5th Chapter: “the ruler of hell”

Previously : 

“I’m guessing you still didn’t get your powers.” The blonde girl walks over to the brunette, this time however, Jeongyeon doesn’t have the strength to move, “The transformation is supposed take a few weeks but I didn’t expect for it to be this long though”

Sana crouches in front of her novice. She was so close that Jeongyeon could, not only smell her strong perfume, but also feel the strong aura that surrounded her. And oddly enough, something about it reassured her. She ignored what it was, or how, but, she felt less scared than she was in the beginning.

“God” The word escapes in a sight, as she watched Sana’s eyes find back their original colors. As anticipated, she was immediately met with the hammering headache for a few seconds.

The blonde girl winces, feeling pity for her apprentice, “Why’d you have to mention them? That stuff hurts a lot”

She shakes her head as if disagreeing with Jeongyeon’s actions, before smiling back excitedly at her, resembling a child that couldn’t wait to open their Christmas gift.

“I cannot wait to see what powers you’ll be gifted with.” She gets back up on her feet and frowns before finishing her sentence “That’s of course, if you survive the transformation”

.

Jeongyeon’s eyes grew even wider at the words.

Until now, she kept partially listening to Sana, but it seemed like the newly brought information triggered something within her. A rage she couldn’t have even imagined. That of preys having a chance to go after their hunters, a scenario of a victim getting the turn of events it needed, the feeling of pulling the hatchet first. For a reason or another, her fear had been pushed to an unreachable corner of her brain by anger, one she couldn’t even think of.

“Powers? Transformation? SURVIVE?”

Something in her exploded and it was giving her enough courage and strength to stand back on her feet and glare down at the blonde girl.

A wave of anger travelled her whole body. Her hands grabbed Sana by the collar and pulled her up. Her feet levitated from the ground, but Jeongyeon didn’t seem to notice. The blonde girl’s lips curled into an amused smile as she watched Jeongyeon’s eyes turn darker and darker.

“What did you do to me?” growls the brunette. Her breathing unsteady for a totally different reason than a few seconds ago.

A time bomb threatens to explode at any moment and that is why it is so feared. Not to mention that it isn’t the easiest to stop and no one wanted to go down that way, no one wanted to wait around, sobbing and crying, for a horrible death to come.

Now Jeongyeon wasn’t crying and she wasn’t dying either (not now at least) but she couldn’t say the same for the girl in front of her.

She grips tighter. She could not only hear her abnormally steady heartbeat, resonating from the big artery on Sana’s neck onto the palm of her hands, but her fingers could almost feel the pressured blood running through it.

Jeongyeon was never the one to give in to her emotions so easily. That was more of Momo thing to do. Although Momo was always one to lose her tempter easily, Jeongyeon was better with self composure and almost never lost herself in her feelings. Her blood was cold, it always was, but when she saw Sana’s whole face lit up, hinting at her excitement and the flames dancing in her eyes, Jeongyeon lost it.

Her vision went blank for a fraction of a second, almost as if to let a different her take over her mind, body and control because there was no other way she could later explain to herself her current dire need to dig her nails deep into Sana’s flesh and watch as she ran out of blood, slowly and painfully preferably.

“well you’ve had your fair share of fun”

The blonde girl puts her hands on top of Jeongyeon’s and the brunette is immediately enveloped in a burning yet pleasing sensation. She doesn’t mean for her hands to be withdrawn from Sana’s collar so easily, but Sana does it so smoothly and with such ease that it’s embarrassing for Jeongyeon to admit that she couldn’t do anything about it.

Sana clears , adjusts her posture and clothes with a hand before locking gazes with the girl standing in front of her, the same girl who was impatiently waiting for an answer to her question.

“I saved your life” She answers with a hint of amusement, “no need to thank me it was noth”

Sana slowly watched as Jeongyeon’s puzzled expression changed at the reveal. Her lips parted, thinking of what to say, but the words wouldn’t come to her.

