Yes. But I settled down and built a home for a woman for a few thousand years. Doesn’t that mean something?” I could picture him rolling his eyes even when he stood tall and firm. Strangely enough, the jealousy I used to harbor for Joo Ri had lessened a lot. I no longer felt the need to compete as the shadow-figure of his ex-lover.

                  “I guess,” I answered, to which he reacted with a very sudden halt of his steps. Amused, he turned back as I brushed against his very muscular biceps. Damn those biceps and the way they distracted me. He looked skinny, but he did have muscles where he needed to be.

                  “We’re here, at the gate.”

                  I was so distracted that I forgot to see ahead. But when I did, I noticed the strange carvings on the wall. If I had guessed correctly, this ancient language didn’t belong to neither the human nor the Demons. Considering that the Faery paid the biggest contribution in building this Prison, this must be their secret code to the entrance.

                  “The moment we enter, you must find the sword first. I will distract Balor for a while,” The Lord sounded doubtful, and the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Against my pride, I touched his hand slightly, then pulled away. If he was hesitant, I was even more so. “The sooner, the better.”

                  He raised his hands. The wall moved. Inside was so dark, my eyes couldn’t see anything. It took a slow few minutes to get used to the sight. As my eyes adjusted to the light, the Lord took off most of his armors and threw them away. The weight of the suit bothered me, but I had no time to look back and think about it.

                  “Go!” He shouted and pushed me to the left while he ran forward. I heard a low groan and bit my lips. The voice was so ungodly and frightening. I tightened my hand around the sword and ran towards the direction he pushed me to. That must be Balor, and not too long after, I could feel the wind moved; a sign that a huge storm was coming.

                  As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t be too concerned about the Lord right now. I had a fight of my own, and if I couldn’t do so much as that , I’d rather die here and now. Unlike most Prisons I’d been to, the silence was deafening. I slowed down. Something wet was sticking onto my shoes. And before I knew it, I could see scales. Water. I fell.

                  The water reached my chest, and I was having trouble breathing. It was as if something was stuck into my lungs. Realization dawned on me. I must get out of the water as soon as possible. The water had been enchanted with spells. The longer I stayed, the water would out my energy. In the end, my soul, too, would be at risk.    

                  The name ‘Water Prison’ was well fitted. Not only was the entrance located in the water territory, the Prison was also filled with water, which ironically was one my biggest weakness. I was never good with water, no matter how many water-based abilities I had stolen. This was also one of the reasons why I picked fire-element most of the time.

                  The prison alleyway was quiet. It was understandable. The water out a lot of energy. To think that a living being would be able to exist in this hell-on-earth was a terrifying wonder. I sensed something was chasing after me in a not-so-slow speed from the back. So I turned back and saw the water waved in an abnormal two lanes. Something big was coming! !

                  I looked at my sword, and did the first thing that jumped into my mind. I steadied it on the surface of the water and stepped onto it so that I could avoid being dragged down like before. I gathered a big amount of force and used it as pedals as I swung forward in speed. Whatever was chasing me would take some time to find me if it was lucky.

The prison was numbered in Roman numeral. XCIX, XCVIII, and the numbers counted down. When I reached smaller number, ranging from L and below, the prison let me to another floor, where I could hear faint groans and painful moans. When I reached prison XXXIV, I heard swears and incoherent words. I could only guess that they put the stronger prisoners in the smaller prisons, so that the water would choke them faster.

The moment I passed by prison X, I smelt Irene’s faint fragrant; minty and spicy. This must be her mate. He looked rather gaunt and ready to pass out, but his body was rather dry, despite being soaked in water for a long time. This male warlock was the least of my concern, because my main goal was to find that one prison that held the Master’s sword.

Except that it was empty.

My eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.

Motherer. Someone just stole the sword and got away with Balor. . The Lord would be so pissed off. It was ing empty. I grabbed a fistful of my hair and drew a low, angry breath. The prison’s lock was left broken on the shell, thrown onto a side. The door was forcefully opened, and I could tell that this thief was highly skilled, because the prison was left untouched with water. At all. Besides, he or she just sneaked in and out under Balor and got away with it.

I had no time to contemplate because I heard a hiss and cursed out of reflex. The creature had caught up behind me. Now that the sword was stolen, I must at least bring back the prisoner to exchange it with that Irene witch.

