hydra | svt

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

wonwoo

on any other day, i would've crinkled my nose at the idea of staying after school hours, especially if it was voluntary. however, mingyu's play is being showcased tonight and he needs all the moral support he can get.

hansol and i make our way backstage again, flashing our lanyards to show that we're part of the art crew. though the show isn't due to start for another twenty minutes, the theatre already teems with families and the darkened room only encourage the audience's excitement. once backstage, we're instantly greeted with the sight of mingyu standing with his arms outstretched, looming over the first years who fix and adjust his costume.

"oh, wonwoo! hansol!" his voice is incredibly cheery and doesn't show a dash of anxiety as the students finish faffing around him and he's able to greet us properly.

"are you nervous?" i ask. it seems like the right thing to ask.

"kinda...but it's the good nervous, y'know?"

no i did not.

"that's good bro, we'll be cheering you on in the front row!" hansol is strangely enthusiastic about this whole theatre ordeal; he never struck me as a theatre kid. i nod along to support hansol's statement and that's all mingyu needs for his grin to widen.

"thanks you guys! i better wait in the wings. see you later!"

with less than ten minutes until showtime, the theatre buzzes with noise and anticipation; i'm sure that even the director hadn't expected such a turnout. the stage-crew are as vigilant as ever and hansol and i have to step back so as to avoid hindering their hard work.

"maybe we should take our seats now. i can't see minghao and the show's about to start," hansol notes, glancing down at his watch. i shrug my shoulders, complacent either way, and we exit past the wings to the front row.

gradually, the elevator music that had been crawling out of the auditorium speakers quiets and the lights dim to signify the start of the play; the audience hushes politely, waiting for the berry red curtain to rise.

a low rumble snags my attention and the hairs on the back of my neck rise like a battalion of soldiers preparing to head into the thick of the fight. hansol tenses beside me and we exchange a nervous glance; the air around us is electric and we immediately realise our unusual predicament.

the entire audience is frozen in motion, shining eyes trained on the polished stage, hands raised in mid-clap. i barely pull hansol to the ground when an explosion shakes the room.

the sounds of creaking germinates through the floor and i quickly press my back against the bottom of the stage, glaring into the darkness at the intruder. a wicked laughter pricks my eardrums like the thorns on a rose and i cry out, diving to my right as a thick poison-green tendril whips above my head obliterating the space i was sat in only moments ago.

i cough as the atmosphere around it becomes acrid. more plant tendrils surge forward, relentlessly chasing after me like they had eyes and a brain of their own; i've lost sight of hansol and i have no idea where mingyu and minghao are, my focus solely on staying alive.

"so, you are the gifts from the mage to celebrate the rise of the electos decem!" the female voice is like a cursed lullaby to me, enchanting and enigmatic. i squint again into the darkness but to no avail - the only thing i can see is a haze of violet magic.

"what, you're not going to fight me? maybe i should give you an incentive!" she cackles awfully. my heart shudders as the spotlights wrench and groan, directing the light onto an unconscious junhui bound to the balcony of the theatre by strong brown roots, holding him upright as his head hangs limply in front, bloodstained purple hair covering his bruised eyes.

"WHO ARE YOU?" minghao, not usually the type to become aggressive, has appeared on stage. our enemy directs another spotlight onto him and from where i cower in the sea of mezzanine, his stance is strong and his glare unforgiving. sweat already begins to matte his hair to his forehead but his intense energy proves that he's not messing around.

"me? i'm offended! but i suppose you at least have the right to know who'll be putting you into your graves. i am hecate, the goddess of magic, witchcraft and necromancy!"

her new vigour is like a drug to her plant minions as they thrash about, wildly cheering her on.

"let junhui go!"

"as if i would take orders from you!" her tone turns to one of offence and she emerges from the shadow, hovering in the air on a path of leaves that grow in front of her and die behind her. her skin glows with magic and her violet irises puncture the very soul. two phantom heads flicker over her left and right shoulders and silvery hair spun from the silk of the moonlight cascades down her back, coming to a sharp point like that of a dagger just above her waist. her robes refract with every shade of purple and green and her arms are decorated with sigils and signs of black magic. vines of poisonous ivy stem from her pointed fingertips, which she controls like a marionette.

with no plan of action, the best that three of us can do is avoid hecate's lethal attacks and somehow find a way to save jun; by the second his appearance grows more gaunt and his cheekbones have started to hollow as the colour drains from his skin.

i inhale sharply at my gruesome realisation.

"ah yes, jeon wonwoo! you are quite the perceptive type. the vines binding your friend are no ordinary plants. they feed off his very soul and the power of his magic to fuel their own desires and increase the strength of their attacks. isn't it fun?"

i grit my teeth, slamming into the wall as another blubbery cirrus lunges towards me, eradicating the brick and sending a cloud of dust into the air. i splutter and clutch my chest, ignoring the pain searing through my entire body.

suddenly a strained cry rises above the noise, followed by the glint of metal slicing through the air; hansol finally unsheathed his sword and has wasted no time in putting it to good use. whilst hecate is fixated with hansol's nimble movements and determined counterattacks, i sneak back up the steps, crawling on my stomach to where junhui shrivels away on the balcony.

i have to save him somehow.

_________________

#WONWOO: this is the first time in my life that i have been provoked to hit a woman.