A thousand of questions crossed the brunette’s mind, she had so many of them, she needed so many answers, but before she could do anything about it, both girls were interrupted by a deep voice.

“Ah! There you are!” He exclaims.

It was Mr. Fisher; a high school teacher she didn’t get the chance to have this year. He used to be their Maths teacher last year.

“Shouldn’t you girls be in the cafeteria?”

During Sana and Jeongyeon banter, all the students and teachers were transferred to the cafeteria at the same time, and apparently, it was a panicked Momo who had sent Mr. Fisher to look for a missing Jeongyeon. Since she couldn’t find her best friend anywhere, her mind could only imagine the worst case scenarios. Especially after what happened at Dylan’s party. Momo would’ve gladly went to look for her herself, but the teachers wouldn’t let her leave the cafeteria. Fortunately, Momo had recognized her former Mathematic teacher, and begged him to do it for her. As predicted, he agreed, which leads them to where they are now:

Sana, Jeongyeon, Momo, Dylan, and four of his friends, sitting around a table. None of them dared to speak, especially not Jeongyeon who seemed to be in her own little world, still trying to figure out the meaning behind Sana’s previous words.

“I saved your life”

They were sitting by each other’s side, so close that their shoulders were touching, making her blades and each and every surface of her that ever comes in contact with Sana’s body, burn in a way that should scare her but pleased her anyway.

She stared at her from the corner of her eye.

Sana looked the least bit troubled by the situation they were in. Her elbow was resting on the table; her head was resting in the palm of her hand. The blonde girl blew out a gush of air through , and taped her fingers on the table in a slow rhythm. It almost looked as if she was bored, as if, she didn’t care about the two teenagers who lost their lives two nights ago. But as Jeongyeon thought about it more; she realized that, it wasn’t an act. Sana didn’t care, and Jeongyeon didn’t know how she should feel about it because she couldn’t bother to cry for them either.

“Why didn’t you go to class?” Momo finally speaks up.

During all that time, she had watched her best friend carefully eying the new girl, and just like that, she knew that something was up with them.

“Why weren’t you in class Jeong?” Repeats the blonde girl.

Jeongyeon’s attention finally tears away from Sana when she hears her name. Her focus leaves the blonde new girl as soon as the latter catches her staring.

“I-” She thinks of an excuse, “fell in the stairs and Sana happened to be there and helped me out”

Momo knew she was lying. Not only could she tell so, but she also knew Jeongyeon didn’t have class on the first floor, so why bother go to the stairs? She also knew that, as soon as they’d leave this place, her best friend would tell her the real reason behind her delay.

Jeongyeon caught Sana smirking from the corner of her eye.

“Where’s Tzuyu?” She asks her.

“Home. Sick” Answers the blonde girl without sparing her a glance.

 and the conversation should've ended there. They should've fallen back into silence like everyone else after Momo's little questions,  but hearing words come out of people's mouths had given a few students the little  courage they needed to speak up.

“This is bull! We shouldn’t be trapped in here like prisoners.” snaps Dylan, the one who’s been the most nervous about the situation.

The party was held at his house and he couldn’t help but feel guilty. These two past nights, he wondered if the two teenagers who lost their lives would still be alive if he hadn’t thrown his stupid celebration. He blamed himself for everything and there was no changing his mind, not even after spending hours on the  phone with  Im Nayeon.

“You’re right.”

“I won’t stand another second in here”

His four guy friends stood up and he followed a second after. The group caught everyone’s attention in the cafeteria, including a certain girl named Chaeyoung, who was up until now standing in front of the cafeteria’s entrance, next to a few teachers.

“We’re leaving this place, come on” Dylan mentions for the students to follow him. He then looks over to his table.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” Speaks Sana.

She wasn’t stupid enough to follow, not after she had recognized the girl at the entrance. Sure, she grew up, definitely not it height, and changed since the last time she saw her, but she’d never forget that face of hers. Jeongyeon was about to get up when she felt a hand grab her arm under the table, stopping and pulling her back down.

