Bloom Mansion – East Wing, Holding Room Corridor
The hallway was smoke and screaming.
Bodies twitched in pieces across the floor—blood sared the runes lining the walls, warping their glow from blue to a sickly violet. Selene stood in the center, breathing slow, covered in fresh gore. Her face was back to her own—gaunt, sharp, unreadable.
Remu leaned against the doorfra behind her, eyes narrow, heart hamring. Her wrists were raw from the chains, but her legs worked. That’s all that mattered.
More witches were coming.
Selene tilted her head slightly, like she was hearing sothing far off.
"They’re bringing wards. The real ones. Battle-hardened."
Remu wiped blood from her lip with the back of her hand. "Yeah?"
Selene glanced over her shoulder. "You got fight left?"
Remu cracked her neck.
Then she raised her right hand, and with a flash of fla, her grimoire snapped into existence—hovering inches from her palm, bound in scorched leather, its pages alive with red script and snarling glyphs. A heat burst from it, warping the air like a desert mirage.
She caught it mid-air, opened it with a flick of her fingers.
"Yeah," Remu muttered, eyes glowing faint gold now. "Plenty."
The grimoire pulsed, and a page flipped on its own.
Runes slid off the parchnt and crawled up her arm like tattoos made of fire.
She looked at Selene. "We’re doing this loud."
Selene’s smile was thin.
"Loud works."
Second Floor – Upper West Hall
The first wave hit hard.
Three witches ca in fast—one launched a barrage of frost spikes from midair, while another chanted a binding curse, aiming to freeze Selene mid-shift. The third stayed back, casting a mirror ward that reflected spell energy like polished glass.
Remu moved before Selene did.
She whispered a word. Her body lit from the inside—then vanished in a snap of fla. She reappeared above the witches mid-flip, grimoire glowing. She shouted:
"Ash Veil: Fla Prison!"
A ring of fire exploded around the trio, cutting them off. One tried to dispel it—too slow. The flas lashed out like whips, slamming her into the wall. The mirror witch reacted, deflecting two strikes, but missed the third—Selene, already in mid-sprint, body half-wolf, half-nightmare, ramd straight into her and tore the charm from her hand.
The witch scread once before her throat was crushed under Selene’s boot.
The last one tried to flee.
She didn’t make it.
Remu raised her palm, and the grimoire flipped to a new page.
"Crimson Shot."
A lance of pure heat shot from her fingertips, straight through the witch’s back.
The hallway went quiet again.
Selene exhaled through her nose, straightening.
Remu dropped to a knee, catching her breath.
She didn’t look at Selene this ti. "There more?"
"Dozens."
"Of course there are."
Main Spiral Staircase – Descent
The marble steps curved down like a frozen wave, walls etched with old defensive enchantnts. As they descended, alarms started going off—low, guttural hums that shook the floor beneath their feet.
Remu’s eyes flicked around. "They’re trying to seal the exits."
Selene didn’t answer. She was already changing again—her feet splitting into clawed pads for better traction. Her hands pulsed, growing talon-like.
They reached the bottom.
Another ambush.
This ti, five witches stood in formation. Older ones. Robes stitched with bone thread, eyes glowing with pure sigil light. Their leader raised a staff carved from obsidian. "This ends now," she said.
Selene didn’t stop.
The witch struck the floor with her staff. The marble cracked—and massive thorn-like chains erupted from beneath, surging toward them like vipers.
Selene leapt over them, twisting mid-air, hurling black liquid from her wrist that turned into spears. Two witches raised barriers—one caught the spears, the other shattered instantly, impaling the woman behind it.
Remu dropped her grimoire again, eyes flaring.
"Searbreak – Infernal Pulse!"
The air exploded outward from her body in a red shockwave. The chains shattered like glass. One witch was blown into the far wall and didn’t get back up.
The lead witch scread sothing in an old tongue.
A shadow ford behind her—an ancient binding spirit, huge and burning green, its arms outstretched.
Selene snarled. "Enough."
Her form flickered—
And she was behind the lead witch.
No footsteps. No sound.
Just movent.
She bit through the witch’s spine with one crunch, then tossed the body aside like garbage.
The spirit wailed and vanished.
The others tried to run.
Selene didn’t let them.
Remu followed. No hesitation. Her flas moved with her—arcing like living serpents from the grimoire’s pages. One whip lashed out and wrapped around the last witch’s leg, dragging her screaming into a wall of fire.
Then it was just smoke.
Burnt robes.
Blood pooling into the floor cracks.
Back Hall – Near the Outer Courtyard
Remu leaned against a broken wall, chest rising and falling fast. Her grimoire hovered at her side, pages flipping without wind. She looked at Selene finally.
"You’re not just a skinwalker."
"No."
"You’re sothing worse."
Selene didn’t argue.
"What do you want with ?"
A pause.
Then: "Not . The people who sent to get you."
Remu narrowed her eyes. "What people?"
"You’ll see."
Remu’s flas flickered, rising around her shoulders.
"You work for Lilith?"
Selene tilted her head slightly.
"Who?"
"Don’t screw with ."
"I’m not."
Another pause.
Then she looked away.
"I serve sothing older than nas."
Remu clenched her fists.
"You’re full of it."
A sound echoed through the courtyard door.
More witches. At least ten.
Selene turned. "Save the questions. Move."
Final Courtyard – Outer Wall
The door burst open with a blast of freezing wind. Defensive wards lit up the sky in sharp red streaks. Witches floated through the air, casting in synch—binding sigils, lightning, barriers.
Remu opened her grimoire.
Every page turned black.
"I’m out of base spells."
Selene cracked her neck. "So burn sothing big."
Remu didn’t hesitate.
She jabbed her thumb into the grimoire’s center.
Blood stained the spine.
The book scread.
Then opened to a sealed page.
"Blood Rite – Hollow Star."
The air went still.
Then it burned.
A massive ring of red fire burst above her—shaped like an eclipse. The witches hesitated.
That was enough.
Remu raised her hand, and the ring slamd down like a falling god.
The courtyard exploded in fla and ash.
Selene shifted mid-blast, leaping from wall to wall, carving through any survivors.
A few got spells off—one sliced Selene’s side, another clipped Remu’s shoulder—but the retaliation was too fast. Too brutal.
When the smoke cleared, they were alone.
Breathing. Bleeding.
Alive.
Mansion Edge – Outer Forest Path
They walked together into the woods.
Silent.
Behind them, the Bloom Mansion burned—not fully, but enough for chaos to take root.
Selene didn’t look back.
Remu did.
For just a second.
Then she turned to Selene.
"You’re gonna tell everything."
Selene didn’t reply.
But this ti—
She nodded.
And they disappeared into the trees.
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