Hell's One: Flames Once, Flames Twice (Past Arc)

Note: This chapter is set in the past and doesn't center on the current timeline of the story. Reading this chapter isn't mandatory for understanding the story, but it would enhance the overall experience. The choice is yours. (Canon)

These coming winds erode humanity, consuming both body and soul.

In a grim reflection, she unloads her handgun into the remaining creature until its form becomes unrecognizable.

"Despite all trials and tribulations, I stand with all strands of my consciousness firmly intact" 

Amidst the eerie silence, her breath echoes through the darkness, each inhalation and exhalation a drumbeat in the stillness of the night.

"I am what you are, but I refuse to embrace it. It's a tragedy, really," Lisa murmurs, her words heavy with sorrow.

She gazes at her blood-stained palms, yearning for the cleansing touch of water to alleviate the weight of her burden.

As she turns towards the mirror within the ward, she notices something unsettling – a message scrawled in blood on the wall: "Per(chance)sephone?"

Persephone's involvement in the genesis of these creatures has now become an inevitable fact.

In a moment of utter shock and disbelief, Lisa clutches onto her consciousness and dashes towards the exit of the ward in pursuit of Persephone.

Left, right, left, right.

"Where are you?" Lisa's voice trembles with urgency.

Rounding a corner, Lisa is met with a chilling sight: tendrils of Dark Matter snaking through the air.

"Show yourself! You've reached a dead-end, there's nowhere left to hide!" Lisa's words echo down the empty hallway.

The presence of Dark Matter is unmistakable to a seasoned expert like Lisa, its sinister energy swirling ominously.

Inevitably, it belongs to a Devil! 

Suddenly, Persephone materializes and phases through a wall, a rocket launcher casually slung over her shoulder.

"Kaboom!" Persephone's voice is mocking as she takes aim and fires.

The rocket hurtles towards Lisa, who barely has time to react before the explosion sends her crashing through the crumbling walls of the building.

As Lisa hurtles through the air, the world around her slows to a crawl. Each passing moment feels like an eternity, her senses hyper-aware of every detail. The deafening roar of the explosion reverberates in her ears, drowning out all other sound. In the midst of this chaos, Persephone materializes before her, her figure illuminated by the flames. With deliberate precision, she takes aim with her rocket launcher, the weapon glinting menacingly in the flickering light.

"What the?" Lisa exclaims.

Persephone's lips stretch into a grotesque smile, the corners curling upwards in a twisted expression of malice. Lisa's heart skips a beat as she watches, a chill running down her spine. "What the?", Persephone shouts out, her words confidently invading the eerie silence that envelops them.

Persephone's lips part once more, her voice echoing with a haunting resonance. "You're Jinxed!"

With reflexes honed by years of battle, Lisa unleashes a wave of Dark Matter at Persephone. But in a twist of her cursed ability, as the Dark Matter collides with Persephone's form, the scene begins to warp and reverse.

It's as if someone has hit rewind on the tape of reality, or as if a director has called for a reshoot, tweaking the scene according to their whims

As Lisa plummets through the air with a rocket launcher slung over her shoulder, she comes face to face with Persephone, their eyes locking in a tense moment.

In a desperate attempt to turn the tables, Lisa pulls the trigger of her rocket launcher, only to realize it's empty. Persephone had orchestrated this, purposefully leaving Lisa defenseless.

This is the moment, the climax of their confrontation.

This is it.

Persephone, her memories fragmented by lightning strikes, relies on sheer muscle memory. Jinxing others had been a childhood game, innocent fun from a bygone era. But now, it's about to lead to a cataclysmic turn of events.

As Persephone prepares to unleash her Dark Matter, Lisa's katana begins to transform. A frog materializes on the blade, and time seems to freeze as they hang suspended in mid-air.

The frog croaks, its sound echoing through the stillness.

Again, it croaks, the sound reverberating.

Once more, the croak pierces the silence.

Persephone's eyes widen in shock as she looks at Lisa. To her horror, she finds that Lisa's entire head has transformed into a swarm of flies, buzzing and swirling around her. Paralyzed by an inexplicable force, Persephone can't move, her muscles locked in place.

The frog, seemingly unfazed by the chaos, extends its viscoelastic tongue, consuming the swarm of flies one by one.

As the pommel of the katana morphs into a frog's viscoelastic tongue, it extends itself, piercing through Persephone's abdomen with a force that defies nature. It writhes and coils within her, playing havoc with her insides, inflicting a torment beyond comprehension.

In the blink of an eye, Persephone finds herself enclosed within the iron maiden, its doors gaping open, with a group of crusaders looming outside.

"Indeed, she is naught but a witch," one crusader proclaims, his voice resonating with righteous zeal. "A harbinger of darkness and heresy. Let her be cleansed by the righteous flames of baptism, that she may come to truly understand the unfathomable power wielded by the Holy Spirit."

His companion nods solemnly, a fervent glint in his eyes. "Encase her within the iron maiden's embrace," he agrees, his voice echoing with conviction. "And thereafter, let the cleansing fires consume her! Only then shall she comprehend the divine authority of the Holy Spirit."

With a synchronized motion, both crusaders push against the doors of the iron maiden.

But amidst the piercing spikes that line the enclosure, Persephone finds no pain.

Instead, she is engulfed by a sense of claustrophobic confinement, a suffocating darkness that threatens to consume her. It's a psychological torment, an agonizing torture that tears at her sanity, leaving her adrift in a sea of despair.

Spikes.

Claustrophobia.

Psychological pain.

An indefinite cycle of nothing but pain. As fire consumes the iron maiden and everything within it, Persephone's senses snap back to reality, her body sprawled on the unforgiving asphalt of the city street.

"I smell smoke," Persephone mutters, her voice laced with confusion. "But it smells good. Almost like a nice steak. Steak? That sure does sound nice right now."

Unbeknownst to her, the enticing aroma is the scent of her own flesh burning away.

Meanwhile, Lisa approaches, not with urgency, but with a deliberate pace.

Walking, not running.

"That steak is my skin, isn't it?" Persephone reflects, a sense of resignation in her words. "I guess I lost to the bad guys. I can't remember... much, but I-I-I remember something."

But Lisa shows no compassion or interest in Persephone's fragmented recollections.

Undeterred, Persephone pulls herself up, her body protesting with each movement, and begins to limp away towards a nearby apartment building.

"Persephone, huh?" Lisa remarks, her tone casual yet loaded with significance. "In Greek mythology, Persephone is a goddess kidnapped by Hades. Her mother loved her very much, and for each month that she was held captive, Demeter, Persephone's mother, cast a force upon the flowers of the world, causing them not to flourish. That's how we have autumn and winter. But it's nothing but a myth."

Lisa pauses, her gaze piercing. "That Persephone never loved Hades, nor did she ever love his flames of lust. Take that as you will.

As Persephone walks towards the apartment, bits and pieces of her flesh continue to fall away, consumed by the flames that envelop her.

Upon entering the apartment, she calls out, "Mojo!"

But before she can even finish her sentence, Persephone collapses, her body unable to withstand the ravages of the fire.

A dog comes bounding down the stairs, its tongue lolling out in excitement.

Reacting swiftly, Lisa scoops up the dog before it can approach the burning Persephone, shielding it from harm.

"Take care of Mojo, please," Persephone pleads, her voice weakened by the flames that consume her. "I may be a Devil, but I cherish these small joys that you humans experience. Sanders always opposed the idea of me having a dog, but Mojo was just too damn cute..."

With her final breaths, Persephone's form disintegrates into ash, consumed by the inferno that engulfs the apartment building.

In the end, she has met her demise.

Persephone once despised the fires of Hades, and now, she shall fall to those very flames once again.

......................................

The ability that put an end to the battle was Lisa's ability called 'Felix/Infelicem', which in Latin is 'Lucky/Unlucky'.

'Felix/Infelicem' is an ability that grants its user control over the flow of overall calamity with unfortunate events that can befall the opponent at any time. Even granting control of fortunate events, tipping the scale of calamity towards the user. Since Persephone's 'You're Jinxed' controls the reversal of certain events in her favor, 'Felix/Infelicem' will flip the scenario once again with a form of lethal calamity.