Dylan ignored Sana’s advice and he, along with the few other students that followed him, walked over to the entrance, ignoring the teacher’s orders telling them to get back to their seats.

Mr. Fisher, seeing the newly formed crowd, just decided to intervene when he was stopped by a smaller hand. Chaeyoung pushed him back before taking her first steps towards the crowd she met halfway. Her eyes glared at the blonde boy standing in the middle. It seemed like the teenagers chose him as their leader.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Dylan won’t lie. The lifeless and dreary eyes did make him feel uneasy. But then he realized he must’ve been older than the girl blocking his way, not to mention taller and bigger.

“Anywhere but here” He replies almost immediately, wanting to sound as composed and sure about this as he could.

He took a breath to collect himself and hoped no one noticed the girl made him feel some type of way. Not a good kind of way obviously.

The blonde boy moved to pass the smaller red hair dyed girl when all of a sudden, he found himself on the ground.

“I don’t think so, no”

Whereas everyone was watching the interaction, some even daring to laugh, Sana was paying attention to her fingers as if they were the most important thing in the world, and Jeongyeon was struggling. She was struggling to stay seated. She wanted to leave this place, as soon as possible, because somethingwas coming, and that something was coming fast.

“Sana” The name escapes in a low whisper, unwanted, as the feeling grew bigger and bigger. 

The inevitable happened, and the feeling erupts in her, moving from her stomach to invade every other member, every cell in her body.

Jeongyeon’s hand quickly grabs Sana’s, almost crushing it if it weren’t for the latter’s incredibly fast instinct, and her head snaps towards the windows that separated the cafeteria from the outside. Sana feels Jeongyeon’s fear before and turns her attention to her. Before she can even ask her what’s wrong, the windows shatter, sending thousands of glass splinters everywhere in the cafeteria. The power that broke them was so present that it could be felt from the other side of the room, where Jeongyeon’s group was seated.

Fortunately, some students got the instinct to bend down, take refuge under the table. Unfortunately, others didn’t have enough time, and most of them where sitting the closest to the now shattered windows.

The cafeteria was soon filled with students’ frightened screams and crying. The majority were in pain, while a smaller amount was too shocked to utter a word, let alone move.

“Everyone get away from the windows!” Yells Chaeyoung loud enough to be heard in all this noise and hubbub.

The teachers quickly rushed to help the students, the hurt ones being the priority, and once the others snapped out of their shocked state, everyone started helping each other.

“It won’t open…”

Jeongyeon noticed the teachers struggling to open the cafeteria doors as soon as she stood up from under the table.

Sana was already on her two feet. She didn’t bend down like the others when the explosion occurred. Quite the contrary. She got up.

The blonde girl’s eyes focused on the shattered windows, waiting for something, anything, to appear. And when a tall elegant ginger haired man stepped in, crushing pieces of glass under his shoe, she regretted ever waiting.

Not thinking twice, she grabbed Jeongyeon by the wrist and they walked to the mass that had formed against the walls, blending with the others. The brunette didn’t ask why. She had noticed the man standing a few feet away, and she’d be a fool to think he was one of the good ones.

The noise in the cafeteria slowly turned down as people noticed the presence of the man. The few students who had the brilliant idea of leaving the room from where the windows shattered, were stopped by the deep voice.

“I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to leave this place.” Starts the red haired man, getting everyone’s attention. “At least, not until I finish my business.” He continues, “So please get back with the others” He mentions to the crowd of teenagers and teachers.

The bravest one dared reply him: “And why would we do that?” Their act was courageous, but their voice was trembling. There was something evil about him, even humans could feel it.

“Because I told you to” He retorts in an annoyed tone, “don’t make me lose my patience kid”

The group of teenagers reluctantly step back, joining the teachers and the other students. Jeongyeon was enjoying the new atmosphere that reigned in the cafeteria a little too much. The terror was oddly satisfying.

