Bab 58: Hell's One: Per(Chance)sephone? (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)
"Thou hast felt thy experiences, though they hurt."
"So, what do you think of Persephone?", the TV reporter asks.
"Well, she's another Devil just like me, but she's got something that I don't. Something that I wish to never obtain, actually. That thing is her humanity", Lilitu says.
Scene transition.
"So, what do you think of Persephone?", the TV reporter asks.
"That's...a broad question", Sanders says, "I think she contains hatred, or rather she's progressively going through the process of hatred. 'H' for hurt. The process always begins with some wounds, be it if their grand or miniscule. 'A' for anger. Like throwing gasoline onto a fire. 'T' for trauma. It just lingers within you. Haunting you. 'E' for exclusion. You're just left there to weep. You shall be left to be isolated and alienated. All in all though, she's quite pleasant and light on the heart of others".
Back To Reality...
Persephone smiles and sheds tears from both of her eyes.
She then says, "you all really think of me that way?
Lisa takes a step back, unsettled by the eerie atmosphere that pervades the scene.
"Why are you crying?" she asks, her voice tinged with curiosity. "It's not like you can remember much for you to cry."
Persephone wipes away her tears and gazes up at Lisa, her index finger trembling as it points accusingly. "You... you're evil, and I must run away."
With unsteady knees, Persephone rises to her feet, her movements hesitant and feeble, as if attempting to escape the weight of Lisa's presence.
Like a towering structure overshadowing a fragile figure.
Lisa approaches slowly, a faint smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
There's a sense of mockery in the air, as if the scene itself is taunting Persephone's feeble attempt to flee, granting her a false sense of hope.
"Run all you want," Lisa sneers, her voice dripping with disdain. "It won't undo the hurt that you've gone through."
With a sudden burst of power, Lisa unleashes a wave of Dark Matter, aiming to strike Persephone down.
As the dust and smoke dissipate, Lisa is met with an empty space where Persephone once stood.
Where has she gone?
Left, right, left, right.
Finally, Lisa spots Persephone darting towards the entrance of a hospital, desperation etched into every movement. Without hesitation, Lisa gives chase, determined not to let her escape.
Lisa arrives at the hospital's reception area, finding a lone nurse stationed behind the desk.
Having already evacuated all civilians within a two-mile radius, Lisa is puzzled by the presence of anyone in the hospital, especially after ensuring its clearance due to its proximity to the area of the 'eye incident'.
"Madam, have you seen a burnt woman enter this establishment? She's my daughter, and I've lost her," Lisa inquires urgently.
The nurse remains motionless, her body rigid and unmoving, while her gaze remains fixed on a wall across from Lisa.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," Lisa insists, her voice tinged with frustration.
Slowly, the nurse's head turns a full 180 degrees, the movement unnaturally rigid, contrasting sharply with her immobile body.
The sight is chilling.
If anything, it's quite frightening.
The nurse's face appears grotesquely decayed, with patches of flesh clinging to the bone.
A putrid stench, akin to that of decaying meat found within a grandfather's freezer, fills the air, assaulting Lisa's senses and heightening the surreal atmosphere.
The creature lets out another screech in a desperate attempt to alert the other creatures nearby.
Before the nurse can emit another sound, Lisa swiftly strikes with her Katana, silencing the creature's screech.
Left, right, left, right.
Lisa cautiously surveys her surroundings, acutely aware that the nurse's screech may have attracted more of those eerie beings. The presence of other creatures seems inevitable now.
Beyond the reception area lies a staircase, with a fire exit adjacent to it. With Katana in one hand and a handgun in the other, Lisa ascends to the second floor, ready to confront any opposition that may await her.
Reaching the second floor, Lisa encounters a door marked as the entrance to a ward. Blood stains on the door handle signal danger, indicating the possibility of encountering either a deceased victim or a group of the creatures.
Without hesitation, Lisa kicks open the door, revealing Persephone darting across the room towards another exit, likely leading to the next floor.
"Hey! Wait!" Lisa's voice echoes through the room.
Inside the ward, four patients lie on hospital beds, each attached to life-support equipment. To Lisa's horror, they too have transformed into creatures resembling the nurse she encountered earlier.
All four of them sit up simultaneously, fixing Lisa with an intense stare, their intentions unknown.
Lisa, mindful of the potential for collateral damage, refrains from using her abilities in battle, knowing it could favor Persephone's ability to hide amidst the hospital's rubble.
As the four patients detach themselves from their life-support systems, moving with an eerie synchronicity that suggests a shared consciousness, Lisa springs into action.
With practiced precision, she dispatches two of the creatures with well-aimed shots to the head. However, the sound of gunfire alerts the remaining two, who swiftly converge on her.
In the ensuing struggle, one creature seizes Lisa's Katana while the other grabs hold of her waist, their grip unyielding.
"Let go of me, you filthy sons of bitches!" Lisa shouts, her voice filled with defiance as she fights against their restraint.
Using her agility and combat prowess, Lisa manages to break free from their grasp, delivering swift and decisive strikes that incapacitate her assailants.
With a swift motion, she drives her Katana into the chest of the fallen creature, swiftly ending it.The creatures she had shot lay vanished from their previous positions near the hospital beds.
Left, right, left, right.
A faint growl reaches her ears, a sound unlike any animal documented in childhood nature shows.
They're behind her.
Swiftly, they envelop her in a bear hug, rendering her immobile and disarming her completely.
Their arms merge seamlessly around her, like converging waves in an ocean.
"Three become one," one of them mutters, their speech marred by the loss of humanity.
Even if she wished to wield her abilities, she has relinquished her weapons.
Once human, their current strength exceeds ordinary limits, constricting around her like a snake ensnaring its prey.
As one creature moves to bite her neck, Lisa reacts instinctively, sinking her teeth into its arm and tearing off a chunk of flesh.
The creature recoils in agony, allowing Lisa to swiftly dispatch its companion with a decisive strike.
Spitting out the piece of skin, Lisa confronts the grim reality of her actions.
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.
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 becomes an inevitable fact.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone