*FOREST TROUBLE-PART 2*

They say life comes once but death comes in different ways.

This was what Aria realised as she and the witch stared at each other.

"You're a witch." She muttered, her eyes fixed on the abnormally long nails that looked darkned and sharp. It almost appeared burnt.

"And you're my next meal." She hissed, her tongue slithering out of her thin lips which was surprisingly longer in length than a normal tongue was meant to be!.

Without sparing another second, the witch launched at her, her nails coming for her face and Aria moved her body instinctively, barely avoiding the attack by a single strand of hair.

"Stay still!." The witch screamed angrily and Aria took that as her cue to run.

She turned in the opposite direction and ran into the forest, her hand holding her gown tightly as she tried to navigate her way through the dark, her steps quick but careful.

She most have focused too much on not falling because by the time she actually observed her surroundings, she noticed that all she saw was endless trees on all sides. She was lost!.

"This is the best part."

Her heart shuddered when she saw a figure run past the trees.

"The part where your meal still thinks it actually has a chance of escaping. A chance of living."

Aria noted that her speech wasn't as fluent as before and instead sounded like a serpent.

The silhouette wasn't one of a human.

She didn't have to guess what it was as it was crystal clear.

"Found you."

Her mind went completely blank.

A little voice in her mind told her to run but her body refused to move.

It was as though she wasn't in control anymore as she watched the creature.

The creature in front of her was hideous. Black slits for eyes, skin scaly and slimy, it seemed to glow in the moonlight. Those eyes shimmered towards her with spite as she pinned Aria with her gaze.

Why couldn't she move!?

Was this what it really felt like to be afraid?.

To conclude that there was absolutely no way to survive?.

She didn't know how it happened but in the next second, she felt all the air being knocked out of her lungs as she hit a hard surface and fell to the ground.

Groaning, she touched her head to feel a warm liquid trickling down her face.

The world seemed to spin for a second.

"Any last words?." The witch smiled, her nails pointing at Aria.

"Believe me when I say that I'm not scared of death." She glared at the woman and a vicious grin replaced her smile.

"That's right. I can't give you a simple death. I have no choice but to torture you to death." The way the witch said it, it was as though she was saying something normal and frankly, Aria was scared.

She closed her eyes. Her head throbbing from both the pain and the anticipation of the torture.

"Stupid girl."

That voice.

She had mixed feelings on hearing his voice. Anger, pain, betrayal but most especially relief.

Opening her eyes, she saw the witch being held by her neck by the shadow.

W-was he helping her?.

If yes then why? Why did he try to kill her but try to save her? Send her to her death but bring her out, why? What exactly was his motive behind all this?.

"F-forgive..m..e." The witch was shaking, and Aria didn't know what to make of the scene. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that the witch looked like she was about to cry.

The witch seemed to be very scared of the shadow.

"What was that you said again?." The shadow hummed, taking his own sweet time to remember before pausing"Ah yes! I can't give you a simple death, I have no choice but to torture you to death."

If Aria thought the way the witch said it was scary, it was nothing compared to the way he said it.

He sounded like the devil.

"Close your eyes sweetheart."

He turned his head to her and she pressed her lips into a thin line first before reluctantly shutting her eyes.

She felt fear crawl all over her skin when an ear piercing scream cut through the air. She shivered.And it didn't stop there.

The witch screamed nonstop as bone cracking sounds followed soon after, loud and clear as it made goosebumps appear on her body. She was curious yet fear controlled her.

She wanted to open her eyes but it was too late.

By the time she finally made up her mind, she only saw the shadow squatting down beside her.

"I have absolutely no words to say to you." He mocked, amusement tinting his tone and she frowned.

"I almost died."

"You were scared of a tiny witch?."

Aria glared at him angrily and stood up in haste, completely forgetting about her head which seemed to attack her immediately.

"Argh!." She held her head tightly. Her beautiful face scrunched in pain. The pain was unbearable!.

"Breathe."

She really didn't know what was wrong with him! Here she was passing through pain and he's telling her to breathe?.

"This is the problem I have with you, always doubting me."

"You have tried to kill me more times than I can count, why the hell will I trust you!?."

Was he out of his mind!?.

"Well at least I didn't help a strange woman I had no idea about." He contoured back and Aria's chest rose and fell heavily, her nose flared at the very idea.

"You are the whole reason I'm in this mess in the first place!." Her hands itched to hit him.

"Says the one that so desperately wanted to live."

"You-" She started but he disappeared, leaving her to glare at the empty space with hatred glowing in her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, determination coated her blue eyes add she silently made a plan.

She had to find Edmond. But she couldn't leave her head bleeding.

"I have no other option." She pursed her lips and tore the hem of her gown, using it to tie her head to stop the bleeding.

Now what was left was to find him. How the hell was she meant to do that?.

Fortunately, there was a loud gunshot right beside her followed by a series of screams which loudened by the second.

She ran towards the source of the sound to watch Edmond and his team fighting three witches.

There was the unearthly beautiful guy, another person whose back faced her but she could make out his brown hair and Edmond who held a gun to a witch.

"Do you want to kill me pretty boy?." The witch morphed into a beautiful woman and Edmond smiled, his grip on the gun loosening.

"Good, now drop the gun and give me a nice lovely kiss." She approached Edmond slowly, her charm bouncing off her curvy figure and Edmond lowered his gun.

She beamed a smile as she watched him lower his guard but froze when she felt a cold metal on her skin.

"Go to Hell."

Boom!

Her eyes rolled backwards and her body fell to the ground, sprawled.

He walked to her and put his foot on her head, adding a little pressure on it and scattering it completely. Blood splattered on the ground as the body slowly disintegrated and disappeared.

Aria felt her stomach twist in horror as she watched what Edmond did.

A normal person couldn't do that. It wasn't possible.

She stepped back in daze and the sound of a twig breaking underneath her leg called the attention of Edmond whose eyes widened in shock.

"Aria?."