Momo

Her satisfaction disappeared at the thought of her best friend. Her neck snapped left and right, searching for the familiar face in all this mess.

The red haired man’s eyes roamed around the crowd looking for a familiar face as well, one that he, too, couldn’t find. He knew that shewas here though, so shemust be hiding, and he didn’t have time to play this stupid game of hide and seek with her. Clearing his throat, he adjusts his collar before speaking up:

“Where are you Sana?”

He paces, starting to get impatient.

“Don’t make this hard on the both of us and come out from where you’re hiding”

Jeongyeon checked the girl next to her. She didn’t think she’d ever see the blonde one look this nervous and angry at the same time.

“If you’re not coming then you wouldn’t mind if I start killing everyone in here until you’re the only one left?”

If the students and teachers were terrified before, it was nothing compared to what they were feeling now.

“What am I saying? Of course you wouldn’t, you enjoy that kind of stuff as much as I do”

Chaeyoung knew she had to do something about this. If the police already present in the building and the teacher weren’t coming any time soon, she could take care of this. She was trained for almost all her life for these kind of situations.

Bending down, she took out the dagger she always kept hidden in her boot for emergencies like these and rushed towards the man, weapon in hand.

She didn’t consider the fact that he could be stronger and faster than her.

He felt her coming his way and prepared to take her life. He himself, was surprised she could dodge his first attack, when he sharpened his fingers and nails to dig them into her stomach, but her luck didn’t last long. The red haired man caught her by the neck with his other non-transformed hand, and kicked the dagger out of her hand with the other.

The smaller girl fought even when he lifted her up. She succeeded in hitting the side of his face with a kick of the leg, but her attack didn’t even make him flinch, but grin, and her shin suffered from a pain she had never encountered before.

“Tragic, you have so much potential” His expression hardens, and so does his grip around her neck.

Once again, Jeongyeon glances at Sana next to her, and that was enough for her to know that the blonde wouldn’t interfere and let the younger one die. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, Jeongyeon didn’t care neither.

The red haired man felt the smaller girl’s soul slowly leave her body when the process was rudely interrupted by the heroic act of teenage boy.

Dylan had rushed to the rescue. He could tell that he was less strong than the man, but he still couldn’t stand not being able to do something about the situation. It seemed like no one was going to help the girl, not even the teachers, so he chose to act even though no one else did.

He caught the man’s free arm, imprisoning it, like he learned to do with a ball, enabling him to use it.

Growing frustrated, the creature had let go of Chaeyoung, making her fall unconscious on the floor, and transformed his free hand. His fingers and nails turned into sharpened weapons that could cut flesh so easily, like hair. That same deadly hand soon found itself inside Dylan’s sides.

It was only when Jeongyeon saw the boy’s shirt turn red from blood, when he fell on his back, and lastly, when she heard the students scream, that she reacted. Leaving Sana’s side, she ran to the man who was about to finish off the boy she liked.

“Stop!” She screams, hurting in the process.

Before she could even acknowledge anything that was happening to her, anything that she was doing or about to do,  her little arms had caught the one that was threatening Dylan’s life, and twisted it as far as she could. The red haired man, too surprised, only reacted when he felt the pain in his arm and heard his bones break. Not even a fraction of second later, he landed a perfect strong punch on the side of Jeongyeon’s face, sending her flying to the other side of the room.

Still in shook by the episode, he slowly gets up, wide eyes never leaving the newly unconscious body by the wall, sitting half dead under the cracks and hole the crash had made, and ears ignoring the human’s cries. She was a threat, he could feel it, he needed to get rid of her, not only for his own sake and he was on his way to finish the job when he heard a voice he knew all too well.

“Touch her again and I’ll kill you”

Smirking, the red haired man turns to face the one person he came looking for.

“Don’t be absurd, you know very well you can’t” He repositions the bone in his arm and tries the best he can to hide the hint of pain he goes through. He was caught off guard and that’s the only reason why the girl could’ve damaged him “even with my broken arm you still stand no chance against me”

“I’m not the same child I used to be. I grew up, got taller and stronger, so I’ll take my chances” She replies, preparing herself for combat if it comes to that.

