Chapter 177 - Surprise

"Apollyon." 

Breathing her husband's name the moment she awakened, Luna had opened her eyes and realized it was dark, but she could barely see was shades of orange, green, and yellow.

Luna was surrounded by tall and thin bamboo trees bending towards the center in a flexible bow, hovering above her as they formed some dome, which was the sole purpose of sheltering her.

They didn't break despite that. She thought as she stared at the bamboo ends above her.

Luna had lain on uneven ground, for she had clawed soil on her nails with some pebbles digging unto her skin.

She heard continuous low and unrecognizable sounds—like someone was murmuring incantations—along with the bubbling of boiling water from a cauldron.

Someone was stirring a large cauldron atop the crackles of flames, and it took a moment to sink into her brain, after the constant flat ringing in her ears had faded, that a woman was screaming like a banshee in the background.

Brows knitting together in confusion, Luna closed her eyes to focus on the disembodied female voice whispering in her ear that she could barely hear from all that screaming—piercing into her thoughts. "There are times when you should stand strong, but there are times where you should go around a situation rather than face it head-on like you used to do. Now is the time to bend and yield, my child. Don't resist. I will give you the strength to strive rather than suffer."

Luna knew that she was delirious when the protective barrier lifted.

Her vision had clouded when the bamboo trees had splintered into pieces until it faded away in the atmosphere, and she didn't know why she had burst into tears.

"Apollyon." She had murmured her husband's name repeatedly, afraid that she might forget for some reason. 

She didn't wipe the wetness on her cheeks.

She let it fall while she lay on the ground laden with snow, mourning for something she was sure she had lost forever. 

There was a portal drawn around her, and her tattoo markings had reflected the surrounding runes.

Her mind was racing as she searched her brain for answers.

She knew something was terribly wrong when the season in Hell was cold, harsh winter while starlight from the dark sky fell unto her skin.

Luna was sure this wasn't the Archdemon of Gluttony's Kingdom because this place looked different than the First Circle of Hell.

The weather's temperament was similar to the Vampire Realm, but the cold was much more intense.

Luna's gaze had darted because she couldn't move her body except for her head, fingers, and toes.

She couldn't break free from the invisible shackles.

It was a peaceful winter night as a gentle haze softened in the light of the full moon. 

The birds-of-prey had cawed softly as they emerged through the dark and circled above her vulnerable form, against the backdrop of the loud and strange eerie vibrations of ice singing from a near-frozen lake. It was like the sound of an ancient spirit awakening under the ice roaring out in the quiet night.

She had thought about a million worst-case scenarios, but she decided to calm herself down and just resigned herself up to fate.

Crying, she had inhaled the freezing dampness in the air and heard the nuances of the night sounds under the face of the gigantic fiery red moon. 

'What a perfect moment to die.' Luna had focused on the stillness as it allowed her alert senses to expand.

Wrinkling her nose from the thick smoke from the fire mixed with the fog that had formed around her, Luna turned her head to the side to look at the magic cauldron where the large vessel made of cast iron contained a small and petite woman who was the source of all that screaming.

At the same time, the blue and orange flames scorched her wet body.

'That woman had to be a witch since she had owned a similar cauldron to Hecate, the Goddess of the Underworld, but hers was large enough to fit a small person.'

Luna mused as warm blood pulsed through her veins and thundering through her ears in anxiety.

It was ironic that she could wake up all the residents of Hell with that loud screaming and foot-stomping in that small body of hers.

Luna swallowed to alleviate her parched throat and narrowed her eyes at the girl.

She didn't know if the girl was shrieking from the pain of being burned alive, or was it because she was enraged about something else, throwing tantrums like a spoiled child?

The female's back and the waist-length curly auburn hair with gold and copper highlights. had appeared extremely familiar. 

She suddenly felt both hot and cold, her limbs tingling as her chest tightened with fear.

It was the first High Priestess of the Vampire Realm, Lilith.

Why is she here?

What was she doing here in Hell?

With her insides quivering, Luna forced herself to crawl out of the portal drawn around her unobtrusively--even if it felt like she was buried and forced to carry a whole damned castle--as she watched the witch's every move, praying that the demon from Hell wouldn't notice her escape.

She must have noticed that Luna's eyes were on her.

One second her golden eyes had met Lilith's from afar and the next, she had vanished, only to appear right next to her, her large gunmetal grey orbs boring into her eyes, and Luna couldn't look away.

Groaning with the pain and dizziness, she couldn't look…away.

Eyes widening with shock, Luna couldn't move her head or any part of her body. 

"You are awake." Creepy eyes shining with excitement, Lilith smiled at her as she grabbed a chunk of Luna's silver hair.

Lilith pulled at them, harshly as if she wanted to pull them out of her scalp.

The High Priestess even lay sideways on the snow as she faced her and cradled her head with a hand, watching her in amusement. 

Lilith cooed, "You should think twice before you move out of my soul portal, wench."