But Holy Mother of Heaven, was the creature enormous. The size of its fang was the size of my head. Slowly, the snake-like creature lifted its head from water. The tip of its head had a crown like crocodile. I bet its mouth could take my whole body in one go and chewed me up alive.

Hatched from the Dragons and raised by the Mountain Giant Lizards. Melmoth. The mother of all snakes’ myth and legend.

“Shishaa (Leave)!” I hissed in its’ own snake language, Parseltongue. Melmoth’s intelligent eyes caught mine as if it was laughing at my foolish attempt to threaten it. This creature was born to kill. It wouldn’t know fear.

My attempts were futile when it charged and strike. I dodged and used the momento to dive as fast as I could, using my energy force and into the X prison. I had no time to waste, so I used a bit of energy onto my fingers and broke all the metals with slices of it. The male was dying when I ducked in and pulled him out, all the while forming a shield as we rowed the hell out of this floor.

Melmoth was hot on our tails. The guy in my hands was also deadweight. He just went limp and never woke up once. But I got to give it to him for staying awake in this prison for so long.   

The entrance was in front of me. The Lord was exactly on the opposite. Ignoring the hissing behind me, I dashed towards the Lord and clawed him on the shoulder. This prison didn’t allow teleportation or Portal-making. The Lord was muttering angrily, but he moved his hand, and the body of Irene’s mate was lifted up onto the air. Both of us ran through the stairs.

Even when I (not-so-safely) made it into the Siren territory and sealed the entrance in time, I could vaguely remember anything because I fainted right on the spot.

***

“She is still bruised,” Lord Chanyeol mumbled unhappily. He had refused to move from her side since he dragged back Irene’s mate and a very injured woman onto his castle in the human world. Jinki appeared not long after, his heart almost stopped when he saw his pupil on the bed, unmoving and deadly pale.

“And you appear to be completely fine. Isn’t this a sudden turn of event?” Jinki walked back and forth, using water to wipe the sweat and blood from Sora’s body. He was also the one to change her clothes, though the Lord initially insisted that it was inappropriate for him to see her body, regardless of how he felt and his status to her.

“I didn’t meet Balor, she unluckily fought with Melmoth,” Lord Chanyeol snorted and finally stood up after a long hour. His legs were almost numb by then, and only then, did he realize that it had been a day and a half since they came back from the Water Prison; him, untouched and safe, her, completely bruised with loss of blood and lack of living energy. “She was not bitten, was she?”

Without waiting for Jinki’s confirmation, Lord Chanyeol walked to her side and examined her bruises. They were purple and red, not green, so it was the enchanted water’s fault and not poisoning. He heaved a sigh of relief and stood up again, walking around the room to work out his tense muscles.

To Jinki who watched with amusement and mischief, this was the first time Lord Chanyeol had shown a display of affection so profoundly since the death of Joo Ri.

“She will wake up soon. You need not to worry,” Jinki soothingly said and smiled. When he brought Sora into the Demon clan, he was truly expecting her to be a shadow of the Lord’s former lover. And so, he taught her everything about seduction, even when Sora displayed none of the feminine charm that Joo Ri possessed.

While Joo Ri was gentle, Sora was brutal. Joo Ri was merciful, Sora was heartless. Joo Ri was soft-spoken, Sora was straightforward and rude. But Sora was Sora. Half a century together had taught him that even though she might look like an avenging devil on the outside, this girl he picked up on the street hadn’t lost her heart to darkness completely. Yes, she did kill thousands with those hands, but those small hands of hers were still warm. And she was still lost. Nothing could justify their wrongdoings as a clan. But were the other clans any better from them?

No.

Joo Ri was just born in the wrong world. Her parents arranged her a deal she wasn’t supposed to fulfill.

Jinki pitied her.

But he was no Saint, either. He was the General of Hell, second in command to Lucifer himself. He had helped the Devil with lots of misdeeds in the past. Right now, he realized as he looked at the sleeping girl on the bed, it was too late to repent. The sins he had committed couldn’t be undone.

One last war, he promised to himself and stared at his own hands. One last war to avenge Joo Ri and all would be even. Then he would retreat. Preferably somewhere cold and quiet. So that he could spend the rest of his immortal lifetime pondering what had gone so wrong with him, her and the world.