“I’d love to see that, but I didn’t come here to fight. I’m guessing you already heard the rumors”

Sana tenses up at the subject. She clenches and unclenches her jaw.

“So its true.They did wake up”

The red haired man nods his head.

“Not entirely, but they will in time.” He starts. “Father is in great danger and needs our help. It appears the enemy doesn’t know the truth about the succession.” His eyes land on her clenched fists. They held so much power that he, and many others, envy. “We need you back. We need you safe in case they figure it out” Zachary pauses for effect, “and they eventually will”.

Sana snickers.

“I don’t care. I have no intention in going back to that place, ever. Father is old enough to protect himself”

“You know very well how untrue that is. It all changed when you were born” He spits back in a disgusted tone.

“Then I just don’t care” Sana was still on her guard, fearing that the man might charge at her at any time.

“That’s a lie. We all live through the ruler of hell, if he dies, we die too, in fact, every little creation of his would disappear.”

Sana clenches her jaw in anger. She liked to think she was different from the humans who punched holes in the walls whenever their emotions got too difficult to control, the ones who liked to exaggerate everything and anything, but the thought never seemed so tempting.

“I came to warn you, the enemy made allies and they already killed three of our own. It’s only a matter of days until hell loses its control. They plan to get rid of anyone that might interfere with their plans, anyone that might represent a threat…” He pauses for a second to let her understand that this was no longer the story of a myth he’d tell her to scare her when they were kids, this was real and was happening. “As I said, they may not know it now but it’s only a matter of time until they find out that you are their primary obstacle”

Upon hearing the news, the hair in the back of Sanaa’s neck stood. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew the danger was serious, but she also knew she couldn’t be the savior every being needed. Zachary should’ve been the one. Even he agreed to it.

“We can’t afford to lose you. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re too important.”

His eyes dart to Jeongyeon still laying unconscious on the floor. Another girl was now beside her, trying to wake her up. It was Momo.

The man still hasn’t recovered from what had happened earlier. It had been a very long time since he’s been caught off guard like that.

“She’s different. A simple touch was enough for me to realize that.” He averts his gaze and looks back at the blonde girl “What the hell did you create Sana?”

Said girl looks back at the unconscious one laying under the damaged cafeteria wall.

Her brown short locks fell all over her face, wrapped her strong defined and now opened jaw, because apparently, Jeongyeon fainted like every other cartoon Sana’s ever seen during her short notice on earth. Only thing that was missing was the darted out tongue. The red spot on her cheek, that was now clearly visible but only because Momo had tucked Jeongyeon’s hair behind her ear. A glaring red and hint of swelling, witnesses of Zachary’s punch.

Sana found it amusing how her hands were still clenched into fists, as if she hadn’t given up her fight although she had clearly been defeated (and with a single push). So it’s only because it was funny that a smile pulled on Sana’s lips, for its only because she was making fun of Jeongyeon for failing so easily.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so peacefully” Interrupts Zachary, tone mocking, “Is my little sister smitten by a human?”

Sana loses her smile as fast as it appeared.

“I don’t know what she is” she answers his first question, ignoring his second, in her usual cold manner, “but I can’t wait to find out.”

Sana really hoped she doesn't die during the transformation like all the others.

Zachary, the red haired man, nods his head.

“My job here is done. Be careful Sana”

He glances once more at the hoard of students present, and as soon as they freeze, Sana concludes that he already trafficked their memories and made them forget about this whole scene.

In a flash, he disappears, leaving a chaos behind him, two unconscious and three injured teenagers, hundreds of confused students and teachers, and an indecisive Sana.

“And when they wake up they will reach their goal, hell will spread all over the planet and the dead trapped inside the flames will eventually be set loose and with them, the ruler of hell shall fall to never get up”

Youger Sana could only quiver in fear as she watched her older brother’s mischievous smile widen.