History Repeats Itself

The game of hide-and-seek between the two Aristian rulers was about to turn into a bloodbath battle royal.

As it had been a while since Venus's onslaught started, Hal knew that his companions already figured out that there's something wrong. Even then, the villainess didn't falter, but strived to retaliate instead.

Glass shards clashed with invisibility magic – and thus, their tussle went on at that barren wilderness.

"You haven't changed, Empress. Finger-pointing and skedaddling - they're all you're good at," Hal hissed through gritted teeth after a sequence of scuffling.

"Don't go all preachy on me, boy. You're well aware that I'm capable of doing much worse than that," Venus snarled in a peeved tone.

Extending her arm forward, serrated-edged shreds of glasses funnelled through a powerful surge of razor-sharp fragments. They flare like shattered pieces of crystals, shrouding over her in a tempest of glimmering splinters.

Stunned, Hal sweatdropped at the spine-chilling sight.

Obliterating this madness isn't supposed to be this arduous, but eliminating her is not an option at the moment.

"Shall we end this silly game?" she sternly muttered, voice steely and eyes unsmiling.

That is until an interstice appeared before them, faint light filtering through.

Out of nowhere, booming thunderclaps resound in the empty space, utterly befuddling Venus.

Hal, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief at the sudden intrusion. Unbeknownst to her, his allies already tracked their whereabouts and were now performing a succession of cryptic spells to haul her out of hiding.

Without her realizing, she's been ensnared by her own exploitation.

"Just surrender. You're already trapped. Even if you managed to defeat me here, they won't let you get away with it," he gravelly voiced out, eyebrows furrowed.

Venus only snorted, much to his bafflement.

A laughing villainess is never a good thing.

"I think you may be right about me not changing," she mused with a scheming grin.

To Hal's horror, she suddenly fisted a chunk of knife-like glass shard and placed its sharp, lethal peak an inch closer to her throat.

With a condescending expression, she locked eyes with the flummoxed boy.

"Order your minions to scram along and hand over that gun. If you won't do as I say, I'll take the girl down with me and have history repeat itself," she sneered threateningly.

It's the one thing Hal was avoiding the most ever since this whole fiasco began.

Going against her would put Eli's life in peril. By the record, he's certain that this obstinate villainess is capable of pulling that off. However, doing as she says can put the lives of the majority at risk. If she can't be captured now, who knows what kind of hellish ordeal the entire school will go through.

As much as he doesn't want to compromise on safety, he may have no choice but choose who to prioritize.

"Wait a darn second!"

Then out of nowhere, an enormous looking glass materialized behind Venus, catching both of them off guard. Along with this is a cloud of billowing mist that hurdles Hal's vision, making him squint through the fogginess. As soon as it cleared up, his eyes went saucers at the sight, mouth slightly agape.

On the other side of the mirror, Eli stood with her palms flattened on its gleaming surface, prodding one side of her cheek on the glass a bit too roughly as it already moistened.

"Don't you dare hurt anyone!" Eli cried out in anger.

"So, you already learned that trick. You're actually not as simpleminded as I thought," Venus impassively replied.

"Flattery will get you nowhere!"

"It's not a compliment, though."

"Stop changing the subject! I told you not to hurt anyone!"

"Are you blind? I'm threatening them using my body. I'm not hurting-"

"You're included, idiot! And that's my body!"

Stupefied and out of place, Hal just continued watching their banter with an incredulous expression.

"How dare you call me that?! You imbecile! Your life is in my hands right now so you should be begging for mercy," Venus taunted exasperatedly, eye twitching in vexation.

"You're the imbecile one! Why would I do that when it's as clear as day that you're the one in the wrong here?!" Eli retorted, fuming.

"Imprudent girl! Your naivety will be the end of you!"

"Like you're one to talk! Didn't you kill yourself because you're naïve?!"

At that, Venus visibly stiffened and was tongue-tied, face slowly contorting in belligerence. The air around her menacingly thickened, accentuating her antagonistic presence.

In Hal's perspective, she's obviously ticked off.

"You're naïve, Venus. You're a coward! Didn't you want to lead an honourable life as a noble woman? Didn't you want to help everybody? Didn't you want to be admired for your good behaviour? Then, why did you let a mere foretelling dictate your life?! Why did you give in to grief?! I won't judge you for what you went through, but turning evil for such reasons? Really, how naïve of you!"

That was the final nail in the coffin.

Without any warning, Venus, extremely furious and provoked, commanded her myriad of glass splinters to smash the mirror to smithereens.

A deafening blare of shattering rubbles blasted throughout the black void, reverberating violently. The villainess's sinister look proved how much Eli had rubbed her off this time. In the blink of an eye, Eli was no longer there nor the mirror itself.

Hal staggered at how fast it all happened. His stomach churned in dread at the thought that Venus got rid of her. Clenching his fists, he silently hoped that's not the case.

"This is getting boring. Let's end this, shall we?" she muttered emotionlessly. In a swift motion, debris from the pestled mirror wafted around her like a snowstorm. With a cold expression, she gripped the glass shard with both hands, slowly raising it just above her chest.

"Do as I say, boy," she ordered indifferently.

Hal just steeled his scorching gaze at her before tossing his revolver to the ground.

Venus, with a triumphant smile, gracefully strode over to the weapon, bent down to grab it, and aimed at him.